zoanthidfreak Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 CHeers! Thanks man. I know, he looked so cool. Hoping to get another one over the next few weeks. My cleaner shrimp has moulted for the second time this morning! I always get very confused when I see to sets of long antennae poking out from opposite ends of the tank in the morning. I found my emerald crab snacking on his moulted remains whilst perched onto of my monti cap, hope he dosnt think its his new dinner table When I first started my tank, I had one just like him an my elegance ate him :/ wasn't to happy lol, great news that your shrimp is malting first time mine did I thought it was dead ha, I went in a holiday a month back an left mum in charge of the tank, she called me almost crying because it malted but she thought I had 2 and one had died lol. Any future stocking plans? Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Wow! Nice pics mate. You must have a really nice camera! Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 When I first started my tank, I had one just like him an my elegance ate him :/ wasn't to happy lol, great news that your shrimp is malting first time mine did I thought it was dead ha, I went in a holiday a month back an left mum in charge of the tank, she called me almost crying because it malted but she thought I had 2 and one had died lol. Any future stocking plans? What your Elegance ate him! Thats crazy. Haha I thought mine had died too but when I saw two sets of antennae I was just very confused... I called my through before she left for work and the look of her face trying to work out what had happened was hilarious. Stocking plans... Yes I have some but not for a while. I would like to get another clown. My goby is pretty active and awesome but I miss having a clown. I'll also be getting a pom pom crab and after that I think that will be it. Expect for adding some more corals Wow! Nice pics mate. You must have a really nice camera! Cheers mate, Yeah I have a Canon 7D but I only have the stock 28-135mm lens and the 50mm 1.8 lens. Im going to get myself the 100mm Macro Lens to take macro shots but for now Im just using the 50mm lens the wrong way around to get the macro shots I was so excited the other night when I figured out I could do that! Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 UPDATES - DAY 70 Well so much for waiting a couple of weeks before adding anything to the tank... But when your wife says "So do you want to go to the fish store and get a new fish?" What are you supposed to do? Well her motives became clear when she asked if it was time to get a Pom Pom crab. At the time when I started to get interested in the hobby it was the single reason that turned her opinion on getting a SW tank around. So I promised her if we got a fish tank she could get a Pom Pom Crab, which is fine with me because they are awesome! So here is the little guy (Or should I say Gal) INTRODUCING: LUCY THE POM POM CRAB And I got a new clownfish to replace the one that thought my carpet would be fun to surf on. INTRODUCING: HERCULES His pattern isn't as cool as my first clown but he is by far more interesting to watch. He's been exploring the whole tank and eating straight away. My first clown would just bob up and down around the front of the rock in the same place all day. Side note... One of my hermit crabs killed one of my snails so I picked up another one whilst I was there. Link to comment
zoanthidfreak Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Wow, I love that Pom Pom I've been trying to get my LFS to get one in for a year now but still can't hopefully soon though nice clown too, I like those zoos you have at the bottom Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 Wow, I love that Pom Pom I've been trying to get my LFS to get one in for a year now but still can't hopefully soon though nice clown too, I like those zoos you have at the bottom I love it too It is so small. This one has been at one of my LFS for over a month! I couldn't believe it each time I went that it was still there. I hope your LFS can get one for you soon. Cheers Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Looking mighty fine in there! Nice wife btw! Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 UPDATES - DAY 84 So heres whats been going on over the past two weeks. All tank mates are alive and happy. My neon gobby is eating like a champ, I was worried for a while when I first got him as he didn't seem to eat very much at all but now he gobbles up almost everything I give him I have got a few more corals for the tank and I am really happy with how its looking and cant wait for these corals to grow out and fill in the tank. Montipora: Confusa I was wanting to add some height and I was looking at getting an Acro but I don't think my light can support Acro's right now. Then I saw this Confusa and it was perfect. Its a neon green with dark green polyps. Duncan This one was a bit pricey but it has five heads and has a bright green mouth and lovely purple tips. One of the heads was dead but I saw the mouth come out yesterday so I fed it and hoping it will regrow. Zoanthids: Fireballs Now this one still hasn't coloured up fully yet. It was a bright purple with orange centres, it looked totally brown when I got it home but it is showing signs of colouring up now. Side shot Here is the view of the tank that I see the most from the couch. I moved some rock around from the back and took a hammer to it and made a platform for my Acan as I didn't feel happy with it being on the sand bed. FTS: 19/08/12 I made a rookie error the other day. I had scratched my tank with my magfloat ButI noticed it was on the outside of the tank and I thought I could fix that easily... yeah that was a bad idea. I tried to sand the scratches out and made a right mess. I think the grade of wet/dry I used wasnt high enough... Link to comment
