Jump to content
Top Shelf Aquatics

TigerLily's IM 30L - Happy Tankiversary!


TigerLily

Recommended Posts

Love the screen top you made and the nano box looks suprisingly good over the tank I was curious if the 24" nano box would give good coverage over 36" tank.
Did you use matt black or gloss on you screen top

 

Thanks! It seems to give good coverage. To the eye the tank is just as bright on the edges, although if I had a par meter I'm sure I would find a difference. Time will tell, but anecdotally, I have a photosynthetic gorg on the left edge of my tank that seems very happy. It had some skeleton showing in two small places from a shipping injury and one area has completely healed over and the other is almost healed over. So it's having no trouble growing tissue under the light on the edge of the tank. Not exactly scientific proof, I know. ;)

 

I used flat black on my screen because I didn't want to be distracted by the shine. But, if I were to do it again I would use gloss because it seems like it would be easier to keep clean. The screen kit is low profile and sits just below the top of the glass using the stock clips on the Fusion 30, so I don't think the glossy finish would be as eye catching as I thought.

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

Love your tank! Just bought the same Fusion 30L and I'm debating about the lighting. Can you tell me how high the Nano Quad sits above the tank? I have limited space above so it may be a deal breaker. Thanks in advance.

Link to comment

Love your tank! Just bought the same Fusion 30L and I'm debating about the lighting. Can you tell me how high the Nano Quad sits above the tank? I have limited space above so it may be a deal breaker. Thanks in advance.

Sorry I've been a bit MIA! With the gooseneck the quad sits 6" above the tank.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I was just doing my water change and a little maintenance and realized I haven't updated lately! I will do a new FTS later when it's not so bright and reflecty in here. The last few weeks have been pretty good, although there were a few discouraging moments...

 

The bad: my Smith's Blenny died suddenly and for no reason that I can figure. I fed the tank that morning and all was well and I looked in half an hour later and he was on the sand being munched on by a pack of wolverines. Or nassarius. One or the other. My water params were all normal and everyone else happy and healthy so, who knows. My other blenny decided to live dangerously and took up residence in the mp10 while I was doing a water change the next day. I always check for him before turning it back on, but this time I spaced. I turn it on and I see him rocket across the tank. Crap. He lost part of a fin and looked pretty bent for a while but he survived. Hid for three days and worried me sick. He's fine now but looks like a grizzled war vet with all kinds of scars and lumps.

 

The eh: the humongous anemone started walking around and I promptly shipped him back to the LFS. I suspect he was responsible for my striped blenny's head injury a month ago, so I didn't want him cruising around my little tank stinging everything and everybody. I also traded in my husbands awful Picasso clowns for a pair of Clarkii and a BTA (with his blessing). I'm much happier with the clown situation now. They aren't a mated pair but I'm hoping that the larger one is making the change and that they will hook up soon. Regardless they are cute and active and I like them. The nem promptly bleached out in my tank, but I've since collected a few RBTAs and everyone it happy. I've also sworn off my LFS. Just not super happy with what they have and how well things do for me. I'm not planning on any new fish any time soon so there is no reason for me to make the trip.

 

The good: I've been collecting coral like crazy. I've got a lot of color in the tank now and am ready to sit back and let it all grow in. Some of the corals are already growing nicely! A few of my zoas are really happy and reproducing. I've tried the mail order suppliers I wanted to try and definitely have my favorites now. I also saw my pistol shrimp! I put him in over a month ago and he promptly disappeared into the rocks. About a week ago the kids and I saw him while I was feeding the tank. I have witnesses - he lives! The coral are all doing well. I love my tank and my Nanobox. But enough about all that... I know you want pictures!

 

Black cherry open brain. Yum...

 

15566598445_a41457b472_z.jpg

 

Left side with a photo bombing wrasse...

 

15567437382_ae9d124f95_z.jpg

 

Middle-ish with the new hammer coral that I hope will replace the humongous nem as the new centerpiece...

 

15566589255_ec6da98254_z.jpg

 

Stay tuned for a new FTS...

  • Like 6
Link to comment

Holy moly...you HAVE been collecting. That black cherry open brain :wub:. Everything looks fantastic!!!!!

 

Thank you! Did you see the monti caps? I totally copied you. :blush:

 

Yeah, I figured I'd take advantage of my husband's requests to add more color before he figures out how much corals cost. :bling:

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Thank you! Did you see the monti caps? I totally copied you. :blush:

 

Yeah, I figured I'd take advantage of my husband's requests to add more color before he figures out how much corals cost. :bling:

I sure did and I'm honored :happy:. What kind of green cap is it? Plain or the season's greetings???? It will be fun to watch how yours grows. Seeing if the growth pattern is similar or not :).

