Badfish's Hand Built 45g Rimless Starphire Tank

[Badfish]

Last Updated Full Tank Shot: 5/2/12



http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120107/124525.jpg (http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120107/124525.jpg)
Last Updated Fuge Shot: 1/12/12

[Badfish]

Hey everyone, my wife and I just moved in to our first house and of course now would be the time to setup a nice reef tank/ fish room.I have been meaning to get this thread up for a while but I have been too busy with a new job and house, so most of the actual build is already finished. But that means I can fast forward boring stuff.

So that being said I'm building most of this setup myself. The display tank, the sump and the stand/ light cover were all made by me over the course of the last 4 months. For the display tank I decided on a rimless with the dimensions 24"x24"x18", giving me roughly a 45g “cube". I ordered the front and side panels to be 3/8" starphire while the back and bottom are regular annealed glass, and I had the bottom drilled for Sch. 80 1" and 3/4-inch bulkheads.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110314/140502.jpg

After sealing the tank I let it sit for a few days, then I scraped all the excess silicone off and cleaned up the seams, this also took me a few days because want I to get it as clean as I could.

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110315/192311.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110320/125712.jpg

So once my OCD/ADD induced scrape fest was finished I was pretty happy with the outcome, a clean tank, and clean seams.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110323/184846.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110316/202859.jpg

Then came the scary part; the leak test. I filled it up (SLOWLY) added the “Good Luck Test Duck" and let it sit with RO/DI water for 3 long nervous days while I finished the overflow.

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110326/230323.jpg (http://www.dropshots.com/BadFish#albums/Rimless/2011-03-26/23:03:23)


The overflow is black acrylic with a 1" Durso stand pipe for the return and a 3/4-inch supply split and connected to loc-line fittings.

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110411/172720.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110420/201616.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110420/202036.jpg

Next I installed the overflow, painted the back panel black, then filled it full again, rigged up a sump with a 10g tank and a Mag 7 then I let it run for about 3 months. (I really wanted to make sure it didn't leak)

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110420/201807.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110510/140245.jpg

Fast forward a few months of endless house hunting.... See glad I waited to write this? And BAM! I have a new house with nice empty wall that has a utility room on the other side. Perfect. Now I can have a “Fish room". Which is a great place to put this ....
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110617/174021.jpg (http://www.dropshots.com/BadFish#albums/Rimless/2011-06-17/17:40:21)
A 75gpd RO/DI Mixing station. The greatest thing about this mix station is that I have the supply hooked up to my well and the waist drains to my basement sump. (Not an aquarium sump) were it pumps back out to my lawn. So I have really no waste water and all I have to pay for is the power to pump the water from the well and salt!
It's plumbed so that the left bin fills with RO/DI water, then I can transfer that to the other bin where I add the salt and mix it together by recirculation the water in the bin. Both bins can be isolated from each other and/or the pump. I also set it up so I can either gravity feed the water in to small buckets for top offs and such, or you can do a super fast W/C by pumping the water to the tank's sump with this hose I made; it uses a PVC union fitting to connect to the mixing station.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110617/173751.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110615/214147.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110617/174912.jpg

I installed 2 float switches as well; one that shuts off the RO/DI unit when the bins are fill and the other shuts off the power to the Blue Line pump when the water level gets too low.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110615/214227.jpg (http://www.dropshots.com/BadFish#albums/Rimless/2011-06-15/21:42:27)
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110617/173518.jpg (http://www.dropshots.com/BadFish#albums/Rimless/2011-06-17/17:35:18)

I built the sump after that, it was an easy build and saved me a lot of cash, which then just ended up being spent somewhere else on the tank. (I have a DIY for the sump if anyone is interested.) Nothing fancy it's an acrylic 36"x18"x16" simple sump/refugium with 3 chambers, an intake/ skimmer chamber, Pump chamber, and a fuge. The sump can hold almost another 45g when full, but I plan on only having about 25-30 gallons in it when running.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110530/104457.jpg (http://www.dropshots.com/BadFish#albums/Rimless/2011-05-30/10:44:57)
Once both the tank and sump were leak tested, I had time to build my stand. I'm not the greatest at wood working so I kind of dragged my feet threw the stand building process. I took me almost another month to cut, stain, sand and put it together. I anchored the stand to the studs and cut a hole in the wall for plumbing the sump in the “fish room".

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110606/000832.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110607/213104.jpg


During the stand build, I picked up some goodies.......

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110606/160516.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110609/154431.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110608/223800.jpg

Vortech MP10W ES
Reef Octopus Extreme SX 160 Protein Skimmer
Blueline 20 HD External Water Pump by Pan World
Current USA 18" Nova Extreme T-5 Fixture (Over Kill for a Fuge, but it was on sale d*mn it!)
Aqua Illuminations SOL Super Blue Modular LED
Aqua Illuminations Base Controller
I said before that I wanted the pendant look for a light and I was going to make the LED lighting myself but then I saw the AI Sol and how awesome their controllability is and I said screw it I'm buying the lighting machine. But I did make my own “hanging kit" for the Sol; I used a pendent light kit I bought from Lowes for around $15. Gutted it and ran the Sol's power cable and a steel wire down the pole and mounted it from my ceiling. I then made a light cover box to match the stand and tie it altogether.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110610/230556.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110611/132613.jpg

The last thing I still had to do was the plumbing, I made it as simple as I could and tried to leave room for easy expansion of the system if I decide later to add reactors or other equipment. Also remember the PVC union fitting I used to connect the hose to the mix station pump; I add one on the return pipe so I can pump the water out for W/C as well.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110615/214530.jpg

Once the plumbing was finished I filled the tank and sump full of RO/DI water and turned everything on to clean and do spot checks.....

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110611/132735.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110617/175732.jpg

It sat like that for almost a week, during that time I ordered my sand for the display. On the advice of a friend I went with 40 lbs of Marco Rocks' Bahama Aragonite sand, the Fine grain size, I couldn't be happier with this sand. I wanted somethig fine and clean looking; well FINE is an understatement this stuff was like flower when I opened the bag. After I rinsed the sand and cleaned everything out, I added the sand to the main, CC, dry rock, and rubble to the sump/fuge.

