Wow, what a weekend.

Let me start by saying hi to all you here. :cheers: I have been lurking for a couple of weeks and decided to start a tank thread.

I currently have a 37g FOWLR tank that is in disarray (more on that later). I have about 2 years experience with reef systems.

So I spent the weekend in San Francisco moving my sister. Right before we left, the A/C in my house died. The repair man is scheduled to be there today, but I hoped that my tank would survive a couple of days. There has been a terrible heat wave here in Sothern California this week, with outside temps reaching into the 110’s+.

In SF, my sister gave us her very nice, 1 year old sofa and bookshelf.

On the drive home, my wife and I started to mentally re-arrange our living room. We came up with a scheme and also agreed that we now have a nice space for a 48” 60g tank.

:w000t:

So we get back into town on Monday and find out that in addition to the heat wave, there were multiple power outs in So Cali, including at our house. The result – we lost our Coral Beauty and our psudochomis. Hard to take when we were so excited about transferring our fish to a larger home only to discover that they did not survive the heat.

In any case, as the title of my thread suggests, we have purchased a new tank and the 2 remaining inhabitants of my 37g, a yellowtail damsel and a percula will have a new home by the end of the week.

I will post equipment specs and pics of the old and new tank later.

John

Sounds good, cant wait to hear the specs and see the pics of the new system

Hi John and :welcome: to TR.

Welcome to Talkingreef!

I'm sorry to hear! I lost all my corals and most of my fish to negligence(not on my part!). I also heard about those heatwaves! My fiance lives in San Diego and its been 105 to 110 there for a week! I pray you guys get some cooler weather down there! Can't wait to see pics of your system! Keep us posted! :)

Josh and Carmie, Thanks for the welcome!!

So we got the tank and stand home and have it set up where it will be. The 37 gal is still running and I am going to keep it running until the new tank is up. Since I will be using the 45lbs LR from the new tank and supplementing with an additional 40lbs of base rock, I do not think that there will be much of a cycle, maybe a mini one at most after I transfer my 2 fish into the new tank.

My new lights are coming today, so now is a good time for the equipment list.

48” PC Current USA Orbit Fixture 260watts
AquaC Remora HOB skimmer
Marineland HOB filter running Activated Carbon
200w heater
SEIO M820 powerhead (820gph)

I know that only running one powerhead create more of a linear flow and not as turbulent as I would like, but I am trying to minimize the amount of equipment in the tank for heat purposes. Also, the Remora is only rated up to 75g, but hopefully by the end of the year, I can upgrade to a sump set up. This should help with heat, flow and skimming capacity.

I also like the look of the tank when I run carbon.

I took some photo’s last night but my internet at home is down for the powerouts, so I can not post pics yet, but they will be up soon.

Thanks all

John

Yahoo!!

I got the tank set up last night.

Instead of purchasing the 40lbs of base rock that I wanted, I ended up finding a pretty good deal on some nice LR. I found two huge pieces, 18lbs and 11lbs respectively and a nice 5lbs piece. I needed the large pieces as a foundation for my structure, so it worked out. All in all, I think I have somewhere between 65-75lbs of rock.

It is only 75% filled with water from my LFS, but since I had the live rock, I knew that I had to get the set up going quickly. I will top off the tank tonight and acclimate my Damsel and Percula. I don’t expect too much of a cycle, but I will start monitoring the params tonight. I need to get the fish into the new tank as I already have the skimmer and filter running as well as most of the old LR. I left a few pieces of LR and a powerhead in the tank for the fish.

I hope to get my internet at home working to get pics posted. If not, I will do something creative to get them up soon.

So now, the dreaded question….I hate asking this and I have never asked it in the past, but I don’t want to get over zealous with the large tank…so……..

HOW IS MY PROPOSED STOCKING LIST (in order of when I plan to add)

1 – Blue-Yellowtail Damsel (already own)
1 – Perucla (already own)
End Sept/begOct – pending params are ok3-5 Green Reef chromis (can I have 5? Will 3 not be enough to shoal and look funny)
Mid Nov
1 – Coral Beauty (not negotiable– my wife wants her back)
Jan 08
1 Goby (maybe)
Mar 08
2 Pajama Cardinals (Possible?)

I am willing to give up the Goby for the PJ’s.

I am not sure if 5 chromis would look to over crowed, but I have never seen a chromis display with less than 5.

I will be going 5gal pwc a week, which is about 8% of 60gal. Skimmer will be running full time as will a filter with AC.

Thanks

John

You are adding about 1/3 more rock and that could cause an ammonia spike as things in it die off. Presumable you are using new sand and so you won't have denitrification there. I would not add your fish until you are sure you won't have them in a toxic environment. They will be much better off in the 37 with LR, LS? and a powerhead.

I think the chromis will look fine in a group of 3. Do you have a sump or is 60 gallons the entire system volume?

Carmie,

As of right now, I do not have a sump set up, but I plan to add a sump by the end of the year. I plan to use a CPR overflow box and an old 20G tank that I have from my childhood. Would that be a large enough sump assuming that it is half full, so holding an additional 10 gallons of water and a stronger, sump skimmer.

I topped off the tank with an additional 10 gallons last night and the tank is now full. I took some photos last night and I should have them posted by tonight.

I did tear down my old tank and added my 2 fish. This morning, I did a water test and i am not happy or proud, but here are the results:

Ph - 8
Amminia - 2.0
Nitrite - 2.0
Nitrate - 10
Phosphate - .5

I have 10 gallons of saltwater so I will do a PWC tonight afterwork and one tomorrow or Sunday. I thoght that, even though I was adding new rock, my old 45lbs would be able to keep up with the die off and keep the system ok. I figured that the die off wouldn't be more "waste" than 2 adidtional fish (Since I had 4 fish with 45lbs and lost 2 prior to the transition)

I knew better but thought that the old rock could support everything. I guess I was wrong. I am already very late for work so I will post an update tonight on how my tank is goings

John

Hi John,
Do you have a QT tank? If you do you could stick them in in QT until the parameters in your tank are OK. Here is an article Reefreaders - Quarantine Now! (http://www.reefreaders.com/content/view/22/1/) that will help with how to QT. Otherwise, at this point all you can do is frequent water changes and hope for the best.

Have you ever used any copper based medication in the old tank? If so you would be better buying another tank and just keeping the old one for QT because the copper is really hard to get out.

