Here are the new pics of the stand and canopy. Im really happy with how it has turned out. My old canopy had a open back so it did not reflect light very well. The new one really lets the colors pop and the 3 new super actinic bulbs and 2 new 14k Hamilton MHs are great also!!. Here are the pics

Makeover


FTS


Left side view


Right side view


Top left


Top center


Top right


Frag rack


New Buddies


Peak a boo


Who you calling a hippo??


My favorite SPS

Looking great!!!!!!!!!!!! How do you like the ASM G-3? I thought about getting one for my tank, but I love the AquaC EV 240...it sucks all the cr@p out of my tank.

-David

It seems to get the job done. I only have to empty it once every 2 weeks. It pulls a really liquidy skim out though. at the bottom is always sludge but still a lot of liquid.

Nice! I call dibs on a pearlberry and tort frag!

Gorgeous canopy! Nice work. One question: Your flame angel. Reef safe?


--bubbles

He has been a complete "angel" so far and has not picked on any corals. He is very interested every time a new coral is put in the tank. When i introduced the frag pack last week he was really interested in the pieces of live rock the coral was mounted too and not so much the coral. Although i think i saw him nip at the base of a frag once so i still keep a close eye on him. I know that they can really do some damage on a tank. He has NEVER picked on anything soft and ive heard that they will pick on those first before any stony coral.

My next project will be adding a black background. I hope it will help the colors pop. Im not sure what way i will go. I like the idea of getting a piece of acrylic and painting one side blue and one side black. Then i can switch it when i get bored. Ill post pictures and let everyone see what looks best this week.

I have been very happy with my tank in the past few weeks. Almost all the SPS from the frag pack are starting to regain there color. I also have decided to use the overflow on the tank to host my Monti Caps. I cant really use it for much so i thought it would look cool to have 4-5 different monti cap climbing up the side. They might be competing for light because they will all be right above each other but i know they are the least lighting intensive of all SPS. Ive only got 3 frags of Red/Orange right now. Im looking to trade for locally for Green, Purple, and any other colors i can find. Ill post pictures when i get a few of them mounted.

Recently I have had trouble having small fish in my tank. I have lost a Watchman goby, engineer goby, 2 blue Manderine goby's (both within a week and a half of purchasing.) and I have seen a few nics on some of my fish lately. I know that i have a big crab in my tank that i have not been able to get out. Im not sure what kind it is but i think it is a gorilla crab.

I have declared WAR on this crab. I think he has killed all the small fish i put in the tank. Right now i have a Tupperware container in the tank with some rods food in it. It went straight for the container and started digging inside the hole. It then picked up the container and made it float to the top GRRRRRR. Now i have some rubble in the bottom and im waiting. Ill post pics when i catch this little guy. and i will catch him. Who want crab legs tonight??

Everything looks great! keep up the good work!

Nice tank! That was a great frag pack that you got!

Im still trying to get the devil crab. He always takes a look inside the hole and will pick at things but ive not seen him go inside the trap. Ill keep trying.


Thanks for all the compliments!!!

I SLAYED THE BEAST!!!!

well not really. I did catch the crab. After a week of trying to trap the little bugga with no luck i gave up. Then today it was out on a rock in clear view and i was able to pin it against a rock with my finger and after a few painful pinches, i was able to get it out. Now i can start stocking my tank with small fish!!!!!. I dont know what im gonna do with the little guy. My sump is separated into 3 sections of about 10 gal each and ive got one section with only the return pump and 2 heaters. Im thinking about moving a small piece of live rock into it and putting my lobster and the crab into it. Any other ideas of what to do with this devil crab??

I also got a new charger for my camera so trying to take pictures tonight of the tank that will actually look good.

Here are a few pics of the crab

Looks like somebody is eatin crablegs for dinner tonight! MMMMM! Haha lol. J/K. Your tank is awesome. 90 gallon reefs are georgeous! Great frag pack too!

