The 40 Breeder Mixed Reef
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Dempsey941
Valuable Member
Well I mean they are fantastic lights and I have seen fantastic coloration and growth from all my sps corals. You can just look at the various FTS and see the amount of growth I am getting.
Is this the LFS
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2019
- Messages
- 364
- Reaction score
- 182
- Location
- Portland
- What state or country do you live in
- Oregon
Do u mainly have lower light sps like birdsnest or do u have quite a bit of acros too? I couldn’t tell
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Dempsey941
Valuable Member
Definitely lower to mid end sps. I only added my first acro last week. So far it seems content, not alot of polyp extension but good color.
Couple of digis, birdsnest, anacropora, monti cap and encrusting monti are mostly what is in my system currently.
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Dempsey941
Valuable Member
These lights should support pretty much any coral you want, its just getting those parameters into the sweet spot for color and griwth.
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Dempsey941
Valuable Member
Tank Update #20 - Quarantine
FTS
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Current Stocking 20 Long Frag Tank:
Sixline Wrasse - "Jester" - NEW ADDITION
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.2 - Hanna ALK
Calc: 451- Hanna Calc
Mag: 1500 - Salifert
Phos: .40 - Hanna Phosphate (HI713)
No3: 25 - Salifert
New Addition:
A new player has entered the reef room. A sixline wrasse given the name "Jester". Why? To Live in the Frag Tank. Why? Because.
So while we are just a breath away from a total lock down of the state of TX. I figured I would strike while the opportunity arose to purchase a sixline wrasse from the farther of the to LFS I frequent. He was in a small holding tank in their inverts section. At first glance he had some tail damage, but I attribute that to a purple dottyback in the adjacent holding tank. I literally watched this dottyback jump over the divider beat the crap out of this sixline, and jump back. So rude.
Convinced the manager to knock off a couple of bucks off the price tag, he agreed and I got me a $25 wrasse. Not too shabby since market value for sixlines is hovering around $30 at the moment ( I know I have seen cheaper, but keep reading). While chatting with the manager he was telling me that his last shipment of fish was coming in this week. Apparently AirChina is discontinuing their flights into the United States (or the other way around). He was concerned about what he was going to do for his business. I'm sure he will be fine (it's a really full store, they can probably last 8 weeks without new stock).
Anyway 2 feedings and the sixline has taken a few bites each time, so I figure in another week he should be right as rain and pig out on whatever I am feeding.
Quarantine:
Obviously I am not referring to the QT in our hobby, but the current pandemic of COVID-19 running rampant through our nation. My school like many others had gone 100% online overnight without any hassle (just in case my dry wit didn't seep through, it has not been a smooth transition). I have 100+ students under my care and roughly 25% of them have actually completed all their assignments for the week, so I am in the process of contacting them one at a time, just to remind them that "yes the world might be ending, but your homework is still due". For the past 5 days I have received 50 emails laying out the guidelines of expectations for our students while on hiatus from standard education, so we are basically making it up as we go along. Anyway we get enough of this topic in the news (and quite frankly I am tired of it) so let us move on.
Reef In General:
So the reef has been moving along quite well this week with my constant supervision now due to our current situation. The frag rack in the bottom left will be removed this weekend probably, only because it sits in front of the McCoskers' hidey hole and he has been very skittish since I put it in. The frag on there will transfer over to the frag tank as we wait out this disaster.
While at the LFS I saw a pinstripe wrasse - that guy was beautiful. After talking to the manager he said my tank was pretty much full and probably couldn't accept another fish too well. So add that to the list fish that will be in the upgrade one day.
Re-scape and Ramblings:
Oh Lord I made some sweet structure out of the rubble rock today. It was so sweet and I could totally work with it, but at this point I think I'm to scared to try a rescape on this tank. and given the circumstances I don't know if I could forgive myself if something to reef during these uncertain times, perhaps this summer when hopefully this all blows over.
We also celebrated my BDay this week. Went to a nice restaurant for quite possibly the last time. Everything was great.
Shout out to @SliceGolfer for my B-Day gifts a set of ESV Bionic, and some dots candy. Turns out he was my Secret Santa, family thought it was weird, but then again my family doesn't understand the comradery we have here on the forum.