I stock my tanks lightly but most of the fish on your stocking list are pretty small so with the sump and 3 chromis you would probably be OK. In my 54 I have a 3" maroon clown, sixline wrasse and a firefish. I'm planning on adding a cherub angel and a mandarin and, maybe a lawnmower blenny. My nano came with a chromis and a percula or ocellaris clown and I haven't decided exactly what I am doing with it. If I decide to add the blenny I will probably move the firefish to the nano.

In my 54 I have a 3" maroon clown, sixline wrasse and a firefish. I'm planning on adding a cherub angel and a mandarin and, maybe a lawnmower blenny.

Carmie, i would suggest NOT adding a mandarin to your corner tank unless you put the six line in the nano. the six line will probably kill the mandarin.

Unfortuanetly, I do not have a QT tank.

I just checked the PH and ammonia and the ph is 8.0 and the ammonia has dropped to somewhere between 1 and 2.

I am going to do a5gal pwc when the loghts go out and another 5g on Sunday morning.

Thanks everyone.

John

Bobby, I thought if my pod population was sufficient they would be OK together. The sixline is one of my favorite fish. I know at least one person that has both. On occasion the clown chomps on the firefish's tail which is why I have contemplated moving him but the sixline would be fine in the nano too.

Morning all,

So, on Friday night I did a 5gal PWC on Friday night.

This morning, I did a mini water test.

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - .25

Both of my fish are starting to explore the tank more, so things are starting to settle down. I still will not add any new fish till at least the end of Sept. Most likely by then, I should have my sump up and running as well.

I am still thinking about the qty of Chromis I want.

My question is: is there just not enough swim space for 5 chromis, or was my fish list too large to add 5. I am thinking about using a 36" 40g tank for my sump, so that would add approx 20g of water volume, giving me 60g total. I will also be upgrading my skimmer to a Euroreef RS80, which is rated for a heavy 50gal load.

So my stocking would be:
1 - yellowtail damsel
1 - percule
5 - green chromis
1 - Coral Beauty
1-2 PJ Cardinals

I am still not sure though. I don't like the look of over crowded tanks.

Also Carmie, I have never used any copper treatment in my tanks.

Thanks

John I've been following this adventure, sounds like fun. I'm glad the cycling in the tank is settling down and your two fish are doing well. I tend to agree with you on not over-crowding. I once saw a huge display tank in Tokyo outside the Sony headquarters that was so crowded it's turned me off that kind of thing. But 5 green chromis would look really nice together so I hope you can do it.

Carmie - I've had a 6-line wrasse and a mandarine fish (a red-and-white one) for almost two years together, and I've never seen any problems come up between then.

Have fun, Martha

So here are some pics of my tank

Old 37gal
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1347-1.jpg

Full shot of the new tank
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1361.jpg

Rock Formations
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1358.jpg

"Rambo" my first SW fish
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1362.jpg

"Nemo"
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1364.jpg

My brittlestar who also survivied the disaster. This shot was taken at "night" It's pretty race to see it out so I had to snap the photo
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1353.jpg

John

So my stocking would be:
1 - yellowtail damsel
1 - percule
5 - green chromis
1 - Coral Beauty
1-2 PJ Cardinals

Hey John, welcome to TR. It is good to see another LA resident here on the forums.

Your tank is looking up and up. One comment though on your stocking list. I have had one PJ Cardinal for the past 12 months. Although he is hardy, I wouldn't exactly call him interesting. I've nicknamed him "Twitchy", because when he moves - he does so with a sudden twitch of his fins. He mostly stays still in the center of the tank during the day. He loses color at night when he sleeps, drifting off toward the back of the tank behind the LR. He just doesn't have much personality. Perhaps they are more interesting in pairs?

I'll be setting up a new 55g shortly, so I will be following your thread.

-Scott

John,
I don't think that your tank is too small for 5 chromis and they will look great in a school. And, I don't think that your DT would look crowded with your stoking list. However, for my comfort level, your bio-load is kind of heavy. If you decide to add everything I would do it over a period of months. I'd probably add the chromis first, 2 at one time and then the other 3 a week or so later. You want to give your tank time to catch up to the bio-load.

Hey John, welcome to TR. It is good to see another LA resident here on the forums.

Your tank is looking up and up. One comment though on your stocking list. I have had one PJ Cardinal for the past 12 months. Although he is hardy, I wouldn't exactly call him interesting. I've nicknamed him "Twitchy", because when he moves - he does so with a sudden twitch of his fins. He mostly stays still in the center of the tank during the day. He loses color at night when he sleeps, drifting off toward the back of the tank behind the LR. He just doesn't have much personality. Perhaps they are more interesting in pairs?

I'll be setting up a new 55g shortly, so I will be following your thread.

-Scott

Hey Scott,

I look forward to seeing your 55gal as well. Are you envolded with any local clubs? I believe that there is one out there for Los Angeles.

In anycase, I actually like the fact that the Cardinals kinda just "hover" there. Add their unique coloration, makes them seem very ailen to what we are used to, and very unique.

John

John,
I don't think that your tank is too small for 5 chromis and they will look great in a school. And, I don't think that your DT would look crowded with your stoking list. However, for my comfort level, your bio-load is kind of heavy. If you decide to add everything I would do it over a period of months. I'd probably add the chromis first, 2 at one time and then the other 3 a week or so later. You want to give your tank time to catch up to the bio-load.

Carmie,

Thanks for the information.

Yes, I plan to stock my tank very slowly. The first addition to the tank will hopefully be by the end of Sept. I was planning to add the Chromis at the end of Sept. I have read that it is best to add the group all at once, so I never thought about splitting up the group.

The next fish would not be until the end of the year and of coarse, I would be watching my water params.

I plan to have my sump set up by then. If you think by load is heavy, then I have no problem with going to the Euroreef RS100skimmer. According to marinedepot.com, it is rated for a heavy 80gal, so that would work fine without over-skiming.

Thanks
John

Hey Scott,

I look forward to seeing your 55gal as well. Are you envolded with any local clubs? I believe that there is one out there for Los Angeles.

John

The main club seems to be MASLAC (http://www.maslac.org/). My past year was very busy at work, and with 2 kids to chase after - I have had little time for extra curriculars.:(

Whenever I did come up for a breather - I discovered that I missed the meetings/events by just a few days! :mad:

There is also a Southern California Nano Reef Society (http://www.scnrs.com/) that is in the works (currently resides on Reef Central with occassional frag swapping bbq's ), but the founding group is taking quite a while to get organized.

