New to Group Check out My Reef Pics

[moatdaddy]

Hello all, i have been into saltwater fish since i was 15. 27 now. Have learned many lessons over the years. I have also had breaks in saltwater service. This is my 55g Tank. What you see is what i got beside the mantis who comes out to kill snails and the mean green wrasse. Currently im not running my skimmer because it caused red algea and i cant get the fracking bubbles to stop. I have two emperor style filters on the back and well a lot of live rock (80lbs or more) and sand. I had more corals but didnt realize that the best way to get them established was a frag base of ceramic with drilled holes. Because of this i lost a lot of frags. Also i had a move during the year this tank has been up. I was in a helicopter crash and a wheelchair for two months after, so gratefully the army put me in a wheelchair accessable house. Now i cant take credit for the move of the tank due to the situation but i can say it was a lot of buckets and 3 inches of water still in the tank during the move. We put a rock to reduce sand disturbance as we poured the water back in. Not a single loss of life for the fish:eek1:. Did miss place all my orange zoas though. Well now i can get around on crutches so i plan on adding a frag tank above my 55. yes above, and wall mounted. Ebay has acrylic frag tanks predrilled that im planning on getting. Not sure if its okay to post link here. More pics and chat to follow.

 

[moatdaddy]

more pics

more pics

So with accordance to the one inch for every 5 gallons im overstocked, but my tank does fine. I currently have 1 4' 130w coralife pc and 2 24" 65w coralife pc. I got all these at petco. I bought everyone they had because the prices were as follows. $19 for the 4' and $11 for the 30" and 9 for the 24". Yup for 70 or so buck i got 8 lighting systems. Planning on putting 260w on a 22x22x6 high frag tank. Think it will work sweet. More pics and chat to follow.

 

[moatdaddy]

more pics

more pics

I use part a and part b alk and calcium. I have never tested my water. Ever. I also dont hav problems now at all. I will tell you all one thing. If they have digital reader where you simply stick a probe into the water and have a digital readout of your peramiter, red bad, yellow ok, green good i would definitly buy it. Would all reefers who use it a ton of money and time. Ha also i use tap water to get better algea growth. Works great with some standard water conditioner. I have once set up a qt tank but only with an ich emergency from a petco purchase. Damn petco and the kids who have no idea for the most part what saltwater is. Enough rant heres the pics.

 

[moatdaddy]

more pics

more pics

We normally keep the tv off and watch the aquarium. I currently just purchased 11 corals of soft variety from LA reefs. Sweet deals there. Hmm i have plenty of copepods. I have some chaeto in display but it stays hidden. I love green in the tank. So for only hard corals have died. big success are the green star poylps and dragon eye zoas which are both 10 time origional size.

 

[moatdaddy]

questions and pics

questions and pics

Well included here is a pic of my son Nicholas (almost 2 and i fear he wil smash the aquarium) and my english bulldog as well. I have 3 english bulldogs and plan on showing the one in the picture his name is tank. What do you guys think of the frag tool sets? What is the best way to get more mushrooms, Natural growth or forced split by tool? How often do you guys trade corals and is this group based in syracuse or rodchester? Does anyone need any green star poylps or dragon eye zoas and i have a mushroom.

My goal here is to meet like minded coral enthusiests and trade corals from time to time and to grow some on the side for sale. Nothing major. Think is in the helicopter crash i broke my leg in 15 spots so its going to be a long time to heal and this hobby to me is not only rewarding but soothing as well. I wish you all the best in your reef keeping. If you have some killer deal on lights im all for it guys and of course all adivice is welcome as well as critics. Take you for taking the time to read and check out our pictures.

The Moat Family

 

[superkat]

wow. you seem incredibly enthusiastic....and i like that!!! thanks for the info and the pics. welcome!

 

[Gravesj1s]

Are you from in alabama? You might want to hookup a local connection in your area ,just alittle easier with frag trading and stuff.I think theres a forum for that region.
Course noone would mind you posting here or stopping in.Thanks for the pics,hang in their with that leg.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

hello and welcome to the URS Forum on RC! :wavehand:

there's an Alabama in New York State...........

 

[moatdaddy]

yeah i will change that, im at fort drum now. you know the army, they never keep you in a place for too long but since i know im not deploying and i have a stable home for now i would like to trade frages every once in a while and attend events. so thanks for the heads up.

 

[Gravesj1s]

LOL,whoops, sorry.

-yeah my cousin is in,too. "Fighting seabee"wants to become a seal and always on the run somewhere.No doubt a lifer.
Ever make it to syracuse hit me up for some frags and beers to boot.-steve

 

[moatdaddy]

rock on, yeah i wont be able to fly anymore so no lifer for me. heather (the wife) loves to shop so yeah maybe one weekend we can make it down and bs while shes preoccupied. i can bring some frags. give it a couple of weeks and i should have a good selection. or if you wanna visit the base up here by all means. thing is all the whirly helicopters will be taking off soon and syracuse is far cooler than watertown. no offense to you watertowners.

 

[belgian_waffleman]

Welcome! Your low tech setup look great! Corals look healthy and all.

I've been spending some time in Lowville,NY. It reminds me of Alabama without the heat LOL.

Waffleman

 

[tmz]

Welcome, and thank you for your service. No critique, but feel free to ask questions ;many here are willing to share useful information. Thanks for the pictures.

 

[GMaquarium]

Welcome!

I love the bulldog puppy

 

[moatdaddy]

Thank you all for you nice welcomes. HAHA Lowville does remind me a little of those little southern town with crazy roads and odd city layout. Also my I love my English Bulldogs and i posted some more pics of the pups on another new coral thread.

 

[pascal32]

Welcome aboard! Lots of good advice on here! Thank you for your service

 

[aquadonkey]

Welcome to URS!
Tank looks great - and sorry to hear about your accident!
LOVE that puppy - drool.....