So I hope you all stay healthy during our staycation. Remember the only thing scary about this virus is the pandemonium coming from it. Also be weary of the sheep, they are easily startled.
Some pics from the reef and the frag tank, feel free to leave a comment or question I'll be here until April.
FTS
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Current Stocking 20 Long Frag Tank:
Sixline Wrasse - "Jester" - NEW ADDITION
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.2 - Hanna ALK
Calc: 451- Hanna Calc
Mag: 1500 - Salifert
Phos: .40 - Hanna Phosphate (HI713)
No3: 25 - Salifert
New Addition:
A new player has entered the reef room. A sixline wrasse given the name "Jester". Why? To Live in the Frag Tank. Why? Because.
So while we are just a breath away from a total lock down of the state of TX. I figured I would strike while the opportunity arose to purchase a sixline wrasse from the farther of the to LFS I frequent. He was in a small holding tank in their inverts section. At first glance he had some tail damage, but I attribute that to a purple dottyback in the adjacent holding tank. I literally watched this dottyback jump over the divider beat the crap out of this sixline, and jump back. So rude.
Convinced the manager to knock off a couple of bucks off the price tag, he agreed and I got me a $25 wrasse. Not too shabby since market value for sixlines is hovering around $30 at the moment ( I know I have seen cheaper, but keep reading). While chatting with the manager he was telling me that his last shipment of fish was coming in this week. Apparently AirChina is discontinuing their flights into the United States (or the other way around). He was concerned about what he was going to do for his business. I'm sure he will be fine (it's a really full store, they can probably last 8 weeks without new stock).
Anyway 2 feedings and the sixline has taken a few bites each time, so I figure in another week he should be right as rain and pig out on whatever I am feeding.
Quarantine:
Obviously I am not referring to the QT in our hobby, but the current pandemic of COVID-19 running rampant through our nation. My school like many others had gone 100% online overnight without any hassle (just in case my dry wit didn't seep through, it has not been a smooth transition). I have 100+ students under my care and roughly 25% of them have actually completed all their assignments for the week, so I am in the process of contacting them one at a time, just to remind them that "yes the world might be ending, but your homework is still due". For the past 5 days I have received 50 emails laying out the guidelines of expectations for our students while on hiatus from standard education, so we are basically making it up as we go along. Anyway we get enough of this topic in the news (and quite frankly I am tired of it) so let us move on.
Reef In General:
So the reef has been moving along quite well this week with my constant supervision now due to our current situation. The frag rack in the bottom left will be removed this weekend probably, only because it sits in front of the McCoskers' hidey hole and he has been very skittish since I put it in. The frag on there will transfer over to the frag tank as we wait out this disaster.
While at the LFS I saw a pinstripe wrasse - that guy was beautiful. After talking to the manager he said my tank was pretty much full and probably couldn't accept another fish too well. So add that to the list fish that will be in the upgrade one day.
Re-scape and Ramblings:
Oh Lord I made some sweet structure out of the rubble rock today. It was so sweet and I could totally work with it, but at this point I think I'm to scared to try a rescape on this tank. and given the circumstances I don't know if I could forgive myself if something to reef during these uncertain times, perhaps this summer when hopefully this all blows over.
We also celebrated my BDay this week. Went to a nice restaurant for quite possibly the last time. Everything was great.
Shout out to @SliceGolfer for my B-Day gifts a set of ESV Bionic, and some dots candy. Turns out he was my Secret Santa, family thought it was weird, but then again my family doesn't understand the comradery we have here on the forum.
So I hope you all stay healthy during our staycation. Remember the only thing scary about this virus is the pandemonium coming from it. Also be weary of the sheep, they are easily startled.
Some pics from the reef and the frag tank, feel free to leave a comment or question I'll be here until April.
SliceGolfer
Valuable Member
I wanted to make good on that glitter bomb threat but figured a random package arrival was enough ambiguity 
OP
OP
Dempsey941
Valuable Member
My carpet and my roomba thank you.I wanted to make good on that glitter bomb threat but figured a random package arrival was enough ambiguity
OP
OP
Dempsey941
Valuable Member
My friends I bring you sad news. My McCosker's Wrasse a.k.a. "The Red Guy" has passed away.
