Gozers 75 Salt

Well I thought I'd finally get my 55 in here on the Members Tanks area. It's been a long road but it's finally looking good. Have a couple patches of this or that I'd like to eliminate, but I've accepted that I can't get rid of it all. (Stupid Caulerpa and red slime. Oh and hair algea) Hope you like the photos.


1-19-08 Upgraded to 75 Gallons.

Have some photos. ;D

 

wow.. I feel a craving to have a Saltwater tank looking at yours.. love it!

 

Theres SO much life going on in there. Sometimes I'm amazed at how many little creatures hitched their way on those rocks. I like the diversity.

 

yea, that is what makes me want to do a Saltwater tank.. not the pretty colored fish, but all the amazing life you get in a Saltwater tank!

Theres SO much life going on in there. Sometimes I'm amazed at how many little creatures hitched their way on those rocks. I like the diversity.

 

Looking really good ! How old is the tank now ? Your corals look great. Do you think the new lights are the main reason ?

 

WOW Gozer..
I just love looking at Saltwater tanks. Yours is really really great looking! ;D
Of course, I love the fish in Saltwater tanks firstly.. but wow.. I have really come to appreciate all that live coral...etc etc in those tanks. Very beautiful!
Wish I could have a Saltwater tank too, but financially its just not possible for me.
Thanks for the photos!
ohh btw.. what are the fish in the photos? Is that really a purple one or is that from the lights? gorgeous!!!

~ kate

 

Well, this tank has been through an interesting life. Going from fresh to brackish and finally full salt. I was trying to keep a couple Columbian Sharks. They got too big, one of the jumped out and the other was getting really tore up not having enough room. So, I gave the remaining shark to an LFS and started a normal marine tank. It's been going full salt for about a year. It got torn apart a couple months ago to remove a nasty little wrasse I had to give away. So, this setup is about 10 months old.

I actually got the corals after I already had the light. My LFS got in some clumps with 4 corals on one rock. When she was putting them in a few polyps fell off. I got 3 tiny clumps for 5 bucks. Each one was about 4 or 5 polyps. They weren't attached to anything but a little gravel. I've got them about a month or so ago and they are pretty well attached to the rock. They look SO much better than what's left at the store too. They are set prettty high in the tank so they get a good bit of light.

Ah yes I meant to put names on the post. Here they are:
The Clown is a Female Tomato CLown (A. frenatus) Sold to me as a Maroon Clown, though I knew better lol
The purple one is a Purple Pseudochromis. Sold to me as a strawberry basslet, and yes he really is that purple. More of a Pinkle. He is VERY purple in the actinic lights.
Not sure if I put any pictures of the Blue/Green Chromis. They're hard to get a good shot of. I'll see if I can get one up if I haven't already.

Well I'm acclimating a nice Fox Coral LPS right now. Took a trip to the good LFS 70 miles away. It looked great in the store and I think I have a spot picked out for it. I'll get some pics when they open up. Just excited and had to tell people that might also be excited for me lol. No fish hobby friends near me. lol Anyway back to acclimation.

Heres a photo of the Fox now. My camera doesn't do actinic photos justice but it looks cool. Can't wait till it opens.

 

Now that's a sharp looking SW! You should be very proud of what you have created in this Saltwater

 

;D yea, it looks like it'll be quite a beauty when it opens up.

 

I think it may open up in the morning. It's half open in the moon light right now. It looks cool already. ;D Kinda tempted to move it but it seems to happy where it is. Guess it can stay lol.

 

has it opened up now? ;D

 

It's open and here it is. Great colors.

 

WOW!

 

WOW! That is a stunner!

 

WOW Gozer !!! What an amazing tank, and so colorful! What are all of these wonderful and colorful creatures in the tank? I absolutely love all of them. Man, I think I am going to set up a reef tank one day. I'd love to have one!

 

Well, the green and pink grassy stuff are Green Star Polyps. The 2 button like polyps are 2 different Zoanthids. Button Polyps as a matter of fact. The purple rock is a large healthy Colony of Featherdusters. And now the frilly poofy one is Fox Coral. I also have a shrimp. Here's a picture of her. She's Coral Banded Shrimp.

 

she's a beauty! I love those shrimp! I saw one in a Saltwater tank the other day and definitely would have to make that shrimp a part of our future Saltwater tank.