LOBSTER!!!!!
It has been in my sump for about 3 months. He has been hiding back behind the rock and I have not been able to enjoy this wonderful colorful creature. So i dug around in the sump for about 30 min and finally got him into my return section of the sump. I also gave him a few small pieces of liverock to create a home in.

here are the pics of him.


IM GONNA EAT YOU!!!!

omg i love him!!!!

he's so cute...yet so scary at the same time....

I thought you would like him!!!

Now that i have gotten rid of the devil crab. I am starting to ponder the idea of a few new fish/inverts and i want everyone's opinion. I am up for any and all suggestions.

Here is my current stocking list:
Yellow Tang
Hippo Tang
Flame Angel
Blackcap Basslet
Sixline Wrasse
False Perc Clownfish (orange)
False Perc Clownfish (black)

Cleaner Shrimp
GBTA


Im really interested in getting new fish that will be out all the time. All of the fish i have currently are ALWAYS out. I love them all so much!!!!. I wouldnt mind having 1 or 2 cave dwelling fish, but i want the majority of my fish to be seen. I have given up on ever getting a Mandarine Goby because of this reason. The 2 that i had before never would be out. They would always be hiding and I dont think I have a good enough pod population at this time and what little pods i do have are probibly eaten by my sixline.

I would really like my other fish to be bright!!! I dont really want any dull colored fish.
Here are a few possibility's I have come up with so far but i would like a few more!!!!

Bluespot Jawfish - This is a must for my tank. My old one took a carpet ride and they are soo cool.
Blue Reef Cromis - Im thinking of getting a school of Cromis, maybe 4-5 of them
Regal Angelfish - I love these but they are so hard to keep. Its far fetched but its an idea.
Wrasse - Im thinking of a Flasher or Fairy Wrasse. I just hope 2 Wrasse's in a 90 is ok?
Midas Blenny - Ive heard a ton of good things about these
Anthias - I know they need a lot of room but i have a lot of caves for these to swim.

I also want to get a Clam and maybe a RBTA but those could be later on and might depend on what my fish bioload could be when i get done

lets see those suggestions!!!!!!

i like what youve done with the place! for the wrasse i would suggest mckoskers! theyre just so pretty. u may be ok with all the room in the tank for two wrasses. and for the anthias...sunburst are the shizzle!!! imo they are the most striking of the anthias group! good luck!!!

I do love the mckoskers and there are so many Anthias that i dont know what ones will be at my LFS. Im thinking about doing one of the 2 (Wrasse or Anthias), 3-4 Cromis, bluespot jawfish and maybe a midas blenny.
i still want suggestions!!!

My sister just got a new professional camera for Christmas so I am gonna borrow it to get some awesome pictures. Ill try and post them in the next few days.

I still want any suggestions on a few new fish!!!!! What would you add if this was your tank?

Ive not updated for almost a month so i thought it was time. Ive not done a lot to the tank but my plans are to do some major trading with some locals in the near future.

I got back yesterday from Playa Del Carmen Mexico after 11 days of fun in the sun. I had a coworker feed my tank and keep my ATO bin full while i was gone. Nothing major went wrong while i was gone. My torch coral must have hit a growth spurt and killed the top 1/2" of my tricolor and a few other corals had hit the sand and might have a little damage. I was really worried that something major might happen but for the most part everything went smooth.

I was disappointed that i didnt get to do any diving in Cozumel while i was in Mexico. We had a group of 8 people and one person was sick almost every day. Luckly i never caught "Montezuma's revenge". I did get to do some nice snorkeling and saw some really nice monti digita (orange, green and yellow), some nice orange monti caps, and a few really nice BTA's and long tentacled anemones. I also saw the usual sea fan's, gorgonia, brain corals and other non colorful things. Overall a great trip, but im glad to be home.

Im going to do a small waterchange today and give the tank a good cleaning. I might take a few pictures if i get bored. Ill post them today if i get the time.

FTS. Its not with my sisters good camers. Just my cannon sd 1000.

