G-Nukes 2/25 Steve and Jenevieve's 35g Hex

[partyinyourhonor]

Hey all,

I purchased this tank in 1997. It has been set up and torn down many times... This is its swan song. Its the first time it has been a bona fide reef tank. My wife Jenevieve and I are will be moving from a condo into a house, some time within the next several years... at which point we plan on setting up our 'dream tank'.

 

Our plan for now is to try out a wide verity of corals, and find out what we like most, and use what we learn to make the best of our next aquarium.

 

Fish only with live rock, started 2005

Mixed reef, started April 2010

 

October 2010

May 2010

 

Tank: 35 Gallon Hexagon, All-Glass

Lighting: 20" Nova Extreme Pro 6x18watt T5HO 3-10k/3-460nm (12:00-8:00 PM), 2 actinics (9:00 AM-10:00 PM), 108w

Filtration: Emperor 280, with Kent Marine Reef Carbon

Circulation: 2 x Hydor Koralia Evolution with timers Vortech MP10

Heater: Jager 100W

 

Maintenance

Weekly water change of 4 gallons with Instant Ocean mixed to 1.025

Monthly 10 gallon water change

Top-off evaporated water by hand every 3-4 days

Emperor ‘E’ pad in filter once a month

Change carbon in media cartridge every two week

Chemi-pure elite as of August 2010

Clean glass with Mag-Float, razor during water changes, toothbrush for glass joints

 

Feeding

Mysis shrimp twice daily

Rod's food and brine several times per week

 

Fish and Invertebrates

2 False Percs

6 Line Wrasse

Citron Goby(traded)

Bluespotted Jawfish

 

Blood Red Cleaner Shrimp

5 Scarlet hermit crabs

2 Turbo, and a handful of Cerith and Trochus snails

2 Emerald crabs

 

Coral

Pipe organ

Xenia

Blue mushroom

Blue Superman mushroom

Red mushroom

Zoanthids and Paly's:

Eagle Eye

Pyro's Envy Paly [possibly Orange Bam Bam)

Miami Hurricanes

Radioactive Dragon Eye

Pink zoas

Gold center/pink rim palys

Red People Eaters (1/22/11)

Woodstock zoas(2 heads 1/22/11)

Nuclear Green Palys (1.5 heads 2/24/11)

Ricordea Florida

Green Leather

Frogspawn

Trumpet coral

Blue anthelia

War Coral

Red Montipora

Yellow Pocillopora Damicornis (8/24/2010)

Tyree's Sunset Montipora (10/01/10)

Acan two colors (10/01/10)

Acan Rainbow (10/01/10)

Pink Chalice (10/01/10)

Red and sea foam green center Aussie Blasto (1/11)

Blue with red center Lobo (12/10)

[Markushka]

Very nice hex! welcome to NR and the addiction that is reefing!

 

and I really like that blue speckled shroom you have in the last pic

[partyinyourhonor]

New additions, May 2010

Orange Zoas (not sure of exact name, but they are orange with tentacles)

Pipe Organ

Red Mushrooms

Green Leather

 

 

The Orange Zoas

 

 

[Markushka]

Looking good man, whats that in the 4th pic from the top? looks really cool, and did you solve the zoa nudi problem?

[partyinyourhonor]

Looking good man, whats that in the 4th pic from the top? looks really cool, and did you solve the zoa nudi problem?

I did solve the zoa nudi problem...I dipped them, but just picking them off with tweezers and looking really well worked best. I removed 10 in total. Its been a few weeks and there have been no additional issues...every zoa polyp is open. Now I just have to get their color back and more vibrant... they went drab during the zoa crisis.

 

The forth photo (of the newest set) is of pipe organ... you can also see the small green leather I just added.

But I am not exactly sure which photo you are referring to.

[partyinyourhonor]

I just picked up this zoa colony for a price I could not refuse.

I think there are three different types of zoas.

[partyinyourhonor]

Last week, I installed a Votech MP10... to replace two Koralia Evolution pumps... I can not believe how much of an improvement the new pump is for the tank...