It is not an overall surprise that this has happened. For the past month or so I had noticed he was losing his coloration, and was hiding more and eating less. Having watched him for nearly 2 years this was very abnormal, so I began to watch him more closely. He came out of his hidey hole only 3 times during the past 7 days and for only a moment then dove back into the hole.
I feel that I may be responsible for this unfortunate event. I placed a temporary frag rack near the mouth of his cave while the frag tank underwent a blackout period. Perhaps this caused too much stress for him? I am not certain.
While I grieve the loss of one my favorite fish, here is the only good picture I have of him. May he forever S.I.P.
It is not an overall surprise that this has happened. For the past month or so I had noticed he was losing his coloration, and was hiding more and eating less. Having watched him for nearly 2 years this was very abnormal, so I began to watch him more closely. He came out of his hidey hole only 3 times during the past 7 days and for only a moment then dove back into the hole.
I feel that I may be responsible for this unfortunate event. I placed a temporary frag rack near the mouth of his cave while the frag tank underwent a blackout period. Perhaps this caused too much stress for him? I am not certain.
While I grieve the loss of one my favorite fish, here is the only good picture I have of him. May he forever S.I.P.
OP
OP
Dempsey941
Valuable Member
Tank Update #21 - Tearing Down the Old House
FTS:
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.8
Calc: 440
Mag: 1500
Phos: .27
No3: 10
The Rescape:
So I guess I have a bad case of idle fingers... The rescape of the 40 breeder has started. The process was really spearheaded by the fact that due to our "stay-cation" my "classroom" has now moved next to the tank where I have no choice, but to stare at it. The first step of the rescape I think went really well. I spent a lot of time reading on rescapes and the best practices behind it and it seemed straight forward. Take the corals off the old rock - Remove old rock - Mount corals on new rock - New rock in the tank - Finish. The epoxy i used cause my skimmer to completely lose its cool. After about ~2 gallons of run off the skimmer has finally calmed down, still a lot of micro bubbles, but the cup has stopped overflowing. So far I really like the new piece and it has added some character to the left side of the tank. and the Indo Green Torch has really come out of its shell now.
So after the sixline bit the dust (unsurprisingly) I am put off from fish for the moment. The frag tank was torn down (again) and now I have what has been labeled as "frag plug bay". In case you were wondering it's over over 30 different Zoa/Paly Frags not including the other sps and other softy/lps corals also in the tank. (I think I have an addiction).
The next step in the scape involves some number of those zoa frags as a 3rd zoa garden had been formed from rubble rock. I think I have enough space for 9-11 frags which should make for a really unique garden when it grows out.
Ebay Auctions
Those monsters at WWC allowed me to yet again win some frags from their ebay auctions. I also saw a couple really nice frags on sale on their site so it all worked out, I guess. Those frags should be arriving soon and may or may not be apart of the the new zoa garden I haven't really decided which frags it will get.
Quarantine Life:
The change over to online eLearning has been fine for the most part. I post assignments, kids attempt the assignments, I put a grade in the grade book. I miss my students, I miss walking the halls, and I miss physically talking to people who are not related to me. Rumor has it we may resume class in May, but they said that about April, and late March.
Due to the new recommendation that everyone where face masks my mom made me this from some old fabric from my youth. So now y'all can be jelly.
Future Thoughts:
Many, many moons must pass until step 3 of the rescape will commence (think like june) that part I have 100% planed out but it will take the rock that that the ducan colony is sitting on out, and replacing it with the cave structure I got in my box of shape rock.
Well I think I am going to end here, continue to stay safe everyone!
FTS:
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.8
Calc: 440
Mag: 1500
Phos: .27
No3: 10
The Rescape:
So I guess I have a bad case of idle fingers... The rescape of the 40 breeder has started. The process was really spearheaded by the fact that due to our "stay-cation" my "classroom" has now moved next to the tank where I have no choice, but to stare at it. The first step of the rescape I think went really well. I spent a lot of time reading on rescapes and the best practices behind it and it seemed straight forward. Take the corals off the old rock - Remove old rock - Mount corals on new rock - New rock in the tank - Finish. The epoxy i used cause my skimmer to completely lose its cool. After about ~2 gallons of run off the skimmer has finally calmed down, still a lot of micro bubbles, but the cup has stopped overflowing. So far I really like the new piece and it has added some character to the left side of the tank. and the Indo Green Torch has really come out of its shell now.
