Tony's 72g Mixed Reef Build
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TonysReef
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Please allow me to introduce my Storm DaVinci harem.
Will clean the glass and get better pictures when I turn the lights back on over the weekend. A few of the storms (bagged individually) were a little sluggish and laying in the sand for the first twenty minutes or so which had me concerned. But they all seem to have perked up and are playing in the current. Have the return pump on normal speed and MP10's down to the lowest setting. There are definitely areas of low flow in the tank, but they seem to have settled on playing right in front in decent flow for now. I'm not complaining.
Will clean the glass and get better pictures when I turn the lights back on over the weekend. A few of the storms (bagged individually) were a little sluggish and laying in the sand for the first twenty minutes or so which had me concerned. But they all seem to have perked up and are playing in the current. Have the return pump on normal speed and MP10's down to the lowest setting. There are definitely areas of low flow in the tank, but they seem to have settled on playing right in front in decent flow for now. I'm not complaining.
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TonysReef
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Cool build!
If the hair algae doesn’t go, depending on what fish you plan to keep longterm, a foxface will keep it in check
Thanks. Not a fan of foxfaces though, also not too worried about the algae for now. Will hopefully have a refugium soon to outcompete it. But for now until I get some anemones, it adds color to the tank. Also snails and crabs have been doing a fantastic job with it, but I didn't have enough of them until recently. It should start to fall back soon.
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TonysReef
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Saw this little guy this morning popping out of a rock. I would imagine aptasia, but would like confirmation before I attack...
Decided it probably was and even if not it definitely wasn't a carpet anemone or designer BTA, so it had to die. Used a heavy kalk mix and a syringe I just picked up. It got into the rock quickly, which also seemed to have an outlet, but hopefully I got the job done. Will keep an eye on the space.
Also working on getting some real camera shots of the fish today.
Decided it probably was and even if not it definitely wasn't a carpet anemone or designer BTA, so it had to die. Used a heavy kalk mix and a syringe I just picked up. It got into the rock quickly, which also seemed to have an outlet, but hopefully I got the job done. Will keep an eye on the space.
Also working on getting some real camera shots of the fish today.
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Yup, aiptasia. Been battling myself for months now...
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TonysReef
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Will actually clean the glass this week, charge the camera properly, and clean up some real images in photoshop later this week. But for now here is a more formal introduction to some of the harem:
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TonysReef
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So I got some cleanup crew from Marine Depot earlier this week, including two Tiger Sand Conchs, and I'm happy to say that love appears to be in the air..
I'm also happy to say that after having someone over to consult on my new sump, a suspicion was confirmed that the algae I have growing all over, which is in control by the way, is definitely not hair algae. But some sort of other macroalgae.
Here is an updated full tank shot from now, apologies for the blue color. I keep forgetting to order a filter for my phone, but just put the order through and it will arrive Monday.
Here is the custom sump I'm having built. Should be done this week and installed next Monday. It will be 22" front to back and take up the entire cabinet space. First chamber for Clarisea, Skimmer, and maybe a bio block or two. Second chamber for a refugium (planning on using coral rubble (calcium reactor material) as a base), third for return pump and maybe eventually a carbon/gfo reactor depending on space.
Also since I basically special ordered my clowns and some of the Da Vinci's weren't up to standard, I brought back 6 of them and am replacing them with 8 black storms, which should come in tomorrow. I know that ideally they should have all been added at once, but I'm hoping a week of separation won't be too bad, I'll be sure to feed a lot and do a water change right before I add them in to throw off the resident clowns. I would move some rocks around, but they're all still open water animals, so I don't think it would make a difference.
Also, Marine Depot throws in zooantids and a ricordia depending on how much you spend, so I have some canaries in the coal mine as far as anemones go. So far they're all doing great. No plans to start adding carpets until the new sump/refugium settles though. So it'll be maybe another three weeks, hopefully.
