SOMEthinsFISHY
New member
VERY very VERY sweet !!
Tank of the Month - August 2004
- Thread starter Skipper
- Start date
couple questions?
couple questions?
How do you keep your tank so cool? Is it just being so far north your house temp is OK? Do you think that is key for the zoo's you keep I mean the tempature being cool. My tank stays more 80-82 and my Rics are doing well but my zoo's have never done real well. I also believe the live food make sense. I just started feeding the DT's about a month ago hopefully this will help everyone. does anyone know of any rotifers available in US. Reef crew seems to still have some issues.
couple questions?
How do you keep your tank so cool? Is it just being so far north your house temp is OK? Do you think that is key for the zoo's you keep I mean the tempature being cool. My tank stays more 80-82 and my Rics are doing well but my zoo's have never done real well. I also believe the live food make sense. I just started feeding the DT's about a month ago hopefully this will help everyone. does anyone know of any rotifers available in US. Reef crew seems to still have some issues.
Aquascaping ? for Archie or Mooch
Aquascaping ? for Archie or Mooch
Archie,
That really is a fantastic tank (I hope you're not getting tired of reading that). I love the simplicity and the elegance. You mentioned being influenced by someone in the flow of your aquascaping. Could you give some general guidelines fr aquascaping that you used to get that"zen-like" flow? Thanks!
Pete
Aquascaping ? for Archie or Mooch
Archie,
That really is a fantastic tank (I hope you're not getting tired of reading that). I love the simplicity and the elegance. You mentioned being influenced by someone in the flow of your aquascaping. Could you give some general guidelines fr aquascaping that you used to get that"zen-like" flow? Thanks!
Pete
Sorry that I haven't been able to reply back any sooner, I've been extremely busy with work lately.
Thanks to all that have left their compliments since my last post. I must admit that I'm quite overwhelmed with all of your great responses. I'll try to answer all of your questions in order.
reefkeeper02: The Powder Blue Tang really does require a bit more space than I can afford in my 65. He has since been replaced with a Blue Regal Tang (Hepatus) that will do quite well in a smaller (65+ gallons) tank. The PBT is now in a much larger system.
rjwilson37 & rfb3: I find that Ricordea Florida generally have a tendency to jump off of the substrate they were initially attached to when get too large or are being overcrowded by other larger polyps. I litter the sand bed with small pieces of rock that they eventually attach to. It normally doesn't take more than a week or two before a ric' becomes firmly attached to a new surface.
Ricordea Yuma will normally move itself and leave a baby behind (pedal laceration), unless there is nowhere else to go. In the latter case, a Yuma will also jump.
alien9168: This is by far the easiest tank I've ever had to maintain. Cleaning the tank is usually no more than a weekly algae scrape off the glass and a quick dump and rinse of the protien skimmer's collection cup. I don't currently use any mechanical filtration, so there is no floss or carbon to refresh. A weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) 5 gallon water change is conducted (didn't I mention that I'm lazy).
There is no build up of organics as the critters in the DSB and other clean-up crew members, such as Serpent Stars and Nassarius Snails really do their job quite well.
35gallonhex: My lights consist of 4 x 65 watt Power Compact Flourescents and 2 x 40 watt Normal Output Flourescents. Tha tank is only 18" deep and really doesn't require the punch that metal halides can contribute to a deeper water tank. I also believe that live feeding of rotifers and phytoplankton help contribute to the color vibrancy of certain coral.
A good friend of mine has a 150 (60"x24"x24") and combines the use of high intensity mh and live feeding and has experienced incredible growth and coloration in both sps and zoanthids.
mudder: Skipper is absolutely correct in his reply to your question. It is a form of Caulerpa Racemosa. (Thanks Skip!!)
Fernando Chang: Both products you mentioned are good alternatives, but still not quite as good as truly live food. They should do well for you as long as you are carefull not to overdose. The benefit to live feeding is that whatever isn't immediately consumed will hopefully live on to multiply without the risk of polluting the tank.
If possible, you may try to acquire small cultures of Phytoplankton and Rotifers for home propagation. I know Reef Crew is working rather diligently in finding a way of shipping their product out of Canada.
toadjoe: Thanks for your concern. I believe that Skipper may be right (again) in his reply. I haven't had any problems with parasites in my tank before, and on last check, the Blenny appeared quite healthy. No problems at all with his mouth. He does have a voracious appetite, and may have just retreated to his favorite hiding place (an empty Coco Worm tube) to gulp down the food as I took the shot.
carcynogen: I also find that pc's have a tendency to wash out color in photography. I have a higher actinic to daylight lighting ratio in my tank. This scheme does seem to help bring out the color and luminous qualities of coral.
jmarko: Our summers here can be quite hot and humid, but due to the fact that I am not using any metal halides and that the tank is located in a basement that is well air conditioned also lend to my lower water temps.