 

Wonderful I've seen this shrimp yesterday at a pet shop in the city, while buying Otos. They had a large section of saltwater fish and corals. I stood there and stared at all of that for 30 minutes perhaps, lol. I think the most interesting creature I saw was the butterfly (or lion?) fish - forgot its name. Loved it. It was absolutely stunning. They also had all kinds of saltwater Angelfish - so colorful and amazing. Plus many other saltwater fishies like Nemos, Tangs, and what-not I am really not "fluent" in "saltwater fish and coral terminology", heh, so forgive me if I am "mis-naming" anything Not to mention I've no idea what all of those beautiful creatures you have are! LOL

 

Lionfish are beautiful yes. Frilly fish. lol Too bad those frilly fins have poisonus stingers in them. I absolutely LOVE Marine Angels. I REALLY want a Flame Angel but have no where to keep one. A Regal or Powder Blue Tang is another I totally want but have no where to put. So many Marine fishes get good sized. Sometimes 55 seems too little. Wait.... I always say that regardless of the current size. lol

That Shrimp Pic was tricky. She rarely comes out in the day and zips out of sight every time I point the camera in that direction.

 

yea, as much as I love how they look, the lionfish aren't on the list of fish for our future Saltwater tank.

 

looks great!

 

WOW The Fox opened up MORE! I don't know if it's even fully open now. I thought it already was.

 

WOW. NOW THAT IS AMAZING!
That must be it now...I mean.. there can't be any more inside...

 

it's such a beauty! wow! that is officially on the list of "must haves" when we can do a Saltwater tank!

WOW The Fox opened up MORE! I don't know if it's even fully open now. I thought it already was.

 

it's such a beauty! wow! that is officially on the list of "must haves" when we can do a Saltwater tank!

It supposed to be an easy one to care for it likes low light and low water movement. It actually opened up more after a day with the lights OFF. I think I need a piece of rock to shade it a little. It's on the bottom but right out in full light. I think a little rock over hang will slow the flow to it and give it some shade. Oh well, it's OK for now. I need to finish project sump\fuge before I go buying any more rock.

 

how about a small beach umbrella? seriously, that's very cool. I think that's the first one i've seen and I know for our 1st Saltwater tank, easier to care for will be a GREAT idea.

 

Gozer,
I just found this thread yesterday ! Your tank is really coming along !!! Like the new addition. I see you still have a little GHA on your live rock. Did you ever buy any Turbo Grazer snails ? Mine keep my tank algae free.

 

Gozer,
I just found this thread yesterday ! Your tank is really coming along !!! Like the new addition. I see you still have a little GHA on your live rock. Did you ever buy any Turbo Grazer snails ? Mine keep my tank algae free.

I have one. I bought 2 but the Wrasse I had ate one of them. I have a bunch of ceriths but they don't go for it quite as well as the Turbo. I hope to get get a couple more. Atleast one. What's really making me crazy now is the booming macroalgea I have going on. Slowly but surely little patches of various green macros keep popping up on my rock. Most grow slow but the grape caulerpa is making me a little crazy. I tried picking it out with tweezers but it just comes right back from what ever little stem is left.

Well heres a quick pic of my new stand project. I actually built one frame already but it just wasn't big enough and I thought I could do better. This new frame is much more solid and has PLENTY of space to fit my 20 Gal w\ Remora skimmer and an XP3. It'll look mostly like the one I made for my 45.
Except with 3 doors. 2 opening in front to allow the 20 Gal and one on the end to help with access to the skimmer and XP3.

 

What's really making me crazy now is the booming macroalgea I have going on. Slowly but surely little patches of various green macros keep popping up on my rock. Most grow slow but the grape caulerpa is making me a little crazy. I tried picking it out with tweezers but it just comes right back from what ever little stem is left.

Get a Yellow Tang. They will keep your tank macroalgae free ! All they want to do all day is eat ! LOL

Do you cover the top of the stand with 3/4" plywood ?

 

Do you cover the top of the stand with 3/4" plywood ?

The sides of the stand will be aspen tongue and groove planks and the top will be 1X6 poplar planks (its cheap). The tank is on a particle board plank that is the top of the current Walmart 55 stand. It will go with the tank to support it when it gets lifted. I'm moving it half full. Well me and friends of course. So the tank will actually sit on 2 "tops". I want to try putting wheels on it too. I tried with the 45 stand but it was too narrow and top heavy. Felt like it would tip easily. This one is 4 and a half inches wider for the same width tank. The tank is shorter too, so it may center better and be stable. (I hope I hope I hope) Sure would help cleaning the back wall. I think I'm going to need a door at each end as well. I was planning one but it would be easier for me to get to my skimmer and filter if they each had their own access door. As the stand is right now I wouldn't trust it to hold an empty tank (though it would). The Aspen planks give it solidarity. The weight will rest on the planks as well as the frame so it will give it more support too. I'll likely use left over poplar or aspen for the floor inside the cabnet as well.

Hmm so I need to update a little. I have a few new additions since last time I posted. A couple weeks ago I picked up a soft coral clump of sorts. It's a rock about 6 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 3 Inches tall. The top has four groups of different soft corals. There are some pink star polyps, green button polyps, another zoo like the larger colony I already have, and these very strange finger like things. They look like long polyps that never open. Reddish with white bumps on them. Very weird. I'll try to get a picture up tomorrow. They have all been doing very well.