So after the sixline bit the dust (unsurprisingly) I am put off from fish for the moment. The frag tank was torn down (again) and now I have what has been labeled as "frag plug bay". In case you were wondering it's over over 30 different Zoa/Paly Frags not including the other sps and other softy/lps corals also in the tank. (I think I have an addiction).
The next step in the scape involves some number of those zoa frags as a 3rd zoa garden had been formed from rubble rock. I think I have enough space for 9-11 frags which should make for a really unique garden when it grows out.
Ebay Auctions
Those monsters at WWC allowed me to yet again win some frags from their ebay auctions. I also saw a couple really nice frags on sale on their site so it all worked out, I guess. Those frags should be arriving soon and may or may not be apart of the the new zoa garden I haven't really decided which frags it will get.
Quarantine Life:
The change over to online eLearning has been fine for the most part. I post assignments, kids attempt the assignments, I put a grade in the grade book. I miss my students, I miss walking the halls, and I miss physically talking to people who are not related to me. Rumor has it we may resume class in May, but they said that about April, and late March.
Due to the new recommendation that everyone where face masks my mom made me this from some old fabric from my youth. So now y'all can be jelly.
Future Thoughts:
Many, many moons must pass until step 3 of the rescape will commence (think like june) that part I have 100% planed out but it will take the rock that that the ducan colony is sitting on out, and replacing it with the cave structure I got in my box of shape rock.
Well I think I am going to end here, continue to stay safe everyone!
Jasper05
Active Member
- Joined
- May 28, 2019
- Messages
- 234
- Reaction score
- 157
- What state or country do you live in
- New York
Love your tank. How are you liking the gyre now that you had it for a while? I am planning a 40 breeder and I am interested in it. 3 questions:
Do you think it does a good job replacing the 2 powerheads?
Is it quiet?
How is it to clean?
Do you think it does a good job replacing the 2 powerheads?
Is it quiet?
How is it to clean?
OP
OP
Dempsey941
Valuable Member
I like the flow from the gyre, very random yet rhythmic so the corals sway back and forth very nice.
Connecting the Gyre and navigating the app is hell but once I had the presets and the flow where I want it I stopped using the app. Now I just have the apex turn off the pump for water changes and feedings.
Cleaning the unit is simple enough the blades come out nice from the base and clean well after a soak in some fresh ro water. It comes with a second set of blades so swapping them out was straight forward.
If given the choice between the gyre and the previous jebao pumps I used? The gyre 100%.
Not to mention I have an extra plug now on my apex! Been contemplating using it for a reactor of some sort.
OP
OP
Dempsey941
Valuable Member
Tank Update #22: Rescape is finished!
FTS
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.8
Calc: 414
Mag: 1500
Phos: .18
No3: 10
Rescape Part 2:
So its been awhile since the last update... but I'm a busy man with many things to do! Not really. Most of my days now consist of getting up, eating breakfast, walk 3-5 miles, shower, then either work on the daily crosswords and/or continue watching netflix. Its been long enough that part 2 of the rebuild could commence and it went by almost flawlessly. So far I really enjoy the new look and can't wait to move some pieces around to help fill it in (and get more coral).
However during the initial step of the rescape i misjudged how well attached the Neon green was to the front most rock in the scape. When I went to remove it I inadvertently ripped a 3" hunk of flesh off the stem of the toadstool. Suffice it to say that it, as well as the other corals in my tank were not happy. Currently running some carbon in an Aquaclear HOB to help clear out some of the toxins it released.
On this particular rock we have some utter chaos, fuzzynavels, gobstoppers, pink zippers, and rastas. I might add another to this rock but not 100% on which one to add.
Here is the new right side of the scape. It was completed using more caribsea liferock shapes (dome/helmet, archway, and the doughnut). it really has opened up the area much better than the previous structure and has allowed better flow to the sps frag rack on the right.