[larryandlaura]

Nice set up so far. What are your plans with this tank?

[Badfish]

Have I said how much I love this sand? I love this sand soo much that I want to take it behind the high school and get it Pregnant.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110629/160821.jpg
Heres the fuge with some not so dry rock, Im think about throwing some Chaeto in there but I dont know too much about macro. I still have to get a small PH for the Fuge and more Rock ruble for the whole sump, I want to slowly pack the sump with rock more surface area more bacteria
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110628/171322.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110628/171010.jpg
Future mantis home. if she makes it, that is. Im sure Im going to regret putting a mantis in there one day, but I don't like to think about consequences of things.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110628/171016.jpg
So Im looking at about 35lbs of Live Rock from primo deco live rock,live rock n reef (http://www.liverocknreef.com/liverock/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7920) for now.
Its a little expensive for the rock but the pics on the site look ridiculous and the reviews are great, Im not too sure how easy it will be to aquascape with it though.
And then I found this cool site : : : : Indo-Pacific Sea Farms : : : : (http://www.ipsf.com/livesand.html) their live sand activator looks like something that would be great to help cycle the tank.

[larryandlaura]

Great job with the pictures. I can't say it enough, amazing job on the build!

[tankdude]

Very nice setup, very well thought out and built. What are your plans for live stock?

[MizTanks]

WOW!! Way sweet build!!

[whitetiger61]

wow this tank is going to rock when everything is said and done..great job..

Rick

[Heidi]

I will be following along too on this one. Very cool tank. I love that you have made every part of it yourself. That is something to be very proud of! Are you putting the Mantis Shrimp in the sump or display?

[jimsflies]

Definitely one heck of a job putting it all together. What did you put around the AI fixture?

[Sir Patrick]

Sweet tank! You did an outstanding job on it.

[Badfish]

Thank you everyone, I got most of the ideas from reading everyones build threads on these sites, so thanks to many of you for your help as well!


I will be following along too on this one. Very cool tank. I love that you have made every part of it yourself. That is something to be very proud of! Are you putting the Mantis Shrimp in the sump or display?
I put the mantis in the sumps fuge, its female orange spot and right now its just her, some LR, and Chaeto in the fuge. Unfortunately Im still not sure if she is going to make it, she was left in 60 degree water for 3 days, she was almost dead when I found her. She is slowly getting better (moving around the tank on her back now)but she still doesnt seem to be conscious yet.
Here she is before
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110612/234810.jpg (http://www.dropshots.com/BadFish#albums/Mantis/2011-06-12/23:48:10)

And after..
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110622/r180_230905.jpg


Definitely one heck of a job putting it all together. What did you put around the AI fixture?
The pendant is just a hang kit, and then I made a little box out of birch ply that is stained and trimmed to match the stand. I will can post more pics if you like Jim.


Very nice setup, very well thought out and built. What are your plans for live stock?

Nice set up so far. What are your plans with this tank?

Mostly just corals and Inverts, Im a big fan of Rics,Zoas, Acans... who am I kidding, all of them. Maybe some SPS a little later. Right now I have 2 picos that are over flowing with corals and need a new home, so those are getting transfered to this tank. http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/members-reefs/badfishs-reefer-madness-13333/
Fish wise, honestly I haven't even thought about it. My wife will probably make me get the standard 2 clowns, other than that I'm open to suggestions! Remember reefer math though; Rimless + Jumpers = :duh:

[Heidi]

Thank you everyone, I got most of the ideas from reading everyones build threads on these sites, so thanks to many of you for your help as well!


I put the mantis in the sumps fuge, its female orange spot and right now its just her, some LR, and Chaeto in the fuge. Unfortunately Im still not sure if she is going to make it, she was left in 60 degree water for 3 days, she was almost dead when I found her. She is slowly getting better (moving around the tank on her back now)but she still doesnt seem to be conscious yet.
Here she is before
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110612/234810.jpg (http://www.dropshots.com/BadFish#albums/Mantis/2011-06-12/23:48:10)

And after..
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110622/r180_230905.jpg


The pendant is just a hang kit, and then I made a little box out of birch ply that is stained and trimmed to match the stand. I will can post more pics if you like Jim.




Mostly just corals and Inverts, Im a big fan of Rics,Zoas, Acans... who am I kidding, all of them. Maybe some SPS a little later. Right now I have 2 picos that are over flowing with corals and need a new home, so those are getting transfered to this tank. http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/members-reefs/badfishs-reefer-madness-13333/
Fish wise, honestly I haven't even thought about it. My wife will probably make me get the standard 2 clowns, other than that I'm open to suggestions! Remember reefer math though; Rimless + Jumpers = :duh:
Oh why would you regret a "sump mantis"? I think that is just a good way to get you to open your sump everyday and be as interested in it as your display. I have a huge crab in my fuge that I am sure isn't reef safe. Hope She makes a recovery for you!!

[Badfish]

Thanks Heidi she seems to be a lot better today, here is a shot from Mantis Crisis 2011. I didnt have an extra little heater, so I made this holding tank and floated it in my pea****'s tank so the water temp would slowly rise and hopefully "resurrect" her.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110628/161857.jpg
She stayed in there for almost 2 weeks, at first not moving, the next day she was moving her antenna, the next few she started swigging around, I felt like I was watching someone who was thawing out form being cryogenically frozen. So I think I'm going to name her John Spartan; 10 points for the first person who gets that movie reference.

Awesome early 90s movies aside, my rock got here! I got 35 lbs deco for the display and 20lbs of rubble for the fuge and sump, adding to the 15 lbs in there already in the there that bring the total to around 70lbs.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110706/195822.jpg
The rubble rock is very porous and I piled it loosely so it will have good flow through. I put some in the skimmer chamber, some in the fuge but most of it when in the pump chamber. I would like to one day have a mandarin without having to constantly add pods to the tank, so Im hoping all the rubble rock and chaeto will give them place to grow multiply, then they spill in to the main via return pump.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110706/211127.jpg
I also add some chaeto to the fuge, I have never used it before, does anyone know how to tell when it needs to be trimmed and do I need to worry about it leaching if it says in there too long?
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110706/211214.jpg

[Badfish]

I am really impressed with the amount of growth on this rock, I know a lot will die off but there is still some much that I don’t mind.

