You're FIRST in line for the acans, Adam. Yeah, even after I cut 4 eyes out of the lower right section, it will still be bigger and with more eyes than when I first got it!

***
Scott, THANKS FOR THE DOSER. That's a serious machine. Very precise instrument. I look forward to more stable pH & Alk levels AND happier corals!

Ummmmmmm...so nice!

I could almost picture drinking that. looks almost like Fruit Punch. Yummmmyyyyy

Lifesaver Gummy anyone? lol


Wicked piece ... absolutely WICKED!!!

LIVE SAVERZ! those are totally AWESOME. CANIHAZSUMPLZ?
KTHXBAI!

Orange and Pink, FNF Acans.


that's so flipping cool! where did you find that and is there more?

Orange and pink acan?!

Glad you guys like these acans. Got em off eBay a couple of months back from FNF and haven't seen em since. Happy to win the auction. They got the most bids for all of the acans he had listed. There were other lots of the same ones but they sold even higher!

***
Scott, thanks a million for the dosing pump. Works perfectly with the RKL. I even have the unit programmed to sound an alarm while the pump is running. I'm gonna offer something in trade for you to let me use TWO MORE!!!

This joint is way over capacity. Now I've got frags racks shading more frags racks below them. I need a temporary solution to meet my space requirements. Otherwise... I'll be unhappy. LOL

I've decided to go with this 33.6G rimless IN THE MEANTIME: 24.8 x 17.7 x 17.7
This tank is exactly the same height and width of my ADA, except 6.8" LONGER. So what I intend to do is use the 17.7" side as the FRONT viewing panel. I'll use only one 250W pendant positioned at the rear and place lower light LPS towards the front of the display. I think it'll be cool to look deep into the tank, and I'll have more control over how much lighting certain corals will get. This is an unorthodox way of aquascaping, but I don't typically do things the way they're supposed to be done

No drilling required. Simply swap tanks and keep existing rockscape the same. Just add live rock on the wide open sand bed. Total cost of upgrade? $186.99 SHIPPED!!! I'll likely order it before the end of this month.

*Got my quote for the A.G.E. tanks, but this will be a quick fix before I can get the necessary funds together. Don't even ask me how much! 8 weeks to delivery through A.G.E! Might even phase in each tank one at a time since there is not much discount for building both tanks at once. ETA for the new cubes would be DEC or JAN 2010.

***
Moved my swap corals out of quarantine. Accidentally left one guy in the Revive dip OVERNIGHT! And what's even crazier... it SURVIVED!!!

Where did you find the tank for that price?

Marine Depot. It's a generic rimless. Cost is half of what I paid for my ADA.

WOW. thats an amazing price for a rimless. also i like your idea of the 2 area light system. just like my 75g, expect i think your will be much cooler.

REVIVE OVERNIGHT?! WTF thats AMAZING. lol lucky you.

That's some serious luck Purp. I hope the Mr Aquas tank does well for you! I'm interested to see what the build quality is like on one of them. That FnF acan is insane. Maybe if I ever get something decent enough, you'd consider a frag trade?

I was being lazy and didn't bother clicking your link...haha! Nice pickup on the tank...hopefully the silicone & glass aren't as cheap as the price tag.

Yeah crazy huh? Here's a pic of the survivor:

Leptastrea sp. (from Agno, Luzon Philippines) - Courtesy of Nanosapiens


I also traded him an acan for this Blasto:



I'm always up for a good trade, Paleo!


Hahaha. Don't jinx me! But I don't have my hopes up on the quality of this tank. Not for that cheap. But then again, 40 breeders aren't expensive either.

And I had some time to snap pics today while on hold for clients. These came from the swap, but not all of the corals are pictured here.

Red Digi


Grapejuice Favia - Courtesy of ScottyReef


Pink Jade


Pink Jade (top)


Shades of Fall - Courtesy of Saltwatersig


War Coral - Courtesy of Saltwatersig


and dedicated to my wife... Rainbow Monti. Looks like a heart doesn't it?

Awesome idea and price for the new rimless Randy. I knew this would have to happen sooner than later considering all of the sweet new additions you've been getting. Time to get those bad boys off the rack and onto the rock

Really really liking the Pink Jade and the Shades of Fall. You'll probably pick this up before we can get another trade going, but you might just have to add a piece of my Pink Lemonade to that mix.

Looking forward to seeing your idea of the new scape and lighting come together. I'm a visual person so it's hard to envision what exactly you mean with the lighting and scape in my head...that and I'm only on my first cup of coffee.

Are you going to go bare bottom/PVC on this one?

Mornin Adam, yup, I was very happy to get the Shades of Fall and Pink Jade. I would be willing to trade you something for a 1" frag of your Lemonade, but I think it may take a while for both of us to get enough growth. There is a chance I could pick one up at the next swap, but I'm not really shopping around for one at this time. Really looking forward to growing out more SPS in my next tank. Gotta satisfy the need for SPS *as well as* LPS chalices & favias! What I've learned so far is that it is much more difficult to regain color from browned out frags, than it is to maintain color on perfectly healthy ones. I think this steady challenge will keep me interested in SPS. What's a reef without stoneys?