Losses/Additions:
As I predicted in the time during part 1 of the rescape and part 2 I manage to lose some corals namely my forest fire digi, and my JF BeachBum monti (that hurt like a big dog). I also loss one of the hammers, but I attribute that to a lack of light due to poor placement on my part. Oh well, I learned from my mistakes and hope I make few mistakes the next time I have to do this.
There is also some new frags from my boys at TSA a nice milli frag, some zoas, a PC rainbow and a Pavona Coral so I've had my work cut out for my looking for mounting locations for these guys.
Upgrade:
Upgraded my lighting from 2 AI Prime HDs to 2 AI Hydra 26s. This was an upgrade that I wanted to happen for a long time I just needed the right buyer and the right price, and that stimulus check was very helpful. However there was a significant delay in putting them up because the mounts that I ordered did not have the mounting clips, so AI sent me mounting clips for the 32 so they had to send me the original style clips. Tinkering with the lighting still but I think I've almost found the sweet spot for everything.
Future Additions:
I am currently on the hunt for either A) A nice flasher wrasse or B) A Lubbocks Fairy Wrasse. I have my guys at the LFS keeping an eye out for my from their resaler, but obviously due to current circumstances it's slim pickens, but that's fine I can wait. I am also looking into a slight reboot of the sps currently in the system and Am looking into some different Acro/Milli specimen that look interesting. Right now the current plan is to look into a BattleBox from Battle Corals and see what their all about. I've heard good reviews from Adam's customers and it may be my turn to see what he's got.
Wrapup:
Wow already at the end? Doesn't seem like much of an update? Honestly there isn't much to report because I haven't really done anything since the previous update minus the rescape the tank just keeps chugging along the next thing on my list of things to do is cut up my WWC superstar colony and get those guys on to frags so I can make some quick cash on the side.
Bunch more pictures of different pieces of the reef hit me up with comments questions or concerns because the school year is over and ya boy is scared to leave the house.
FTS
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.8
Calc: 414
Mag: 1500
Phos: .18
No3: 10
Rescape Part 2:
So its been awhile since the last update... but I'm a busy man with many things to do! Not really. Most of my days now consist of getting up, eating breakfast, walk 3-5 miles, shower, then either work on the daily crosswords and/or continue watching netflix. Its been long enough that part 2 of the rebuild could commence and it went by almost flawlessly. So far I really enjoy the new look and can't wait to move some pieces around to help fill it in (and get more coral).
However during the initial step of the rescape i misjudged how well attached the Neon green was to the front most rock in the scape. When I went to remove it I inadvertently ripped a 3" hunk of flesh off the stem of the toadstool. Suffice it to say that it, as well as the other corals in my tank were not happy. Currently running some carbon in an Aquaclear HOB to help clear out some of the toxins it released.
On this particular rock we have some utter chaos, fuzzynavels, gobstoppers, pink zippers, and rastas. I might add another to this rock but not 100% on which one to add.
Here is the new right side of the scape. It was completed using more caribsea liferock shapes (dome/helmet, archway, and the doughnut). it really has opened up the area much better than the previous structure and has allowed better flow to the sps frag rack on the right.
Losses/Additions:
As I predicted in the time during part 1 of the rescape and part 2 I manage to lose some corals namely my forest fire digi, and my JF BeachBum monti (that hurt like a big dog). I also loss one of the hammers, but I attribute that to a lack of light due to poor placement on my part. Oh well, I learned from my mistakes and hope I make few mistakes the next time I have to do this.
There is also some new frags from my boys at TSA a nice milli frag, some zoas, a PC rainbow and a Pavona Coral so I've had my work cut out for my looking for mounting locations for these guys.
Upgrade:
Upgraded my lighting from 2 AI Prime HDs to 2 AI Hydra 26s. This was an upgrade that I wanted to happen for a long time I just needed the right buyer and the right price, and that stimulus check was very helpful. However there was a significant delay in putting them up because the mounts that I ordered did not have the mounting clips, so AI sent me mounting clips for the 32 so they had to send me the original style clips. Tinkering with the lighting still but I think I've almost found the sweet spot for everything.
