All moved in!
 

Spent the whole day Sunday moving everything over from the old tank. Whew! My plan of having one light on each tank so that I could move things over slowly (with possibly some procrastinating) got kiboshed when the husband wired and hung both lights over the new tank (he was watching hockey & obviously wasn't paying attention).

Despite planning ahead, drawing diagrams, etc, it never works out the way you think. Once you take rocks apart, they never stack back the same way no matter what :confused: The best laid plans, eh...
For the fish, I thought I'd start with the tailspot blenny as I needed to move his shell-house that was attached to a rock, but he disappeared. Next thing you know, he hitchhiked in another rock & showed up in the new tank with a WTF look on his face. So much for acclimation. I hate to think if he jumped and got stepped on. Yikes! I got pretty frustrated at one point, but finally the rocks just fit, the sand rinsed out nicely, and everything came together.

Great thing is, everyone was accounted for including the CUC. I even found my 2 little ring cowries which I haven't seen for a year. I thought I'd lost the tiny pistol shrimp but while draining the old tank, there he was halfway up the corner silicone. The fish are a bit confused but this morning seemed to be enjoying all the swimming room. They all thanked Neil for risking his life on their behalf by completely ignoring him. He's a great addition btw, very active with awesome colour.

The coral are fine and some seemed to enjoy things being stirred up. The candy cane was brighter than ever and all the zoas looked great this morning. I had taken time to give each rock a look over & quick cleanup, so all the little sponges were exposed to the air, but so far they seem fine.

I still need to tinker with the final rockscape but the basic framework is there. Have to clean up the wires and pretty up the the ceiling plug. But it doesn't look too bad I think.

Now for the clean-up!

A new day begins:
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The tank is looking great. I really like the aquascape. And the lights look so clean. Very good job! :biggrin:

Thanks chizerbunoi :) I still need to work on the rockscape a bit and re-mount some of the coral. I was lucky that there was a light in that corner that we don't really use much so we converted it to a plug instead.

Very nice clean setup! I was considering hanging my lights for my new build but was always unsure if it would look clean. Your lights being hung is done very clean and doesn’t take away from the tank at all. Great job!

Thanks DKoKoMan...too bad these lights couldn't do a daisy chain so there are two cords, but I've since tied them up to look a bit neater.

So this past week, I've stolen an hour here and there to tweak the rockwork, and mount up the loose coral. There was some brown diatoms (?) on the sand mid-week but after I stirred the sand, it hasn't come back yet.

The fish are nicely settled in and happy. I recreated the caves that they like and now that the rocks are more spread out, they really enjoy swimming in the higher part of the tank as well. Pistol shrimp has reclaimed his spot under the first mountain. I was worried about the fromia but he seems fine and is as active as ever, so I hope he will stay around a while.

Bad iphone pics coming up...

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Here is what the Vertex came up with after 1 week with livestock. I'm not sure if I need to make any adjustments. It's at 50% open right now.
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very cool starfish you got , cant enjoy those as I have a harlequin shrimp :mrgreen: . Scape looks good and congrats on a successful tank swap

Your AquaScape is very nice! Reminds me of a diving trip in St. Lucia at the Pytons. Large mountains in the ocean :smile:

Looking forward to more photos.

Thanks Skimmer Juice,
And I can’t have harlequins cuz I have two puffers who love the shrimp cocktail:lol:

DKoKoMan,
Thanks -that is a great compliment. Mountains were my inspiration - the classic Chinese landscape. My dream is to go diving but as I am a poor swimmer I have to live vicariously through my little box of water. I did once snorkel off a very remote island near Bali. Amazing!

So I haven't put in an ATO yet. A bit more evaporation than my other tank:neutral: but so far I don't find it a huge chore. I would need a fair size container to make it worthwhile but then that would mean the risk of water on the floor. Any thoughts on this?

I thought I'd show the guys that my tanks have been set up for: my green spotted puffers. They are way cool. Smart as anything.
(You can see my modest start at a zoa rock:p)
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Two weeks since tank transfer & everything is going swimmingly :lol:

There were a few patches of cyano on rocks in the old tank which I scrubbed off before transferring, and so far nothing has showed up in the new tank. My sand hasn't looked this good in ages. It seems fish are still "stretching their legs" as it were in all the new space but they look happy enough.

I emptied out my skimmer cup for the first time. Couldn't have been easier. No drips, no mess. I wiped off the neck section - it was a thick gelatinous paste. Did I mention I like my skimmer
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I ordered some copepods from AlgaeBarn & added them to the tank, along with their “Ocean Magik” phytoplankton. Yes, magik in my tank - gotta be good! It’s the 5280 mix of tigriopus, tisbe & apocyclops. Lots of tiny things swimming in the bag, so hope they result in a booming population as I hope to buy a girlfriend for my mandarin one day.

