Lion's Coral Den! Kessil, Rics, Zoas, Palys!

[1.0reef]

Ouch, definitely don't snip it off! I wonder why that live rock is so hard.

 

 

That solana sounded shady, he mentioned me having to glue the glass back on etc. So I contacted the other one that has the solana look a like and me and a friend are going to check it out on Sunday!

Did you get it?

[buddythelion]

I'm diggin your zoa collection!

 

Hopefully you find a Solana soon....it's my favorite tank by far in terms of AIO's.

Welll... Welcome me to the club!

 

Sweet. It seems like a great tank, and you can still use your kessil

Indeed! I'm planning on either two 150 or one 350. I'll have to check on the spread. The best part is that I can bring it to Neptunes and scape my tank right there since it's empty! I might pick up a new stand for it as well since the stand it came with is no good.

 

As far as I remember, I got this piece 'o concrete maybe 15 years ago from a local LFS. Covered with coralline algae, it looks a lot like LR.

Time to bust out the diamond tip band saw.

 

Did you get it?

Yup! Went with my friend today and saw it up and running. Much nicer than my biocube.

[I<3SPS]

Congrats on the new purchase! Your livestock + Solana will = pure eyegasm

[1.0reef]

AWESOME! I get first reply on the new thread!

[1.0reef]

My zoas got bettr colorz because I put them reaally close to the lights ::

[buddythelion]

AWESOME! I get first reply on the new thread!

For sure! I'm on the look out for a stand. I see one... but it comes with a tank and sump. No want, just that glossy white goodness.

 

My zoas got bettr colorz because I put them reaally close to the lights ::

That sounds great! That's the best way to color of zoos.

[buddythelion]

Made a huge for sale thread, things are going pretty quick. I hope my prices are fair, I think they are anyways.

 

The Solana is clean and now I'm going around looking for some inspiration. The only down side with a small tank is... that it's a small tank. Makes scaping difficult if I want to avoid the mountain look, especially with a cube. The rock I also purchased for my NC28 was also fairly large, and I'm afraid that it will take up too much space in the Solana. But we'll see! I need to find a better stand first before I start trying anything with the tank. The cube's stand is nice, but would sell easier if I sell it with the tank.

 

Decisions, decisions... I also dislike how my tank looks like one big frag tank, even though I already have a frag tank. That's the down side of keeping corals that people want frag of I suppose. Really going to have to control myself on frag plugs when it comes to the Solana. I really need to attempt a display tank vs random coral tank.

[1.0reef]

Just get a bunch of the super fast growing corals (some zoa/palys, mushrooms, gps, anthelia) and your set!

[Spirofucci]

I've always admired yer tank! You always got a lot going on in there. Make yourself a shallow frag tank and grow some of those cool and expensive zoas and palys, or maybe you've done that already?

[Nano sapiens]

Made a huge for sale thread, things are going pretty quick. I hope my prices are fair, I think they are anyways.

 

The Solana is clean and now I'm going around looking for some inspiration. The only down side with a small tank is... that it's a small tank. Makes scaping difficult if I want to avoid the mountain look, especially with a cube. The rock I also purchased for my NC28 was also fairly large, and I'm afraid that it will take up too much space in the Solana. But we'll see! I need to find a better stand first before I start trying anything with the tank. The cube's stand is nice, but would sell easier if I sell it with the tank.

 

I've seen some nice 'Bonzai' type aquascapes that avoid the 'mound-in-the-middle' effect. I think the key is finding the correct shapes to produce the desired effect. Either way, there is a natural tendency to use too much LR which tends to make a small tank look 'clunky'.

 

Decisions, decisions... I also dislike how my tank looks like one big frag tank, even though I already have a frag tank. That's the down side of keeping corals that people want frag of I suppose. Really going to have to control myself on frag plugs when it comes to the Solana. I really need to attempt a display tank vs random coral tank.

 

It is not easy avoiding the temptation to leave a bunch of corals on their frag plugs. I burn a few hours every week or two trying to get specimens to stay put on the LR (some come loose after 2-3 weeks) and trying to either remove specimens from plugs, and if not feasible, whittling down a plug to a nubb'in so it isn't noticeable.

[1.0reef]

A nice non bonsai scape to try is an atoll scape, it makes a big lagoon in the middle, adding a little rock in the middle of the lagoon could make a good jawfish house. Cardinalfish look good in that type of scape IMO.

[gabe3eb]

Solana in the house!!! Will be following along for sure now.

[buddythelion]

Just get a bunch of the super fast growing corals (some zoa/palys, mushrooms, gps, anthelia) and your set!

Haha, fast growing corals are the doom of nanos though!

 

I've always admired yer tank! You always got a lot going on in there. Make yourself a shallow frag tank and grow some of those cool and expensive zoas and palys, or maybe you've done that already?

