And if all goes well.... - A 37 gallon journal. [Archive]

Jordan N.

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 04:11 AM

Hello MAAST,

A couple of weeks ago my older brother Corruption talked me into getting back into the fish keeping hobby. (.....It didn't take much.) This isn't my first foray into fish keeping; Just the first saltwater tank. Until about a year and a half ago when I broke it all down I had a 2.5 nano, 5 gallon betta, and a 10 gallon all running.

Anyways, I bought a 37 gallon Oceanic off of Z28PWR this saturday. It was running when I picked it up and the Rock was out for less than an hour and a half so hopefully I will be able to skip a lot of the "New Tank Syndrome". If all goes well I'll start adding stock somewhere in January.

This is the Stock list so far. I actively encourage second guessing me here, I'm still pretty flexible and would like to hear any recommendations for good livestock for this set up. Also if anyone knows about Longnose Hawkfish I would love your thoughts about mixing one into this set up. I've heard alot of varying opinions on their minimum tank size.

*2 GCR Onyx Clowns (These are the centerpiece of the tank.)
*1 Midas or Tail Spot blenny (Leaning toward the midas ATM)
*1 Carpenters Wrasse

I'm not really committed to anything as far as corals at this point. My general idea is to start out with Zoas ( If anyone wanted to give the newbie a frag I certanily wouldn't complain.:angel:) and some ricordea to get the hang of keeping coral then move on to easier LPS like Frogspawn (hopefully to be hosted by the clowns) and Caulastrea. Lighting is going to be a 150w MH pendant with supplementary actenics.

And on to the pictures

Getting the Tank Home
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/97/dsc0180m.jpg
[Salt water from the original set up, trash bags of live rock, and a Marineland canister filter]

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/7944/dsc0183l.jpg
[The tank in my brother & wifes van.]

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/8136/dsc0206i.jpg
[15 gallons of RO water, Salt, and a Mixing bucket]

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/3428/dsc0208o.jpg
[First Time mixing salt. Tropic Marin: Pro Reef if any one cares.]

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/8145/dsc0210y.jpg
[Rocks laid out to figure out how I'm going to aquascape.]

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/3500/dsc0213m.jpg
[The idea I came up with. Has gone through many revisions. Some I took pictures of; Some I didn't]

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/7195/dsc0276v.jpg
[Revision number 2]

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5301/dsc0290w.jpg
[Revision number 4 I think.]

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9566/dsc0302y.jpg
[The tank as it sits now, still a bit foggy from kicking up the sand. I think I'm finally satisfied. I may figure out a way to raise the large branch higher into the tank.]

corruption

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 05:19 AM

Lookin' good, little bro! I think you meant LPS like frogspawn and caulastrea, not SPS ;)

Are you still running the canister for sparkling up the water?

-Corruption

Jordan N.

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 05:27 AM

Lookin' good, little bro! I think you meant LPS like frogspawn and caulastrea, not SPS ;)

Are you still running the canister for sparkling up the water?

-Corruption

That is a pretty bad typo.

Yeah the canister is still polishing the water.

If I wanted to attach the largest branch to the rock behind it how would you recommend going about it? Some kind of epoxy or drilling acrylic posts?
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/303/dsc0304j.jpg

corruption

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 05:56 AM

I'd try an epoxy first -- less work, assuming it pulls off what you're aiming for :)

-Corruption

hobogato

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 08:13 AM

great start

Kristy

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 10:11 AM

The Longnosed hawk is a great fish! They are very intelligent and will perch on things and watch everything going on in the tank (they watch you like a hawk! :wink_smile:

I would not consider them to need much swimming room, as they just mostly perch on things, even perch in the corner, etc. However, they are NOTORIOUS jumpers so you would have to have a good cover on the tank, but then again, you are looking at a wrasse and they are also known to jump so perhaps you have already thought about that? Nothing more frustrating than losing a perfectly healthy fish because it was so excited about its next meal that it leaped out of the tank and did a carpet dive.