Future Additions:
I am currently on the hunt for either A) A nice flasher wrasse or B) A Lubbocks Fairy Wrasse. I have my guys at the LFS keeping an eye out for my from their resaler, but obviously due to current circumstances it's slim pickens, but that's fine I can wait. I am also looking into a slight reboot of the sps currently in the system and Am looking into some different Acro/Milli specimen that look interesting. Right now the current plan is to look into a BattleBox from Battle Corals and see what their all about. I've heard good reviews from Adam's customers and it may be my turn to see what he's got.
Wrapup:
Wow already at the end? Doesn't seem like much of an update? Honestly there isn't much to report because I haven't really done anything since the previous update minus the rescape the tank just keeps chugging along the next thing on my list of things to do is cut up my WWC superstar colony and get those guys on to frags so I can make some quick cash on the side.
Bunch more pictures of different pieces of the reef hit me up with comments questions or concerns because the school year is over and ya boy is scared to leave the house.
OP
OP
Dempsey941
Valuable Member
Reef Update #23: Overloaded with Frags and a New Fish
FTS:
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
*New Addition* Carpenters Wrasse - No Name Yet
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.4
Calc: 414
Mag: 1500
Phos: .18
No3: 10
New Additions:
Been a very busy few weeks for me in terms of additions to the reef tank in terms of new fish and new corals.
First is the newest fish a carpenters wrasse!
So far after a few weeks with the regular crowd he is very timid in relationship toward the others, which is not surprising given the nature of these wrasses, but I figure that if he's eating and swimming he will find his place in the hierarchy eventually. Currently he is residing in the cave substructure under the duncan near the center of the tank.
Made my first purchase with Adam at @Battlecorals and was very impressed with the corals received! Definitely a place I'll consider buying from again!
Especially this forest fire digi to replace the one I lost after the rescape.
There were also some really nice acros, digi, and stylo in this pack and very excited to see how these guy do in my system. So far they have had great polyp extension and I have started to see some growth on the digis and the stylo!
And @TopShelfAquatics those guys really kill me. They sent me some really sweet acros and so far they have been doing fantastic. I havn't seen any noticable growth yet, but with working from home I'm sure I'll notice when we grow another polyp taller.
Almost to many frags:
But with all these new frags lord help me every single one of the the 5 frag racks I have mounted to sides of my tank are full to the brim, mostly with zoas, and a couple of grow out pieces mainly some AOIs and Superstars but I also have this huge sunset monti that is almost finished reaching the edge of the 3 inch disk it's on. I'm still working on the best procedure to frag this guy currently the leading plan is to use a dremel to cut up the coral and the disk into frag sized pieces and start a new colony, but still thinking.
Honestly I'm not 100% on what to do with some of these frags most of them are nice, but just not something I'm overly interested in. What will most likely happen is ill just glue them to the zoa rock on the sand bed and let them decide their own fate, if only so I can have the front pane of my tank back
. In reality I would like to have the AOIs the Super Stars and maybe 3-5 other "grow out" colonies that I could, in theory, make some frag packs with for some extra dough, but that is so far ahead in the future that there might as well be flying cars there.
Things have been very quiet for me and and all the new additions to the reef have been very well received and are IMO thriving in their new homes where I hope they have a productive experience a grow quickly because no one likes small corals!
Anyway here are some extra pics feel free to drop a comment/question or concern because I literally have nothing to do anymore.
Lance says hi!
FTS:
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
*New Addition* Carpenters Wrasse - No Name Yet
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.4
Calc: 414
Mag: 1500
Phos: .18
No3: 10
New Additions:
Been a very busy few weeks for me in terms of additions to the reef tank in terms of new fish and new corals.
First is the newest fish a carpenters wrasse!
So far after a few weeks with the regular crowd he is very timid in relationship toward the others, which is not surprising given the nature of these wrasses, but I figure that if he's eating and swimming he will find his place in the hierarchy eventually. Currently he is residing in the cave substructure under the duncan near the center of the tank.
Made my first purchase with Adam at @Battlecorals and was very impressed with the corals received! Definitely a place I'll consider buying from again!
Especially this forest fire digi to replace the one I lost after the rescape.
There were also some really nice acros, digi, and stylo in this pack and very excited to see how these guy do in my system. So far they have had great polyp extension and I have started to see some growth on the digis and the stylo!
