[WhatReef]

ummm yeah its eating the food i give it it just keeps going back and fourth from under the rock to out in the sun light so i dunno if its just the flow causing that or this is normal behaviour for an anemone but its still alive and doing fine so thats all that matters

[WhatReef]

Also this weekend i will be adding those rocks i have had curing for almost 4 weeks now and im pretty sure there ready to be added so this weekend i will be adding them stay tuned for pictures.

[BLKBRDTA]

Thats right, I almost forgot you still had that rock curing. Good luck with your aquascaping though, I know its pretty tough to get it just right. Its like when you find the right spot for a certain rock finally, then take a step back, and notice something else completely different on the other side that just isn't quite right lol. Its pretty much like a never ending process. But yea I will be checkin it out for sure.

[WhatReef]

I have also started culturing my own photoplankton for the first time ever so I guess i will have to cross my fingers and hopefully i have done everything correctly and I hopefully end up with some dark green water and not Brow water : )

[BLKBRDTA]

Try and get some pictures up on here of that stuff too man, i'm curious to see how its going. LR in yet?

[WhatReef]

Originally Posted by BLKBRDTA

Try and get some pictures up on here of that stuff too man, i'm curious to see how its going. LR in yet?

Will do, I got all the LR in the tank and have Aqua scapped it all but i was held up by my bubble anemone which is attached to one of my big rocks which i have to place on top of other rocks but the problem is that its on the bottom side of the rock si i cant do anything until i move this anemone somehow and its footed it self in a spot any idea how to get it off there? Other that that im really liking the look with the new LR in there, will post pictures asap.

[BLKBRDTA]

Hmm, I would try a few things, of course, all without touching it lol. First I would switch up the powerheads, either in one of two configurations. First would be to position them so the Anemone isn't getting much flow (or shutting them off for a little).. That may trigger him to move to a different location by himself.. If that doesn't work, then I would angle the powerhead towards him and see if that helps him scoot outta' the way.. If that doesn't work, then I would try shutting off the lights either a little earlier than usual, or for an hour or two and see if he starts moving around that way. Its hard to figure out a way of moving them around without stressing him out by touch.. Although I know people who have put on gloves and picked them up, but they usually don't like this and may loose tentacles..

[WhatReef]

perhaps aiming a korilia 4 at it would prob make it move i would think, its kinda my fault i placed it in a dumb spot to begin with, so its kinda my fault but i have a new perfect spot for it so it just a matter of moving it. thanks for the ideas : )

[BLKBRDTA]

Not a problem, let me know if the Nem decided to move from any of those techniques. Looking forward to some pictures! Laterrrrr mayne.

[WhatReef]

well i didn't have anytime last night to do any "fish" related things but i did come home to find that the tomato clown had jumped out of the tank and was on the floor, so i picked him up and he was still somewhat alive (ithink it had brain damage at this point) but i put him back in the tank and he swam up side down a bit and i should of netted him but he was fast, than he swam real fast down into the cave where my bit britle star lives, I think he was eaten cause the bristle was moving around alot when the fish swam in there : (

but my maroon clown has taking over his anemone but i still liked the tomato better : (

[BLKBRDTA]

Aw man that sux really bad. Poor little guy, seems to me you have some bad luck with the fish jumping out of your tank. Thats nuts that the brittle would chomp on him, almost like he knew he wasn't healthy or something. Well at least your Anemone won't be lonely now that your Maroon has taken over, but yes I agree, I prefer the Tomato's appearance overall. I have two False Perc's and I added an Algae Blenny the other day.. The Blenny swims up and down the glass by the clowns sand bed in the corner, and the clowns don't like that so the female swims away real fast and the male starts pecking at the Blenny's head and flicking his tail at him like he is swatting the water towards him.. Its actually pretty amusing.

[WhatReef]

yeah id rather the britle eat the fish than skunk up my tank decaying behind the rocks.

but last night i went out and bought an 8gig SD card for my camera got it home and it ddn't work how annoying is that.

im sure your blenny will be fine and learn what he needs to do lol

[BLKBRDTA]

Yea I gotcha with the whole decaying thing. I can't stand it when I lose a fish and can't find the body.. Then you have to pull all the rock work apart and its just a complete mess lol. Thats boguzness with the SD card though, 8 GB is plenty of storage space, go figure things never work out as they are planned. And yea, I think the Blenny is starting to catch on and stay more in the rock work. Did that Nem ever end up moving out of the way for you?

