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Cultivated Reef

The Miracle MAX


el fabuloso

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el fabuloso
Wow! This tanks looking awesome! Sorry you haqd so much trouble getting that fish though. I dont know if I would have go so far though lol.

Thanks! Once I had the tank completely drained I figured I might as well go all the way. The new scape has grown on me though.

 

Still looks awesome to me, stop fussing! ;)
this.

 

:lol:

Aww... you guys are the best. :)

 

Glad to see you got yourself a BTA! It looks awesome in that tank.

I LOVE the BTA! And it looks like he's staying put. :happy:

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el fabuloso

So the roomie decided to pick up a couple of true percs for the FOWLR which at first I was wary about because I know that ultimately the FOWLR is going to be a predator tank. At the moment I have a niger trigger, the infamous moon wrasse and the yellowtail damsel from my pico. At about 3" long, I figured the percs wouldn't have such a hard time in the tank.

 

They were fine for about two weeks until one of the percs went missing. This caused the other one to go into hiding all the time to the point that every time he came out the trigger no longer recognized him and would pick on him. Then yesterday he just stayed in a corner and stopped eating so I knew I had to do something. I tried putting him in the MAX but the tomato clown wasn't having him and chased him around so now I have him in the pico for the time being.

 

So what I wanna do is move the tomato clown to the FOWLR since he's probably better off in a more aggressive tank and have the true perc in the MAX. The only thing is I kinda feel bad separating him from the BTA and I'm not sure if the true perc will host the BTA.

 

Any thoughts? :unsure:

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  • 4 weeks later...
el fabuloso

Chillin'

 

To those who aren't familiar with Vegas weather, we really only get a week of spring. Similarly we also get a week of fall and the rest of the time it's either hot as hell, or cold as hell. This is a fact. This year has been rather exceptional, what with the random sprinkling of rain we've been getting and temperatures dropping from 83º to 59º overnight which is extremely unusual for this time of year. But the one thing that's certain is that summer is fast approaching and nowhere is this more obvious and more noticeable than in the Miracle MAX.

 

Last summer proved to be a disaster. I had just inherited the MAX and I wasn't at all prepared to protect the tank against the summer heat as I watched the corals bleach out and die and the tank crash before my eyes. I was not looking forward to getting a chiller but I knew it had to be done and fortunately the weather has been ambient enough to delay my having to buy one right away. Then about a week ago the temperature in the tank hit 88º and the toadstool was starting to lose its color so I knew something had to be done right away. I finally bit the bullet and got a chiller. The decision was rightfully justified once I did the math of exactly how much I would lose despite my ongoing denial of just how much money I've really spent on my tanks.

 

I went and got an Arctica Titanium Mini.

 

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Luckily it's currently on sale on DFS for a mere $319 and the best part is that it keeps the tank chill at a stable 78º and I can finally sleep better at night. :happy:

 

As for progress, things are looking good and I can finally feel better about adding new things to the tank without the fear of losing them this summer. My prized monti-mille colony has grown tremendously and sometimes I forget just how much bigger it's gotten until I look back at old pictures.

 

Then:

 

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Now:

 

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Looking at it now I can't imagine how I even managed to keep it in a pico in the first place! But now it has all the room to grow. :happy:

 

The other former pico residents have shown some considerable growth as well.

 

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Even the odd trumpet-xenia-gsp-clove combo frag has completely come back to life which demonstrates exactly what happens when corals are forced to grow in very close proximity to each other within the confines of a pico.

 

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And to those looking for something that can fill up a tank, I have three words: elephant ear mushroom

 

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The latest addition (and an awesome find) is a good size long tentacle plate coral.

 

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It's amazing how much it looks like an anemone and I'm sure I would've been happy to pretend it's an anemone if I didn't have my rose bubble tip anemone which incidentally has moved to a spot that I'm not particularly happy with.

 

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At least it's far enough from other corals and it seems to be totally happy where it is. And I still can't get enough of watching my tomato clown hosting it. :wub:

 

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And yes, that's caulerpa slowly encroaching around it which have pretty much taken over the back of my tank in Jumanji proportions.

 

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And last but not least, the obligatory FTS:

 

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I still haven't gotten any other fish and I think it may be a while before I try to restock it again. In the meantime I'm looking forward to getting some inverts in this tank which I can now do with confidence now that things have completely chilled out. ;)

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  • 1 month later...

I've been watching this thread as research for when I replace my tank. It's been interesting to read the progress with all stock equipment.

 

How hot has it been in your house for your tank to be getting up to 88 degrees? How far above/below ambient would you say your tank runs normally pre-chiller?

 

After reading this, I'm thinking it may be time to rename your tank from "Miracle" to "The Darwin" or "HMS Beagle".

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