The start of something good

[jeredh]

I guess this to be a good place as any for me to share a few photos of my tank. Within a few weeks I plan on situating the LR in other positions. I'd like to put something in upsidedown :lol:

[jeredh]

:evil: technology :evil:

[jeredh]

Well, I've settled on the LR landscape, and have begun adding some livestock to my tank. :D

Zoo-Shroom rock (zooanthids, red shrooms, brown hairy)
Euphyllia - hammer
Euphyllia - frogspawn
Sarcophyton
Nemenzephyllia - fox
Sinularia
Trachaphilia - green brain
Feather Duster

2 Perculas
1 Mandarin Goby (my favorite :mrgreen: )
1 FireFish Goby

:!: All levels are good. Adding DT's phytoplankton and AquaYum's frozen medley.

[jeredh]

fox coral

[jeredh]

frogspawn and the Zoo-Shroom

[jeredh]

blue hermit crab (part of startup kit) and sinularia in beginning phases :?

[Sandworm]

Nice job, looks really good. I love the looks or your spaghetti. Their one of my favorite kind of corals.

[jason gilman]

im loving it.deffinately one of the best
aquascapes ive seen on the forum
yet(be sides mine of course j/k).

[Tranceworx]

Nice set up rock formation looks cool!!!

[jeredh]

Pic of yellow finger leather & toadstool under all lights except MH

[jeredh]

whoops...here's the pic

[jeredh]

check out the frogspawn under no lights but an incandescent flashlight from sharper image. This euphyllia is gonna be cool :mrgreen:

[jeredh]

:P ...sorry folks, a little camera happy this evening. X-mas '02 I got this Nikon coolpix 4300 and and celebrating it's anniversary. Here is a shot I took at 3am, all tank lights off and using the flash.

I have made a few noticeable changes: added a midnight blue background to the tank, and
in the middle landscape, I took one of the red Fji liverocks out of the pile, and made it into a bridge above my open green brain.

...now if I could only get snapshots of my Goob the mandorin :wink:

[jeredh]

my Mandarin dragonette

[jeredh]

better look at caverns here with no MH, just 174w PC Act/Nat mix

[jeredh]

...okay, so...this is last full frontal until i get my new livestock in place. Just ordered a clam, electric green zoanthids and psychedelic-shelled turbo snails.

Happy Kwaanza!

[jason gilman]

looks better every time i look at it jeredh :D

[Joey88again]

Hows your skimmer I just got the same one for my 55 gallon. Does it lower your nitrates?

[jeredh]

the prism has been wonderful for me - i have not had problems getting it started/primed/working. i empty the collection cup at least once a week (collects maybe 1/2" of funk) and rinse it with hot water & use a brush to clean it. And once every 4 weeks I take the whole thing off and take it apart to clean. May be obsessive, but that's the nature of this hobby :D

As for lowering my 'trates, I cannot directly attribute my zero-levels to the skimmer, but it definitely helps. Weekly RO saltwater changes helps keep toxic levels down, and topping off every other day with RO water.

I recently just started adding SeaChem's Iodide, and am also using DT's phytoplankton and Kents A/B Calcium supplements.

I highly recommend the prism skimmer! You can get more advanced with skimmers/filters....but for a 55gallon, you'll be fine!
Joey88, you may want to look into a small HOB refugium to help create a better ecosystem. See my thread here for the one I got
http://www.reeflounge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6225

Good Luck,
Jered

[jeredh]

new addition to my fish population

[jeredh]

added tuesday this electric crocea. and check out my nemenzophyllia's new spot, chillin' upside down from a nugget of marshall rock. one pic w/ flash, one without.
The clam has a whole different appearance when you look at it from different angels. Quite nice!

Muchos gracios to the vets Dr. Fosters & Smith for hooking me up with the clam, candycane's and zoanthid colony. Great place! http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/index.cfm

[jeredh]

tonight my yellow striped maroon clown was found on the floor behind my tank. So sad. My fault - I set the poor fella' up for failure. Noobs, DO NOT MIX MAROON (and other aggressive) CLOWNS WITH PERCULAS.