[WhatReef]

Nope the new never ended up moving so i ending up just placing the rock in a on the oopisite side which sucks cause i haves years of coraline algae growth on the other side of the rock but oh well i guess it likes that spot ALOT.

But anyways i finish aquascaping the take last night and in the process the maroon clown was attacking my hand everytime i was in the water, that little bugger lol
(scared me good the first time lol) anyways i was about to snap a few pictures for everyones viewing pleasure but mostly you Tony seeing as your the only guy who post anything on here anymore but alot of people do come check out the thread cause it has a ton of hits on it but anyways heres the pictures






I'll have to take a video of the tank as these pictures don't really do it justice at all.

this is what the old auqascape looked like

[BLKBRDTA]

Wow, what a difference that made! Seriously, it is built up so much more now and it looks perfect! Definitely a good thing adding more LR. When I was adding those Feather Dusters, its like my cleaner shrimp knew something new had entered the tank because he started scampering around fast but I didn't notice till I felt a little pinching on my arm then looked down and he was picking at me (scared me pretty good too at first lol.) And sorry for stealing the posts/thread from everyone else. I know a lot of members on here are registered but they choose to observe instead of post, you most definitely are getting plenty of hits though.. 3,300+! Anyways, no rush for the video take your time, although plenty of us are eager to see it hahaha.

Beauty!

[WhatReef]

yeah wasted space in a fish tank has always been a pet peave of mine lol so I really wanted that full look but at the same time i want to keep as much as the sand bed open for swimming and placing corals and things along the bottom and since i have metal halide lighting i may look into getting some SPS corals but prob not for a month or to as that LR i just put in was only cure for 4 weeks and it has raise the nitrates to 10ppm and amonia just a little bit, but hardly enough to worry about I just did a water change two days ago and tonight or tommorrow will do another one so im sure my Parameters will be back in check soon.

And incase anyone was wondering was it costs to run this tank monthly, I pay $40-$50 a month in hydro extra so if you ever decide to build something this size you know what your getting into.

Also i would appreciate everyones comments on the new aquascape as well

[Daddyoh1]

Hey Reef ! Been watching your progress and been astounded with each entry. Lookin real GOOD ! Been spending most of my time these days trying to educate myself more with this very expensive hobby lol. Thinking more these days about metal halites I guess that goes on my Santa's List this year, I really like the look they give the tank visited a new lfs using them and his tanks were immaculate and stock as for corals were impressive, fish were typical but healty looking. Bought the new birds nest really cheap compared to what we have seen, was going to buy more but the wife was in the car and I didn't feel like sleeping in the car last night . There is another new lfs that has openned too will catch that one another day since they are a bit further away from home ( 30-40 miles ) Keep up the nice work any thuoght of coming attractions ? Oh by the way I was thinking of you ( I believe it was you who had one,right ? ) when I saw this tank filled with purple Tangs (about 5") must have been at least 20 if not more, they weren't for sale but what a site, somebody will be paying big bucks for these.

[WhatReef]

Originally Posted by Daddyoh1

Hey Reef ! Been watching your progress and been astounded with each entry. Lookin real GOOD ! Been spending most of my time these days trying to educate myself more with this very expensive hobby lol. Thinking more these days about metal halites I guess that goes on my Santa's List this year, I really like the look they give the tank visited a new lfs using them and his tanks were immaculate and stock as for corals were impressive, fish were typical but healty looking. Bought the new birds nest really cheap compared to what we have seen, was going to buy more but the wife was in the car and I didn't feel like sleeping in the car last night . There is another new lfs that has openned too will catch that one another day since they are a bit further away from home ( 30-40 miles ) Keep up the nice work any thuoght of coming attractions ? Oh by the way I was thinking of you ( I believe it was you who had one,right ? ) when I saw this tank filled with purple Tangs (about 5") must have been at least 20 if not more, they weren't for sale but what a site, somebody will be paying big bucks for these.

