Tank of the Month - April '05

[philfish]

What a great tank Steve. I am just setting up a 84"x24"x27" and everyone tells me I can't possibly put a Blue Ring in there. I had one years ago, but in my Fish Only tank, and he was a fantastic fish. You have made me wonder again whether to risk it!

Well done, and congrats. Don't forget, you are internationally famous now, as we read this all over the world

PS Nice Bulldog, I breed them!! Got four at the moment.

 

[Avi]

So, no one can help me catch that darn Stiatus Tang?

 

[Skipper]

Avi: please start a new thread about that. It's a bit off-topic here in a thread discussing the Tank of the Month.

Thanks

 

[Flatlander]

Congrats on your selection as TOTM. A very beautiful tank.

 

[rthom]

Beautiful tank. You have obviously done a great job camouflaging the wavebox. I assume it is behind the rock work but where?

Russ

 

[RocketSeason]

I have a question. are you using carbon because of your high bioload? Or do you not fully trust your liverock to keep it clean? why have I heard so much negitive thoughts on carbon?

I have a canister that I usually run with about half a load of carbon, but lately I have been taken it out, then deciding to put it back, take it out, put it back. I can't decide whether I need it or not.

 

[surfjeepzx]

Very nice tank! and thanks mods for bringing it back. Although some people can find anything to complian about I enjoy seeing nicely established tanks. Whether they have softies, LPS, SPS, or some other combo. It's all about the diversity that each reef tank offers to the community for everyones benefit.

 

[biohazard]

Lookin stellar Steve!

Congrats!

Kenny.

 

[Taniaza1]

Amazing tank Steve. It was a pleasure reading this month. And beautiful pics by the way, not a photographer... sheesh!
Well done and good luck on the new tank. Since your tank has been TOTM, maybe your wife will let you upgrade the location of the next tank??? =)

 

[Skipper]

...and thanks mods for bringing it back.

It never left. It was all an April Fools joke, surfjeepzx.

 

[sschafer]

Rochester has The Reef Shoppe, Caribbean Forest, and Marine Oasis. The three shops in Buffalo are Pets Plus, The Fish Place, and Saltwater Paradise. The three stores in Rochester compliment each other well.

-Steve

ok so i know the reef shop and carribean forest- what other shops are in that rochester cny area! i am in syr.-also congrats on totm - good to see an upstate reefer take hold for a month- also was there ever any other upstatye folks w/ the totm- just curious

 

[sschafer]

Thanks. The only things I really did with the pictures is mess around with the white balance on the camera. Some of the photos were taken with my Canon G3 and the others were taken with a Nikon D70 that I borrowed from my brother. As for my wife . . . My ten month old son has a playgroup every Saturday an we host every few weeks. His little friends love the tank, and so do their parents. I think that helps a little.

-Steve

Thats an amazing system man.... - Those are great pictures too. Were those pictures "touched up" or edited in any way before posted?

Also, I was going to ask you all sorts of questions about what salt you use, what your return pump is for the 13 ft trip from the basement, and if you prefer wet or dry skimming....but I thought of one question that I would like to ask you instead because I think I can learn more from your answer than any or all of those questions, and that is: How do you get your wife to put up with your obsession?

 

[sschafer]

I have found two methods to be best. If the tang likes Nori just dangle some a few inches into the tank and scoop the tang up while it is eating. Otherwise, catch him while he is semi-lucid. Wait about an hour or two after the lights go out at night an catch him then. I've tried fish traps before, what a waste. If I wanted to catch snails or my leopard wrasse they would work great . . .

-Steve

Tank of the Month...what a great thread...and this one's very fine. I see that there's a lot of putting in and removing of fish. I have a 120 also and I'm trying to get a Striatus Tang that's relentlessly harrassing my wrasses out to no avail. How do you catch a fish like a wayward tang in a reef that's got a lot of rock and corals on it? I know you've done it plenty of times. Thanks.

 

[Devil Man]

ok what type of wrasse is that, that is sppoted in balck and is blue, that is the, most beautiful fish i have ever seen, could you please tell me which one it is, it looks pretty small too? thanks

 

[Avi]

Hey listen, I'm really sorry about the post about catching the Stiatus, but it was really becoming a danger to some fish in my tank...BUT...I caught it today and back to the fish store it goes.....The way I caught it was to leave a net in the tank for like two weeks already, and each day I put food in it. The problem was that all the other fish in the reef got used to it, but the one I was trying to catch would seem like it knew that it was the one I wanted to snag. Today, it did go into the net to take food, though, and I got it. What a relief.

Now I can get back to admiring that great reef of yours, Steve....Congrats!

 

[sschafer]

That is my Leopard Wrasse (Macropharyngodon meleagris). Regardless of everything else in my tank, that is the first thing everyone notices and the one thing everyone seems to want. She is around 4.5" to 5". I've raised that fish since it was about 2". They don't tend to ship very well, but we have one store here that seems to have a good supplier.

-Steve

ok what type of wrasse is that, that is sppoted in balck and is blue, that is the, most beautiful fish i have ever seen, could you please tell me which one it is, it looks pretty small too? thanks

 

[MarksReef]

Congrats, Steve :thumbsup:

 

[Devil Man]

wow a leapord wrasse....:bigeyes: what is the damage on one of those fish, i cant get over that fish, i already made it my wallpaper on my computer.... i must have him. is he agressive at all? hope he is.

 

[TippyToeX]

Congratulations! :thumbsup:

That is a beautiful collection of fish & coral!

 

[Skipper]

Here's an article on Leopard wrasses:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-07/hcs3/index.htm