Bear in mind also that the hawks will tear up any ornamental shrimp (even the big ones eventually) you might like to keep, so if you had plans for any of those in your tank, then you might not want to go that route.

Pennies2Cents

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 10:14 AM

We got a few zoa's we can give. :)

Mr Cob

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 10:39 AM

That's a nice tank...I'm sure many of us have been eye balling it since Jose first posted it up for grabs.

Can't wait to see more pics of it up and runnning.

Europhyllia

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 10:41 AM

I really like that you documented it step-by-step. :)
Have fun!

corruption

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 10:41 AM

txav8r

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 10:45 AM

Great start man. Love the step by step pics.

Jordan N.

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 02:11 PM

However, they are NOTORIOUS jumpers so you would have to have a good cover on the tank, but then again, you are looking at a wrasse and they are also known to jump so perhaps you have already thought about that?

Bear in mind also that the hawks will tear up any ornamental shrimp (even the big ones eventually) you might like to keep, so if you had plans for any of those in your tank, then you might not want to go that route.

I'm thinking i will probably end up putting eggcrate over the tank; waking up to a dried out fish isn't my idea of fun....

To bad to hear that they will go after even the large shrimp, I had planned to put a cleaner in there. (Honestly the hawk is probably cooler to me then the shrimp though.)

We got a few zoa's we can give. :)
:wub:

I would really appreciate it; In a month or two though, since i'm not quite set up for corals juuust yet.

That's a nice tank...I'm sure many of us have been eye balling it since Jose first posted it up for grabs.

Can't wait to see more pics of it up and runnning.

I really like that you documented it step-by-step. :)
Have fun!

Expect many more pictures as I get it all up and running, I enjoy taking them.

Jordan N.

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 02:16 PM

We have the same 37 gal cube here at our house -- its the wife's planted community freshwater tank, full of tetras and plants... its the tank design that really sold him over on getting back into fishkeeping -- I just happened to remember that Jose had it listed :)

The rest is, as they say, history! :D

-Corruption

Yeah, pretty much. At that time I was planning a FW cichlid tank(Blue rams and cardinal tetras) . The giant black Friday sale at Gabes had a big impact on me deciding to switch to SW. And seeing maast, having a local community seemed like fun.

I hope you don't mind if I post this.
http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/4396/dsc0231w.jpg

Big_Pun

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 02:31 PM

Jordan N.

Tue, 15th Dec 2009, 02:39 PM

nice planted tank, i always wanted to do a planted tank but didnt want to mess with the Co2 gear, great start on the reef, when your ready for coral let me know i always have some type of hardy frags i got mushrooms and kennyi trees right now, and if your brother doesnt get to me before you i have this cool algae he was eyeing, and some other diff macro you put in the display that look nice

Yeah, the point when I was seriously looking for a distributer of pressurized C02 was the moment when I realized I was making this more complicated as a reef tank. (or at least equally) Not to mention I would have needed to balance SA water at a PH of 6.5 to 7 or the rams would keel over....

*Edit: I wanted to mention that that planted tank doesn't have a pressurized C02 system.

Again I really do appreciate the offers for frags; I posted that mainly as a joke but apparently MAAST is just that awesome....

Expect a pm in a while.

Jordan N.

Tue, 22nd Dec 2009, 05:35 PM

Hello MAAST!

Just a small update today but I figured I should toss a few pictures up in this thread. Hopefully I'll be adding my first fish 2 to 3 weeks, I have a gorgeous Midas Blenny on hold at Gabes right now. (If you read this know I really do appreciate it.)

Onto the pictures!

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4387/dsc0055p.jpg
Borrowed a Basic test kit from my brother to see where I was in the cycle --results were as follows.

Salinity: 1.024
Ph: Between 8.1 and 8.2
Alk: 1.5
Ammonia: Free: 0 Total: .05
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: Somewhere in the mid 20's

So it looks like I'm on the tail end of the cycle, with that out of the way I added my first livestock; Snails!

