Riding the Wave with Reef Casa: My Studio 12 Saltwater Build 🌊

[banasophia]

15 minutes ago, Woodini said:

Hank is cool, what is he?

Thanks! He’s a yellow clown goby… I’ve had him over 3 1/2 years… he’s a great fish.

 

He even has his own hashtag on Instagram #strikeaposehank. I had chatGPT write a poem about him for me recently:

 

Hank, the yellow clown goby,

A model of the underwater lobby,

Posing like Derek Zoolander,

Strike a pose, his fins meander.

 

With his vibrant yellow hue,

He catches eyes and hearts anew,

An Instagram star in his own right,

Captivating fans with his sight.

 

So here's to Hank, the pose master,

A little fish with a big factor,

Bringing joy with his silly charm,

And captivating us with his underwater form.

[banasophia]

Increased the lights to 90% for the whites today and this was interesting: Marshall the possum wrasse, who is usually out swimming around constantly, started hiding in the swim through area and wouldn’t come out. He’s back out now that the lights are in their blue phase, riding the currents like a lil maniac. I wonder if he’ll get used to the brighter light settings during the day…
 

 

 

[debbeach13]

At least Hank looks like he is living the dream. 

You are making me think I should also turn things up. my light is only at 80-80-40.

[banasophia]

4 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

At least Hank looks like he is living the dream. 

You are making me think I should also turn things up. my light is only at 80-80-40.

Haha yeah Hank seems to like it! 🙂 

 

Wow, well your photos seem like the white lights are up higher than that and all your corals do seem very happy. I personally prefer white lights for most of the day since they are easier to photograph and that’s how I’ve always run my other tanks (particularly my Biocubes), but most people tell me it will be more likely to grow algae. I haven’t really had an issue with that though.
 

The main issue is the appearance of the corals can be really different, but I usually try to specifically choose corals that will look good under whites in addition to blues.

[banasophia]

Turned lights up to 100-100-100 for the first phase today. 
 

[A.m.P]

On 5/24/2023 at 1:11 PM, sapling said:

A little random I apologize; 

the coral that looks like a trumpet in the bottom right of the scape, is it all blue or is the color just off from the light? was wondering about that when I see it, I don't recall seeing a blue one before, just the neon green ones, and red/green ones. 

I think she has one of the odd caulastrea which technically got reclassified to something else, I have no idea what on earth it was re-named to but have vague recollections of the really big, puffy, beige ones with lots of joined heads and tissues getting a new name.

[banasophia]

9 hours ago, A.m.P said:

I think she has one of the odd caulastrea which technically got reclassified to something else, I have no idea what on earth it was re-named to but have vague recollections of the really big, puffy, beige ones with lots of joined heads and tissues getting a new name.

Yes, I saw something about that a while back too, now that you mention it. Thanks for thinking of that! Here’s an article I just found.
 

https://reefbuilders.com/2021/03/04/astraeosmilia-is-a-new-genus-that-splits-up-the-candy-corals/

 

I specifically stock the larger polyp varieties in my tanks... the neon yellow and teal candy canes in this tank are also larger polyp candy canes, though they haven’t fully opened up and taken off yet after the tank recovered from the dino… their flesh retracted during the lights out period and cloves, knopia, and vermetids all grew on the skeletons before the candy cane polyps could heal. 

[banasophia]

Cozy.

[tmc1313]

Great mix of corals, looks very natural.👍

[ml86743]

On 5/25/2023 at 3:01 AM, banasophia said:

So I had one of those worrisome moments when I looked in the tank tonight because one of the acans looked kinda sagging like it could be melting… but it does look like new heads are forming and the rest of the corals are looking fine, so hopefully it’s okay. 

 

 

 

I’m extra worried though because the encrusting aquaman montipora in my Biocube 32, which I’ve had maybe 3 years and it has been fine through thick and thin, totally started to lose its flesh tonight, so I’m worried about a possible contaminant in my tanks from my water changes a couple nights ago, but I’m thinking that more likely the montipora is dying off because the mint pavona encrusting below it just reached it so maybe it’s just because the montipora is losing. 

My montipora and mint pavona in my Biocube 32 tonight:

 

That monti looks wonderful..

[banasophia]

1 hour ago, ml86743 said:

That monti looks wonderful..

Thank you! 😊

 

1 hour ago, tmc1313 said:

Great mix of corals, looks very natural.👍

Thanks, that’s exactly what I’m hoping for! 🤗

[A.m.P]

14 hours ago, banasophia said:

I specifically stock the larger polyp varieties in my tanks... the neon yellow and teal candy canes in this tank are also larger polyp candy canes, though they haven’t fully opened up and taken off yet after the tank recovered from the dino… their flesh retracted during the lights out period and cloves, knopia, and vermetids all grew on the skeletons before the candy cane polyps could heal. 