[Joey88again]

Cool tank! Poor clown I just bought a pair of pink skunk clownfish. They have great personalities they eat out of my hand and nip me sometimes. I was actually looking at those refugiums. I want to get one so my nitrates will be att zero but I will probably wait till April 20th thats my B-day. I am 15 and I need a job to support my tank.

[1996 cobra]

yup thats a big downside to this hobby is the amount of money it can draw sometimes.

justin

[jeredh]

money is made to be spent justin 8)

[1996 cobra]

thats why i work 2 jobs and list it in my profile i build race cars and street cars computers and fish i have 3 of the most expensive hobbies 1 could choose. even with 2 jobs i still maintain low funds after bills and mortgage.

justin

[jeredh]

ahhh, you're on the 30yr mortgage plan too, eh! nice justin! glad to see you are not sitting at home on the couch on unemployment!

You forgot the most expensive hobby: a wife 8)

[1996 cobra]

no no no justin forgot that hobby in high school. im only 20 so no need for a wife. my down side is im either eintirely to selfish or i give entirely to much. i usually give to much and gave up on dating for awhile cause i got sick of being taken for a ride. im playing the single card for awhile while i do all the fun things and get the wild parts out.

justin

[Joey88again]

You guys sound like Al Bundy from Married With Childeren thats one of my favorite shows. Good choice 1996 Cobra.LOL :lol:

[1996 cobra]

yea it wasnt hard get taken for a ride or build a ride so i decided to build :) in due time ill find the right one and it will be gravey from then on out. i have alot to offer thats 1 of my problems. the car attracts. the fish tank impresses and oooohhhhs. and th ehouse is like bam. only problem in va and probably alot of other places most girls are materialistic so it sux in that sense cause i have alot of material to offer.

justin

[jeredh]

my upside down fox, crocea, brain, buttons, hammer, spaghetti leather

[jeredh]

hairy mushroom on red 'shroom rock w/ xenias, worm, frogspawn, Caulastrea furcata, Sarcophyton sp.

[jason gilman]

lookn good nice shot of the hammer does your extend like that often?mine barely does.

[jeredh]

yes jason, whenever the lights turn on all the euphyllias begin opening up. my PC's come on 1 hour before my MH. With the hammer, it gets that extended about 1 hour after the MH turns on.

Here's a pic of some of my skrimps. The blurry one in the front is one of 4 peppermints, and the big daddy in the back is my blood shrimp. I highly recommend peppermints...they gobble up Aptasia.

[jason gilman]

my peppermints didnt gobble a thing i had three of them but have non now somthing killed them off and i dont know what.

[Joey88again]

Do peppermint shrimps help clean the tank?

[jeredh]

A few more photos to add to the collection...

[jeredh]

my flourescent green bubble and his massive sweepers. I moved this guy lower in the tank because he was trying to wrap his testacles (er, tentacles) all over the nearby zooanthid colony and hammer coral

[jeredh]

my first attempt at the SPS coral - a purple tipped frag. He is up high, in moderately high water flow. Any advice would be nice!

[jeredh]

found this to be kinda funny. An emerald crab has found shelter in many of my corals. One being my fox coral, and here under my brain coral. You can see his two large claws but that's about it... 8)

[jeredh]

hey joey, my 4 peppermints have been 100% true to cleaning Apitasia from my tank. I had doubts, b/c I for that last 2 weeks I had a gnarly apitasia stalk blooming from a zooanthid colony, and it would never go away. Well, this morning I woke up and the apitasia is gone! So, YES, peppermints help clean your tank. They are nothing but good for reef tanks! Good scavengers - mine eat the flake/frozen foods that my fish do not eat, and of course take care of unwanted apitasia. Get some peppermints to freshen your tank 'bro!

[Joey88again]

Your tank is looking great! I can finally get corals but now I dont have the money!LOL. I had an outbreak of ich and lost all my new fish manderin, 2 orange skunk clowns, and a bicolor dottyback. My original fish survived though yellow tang, and three green reef chromis. Do you use a QT tank. I started one my tang had ich so it is in th QT. It has only been in their for 2 days, and its ich is already gone but I will leave him in their till friday because I have to visit relatives.