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/4300/dsc0059w.jpg

Big_Pun

Tue, 22nd Dec 2009, 10:07 PM

lol that's funny my sister was trying to get gabe to sell her that fish, looking good

Third Coast Tropical

Tue, 22nd Dec 2009, 11:00 PM

You have a light for it yet? I saw you were going to put a MH on it, just haven't seen it in the pics. Looks good.

corruption

Tue, 22nd Dec 2009, 11:21 PM

No light yet, but a certain widely celebrated holiday that is fast approaching is likely to change that -- along with a few other goodies :D

-Justin

txav8r

Tue, 22nd Dec 2009, 11:24 PM

I know where you can get a good deal on airstones!:bigsmile:

justahobby

Tue, 22nd Dec 2009, 11:51 PM

That's a sweet FW tank. One of these days I will have one (as if SW will ever consume less of my time).

Jordan N.

Wed, 23rd Dec 2009, 12:05 AM

You have a light for it yet? I saw you were going to put a MH on it, just haven't seen it in the pics. Looks good.

No light just yet. It is going to be a 150w Halide pendant once I get it.

http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-Metal-Halide-Pendant-150W-with-T5-p/54241.htm

lol that's funny my sister was trying to get gabe to sell her that fish, looking good

That is pretty funny, It's a small world huh?

Also, the blenny is mine.....

:innocent2:

-Jordan N.

Jordan N.

Sun, 27th Dec 2009, 05:13 PM

I'll say off the bat this is going to be a picture heavy update.

So earlier in the thread my brother hinted that I should expect a care package come Christmas; well he and my parents exceeded anything I would have even dreamed of.

The Loot
---
Oceanic Super Skimmer 65
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/4927/dsc0004tn.jpg

CPR Hang On Tank Refugium (From my brother Corruption)
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/1201/dsc0001n.jpg
I had unfortunate accident with this the day after christmas; I knocked into a door I was walking through and one of the two support arms broke clean off.:cry_smile:

Thankfully our president Ace (Hobogato) swooped down and saved the day, he reattached the broken arm. :bigsmile: (Thanks again.)
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/2374/dsc00012j.jpg

Here's the refuguim repaired and waiting to go on the tank.
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/7458/dsc0019fr.jpg

Vortech Mp-10
http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7300/dsc0005u.jpg

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/5411/dsc0007rl.jpg

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/3159/dsc0009zj.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/2319/dsc00052wj.jpg

Odyssea Metal Halide Pendant 150W with T5 (http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-Metal-Halide-Pendant-150W-with-T5-p/54241.htm)

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/264/dsc0011ob.jpg

http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/1229/dsc00042cv.jpg

I also picked up some EggCrate to cover the tank with.
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/6571/dsc0015cx.jpg

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/7480/dsc0016c.jpg

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/5609/dsc0017mt.jpg

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/706/dsc0018sl.jpg

I also picked up a cleaner shrimp from gabe's on saturday; I think she is by herself as intersting as my entire 10 gallon freshwater tank. Sorry about the poor quality pictures, I still need to work on my in tank shots.

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/2817/dsc0003dj.jpg

And finally a full tank shot just for fun.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/3292/dsc0012b.jpg

Europhyllia

Sun, 27th Dec 2009, 05:15 PM

Very, very nice :)

diego

Sun, 27th Dec 2009, 08:36 PM

I think you got hooked up for sure. Let me know how that skimmer runs and especially that MP-10. I really want an MP-10.

corruption

Sun, 27th Dec 2009, 11:57 PM

The MP10 is sweeeet in his setup -- it doesn't create a huge standing wave, but he's got a nice 1" pulse going across the tank... took us about 15 minutes to tune in on Xmas night.. not a crazy flow, but comfortably vigorous -- turbulence everywhere :)

Nice job on the repair, Ace! Thanks for saving the day! :D

-Justin

saabtech

Mon, 28th Dec 2009, 12:05 AM

wow. that a sweet Christmas loot. can you post a vid of the wave?

Jordan N.

