wow that is one awesome tank, i spent the last 2 hours reading this thread and now i have to close my eyes and let it moisten back haha.

frameless is the best way to go i love it! one of my main reason to choose framelss for my first reef tank.

Awesome tank! I was showing it off at work today and 10 out of 10 juvenile delinquents and 3 of 3 officers agree

SWEET

Thanks for all the encouragement!@#! It makes spending 10+ hrs/day on the tank all worth while (although I spend 8 of those 10hrs staring at it, which is worth while in itself. hehe)

Some random top-down shots I took just now.


Purple firefish can almost pass for a sea snake.


"There's no food here, guys. I'm just takin photos." My clown jumped out today when I pulled my hand out of the water! It was flopping around the granite counter top. First time it happened. And I was told it was the firefish I had to worry about. Lucky I was there to put it back in. I think they are too people friendly. You can literally pick them up and out with your bare hands.

Open tops give a completely different perspective on a reef, but there are RISKS. Like crap falling in and fish flying out.

Now that you have all your corals in there, the tank looks pleasantly "full". Give it a few months and it will have that "grown-in" look. As always, excellent work, purpleup!

The coral you asked for the ID of is Anthelia. It looks alot like my blue Anthelia, really. (look at my avatar. its a pic of my blue Anthelia) I think it might be the same stuff. If you have the Delbeek and Sprung book, take a look in it for pics of some outrageous color morphs of Anthelia. (volume 1, I think.) The reef aquarium business moves in "fads". Fist Acros, then Montis, then Zoas, and now Acans. The only reason some of the more colorful morphs of Anthelia haven't become collector's fads for outrageous prices is that it grows too fast, so you could never get away with charging $200.00 for a frag of it. Only in America do people have the balls to label a living thing "limited edition" and quadruple the price, just because they can. That and it doesn't ship terribly well. That stuff you have there is a much more interesting "ground cover" than GSP, and more easily controllable. I'm eventually going to try to get it to start spreading across the glass in my tank.

BTW, I think those mushrooms near the top might open a little further if you could somehow move them closer to the bottom. (Easier said than done, I realize. After I typed that I referred back to the pics and i'm not sure where else you could fit them. LOL) Of course, if you leave them there long enough, they will probably acclimate on their own.

- Josh

Fish don't fly!

Your tank is looking amazing! Great work.

Cool now I know that I have some anthelia too. not the blue one bu its the same thing. I love the new pics. Clowns are always begging for food lol

I feel your pain regarding the open top. I have lost 2 Cherub angelfish from this tank, to jumping. I give up on that species, they obviously don't work well for a long shallow tank with no lid. I'm glad you were there to return him to his home, though I imagine he probably jumped because you (the big food-giving being) were there, and he got a little too excited. Clownfish kind of remind me of puppies with fins.

Hey GrandeGixxer,
Fish do fly, and they leap right out of tanks too! Unfortunately, my red firefish did earlier this week. That is one of the risks of having a topless tank
Randy, Your tank is STUNNING, I think you've heard this before

hows your clam, miss?

What clam? That post must have been for Patty. I would like a mini Squamosa tho.

Just be sure you have somebody with a large tank to give/sell it to when it gets enormous. I don't think most people realize the valve (shell) in squamosas can grow to 15" when fully grown. And it happens faster than you think!

Having said that, i've been looking around the LFSes in my area for another clam, maybe a derasa or squamosa. My LFS will take it back in trade in a few years if it starts getting ridiculously large.

Tridacnids are just too cool to pass up. And they make excellent live filters to boot. A single clam can have a noticeable impact on the water quality in a small tank. Every reef tank I have ever set up has included tridacnids. I just feel a reef tank with none in it is somehow incomplete.

Oh, man, I can get lost in that pic! It is just hypnotic!

So cool that you were able to ditch the maxi-jet & skimmer--your tank looks SO mimalist, now--I can't believe how much of the back is visible.






Vol. 2, actually. Which brings up another topic...how do we distinguish amongst all the snow-flake like polyps? For instance, the pics you're thinking of are actually listed as Clavularia, if you're thinking of the pics on pp 170-171. As the text mentions, in Germany "the common name for this coral is Anthelia," and it seems like in some other places too...But in Sprung & Delbeek II they're even in different families, Clavularia in the Clavulariidae, and Anthelia in the Xeniidae. (And under Anthelia they list other similar-looking genera such as Cespitularia, Xenia, and Stereosoma...)

