RollaJase's Trip Off the Deep End - Custom Rimless 55G

[RollaJase]

On 12/7/2017 at 3:35 PM, teenyreef said:

When my green monti was really big in the 10g tank, it was literally growing out of the tank. It just started encrusting when it touched the back wall and went straight up from there. I loved the colors it got as it came up out of the water. It eventually stopped going up, I assumed once it got high enough to dry out.

This one has broken the water now and shows no signs of slowing down!

On 12/17/2017 at 3:50 AM, Arkayology said:

Looking good!

Thanks Ark! How have you been?

[RollaJase]

Wow, it's definitely been a long time since the last update, over 2 months I think. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year.Christmas time is our extremely busy season at work. As we deal with a lot of schools there is a lot of preparation and ordering needed to get ready for the new year. Since the start of November right through until December 22 (when I went on leave) I was working 10-12 hour days and still ended up taking work home, staying longer on some days and doing work while I was off on leave. After that rush it was great to be able to spend a week at my parents holiday house down the coast without a care in the world. I never get sick of this view .

 

Brief rundown of the ups and downs of the tank through November, December and the start of January.

Pros:

- The tank is now 2 years old.

- I added another 2KG of Seachem Matrix (2KG Pond Matrix, 2KG standard) to the sump to aid nutrient export. This stuff is doing an amazing job.

- I gave the sump a super deep clean and removed a small baffle to make room for the extra Matrix.

- Nitrates have been stable at 5 on the Salifert test, even with increased coral feeding.

- Seeing great growth and colour on the SPS.

- Got rid of all my mushrooms (including riccordia) to open up the sand bed again.

- Minor rescape to the right side of the tank.

- Added some new pieces and tank mates.

 

Cons:

- Through late November and Early December I gradually lost all but 1 of my torches and frogspawn to brown jelly. I would remove each piece as soon as it showed signs but it did not stop the disease spreading. Over 3 weeks I lost all but 1 of my Euphyllia garden. As part of this damage I also lost my green trachy after it ate an entire tentacle that broke off of a hammer coral, killed it from the inside out.

- It looks like I won't be able to save any of my birdsnest. All frags are slowly dying, regardless of where I put them. I gave half my remaining frags to the LFS in the hope they will go to a good home.

 

Tank Update - 8th January 2018:

New FTS time, taken 3rd January 2018.

 

In the middle of December a trip to the LFS to pick up some NSW resulted in us also coming back with two new fish . I picked up a 6 line wrasse (knowing full well their track record) and my partner insisted on buying us a new Mandarin after our loss of Mandy a number of months ago. I have always been hesitant on buying another mandarin, mainly as I didn't want to watch it fade away and because I wanted a pair of them. The male (aptly named Mando) that we picked up had been living in the tanks at the LFS for about 6 weeks and was fat and healthy so I approved the purchase. The wrasse immediately squared off against the Secretive wrasse, neither yielded and now they follow each other around all day, they even sleep pretty much right next to each other.

 

I added a few more pieces to the rack also.

 

Photo dump time. The first few shots here are showing some growth comparison shots between the 25th November and 3rd January. The green stag is really starting to take off and the monti is just getting bigger and bigger! I should have tried to get the same angle but you get the idea.

 

And the rest.

[ninjamyst]

great photos as always.  sorry about the lost of LPS.  will you get more in the future?  

[YHSublime]

That monti is fun! Nice looking tank!

[RollaJase]

8 hours ago, ninjamyst said:

great photos as always.  sorry about the lost of LPS.  will you get more in the future?  

Thanks mate. I do plan on replacing a couple of them in time, I haven't found any I really like lately.

7 hours ago, YHSublime said:

That monti is fun! Nice looking tank!

Thank you very much , thanks for stopping by.

[Christopher Marks]

Great update as always @RollaJase, thanks for sharing all the photos! That monticap growing around the overflow is unreal! Sorry to hear about the LPS woes, it’s hard to turn them around once they have brown jelly. Were you dipping them in iodine for treatment?

[RollaJase]

23 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Great update as always @RollaJase, thanks for sharing all the photos! That monticap growing around the overflow is unreal! Sorry to hear about the LPS woes, it’s hard to turn them around once they have brown jelly. Were you dipping them in iodine for treatment?

Thanks for the kind words and for stopping by Christopher. The green monti has definitely come a long way from the tiny frag I mounted there all those months ago. It's now roughly half the depth of the water column which is pretty impressive. I did try a few different dips, one of them iodine and also tried isolation. From experience, nothing works for brown jelly once it shows. It's a shame really, I lost quite a few really nice pieces this time around.