First, I am suprised at how much space has been freed up... it seems like a whole 1/4 of the tank was occupied by the two pumps...

Second, I am loving the reef crest and lagoon modes... and so are the corals... they all seem to be a bit more perky...

Third, the tank looks more natural... the corals and macro algae sway in the current like they would in the ocean... its just better on the eyes.

I knew the MP10 was an upgrade... but I never thought it would be this much of an upgrade... I feel like I have an entirely new aquarium... FTS coming soon...

[partyinyourhonor]

Here are some new pics of the tank. Recently, we added a Vortech MP10 and as far as live stock:

 

bluespot jawfish (Jenevieve named him Cortez)

 

3" Derasa clam

 

small frag of yellow pocillopora damicornis

 

green bubble tip anemone, which was a mistake, but the clowns are hosting in it and it has footed somewhere deep in the rock work so it has yet to removed

 

Emerald Crab and a few scarlet hermit crabs

 

The corals are thriving... continuing to fight some cyanobacteria... but we are winning... aiptasia and manjo anemones are next... any advice would be helpful...

fts

acrylic cover

zoa cave

[partyinyourhonor]

Video of tank

[Miami797]

aiptasia and manjo anemones are next... any advice would be helpful...

 

A liquid killer, Peppermint Shrimp, or Berghia Nudibranch for the aiptasia. I've read the Berghia might work for the manjos too, but I wouldn't get your hopes up in that. You can inject the manjos with everything from aiptasia killer to the part B of a two part dosing buffer. If you have a serious infestation it could be a pain to control without predatory fish. Some infestations are bad enough to where you would have to remove your rock completely.

[Markushka]

The tank is looking awesome! it's really grown in nicely.

[partyinyourhonor]

New additions have resulted in new issues. I added six new corals on 9/30/10:

 

1. Tyree's Sunset Montipora 1 3/4" disk 90% encrusted

2. gold center/pink rim palys (5)

3. Acan two colors (7 heads)

4. Acan Rainbow (6 heads)

5. Pink Chalice covering half of a ceramic frag disk

6. Pink birds nest (3"x 3")

 

However, while adding the frags, there was a slight live rock avalanche...also, I have a bubble tip anemone that has been on a murderous rampage for weeks now... the clownfish love it... but its not worth it. The nem is footed deep within the rock work... so I am thinking of taking out the rocks and corals and rescaping the entire tank... getting rid of nem... oh and maybe finding a manis or pistol shrimp laire that has been a mystery for months...

 

I am not sure what I want to do as far as lay out or how involved I want to get. Right now the rocks stay in postion via gravity... but I think it would be ideal to drill and post the rocks... and using the GOLDEN RULE, creating a tower with overhangs on one side and a small zoa outcrop on the other side of the tank... but I have never done this kind of thing before and don't want to set myself up for failure... suggestions please...

 

sunset monti and acans

[partyinyourhonor]

For many reason, I re-scaped the aquarium. Basically, I was running out of space... I had to remove a GBA that was killing coral (adding it was one of bigger mistakes I've made), also I was sick of the pile o'rocks look that happens when you add LR slowly over a long period of time.

 

I constructed a tower with overhangs...It was not the easiest project... and it didn't turn out exactly perfect, but the tank looks much better, cleaner, more dramatic, and there are more places to add coral and for coral to grow into.

 

Added a square, 10 lbs piece of highly porous tonga LR for the base of the tower.

Removed 18.5 lbs of base live rock.

Removed GBA.

Serendipitously removed nusance shrimp!!!! (either Mantis or Pistol {see other posts}) HELL YEAH!

 

What I used:

Aquastik epoxy

Loctite Gel (per Steve T's recommendations of glueing frags)

3/8" masonry drill bit

1/4" Soft Pex Pipe (basically, thin PVC)

Painter drop cloth, disposable

 

Procedure:

1. Sketched an outline of the tank on drop cloth

supplies with sketch

2. Removed all rock from aquarium

3. Arranged the live rock based on a rough diagram

rough diagram

4. Drilled rock, glued posts using epoxy and loctite

5. Assembled

6. Placed in aquarium

[partyinyourhonor]

Disaster abridged:

Had to glue a few frags... put pressure on the wrong live rock... resulted in avalanche... which broke a key sport had to re-do scape... went with volcano as opposed to tower with dramatic overhangs... volcano=stability=sanity.