Mon, 28th Dec 2009, 12:44 AM

I think you got hooked up for sure. Let me know how that skimmer runs and especially that MP-10. I really want an MP-10.

At the moment the skimmer is sending out a ton of bubbles, It's been declining since I got it though, so hopefully it's just breaking in. The MP10 on the other hand is just straight up awesome.

wow. that a sweet Christmas loot. can you post a vid of the wave?

I'll see if I can steal the family camera for a video tomorrow.

Jordan N.

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 07:04 PM

Added a cardinal today only to watch it slowly die over the next 4 hours. This is a depressing hobby; I guess thats what I get for rushing. No pictures, no one wants to see that. He started gasping for air in the bag and it only got worse when I added him to the tank. He just kinda sank to the bottom.

I added a Zoanthid frag and a ricordea mushroom a day or so ago, both are open and looking good. I'll snaps some pictures when I don't feel guilty just looking at my tank.

RIP Bangaii Cardinal

-Jordan N.

Europhyllia

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 07:14 PM

Oh that's terrible. Bangaii Cardinals are often available tank raised. They tend to be much hardier and of course have endured less shipping stress.

Jordan N.

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 07:31 PM

Oh that's terrible. Bangaii Cardinals are often available tank raised. They tend to be much hardier and of course have endured less shipping stress.

Yeah, I originally intended to order it off of Liveaquaria.com but I remembered gabe had one and got impatient. I'll probably order from there once I'm ready to add a fish again. Honestly the fist started to look worse before I added him in but I need to be 100% sure it wasn't my water.

Just makes me feel terrible though, When I dropped him in he got pulled right up against my mp10 --He didn't have the strength to swim away. :cry_smile:

-Jordan N.

Jordan N.

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 07:44 PM

And just to cheer this up a little here are some happier pictures.

Both the zoanthids and the Ricordea came from coralmorphologic.com

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/1007/dsc0010wck.jpg
[Acclimating Ricordea]

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/4418/dsc0015uz.jpg
[Attached to the branch with super glue; This was taken 30 minutes after acclimation, it's even brighter now.]

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2600/dsc0011ih.jpg
[Zoanthids acclimating, 27 heads, green skirt, then purple, then green center. They didn't open until today and I don't feel like taking any pictures right now.]

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/8569/dsc0012pox.jpg
[My cleaner shrimp "helping" to arrange the new coral.]

-Jordan N.

diego

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 07:49 PM

So tell me about your experience with coralmorphalogic. I am thinking about saving up for the 12 pack of ricordea for $100. Should I do it?

Jordan N.

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 07:55 PM

MY brother and I made a group order out of it; everything arrived quickly and well packed. I'm sure he'll post some pictures of his soon enough. I would definitely recommend them.

-Jordan N.

Europhyllia

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 08:12 PM

I have a Fire Shrimp and really like that he hops on board every time I stick my hand in it. They are so brave!

Jordan N.

Thu, 31st Dec 2009, 08:15 PM

I have a Fire Shrimp and really like that he hops on board every time I stick my hand in it. They are so brave!

Yeah, Mine pops out of his hiding spot and stares at me anytime I walk up to the tank; If my hand goes in he's already ready to pounce. :D

I have a feeling he'll become more reclusive once I start adding fish but we'll see. I'm probably going to add another down the line --I just think they're too cool.

-Jordan N.

Jordan N.

Sat, 2nd Jan 2010, 02:00 PM

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/495/dsc0020nv.jpg
[My little Zoa colony. Anyone have any experience using the Nikon d40 for in tank shots? I'm have trouble getting everything in focus.]

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/1851/dsc0017v.jpg
[As you can see I've had a brown Diatom explosion over the past few days; Not really worried about it, I've been expecting it for awhile.]

Also, does anyone have a handful of cheato they could spare? My fuge is pretty much ready to start up --I just need some macro algae.

nubz

Sat, 9th Jan 2010, 08:56 PM

thats a good looking tank, cant wait, im gonnas setup a 30g reef with a 40g sump/ refugium

Jordan N.