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110707/105950.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110706/222540.jpg

A few of these rocks look fake, this piece is my favorite.

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110706/230416.jpg

Some people prefer to use base rock for their tanks, but I love all the little critters that come on LR, I can and have spend hours looking at just these rocks

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110706/222638.jpg

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110707/063338.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110707/105816.jpg

I still need to come up with some aquascaping ideas. Let me know what you guys think!

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110707/205509.jpg

[rosebud161616]

Demolition Man! :)

[Badfish]

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110612/234845.jpg
Sad news this morning, the Mantis known as John Spartan was found MDK (Murder Death Kill) today under a rock in the sump. After a long 2 week battle with hibernation sickness she finally succumbed to the deadly disease also know as Han Solo Syndrome. You fought bravely John, you will be missed and I promise to avenge your death my friend.

D*NNNNNNMMM YOOOOOOU PHENOOOOOOIX!!!!
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110714/053335.jpg

[MizTanks]

I'm sorry for your loss Badfish ((hugs)) Now as for your cheato. No need to trim it...just tumble it around every now and then. You have a lot of room for it to grow so no worries there. I have a 3g fuge filled with cheato...when it gets packed, I cut off about a softball size and keep it and then I gladly ship the rest to whom ever wants it :)

I'm totally loving your tank :)

[Heidi]

Oh man!! LOVE that live rock!! Where did you get that stuff if you don't mind asking. I am gonna get heck for this I know but I love all the neat kinds of greenery that comes on that stuff too cool. It is beautiful when you first put it in your tank. There are benifits to useing base rock, I get that, but nothing is as cool as the little mini ecosystems that come attached to live rock! :love3: Love this tank so far.

[Badfish]

I'm sorry for your loss Badfish ((hugs)) Now as for your cheato. No need to trim it...just tumble it around every now and then. You have a lot of room for it to grow so no worries there. I have a 3g fuge filled with cheato...when it gets packed, I cut off about a softball size and keep it and then I gladly ship the rest to whom ever wants it :)

I'm totally loving your tank :)

Thank you Miz, that should be easy enough. Do you use any other macro or just chaeto? And how do you run your fuge light? I have mine reverse form the DT.



Oh man!! LOVE that live rock!! Where did you get that stuff if you don't mind asking. I am gonna get heck for this I know but I love all the neat kinds of greenery that comes on that stuff too cool. It is beautiful when you first put it in your tank. There are benifits to useing base rock, I get that, but nothing is as cool as the little mini ecosystems that come attached to live rock! :love3: Love this tank so far.

Thanks, I am still in love with the rock myself. I got it form primo deco live rock,live rock n reef (http://www.liverocknreef.com/liverock/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7920), its their Premo Deco the price for the rock isn't too bad but its the shipping that kills you. But I would still say its worth it the rock is the best I have seen by far, and some of the macro that was on the rock that began to die off already has new growth. I agree with you about the mini ecosystem, I'll take the bad with the good when it comes to LR!

[Tom@HaslettMI]

The 7/14 scape look good. My only suggestion is to move the roundish top rock over to the right (so it sits in the groove of the rocks below). I think it would look even better if it was not in the center of the tank.

I totally agree on the live rock... it should be live!

Tom

[Badfish]

A box O critters showed up to the door on the 13th, I order the mix n match special from : : : : Indo-Pacific Sea Farms : : : : (http://www.ipsf.com/index.html) .
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/140805.jpg
I Picked -
6 Baby Bristle Worms (captive-bred)
WonderMud
Liquid N-Reducer
6 Nerite Grazers
6 Adult Strombus Grazers (captive-bred)
6 MicroHermits
3 Adult Hermits
Reef Amphipods (20 specimens)
Live Sand Activator (includes live sand, 6 Grazing snails, 6 MicroHermits and tiny worms)

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/152536.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/153227.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/154654.jpg

The also gave me another free Reef Amphipods (20 specimens) which has a small piece of Tang Heaven Red
which the pods come attached to, so thats another free be that went in the fuge.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110718/142316.jpg

This was another awesome choice for my tank, after adding everything AND already having LR my tank has exploded with life. I needed a CUC anyways and this came to around the same price, the packing was clean and everything showed up alive and healthy, again very happy with this buy.

Before adding the IPSF pack I had no critters
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110629/160821.jpg

Now my tank is over run with life and everything already seems to be benefiting.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110718/142356.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/234212.jpg

[Badfish]

I took my LR out to add the wondermud and the critters to my sand bed, so this was the perfect time to do a little aquascaping (my favorite). My first attempt was a little to abstract, I was going for a pillar / shelf vibe but I thought it was too much,
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110718/142415.jpg
Then my wife saw it and told me it was too much.


So with her help we came up this, with more of a cave/arch layout, I think it turned out better the second time around.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/182216.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/182251.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110714/062508.jpg
A little moon light action.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110713/225047.jpg

[MizTanks]

I'm just using cheato with a small piece of LR~my lil fuge is packed with copods :) I, like you am running reverse lighting from the DT~11pm to 8am on a timer.

BadFish, your tank is the bomb!!! Love the rock work. You've totally started your tank out right...you should be proud :highfive3:

[Badfish]

Thanks Miz, I just have to problems I am facing now. One is that my water is really cloudy and doesnt seem to be clearing up. Im not running any carbon yet. I did add some strips of a cut up carbon filter pad in my sump sock for now but I don't think its working well.

The other problem is really more of an annoyance, I have so many critters in there that the sails are constantly trying to escape, and since its a rimless they do! I usually find one or two day on the outside of my glass, I just toss them back in. Oh well, thats what i get for building a rimless

[MizTanks]

It's not your tank darlin lol-what are your parameters reading? Is it all snails or just one type that are trying to escape?
For the cloudy water I'd throw a HOB or canister filter filled with carbon on for a couple days.

