So this is probably well over due, but i’ve been a member for over a year now and not sure i’ve ever posted a pic of my tank. Mainly because i’ve never had a reason to be proud of it. When i first set up, some might remember the green water problem i had. #@$^. Finally got that resolved, then i had a bad breakout of brown algae that no matter how hard i tried, i could not get rid of. Well, right before dave’s (hondacbr’s) sump cracked, i bought his 65 gal with stand and got that set up. Had I waited a few weeks, i would have ended up with the 80 gal verdict_in. regardless, I got the 65 set up and i don’t know what i did differently, but ever since, the tank has been thriving. Right from the get-go. I used the same sand, LR, protein skimmer, sump, pump, etc. The ONLY difference in setup now is that i incorporated bioballs, which i know is a topic of debate for many, and a slightly deeper sand bed. Whatever happened, I’m not complaining because I’ve now got something i can truly be proud of showing. and while it’s not the greatest, it’s certainly moving in the right direction. below are some photos from my phone, including one of the old tank just to give an idea on the transformation that’s taken place with the changing of the tanks. I’ll get the 20D out this weekend and take some better pics.
Also, need some advice on two subjects. First off, i’ve got two clowns that seem to be pairing up nicely and a wonderful sebae nem that’s been thriving. Problem: the clowns just don’t seem to be interested in hosting it. They keep rubbing up on my hairy mushroom frags, duncan, and even zoas, but not the nem. And i know they can see it because they swim near it to host the duncans :-?. Second questions, about a month ago, i bought a yellow spotted mandarin. I’m getting worried because while he’s not acting funny or anything, he doesn’t seem to be growing. I’ve seen tiny critters all over the tank, so i know he’s got food in there, but is there anything i can give to suplement that someone’s had good experience with?
Original tank (over a year old when this pic was taken):
Well first and foremost - BEAUTIFUL tank!!! Looks fantastic.
Secondly - nice pictures from a phone!!! That’s impressive - my phones camera shoots like crap.
I can’t get over how clean the tank looks - nothing in the water column, nice crisp bright, corals look happy, rockwork arranged nicely, very imipressive all around - well done.
As far as clowns and hosting in a nem - good luck - clowns are kind of stupid about what they choose to host in - I’ve seen tanks COVERED in anemones and the clowns chose the powerhead instead. Sometimes you just ahve to suck it up and realize that while the anemone is beauitiful to you, it looks like section 8 housing to them.
As far as the madarin is concerned, you can try spot feeding it frozen food soaked in garlic to try to entice eating, use a turkey baster, or long dropper and if the fish will elt you get close just squirt the food right in front of it. I’ve read of people using petri dishes, or small saucers to make a feeding station for them in order to get them eating frozen / prepared foods, but it does take time and patience.
[quote=“Cdangel0, post:2, topic:6018”]
while the anemone is beauitiful to you, it looks like section 8 housing to them.[/quote]
:: too funny.
Thanks! Yeah everything has been crazy happy. In fact, I have to start getting rid of some neon green palau nepthea if anyone is interested in trading. definitely some pulsating xenia too. I’d even be willing to trade that stuff for chaeto.
how do i go about “soaking” in garlic? this sounds interesting and i’m definitely willing to do it if it’ll help the little guy.
When you put the prepared food in a cup, either for thawing or for tank distibution, simply add liquid garlic (sold at your friendly neighborhood fish store) and let sit for a while before adding food to the tank.
nope the bulbs had been changed a month or two prior to making the tank switch. so the bulbs are about six to seven months old. i can’t even remember what bulbs i got in there now. i’m pretty sure two are a 75/25 and the others are 14k or similar.
Your clowns will decide if they want to host the anemone, I have a pair that are constantly laying eggs but they will go no where near my big green carpet, they will only host the big wall hammer in the front. Maybe try moving the anemone little closer to where there at and move what there tring to host and see if they change. If I move my hammer, Ive had the clowns jump out of the water tring to get back in the hammer .
Looks great, and i’m glad you’re finally proud enough to show it YahoO
nice and healthy looking!
as far as the clowns go, i’m pretty convinced mine will eventually full out be hosted by my sabae. The female now spends more time hovering over the nem then their flower pot now.
If you don’t mind a small pot in your tank for awhile it may be worth a try… You can read through my thread if you want http://delreefclub.org/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=28&topic=6584.0 and i also can give a few more pointers may if you’re interested in trying…
[quote=“saltcreep, post:9, topic:6018”]
If you don’t mind a small pot in your tank for awhile it may be worth a try… You can read through my thread if you want http://delreefclub.org/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=28&topic=6584.0 and i also can give a few more pointers may if you’re interested in trying… [/quote]
yeah i read your thread the other day and saw the pics of the nem coming in through the back of the pot…probably the creepiest thing i’ve ever seen. reminded me of the shining. :: but i’m certainly interested in any ideas. we can talk more about it when i deliver your nepthea. i’ll post a pic of your frag tonight as well so you know what you’re getting.
[quote=“houndsbayman, post:7, topic:6018”]
Did you place the new tank in a different location in your house?[/quote]
same room exact spot on the opposite wall. Because i live in a town home, this spot gets exactly the same indirect light exposure from the double doors at the end of the apartment, which is realistically as minimal as possible for my apartment. pics to come tonight when i get home. roomie stole the camera yesterday, but i’ll get it back today… slap-stick
some close ups with my canon 20D. lens isn’t the best, and i’m also not sure exactly what my settings should be for good pics, but for anyone camera oriented, i shot at 80mm macro. tried to select 100 as my film type, but because of the lighting, i couldn’t get a quick enough shutter release, so i had to drop to a 400 which i think accounts for the loss of clarity. that and i’m not a good photographer verdict_in
you should be able to crank up the iso to 800 and still get good quality on the computer screen ::
the pic of your xenia turned out very sharp… did you do anything diff on that one?
and if you’re shooting macro hand-held you need a fast shutter speed…
there’s lots of factors though… some main ones are "are u closer to the subject then the lenses’ minimum focus distance, or are you shooting at an angle through the glass (that is a biggie, try to keep the cameras lens perpendicular to the glass of the tank), also shutting off the flow in the tank helps…
for example if i’m shooting handheld with a 100mm macro, i use a 400 or 800 iso, and a shutter speed about 250 - 300. and i usually use the TV mode on the camera (time value) that way the camera will set the aperture to match my shutter speed…
I could go on all day about this, but hope some info helps… just ask and i’ll blab more ::
[quote=“saltcreep, post:14, topic:6018”]
great pics ::[/quote]
abcd
by the way, in case anyone is wondering why the frogspawn has a small cooked shrimp in there, i can explain. A long time ago, when i was searching for a healthy but economical food for anenomes and duncans and such, i had the idea of feeding them salad shrimp. I knew it probably wasn’t kosher and might turn some heads, but i figured i’d give it a go. If the only difference between these and normal shrimp was that they were cooked, i didn’t think it would cause much of a problem. Plus, at $1 a bag for a bag that last A LONG time, it’s better to find out early if it’s worth it or not. i gotta say, i’m super pleased. my duncans, frogspawn and sebae absolutely LOVE the shrimp. not only that, but once i started feeding, i saw massive growth and much more brilliant coloring in both the anenome and the coral. not only that, but they started opening a lot larger too. Nothing ever gets left behind either because if they don’t finish the job, my fish are more than happy to. I’m sure this isn’t a new idea, but i just wanted to share my success in case anyone was nervous to try.
: too funny.
:
: but if they like it GolfC