[Markushka]

Nice lol. How's the clam doing for you?

[partyinyourhonor]

Nice lol. How's the clam doing for you?

The clam is doing really well... especially considering that I have had to rearrange the rock work

several in the past month... and as a result the clam has been moved 3 times...

But its mantel if full and very colorful... its been a nice addition to the tank.

[partyinyourhonor]

Clam died this weekend. I went out of town to Toronto on Friday. At some point the clam fell off its perch and tumbled into Jawfish lair. By Monday morning it was bleached and gaping.

[partyinyourhonor]

I have had a bit of a red hair algae. Did a two day blackout to combat the stuff. The results are unbelievably dramatic. There is barely a trace of red in the tank. I think I am going to reduce the actinic as well as the daylight bulbs by an hour per day and see how it goes.

[partyinyourhonor]

Added 10" Trulumen LED actinic light strip to my NEP.

Over the last several weeks I also added 1 red and sea foam green blasto (3 heads). 1 blue with red center lobo.

Also, just ordered Vantec Stealth 80x80x25mm fans to replace the very loud stock nova extreme bulbs.

Next up, replacing the stock bulbs with UVL's.

[InsideJoke]

That tank looks awesome. Hex's are probably my 2nd favorite tank shapes after cubes and you've done a great job with the aquascape and coral placements.

[d9hp]

Sorry to hear about the clam.

 

Photo updates soon?

[partyinyourhonor]

That tank looks awesome. Hex's are probably my 2nd favorite tank shapes after cubes and you've done a great job with the aquascape and coral placements.

Thanks for the compliment. The aquascape has changed a bit due to structural integrity issues. It is more of a volcano or mountain now. Which I am not completely crazy about. It seems to have cut water flow to some areas. And its not as easy on the eyes. But two major aquascape re-do's in as many months is too much stress for me and the tank's inhabitants. I'll take another crack at it in the spring.

 

Sorry to hear about the clam.

 

Photo updates soon?

I should have made sure the clam was in a more secure location. I had it near a ledge and have two turbo snails cruising around looking for trouble.

Photos very soon. I am doing a water change tonight or tomorrow and will try to get some new images up.

[partyinyourhonor]

So, the aquarium has had a problematic month, maybe month and a half. Diatom blooms, corals + one clam fell to their deaths (or serous damage) while I was out of town. In general the tank has been looking like hell.

 

However, it seems that the storm is over. A few water changes and adjustments to the filter media and lighting schedule, seem to be reversing the damage. What it all really boils down to is that I have been busy with work and family and life and have not kept up with weekly, or biweekly even, water changes, and my bio-load it to big, filtration too wimpy, to skip water changes.

 

Also, I am thinking the stock current bulbs have about run their course an are now impacting the overall heath of the system... not positive though. Thoughts?

 

Well, so here it is...hopefully at its lowest point...in all its lackluster glory... actinic and led's on. With some color correction to temperature for accuracy.

 

full tank with actinic and led on

zoa garden

new blasto w/ acans and blood shrimp

through top of tank with led's, clown

led, top view

new blastos with acans

lobo with blue spotted jawfish and zoas

[partyinyourhonor]

I am loving this little video:

David Gallo shows underwater wonders at TED

[partyinyourhonor]

Added Red People Eaters (2 heads) and Wood Stock Zoas (2 heads + 2 very small heads).

 

Also added a second Trulumen LED 10" strip. The new strip is a 50/50 to accompany the actinic strip I added last year. I wasn't crazy about the pure blue, bordering on a black-light kind of look. However, the 50/50 has given the tank a pinkish hue which I am not that crazy about... I might add a third strip, actinic, to go back to a more blue color...