jlanger's 120gal Arts and Crafts Inspired Reef Build (1 Viewer)

[jlanger]

Before I get to the fish pics, here's a top down look at the new Reef Slope.

There is A LOT of corals framed into this one pic.
I moved the Miyagi Tort back into it's original location on the top of the slope; it is the king!
I was able to replace my Oregon Blue Tort with a new frag; still a striking blue coral!
I added Forest Fire Digitata, a Tyree Pink Lemonade and "Purple Jade" frags to the upper most region and trimmed down the M. Setosa.
I wedged in a nice Cali Tort with two branches at the base of the slope along with one of the new Setosa frags.
Moving the scroll coral under the slope was a good decision. It really adds a different texture to the plethora of sticks and it complements the other colors in that region.
And to frame the slope, I placed the Toxic Green Tort at the top and the Neon Green Acropora towards the bottom.
Finally, the Duncan colonies fill out the slope at the bottom.
An astute observer will notice a couple of Bright blue mushrooms tucked in on the backside.
These came in as very small hitchhikers on a M. digitata colony and have grown very well.

From my count, there's twenty-two different corals in this small section of my reef.

And here's a fish teaser for today...

My female M. bipartitus Leopard Wrasse.
She has done very well in my system. She has no issues eating. She picks pods off the rocks and glass, but relishes the LRS frozen foods.
I am tempted to try and add another leopard to make a pair, but I'm concerned with how aggressive she may be towards another fish being added so much later.
A beautiful and graceful wrasse for a "smaller" reef system.

Many more pictures to come in the next few days.

 

[jlanger]

Here's more pics of those pesky fish.

Female Lamarck's Angelfish.
She's still the queen of the reef.
She'll give quick chases to the tangs and rabbitfishes to let them know she's in charge; but nothing serious.

Male Lyretail Anthias.
And here's the king. He's ever present out in front of the reef.

One of the female Lyretail Anthias.
This is the larger female. For anthias, all of them are very well fed and robust; nice big bellies.

Kole Tang.
Still a favorite fish of mine. I just wished it would slow down for some decent pics.

Mimic Lemonpeel Tang.
Definitely a great Acanthurus sp. tang for a shorter reef tank!
It may act timid and shy but if confronted by the angelfish, this fish will stand it's ground very well.

Onespot Foxface.
This fish loves algae! It will devour any bubble algae it finds on frags. Between the two tangs and two rabbitfish, my reef hasn't had any nuisance algae issues in the two years the reef has been running.

Scribbled Rabbitfish.
This was a fish from my "Must-haves" list and I love it!
The striking coloration isn't noticeable at first glance but when you really look, the colors and patterns on this fish are incredible.
And as the picture shows, there has been no attempts at eating any of the zoanthids or other fleshy corals.

Percula Clownfish pair.
These two have become the old grumpy couple of the reef tank.
With all of the recent aquascaping, the female has reverted into biting my hand again. A minor inconvenience for the amount of attention they seem to get from visitors.

Male Ruby Red Dragonet.
This little guy (although not little for the species; he's a big boy) adds a big punch of red when he's swimming about the rocks. He's not shy or intimidated by the other fish, so he is visible most of the time.
Every night like clockwork, he swims into the water column flashing his impressive dorsal fin looking for females.

The African Midas Blenny and the Randall's goby are still doing well; just didn't get any pictures worth sharing.
The two pistol shrimps are also doing well; keeping the sand bed well mixed and turned over.
You can see the blenny and goby in this shot. This is what it looks like whenever I walk up to the tank; it must be feeding time!

That's enough for now; I think.
I did take a look at the video I took, but it's bleh... So who knows if I'll post it.

 

[jlanger]

Oh yeah... Here's the birthday timeline photos.

Initial FTS from 2012; actually Feb, 2013.


One Year Old FTS; Dec 2013.


Two Year Old FTS; Dec 2014.

 

[jlanger]

Not much has been happening to the system lately; thanks to hockey season.
But I did add a new little fish to the community; a yellow clown goby.



Not a great pic, but I wanted to show how small (~1") this fish really is; and brightly colored!

A big "Thanks" goes out to Josh (HolyCrapOuch) for this goby.
The fish was being harassed in his tank and he reached out to me to see if I wanted it for my "Blenny and Goby" tank. That tank isn't quite ready yet, but I said i could add it to my 120gal. There should be plenty of hiding spaces in that tank for it to find solace.
I added the fish yesterday during my water change to mask the introduction of the new resident. None of the other fish noticed anything; they just know they get fed after the water change.
Today, the clown goby is perching and swimming confidently amongst the corals with no issues from the other fish.
I think it will do just fine in the 120gal. But if I need a bright yellow punch of color in the Fluval tank, I may make the move.

As a side note... You can really see how much water flow the corals get when such a small fish is in the tank.
When the goby perches on the corals, you can see how much of a struggle it is to remain at that spot with the water flow. What looks like to be a very calm aquarium is really a chaotic array of currents. That is good.

