oh...well, i have plenty of zoas and palys in my tanks and i have a huger colony of green star polyps that have ever since i added the clowns...but they still like the wall better for some reason...

My captive bred black percs don't host in anything either... I have a beautiful Rose anemone in there and they won't host in it... LAME!

Maybe it's something to do with captive bred clowns! Were yours captive bred?

Night time observations.

Never knew my candy had another personality.


Remember the coco worm that lost it's two heads to the cleaner shrimp? That was 2 weeks ago...

Reincarnation.

^^^Sweet observations!

--Diane

actually...yes they both were...ones from petco (didnt know what i was doing at the time) the other is from atlantis aquarium...they both should be tank bred...maybe it is something about captive bred clowns... oh well...again...

doesn't crap like vaporized grease and whatnot get into the tank? fumes from cleaning products? i always thought a kitchen is a risky place for a tank

One would think so, especially for a TOPLESS tank in the kitchen. We definitely don't use any spray application products in the kitchen, no air fresheners, windex and such - the rest of the house gets all that! And we don't fry food very often, let alone cook

TJ - Hey PurpleUp, Nice kitchen!
PurpleUp - Yeah, It's just for show...

HA. The kitchen is nothing but an ocean processing center in disguise.

BLUE.

wow...thats beautiful...too bad it wont last long....that is that gregorian that doesnt do well in captivity...right?

Yup. Unfortunately so. Extremely curious to find out how long it will survive. There are 3 frags of it placed in different height and flow areas of the tank. Perhaps one frag will live longer than the other under different conditions. So far, I've observed single arm polyps pulling in bits of cyclops. They've definitely been eating. Quite an interesting creature.

cool...do they need halides or can they survive under compact flourcents?...if they can live under compacts...where did you get it??? i would really like one of these babies...

Nice gorgonian! Awesome color. I wish you best of luck with it. Hope it last long.

Took a branch clipping from the LFS. I don't think anyone really knows what it likes. It is said that it's non-photosynthetic, so light may not be a big concern. Surprising for something with such bright blues that it doesn't process light. However, I wouldn't recommend that you buy one. If I knew then what I know now about it's high failure rate in captivity, I wouldn't have bothered. Obviously since it's already in my tank, I'll try to give it the best care possible. Perhaps check back here after 1 year and if it's still alive and well...?

Here's a closer shot of it's octopus-like tentacles. If you could watch these guys eat, you would agree.

oh..ok...oh well...yet again... ...so...hows everything else in you tank doing?

Beautiful tanks! Did you completely dismantle your Biocube 14? I'm wondering, did you use a 20000K bulb in your Coralife Aqualight fixture over your Bio14? I just got one for Christmas and I'm finding the 14000K bulb to be too yellow. It's still a much prettier light than my 96w of PC, but I would like something more blue. Your tanks are the most beautiful tanks I've ever seen

THANKS OPAQUELACE. The old biocube is now stacked to the rim with live rock and assorted zoas. Still looks presentable but it's nowhere near what it used to be. I agree, the 14k bulb is too yellow but I'm guessing it's par rating is a bit higher than most others due to it being more yellow. That's why I now use it as a 2nd light over my ADA. If you're thinking about swapping it out for the coralife 20k bulb, I think you'll find it much more pleasing. It's the same one I used over my BC14 when I had it stocked full of corals. Check my NTOTM link for pics under that bulb. HOWEVER, it is still not as blue as other 20k's out there.

I bet your tank temp is significantly higher than with standard PCs. Do you run a fan over the top? Worked for me.

I actually have noticed a drop in temperature because the PCs were so close to the water and the fans had been broken for a few weeks. Part of the reason I decided to upgrade to MH is because I would rather spend the extra money upgrading lights rather than replacing fans. I simply run the fan that's part of the light system and it works well enough for the time being. I took my heater out to monitor the temperature since the light system has only been up for 2 days. Didn't want the heat doing double duty with the heater and the new light kit.

If the coralife 20K bulb is what YOU used over your 14g bio then that is what I'm going with. That's partly why I got this light system in the first place lol , that and I could reuse it even if I upgrade to a different tank.

