Kylebeano's 40g Rimless Mixed Reef

[vlangel]

Just found your thread and love the tank. I like mixed reefs with macro algae. So glad everything did alright through the move to the new house.

[Kylebeano]

Just found your thread and love the tank. I like mixed reefs with macro algae. So glad everything did alright through the move to the new house.

Thank you, I am a fan of the whole natural ecosystem reef. Kind of beckons sea horses, but we are setting up a separate tank for them soon.

[vlangel]

Thank you, I am a fan of the whole natural ecosystem reef. Kind of beckons sea horses, but we are setting up a separate tank for them soon.

I have seahorses so if you need any help just let me know. They are the most exquisite charming fish but they are high maintenance.

[Kylebeano]

Tank is chukking along, corals are looking well. Need to get some more superglue to finalize some rearrangements I have in mind.

I did lose my rainford goby last night, it's abdomen was bloated/distended, and I think it had an obstruction or something. I attempted to massage it's belly to elicite something to either be regurgitated or passed but it did not help. I had it for about a year, it survived an ich outbreak, always had a full belly and packed some size in its time with me. Was a really active fish, always picking from algae throughout the tank and sifting the sand, was sad losing it, and confused. RIP goby.

[Kylebeano]

 

Also, the eshopps skimmer I finally cleaned is really pulling some dark shit. And yet I bought a nyos quantum. Goodbye s120, you've really been great:

 

[Kylebeano]

Took some top downs prior to/during a water change the other day with my phone. Have since moved a gorgonian and placed a couple new corals, want to wait for better PE and to unpack my camera. Tank is looking alright

 

 

 

 

 

Acans looking good!

 

 

 

 

And I hooked up new skimmer, really really ridiculously good looking:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dan.goldsmith]

nice, is that the 120? how do you like so far? you should write a little review when you'va had it for a bit. I just bought a 40b i'm hoping to get going here in the not so distant future and that was one of the skimmers i was looking into

[Kylebeano]

nice, is that the 120? how do you like so far? you should write a little review when you'va had it for a bit. I just bought a 40b i'm hoping to get going here in the not so distant future and that was one of the skimmers i was looking into

Yes, it is the 120, just got it in the sump today. Was really easy to manage the bubble level with the micro adjustments, love the quality and aesthetics so far. And as advertised, it is very quite, remarkable difference from my old skimmer. Was really easy to disassemble, seems easy to clean with the design of collection cup. Ill update my thread with the skimmate in a couple weeks. The eshopps was really pulling some dark gunk, so it has a lot to live up to.

[vlangel]

That is a nice skimmer. I hope it works as good as it looks. Very sorry about your goby. It can be a mystery sometimes why an animal/fish die when they do.

[niQo]

Very Nice tank. Looks very natural!

[Kylebeano]

Thanks you two, really going for the natural ish. Even moved into a land co-op lol. And Dawn, I at least know the fish was doing well, putting on weight/growing before it went, thanks for your condolences.

[vlangel]

Thanks you two, really going for the natural ish. Even moved into a land co-op lol. And Dawn, I at least know the fish was doing well, putting on weight/growing before it went, thanks for your condolences.

Yes, as a conscientious aquarists we can do everything right but our pets, like us dwell in this world where eventually that is what happens.

[Nanofreak79]

That skimmer is SEXY!

[Kylebeano]

Day 1 and the quantum is brewing some coffee:

 

[Kylebeano]

So, I switched from a WP25 to an RW4 a few weeks ago. I found someone local who is setting up a frag tank and traded the WP25 and some old base rock I had for a nice clipping of Palmer's Blue Milli. Can't wait to have it grow out. The different blues now between the hawkins, palmers, and oregon tort as great. I also got what I think is an upscales microlades piece, doesnt have very good base color yet, but the polyps are blue, and I look forward to how it grows and colors up. The SSC is doing awesome, so its in a lot of top downs below. During water change today I took some pics of the new stuff. Also rearranged a few things two weeks ago, moved my ribbon gorgonian to the center of the tank and trimmed its tips so it wouldnt be sticking out of water or into the overflow. All in all, things are doing really well. The leopard wrasse, "Dat Wrasse", is eating frozen, and pellets, but im still adding tisbe pods every few weeks, so hopefully I can get a really good population going.