Well, here's one distinction, from Sprung's Corals: A Quick Reference Guide. Under Clavularia, he states:

"Anthelia spp have similar polyps, and the two genera are often confused. Anthelia deflates only and cannot retract its polyps the way Clavularia does. When Clavularia is closed one sees the round heads of each closed calyx." (p 146)

FWIW,

--Diane

"Anthelia spp have similar polyps, and the two genera are often confused. Anthelia deflates only and cannot retract its polyps the way Clavularia does. When Clavularia is closed one sees the round heads of each closed calyx." (p 146)

Wow diane. Way to do your homework!

I don't own the delbeek and sprung books anymore. They were destroyed in a flood. (not related to an aquarium lol)

In that case, I think my coral is blue Clavularia, as I think I remember it it closes up rather than just deflating when disturbed. At least we now know how to tell the difference. Actually, now i'm not sure. I'll have to squirt my coral with my trusty baster, and see how it reacts.

PurpleUp, if you squirt your mystery coral with a turkey baster, does it close up or just deflate?

Well, the master plan is to create a 200-250G in the entertainment nook of my living room - not sure of the exact specs. I figure it will take me a couple of years at most to save for the entire custom build. By then, how big do you figure a 3" squamosa clam will have grown? I'd like to adopt a baby clam and see it grow big enough to eat me. That is if *I* can live long enough.

Hey PurpleUp - Now that you've had your Rapids sump system for a few weeks, what's your verdict?

Sounds like I need to own that book. Is that like the holy bible of reefkeepers? I've always wondered about this coral, as it seems to behave differently than others. From what I've observed, the polyps become smaller - as if they shrink when they're disturbed. I'll have to pay closer attention to them in the morning, but they most certainly don't close like a zoanthid. I can tell you that much. I'll try to take a close-up pic of the polyps after a snail slimes across them. Notice, if you look closely at the pic, there are two types: a) the bright blue snow-flakey variety and the darker maroon with more rounded petals. They mix well though. The LFS in Sacramento said it was a "rare coral from Thailand." Not sure if I even believed it then, but I also saw the same coral at a competing LFS not too long ago. Anyhow, I'll try to get a snapshot of them closed and maybe you can help me better figure out what it is. But first, I'm ordering that delbeek and sprung book from Amazon.

Purple,

I don't know if any one book is or could be the bible, as you put it, but I like this series. (I have not bought the 3rd volume yet because it sounds like it's more about the mechanics of tanks, and so far I'm not very deep into that area of the hobby...)

Vol 1 has a lot about coral biology, reef building and maintenance, and stony corals. Vol 2 is mostly softies & nems. Each volume has a wealth of info about coral biology, actually...

But you might be disappointed if you're looking for pics and descriptions of the latest coral fads--there's not a single Micromussa, for instance, no acans...

I think it just takes so long to produce a book, by the time it comes out it's a bit out-of-date...But the majority of the scientific info remains valuable--I refer to these books a lot.

Vol II:
http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium-Compre...5943&sr=8-3

Vol I:
http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium-Compre...d_bxgy_b_text_b

But actually, my description of the differences between the two genera came from this book (first link below), which is just coral pics & descriptions, and is also very handy, along with its companion volume on Inverts (where he puts the zoas and corallimorphs, BTW.) You might want to consider buying these books, instead. (The same thing holds true regarding the latest fads, though.)

http://www.amazon.com/Corals-Quick-Referen...d_sim_b_title_5

http://www.amazon.com/Invertebrates-Quick-...=pd_sim_b_img_7

--Diane

Is that Left Coast DJ as in Disc Jockey? I used to be a trickster DJ as a kid before I evolved into the techno rave movement in 1998. Ahhhh, Crazy memories... Anyhow, I've noticed you've been exploring methods of drilling ADA tanks. I saw the thread of the other guy's tank and I figured the bottom had to have been made of different glass. If you could only drill it, the bottom would be the ideal side to do it (no pun intended HAHA). If you are willing to risk it (and void your 5yr warranty), good luck. But if you're looking for the next best thing, I think the Rapids Pro might really be it. Trust me, if I had an issue with it, I would have flamed the manufacturer a thousand times in this thread. The only negative thing I have to say is that it's blue, but that's only because I prefer slick black. Suprisingly, the protein skimmer works! I give the skimmer about a 4 out of 10 in performance compared to what you can get for other stand alone products. Overall, I'd say it helped me achieve more than what I was hoping for out of this tank. In the beginning, I thought I was gonna have to settle for a HOB with ATO sensors, a heater, surface skimmer, thermometer all inside my display tank. With this filter, I only have to see the narrow overflow box and 2 Koralias. Come to think of it, if the back were drilled for an internal overflow, the plumbing/pvc would obstruct even more of the rear view. Another plus is that you don't have to turn the system off to clean the 3 wet/dry compartments. Use the 1st for floss, the 2nd for carbons, and the 3rd to submerse your heater. The containers slide up and out with ease. It's cool. You should try it. And if it doesn't work out, the experiment cost you less than 200 bucks.

