Amphibious' 135 gal Reef

[rayme07]

Thats a butiful looking mandarine you got there.

[Amphibious]

Whoa, Rayme, that's a nice large mouth bass you got there. About 6 lbs??? Also......

Im learning at school and learning on Talkingreef so teacher when does school end.

School never ends Rayme. As long as you are alive you must exercise your mind to stay young. I've been blessed with the desire to learn. It's more obsessive as I grow older because as I age I know the forward part of my life gets shorter. I don't like that but there's nothing anyone can do about it. So, I keep myself occupied studying about what interest me. I find the more I study, the more things I find to interest me. That means I have to keep studying. Sound boring? It's not!!!

My son gave me some advise that made sense. He sent me this T-shirt for Father's Day and I pass his wisdom on to all of you.

[Amphibious]

Oh, by the way. The Mandarin is doing great. Just hard to get a decent pic. Shy little devil. Here's what I could get tonight...



He always seems to carry sand on his head.

Dick

[rayme07]

Whoa, Rayme, that's a nice large mouth bass you got there. About 6 lbs???

You got it right actualy your a 1/2 pound short lol It is the biggest bass iv cotten so far my dad gets mad at me all the time when i show him the pic because he cant belive i caught a bass a pound and a 1/2 bigger than his heeheh.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rayme
Im learning at school and learning on Talkingreef so teacher when does school end.

School never ends Rayme. As long as you are alive you must exercise your mind to stay young. I've been blessed with the desire to learn. It's more obsessive as I grow older because as I age I know the forward part of my life gets shorter. I don't like that but there's nothing anyone can do about it. So, I keep myself occupied studying about what interest me. I find the more I study, the more things I find to interest me. That means I have to keep studying. Sound boring? It's not!!!

The reason I put the signature there is because I thouht it was funny I wake up and go to school and learn all day my favorite subject is biology/science i know same thing lol anyways then i come home and do my homework and go straight on to TR and lern some more so in a way school never ends but to tell you the truth I like the learning on TR the best.
thanks for the great quote you gave me it meant alot to hear it from someone thats more educated and know alot.

Oh, by the way. The Mandarin is doing great. Just hard to get a decent pic. Shy little devil. Here's what I could get tonight...

Great pic of the mandarine hes caring around the sand to work out got to work those fish mucsles LOL anyways thanks again dick
Raymond Oh by the way the shirt fits LOL J/K

[lReef lKeeper]

Thanks for the reply Dick, i am glad he is oing well and will live out his days with a knowledgeable keeper to keep him well fed and meeting his requirements.

[V]

Looking good old chap!



arrr florida, beautiful one minute, lightning storms the next.

If its anything like a northern hemisphere Queensland i know & came to love those types of changes for the tropics.!

[Amphibious]

Thanks V. Not bad for a 70 yr youngun.

[Amphibious]

Just a few pics of various things in the 135.



This is my Tyree Limited Edition Neon Green Sarcophyton under the Solaris LED Lunar cycle. I thought that was a cool shot. I haven't played much with my camera (Nikon D70) in low light situations because I, quite frankly, didn't know how. I met a guy at MACNA using a Nikon D50 at the Beluga Whale exhibit and we compared shots. I was using flash and fighting flash bounce in every shot. He was not using flash and his pictures were much better than mine. In a second he tought me how to use the "Program" feature. It's like having a new toy.

I had a couple of corals bleach out and are now in recovery.



I think this one is a Blastomusa wellsi. Can't remember because it looked terrible for a long time. I removed it from bright light for months. Brought it out a couple of months ago because it's tissue was looking like it was in recovery and now color is coming back.



This is an interesting story and a good lesson can be learned from it. I bought this a few months ago and it came un-mounted. I intended to mount it but put it off. Unbeknown to me it got knocked off it's rock and I didn't miss it. One day a couple of weeks ago, I was doing some general cleaning up and was "feeling" behind the LR at the bottom of the tank and was bring out various small rocks to remove and one of them was this Aussie Acan. it's tissue was shrunken and stark white. I thought it was a goner for sure. It too is in recovery and doing quite well considering what it went through. The most interesting thing is the color coming back is totally different than when I bought it. It appears to be coming back bright neon green or even fluorescent yellow.