[Justind823]

Ah man sorry to hear about the brown jelly plague and the finicky birdsnest! Everything else is looking really healthy though! 

 

I love the new fish additions. Mandarins are truly amazing looking fish but it'll be a long time until I have a tank big enough to keep one of those happy. 

 

Also, your parents place looks like the perfect respite from work. Looks like someone has a talent with landscaping! 

[RollaJase]

8 hours ago, Justind823 said:

Ah man sorry to hear about the brown jelly plague and the finicky birdsnest! Everything else is looking really healthy though! 

 

I love the new fish additions. Mandarins are truly amazing looking fish but it'll be a long time until I have a tank big enough to keep one of those happy. 

 

Also, your parents place looks like the perfect respite from work. Looks like someone has a talent with landscaping! 

Thanks Justin . Losses are always hard to take, especially when they are sudden and there really isn't anything you can do to prevent them. I still have some frags of the birdsnest that haven't completely died out. I've placed a few around the tank in the hope that 1 or 2 may start growing again. Mandarins have always been a favourite of mine, was one of the key things that drew me into the hobby initially. The first one I had I purchased already feeding on frozen, that definitely makes things easier. I'm sure if you could find one readily eating a variety of food that  you could house one no problem. Thanks again , both my parents quite enjoy landscaping and a lot of effort has been put in to make this garden as maintenance free as possible. Besides mowing the grass every 2 weeks (when they typically visit) the rest of the garden only really gets a trim 2-3 times a year. It's nice to be able to take a break and not needing to worry about doing chores while you are there.

[vlangel]

Your tank and photos look great.

[RollaJase]

1 hour ago, vlangel said:

Your tank and photos look great.

Thank you Dawn .

[pappadumplingz]

Saw you selling monti frags on mafa, hmu hahah. And the tank is looking mint as usual.

[RollaJase]

15 hours ago, pappadumplingz said:

Saw you selling monti frags on mafa, hmu hahah. And the tank is looking mint as usual.

If you were in the same state as me you could grab a few frags but i'm not about shipping them. Causes more headaches than its worth i'm afraid . Thanks for the kind words.

[pappadumplingz]

4 minutes ago, RollaJase said:

If you were in the same state as me you could grab a few frags but i'm not about shipping them. Causes more headaches than its worth i'm afraid . Thanks for the kind words.

Shippings probably really expensive for what you are getting as well, plus aus post is pretty shite

[RollaJase]

12 minutes ago, pappadumplingz said:

Shippings probably really expensive for what you are getting as well, plus aus post is pretty shite

Yeah, definitely is. Unless you are getting airport to airport which starts at like $40 the only other option is AusPost Express which is touch and go with delivery times. I tend to sell and trade locally, we have a pretty good classifieds/swap community in SA which makes getting rid of frags easily. I sold off about $200 worth of zoas just before Christmas at $5 a frag plug just because I got sick and tired of looking at them haha.

[4x5]

Tank is looking great, the sticks look happy and healthy.  

[vlangel]

Do you do anything special to feed the mandarin or just let it catch food in the water column and graze on pods?  I love mandy's and have always wanted one.  Now that I added sand I am considering it more seriously.  My tank is essentially the same size as yours and with a sump with no predators I am thinking a mandarin should be possible.  I could make a feeder I saw a guy on r2r make (Paul that hold live bbs.

[RollaJase]

On 2/13/2018 at 1:35 AM, 4x5 said:

Tank is looking great, the sticks look happy and healthy.  

Thanks Shaun, you should see them now only a month on.

On 2/17/2018 at 3:36 AM, vlangel said:

Do you do anything special to feed the mandarin or just let it catch food in the water column and graze on pods?  I love mandy's and have always wanted one.  Now that I added sand I am considering it more seriously.  My tank is essentially the same size as yours and with a sump with no predators I am thinking a mandarin should be possible.  I could make a feeder I saw a guy on r2r make (Paul that hold live bbs.

Hi Dawn, my first Mandarin I purchased already feeding on frozen foods so no real trick there. This one though I'm slowly training it to take frozen foods. He is happy and healthy as it but getting them on frozen foods diversifies their diet and makes long term keeping easier. I'm using a broadcast feeding method a few times a week to try and get him to eat. I use frozen brine shrimp and frozen copepods that I thaw in tank water with a bit of Seachem Garlic Guard to try and draw attention to the foods. I let this all soak for 10mins or so before killing all my pumps and dumping the slurry into the tank. I leave things as is for 10 mins or so before turning on the circulation pump only for 30 mins or so before turning the sump pump back on. I've witnessed the mandarin take the brine and spit it out a few times, sometimes even the same piece. He has shown interest in it but isn't 100% there yet. I think he is eating the frozen copepods though. When he finally takes frozen food I'll continue to feed in the same fashion but I wont bother turning off the circulation pump, only the sump pump when feeding frozen foods.