 

[jlanger]

A couple of weekends ago, another hockey parent and I were discussing photography. Trying to take photos in a hockey rink is just about as hard as taking pictures of reef fish; fast action with lighting issues.
She said I could borrow her "old" camera (Canon EOS Rebel XT) with a couple of lenses.

I finally got around to taking some photographs today.
The photos have a definitive difference in quality and appearance than my Sony NEX-3N. The Sony seems to be brighter and have a "pop" about them, and these have a sharper contrast tending to be darker.
I have gotten so used to having the image displayed on a LCD screen than looking through the viewfinder.
These are a sample of those that turned out.

I finally got a decent picture of the Miyagi Tort.
A picture from the top-down would really show how big this coral has grown.



Another shot of the same area.
The little Yellow Clown Goby spends most of its time weaving in and out of these corals.



One of the new coral/color combinations I like from the new aquascape is the Forest Fire Digitata placed in front of the Neon Green Lobophyllia.



Another shot showing the coral combination.



And here's a shot from the right end of the tank.
The red montipora is growing considerably large; imagine that. But the little clown goby likes to hide amongst the plates so it will remain; for now.



And here's a coral that is really starting to come into its own.
This was a "Fuzzy Purple Acro" frag I picked up from PetCo - Minnetonka about a year ago.
When the purple polyps are out, it looks amazing.



Not too bad after only playing with the camera for about an hour.
I'm sure I'll be taking more pictures over the next couple of weeks and figuring out what works best for my tank.
I really should change my plans and attend the photography workshop coming up.
Any criticism would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jlanger]

Something I should mention that I learned from dosing the NO-POX.

I have been using the dosing pump to dose the Red Sea NO-POX into my system. Over time, the check valve deteriorated and eventually split apart causing a little mess.
I'm not positive that the NO-POX caused the check valve to split or if it was just a coincidence. But I'm thinking that the methanol may have eaten away at whatever bonded the two halves of the valve together. I repaired the valve with superglue; but I removed the inner valve parts so it is no just a fancy coupler.
We'll have to see how this reacts over time again.

Just thought I would throw that bit of information out there for those considering dosing the NO-POX and using a check valve.

 

[HolyCrapOuch]

Excellent pics! Glad the little goby is doing great.

 

[jlanger]

Excellent pics! Glad the little goby is doing great.

Thanks.

That little goby really is doing well. It definitely has its confidence back.
The goby swims wherever it pleases without any attention from the larger fish. When it comes to feeding time, it will swim out in the water column with all of the other fish taking bits of food; sometimes even pieces it cannot fit into its mouth.
When we look at the tank, finding the goby has become a game of sorts.

 

[jlanger]

I finally got around to setting up my new Apex Controller.
UGH!!! What a headache, that was!
Everything out of the box was great. No problems getting it all configured when hooked up to my router. But when I needed to add a third party wireless adapter and go wireless, then it all crapped the bed.
A few hours of messing around this morning with "tech support" (Thanks Chris!), I made a verbal threat of physical aggression towards the damn thing and it decided to work! #RageAgainstTheMachine

So now that that's working, I have a lot of work to do inside the stand with all new wire management.
And I need to figure out what all of this technical lingo is what it stands for. What I need to use. What I can dismiss. Where is the WXM in Fusion?
But I need to do regular maintenance first; a water change and a good sump cleaning! Spring Cleaning!

But I did take some time to snap some pictures.
My female Percula Clownfish is getting HUGE!
I'm sure if I moved them into a breeding system, it wouldn't take long for them to lay eggs.
But I like them in the reef enough to keep them in there.



And here's a quick pic of the male Ruby Red Dragonet.
Still doing very well and looking for some mates; someday.

 

[Gary]

Great Pics! What kind of camera are you using?

I was happy to see your Miagi "Tort had some lime green coloration. Mine started to do that about a month ago and I wondered if he was unhappy or just starting to color up better from some trace element dosing I've been doing.

 

[rlinusc]

Gorgeous pictures! i want to hear how the Apex is treating you as well.

 

[jlanger]

Great Pics! What kind of camera are you using?

I was happy to see your Miagi "Tort had some lime green coloration. Mine started to do that about a month ago and I wondered if he was unhappy or just starting to color up better from some trace element dosing I've been doing.

Thanks.
I'm using a Sony NEX-3N; actually quite nice for a "Point-n-Shoot" camera.

My Miyagi Tort has always had a bit of the green color, but it's a nightmare to photograph. It's size/shape and location make it difficult to photograph without having some bad shadows or light reflections (top-down pics) that play havoc with the camera. It's probably the coral with the most photographs taken of it, but it has the least photos worth sharing.
And it's a very strong coral. It withstood A LOT of the stinging from the RBTA and it has recovered and continued to grow.

Gorgeous pictures! i want to hear how the Apex is treating you as well.

Thanks.
Now that the Apex found my wireless network, things have been much better.
There's still a lot that I will need to learn. I'm sure it will take some time for me to settle in and feel comfortable. Then I can start thinking of ways to make the controller work for me; maybe revisit my Tidal Surge theory.

