ECLS Reefer Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 Okay, I fold. I finally am frustrated with the RedSea lights over both the 120g and the Evo. So, next week I will be swapping them all out for AI brand. Going to put three Hydra 64s over the big tank, and I'm very excited about the change in over all look, if the little Challenge Tank's appearance with the AI 16HD is any indicator. It seemed no matter what I did with the RedSea, it was always just BLUE. And that was running it at 23K, 100%B and 50%W, which is basically the only thing you can adjust. So yeah, I'm excited about the future. My girl Boudicca Sunny, the new algae management director. Full Tank Shot under full blues (though it's more like full purples) 1 Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 4 minutes ago, ECLS Reefer said: Okay, I fold. I finally am frustrated with the RedSea lights over both the 120g and the Evo. So, next week I will be swapping them all out for AI brand. Going to put three Hydra 64s over the big tank, and I'm very excited about the change in over all look, if the little Challenge Tank's appearance with the AI 16HD is any indicator. It seemed no matter what I did with the RedSea, it was always just BLUE. And that was running it at 23K, 100%B and 50%W, which is basically the only thing you can adjust. So yeah, I'm excited about the future. My girl Boudicca Sunny, the new algae management director. Full Tank Shot under full blues (though it's more like full purples) Lol I knew you would end up with a tang again . Curious to see how the AI lights work out for you. I'd like you to add some T5s too and see if those sps take off Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 2 minutes ago, FISHnChix said: Lol I knew you would end up with a tang again . Curious to see how the AI lights work out for you. I'd like you to add some T5s too and see if those sps take off What SPS I currently have are alive but not going like gang busters like in some tanks. I can't add T5s on top of all the LED power- we wouldn't be able to watch TV then, since it's against the facing wall of the den and next to the TV. I'll be super happy if it's like the little 5g tank but on a bigger scale. Currently no matter what I do it looks like a shaded deep ocean, and it's always hard to look at it without squinting from the blues. Not a single fish even gives that yellow dude a look. I won't add any other tangs so we should be able to avoid any ugly repeats of last year. 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 Well, it's been a hot second since I last visited my threads, though I have been posting daily pictures on Instagram. I'm always working on honing those macro skills, with the help of @Cannedfish. It's a technical hobby within a technical hobby and I feel like more of a lucky bastard type photographer than a real knowledgeable amateur, but sometimes the pictures turn out well. So, updates on the tank. I ended up going for the fluconazole treatment to beat the bryopsis. Removed the carbon bags and phosguard, which are the only chemical media I use. Turned off the skimmer for a week (though due to automatic scheduling, it did turn on a couple of times, sneaky thing). I have since turned it back on because I'm nervous about the nutrient overload possibility with the bryopsis die off. And yes, the stuff is disappearing, which makes me sad for my lettuce nudibranchs. They are pretty cool to look at. They have been treated to quite a feast though and are all still alive. I may try to catch all of them and give them to a needy person when done. Sadly, I had to part with Boudicca the maroon/oscellaris clown fish. She was just too much of a queen for the tank, causing the two little oscellaris clowns to show some ich like spots. Literally as soon as I moved her to the sump they changed their whole personality and started to move back into their old host spots, and the ich like spots disappeared. Due to my husband's persistent whining/begging I ordered a second mocha storm, SMALL. What arrived was more like XL, so I couldn't put it in with Harvey in the 5g to fatten up-instead she had to go straight into the 120g. She's humongous, and as she is a storm, she received the appropriate name of Katrina. We will eventually move Harvey over when he's put on some weight and length to go with her, and hopefully end up with two pairs. Boudicca, by the way, went to a home with 5 tanks of no less volume than 170g, so I'm sure she will be a happy mean clown, terrorizing someone else's coral reef. As for corals, I've been blessed to be able to add multiple torches to the tank. They are like my final Crown Jewels, and I can't wait until they all grow up. I have one more I want to finish off the collection I want, but they already look awesome. I have: Australian gold, Vivid's Ultra Gold x2, Vivids gold small, gold cristata, Jester, Hellfire x2, dragon soul, neon green/blue tip, purple with green tip, green (possible grim reaper), old no name purple/green tip. Unfortunately I found the old, original purple/green tip fell this morning, laying on top of a humongous ricordea. They both look the worst for wear at the moment, so I hope they both will pull through. Coral wars- one of the hellfires reached out and touched a neighboring rainbow acan yesterday. The acan lost and moved a smidge. The only other news is that my blue star wrasse Kinvara is slowing wasting away. She somehow lost her beak a while back but regrew it, but since then even with eating very well she just loses weight. Yesterday she again ate well, swam all day, but also tended to rest a lot. I feel like every day may be her last. She hasn't woken yet today, so maybe yesterday was all I got with her. It's a bummer when your beautiful, favorite fish don't