And @TopShelfAquatics those guys really kill me. They sent me some really sweet acros and so far they have been doing fantastic. I havn't seen any noticable growth yet, but with working from home I'm sure I'll notice when we grow another polyp taller.
Almost to many frags:
But with all these new frags lord help me every single one of the the 5 frag racks I have mounted to sides of my tank are full to the brim, mostly with zoas, and a couple of grow out pieces mainly some AOIs and Superstars but I also have this huge sunset monti that is almost finished reaching the edge of the 3 inch disk it's on. I'm still working on the best procedure to frag this guy currently the leading plan is to use a dremel to cut up the coral and the disk into frag sized pieces and start a new colony, but still thinking.
Honestly I'm not 100% on what to do with some of these frags most of them are nice, but just not something I'm overly interested in. What will most likely happen is ill just glue them to the zoa rock on the sand bed and let them decide their own fate, if only so I can have the front pane of my tank back
. In reality I would like to have the AOIs the Super Stars and maybe 3-5 other "grow out" colonies that I could, in theory, make some frag packs with for some extra dough, but that is so far ahead in the future that there might as well be flying cars there.Things have been very quiet for me and and all the new additions to the reef have been very well received and are IMO thriving in their new homes where I hope they have a productive experience a grow quickly because no one likes small corals!
Anyway here are some extra pics feel free to drop a comment/question or concern because I literally have nothing to do anymore.
Lance says hi!
Aaron Shapiro
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2019
- Messages
- 413
- Reaction score
- 265
Great tank thread. I’m looking forward to following!
OP
OP
Dempsey941
Valuable Member
Tank Up Date #23 Vacation Crash!
FTS
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI HYDRA 26
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
IceCap 2k Gyre
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.3
Calc: 420
Mag: 1350
Phos: .2
No3: 15
Obviously some stuff happened while I tried to get some R&R in an undisclosed location for 2 weeks...
It's no one's fault but my own, I accidentally put to much filter floss in the HOB filter I was using for supplemental filtration while I was away. The floss got clogged which forced the unit to over fill which caused the tank to drain out somewhere between 3-4 gallons of water. The end results weren't the end of the world most of my coral are still alive, and the only casualty in the livestock was the carpenter's wrasse. I say this because I've been back for 2 weeks I haven't seen him and I have looked everywhere inside and outside the tank. So I'm guessing he met his demise and the CUC did their job and didn't leave a trace. So the search resumes for another wrasse (or two) to add to the tank!
My sps for the most part are okay... I think All of my beautiful acros have lost all polyp extension and most have browned out on me, so I am trying to re acclimate them, but if I don't see improvement in maybe a month I'm going to assume I lost them. Its unfortunate because most of those guys were really cool pieces and if none of these pieces can come back that's just a lot of wasted value.
I deconstructed the old zoa garden arch and have made just a giant slab of zoas in the front corner of this tank. It, quite frankly, might be to many for me. I really am starting to look to reduce the sheer number of zoas in this system and allow just a handful remain a grow out into full colonies. For the most part I think I have the the maybe dozen or so zoas that I want to grow out into colonies for my own enjoyment and for potential resale down the line but right now I just was want to get everything in the system and go from there.
With the potential loss of nearly all of my sps looming what better way to drown my sorrow than to...buy more coral.
Enter World Wide Corals 13th Anniversary LiveSale. Now I had already secured a free frag because of a cheesy slogan they used in a promotion a few weeks back so I basically locked into participating in the live sale. The sale itself was good fun some interesting new pieces from WWC and overall I think I had a good haul.
I also went ahead and tacked on a SPS 5 pack because I had earned enough rewards points for a $50 coupon so I figure why not try and see what cool SPS WWC wants to throw at me.
Frags arrived in great condition as they usually do but I did take note at the unique lack of WWC swag in the box which is sad. Also I think there may have been a mix up with one of the frags in my order because that 6 polyp peanutbutter cup frag, when it showed up, had only 5 polyps on it. So I went ahead and started up an email to let WWC know that "Hey its not the same frag, but it's not a big deal" because I'm really am not going to go to war with them over one polyp on a small frag like this one. The most disappointing part of this box was the SPS frag pack. The WWC website lists 6+ potential options for SPS in this pack, and I got 2. 1 was an ORA Green Birdsnest, which if you flip back a couple of pages you know quickly they stuff grew in this system the first time, so who's ready for a weekly photo of the growth on the frag? All the other corals in the pack were variations of Montipora. I did specify in the notes that like branching sps over encrusters and they did give me a Digitata a Spongodes variety which met those requirements, but you mean to tell me you couldn't find a single ACRO back there??? so instead you toss me a green eggs and ham monti and a tyree flower petal monti.