[Badfish]

My tank has had quite a week, on Monday we lost power for a day, and then Wednesday we lost the A/C... for the 2 hottest days of the year. The good thing is my back-up plans work great; I have an auto natural gas generator that came with the house so the tank is wired to that, and I have it located in my basement in a room with no windows, we kept it closed off so the temp in the basement never reached over 76 even when it was over 100 out side!


It's not your tank darlin lol-what are your parameters reading? Is it all snails or just one type that are trying to escape?
For the cloudy water I'd throw a HOB or canister filter filled with carbon on for a couple days.

Its just some little snail, its not really a problem, I just toss them back in the tank when i see them trying to make a run for it.

My water parameters are all right where they should be except my pH is a little low, it's 7.8 and my Alk is 7 dKH. The pH of the water when I mix it is always 8.3 so I think its a problem with Gauss exchange... I think.
I am still toying around with the tank and sump to try different ways raise the pH and clear up the water. I was thinking this as a solution to both
JBJ EFU-25 Reactor Canister Filter w/UV, up to 100 gal. - AquaCave (http://www.aquacave.com/jbj-efu-25-reactor-canister-br-filter-wuv-up-to-100-gal-2493.html)

I would just run Carbon and maybe Purigen (no bio filtration i have enough LR for that) to clear up the water and then the discharge would be aimed at the water surface of my sump to help with the gas exchange. I think that would help with both problems but i am totally open to other suggestions.

[Badfish]

So rather than throw money at a new canister filter I just bought a bag of carbon and tossed it in my filter sock, it seems to be working for now. I also added another power head to the sump and aimed it at the surface to help with gas exchange and hopefully raise the PH.
A few pic updates to the tank,
AND I FINALLY HAVE FISH!
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110723/162812.jpg
I have a total of 5 tanks and 0 of them have had fish until now. Nothing too fancy just 4 green chriomes, I wanted a school of something and these guys are doing great, all 4 are eating and healthy. Their names are Roger, Pete, John and Keith.(Can you guess where those names came from?)
I
add a few more things too,
Ric
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110722/153047.jpg
Acan
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110719/181259.jpg
Hydnophora sp
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110722/152839.jpg
a nicely sized Lobo
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110723/163650.jpg
Another Sick Acan
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110722/152706.jpg
And some unknown Palys I thought were AOGs.(If anyone knows what kind they think they are please let me know).
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110722/152748.jpg
I have been notice crazy new growth on most of the macro I thought was going to die off.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110722/152239.jpg

The Harley was added to the sump because I do not want to bother with having to put C.chips stars (their favorite, but very non-reef safe, meals) in my DT. Im hoping in a few months to get a nice big female to pair him with, looks like he will have to learn to share.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110722/151843.jpg
One last pic, this is my favorite view of the tank
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110718/140649.jpg

[rosebud161616]

And some unknown Palys I thought were AOGs.(If anyone knows what kind they think they are please let me know).
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110722/152748.jpg

Those look like Gobstoppers to me!

[Badfish]

YES SIR! Those be them alrighty. That was fast, almost too fast......

THANKS!!

[Badfish]

both picos have now been moved to the rimless, it was sad to take them down but they needed it. Things were getting way too overcrowded and I was just asking for a chemical war. I also got a nice little selection of frags this week, I cant remember all the crazy names, but there are 4 zoas, 2 acans, and a red goni.
Alrighty enough rambling, Picture time! (sorry iPhone, looking in to a real camera)
Front
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/161742.jpg
Right
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/161859.jpg
Left
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/161838.jpg
Fuge
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110728/154729.jpg
Sorry Mark no top shots today, I'll get one next time for you buddy.

More Eye candy!
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/160729.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/162201.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/162011.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/162030.jpg

[Badfish]

Look at all of these filty little frag-its
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/191934.jpg
This is my new favorite mushroom, the wife spotted it in a corner tank at the LFS and she had to have it, I didnt argue
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/160710.jpg
This Acan from my pico is always feeding, Im not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/191956.jpg

Here is the Milli Im pretty sure is dead, but Im going to give it a few day and see if it colors up, this thing is whiter than Tony Montanas nose.
Also tanks to Ms. Rosebud for letting me know these palys are Gobstoppers not AOGs.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/162251.jpg

I thought this was pretty cool and it is +1 for LR (which I am all for) ; the pom-poms anemones didnt survive in the picos, so he was kinda just a cool colored crab for about the last 3 months. Well after being in the rimless just 1 day he already found a replacement pom-pom! I’m not sure what kind of anemone he found but it doesn’t look like aiptasia, I know it’s hard to see in the pic but its there.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110727/190054.jpg

[bluwc]

Very nice collection but yeah lol that milli looks pretty bad!

[larryandlaura]

Looking awesome man! Looking forward to watching it grow!

[MizTanks]

Maybe a rock nem? Tank is looking awesome Pat, I really like it :)

[Badfish]

Very nice collection but yeah lol that milli looks pretty bad!
Ha, yeah that lasted about 1 day before I took it out, hoping for miracles I guess.



Looking awesome man! Looking forward to watching it grow!
Thanks the wife and I love reading your thread too, love your tank



Maybe a rock nem? Tank is looking awesome Pat, I really like it :)
I was just looking at Nems too, I think Im goint to wait a bit before i get one though, besides I need all the room I can get for the frag swap coming up!!!

2 new additions to the Rimless this weekend,
Added this bright PINK and white acan just to make the ladies jealous. (Again this was another wife's pick)
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/badfishofbabylon/40%20Gal/5006eacd.jpg

I spotted this tiny rainbow ric on a piece of LR, so the guy at the LFS gave to to me for the price of the rock which was about 1lb. Took it home and when to work with the ol' hacksaw; the rick went in the DT and the rest of the LR went in the sump. So that is a new sick ric and some added filtration for about $5, great deal.
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/badfishofbabylon/40%20Gal/177a3706.jpg

The start of my Acan Garden.
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/badfishofbabylon/40%20Gal/09ce6a63.jpg

I also had them order me a yasha goby/ Red banded Pistol shrimp pair.