last. Reach out and touch someone Maximus the Gladiator Clown Kinvara the Blue Star Leopard Sunny the Yellow Tang Bastet the Leopard Wrasse Sundance (aka Buttface) the Blue Spotted Jawfish Katrina the Mocha Storm Clown Hawkeye the Hawkfish Jason Fox Sector 001 Favia 5 2 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 28, 2021 Author Share Posted March 28, 2021 It’s been a hot second since I updated about the big tank. It seems that my wonderful new lights are far more powerful than I assumed, and I started baking corals. Wa wa wa waaaaaaa 🤷🏻♀️ So, dialed those suckers back way back, and stuff seems to be stabilizing, if not fully recovered. Got a few new things this past week, including a new marble star fish. I am attempting the gorgonian thing again, though I haven’t been wildly successful with those in the past. So far, the only one truly thriving is the orange and white, white the blueberry gorg is giving me PE during feed time, and the red and white is laughing at me with no PE at all. Hopefully it will come around. I also got another long tentacled nem, which I hope will thrive this time, since the old Sherman rose/black widow hybrid BTA is coming back to life and looking better these days. Should make the clown posse happy. Started dosing NoPox a while back when I had the flucon in the system, for nutrient control. Am still dosing NoPox and feeding regularly, but I ended up putting a small bag of phosguard and more carbon back in. Those are the only types of chemical media I use for nutrient control, and it seems to keep everything happy. All of the fish are doing well save the blue star leopard, which I am at a loss on how to fix. She started burying herself for days at a time, and when she resurfaces she’s obviously lost weight. She does eat but nowhere near enough to recover what she’s lost, so I expect one day she’ll stop appearing 😩. She’s my favorite fish so I hate it when this kind of thing happens. The other leopard is fat and sassy so I expect no trouble from her. Otherwise, the tank is doing better, though its still got a touch of the uglies. Hopefully recovery and tank fire is around the corner. New green millie Red/white gorg Green poccillopora Blueberry gorg Orange/white gorg Yellow polyps Marble star Pink bubble coral Green cynarina Leopard wrasse Yellow tang (dolla, dolla bills y’all!) Gladiator clown Yellow coris wrasse 4 Quote Link to comment
mitten_reef Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Yellow coris is among my short list of new addition candidates for the new tank. Their color is so bright! 2 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 28, 2021 Author Share Posted March 28, 2021 1 hour ago, mitten_reef said: Yellow coris is among my short list of new addition candidates for the new tank. Their color is so bright! They do get huge though. They had several in the live corals tank at Moody Gardens Aquarium that were 4-6 inches long. Visions of things to come 😳 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 The big tank has been making quite a come back, finally. It seems the torches have all decided to split and grow- one of them is massive now. I did lose one fancy torch - a hellfire - which sucked thoroughly, but it seems that all of the others are coming back stronger and bigger than before. The other euphyllia in the tank have also hit a growth spurt, so the tank is now staring to look very filled in. I'm down to only space on the back wall for corals that will graft, and I tried out some GSP this last week. It's already opened up and happy looking back there, so I hope it spreads and starts to look awesome. A few of the montis died way back, as well as the cyphastreas. The rainbow cyphastrea is still holding on, so I hope it comes back with a vengeance. My blue star leopard did end up buying the farm, and I have given up trying to find a replacement of suitable size to counter the big standard leopard, Bastet. She's almost fully grown size wise and starting to show signs of transitioning. I did, however, find a really amazingly colored ornate leopard wrasse on Divers Den, and so ended up going with her. She was sized at 4 inches and I think should be able to contend with Bastet without issue. I also ended up biting the bullet and risking the purchase of two banded pipe fish. The tank is very stable, even showing pods on the glass every night, and the mandarin in the tank has been consistently growing. I take that as a good sign that there's plenty of copepods on hand for even the pipe fish. I hope they will work out-there's plenty of live rock for them as well as large meaty corals, and the only question will be if they are left alone by other fish. "Other fish" being the clown harem. They're pretty hosty these days, and haven't managed to get the new purple long tentacled nem to settle yet, so they still wander a bit. At any rate, fingers crossed these new guys will all do well. And now, pictures! Black ice clown pair, unnamed Maximus, gladiator clown on "his" white long tentacled nem Sundace the butt faced jawfish. Sunny, the yellow tang Fish party! Bastet the leopard wrasse Gorgonians Pink Goniopora and alveopora Magician and blue eyed blonde zoas The tank anemones - Scarlett Widow BTA, Purple long tentacled and white long tentacled nems 4 Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 Nice photos . Getting the hang of that camera I see. Live the macros but where is the fts?? And I loved those videos you used to post of all your fishes swim around. 🤗 2 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 18 minutes ago, FISHnChix said: Nice photos . Getting the hang of that camera I see. Live the macros but where is the fts?? And I loved those videos you used to post of all your fishes swim around. 