Urchinhead Posted April 26, 2008 Author Share Posted April 26, 2008 Thank you. Its a work in progress courtesy of me making some very foolish choices. Sigh. All of my fish have good personalities but the six line stands out for sure. I thought I saw a big just pumped the neighbor's cat grin on his face as he scooted off with the food... A bit of guarded good news... The clam has improved throughout the day. Its no longer gaping or discolored and is responding to shadow and movement and may have reattached itself to the rock. Still touch and go but the reality is my first responsibility is to my charges in the tank which means instead of completing my lights out cycle I am just going to have to live with the diatom outbreak while my clam heals up... UH Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 Here are some updated and organized photos. First... My Beasties: And my fish: Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 So as of late I find myself not being able to sleep and roaming the halls in the wee hours of the morning... One of the things I like to do is sit in my chair and look in my tank under the moon lights. It brings me a quantum of solace actually and I tend to drift off to sleep. So with that said here are some photos of what I see: Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted May 1, 2008 Author Share Posted May 1, 2008 Went home for lunch today and had to snap a few more photos. As you can see I am still having a problem with my #%)(*@Q(%@Q# diatoms but its getting better slowly. Sigh. You can also see my Maxima has made somewhat of a recovery down there on the sand bed. I realized that the light I had him under was too intensive and that was why he was falling off so much. So for now he is going to sit down there until he gets better. (I hope) The Crocea is going to a new home this weekend so I got some good shots of him last night during my 'Quantum of solace' period. Hes been a good lad and I will miss him... You can also get a good look at my new forest green and blue blasto's. The Blues were stung by a coral before it got to me but over the last two weeks has been growing back so I will most likely frag it in a few weeks/months when they fill in the skeletons you see on the rock. Same with my xmas blasto's and red/white and xmas Acans. One of the byproducts of my Noob overfeeding has been that I have *ALLOT* of small new heads on all three. The Acan's especially. The blasto has about 4 new ones. These were shot in my 'blue' period at the middle of the day when its the hottest in the house so only the actinic lights were on. Link to comment
moonman Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 Nice tank. I just recently purchased a pro and am currently in the process of setting it up. Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted May 3, 2008 Author Share Posted May 3, 2008 Nice tank. I just recently purchased a pro and am currently in the process of setting it up. Good deal! Did you get the whole package from Eddie or did he let you mix and match your own kit? Well after my rock disaster and reaquascape I got to thinking how exactly I wanted things to look in the new tank. In the last configuration I felt it was way to closed off and way too unstable. As well as way to hard to clean things. So... I waited for my diatom problem from over feeding to get back under better control and then went to town. I pulled everything out and this is what I came up with. Of course with all the crud I kicked up from the sand bed I am *SURE* its going to come back with a vengeance! Plus I found a rock that was volcanic which may have been a source of silicates that I pulled out. I like it because its more open and I left enough room for me to get things moved around and clean without nocking things over! Plus it allowed me to mix up my corals a bit more. Before I had blasto's in one spot, rics another, etc. This way, to me at least, it feels a bit more 'natural' than before. And I can place things without gluing them down or worrying that the Urchin or the Abalone are going to knock them over. Other additions are a 250w HQI MH light and a Tunze 6045 on the left side. I aimed the 6025's into the cave area so that there would be more flow close to the sand and set the 6045 to aim at the glass to break up the power it puts out. I am getting a real nice strong current with it and will add another one next week to balance things out a bit. My corals have colored up quite a bit, at least to me, under the new light and are all opening up quite a bit. Even my ric's are more happy now that I have them glued to that rock in the foreground. I have named my green brain coral Jaba the Brain because of how big he has gotten and how he looks right now. I wish I had a small Princess Lea doll in the slave outfit that I could drape next to it as well as train one of the staghorns to perch on it and cackle every few minutes to complete the image! :> I think its in the process of splitting right now but I am told that can be a *REAL* long process so I may have a smaller brain soon and one to trade. If it doesn't split it has gotten too big for the tank and will have to go to a new home most likely. The Crocea is on the sand bed because he is going to a new home tomorrow as are the zoa and ric frag's in the foreground. The Derasa now has better positioning and really perked up in the new lighting as well. Oh and last but not least... I have wanted one of these guys for quite a while and finally found one for $100 locally. After seeing it survive (its a bit beat up by a blue tang tank mate) for 2 months in my LFS and keeping it QT'ed (sorry Phixion for not showing you! I forgot) for the last 10 days... Here he is...! The latest addition to the Urchinhead family of exotics and oddballs...! A helfrich firefish! And he has *ABSOLUTELY* no problem letting the others in the tank know who is boss! I saw him turn and *NIP* the fin of my Starki who was harassing him a bit, run right up and head butt my female Perc, and my Solomon likes to flash at him (her?) and rub up against him (her?). I am not sure if this is dominance behavior or courting...! Anyone? This addition also explains why the major rock re-work happened today. (S)he was coming out of quarantine today and had his/her last formalin dip today so I had to break the territorial setup of the existing fish or else (s)he would have been hounded to death. On to the photos... Link to comment
