Poodges Posted November 25, 2018 Share Posted November 25, 2018 Intro: Thanks for taking a look at my tank journal. I've been reefing since 2009; not a novice but far from knowing everything. I've always loved the simplicity of all in one tanks and my very first tank was a 29 gallon Biocube. I've had a few tanks between this Innovative Marine SR60 and my first Biocube but the contents of this tank came from my last 29 gallon Biocube I had set up for about 3 years. I added some cured liverock and moved the contents of that tank to this one in November of 2018. My goal is to incorporate all types of coral into a diverse, mixed reef and place a large emphasis on fish that are both beautiful but also serve a purpose in a peaceful community tank. My three daughters have some input as to what goes in the tank and while I don't always agree with their selections, I have been pleasantly surprised on more than one occasion (Valentini Puffer...Yasha Goby, just to name a couple). This is a family tank and something that we enjoy discussing, admiring and feeding every night before bed time. Update October 2021: In early 2020, I had a horrible Dinoflagellates outbreak. My pursuit of pristine water conditions created the perfect envornment for the Dinos to take over. A lot of my corals were suffocated and fish died during the ourbreak. After finally beating the Dinos back, I almost shut the tank down but ultimately just sort of walked away and let it recover. I did minimal maintenance and didn't add a thing for 20+ months. I had completely lost my passion for Reefkeeping. My youngest daughter who is 3 now loves fish and her interest in this tank brought me back. Current FTS 1/13/2022 FTS 12/16/2019 before the Dino outbreak The very first FTS after the transfer: 29g Biocube Donor Tank: Hardware: Innovative Marine Nuvo SR60 Reef Breeders Photon V2 Pro 24 Vortech MP10 Tunze 9004 Skimmer Tunze 3155 ATO Sicce 1.5 return pump x 2 150w Heater Livestock: Yellow Watchman Goby (R.I.P. old man) Orchid Dottyback (captured) DaVinci Clownfish x 2 Cleaner Shrimp x 1 Midas Blenny (Jumped and stepped on) Sunburst Anthias (M.I.A. presumed deceased) Melanurus Wrasse Valentini Puffer (lost in Dino outbreak) Coral Beauty Angel Yasha Hase Goby Red Scooter Blenny (lost in Dino outbreak) RBTA (lost in Dino outbreak) Exquisite Fairy Wrasse (lost in Dino outbreak) Pearly Jawfish (lost in Dino outbreak) Royal Gramma Pink Spot Watchman Goby Tail Spot Blenny Red Fromia Starfish Ruby Red Scooter Dragonet RBTA Corals: Zoanthids Frogspawns Torch Acans (lost in Dino outbreak) Cup Coral (lost in Dino outbreak) Favia (lost in Dino outbreak) Toadstool Leather Neon Trumpet Blasto Merletti Montipora (lost in Dino outbreak) Leptastrea (lost in Dino outbreak) Acropora (lost in Dino outbreak) Stylophora (lost in Dino outbreak) Cyphastrea (lost in Dino outbreak) Montipora Digitata (lost in Dino outbreak) Cespitularia (lost in Dino outbreak) Purple Feather Gorgonian Ricordea Florida Nepthea Pipe Organ Clove Polyps Yellow Finger Gorgonian Red Finger Gorgonian Rock Flower Anemones Acan Lord Lobophyllia Montipora Pulsing Xenia 7 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted November 25, 2018 Share Posted November 25, 2018 12 minutes ago, Poodges said: I used to maintain a tank journal on here for my Biocube but quit posting after moving a few years ago. I've tuned in often for advice and inspiration for my tank as there is a tremendous wealth of knowledge here. I have always tinkered with going bigger but never had the commitment to make it happen until recently. I picked up a used Nuvo SR60 and I love the dimensions. I built a stand for it and finished it off with a quartz top. I added some well cured live rock and moved the contents of my Biocube last week. Things look pretty good so far. I'm looking forward to adding a few more fish and corals after it settles then. My plan is to stick with mainly soft corals and LPS with a couple SPS mixed in but might trade the SPS away to keep things simple. I'd like to add a Flame Hawkfish, Tomini Tang and maybe a wrasse down the road. Comments and feedback are appreciated. Thanks for taking a look. Current FTS Full Setup Shot Hardware: Innovative Marine Nuvo SR60 Tunze 9004 skimmer Kessil A160WE x 2 Kessil Spectral Controller Tunze 3155 ATO Sicce 1.5 return pump x 2 Heater Fish: Yellow Watchman Goby Orchid Dottyback DaVinci Clownfish x 2 Corals: Zoanthids Frogspawn Torch Monti Caps Acans Cup Coral Bird of Paradise Looks good so far! 😊 1 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 Thank you very much Christy. I bought an app for my phone called "Aquarium Cam" to take pictures. Got it dialed in to where the photos are spot on with the in person color. Also, added a new torch coral which I've never had before. 3 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 Welcome back @Poodges! 👋 Congrats on your new Nuvo SR60, that will make a great system! Did you say you moved the contents of your Biocube 29 into this new tank? Has it been up and running for nearly 8 years now?! 😲 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 42 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said: Welcome back @Poodges! 👋 Congrats on your new Nuvo SR60, that will make a great system! Did you say you moved the contents of your Biocube 29 into this new tank? Has it been up and running for nearly 8 years now?! 😲 Hi there Mr. Marks. Thank you for the message. I shut that tank down in roughly 2013 after moving out of state briefly. I love the Biocube and set a new one up just before my first daughter was born in early 2015. That's the setup that I transferred so almost 4 years old. 8 years would have been something else! 