This is a top down shot. Had a little surface water movement so not the best pic. I'll be watching this one closely.



The Sohal is always getting in my face saying, feed me, feed me. He/she's now 7" long.

The update: PFO's new "Made in America" Solaris LED light model I5 is out. We've sold several and expect ours to be delivered on Monday Sept 15th. I'll re-post the FT picture from a post above with the I4 light and a new one with the I5 for comparison.

Anyone interested in the best deal on the Solaris follow this link - Solaris LED Pricing. PFO controls the pricing, we sell them at their lowest allowable price. Plus we pay the shipping. Check them out.

Dick

[saltaddict]

The tank is wonderful - the rock work is awesome!!

I also love acrylic tanks. I have 120g and I take a lot of slack from LFS personnel about the acrylic.

Rhonda

[Amphibious]

Thanks Rhonda. I saw your Acrylic tank in your photo album. It's beautiful! Very nice job decorating, too. How long has the tank been up?

Many people talk Acrylic aquariums down but, don't you believe them. Not only are they more beautiful to look at, they are stronger, better insulators against temperature swings, Clearer than glass (except for the new Starphire glass), less expensive in larger sizes, easier to drill and safer around children. Yes, they scratch but, if educated in how to clean them, there will be little scratching. It's a mater of being careful. Plus, scratches in Acrylic can easily be removed with the proper scratch kit. The best kit I've found is here - Acrylic scratch kit. Glass scratches are forever.

I have used ONLY Acrylic aquariums since 1974, when I bought and installed my first one. And...

In case you haven't heard the vast majority of LFS employees, and many owners, are notoriously ill informed and under educated when it comes to aquarium care. It's about the biggest OXYMORONIC thing I've ever heard of.

By the way Rhonda, welcome to TR.

Dick

[saltaddict]

Thanks Amphibious. It is still a work in progress.

I set it up Jan 5,08. It came with 200lbs of LR, sump, bio balls and about 100lbs of crushed coral and a few scratches. The LR did not have any coraline growth. I pulled two large LR out of another tank to help with seeding the new. I am slowly weeding out some of the LR to other tanks so I can arrange it the way I want it.
The bio ball wents pretty quick and was replaced with LR and then the whole sump replace with a refugium.

The only real problems I have had is a HA outbreak in the last 2 months.
Until a month ago I always bought pre-made saltwater and top off water from LFS. I switched to a closer store and the end result was HA.
I now buy Glacier water, (7 stage filtration), and make the saltwater myself. It was a convience to buy all pre-made but not worth the risk.

I plan on working on the scratches over the winter when it is too cold for me to be outside.

Only real complaint is the stand is also acrylic which is very pretty but the only opening on the back is 3"X6". If front panel is kept on fully it causes great condensation and heat to build in the refuge.
I am thinking that I will cut larger holes in the back for more air circulation..

Sorry for the long post.

[rayme07]

Hi saltaddict to TR.

Many people talk Acrylic aquariums down but, don't you believe them. Not only are they more beautiful to look at, they are stronger, better insulators against temperature swings, Clearer than glass (except for the new Starphire glass), less expensive in larger sizes, easier to drill and safer around children

Yah alot of people do I agree with you there on everything you said. The only real problem with Acrylic is they are so darn heavy to cary. Like mine is like lifting up 30 pound weaghts its crazy but I love it.
Also the Tyree Limited Edition Neon Green Sarcophyton looks awsome do you mind me asking how much it was. Also the others looks great hope they get better for you. The tang looks butiful Its 7 inchs now that long and the colors coming off the fish is great. Thanks dick for the
Raymond

[bbl_nk]

Dick,

That Tyree shot is awesome...definitely POTM material! Love that t-shirt too. One of my fav's is one I got from a promo in a graphic design mag that says "Act before you think."

[Amphibious]

Rhonda, you don't ever have to apologize to me for a long post. I am the KING of long posts and I never apologize. I think few questions can be answered in short sound bites.

good luck with your effort to cut more holes in the stand. Have you ever drilled or cut Acrylic? What are your intensions as far as size and method of cutting?

