Felicia Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 I use the stuff that comes in a small white-ish clear-kinda container that came as a two pack. Haven't touched the alk bottle, but I'm gonna go buy a gallon of calcium! Yeah I believe that's B-Ionic. A lot of the stores will sell the two parts separately instead of as a pack like that, so you should be able to get just the Ca part. Alright, I lied about no tank shots. I'm sitting on my couch enjoying the tank and I ended up snapping a few quick shots. I didn't adjust the light for the iphone or anything, so these aren't perfect, but I think they turned out pretty well. You can also see Draco up in the front right corner begging for food in a few shots. Loving the view from my couch right now! FTS 6/23/15 Can you spot Draco? And a bit different angle. Moving these to the new page since it'll probably be a bit before I post some more photos. My family is getting here tomorrow and staying for a week, so I'm not going to be doing much tank stuff while they're here. 4 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 So in irritating news, everyone's favorite fish seems to really be annoying the big squammy. He likes to sit on its schutes and nibble algae off the shell, but then the last few days I have caught him actually nipping at the mantle. The clam is mostly fine but in one little place where the blenny keeps picking, it won't open the mantle fully. I really don't want to get rid of the blenny, so I'm going to increase feeding to see if I can stop this bad habit. I switched the fish onto the lionfish schedule of only eating 3 times a week, which might be annoying the blenny. I'm going to go back to feeding him every day. I also put in an algae sheet on a clip to distract him away from the clam. Not sure if that will work. If the clam is still annoyed in a couple days, its water bottle trap time and he'll have to go unfortunately. Quote Link to comment
Zia Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Arnt you supposed to be cleaning Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Arnt you supposed to be cleaning Trying...I keep deciding I need a break Quote Link to comment
Zia Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 You and me both! This machine I'm on is what I'd imagine taking a trip through hell would be like, lol Good luck over there 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Quick tank update: My starry blenny that has been totally fine with my original two clams for months decided he wanted to nip the big squamosa that I got from Gena. I was hoping it was just a couple times, but he kept doing it over the last few days and was really annoying the clam. I like the clam more than him, so he had to go. I caught him in about 15 minutes today using the water bottle fish trap, and then took him to a friend who lives nearby. He's in a 300 gallon tank now, so I don't feel too bad for him. He got an upgrade. I'm just sad to see him go because he had a ton of personality and was fun to photograph. Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Wow! For my monthly drop-in at NR I can't wait to tell you how in love I am with your tank! I wasn't so sure about a predator setup, but am finally groking it. Really unique and it looks like there's a lot of flowing corals. Hopefully less stress/babying than sps? 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 I honestly have no clue where he got it. I just asked him and he said "A true gentleman never reveals his wizardly secrets." Followed by "Nope. Sorry, i'll go to my grave with my gentlemanly secret make my g/f happy ways." Not even for his girlfriend's friend???? Phooey . I find all my cute stuff on etsy . I just got this Buddha cat for my kitchen window sill off of Etsy LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Wow! For my monthly drop-in at NR I can't wait to tell you how in love I am with your tank! I wasn't so sure about a predator setup, but am finally groking it. Really unique and it looks like there's a lot of flowing corals. Hopefully less stress/babying than sps? Glad you're liking it! I wasn't so sure about it myself when I first had the idea, and was like what the heck and went for it. So glad I did, I'm loving the predators! Yes, much less stress so far, although I do have two SPS corals that are doing great. I've got it all balanced now where all the different corals seem happy, so I'm adding some more SPS soon. Going back to the full mixed reef look like my original tank. Not even for his girlfriend's friend???? Phooey . I find all my cute stuff on etsy . I just got this Buddha cat for my kitchen window sill off of Etsy LOL. Ha! I think its because he doesn't want me to know where he's been buying gifts from. Who knows? Etsy is amazing. I shouldn't get on there though because I get sucked in for hours and want to buy so much stuff. That Buddha cat is pretty adorable! Happy 4th of July, everyone! My family just left today, so I'm back! I'm pretty wiped out from having company for a week, but I'm going to try to get caught back up on here and not be behind. To start with, how about a few photos of the lions? I snapped these a few nights ago. Tomorrow evening I'll try to get a new FTS and some other photos for you guys! The antennata. Draco Mushu hanging out upside down. He spends a good amount of his time upside down like a bat. And here's a couple cute Lily photos for her fans 8 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Here are a few photos from when my family was here visiting. We went to the NASCAR race at Sonoma Raceway because my dad loves NASCAR. He's a big Jeff Gordon fan and this is Gordon's last season before he retires. Since Gordon is from Vallejo, CA which is right near Sonoma Raceway, there are a lot of fans here. Jeff Gordon's pit. We also did some more exploring the California coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Here's the Pigeon Point lighthouse and some photos of the coastline. Me with my dad. Me with my mom. 5 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 I've got a fun new video of the predator feeding frenzy for you guys! Took this one from the top down, for a fun different angle. 3 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 And here's another video of the tank. Enjoy! 3 Quote Link to comment
