Neal's Barebottom SPS & ZOA System...

I really like the idea of the columns for the zoas and paly's in particular... this will really conserve tank space by having them grow down, and jus add a tile when they get close to the bottom one... I hope to have some nice tall zoa and paly towers at some point :) i jus think that will be awesome...

when i want to frag them, i can jus use a remove one of the middle tiles (most likely the bottom most with polyps on it), then I will pretty much have a 1/2" by 8" line of polyps running the outer edge of the tile as they are all 2" by 2" squared... I can then jus use a scalpal to remove how ever many polyps i want for the most part, and still get a bunch of frags... then i can jus apply them to frag mounts and pass them along to whoever would like some :)
 
My Live Rock Refugium...

My Live Rock Refugium...

I jus wanted to take a couple moments and talk about this part of my system... I know I have basically no rock in my display and sump aside from my porcelian crabs shelter / clams resting spot... however I jus wanted to emphasize how important and crucial to my system's survival this part of my setup is... I do have great flow and a very much oversized and capable skimmer, but it is this live rock space that keeps my system so stable... without it, the system jus would not work properly... flow, skimming, and detritus removal are vital, but bio filtration is the most important part of any system I feel... it is the bacteria the rock and very shallow sandbed harbor that really do all the work in keeping my system pure... I have about 550+ gph running through this section of my system... about 4.5 times my total water volume...

I jus thought this was very important to point out as I dont want to encourage ANYONE to not have a good, solid bio-filter in any system they may keep...

BIO-FILTRATION IS ALWAYS #1...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/?action=view&current=00009.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/00009.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
Last edited:
Thought it might be fun to add some growth shots... the following corals where obtained in June of 2010, and where some of my first sps I have ever kept... so basically after 10 months... all of these corals have been fragged a few times as well... I am really looking forward to the next 6 months for all my corals obtained to this point, even the ones that are just small frags now, as my understanding of keeping sps, and my systems stability has increased greatly in both regards...

green highlighter acro...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/?action=view&current=021-3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/021-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/?action=view&current=00017.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/00017.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

green stylophora...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/?action=view&current=020-3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/020-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/?action=view&current=00015.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/00015.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

blue tipped emerald staghorn acro...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/?action=view&current=038-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/038-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/?action=view&current=00036_1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/00036_1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

green millipora...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/?action=view&current=025-4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/025-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/?action=view&current=00033.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%202011/00033.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

green montipora confusa... this pic is about a month old...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/?action=view&current=023-4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/first%20coral%20pics/023-4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0219.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0219.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
my2girls said:
I agree with much of your methodology, especially bare bottom and good flow. I'm a huge fan of a clean looking tank and you've certainly accomplished that. Most of all I give you props for knowing what you like and not caring about other negative opinions. If you plan on adding corals on a regular basis, you definitely need to dip and/or quarantine them. You wouldn't want one bad coral ruining your entire display.

Good looking corals for sure :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

one of the things that have developed over the last year is my understanding of coral pests and predators... I honestly didnt dip my corals to start as I was not too familiar with this and to no avail, had gotten red bugs back in August on a couple of my acros... thankfully at that time I only had a handful of corals, and I did one heck of a Interceptor treatment regiment, and over the course of 3 weeks was able to irradicate that pest... I saw no signs after the first treatment, but conitnued with 3 more over the next 3 weeks jus the same and to be safe... I have seen no sign since... i now dip all my corals with Coral RX pro for 10 mins, followed by Brightwell's Coral Med for 5 mins... Every coral, Every time... I owe alot of this knowledge, and alot of the dip I "borrowed" from by boy Eric, aka Icycoral...

but definately some good, sound advice for sure... to me and to all... thank you jus the same :)

On that note...

QT'ing your fish, and dipping your corals are an absolute must, and anyone who fool's themselves by thinking these proper procedures aren't necessary, are in for a huge reality check if they haven't gotten it already... Even with my dipping precautions, it is still not 100% you will not have problems... at least with aefw you can see them or their eggs if you look close enough, but Monti eating nudi's are a whole different ball game as they can be hard to see, and the eggs can be literally impossible to see and there is no way to get kill them (at least that i know of)... at least they seem to prefer caps as apposed to encrusting monti's, and you can catch them early and hopefully remove them by jus removing the monti they seem to inhabit first... and then hope for the best...

