Electrobes
Montipora type guy
Sorry to hear about the clown but I am glad the monti is on the upswing! 
Love the show fuge!
Love the show fuge!
The Ultimate Eight Foot Softie Reef
- Thread starter InsaneClownFish
- Start date
chicagophil
New member
i just read the whole thread ....
Any Idea on the Total Cost?
I am thinking about going 180 Soft and staying true to that. I couldnt keep up with the additions you've made. $$$$
Any Idea on the Total Cost?
I am thinking about going 180 Soft and staying true to that. I couldnt keep up with the additions you've made. $$$$
chicagophil
New member
DOUBLE POST
.::Jun77::.
Member
update! update! update!:wavehand:
stumpovrtyme
Reef Junkie
Man this tank has come a long way and looks awsome.How come you went with all the damsels after all the horror stories people tell? Nothing against them just wandering. You should make the mini carpet pic. your avatar I'v never seen such an awsome pic. of one.
InsaneClownFish
New member
Thank you all for the kind comments. I'm really looking forward to updating this thread. Apologies for the late update and replies, but with the kids, work, and other hobbies, life seems entirely hectic.
As many north east reefers already do, I'm making summer my reef downtime.
Electrobes- The Monti completely died off. I haven't been the best with water changes during the summer. One issue is my lighting. I'm running close to 1100 watts over an 8ft reef that is very shallow. My actual tank water volume is maybe 112 gallons. It is severe overkill for what I keep.
chicagophil- Just off the top of my head it's probably only a couple thousand between the tank, lighting, and equipment. All of the lighting, except for one ballast, I bought second hand from fellow reefers. My skimmer was $75. from a fellow reefer. I'm a big fan of recycling.
.::Jun77::.- I'm getting there
rupi- still having issues? They are showing up fine for me.
stumpovrtyme- I've made some really stupid decisions with fish.
:rolleye1: Add to that some really bad luck. There's no rhyme or reason to it. I've gotten tank raised clowns from some of the best and most "reliable" sources, but they haven't done as well as the wild caught Oceallaris I currently have. On top of it their color is much richer.
I will admit that the damsels may add to my lack of success as they can stress new inhabitants. I really think I need to feed twice a day, but my current work schedule makes that a luxury. That being said, I really think the quality of fish coming in these days is poor.
The damsels were a direct reaction to having issues attempting to keep various fish. I finally said to my wife, I think I'm going to buy a bunch of these mean, cheap, colorful, and nearly indestructible fish...I'm done. I wanted more movement in the tank, so that was the immediate solution.
More to come...
As many north east reefers already do, I'm making summer my reef downtime.
Electrobes- The Monti completely died off. I haven't been the best with water changes during the summer. One issue is my lighting. I'm running close to 1100 watts over an 8ft reef that is very shallow. My actual tank water volume is maybe 112 gallons. It is severe overkill for what I keep.
chicagophil- Just off the top of my head it's probably only a couple thousand between the tank, lighting, and equipment. All of the lighting, except for one ballast, I bought second hand from fellow reefers. My skimmer was $75. from a fellow reefer. I'm a big fan of recycling.
.::Jun77::.- I'm getting there
rupi- still having issues? They are showing up fine for me.
stumpovrtyme- I've made some really stupid decisions with fish.
:rolleye1: Add to that some really bad luck. There's no rhyme or reason to it. I've gotten tank raised clowns from some of the best and most "reliable" sources, but they haven't done as well as the wild caught Oceallaris I currently have. On top of it their color is much richer.
I will admit that the damsels may add to my lack of success as they can stress new inhabitants. I really think I need to feed twice a day, but my current work schedule makes that a luxury. That being said, I really think the quality of fish coming in these days is poor.
The damsels were a direct reaction to having issues attempting to keep various fish. I finally said to my wife, I think I'm going to buy a bunch of these mean, cheap, colorful, and nearly indestructible fish...I'm done.
I wanted more movement in the tank, so that was the immediate solution.More to come...