yoshii Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 The tank is looking even more awesome! That purple sponge is beautiful Pigeon Point is my favorite beach! Looks like you went on a pretty nice day too! 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 The tank is looking even more awesome! That purple sponge is beautiful Pigeon Point is my favorite beach! Looks like you went on a pretty nice day too! Thanks, Christina! Its starting to grow out and fill back in. I just need to get a few more SPS pieces for the top of the bonsai pillar and I want to get some more gorgonians to intersperse around the other corals for some height and movement. Should be getting some new stuff the end of next week. The purple sponge is really cool. Super easy since its 100% photosynthetic and is totally fine with being exposed to air. Almost grows like a weed honestly. Its really cool how it grows like a scroll monti too. I'll probably start fragging it soon since a lot of people have been asking about it. You're welcome to a piece if I frag it before you move. I hadn't actually been to the Pescadero area before. I usually go down to Monterey or Carmel for the diving and skip over that section of coast. It was beautiful, so I'm glad we checked it out. It was really nice weather. Not too cool or hot and it was a bit foggy, but still a bit sunny too so it was really pretty with the fog hanging over the water. Quote Link to comment
yoshii Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Thanks, Christina! Its starting to grow out and fill back in. I just need to get a few more SPS pieces for the top of the bonsai pillar and I want to get some more gorgonians to intersperse around the other corals for some height and movement. Should be getting some new stuff the end of next week. The purple sponge is really cool. Super easy since its 100% photosynthetic and is totally fine with being exposed to air. Almost grows like a weed honestly. Its really cool how it grows like a scroll monti too. I'll probably start fragging it soon since a lot of people have been asking about it. You're welcome to a piece if I frag it before you move. I hadn't actually been to the Pescadero area before. I usually go down to Monterey or Carmel for the diving and skip over that section of coast. It was beautiful, so I'm glad we checked it out. It was really nice weather. Not too cool or hot and it was a bit foggy, but still a bit sunny too so it was really pretty with the fog hanging over the water. How are the SPS doing with the switch to a pred tank? Do you have to do water changes more often? I've seen them in a few tanks before, I don't know why I never got one lol I would love a frag! I can trade you gorgs or macros if you want If you go to the right (north) of the light house, past the sandy beach area, there are some amazing tidepools at low tide. It's my favorite beach because of those tidepools (and the lighthouse is nice) I'm glad you liked it! 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 How are the SPS doing with the switch to a pred tank? Do you have to do water changes more often? I've seen them in a few tanks before, I don't know why I never got one lol I would love a frag! I can trade you gorgs or macros if you want If you go to the right (north) of the light house, past the sandy beach area, there are some amazing tidepools at low tide. It's my favorite beach because of those tidepools (and the lighthouse is nice) I'm glad you liked it! I have two SPS in there right now that are doing great. They were the test run before I add more. There's the big bali slimer colony that always has great color and PE and then the plating hydnophora that is also super puffy with good color, so I think I'm ready for some more SPS. I was having some nitrate issues at the beginning with the predators, but I switched my reactor from a GFO/carbon mix to now biopellets and nitrates are soooo much better. They were sitting at 25+ with the GFO and carbon, but with the biopellets they dropped to 10 for a while and now are down to around 7.5. Phosphates are down to reading at about zero now, so no real issues from the predator feeding. Biopellets was really the trick with the predators. Also, I am keeping up with more water changes now, but I was going to do that anyway to be more disciplined. I'm doing a 10 gallon change once a week. I set up a nice mixing station right by the tank, and have a good system going so now its easier and I'm doing better with sticking to that. I got a big piece for free from one of the BAR members who lives just down the road from me. He has a huge colony that grows like a weed so he has to rip out large chunks all the time. I sold off most of my colony when I took down the seahorse tank, and only moved a tiny frag to this tank. Its finally at the size where growth is exponential, so I'll have to frag it very soon. I'll stop by Baja with a piece for you next time I'm down that way. A gorg trade would be awesome, but I really don't need anything. For you, I will just bring you a nice piece We did go down to that beach and it was gorgeous. Unfortunately, we hit it during high tide since we didn't plan for the tides, so there weren't any tide pools. I love tide pooling though so I'll have to go back and make sure I time it with low tide. Still a beautiful beach though Quote Link to comment
