Live Free or Reef

[MainelyReefer]

Another Dump of photos I took before I left

[Lula_Mae]

Nothing like a little overkill! I love my Prime (non-HD) so much I'm planning to find one for my 5.5 which will absorb the jar, because I've tried multiple LED PAR bulbs and just am not quite satisfied with them.

[vlangel]

I can see why you were so excited to add the new light, wow!

[MainelyReefer]

Yea the light has made a huge difference in viewing pleasure, in the CFL's defense it did keep the colors of these corals for close to 6 months which I think proves it is viable just not always desirable.  Heres my tank getting grimy little 14 month old fingerprints on it.

[seabass]

Very interesting pico.  Beautiful corals.

[MainelyReefer]

1 1/8" glass holesaw, a 1/2" Slipxslip bulkhead with low profile strainer(also have an uglier strainer that may be needed to run a canister filter with a 1/2" street 90 to fully submerge) and slip 90 barb fitting. A 1/2" thread by slip bulkhead with a slip 90 barb and a 1/2" npt x locline. 1/2" to 1/4" locline "Y" and some random 1/4" locline parts.  A sun sun 602b canister filter.  All these parts are getting delivered today, tomorrow or Friday and then this weekend I will be drilling this little tank .  If I break it I have a great Mr. Aqua 3G that I already made into an AIO.

[wsonner]

Great looking tank! I love this. 

[Cannedfish]

I've said it before, but your this tank is awesome! Also +1 for kitchen tanks. I don't think I would be half as obsessed with this hobby if my tank wasn't front and center (but not obtrusive) in the most trafficked room in our house. 

[vlangel]

12 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

All these parts are getting delivered today, tomorrow or Friday and then this weekend I will be drilling this little tank .  If I break it I have a great Mr. Aqua 3G that I already made into an AIO.

It's always good to have a backup plan in case of emergency.

[MainelyReefer]

Tank is still running smoothly no major alterations have been performed, I bought a canister filter and drill and bulkheads but still haven’t brought myself to risk this little tank just to make it better as it works as is.  The AI prime has completed its acclimation mode and maxes at 16w during peak lighting.  Only the very upper zoas close up during this time but open shortly after, and everything else seems to love the extra light so unless zoas start dieing I will leave it, as they have still be growing and even faster than before.

Orange FTS because of the aquariclip and ambient white light.

Hipster Photo

Zoas just closing up under high light, the eagle eyes have grown very rapidly and covered the remaining utter chaos which is just visible as an overly bright dot in the upper zoas.  The Rasta zoas are more light sensitive and close up faster but have grown 2 heads since the prime was added so I figure they are alright. They are the guys to the left and the single closed polyp near the tippy top 

Green trumpet is finally spitting under the new light!  It shot past splitting into two heads and is trying for three

Rics are now touching so are growing well

 

[vlangel]

Everything is looking really good since adding the new light.

[MainelyReefer]

I just went a 4 week stretch of no WC’s with only some minor hair algae to show for it.  Fritz and weatherbee are still causing chaos to the sandbed, weatherbee buried that orange ric and it somehow showed up underneath the blue one?!? Not sure how to save it as I don’t remove the rock so as not to fully disturb their den.  Survival of the fittest and luckiest I suppose.  I also changed the original air line from an algae covered clear tube to a shiny new black tube today with out an air stone as I can’t find one.  Here it is a few hours after the WC

you can see the GHA just above the Hammer and near the zoas, an easy kill for H2O2 it doesn’t have me losing any sleep.

and a bunch of zoas that grew on the side of the top rock I can’t see from my average viewing angle, first time zoas have ever grown so well for me

[ChristopherDido]

Looks great!

[MainelyReefer]

Happy Fathers Day to all you reefer dads, here is my $6 dad cake that I ate yesterday.  I also got new T5 bulbs for my 40 as my gift!

Wc day today but I got some photos of it yesterday in all it’s nasty glory

the water level is also low as I removed some, it’s nice how as long as corals are submerged the tank water level is correct!

Top down you can see how much that blue trumpet has grown with each of the original 3 heads having split now and some of those splits are even splitting now! And the ugly green trumpet that is a 4 headed freak.

This is one of the corals the gammaridea pods found tasty(their name sounds like a disease you pick up in college)  The pods still harass my acans but no longer the blasto, and my heavy feeding has helped reduce the damage they do.

Merlettis are throwing baby heads out between themselves

feeders out this morningperhaps after the WC if the planets align and I have time and my wife’s phone for pics and the corals look happy I will get a few more photos.

[teenyreef]

Looks great! Happy Father's Day!

[MainelyReefer]

WC actually happened today after work,

I knocked off the blue trumpets by accident but I took the opportunity to reposition them lower in the reef so they have more vertical potential for future growth.  I placed them in the back where I honestly have no corals, so placing them here is perfect as they should grow into a pretty blue backdrop.

