Hello Again!!!

Hello all! I've been 3reefing for about a year but I've been absent lately so I thought I would reintroduce myself.

I'm Ginny, momma to 3 kids and wife to an injured (and disabled) veteran. I am the Drygoods Manager of my LFS and work way too many hours a week. I just recently completed Seachem's three day Marine and Freshwater Chemistry Course and am now a Certified Seachem Expert.

Here is where I work: NorthSide Aquatics - Saltwater Fish, Reef Tanks, Tropical Freshwater Fish, Corals, Cichlids, Aquatic Plants, Aquariums, Reefs, Clams, Ponds, Koi, Installation, and Maintenance

I have 6 tanks running in my house right now and have decided to bite the bullet (because I have fallen in love with a baby tang) and build an 8 foot tank (well, I'm having it built).

The first tank is a 25 Gallon tank with 1-150W MH and 4-24W HO T-5. I've retro-fit it with a sump because the light fixture is a little wider than the tank. I'm just starting to pick up some SPS coral. I have a blue hydnophora and a panape birdsnest. This tank has been running a year but I've moved all the corals that were in it to the 90 Gallon tank. For fish, I have one Royal Gramma, a Barbershop Goby/Pistol Shrimp pair, a Scooter Blenny and a Black Saddleback Clown w/a BTA.

The 90 is a semi-aggressive reef tank with TOO many fish in it. The downside to working in an LFS and feeding fish every day is that when fish are in the store TOO long and start eating out of your hands you won't sell them to just anyone! The story of the Vlamingi will come later. It also has a snowflake eel in it, so the waste factor is pretty high. When the big tank is built this tank will become a Discus tank. Here's the fish list on this one: Pair of Blue Jaw Triggers (who stir the crap out of the sand when they do their breeding thing), Pair of Tomato Clowns, Lawnmower Blenny, Snowflake Eel we've had since he was 4 inches long and looked like a worm, Chocolate Tang, Falco Hawkfish, and the Vlamingi Tang (story coming, I promise).

My Husband has a freshwater planted tank. He has 96 watts of HO T5's on a 29 gallon tank, injects CO2 and spends more on chemicals than I do on both of my reef tanks combined. He loves it though and it's BEAUTIFUL!!!

My daughter, Bailey, has her own 20 gallon reef tank with a HOB ESHOPPS Protein Skimmer, an Aquaclear 30 that she uses as a detritus filter, and a 2x65W Coralife Lunar Aqualight on (she inherited my old light). We set it up for her Christmas and she has a pair of Clown Gobies and a Pair of Yase Hashe Gobies and a CRAP TON of corals. She's a frag swapping little cutie at reef club meetings.

My son, Robert has a 55 gallon tank with two African Sideneck Turtles. By far the messiest tank in the house!

My baby, Maclain (will be 3 in two weeks), has a 3 Gallon Deco with a Royal Dottyback and a Barnacle Blenny, and a slew of corals. He does a 2 gallon waterchange on this tank every week as I can't seem to find a skimmer that'll work well on it. He's so cute dipping water out with a cup and then yelling for me to fill it back up. At least he's learned to dip the water into a bucket and not on the floor.

I'm going to try and be around more, but no promises!!!

As for the Vlamingi! We got a really good special on them from our supplier so we ordered a small school of them. We have a lot of customers with very large tanks so we figured we could sell them easy. We knew they were babies but they were listed as SM-MD which usually means 4-6 inches for a Tang. They came in and they might have been 2 inches long. Do you know what happens to a 2 inch long fish when you put it in a 540 Gallon Bowfront that's already pretty stocked? We had people trying to buy them for their nano tanks! One guy (a local Reef Club Member) has a 240, so when he bought the fish I assumed it was going in his 240. Nope, he put it in a 24 gallon nano and it lived 3 days. We had sold all of them but one and my tank was already full but it's peaceful and the little guy was eating well so I took it home. It eats out of my hand, hogs every picture I take of the tank, hangs out at the glass, pushes the triggers out of the way at feeding time (even when it was 3 inches long). I LOVE this fish! Naso's all have the best personalities but this little guy is amazing! It's also growing like a weed. I brought it home in January, fed the fish into submission, turned out the lights, acclimated the fish and PRAYED that no one mistook it for food. Next morning it was cleaning algae off the front glass along side the Chocolate Tang and didn't run and hide when I walked to the tank (which the Chocolate does). Now it schools with the triggers and is about 7 inches long. It has tripled in size in 4 little months! I'm buying something every time I get paid for my 375, so that when I get the tank in I have everything I need. All for a 2 inch Tang!

Ginny

 

welcome back to 3 reef

Pictures, I hope you have not been away to long that you have forgotten how to post pictures, you have an awful lot of things described above that I for one would like to see

interesting and fascinating account, you have your hands full it seems
thanks for sharing it
Steve

 

I have not forgotten and will try to get pics up this weekend when I'm off of work.

 

JESUS, I didnt have the time to read through the whole thread, but read enough to know that your a real life "Wonder Woman". How in the hell do you find the time to do all that? WOW My hat comes off to you! Stay strong sister.........You definitely earned some karma from me! Luna

 

My husband is AMAZING! He's home full time with the babies. Did I also mention the 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 bird? Guess you now know why I haven't been around for 6 months?

 

I kind of know what you mean. I also have a hectic life style. I have three rug rats of my own and my wife is getting her masters. I also started bike riding and going back to the gym. I sometimes dont have the time to even think. Hope to see you around more. Luna

 

Welcome back!!!!!!!!8)8)

 

Welcome back and please please pictures. Your house sounds like my kind of place. a 3 year old doing water changes? Guess my 5 year old is behind better get him on the ball. Your 25 gallon sounds like it has amazing potential for coral. Tons of good light. Propogation tank for your eight footer maybe?

 

Good to see you back Ginny. Missed you!!!

 

Welcome to 3reef