Biocube29 from mantis tank to Clown heaven

[Polscot]

so i decided to make a mantis tank with other unwanted predators,

started with a 10g tank, ive got a 178 skimmer attacked to it for a ton of flow, so far inside theres 2 big gorilla crabs, (1.5" little one and 2" big one) i got some shots of the crabs,
mantis is being brought down to calgary this weekend via a canreef friend so ill get seom pics of it when it arrives

there a 20lbs bag of live sand, and about 10lbs of live rock, a large macro plant (dont know the name) bout 2lbs of crushed white coral pieces for looks.....

n e ways heres the pics

there in the order from when the tank started to the final,

Ive im the process of transfering into a 29g Biocube and building a custom rock/foam rock wall see final pages
oh, some of my close ups suck if u got advise on how to take pics id love to hear it :)

[Polscot]

k

[Polscot]

oh and if your in calgary and u end up getting bad HH so any type of crab let me know ill gladly drive out and grab it instead of u killing it.

[Wingin It]

You can upload your pics to sites like photobucket.com and then attach the links they provide for the forum.
Interesting concept...I'll tag along ;)
Maybe someday i'll catch the nasty crab that's in my tank...and you'll have yet another crab. :) all I know is he's White and fast! I affectionately call him, 'my little buddy', but really, i don't want him in there.

[Polscot]

easiest way to catch himm depending on size, take a shot glass, put his favotrite food in it and sink it inot the sand, he'll go in but cant swing and therfore cant get out :)......

[xtreme]

Photobucket is free to sign up on. You need it or some other image hosting site in order for your pics to be displayed in the thread like you want.

[Polscot]

tank

[xtreme]

http://register.photobucket.com/

Says it is free on my computer...

[Polscot]

ok

[Polscot]

rock
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0597.jpg?t=1279159553
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0596.jpg?t=1279159553
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0598.jpg?t=1279159553
the crushed coral
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0599.jpg?t=1279159553
algae
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0600.jpg?t=1279159627
the algae and main rock
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0601.jpg?t=1279159627
side shot
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0602.jpg?t=1279159627
Front tank show, this is the final product
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0604.jpg?t=1279159627
one of th 2 crabs


http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0605.jpg?t=1279159627

[coreyskylar]

That is some nice white stuff, what is it, and where can i get some?

[Polscot]

i acctually got it off ebay, just look up bleached white coral, and some will show up, it was a giant piece that i smashed, cant wait to get the mantis in here hes gunna love it

[Greenmaster]

Interesting concept I'll tag along... it could be like a gladiator ring at some point in the future...:lol: someone has some fish or hitchhiker they are going to flush and instead you add it to your tank... video the battles for me wont you :D

[Polscot]

ive been trying to get good photos of the crabs but my camera just isnt focusing, its getting clear shots of everything but the crabs lol, but oh well, ill keep trying heres a few, i gave them some scallops......turns out these guys are real vicious....the one ripped the others arm off and took it and the scallop lol

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0616.jpg?t=1279503617
u can really see the red eyes

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0615.jpg?t=1279503649

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0614.jpg?t=1279503671

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0613.jpg?t=1279503691

[Greenmaster]

ive been trying to get good photos of the crabs but my camera just isnt focusing, its getting clear shots of everything but the crabs lol, but oh well, ill keep trying heres a few, i gave them some scallops......turns out these guys are real vicious....the one ripped the others arm off and took it and the scallop lol

u can really see the red eyes

I can't really see anything... maybe try to take a larger image then crop it... stand back a little... or if your camera lets you manual focus you should try that.

[Polscot]

these are a lill better green, ill bait them out tomoro and get some good ones, this is the bigger guy, he has all his arms and legs lol

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0640.jpg?t=1279603568

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0641.jpg?t=1279603628

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0642.jpg?t=1279603645

[Greenmaster]

right on :)

[Polscot]

alright i baited the big crab out, (hes missing an arm the little one took it)
hes on his pearch eating some scallop, still trying to locate a mantis shrimp fo rthe tank but for now these guys add a lil humour

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0643.jpg?t=1279676903

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0645.jpg?t=1279676926

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0647.jpg?t=1279676991

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0643.jpg?t=1279677030

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0646.jpg?t=1279677057

ok, green can u see the red in the eyes now :)?