Dimensions of the new temporary tank are roughly 24 x 18 x18. The primary difference in how I will setup this new rectangular tank is by rotating it 90 degrees, so the side becomes the front of the tank. It will be 18" narrow but it will also add 6" of space in front of my existing rockscape. Tough to explain, but I should have it setup very soon.

Also discovered that ADA makes the same dimensions with high clarity glass for only $100ish more than what I'm already willing to pay for a low budget tank. Might just have to drive to San Francisco for an ADA, since I know what I'm getting with that brand.

My "dream" cube, which I hope to make a reality before the end of the year will have a PVC bottom so I could get rid of sand completely. Can't stand scratches! I'm just not confident in going bare bottom with an ADA tank bc my rocks are heavy.

Oh and lastly, I'm gonna have someone drill my 18 x 18 x 18 cube just to see if it can truly be done. Might even plumb that one into the system too.

So this is the tank you're getting, right?
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.asp...IAQRA&tab=4

Looks cool.

I'm using a white starboard on the bottom of my Solana tank and it works great...

Just landed. BeakerBob's "Flying Saucer." As advertised. Just WICKED.

This pic was taken immediately after I placed it in the water. Its eyes have popped wider since. Looks to be acclimating quite nicely to its new environment. I'm diggin the spacelike twinkle to it. Hopefully I can maintain the same brilliant color. This thing looks hungry. I'll try feeding it mysis tonight (and every other night if I don't get lazy).

Here's a pic of the mother ship. Can't wait to see this alien life form grow to 1/4 of this size.

What exactly is "starboard." How do you cut it? I may need to pick your brain on this one. Will give it a try if I go with the ADA.


Long time no chat, Weetie! Hard to catch up on the 5000 posts in your thread. LOL

Yup, I'm going with this unless I decide to hold out for an ADA. Just need to take the time to drive out to SF to pick one up. Waiting on feedback to post about this new Mr. Aqua, before I take the plunge.

its a type of cutting board some people who have bare bottom tanks like to use this as there bottom of there tank, it works as anti skid material

i think it's made for boats. the backing has a glue on it and the top looks like grip tape for skateboards (but a little less rough)

I got mine off of eBay...they can pre-cut it for you (just make sure you consider the silicone in the corners into your measurements)...it's the material used on boats...kinda like cuttingboard material.

And you can use a regular table saw to cut it...just make sure you use a blade with fine teeth.

I like the idea of having it precisely precut. What's the name of the eBay seller?

you have such BEAUTIFUL stuff randy. hit me up whenever you wanna trade.
i especially like that warcoral you got from the BAR swap...wait...you were at the BAR swap?!!? i was there too! if you ever saw a teen with a backpack on lookin for frags during pick group C that was me...

Thanks Nate! Did I say BAR, I meant MARS. But I went to both. LOL. I think I do remember seeing you there. I'll frag the war coral if you wanna trade something for it. It's got 15 heads.

I got it from "Acesany" off of eBay. Try this link (http://myworld.ebay.com/acesany/). I got the 1/4" thick white starboard. Paid ~$22.00 shipped...

AWESOMENESS. just take a look at my tank thread and id you see anything you think i can frag ill get it to ya.

Uh Randy, I think you may have a problem....looks like the space invasion has begun.

One word....amazing. That is going to be by far your best piece, hands down. If it looks like that now, imagine what it will look like under your care. It's going to be a showstopper for sure.

Thanks for the info. I'm on it.


Will do. I'll be shopping on your thread later this evening

Haha. Thanks for helping me justify the expense. This is definitely one of my favorite chalices at the moment. It's up there with the Bazooka and BGM. I'm hoping it keeps its spacey speckles under my halide. It'll be moved further away from direct light as soon as I get the bigger ADA. For now, I'm keeping it on this rack so I can easily feed it at night.

Here's what it looks like right now. Not sure if you can tell from this shot, but it's much more PUFFY than when I first took pics.

Randy, glad the Flying Saucer made it to your doorstep in good condition! Here is a picture of the actual mother colony in my tank, now about 12 - 15" in diameter. The sea urchin in the upper left corner will help gauge the size of it:

Picture taken with on-camera flash:


Here is a 2008 shot of a portion of the rim under 250 watt 14K Phoenix bulbs w/T-5 superblues:

Beaker Bob!!! That is one helluva colony!!!

Amazing frag you got Randy!!!

Tough little bugger, isn't it? This coral not only survived a very long trip from my collection site and then an even longer plane flight in my luggage using the 'dry' method, but it was also was the only stony coral to survive a major tank meltdown I had in the late 90's. You have to bake it in the sun, throw it in a microwave then dose it with chlorine...then maybe it'll die

The Setosa and the Sunset Acan are doing good! Thanks! I'll post some pics in my tank thread soon.