I could deal with losing my monti's, but I would be severely upset should anything happen to my acro's... but then again, at least you can see if any aefw's or their eggs are on your acros... this is another reason it is good to start with frags imo, as you can see the whole surface area of the acro frag with a magnifying glass especially and can pretty much tell if they are there or not... however, this does NOT mean you don't have to dip your corals... As it is very wise to properly dip all corals that enter your system...

Don't be foolish... QT your fish, and dip your corals... PROPERLY

:)
 
Last edited:
thought i would post a pic of my arrow crab...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0284.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0284.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
That's an awesome setup you got there. Got me thinking of going your route. What kind of tiles are those and where do you get them? ? Keep up the good work!
 
jmccoya said:
That's an awesome setup you got there. Got me thinking of going your route. What kind of tiles are those and where do you get them? ? Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

whoa! an Ohio native in our CT forum? thats cool! lol...

those tiles are jus ceramic tiles of some sort and I get them from Lowes... they come in a 1' square w/ the tiles laid out and glued to some sort of mesh of some kind... they come 36 to a sheet, and i pay about 7 bucks for each sheet... I was thinking about goin with some 1.5" acrylic rod with a 3" acrylic disc for the base and a 2' disc for the platform on top... but then once I held a peice of 1.25" rod, i knew it jus wouldnt be heavy enough to stay in place with the flow I have... so I jus stick with the tiles... i jus pull them off one by one and make sure I get most of the glue off... and then jus use a good amount of super glue in between each one... the tiles are good in the fact the allow pods to nest in between each one, and have a save spot within the display to hide and redroduce away from my sixline's clutches lol... all in all, I am very glad i went with tiles... I wouldnt be able to adjust height by adding and removing segments of the columns if they were acrylic... these easily, for the most part, pop right apart with a flat head screwdriver :)

and thank you for the compliment my friend!

btw, sweet avatar! LMAO, love that guy!
 
and jus to mention... i tested my calcium and alk again tonite... my calcium is a bit higher than i would like it as it was at about 480... and as always, my alkalinity was at 9... I jus upped my dosage on both last week as my calcium seemed to be dropping about 10 a day previously since adding the bigger clam and my latest frags... so i will drop my calcium dose .5 ounces a day, and see how that works out over the next week to 2 weeks :)

i test both about twice a week as i like to know where my levels are at always... better safe, than sorry ;)
 
Current Coral Stocklist & General Wishlist

Current Coral Stocklist & General Wishlist

thought i would make a stocklist...

SPS

ORA red planet
Tyree pink lemonade
blue tort
ORA pink birdsnest
ORA bird of paradise
crayola plana
orange monti cap
montipora setosa
Tyree flower petal monti cap
idaho grape monti cap
pokerstar monti
blue millipora
green monti confusa
blue tipped emerald stag
sunset monti
bonzai acro
ORA hawkins echinata
FHI green millipora
green stylophora
tricolor valida
FHI green highlighter acro
ORA joe the coral
Bali green slimer stag
ORA green birdsnest
Tyree tricolor acro
Tyree purple monster
Karl's candlelight acro
orange monti digitata
icefire echinata
purple valida
german blue polyp monti digitata

as well as 2 mystery acros which have yet to be identified and are still coloring up... i believe at this point one maybe a verde acro, but time will tell a little more...


ZOA/PALY

candy apple reds
candy apple pinks
eagle eyes
radioactive dragon eyes
fire and ice
triple reds
tubbs blues
poision ivy
armor of the gods

and 5 more I am still working to identify


tomorrow i will be obtaining a couple more sps including a ORA miami orchid and a yet to be identified purple stag of some sort, ill have to do some research once i see it better, and perhaps another zoa species...

also i will be obtaining a strawberry shortcake acro in the near future as well from a good friend of mine... i am super friggen' excited about this one

***************************

as far as some I am looking to add...

