Grins' 55g Reef
- Thread starter Grins
- Start date
First to answer all the PMs..
No, I didn't run off to the islands never to be heard from again.
No, I didn't fall into a coma and have been in the hospital away from a computer.
No, I didn't give up my tank or AC. (sorry Niko, I'm back)
I've just been uber busy and needed a little time to tend to projects and such.
Lots of changes in the tank since I last posted. Hydor did send me replacement Koralias. =) I picked up the 2 clowns (Fred & Wilma) and bought a rock loaded with mushrooms from the same guy. Re-did the aquascaping on the right side of the tank. Added some hard to come by zoas when I traded my FW set up to a local reefer (he will pass on more frags as he gets them). I've added some peppermint shrimp in the hopes they'll eat the small aiptasias that are NOT dying even when injected via needle with lemon juice or boiling water. I even tried burying the ones down by the sand and the little buggers climed UP through the sand. But HA, I was able to syphon the loose ones up. I took great delight in sucking the *&^% things out.
I also had some losses after the big electrical short that fried the heater. I've already told you I lost the cleaner shrimjp and the hammers. I've kept the hammer skeltons in the hopes that some babies might appear but so far no luck. I've also lost my blue linkia. It damaged itself wedging itself between the rockwork. Serious abrasions squeezing between rocks it had no business being between. It did this more than once stupid starfish. Unfortunately it died the day after the electrical short, I think it was the straw that broke it's back so to speak.
Anyhow things aer looking better again...
Full tank shot:
Some of the new mushrooms, they were under horrid PC lighting and they are already getting some better color a week later in my tank.
A close up of one of them, you can see some of the teal center they are now showing. And check out the bright yellow sponge on the rock, it shows up in other places on it too.
Fred & Wilma, difficult to get a shot of them since they swim like spazzes. They love to swim facing their own reflections...narcissists that they are:
The open brain, inflates nicely but it will look tons better when I change to 14 or 20K bulbs.
The pearl bubble sensing that I just fed the tank. It just recently started to show the white on white stripes and has gotten some nice color.
The orange ricordea has doubled in size since I got it. It too needs to be under bluer lights, it positively glows bright orange and green when I use the nightvision LEDs on it.
And the pagoda cup also sensed the food hitting the water. You can see a few of the open mouths in this one.
What I forgot to get a photo of are some of the other hitchikers I got on that new mushroom rock on the right side of the tank. I've counted at least 3 dimesize orange ball anemones and a few smaller ones in a colony which I don't think is super common. From reading up on them they can be fish killers but since they are so small I'm allowing them to stay for now.
No, I didn't run off to the islands never to be heard from again.
No, I didn't fall into a coma and have been in the hospital away from a computer.
No, I didn't give up my tank or AC. (sorry Niko, I'm back)
I've just been uber busy and needed a little time to tend to projects and such.
Lots of changes in the tank since I last posted. Hydor did send me replacement Koralias. =) I picked up the 2 clowns (Fred & Wilma) and bought a rock loaded with mushrooms from the same guy. Re-did the aquascaping on the right side of the tank. Added some hard to come by zoas when I traded my FW set up to a local reefer (he will pass on more frags as he gets them). I've added some peppermint shrimp in the hopes they'll eat the small aiptasias that are NOT dying even when injected via needle with lemon juice or boiling water. I even tried burying the ones down by the sand and the little buggers climed UP through the sand. But HA, I was able to syphon the loose ones up. I took great delight in sucking the *&^% things out.
I also had some losses after the big electrical short that fried the heater. I've already told you I lost the cleaner shrimjp and the hammers. I've kept the hammer skeltons in the hopes that some babies might appear but so far no luck. I've also lost my blue linkia. It damaged itself wedging itself between the rockwork. Serious abrasions squeezing between rocks it had no business being between. It did this more than once stupid starfish. Unfortunately it died the day after the electrical short, I think it was the straw that broke it's back so to speak.
Anyhow things aer looking better again...
Full tank shot:
Some of the new mushrooms, they were under horrid PC lighting and they are already getting some better color a week later in my tank.
A close up of one of them, you can see some of the teal center they are now showing. And check out the bright yellow sponge on the rock, it shows up in other places on it too.
Fred & Wilma, difficult to get a shot of them since they swim like spazzes. They love to swim facing their own reflections...narcissists that they are:
The open brain, inflates nicely but it will look tons better when I change to 14 or 20K bulbs.
The pearl bubble sensing that I just fed the tank. It just recently started to show the white on white stripes and has gotten some nice color.
The orange ricordea has doubled in size since I got it. It too needs to be under bluer lights, it positively glows bright orange and green when I use the nightvision LEDs on it.
And the pagoda cup also sensed the food hitting the water. You can see a few of the open mouths in this one.
What I forgot to get a photo of are some of the other hitchikers I got on that new mushroom rock on the right side of the tank. I've counted at least 3 dimesize orange ball anemones and a few smaller ones in a colony which I don't think is super common. From reading up on them they can be fish killers but since they are so small I'm allowing them to stay for now.
Some great shots! You tank also looks much larger than 55G, at least 90 gallons.
My favorite new addition has to be your clowns. Adorable little fellas. And they add color to the tank.
My favorite new addition has to be your clowns. Adorable little fellas. And they add color to the tank.
They've also been good dither fish to get the others out in the open. Goofballs that they are. The dogs were hilarious when they spotted them, I asked them "fishies where are the fishies" and then glanced over at the tank then did a double take and cocked their heads as if to say "whoa! Where did those little bumblebee fish come from?"