Sun, 10th Jan 2010, 05:57 PM

thats a good looking tank, cant wait, im gonnas setup a 30g reef with a 40g sump/ refugium

Thank you for the compliments! Be sure to post a journal once you get the tank set up --It's always fun to live vicariously through my fellow reefers.

Not a whole lot going on in the tank right now, I haven't tried to add another fish since the bangaii cardinal episode. Thinking I may let the tank sit fallow for a while and let it go through the 'New Tank Syndrome' fishless. So yeah --I've pretty much just been watching the grass grow...

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5708/dsc0025a.jpg
[the grass sure grows fast.... Today was the first day it didn't seem to spread hugely overnight. seeing some cyano starting to form in the side of the tank opposite the mp10. probably one of the few spots in the tank with a low enough flow for it to form.]

I've been kicking around 2 stocking plans lately; I'd like to toss them out there before I execute on either. Always better to catch problems up front.

A
2 Onyx Clowns
1 Fang blenny (Probably canary since they seem to be the most available.)
1 Royal Gramma
[The Gramma is the one I'm most unsure of in this mix --from eveything I've read the fang blennys don't tend to strike unless provoked, if the royal gramma provokes them he'll be on the loosing end....]
[Also the primary idea of this stocking is that all of these fish are commonly tank bred.]

B
2 Onyx clowns
1 Midas Blenny (Could also be changed to a Bi-colour blenny; that would give me all fish that come from Indonesia, leaving the option of a biotype tank later on.)
1 6-Line Wrasse

Jordan N.

Sun, 10th Jan 2010, 06:03 PM

Also, does anyone have a handful of cheato they could spare? My fuge is pretty much ready to start up --I just need some macro algae.

Feel free to disregard this --I got some cheato and grape calpura from my brother and Mr. Cob.

diego

Sun, 10th Jan 2010, 08:07 PM

corruption

Sun, 10th Jan 2010, 11:22 PM

I have always liked the royal gramma. They are not agressive. I currently have a fang blenny. It is my second one (the first was a canary). My current one is the striped. So I guess I would go with A. I also like the six lines but they can be bullies.

I would disagree about the Grammas -- they have just as much potential to be bullies as the 6-lines, IMO. Both stocking plans seem fine to me -- should be more than ample hiding places for a blenny, gramma or wrasse to avoid aggression, and the clowns will likely just be doing their own thing. :)

-Justin

Jordan N.

Mon, 11th Jan 2010, 07:07 PM

I have always liked the royal gramma. They are not agressive. I currently have a fang blenny. It is my second one (the first was a canary). My current one is the striped. So I guess I would go with A. I also like the six lines but they can be bullies.

Glad to hear you've had success with the 2 fish I was most concerned about. What do you think of the fang blennies in general? And where did you get the striped blenny? I really want a Meiacanthus nigrolineatus but I'm not having a ton of luck finding one. I bet when I do the price will be sky high.

I would disagree about the Grammas -- they have just as much potential to be bullies as the 6-lines, IMO. Both stocking plans seem fine to me -- should be more than ample hiding places for a blenny, gramma or wrasse to avoid aggression, and the clowns will likely just be doing their own thing. :)

-Justin

Thats kinda what I was thinking, both can be potentially agressive. Which ever I end up choosing I'll make sure that they are the last fish added to the tank --keep them from claiming a huge territory.

-Jordan N.

Jordan N.

Tue, 12th Jan 2010, 05:14 AM

Oh my god, my cleaner shrimp just scared the hell out of me. I walked up and saw an antennae pointing in an odd direction --I looked closer and saw a crumpled up cleaner shrimp and a nassarius snail eating it. :cry_smile:

Totally thought something had gone horribly wrong; I had noticed the shrimp had stayed still most of the day and hadn't seen her since lights out. After freaking out for about 5 minutes I looked back behind the tank at her normal spot --and there she was. :whew:

Molts are scary.