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I sure did and I'm honored :happy:. What kind of green cap is it? Plain or the season's greetings???? It will be fun to watch how yours grows. Seeing if the growth pattern is similar or not :).

 

It is not season's greetings. I don't know if it has a name - but it has a lavender rim. Can't really see it in the pic, hopefully it will start growing quickly and be more obvious. I can't wait to see if they grow together like yours!

 

Sorry for the tank woes :( tanks can be so fun and so frustrating.

 

That new brain! Omg! :wub: So jelly you could spread me on a sandwich.

 

I know - so frustrating! Especially when bad things happen and you can't figure out why. I love that brain. I'm not one for designer corals usually - I just like what I find to be pretty - but that one I just had to have!

  • Like 2
Link to comment

You know how whenever someone gets a picture of what they claim to be bigfoot, the pic is all out of focus and you can hardly make out the subject? I have one of those! Only it's my pistol shrimp. I had a sighting today. He is still hanging out in a hole in the rock next to my birdsnest. I had forgotten how little he is. He might be an inch long. Anyway, here's the blurry and impossible to see picture...

 

15407906718_1a6cfaf76f_n.jpg

 

Yes, that blurry red and white striped thing is truly a pistol shrimp! It's alive!

 

I also picked up an urchin today when I went to the not so lovely pet store to buy dog treats. They hardly ever have anything good there, but this guy seems great. The last urchin I got (from the "good" LFS) didn't last but a few days and when I went back the next week for something else, I noticed that the one they had in their tank still was also dying. I suspect they didn't acclimate. Today's urchin had been at the un-lovely store for a few weeks, so hopefully I'll have better luck this time. He's already way more active than the old urchin ever was.

 

Here he is in front of my sea plume, which recently shed but is now looking fuzzy and wonderful.

 

15408010887_a8ef8da30f_c.jpg

 

And, just because, here's the puppy playing his new game...

 

14973368884_c3a48c32de_c.jpg

 

Cute right? He can't get down. He's totally stuck.

 

 

 

Love the caps- one of my favorite corals. That purple cap has great color . Has your open brain sent out any sweepers yet?

 

Thanks! I love the caps too. I drool over Gena's tank each time she posts pics of hers.

 

I haven't seen any sweepers on the open brains yet - just feeder tentacles. The closed brain has sent them out though.

 

 

Tank is looking great!

 

Thank you! The light has everyone happy and colorful!

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment

You know how whenever someone gets a picture of what they claim to be bigfoot, the pic is all out of focus and you can hardly make out the subject? I have one of those! Only it's my pistol shrimp. I had a sighting today. He is still hanging out in a hole in the rock next to my birdsnest. I had forgotten how little he is. He might be an inch long. Anyway, here's the blurry and impossible to see picture...

 

15407906718_1a6cfaf76f_n.jpg

 

Yes, that blurry red and white striped thing is truly a pistol shrimp! It's alive!

 

I also picked up an urchin today when I went to the not so lovely pet store to buy dog treats. They hardly ever have anything good there, but this guy seems great. The last urchin I got (from the "good" LFS) didn't last but a few days and when I went back the next week for something else, I noticed that the one they had in their tank still was also dying. I suspect they didn't acclimate. Today's urchin had been at the un-lovely store for a few weeks, so hopefully I'll have better luck this time. He's already way more active than the old urchin ever was.

 

Here he is in front of my sea plume, which recently shed but is now looking fuzzy and wonderful.

 

15408010887_a8ef8da30f_c.jpg

 

Always cool to have some small critter pop up in the tank.

 

Looks like a very happy Sea plume!

 

Urchin, hmmm, definitely interesting but I'm too attached to my coralline algae :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment

looking good, my next coral will be one of those caps. I almost picked up an urchin also but I leave for work to Seattle for a couple weeks so I won't add anything until I get back. My pistol shrimp pops out when I drop food in and then disappears again also, it has gone from about a half inch to an inch now though so I know it is doing well.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

 

Always cool to have some small critter pop up in the tank.

 

Looks like a very happy Sea plume!

 

Urchin, hmmm, definitely interesting but I'm too attached to my coralline algae :)

Today was a day for pleasant critter surprises! I also saw my red brittle star that I thought was a goner. He had lost 3 1/2 arms and then crawled into the rocks. That was about a month ago. Today he has 5 arms and he was cruising around like he owned the joint at sunset.