 

Anyway, pics:

 

 

 

Top Downs:

 

 

New Palmers:

 

This montipora is looking great:

 

Getting a group shot:

 

And the new microlades?:

[Kylebeano]

Lots'a shit went down in the tank past month. It's back on the right track now though...

 

The leopard wrasse which was taking in frozen, pellets, and tons of pods wasted away and died, surprisingly the mandarin has outlived and it only eats pods, thing is fat too.

After the fish died, I lost my giant purple torch over a week, and the xenia started looking like crap and dieing off too. So I siphoned out xenia during water changes, added a grounding probe, and started dosing magnesium (was only strange level in the tank, 1100s?).

Really bummed about the torch, it was a stunner and getting huge, hard to find such deep purple in torches here too. Not bummed at all about the xenia, kind of like a controlled burn for it, it was getting too wild. Doubly bummed about the wrasse, it was really cool while it lasted, think it had an internal parasite, as there is plenty of food in there.

Anyway, tank is on rebound, again. Got some new stuff crammed in there. Here is a FTS for now

 

[mystersyster]

Very unique and beautiful tank with the macros. I will be using your tank as inspiration.

[Rehype]

Wow everything looks great kyle!Sorry to hear about the wrasse

[vlangel]

Very unique and beautiful tank with the macros. I will be using your tank as inspiration.

Sorry about the rough patch you went through Kyle. That's always a bummer but glad the tank is on the rebound now. The tank looks very nice.

Yes, when you have any amount of macros you need to watch your magnesium because they will really suck it up. The good thing about dosing magnesium is it is forgiving and doesn't throw everything out of whack if you overdose.

[Kylebeano]

Very unique and beautiful tank with the macros. I will be using your tank as inspiration.

Thanks a bunch, provides opportunity for a bunch of organisms that are often overlooked in our little reefs.

 

Wow everything looks great kyle!Sorry to hear about the wrasse

Probably staying away form anything not tank bred for a while with this last wrasse loss, thank you for the compliment Rehype!

 

Sorry about the rough patch you went through Kyle. That's always a bummer but glad the tank is on the rebound now. The tank looks very nice.

Yes, when you have any amount of macros you need to watch your magnesium because they will really suck it up. The good thing about dosing magnesium is it is forgiving and doesn't throw everything out of whack if you overdose.

Thanks Dawn, theres always rough patches with these tanks, and thanks for the headsup about the macros/mag use. That does explain it though as a couple of the plants have really expanded and I added a couple more to my fuge a couple weeks ago. I got my seahorse tank cycling now, going to put in more sand soon, but will be messaging you in a couple months about horse selection, can't wait!

Here's what ive come up with so far:

 

And here are some more pics to show some of the new stuff:

 

Bought a blue goniopora to go along with the red one, its actually quite spectacularly colored, but hasnt extended yet

 

 

New millis to compliment the palmers, havnt colored up yet

 

 

Couple of the new SPS, bonsai and plana

 

Nice blue palys and favia/platy, red/pink/blue chalice new too

 

And caught this hermit early in the day before T5s came on "hanging out" on a goni limb

 

[vlangel]

Beautiful. Your future seahorses are going to love those tonga branches. I will be glad to help when you are ready. I know of 3 reputable supplier for captive bred seahorses.

 

Your coral looks fantastic in your reef tank. Those gonis are going to be so pretty side by side. Also that crab hanging onto the gorg is so cute.

[Kylebeano]

Well, I got married recently so I thought I would extend my tank some well needed husbandry as well. Went through a hurricane a couple days without power (couldnt get out to buy a generator), lost a good bit of corals and fish before I was finally able to get a generator.

But tank is back on the mends, and hopefully just runs smoothly with weekly water changes now.

Xenia has really exploded again, im looking forward to its annual die off so I can siphon it out again. Here are some shitty pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrible top downs:

 

 

 

 

[Kylebeano]

Took some better top downs today while only the primary LEDs were on and during water change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is newest piece of the tank, a SPS rock with some pretty new sticks.

 

[markalot]

Tank is looking good, glad you made it through the hurricane. So some acros survived?

 

I wish my Xenia would die off but no such luck yet.

[Sharbuckle]

Tank looks great man! I happen to like xenia haha, although it hasnt spread much in my tank.... Yet