The Ultimate Eight Foot Softie Reef

[InsaneClownFish]

Thanks for the kind words all!

When the budget allows I'd like to get a digital SLR. My current camera is incapable of taking decent reef pictures mainly due to the lack of a functional white balance.

I cleaned my skimmer the other night and man was it NASTY. That Euroreef pulled out some thick green goo. It's a bit tedious because I have to carefully clean each component while still in the sump. There's just no enough clearance to get the body or the collection cup out from underneath the stand.

I think the condition of my skimmer wasn't helping with the slight cyano/dino issue as I think the dirty skimmer neck might have been the "source" of this. I should have listened to Marc...

I took the time a couple of nights ago to really get in there and scrape the back of the tank with a credit card. The polyester pad was no longer cutting it. The algae came off in sheets. I've noticed some of the string dropping on corals and i've promptly removed them or lightly turkey basted them off. I'm mixing water up for a 30-40 gallon water change tonight.

 

[E.intheC]

insaneclown, they sell a great algae scraper that's made of medal.. you might want to try that. It's the only thing that even comes close to getting the algae off the glass for me.

 

[E.intheC]

mmm.. correction to my previous post.. didn't realize your tank was acrylic d'oh!

does work well on glass tanks though!

 

[InsaneClownFish]

E.intheC Yup...no metal for me James is supposed to be sending me some of his famous algae scrapers, so I anxiously await their arrival.

After I lost the clowns I was left with the gorgeous blue sided fairy wrasse I had acquired. It makes me wonder if the disease issue was not velvet but actually brook, because the wrasse has show absolutely no ill effects.

After the Blenny went over I was completely freaked out about having that gorgeous fairy wrasse in an open top tank. As we all know they are notorious jumpers, and I am trying to figure out why I put him there in the first place. So I had gone out and purchased to large sheets of egg crate, cut out an opening for the return, and used adhesive strips for old air conditioning venting to help "sit" the crate on top. After living with it for a few weeks I've since removed it and "taken my chances" with the wrasse. It completely defeats the purpose of having an open top system. So far, the wrasse doesn't seem to jump at all...I'm crossing my fingers, but in all likelihood, I'm deluding myself

Here's an old picture from the brief stint that I used egg crate:

 

[InsaneClownFish]

Just got finished doing a 35 gallon water change. I buffered with my regular routine of Super buffer Dkh and ESV 2 part, and I also add a small amount of magnesium. I was lucky enough to be given a full bucket of Reef Crystals from my cousin(who no longer has a tank); so I mixed this with some IO.

I've been happy with the IO so far. It seems to be a "light" salt in my estimation. The water stays clear and there is little salt creep.

I should also note that the total bow is now slightly over 3/4" If I had it to do over again, I might have gone with a slightly thicker acrylic; but as it is, I have few complaints.

Two weeks after the brook incident, I added 15 damsels. I talked with my fiance about wanting to see some movement in the tank, but I was concerned about adding any more pricey fish. I just wanted cheap, small, disposable fish. Terrible to say, but that was the best thing for the tank. The tank actually looks fantastic having so many small fish swim about. Some even seem to "host" at might in the Anthelia, Fiji leather, and frilly mushrooms.

I've lost 4. One ended up sucked to the magnum and was never the same since. Another carpet surfed, and the last two probably succumbed to damsel brutality. So right now I have a colorful swarm of fish that eat greedily, and they really add that "reef" feel. God I love $5. fish.

Ironically, I've only lost a very tiny frag of blue xenia that seemed to have melted away. All my other coral looks fantastic, and all the coral I've added since the inception of the tank has thrived. But more on this coming soon...I'm off to play with the new food processor my fiance got me tonight for making fishy food. :thumbsup:

 

[InsaneClownFish]

Here's my recipe- some new some borrowed-
1/2 lb. squid
1/4 lb. white fish
1/4 lb. salmon
1/4 lb. clams
1/4 lb. shrimp(uncooked)
4 large scallops
frozen squid
frozen mysis
2 types enriched ocean plankton
frozen angelfish formula
2 types frozen rotifiers(cyclopeeze)
Ocean Nutrition enriched flake
2 sheets green algae/seaweed(nori)
3 sheets purple algae
2/3 Bottle DT's Phytoplankton
2 capfuls lemon juice
200mg vitamin C
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup RO/DI water

For less than $15. I was able to fill 5 large ziplocks as such. This should be enough for 3-4 months.

 

[Jacob D]

ICF - I just skimmed your thread and have to say that you have a beautiful tank. I too have a large tank built by Envisions that is destined to be a soft coral reef. Can you tell me, did you stick with the two Koralia's and if so how are they working out? I'm kicking around ideas for flow on my tank at the moment.

Also you mentioned that James was sending you some scrapers, I'm guessing you're talking about James from Envision? Does he have something special? If so I need to give him a call.

