DJ Bacon's new and improved 14g biocube with 72 watt nanocustoms upgrade

[Djbacon]

Just realized my maroon clown went and had a sex change - was bright orange when I got him and now she is dark purple, almost black - upon further reading I learned that all clowns are boys at birth and when isolated the males will turn female.

 

Cool

 

Reference photo at acquisition

 

 

Now, as you can see, shes a different fish !!

 

[Djbacon]

Got a new addition last night - cool little pom pom crab. Sadly it disappeared as soon I put it in the tank. I hope my brain didnt eat it. Have not been able to find it since the first hour it was in the tank. Probably just hiding somewhere I cant see him but my brain looked awfully flush and fed when I went to bed. We'll see

 

 

also a new right side view of the gorgonia in full flux.

 

[Djbacon]

Got a couple new frags today -

 

1 acan of unknown variety (if you can ID it I'd love to know)

 

also got a new ricordea, little blue guy with 2 purple mouths, he was harvested so he's still acclimating to the new tank. I'll post abetter pic when it opens up a biot more.

 

Doing a little rearranging of the tank - coco worm is going to the ground where it looks a little more natural. And Im terribly afraid my brain ate my pom pom crab........to be continued (looks full doesnt it :smck: )

 

 

 

and last but not least - the fat brain

 

[Djbacon]

Haven't posted an actinic shot in a while -

 

[Djbacon]

Got some new top down shots - never done these before - HAPPY 6 months to the TANK !

 

kinda fun from a different angle - the shrooms and zoas are growing like crazy

 

 

 

 

enjoy

[14GNANO]

LOOKS GREAT! way better than my 14 gall.

[Djbacon]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Guys its been a long time since I have posted. I am on the road for work about 5 days a week right now and go home pretty much to change water. my wife is taking care of the rest. I think shes having a little troubloe with my gorgonian which has a short 1 inch spot which seems to not bloom with feeders anymore -

 

Will post pics this weekend when i get home- all elese is well aside from my bastard clown fish that nips at my coco worm everytime it pokes its head out.

 

Im a little afraid he is not feeding enough either as the territorial clown wont leave it alone.

 

Hope you are all well - Ill try to get some new shots up soon. Its going to be about 6 weeks o the road and I miss checking in on RS.

 

considering giving the clown cak to the LFS as my plans for the 35g have been delayed dye to work. i can barely maintain my 14 !!!

[Djbacon]

MAN has it been a long time since I have posted - I have been travelling for work and things in my tank are challenging when Im only home once a week, between my wife and the sitter that helps when she is gone Im sure the tank is not getting the proper care.

 

Let's start with the good news - the coco worm is doing great !! AFter moving him a bit away from the damn terrirtorial clown fish - he is out all the time and looking better than ever.

 

 

My zoas continue to flourish

 

 

The Xenia are OUT OF CONTROL and taking over the right side of the tank

 

 

And all my fish are in good shape and good health, including my latest addition - the scooter blenny :hallo:

 

The bad news is every time I get home after days on the road, the tank has a reen slime on the walls from over feeding of phyto (for the worm and gorgonian) and there is a new growth of green hair algae popping up which is most certainly due to the added nutrients in the water.

 

I am doing a 50% Water change every week to try to combat this but it aint helping much. Ive also found a couple aipstasia that I dispatched with joe's juice.

 

 

Any tips on this woud be great -

 

Worse yet is the health of my gorgonian - when I am home I target feed him mysis and kent marine or phytofeast daily when the octocorals are extended. I also blast it gently with the turkey baster to remove any accumulated secretions or detritus. In my absence parts have stopped opening up and are showing a little discoloration. No skelleton showing yet, but I can tell it is not as happy. I have 3 more weeks of travelling before I can care full time for it again. Any advice on things to do to help him would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Im afraid I know the answer already though - unless I hire a professional to come and care for it in my absence it will likely get worse. I have tried to teach my wifee to the best of my ability how to care fo rit but I hink she gets freaked out about putting her hands in the tank still.

 

Anyway - hope everyone's tanks are doing great !!

thats all for now.

[plainrt]

isnt min size for that clown like 50 gallons?

 

 

nice tank anyways.its growing in well.

[HoomHow]

isnt min size for that clown like 50 gallons?

 

 

nice tank anyways.its growing in well.

 

Lookin' good! I LOVE the coco worm!