Thanks! Daddyoh i have put alot of effort into this system and now i have turned most of my effort towards finishing the basement so i can enjoy the tank more and this past weekend some friends came over and helped with some of the framming so that is gong well and i also ordered new windows for the basement so Im very excited for everything to come together in the end and than i can invite everyone over to hang out and enjoy the tank. Also a few weeks ago i also replaced the sink in the fish room as well as all the taps cause the old ones were leaky and i added an extra valve for my R/O unit so that was a project in its self so il most likely post some pictures of the fish room up once i get that totally organized. So it will be an on going project but im a DIY guy and I believe anyone can do anything if they put there mind to it and thats always been my motto as i have never hired someone to do anything for me, plumbing, wiring, building, anything, all it takes is just research and a positive attitude mind you somethings should be left to the pro's but so far i havn't had to call them in yet lol Also it depends on where you buy purple tangs i have seen them range from $90-$250 it all depends on where your getting them from but if you plan on getting one i would hold off if there more than $200 cause thats just alot of money and there are plenty of online retailers who sell them for cheaper, but anyways keep in touch and i see your guys tank is coming alot very nicely, keep up the good work.

[WhatReef]

Well the lastest and the greatest is i made my first fish tank video with music : ) so i thought i would share it will you guys see what you think, sorry the quality is crappy thanks to photobucket but it does the trick i think so enjoy.

[WhatReef]

Also I have been working on culturing my own photoplankton for the first time and so far things have been going well i think.

List of things you need for culturing photoplankton:
2ltr pop bottles (clear)
1 air pump with one or two outlets
Air line hose
Air valve to control air flow
Floressent light (nothing special)
Wall socket timer
Starter algae (DT's or Algae disks)
Miracle Grow All Purpose liquid

Now that you know what you need here's how to make it happen. Keep in mind you can find lots of ways to do this on the internet, this is just a quick and painless way of reading up on it.

1. Drill the caps on the bottles to fit your air lines in but make sure the holes arent to tight as you want air to excape a little.

2. Add your NEW R/O saltwater (1.019)(not tank water) to the bottles leaving about 1" of air space at the top.

3. Next add 5ml of your starter algae culture (DT's) or disk to the bottles along with 1ml of Miracle Grown liquid per bottle.

4.Give the bottle a shake for good luck, insert your air line tubing making sure it goes to the bottom of the bottles there are rigid airline tubes you can buy to accomplish this better if need be.

5. Hopefully by now you have figured out how to attach your airlines to the valve which can be purchased at home depot (brass) or the plastic ones from your LFS.

6.now that you have your bottles started and your air lines set, go ahead and turn on the pump and adjust the bubbles to a steady boil but not to much which will inturn skim the water, you just want steady bigger bubbles, Fine bubbles are bad so DO NOT use air stones.

8. Place your bottles in a space where they stay at room temperature, I keep mine in a bucket but you can use a shelf or closet, which ever works best, perferably somewhere dark.

9. Plug your light into the Wall socket timer and set it for 16 hours ON and 8 hours OFF which is important and now place the light 1"-3" away from the bottles. Some say you can leave the lights on 24's a day but thats not natural atleast thats what i think.

10. Mark the start date on the bottles with black marker and now sit back and watch your bottles turn greener as the days go by. Your culture should only take a week or two to reach its maximum maturity and often this depnds on the starter culture. But if your culture has turned brown or yellowish that means it has died and this usually will only happen if:
A: You used tap water with chlorine in it, or tank water from a running tank.
B: You didn't clean the bottles good enough
C: Your culture has been contaminated some how from an out side source
D: You had a party and someone though it would be funy to poor something it your bottles lol just kidding.

The most important step though is to shake your bottles daily just so sludge doesnt build up on the bottom as this will kill the algae so you want it to be suspended in the bottles so shaking once daily is the key.

Also watch for frothing at the top of the bottles if this happens your culture of algae has gone soar and usually it will turn brown or yellowish.

The important thing to remember here is THIS WILL SAVE YOU LOTS OF MONEY OVER TIME

Good Luck!

Here some pictures of my cultures and equipment to give you an idea.