I love Bangaii Cardinals ... or the Longspine ... Fairy Wrasses of all types ... Lyretail Anthias Trio?
Red Headed Jawfish? Rare ... I saw one the other day ... I am actually loving it more then the Blue Spot ... LOL!

That's what I would put.

Ive never heard of a red headed jawfish

Your tank is very inspiring...I'm also thanking about upgrading from to a 90 gallon. I currently have a 28g nano and 55 gallon set up and it just seems to be getting bigger. Approximately how much and when do you do water changes and how much do you think the electricity cost is to run your tank. thanks!

Thanks KoolSalt,
I only do water changes when i feel they are needed. It seems like its about once a month but sometimes every 6 weeks. Im considering going to changing out 5 gal a week and see if i notice any change. The tank is a 90g but i have a 30gal sump, Cal reactor and the protein skimmer, so i figure im close to 125 gal of water in the whole system. I would recommend a auto top off to anyone starting off. I adding over a gallon a day of fresh water to the tank due to evaporation.

As for Electricity, im think im running around 25 bucks a month . It could be more, it could be less. I just accept it and try to forget about it. I think i have old ballasts and i could save some money in electric costs if i upgraded, but it would take years to recoup the costs of new ballasts.

Overall it seems like the bigger tanks have less daily maintenance. I clean the glass every day, feed every 3 days, and once a month i do a water change and take a razor blade to the glass .
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask anymore questions.

I went too Premium Aquatics with a friend yesterday with the intentions of NOT buying anything. We all know how easy that is.......So i walked out with a nice $15 SPS frag that i think looks like the ORA red planet with a hint of blue tips and a $19 Lyretail Blue Eye Anthias Female. Ill post pictures later today

Nice Score on the Corals and the Fish!!! Let's see some pics!! LOL ... I picked up a red headed jawfish, you can see him in my tank thread.

-David

New SPS frag
Funny Story, at Premium Aquatics you sign a list as you walk in to be helped. I wasnt planning on getting anything so i didnt sign my name. About a hour after looking around and talking to some friends i decided to get on the list and get a frag and my fish. My luck has it, they guy on the list before me took the frag I really wanted. So I ended up getting the next best frag from the same mother colony. The only problem was this frag had a little more blue and yellow than the green and red. I still like it and im sure it will color up like the mother colony that i got it from.



Lyretail Blue Eye Anthias Female
So far I really like this fish. She Is always out and so far has nibbled on some Rods Food. I also found out that my Flame Angel rules my tank. I figured the Yellow Tang would harass The Anthias, but to my surprise the only fish that bothered her was my Flame Angel. After a few laps around the tank they settled down and everyone is getting along nice.

I was cleaning out my computer and found a few old pics of my tank when i first set it up. Since then I have moved to a new house so the aquascape is totally different.

nice, so much to look at

Thanks JohnathanS!!!!

your welcome!!!!!!!

Snow day today!!!! Im going a water change and im giving the tank a good clean. Then im going to take pictures tonight with my sisters new camera!!!!! pictures in about 8 hours!!!

Cant wait to see the new pics!!!!!!!!

Ok i lied. I was not able to post the pictures, but i did take them. Im just now uploading them to photobucket and i hope to have them up shortly.

In no specific order:

That is a nice looking tank you have there.
Zack

Thanks Blondie

Nice looking tank. I like the Anthias and the BlackCap Basslet. Have you found any aggression with the Basslet? I have thought in the past about getting one of those. Also, how well behaved has your Flame Angel been? Does he nip at coral? I had a short-lived experiment awhile back with a Bi-Color Angel, but when I saw him nipping as my SPS, I took him out.

Sweet tank the black cap is so nice Im jealous lol

Thanks H20
The Basslet has been a great fish. The only downside with it has been that it is always hiding in a cave. Its still visible but only comes out into open water to eat. I have had no aggression issues with the Basslet either. I thought i might when i added the Anthias, but to my surprise they stay at opposite sides of the tank and dont bother each other. Even while feeding they seem to get along

The Flame angel is kinda hit and miss. One day i think i saw it nipping at some corals just ever so slightly. Not really at the SPS but at the liverock around it. So i have been keeping a close eye out. Its my favorite fish and i would hate to have to get rid of him. My blue tort has a few dead spots on it but i have never seen the flame angel around the Tort. So i cant blame him until i catch him red handed. I really dont think its the flame angel doing any damage. For now im going to keep him but keep an eye out.