Bill Robinson Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 This is just awesome! Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 Looking mighty fine in there! Nice wife btw! Thanking you. She's a good one. This is just awesome! You are too kind. Oh I totally forgot! I took a video of my Pom Pom crab last night. I can usually see her behind my rocks but she never really comes out, but I had my pumps of whilst feeding my Duncan and I got an awesome video of her out and about. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 DAY 130 Well I have bought my last coral about three times since the last update I seem to have this knack of finding spots on my rock that need a coral much to my wife's delight I have changed the light fixture on my tank from the TMC aqua ray 500 which has 5 leds to a PAR 38 bulb that has 12. The colour is much nicer with more blues and purples and the corals seem to be loving it. Well theres not much left to say, everything is going well. I did find a nasty crab living on my Confusa which I have removed and I also found a white Nudi on my tank glass once morning which I also removed fearing it was a monti/zoa eating one but other than that all is well Now lets see some photos! New Coral 1: Dendro Its taking its time to settle in but it came out and was eating today. New Coral 2: Acropora This is supposed to be spearmint green, I have noticed it starting to colour up at the tips and im getting good polyp extension throughout the day. New Coral 3: Acan Lord Best till last! This thing is amazing, its so colourful and just pops out at night under the blue light. Some more photos... "Oh I wish I had an anemone..." "Oh hey Duncan! You'll do!!" New light! FTS 26/09/2012 Link to comment
symon64 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 New light! Really nice color with this new light... which one is it, Ledtric full spectrum or something else ? Do you have dimmable option wioth it, did you try this ? Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Really nice color with this new light... which one is it, Ledtric full spectrum or something else ?Do you have dimmable option wioth it, did you try this ? Thanks, I really like the new light. It is from a UK company called "marine reef led" and it is there Quad spec par 38 bulb, I also have the 3w moon light led bulb as well. No its not dimmable, well I don't think it is anyway. Link to comment
Criley7 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Nice Pictures! Your tank looks real nice! Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Really awesome update. Thanks Glad you like it. Nice Pictures! Your tank looks real nice! Cheers! Im really happy with it. Kinda bummed I've ended up scratching all the acrylic with the magfloat but apart from that I just love watching it. Link to comment
Rhymon78 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Thanks, I really like the new light. It is from a UK company called "marine reef led" and it is there Quad spec par 38 bulb, I also have the 3w moon light led bulb as well. No its not dimmable, well I don't think it is anyway. Loving the tank, I too have a TMC 30l... I am interested in that par38 you have, just had a look at that website where you got yours, bit pricey for that model, but I guess not in comparison to some bigger lighting systems.. How are you getting on with it, and is there noticeable differences from the TMC aqua ray tile that comes with? with the par 38 does that allow you to grow SPS and other more light intensive corals? I noticed on the website there is a par bulb holder that attaches to the tank, I see you have a stand alone lamp holding it, was that just an aesthetic decision? Is that par38 worth the money? certainly looks very nice from the colours in the photos, your pics are very nice by the way! love that crab! I am currently considering some mods, I had a powerhead in there (tank was second hand) but it was just all laminar flow around the tank, and was blasting corals all over and making sanded drifts etc, so I took out.. much more room now, but the stock TMC return pump is lame as... 600l/h = not much movement. So considering a stronger return, but I am worried about it fitting in that back compartment. I read on here you have an eheim 1000? might look into one of those, or a 1200 maybe? I also want to upgrade the air pump to a eheim 100 which I have read is supposed to be silent.. oh the sweat sound of silence. that stock TMC air pump sucks so bad, drones and drones and rattles etc. bad. so thats gonna happen soon too. Next up, probably the light. so the par38 is looking good at the mo.. anyhoo, cheers. keep up the good work. heres a picky of my TMC 30L Simon. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Tank looks good. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Loving the tank, I too have a TMC 30l... I am interested in that par38 you have, just had a look at that website where you got yours, bit pricey for that model, but I guess not in comparison to some bigger lighting systems.. How are you getting on with it, and is there noticeable differences from the TMC aqua ray tile that comes with? with the par 38 does that allow you to grow SPS and other more light intensive corals? I noticed on the website there is a par bulb holder that attaches to the tank, I see you have a stand alone lamp holding it, was that just an aesthetic decision? Is that par38 worth the money? certainly looks very nice from the colours in the photos, your pics are very nice by the way! love that crab! I am currently considering some mods, I had a powerhead in there (tank was second hand) but it was just all laminar flow around the tank, and was blasting corals all over and making sanded drifts etc, so I took out.. much more room now, but the stock TMC return pump is lame as... 600l/h = not much movement. So considering a stronger return, but I am worried about it fitting in that back compartment. I read on here you have an eheim 1000? might look into one of those, or a 1200 maybe? I also want to upgrade the air pump to a eheim 