[Badfish]

THE GOOD OL' JUST CUZ EYE CANDY!!!!!!!!
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110731/133920.jpg

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110731/180854.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110731/174942.jpg

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110731/133850.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110731/171024.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110731/164625.jpg

[mikezalewski]

the tank looks awesome. I really like the rock work and love the pom pom crap. those things are cool.

[larryandlaura]

Very nice updated pics! You are filling it up quick!

[creefer]

Great build and beautiful tank. Very inspirational.

[Badfish]

Looks like I'm a cool Kid now because my Goby/ Pistol pair came in this weekend. It's Yasha White Ray Shrimp Goby and a Red Banded Snapping Shrimp, they went right to work dig'n out their cave as soon as I put them in. I also picked up an anemone porcelain crab, and some pulsing Xenia.

Pistol and Goby spent the hole afternoon doing a little DIY remodeling of the cave, hanging curtains, painting, looking a carpet samples, and going to bed bath and beyond... it was a nice little Saturday.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110821/171246.jpg

They must have got in an argument over where to hang some pictures or something because after an hour or so the Yasha had to go on a little walk by himself to cool down. Oh newly weds.
[urimg]http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110821/174654.jpg[/img]

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110821/174743.jpg

This guy went right in the huge hairy shroom and started feeding.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110821/221052.jpg

Here's a shot of the "Shurmp Sump".
Chaeto is doing a awesome job of keeping those nitrates and phosphates down and keeping the pods numbers up. Pretty soon I'm going to have to do a little trimming.http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110821/165858.jpg

This lonely guy needs a Boo, lately he has been drinking heavily and stay'n out till all hours of the night.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110821/165823.jpg

[MizTanks]

It appears your household is in need of much counseling. Fighting newlyweds and alcohol abusers...yes I say it's Dr. Phil time. lol

[Badfish]

We got two more additions to the tank yesterday, they are tank raised Percs. I love the their markings, especially the mask on the bigger one. They are around 4 months old and their black will come in more as they mature.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110831/103014.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110831/105552.jpg
That brings our fish count up to 7; 4 chromis, 2 clowns, and the Yasha goby. So that is probably going to be it for fish... maybe a mandarin later if I feel my fuge can support the pod population.
Speaking of the Yasha, he and pistol made up and are living together but are going to marriage counseling . They have made a little cave right in front behind my Acans so its really easy to feed them and I see them quite a bit, well the Yasha at least.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110826/152510.jpg
I add a new Acan, they are my new addiction. I need to get a new camera the iphone picks up way too much of my blue lights and washes their colors out.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110830/185840.jpg
Here is the start of my shroom garden, needs more Rics. Most of them are from my CF pico when I took it down
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110826/160428.jpg

A little FTS action
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110830/175637.jpg

[Sir Patrick]

Lookin good!

[larryandlaura]

This tank is icey. Im really enjoying following this build. Killer job so far.

[Heidi]

Tank looks GOOOODDD!! Man that is one sexy looking sump too. I love it, I love it enough to go behind the bleachers with it and get pregnant...?? ;) lol (if you don't get it read the whole thread :) )

Anyways very very nice little reef you have going on here :roll_eyes:

Heidi

[Badfish]

Thanks everone, we couldn't be happier with the tank.

So I was messing with my Lights the other day and I took some pic that aren't washed out in blue, I thought I would share.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/163242.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/163305.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/163736.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/165002.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/165023.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/165124.jpg

[Badfish]

cont'd.

Here a top down of the Mille I just got, its coloring up with green tips
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/194006.jpg
and one of the new PE Zoas
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/193738.jpg
The Clowns
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/185554.jpg
This is way I love LR so much, awesome color and so much life.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/165346.jpg

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110913/165517.jpg


The wife and I are looking foward to going to our 2nd frag swap, on the 25th. We missed the last one in flint..

[larryandlaura]

Wow those clowns are amazing! Your tank is popping!

[Badfish]

Thanks Larry, sadly one of the Clowns jump last week so now we only have one.... the poor guy was then tanks first big loss.

We did pick up some new additions at the frag swap last month,
2 new Acans
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110925/223347.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110925/223419.jpg

This killer Ric rock
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20110925/223219.jpg

And a derasa Clam,
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111011/212528.jpg

The tank and fuge seems to have a pod population large enough to sustain a Mandarin so we got one. She was skinny and faded when we got her but after 2 weeks she is fatting up nicely and getting her color back.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111016/200852.jpg

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111016/200600.jpg

Pistol and Goby have teamed back up and decided to fight crime together, they already had the matching costumes!
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111016/200546.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111010/213617.jpg


FTS
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111011/212728.jpg

Thanks for looking!

[larryandlaura]

Nice update shots. One of my favorite tanks to watch on here!

[Badfish]

Nice update shots. One of my favorite tanks to watch on here!

Thanks Larry, that is quite a compliment seeing how many great tanks are here on CR! If you're ever around Grand Rapids and would like to see it in person just shoot me a PM, we would love to show it off.


We added our Final fish this weekend, it's a Tomini Tang.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111030/191721.jpg
He is really loving all the Macro I have growing in the tank especially the Money Plants. He's a small juvenile and has plenty of swimming room for now, if it needs more when it matures then I'll have to find a new home for him but I really don't think it is going to be a problem.

This thing is awesome, a green umbrella mushroom, it looks like someone shot a neon green paint ball in the tank.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111030/195755.jpg

A nice pic of my wife's favorite Zoa, I think they are called Safe Crackers?
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111101/102949.jpg

She went from half dead to starting to pack on some pounds, still trying to get her to eat prep though.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111030/195310.jpg
Here she is yelling at a hermit for knocking corals over.

[larryandlaura]

Sweet pics, next time i'm in GR I will be stopping by.

[creefer]

WOW! This tank looks so much larger than it is! It's beautiful and so full of life. Again, you have done a fine job assembling such an awesome tank.

[Sir Patrick]

Nice updates man!!! Loving the tank!