Work is lighter now, so perhaps I will break out of my bubble more...

-S

So when I got home today, I noticed a small algae bloom starting. The weird thing that it is only on the new live rock and the new sand. All my old live rock is still pretty clean. I did a water test and here are the results

Ph - 8.4
Ammmonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Phosphate - .25

In my old system, phosphate was always 0, but I ran phosban just to be safe. I know that my saltwater and fresh water sources are clean as I have been using them for 2 years now, so I am not sure where the extra phosphate is comming from. I am currently running some phosban in the new system. I suspect 3 things are casuing the phosphate:

1 - residual die off from the new live rock
2 - I am tring out a new brand of frozen food
3 - overfeeding - its a little hard to feed 2 little fish in such a large tank. In the smaller 37, food was readily available to them when I placed it in the tank. Know, with all the extra room, it spreads everywhere, even with the powerheads and filters off.

Also, other than the brittlestar, I have no clen up crew what so ever. I was planning on getting a crew later in the month, but I may have to go and pick up a few snails.

I still do not understand why the bloom is only on the new rock and sand. Flow is fine in the areas in question.

Tomorrow is PWC day, 5gal. I am going to vacuum the rocks and sand to try to nip this is the bud.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

John

John,
It is interesting that you are only seeing the bloom on the new sand and rocks. Algae blooms are a part of cycling and I guess that is exactly what you are seeing.

Hi all

So the tank is doing well. As of last night, phosphate was 0 and the hair algee has not spread. I am still harvesting it up to celan up the tank, but all is well.

One of the params that I have been very closely monitoring is my water temp and temp spread.
The pattern a has been consistantly

6am - 82-83deg
6pm - 84-85 (after lights on for 6 hours)
10pm - 83-84.

I have been trying to slowly lower the temps to 78-80 range, but I know that consistancy is more important than overall temp, but I feel that 84-85 it a bit high.

I am hoping that once I get my sump up, the extra water volume will help lower the tmeps of the tank. But I did a quick experiement with to check my thermometer. Here is what I found

When I set up my tank, I purchased a JBL digital temp probe.

JBJ Digi-Temp, Submersible Digital Thermometer (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~thermometers_refractomet ers_hydrometers_jbj_digi-temp_digi-mag_digital_thermometer_magnet_cleaner.html)

That is what I have been using to track my tank temp. I lowered my heater from 80 to 78deg cause I noticed that is was on last night even though my tank temp was at 83.

Tonight I used my digital cooking thermometer and it read 4 deg less. I pulled my temp probn out of my tank and fiilled a sink with cold water. The cooking thermometer was again 4 deg cooler. Now, I don't know which one to believe. I am leaning towards the cooking probe. I understand that these instruments are going to vart, but 4 deg swing seemed like a big difference. According to the description, the JBL probe is +/- 1 deg. So assuming that my cooking probe as a similar accurace, the largest difference sould be about 2 degs.

Any thoughts?

So the new tank has been up and running for 3 weeks now and all is well.

On Saturday, I added 5 green reef chromis, but since then they have sorted out their shoal and I am down to 3. I am going to keep them at three. Once the shoal tightens up a bit, I will post some pics, but they are very cool little fish.

I have been checking the Ph and ammonia every day since the addition of the 3 new fish and there has been no ammonia spike.

Temperatures are very stable at 78 when the lights are off and 80 when the lights are on. I would still like to lower this a bit and I think the addition of a sump would help.

Yesterday I added an automatic feeder as the chromis seem to be relentless in their search for food. I also added a small clean up crew.

5 astrea Snails
5 red hermit crabs
10 nassasius snails

In my smaller 37g, I had a larger clean up crew, with more hermit crabs. But in doing some research, it seems like having less hermit crabs in your system is better as they will not have to compete so much food and will then be more effective at scavenging rather then waiting for feeding time. We will see.

So for the time being, my current livestock is
1 – BlueYellow tail damsal
1 – Percula Clown
3 – Green reef chromis (very small)

Hopefully if all goes as planned, I should have my sump up and running in 2 weeks. This will include an upgraded sump skimmer. No other fish are planned for quite some time as I am going to let this group grow for a bit.

John

John, I missed your previous post about then thermometers. I would say to probably go with the aquarium thermometer as it will always be in your tank. As you noted consistency is more important than the exact number so as long as you are aiming for a temp in the middle of the range I think you will be just fine. The temperature dials on heaters are notorious for being off so I would not worry about what it reads, just what the thermometer says.

Be careful with that auto feeder, you don't want to add too many nutrients to the system.

Be careful with that auto feeder, you don't want to add too many nutrients to the system.

Specifically, if the Auto Feeder deposits food mainly on the surface, then an overflow may draw all the food to the sump (when you get one) where it may collect and decompose. The best practice is to turn off the sump's return pump when feeding.

Likewise, it may be advisable to turn off your skimmer & filter for 15 minutes when you feed, so the food doesn't get sucked up in either...

Be careful with that auto feeder, you don't want to add too many nutrients to the system.

Thanks!

I have it set to the lowest setting and I have already tested it out. it seems to work fine, but I will keep a look our for the change in nutrients.

The feeder is positioned right near a powerhead, so it blows the flake food across the tank. I have tested it and I am pretty comportable with it's use.

I did a full water test today night

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ph 8.4
Phosphate 0
Kdh 9
Calcuim 360
Salinity 32ppm
Temp 80

Tomorrow is a scheudled 5g PWC.

Thanks

Rroselavy

I purchased the chromis, feeder and "cleanup" crew at Vivid in Canoga park. really nice store and I probabl will be purchasing corals from them eventually. They are well worth the hour drive.

John

purchased the chromis, feeder and "cleanup" crew at Vivid in Canoga park. really nice store and I probabl will be purchasing corals from them eventually. They are well worth the hour drive.
John

I was just there last weekend...Their LR prices seem to be a bit more expensive than I remember. I hope the prices aren't raised to pay for that fancy 800g DT they are installing.

Regardless, Vivid has the nicest (and biggest and cleanest) frag tank and coral specimens I have seen in L.A. Their invert selection is pretty nice as well. Fish and dry goods inventory is somewhat limited, however.

-S

Thanks!

I have it set to the lowest setting and I have already tested it out. it seems to work fine, but I will keep a look our for the change in nutrients.