100 which I have read is supposed to be silent.. oh the sweat sound of silence. that stock TMC air pump sucks so bad, drones and drones and rattles etc. bad. so thats gonna happen soon too. Next up, probably the light. so the par38 is looking good at the mo.. anyhoo, cheers. keep up the good work. heres a picky of my TMC 30L Simon. Hey, I thought I would post some of the answers to your questions here aswell from the PM I sent to benefit everyone else. Obviously Im not very experienced but I have had the light for a few months so I feel I can comment on its performance comparing it to the previous TMC aqua Ray 500 tile. Yes the PAR 38 is a bit pricey but I got it when it was on sale I have seen a huge difference in growth in several of my corals, especially my montiporas which has almost doubled in size now, and most of that has been in the last two months. I really like the colour of the new light over the previous one, however I feel it benefits from the extra blue moon light the also provide, both of these together gives me a really nice colour. I got rid of the stock pump and upgraded to a eheim 1200 compact which has given me a lot more flow. In retrospect I would NOT recommend this tank! I have changed almost everything and the filtration in the rear chamber is just stupid. However the upgrade is not to far away now. Hence the reason for lack of updates as thats where most of my time has been. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 So about time I updated this thread. Well generally things have been running ok until last week when we had no Gas for four days which meant we had no heating and hot water. And with the Scottish winter in full swing at -5ºc the house was freezing and the tank couldn't heat up and dropped from 26ºc to 22ºc over night. Most of my corals survived but I have lost all hope for my Acropra frag which has receded from the base and is almost completely dead. My Montipora Confusa also bleached but this was going on before the we had no heating and I think the light was to close to the surface (in attempts to accommodate my Acropra) Since I have moved the confusa to the sand bed till it recovers, It is showing great polyp extension and the colour has already started to come back. I got a load of new corals aswell and I will get pictures up soon. Right now the tank looks over crowded but the upgrade is coming very shortly... Once its ready to be revealed I'll create a new thread Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Oh no.....bummer on the cold snap. But......way cool on the new upgrade!!!!!! I hear ya on the AIO's. IMO, good for a first tank, but if I had to do it again, I'd just get everything seperately. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Sorry to hear. Also, curious as to what your next upgrade will be? Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Oh no.....bummer on the cold snap. But......way cool on the new upgrade!!!!!! I hear ya on the AIO's. IMO, good for a first tank, but if I had to do it again, I'd just get everything seperately. I no it really sucks, wasn't prepared at all. I got an electric heater the next day which kept the room warm but it wasn't enough. The Acropra was surviving at best anyway. With no skimmer on the system and relying on natural filtration and water changes obviously wasn't enough in my case. Yeah this was always going to be either my practice tank or last tank I can't wait to get my new system up and running. Sorry to hear. Also, curious as to what your next upgrade will be? Thanks Well it's a lot bigger than the one I have right now. It's pretty much my dream tank I've been planning for the last four years so I can't wait to get it up and running. It should hopefully be wet in Jan/Feb Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 UPGRADE! Ok I've been keeping this on quite for long enough. I have just started a new tank thread for by new build. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/316888-bonnie-shallow-reef-build-phase/?p=4124919 Its a 70 gallon shallow rimless cube monster! Im really excited about this project and I hope you guys like it. Now this tank isn't shut down yet. Updates with this tank are a bit rubbish. I lost another of my Acros, not hugely surprised but still pretty annoyed, it just lagged behind the other one after my temperature drop when we had no heating in the house. Also three of my montis have really suffered which Im most gutted about. My orange cap has lost a lot of tissue and brown hair algae has gotten a hold of it pretty badly. My Green confusia is totally white but still has a lot of polyp extension on about 80% of the coral. about 20% of it is dead. And my new superman monti has got similar brown algae to my orange cap but not as bad. Since these problem, I have cleaned out the entire of my back chambers (there was a lot of detritus back there) I am running Rowaphos and doing twice weekly water changes. On the other hand all my LPS and softies are doing great, my acan has doubled in size, my duncan is huge! its grown one full head, another small head and I just noticed 3 or 4 new growths about to start. I have a few more montis in the tank that are doing great and if they make it over to the new tank thats great but with the new tank im going to take it slow and stick to softies and LPS until I'm certain I can take care of SPS. But thats what happens I guess, you learn from your mistakes. 1 Link to comment
KeyboardWarrior Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Hey mate I've not been around much after having to tale a break from the hobby and just had a catch up on your thread the tank in your last bunch of pictures looked amazing and really healthy sorry to hear about the SPS na dtemoerature swings they are quite delicate and as you said the Scottish winters aren't the mildest. Look for ward to seeing your new tank develop keep up the good work and great photography Link to comment
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