[MizTanks]

Sweetest tank! I see the love :)

[Badfish]

Thanks everyone, hopefully we'll be getting a nicer camera soon so I can stop posting pics from my iPhone

[Badfish]

^Still looking for a new Camera (or the money for one)so sorry again for iPhone pics. Besides who wants to spend $$$ on a camera when you can spend it on corals. That being said; picked up this really nice Yellow Scroll Coral (Turbinaria) from our LFS.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111111/192538.jpg

It has great coloring and polyp extension and its plates are very convoluted so it should look amazing when it grows out.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111112/144525.jpg

We have been on the look out for piece of plate coral because this is the perfect spot for some, so I am super happy with this pick up.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111111/214715.jpg

The tank has been looking great, but with the increase of SPS I'm thinking of dosing kalk and see if there is any benefits. also hoping it will help keep my dKH up.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111111/214253.jpg


Fuge is still staying somewhat clean, and of course if you are thinking that I'm only posting these pictures because I've just recently scraped months of algae growth off the acrylic, you are absolutely correct.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111113/194318.jpg

Harley is still getting his C.chip legs and has been looking pretty massive lately
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111113/194619.jpg

This is a random hitch hiker coral that I thought was just a dead skeleton, I'm thinking its some type of Balanophyllia but sill not 100%, any ideas?
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111113/194353.jpg


Here's the best part of having a Rimless;
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111111/214429.jpg
Thanks for looking.

[larryandlaura]

Man those shoots are great. The tank is taking off and growing well.

[MizTanks]

I am totally impressed with your tank Pat. Your coral placements are just so *right* looking. Really makes me rethink my own :) As for your pics? Some of the best I've taken have been with my iPhone :)

[Heidi]

Sooo your tank is looking beautiful as always! I too rock the iPhone pix, but I am thinking about getting a camera on Black friday if I can find a deal :) I LOVE the scroll coral! I have a pretty large chunk of one with a reddish base and yellow polyps and it is one of my favorite coral I have. Simple stuff but it has really cool growth patterns and the polyps on it are different then any other sps, yours too looks super in your tank beautiful next to your zs and ps!

Heidi

[Badfish]

Man those shoots are great. The tank is taking off and growing well.
Yeah a lot of it has been filled in by the Grow-out contest Zoas. That was such a good deal, I don't even care if we win (don't tell the wife that), I'm happy with just the frag pack.


I am totally impressed with your tank Pat. Your coral placements are just so *right* looking. Really makes me rethink my own :) As for your pics? Some of the best I've taken have been with my iPhone :)

Thanks Miz, but I can't take all the credit for the placement, 50% has to got to Mrs.Badfish (aka TheLittleMermaid). When we get a new coral we stare at the tank for about 20 mins fighting over the right spot. Then it takes me 30mins of trying to set the coral in the place where we decided it goes before I get p*ssed and give up, then she does it in 5 seconds. I guess sometimes it takes a woman's touch.... sometimes.:-|




Sooo your tank is looking beautiful as always! I too rock the iPhone pix, but I am thinking about getting a camera on Black friday if I can find a deal :) I LOVE the scroll coral! I have a pretty large chunk of one with a reddish base and yellow polyps and it is one of my favorite coral I have. Simple stuff but it has really cool growth patterns and the polyps on it are different then any other sps, yours too looks super in your tank beautiful next to your zs and ps!

Heidi

Thanks the color really makes it stand out in the tank, and your right the growth patterns are awesome. So how fast does your scroll grow?

[Heidi]

Pretty darn slow. I think I have gotten maybe a quarter inch to a half inch around the edges in 5 months. But hey nothing beautiful happens fast in this hobby. :)
Heidi

[Badfish]

After a few months of fairly heavy use the PVC ball valves on my mix station has become worn out one the RO/DI side. So this weekend I replaced them with turn handle stop valves, they are easier to turn (wife's request) and they are made for more frequent opening and closing. I planned on replacing all of the valves but the store only had 2 left. Just thought I would share in case anyone else is have problems with leaky valves.

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111117/205529.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111117/205555.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111117/222915.jpg

[rosebud161616]

Gate valves are a life saver! Nice job!

[Mr. Microscope]

Wow Badfish! This is freakin' amazing! Nice build.

Great pickup on that turbinaria BTW. 'Should add some great structure.

[Badfish]

Gate valves are a life saver! Nice job!

You got that right, they stopped the leak AND my wife's complaining!:thumbsup:



Wow Badfish! This is freakin' amazing! Nice build.

Great pickup on that turbinaria BTW. 'Should add some great structure.

Thanks, thats what I was going for; not bad for only $40. Hopefully it will still look this good when it grows out.




Just thought I would share a few growths shots.

The clam has about 1" of new growth (the white part on the shell) since I got it 2 months ago.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111125/181610.jpg

The rest of the photos were taken about 3 months apart
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111129/080655.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111129/073950.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111129/073933.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111129/073940.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111129/073927.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111129/074225.jpg

Thanks for looking.

[larryandlaura]

Sweet update photos! Things are growing at a great rate!

[Badfish]

Thanks Larry, glad you think so. Personally I have no idea, I'm happy with all the growth but I don''t have enough experience with corals to know whats considered slow or fast growth.

[MizTanks]

Love the growth shots side by side! Everything looks awesome BF :) Congrats!!!

[Badfish]

Love the growth shots side by side! Everything looks awesome BF :) Congrats!!!

Thanks for all the words of encouragement Miz:thumbsup:!

We picked up this killer Zoa pack from DreksReef (http://http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/livestock-sales-trades/frag-tank-clean-out-19250/) for a crazy deal.

Captain America Palys
Bam Bams
Fruit Loops x2
Rastas
Orange Nebulas
Purple Deaths
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111203/125933.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111203/124428.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111203/153649.jpg

A few days after picking up the pack my tank heater burnt out (perfect timing), and by the time I finally realized it the tank was 69* F. Luckily I had an older heater that I kept for a spare and was able to get to the temp back up fast enough that everything seemed to be OK. Disaster averted.....