The feeder is positioned right near a powerhead, so it blows the flake food across the tank. I have tested it and I am pretty comportable with it's use.


There is the danger of food getting sucked right out of the tank and into the sump, and increasing nutrients in this way. But what I was thinking was that you will now be feeding more; more in means more out; more out means more nutrients. We all have different philosophies about how often to feed. Some successful reef keepers feed every other day, some feed a couple times each day. I personally believe that far more fish die form the effects of overfeeding than from starvation.

There is the danger of food getting sucked right out of the tank and into the sump, and increasing nutrients in this way. But what I was thinking was that you will now be feeding more; more in means more out; more out means more nutrients. We all have different philosophies about how often to feed. Some successful reef keepers feed every other day, some feed a couple times each day. I personally believe that far more fish die form the effects of overfeeding than from starvation.



I used to feed once a day as well, but i have read that chromis are constantly searching for food as their metabolisms are quite high. Is this incorrect? I have been told by a couple of LFS that chromis are often underfed.

And, as far as all the books and websites that say chromis are "shy and peaceful" HAHA.

These 3 are maniacs. Its fun casue it really added a lot of lilke to the tank, but man are they crazy. Maybe they are still sorting out their place in the world.

John

I don't know if their metabolism is any different than any other fish's. Chromis viridis, Blue green damselfish: aquarium (http://www.fishbase.com/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=5679) says they are plankton feeders. I think that most all fish are constantly searching for food. On the reef they are never sure where their next meal will come from and have to get it while the getting is good. I do know that sometimes the LFS is not all the knowledgeable. I have a single chromis that came with my nano. I feed every day and sometimes every other day and he looks nice and fat. He loves Cyclopeze and I guess this goes along with bring a planktivore.

So I am putting together the recipe for my sump. It’s pretty basic really, but I would like you all to review it before I start buying things.

I am going to use the CPR CS90 overflow box. This is rated to 600gph. I will use an air pump to secure that I do not lose siphon. I will use 1” flex tube to drain directly into an Aquamedic T1000 skimmer. I have been pretty happy with the performance of my Remora, which I believe is a venturi style skimmer, but the needle wheel makes a lot of sense in my head, so I will try the Aquamed. I have heard good things about it and I like the idea of draining all the water directly to the skimmer. Also, there is a small slot for a foam bubble catcher at the output of the skimmer, but I think that I can replace the foam with a small media bag filled with carbon.

The tank will most likely be a 29g tall. I believe the dims are 30” x 12” x ?? High, but this should give me enough height to have approx 20g of water plus enough height to catch and overflow in the event of a power out.

I am going to use a MAG 7 for my return pump. I figure, I have a 17” tank and a 30” tall stand, but the pump will be suction cupped ½ up the waterline, just in case I lose siphon. So I am figuring a return head of approx 3’. Now I have heard that you need to add approx 12” for every 90” bend in the line. I am using a return U tube that has 3 90deg bends, so I need to add about 3 feet to my head, which gives me a total of 6’. The MAG 7 is rated at 420 ghp at 5’ and 400 6’.

The sump itself will be filled with live rock rubble.

Is there anything that I am missing?

Thanks

John

I am not sure that I understand why you want to suction cup it 1/2 way up in case you loose siphon. But, I don't think I would trust suction cups on a biggish pump like that.

I am not sure that I understand why you want to suction cup it 1/2 way up in case you loose siphon. But, I don't think I would trust suction cups on a biggish pump like that.

I was just thinking that is for some reason I lost siohon in the overflo box, I coudl minimize the flood on the display tank by not placing the tankl at the bottom of the sump.

I have never used an overflow box. I understand that the air pump should make sure that siphon doesn't break, but just in case.

Do you think that it is best that I secure the pump at the bottom on the sump? The mag will be used submerged and not in line.

Thanks

OK. I guess that makes sense. If you are going to do this I think I would use something besides suction cups. They are notorious for letting go and dropping things. There are acrylic holders that can be made or bought and Bobby, lReeflKeeper, glues his pumps to MagFloats. My tank is drilled so every thing is kind of in balance. As long as I don't overfill the system if the power goes out my sump won't flood. BTW, make sure you drill siphon break holes to avoid flooding in power failures. My pumps are in the bottom of the sump and just lay there.

So I had noticed that my one of the chromis was missing some scales. When I got home today, the one missing scales was missing.

Water params are great. So I guess I have a pair of greeen reef chromsis

John

Wow,

i haven't update my own thread in a while. I guess cause everything is runnung smoothly. Livestock is settled down with

1-perulca
3 - green reef chromis
1 - blue yellowtail Damsel.

Tank parameters are perfect, including phosphate, which is strange cause I have been fighting a winning battle agains a small outbreak of cyno, but I think that it is mostly a flow problem as the cyno is only on the sandbed and only at the very far front corners of the tank. I have a new PH on order and it should arrive tomorrow.

I am looking forward to getting my sump up an running in about 2 weeks. Things got delayed a bit. I am also looking to add my first coral to this tank soon. I know its early at the tank has been up and running for only 8 weeks, but most of the LR is carry over from my old tank and I am pretty comfortable with my water params and husbandry.

Laters

John

Here is the best photo that I could find of the 3 chromis. They are fast little guys

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/DSC_0104.jpg

So UPS delivered my Koralia 3 today at work. So of coarse, I need to open up the up the package.

WOW, this thing looks so cool, I am a little sad that i spent the same money on my Serio pump, allthough I like the Serio as well. The PH is a lot smaller than I though that it would be. the build quality looks nice and tight. I can't wait to get this thing into my tank tonight.

Laters

John

Well, don't keep us in suspense, what do you think?

Well,

To be honest, this thing is brililant! I have it in the back rear corner aimed at the front center glass at an agle. The flow is amazing. I have the Serio on the opposite corner pushin water along behind the rock formations.

The Koralia is so small in the tank, becuse of its shape. Being black helps also. You can see in the photo that it is very inconspicuous. iwill try to get a full talk shot soon, so you can see the exact relative size of the unit.

All in all, not inluding the HOB filter and Skimmer, I have a total of 1670GHP, or 27x flow. Crazy and it seems like a lot, but the tanks looks wonderful. I am considering getting another one, placing them on a wave timer and selling the Serio. Does anyone know if the Koraila can be set up with a wavemaker? THere was no info about that in the packaging. I know the Seiro deos not recomend it.

At least the flow would be more intermitent in the tank.