Cooler water temperature is ideal, but not as essential as stable water temperature. 80-82 is well within the norm for reefkeeping. I would keep an eye on large fluctations in water temperature.
FWIW, my SPS tank, lit with 2 x 400 watt Radiums (HQI Ballast), did require a chiller during the summer months. The tank was also in my basement.
seeingred: As I had mentioned earlier, I have been greatly influenced by the freshwater plant tank designs of Takashi Amano.
In my own systems, I like to keep the rock work somewhat low and sloping, avoiding building a wall or rock. I find it far more efficient in creating stable platforms for coral placement. Also I try to balance out the different colors. Lighter colors towards the top with more subdued ones towards the bottom.
I personally don't like the look of a tank that is arranged in a linear fashion. Amano's first book (Nature Aquarium World, Volume 1) describes how to triangulate the layout of a tank.
Zoos are really very easy for aquascaping designs, since they carpet out quickly and look very natural once they've grown in.
Phew!!! Sorry for such a long post. I promise to keep on top of any further questions anyone else may like to add.
Thanks to all that have left their compliments since my last post. I must admit that I'm quite overwhelmed with all of your great responses. I'll try to answer all of your questions in order.
reefkeeper02: The Powder Blue Tang really does require a bit more space than I can afford in my 65. He has since been replaced with a Blue Regal Tang (Hepatus) that will do quite well in a smaller (65+ gallons) tank. The PBT is now in a much larger system.
rjwilson37 & rfb3: I find that Ricordea Florida generally have a tendency to jump off of the substrate they were initially attached to when get too large or are being overcrowded by other larger polyps. I litter the sand bed with small pieces of rock that they eventually attach to. It normally doesn't take more than a week or two before a ric' becomes firmly attached to a new surface.
Ricordea Yuma will normally move itself and leave a baby behind (pedal laceration), unless there is nowhere else to go. In the latter case, a Yuma will also jump.
alien9168: This is by far the easiest tank I've ever had to maintain. Cleaning the tank is usually no more than a weekly algae scrape off the glass and a quick dump and rinse of the protien skimmer's collection cup. I don't currently use any mechanical filtration, so there is no floss or carbon to refresh. A weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) 5 gallon water change is conducted (didn't I mention that I'm lazy).
There is no build up of organics as the critters in the DSB and other clean-up crew members, such as Serpent Stars and Nassarius Snails really do their job quite well.
35gallonhex: My lights consist of 4 x 65 watt Power Compact Flourescents and 2 x 40 watt Normal Output Flourescents. Tha tank is only 18" deep and really doesn't require the punch that metal halides can contribute to a deeper water tank. I also believe that live feeding of rotifers and phytoplankton help contribute to the color vibrancy of certain coral.
A good friend of mine has a 150 (60"x24"x24") and combines the use of high intensity mh and live feeding and has experienced incredible growth and coloration in both sps and zoanthids.
mudder: Skipper is absolutely correct in his reply to your question. It is a form of Caulerpa Racemosa. (Thanks Skip!!)
Fernando Chang: Both products you mentioned are good alternatives, but still not quite as good as truly live food. They should do well for you as long as you are carefull not to overdose. The benefit to live feeding is that whatever isn't immediately consumed will hopefully live on to multiply without the risk of polluting the tank.
If possible, you may try to acquire small cultures of Phytoplankton and Rotifers for home propagation. I know Reef Crew is working rather diligently in finding a way of shipping their product out of Canada.
toadjoe: Thanks for your concern. I believe that Skipper may be right (again) in his reply. I haven't had any problems with parasites in my tank before, and on last check, the Blenny appeared quite healthy. No problems at all with his mouth. He does have a voracious appetite, and may have just retreated to his favorite hiding place (an empty Coco Worm tube) to gulp down the food as I took the shot.
carcynogen: I also find that pc's have a tendency to wash out color in photography. I have a higher actinic to daylight lighting ratio in my tank. This scheme does seem to help bring out the color and luminous qualities of coral.
jmarko: Our summers here can be quite hot and humid, but due to the fact that I am not using any metal halides and that the tank is located in a basement that is well air conditioned also lend to my lower water temps.
Cooler water temperature is ideal, but not as essential as stable water temperature. 80-82 is well within the norm for reefkeeping. I would keep an eye on large fluctations in water temperature.
FWIW, my SPS tank, lit with 2 x 400 watt Radiums (HQI Ballast), did require a chiller during the summer months. The tank was also in my basement.
seeingred: As I had mentioned earlier, I have been greatly influenced by the freshwater plant tank designs of Takashi Amano.
In my own systems, I like to keep the rock work somewhat low and sloping, avoiding building a wall or rock. I find it far more efficient in creating stable platforms for coral placement. Also I try to balance out the different colors. Lighter colors towards the top with more subdued ones towards the bottom.
I personally don't like the look of a tank that is arranged in a linear fashion. Amano's first book (Nature Aquarium World, Volume 1) describes how to triangulate the layout of a tank.
