500 days Old... New Pics!

After being into the regular growing up type of fish as a kid I got into Red Belly Pirhana two years ago. I managed to rear seven of the buggers to 7"+ meat eating machines. When I moved them over to a new 55 they all died over 9 days or so. I was very unaware at the time of how a tank should be well established and yada yada... I feel much more enlightened now.

Anyway, two months after they died I was at my LFS picking up a BC29 as what was supposed to be a future quarantine tank for a larger setup. (All pics shot with Nikon D80 and 135 mm lens)EditRecently pics shot with Cannon and 47mm Macro lens)

Born September 3rd 2009


The learning curve was only slightly behind the cycling curve but now I feel fairly confident that I've got the foundation of reefing down.

Full Tank Shot Today. March 16th 2010


Just got done putting the finishing touches on the "presentation" aspect. Picked up a demo'ed countertop from my Re-store for $120. This piece needed one cut across the back to make it work. It puts a strain on the table but its no Ikea POS. I'm riggin something up for shoring it up a bit more. The tank is in my dinette. It gets decent NSL from 6:30 AM to 3 PM and nearly full sun for a few hours.


Baby Oliver - Sailfin Tang Before anyone jumps down my throat about this let me explain... Oliver's body was the size of a nickle 5 months months ago. Now it's over a quarter. I'm thinking he will be my third inhabitant of the 180 38x38x30 I'm working on setting up right now and then he'll have plenty of room. Now thats said, he is by far my favorite fish. He loves seaweed, picks the nussaince algea and mow's brine shrimp.


Heffner - Longhorn Cowfish Awesome fish I just fear that ultimately he won't work well in my tank as it starts to nip at polyps. He gains confidence every day. Literally the size of my thumbnail. Kinda prone to ick though. Possibly due to stress at feeding time? This is why I got the UV 6x.



Chromis - I dislike this fish but it was my cycle fish so... and Ollie frolicking in the open.


Serpent Starfish - I love this thing. Unfortunately it ate my first Sandsifter contradictory to them being completely passive. Within a week of being together it had dragged it into the cave and devoured one and a half of the arms before I discovered the cannibalism. Now I keep him fat with krill bodies and he doesn't bother the new Sifter any more. Just today I found an earthworm crawlin outside and dropped it in for sh!ts. Quite comical. Skunk got to it first and tried to whorde it but the serpent snatched it and devoured it within minutes. Hopefully nothing bad happens to my tank after the terrestrial intruder.


Mister Cleaner doin his business on Gold miner. Posed for only a few seconds. Got lucky on this shot.


Zoanthinids - Frag was ~15 heads 4 months ago. The growth on this has singlehandedly turned me from a fish guy to a reef guy.


Unknown Frag from LFS which I believe to be a Kenya Tree? But its so tall sometimes when the sun hits it so I don't know. Thoughts?


In the coming weeks/months I'm going open top with a Coralife 6 Lamp 20" T5 and looking for a pair of baby Picasso clowns to replace the Chromis who I'm giving to a friend.

And thats it for now. More pics later. Good reefing.

 

Thats so cool I love the sailfin i want one,, that huge brittle scares me

 

Thanks man. Like I said Ollie is my favorite. I can't wait to get my larger tank set up so he can really stretch his fins. In the larger tank I'm interested in housing 3 tangs. I'd like a purple and an Achilles to compliment the sailfin. Thoughts on compatibility and introduction strategy?

I have some bad news though. The boxfish is now to become an ornament of sorts as his body dries out. He was doing so great until I posted this thread. After which he took a rapid decline. Normally he would vigorously chase the dead frozen brine shrimp catching and eating at least a dozen every feeding. But for the last two days he hasn't eaten at all. Last night he seemed very disoriented and lethargic. Just before the lights went out he got stuck on the powerhead. After I turned it off he immediately swam away. But he proceeded to bump into stuff like he was blind. Anyone have problems with camera flashes hurting their fish? Maybe its just a terrible coincidence. But the first time I took pics of the tank... Rest peacefully my friend.

 

Ha, I giggle every time i see a cowfish at the LFS. Definitely a cool looking fish

 

With such a low water volume, be careful with a cowfish. If they die, the toxins they release can nuke a tank. Looks awesome though!!!

 

Indeed about the cow. I was scared to death of the possible nuke. I watched like a hawk for about 20 hours until it was clear that he was taking his last breaths nestled along the back wall at the bottom. Surprisingly right in serpent star territory but the star refused to eat it; knowing its poisoness instinctually? He expired in a glass as I watched. Poor guy. Sorry ocean. But after being gone for the weekend I'm happy to report that everything seems A okay. Just a full cup of skim and some high SG.


I'm getting to the point of ordering my open top light fixture and I'm stuck between two options. The BC29 is 20" wide and so is this

Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5 Aquarium Lighting Fixture, 6X18 Watt, 20 inch

and this in either a 150w or 250w

Amazon.com: 20 inch Current USA SunPod 1x150W 14K HQI-MH w/ 12 Lunar Lights: Kitchen & Dining

My main reason for the open top quest besides the obvious aesthetics is the temp control issue. Last year setting up the tank I was easily seeing 81 degrees as fall set in. So, in an effort not to need to maintain 70 degrees in my house using the AC I want to keep evap and airflow high. Anybody have experience with 150w and 250w pendandts or open tops on the BC29's? Temps effected and to what extent? I'd be all over the 6 bulbs 18w Current USA but it seems replacement bulbs are difficult to come by and the lack of a all in one lunar light solution. Oh, why can ATI make a 20" 6 or 8 Lamp T5?


Pics soon of new frags I'm picking up this week.

 

Still on the fence about which open top fixture to go with. And my decision just became much harder with the Maxspect 110w G2 out now. Oh boy...

 

More picks of the longhorn!! I love those guys!

 

What color is that brittle star?

 

The serpent star is green with yellowish spines. Yes, I'm aware of the possible flaws with this guy. If he takes something out I'm takin him out.

Sorry whippy, the longhorn wasn't satisfied with the environment I guess and bit the dust.