I hope to get paid for some work that I did net weekend. If so, I will be setting up the sump very soon!

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1444.jpg

Time to go halloween costume shopping. My wife are goign to be CSI, well I will be CSI and my wife will be sexy CSI (anyone that watches CSI Las Vegas know what I mean) We hate hats, black polo shirts and ble jeans, we just need to find some black utility vests, so I am off the the army-navy store. Funny cause we are going to use my aquarium test kit test tubes and solution bottels are part of the custome.

Laters
John

Cool. I think that I read somewhere that Hydor was bringing out a controller for the Korolia.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1362.jpg

Thanks Veriann

He was my very first saltwater fish over 2 years ago, aka "first blood" Also, he was been through hell and high water will all my mistakes and learnings as a new reefer and is still alive, and a very colorful fish. He is for sure one of my favorites, as well as the wife's favorite.

He is a great little fish, a little bit of a bully to brand new additions to my tank, but one everything settles, he get's along fine with everyone else.

John

Here is the best photo that I could find of the 3 chromis. They are fast little guys

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/DSC_0104.jpg

If you mount your camera on a tripod, use the fastest shutter speed you can, and then pan the camera to track with your Chromis movement, you may have better luck getting a shot in focus. If you are using a digital SLR, you may be able to rapid shoot your pan, and will be more likely that one picture will come out.

There is a fine example (http://www.reefcentral.com/September_Contest/large-36.html) of this on reefcentral right now.

-S

If you mount your camera on a tripod, use the fastest shutter speed you can, and then pan the camera to track with your Chromis movement, you may have better luck getting a shot in focus. If you are using a digital SLR, you may be able to rapid shoot your pan, and will be more likely that one picture will come out.

There is a fine example (http://www.reefcentral.com/September_Contest/large-36.html) of this on reefcentral right now.

-S
Yeah,

I was using my father's SLR, but with no tripod. I will try to borrow it again and see if I can get better results. I didn't really have achance to mess with the settings.

Thanks

So,

Finally I get to order everything I need for my sump. I want to go over the final list of items and plan before I place my order tomorrow and I should have everything plumbed up and ready to go by next weekend.

Parts List
CPR CS50 Overflow Box ¾” dia return
Aqua Medic Turboflotor T1000 Skimmer
Mag 5 Return pump
Return U tube
Dosing Pump (for the Overflow)
½” Clear Tubing and plastic clamps
20G Long tank 30” x 12” x 12”

My plumbing plan I as follows.

The overflow box is rated for 300gph. I am going to use an air pump to make sure that I do not lose siphon.

I am going to use 3/4” PVC from the overflow. I will use a T to split the line for the direct feed into the skimmer. I will have ball valves on both outputs of the T to control flow and close the system if I need to. One of the outputs will flow directly into the sump, the order will be reduced to ½” dia and feed the skimmer. The specs for the skimmer call out for approx 60-250gph, but I believe that the slower the flow, the more contact time, the better the efficiency of the skimmer.

The skimmer has a bubble trap that is filled with bio balls. I am going to replace the bio balls with AC and phosban. It should be a pretty small amount that can fit in there, which will force me to do weekly changes of my AC, as right now I run a large amount of Carbon and change it monthly.

The sump will be a 20g long tank filled with approx 10gal of water. My tank has approx 40gal, so this is an increase of 25%. I am going to fill the sump with 15lbs of live rock rubble, which I am going to order tomorrow and cycle in a bucket prior to adding it to the sump.

My return pump is going to be the Mag 5, which if the calculation is correct, will provide about 250gph at the return U-tube. I will have a strainer on the input to prevent and clogging and the return will be soft plumbed with ½” dia clear tubing.

Any advise? This is my first sump set up.

A couple of questions.

When I “T” off the return from the overflow, does the height of the T matter, ie the height from the input of the skimmer to the height of the T? Should I keep the T as high as possible or as close to the input of the skimmer, or does it matter?

I may place some macro algae in the sump and use a PC light from a hardware store. What wattage should I be looking for?

With the added volume of water, I think that I am going to upgrade my heater. What wattage do you all recommend? I am thinking 250w.

Thanks!

Cool, I didn't know there was a Skimmer that fed directly off your overflow water...Very nice. Making the skimmer chamber into a quasi-active media chamber sounds interesting, but I am not sure if your better off putting LR rubble in there instead...


When I “T” off the return from the overflow, does the height of the T matter, ie the height from the input of the skimmer to the height of the T? Should I keep the T as high as possible or as close to the input of the skimmer, or does it matter?

The Turboflotor 1000 instructions suggest that a ball valve may be used to control the incoming water. A ball valve, combined with your T, will give you ability to fine tune flow. Sounds like a good idea.. Not sure about the height question, but I think you want to have your T on its side, with the skimmer water being the lower continuation pipe so the remaining water escapes out the upper line.

I may place some macro algae in the sump and use a PC light from a hardware store. What wattage should I be looking for?

Marc Levenson recommends the use of a clamp-style shop light with a 16w 5100k fluorescent flood (http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html) light. I don't personally trust those clamps, but may install a similarly cheap yet more secure version of the same thing in my stand. Many fluorescent flood bulbs are 2700k, so make sure to read the packaging closely to make sure your buying a 5000-6500k lamp.

With the added volume of water, I think that I am going to upgrade my heater. What wattage do you all recommend? I am thinking 250w.


40+10=50. Perhaps a 150w Eheim or 200w Visitherm Stealth. Some people recommend two, smaller heaters to help safeguard the ability of a single malfunctioning thermostat from heating up your tank too quickly. Not a bad idea, but I think a temp controller is probably a more surefire bet...

HTH,

-Scott

Scott,

Yeah, part of the reason why I like the Aqua Med is becuase you can directly feed the skimmer with the overflow.

Great idea about having the T on its side, I like that. I am really looking for a way to run Carbon still, so I am going to try to fill the baffle with the Carbon and see how it goes, besides the sump will be filled with LR rubble anyways.

As far as the heater goes, I am going to run a temp controller. This one in fact...Aqua Medic Biotherm Temperature Controller/Monitor (Saltwater Aquarium Supplies > Testing Equipment > Temperature Controllers ) (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~aqua%20medic%20biotherm%20co ntroller~action~view~idProduct~AQ3131~idCategory~F ITETC~category~Aqua_Medic_Biotherm_Temperature_Con troller_Monitor_Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies_Testin g_Equipment_Temperature_Controllers~vendor~.html)

But the smaller heater that they offer that matches it is a 250w. But if it is connected to a controller, I think I may be ok.

