Our Tbs

[krajacich]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10262410#post10262410 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by the cattleman
I read somewhere on the Tbs website something about having to pick-up the live rock at an airport terminal? How does this work?

The rock comes in on a commericial flight and you can track it via the flight number that TBS gives you. For instance mine came in on a Northwest Airlines flight.

You then pick it up at the freight terminal when it arrives (best to call first to make sure it's actually there). If you've ordered a big package it's best if you can get help loading, unloading, and placing the rock. After it's in the tank, you're required to post pictures on this thread

 

[bobt2]

brian, i can send you the pics direct if i get your e-mail address.

 

[BrianPlankis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10265000#post10265000 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bobt2
brian, i can send you the pics direct if i get your e-mail address.

Bob,

I just sent you a PM with my email address, let me know if you don't get it.

Brian

 

[patsan]

Gosh, I hadn't gotten any emails saying there were posts to this thread.
I decided to come on and ask Danielle where her pictures were that she promised.....low and behold only to see them already there for well over a month....month and a half.

WOW, your tank looks fantastic Danielle. I loved the zoas taking over the whole top side there.
We're still not to the point of finishing up the Kent salt yet, so there is continual non growth and non color in the tank. Well, I shouldn't say that because there are a few patches of new tunicates growing. Nice light purple ones. But we can't even grow corraline in the tank....how bad is that?
The fish are all thriving as well as the good crabs. I can finally say there are no more gorilla crabs left. There still are a few hermits left from over 2½ years ago. The pistol shrimp continues to molt and thrive.
Just the corals and corraline don't grow.

 

[BrianPlankis]

My tank at 27 months

My tank at 27 months

Hey all,

I thought I would post a couple of pictures. My tank is now about 27 months old and the TBS rock has been in it for 21 months. I still have one gorilla crab roaming around and some annoying Eunicid worms , but all the other baddies are long gone. I'm enjoying my hitchhiker corals quite a bit. Many cup corals, tube corals and 1 of my three original Manicina corals are doing well.

Here is a full tank shot from last week:

My original rock had Halmedia algae on it, but it vanished over a year ago. Just two weeks ago it sprung up again, pretty cool Of course my clowns had to be in the picture when I was shooting the algae.

I've been watching all kinds of hitchhikers grow and some of them are starting to fight each other for space. Here is a cup coral (left) fighting with an unknown stoney coral (right) that is slowly growing around the area the cup coral can touch.

The sponges are doing quite well in my tank and get bigger when I feed phyto. I even have 3 colors of tunicates coming back and forming small colonies

I went through heck with the Cirolanids and the Eunicid worms are a real pain for the Manicina, but I'm very happy I got my TBS rock. Almost two years in the baddies are gone (for the most part) and the good hitchhikers are just starting to shine.

Brian

 

[bobt2]

brian, their sent. pat, good to hear from you again. i still have 1 gorilla in the 75.the 3 pistols in the 75 have done their thing. i see tiny pistols in the rocks at feeding time but their too small for pictures.

 

[BrianPlankis]

Bob,

I looked at your pictures and I'm not sure what is going on there, it could be budding off, but that isn't really described for that species. You do have Manicina areolata by the way

Just because it isn't described doesn't mean it doesn't happen, so it could be budding, but it could also be simply an infection or some kind of air pocket or tumor. It could simply be swelling.

Have noticed any small brains on the rocks nearby after one of the swellings goes away?

Brian

 

[bobt2]

brian,the area where the brains are has a good current flow. IF, it was budding they could be anywhere in the tank. time will tell.

 

[cherubfish pair]

BrianPlankis, how many of those corals that are in your pictures are hitchhikers?

 

[BrianPlankis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10272938#post10272938 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by the cattleman
BrianPlankis, how many of those corals that are in your pictures are hitchhikers?

Basically none of them, except the last picture. The last picture shows a cup coral (left), an unknown stony coral and the branching coral above it is called a tube coral.

Those are the three most common corals on the rock, but Richard typically also throws in gorgonians as a freebie.

Here is a picture of a Manicina areolata:

Unfortunately the red tide killed off all of them from Richard's rock, so it will be a few years (or longer) before they return. Still my favorite coral in the tank.

Brian

 

[Kenaneu]

Hello all!

