Reefs.org Forums

[sdbarton42]

lol to the you pitching a fit in the middle of home depot...but that really does suck about everything crapping out...can't wait for pics!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Saltlick]

Alright, finally stopped messing with the tank enough to let the water clear and take some pics.
Sadly, being blind, I had to look at the pics this morning to see a couple flecks of Cryptocaryon
on my yellow tang. This is undoubtedly due to two straight nights of completely rearranging
the tank and my new wavemaker blowing the substrate all to hell. I think I have it where I am
going to have to leave it. MAYBE if I leave things alone the yellow can fight off the ich. But
I won't let it get too far without taking her out for a medication week. The Lunare Wrasse is
called Bullet for obvious reasons. The yellow Tang is Natasha cause she is shy, but that is a
inside joke. The Chromis are A-hole 1 and A-hole 2. You can see my favorite, the Stylophora
Pistillata. There are much more beautiful corals out there, but in MY tank, it's neon green polyps
are just incredible. In one you can see the giant Resun waver. It should be noted that these
pics were taken first thing in the am for someone here at work to see, and aren't really good for
the thread, but what can you do. The rock-work is designed so that the fish can have almost complete
use of the "space" since neither of the big ones need to be living in a 40 gallon tank. They have upper
and lower swim space throughout the "coral head". Natasha is no longer shy, but she spent two days
under the rock shelf so she got the name, and dictated the rockwork by doing so. There is unobstructed
swim room behind the coral mountain and in front, plus max room underneath with a Tonga branch frame
supporting the pile. I feel bad for the Lunare Wrasse, cause when I had my last one in the 110, it would
ZOOOM from one end to the other from time to time, and I know it gets alot of joy from this. Once he
gets to 5 inches, I may trade him in for a scooter blenny provided my tank has matured to provide the
right food animals.

[Saltlick]

Here are some CUs of the coral shelf

[sdbarton42]

LOVE THE PICS!!! That's alot of rock in there

[Saltlick]

LOVE THE PICS!!! That's alot of rock in there

Haha, it IS and it ISN'T. the height you perceive is actually a framework of
tonga branch like a ribcage that the traditional live rock sits on. A fish in
this tank can take off at max speed and zip from one end of the tank to the
other and go right THROUGH the rockwork. It is pretty sweet. BUT it looks
like a ton of rock, and it kinda is. But that didn't stop me from ordering 17 lbs
of PA's newly arrived uncured Timor rock. I am going to cure it in a 30 long and
just try to get some creatures out of it and maybe swap some here and there if
something strikes me. And don't forget, every piece in there was bleached out
old dead rock out of a milk crate in my closet. The only "live" rock in the tank
is on the far right, halfway up. It was a seed rock. SO I kinda HAD to put it all
in there, since it was "free".

That old brain skeleton is actually a frag I made of some
Green Star Polyps that I am hoping covers the dome in a month or so and I can
trade it for a bag of salt. I might ship it you YOU, though.

[Saltlick]

Had a little "Derh" moment last night, and fixed it this am. If you struggled through this thread you
know that my sump has three partitions, one half for the refuge, and the other half divided into two
compartments which house the skimmer pump in one and the return pump in another.

Well when i get home some days, one chamber is empty and the pump is sucking air and gurgling. The
other chamber thus has too much water in it. Problem is, the fuge wall is 12 inches high, and because
I did not cut the glass, I have another identical plate separating the pump compartments. In theory, this
was to ENSURE that tank water never flowed over into return water. I just caulked them up and
balanced the water flow into each hoping for an equilibrium. Well, you get proper balance
about 5 days a month. So last night I was thinking, what an idiot. Return water comes in from the
skimmer and on the other side over the wall of the fuge. So I realized that if I scraped out the caulk
on one edge to about 6 inches down, one compartment would never be allowed to get over that height
without feeding the gurgling side. Worst case scenario, dirty water goes back
to the tank, but if I have any kind of reasonable balance to the compartments, it should be minimal.
But one thing I know. When I get home from work tonight, there won't be a pump sucking air.

[Saltlick]

The dreaded FTS.

[Saltlick]

Here are some photos of the fish in the new 40 reef. My yellw tang kicked the ich, everyone has settled down.
It's funny, the day the tang and Lunare Wrasse came in, the Chhromis were rubbing up against them and flashing them
and shadowing them incessantly. It was a valiant effort, but within a day, they were hiding in crevices and begging for
forgiveness.

[Saltlick]

A few more pics

[Saltlick]

not a good night last night, I came to the conclusion that my daylight lamp in my fixture was
done. Everything seemed SO dim, and the dang thing was only a month old or so. P'd me O.
BUT I have to admit, I DID cook two powerstrips one night with a water ballet, so there is a
good chance the surging and flickering could have had a bad effect on the lamp, or (shudder)
the ballast or fixture. Replaced it with a 10k white and it was a huge difference. Bought a
few at 10 bucks each on closeout, and some Smartlamps as well. Got a few True Actinics
coming this week to complete the closeout lighting bonanza,

[sdbarton42]

love the lunare wrasse...if i ever get a tank big enough to hold one they'd be at the top of my list to get

[Saltlick]

Believe me, I will be needing to get rid of it by that time, so I will mail i to you.