wild SPS corals, Marshall Islands

[jstuver]

Amazingly beautiful!!

 

[tgbaby1]

Simply amazing. I can't even imagine how awesome that must be to have a reef in your back yard. So if you make it back to the states, how depressed are you going to be when you are limited to the coral selction at your LFS and have to pay $80 for a frag?

 

[sjfishguy]

This should be thread of the month

 

[r-balljunkie]

Pics of clam

+1

We need clam pics (I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever said that to a guy)

OK OK, take it easy. no pitch forks please.

been super busy with advanced diving class, wife bailing on me on the weekend for a flight to another island so they can have a girls weekend AND taking my camera with her (my camera, ahem). ill take one soon. the clam is adjusting well, have him on a separate rock in the middle of the tank. I'm kind of waiting to fill in some blanks on the tank. when the wife walks by and says you need more corals, well that's a sign guys. I've been slow and selective on the restock, so the tank is not to its full glory yet. I know I know, kinda ironic, but hey....work with me.

That PH level still seems really bizarre to me. I certainly dont think you are lying...but even you must admit...that is definitely not in the range of what would be "normal".

Either way I want to say I am thankful for you sharing. This is an awesome thread! :beer:

yes, it threw me for a loop as well, but I'm really confident that the actual reading. I had three open calibration packs going(4/7/10)....I didn't bust out an old crusty probe and shot you some BS..... you're welcome, and I hope it is of some benefit.'

nice pics,just tagging along on your thread,are you limited to how much corals can you collect,very cool. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I'm limited to how many I can fit in my tank :celeb2:

there's only a handful of us out here that are reefers. we self police quite a bit and to be honest, our impact is insignificant when you take into account all the boat anchors that are set on coral heads every weekend by boaters going scuba diving, etc. if you went out every single day and collected corals....your signature out here would be like spitting in a torrential downpour.

$250 will get you a "Judges Pass"

wifey shot me down....she knew where I was going with it.....one day!

OMG !! astonishing

really?

just one word WOW

double really?

Amazingly beautiful!!

triple really?

Simply amazing. I can't even imagine how awesome that must be to have a reef in your back yard. So if you make it back to the states, how depressed are you going to be when you are limited to the coral selction at your LFS and have to pay $80 for a frag?

dude, don't rain on my parade....can I live in my own fantasy world for awhile?
yes, I thought about it already. but for now, I'm living in the moment, and I'm not too sure when ill make it back to the US. we really enjoy the lifestyles out here, I'm making grand theft loot, the fam is happy and everyone waves at you when they ride by. it's like Mayberry meets Gilligan's island, 2011 remix. I might be old and gray when they kick me off this island. BTW I was building a cube, same dims before I got my marching orders to come here, good luck with your build, super fun dimensions.

This should be thread of the month

you're waaay too easy to impress.:hmm4: OK, I kid, joke. glad you enjoy the picks. I can assure you that the Marshall Islands are off the beaten path. I just want to share a slice of Oceana with everyone who is passionate about this hobby. I share the same sentiments with you.

Heads up..........I'm stepping up my fish collecting efforts, got some new nets I'm building, a new seine net, and some new monofilament coming in the mail soon. ill document this process as well, hope to have pics in the next few weeks. its gonna suck all the gorgeous angels you see out here....no can do in a reef tank. dont worry, tons of other fishes out here. interesting hitchhiker i found last dive..a baby 6-line wrasse, no bigger than my pinky nail.
C

 

[SERVO]

I find it funny and amusing that your wife and her friends need to have a girls trip to another tropical island, because the one you are on just isn't good enough.

Funny how the wife acceptance factor increases as the economic factor decreases.

Good luck with finding the right corals! Looking forward to more dive pictures. oh and the tank.

 

[r-balljunkie]

I find it funny and amusing that your wife and her friends need to have a girls trip to another tropical island, because the one you are on just isn't good enough.

Funny how the wife acceptance factor increases as the economic factor decreases.

Good luck with finding the right corals! Looking forward to more dive pictures. oh and the tank.

The flights are free to go to the other island, which doesn't have 'families' on it. it only has adults, so it's more of a hedonistic atmosphere I'm not sure why chicks feel the need to do the sqeueezy booby shots once they start drinking in the water and no guys are around....... don't they know that I am the one taking the pictures off the camera?