 

looking good, my next coral will be one of those caps. I almost picked up an urchin also but I leave for work to Seattle for a couple weeks so I won't add anything until I get back. My pistol shrimp pops out when I drop food in and then disappears again also, it has gone from about a half inch to an inch now though so I know it is doing well.

Thanks! Get the monti caps! They're so cool! I want to try some encrusting ones next...

Link to comment

Puppy! My neighbor's former cat (inherited after her mom died) had lived all his life in a rambler until he came to live with her & was completely twitted out by stairs. He'd get to the landing in between flights and be stuck too :lol:.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Mr. Microscope

Wow! Your tank is beautiful and I really like your livestock selection.

15566589255_ec6da98254_z.jpg

Stay tuned for a new FTS...

What's going on in the bottom right corner of this pic? It looks like a massive neon green aiptasia. I've never seen anything like it. It's beautiful whatever it is. Penny for a macro shot of it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment

 

Wow! Your tank is beautiful and I really like your livestock selection.

What's going on in the bottom right corner of this pic? It looks like a massive neon green aiptasia. I've never seen anything like it. It's beautiful whatever it is. Penny for a macro shot of it!

 

Thank you!!!

 

That is a cave-dwelling duncan. :lol: The nanobox is a bit too much for it and I had to give it a cave to live in. It's happy now, but it refuses to face front! I'm hoping that it will be happy enough to bud a few more heads soon and at least one will face the front of the tank. The duncan is a sentimental favorite because it was my first coral I bought for this tank. Back before the nanobox arrived and I was running my fuge light over the tank! It was doing so well under the low light, no wonder the nanobox irritated it. The flow may be a bit much for it right there, but it doesn't look unhappy. I turned off my pumps to try to get a better shot...

 

15424551047_dd95e530b7_c.jpg

 

I was at the un-lovely LFS again today and they had just got in some corals. They set up a new frag tank and are making an effort to have some nicer things, so I'll check it out when I'm there buying dog chews (which is all the time). They had this pretty little torch coral, and I'd been thinking about getting something flowy for the middle of the tank, so I figured, why not? I don't have to pay shipping… ;)

 

15424694577_27aab86d46_c.jpg

 

Somebody has been having sexy times in my tank. :eek: Does anyone know what kind of eggs those are on the back glass to the left of the torch? I'm hoping stomatella… I'm starting to see a lot more of them in the tank and I like them. From the pictures I've found online they look more like dwarf ceriths thought. If they are dwarf cerith eggs I may cry. I am starting to really hate those things!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Mr. Microscope

 

Thank you!!!

 

That is a cave-dwelling duncan. :lol: The nanobox is a bit too much for it and I had to give it a cave to live in. It's happy now, but it refuses to face front! I'm hoping that it will be happy enough to bud a few more heads soon and at least one will face the front of the tank. The duncan is a sentimental favorite because it was my first coral I bought for this tank. Back before the nanobox arrived and I was running my fuge light over the tank! It was doing so well under the low light, no wonder the nanobox irritated it. The flow may be a bit much for it right there, but it doesn't look unhappy. I turned off my pumps to try to get a better shot...

Very cool! I was thinking duncan, but yeah, it's in the cave. So... Haha! Pretty animal. How long have you had it? Any signs that it's starting to spout out new heads?
  • Like 1
Link to comment

Holy crap that black cherry wellsophyllia. I WANT IT!



Oh, and can I have your dog too? Please? Thanks. Just ship him in the same box as the wellso he should be fine. :wub:

  • Like 3
Link to comment

Pretty new torch! I get those same type of eggs and I don't have stomatellas in my big tank. I'm pretty sure those are from the Florida Ceriths...sorry :). Why don't you like them?

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Very cool! I was thinking duncan, but yeah, it's in the cave. So... Haha! Pretty animal. How long have you had it? Any signs that it's starting to spout out new heads?

 

No signs of new buds that I can see yet, but my fingers are crossed. With my luck any new buds will be toward the back anyway. <_<

 

Holy crap that black cherry wellsophyllia. I WANT IT!

 

Oh, and can I have your dog too? Please? Thanks. Just ship him in the same box as the wellso he should be fine. :wub:

 

You can borrow the puppy. Just send him back when he's fully housetrained! ;) Can't have the wellso - it's already housebroken!

 

Pretty new torch! I get those same type of eggs and I don't have stomatellas in my big tank. I'm pretty sure those are from the Florida Ceriths...sorry :). Why don't you like them?

 

Thanks!

 

The dwarf ceriths just clutter up my tank and end up everywhere they don't belong. I never see them doing anything but sitting around either. And… reefcleaners sent me 5000 of them so they are EVERYWHERE. I feel like the stomatellas are more industrious for some reason.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...