Lhoy's 225 Gallon Reef - Build Thread

[apedroza]

Awesome Tank!!!!! Can't wait to see it finished!!!

[ismvel]

I am dying to know how that wavebox works out for you. I have been contemplating using a wavebox myself. I have the same size tank sitting in my garage, but with corner overflows.

Also, where did you get the acrylic rods from to make the rock pillars?

Thanks.

[erikharrison]

Wow Lee! That is really looking good! I think those acyrlic rods with the grabbers on the bases is awesome! Keep the pictures coming!

[lhoy]

The acrylic was purchased at Regal Plastics in Austin just north of US 183 on Burnet Road (on the right hand side if traveling north).

I have always had something of the "pile or rocks" look and after seeing some pillars on the Big Site I wanted to try something out. Thanks to Ace and Brian at Kingfish for teaching me acrylic work.

I must confess the one piece of equipment I have always wanted was a wavebox. Whenever I have seen one on a tank, that was the one thing I really wanted. My wife will love the swaying as well. I do have corner overflows so I am sure I will have to play with it a lot (darn) to get it all to work well.

Any advice from those with waveboxs and corner overflows?

Lee

[thedude]

You should be able to get a nice wave if you keep the wavebox's immediate path free of rocks and keep your dursos high. You're going to be surprised how noisy the 'box is if you don't raise the dursos so that the water only has a 1/2" to 1" to fall.

Looking great Lee!

John

[ismvel]

What kind of livestock you plan on keeping?

[lhoy]

Well, I LOVE inverts, LPS, and some SPS. I have to admit, the whole naming of corals with limited edition (how the crap can anything that grows biologically be a limited edition) is just ridiculous to me (but I am also in hobbies (birdwatching, herping, tarantulas) where identifying to species is important. I personally love the challenge of trying to ID to species and not some name that will help me sell a frag for more money.

I also love varied color hermits. Many people decry them and what they eat, I personally think it is because they WAY overstock and then the hermits resort to eating things they don't normally bother. I have never had a problem with a hermit eating anything I didn't want it to. They will consume the turbos that flip upside down and can't right themselves, but then again that is what you get for needing me to right you!!

I will probably only have about 20 or so snails (again - I think we WAY overstock on cleanup crews - learned a lot from Anthony Caflo).

So, enough ranting, here are some ideas:

1.) RBTA - (I love liveaquaria's stock) hopefully hosting a pair of black and white ocellaris
2.) Pair of Bellus' Angels
3.) Two-spot Bimacullatus Blenny and/or Starry Blenny/Linear Blenny (will it be a problem in tank this size for two different blennies?)
4.) Fairy Wrasses/Flasher Wrasses
5.) Haliocheres Wrasses (love the Leopards)
6.) After Tank has aged (banded pipefish pair)
7.) Two or three tangs (several I like)
8.) I really like Bluethroat and Pinktail Triggers

Those are the ideas I have now, I really enjoy watching liveaquaria to see what unique fish they get in.

Of course, the obligate clams of which there are four color patterns I love:
1.) Black and White - yea, who doesn't and who can afford it
2.) Brown and Gold Teardrop Maxima
3.) The light blue mantle with dark blue dots around the edge.
4.) The slightly bluish-gray with dark blue dots around the edge (like at River City's nano on counter).



Corals:
I love scoly's, favias, diplostrea, montastrea, encrusting monti's, zoa's, lobo's, and those acro's with color that contrast nicely. I like things you don't see in EVERY store. Color combinations (despite my wife claiming I only like red and greens). I also like the challenge of placing a coral the same way in my tank as it would be found in nature. Borneman's book on corals is awesome for this information. I hate seeing a scoly on the top of some rock wall. You would never see that in the wild.

I already have a blue banded coral shrimp that will go in my frag area so I can actually see him from time to time. The display will hopefully have a nice colorful linkia or fromia starfish, a colorfull brittle star, several cleaner shrimp (I love fire but when do you get to see them - may put in my crypic fuge), some of the colorful hermits like blue-banded and halloween which I already have.


Those are some of my thoughts right now.

Lee

[lhoy]

Forgot, I have a wicked 1" long Dwarf Lionfish that will reside in Frag Tank (means blue coral banded shrimp goes into fuge). He is awesome and eats mysis!!!

Lee

[Bill S]

Lee, I occasionally have RBTAs available. They are tank raised, and very nicely colored. I only make them available to Charter Members - usually people I know.

[lhoy]

MMMM, am I someone you know? ; )

Sweet, let me know when one is available!!

Lee