To clarify, the clown jumped out of excitement when my hand was in the tank to direct feed DTs to the zoas. Luckily for him, my ninja-like reflexes caught him in mid air. I once had a red firefish that free dove out of my BC14 with no one there to save it. RIP. So ever since I've been reefing, I've only lost that one fish. As much as I miss it, I never thought to re-buy one b/c of its big hop tendencies. I haven't seen jumping urges from my purple one, but the other day I saw hops potential as it lifted its head above the water surface to eat some sample floating Elos pellets (which they seem to love btw). So if you won't be able to live with yourself if one of your fish jumped, I'd say put a lid on it no matter what. I think most fish have the ability to catch air if they're ever in a situation that requires them to.

I've got lots and lots of SPS to care for now, so i need a reliable skimmer to allow for heavier feeding. You'll see what I'm talking about in a few moments. Uploading pics of new frags now... I'm probably gonna go with this AquaC EV-120 in a 10G sump.

You should look into the Deltec skimmers...I hear they are great. Look into the Deltec MCE 300

Hey Y'all. Buy from Bluebastion! He gets my big thumbs up for quality, care, and packaging. He even held them for a good month before shipping so the frags could encrust over the epoxy.

Delicate Coral


Bali Slimer. It's not green yet, but it will be.


Blue Tenius. To the left of the slimer, it doesn't show much color but I do see some promising pigmentation. There's also a Garf Bonsai to the left of the Tenius.


Rose Millepora


Idaho Grape

methinks you should help me stock my tank with your overgrowth of lovely corals

I heard that too. The thing is, my lower cabinet clearance is only 21". Otherwise, I'd have so many more choices.

Haha. That's definitely a possibility.

--
I can't stand the sight of mounting discs or plugs, so I railed them on the back side. See the back rim lined with new frags. Once they grow into something more meaningful, I'll likely frag large pieces off and glue them directly to my live rock. After that, I can off the original base frags to my friends on NR


This leaves the FRONT and right side looking somewhat natural, as I anxiously await for the frags to become the real deal.


Right Side

ha, theyre like frag backup dancers

I know huh. It's just not right for them to be treated that way. They're simply not ready to be seen in public. I need a frag tank, so I can keep the back up dancers off the main stage!

your tank made me break my keyboard with my chin.









good job

Thanks for the endorsement, Purpleup

Just wanted to clarify, what you have down as "blue tenuis" is really a Tubbs Table.. (green w/ rosy/purp polyps).. Sorry to hear they're not as colored up after being shipped. Was the same when the mother colonies just came to me (as frags). They'll color up fine, just make sure you have the side with most color facing the lights... Looking good

LOL!

and +1!

Sweet new pics!--as always...

--Diane

If you dont mind me asking where did you ourchase the ada cube I cant find a resaler on the net.

Here you go, ink. I believe they also make a larger one with a built in overflow.
http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_pa...amp;cPath=25_29

Thanks for all of the compliments everyone. It's comforting that there are other people out there who actually spend as much money as I do on nano-reefing AND STILL FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT.

BTW: I noticed all of the frags I received yesterday look extremely happy and healthy, now that they've had time to get themselves situated. Even the Garf Bonsai, that I accidentally dropped and scraped against the rocks, is showing off its polyps. Now I just need to get their color back. The other SPS seem to dig the roti-feast, so I'll keep feeding em that. I plan on purchasing a wider variety of frozen foods in case cyclops and/or rotis simply aren't tasty enough. I heard DTs oyster eggs and Cyclopeez are like their filet mignon.

So, I guess the final verdict on the Rapids pro skimmer is "no good?"
After the initial outburst of activity on mine (if you remember) it scaled back to almost nothing.........

Hey Klarion. The RP Pro skimmer works occasionally. For the little money it costs, it performs adequately enough to keep most softies. But because I now have to feed my tank more heavily, it will hardly pull out enough nutrients to keep up with my 3 times as hearty feeding schedule. Because of this, I've increased the frequency of my water changes to every 5 days instead of once every Friday. I figure it'll give me an extra water change per month.

I was going to ask you how your skimmer was doing. Sorry to hear that.

I just bought some frozen coral blend, it has a mix of everything. Im also considering buying some coral frenzy to try.

Looking good Purple!

+1

I just run a phosphate reactor hanging on my sump with a layer of carbon, rawophos (sp?) and carbon in it. Works well with a large fish load.

I just saw your water test results. Very interesting! I guess when in doubt, look at the corals and see if they are happy!

Tank looks great!

Which company makes those foods? Let me know if they work well for you.



Uhuru, thanks for the encouragement and extra thanks for the great advice the other day. Your SPS philosophy makes sense. Until I am satisfied with a skimmer that constantly pulls gunk out of my system, I'll be changing 4Gal of water every 5 days to keep up with the enhanced feeding routine.



I'll look into a phosphate reactor to see if it might make sense for my setup. No skimmer at all huh? What if you ran both? Would there be noticeable benefit?

Dude that plating monti or what ever that is is just plain insane!!!!! Where the heck did you get that beauty?

It's called a Yellow Turbinaria. When I first found it at my LFS almost 1yr ago, it was much smaller but with the same shape. I'm surprised how it has been able to maintain its fan-like appearance without twisting and contorting like many plating corals do. Something like that can't easily be fragged without ruining its good looks, so I've been wondering what to do with it when it becomes too big for my nano. More than that, I wonder where I might find something that's suitable enough to replace it. Hmmm.

Ooops - that is not what I meant. I run both! I just think you can't get enough phosphate out with just the skimmer when the bio load is heavy. Some people go without a skimmer - especially in small tanks - but I use one in all of mine. I even skim pretty wet.

If you use rawphos, start with less than the recommended amount. I have seem some threads claim that introducing it can shock SPS. I have never had a problem with it.

the best thing about this tank is its 360 view. its like 4 different tanks in 1 every side u look at is different things.i rele like the idea of the clowns exploring all side of the reef. this tank is stunning

purp, the swap is in sac on the 1st...do a search or marine aquariust roundtable of sacramento.....that website should have the info...or they have a forum on rc with some info as well

Thanks Phishy! What you mostly see from my online photos is only 270º. I'm still working on the rear face of the display, so in time you'll be able to see a unique FTS from 4 different angles. Glad you like it so far!



I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the 411.

***
My mother-in-law came over for a special occasion and took this photo with her camera.


I said, "Hey Mom that looks like a nice camera, would you like me to show you how to use that thing?"
















I still think the one she took was the nicest

haha nice pics

Jaw dropping pics man!

Thanks! I took those with a new Sony Cybershot. Couldn't believe how they came out. Hey see that small white area to the immediate right of the purple firefish? (in the FTS above) That's where I want to grow out your sunset monti and pokerstar monti. Can they touch each other?

Oh, yeah!

Wow!

(Love the BD cake, too. Did I count 6 candles? )

--Diane

Could you keep progress reports and feeding notes with your blueberry gorg?

I've never seen one make it very long.

6 is right, Diane. How time flies.

Not a problem. I'd be happy to document something about it EVERY DAY if it didn't drive people crazy. (I know I post way too much in my thread as it is. hehe.) I've almost resigned myself to the fact that these mini frags won't make it that long either, since it's what I've read OVER AND OVER again in other threads. I figure if these make it, it won't be due to anything I've learned online since I haven't seen any documented success beyond 5 months or so. I'll have to go back and check how long I've had these guys. One thing I worry about is that I bought only a small frag from a mother colony at the LFS, which I then fragged 3 more times after I took it home! Amazingly all 3 are still very much alive as you can see in the photo above. However, I did prune a 1 centimeter piece off the tip of a branch the other day because it was obviously dead. The rest of that frag *appears* perfectly fine. Once I make it past 3 or 4 months of blueberry life, I'll start paying closer attention to such things as growth/decay and eating habits. In my recent focus being directed to the healthy feeding of SPS, I think I may be indirectly feeding the blueberry what it needs to survive. It would be so cool if I could keep it alive for even a little bit longer then what's expected.

You might try Fauna Marin gorgonian food:

http://www.darklordcoral.com/index.php?mai...;products_id=36

It will also feed your other corals.

They seem to have great success, not sure whether that is with the blueberry ones though. I'm interested to see how it does as well. Especially after you add a skimmer. Beautiful specimen...

I spent too much time on my stand this weekend and did not get the frags made. I'll try tonight.

I am not sure if they can touch each other. They woudul definitely bleach out where they meet but may otherwise be ok. Then again, the faster growing one may take over - whichever one that happens to be.

You still have the most amazing tank around I see.
Your blueberry gorg is spectacular! There is one at the LFS around here but it's not quite as blue as yours.

I'll have to give that a try. I am waiting on that skimmer before I double my present feeding routine. I'm glad you're interested in the blueberry. I'll post pics in a few minutes for your benefit AND mine. I'll also circle areas where I'm starting to see some tissue loss and decay.



Take your time B. My tank's not shuttin down any time soon. I would even prefer more growth on the mount before you send em on over.



Wow thanks O. You know I noticed that too in comparison photos of when I first brought it home. It seems darker blue now than at first. i don't know if this is a good or bad thing. You'll see what i mean in a minute...

Geebus this tank is just outstanding Sir!!

A bit of info for you. There will be an adjustable gate available in August for the Rapids overflow that should provide for increased surface skimming. I had an email out to Oscar Enterprises on another issue and they told me this as well. They said if I sent my info to them in August they would send one to me no charge. I'll PM you contact info if interested.

This cube keeps getting better and better!

Blueberry Gorgonian Progress Pics

The mother frag.


Immediately after it was epoxy'd to the rock, I fragged it into THREE more pieces. Here are pics taken exactly TWO MONTHS LATER:

Frag A is the largest piece located in the lower mid section of the tank, exposed to intense light and high flow. Circled are areas where I've begun to see decay and thinning of it's branches.


Frag B is only 1/6th the size of Frag A, located in the back of the tank and exposed to less flow and light. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to show any tissue loss whatsoever.


Frag C is nearly the size of Frag B, located on the sand bed in front of the tank. Water flows freely where it is and light easily reaches to the bottom. This frag is also showing some thinning. The uppermost oval is where I had cut a 1cm tip off the branch, because it completely turned brown. It may have been damaged or bent in that spot while cleaning the front of the glass.


Frag D is the smallest piece, glued to a piece of rubble and located on the sand bed in a shady area with semi-moderate flow. It appears to be the healthiest of the bunch.


Notice that the color of each frag is not as sky-blue as when I first brought it home. They are a much deeper blue now, which is more appealing to me, but possibly a sign of bad health? Polyps also extend much further and wider, which would typically indicate GOOD health, but then I can't explain the loss of tissue. In the future I'll report on the condition of each frag as I did here. it'll be interesting to find out if one or two make it while the others don't. Any owners of gorgonians out there who might be able to help me out???

Randy! Look at what i came home to tonite! I couldnt beleive it! now..I'm not so jealous of your clown hosting your frogspawn (heehee)

How cool is that. It's nice to know that my torch has a real purpose in your tank. No more hosting the frogspawn. My male clown has now decided that he likes the double leather heads much better.

What's your sleep #?


FYI, I'm cleaning out Marine Depot's frozen food section to prep for DAILY SPS feasts.

Uh--no problem whatsoever...I gladly tune in for all your picture-heavy posts!

Nice gorg exposition.

--Diane

Awww, Thanks Diane. Well in that case, here are pics of 2 new DI cartridges containing resins specifically for phosphate and silica reduction! That makes 7 stages of filtration before my tap water makes it into my tank. The primary reason why I purchased it was due to results I received from AWT that indicated high silica values. This is what they said about it:

Silica (Sio2-3)
Natural Seawater Value: 0.040 mg/L
Acceptable Range: 0.000 to 0.500 mg/L
Tested: 1.2 mg/L
(HIGH) Your silica level is too high. We recommend that you use a silica specific R/O
membrane in addition to deionization resin for your make-up/top-off water. You may also
use a commercially available phosphate absorber, as these will also remove some silicate.
Silicate is required by many types of sponges for growth/reproduction, but will also
encourage brown diatom algae growth. Any level above 0.3 mg/L may cause a diatom
bloom in the aquarium.

I've noticed some dark brown algae growing over my nice coralline, so I'm inclined to believe in what they say. Hopefully this works to clear up the issue. My TDS readings were already at 0 *before* adding these extra two cartridges, so I expect ultra pure water from it. I've also decided to DUMP 10 gallons of pre-mixed salt made from my old water, including 10G of pre-made top-off water dosed with Carbonate Alkalinity. No need to keep adding more bad stuff in.





Bonus Pic: Ca Blue Tort. Its blue polyps have extended out further since I've been feeding Roti-Feast

How cool to see those kinds of results.
I'd love to feed my sps the Roti-Feast I won at the frag swap last month, but I've gotta get my tank stabilized first.
I would welcome your input on that issue if you have time. It's on the 10g prop tank thread linked in my sig, last 2 pgs. or so of the thread.

Lots of luck with your tank, Weetie. I'll be watching your thread for the better health of your SPS.

Here are some frozen food items I ordered from MarineDepot.com, which should arrive tomorrow:

2 DTs Natural Reef Diet Oyster Eggs 1oz (30mL) $39.98
1 H2O Life Spirulina / Brine / Mysis 200g Double Blister Cubes $8.99
1 Liquid Life Coral Plankton 60ml $27.99
1 Liquid Life Bio & Marine Plankton Promo Pack - 64mL each $39.99
1 Algae Free Sure Grip 50 Magnetic Powerhead Holder $19.99 (for the MJ600)
1 Elos Pro Skimmer - Coral Nourishment (SPS) Food $21.99
1 Elos Omega Amino Acid Coral Food $33.99
1 H2O Life Coral Food 200g Double Blister Cubes $8.99

For all that ca$h, hopefully my SPS will like it

Damn!!!
They are going to be eating like KINGS!!!

Your SPS eat better than me lol!!!

They eat better than me too! I'm making a personal sacrifice for my SPS. It's all about the beans and rice until they start showing me some true colors.

BTW: Today I lowered the 150W 14K light down to 6.5" from the water's surface (which is lit for 3hrs/day). The 250W 20K lamp is 8" (and lit for 11hrs/day). I'll probably increase the 150W light time to 4 to 4.5hrs after another month.

Tomorrow, I'll be performing my first 5Gal water change from the new and improved RO/DI system. My ATO has been re-filled with the new "silica-free" water.

Hmmm. Is silica something we can measure ourselves?

--Diane, diatom queen