I have the Phoenix 14k bulb and find it has a good amount of blue to it.

Speaking of light, I get so much "spill over" from the two halides that I decided to run an experiment...

Dismantled my 3/4gal pico and placed it behind this 25G cube, hoping it will benefit from it's perimeter light.


Added chaeto. I'd like to make it pod haven as an additional food source for the cube inhabitants. Next week, I'll add MORE chaeto and seed it with a bottle of live tiger pods from the LFS. Think it'll work?


The pico's light source.


Removed the CF light that came with the pico and rigged it to my Rapids Pro sump. Added chaeto and attached a timer to run a reverse lighting schedule.

looking good, wow, you sure do love cheato

since im not running a skimmer on my 14bc do you think ill be able to hook that light onto the back of my bc 2nd chamber?

Which light are you referring to? the pico CF light or the coralife hang-on light? For either one, I'd say definitely yes.

yes the coralife because i asked you a while ago through pm if you really liked it and u told me u kinda had to modify it thats why i ask...u think it would be better than the sunpod?

Hmmm, 1/4th of me wants to say go with the sunpod b/c of the integrated moonlights. The other 3/4ths of me thinks the coralife is better in height adjustment, and you could always add a 1W coralife moonlight by mounting it to the arm. The mod is only clipping a slice of plastic, so you shouldn't be too concerned about that. Also, when you upgrade your tank you can always re-use the coralife light, but you may need to order a larger sunpod to fit the width of a larger tank? In the end, I'm sold on the coralife, but then again I'm biased.

+1 on Coralife lights. They make good fixtures and good matal halide bulbs. I use two of their 10k bulbs in Coralife 150w pendant fixtures, and I love them. The pendant fixtures are nice because you can raise or lower them sooooo easily. Light acclimation has never been easier. When I put a coral in the tank that I know isn't used to intense light yet, I just raise the light directly over it by 6" to a foot, and lower the light by an inch or two every day until it is back where it started.

That, and their customer service, at least on the one occasion I have had need of it, is superb. One of my Coralife metal halide ballasts had a bad switch in it, and the ballast was shutting off randomly. I called them, and explained what was happening. Their customer service rep then asked me for the serial number on the ballast and my address. I was put on hold for no more than 2 minutes, and the rep told me a new ballast would be mailed to me that day. A few days later, it arrived, and is working flawlessly. THAT is taking care of your customer! I had a bad switch, so they mailed me a whole new ballast. I was flabbergasted, as I am sadly so accustomed to bad service when dealing with large businesses.

cool expirement...hope it works for you...i tried to make a pod heaven in a 2 gallon plastic tank...i put detrus from my spoonges in my NC12 in there that had tiny little pods along with them...they multiplied like crazy...then 2 days ago...half the population died from some unfroseen reason...oh well...i had cheato in there too...that grew like crazy too....it still alive though...oh yea and the light i had on there way just a plain old desk lamp CFL...

would you be able to show me were to cut or perhaps take a picture? THANKS!

My pleasure. I'll post a close up pic of the cut tomorrow.

Here you go, gzaa. You need only to cut a small slit to fit the mount inside the 2nd and a portion of the 3rd chamber of the BC14. The pic shows the coralife hang-on mounted onto an iron base over my ADA cube. Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any more ?s.


And since I had my camera out, I thought I'd take pics to monitor growth of my SPS. Taken under 20,000K halide.

This purple acro has definitely adapted well to the increased lighting. It's now much more purple than before, especially at the tips - not to mention it has GROWN. I wish I could say the same for the milli behind it, which has brightened but hasn't shown much more color change than some faint fluorescent green areas here and there. I'll post another pic of the milli if and when I notice a change.


Blue Tort is still looking good. No discoloration since I bought it not too long ago. The front side of it, not visible here, has a baby branch growing out.


C-Quarium Unknown


ORA Blue Green Roscoe. Nice growth. I've noticed a lighter purplish hue vs a darker tone when I first bought it. Not sure if I should be worried about this or not.


ORA Bird's Nest. It's tips are sprouting new branches. I may have to trim it in a few months if it takes off quickly.