Thanks

John

Well,

I finally pulled the trigger. I ordered my equipment for my sump.

All I need now is to go to the hardware store and get the plumbing parts and a 20g tank.

I hope to have it all done by this weekend and I will surely post pics.

Thanks

JOhn

Yippee! I'll look forward to seeing the pictures.

Yippee! I'll look forward to seeing the pictures.

Thanks, I am excited too, but I just found out that the Skimmer is on back order and should ship around 11/12.

I am still going to set up the sump system this weekend and run the remora until the new skimmer arrives.

Thanks

good stuff. will keep an eye out for your updates

OKAY!

So I have my overflow box, return pump and hardware. Yesterday I went to the LFS and picked up a 20g 30" x 12" x 12" tank, which is nice cuase I forgot I have my 30" coralife light fixture from my old tank...can you say refuge!!

Tonight I spent the evening at the locak hardware store picking up the rest of the plumbing parts and Friday I have a date with destiny...errr at least an eving alone to set up the sump!

The Skimmer should be in early next week and the live rock rubble on Tuesday.

Should be a good weekend.

John

SO, I just have to say that the Customer service at Marinedepot.com is really GREAT!:up:

MY Aquamedic Skimmer was on back order and was scheudled to deliver on Tuesday. Bummer for me, but I could live with this slight delay. I noticed yesterday that they billed my for the skimmer, so I sent them an email asking for status.

On their own, they arranged to have my skimmer dropped shipped to my office and it should arrive today!!!! I can complete my sump project today.

I kow that they over pack their packages with that annoying foam "popcorn". But overlook that, their prices are good, they ship the same day and in Sothern California, you get the items the next day with no sales taxes.

So my sump should be completly up and running this weekend. Too bad my wifey took our camera on her trip to St. Louis, MO this weekend, but non the less I am stoked!

I will let you all know how it goes.

Laters!

John

John -

I finally had a chance to read your thread. Well done! It's a lot of fun to follow someone's progress through the trials and tribulations of setting up a new tank.

Yes - I really like Marine Depot as well. Since I have 2 very large tanks to purchase supplies for, they really help keep the budget only partially out of control! And the 2-day ground shipping (I'm Northern California) really helps. Any time I've had a problem, they've taken care of it quickly and professionally.

Keep up the great work.

Yahoo,

So my sump is up and running! My wife was out of town and took our camera, so I didn’t want to post without pics.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1632.jpg

Friday night I spent the evening glueing up the plumbing. It came out pretty clean. As you can see, I tee’d off the feed to the skimmer on the side output of the tee instead of the bottom output. While this is not the most efficient way in terms of water flow, it provided me with 2 big positives

1 – The side tee was already treaded for ½” FPT piping, so that made plumbing into the ½” skimmer feed easier
2 - I wanted the minimum flow into the skimmer. If I used the bottom feed of the tee, I would have to close that valve significantly and this may have backed up the overflow.

Also, by using 2 45’s, I was able to eliminate the use of 90’s elbows.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1624.jpg

The tank is 30” x 12” x 12” and is filled with 10g of water. I waited overnight to let the pvc cure and filled the tank with water on Saturday morning. 15# of live rock rubble is cycling in a bucket and will be added to the system soon. What does 15# of live rock look like, doesn’t seem like much…until if fills a 5 gal bucket….

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1622.jpg

I didn’t show it in the picture, but I am able to use my 30” light fixture from my old tank. Take a look at my mini chateo! HEHE

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1636.jpg

The Mag 5 is working wonderfully. Funny cause I was wondering how I would prime the pump, so I though, well, lets plug it in and see what happens. Before I was even able to look, the pump self primed and was flowing.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the system. It is a bit noisier than I was expecting, but the look and performance is worth it. I will review the skimmer in the next post as I have a lot to say about it.


Laters,

John

So I received my Aqua Medic Skimmer TurboFlotor 1000 on Friday at work. Upon opening the package, I inspected all the pieces. The construction was very nice and solid. The acrylic was not perfect, but the flaws were purely cosmetic. Looking at the skimmer body, the skimmer is in fact re-circulating; much like the more expensive skimmers on the market. There is a needle wheel that “chops” the air/water mix and returns it to the reaction chamber. One of the nicest feathers that drew me to the skimmer was that it can be directly fed from the overflow return. This option ensures that the skimmer will not be processing water that has already been skimmed, increasing overall the efficiency of the skimmer.

After reviewing the parts, I looked at the instructions, which are available on line, but once you have the unit in hand, it makes much more sense. Assembly seemed to be pretty straight forward and should go together quiet nicely. I couldn’t resist and during lunch, I assembles the unit as much as I could, only to find out that I was missing my needle wheel………..WTF (sorry, but I was pretty upset)

I proceeded to tear up the box looking for my needle wheel, something that was a major selling point of the skimmer. A couple of emails and voice messages to Aqua Medic and Marine depot, I find out (from Marinedepot, thank you very much) that while the skimmer can be run with the RIO 2100 pump that I purchased, the needle wheel it no longer compatible with the RIO and therefore no longer are included in the Skimmer with no pump option.

As you could imagine, I was NOT a happy camper. A very strongly worded email to Aqua Med was immediately dispatched informing them that I felt that if the RIO isn’t 100% compatible with they skimmer, then it should not be an option. I would have had no problems ordering the skimmer with the Ocean Runner pump, but I will admit, I was trying to save some coin and went with the RIO. I response from aqua medic said that they do not recommend the RIO pump as an option, even though it is printed on their instructions manual that it can be used. In any case, they are going to send me a needle wheel and I will decide later if I want to try the ocean runner pump.

Other than that, overall initial impression grade B-

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1623.jpg

Re-circulating pump

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1633-1.jpg

Assembly was a breeze. Basically, install the collection up, install the media box on the output tubes. Here, I am using Activated Carbon and Phosban instead of the supplied BIO Balls. Install the pump and hook up the feed line.

Other than that, overall assembly grade A-

To start the feed, I closed the ball valve on my return and adjusted the flow to the specified level, which was having the water line fill ¾ of the return tubes. After setting this up, I fired up the pump and bubble, bubbles and more bubbles. The reaction chamber was nicely filled with micro bubbles, even without said needle wheel. This was all Sat morning. I knew that there would be an initial break in period, so I was anxious to see how it would perform…off to a 1y/o birthday party.