First post here... I have been in fresh water for about 20 years and finally was forced into SW when a neighbor moved and abandoned a 6 gallon cube with a clown, a rock and an unreal aount of algae.

To make a long story short, I threw in a hearty clean up crew, stabilized the water quality in the 6 gallon, and eventually transplanted everything into an unused 15 gallon hex I had laying around. I know such a small tank is probably not the best choice for a reef newbie, but it is what it is, and at least it's bigger than a 6 gallon!

That all being said, the 15 got up and running, stable, and I decided more rock was needed. I saw this thread about TBS rock, and was sold. I got my TBS rock last week, and all is well so far. No amonia, nitrate or nitrite explosions and only minimal bad hitchers (that I know of).

I had limited time to prep the rock, so I decided good prep was more important than pics. I will take some pics of the in-tank setup tonight, though!

I have to thank everyone who's contributed to this thread for inspiring me to give such great rock a go. I look forward to hearing all your thoughts on the tank, etc. as well!

More posts and pics to come!

 

[techreef]

Hey Brian, how did you go about getting rid of your eunicid worms? i have at least 5 in my tank, and while I haven't seen them attack anything living, they make me nervous all the same. they retract so blazingly fast that it's a pipe dream to think I can manually nab 'em. did you bait some sort of trap? thanks!

 

[krajacich]

Kenaneu:
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your tank. It's been a while since we saw new part 1 pictures.

 

[Kenaneu]

Thanks Danielle!

I don't know what I would call my TBS purchase... It was more like part 2, I think. Since the tank was a salvage/rescue operation at first, I have some 2yr old live sand and rock (although it was completely coated with about every kind of algae imaginable until I got to it) that served as a base. When I moved it to the new tank, I augmented with about 20lbs of new live sand. That ran for about 4 months before I got the guts to order from TBS. I explained the situation to Richard, and basically I just ordered about 20lbs of rock to pile up vertically. I received some pretty stuff, as well as a couple of freebies (orange tree sponge I hope I can keep alive and a nice serpent star) so I am thinking it's more like part 2. There's a lot of stuff I'd like to ID, so I am hoping everyone here can help with that!

Anyhow, getting a tripod on my way home from work, and should be taking some nice pics tonight!

 

[Kenaneu]

Well, unfortunately my camera is not that great, so even with a tripod, these shots aren't the best. Anyhow, thoughts, comments and IDs are welcome!

The polyps, LTA and bottom/center rock were existing. The rest is all TBS. It's a small tank with a mirrored back so you'll see a lot of the same things in these pics...

The Overall Tank (15 gallon hex)

Looking Left
Not sure what the tree-like coral freebie is on the left there...

Looking Right
Lots of macro algae to keep trimmed...

Looking up from the center
After taking the pics and reading posts about sponges not liking too much direct light, I moved the orange tree sponge to a more shady spot. I hope that's the right thing to do. I worry that I won't be able to keep it alive, but have been feeding the tank with DT phytoplankton every other day...

 

[Kenaneu]

I broke this part into a separate post in the hopes that it will make it easier for someone to reply with an ID for this coral...

Mystery (to me anyhow) Coral and Polyps

Close-Up

 

[Kenaneu]

Below the mystery coral are a couple of very tiny feather dusters. Pardon the crappy photography.

White Feather Duster

Orange Feather Duster

 

[Kenaneu]

I need some help ID'ing this stuff...

I have had the polyps for a while, but today this white, foamy looking thing appeared on them!

Mystery Scum

I don't know what it is, but it looked like something someone said was bad in a post I can't find anymore. At any rate, it didn't look like it belonged, so I took a soft toothbrush and got it out of there. It was pretty stubborn stuff, and I hope it doesn't come back... Unless someone here tells me it's amazingly beneficial!

Oh, those snails came with the polyps, too, and seem to really like them - to the point of always returning there no matter where I place them in the tank.

Any thoughts on ID?

 

[drk70]

Can you do a close-up of the your tree sponge?

 

[Kenaneu]

The pics here are REALLY bad, but what are these little clear anemone like things in the back?

I hope they're not the dreaded aiptasia!

They have clear tentacles, but a solid white mouth area that looks more like a coral. If anyone knows what these are, please let me know if I should be worried. If they're not harmful, they sure are pretty!

I can't tell for sure yet, but some of the clear, plant-like structures back there look suspiciously like hydroids too...