-Jordan N.

corruption

Tue, 12th Jan 2010, 05:18 AM

That they certainly can be... We had a similar "uh-oh...." moment the first time we witnessed it... Wait til you get to actually see the process, and actual molt, in person! Quite cool to watch -- reminds me of the 'legendary Phoenix rising from the ashes' idea :)

-Justin

Jordan N.

Tue, 12th Jan 2010, 05:24 AM

Yeah, I bet it would be crazy to see. I think I actually saw when she broke free --At one point I saw her swim away from the spot where the molt was really quickly and then didn't see her move again.

I have a feeling it wasn't the easiest molt. It looks like one of her legs broke off a bit short -I wonder if it got stuck.

-Jordan N.

diego

Tue, 12th Jan 2010, 09:36 AM

I love the fang blennies. I love how they sleep. My canary used to sleep on my mag float. My striped blenny looks like he is standing in the corner. Very unusual. I got the striped blenny from GCReef. I have heard that they don't live a long life like the clownfish.

diego

Tue, 12th Jan 2010, 09:36 AM

I guess I got lucky with mine. You just never know.

I would disagree about the Grammas -- they have just as much potential to be bullies as the 6-lines, IMO. Both stocking plans seem fine to me -- should be more than ample hiding places for a blenny, gramma or wrasse to avoid aggression, and the clowns will likely just be doing their own thing. :)

-Justin

corruption

Tue, 12th Jan 2010, 09:57 AM

Yes -- very likely.. All the basslets have aggression potential in their veins -- the dottybacks are just the worst of the lot. Grammas, anthias, those sold simply as 'basslets' all have the same aggression potential, they just tend to have as many success stories as they do horror stories.

-Justin

Jordan N.

Sat, 23rd Jan 2010, 08:03 PM

Hello Maast!

I've been quite in her for a while now --I hit a point after the bangaii died where I became a lot more patient and a lot less sure where I wanted to go with my tank.

At this point I came across a thread on the marine depot forums that really inspired me to go in a different direction then the typical hobbyist tank. This tank was put together buy a guy living in the philippines who collected all of his livestock himself. He was doing his best to recreate the real reef --Which isn't really the most colorful thing in the world.

http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic94112-9-1.aspx
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/8760/temp54.jpg
It's gorgeous isn't it? :wub:

After reading through that 40 page thread I just haven't felt satisfied with a normal tank --I wanted something much more balanced and natural.

I was bouncing back on forth on making a biotype until brads excellent presentation at the meeting on GCR reef. After that i knew I just wouldn't be satisfied with a box of corals. (No offense to anyone --That kind of tank can be really pretty!)

I've gone through two serious ideas for biotopes; I eventually settled on the second because it is a bit more workable in my current set u and doesn't require feeding a ton of NPS coral.

The first idea was a Caribbean reef wall biotope.

I would have had to drill the back of my tank and add a sump for this tank idea. After I drilled it I would have made a foam and rock wall along the back wall of the tank (Think Mr.Cobs Tank) and then covered the wall in various macro algeas and assorted gorgonians. (Maybe an acro or two at the top if I found one that looked like a brown staghorn)

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1472/grammasandmacroalgae.jpg
That was my reference picture.

The back wall would have had multiple caves for my centerpiece fish --The royal gramma. The other fish probably would have been a Caribbean centropyge and perhaps a jawfish.

I'll post the rest later. I'm out of time.

-Jordan N.

hobogato

Sat, 23rd Jan 2010, 08:06 PM

cool, look forward to seeing the direction you will take...

Europhyllia

Sat, 23rd Jan 2010, 08:07 PM

Exciting! I get the feeling this will be a really outstanding 37g!

corruption

Sat, 23rd Jan 2010, 10:54 PM

When he sets his mind to something, he tends to pretty well go full-tilt... I expect this to be a fun adventure to watch, and I envy his patience... I'm too impulsive for my own good when it comes to corals -- I'm hooked like a junkie :) Hoping to wrangle his patient eye and planning expertise for our 57 gallon bubble tip tank thats in the works -- would like to make it an accurate representation of where you would naturally find Entacmaea quadricolor as possible...