[Badfish]

Nope. The tanks temperature problems weren't over. The first heater I bought to replace the broken one had a bad sensor or something, so the water temp would jump back and forth from 70*F to 82*F. I finally got it under control with a Finnex 300W Heater, so that was a few more fun days.

Other than the temperature roller coaster the tanks has been on, all of the new plugs were crowding the sand so we had to find a place for them it. I drilled my favorite rock and turned it in to a natural frag rack
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111204/164726.jpg
This rock should look insane when it grows out, here's whats on it;
Captain America Palys, Watermelons, Rastas, Purple Deaths, Fruit Loops
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111206/161445.jpg

The Cyphastrea and Gobb Stoppers have been looking super happy lately
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111205/183349.jpg

Porcelain Anemone Crab hanging out in the GSP
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111206/161833.jpg

The Lunar eclipses finally popped out a new head! It only took 6 months???
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111212/214522.jpg

LFS had this little guy for $23, me thinks the price was low because it's tiny and Male. But thats what i needed, this whole time I thought that the big one in my sump was a male but after some Google researching I found out I had it back wards and it's a Female. So now I guess Big Momma has a little Boy Toy.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111211/183912.jpg

Thanks for Looking.

[MizTanks]

There's nothing like *a zoa island* and that is one sweet rock for it!! Wish they had stock like those around here. Very cool :)

[Badfish]

Thanks Miz.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/203904.jpg

Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! Although my wife and I enjoyed them, our tank did not. We lost our Derasa clam a week before Xmas. The thing was growing like crazy then one day its mantel was retracted and the intake mouth was huge,
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111231/142439.jpg

the next day it was worse and when on the third day I saw that the mantle was tearing apart from the shell I decided it was time for Moe Smash’n, our peacock mantis, to have a nice $60 clam dinner.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120101/111803.jpg


After that I noticed some of the Rasta’s and Lunar’s skirts were being eaten (of course it had to be my two favorites, too not the dang common zoas right next to them). We also had to remove a Chromis because the Tomini Tang is getting bigger and is going to need the room soon; I want to stop any aggression before it starts.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120116/075938.jpg


On top of all that we found a hitch hiker crab molt, so we tried a bottle trap for a few weeks with no success, frustrating. Then a few days ago when we were cleaning the tank, my wife saw him again and lured him out of his hiding spot with some krill, so I fouced my chi and snatched his A$$ up like my name was Mr. Miyagi!
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120117/055629.jpg
(Moe got a crab of it too.) Since then the tank hasn’t had any more issues and the zoa’s skirts have almost fully grown back. Although I don’t think the crab was the cause of clams death.


To celebrate the demise of the filthy little S.O.B we went coral shopping and found one of the nastiest Yuma I’s ever done seen.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120107/122226.jpg


This Acro frag. Still not 100% sure but I think it’s a Purple Bonsai because of the way its coloring up.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/204003.jpg


And these crazy bright orange Polyps with a yellow mouth, my buddy at our LFS said he didn’t know what they were and have been slowly melting, he cut us a great deal so we thought we would them give a try in our tank. So far so good they all open and looking happy, there is a total of 10 of them all together.
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120110/160855.jpg

We also did some rearranging; Our Chalice has browned out slowly over the past few months so I moved it to where the clam was in hopes to get some color back. The Duncan hasn’t grown at all since we put it in this tank so we moved it to stronger light and flow area.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120116/075656.jpg

Thanks for looking.

[Mr. Microscope]

Wow! Looks like a fun fishy pkayland to me. Keep it up!

[Badfish]

Thanks the fish all seem happy, Now here's some Eye Candy!

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120109/211344.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/210126.jpg

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/205819.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/173910.jpg

http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/174248.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/174330.jpg

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120108/205458.jpg

[Badfish]

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111016/200851.jpg

http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20111209/161236.jpg

[Heidi]

Looking sweet Badfish!! Beautiful :)

[iyachtuxivm]

Looks great! Sorry to hear about the issues you had over the last month but by the pics it didnt seem to phase you too much.

[Badfish]

Thank you. I just wish i knew what did in the clam, my dKh has been jumping around a little but other than that all my levels were right where they should be. It was on a clam boat so I don't think a worm got it though I can't be sure. We did have the hitch hiker crab causing havoc for a while, but the clam's mantle seemed to be deteriorating not being torn apart. Nothing else in the tank seem stressed so I'm puzzled.

[Badfish]

Went to a Frag swap last week and picked up a few goodies....
(Just a Few)
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120129/191155.jpg

It wasn't until looking at the tank yesterday that I realized I had a little bit of an Sps collection going on and didn't even know it.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120130/162938.jpg

The Wife's new Nightmares!
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120130/163013.jpg

Had to moved the Cyphastrea, it seems happy in it's new spot, lots of new polyps.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120130/163347.jpg


The wife bought this Snowflake for a great deal. But I'm a little worried because it's is an Ocellaris and we already had a Picasso Perc, I have read that they will pair up but not always. We are keeping a close eye on the two, so far so good, a little nipping but nothing major.
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120130/163805.jpg

Killer Green Acro from Happy Coral,
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120201/171530.jpg



I've always wanted sun coral but was too affraid of keeping it because because of the whole NPS thing. But Heidi talked in to getting this huge cluster of Sun polyps for only $30 (what a deal:stupidme:) from Happy, and gave me some great feeding tips. Sooo glad she did, Thanks Heidi (http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/members/heidi/)!
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120202/222822.jpg

This being our first NPS coral we are I keeping our fingers crossed. Right now I'm feeding it a little reef snow to get the polyps to open then 30 mins later I hit it with a mix of coral frenzy and baby brine. I target feed just the Sun coral and then the rest of the tank is broadcast feed from the blow off, this method seem to be working well.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120130/162918.jpg
Thanks for taking the time.

[Badfish]

Looks like twitching to me.