I might take you up on the 2nd option, Diane. With the money saved, I can buy another ORA frag. That's really what I need. A quick reference guide. Funny thing, fads for corals. LOL! Never knew fads in reefing existed before today. Maybe there'll be an ADA reef tank fad. Hmmm. So silly.

"There's no food here, guys. I'm just takin photos." My clown jumped out today when I pulled my hand out of the water! It was flopping around the granite counter top. First time it happened. And I was told it was the firefish I had to worry about. Lucky I was there to put it back in. I think they are too people friendly. You can literally pick them up and out with your bare hands.

Open tops give a completely different perspective on a reef, but there are RISKS. Like crap falling in and fish flying out.
[/quote]

My Clown isn't all that friendly but my chromis are everytime i go to feed they try and jump.
Also when i bought my first firefish me and my brother were playing on a video game while the firefish was acclimatising. I went back five minutes late my firefish wasn't in the bag He'd jumped out the bag into the tank and was staring at me from a hole in the rock. CRAZY i know

sorry Im late to the party but that blue polyp thing you have is a sansibia. I have a book you can use to ID it if you're in the sj/milpitas area

Got this posted on RC? I seriously think you could contend for tank of the month.

go for it! the guys over on RC would sh#t a brick if the TOTM was running a Rapids Pro system. ha

Sansibia? In Google images, sansibia looks more like xenia. But there's one photo that resembles it. I don't think that's it though. These things don't really look or act like a xenia species. Is this what you were referring to? BTW: I'll be meeting someone in Milpitas, CA for a deal of blue tubs to go down on Sunday. Aquatic Gallery is the drop point. hehe. I'm gettin a kick out of trying to ID this coral. It's not the first time I tried. Thanks for your help.

Funny. The corals in this tank actually have some beauty pagent experience. In my BC14, most of them were big contributers to NTOTM in Aug '07. I believe we were supposed to run a nano tank of the year contest with all of the RC winners of 2007, but I am wondering if my new tank will qualify. The BC14 was already broken down, but the corals live on in here. It might have a better chance if the live rock were covered in coralline, zoanthids, and this blue coral we're trying to ID. Multi-colored monti caps swirling at the back left corner would give this cube much more character, but that takes TIME. I think I would enter it just for kicks in NTOTY if the contest actually happens.

Looks like these two genera are hard to tell about just by images. I found these pics:

Sansibia
http://www.poppe-images.com/images/search_...p;x=31&y=11

Clavularia
http://www.poppe-images.com/images/search_...d_mh=clavularia




I think you may have started one!

--Diane

So here's what I've found from my own research this morning.

4" of Blue Anthelia from Pacific East Aquaculture on sale online for $69.


SPS20, I squirted my larger colony more than 10 times with a turkey baster. They only shrank or "deflated" instead of closing-up. Does that make them Anthelia or not? Sure looks like it, based on the link above. Mine just look crazier purplish-blue from the 20K lighting! BAMM!!!

Here are closer shots of my stuff.


Anthelia Frag! (or whatever it is) Speaking of FADS, what do you say we start an Anthelia frag fad? This one's already fastened to a piece of live rubble. WHO WANTS TO TRADE?!@#! No reef is complete without it. This stuff will make your tank literally EXPLODE with color. LOL

The polyps are very close in resemblance to both Sansibia AND Clavularia, but so far I'm sold on simple bright blue Anthelia.

As far as the ADA fad, I'd have to give credit to Helfrich’s Chick. Her ADA thread inspired me to get mine. But I just haven't got the balls to go completely filterless!

Just watch. In 5 years, Acans will have been spread to too many tanks to maintain the current pricing, hobbyists will have learned to frag them easily, and they will cost no more than any other brain coral.

An article on the subject: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-08/ebac/index.php



I think one day I will have to take a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium, put an undergravel filter on it and light it with a halogen light, FILL it with corals, take a picture, and post it on reef central. It would be so funny to see the reactions there. Maybe I'll put 3 or 4 tangs in it too to cause some real trouble. Of course I would immediately break the tank down, but the reactions would be priceless.



Thats the exact stuff I have! Mine even has the same maroon encrusting between polyps. Its coralline I assume, but who knows.