So the livesale corals I got were great, but that sps pack was probably not worth it and I should have just saved those points for another order, or picked a different pack because IMO it wasn't worth it.
Anyway here are the picks of everything from the livesale stay safe!
FTS
Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI HYDRA 26
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
150W Eheim Jager
Apex DOS
IceCap 2k Gyre
Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"
Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.3
Calc: 420
Mag: 1350
Phos: .2
No3: 15
Obviously some stuff happened while I tried to get some R&R in an undisclosed location for 2 weeks...
It's no one's fault but my own, I accidentally put to much filter floss in the HOB filter I was using for supplemental filtration while I was away. The floss got clogged which forced the unit to over fill which caused the tank to drain out somewhere between 3-4 gallons of water. The end results weren't the end of the world most of my coral are still alive, and the only casualty in the livestock was the carpenter's wrasse. I say this because I've been back for 2 weeks I haven't seen him and I have looked everywhere inside and outside the tank. So I'm guessing he met his demise and the CUC did their job and didn't leave a trace. So the search resumes for another wrasse (or two) to add to the tank!
My sps for the most part are okay... I think All of my beautiful acros have lost all polyp extension and most have browned out on me, so I am trying to re acclimate them, but if I don't see improvement in maybe a month I'm going to assume I lost them. Its unfortunate because most of those guys were really cool pieces and if none of these pieces can come back that's just a lot of wasted value.
I deconstructed the old zoa garden arch and have made just a giant slab of zoas in the front corner of this tank. It, quite frankly, might be to many for me. I really am starting to look to reduce the sheer number of zoas in this system and allow just a handful remain a grow out into full colonies. For the most part I think I have the the maybe dozen or so zoas that I want to grow out into colonies for my own enjoyment and for potential resale down the line but right now I just was want to get everything in the system and go from there.
With the potential loss of nearly all of my sps looming what better way to drown my sorrow than to...buy more coral.
Enter World Wide Corals 13th Anniversary LiveSale. Now I had already secured a free frag because of a cheesy slogan they used in a promotion a few weeks back so I basically locked into participating in the live sale. The sale itself was good fun some interesting new pieces from WWC and overall I think I had a good haul.
I also went ahead and tacked on a SPS 5 pack because I had earned enough rewards points for a $50 coupon so I figure why not try and see what cool SPS WWC wants to throw at me.
Frags arrived in great condition as they usually do but I did take note at the unique lack of WWC swag in the box which is sad. Also I think there may have been a mix up with one of the frags in my order because that 6 polyp peanutbutter cup frag, when it showed up, had only 5 polyps on it. So I went ahead and started up an email to let WWC know that "Hey its not the same frag, but it's not a big deal" because I'm really am not going to go to war with them over one polyp on a small frag like this one. The most disappointing part of this box was the SPS frag pack. The WWC website lists 6+ potential options for SPS in this pack, and I got 2. 1 was an ORA Green Birdsnest, which if you flip back a couple of pages you know quickly they stuff grew in this system the first time, so who's ready for a weekly photo of the growth on the frag? All the other corals in the pack were variations of Montipora. I did specify in the notes that like branching sps over encrusters and they did give me a Digitata a Spongodes variety which met those requirements, but you mean to tell me you couldn't find a single ACRO back there??? so instead you toss me a green eggs and ham monti and a tyree flower petal monti.
So the livesale corals I got were great, but that sps pack was probably not worth it and I should have just saved those points for another order, or picked a different pack because IMO it wasn't worth it.
Anyway here are the picks of everything from the livesale stay safe!
Daniel@R2R
Living the Reef Life
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2012
- Messages
- 38,516
- Reaction score
- 67,449
- Location
- Fontana, California
- What state or country do you live in
- California
Beautiful photos here @Dempsey941! How's the reef doing?
