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Luv68tiger
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Topic: MARCH 2013 TOTM Posted: March 26 2013 at 12:16pm |
I think that is a great idea! I for one would be interested in both the food and dosing mixes and am sure others would appreciate it too! Let me know if you ever want to do a trial (i would pay of course) with a newbie and a young 180 tank!
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~Michelle
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BobC63
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Posted: March 26 2013 at 12:00pm |
Sandbed is about 3 inches of mixed fine grain and medium grained sand
I feed the tank once a day using a home made frozen mix... I am still working on the 'formula' but it has over 30 ingredients in it, of all different types and particle sizes, plus some vitamins. IMO one of the keys to a healthy system is feeding the tank as wide a variety as possible; my special food makes it easy because you only have to feed 1 thing instead of opening 10 different trays + 10 cans of dry food and or liquids. Think about it. In the wild, how does a reef "eat"? It's not like God reaches down with a giant can of Spectrum pellets once a day and shakes it over the ocean or something... different things eat different things, and not everything eats the one same thing, day after day...
And I dose with home made DIY formulations that expand on the standard "2 part / 3 part" recipes... I have added certain trace elements like Boron, Strontium, Manganese into the mix because IMO corals grow stronger with them (not just in growth rate, but in hardiness of the corals and coloration)
I am very tempted to actually take my food and dosing mixes 'commercial' once I feel I have really nailed them down 100%. The food I am developing a delivery methodology that nobody else in the marine foods business has done yet. Maybe later this year, who knows, could be the next 'big thing'???
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Luv68tiger
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Posted: March 26 2013 at 11:38am |
Bob I hope you don't mind a few questions. How deep is your sand bed? What all do you use to feed? How often do u feed? I appreciate you sharing your knowledge!
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~Michelle
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BobC63
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Posted: March 26 2013 at 10:07am |
bstuver wrote:
Looks amazing and the naso and possum look to be doing well:-) |
Yeah, "Kong" is loving his new home and he hasn't knocked over a single coral yet... he's a "gentle giant" I guess... But the big guy LOVES bloodworms
And it's funny how the 2 fish are like, "pals" despite the tremendous size difference. The Possum is always following the Naso around the tank
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: March 26 2013 at 10:03am |
thathiep wrote:
Very nice!! Love the mixed corals and very healthy fishes. How do you maintain your system with loaded of fishes? |
Duy -
1) First I think you need a good skimmer to remove some of the organic waste before it breaks down, along with a good flowing system to keep everything suspended in the water column and not settling on the rocks and sand:
2) Then I think you need a decent sandbed for this high of a bioload, as the sandbed is the main processor of ammonia and nitrites into nitrates in your system... If I was going BB I don't think I could have as many fish;
3) And I think you need to make sure you have enough live rock; since that is your main de-nitrator in your system and if you have too little your nitrates will keep creeping up due to the high bioload. I see a lot of people skimping on Live Rock due to the cost, and then wondering why they have constant problems with nitrates / hair algae / etc;
4) Then I think you need a lot of coral to pull any remaining nutrients out of the water. The sponges and clams probably also help with that
5) After that, It's just following the basic reefkeeping principles on things like changing out filter socks frequently so stuff doesn't linger and rot in there (I change mine every day or every 2 days);
I use a turkey baster to blow of f the rocks and corals every few days to help keep them from being covered in detritus or slime; If you run carbon and / or GFO (I run both in a BRS dual chamber reactor) make sure you change it frequently (every 2 weeks for carbon, monthly for GFO); keep your parameters as stable as possible (things like using an ATO and dosing regularly); feed a good variety on foods and don't overfeed; don't go too long on water changes (I do 16 gallons once a month, and I vaccum the sandbed when I change the water to get out any crud)
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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bstuver
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Posted: March 18 2013 at 7:00pm |
Looks amazing and the naso and possum look to be doing well:-)
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Jackie Stuver
"wait these aren't the happy Hawaiians oompa doompa godly heaven on your face zoas? I dont want them then. lol!" Ksmart
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thathiep
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Posted: March 18 2013 at 5:45pm |
Very nice!! Love the mixed corals and very healthy fishes. How do you maintain your system with loaded of fishes?
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Aquatic Evolution
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Posted: March 18 2013 at 3:31pm |
Looks awesome Bob!
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JohnnyHeavens
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Posted: March 18 2013 at 9:50am |
Nice! Thanks for the follow up pics
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@Home 300g System 150g-Cube Reef+60g Frag+WaterChange 150g Tall FOWLR RIP @Work RSM 130D w/LEDs txt anytime @ eightO1-seven5five-eighteen99 Scuba! PADI Pro DM/AI/TecDeep NSS/CDS-Full Cave Diver
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Turbostud653
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Posted: March 17 2013 at 11:49pm |
Awesome tank BOB!