-green digitata
-purple digitata... digi's are kinda plain i know, but i love they way they grow and look...
-red robin stag
-500 efflo
-superman monti
-ora pearlberry
-ora chips
-pink milli
-sunset milli
-teal bottlebrush
-ora blue iris
-blue turaki

-los angeles laker zoas
-rasta zoas
-red hornet zoas
-purple hornet zoas
-paradise zoas


to name a few off the top of my head :) but i plan on adding any and all sps and zoas/palys i can get my hands on that catch my eye...
 
for anyone who may be looking to ID some zoas or palys, this site is pretty cool if you havent found it already... of course there are probably a thousand zoa sites out there, but this is the main one i use to ID mine...

http://www.coralpedia.com/
 
Jus wanted to note, I got some new peices today...

ORA Miami Orchid
Green Montipora Digitata
Green & Pink Pocillipora
Purple Tort Acro of somekind, will work on exact identification soon

and some other sort of Green bodied zoas with brown skirts... can't wait to see them open up under my lighting :)

also, tomorrow morning I am trading a Joe the Coral frag for a really nice Coral Beauty Angel with someone from BRS, which will be housed in my fuge, and then my new fuge once I get the 65g RR plumbed in... so I am kinda stoked on that ;)
 
My Purple Tang & my thoughts on it in a 75g

My Purple Tang & my thoughts on it in a 75g

Ok, I jus thought i would write up a little peice about my Purple Tang cuz he is so awesome lol... I got him about 1 month ago, very skinny, malnourished and not taken care of really at all other than some kind of algae flake every so often... He was kept in a 30g display tank for nearly a year from what I undertand the LFS owner told me. He said he looked fine for a bit but the price I know was a bit high as he had him listed at $180 to sell him for... as he sat, the worse he got from lack of nutrition... he was very skinny, had head rot, and one heck of a case of lateral line disease... I convinced the owner to let me take him at an incredible discount w/ my store credit and let me have him to keep so he wouldnt jus end up dying and I get him back in shape...

For 10 days he was held in my 20g high QT tank, isolated and treated with cupramine, as well as given fresh water dips daily for a few mins at a time... I also had the salinity lowered to 1.009 over the first couple days, and raised to 1.023 over the final 48 hours... I did not keep him my usual minimum of 14 days as I felt he was doing incredible... I fed him (1) 3" x 3" vitamen enriched Nori sheets, enriched mysis, omega one protein flakes, and spectrum small pellets... even after 10 days in my QT with minimal flow and such small quarters, he look about 100 times better, and I m gonna say if 100% is full health, he went from 20% or less, to 70% or so in jus those 10 days... his color, and his girth (which was still thin), had improved greatly... also, his head rot and lateral line had clear up particulary well and the color had come back even in the afflicted areas quite well...

I moved him into my 75g after his quarantine period... he is now at about 95% now and i only say that becuz you can still see some marks that are filling in and healing still due to the lateral line and head rot... Also he has really fattened up alot, and is doing extra well with the flow and oxygen levels in my tank... He is extremely active, aware, and he eats an incredible amount of food... I believe in smaller feedings, many times a day as a rule of thumb. With him, he gets fed at least 5 times a day, everyday... and is now given a 4" x 4" peice of Nori almost everyday, not quite everyday... and the rest of his diet consists of the same he got in QT, jus more cuz my system can handle it, as my QT definitely could not...

This brings me to a couple things I would like to talk about in particular about my fish... Now, I am NOT the tang police, but I want to say a few things in regards to MY tang, and how I, MYSELF feel about in MY standard 75g... and how I feel about the amount of food my tang, and all tangs should be fed in general...