Thanks Spirofucci! And yeah, the frag tank is already running and is where all of my zoas are now since this tank is in the slow transition of breaking down. They also do so much better in the frag tank as well. I'm sure if it's the unchanged filter sock, the shallow water, or the constant water current from the wavemaker... but they love it!

 

I've seen some nice 'Bonzai' type aquascapes that avoid the 'mound-in-the-middle' effect. I think the key is finding the correct shapes to produce the desired effect. Either way, there is a natural tendency to use too much LR which tends to make a small tank look 'clunky'.

 

It is not easy avoiding the temptation to leave a bunch of corals on their frag plugs. I burn a few hours every week or two trying to get specimens to stay put on the LR (some come loose after 2-3 weeks) and trying to either remove specimens from plugs, and if not feasible, whittling down a plug to a nubb'in so it isn't noticeable.

So true Nano Sapiens, so true... I tried to do my whole two island scape again but the pieces of FHI that I picked out from Neptunes was far too large to work with. I got really frustrated and then started putting rocks randomly together and then something started to look cool. Ended up going with a whole new direction, which is one of those corner mountains. I like it a lot, and it hides the outflow elbows perfectly!

 

 

A nice non bonsai scape to try is an atoll scape, it makes a big lagoon in the middle, adding a little rock in the middle of the lagoon could make a good jawfish house. Cardinalfish look good in that type of scape IMO.

I saw that idea, but it was Dr. Sanjay's Carribean scape made for his pair of Candy Basslets. It looked so natural and was a real inspiration, but I already knew that the corals I'd be choosing wouldn't look natural so I opted for something else, mostly because it was the best I could do with the rock I had.

 

Solana in the house!!! Will be following along for sure now.

Haha, we're both Solana owners now!

[buddythelion]

Here's the Solana... scaped for now and wet!

 

And yup, it's a deep sand bed, about 2 1/2 - 3" depending where in the tank. All in preparation for a Blue Spot Jawfish.

 

Enjoy

 

 

Wet:

 

Lighting is a T5 I used to use for my frag tank before switching to a Kessil. This is temp before I find a Kessil 350 for this beauty!

[Deleted User 4]

An ai nano sol would look sweet on this build haha.

[Spirofucci]

I like the scape!

[buddythelion]

An ai nano sol would look sweet on this build haha.

Thanks IIX, but I'm not a fan of the AI's. Kessil yo!

 

I like the scape!

Thanks Spirofucci! It does greatly limit my coral selection though.

[Nano sapiens]

Here's the Solana... scaped for now and wet!

 

And yup, it's a deep sand bed, about 2 1/2 - 3" depending where in the tank. All in preparation for a Blue Spot Jawfish.

 

Enjoy

 

 

I like this 'scape. You have a good amount of room on top (where it counts!) and a protected area that you can use to acclimate new corals.

[albertthiel]

Here's the Solana... scaped for now and wet!

 

And yup, it's a deep sand bed, about 2 1/2 - 3" depending where in the tank. All in preparation for a Blue Spot Jawfish.

 

Enjoy

 

Nice fish you are adding and yes needs deep sand bed and I am sure you know that he is a "jumper"

 

Good luck ... looks like a gorgeous addition

[aaron1987]

Really enjoy your new 'scape! The BSJF is gonna look great in there

[buddythelion]

I like this 'scape. You have a good amount of room on top (where it counts!) and a protected area that you can use to acclimate new corals.

This is very true! I'm just still trying to envision how I want things to grow out.

 

Nice fish you are adding and yes needs deep sand bed and I am sure you know that he is a "jumper"

 

Good luck ... looks like a gorgeous addition

Yessir, the tank came with a cover!

 

Really enjoy your new 'scape! The BSJF is gonna look great in there

Thanks man, I really want a BSJF, their personality is incomparable but I am worried about it stealing frags. I plan on having a ricordea garden on the bottom.

[1.0reef]

CAT YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!

Looks so baddazz

[buddythelion]

CAT YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!

Looks so baddazz

 

I think it's time for a new thread... Yes?

[1.0reef]

I got first reply that wasn't you so I'm happy

[buddythelion]

I got first reply that wasn't you so I'm happy

Haha, you did call dibs!

 

 

And a glimpse of my frag tank...

 

Purple Rain Lotus Eaters:

 

Gold Bursts:

 

Gold Bursts (Left) and Lucid Dreams (Right):

 

Daisy Dukes:

 

Rainbow Pennies (Look just like my Flaming Lotus):

 

Wes Nile Virus:

 

Sunny D's:

 

Speckled Fire Ice:

 

Blue Agave, other insane pattern:

 

Rastas:

 

Neptune's Candy Apple Pinks:

 

Neptune's Money Shots (These are babies. They look like Lotus Eater morphs... but from Australia! I'll get the mother pic eventually for all to see.):

 

Pastel Twin Rainbows:

 

 

Not zoas... but nice Sunset Rhodactus:

 

And now on the 400 gallon, pair of Crosshatch Triggers:

http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o610/darwinph