I'm also happy to say that after having someone over to consult on my new sump, a suspicion was confirmed that the algae I have growing all over, which is in control by the way, is definitely not hair algae. But some sort of other macroalgae.
Here is an updated full tank shot from now, apologies for the blue color. I keep forgetting to order a filter for my phone, but just put the order through and it will arrive Monday.
Here is the custom sump I'm having built. Should be done this week and installed next Monday. It will be 22" front to back and take up the entire cabinet space. First chamber for Clarisea, Skimmer, and maybe a bio block or two. Second chamber for a refugium (planning on using coral rubble (calcium reactor material) as a base), third for return pump and maybe eventually a carbon/gfo reactor depending on space.
Also since I basically special ordered my clowns and some of the Da Vinci's weren't up to standard, I brought back 6 of them and am replacing them with 8 black storms, which should come in tomorrow. I know that ideally they should have all been added at once, but I'm hoping a week of separation won't be too bad, I'll be sure to feed a lot and do a water change right before I add them in to throw off the resident clowns. I would move some rocks around, but they're all still open water animals, so I don't think it would make a difference.
Also, Marine Depot throws in zooantids and a ricordia depending on how much you spend, so I have some canaries in the coal mine as far as anemones go. So far they're all doing great. No plans to start adding carpets until the new sump/refugium settles though. So it'll be maybe another three weeks, hopefully.
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TonysReef
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Dropped off the last Da Vinci I wasn't happy with today and picked up 8 "black" storms. I learned on the spot that as juveniles they're actually brown, and once they grow a bit it develops into a solid black. You can imagine how I felt when I first picked up a bag though... From Sea and Reef's site: Early juvenile fish are dark brown, but turns jet black when they reach a size of 1 ¼ -1 ¾ inches.
Will obviously take better pictures as they get acclimated and color up. They all ate within like two hours of being in the tank with the rest of the crew and seem to fit in seamlessly, so really happy about that. Brings the total harem to 22.
In other news, I had been ignoring it but finally decided to search what might be making an annoying clicking noise in my tank. The general consensus seems to be pistol or mantis shrimp, neither of which I want and the clicking can get fairly annoying. One post I found said that if the click is isolated it's likely a mantis, if there are a few in succession then probably a pistol shrimp. Fortunately mine are typically a few in a row, so I'm not too worried about the clowns' safety for the moment.
Ordered a red flashlight to try to find the culprit in the middle of the night, which will get here Monday. But then this morning I realized that I actually already have a nice red flashlight in the form of my scuba camera's focus light. So I've got that out for the next two nights to do some sleuthing. Part of me still feels like it might be my emerald crabs, as I've noticed them making funny movements or messing with each other around the same time as clicks, but the interwebs doesn't seem to support that theory.
Will obviously take better pictures as they get acclimated and color up. They all ate within like two hours of being in the tank with the rest of the crew and seem to fit in seamlessly, so really happy about that. Brings the total harem to 22.
In other news, I had been ignoring it but finally decided to search what might be making an annoying clicking noise in my tank. The general consensus seems to be pistol or mantis shrimp, neither of which I want and the clicking can get fairly annoying. One post I found said that if the click is isolated it's likely a mantis, if there are a few in succession then probably a pistol shrimp. Fortunately mine are typically a few in a row, so I'm not too worried about the clowns' safety for the moment.
Ordered a red flashlight to try to find the culprit in the middle of the night, which will get here Monday. But then this morning I realized that I actually already have a nice red flashlight in the form of my scuba camera's focus light. So I've got that out for the next two nights to do some sleuthing. Part of me still feels like it might be my emerald crabs, as I've noticed them making funny movements or messing with each other around the same time as clicks, but the interwebs doesn't seem to support that theory.
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TonysReef
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So, I went to meet someone from here to pick up some zoas today and we decided to meet next to a reef store. Obviously had to stop in to see what they had and they had...
Me: Hey, how much is this Ritteri?