First the feeding... I read alot about how people only feed their fish (and I only mean those who keep tangs) once or twice a day, and a limited amount, and even those who feed once every other day as many actually do... I am not sure these folks truely understand the value of nutrition in their tang's health... these fish have VERY high metablism, and burn energy at a very high rate given they are housed properly with the flow and oxygen as lack of either will affect the fish's overall health greatly, and especially slowly over tiime... I have personally swam with groups of wild yellow hawaiian tangs for upwards of 2 to 3 hours at a time, jus hanging out snorkling all morning through the reefs... These fish, do not stop picking at algae and seaweed and whatnot ever... it is a continous thing that happens every few moments, non stop, all day... and our captive held tang's of all species are exactly the same... if your tang is not completely rounded off, and fat, then they are being under nourished, and it will only affect them in the long run... Luckily, I feel like i have the system to support this amount of feeding easily, and is one of the reasons i only keep a few fish... His health is very important to me and I am not willing to compromise his nutritional needs jus cuz some people may not do the same... which is a shame really... the key is more so not to give him anything that he wont eat down all at once and within a minute or two... well, the 4" square of nori usually last about 30 mins, but he eats it all and none of it goes to waste... Again, a tang's nutritional intake is very crucial for their health, even if one may think he looks jus fine otherwise... Don't be afraid to feed your tang, it will appreciate it greatly...

Ok, now I want to get into MY tang's house size... I have a standard 75g, 4 foot in length tank... you would read a thousand sites out there saying this size is fine, and a million posters out there who keep tangs in the equivalent, meaning a standard 90g in volume or less, or any tank for hat matter that is 4' long with a 18" depth... height means nothing to tangs... they would prefer and infinite amount of space jus deep enough for them to have a couple inches on the top and bottom, than a tank without this and all the depth in the world... again, i am not the tang police, or am i telling anyone what to do... but i am telling you right now, my 75g, which is the same size i have seen people stuff 4 or 5 tangs in is not nearly enough room for this guy (remember, a 90 is the same thing basically minus a couple inches in height)... these fish are part of the the zebrasoma genus along with yellow tangs, scopas tangs, and black tangs, and are some of the overall smallest tangs there are and still will reach 7" or more in captivity... and they need alot of room... I am not happy with his housing situation at the moment, but i have done good by him and he is much better off than he was. However this does not mean I can settle on this being permanent for him, and will do everything I can to make sure I supply him with something more practical for him...

These are my thoughts on properly caring for my Purple Tang, not necessarily telling anyone else how to care for theirs, though i feel it could definitely be some food for thought...

to anyone who follows my thread, thank you for taking the time to read through some of my opinions and posts... and thank you for sharing interests with me in this great obsession of mine... it is much appreciated :)
 
OH! and i picked up a coral beauty today for my fuge and he is pretty sweet looking, really nice size and in very good health and incredible color... However, as always, he too will be quarantined at least for a bit... He came from a fellow reefer out of the Boston area as I traded a nice Joe the Coral frag for him like previously mentioned... Really gorgeous fish, and he should do great in my fuge... i am gonna move the lobster to the breeder box and figure something out with the coral banded while I setup the new 65 RR fuge I am getting on monday and getting my proposed invert display together in the hopefully near future... the lobster will be fine in the breeder box as I will make him a little cave... I dont want him in with the coral beauty jus in case he gets hungry one night, and i have lost a coral beauty in the past to a hungry reef lobster at night who was never left to go hungry... The coral beauty will do great i think amongst all the live rock and shelter in the fuge, now and in the new fuge hopefully goin up soon... I really like him, and I am very glad to have gotten him...

jus thought I would share that as well ;)

PS: I would love to add an African Flameback Angel, and a Yellow Assessor or some other basslet to my new fuge as well... I really LOVE African Flamebacks and have always wanted one...
 
Last edited:
more Droid phone camera shots...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0303-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0303-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0306.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0306.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0305.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0305.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0307.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0307.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0308.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0308.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

:)
 
my blue coral banded shrimp...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0315.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0315.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
a partial of my fancy brittle star...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0318.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0318.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

and a crappy flash shot to see my purple reef lobster in his "cave"...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG0319.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG0319.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
Love it! Looks so much better than a pile of rocks with coral attached!
Subscribed and tagging along.:spin2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Its been a while.
Replies
8
Views
395
sleeperls
S
L
What to say
Replies
3
Views
45
brandon429
brandon429
C.Eymann
Close call today with a baby cone snail
Replies
4
Views
264
C.Eymann
C.Eymann
K
SPS Pest?!
Replies
10
Views
170
griss
griss
Brian60077
Great reasonably price light system
Replies
0
Views
133
Brian60077
Brian60077
Back
Top