[Greenmaster]

alright i baited the big crab out, (hes missing an arm the little one took it)
hes on his pearch eating some scallop, still trying to locate a mantis shrimp fo rthe tank but for now these guys add a lil humour

ok, green can u see the red in the eyes now :)?

He's killer... the one armed bandit! :D

[Polscot]

i made a call today to red coral on a whim, and asked if by chance they found any mantis shrimp hh, turns out they had one, a black one with reddish tail, i jumped on it when i got him home and under proper lighting i realised how gorgeous he really is, i think hes a smithii (if anyone can tell me positive ID great)

NE ways heres some pics of him getting ready to be put in the tank, ill take more pics tonight

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0651.jpg?t=1279744375
in the bag
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0652.jpg?t=1279744408
you can see some of the colors
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0653.jpg?t=1279744435

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0654.jpg?t=1279744453

not super clear but hes looking up so u can see the green/orange spots on his raptoral arms
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0656.jpg?t=1279744528

let me know what u think

[AHHope]

im happy you found a mantis. that guy there is a Gonodactylaceus ternatensis. Quite suited for an aquarium but they get over 10cm so you will have to upgrade in the future. Good luck with the mantis.

[Greenmaster]

He looks awesome. I want one lol

[Polscot]

right on, thanx andrew for the ID, when he gets too big ill come down and get a 30g cube :) untill then ill keep posting my progress with him, still dont know a name,

[Polscot]

so far he is about 2 inchest long, real small, the gorilla crabs are bigger, a toonie for the larger and a loonie for the smaller (including legs) will he be alright i know later on he'll ear them but i dont want them to hurt hm at this stage in the game

[Polscot]

the macro algae i got is starting to grow like a weed so thats good maybe ill sell some :P the mantis is real timid so far so hes very hard to get shots of, hes almost wipped out my cleaning crew of 10 hermits lol so ill have to buy more, once he gets bigger and comes out more it'll be easier to get more pics, so untill then heres some shots of the crab, and my turbo snail "cooter"

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0680.jpg?t=1280369431

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0679.jpg?t=1280369451
"cooter"
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0682.jpg?t=1280369475

the "one armed bandit" eating some scallop
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0672.jpg?t=1280369495

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0678.jpg?t=1280369530

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0677.jpg?t=1280369547

[Greenmaster]

I love the pics :D most posts are like one pic every 2 months... keep em coming, I like the bandit.

[Polscot]

got a few picks of ther 2 armed crab and some of the mantis in his hole, ive gotten go to red coral today to pick up another clean up crew (hermits $2 each great deal) hes eaten 6 of the 10 i had lol, i also feed him cut up scallop every second day

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0694.jpg?t=1280672776

here the mantis eyes
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0690.jpg?t=1280672776

comming out to see what kinda food i got
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0691.jpg?t=1280672776

almost fully out minus tail u can see some of the colors,
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0692.jpg?t=1280672776

[Greenmaster]

That looks so cool I with they were reef safe :p

[Polscot]

they acctually are reef safe, there not as bad as everyone says they are, the most ud lose is the odd clean up crew (there cheap so who cares), specially if u keep him feed every second day, which is fun to do, aahope has a reef bio cube with one in it and its fine, and the local FS has a massive 100g reef with a smithii in it and ud never be able to tell, there really not that destructive (AS LOGN AS U GET A SMASHER) as spearers kill fish

[Polscot]

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0717.jpg?t=1282359275
i taunted him out a lil with some food, hes gone throuhg 1 molt and has grown about an inch, hes about 2.5" long now, it'll be nice once he reaches full size at 4" so he wont hide so much
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0718.jpg?t=1282359370

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0719.jpg?t=1282359397

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0720.jpg?t=1282359464

[Polscot]

went out and got some more macro algae, i love the look of it and it helps clean the water and fight off micro algae, i also got a couple fish they are clown yellow gobys, only $7 each so if they get eaten i wont freak, plus there cool looking.

