Randy's Tank Description

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 11, 2016

Well, I'm taking it down.

I've sold the blue gigantea to a friend (who will also take the 3 clowns and anemone crab along with it), and plan to give the rest of the creatures and rock to the Boston Reefers for their upcoming auction.

jason2459 · Mar 11, 2016

Habib(Salifert) · Mar 11, 2016

Might not have been an easy decision, wish you strength with dismanteling it Randy!

Duke4Life · Mar 11, 2016

Curious as to why you never went sps? Guess you could say I'm starting to get a grasp on things and this is 1 of those things I've debated.

Cory · Mar 11, 2016

Dont worry, ive quit and got another tank in 10 years like 6 times.

We always come back

Nano sapiens · Mar 11, 2016

Just stumpbled onto this. It's always a tough decision to make taking a long running tank down, but I think you'll get back into it again in the future

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 13, 2016

Yes, it is surprisingly sad.

My friend comes later today to get the anemone, clown trio and anemone crab (assuming I can actually get them out).
Next weekend I'll take everything else to the club auction, and then later (if someone bids on the rock, all the rock will go (2 x 44 gallon brute cans full from my refugia, plus what is in the display).

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 13, 2016

Duke4Life said:
Curious as to why you never went sps? Guess you could say I'm starting to get a grasp on things and this is 1 of those things I've debated.

I did keep a few types, but never liked them much because they do not move or change much. They might as well be artificial.

FWIW, this pic shows on of the larger SPS I kept:

Duke4Life · Mar 13, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I did keep a few types, but never liked them much because they do not move or change much. They might as well be artificial.

FWIW, this pic shows on of the larger SPS I kept:

I'm thinking of going this route as well. I like the color SPS bring but enjoy the movement of everything else.

aaron23 · Mar 13, 2016

Nooooooooooooo

Cory · Mar 14, 2016

How long have you had the tank Randy?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 14, 2016

Cory said:
How long have you had the tank Randy?

I first set it up in August 1995, so a bit over 20 years. At one point it expanded from a 90 gallon display to a 120 gallon display, and I got a bunch of new live rock then too, but basically the same system over time.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 14, 2016

Got the anemone out yesterday. Took longer than I thought (~40 minutes) since the rocks it was attached to had become attached to one another and could not be easily removed. Even a screwdriver could not break them apart. Finally my friend carefully pried the anemone off the rock. We were also able to catch the clown trio, but after all that there was no sign of the anemone crab. It probably ran for cover deeper in the rocks.

revhtree · Mar 14, 2016

Randy why are you taking the tank down?

s2nhle · Mar 14, 2016

Haha, that crab is smart. He does not want to leave the Randy's house. He does not want to change his living condition.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 14, 2016

The combination of the fish loss last fall when I was away, coupled with some slowly creeping problems made it my best choice.

1. The foxface that died was keeping the caualerpa in check. It is out of control again.
2. The Chelmon marginalis that died was keeping aiptasia in check. Not a problem yet, but likely only a matter of time.
3. Vermitid snails have taken over. Thousands of them everywhere. Makes the nice coralline covered rock and glass turn brown with accumulated stuff on them.
4. The electricity cost is hard to justify for the way the tank currently looked.

So the choice was to invest big and fix the problems, or take it down. For various other reasons, I decided taking it down with the option to maybe restart sometime in the future was the best option.

biom · Mar 15, 2016

So sad, i'm sure it was not easy decision to take 20 year old tank down. You are brave man Randy! And it is normal that you will need a break before starting new project, but I 'm sure this time will come soon. Looking forward to see your new, modern, energy efficient tank.

Rybren · Mar 15, 2016

Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do.

I'm sure that it was a difficult decision and one that wasn't taken lightly. Between contributing to the forums and managing your tank, I suspect that a very large portion of your free time has been eaten up over the years. I'm sure that She Who Must Be Obeyed will appreciate the extra free time for you to work on the Honey Do list.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 19, 2016

Thanks, folks.

Well, I took most remaining creatures to the Boston Reefers fund raising auction this morning. It took me several hours to get it out because some rocks were so stuck together that I had to whack at them hard with a hammer to get them out!

Happy Reefing!

Cory · Mar 19, 2016

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Thanks, folks.

Well, I took most remaining creatures to the Boston Reefers fund raising auction this morning. It took me several hours to get it out because some rocks were so stuck together that I had to whack at them hard with a hammer to get them out!

Happy Reefing!

Wow! Cemented rocks! Was it corraline?