moonman Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I got the tank and stand only before they decided to sell as "package only". Purchased from Ken @ Reeflections so I didnt directly deal with Eddie. Here's what I'm going with: Lights: Current OuterOrbit 250w w/ (4) T5 fixture Return pumpt: Eheim 1250 Skimmer: ASM G2 (currently fits but too big for tank), temporarily using CPR Bakpak (2) Koralia 3's (@ 850 gph each) Basically barebottom tank with minimal live rock structure. Going to go with SPS w/ RBTA and mated false perculas Sorry for taking over your thread. I should probably start my own thread. MM Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Nice tank choice! And no problem! Though I would suggest you go with the 1260 and not the 1250 from experience. Also look at some Tunze 6045's to help with good flow for the SPS. In other news I was so happy I had my %)#(*)@%@!@ diatom problem beat down that I dumped a generous dose of Coral Frenzy into my tank day before last. Guess what...? THEY'RE BAAAAACK! So it looks like its actually both the quantity and quality of the food I am feeding. Anyone have experience with this stuff? Seen similar things happen? Its *REALLY* starting to piss me off! UH Link to comment
moonman Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 UH, the parts listed are either stuff I've kept or already have purchased. I agree with the 1250. Somewhat weak. May use this pump to plumb the chiller. The Koralia 3's are pretty decent given the price. I'll have to post a pic. Currently going through a small cycle since most of my stuff was transferred over to downgrading a 100gl. MM Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 So allot has happened these last couple of weeks. I am now a year older and a year closer to 40. Sigh. I finished the install of my new sump/fuge and plumbing and it works very well! I lost the Helfich and I am not sure why. :< I also have a damn good cuc as I never found any forensic evidence to analyze as to why it went. :> I also found out the hidden source of my continued diatom bloom from hell... I tested my RO source water from my LFS and it came out a whopping 253! So I broke down and am now waiting on my own RO/DI unit. Lastly I came across a big rock of blue zoa's that I had to buy and will now have to frag as its just too darn big for my tank as well as a nice pink mili (I think) and a light blue one. And now some updated photos. Link to comment
zhubbell Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Ya know this is the first time I've seen your tank? It looks pretty sweet I love that clam - its a deresa right? I have a Deresa too... Nice looking zoas, and fiji leather - interested in trading any frags? Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 Ya know this is the first time I've seen your tank?It looks pretty sweet I love that clam - its a deresa right? I have a Deresa too... Nice looking zoas, and fiji leather - interested in trading any frags? Cheers mate. And thank you. Its nice save for the )%(*#)Q@#(*%)*(^(%^ diatom problem I am having. Which hopefully will cure up once I get my RO/DI unit going and manage a complete water change... Sigh It is a Derasa. Sure. What are you interested in trading? UH Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 So its been a while since I have posted to this thread and there have been some changes in the tank. I found a good home for my Solomon aka Canary Damsel as well as my Starki (thank you PGA hope you are still as enthralled by the colors as you were in the beginning) and I picked up a pair of Helfitch's Firefish who are (so far knock on wood) doing well. At first I was worried about the six line being a problem but I turned the lights out shortly after the two went into the tank and after a cursory examination by Boo (the six line) he has for the most part left them alone save for hanging out with them every once and a while. Fortunately they selected a part of the tank that is visible as you walk into the room so they are the first thing I see coming in which is nice. They are eating pellets well and may possibly be a male/female pair (perhaps wishful thinking on my part) as they hang out together and one is slightly more dominant than the other. If I remember right two males would not do well with each other so perhaps I lucked out. My babies are getting bigger as you can see from the photos. I have confirmed three baby abalone in the tank and once they reach about 1" in size I will be looking for good homes for them so if anyone is interested please let me know. The feather duster hitchhiker I had seems to be doing well also and is one of the nicer ones. It is a red/white in color and seems to be thriving. Unfortunately my diatom problem continues. Hopefully my RO/DI unit arrives today or tomorrow so I can control my source water better. I found a better source of water with only 5ppm TDS but its a 30 mile round trip which kind of sucks. I also farted about with the flow and hopefully that will help. Lastly I picked up some more nice SPS. A salmon colored mili and a huge purple grape monti that you can see in the night shot below. Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 Its been a real humiliating kick in the crotch (thank you Sting) this last week and a half. On the home front my whole family including myself has been knocked down hard by the flu. To the point where I have a buildup of fluid in my ear which is playing hob with my balance and I am gaging up lovely little pea green oysters 24/7. This on top of my mom who is in her 70's coming down with bacterial pneumonia (thank God she is on the mend). To add insult to this injury I found out that my ATO container was leaching into my RO/DI water and spiking things up to 550+ ppm! I have since fixed this with bringing my RO/DI unit online and swapping out my container with a 7 gallon glass tank. No wonder my diatom problem wasn't getting better! So a note to all of you using plastic containers as an ATO reservoir... Don't unless you are sure it won't leach! And if that wasn't enough I get a celestial thumb in the eye courtesy of a tank temp spike of 93 degrees! I managed to gradually bring it down after I caught it via ice and frozen vegi packs sealed in ziplock bags but not before it provided my CUC with a $150 grommet meal of two Helfich firefish and Derasa clam. As well as doing an unknown amount of damage to my corals that haven't manifested yet but I am still waiting for that shoe to drop. The grand irony of this was that, after reading about how temp probes went south on the AC III Pro's, I coded my Pro to turn off the cooling system safeties I had set (turn off lights, turn on fan, etc) if it saw temp's above 86' F! So it, per code, shut the fans off, cranked up the MH, and the heater! Doom on me for having a case of the clevers! Saving the best for last the final straw was this afternoon as I am staggering into work I pass by the tank and find that my prized red blasto's had fallen over onto my hammer coral and got the snot stung out of them. I think I lost about 3 heads for sure and another two possible. I will see. Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted June 14, 2008 Author Share Posted June 14, 2008 Some miscellaneous tank shots. Of note is the damage I mentioned earlier to the red blasto I have and that the pink sps/blue bonsai is lying on its side. Yes, I know its lying on its side. Its doing this for a reason. That reason being to get some light on a browned out area that isn't usually exposed to light. It has really colored up nicely and I would like to keep that color even across the whole piece. Also you can see Jaba Jr. there. I really liked the look of this guy and he is well on his way to taking his predecessor's place as a big arse brain. ;> Link to comment
Clownfish123 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 hello UH, finally got to see ur tank. man it looks nice. Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Here I am hand feeding my clown fish. Sigh. Yes. It's true. I have no life. Also a shot of Jaba jr.'s first meal. Link to comment
Phixion Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Mine always bites off more than he can chew... i.e. my fingers! He takes after my beloved Bastage quite well! What again exactly is Jaba Jr.? Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Mine always bites off more than he can chew... i.e. my fingers! He takes after my beloved Bastage quite well! What again exactly is Jaba Jr.? My favorite of the two shots is where she is just rolling up on it with her mouth already open. And Boo, the six line, is like a freaking ninja! I was feeding the stag horns a bit of shrimp last night and out of no where he appears, grabs the chunk right out of my fingers, and before I can catch him scoots into the cave area I can't reach and just looks at me with a chunk of shrimp hanging out of his mouth and a "I just pumped the neighbor's cat" look in his eye! Jaba Jr. is the open brain I had to grab because of its green/red color ring and is most likely going to be as big as Jaba The Original was after being fed like I do! God help me! Link to comment
Phixion Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Oh sweet! I can't remember if I had seen Jaba Jr. in person or not. My 6line is getting lass and less shy and coming out more. Haven't really been able to tell if he's made a dent in the flatties in my tank yet or not though. The brain in my SCNRS tank gets WAY huge by day, almost takes over the entire 1/4 of a corner it's in when fully inflated. Link to comment
klarion Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 LOL, I hand feed my fish too, but I've got only three. I guess I have no life too Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 I came home at lunch today and found my six line dead on the floor in front of my tank. His name was Boo and he had a fantastic if somewhat frustrating personality and a real love of life as far as a fish can. Always had to stick his nose into things including the cup I had in the tank to have some shrooms attach to LRR. He had to look at it from the outside then swim inside it and then back out again. He would also gaffle any food I happened to be feeding my inverts or corals including the seaweed I would feed my urchin and abalone. Literally he would stealth up checking to see if I could see him or not then dart out of the rocks, dive bomb my hand, snatch the tidbit and then rush off to hide in the rocks with it with a just pumped the neighbor's cat look on his face then come out after he was done and look at me like nothing had happened. He also liked to swim up and rest in my hand as well as play tag with me. And he loved to have his picture taken even when I didn't want him in the photo! He was with me for 2+ years and in all that time never carpet surfed once so this was a pretty big shock. He had been acting a bit 'funny' after my tank temp spike to 92 degrees and for some reason today, even though the temp never got above 80, he decided to jump out. Perhaps he was a mind to explore the 'undiscovered country' on the other side of the glass. I realize that this is 'only a fish' and its somewhat absurd for me to be upset over losing him but he was my pet, he would play with me, and he was a fun fish. Some of you understand. Others of you do not. To those who do not and are considering posting "Get a life" or "Get over its just a fish" think about how you would feel loosing your favorite pet and then please feel free to go outside and play hide and GFY. Here are a couple of photos of him... Link to comment
Phixion Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sorry to hear about the loss of Boo, UH. I DO remember seeing him too when I've been over. Link to comment
OceanNano Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sorry about your loss .... My Sixline jumped out last week also (while I was home... Thank GOD) I scooped him up (after 60 seconds of flopping around on my tile floor) and put him back in the water. Needless to say I put my glass top back on the tank now. I guess I just got lucky that time. Link to comment
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