Hahaha. I don't doubt that story is 100% true. I tell you man, I thought for sure that coral would be deep white when I took it out of the dipping solution. Wasn't even faded! Glad to hear things are going well on your end too.

Bob, VERY COOL of you to post the real mother colony here. Had no idea the one you had sent me was only a smaller fragment of it. That's an insane shot, considering it was taken WITH FLASH - and even nicer under then T5 super blues.

So you mentioned that you had initially acquired a small frag from a large show tank, but the original owner lost his entire seed colony. Can I ask how many years has it been growing in your tank? I want to have an idea of how long I will have to wait until my small frag becomes as gargantuan as the one above.

Thanks again for sharing a piece of such a magnificent coral. I know you don't cut it that often.

Wow you have some sweet LPS there. Competing with Marvin's reef

That sunset grew huge!

Lol. No competition to Marvin's Reef. I've seen his tank(s). He's got EVERYTHING.

Yeah, the sunset went through a bleached out period before I decided to get everything under control again. Surprised it even came back. Same with the other montis you sent me. Only 1 of the 4 didn't make it.

I have tried to kill them before too, without much success I think the superman is the one I have done in before though Low magnesium killed one of them for me once.

Hahaha. I can already see this Sunset becoming a problem for me in the future. Hopefully, I won't have to take extreme measures.

***
For anyone out there with an Oregon or Meng's Mummy Eye, I'd be willing to frag the 3rd eye of this BGM for trade. It may take another couple of weeks for it to turn pink, but it will make for a very clean 1/2"+ frag - since it only has to be sliced once.

Can't I ever get a break? My SPS BLUE LIFE bulb went out this morning. I have a feeling it was already on its way out when the old magnetic ballast wasn't firing it up. Thought I had at least 3mos of life left on it, but I guess not. So I just ordered a 250W Phoenix 14K from "soslightbulbs." Perfect name for the occasion.

Wonder if I could bum a bulb from an LFS for a few days, until the new one arrives.

To top it off, my emerald crab croaked last night. Saw it hanging from one of its limbs yesterday, holding on for its dear life. Had it for 4 or 5mos I think. Wonder what it's normal life span is. Was it something I did? Hmmm.

If it isn't one thing, it's another with your lighting Randy. Guess you should have just went ahead and went with T5s *cough cough* Kidding, hopefully you can get a bulb to tide your corals over for a day or two. Then again, I regularly will leave the lights off for a day or two about once a month. Seems to really spark growth for some reason and I figure hey, it's not like it's bright and sunny every day on the reef. Gotta keep the corals and fish on their toes.

Sorry to hear about the emerald. I had one in my BC29 but ended up removing him because his favorite thing was to make sure that everything that wasn't cemented down ended up on the sand bed. I think their life span depends on how big it was when you got it. I know that they don't live all that long so the smaller you get it, the longer you'll be able to keep it. Well at least that's what I have heard in the past.

How are all of the new additions doing? How about the plans for the intermediate tank?

-Adam

Absolutely wonderful Purp! That new chalice is just a stunner. I can't wait for the new intermediate tank. I'm reaaaaally tempted to get the 36" version as my next tank, but want to wait for a review first. Also, I'd be upset if it wasn't able to be drilled. Anyways, I think we need a FTS.

Hey Adam. I might try turning the lights off for a day or two, but until the new bulb arrives, it's back to swapping the frag light. And that's daily manual labor. Interim plans? Yup, they're still on. As you will see in the photos below, I do need a bigger tank pronto. My IMMEDIATE plans? I'm picking up a new crew of Turbo Snails to take care of this red wirey algae. Took em out a few weeks ago to take care of some GHA in my frag bin.

Yeah, let me know what you find out about the Mr. Aquas! And per your request, plus a few more...

Sunset (Left), Ultimate Blug Stag (center), Unknown Monti (top), Brown-out Special Blue Slimer (Upper Right), Brown-out Special Elk-horn Stag (Lower Left), Blue Milli (Right). Brown outs from the BAR swap are starting to show color


Tri-Color Valida


Shades of Fall


Purple Valida


Shawn Bennett Yellow Tort (Turning Yellow )


Steve Elias Stag. Looks like this will become something special.


My all time favorite SPS piece. ORA Joe the Coral. Fragged it so many times, I think I'm gonna let it grow now.


True Undata. Same with this one. Fragged it quite a few times already.


FTS. Think I could use a few more frag racks?

Really nice tank! You have some very nice frags in there, i wish i could get some of those but here in Canada they dont really have much of a selection of exotic corals.
Very nice looking True Undata, love that coral:)

Awesome update Randy. I say you should stop fragging totally and let you tank growout. but dont fogret about that warcoral your trading me for the DM's. again AWESOME update and AWESOME corals

Randy, is that my eye of Miami Hurricane I see on one of those racks?