FRONT FTS Notice sporadic blue gorgonian pieces placed here and there. (Sigh) I wish they could be permanent. FWIW, they look very happy. It's polyps are extending out much further - possibly in reach of food it's not getting or a sign of good health perhaps? At the very least, I'll document what happens to it as the days/months go by...


LEFT SIDE FTS This side will look much nicer once I get the blue tubs (located above the cave opening) to cover the rock. Maybe a mix with some orange bam bam zoanthids would make them pop out a bit more.


All water params have been maintained at the following levels:

Temp: 79-81º
Salinity: 1.025-1.026
Nitrates: 0
Phosphates: 0
pH: 8.4
Alkalinity: 8.5-9.5
Calcium: 400-460
Magnesium: ?

*I'm ordering a magnesium test kit tomorrow in case this is the missing link. My salt has it and the calcium supplement I use "maintains" it, but I have no idea what my magnesium levels are at this point.

wow...amazing tank...lots and los of growth since you started it i can see...AWSOME@!!!

Drove the extra 10 miles to get to a fish store in sacramento yesterday, where I get 20 gallons of free RO/DI freshwater. No one was free to help me in the saltwater dept, so a "freshwater" guy offers to help. He was nice enough to bring the water out to my car when he told me, "This might actually be saltwater, so make sure you test the salinity before you add it to your tank." I thought to myself it was free and perhaps I could save money by not having to mix salt, so I didn't say anything about it. I get home and test for nitrates and I get readings of 10ppm from all 5 gallon jugs! So I figure, he gave me a courtesy fill up of used saltwater from their dirty tanks. I'm not one of those people who really care to complain, but I doubt I will ever go back there for water again - free or not. Just making a note of it. Another note to self: BUY YOUR OWN RO/DI UNIT.

Looking at 3-Stage Spectra Pure units. Not sure whether to get a 40, 60, or 90GPD. Does anyone know if the higher GPDs are faster or more beneficial in some way? They don't differ in price very much.

FWE may have been the cause of serious degradation of my xenia. I'm almost positive it's a goner. Come to think of it, I lost another xenia colony dosing FWE in my BC14. On the bright side, there has been no sight of flatworms for the past 2 days.

PODS FOR PICO

Can anyone tell me if it would be possible to culture my own "tigger-pods" tigriopus califoricus in this .75gal pico? I'm thinking to use them as live food for my 25G. Thanks to Fosi, I now have a nice environment of chaeto.


Repost: Looking at 3-Stage Spectra Pure units. Not sure whether to get a 40, 60, or 90GPD. Does anyone know if the higher GPDs are faster or more beneficial in some way? They don't differ in price very much. Wondering if the extra purification per day makes any difference.

Aren't tigger pods cold(er) water pods?

Here is info from Reef Nutrition
http://www.reefnutrition.com/tiggerpods/mo...#tiggerpodscare

Actually, these pods would thrive in a display tank if there were no predators, and I've been told that many reefers use a bottle to seed their refugiums. Thanks for the link. It appears that's all I need to know. It gives step by step "Directions for Culturing in a Stand Alone Container." Hopefully they're not just selling me on a hopeless product. I'll give it a shot. It would be nice to have a self-replenishing food source without having to incorporate a full blown fuge.

No place did they mention the temperature to keep the culturing tank though did they?

here is a paper on the tigger pod and at the bottom of page 2 it shows a table containing temperatures of the pools used to collect lab samples from. Looks like the pools are around 15 degrees C or 59 degrees F. Do you then need to run your culture tank at that temp?


http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/reprint/181/1/123.pdf

Interesting. I made the assumption based on this statement: "If you are going to keep them in the bottles for an extended period, remove the lid to increase oxygen in the water and put them in a refrigerator between 34 and 40 F. At this temperature they will go into hibernation and require very little oxygen or food." I figured normal tropical temperatures would be acceptable, since they didn't specifically state for cold water tanks only. Definitely something to look into. I'll contact the company first and see what they say. You would think they wouldn't leave out such an important item as temperature in their care instructions. Thanks for the paper on tiger pods. I'll read through it later tonight.

This is a great tank.