 In its place I moved one of the acans that was being detrimentally smooshed by its neighbors, and I added a new acan  frag too.  The best news is I still have space for a new coralI really think moving these few corals helped freshen up the scape and hopefully helps result in the reef I envision down the line. And finally I tried desperately to get a fritz and weatherbee shot, but only ended up with a blurry shot of Fritz’s head and weatherbee’s claw.  20 minutes of life and this is the glorious shot I have to show for it.  

[debbeach13]

The jar looks great. So glad it is still going strong and healthy.

[MainelyReefer]

The Hammer has grown considerably to the point where it poses a pending threat to the surrounding corals.

it actually touches the closest Rasta with no ill effect witnessed yet, I mean I guess it is closed haha

however I fear the same will not be the case with the acan on the other side that it getting uncomfortably close when both are fully inflated

Not sure if I will relocate within the tank as it grows well or if I will just acknowledge that it will eventually be a dick and move it out to make space for maybe a bounce?

I also eradicated most of the hair algae on the rock during this weekends WC with hydrogen peroxide and the CUC ate it clean in two days.  I love limpets.

[MainelyReefer]

Woke up and paid attention to the hammer area again and I saw an eagle eye zoa has wrapped all the way around that peak on the LR and is next to the hammer too!

You can see the one zoa dead center of the shot just to the right of the limpet that is next to the hammer. Also interesting how the Rastas are fully open in the darkness.  

The top of the rockwork in this next one shows how much whiter it is because this is where the peroxide laid waste to the algae scum.  I feel the pressure to get that rockwork covered in some kind of desirable life so it doesn’t get reclaimed by algae.  It is INTENSE light right there, the water surface is 5” from the AI Prime, the top of the rock work is 1” below the water surface so 6” from the Prime.  That’s definitely one of the contributing factors to the rastas being partially closed at full sun but the eagle eyes have spread so I’m not changing it for one coral as all the others are great.  

[MainelyReefer]

WWC OG bounce has been added!!!!!

Moved my MP10 in my main tank which made the $50 WWC OG bounce frag plug lift up and float off(plug and all so still attached).  Perfect excuse to move it to the reefbowl.  I have had it directly beneath the t5’s and some side light from the kessil 360 only 1”-2” beneath the surface so I think it should transplant into the top most part of the reef without issue but it being only 6” beneath the AI maxing at 17w  will certainly have me paying close attention.  

it slightly shaded the rastas but I think that will be ok.  

during the WC today I have plans to also transplant 2 rics I have had on my frag racks in the 40 for too long

[Cannedfish]

Holy bristle worms Batman! You’ve got some sea monsters in that reef bowl!

[MainelyReefer]

Ended up adding the 2 rics and some gorilla nipples during today’s WC, this green/orange ric came from some store in CT when I was road tripping.

This new green ric is where the previous yellow ric was that got buried by the pistol but about an inch higher on the rockwork.  I’m hoping this will be enough to save it from the pistols future sand shifting endeavors.

Gorilla nipples

also lowered the green trumpets on the rockwork to account for future growth and my clumsy hands in tight quarters, this has opened up a nice flat patch I’m hoping to get covered in zoas.  

And somehow I didn’t remove the hammer from the tank yet but it’s going to happen I just have to find something pretty and green to replace it like an acan or anything that isn’t a dick like the hammer.

[vlangel]

Very nice GraniteReefer.  Your bowl is filling in beautifully.

[MainelyReefer]

Hammer has been removed from the tank as I couldn't think of a long term spot for it and I don't want this to turn into a jar of hammer one day so I think it was a wise choice.  Plus now I have an excuse to trade in overgrowth from my other tanks to find a nice green replacement. With all of the recent moving around some of the corals that haven't moved have had their conditions change in ways they don't like.  Example

the green mouthed trumpet used to be much more puffy but since it now gets more light from having lowered the other trumpets it seems to be upset.  He is also pooping and has previously been looking ready to split so I'm taking no action for now(red blasto is just pissed today because I did the WC yesterday). While the blasto is pissed you can see it trying to bud out a new head which is exciting since this very coral was being eaten by the pods a few months ago.

 

 And finally in an effort to stop shading the rainbow Acan, I glued the bounce onto my liftpipe dangling over the dead zone center of the bowl.

Don't mind all the algae on my lift pipe, think of it as my in tank refugium.  Also disregard the copious amounts of superglue I used to get that bounce plug attached to the liftpipe, all while leaving the rockwork exactly in the same place none the less as I have never been able to and won't ever be able to remove the rockwork from my little 4.5" porthole.  I have a lot of tongs, tweezers, and other tools to help but I worry about moving the rocks too much as Fritz and Wetherbee are definitely under it.

[debbeach13]

That FTS looks great. The next picture with the yellow and orange rimmed coral looks like a face to me. Any way love that it is still growing strong. Thanks for the update.