 

I get the green algae growin on my tank walls as well. Usually after about 2 weeks or so. Do you have a 'fuge for macro algae to grow in? I converted the middle chamber of my tank into a fuge by adding a bulb on the back. For a while my chaeto was growing like MAD! I thinned it out, I think, a little too much ... I need to get some more chaeto While it was growing in the back, it really kept the algae off the walls.

 

If I were you I would cut down on some of the feeding. I found when I was feeding phyto it REALLY increased my algae blooms. Apparently it is known for doing that. I don't plan on using it for my coco worm ...

 

Good luck! Travel safe!

[Djbacon]

Yeah, thanks Hoomhow,

 

I know I am overfeeding the tank - doing so deliberately in order to try and nurse the gorgonian back to 100% - unfortunately there is no way I can target feed that thing effectively enough to not get extra food all over the tank -

 

making sure to do 50% W/Cs weekly to counter the overfeeding. I've tried another product by Kent Marine that is orange and designed for filter feeders. It is orange in color and ends up having the same effect on the tank only in orange instead of green. When I get done with my crazy work schedule I am going to do some SERIOUS tank maintenance. Possibly add a fuge. Until then I will be grateful just to keep everything alive !!

[Djbacon]

Hi Nano-Reef

 

Been a good little while since a new update - have some new pics here. Sadly after my travels this quarter I gave up on my gorgonian and gave it to freind with a bigger tank. I think that the combination of my absence and the lack of adequate feeding and flow are to blame. It is still kicking and will hopefully pull through but was just doing well in my tank.

 

Although I have been battling a small cuano bacteria problem, things in my tank are generally flourishing. I have started fragging out my xenia and mushrooms out of necessity and traded some in for a small leather in pictured in the center here.

 

A couple other pics to show progress. things have REALLy filled out!!!

 

Hope you are all well and wonderful.

 

 

 

 

[Djbacon]

OK folks, as promised, here is the latest update with current pics - coming soon, a years retrospective - but for now -

 

 

an actinic

 

 

the new shrimp

 

and here are some new left right and full tank pics.

 

Enjoy !!

 

 

 

and the full shot

[Djbacon]

Hi everyone, Sorry it has been so long since I have posted, as mentioned I was off in Thailand for a month and I developed a bit of an embarrassing hair algae and bryopsis problem while I was away. My firefish goby died and it just got worse.

 

I tried everything from massive water changes, chemical additives, which I generally dislike, clipping which just seemed to speead it around worse. My phosphates are 0 but the tank does get some sunlight so.....anyway, I finally resorted to a new purchase. I resorted to rather large (for my tank) emerald crab.

 

His name is Oscar and you can see him below. He is doing great job! In the first week Id say 60% of the algae was gone and now there is only a small corner that he has yet to find to devour. No issues with other tank mates (yet)

 

Meanwhile, everything is growing like gangbusters. There are a couple shots of my now 4 headed hammer coral as well as a trumpet coral that went from 2 stalks to 6 in the last few months.

 

Enjoy the pics, Ill get some more full tank shots up once all the algae is gone...almost there :jumprope:

 

Hi, my name is Oscar

 

 

I'm a hard worker

 

 

When I'm not working I like to wear this mushroom hat

 

 

This is a bad hammer coral....It killed off Rick's Xenia, but it IS growing!

 

 

After moving away from the scary Hammer coral, I have split myself 3 times !

 

 

 

Oh and if you are into the pics of the diving trip - here are the links

 

I've been off travelling around Thailand for the last month or so. Did a lot of scuba diving while away - thought id share some pics and video I took of Koh Tao, Similan and Khao Lok while away.

 

enjoy

 

similan diving - a set on Flickr

 

Khao Lok Wreck dive - a set on Flickr

 

koh tao scuba - a set on Flickr

 

It was REALLY cool diving through that billion dollar real estate. colonies of LPS and SPS the size of football fields at times.

 

Awesome !!!

[Gerber77]

Excellent shots of the tank, and amazing shots from diving.

[coralcor]

wow thats a nice tank!

[Djbacon]

Here is a little slide show of the tank over the last 16 months

 

URL=http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg32/djbacon_photo/?action=view&current=9bcb7de0.pbw][/url]

 

http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg32/dj...nt=9bcb7de0.pbw

[D3monic]

came along nicely...what happened to the sponge?