Zook’s Zoa & LPS Reef

[RaddReef319]

Nice Tank! Looks great. I like the mini-fuge and the zoas are popping!

[douglam]

how slow can the aquadoser drip. i am curious because i want to add one for when im on vacation but i dont wanna spend for every setting it up and calculating the dosage/timing of the drip.

[zook]

Hey Gulf/Doug, haha, yeah, it's quite messy back there. I love those Duncans so much and that fact that my pair of clownfish host them is even better. I just added a RBTA and my clowns totally ignore it.

 

You can see on the first page that the Duncans didn't look so hot when I first put them in the tank, but they look better and better everyday and especially after I installed the fuge. I started with 7 heads and I can't even count how many there are on right now. Mine are about 5" from a 70W 14k MH. Flow is near the low side, but they didn't mind moderate flow at all. I feed mine twice a week: mysis, table shrimp, scallop, squid, and this "Coral Heaven" stuff I got from IPSF.

 

Doug, the Aquadoser can drip as slow as a drop every 10-15 seconds or even slow, but I never sit around long enough to find out. I got the 1400ml and at a drip rate of once every 5-10 seconds, it'll last me almost a week. You can also get the larger version and it'll last longer, but they are so bulky. Reason why I went for it is because it's inexpensive compare to the dosing pumps and such, but I might go that route later on.

[zook]

Just got a nice RBTA from a local reefer. I got lucky and it stayed put where I placed it in the tank. It's in the AP12 for now, but I'm planning to set up another tank for it soon. I'm thinking of an anemone and mantis tank. Hmmmmmm.

 

 

 

I also got another anemone that needs to be ID. Green center, mainly white, hates light, and very very sticky:

 

[pismo_reefer]

your tank is wow!

[bubbles3660]

I got a pair of tank-raised Banggai Cardinals. Both seem to be adults and are still alive, which might mean that the larger is a male and the smaller is a female. I hope that they're a "compatible" pair.

 

Great tank.

 

The larger cardinal is a male - denoted by his long central dorsal fin and square jaw. The females have a more rounded snout and stubbier dorsal. Keep an ear out for "popping" sounds. They signal each other by clicking their jaws. (Also a sign that they are getting along.)

 

I miss my Banggai. Lost him a few months ago to lymphocystis.

 

 

--bubbles

[douglam]

the rbta may walk on you so be careful. give it time the clowns may take to it. sometimes it can take awhile, but once they do its game over and they will prolly only leave it to gra food and then they take the food back to the nem to eat. i looked a dosing pump but there just too expensive. i think im going to set up my own drip line. i worked on an ambulance before i went to college so im just going to try and get some of the IV lines from them for free instead of the 13 bucks they want for them on DFS. then ill just use a milk jug or something. im just worried about mixing my alk and Ca buffers right so that i dont overdose.

 

i would wait to see if the clowns take to the nem before you move it to a new tank. nems are not nearly as cool without their clown hosts. the new tank will also need to be set up for like 6 months before you can put the nem in there.

[zook]

I'm sorry to hear about your Cardinal, Bubbles. Thank for figuring out their gender for me =D I was thinking the same, but it's always great to have someone double check to be sure. And you're right on the popping sound, I've been hearing it and seeing the male comes close to the female and rapidly move his dorsal fin. I'm crossing my fingers that they're a compatible pair. If babies come out, I'll be sure to send you some =D

 

Talking about babies, I saw another hatching from the pair of Green Banded Goby. I first thought they were baby brine shrimp, but the fry were larger and still with visible yolk sack. Sadly, like the baby brine shrimp, the other fish quickly ate everything. . .sad.

 

Hey Doug, IV and milk jug sound like a perfect solution. You can always control how much Kalk to mix into the solution so overdosing is highly unlikely. You can always dilute Ca buffer solutions as well if you're concerned. Also depends on your tank's calcium need. Mine is pretty minimum. One thing you'll definitely notice is that coralline algae begin to grow like mad. Mad!

 

Thanks for the nem tips. I'm setting up a long 6.6gal for fun now and I'm having a custom 20 long/29 gal built now so that won't be up and going for a little while. I'm kinda nervous taking care of multiple systems especially expenses, but every time I look at my peacock mantis shrimp and feed her, it's sooooo worth it

[bubbles3660]

If babies come out, I'll be sure to send you some =D

 

That would be very cool. The males are mouth brooders.

 

I have two nems in my 70 gallon. One BTA and one condy. My clown pair totally harass the bubble tip 24/7 but nothing goes near my condy and lives.

 

 

--bubbles

[douglam]

have the clowns taken any interest in the rbta yet?