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0728.jpg?t=1282500133

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0742.jpg?t=1282500211

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0739.jpg?t=1282500226

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0738.jpg?t=1282500258

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0736.jpg?t=1282500372

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0734.jpg?t=1282500391

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0729.jpg?t=1282500471

[Polscot]

so i recently got a 29g biocube as the mantis is getting bigger and i got a good deal so i figured id get it b4 he outgrows the 10g, im in the process of building a custom back wall and gutting the back to make a refugium.....ill be posting pics as i progress, ill be setting up using 10g of the old water and 20g from Red coral along with turning it into a reef eventually n e ways heres the progress

Tank was dirty so im cleaning it in a vinegar bath

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0745.jpg?t=1283798390

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0746.jpg?t=1283798401

stand was a lil rough so ill fix it right up

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0743.jpg?t=1283798497

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0747.jpg?t=1283798527

The lights were both burned out, but considering how cheap i got it i was more then happy with spending $80 on 2 new ones

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0748.jpg?t=1283798613

Start of the rock/foam DIY wall i cut out eggcrate into the shape of the back of the tank

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0753.jpg?t=1283798540

cut holes out for the intake and outtake

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0754.jpg?t=1283798577

i then cut out shapes goal was 3 ledges, top one will be for a Brain (always wanted one) middle one will be for a clam my gf wants to buy
and bottom will be for n e thing else, maybe a favia not sure....

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0755.jpg?t=1283798740

inside FTS i put two pieces on the bottom in a right angle mannor that i will stack live rock on, to weigh down the wall and keep it stable and less likley to collapse

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0756.jpg?t=1283798754

Side shot shows the 3 ledges

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0757.jpg?t=1283798820

[Polscot]

just picked up 30lbs of dead rock from a fellow reefer, so im cleaning it in a bleach bath then ill scrub it with a wire brush then bake at 400 for an hour or more to make sure the bleach is all evaporated, 30lbs dry is alot more then wet so ima have to figure out a aquascape cause there ALOT of rock.....

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0758.jpg?t=1283807389

you can tell there was some fantastic coralline algae on this rock its to bad its been out of water for so long so its all dead and smelly

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0759.jpg?t=1283807400

[Skimmerking]

and its in the bath tub mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

wow you got big $#%^$%!:lol:

[Polscot]

the bath tub i only put 1 cup of bleach to loosen up the algae, i then used a bbq brush to scrap off as much die off as i could, then into the oven for 1 hour at 400, when it came out it was alot whiter. I dont want to take any chances so im going to do a full out clean on the rock its now in a 50/50 bleach bath (ina syrafoam container) for 2 days then ill drain and put in freshwater for 1 day, then a baking soda bath for 2 days (neutralises PH and removes bleach) then freshwater for 2 more days followed by a week of drying lol. so 2 weeks essentially to get this rock ready but by that time my refugeum lights and skimmer should have arrived and ill get this tank ready to roll.....

heres the 50/50 bleach bath

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0760.jpg?t=1283816417

starting to get super white and clean,

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0761.jpg?t=1283816430

[AHHope]

they acctually are reef safe, there not as bad as everyone says they are, the most ud lose is the odd clean up crew (there cheap so who cares), specially if u keep him feed every second day, which is fun to do, aahope has a reef bio cube with one in it and its fine, and the local FS has a massive 100g reef with a smithii in it and ud never be able to tell, there really not that destructive (AS LOGN AS U GET A SMASHER) as spearers kill fish


Im happy someone finally has the same views as me towards mantises. The one i have in my reef i dont even spot feed he just grabes scraps as they flot by. You really need to learn there specific tastes in food. My smithii will only hunt down crabs but leaves shrimps and snails alone so i keep him in there to pick off any hitch hikers that are gonna munch on coral. The only conflict i ever see is when he chases my orange spotted blenny out of his hole. Congrats on a great mantis and hopefully more people will start seeing the good sides of them.

[Greenmaster]

One thing about the rock wall... I hear of a lot of them that float. The best way to weigh them down is with tile, slate or marble slabs in the base of the structure. And compress the foam a bit as well... after you spray it on then you wait till it's started to dry then press it down to get some of the air out and take away some of the buoyancy.