During a heated game of Texas Hold’em at the party, I was thinking about the skimmer. There were throttle control plugs that in the can be installed on the return tubes, but the instructions say that the skimmer performs better without them, so I opted not to install them. But I thought about how they worked and realized that by installing the caps, they will increase the time that the water was in the reaction chamber by “choking off” the return tubes. Seemed like a good idea.

Sunday Morning, I look at the collection cup and nothing….disappointing and a long break in I thought. I decided to install the throttle caps and re-adjusted the input flow.

Here is a close up of the throttle caps

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1634.jpg

. Almost immediately, foam started to be produced. Sunday night, there was a little skimmate, so I emptied the collection cup so that I could get a very clear picture of the performance of the broken in skimmer over the course of a few days.

Here are a couple of pictures of the collection cup Tuesday night…….

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1627.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1628.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1626.jpg

I have never seen such thick, green skim. People always talk about the skimmate smelling bad, and I had never experienced this until last night…this stuff was thick and nasty.

Overall performance: A
Overall Value: A+

It is still early, but I am very happy with my decision to go with the Aqua Medic Skimmer. Dispite the needle wheel issue and the longish break in, the overall performance is great. Although I have only used 2 other skimmers, both HOB stlyle, the Aquamedic is a skimmer worth much more than the retail value. There are skimmers that are 2-3 times as much as the $175 that I paid. Are they better? Maybe. Are they 2-3 times better, well that I have a hard time belieiving. I would recomend this skimmer to anyone looking for a sump stlye skimmer on a budget. The only thing is that I would recomend to get the model with the Ocean runner pump (although my RIO seems to be performing quite nicely

John

During a heated game of Texas Hold’em at the party, I was thinking about the skimmer.

Reefing is about the worst thing you could be thinking about while playing cards...distracts you from "reading" your opponents and puts your hard-earned reefing money at risk! :tongue2:

BTW: Great write-up on the skimmer. I'd get the other pump and install the wheel. I hope to see even more nasty skimmate...

Hey all,

In addition, on Saturday, I got my first coral for this tank. It's a very small, 2 polyp colony of neon yellow zoo's. I tried to take a photo last night, but it was too small to get a clear shot. I am going to try a pic with the actinics on tonight to see if they will show up better.

They are the coolest bright yellow. I really haven't seen a zoo like this. My not so local fish store (VIVID) calls them supernova zoo's, but they are orange on their website.

The yellow is so cool.

John

Well,

I had to banish Rambo (yellow tail damsel) to the new sump. I placed some LR from my display tank in there while the LR rubble cycles, just to make sure he have some rock there.

I was watching my tank and i noticed that Rambo wasn't just defending his little rock, he was defending the whole right side of the tank. My 3 chromis and percula just stayed to the left, never really swimming. As soon as the chromis would even venture to the center of the tank, Rambo would puch them back to the left.

I was hoping that I would not have to do this, but in 2-3 weeks, I plan to add 2 PJ cardinals, and i figured that they would just get too beat up by Rambo.

Hopefully, I can add him back to the display in a couple of weeks and hopefully it will be a lot easier to catch hum in the sump

John

Ah yes - the downside of Damsels. Even Yellow Tail Blue Damsels, which are fairy peaceful - for a damsel! That means they can be quite a terror. I have one in my 240 that is perfect, and one in my 180 that one day I will tear the tank appart to get him out.

So over the weekend I got some new and exciting editons to the tank.

2 PJ Cardinals. They were pretty shy at first but have not become a nice part of the community. They hae really spectacular coloration, especially on the lower fins:

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1842.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1838.jpg


I also picked up a frogspawn coral to recplace the now defunct zoa's. They have opened quite nicely and are thriving.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_1836.jpg

Things are looking on the up for the tank and everything is starting to fall into place. The life in teh tank is great. It is fun to get frags and really watch them grow.

Soon, I will be in the market for a rose annenome.

Laters,

John

I also picked up a frogspawn coral to recplace the now defunct zoa's.

What happened to the Zoanthid frag?

Soon, I will be in the market for a rose annenome.

The more I read about Anemones, the more I think I will never get one. Shimek contends in the Pocket Guide to Marine Invertebrates (pp. 82-84) that Anemones as a whole are way over harvested. They reproduce very slowly in the wild, and collectors tend to wipe out entire areas of the reef without restraint. Shimek recommends that Aquarists acquire only captive-bred Anemones for this reason, and even then he seems doubtful whether Aquarists can adequately care for such animals.

Furthermore, I have read elsewhere that Anemones should only be considered for well established tanks that have been up and running for at least one year. Shimek reminds us that a moving Anemone is an unhappy Anemone that probably won't survive that long in a transitional state. In the first year of a tanks life, we all have variable water conditions and we are adding inhabitants to a tank, as well as tinkering with lighting and flow and even adjusting our aquascape. It seems to make sense that even if an Anemone stays put for a while, it may start moving later when changes to their environment occur.

Needless to say, I have no experience in this matter...

I had my BTA for nearly a year when it decided to start wandering (for no apparent reason). After a while it settled down but while it was walking it damaged several corals.

I kept a BTA very sucessfully on my old tank. That one did nto wander around much at all. My Percula did host, so i hope that this was why it didn't wander.

I won't be looking for the RBTA till early next year anyway.

Scott,

Thanks for the advise. I agree that we need to be very concious of the animals that we keep in our systems, but I have heard and seen many stories about reefers sucessfully keeping BTA long term.

Also, there has been much progress with the cloning (breeding) of BTA's. I am not certain about the rose bta, but LHS are making great strides to sell captive breed species for many reasons, including conservation and longevity.

As far as the zoa's, I am really at a lost as far as what happened to them. The 2 other corals I have a growing quite rapidly. Someone here suggested that certain Zoa's can be very senseitve to aclimation procedures, but I have yet to lose a coral to acclimation. Anohter theory brought up to me was if the zoa was frag'd recently, it could have had a recation to the glue used to attach it to the rock, add to that the stress of a new enviromnemt, they just melted away.

If I have time tonight, I should post some upodated pics. Things are going quite well.

Laters,

John

Wow, it's been a while since I have posted an update.

Well, over the holidays, we got a rose BTA. Yeah, it is a little early with the system being only 5 months old, but I am confiedent that I can care for it. It's been 3 weeks and he has settled down in a good location and my clown is already hosting. I will try to get pics up this week, but it is all very exciting.

