Budget doesn't exist in this hobby: Brian's 45g Build

[Etaloche]

Not too much going on in the tank lately and just been watching the corals grow out

Some new additions





Warren if you see this can you give me the name of this coral? I totally forgot.




You can see my new orchid dottyback hiding in the rock in this one.










This acan has been growing out beautifully. One of the first corals I ever got



The candycane has made some great recovery. I've been battling some algae and lost a single head when the algae took over but have since got it under control. I've also been feeding each individual head by hand every couple of days and that's how its been nicknamed the sun coral

Feeding time




When I first got the coral


Today, still got a long way before full recovery


Zoa garden is taking shape


Some new zoa and paly waiting to be mounted. Thanks GoFish for providing me with a frag rack. It's been very useful






I also finally got a mandarin goby!


Built this target feeder I saw on the internet and hatched some brine shrimp for him. Eventually started putting mysis on the feeder and he happily accepts any frozen foods now. Very happy that training him was a breeze


Halloween urchin which has been a big help with algae control


Also got some other critters. This pom pom crab has to be my favorite crab.


This porcelain crab is very fun to watch too.


Finally, the latest addition to my tank has been this sharknose cleaner goby.

[Etaloche]

Only recent changes have been that I started dosing the Prodibio BioKit and changed my salt to the Aquaforest Probiotic Salt

[WarDog]

Looking good buddy. That would be a Turaki, original colony out of Jeff's tank at J&L.

[Etaloche]

Originally Posted by WarDog

Looking good buddy. That would be a Turaki, original colony out of Jeff's tank at J&L.

Gotcha thanks

[Etaloche]

Wow... time flies, I can't believe it's already been 9 months since my tank has been set up. Just realized my last update was 5 months ago.
Been busy with a new job and school starting up again and caring for the tank has been quite a challenge. Only recently have I finally figured out my ritual and been able to tend to my tank in detail again.
Lots have happened and I had to even set up a frag tank to accommodate room for more stuff. I'll make an effort to do an in depth update on my tank!

[GoFish]

Looks great Brian keep it up! Hard not to have a frag tank when trying to stock a 45g when you want a piece of everything

[Myka]

Looks awesome Brian! Good job!

[tang daddy]

Great looking scape Brian keep up the good work!

[Etaloche]

Wow, more than a year has flown by now. I've been making lots of long term trips for longboard racing lately and broke my arm on one of the tours. The tank took a hit during that time, but I'm finally out of my cast and getting the tank back on course.

It's amazing to look back at how much some things have grown lately! I've started dosing more diligently and finally got a doser set up this week. SPS has taken off since dosing but I still cannot keep a euphillia alive for the life of me.

This birdnest was one of the first pieces in my tank


You just don't notice things are growing unless you compare them in photos I think haha


My SPS garden is finally settled in and growing well




GSP is starting to take over my zoa garden a bit, and the zoas are taking over themselves now that there is no room




This Crocea clam has been with me for couple months now and during neglect of the tank the clam seemed to love it. It's grown quite a bit putting on 3 new layer of scutes so far!
;



Xenia has taken over the right side of my tank but my clowns love it and hosts it as their home. I've just decided to let it run wild until I upgrade my tank one day.


New dosing setup


Full tank shot



I've also recently got into collecting exotic succulents, especially of the Haworthia species. I've been trying to find some specialty soil in Vancouver which has been proving quite difficult. I know many here are into plants as well as planted tanks which use similar substrate, so I'm wondering if anyone here might know where to find some of these stuff. I'm looking for anything along the line of akadama, turface, pumice, or crushed lava that is fine grade. Basically anything that provide great drainage for plants. Let me know if anyone has any idea where to find these substrate or alternative in greater Vancouver area thanks!

[tang daddy]

Akadama soil they use to carry at the bonsai store on broadway before boundary but have since closed down, we used it to breed BKK shrimps before.

I am guessing your best bet is online, maybe eBay??