InsaneClownFish
New member
Doolin- I think you might be in for some sticker shock. To move up to 10 feet in acrylic can easily quadruple the price. :eek2:
STLmatt- Thank you. My father and brother in law came in yesterday from out of town and their first stop is always the tank room. I spent 3 hours the night before on some long overdue tank maintenance.
reeferoo- Yea, I've had some issues as a direct result of rearranging. I noticed some mushrooms I added to the far side of the tank aren't as happy there. Some of my zoas are being encroached upon and fading. Two of the small clams, that had previously been on the sand bed, I thought needed more light, so I put them higher up on the rockwork. Well they would jump off the rocks and eventually died. The large Acro colony I have got banged around and moved once too often. Now it has completely STN on the lower half(at a loss as to why just the lower half).
vallon- I really need to up my photography skills. The pictures really don't give it the wow factor I get each and every time I have a new visitor to my tank room.
MADtanks- Heya Rich! Are you finally back from overseas? How's your tank been doing? Thanks btw, it's a work in progress always!
billy1724- Thank you. I appreciate the continued interest in this thread. I love seeing new people "taking a peek."
STLmatt- Thank you. My father and brother in law came in yesterday from out of town and their first stop is always the tank room. I spent 3 hours the night before on some long overdue tank maintenance.
reeferoo- Yea, I've had some issues as a direct result of rearranging. I noticed some mushrooms I added to the far side of the tank aren't as happy there. Some of my zoas are being encroached upon and fading. Two of the small clams, that had previously been on the sand bed, I thought needed more light, so I put them higher up on the rockwork. Well they would jump off the rocks and eventually died. The large Acro colony I have got banged around and moved once too often. Now it has completely STN on the lower half(at a loss as to why just the lower half).
vallon- I really need to up my photography skills. The pictures really don't give it the wow factor I get each and every time I have a new visitor to my tank room.
MADtanks- Heya Rich! Are you finally back from overseas? How's your tank been doing? Thanks btw, it's a work in progress always!
billy1724- Thank you. I appreciate the continued interest in this thread. I love seeing new people "taking a peek."
InsaneClownFish
New member
What an Honor!
One of MACNA's speaker's, Scott Fellman, has asked to use pictures of my reef in his presentation!
Awesome and humbled at the same time! So cool folks! :celeb1:
One of MACNA's speaker's, Scott Fellman, has asked to use pictures of my reef in his presentation!
Awesome and humbled at the same time! So cool folks! :celeb1:
oldreefer76
New member
Congrats:beer:
algaeguy
Over-The-Top- Reef Geek
John, I'm proud to get to use these pics in my presentations. I'm doing one of the live demo slots this year, so I unfortunately will not be using pics, but the tank will be featured in my "Aquascaping for the Aesthetically Challenged" and "Old Hobby-New Ideas" presentations, which are being used throughout the year all over the country.
It's about time that soft coral dominant systems get some more love from the reef keeping world! Not only are they unique and beautiful in today's high-testosterone, super-hyped "SPS" world, but they are actually doing a lot to ensure survival of the captive populations of these corals. If regulators take away our ability to import live corals, the relative ease with which we can propagate the softies will really take away pressure from the wild populations!
I'm stoked that there seems to be a revival of "high concept, high end" soft-coral dominant systems emerging! Keep up the outstanding work! This aquarium rocks!
Off my soapbox now...didn't mean to hijack the thread! Thanks!
Scott F.
It's about time that soft coral dominant systems get some more love from the reef keeping world! Not only are they unique and beautiful in today's high-testosterone, super-hyped "SPS" world, but they are actually doing a lot to ensure survival of the captive populations of these corals. If regulators take away our ability to import live corals, the relative ease with which we can propagate the softies will really take away pressure from the wild populations!
I'm stoked that there seems to be a revival of "high concept, high end" soft-coral dominant systems emerging! Keep up the outstanding work! This aquarium rocks!
Off my soapbox now...didn't mean to hijack the thread! Thanks!
Scott F.
InsaneClownFish
New member
Scott sounds great!
Marc has spoken!
Pictures from tonight. The tank has hit the 10 month mark:
Marc has spoken!
Pictures from tonight. The tank has hit the 10 month mark:
