evolved's 190g Reef: Wrasse Retreat (Updated 2/6, Pg 33)

The tank looks good and I love the dimensions. I like the new additions too. That site has some cool fish.

 

The tank is looking great!! You definitely have some nice sized colonies there!

 

Very nice tank and setup. Awesome aquascaping. What return pumps are you using for this great tank?

 

Looking awesome Hunter. You are going to love the extra space I'm sure...until it is time to upgrade again .

One question, what is the red coral on your sand bed, it looks like it is between the two islands. It has orange polyps. Is that a pagoda cup?

 

Thanks Chris. Part of the mantle of the clam lost its zoax where it was shaded by the gold torch in the old tank. I wasn't overly worried about it here, but I've been keeping a close eye on it. Seems it's already regaining color after being exposed now for 10 days.

Because you didn't ask? Too late now; already done.

Thanks Andrew. Perhaps you'll consider keeping yours now?

Thank you sir. I like to stay in touch with my secret supply lines. Seriously though, it's a great company to buy from.

Thanks Travis. Some grow as fast as I can frag them. :

Thanks. And appreciate the comment on the aquascape; we tried hard to get that right.
Return pump is a Eheim 1262, fed to a 1" line which branches to the two 3/4" returns. Plenty of flow to the sump. The DT has 2 MP40s and 2 MP10s, which primarily supply flow.

Thank you. And no; I don't think an upgrade like this will be happening again. It's been quite the chore.

The coral you speak of is actually what has become a large (and prized) chalice. Started the size of a half dollar once upon a time. It's mean too; kills anything it touches.

There's a pagoda cup in the tank too; over to the right near the front right corner. It's polyps are rather close together as I've always had it in medium-high flow. Looks very fuzzy.

 

Looks fantastic Hunter.

The scape broken up in the middle shows off the fish much better IMO.

Great Acan corner garden.

It's amazing how flat the tops of the sps get at the surface and then you move them down. Some of your pieces have gotten huge.

Did you have the mixed dark substrate before?

Are you sitting staring at it right now? Because that is all I would be able to do for a couple months. I love clean clean glass.

 

Wow Hunter, that is some Chalice! I can see why you considered it highly prized. I honestly didn't know that they could take that kind of growth pattern. I guess I thought they were all encrusting corals.

I see the Pagoda now as well.

The more I look at this tank, the more I love the dimensions on it as well. It especially looks good filled up with all your nicely sized corals.

I hope the new adds are settling in nicely.

+1 to Corailline...I would be getting nothing done but just staring at that tank all day.

 

Thanks Cheryl.

I thought you'd like the acan garden. Much easier to appreciate them all having them in close proximity.

Some colonies are quite large now. And the "flatness" of the birdsnest is already a bit diminished. I've got my money on 2 months before you can't even tell it was at the surface before.

I did not have the same substrate before; was all white sand. My favorite LFS in town has this same substrate in their 72x60x30 reef, and it's something I've really come to love about it. Very happy with that choice so far.

And yes; I've been staring at it a lot. Hard to focus on the TV when it's on. In fact, I still have to finishing taking down the old tank and move it out of the room. I've been too busy staring.

Also, the starfire is amazing. I can see colors, especially highlights, which were invisible before. More motivation to keep the glass clean. I also plan to keep the back of the tank clean this time around too. Not sure if I'll be able to keep up on the overflow box however; we'll see.

Pretty much all chalices can plate once they've attached to something.

So far, so good with everything. Thanks for the kind words.

 

That does not look like a nearly 200 gallon tank. To me, that means the proportions are great! I'm interested to see how your Starfire holds up. How are you cleaning it? Your hard work shows!! 8)

 

I presume that means it looks larger than 200 gallons?
And by what do you mean "how your Starfire holds up"? There's an implication there Starfire is more susceptible to 'something', but this is news to me.
Cleaning with a hammerhead mag float, with brand new pads. I take great care near the substrate, and leave myself a 1/2" or so of breathing room. I've also been running it across the back of the tank; I intentionally left the tank ~4.5" from the wall to make reaching behind it possible without undue struggle.

Thanks Jerry.