[vlangel]

1 hour ago, RollaJase said:

Thanks Shaun, you should see them now only a month on.

Hi Dawn, my first Mandarin I purchased already feeding on frozen foods so no real trick there. This one though I'm slowly training it to take frozen foods. He is happy and healthy as it but getting them on frozen foods diversifies their diet and makes long term keeping easier. I'm using a broadcast feeding method a few times a week to try and get him to eat. I use frozen brine shrimp and frozen copepods that I thaw in tank water with a bit of Seachem Garlic Guard to try and draw attention to the foods. I let this all soak for 10mins or so before killing all my pumps and dumping the slurry into the tank. I leave things as is for 10 mins or so before turning on the circulation pump only for 30 mins or so before turning the sump pump back on. I've witnessed the mandarin take the brine and spit it out a few times, sometimes even the same piece. He has shown interest in it but isn't 100% there yet. I think he is eating the frozen copepods though. When he finally takes frozen food I'll continue to feed in the same fashion but I wont bother turning off the circulation pump, only the sump pump when feeding frozen foods.

Thanks so much for the advise on training mandarins to frozen.  I did indeed buy 2 since the lfs had a pair.  Now I am wishing that I had only gotten just one.  I did get 4 big bottles of tisbe pods to supplement the display and sump.  I will definitely be working on trying to train them onto some frozen though and I appreciate the tips.

[RollaJase]

On 2/27/2018 at 1:15 PM, vlangel said:

Thanks so much for the advise on training mandarins to frozen.  I did indeed buy 2 since the lfs had a pair.  Now I am wishing that I had only gotten just one.  I did get 4 big bottles of tisbe pods to supplement the display and sump.  I will definitely be working on trying to train them onto some frozen though and I appreciate the tips.

Getting them on frozen takes time and persistence, they will come around eventually. My Mandarin started to take frozen brine over the weekend and is devouring the frozen copepods like they are going out of fashion now. Hard work pays off .

[RollaJase]

I've been super lazy with updates but I have been busy snapping pictures! The last lot I took I didn't shoot in RAW though .

 

Below is a roughly 1 month growth comparison shot for one of my SPS pieces. I'm seeing the most significant growth from this piece lately but the green piece to it's right has been going really well also.

 

I traded a few pieces to a local reefer a few weekends ago and walked out with quite a haul of SPS frags, one of them is particularly special due to rareness in the local market, you will probably die if I told you what it's worth...

[pappadumplingz]

33 minutes ago, RollaJase said:

I've been super lazy with updates but I have been busy snapping pictures! The last lot I took I didn't shoot in RAW though .

 

Below is a roughly 1 month growth comparison shot for one of my SPS pieces. I'm seeing the most significant growth from this piece lately but the green piece to it's right has been going really well also.

 

I traded a few pieces to a local reefer a few weekends ago and walked out with quite a haul of SPS frags, one of them is particularly special due to rareness in the local market, you will probably die if I told you what it's worth...

Good to see you back mate, great frags too. Wondering if you'll make the trip up to Sydney for reefstock, it's looking pretty good so far.

[RollaJase]

12 hours ago, pappadumplingz said:

Good to see you back mate, great frags too. Wondering if you'll make the trip up to Sydney for reefstock, it's looking pretty good so far.

Thanks mate . I wasn't planning on making a trip to Syndey for ReefStock but it would definitely be worth the trip. I may reward myself come EOFY if I have the cash laying around. Are you planning on going?

[pappadumplingz]

21 hours ago, RollaJase said:

Thanks mate . I wasn't planning on making a trip to Syndey for ReefStock but it would definitely be worth the trip. I may reward myself come EOFY if I have the cash laying around. Are you planning on going?

Since I'm local I feel as if its compulsory to go. Unless you want to go around Sydney, you could find a cheap flight up and stay at an airport hotel, since the show is at the Stanford. 

[RollaJase]

47 minutes ago, pappadumplingz said:

Since I'm local I feel as if its compulsory to go. Unless you want to go around Sydney, you could find a cheap flight up and stay at an airport hotel, since the show is at the Stanford. 

Yeah fair point. I might see if my brother can hook me up with a good flight/accommodation deal. He is a travel agent so should be able to get me a pretty good deal if I go ahead.