Dick

[Amphibious]

Hi saltaddict to TR.

Yah alot of people do I agree with you there on everything you said. The only real problem with Acrylic is they are so darn heavy to cary. Like mine is like lifting up 30 pound weaghts its crazy but I love it.
Also the Tyree Limited Edition Neon Green Sarcophyton looks awsome do you mind me asking how much it was. Also the others looks great hope they get better for you. The tang looks butiful Its 7 inchs now that long and the colors coming off the fish is great. Thanks dick for the
Raymond

Raymond,

I don't know where you got the idea that Acrylic is heavier than glass but, I have to set you straight. Acrylic is lighter than glass. That is one of the additional benefits.

Sorry man.

Dick

[Amphibious]

Ooops, I for got. The Tyree Sarcophyton was $60 for a thumb sized frag. I now have 5 med to large frags from that one. One of these days I'm going to sell off a couple.

Dick

[dillan]

make sure you let us know when you decide to that thing is beautiful i know i would like to be in the waiting line for a frag

[rayme07]

Raymond,

I don't know where you got the idea that Acrylic is heavier than glass but, I have to set you straight. Acrylic is lighter than glass. That is one of the additional benefits.

Sorry man.

Hum I must have a different type of glass or something. becasue I look at yours and It looks the same type as mine, Ill have to look at the brand and do some reserching thanks for pointing that out,lol

Ooops, I for got. The Tyree Sarcophyton was $60 for a thumb sized frag.

That dont sound to bad for how butiful it looks. the good thing is your getting enjoyment out of it because I sure am thanks for the question response.
Raymond

[bbl_nk]

Dick, how long did it take to go from that thumb frag to its present size?

[Amphibious]

Hi Brian,

Here is a good picture of the mother colony and the first daughter frag.



The frag sent to me by Tyree was about 1/2 the size of this frag. Small frags the size of that one can be found on the Net for around $40. They are not common at that price but I've seen them. I've had this Sarcophyton for 2 years. It's been an interesting coral in that it frags itself. About every two months one of the scalloped edges will slowly tear off. The first daughter frag landed behind and next to it as shown. It was small and I didn't notice it until it was attached to the rock.



Here's one of the newer frags getting more light and probably food. It's growth has far out paced the original as has the others. I haven't accurately counted the frags but there is 6 or 7 that I've gotten mounted on rocks.

Dick

[saltaddict]

Dick,

I have drilled acrylic but in a very controlled environment, (kneeling above - easy to control speed and such), but since this would be inside the stand I am a little hesitant. If I pull the fuge out I could easily sit inside.
I took up carpentry several years ago out of boredom and have since built and rebuilt my entire house - BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT - IT IS FOR THE FISH.

Rhonda

[rayme07]

That coral looks amazing glad its growing and producing sisters frags for you. Thanks for sharing
Raymond

[Amphibious]

Dick,

I have drilled acrylic but in a very controlled environment, (kneeling above - easy to control speed and such), but since this would be inside the stand I am a little hesitant. If I pull the fuge out I could easily sit inside.
I took up carpentry several years ago out of boredom and have since built and rebuilt my entire house - BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT - IT IS FOR THE FISH.

Rhonda

OK, great. Here's what I would do if the tank were mine. I would remove the sump in order to get inside. I would get a 4" hole saw and drill several holes low and an equal number high. I would be looking to get some convectional flow of air. You could also add a couple of computer fans, a bottom one pushing air in and a top one exhausting air. I'd put them on opposing ends.

Dick

[Amphibious]

Here are a couple of new pics.



First, I was going to shoot the coral polyp extension and had focused on it when the Chromis swam up and stopped. I simply re-centered to include the Chromis and came up with this pic.

My new PFO Solaris I5 arrived today. I was very busy today but, HAD to get it on the tank. It's an easy install of course but, I had to get back outside. Here is a sneak preview of the light during the solar sundown event.



The lights have dimmed about 50% by the time I finished with my project. I will have more time tomorrow for pics and will post more of the Solaris I5.

Dick

[saltaddict]

Thanks for the drilling info!! I will tackle that in the weekend to come since I have fixed the Leaky current in the tank.

GREAT TANK!!

Very nice.
Rhonda