[zook]

The clowns know that there's an anemone there because they steal food from it during feeding, but no interest yet. I originally wanted an RBTA for the clowns, but thought anemones were troublesome, but when I actually saw an RBTA in real life, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get one =D

[gulfsurfer101]

That is an awsome nem you got in there. RBTA's are very cool and when I got mine it came as a hitchiker on a small peice of LR with some coral on it and the guy couldn't peel it off so he gave it to me for the price of the coral. My duncans don't seem to hot right now either one full week after having them shipped to me. They seem to pop their heads out for an hour and retreat and repeat. I hope they make a full come around before they just make their way to the LFS for some more ORA frags. I'm going to be tearing down my AP12 soon to swap everything into my AP24.

[zook]

Nice catch on the RBTA, Gulf. I checked out your Duncan and you seem to have a different variety than the one Doug and I seem to have. Their tentacles are much shorter at full extension although their colors are much better, IMO.

 

Good luck with the AP24 switch, I hope to get a custom 20/29 for my mantis and move some corals over so that I can start with more SPS and clams in the AP12 =D

[gulfsurfer101]

Yeah, I'm keeping the same filtration going on with the sump but plan on getting a bigger skimmer. Those duncans were almost fully open and I did some rearanging to get some shots of some frags and they pulled back in. Yours are very cool looking and kinda remind me of an elegance coral. I hope they get to show their full potential soon so I can get better pics of them.

[zook]

Sounds great, keep us updated =D

[douglam]

what kind of light do you have on your refugium

[zook]

Hey D, I think it's just a 18W PC. I only have chaeto in there so I haven't upgraded to anything special. I'm thinking of some sea grass in the near future, so an upgrade might be needed.

 

Do you think yours is not enough?

 

 

what kind of light do you have on your refugium

[dubsmcfly]

i think its time for a photo update, how are the gobies doing? i wake up and miss them sometimes, have you seen the male do his mating dance, its really funny. When he does it, it looks like hes drunk hahaha. Think im starting a 2.5 freshwater soon wit like a neon tetra, its not the same but its all i have time for at the moment:( I also have been thinking of doing a 2.5 with black sand and a little moutain with gsp cause i always thought that would look cool. With like a yellow clown for contrast but its all ideas right now. Tank looks good as usuall

[douglam]

the light i had on there was plenty. it was a 40 watt T5 but i decided to add that to my display so i have that on the back and the 70 watt slid all the way up front to light my clams. ive now go a household clam light with a 26 watt 6500K household fluorescent over the fuge.

 

I POSTED NEW PICS

[zook]

Wow, it has been a while, hi everyone, I'm still alive, but my gobies (Yellow Watchman, Green Banded, and Sailfin) didn't make it pass the holidays. . .I really think my bubble-tipped brittle star got hungry and ate them. As far as I know, only my pair of Perculas and Cardinals remain.

 

Nonetheless, I got a few new corals for the holiday =D

 

Actual tank 12/29/08:

 

Full tank shot 12/29/08:

 

Even though there's an RBTA in the tank, my clowns still love their Duncan. They'll swim in the RBTA once in a while, but most of the time, they're in the Ducans:

 

There were 2 blue Cespitularia at my LFS 3 months ago. I bought the right one 3 months ago. I bought the left one yesterday since no one was buying it in the 3 months and it went one sale. . .

 

Ricordeas from Dubs that I glued onto one rock:

 

Hammer and small Gorgonian. . .Button Polyp is pooping. . .

 

Been fragging and trading the Zoas:

 

More Zoas (Button still pooping):

 

Even more Zoas & a Xenia:

 

Red/green Blastos:

 

Right side of the tank:

 

Yes, that's an Elegance coral:

 

And no, it's not dying, I has just been fed. It was at a LFS for over a month and its tentacles are always short so I'm assuming it's the short type or it's dying. . .we'll find out. . .

 

Here's a closer look. It has 7 mouths (that's lucky, right?) and its skeleton is one whole piece, which makes me think that it's a free-living specimen versus a piece broken from a larger specimen. The free-living ones are known to go dead on you, but let's see what happens. . .

 

RBTA is loving its spot on the left side of the tank. I love that it's there too =D

 

Very nice specimen of a purple Gorgonian. Also some Blue Cloves with the Palm Tree Cloves:

 

Left side view of the tank:

 

 

Yikes, that was long, time to rest. Please share your comments and experiences on any of the corals in the tank. Thanks!

[zook]

I just saw the Yellow Watchman Goby's head pop out underneath the Elegance coral. Guess it found the Pistol Shrimp. I should be glad, but their lair is right underneath the Elegance. What to do, what to do. Maybe I can find another location for the coral. Hmmmm.

[dubsmcfly]

o no gobies

[zook]

Oh Dubs, I'm sorry, /cry

 

 

o no gobies

[zook]

And I just saw a white mass next to the brittle star and that mass has a backbone -__________-

 

Seems like the brittle start did ate the little Gobies )=

[Tbone675]

nice tank! im in your area too. CDMAS!