yoshii Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I have two SPS in there right now that are doing great. They were the test run before I add more. There's the big bali slimer colony that always has great color and PE and then the plating hydnophora that is also super puffy with good color, so I think I'm ready for some more SPS. I was having some nitrate issues at the beginning with the predators, but I switched my reactor from a GFO/carbon mix to now biopellets and nitrates are soooo much better. They were sitting at 25+ with the GFO and carbon, but with the biopellets they dropped to 10 for a while and now are down to around 7.5. Phosphates are down to reading at about zero now, so no real issues from the predator feeding. Biopellets was really the trick with the predators. Also, I am keeping up with more water changes now, but I was going to do that anyway to be more disciplined. I'm doing a 10 gallon change once a week. I set up a nice mixing station right by the tank, and have a good system going so now its easier and I'm doing better with sticking to that. I got a big piece for free from one of the BAR members who lives just down the road from me. He has a huge colony that grows like a weed so he has to rip out large chunks all the time. I sold off most of my colony when I took down the seahorse tank, and only moved a tiny frag to this tank. Its finally at the size where growth is exponential, so I'll have to frag it very soon. I'll stop by Baja with a piece for you next time I'm down that way. A gorg trade would be awesome, but I really don't need anything. For you, I will just bring you a nice piece We did go down to that beach and it was gorgeous. Unfortunately, we hit it during high tide since we didn't plan for the tides, so there weren't any tide pools. I love tide pooling though so I'll have to go back and make sure I time it with low tide. Still a beautiful beach though Good to hear Do you find the biopellets easy to use? I've never had them before and haven't looked at their use and maintenance in a few years, so I image they are easier to use now That would be awesome, thank you Felicia! At least I'll have to get you cookies or something haha It's only about a 1.5hr away from me, but of course it must be like an extra hour for you Definitely worth it at low tide though! 1 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I just enjoy your videos so much. I don't usually watch the Sonoma track race but I am watching the Daytona one tonight. I really enjoyed touring it during my June vacation returning from Miami. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Good to hear Do you find the biopellets easy to use? I've never had them before and haven't looked at their use and maintenance in a few years, so I image they are easier to use now That would be awesome, thank you Felicia! At least I'll have to get you cookies or something haha It's only about a 1.5hr away from me, but of course it must be like an extra hour for you Definitely worth it at low tide though! The biopellets are super easy so far. That was actually part of the appeal in switching to them from GFO and carbon. I got sick of having to rinse a bunch of media and having to change it every 2 weeks or so. The biopellets are completely not messy and don't require any rinsing. They also take a long time to be consumed, so once you have the amount you need for your tank, you don't have to mess with them for at least several months. Then you just top off with a bit more once some are consumed. No need to dump out old media, clean out the reactor, rinse and fill with new media all the time. The only thing with the biopellets is you just have to start slow so you don't drop levels too quickly and shock the system. But that's pretty much the same for GFO. I started with like 1/4 of the recommended amount for my tank and have been using that for over a month. Soon I'll add a bit more and work up to a good long-term amount. Other things to consider is that you need good flow to the reactor so that the pellets tumble and don't clump. That was no problem for me, since my reactor is teed off my return pump, which has plenty of power. Also, you need to have a good skimmer if you run biopellets because the extra bacteria produce a biofilm of sorts that needs to be skimmed out. No worries. I'll let you know when I frag it and I can always use an excuse to stop by the aquarium stores It actually was only like an hour and a half or so away from me. Would depend on traffic though since I went over the Bay Bridge and down through San Fran, which would be a nightmare a lot of the time. Lucked out and had like absolutely no traffic. I just enjoy your videos so much. I don't usually watch the Sonoma track race but I am watching the Daytona one tonight. I really enjoyed touring it during my June vacation returning from Miami. Thank you! I enjoy making the videos of the lionfish antics. The Sonoma one is a road track, which is definitely different. Since I grew up in Florida, I went to several races at Daytona. I also went to a few with my dad at the track in Charlotte. My parents live in Atlanta, so they like to go to the one there, the one in Charlotte, and the one in Bristol, TN. Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Well, so far not watching anything w/ the rain delay in Daytona. But the first track I went to was Bristol then Charlotte. So, yeah, very different experiences but equally fun. 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 How did your mom like the eel?????? Everything is looking really happy . 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Well, so far not watching anything w/ the rain delay in Daytona. But the first track I went to was Bristol then Charlotte. So, yeah, very different experiences but equally fun. Yeah my parents were trying to watch when I talked to them earlier and it was still rain delayed. That's always a pain, waiting for it to stop raining and then for them to dry the track. How did your mom like the eel?????? Everything is looking really happy . My mom was actually ok with the eel once she saw it in person. My sister was actually the one who was super creeped out by it and was convinced it was going to get out and slither on her in her sleep She kept double checking I had the lid taped down good, haha! Thanks, Gena. Everything is doing well right now, so I'm super happy. 2 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 I promised a new FTS, so here it is! FTS 7/5/15 Left side Middle Right side 4 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Fun side shot of the tank. Let's start with the photos of the fish. First off, Draco since he loves to pose for photos. Mushu Mushu and Draco Mushu and Falkor Falkor The clownfish 4 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Ok now for some coral shots. 5 Quote Link to comment
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