Was also wondering if you would share what you paid for the rock, if you don't mind. Feel free to pm me.

 

[melev]

Nice to hear some good news coming from this tank.

If you go back with a covered top, you might wan to get some type of clear mesh netting, affixed to a clear acrylic frame that fits on the tank. The less visible, the better obviously. Or drop the water level about 10" perhaps.

That's some pricey food for those cheap fish.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

mothra - I added a Koralia Magnum 8 at 3200gph to supplement the two 4s. It actually moves flow across 8ft. You can see the difference in the videos I posted on the previous page.

Yes, give James @ Envisions a call. He provides the scrapers free to anyone that has purchased a tank from him.

The rock was very reasonable. Check out the first and second pages of the thread again...it's identical to the Bulk Reef Supply/ Marco Rocks and I believe it was around or even less than $2.50 a pound.


melev - Marc, I've seen the mesh tops on RC that a few reefers have constructed, and it really does look so much better. I had hit the hardware stores one morning after working 16 hours and really couldn't find the correct materials....nor did I want to put the time into it that day- so I settled on the egg crate. The wrasse is sizeable enough where the holes were not an issue.

Honestly, I will never put a top on this tank again. It completely detracts from the beauty of an open top tank. I'm going to drop the water 10 inches and focus on turtles instead

There's alot of good news to balance the "not so good" stuff, and I hope no one minds my "flashback" approach to updating this thread The tank really did need to take it's time and "do its thing" for a few extra weeks. One important thing that I need to mention is that while using a sizeable amount of dry rock is great and economical- expect longer than average "reef" times. IE- it will take much longer for your rock to take on life and for your tank to "establish."

That's cheap! I saw your $3.50 cent mixed goodies from the asian market- good stuff. I was being conservative with the 3-4 months, because I expect it might even last me 5 months. Around $15. is cheap for me considering what they "hit" us for fish food, from the LFS, out here in CT.

 

[Jacob D]

Don't know how I managed to miss the videos on the previous page. The magnum made a pretty big difference, your clown fish seem to like it especially. Do you have any concerns about detritus buildup on the far end of the tank unidirectional flow away from your overflow?

I'll talk to James re. the scrapers. I bought the tank second hand but maybe he'll take pity on me after all the polishing I did and hook up a free scraper

I saw your rock on the first page yesterday and actually sent an email to Cultured Aquatic Life to see if they have some they can ship to me.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

mothra - I'm less concerned with detritus near the back of the tank for several reasons. First, because of the dynamic of such a shallow tank, and with the addition of the Magnum, everything is kept almost entirely in the water column. Second, I'm focusing on having a less than sterile system, and I firmly believe with a healthy balance of inverts and detrivores these things should take care of themselves. Third, I actually poured some water back behind the overflow last night with exactly the point you are making in mind. Very little, if anything, kicks up from that spot.

The Magnum in a shallow tank is truly amazing. The flow is pushing my Duncan polyps from left to right coming off the flow on the far left of the tank... opposite the end the powerheads are on!

Here's a full tank shot. The water level is not crooked at all, it's just my happy cropping job

 

[Jacob D]

Sounds like you have put a lot of thought into it. I've been kicking around the idea of a surging unidirectional flow but I haven't convinced myself to do it yet, you might have helped me

 

[jnb]

you have done it good - very nice scene - best of luck with tweaking and populating

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[Jacob D]

I agree, that full tank shot is sweet. The low height of the tank makes it look even longer.

 

[Trigeek]

The color of the lighting is awesome!! What type/spectrum bulbs do you have?

 

[InsaneClownFish]

Thanks for the compliments folks!

Trigeek, the bulbs I am using from left to right are:

80w AquaMedic Ocean Blue
80w Giesemann Pure Actinic(Actinic +)
80w Korallen Zucht Fiji Purple
80w ATI Aquablue Special

 

[InsaneClownFish]

I took some videos this afternoon of my reef. Enjoy!



Here's the water movement along the top of the tank. The video starts at the left of the tank furthest away from the powerheads. In the video I tried to focus on a few corals from the top to show off their coloration. Also, note the mini-fuge I have in the overflow. An LFS had been using fish breeders as Cheato holds, so I purchased one and it works great. I want to grab a second one, trim back the Cheato I have, and stack them.



Fresh Seafood mania- feeding time!

 

[ctreefer]

Wow, that flow is serious compared to when I saw it in person. Good job. I may look into one of those pumps in the future.

Looking good. Nice Duncans(I think they liked it in my tank more. )

 

[jbriddle]

which pumps are those, I am looking into changing to koralia pumps.

 

[Trigeek]

Your tanks is awesome! I love the aquascaping. The videos provide a clear picture of the depth of the 'scaping. Very cool! Are you looking to add any other fish? Lots of damsels which I really like.