4 Year Old 40 Breeder

[Weetabix7]

I'd be happy to trade you some Blue Cloves for something out of your tank, you have so many beautiful things.

[GobyInPeace]

I'd be happy to trade you some Blue Cloves for something out of your tank, you have so many beautiful things.

 

Thanks!

 

That would be great!!! How about a trade for a frag of one of my pipe organs?

 

Here are the full tank shots:

 

 

 

[Weetabix7]

I'd like some Pipe Organs, always wanted some.

Do you need any Blue Xenia or Encrusting Green Gorgonian?

I'll try to PM you later tonight to work out details, gotta get dinner for kiddies right now.

PM me if I forget.

It happens, I get interrupted a lot.

Your tank is still one of my favorite on here, I'm always telling friends about it.

[Lalani]

*drool*

[PSYS]

Amazing!!!

[nanoty]

Gorgeous tank, makes me want to ditch my sump and skimmer.

[SeeDemTails]

You have some really nice pipe organs!

[GobyInPeace]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

[Gerber77]

Dude your tank is so awesome

[gulfsurfer101]

That's a beauty! Very cool looking tank.

[Weetabix7]

This tank is very close to what I'd like to do with my 30g upgrade that I'm working on.

I really like your "Biology over Technology" approach.

After reading through the whole thread, I have a couple of questions for you.

Do you ever have any problems with detritus building up behind the rockwork and beneath the chaeto?

It seems like there would be little to no flow there and I've had detritus build up issues in similar situations before.

Do you rotate the chaeto so that what is on the bottom is moved to the top?

 

When you stir up the sandbed, what do you do with the junk that comes up out of it? Is it something you do when you do a WC, and then remove the detritus at that time?

With the lower flow in your tank I would think the detritus would just resettle unless you actively did something to remove it.

 

Have you ever had any issues with GHA or other forms of pest macroalgae and if so, how did you handle them?

 

In a similar vein, have you ever had anything go wrong with this system, and how did you handle it?

I find that I always learn a lot from my mistakes.

Is there anything that you wish you had done differently with this system?

Anything that you would do differently from the start, given the opportunity?

 

Thanks for any and all input, and again, this is one of the most beautiful systems on NR, congrats on a job very well done.

[doktorstick]

Bump for Weetabix's questions.

[GobyInPeace]

OK sorry this is so late. I don't spend much time talking reefs in the summer. I work quite a bit and don't have many days off.

 

I have a couple of questions for you.

 

Do you ever have any problems with detritus building up behind the rockwork and beneath the chaeto?

I don't have problems because I know that's where most of my build up occurs and this is the area that is targeted during water changes and baster blasting.

 

It seems like there would be little to no flow there and I've had detritus build up issues in similar situations before.

Detritus can build up in various spots in almost any tank once you add LR and are fully stocked with corals. The key is too keep it in suspension through other means like basting.

 

Do you rotate the chaeto so that what is on the bottom is moved to the top?

 

I remove the cheato wad and tap it with an acrylic rod every once and awhile to free up the detritus. During this process it gets rotated.

 

When you stir up the sandbed, what do you do with the junk that comes up out of it?

Nothing unless I am doing a water change. I let most of it get filtered out through the carbon bag. The rest just settles again or is food for the corals.

Is it something you do when you do a WC, and then remove the detritus at that time?

 

I always try to remove as much as possible during WCs.

 

With the lower flow in your tank I would think the detritus would just resettle unless you actively did something to remove it.

 

It does resettle or it becomes bacterioplankton which is a proven food for most corals.

 

Have you ever had any issues with GHA or other forms of pest macroalgae and if so, how did you handle them?

 

The only issue I had is an invasive red lettuce type algae. I raised 2 baby yellow tangs to keep it in check. Once the corals took over there was no need. I still have some of this macro algae in my tank today.

 

In a similar vein, have you ever had anything go wrong with this system, and how did you handle it?

 

Never had anything go wrong except some dinos and diatoms during the first 6 months or so. I performed a series of 3 day black outs to rid me of these problems and I still do the black-outs as part of my regular maintenance.

 

I find that I always learn a lot from my mistakes.

Is there anything that you wish you had done differently with this system?

Anything that you would do differently from the start, given the opportunity?

 

Nope. I don't think I would have changed a thing except introducing the red macro algae.

 

Thanks for any and all input, and again, this is one of the most beautiful systems on NR, congrats on a job very well done.

 

Thank you very much!

 

Last week I sold off most of my corals and am going for a more natural lagoon type reef with more types of macro algae and fish. I was forced to do so because I will be traveling a lot and did not want to come home to a crashed tank. I did keep frags of many of my oldest corals and some of the larger colonies along the top. All the exotic stuff was sold for some nice cash.

 

The tank was as good as it could possibly get in my eyes and cutting back all the time was getting a bit ridiculous so I decided to move into a different direction and am quite pleased with the results. The last 5 years growing all those corals from small frags was quite rewarding in the end and I found a good home for them.

 

I am going to get a mate for my pipefish and now have a small school of 5 chromis swimming around along with my watchmen goby. The tank is going to have more of an emphasis on fish and other critters now. I am also searching for interesting strains of macro algae.

 

I will post a pic soon. I know many of you may be disappointed but I feel my tank is still a success and enjoy it with-out the worries of a crash. It was either do this or take it down completely.

[Weetabix7]

Thanks so much for coming back and answering my questions.

I totally understand being busy with "Real Life" and having to be stay away for a bit, no worries at all.

While I really loved your old setup, I don't see it as a disappointment that you're going in a new direction.

Life changes, and we have to adapt to it.

I appreciate the innovative yet simple direction your approach to Reefing sometimes takes and look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Actually, I think your new direction is a little ironic since I am getting more into Macroalgaes myself and will be setting up a Display Refugium shortly.

There's a group of us who have been kinda heading in this direction lately, and I may even be setting up a Macroalgae Trade/Swap for us next week.

PM me if you might be interested in that, and check out this thread:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...t=0&start=0

[GobyInPeace]

Thanks Weetabix! I'll check out that thread.

 

As promised here are some current pics:

 

 

 

 

 

I left the LR the way it was. I am going to be adding the macro algae along the sand bed in the middle.

Edited September 26, 2009 by GobyInPeace

[scooternerd]

ok so whats ur address so i can steal ur tank! holy crap that's the nicest 40B i have ever seen! well done

[masterbuilder]

Oh yeah...really disappointed! NOT.

[GobyInPeace]

Thanks guys. I think I have a nice vision for this new direction I am taking. The upper ridge of the rockwork is going to consist of various pipe organs and clove polyps along with the larger colonies I have. I traded the hammer frag I had in the sandbed for a nice pipe organ and kept some of my blue cloves. I also picked up a pair of firefish and some more macros but nothing special. I am trying to go for an even more natural look.

 

I'll post some more pics tomorrow but here is a quick shot of my dragonface that I took today:

 

Edited October 3, 2009 by GobyInPeace

[HeyLookItsCaps]

its amazing how much biger a 40 br looks than a bc29....JEEZ im jealous

[JBM]

thats cause the breeder is wide & deep

 

a biocube is well, a cube

[GobyInPeace]

My latest additions a pair of firefish and a pipe organ frag:

 

 

 

FTS:

 

 

I am looking forward to my macro order from reefcleaners but I won't be able to make it for a couple of weeks yet.

[got2envy]

Those firefish are in heaven

[plainrt]

looking good.Like the new fish.

 

 

 

Just seeing what other ideas i can get from you lol

[1337TANKHAX]

Woah that is a gorgeous pipefish! I really like your tank.

[wenelyn]

Your tank makes me happy!