Ahhhh, I hate that, I hope they're able to overgrow the pests.

Astraeosmilia, yeesh, is it weird to say that caulastrea is easier to remember?
Thanks for digging the article up though, enjoyed reading back through it!

[banasophia]

On 5/30/2023 at 2:56 PM, A.m.P said:

Astraeosmilia, yeesh, is it weird to say that caulastrea is easier to remember?
Thanks for digging the article up though, enjoyed reading back through it!

Oh yeah, I was looking through your atoll thread yesterday and I think you posted it in there quite a while back… probably where I saw it in the first place!

 

On 5/30/2023 at 2:56 PM, A.m.P said:

Ahhhh, I hate that, I hope they're able to overgrow the pests.

Me too! 

[Reef Casa]

can we use these recent photos 😄 !!

The clown goby in the candy cane is just perfection 

[banasophia]

5 hours ago, Reef Casa said:

can we use these recent photos 😄 !!

The clown goby in the candy cane is just perfection 

Of course! Hank loves the attention... he is a supermodel you know. 😁🤗 #strikeaposehank

[Reef Casa]

Any interest in running a refugium ? can send you this light free of charge if you would like to check it out !

would even just like your feedback 

https://reefcasa.com/product/nova-refugium-light/

 

[banasophia]

On 6/15/2023 at 9:55 AM, Reef Casa said:

Any interest in running a refugium ? can send you this light free of charge if you would like to check it out !

would even just like your feedback 

https://reefcasa.com/product/nova-refugium-light/

 

Hmmm that’s an interesting idea! I was actually just thinking of adding some macroalgae to the display for nutrient control and aesthetics.

 

The floating plants in my freshwater tank are pretty and they are growing like weeds and sucking up the nitrate and phosphate like crazy… it would be nice to have a natural nutrient sink in this tank. 
 

A refugium is definitely something to think about, but I’m wondering if the the light will spill over a lot into the display side leading to more algae in the display. Have you tried it out in your tank in the shop yet? How does it look? Do you have some kind of rack for the algae for the middle chamber? Something like a mini algae scrubber could be kinda cool. 
 

I definitely get some spillover of light from the Halo into the middle chamber which leads to some algae growth at the top back of the middle chamber… I usually just pull it out during my weekly water change… 

 

[banasophia]

A few shots of the tank tonight:

 

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

Hank looks like he is so comfy in his little bed. The corals look great.

[JamesQ]

Aww he looks super happy there!

[banasophia]

4 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Hank looks like he is so comfy in his little bed. The corals look great.

 

1 hour ago, JamesQ said:

Aww he looks super happy there!

Thank you, yes… that candy cane has always been his favorite!
 

And in the Biocube 16 the clownfish would sometimes rub their faces in it and suck on the polyps... that was interesting to see… 🤔😬😆

[banasophia]

On 6/15/2023 at 9:55 AM, Reef Casa said:

Any interest in running a refugium ? can send you this light free of charge if you would like to check it out !

would even just like your feedback 

https://reefcasa.com/product/nova-refugium-light/

 

Ah wow, nice! I see you updated the info on your site today… that looks pretty sweet!! I didn’t realize it was vinyl on the back of the tank that you can remove. The rear mounted setup looks promising; I like that it’s hidden behind the tank, along with the wiring. And I liked the suggestion that you could use it along with the cover if you were worried about light spillover. 
 

 

If your offer still stands, I’d love to give it a try! It would be nice for raising some pods for my possum wrasse too… he could be in wrasse heaven if it works out. 

[banasophia]

This lil stinker was out at like 2:30 am last night (when the tank lights were out)… I think he was registering a complaint because I didn’t feed any frozen since I did a water change and just dropped some pellets in after… apparently not his favorite.
 

And he was out again this morning too… this is the most I’ve seen of him since he decided to make his home behind the scape… hoping he will start coming out more.

 

[Reef Casa]

yes of course 😄

please email us at fragboxcorals@gmail.com and will send one out your way

[banasophia]

Just returned from over a week away from home on a road trip from California to Wyoming and back. Went to bury my grandfather’s ashes on the family plot on the ranch where he grew up.

It was a great trip - glad to make the trek for my grandfather who meant so much to me, and we traveled through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho and saw many incredible sights - but it’s always hard being away from the tanks and our other pets. 
 

Very happy to be back home tonight to find that Hank, Marshall, and the tank fared well. Most of the corals have grown quite a bit in a week, and the tank looks so beautiful from my seat on the couch right now. 
 

Filtering some RODI for water changes tomorrow.