🤗 So the FTS are actually kinda hard on this tank. I struggle to like any of the ones I take, even with a wide angle lens. I think they all turn out ugly ☹️. But yeah on the macro and close up stuff I’d say I’ve improved a bit. I’ll have to work on the videos, too. 4 Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 8 minutes ago, ECLS Reefer said: even with a wide angle lens. I think they all turn out ugly ☹️. It's not always about the best quality photos though. Most of us have tanks so we know what it really looks like 😅.. personally I really enjoy looking at someone's overall reef. 😎🤙and as far as the videos.. man before the tang disaster I loved watching the action in your tank . Actually reminded me of watching a real reef in the ocean with all those fishes❤ 2 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 12, 2021 Author Share Posted April 12, 2021 6 minutes ago, FISHnChix said: It's not always about the best quality photos though. Most of us have tanks so we know what it really looks like 😅.. personally I really enjoy looking at someone's overall reef. 😎🤙and as far as the videos.. man before the tang disaster I loved watching the action in your tank . Actually reminded me of watching a real reef in the ocean with all those fishes❤ It’s damn full now too with lots of action. I don’t think I’ll ever be brave enough for more than one tang again after that crash. I’m adding another wrasse and two pipe fish this week, so I hope that goes smoothly. The pipe fish are my riskiest attempts- the wrasse I hope will just occupy the other end of the tank from the other leopard or even just get along. I *think* it may even be slightly bigger than the big leopard in there currently. So cross your fingers it doesn’t push the tank over the edge. I’ve noticed the flame angel starting to get feisty in there with the fugly old green chromis I can’t wish into disappearing. But even with a school of damsels and four clowns no one is sick. So let’s see.... chromis flame angel smith damsel x 4 clown x 4 tang blenny x 2 wrasse x 2 jawfish mandarin Will end up with 20 fish total. I’ve tried to stay with smallish fish this time around. And after this if any damsels or clowns kick it I won’t replace. And if another leopard dies, I won’t replace that either. Even though they’re my favorite fish I get tired of constantly replacing them. 4 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 @FISHnChix here’s a video just for you.... I’ll work on a FTS tomorrow 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment
spectra Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 lets keep the herpes videos to yourself........................ 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, spectra said: lets keep the herpes videos to yourself........................ The song was You’re The Inspiration not Let’s Get it On Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 1 hour ago, ECLS Reefer said: @FISHnChix here’s a video just for you.... I’ll work on a FTS tomorrow Haha ok that was a good song choice for the video .. still not the overall video of the reef though 😉😋 2 1 Quote Link to comment
spectra Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 58 minutes ago, ECLS Reefer said: The song was You’re The Inspiration not Let’s Get it On well until we get rid of the garden of herpes name.............. thats all I see when it pops up................. kind of like mitten kitten................. 2 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 13 minutes ago, spectra said: well until we get rid of the garden of herpes name.............. thats all I see when it pops up................. kind of like mitten kitten................. I know and your name even replays when I read it, which makes me laugh, which is why I keep it 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Okay @FISHnChix Here are the FTS from more than one angle. I have yet to learn how to take a great FTS like many others I’ve seen, especially of these bigger tanks. Here it is in 3 sections Side angle view and side view 2 Quote Link to comment
spectra Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 I think you need more coral.............. 2 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 5 minutes ago, spectra said: I think you need more coral.............. are you saying it’s reached capacity? 1 Quote Link to comment
FISHnChix Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 3 hours ago, ECLS Reefer said: Okay @FISHnChix Here are the FTS from more than one angle. I have yet to learn how to take a great FTS like many others I’ve seen, especially of these bigger tanks. Here it is in 3 sections Side angle view and side view Jeezo. That is looking really cool. Safe to say you have a coral addiction 😃.. some really nice peices in there too. So much going on in there I'm gunna have to look at it on a PC instead of my phone😅 1 1 Quote Link to comment
spectra Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 2 hours ago, ECLS Reefer said: are you saying it’s reached capacity? From the looks of it have you ever heard 10lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag.................... 1 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 7 minutes ago, spectra said: From the looks of it have you ever heard 10lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag.................... Um no, I’ve actually never heard that saying. But the goal was to not be able to see rocks. 1 Quote Link to comment
spectra Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 53 minutes ago, ECLS Reefer said: Um no, I’ve actually never heard that saying. But the goal was to not be able to see rocks. Well better add more corals then.............. 2 Quote Link to comment
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