Oh, and I squirted mine with a baster. It doesn't close up like I thought I remembered it doing, it just shrinks up really small. So, I guess its Anthelia, as I originally thought. I'm pretty certain we both have anthelia.

- Josh

Excellent article, Josh! Thanks for posting it. I can easily see myself posting it in a lot of threads here...



Aside from the discussion on artificially created coral fads for profit, the article you posted also had a Borneman term I'm going to borrow and use a lot--"armchair taxonomy." That's exactly what we all commit, ID'ing so many things from just a tiny pic posted online. I know that a lot of retailers (and no doubt wholesalers) routinely sell mislabeled specimens. Of course, it's been ever thus in any biology-related hobby you can think of, be it orchids, FW, SW, you name it.

That said, there is a lot to be said for having an "agreed upon" name, whether it is taxonomically correct or not. (Think "kribensis" ). For most purposes in the hobby we simply want to be sure we're talking about the same thing, with its concommitant knowns--growth habits, food needs, etc.

But some of us really would like to have as much correlation between "agreed upon" names and "currently taxonomically correct" names as possible! (Everything's complicated, of course, by the labile state of marine taxonomy.)

If in fact the deflation distinction (between Anthelia & Clavularia) I quoted from Sprung is correct (and I see no reason to doubt it at this point), it is one of the few telling characters we can seize upon for some peace of mind! Unfortunately, as Borneman repeatedly points out, confident taxonomy usually requires a skeleton and/or sclerites...

--Diane

I think "armchair taxonomists" can be farily accurate, at least to the genus level. I mean, we have to at least try to identify what we have. With only a few exceptions, many corals can be positively ID'ed to the genus level with just a good macro photo, and knowledge of how the coral reacts in certain circumstances. (Like the "turkey baster test" we have devised to tell the difference between Anthelia and Clavularia)

Sure, we are probably wrong some of the time, but I think we are probably right alot of the time.

As for the fad thing, I knew we were in the midst of a craze when I saw a Acan listed on ebay for over $1000.00. NO CORAL IS WORTH THAT MUCH. Nothing that can grow and be asexually propagated without having to be fed chunks of platinum and diamond is worth anything near that much. You know its a fad when some jerk starts labeling his corals as "limited edition" as if he/she somehow made them from scratch.

Personally, I would like to see the hobby reach the point when frag swaps are the primary means of obtaining livestock, and coral farmers who try to charge many multiples of the true cost of growing a coral are laughed at and dismissed as the snake oil salesmen they are. Coral propagation is not some arcane mystery that only experts can participate in. All it requires is a healthy tank, some coral, pruning shears, a rock, and some glue. Nothing that is so easy to do should ever fetch prices in excess of the cost of the lighting system on the tank it grows in. Its one thing to make some profit. Its another thing to match the cost of a down payment on a new car for something which only took a few months to grow.

*rant over*

- Josh

It feels settling, to say the least, that we are referring to this coral as to what we confidently believe is it's correct taxonomy. To know what we keep in our tank or to at least know the common understanding of what we keep, enables us to give them better care and resulting better advice to others. Now unless someone is willing to obtain a skeletal sample from me and prove us wrong, I'd say we've been looking at a true Anthelia here. Now who wants a frag for trade? Let's spread the love (that's the old techno-hippy in me).

Feast your eyes on a Limited Edition Crocea Clam that I won from my LFS auction today for only $1000!









Just kidding, Josh. $29 for the clam and I thought that was too much. Especially lately, I've noticed the LFS pitching me rare SPS frags at astronomical prices. What bothers me most about that is they look EXACTLY THE SAME as your comparable common varieties. The only real difference is that someone discovered one and named it after himself.

Mini Fuge?

Shown is a wet/dry sump for a Rapids Pro filter. You know how we're always thinking about how we can maximize our equipment. Can anyone give me their opinion on whether or not there would be any benefit to growing chaeto in here? Not only that, but being the most turbulent spot in the system, can chaeto even grow in it? I can light it from the outside with an inexpensive CF due to the clear canister. The growing area would be very small, restricted to the rectangular section outlined in the pic. And let's say I decide to try it, should I run a reverse lighting schedule for such a small volume vs the size of my 25G tank? To take it one step further, could pods survive and produce with so much turbulence?





Now what if I added this component to the mix? Notice 2 water levels. The saltwater from the lower level flows back and forth from the sump connected via the coiled blue tube. The water container above it is actually freshwater for auto-refilling the system. Can chaeto grow inside here with only 2.5" of height and very little to no water movement?

I also posted this in the Refugium section for more exposure. Thanks for your help.

I don't see why not, so long as the turbulence doesn't tear it into bits.