The glass on sump has always been crawling with tiny copepods but I don’t see too many on the DT glass. I tried shaking my chaeto ball in the DT. Any other things I can try? Or assume they’re just all hiding in rocks? My mandarin has been getting thinner though - that’s why I decided to boost the population.

Did you have them shipped direct or did you have them shipped to Blaine?

If you had them shipped direct how much was shipping?

I want to get some stuff from them as they have a good clean product.

Let us know how adding phytoplankton directly to your tank affects your phosphate levels.

They say it will use nitrates and phosphates but my concern is the phytoplankton is packaged in a high nitrate/phosphate solution.

Years ago a was growing phytoplankton but found when I added it to my tank I had uncontrolled hair algae growth afterwards. So I stopped adding it to the tank and filtered the rotifers before adding them to the tank.

I picked it up in Blaine. I entered a coupon code (reef2reef?) & got a little discount. Terrible communication but package was delivered smoothly & was well-insulated.

I do have a bit of concern about dosing phytoplankton. How long would it be before issues manifest? My rock is pretty clean except for one piece that was newly added. It’s showing a bit of hair algae.

I would monitor any changes in phosphates.

I am currently using Reef Nutrition phytoplankton to grow copepods but not sure if I want to add it directly to my tank.

I add the copepods to help supplement my pipefishes diet.

Full disclosure...I haven’t tested any parameters since the transfer:redface:
Did I mention I have no instruments to test for phosphates?

Where do you buy your copepods?

The only two things I regularly test for is phosphates and alkalinity.

The reason I test for phosphates is I add KNO3 to manage my phosphates and twice I have zero'd out my phosphates and fried my corals. First time really bad, second time I caught it in time.

I got my copepods from J&L (Tigerpods) and from Canada Copepods (3 different types of Copepods)

I wanted tisbe pods as I think they're more suitable for mandarins, and can thrive in temps of most SW tanks. Last time, I bought Todd’s Pods, from Las Vegas. I’ve checked out Canada Copepods but their shipping is pretty high. I believe you get less pods for the dollar as well. Were you happy with the product?

I accept that phosphates is likely a factor in my tank since I do not use RODI but it has not been a big issue for me. Definitely not running a ULN SPS-dominant etc etc system.

lol i recognize that tank lol, the old owner still owes me some zoas because i drilled it and built the overflow box. Looks good tho, i love the peak on the rockscape in the middle

Yep, still holding water:p

Thanks, it’s all held by gravity haha

I thought I'd try out my husband's work camera (Canon EOS M3) so I put it on all auto settings & tried it out. Big improvement but of course I have to now read the manual so I can use it semi-correctly. Still looks very purple I think but at least it's not all a blur :lol:

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And of course it helps that my dog is very photogenic. Meet Dash!
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These pictures are stunning! Also who doesn’t like a puppy dog eyes photo.

Pics are nice...
Really digging the RBTAs!

Thanks!

If only my clowns felt that way - they completely ignore them and just like to sleep in the corner:confused:

Short of removing the clowns and reintroducing them directly into the nems (to get them to get familiar with them and the stings)

I've printed a pic of a clown in a nem and taped it to the side of the tank. The thinking is they may learn by example.

I did the picture thing before, full colour life size. Nada.
Then I thought when I changed tanks that I might do a trick that I saw on Melev’s Reef, pouring them into the nems via an acrylic tube (I was gonna use a water bottle instead) but the tank transfer day was too hectic. Stupid clowns...

Things are humming along. No noticeable increase of nuisance algae from adding the phytoplankton. However, I added a couple of "new" live rock when I did the tank transfer, one to the display and one to the sump, and I see that there is some hair algae on those whereas the old rocks are clean. Hmmm...

Chaeto has definitely grown, from a softball size to smallish cantelope.

I tried my hand at making some frags:mrgreen:

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The English Patient 2: Snape and Blondie
 

Just wanted to share a touching story...get your hankies out.

Last Oct, I noticed my YWG had a strange white bubble on his side. Long story short, he spent 4 long months in QT & went through multiple rounds of meds under the guidance of those more experienced than myself. Worms were expelled, improvements seen or imagined were agonized over. Meanwhile, after Snape was taken out, his significant other, Blondie (a 1" fine-striped pistol), closed up all his entrances and was not seen again. Except for transfer day, when I thought I'd lost him only to find him clinging to the corner silicone with a couple of inches of water left in the tank. I had recreated his cave in the new DT. He scooted in, promptly closed the hole with shells and disappeared again.

Finally this month, I made the judgement call to return Snape to the DT. He has not completely recovered. (Who knows why. I believe there is a parasite embedded in his flesh and will continue trying to find a successful treatment). I put him next to Blondie's hole (after removing shells) but he didn't go in. He swam around all night, clearly confused by the strange surroundings. Next morning he was under a rock at the opposite end of the 6' tank. I was sad that there was a conscious uncoupling. Then lo and behold, there was Blondie behind him cleaning out a new burrow! Wow. Somehow, after 4 months and many inches of sand, they had found each other after just a few hours! While my husband made some rude comment about what they were up to in the burrow after 4 months abstinence, I was instead reminded of my favourite love story. I only hope Snape heals in this less stressful environment.