Zoos are really very easy for aquascaping designs, since they carpet out quickly and look very natural once they've grown in.
Phew!!! Sorry for such a long post. I promise to keep on top of any further questions anyone else may like to add.
wantahealthytank
New member
Hi, your tank is awesome! I just wanted to ask you how long you have been running this tank? Do you ever have to add more critters to your sandbed, or do they seem to always replenish their own populations?
BiGOrange: I think you may be referring to Mucho Reef's TOTM article. I'll leave it to Mooch to discuss that topic though.
wantahealthytank: This tank has been up for approximately 10 months. Most of the live rock and some of the sand came from older sytems. I haven't really done much to recharge the sandbed though. I've added some copepods a couple of times that i got from Reef Crew, and regularly use their live phyto and rotifers.
wantahealthytank: This tank has been up for approximately 10 months. Most of the live rock and some of the sand came from older sytems. I haven't really done much to recharge the sandbed though. I've added some copepods a couple of times that i got from Reef Crew, and regularly use their live phyto and rotifers.
aehicks2003
New member
Awesome...Are you willing to frag your zoos I'm willing to pay your price for a frag of blues and a frag of reds
Good evening Archie,
I have been lurking around reading everyone's posts to learn all I can about reefkeeping. This would be my first post here and I suppose, nothing else can be added to all the ooos and ahhhs that everyone has expressed.
I did send you a PM hoping that you could direct me to someone, preferably yourself, who has colourfull Zoo colonies available for sale. Frags are more than welcome as well. I do live in the GTA . Thank you.
Regards,
Gerry
I have been lurking around reading everyone's posts to learn all I can about reefkeeping. This would be my first post here and I suppose, nothing else can be added to all the ooos and ahhhs that everyone has expressed.
I did send you a PM hoping that you could direct me to someone, preferably yourself, who has colourfull Zoo colonies available for sale. Frags are more than welcome as well. I do live in the GTA . Thank you.
Regards,
Gerry
vapovick
New member
G.reef
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>
check out www.marinedepotlive.com and there are plenty more for frags, check out the sponsers page here on RC
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>
check out www.marinedepotlive.com and there are plenty more for frags, check out the sponsers page here on RC
ReefAddict1
New member
Archie,
Awesome tank!!!
Similar question -- what / where are you sources for zoos and ricordeas? I have a hard time finding some of the rarer colors online.
Thanks
Awesome tank!!!
Similar question -- what / where are you sources for zoos and ricordeas? I have a hard time finding some of the rarer colors online.
Thanks
Wow
Wow
ok first of all - amazing! I have a tank around this size which has recently been re-set up and i hope to keep softies. I have yet to have a sump though, which is my next addition to the tank. Could you possibly post pictures of your sump, design, etc. as whatever you're doing must be working great for you as your tank is simply beautiful!
Once again, well done,
J
Wow
ok first of all - amazing! I have a tank around this size which has recently been re-set up and i hope to keep softies. I have yet to have a sump though, which is my next addition to the tank. Could you possibly post pictures of your sump, design, etc. as whatever you're doing must be working great for you as your tank is simply beautiful!
Once again, well done,
J
awesome tank, archie. great pictures.
i was wondering... how far from the water are your PC's? is your tank covered? also, do you find you have to do any "pruning" from time to time to keep more dominant zoo's from "choking out" slower growing color morphs?
thanks for all the info you've shared.
blenny
i was wondering... how far from the water are your PC's? is your tank covered? also, do you find you have to do any "pruning" from time to time to keep more dominant zoo's from "choking out" slower growing color morphs?
thanks for all the info you've shared.
blenny
joojoo: Sorry for the delay, but I definitely will post some pics of the sump very soon.
scottd34: My tank was from a Micracles Aquarium, a local manufacturer in the Toronto area.
blenny01: The PC's are around 4" above the water surface. The aside from the light fixtures, the tank is left uncovered.
I haven't really done any pruning. I have been letting nature run it's course. The only time that I'll ever step in is when a favorite colony may be encroached upon by a less desireable one. In which case, I would just move one of the two to another part of the tank.
scottd34: My tank was from a Micracles Aquarium, a local manufacturer in the Toronto area.
blenny01: The PC's are around 4" above the water surface. The aside from the light fixtures, the tank is left uncovered.
I haven't really done any pruning. I have been letting nature run it's course. The only time that I'll ever step in is when a favorite colony may be encroached upon by a less desireable one. In which case, I would just move one of the two to another part of the tank.
szeth13 said:
The tank has been torn down ...
But Archie now has a retail store in Toronto Extreme Marine -- http://www.emarine.ca .
And yes, they sell zoanthid frags. And lots of 'em!
If you're in the States, shipping livestock cross-border is a huge PITA, so you're most likely better off dealing with someone in your neck 'o the woods.
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