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Here is what a customer said while on hold Oh my gosh! Did you open the door? I told you not to open the door. Dre is in here completely naked and he's got freak'n Macaroni and Cheese in his hands.
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BobC63
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Posted: March 17 2013 at 6:35pm |
I figured I still had a little bit of room for more coral so I picked up a few things this weekend...
Aquatic Evolution advertised a sale on 'huge" zoa colonies from Viet Nam for just $49... and they weren't kidding on the size!
For size comparison, my Richmond's Wrasse is 5+ inches long... the zoa colony is at least 9" X 4" and I guesstimate 300 - 350 polyps? That's less than 15 cents pp
They're still acclimating to my tank a bit, but I saw them open in the store and they were awesome! I actually bought 2 and the other one is a mixed colony of maybe a half dozen types /colors
And while I was there I picked out another sweet Acro colony; beige with neon sky blue tips... the picture does not do it justice - the blue tips "pop" like unbelievable; and the colony itself is almost tennis -ball sized, with maybe 25+ branches... for $59! Crazy prices down here in UT County
Then I went up to The Aquarium and scored a few more sweet SPS (!)
A real nice Red Robin:
And a gorgeous Cali Blue Tort:
And my wife's favorite color is orange... so, I had to get this one. Around 3" across; not sure if it is a monti or what - but it has a cool orange 'pop':
Here's a bunch more random photos I took today.
Newest fish: Possum Wrasse
SPS Garden
Yellow Birdsnest I got from Shelby (lskurys) a few weeks back
Coral Wars - Blue Undata vs. Red Montipora! The Undata says "the heck with you - I'll just grow right over ya!"
Got this Miami Hurricane from CJ (Mr Gray) about a month ago; it had 8 or 9 eyes when I got it.
Check out how many eyes now! (I counted 15!)
Coming next... I just special ordered another sponge that no one else has... I need something really cool for the Reef Tour !
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Dan9554880
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Posted: March 17 2013 at 5:42pm |
BobC63 wrote:
tfmreefs wrote:
Love it!! Whats the halloween starfish? I have never heard/ seen one( i dont think so anyways..) |
Â
Honestly, my daughter just gave it that name because of the color scheme (neon orange and black)...
Â
Here is a little better photo of the top side so you can see what I mean:
Â
Â
This photo was taken before the lights came on... when the tank is lit with the halides the starfish has a really cool neon effect; it almost "glows"...
Â
I got it from LRNR beginning of February, and so far it seems to be doing great. It is about 5" across from tip to tip...
 | They call them Florida common star
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210 Mixed Reef 20 Nuvo nano reef Learn your tank, not the hobby
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BobC63
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Posted: March 17 2013 at 5:33pm |
Dan9554880 wrote:
Looks great!!! Also I have a question if you don't mind me asking how's is the heniochus doing with coral and where did you get it? Thanks |
The heni doesn't bother corals at all - I got it at Aquatic Evo about 3 weeks ago
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: March 17 2013 at 5:31pm |
tfmreefs wrote:
Love it!! Whats the halloween starfish? I have never heard/ seen one( i dont think so anyways..) |
Honestly, my daughter just gave it that name because of the color scheme (neon orange and black)...
Here is a little better photo of the top side so you can see what I mean:
This photo was taken before the lights came on... when the tank is lit with the halides the starfish has a really cool neon effect; it almost "glows"...
I got it from LRNR beginning of February, and so far it seems to be doing great. It is about 5" across from tip to tip...
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Dan9554880
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Posted: March 14 2013 at 5:19pm |
Looks great!!! Also I have a question if you don't mind me asking how's is the heniochus doing with coral and where did you get it? Thanks
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210 Mixed Reef 20 Nuvo nano reef Learn your tank, not the hobby
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BrentD
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Posted: March 14 2013 at 5:04pm |
Looks awesome Bob!
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JohnnyHeavens
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Posted: March 14 2013 at 9:59am |
Congratz on TOTM! It looks like a great system!
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@Home 300g System 150g-Cube Reef+60g Frag+WaterChange 150g Tall FOWLR RIP @Work RSM 130D w/LEDs txt anytime @ eightO1-seven5five-eighteen99 Scuba! PADI Pro DM/AI/TecDeep NSS/CDS-Full Cave Diver
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evan127
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Posted: March 13 2013 at 11:41am |
Awesome tank Bob! Everything looks healthy and happy! Great coral placement too! Over 40 species and it doesn't look like everything is crowded or thrown in.
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tfmreefs
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Posted: March 13 2013 at 11:15am |
Love it!! Whats the halloween starfish? I have never heard/ seen one( i dont think so anyways..)
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"The early bird might get the worm, but only the second mouse gets the cheese."
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Akira
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Posted: March 07 2013 at 3:53am |
Bob, What a great looking tank ! Congrats on TOTM . Also wanted to say thanks for all build info I have been able to read on all of your set ups. You never disappoint when I read your threads.
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