[Polscot]

cool, thanx for the info green i try compressing it for sure, im also gunna be putting about 10lbs of rock on the wall so that should help weigh it down also

[Greenmaster]

I still recommend that you put either tile, slate, or marble on the base. Although I have seen people glue their rock wall to the glass and that works as well.

[Polscot]

went to ocean city today to grab some purigen and chemi pure, and i stumbled across this lil anemone it was SUPER cheap and i was going to eventually buy one, so i picked it up, its sitting in my edge right now untill i get the biocube set up, my clowns will love it

Green bubble tip bout the size of a loonie
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0766.jpg?t=1283905012

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0767.jpg?t=1283905028

[Greenmaster]

Right on.

[Polscot]

lights arrived today for the refugium, 10w halowgen underwater light x 2

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0770.jpg?t=1283994722

i placed them in the back where the bio balls used to be, one on top and 1 on the floor, ill be putting my purigen and chemi-pure bags on either side of the light so after the water falls into the refug it has to filter through them to get to the display (let me know if this is a good place)

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0771.jpg?t=1283994777

they give off a good amount of light and hopefully the cheato will thrive

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0772.jpg?t=1283994829

ive taken the rock out of the bleach bath and its sitting in a baking soda bath now to neutralise it, for 1 day, then freshwater for 2 days with 4 water changes, and hopfully its sunny this weekend and ill let it sit out and dry......plan to get the tnak up and running next weekend

[reefcanada]

That looks like a very cool idea, I am looking forward to seeing the results.

[Polscot]

was thinking of a way to cut the rock so i could maximize the amount i get on the back wall for looks and versatility, the wall will stick out alot and i want it to be mostley live rock so it functions better then a full foam wall... dont like the idea of a hammer and chizle as im a perfectionist and i think it would annoy me, called up home depot and its only $30 to rent a tile saw for a day, so saturday ill do that and aquascape my wall, then its figuring out a method to holding the rocks to the wall, any sudgestions would be great, zip ties are a last resort as i dont like the look of them and there hard to hide....

[lastlight]

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=45915

His experiment begins on post 24. Good reading and he found a way to get a very solid connection between rock and glass. He's shunned my requests for an update so please try your own request so I don't look like the only beggar haha.

[Polscot]

so i rented a tile saw yesterday and cut a ton of the rock in half and smashed some then today i started zip tieing them onto the eggcrate heres what it looks like so far, still have a few spots to fill and ill have tofill the cracks with foam then im going to crush some rock into sand and use resin to stick it to the foam....ill be covering the zip ties in foam and sand

theres 14lbs of rock on the wall alone so it frees up ALOT of tank space
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0773.jpg?t=1284245553

i made 1 big ledge and 1 small ledge, smaller one if for a clam my gf wants to buy me, and the big one is for a brain (always wanted one)

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0774.jpg?t=1284245572

side shot u can see the ledges

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0775.jpg?t=1284245600

lemmie know what u think

[Greenmaster]

Looking good... are you sure that little piece of eggcrate is going to keep it standing? you might want to add another leg to stand on.

[4lti7ude]

Ooo nice wall.
Make sure your happy with how far your ledges stick out.
All the rock underneath that ledges will have much less light. Then make sure you think about as the corals grow and shade the ones underneath. Ive been having that problem with placement on my wall.

[Polscot]

the weight gets alot less when its underwater so im not too worried, plus im goign to silicone it to the back wall, its mainly a mantis tank so im not too worried about corals, ill have 1 brain maybe a clam and then mushrooms and gsp, mantis is worth more and better then any corals u can buy IMO lol

[Polscot]

ive jsut added the foam, so ill let it dry over 48hrs, then ill cover it in resin and smashed rock so it all melds together, but here it is so far

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0776.jpg?t=1284326310

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0777.jpg?t=1284326384

going to save alot of tank space as i have roughly 18 of the 30 lbs on the back wall,

[Greenmaster]

Looking good.

[Polscot]

trimmed up and sanded the wall heres the finish, i didnt do the bottom cause its going to get covered in sand, what i did was smash a piece of rock down to dust, then painted on some LePage Extreme repair adhesive (it was the only aquarium safe silicon/adhesive i could find) then just dropped the rock dust over it, did it 2 times. theres no point in being super anal about it as in a few months it will all get covered with coralline (if all goes well)

approx 14lbs live rock

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0779.jpg?t=1284507059

this is what i want the scape to look like including wall of cource, kinda a cove or cave look

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0780.jpg?t=1284507134

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0781.jpg?t=1284507148

the eggcrate is on the bottom for the saftey of Vader he'll get 5-6" and i dont wanna have him digging and break the glass (even though its a rare occation

[Polscot]

its all done, the wall and rockscape is complete, ima go down to red coral on friday and grab 20g of water and get my sand, a bigger cleanup crew and maybe a few more things....

heres the final (without sand)

FTS
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0783.jpg?t=1284602452

nother FTS
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0784.jpg?t=1284602464

side shot i wanted to give some overhang and cave like appearence at the bottom, a better habitat for vader

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0785.jpg?t=1284602528

[Greenmaster]

I like the look

[lastlight]

Wow I don't think I've ever seen somebody just pulverize rock. They always used coral sand or something. That's one of the most convincing looking finishes I've seen and that's without any algae on it! Really like that.

My only concern is scraping the side glass. Perhaps you're not going to but it will look a little unsightly around the rocks where you can't get to.

Can't wait to see water in there. Vader's going to enjoy that lair.

[Rbacchiega]

looks fantastic! not a big fan of Mantis myself..they look like scary bugs and I get all girly and wince a little...but I'm sure that tank is going to look bangerang

[Polscot]

thanx alot for the compliments and support, I was going to just use argonitye but i figured it wouldent look natural, and whats more natural then taking the original rocks and making them dust lol ,for your question/statement last light im going to be leaving a 1/2" space between the glass and rocks so that i can get a algae magnet through cause i agree it will look off if its gross under the rocks :)

[Polscot]

the tank has cleared up, parameters are all perfect, i got 1 piece of live rock to seed the tank from the main display tank at Ocean City just to seed the coralline, then picked up bout 6 different frags of zoas from Red Coral. picked up an anemone today for the three clown fish 2 i transfered from my one tank and Jemal the black one i picked up from Red coral also they seem to be getting along just fine

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0787.jpg?t=1284934781
shot of vader took me a while to catch him

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0789.jpg?t=1284934819
heres the 3 clowns Jemal Luitenant shiney side and waldo

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0790.jpg?t=1284934833
Jemal

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0792.jpg?t=1284934886
coralline seed rock

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0793.jpg?t=1284934901
2 different types of zoos on this rock

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0794.jpg?t=1284934929
zoo

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0795.jpg?t=1284934977
FTS

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0797.jpg?t=1284935002
FTS took bout an hour for the anemone to attach....and of cource it attacked to the zoo rock lol so i had to cut all the frags around it b4 it killed them

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0796.jpg?t=1284935059
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0798.jpg?t=1284935070

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0799.jpg?t=1284935093
shot with just the atenic

[Polscot]

few new shots, i now have 12 different type of zoas and pallys my cleaner shrimp is MIA so i think Vader had a midnight snack :P

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0802.jpg?t=1286051319

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0803.jpg?t=1286051431'

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0808-1.jpg?t=1286051522

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0816.jpg?t=1286051782

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0818.jpg?t=1286051878

FTS

[Polscot]

vader is starting to explore all spots of the tank now, i think he realises hes top dog.....

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0819.jpg?t=1286130103

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0820.jpg?t=1286130136

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0821.jpg?t=1286130159

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0822.jpg?t=1286130187

[Greenmaster]

He looks killer.

[andestang]

This is really looking good :) I really like the dark clown.

[Polscot]

the two lights i had that were deemed "waterproof" in my refugium crapped out on me, one got corroded all inside and the other stopped working for no apparent reason, SO i took apart an old canopy and drilled the roof of the back hatch and attached in a part of the light, i siliconed all the electrical gaps and holes so it wont get wrecked, i took the pics when it had a 10k PC in it, but ive since changed the bulb to a halogen, i read that lower k rating is better for cheato growth? any info would be great

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0830.jpg?t=1286671846

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0829.jpg?t=1286671858

hard to see but theres a button on top to turn it on and off, although it will be staying on 24/7
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0831.jpg?t=1286671897

[Polscot]

im in the process fo catching Vader im going to move him into another 10g i have and im looking for a peacock for this big tank,

[Polscot]

Ive read alot about coralline growth rates and such, most sites and most places told me that it takes a long time for it to start to burst, its been 1 month so far of set up and its starting to form on the glass and all over the rocks, its not much but for so little time considering i used dead bleached rock im very happy with the progress, purple up works magic

excuse the bubbles im fighting a cyno bacterial algae outbreak with chemi-clean right now so i have to airate the tank for 2 days,

and for the nay sayers i used chemi-clean on my other tank which had gotten out of control with cyno and its been clear for 3 months now and looks great...+10 for the stuff

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0837.jpg?t=1287101560

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0839.jpg?t=1287101581

[Polscot]

i moved vader into my old 10g and picked up a gorgeous peacock today, hes about 3 inchs long and the thickness of my thumb heres a few pics of the acclimatization

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0844.jpg?t=1287265575

why their called peacocks
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0845.jpg?t=1287265599

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0846.jpg?t=1287265624

in the tank exploring his new diggs
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0847.jpg?t=1287266006

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0848.jpg?t=1287266021

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0849.jpg?t=1287266044
pictures cannot do him justice for his colors

[Greenmaster]

WOW... just WOW!

[Polscot]

gunna sepdn then next while making sure the tank is ready and all my zoos are in place cause once he gets 6"+ im not sticking my hand in there lol, kinda makes u want one hey green?

[Greenmaster]

gunna sepdn then next while making sure the tank is ready and all my zoos are in place cause once he gets 6"+ im not sticking my hand in there lol, kinda makes u want one hey green?

Kinda?... they kill inverts and fish right... I almost want to make a 10-15g acrylic box and place it in the tank for one to live in.

[Polscot]

if you get a smasher he wont touch fish ive got 3 clowns living with mine, i spot feed them every 3rd day, as long as u do that they wont kill n e thing, maybe take the odd hermit, but who cares bout them :P lol, if you get a spearer then ull start losing fish

[Polscot]

new pics, caught arnold (peacock) out exploring his diggs,
tank is comming along great, coralline algae is really picking up and all the zoos are starting to spread...

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0853.jpg?t=1288835661

infront of my strawberry Conch

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0854.jpg?t=1288835696

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0856.jpg?t=1288835714

proving he dosetn kill the clowns

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0857.jpg?t=1288835740

where the name comes from

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0859.jpg?t=1288835760

[Polscot]

few updated pics, i got a free baby niger trigger, and YES i realise the tank is too small but they are slow growers once he outgrows it in a year ill be buying a 200g system, for now hes smaller then my clowns and fits in nicley shows no aggression towards any of the other inhabitants

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0875.jpg?t=1289709568
arnold eating some cut up shrimp......cannibal

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0877.jpg?t=1289709599

My BTA under just atenic
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0879.jpg?t=1289709622

FTS atenic
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0880.jpg?t=1289709647

shot of the trigger hiding in his cave, ill try to get more pics of him in the open......and yes for those that i know will say something again i know the tank is too small for a full grown trigger but hes only 1" right now and once he outgrows it ill upgrade :)

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0876.jpg?t=1289709719

im pretty sure hes a niger, but when i get a few more shots ill ask for a positive ID,

[Polscot]

got a few more pics of the trigger, anyone able to give me a positive ID? please

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0882.jpg?t=1289877854

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0883.jpg?t=1289877867

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/IMG_0884.jpg?t=1289877890

[Lance]

Looks like a Niger to me.

[Polscot]

appreciate the responce homie :)

[RDNanoGuy]

if you get a smasher he wont touch fish ive got 3 clowns living with mine, i spot feed them every 3rd day, as long as u do that they wont kill n e thing, maybe take the odd hermit, but who cares bout them :P lol, if you get a spearer then ull start losing fish


Don't kid yourself there bud.... My 7" Peacock (Dr. Zoidberg) will catch and eat fish. He's a good swimmer and picks off blue/green chromis on a regular basis especially if I don't feed him EVERY day! He also devours any CUC I put in there.... He even ate a brittle star.