 

[jlanger]

I was happy to see your Miagi "Tort had some lime green coloration.

Gary, here's the best shot of the Miyagi Tort I got from today.



You can make out the dead skeleton behind the Forest Fire Digitata, but the coral still looks good from there on up.
The best section of this coral is the branch on the back going to the right. It is in fact very wide across the top; almost tabling before it reaches out.
I'll continue to try and get some decent pictures of this coral.

If only the Oregon Blue Tort would start to grow!
I know that they're much slower growing, but it's hard to wait.
But that Forest Fire Digitata is growing really well!

 

[LowersMyBP]

What is the hold up on getting that dragonet some babes? I saw a bunch of those at wet world in eagan yesterday.

You don't see the wxm on your apex or in fusion, you will just see your vortechs as outlets to program once they are assigned.

 

[ohuno]

Hello, you should put some of those pictures on the apex fusion site. They are GREAT!

~david

 

[jlanger]

What is the hold up on getting that dragonet some babes? I saw a bunch of those at wet world in eagan yesterday.

The hold up? My second tank.
I've been concentrating on getting the Fluval tank cycled and established; just waiting for the diatom bloom to phase out.
I'm planning on adding a batch of females to the Fluval to "quarantine". When I've added females directly into the 120gal, they've all disappeared quickly. With having them in a smaller environment, I should be able to monitor them easier.

BTW, the Miyagi Tort shown above was from the frag I got from you a couple of years ago.

You don't see the wxm on your apex or in fusion, you will just see your vortechs as outlets to program once they are assigned.

Thanks.
I read about that this morning and I think I am only going to add the Vortech pumps to the Apex and leave the Radions on the Reeflink.
I'm using a slightly modified EcoTech template for my lighting schedule which doesn't look to be supported by Fusion.

Hello, you should put some of those pictures on the apex fusion site. They are GREAT!

~david

Thanks!

 

[jlanger]

It happened!
Right now, even as I am typing this, my female Percula Clownfish is laying eggs!

She must have started laying eggs sometime just before 6PM.
When I fed the fish when I got home from work, nothing was amiss. But when I checked on the tank and fed them again around 6PM, I noticed that the clownfish were not interested in the food and were not leaving their little territory. Low and behold, they were busy!

Here's some quick photos of the event.

She is depositing the eggs on the base of the ORA Red Goniopora coral in which you can see them just below her fin; pale pink in color.



This is definitely a family affair.
As the female lays the eggs, the male will attend to the others by blowing on them.



Just another picture showing the two fish working together.
Periodically the female will leave the area (but not too far) to take a break, but the male will stay and fan the eggs while she is away.



One last shot showing more of the clutch.




Of course, she had to do this on the day before we leave for the weekend.
But I suppose it is better to actually watch her doing this, than to come home and find them; if they survive from being eaten. With how aggressive she is with me and my hands in the tank, she may be able to protect them until they hatch.
I have no intention on trying to save the eggs. The pair of clownfish are on their own.

I have taken a little clip of video showing her depositing the eggs on the rock.
I'll have to see if it is even worth editing and posting later.

WOOHOO!!! :greenguy:

 

[jlanger]

Well...
The eggs survived the night. The parental pair has kept a vigil watch. The female will venture away to eat and watch me as I watch them, but the male doesn't leave the clutch for anything.
The clutch ended up being about 2" in diameter. She stopped laying eggs around 8PM. So it was a good two hours of hard work.

We're about to head out the door for the weekend, so I'm hoping for the best.
Now that I have the tank hooked up to my Apex Controller, I wish I had a webcam so I could keep an eye on them while we're gone.

 

[jlanger]

Clownfish Eggs - Day 5 Update.

The clownfish have been able to keep the eggs from being eaten the last five days.
Although, the other fish have not really acknowledged that the eggs are even there.
The eggs have turned from the pink/orange color to a dark purple color.
The male is still very active in keeping the eggs well oxygenated and clean. He rarely leaves the nesting area; even when eating.
The female stays close by and will check on the eggs periodically, but she is more active and swims about more. She is still fanning the sand to create the depression between the corals; must be liking this new motherhood phase.
The male will occasionally pick at the female in a cleaning-like fashion on her underside; not sure what that is about.

I have registered myself and the pair of clownfish with the Marine Breeders Initiative.
I don't really have plans to breed and raise any young clownfish, but I thought that by signing up that at least more information could be gathered on the breeding occurrences in the hobby.
After reading through Tal's website on breeding marine fish, I wish I had the time and resources to set up breeding and grow-out systems for the pair. Not only would it take my involvement in the hobby into a new and exciting area, but it would be pretty educational for me, my family and some friends. My son says he would like to pursue an education in the marine biological field and this would get him some valuable experience for sure.

Here's some pics from tonight; Day 5.







The eggs should be ready to start hatching as early as Thursday night, but I'm hoping for Friday night.
If I'm able to view that event, I will update this thread for sure.

 

[Fragtastic Reef]

Thats awesome man! You going to have babies.