Reunited and it feels so good...
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Ferociously defending his shrimp:
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Love gobies and pistol pairs! My Yellow Watchman Goby managed to pair up with 2 pistol shrimps (came with my first 75g SW tank).

A few more "firsts" for this tank...

Did the first water change! (My usual schedule being the 1st of the month) It was not too bad. I'll have to work on a few things to make it easier but not much maintenance to do at this point.

I also took my little bits & pieces of frags to JL & got some store credit. I was kinda nervous, since they weren't rare acropora from Timbuktu, but they took it. Chi-ching! So proud...:lol:

I guess I'll use some of that credit on a tang after all. I believe in keeping a balanced tank & most of my fish are carnivores, except for 2 pretty small blennies. There's a few bits of hair algae here & there, so I thought it might be good to have a tang. Narrowed it down to a Kole or Yellow. I do like the looks of a Yellow more. Any input as to which would work better in my tank?

I noticed that my bonsai was looking pale, and then the rainbow monti & stylo had some spots of STN. So I decided it was time to haul out the test kits, a couple of which are new & unopened :redface:. Good news is that the chaeto is doing its job - nitrates are zero or close to it. Anyway, not surprising that I got low readings of calcium & alk, so I guess I can't procrastinate anymore on the dosing, which is something I assured my husband would not be necessary on a "fowlr" tank, haha. I had some Brightwell Two Part sitting on the shelf so I've started that, but I can see it will not last very long. Do many of you use the BRS stuff? I'm not seeing something similar from JL, and I would like something dummy proof & easy.

Other than that, everything is going well. Interesting how the tanks have gone through all these stages. I had the invasions of amphipods and bristleworms, 3 days of pineapple sponge mania, then crazy numbers of vermetids (which just disappeared recently; I think puffers finally developed a taste for them). Now there are sponges and mini brittle stars everywhere.

Sponges are cool, and in pretty shades of pink, white, purple & blue.

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I decided to order a BRS starter kit for 2-part dosing as it comes with everything I need to ease into this new experience. I've brought my numbers up over the last week or so to the desired levels of:
CAL 420 ALK 9 MAG 1350
So far I am dosing manually and actually it's been kind of fun. I'm happy to see that my rainbow monti which had lost some tissue now seems to be recovering. The bald spots are shrinking & all the edges are ringed with blue growth tissue. Whew!
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I also had to make a new batch of food, as my fish seem to be eating more as they're growing. I hand chop mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp & squid. These guys eat pretty good, I have to say...
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I added a new guy recently - a segmented blenny. His name is Kenny, and he's grown quite chubby since these pictures were taken.
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I love the goings on in the tank. Thought I'd share some of the antics of the various creatures...

We have to stop meeting like this...
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Ack, caught in the act!
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The lone leopard, true king of the savannah, creeps towards the unsuspecting prey...
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Get off my house! Ouch!
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What the -
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No self esteem issues here
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What are you using for a grow light �� for chaeto? Any photos of the growth? I feel like mine hasn’t really grown and nutrients are available.

Did you pick up across the border, or get BRS to ship it to NW?

M
 

I just bought Chinese led lights from Amazon after reading some thread that said they were the best thing ever :lol: USD8.99 for 2 shipped to Canada! So I thought why not. I only got the 12W because I thought the bulb was so close to the water surface. I guess it’s not explosive growth but then again I have a fairly low bioload (I think). I had a ball the size of an orange & now it’s a

....large lettuce (I feel like Trump going over the tweet limit). Maybe 5 times its original size? They sell bulbs with higher wattage.
How’s your upgrade coming along? Transfer date soon?

Kyl,
I ship to Blaine as I do for all my US online purchases. I find I save not only on shipping but on tax/duty as they never charge me at the border. Whereas I’ve shipped to Canada before & got hit on brokerage fees, GST, etc.

This thread is awesome Dash! I love the photo commentary!

Thanks Myka!

DKoKoMan, I could’ve sworn you already had a tank build thread...went to check & it was about your upgrade to the 150. Good grief, is this going to be an annual thing?:razz:
Hope everything went well. Whoa 305 gallons! Would love to see that. Yeah put some photos up!

You know you've fallen down that slippery slope...
 

I was dashing off to pick up a couple of frags from Jess when I couldn't find $5 to make the exact amount. I desperately hunted around until I had the genius idea that criminals always get and went into my daughter's scrupulously saved-up tooth fairy money. Bingo! I had a moment of clarity as I drove off: you know you've fallen down that slippery slope when you've landed with your hands in your kid's toonie jar. Oh well, it was worth it :lol:

If I get half the colour of the ones in his tank, I'll be happy.
Here they are adjusting to the conditions of my tank.
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I think my daughter might be on to me though. Here's the drawing she did for my birthday card last month:

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