Mikeymikemike's Shallow Reef Iwagumi - SPS Edition: Updated July

[Mikeymikemike]

Just looking back on things.. What a difference from MAY 2016 to AUGUST 2016. Zoas have spread (although very slowly) and the poci on the right has exploded recently after hooking up my dosing pump. I'm setting a Dkh of around 7 now to slow down growth and get more colour.

 

[Veng]

[markalot]

Good grief! Gorgeous.

[rsucre]

Mikey,

 

I'm setting up a 20 gallon long tank in part inspired by yours.

 

I'm considering keeping it open top, but a little worried of jumpers. I will definitely not move my firefish goby, I'm sure she would jump since she has done it a couple of times and was the reason why I had to place a top on my IM 10 (she managed to jump thru the IM lid net so I had to have a new lid made). Now one of my margarita snails jumped ship, luckily did not die.

 

Fish I plan to keep are: ocellaris clown pair, YWG and not sure yet what else.

 

What has been your experience regarding the open top and livestock jumping or getting out?

[Mikeymikemike]

One way you can prevent stock from jumping out is by turning the powerhead towards the surface and have it blowing across the top. If you are really worried then drop the water to 1 inch. Fish only jump if they are fighting. give your fish a nem to chill in all day and they'll be happy.

[jedimasterben]

One way you can prevent stock from jumping out is by turning the powerhead towards the surface and have it blowing across the top. If you are really worried then drop the water to 1 inch. Fish only jump if they are fighting. give your fish a nem to chill in all day and they'll be happy.

None of this really makes any sense.

[Mikeymikemike]

I wrote that in English...

 

It makes sense based on my system. My fish don't like the high flow at the surface so they stay down low. In my tank my fish only jump if they get attacked by my 6 line wrasse. my current fish are all good with the 6 line wrasse I have so troubles right now. Fish will sometimes jump if they get spooked as well. We all know that.

 

Other systems with different livestock may behave differently.

 

This makes perfect sense to me.

[jedimasterben]

I wrote that in English...

 

It makes sense based on my system. My fish don't like the high flow at the surface so they stay down low. In my tank my fish only jump if they get attacked by my 6 line wrasse. my current fish are all good with the 6 line wrasse I have so troubles right now. Fish will sometimes jump if they get spooked as well. We all know that.

 

Other systems with different livestock may behave differently.

 

This makes perfect sense to me.

But any healthy fish will be able to break that flow 'barrier' with no effort. I run all of my tanks with immense amounts of laminar flow originating from the surface, yet I've had over a dozen species of fish jump out, from clownfish, to tangs, to filefish. To them, it's just another wave of current in the ocean.

[ahoDMV]

Just found your thread and wow! a nice motivation tank for me. I've bought my mr aqua 22 gallon long last christmas and it's still boxed up. I may need to get going after seeing your tank.

 

How do you like the mame overflow? I was thinking of getting it for the 22L.

[Mikeymikemike]

Another tip is to keep a moonlight on at night. Even the dimmest blue light can help the fish to not get spooked out from sudden light changes, people walking up to the tank or other fish bumping into each other.

 

I keep an open top tank filled to the top with over 300 tetras and they are all peaceful when the light is turned on. if the light turns off, they get very skittish. so for the fast 3 years I always have a moonlight to keep everyone peacefully rested.

 

Aquascaping is also another point. My tank has been aquascaped in a way to encourage the fish to swim lower as the corals take up most of the upper areas and the fish prefer it down there.

 

all these factors help but by no means prevent fish from jumping. I've had jumpers before due to unhappy tank mates (one clown and one banana wrasse)

 

And of course, it can't be helped, but sometimes fish are just weird and we don't know what they'll do

[RollaJase]

I wouldn't trust my fish not to jump as far as I could throw the little things. Especially when you have a serious cash investment in them. As unsightly as they are I still recommend a mesh screen or top over the tank. I remove it when viewing the tank or when I am in the room but leave it on most of the time as a precaution. I do agree with moon lighting though, a lot of my experience with jumpers have been fish getting startled in their sleep and launching themselves from the tank. Moon lighting can prompt them to head for rock rather than the expanse of open water which is typically the top of the tank.

[Law]

other fish bumping into each other.

 

 

LOL what?? First I've heard someone say this.

[RollaJase]

 

LOL what?? First I've heard someone say this.

It is a possibility, especially at night while they are sleeping. Typically the power heads cause the scare as they get pulled towards them.

[jedimasterben]

It is a possibility, especially at night while they are sleeping. Typically the power heads cause the scare as they get pulled towards them.

But they wouldn't just bump into each other, they all have a lateral line that prevents that. Otherwise giant shoals of fish would just be a big ball of death for the ones in the inside.

Aquascaping is also another point. My tank has been aquascaped in a way to encourage the fish to swim lower as the corals take up most of the upper areas and the fish prefer it down there.

You seem to be missing that small reef fish almost exclusively live inside coral heads, not below them.