Not sure if you'd see a pH difference, but there is no reason not to try a reverse photoperiod and see.

As for the pods... I wouldn't count on this area being a pod haven.



It would grow, but not very fast. To maximize the benefits of chaeto, you really need to give it some water movement.

Nips,
My Clam is a happy Clam:) , I'll send ya a pic tonite.

Randy,
You picked a very nice one too!


.........I'm collecting stuff from random tanks ppl...Keep them coral pieces coming heehee
THank YOU Randy and Nips!!

Hey, patty. The tubs made it alright. Only the larger half of them opened up today though. I'm sure they'll be fine. Thanks again!

hey i know this is off topic, but what kind of skimmer did you use on your biocube and where can i find it?


thanks

Man, I tried MULTIPLE HOB skimmers from the CPR backpack to the Rio Nano Skimmer. None of them worked well or made any difference to the quality of my water since I changed it once a week anyway. Do you own a BC14? If so, I recommend doing without one. Smaller tanks like that are just fine without. For a while, I was even thinking about not running a skimmer of this 25G ADA, but I figured my SPS wouldn't appreciate that. Good luck.

I'm so glad to hear that Randy! please post progress pics as i know they will thrive in your tank.

Torch looks great, Patty! As you've probably already found out, the torch gets about 5 times bigger than that when it's happy. I'd like to see the baby stub on the right grow out again. Good luck with it.

Here are the tubs you got me now mounted to a rock of it's own (with IC gel). So far it's only opened up half of it's polyps, but I'll keep close watch. I'm really hoping that someday these blues cover most of the rock. I'll likely mix it with orange, being that I'm a Warriors fan.


Continuing on with the BLUE theme, I replaced my clear air tubes with blue for the aqua lifter. Looks slick and hides algae better.

what do u suggest is a good ATO? did the one in the pic come with the setup? i have a 14 bc

The one pictured is an add-on to the Rapids Pro, and it can't be used independently. For a BC14, I would suggest using the same one I used to run on mine: JBJ ATO. In the 3rd chamber, you can very easily use the clip mounts to hang TWO sensors at the same time. The 1st sensor activates the freshwater refill and the 2nd sensor (hung upside down) is an emergency fail safe if for whatever reason your 1st sensor should fail to cut the water off. Let me know if you need help with the install if you decide to purchase one.

I almost gave up on my Chili coral after it hadn't extended it's polyps in 2 weeks. It was placed deep inside the cave where absolutely no light would shine. 2 days ago, I brought it out closer to a cave entrance on the right side of the tank. Here's what it looked like this morning.

with the lights off (using camera flash)


with the lights on


you can see the extension of another branch in the back


It quickly closed once the lights came on. Weird behavior. I know it's non-photosynthetic, but I'm surprised how it's been able to live for 7mos now with such infrequent polyp extension. Hopefully it's content in the new spot and does this on a regular basis, so I can direct feed it.

Filter-feeding corals like chili coral can be sooooo fickle. I have seen hitchhiker dendroneptheas get enormous with NO care at all, and I have seen people put all kinds of effort into keeping certain filter feeders only to have them die anyway.

I have a feeling that they need very particular amounts of water flow. Too much, they can't capture particles before they wash away, and too slow and they just don't get enough to eat. Obviously yours doesn't like light much.

Regardless, its one neat looking creature.

Im thinking about buying that one. Another thing is would i be able to dose with that ato or would i have to buy a doser?

IMO, dosing via ATO on a 14 gallon tank is risky b/c so many things can happen which will cause your ATO to activate unexpectedly. For example, if you remove anything from your tank, bringing the water level down slightly, the ATO will quickly replenish before you realize it. If you change water and forget to turn off your ATO, the same thing will happen. See the sensors activate so quickly that by the time you've realized what you've done to set it off, you've already got replacement water in your tank. If it's only freshwater than no big deal, but if it's Kalkwasser then your pH, alkalinity, and calcium can reach risky levels fast, causing precipitation and your pumps to freeze. I say this from experience. I had to buy replacement gear and soak my pumps in vinegar for 3 weeks before I got them to work again. Only advanced reefers should dose from ATO. What are you keeping by the way? Are you sure you need to dose? If so, yes, buy a doser.

Here's an FTS I entered in the Nano Tank of the Year contest on that other site. Maybe I'll swap it out if I can catch a pic of the firefish, clowns, shrimps, and coco-worm all in one family portrait. Who knows if that'll ever happen though. I think it's cool that there are 2 other peeps from my local reef club in the same contest. Wish us luck.

Good Luck!