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 Hey, 4 years is still pretty great! How cool you can share the hobby with your daughters now 🙂 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 I was trying to take some pictures of a few corals to trade but this guy kept photobombing me: #shrimpinainteasy 3 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 On Saturday, I took my oldest 2 girls with me to pick out a new fish. We were on the hunt for a tiny Kole Tang but the one's we saw were too big and I'm conflicted as to whether that fish belongs in this tank. Instead, we came away with a fish I didn't know existed: a blue Midas Blenny. It's been hiding in the rocks but poking out to eat when I feed the tank. It's starting to get a little braver though and I hope to see that eel-like swimming motion soon. Introducing Benny the Blenny: 3 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Got some news corals from World Wide Corals and glued them down after watching them for a couple days on the sandbed. Did a little cleaning up and snapped some pics. I'm really enjoying this tank since moving everything over from my Biocube. Orchid Dottyback is being a turd to the new blenny so I might have to bust out the old bottletrap and send him packing. Besides that, things seem to be going well. Skimmer is doing a nice job pulling gunk and 5 gallon weekly water changes seem to be enough so far. 4 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Hey, I really like your tank too! And the blue midas blenny is super cool. Dottybacks are so pretty but can be such jerks. I use the ol' diy bottle trap too. Perhaps just some time out time in a QT until the blenny gets comfortable will be enough. Of course once you catch the dottyback I could certainly understand any hesitation about ever putting it back in, ha ha! Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 3 hours ago, vlangel said: Hey, I really like your tank too! And the blue midas blenny is super cool. Dottybacks are so pretty but can be such jerks. I use the ol' diy bottle trap too. Perhaps just some time out time in a QT until the blenny gets comfortable will be enough. Of course once you catch the dottyback I could certainly understand any hesitation about ever putting it back in, ha ha! Hey there. Thanks for the feedback. I didn’t catch the dottyback but it must have gotten the message. I laid my net across the tank for a day or two as well and the dottyback has gone into hiding. The blenny is out swimming freely now so I guess it has found its place in the tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Poodges said: Hey there. Thanks for the feedback. I didn’t catch the dottyback but it must have gotten the message. I laid my net across the tank for a day or two as well and the dottyback has gone into hiding. The blenny is out swimming freely now so I guess it has found its place in the tank. Glad to hear it. For me it seems the first 2 weeks of a fish's life (except seahorses) in my tanks seem to determine whether its life is cut short or it lives to be really old. I hate the whole thing where they need to find their place in the pecking order. I am starting to buy fish in groups and then QT them. Then when they are all looking healthy I add them to the display as a group to spread the bullying around. I have found that helpful, especially since I don't want to tamper with my scape at this point. Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted December 30, 2018 Author Share Posted December 30, 2018 Cleaned the tank this morning and took a quick video since all fish were out swimming and corals were looking happy: 1 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 Finally caught the dottyback and took her in to my LFS. Picked up this Sunburst Anthias and acclimating it now: 3 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Had a fellow local reefer taking their tank down and posted a couple fish that needed new homes. Among them was my favorite wrasse and I had to take him, the Melanurus Wrasse. Now the kids are asking for a puffer... hoping to find a toby that will leave my corals and CUC alone. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
OPtasia Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 No puffers. They taste test everything to death. Wrasses can be little jerk wads, so keep an eye on that one. Also they jump but you probably knew that. BTW, Orange Park here. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Howdy OpPtasia. CR210 here. So far the wrasse is behaving although I do believe he killed a hermit already. I can live with that. Yep, taking a risk with an open top but I figure that I saved this guy's life already so he's playing with house money. Thanks for the comment about the puffer, I've done my fair share of research and it's a bad idea. However, rationalizing with my 3.5 year old is wearing down on me. I'm trying to see if I can find one in a reef tank already that knows how to fall in line. 2 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 Cleaned up the tank today and took a few pics as lights were fading to blue. Picked up a few new frags as well since the last update. Decent little collection of acans in the bottom left and I have about 8 small frags of zoas/palys on the center rock that should be pretty cool when the fill in. Yes, that is a Valentini Puffer. I caved... 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 I finally busted out my good camera and got some nice shots with very minimal editing. These pictures really represent what the tank looks like in person. Benny the Blenny is happy to rejoin the DT after jumping in the rear chambers a few days ago. I'm done re-positioning corals and am content to let things grow out now. I have one more coral order coming from World Wide Corals next month and then I think that will be it...at least for a good long while. I'm really enjoying this setup and all the creatures within it. 4 Quote Link to comment
NuisanceAlgaeCultivator Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Just read your journal it's very nice, and thanks for the tip on the coral app! I've been picking up pieces of clear orange and yellow trash trying to make camera filters for taking pictures of corals until just now lol. 1 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Thanks for the note. I have found that app to be very helpful. The last pics I took were with a DSLR but the iPhone is always handy. 1 Quote Link to comment
A Little Blue Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Looks great. Get your “good” camera out more often. Also, love that puffer fish. Cute👍 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Thank you for the feedback. I think I’ll be using the nice camera from now on. Puffer is definitely everybody’s favorite. So far she’s been a welcomed addition. Quote Link to comment
Daniel91 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Everything looks great! Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Loving the choices of fish!!! Tank looks great 🙂 Quote Link to comment
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