Can't wait to see how this all ends up!

-Justin

Mr Cob

Sat, 23rd Jan 2010, 11:19 PM

Jordan... that's awesome that you are putting so much thought into your setup! Did you decide on what biotope yet? Man, I was pretty inspired at Brad's presentation also, to do a biotope...but that's not going to happen any time soon, so I'll be following along closely to live my dreams through your thread. LOL.

corruption

Sun, 24th Jan 2010, 12:52 AM

He has -- but I won't spoil his thunder... pretty sure he posted the above while he was on break at work, I'm sure the rest of the story is coming soon :D

-Justin

Jordan N.

Tue, 26th Jan 2010, 04:25 PM

Sorry to make everyone wait for the second half, I ran out of time while I was typing it out during my break and then once I got off work I went straight to researching my biotope.

Speaking of that biotope.....

My tank is gong to be an indo-pacific fore reef --The area where the sea grass meadows and the patch reefs meet.

http://www.climateshifts.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/coral1.jpg

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/6880/reefhabitat1500px.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5258/reefhabitat1500px1.jpg

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6089/patchreef500copya.jpg

So imagine a cross between those areas --pictures of exactly where I'm talking about are somewhat hard to come by. The first picture is the closest.

This tank is going to be pretty light on coral. At the moment I'm thinking about 4 or so colonies of hard 'SPS' corals on my out cropping of rocks. Then I just let them grow in --After all they can get bigger than my entire tank n the wild. Probably one colony of Zoanthus and 1 colony of Heteroxenia if I'm feeling risky....

I'm still trying to narrow down which hard corals are the most accurate to the region. (And available in the hobbyist trade) Unfortanatly a lot of this information is pretty hard to come by --especially when you try to get down to the genus level. I would love to get some book recommendations on this topic if anyone knows a good one.

Here are some of the genus that are common to my area of the reef.

Porites (From what i've read these are the MOST common coral in the fore reef.)
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/9369/porite400.jpg

Pocillopora
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/1535/pocilloporafull.jpg

Pavona
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/7645/pavonafull.jpg

Acropora (Though less common than the ones mentioned above)(I assume we all know what acro's look like.)

I am also going to be adding another few inches (for a total of around 4 in.) of sand to my sand bed in order for me to grow sea grasses. unfortunately Indo-pacific sea grass isn't very available in the trade --I'll use it if I can find it but it's much more likely that I'll go for a caribean sea grass.

Either halodule wrightii
http://research.myfwc.com/images/gallery/halodule1_2203.jpg

or Halophila Decipiens
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/535901457_1bce0323d6.jpg

One odd thing i'm considering adding to my tank is Sargassum, anyone have any experience with it's care? I would also appreciate any recommendations of other attractive macro algea.
http://www.naturalsciences.org/microsites/education/deepsea/images/sargassumL.jpg

Gonna need the uptake of the algea cause once I get the DSB established this tank is going skimmerless. All Natural baby!

The stocking is a bit up in the air at the moment --I added a bicolor blenny but I'm not sure if I still want to add the onyx clownfish to the tank. Clownfish certainly occur in this area in the wild but NEVER without an anemone. And honestly I just can't see my self adding a carpet to this tank...

One thing I've considered is a small school of trimma goby's. It would be quite fun to watch them hide in the branches of my coral. (Though with the shoal grass I might just never see them at all.

The tank has also undergone a rescape --I just picked up my camera to take some shots of it but it looks like my batterys are dead. :blushing:

Anyways, thats what I've got so far. Comments and criticism are appreciated.

Jordan N.

Tue, 26th Jan 2010, 04:32 PM

cool, look forward to seeing the direction you will take...

Exciting! I get the feeling this will be a really outstanding 37g!
I hope it comes out well --It's not going to be attractive in the typical way but it comes out even halfway as good as I'm imagine it it should be interesting at least.