Bow-cha-woow-wow:shifty:

a29a1e6f.mp4 video by badfishofbabylon - Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@http://vid1141.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/badfishofbabylon/a29a1e6f.mp4@@AMEPARAM@@vid1141@@AMEPARAM@@1141@@A MEPARAM@@n596/badfishofbabylon/a29a1e6f@@AMEPARAM@@mp4 (http://s1141.photobucket.com/albums/n596/badfishofbabylon/?action=view&current=a29a1e6f.mp4)

[MizTanks]

LOL~looks like it :) Badfish you have got one of the prettiest tanks I've ever seen...awesome job :highfive3:

[Badfish]

LOL~looks like it :) Badfish you have got one of the prettiest tanks I've ever seen...awesome job :highfive3:


:embarrassed: Aww thanks Miz that means a lot, it still has a lot of growing to do. One of these days I'll get around to taking a video of the whole set up and post it.

[Heidi]

Looks great!! I was wondering how the sun coral was working out looks pretty plump and happy ;) like I said I have had a chunk for about a year plus some months and it's just as pretty as ever. Wish I could say that for the rest of my reef :( this crash is killing my self-esteem. You guys still have one of my favorite tanks! Keep up the great work.
Heidi

[larryandlaura]

Looking amazing! Keep up the good work!

[Badfish]

Well I must have angered the Reef Gods with that video, because when I got home yesterday the Snowflake was MIA, me thinks it was what may or may not be a Bobbitt worm in the tank. Looks like my weekend is going to involve last nights and a red lens.:mad:

[Heidi]

Well I must have angered the Reef Gods with that video, because when I got home yesterday the Snowflake was MIA, me thinks it was what may or may not be a Bobbitt worm in the tank. Looks like my weekend is going to involve last nights and a red lens.:mad:

OH NO!!! not the DREADED BOBBIT.. ;) no really I hope it's not.. bristle worms are creepy enough IMO. I hope you find out whats snatching fishes if it's a bobbit we will be wanting to see some creepy video footage :blackeye:

Good Luck

Heidi

[Badfish]

Ahhggg.. well its been about a month and no bobbit sightings, I'm almost positive we have one though. My wife swears she saw it, and a while ago I remember seeing a big worm and thinking to myself "huh, I should probably get that out one of these days" :doh:. Well for now I guess I'm going to have to just keeping an eye out and hope he chokes to death on his next meal.

Aside from the bobbit the tanks has had a few other "problems". The biggest was my skimmer decided to start pumping water out of my sump on to my floor.... 3 times in the last month. The first two times both happened the day after I had some people over, so i assumed that one of my party guess had gotten curious and turned the skimmer valve without me knowing. But then it happened a 3rd time Monday and no one was home all weekend. So after breaking my skimmer down to clean it out (which is what I should have done the first time), I found the problem.

http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/155040.jpg (http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/155040.jpg)
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/144110.jpg (http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/144110.jpg)

Apparently when dosing Kalk your equipment gets a calcium build up, which can block the air-intake line of a skimmer....... go figure:stupidme:.



On Sunday the wife and I made a trip to paradise coral* and they cuts us a killer deal on some nice pieces.

* Correction it was Reef Paradise in Flint.

This beautiful Sunset Monti
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120325/221507.jpg (http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120325/221507.jpg)
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/171013.jpg (http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/171013.jpg)

Sunny D's
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/171204.jpg (http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/171204.jpg)

Unknown Zoas
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/170929.jpg (http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120326/170929.jpg)

We also picked up some Magician Palys but I forgot to get a good pic.

Thanks for looking.

[jimsflies]

They look great! Paradise Coral or Reef Paradise?

[Badfish]

They look great! Paradise Coral or Reef Paradise?


Ha, Reef Paradise.:doh: Good catch Jim-bo!
It was our first time there, and wow what a great store! I like the size of it, just a few insanely stocked and well maintained tanks so you're not over whelmed trying to look through rows and rows of livestock, but it had one of the best coral selections I've seen. Also super friendly and knowledgeable staff.

[MizTanks]

Sweet additions BF!

[Badfish]

SPRING CLEANING!!! :redneck: My tank has been experiencing a little algae bloom, luckily I haven't had to deal with it too much before so I'm not the best at IDing nuisance algae; I wasn't' sure if it's Dinoflagellates, Diatoms, or something else. Either way I was motived to take action now before it gets any worse.

It started showing up about a month ago
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120423/210303.jpg (http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120423/210303.jpg)
The bubbles you can see in this shot are what scared me into thinking it might be Dinoflagellates :mad:
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120423/210354.jpg (http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120423/210354.jpg)
If you can ID it please let me know, right now I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's just brown algae.





Here was my plan of attack:

Did a 20% Water change
Reduced feeding (I love feeding my corals... too much)
Cleaned out Carbon/GFO reactor and replaced with new media
Vacuumed visible algae from sand bed
Bought a few more snails (Nassarius & Turbos)
Cleaned out Kalk reactor and replaced with new media (I've read kalkwasser helps precipitate phosphate)
Moved most of my corals off of the sand bed to rocks (Too many corals cluttering up the sand was creating a lot of water flow dead spots)
Started running my Skimmer a little more "wet"
All the Acans scattered in the sand were causing algae build up in between them
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120423/210606.jpg (http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120423/210606.jpg)
Out of the sand, cleaned up, mounted to rocks and most importantly happy! I also did this with all of my polyp frags
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120429/004630.jpg (http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120429/004630.jpg)
I'm hoping that if I keep this up and stay on top of maintenance the problem will clear up soon.
Here it is after the first cleaning
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120429/004549.jpg (http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120429/004549.jpg)


Whatever it is I treating it like it's the plague. Another round of substrate sucking night, all this playing around in the sand is making me feel like a Jawa.


http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120501/113010.jpg (http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/881776/20120501/113010.jpg)
That's right, I just made a Star Wars reference. http://www.gifmix.net/smileys/star-wars-smilies/5.gif (http://www.gifmix.net/smileys/star-wars-smilies/5.gif)

[larryandlaura]

Best of luck with your battle!

[MizTanks]

May the force be with you my reefer friend!!!

[Badfish]

Tanks you two!

[creefer]

You kill me, Pat!! Lol!

GL with the battle!