Lucas's Rimless Shallow Reef - Long overdue update!

Any update on the meteor shower cyphastrea? I'm wondring if it rubbed on that spot in the Styrofoam cup on your way home. Next time I send one home with someone of that size, I might want to wrap it up in a plastic bag and then put it in the cup......:-/ My noob packing ways.....:-[

 

Lost the male clownfish today, jumped behind the tank... I think it's been hanging too close the vortech...

I'm just at a loss for words right now, he was part of my dream couple...

Yeah, it's not looking good... Even after the iodine dip. Think youre right about the rubbing... No worries, I would've done the same...

 

So sorry, I left the lid up on my tank for 10 min and my male clown of a couple years jumped last year. Only now I am thinking of replacing him with another clown.

He used to click at me which I found very cool.

:-(

 

I actually remembered your loss tonight, and thought about how upset you were... and while I did not get to know him as well, I now understand how you felt.

I just dont know what to do with the female right now... she just swims back and forth non-stop...

 

Sorry for your loss on the clown. I have had two clowns jump out of my tank in the past. One was a regular Ocellaris male bonded with its mate and the other a Premium ORA Snowflake male not so in love with its Female and I was devastated when that happened on both occasions. Sucks about the meteor shower, I know that is the last thing on your mind right now after losing a very nice fish. Keep me up to date and if you end up losing it, I will have to figure out a way to get another piece off my LR. Sorry again for your loss.

 

Oh no!!!! I thought you had a meshtop?? Im really sorry about your loss..

 

Well, the tank was done for about $150, and that was with all 4 sides starphire. You could do all regular glass for about $50.

The stand ended up costing me about $250-300 in materials, but I used alot of finishing boards, solid wood panels, and expensive hardware.

If on a budget, I'd say one could make a similar tank and basic stand for about $100-150. This doesnt include lights, pumps, etc, etc.

As for spare time... who has that?

No, no meshtop, but now considering it. I've been picking livestock that is not known for jumping, and trying to keep peaceful tankmates to reduce potential stress. Everyone was happy yesterday... but the male kept hanging out very close to the Vortech, and I kept thinking that he might get sucked in or something. Perhaps it sped up quickly and he overcompensated...

Havent seen or heard a fish break the surface until then...

Oh, and as for the photoperiod, same length, I just reduced the intensity down to 50% and will ramp 5% every few days and observe... All the frags are sitting in rock crevices close to their final resting places, I figure they'll get more appropriate flow and light intensity than sitting in a frag rack with the rest of the group.

8:30am Royal blues on, ramp for 90 min
9:15am UV/Blues on
9:30am Whites on, ramp for 60 min
6:30pm Whites ramp down for 60 min
7:00pm Royal blues ramp down for 90 min
7:30pm Whites off
7:45pm UV/Blues off
8:30pm Royal blues off

So basically a 12 hour photoperiod with about 8 hours at 100% of programmed intensity...

Thanks Travis. I've been watching the meteor shower closely, still hoping (probably futile) for a comeback, but the flesh loss seems to be spreading. I tried moving it to a more subdued part of the tank last night.

Dont worry about replacing it... I wouldnt want you to break that beautiful colony.

 

I'm going to see if I can glue a frag plug right on the edge of the colony, in hopes it will just grow right over it. Soon as I get some good growth on the plug I'll yank it off and have it on the rack waiting for you.

 

Update to my journal...

Tank has been a bit hazy for about 3 days, and PE on most of the sps had reduced significantly. I think there are a couple of factors in play here... One, I replaced too much GAC at once, and so removed about half. Two, I raised the lights and turned down to 60% and 65% for blue and white, respectively. Third, I removed about 50ml of bio pellets, so now running a total of 150ml at the moment.

The corals looked much happier today after the changes, and the water cleared a bit.

I am considering changing out the 60 degree optics for 90 degree. Even with the fixture 30ish inches over the water surface, there is still a hotspot in the middle, and tapers a lot towards the edges. This is noticeable even to the naked eye.

My problem is I used a dab of super glue when I fixed the lenses... Does anything think this will pose to be a problem to remove the optics and replace?

Thanks Travis, that is very kind of you. The frag did go in the trash yesterday, the flesh just kept melting off...:-/

 

I was suggested not to use super glue to fix the optics. The fume from it may cloud/damage the LEDs. I used this from Homedepot to glue them:

Ive changed around optics a few times without any issue.