Beware the Shallows! jedimasterben's 80g shallow reef!

[skinz78]

This thread needs a major update. Tank is up, livestock is in and growing, I've lost a lot, gained a lot, changed the lighting, changed the sump, all kinds of good stuff!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this:

Now that is what I call a TEASE!!!!!:tongue:

Be sure to post em up in the clam show off thread too!

 

[jedimasterben]

Now that is what I call a TEASE!!!!!:tongue:

Be sure to post em up in the clam show off thread too!

I know, I'm so mean!

But hey, at least I put up the full set of pictures a couple days after.

 

[skinz78]

So can you tell us how you acclimated your Mollies to SW? I've done it a few times now unsuccessfully... The first time right when I introduced them to my DT my Arc Eye Hawk killed them in seconds... And the second and third time they acted like I had too much flow and perished a few days later.

 

[skinz78]

BTW those worms in your sandbed are Spaghetti worms, they can irritate Zoa's if they get to be too close and too many.

 

[jedimasterben]

So can you tell us how you acclimated your Mollies to SW? I've done it a few times now unsuccessfully... The first time right when I introduced them to my DT my Arc Eye Hawk killed them in seconds... And the second and third time they acted like I had too much flow and perished a few days later.

The first set I drip acclimated, I started with three mollies and a dozen guppies. Two mollies and six guppies didn't survive the drip (though it dripped for 72 hours, with Aquavitro Alpha dosed to keep ammonia and nitrite away). The rest of the guppies didn't last but a couple of weeks, and that was before I had the MP10s. (all that was in my old 55g)

The second set was all mollies, two females and a male. All survived the 12 hour drip. Within two hours of putting them in the display, the black female was immediately caught and eaten by one of my mini maxi anemones, and the new male I found dead a week later. The other two (the big orange female and the black male) are still alive.

The third set had another two females. No acclimation, not even temperature (I do not use heaters or chillers on any of my systems). Both are alive to this day, and it's been about a month.

BTW those worms in your sandbed are Spaghetti worms, they can irritate Zoa's if they get to be too close and too many.

Oh, ok! Thanks!

 

[skinz78]

So you have your last set still that you just added cold turkey? And they seem to be doing the best?

I have 2 nano tanks that I would love to add some Mollies to and I would love to give it another go.

 

[jedimasterben]

So you have your last set still that you just added cold turkey? And they seem to be doing the best?

I have 2 nano tanks that I would love to add some Mollies to and I would love to give it another go.

That's right, they seem to be the healthiest I have!

Does anyone know why I am unable to edit my posts? Post count too low? Wanted to add my latest FTS to the OP but it won't let me edit it.

 

[Reef Fever]

awesome set up...i think i love female lyretails as much as you do lol

 

[jedimasterben]

awesome set up...i think i love female lyretails as much as you do lol

Thanks! They're my favorites!


Alrighty, all I have left for fish as of this afternoon:

4x chromis
3x anthias
4x mollies (babies are gone)
yellow watchman
yellow tang
pipefish
little goby


Lost everything else, and the tang is on his way out.

 

[zemuss]

So rebels have better par than cree? really?

 

[skinz78]

I'm not sure but I think you only have 30 min to edit your posts after posting them. It may even be less than 30 min, not sure.

 

[jedimasterben]

So rebels have better par than cree? really?

Barely for the whites, but royals win by a bit bigger margin, but once you factor in that they're cheaper, it's a no brainer. Plus, the fact that they royal blue Luxeons are 445nm instead of 455nm means that it should have more true PAR because they are that much closer to the 430nm peak of chlorophyll a, which is pretty much the most important wavelength to hit.

I'm not sure but I think you only have 30 min to edit your posts after posting them. It may even be less than 30 min, not sure.

Interesting. Thanks!




And the tang jumped while I was eating dinner. Made it through a 1/4" between two glass canopies.

 

[jedimasterben]

Lost an anthias, the emerald goby, the pipefish, and my male molly. Surprisingly, the mandarin is the only fish that doesn't appear bothered at all by the Cupramine. Swims around normally and eats like a horse.

Smashed the heck out of my big rock, broke it into four or five pieces, I like what I have now a lot more.

Sump for now.

Parameters as of tonight:
Calcium - 450ppm [Red Sea]
Alkalinity - 177ppm (9.91dKh) [Hanna]
Magnesium - 1340ppm [Red Sea]

I've got a whole bunch of feather dusters showing up all over the place. They're awesome. A bit of good news in the sea of bad, but I'll take what I can get. :bounce:

 

[jedimasterben]

Worst news so far - I lost my little anthias.


And I will be making an algae scrubber tomorrow. I had been overcomplicating it, and it's actually really simple to make and do right. I'll be using two CFL bulbs for right now, but will make simple LED arrays for each side soon.

 

[altolamprologus]

Aww I'm sorry you keep losing fish It's always such a terrible feeling. Is the mandarin the only one left?

 

[jedimasterben]

No, I've got four chromis, the yellow watchman, the shemale anthias, and the three female mollies in addition to the mandarin. The last anthias is looking worse as time goes by, so I think she may not make it, either. This round of ich has been devastating.


I think once this is all over, I'll get another chromis so I will not have an even number (maybe just skipping them altogether), and at some point go with a trio each of juvie female Bartlett's and lyretail anthias, and possibly a juvie powder brown tang (A. japonicus, not A. nigricans), and the missus also wants a pair of pearly jawfish, but idk what I will end up with. I will never have issues with bioload with the combination fuge, DSB, and algae scrubber, so only issue is space in the DT. I have a ton of open space for swimming, but also enough nooks and crannies for them all to hide.

 

[solar]

I would wait till the ich is totally gone before adding anything else imo. SAd sad day to lose fish and then put more in :{

 

[jedimasterben]

The system is fishless. The ich will have died at the earliest on the 21st, but I'll likely leave it fallow for much longer than that, but we'll see. :/

 

[jedimasterben]

My eyes burn.

 

[altolamprologus]

Oh man that's bright! I can almost feel the corals bleaching already