I am planning on "upgrading" my lighting soon. I am going to post a thread int he lighting section for my plans to get some opinions. It is a very mild upgrade, just switching bulbs out.

Anyways, the thing that has promted this post is a mild problem that roared it's very ugly head on Monday evening. I acam home and noticed that my water level in the display tank was quite high, too high. I further monitored it and it apprears that my overflow box was no longer keeping up with the pump.

I added the sump back in Nov and everyhing has been perfect. Do pumps "break in". I took apart my overflow plumbing everything was clear and clean. The overflow box as well is clear and clean.

I replumbed the overflow drain to make it a bit simpler, and it is still not keeping up with the pump. My brother in law is making a dimmer for me so I can "throttle down" my Mag5. Hopefully htis will cure it, or I will be buying a Mag 3 soon!. RRRR

My only concern is that my skimmer has not been running since Tuesday. I have a PWC shceudled tonight, 5gal or about 12% of the display water volume. I have also decreased the feeding to very light. All in all, everything is still healthy, and I hope to have the sump back up and running my Monday.

Pics to follow.

Laters all!

John

IME if anything pumps push less volume over time. Are any of your inhabitants missing? And possibly stuck in the plumbing? Unless you are overstocked you will be OK without the skimmer for a few days.

IME if anything pumps push less volume over time. Are any of your inhabitants missing? And possibly stuck in the plumbing? Unless you are overstocked you will be OK without the skimmer for a few days.


Nope, everyone is hapy and swimming. I completly took apart the plumbing and all was well. I really have no idea.

I did recently drill a siphon break hole in my return nozel, but that wouldn't make a difference, would it?

The other thing that I was thinking was that maybe all the little kinks in the vynal flex tube that I am using worked themsolves out and the return tube is more efficeint.

I don't think that I am overstocked at all,

3 Green Chromis
1 Percula
2 Cardinals
1 Yellow tail damsel.

I will just have to wait till Sunday.

Thanks!

I agree with the kinks issue as a likely culprit. I doubt the siphon break is to blame. It might be a good idea to put a ball, or better yet, a gate valve in line to allow you to dial in the desired flow rate.

I agree with the kinks issue as a likely culprit. I doubt the siphon break is to blame. It might be a good idea to put a ball, or better yet, a gate valve in line to allow you to dial in the desired flow rate.

I have heard that "choking" your pimp with a valve is not good for it, but I could be wrong.

I am making a custom dimmer so I can control the amps to the pump, hence throttling it down. We will see how that goes.

Thanks!

John

Some pumps can handle some restricted output flow just fine, most can not handle restricted input flow.

Note all pumps can handle being "stepped down", check with the manufacturer (though I'm sure you already have!)

Wow,

So on Saturday I went to my not so local, local fish store to pick up a coral frag or two. I knew that i was going to spend a bit of money as it was going to be last new livestock puchase before tax season.

2 hours later and a bill twice as much as i was expecting, I headed home with a nice booty.

First, here's a full tank shot. If I don't say so myself, the progress is quite amazing.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_2044.jpg

So I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for. One was a nice colony of Zoa's. I ended up with a stunning colony of what the store calls "Sunfire" zoa's. They are really colorful in the full daylight, but glow spectacularly under the actinics. This is a pic in the full daylight:

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_2042.jpg

I also knew that I wanted something red, either a micromusa of a Lord Alcan. I was planning on getting a small frag, 1 or 2 heads as they are a little pricey. instead, I got a pretty decent price on a 5 head colony of what the LFS calls "bleeding Alcans".

You can't tell in the pic, but there are quite a few of budding heads under the larger heads, which is why I called if a decent price. There are closer to 5 large full heads and another 3-5 smaller heads. I have high hope on the growth of this colony.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_2032.jpg

I wasn't expecting to get any fish, but there was this cute little Coral Beauty just oogleing me with her eyes, just begging me to take her home. I lost my origional coral beauty in the disaster in Sept, so home she came. She is actually quite photogenic, and I got a lot of great photos, but I think this is the best one

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_2066.jpg

Here are some new shots of my other corals, a hammer and a purple tip frogspawn, as well as my RBTA. The frogspawn and hammer has shown some amaging growth in a very short time.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_2049.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_2047.jpg

I also picked up a few new test kits from salifert. Much better than the API tests that I was using. Some frozen food was also procured.

All in all, it was an exciting weekend. We'll see if these new additonal will really tie me over till after April 15th.

Laters

John

So on Saturday I went to my not so local, local fish store to pick up a coral frag or two. I knew that i was going to spend a bit of money as it was going to be last new livestock puchase before tax season.

2 hours later and a bill twice as much as i was expecting, I headed home with a nice booty.

Sweet.

I also stopped by that not-so-local LFS (week earlier), spent a wad and picked up a tiny frogspawn "frag", a tiny branching hammer, a pretty Stylophora pistillata frag from their mother colony, as well as a Corallimorph "rainbow rock" that I plan on re-distributing in the DT. The Stylo came with a unknown Crab, the Coralimorphs came with one Zoanthid polyp and something that looks like tiny clove polyps and a hydrozoan in the rock. A few of the mushrooms were not adhered very well, but I will be moving them onto the DT LR shortly anyway.

Your bleeding Acans look nice. Not sure what morph I prefer, but Acans are definitely on my short list. Pretty expensive, so I may cut my teeth on what I have before getting any Lords.

I also picked up a few new test kits from salifert. Much better than the API tests that I was using. Some frozen food was also procured.

I also picked up a Salifert Mg at the LFS, and for a decent price! I am trying to boost my Ca levels. Good kits...

All in all, it was an exciting weekend. We'll see if these new additonal will really tie me over till after April 15th.

Sounds like fun. I am having a blast with my new corals (watching out for pests, observing behavior, feeding, placment). I splurged by purchasing some Rod's Food (http://www.rodsfood.com/) from MD since I read so many good things. So far so good. Wide range of particle sizes for all inhabitants. I don't really have time to run around town (and placing several online orders), and then assemble the ingredients for my own mush (I don't even have room in my freezer with all the peas and puddin' pops :p ) , so I am going the expensive-yet-expedient route for now.

Good Luck!

I just noticed that I failed to post a pic of the RBTA...thar she is....

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r70/john0087/IMG_2048.jpg

laters,

John

Pretty anemone.