[Polscot]

i do agree with you, BUT did ur peacock start off 1" long and grow up with the fish it ate? there very smart creatures and learn fast, there are many many success storys of people keeping fish with smasher mantids.....that being said every mantis is different

7" thats awesome what size tank do u keep him in? id lvoe to see pics

[RDNanoGuy]

I agree all mantises are different just realize big peacocks are eating machines and if you don't feed them regularly don't be suprised to find your favorite fish suddenly gone! Hence why I use green chromis... I'm not too sad if he eats a $6 fish. They usually last quite awhile though if he's fed every day.... Anything with a shell is fair game to him... I like to give him freshwater mussels from the seafood counter... Something challenging to open!

[RDNanoGuy]

7" thats awesome what size tank do u keep him in? id lvoe to see pics

Yeah I've had him for like 2 years. He was about 4" when I got him. He lives in a 30x14x14 tank in my bedroom. Filtration consists of a magnum H.O.T canister and a Remora Nano on a timer to run while I'm at work. Lighting consists of a Coralife 2 bulb NO T5 fixture. He has two piles of LR to make his burrows under sitting in 2 inches of crushed coral that he moves around to great delight. Abundant macro algae grows on the rocks.

I'll try to post some pics tomorrow!

[Polscot]

sadly after about 5 years my peacock died he had a bad molt, so im restarting the tank into a clown heaven, I will be putting various anemones into it and i have a couple designer clowns, system has been running steady with extremely low maintenance for 5-6 years now

A few tank photos I will add more as I upgrade, I installed 2 rapid LED custom kits I had laying around under the hood to allow anemone growth and maybe some corals once they settle in place,

here it is so far

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/FTS2.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/FTS2.jpg.html)

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/FTS.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/FTS.jpg.html)

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/P3221101.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/P3221101.jpg.html)

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/P3221098.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/P3221098.jpg.html)



http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150321_122313.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150321_122313.jpg.html)

I have a jaebo wp-10 on order to increase my flow, the coarline has run rampant and looks gear imo but it is not growing on the foam parts of the wall so I will need to think of something to fix this

[Polscot]

my bad, 7 year update according to my posts, tanks been running longer then I thought lol

[Polscot]

I came home after buying a new RBTA and my (custom rapid LED) set up blew up........so I ran out to pieces and bought a new kessil 160 tuna (gave me the excuse to) and fabbed up a fast acrylic lid for my biocube.

I also added in a Jebao WP-10, if you dont have one for a similar sized tank, your missing out!!

here are some photos of me messing with the light settings and some of the new RBTA.

full blue spec
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150403_171337.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150403_171337.jpg.html)

50/50
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150403_171141.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150403_171141.jpg.html)

full white
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150403_171350.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150403_171350.jpg.html)

I keep it at 50/50 looks amazing

the acrylic top I made
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150404_164125.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150404_164125.jpg.html)

FTS showing Kessil and lid and tank
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150404_164134%20-%20Copy.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150404_164134%20-%20Copy.jpg.html)

New RBTA (thanx Golds)
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150404_164153.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150404_164153.jpg.html)

RBTA has freckles
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150404_164201.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150404_164201.jpg.html)

Penny enjoying her Sabae (they bonded awesome, If anyoners wondering ill tell yah how I got them to host easy
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150404_164216.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150404_164216.jpg.html)

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150404_164225.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150404_164225.jpg.html)

thats all I got for today, waiting a few months for Nems to fully settle then Ill add some SPS and LPS,

[Polscot]

managed to get a pretty good macro with my new phone, RBTA is growing nicely I love the freckles

http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150416_151425.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150416_151425.jpg.html)

[Polscot]

went down to see my buddy Dennis at Golds and picked up some corals

Duncan
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150417_171145_resized.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150417_171145_resized.jpg.html)

hawkfish (cant remember name anyone know)?
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150417_171536_resized.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150417_171536_resized.jpg.html)

Chalis (I think strawberry? im bad at this lol)
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150417_171227_resized.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150417_171227_resized.jpg.html)

Red plating monti
http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz229/jasonpolscot/20150417_171518_resized.jpg (http://s830.photobucket.com/user/jasonpolscot/media/20150417_171518_resized.jpg.html)

Id love to find some other plating montis next, what do you guys think?