LFS: We got that in as a long tentacle four or five days ago, it's not for sale. But if you want it, $60
Me:
It's pretty white, but for such a great price I was willing to give it a chance. I planned to wait, eventually have my haddonis and ideally a ritteri or magnifica as a centerpiece in the rocks, so I guess we'll see how things turn out. I'm excited. Hope it colors up nicely.
Me: Hey, how much is this Ritteri?
LFS: We got that in as a long tentacle four or five days ago, it's not for sale. But if you want it, $60
Me:
It's pretty white, but for such a great price I was willing to give it a chance. I planned to wait, eventually have my haddonis and ideally a ritteri or magnifica as a centerpiece in the rocks, so I guess we'll see how things turn out. I'm excited. Hope it colors up nicely.
MrNYCeGuy
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Welcome back, and nice setup! Looks like things are going well so far. I myself just set up a 29-gallon Biocube four months ago so I know all of the challenges you're going through space, only having 2 LFS in NYC, and the inevitable new tank uglies. I'm here on the UES so if you need some advice on the NYC reef scene don't hesitate to reach out.
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TonysReef
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Yeah, if there is a community I'm interested in being a part of it. And I'm in Murray Hill, so practically neighbors.
And not a fan of either Manhattan store if I'm honest. Jersey has a few decent options, Brooklyn and Queens seem to be decent too.
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@NY_Caveman Might be helpful as well 
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Kind of a long shot, but I’ve got a scarlet hermit who does something with their shell when they’re puffing themself up for another crab that makes a disturbing clicking sound. Was very worried about a mantis or something and then finally caught them in the act. It’s weird, but at least it’s no longer a mystery.
Here’s hoping your mystery turns out equally innocuous.
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TonysReef
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So, bad news and good news and bad news.
Caught some movement this morning and it was a baby mantis shrimp (bad news) miraculously managed to get a hose and suck it out (good news). It's tiny though, like less than 1" and I can't imagine it was alone. I also caught some quick movement afterwards that wasn't anything I put in the tank. So I'm sure there are more (bad news).
Caught some movement this morning and it was a baby mantis shrimp (bad news) miraculously managed to get a hose and suck it out (good news). It's tiny though, like less than 1" and I can't imagine it was alone. I also caught some quick movement afterwards that wasn't anything I put in the tank. So I'm sure there are more (bad news).
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TonysReef
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Had a new sump made to maximize cabinet space:
Installed yesterday and it was almost a disaster as I didn't take into account space for the door hinges, I designed the sump to take up literally all of the space, fortunately it worked out in the end. One door is a little crooked and I don't have access to fix it properly, but I'm going to give it some thought and hopefully I can make something work.
Just threw in the chaeto today, happy to finally have a refugium section.
Have started the anemone collection and was thrilled to grab a porcelain crab the other day who has taken to the carpets:
Updated full tank shot:
I have some glue coming in on Monday so I can finally get the zoas distributed properly on some of the rocks and not have them sitting in the sand, which I hate. Also probably taking off the right MP10 as the BTA won't move away from it and I can't turn it on these days. Maybe I'll just ramp up the return pump to compensate..
Installed yesterday and it was almost a disaster as I didn't take into account space for the door hinges, I designed the sump to take up literally all of the space, fortunately it worked out in the end. One door is a little crooked and I don't have access to fix it properly, but I'm going to give it some thought and hopefully I can make something work.
Just threw in the chaeto today, happy to finally have a refugium section.
Have started the anemone collection and was thrilled to grab a porcelain crab the other day who has taken to the carpets:
Updated full tank shot:
I have some glue coming in on Monday so I can finally get the zoas distributed properly on some of the rocks and not have them sitting in the sand, which I hate. Also probably taking off the right MP10 as the BTA won't move away from it and I can't turn it on these days. Maybe I'll just ramp up the return pump to compensate..
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Looking good ! ! !