[WhatReef]

11. Sorry i guys i forgot this, after your cultures have stopped getting greener which should only take one to two weeks, its time to harvest, dump half of the bottles into other containers (pop bottles) and store in the fridge for tank feeding as necessary and with the half filled bottles add new saltwater (1.019) to them along with 1ml of miracle grow and start over again and in doing this you will have never ending free photoplankton which is endless but dont be sad if you loose a culture once in a while because its bound to happen, nothing is 100% fool proof but saving money is awesome!

And remember the greener the better.

Cheers All.

[michelle's ocean fantasy]

Garrett: What does the miracle grow do to the water parameters? This is probably a stupid question to master reefers out there--- but does it effect anything in the tank itself? The liquid food is safe to use? Woudl I be able to add this to my caulerpa to get it to grow faster? (tangs devour a bag full in a blink of an eye- hard to find around LFS)
PS: LOVE LOVE the video! the overall rockwork is nice, love your (daisy or clauveria?-think I have that wrong) love the xenia and the bubble coral! Also- the flow is SOOO noticeable! Great job!!

[michelle's ocean fantasy]

Garrett: what are you feeding your fish? In the above pictures attached to the magnet? Is that bok choy? Romaine? What type of green is that? I am ALWAYS on the lookout for algae, greens, seaweed- anything to give my tangs- their appetite is fierce! Right now I am trying to multiply the little patch od caulerpa I bought, have it growing/spreading in the octopus tank- then will put it in the main tank- for all of 3 minutes! I can't even get my hair algae to stay in the tank! WHAT do you suggest as a food substance that can be grown inside the tank?

[WhatReef]

Originally Posted by michelle's ocean fantasy

Garrett: What does the miracle grow do to the water parameters? This is probably a stupid question to master reefers out there--- but does it effect anything in the tank itself? The liquid food is safe to use? Woudl I be able to add this to my caulerpa to get it to grow faster? (tangs devour a bag full in a blink of an eye- hard to find around LFS)
PS: LOVE LOVE the video! the overall rockwork is nice, love your (daisy or clauveria?-think I have that wrong) love the xenia and the bubble coral! Also- the flow is SOOO noticeable! Great job!!

Thanks for the good feed back and thats a brain coral or maze as some call it i believe.

Miracles grow is simply just food for the photoplankton. The All-Purpose Plant Food has a 15-30-15 ratio, meaning that there is 15% Nitrogen, 30% Phosphate, and 15% Potash so this really will have no effect on your saltwater tank as it is saltwater based to begin with and once your photoplankton has absorbed it all theres no big deal, but i do encourage people to research growing photoplankton and learn of the common mistakes that can occur.
Photoplankton won't necessarally make your saltwater plants grow but it does however feed small rutifers in which would help increase your population of them in which if you were to keep a mandarin fish this would be essential but also i beleive that everything benefits from photoplankton as the entire ocean rely's on it so if you take a look at alot of nice tanks and experienced reefers they will all most likely make there own plankton or dose there tank with it non the less, hope that helps.

[WhatReef]

Originally Posted by michelle's ocean fantasy

Garrett: what are you feeding your fish? In the above pictures attached to the magnet? Is that bok choy? Romaine? What type of green is that? I am ALWAYS on the lookout for algae, greens, seaweed- anything to give my tangs- their appetite is fierce! Right now I am trying to multiply the little patch od caulerpa I bought, have it growing/spreading in the octopus tank- then will put it in the main tank- for all of 3 minutes! I can't even get my hair algae to stay in the tank! WHAT do you suggest as a food substance that can be grown inside the tank?

it is to difficult to grow algae in the tank for your fish to get enough to eat so you must always feed tham and again, photoplankton helps grow some algae in which my tangs do eat which is good but i feed them Romain lettuce twice a day along with Frozen-Plankton,Mysis,Brine,Spir illa Enrich Brine and twice a week i add a drop of garlic to the mix and let sit for 24's in the fridge and the reason i started feeding lettuce was that my Naso tang with only eat that and nothing else i have tried all the different seaweeds but he only spits them out but for some reason he eats the lettuce and it is very cheap to buyat only $2 a head and the fish enjoy it alot the only proble i have found is that when the naso poos lol there always lots of lettuce bits flying around the tank so i have yet to find something that they can eat that produces less waste, so i my experament with different lettuces anyways hope that helps.