Thanks Gerber77, I would recommend the Blackcap to anyone. Its a great fish.



On another note:
My calcium reactor has never worked properly. The solenoid was broken so i had just set it to drip once every 3 seconds. About 2 weeks ago i bought a new solenoid and started to fix it. Well one thing led to another and my tank set about 2 weeks without the reactor going and it seemed to flourish. Maybe it was just the water change i had done that day, but my zoanthids and SPS never looked better. Today I set up my reactor again and after about 2 hours i see no change. Im going to see how things go in the next few weeks. I cant see the reactor hurting the tank. Maybe i was overloading the system and now the PH monitor will let things become more stable and let them flourish.

I have had some losses with my SPS in the past few weeks. My pearlberry never took off after being shipped to me and it died around the middle of December. My ORA blue tort all of the sudden one day started to recede and within 4 hours went from blue to pale white. Lastly I had a tricolor SPS that was knocked off my liverock into my torch coral (I HATE MY TORCH!!!!). Its just getting way too big and i need to get rid of it. Im trying to trade it locally.

Later this week im heading to do some trading with some local reefers. Im plan on picking up 3 monti caps Green w/ purple rim, yellow w/ blue polyps, and purple. I also am going to see another friends and get another frag of ORA pearlberry, a superman monti, and a sunset or mystic look-a-like. I might head up and see some other local reefers and pick up a few other things. Who knows. Im looking for a frag of Red Planet, a yellow Sun coral, a RBTA, a clam, and a nice yellow Figi leather. So if i see any of those i might pick one up.

Sorry to hear about some of your SPS. Some of them are just tough to keep. For me, the ORA Oregon Blue tort was hard. It was hard to keep its total blue color. Mine wanted to turn brownish around the body, and just leave the blue on the tips. It was the slowest growing coral I have ever owned. On the other hand, I have had good success with the California Blue Tort. It grows much faster, and seems to retain its color better for me.

Thats good to know H2O. I dont think that im doing anything wrong, but i know that things happen. Not every coral will flourish in every tank. I might give the Cali blue tort a try.

I should have a pretty big update tonight. Lots of monti caps, acros and maybe a few other surprises.

Hope those new frags do well. Can't wait to see growth shots, Im goin to start a 14 biocube thread when i get it up and running

Thanks again southstar066, the frags are doing great!!!


Well i spent all evening running around the south side of Indianapolis going to every fish store and local frag seller. I ended up with some REALLY nice stuff. Pics will come tomorrow after everything opens up

First i got the Yellow w/ blue polyp, green with deep purple rim, and purple w/ a dark polyp (cant tell if its blue or purple yet)Monti caps. Then I headed to Southstar066's and wow does he have a nice tank. It really inspired my buddy who just bought a 29g system. From Southstar i got a great looking frag of ORA pearlberry, a AWESOME superman monti frag, and a great small sunset monti frag. From his place i headed to another locals place and picked up some Sweet frags. I got a great blue milli, 2 blue acros, a pink birdsnest and a yellow figi leather.

Ill post pics of everything tomorrow.

Im kinda in a rush but here are the pictures. Not my best group of pictures but ohh well. One of the Acros died overnight. I have no clue what happened but ill get another one.


Monti Caps: I just turned my lights on so you cant see the blue polyps on the yellow one


Blue Monti Digita


Sunset Monti


Superman Monti


Pearlberry


Blue tort


Pink Birdsnest

tank looks great. man i miss my tank. took it down cause it was to much work while in school and it took a turn for the worst. brought all my coral to the LFS, man that was a sad day. maybe in a couple years i will try again but with a bigger tank.
nice job
adam

Ross
the corals are looking great!