[Mikeymikemike]

21 days of using red sea coral colours on new frags

 

You can see the purple one colour up too.

 

[4x5]

Beautiful aquascape and corals, I Facebook stalk Cairnes Marine and the livestock they collect is just incredible.

[sam_the_reefer]

Just looking back on things.. What a difference from MAY 2016 to AUGUST 2016. Zoas have spread (although very slowly) and the poci on the right has exploded recently after hooking up my dosing pump. I'm setting a Dkh of around 7 now to slow down growth and get more colour.

 

What I like about the first pic is that it really was an Iwagumi tank. I loved the rockwork and careful placement of the livestock. Though it was an "easy tank", the thrill was in letting things grow in and adds to the mystery/possibility.

 

The second pic isn't so bad, but to me it looks like a normal(very healthy) SPS tank. The strength of the rockscape is lost with the colorful SPS.

[Illuiix]

Topdown Tuesday!

 

That shiet kray!

[Mikeymikemike]

What I like about the first pic is that it really was an Iwagumi tank. I loved the rockwork and careful placement of the livestock. Though it was an "easy tank", the thrill was in letting things grow in and adds to the mystery/possibility.

 

The second pic isn't so bad, but to me it looks like a normal(very healthy) SPS tank. The strength of the rockscape is lost with the colorful SPS.

 

 

You are right, I did enjoy the simplicity of the old tank but to see it evolve the way it has has also been very enjoyable for me.

 

I love a good iwagumi tank, but for that, I am going to create another planted Iwagumi tank. I have all the rock ready to go and tonnes of it in stock if i ever need to build more.

 

[ahoDMV]

is it just me or the pictures aren't working?

[rsucre]

21 days of using red sea coral colours on new frags

 

You can see the purple one colour up too.

 

 

 

Interesting. Can you share how are you using the Red Sea Colours product? I would like to know if it requires a lot of testing, trial and error or you find it simple to use. Are you also dosing NOPOX (or any form of carbon dosing) in conjunction with Red Sea Colours? What else?

[Mikeymikemike]

from my observations the red sea coral colours program helped with greens, blues and pinks. My monti is holding a nice metallic green now after fading out and my pinks are much more vibrant. The blues which were only at the tips are now moving towards the stem.

 

One thing I have noticed is that my deep green milli is now a faded almost neon green/yellow. It probably has more to do with nitrates than it does with iron.

 

From what my friends say, tweaking colours is more suited to oligotrophic environments as you can expel most of the zooxanthellae but not bleach the corals. The outcome is usually faded and pastel looking corals as I have noticed in my system.

 

I dose as recommended.

[gaspipe1]

Man, this thread is off the hook!! I can't believe I read almost 350 posts in one sitting, a real testament to what you have created Mike. It's stunning and amazing, bravo!

 

I just sparked an interest in reef tanks and am hooked, I'm reading a lot and often. And it seems everywhere I read was "take it slow and be patient" (sounds a lot like the advice you hear on a BBQ site). Traditional BBQ is low (225 degrees or lower) and slow (8, 9, 12+ hours). Dude you are turning this mentality upside down with Hot and Fast.

 

I love your approach to this entirely, from your artistic eye, your photography, and even how you interact with members. This is defiantly not a thread for beginners, I'm googling every other term here. Looking forward to being inspired by your creation in the months, years to come.

 

BTW, the only shame is that a lot of your pictures are not coming through.

[Mikeymikemike]

Thank you

 

I too enjoy a good barbecue!

 

My approach comes from a lot of influences in the planted side of the hobby for aesthetics, while the reefing influences and advice come from friends who have proven they can grow corals on a commercial scale.

 

I'm glad you're enjoying the read. There are some other good builds here to check out too and they each have their own methods.

 

Do you have a tank running yet?

[gaspipe1]

Do you have a tank running yet?

 

Not yet, growing up I always had fresh water. I was into the "cool predictor" type fish. Oscars, snakeheads and finally piranhas. Then at a point I stopped. I always wanted a reef tank after I first saw it at my LFS. But due to cost and difficulty I always stayed clear.

 

What sparked my interest again was mid August I went away to Cancun and scuba'd. Was a small excursion nothing too far from shore but to be honest the reef was dead. White was all I saw with a few fish. I got depressed, was so sad. In the past I went scuba in St. Thomas, Hawaii and Bermuda and always had a great experience. But this last trip left me wanting more.

 

So here I am learning. My wife knows how I am, when something sparks my interest I research it to death. She already warned me that we're not getting any pets. My goal is to read, learn and come with a plan in a few months.

 

Funny thing is this forum is like a candy shop! The more I browse the more I want to put it in my cart. It's insane, from a vase tank, to a 10g nano to a 29 cube, to this! I always wanted to hide the equipment but now after looking at the glass pipes you want to showcase them. Who the hell would have thought I would have been so impressed with a (non smoking) glass pipe! This is one crazy addictive hobby.