Jordan... that's awesome that you are putting so much thought into your setup! Did you decide on what biotope yet? Man, I was pretty inspired at Brad's presentation also, to do a biotope...but that's not going to happen any time soon, so I'll be following along closely to live my dreams through your thread. LOL.

Always glad to let another reefer live vicariously through me --God knows I live vicariously through them. The above post answers the other question I think. :bigsmile:

Jordan N.

Tue, 26th Jan 2010, 04:49 PM

corruption

Tue, 26th Jan 2010, 08:30 PM

Can't wait to see the end results here -- you've got some great ideas and I envy your patience :)

-Justin

Europhyllia

Tue, 26th Jan 2010, 08:38 PM

very nice. I wisj I was that disciplined.

corruption

Tue, 26th Jan 2010, 08:40 PM

BTW little bro -- we need to get together still to discuss that other project.. I'm off Thursday, and I've got some ideas :)

-Justin

Jordan N.

Tue, 26th Jan 2010, 11:59 PM

Can't wait to see the end results here -- you've got some great ideas and I envy your patience :)

-Justin

very nice. I wisj I was that disciplined.

Lets be careful about talking up my patience too much just yet --It's a lot easier to say I won't easier to be patenient now than it is on month 4 or 5 without adding anything. And then at least a year for the sand bed to mature before adding the sea grass. :hypnotyized:

All i'm saying is don't be surprised if i'm starting a nano in a few months. :angel:
(Knowing me it will probably end up being Gramma Lorento biotope. :wink_smile:)

-Jordan N.

Europhyllia

Wed, 27th Jan 2010, 12:02 AM

Yes but at least you have good intentions. I'd just be searching the internet for old sand! lol

Jordan N.

Wed, 27th Jan 2010, 12:04 AM

BTW little bro -- we need to get together still to discuss that other project.. I'm off Thursday, and I've got some ideas :)

-Justin

Ah, the secret project yes.

I'm free Thursday before 5 --After that I go into work. I'm working everday except tomorrow and friday. I'll probably be hanging out with some friends until around 5 but feel free to txt me whenever and i'll tell you whats going on. I've been brain storming too, we'll have to compare some notes.

-Jordan N. (Promises you'll all know what this is about in due time.)

Mr Cob

Wed, 27th Jan 2010, 01:12 AM

OOh, sorry to triple post but I just found an image that really shows the look i'm wanting.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/8964/211h.jpg

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/
[A great site for all kinds of information. I have lost many hours there.]

That is very cool. Glad you found a pic more close to your vision. Can't wait to see some real pics once you get started.

Jordan N.

Fri, 9th Apr 2010, 11:37 PM

Sooo.....

It's been a little while since I updated this. THe tank has just been in a state where I barely want to look at it --Much less show it off to the internet. These next three pictures should give you an idea of just how bad it was. (Believe it or not this isn't even quite the worst it got.)

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/5929/dsc0001pa.jpg

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7725/dsc0011la.jpg

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/4170/dsc0006ix.jpg

Yeah.... It wasn't pretty. All was certainly not going well.After taking those shots I took extreme measures, I removed the thick sheets of algae from the sand and capped it with about an inch and a half of clean aragonite. I then did a 5 gallon water change EVERY SINGLE DAY for the next 8 days or so.

And the results? I Think the pictures speak for themselves.

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3443/dsc0052oe.jpg
(The gorgonions are actually my brothers --We just haven't had a good chance to meet up. Same deal with the little egg crate container in the back.)

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/7816/dsc0035pf.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/9640/dsc0046uq.jpg
(Boy is my blenny hard to get a picture of.)

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/4448/dsc0041bx.jpg

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2262/dsc0043b.jpg

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/1826/dsc0063ri.jpg
(AN awesome little clam from Reefs 2 U. Love those guys.)

So yeah, the tank is back on track.

Next step is to make the sand bed even deeper and after the new sand matures get a pair of GCR onyx clowns and an Anemone. :hypnotyized:

Edit: Forgot to mention that I removed my skimmer before the tanks recovery --That certainly hasn't seemed to hurt it. :wink_smile: