Nice frags! How's the switch going?

Excellent! My tanks are running in an SPS sweet spot now so I have lots of frags. LMK if you want some. Baseball season is coming up which always takes its toll on tank maintenance!


Slow

I caught the hippo tang on Saturday and moved em up to the 210. He/she seems very happy with all of the new space.

Next goal is to catch the achilles. The day I catch him, I move the purple, yellow and achilles in at the same time. The purple and the yellow are in tanks that I can move the rocks out to catch them easily. I will also build out the remaining two rock towers that day and move in more LR. And I will keep my fingers crossed on noe fights between them all.

The sailfin moves a few weeks after those three - but there is no hurry.

The achilles, sailfin and hippo tang all lived together well in the 110.

I am running three skimmers now and I like it. The one that came with the setup (life reef maybe? rated for 200g), a Deltec Turbo 1250 and an old octopus rated to 100G. I like this better than running one large one.

CA reactor is online in the 210 now! No more two part!! Alk efluent was at 10meg/L (28 dKH) so the reactor is working well. I will be moving a clam from the frag tank now!

The achilles eluded the trap again on Sat so he stays in the 110 for at least another week. The yellow tang and purple tang are in tanks where they can be netted, so they will be transferred as well when the achilles is caught.

Kalk stirrer is ruinning.

CA reactor is up and running with a second chamber as well.

Custom refugia gets built today and should be in place in a week or two.

Used Tunzes should go in this weekend.

BRK doser was just added for Mag supplementation as well

I caught some tangs finally - but not the achilles yet. So far the blue, purple and yellow are all getting along well in the 210.

I built out the middle rock tower and started on the left one. Plus there are bunch of frags scattered around form my frag tank that I am selling off while some of my higher end SPS grows out.

Pics and a video:

Woo, it's looking good!

Thanks! Working on some decent photos

I got my son an underwater camera for XMas and decided to take it for a spin:

Very very nice.
I really like the 'scape and the fish you have in here.
Lots of nice corals, but I esp like that Goni.
How long have you had it?
Does it extend it's tentacles very far or is it one of the short-tentacled versions?

Thanks Weetie!!

I still have to finish the scape on the left. As soon as I find two nice large pieces of dry rock, I will drill them and put them on the pipe.

I have had the goni for a month. It is short tentacled and fully extended in the pics. It just came out of QT today. The QT tank has more pods though, so hopefully it will be ok without them.

A couple of these corals are really growing despite the fact that I struggled to keep up with CA via two part until two weeks ago.

Jan 1 to March 14 growth shots:






All of the extensions is new growth


Turaki

Lovin' it Brett!!

Thanks Richie! I would say that this tank is a childhood dream come true, but I never imagined a living reef back them. This is the best MTV yet ( marine television)


Good to hear from you! How's the 75 going? It was looking good last time I checked.

I love my MTV (Marine Television)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II5osbmmoLs...e=youtube_gdata

crummy iPhone vid.

Nah, vids not so bad B! MTV is

Tanks looking sweet!

As for me...

75 is coming around. I caused a mini cycle by adding some rock. Just waiting out the funk
Thanks for asking.

Thanks R!! I love ending my day looking at the new setup for a few minutes before the actinics go out. Lots of color. Lots of activity. A good way to unwind.

I throw rocks in my fuge all the time too and it gets funky too Luckily, funky breeds little critters Glad to hear the 75 is coming around nicely! I need to head over to your thread and check it out.

Happy reefing!

The tank is coming along. My yearly "busy" season is coming to a close, so maybe some pictures will be coming soon.

A local reefer has extra rock so I can finally get my last two large pieces to finish the scape.

Growth has been a little slow lately (except for the leather!!!!) but I have not checked levels in a while so that may be it. I also need to replace the carbon for the sake of the SPS with that huge leather in there.

The fish are all happy. I added a hawkfish from DTflemming but he disappeared after two days Sorry DTF! I suppose he may be in the overflows, but I can't see in them.

I got a powder blue for the 110 too:)

Pictures coming soon.

Here are the last roung of pictures that I never posted here:
210 underwter pics

Those new pics are amazing. You have a great tank.

Thanks Gerber!

The underwater camera is a lot of fun to use! You get shots that you can't get any other way!

Agreed!

Hey, wait... was that Randy ?? ^^^^ ???

The tank looks sweet Brett! Underwater shots are awesome!

Nice to see an update here!

Really crappy pic, because it is on my phone, but it was taken the day before labor day, so more recent than the last update... all looked good. Tangs happy, leather going crazy growing, me being jealous...

Brett, hope you don't mind me posting the pic.

Thanks Eric! Someone has to update this thread. How is the dorm tank coming?

Tank is ok considering no water changes since probably march. I need to get it done this week.

Chalices are growing great. Gonipora is struggling. I need to start target feed it. Sps are encrusting great but not growing up any more as much. Is suspect a water change or two will help that.

The female clown in the pic seemed to die of old age. She was probably about 6 years old. She started moving around less and less and then was goner one day. I lost my female normal colored ocelaris in my 20 too. Same age. So I put the two male clowns together today in the 210 today and they took to each other immediately. I am hoping to get a blank/orange oculars pair out of them as long as they live.

And how did my huge sail fin disappear in that pic . He is usually begging to be fed on the front glass when people are in the room

Oh, and DTF the hawkfish is alive and well in my overflow. Now I have to figure outnhow to get him out

Yea, he definitely follows the camera in the video I took that day, maybe he was trying to jump out to greet me?

There was more life than I thought left on the LR, some weird red things with almost polyp looking things coming out, when I steal my camera back from my dad, maybe I can get a pic. Algae starting...funny thing is that everyone that looks at the tank is like "wow that's AWESOME!" even when there are no fish, corals, or anything living other than bacteria... I used colored gravel and plastic plants to add color, other than that it is just white rock...

Still really excited for the Acrylic tank, working on a quote for the acrylic, finished some CAD drawings today...Gladmy water changes will be a gallon or two...and yours will be...? 30-50 gallons maybe lol.

My first salt tank was the 46b that is still in the lr as a fish qt. We stared at everything coming out of that rock during the first cycle for hour and hours . Sound like your cycle is going great.

Naga did my acrylic fugue.

Yep, I do 44 gallon changes to both the 110/66 system and the 210. Lots of lugging buckets. I need automation! Water change in the 20 are much quicker. I can do a 2 gallon change in it in a couple of minutes. When I do 5 gallons in clean the pumps too and it takes longer.

My friend out in Frostburg had a GORGEOUS 120 upstairs, with all sump, fuge, etc. in the basement, dead silent display, amazing colors with T5, the whole deal, had it set up sohe just flipped a switch or two and turned a valve and he did a ~50 gallon water change. He said he loved the system. Float valve from RO/DI made it really easy. Unfortunately, right as his tank settled in, he got out of the hobby...never got an explanation. Really sad.

Sounds like a great system! Sometimes it is just too much I guess. I need to setup a water change system like that!

Yea, seemed really simple, involved two 55 gallon barrels. Would be a little harder with the sump upstairs, but doable i think.

Chalice row

Looking good. Since I was in such an incredible hurry when I visited your house, I didn't get a good look at anything really, never had a chalice, but I may have to try one in the cube. I love the pic with the two tangs, it is almost like the purple saw the yellow grazing, and came over to check out what he was missing...or at least that is how I see it...

Yep. Those two tangs are like that:). The yellow one is dominant of the two.

A chalice or two would be a great choice for the cube they won't out grow it fast, they have great colors, they don't need the light SPS does, can tolerate worse water than sps, etc.

Their down side is their growth pattern is a bit two dimensional.

Yah, maybe i'll put one or two down on the sand for some color there. I can't wait until I can setup a tank big enough for a couple tangs...They are so cool to watch.

hello fellow marylanders...I was just wondering what fish store you all go to? i have been to many around the baltimore area, and even the one in lancaster which was pretty cool, but am always looking for a good knowledgable store that i can trust.....

I have been to the Aquarium Depot, Exotic aquatics, and Mr. Coral, and I can't say I loved any one of them, latter two had much better livestock, Exotic aquatics service isn't great IMO though.

thanks, i have been to both exotic and aquarium depot, but have never heard of Mr. Coral, ill have to check it out...sorry for going off topic brshriver, i just cant seem to find any place i feel i can really trust, and won't give me a "thats a dumb question" kinda response/look...

Exotic Aquatics used to have an awesome 500G reef displayed in their window. They sold lots of frags out of it and I thought they were the best coral shop around along with Blue Ribbon Koi. Phil, (the owner I think), seems to have lost some passion for the reef and turned the window display into a fresh water tank. Phill knows a lot about coral if you happen to see him when he is there. He will be the one fragging, etc... Their fish are good. Their coral selection used to be awesome. Now it is less so. All livestock there seems healthy.

Aquarium depot is large and ok for dry goods. I don't get livestock there nor go there very often. You have been there. Nough said.

House of Tropicals in Glen Burnie is also huge - mostly fish. They have coral too though. I have not bought much livestock from them. Some snails maybe and possibly a fish or two. Lots of CMAS members shop there.

There is a smaller shop in Gaithersburg that is on my way home. Tropical Fish World in Walnut Hill Shopping center. He has a small collection of coral. I get a lot of fish there and have never had a disease and or problem with them.

Tropical Lagoon is inside the DC beltway. Worth a look.

Some people like Aquarium One in Rockville. I have bought a few things there. They are small/medium sized. Worth a stop if you are in the area.

Blue Ribbon Koi in NoVa is worth the drive. Lots of coral and fish and a good reputation. They moved to a new/bigger location a year ago, but I have not been there yet. I bought my Achilles tang from them. He has been healthy and happy from day one. I bought clams and clowns there too once. No problems.

Mr Coral is sort of a coral chop shop. He buys a lot of wild colonies, chops them up and resells them. I have had poor luck with SPS and zoas there. LPS have been fine. He is selling local raised frags now too I think. They fare better. Dip everything from there - as you should from anywhere.

If you want another road trip - Paciific East Aquaculture is a great place. They are on the way to the beach. It is worth the trip and Dr. Mac is great. Check out their web site.

I get most of my coral from known sellers at NR, RC, or members of the two local clubs - CMAS and WAMAS. John both of the clubs. It is worth it. We are fortunate to have a lot of knowledgeable people in the area with some huge reefs.

HTH

Brett

I forgot to mention Pacific East Aquaculture...have been there twice, really nice shop, he typically has a pretty good selection of corals...last time I was there he was preparing for a huge frag swap, so he had a rediculous number of frags, he does frag packs in which they pick, but when I did it, they basically let me pick what I wanted...12 frags for $100, not too bad. greenhouse part is cool to see. Some of his LE stuff looks insane on their site, but is kept at a different location. It is really easy to get to off of route 50.

I wouldn't go Mr. coral if you are looking for info, he does have some good deals on clams, fish, and some corals. He used to do $20 for any fish in the store sometimes, have not seen it recently...I bought a Saddleback wrasse for a FO tank at my work for $20, and he had tangs, angels, etc. does some deals for the members of his site, like $6 for two ricordia...but again, not so good on the trust/info side.

I agree with Eric.

If you are looking for a shop full of knowledgable staff trustworthy staff on reefs, that is a tall order. The local clubs can fill that void.

That bing said the owners at a few of the shops know a lot and are trust worthy.

Phil at Exotic Aquatics.

John at Blue Ribbon koi. Their staff in general might be pretty knowledgable.

Dr. Mac at Pacific East. It is worth the drive at least once. Of you get a group together he will do something special for you. His staff is decent too.

thanks for the replies!! yea i have been going to exotic since i started up my tank, they seem to have a pretty good coral selection compared to any other place i have been too besides the lancaster store...i will have to check out the Pacific East Aquaculture website, and make a trip out there...but yea im not really looking for a store to answer all my questions, i'd prefer to look up answers myself, but i would like someone that can answer basic questions for me...i usually go to a store, write some names down of things i like then head home and look everything up before I buy...

i have also been to house of tropics, i liked some of the variety they offered, such as nudi's and some random other things i haven't seen in exotic, and also sometimes i can get lucky and find a decent looking frag for like $10 so i go by whenever i can but i live near the MD/PA line soo it is some distance from me. and yea i was wondering why exotic didnt have the salt water tank out front anymore, was a pretty neat tank...

lastly, where can i find info on the local clubs you mentioned? haha i dont have anyone to talk about my tank to so would be nice to meet up with some others...

Www.WAMAS.org
Www.CMAS-md.org

I am brshriver or bshriver on their boards too.

So, I finally tore down my 46B which has been sitting with no fish (so I thought) in my living room since january of this year and only used to QT an occasional fish. It is a SeaClear tank with a false back to hide an area for filter equipment. I turned that area into a refugium years ago with miracle mud on the bottom. When I was fishing the rocks out of the fuge area to move to the new system, I felt a fish tail flip my hand!


I figured it was a dottyback that disappeared the day it went into the tank years ago. I got a flashlight and looked in and saw this fish (picture taken after I transferred him to my 210):


It appears to be a blue spotted watchman goby. Here is the kicker, I have never bought any such goby. It apparently hitchiked into my tank as a fry on something, found its way to the fuge years ago, and grew up in there unoticed. Either that, or someone snuck into my house at night and added it


This hobby never ceased to amaze....


He is happy in my 210 now, with a lot more room than before, but he will have to make due with a shallow sand bed. Maybe I will buy him a shrimp if he can find sand deep enough to borrow....

Some other fish shots taken with my phone while I was at it. Tank is going ok. SPS growth is slower than I am used to, but given the general lack of attention it is getting, I am happy with SPS life at all

The big buy - check out photos of him from years ago in early in my 110 thread when he was just a little tot...



Both females from my two clown pairs died, so I am trying to pair the males:


Reflections:

Great looking fish!

The final tang selection for my 125 is going to be the achillies, a black and a powder blue. Let's see if I can pull that off, I know the AT and the PBT will barely tolerate each other.

Good luck! I had the saiflin hippo and Achilles in a 5 foot 110. The sail and the blue were added together when they were very small and never had problems. The Achilles was added later. I had some spats which I solved initially with multiple feeding blocks with nori banded to them. Once they got used to each other I went back to normal feeding. I think keeping them fed with lots of green matter is the key along with adding them in the right order.

I have heard lots of problems with mean powder blues. Mine is in the 110 with no other tangs now. I never tried him with other tangs. For your system, I would add the black tang first, then the achilles then the powder blue. I think the smaller they are when added, the better. Plus it is fun to watch them grow.

Beautiful Brett!

Cool goby story too!

Thanks richie!

My freebie hitchhiker goby has settled into the 210 and he found a low overhang to substitute for his tunnel. Now I just need to get him a shrimp

Good Luck with that.

I have a 135 gal with a Purple tang that is about 12 years old and been in the my 135 since 2001. I tried to add a Blonde Naso about a month ago. Had some spats but the Naso finally was allowed into the tank. It was feeding well, Woke up one morning went to feed the fish and the Naso was acting stressed, no ick, I could tell it wouldn't be long before it died. I was right the next morning it died. I have always wanted a PB and after reading how mean these guys are I thought it could hold its own against my purple. It did well but after a few days it caught ick. I removed it q-tanked it for 2 weeks. It was fat and happy so I tried adding the PB again. But no luck the PB died after a few days from stress. I give up after killing 2 beautiful not to mention expensive fish.

OP I wish I could have the tank with the tang selection you have. The Goby story is great. All I got to say is awesome tank.

Thanks!!! Having a tank this size is a child hood dream come true. And a reef tank was not even in the dreams back then I feel very lucky to have gotten my tangs to all get along! I decompress in front of the tank for a few minutes every day after work.

It sounds like your Purple tang is really stuck in his ways! And feels he owns the tank! I have heard purples can be mean. Mine was and is the smallest tang in the mix, which may have helped - he has never bothered anyone. The yellow one harassed him a little when they first met because the yellow was bigger (they were both introduced together from two separate systems that I had) but it did not last long. The Achilles can supposedly be mean, but mine has never bothered anyone. The bigger sailfin harrassed him a little when I got him, but that ended too was they both got fat and happy

I never even tried to mix the PBT in with the rest due to their reputation. He filled the algae eating void in the 110 when the hippo, sailfin and achilles moved out I am surprised your purple tang got the better of yours, but nothing in this hobby is completely predictable!

I know someone whose purple tang started eating acans one day out of the blue! He had to get rid of him!

Lets just say it and my Maroon Clown are like the Mafia, you don't come into there territory with out paying your dues. I stick my hand in the the tank and the Maroon is bitting me while the Purple Tang is setting in the corner laughing. When I added the Naso then the PB blue. It was like neither new fish had a chance. You get near the Maroons, Rose Nem and you are getting the sh*# kicked out of you and you go anywhere else and the Purple Tang is in hot pursuit like the tang police.

LOL

My clowns in general attack my hand when it is in my tank (ocelaris). Marroons are eve meaner so I can ust imagine

I added a small Emperor angel to the 110 this weekend. I could not resist. We'll see how it behaves with the coral.