[1996 cobra]

leave it in there for 3 - 4 weeks. just cause the external parasites are dead or not showing there dirty heads doesnt mean the internal is done with. it takes 3 - 4 weeks on average to kill just about any and all diseases.

justin

[Joey88again]

How much live rock do you have and what does your cleaner crew consist of?

[jeredh]

last night i attached my acropora to the LR b/c snails and crabs kept bumping it from its hole. here is a before and after shot. the pic where he is pointing straight up is the first photo i took of the stoney coral. i glued him in a jagged position to see if he was growing towards the light, and after a day it looks like he's bending towards the light. photosynthesis might be in play here. does acropora have green cells with cholorphyll?

[1996 cobra]

haha yes acros are just about all photo. thats why almost all acros require very very bright light and are best kept under mh lighting.

justin

[jeredh]

the hermit wears no clothes

[jeredh]

this same ole' hermit is trying to squeeze into a "belly shell". damn my scavengers are hot!

[Joey88again]

How much live rock do you have and what does your cleaner crew consist of?

[jeredh]

picture of my new "day glow green" tipped acropora

[jeredh]

i really have no idea how much LR is in my tank joey88again. I am this tanks 2nd owner. The original owner had the tank 90% drained, with about 45 to 60 pounds or live rock in the puddles of water, and I added another 30 to 50 pounds. It's too much rock IMO. I'm about to buy a whole 'nother tank and stuff, and will transfer all my stuff around two tanks.

8)

[jason gilman]

nice acro jeredh.

[1996 cobra]

how big is it and how much u pick it up for it def ha snice tips on it.

j-

[jason gilman]

heres a pic of some of mine jeredh.the first pics are the acros,and the last of a mille.

[Joey88again]

How do your corals grow under MH Jason?

[jason gilman]

unbelievable joey there is a huge difference in growth and color between PC and the MH.ive decided to change this tank to a SPS tank.

[Joey88again]

Did you get your refugium going Jason? What kind of water movement do you have? And how fast do your xenia multiply? I just put a small xenia in my nano cube I want to get one for my 55. I have decided to use ro water now. So hopefully I can get rid of my remaining red slime algae.

[Joey88again]

Ill take your soft corals :lol: LOL. Are you going to get more clams?

[jason gilman]

heres what im going to do.i set up a 29g and am going to move some corals to that tank.than im moving the 55g to another room,setting it up with the refugium and adding another rock pile on tha left along with another 250wMH.then im gonna get my 40g breeder when it warms up and set that next to the 29g and loop them together with a sump.sps clams and misc.in the 55.softies,lps,others stuff in the 40 and 29.im going to put my aqualight over those two tanks if i dont sell it.

[jason gilman]

my xenia are a different spicies than you would normally see.they are cesitularia sp.and dont seem to grow very fast they pulse like crazy and somthing(i think the flame angel) nips the polyps off.i have three PH in the tank a 1140,220,and hagen 4000.theres a realy good current.and i dont have a overflow or pump for the fuge yet.

[jeredh]

jas', yep, your flame angel will eat away at the polyps. If the flame is in a tank dominated by corals, and the tank is less than 110gallons, he will start to eat zooanthids and polyps like crazy. You may want to move the flame to another tank (if you can catch him)

[jeredh]

hey guys, this thread is outta control. I would like to keep it limited to activity in my tank. jason has tons of threads out there....

:mrgreen:

[jason gilman]

ya he's going when i move the tank.so jeredh was next on the agenda?

[jeredh]

i have a rare bright green acropora with brilliant green polyps on order, as well as a montipora that is pretty sweet.

I am looking at other tanks right now. At least 110gallons. I have to see how tax season works against me first.

[Joey88again]

Get a 125 gallon long. That is my dream aquarium.

[jeredh]

http://www.funkyoctopus.com/images/Saltwater2004.jpg

[jeredh]

pink worm

[jeredh]

my new maxima

http://www.funkyoctopus.com/images/Tmaxima.jpg

http://www.funkyoctopus.com/images/Tmaxima2.jpg

[Night-Owl]

Jered that maxima is sweet looking :!: I can't wait to get some clams, but unfortunately I will have to wait a little longer :(