Yes, no more sneaking home to meet the UPS guy for that special next day air package.....get it in the tank, and play dumb...no honey, we've always had that coral for months, i swear:lol2:


Good news, finished my Advanced Open Water class, whoo hoo. now I can go deeper. The weekend is BOOKED solid with fun reefing/diving stuff. going fish collecting with a 'renowned' collector of boutique fish, whom shall remain unnamed. he can spot the rare stuff more than I can, so hope to have some cool fish shots. next day, 3 tank dives outside the normal boating range. good to know people who know people. it's a private boat, so it's not limited to the 'normal' safety ranges. I've been warned 'these sharks don't normally see divers, so they're really curious'. not too sure if that's reassuring.

Here's a pic of what we are going to dive, they are literally dots in the lagoon, where the seafloor creates a sort of mound that a forms a coral head. here's a shot from a plane, flying overhead.

Sorry for the lack of a FTS, it seems RC runs backups at 9:00 pm, my time, which is prime web surfing time for me....ill post one soon.

 

[AJ858]

How deep where the pictures from posts at 137?

 

[rvela]

I'm envious of you. Glad your able to do what you want with Mother Nature at your backyard.

2 questions-With all the SPS you collect/encounter, have you ever noticed any AEFW symptoms or seen any? What do you feed your sps in your tank?

Anyhow, like someone mentioned earlier "Living vicariously through you".

 

[r-balljunkie]

How deep where the pictures from posts at 137?

officially: 60 feet, since thats the legal limit with basic open water scuba here. unofficially: 60 feet, plus or minus 1-19.99 feet

nice tank and corals man

thanks, glad you enjoy them. :bum:

I'm envious of you. Glad your able to do what you want with Mother Nature at your backyard.

2 questions-With all the SPS you collect/encounter, have you ever noticed any AEFW symptoms or seen any? What do you feed your sps in your tank?

Anyhow, like someone mentioned earlier "Living vicariously through you".

re, AEFW no i have not encountered any since ive been here. also, no majano's either. what i do notice from time to time is bubble algae. i think you mighta just jinxed me tho. as far as food, i feed ocean nutrition flake mostly, and throw in some homemade fish food from time to time, with mysid, fresh shrimp, cyclopeeze, etc. its basically Eric Bornemans recipe, with some other stuff added to it.

luckily all the fish in my tank readily take flake foods, even from my hand. im about to go collecting here shortly for fish, super excited. gonna bring the camera but cant guarantee too many in water fish, since im in learning mode. i dont want that desjardini tang to get away cuz i wanna take a pic :angryfire:

here's some tank pics. i dont think my elusive black clam is so black after a few weeks in the tank.....the hunt still go's on.

 

[r-balljunkie]

 

[r-balljunkie]

 

[curlykid]

really nice! do you do water changes with NSW?

 

[r-balljunkie]

 

[r-balljunkie]

A few pictures from collecting yesterday. i got a nice moorish idol. someone else caught a johnsoni wrasse.

going out for three more dives here in a bit out of the normal range, ill grab my camera and take a few pics. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

 

[r-balljunkie]

 

[AJ858]

if you dont mind me asking... What do you do for a living that allows you to move the marshall islands? You dont have to answer im just always curious what poeple do lol.

 

[ziyaadb]

awesome thank you for sharing with us land lubbers

 

[r-balljunkie]

total tank makeover after 5 awesome waaaay out of the way dives this weekend. places nobody ever dives, totally pristine. found some euphillia, some pulsing xenia. my poor moorish idol was in the middle of a tug-o-war with the dam n evil crab, who now resides back in the ocean after removing half my tank contents today. new FTS later...also some wicked clam shots, nice acro's, and black tangs in the wild. im off to bed, 16 hours in the water, or on a boat this weekend...im bushed.:celeb3:

 

[ange062]

This is an amazing thread, so great to see all of these corals / fish in their natural habitat. Totally jealous that you don't have to frag and grow, but rather can just start with large mature colonies! Keep the pics coming, I'm subscribed!

 

[Reffer831]

Thanks again for all your posts...I really enjoy seeing where mother nature places itself. Now catch and send me one of those black tangs...LOL