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I'll ask anyway. What are you feeding the blueberry gorg? Have you tried Cyclop-eeze, DT's? This search seems to imply hope...

Best of luck. If it survives, I'd love a frag.

--ian

Thanks for the encouragement, Ian. *IF* it survives, I'd be happy to! - but I'm not sure I would wish this high maintenance being on anyone. So far, I've direct fed DT's Phytoplankton and Frozen Cyclops EVERY DAY in small quantities as not to raise nutrient levels too high. I'm not sure anyone knows how many days/hours it can go without eating, so I'm erring on the side of never. It seems to be responding well to the food, but I can see why this species is so difficult to keep. Once you slack off, it'll starve. Good thing I work from home

One important thing to note is that I cut my frag into 3 frags of different sizes. Amazingly, even the smaller ones are doing well and new polyps are now starting to emerge from the cuts. I'll report once I notice any of them starting to deteriorate.

BTW: Thanks for the link. I've read all of the articles/discussion threads on this gorgonian that I could find online, and this is definitely not for the passive reefer. Let this be a lesson to those (like me) who buy on impulse. Don't. But since it's way too late to put it back into the deep sea, I'm up for the challenge.

Hello All,

I've finally had it with lugging 20G's of water from the LFS, so I am seriously considering purchasing this ro/di filter: $ 199.00 - OCEAN REEF + 1 FIVE STAGE 75 GPD RO/DI

Does anyone have any experience using this brand? I've read some good things about it online, and it's much less expensive than a similar Spectrapure unit. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

im thinking about getting a filter guys unit as well. ive only heard good things about them.

looks like the filter they use at my LFS...seems like a good one since everyone buys their RO/DI water...they always run out...

EDIT: this is the filter they use...i just called them up...it a pretty good system if you ask me...

Thanks for the thumbs up (you too Nate). Siwelk, I've come to respect your judgement since I've seen you research the hell out of stuff before buying. Is the extra $30 for a 6-Stage filter worth the money in higher quality water? Curious to know what you think.Wow. Thanks for making that call. I appreciate that, Nate.

no problem..i had to ask them a couple of other question anyways so i just thought id ask...

thats funny just because i was literally on the filter guys' website less than an hour ago looking at the 5 stage +1 unit. from what ive heard, if your gonna go this route you should at least go with a 5 stage RO/DI. im not sure how much better the additional stage of the 6 stage unit is but im sure either will be a very good choice. the only thing really stopping me is the fact that im in a rental, and i dont know about messing with the plumbing and everything. it does beat weekly trips to the LFS for water though.

Today, I noticed 3 tiny tiny flatworms slithering against the glass. Of course, I removed them on sight. From my experience, I know that there are at least 10 more for every one that I can see.

Can I? Should I add a 6-line to my tank operation? From what I've read, this guy is the #1 natural tank predator against FWs. My total system volume is roughly 22 actual water volume in the display and 2 gallons in my sump. 1) Will it be happy with 3 other tankmates (2 perculas, 1 firefish)? 2) Will my water params suffer due to the addition of 1 more fish?

Thanks for your help.

In my honest opinion, I find 6 lines get very bossy. I wouldn't be suprised he he chased your firefish out of the tank.

But get more opinions, as mine are limited to 3 individuals I have had. I personally found that Longfin Fairy Wrasse' do a great job keeping flatworms at bay. I had one in my old 20g and it didn't have an aggressive bone in it's body. Again, I have only kept 2 of these so I may have just gotten lucky both times.

can you tell us the sizes of the 3 fish that are in there? if theyre smaller than 3 inches i think you would be Fine…youll just have to keep up with your water changes…I have 4 fish in a 12…but im moving them into A 30g by the end of this month…so..it should be fine…on the other hand…im only a novice reefer so…It would be good to get an opinon from someone else…

I remember you mentioning that one before. If the 6-line acted out against my firefish, I'd have an issue with that. What about the fairy wrasse in terms of size? Would it be too large for my tank? It could encircle above and around my rockscape, but there isn't much ground level swim room. If you think my environment is ok, I'll definitely consider it.

Nate, they are well under 3" in size but I'm not sure what the bio load of 4 fish will cause in my tank.