Today I was lucky enough to show up at the LFS after an out of towner had dropped of some frags. I couldn't resist the little guys and picked up two. A red mushroom and a green hairy mushroom. Very small but very pretty. Great colors. Pictures up tomorrow.

Heres a couple pics of the new mushrooms. I forgot to take a pic of the four coral clump. I'll get that up later. Lights out right now.

 

wow! those are beautiful! what species are they?

 

The red and green ones together are Actinodiscus sp. The other is (I think) Rhodactis sp. (Lavender mushrooms)

 

They're a great addition to the tank! When we get to our 1st sw tank, I'll have to think about mushrooms.

The red and green ones together are Actinodiscus sp. The other is (I think) Rhodactis sp. (Lavender mushrooms)

 

I understand Mushrooms to be VERY good beginner "coral". They were highly recommended to me by the guys here at fishlore. The Ricordia is gorgeous. Mushrooms come in a variety of colors too. It seems to me that most polyps are pink, green or a combonation of them. A good solid Red mushroom is nice but red is also fairly common in the rest of the marine tank. Mushrooms come in BLUE. I would love to have some blue to off set the others. Although my Star Polyps glow blue in the actinic lights. Hmm anyway they are a nice addition. My only concern is their potential size. One of the shops I go to now and then (it's 70 miles away) has 2 or 3 that are like 6 or so inches across. I hope to get mine to shade the Fox. Kind of a natural cocktail umbrella lol. I just hope they don't get much bigger than 6 or 7 inches lol.

 

you don't happen to know a good store in Denver for SW, do you?

 

you don't happen to know a good store in Denver for SW, do you?

No, I don't really go there that often. Maybe once a year or two. The last time I lived in Denver I was in 9th grade. Ummm, like 16 years ago WOW. Had to think about it lol. May have to look around this up coming trip. Depends on how long my friend is willing to hang around. I think we're just going to hit IMAX 3D Beowulf and get back home. We both have to be back to work Friday. Don't know if we'll have time for much lol. We get one day in the "Big City"

 

I've got to remember to ask around at the next aquarium society meeting about the best local shops and check out all the shops that we can find ourselves.. talk about temptation!

you should stay in the city more than a day - get in a good supply of pollution.

 

So the rock I have yet to photograph is doing well. The strange unidentified polyps have begun opening at night. They look like little red elephant trunks. At night the tip folds open to reveal a crown of little white tentacles. More and more have started to open up at night. I noticed the first a couple days ago. Really need to get a pic up. Maybe someone else has seen them. The other three varieties are flourishing. However, I did see what would appear to be my very first aiptasia. The caulepa and green hair weren't enough. Now I get aiptasia. I guess it was inevitable once I started adding various rocks. They really can hide quite well. It looks a little different from what I've seen pictured but I still think it's one of "those" anemones. This rock sat at my LFS and did nothing but half die. I finally bought it because they gave me a great deal. There is stuff popping out of it that must have just been sitting there waiting for the right conditions. I see a little bit of some kind of green macro poking it's head out as well as some red streaks and a bristle worm. Not the bad kind of bristle worm. None of that stuff showed itself in the time it spent in the store. The polyps are multiplying rapidly. There are about a third more polyps than there were when I got it a couple weeks ago. They never showed a single shread of growth n the store. I kind of got them so I could see what they should look like. Sort of a boost of confidence. My tank may have a hair algae problem and a caulerpa problem (really just a phosohate proble), but at least my coral and polyps and happy and do way better than at the LFS here in town.

About that phosphate problem. I think I have it narrowed down to one of the food items. My make up water tests 0, the various additives all say they are phosphate free, so it has to be food, right? I feed Kent Marine Chroma-Plex, Two Fishies ZoPlan, Ocean Nutrition Reef Formula, frozen Brine and live BBS. As well as San Fransico Bay Emerald Entree which is a blend of various omnivore foods. I have started rinsing the frozen foods as I have heard the juice may be a source and I don't feed a whole lot of flakes. Does anyone know of any other potential phosphate sources?

Wow that turned into quite the post eh.

About time I took the picture.

Well here's the rock I had yet to picture. The long ones in the front are still unidentified. They straighten out at night and a small disk emerges from the tip. The disk is surrounded by about 10 little clearish white tentacles. Very strange and I can NOT find them online. Hours of searching has shown me nothing. Anyone else seen these before.

 

It looks great! I wish I knew Saltwater & could help ID that, but maybe one of our Saltwater members will recognize it.

 

Thanks to Mike the unknowns are now known. They're snake polyps. Imagine that. Thanks again Mike.

Also wanted to update. I recently moved some stuff around and added a dry rock I've had sitting around. This batch of photos shows the new arrangement. I made a little cubbyhole for the Fox Coral so I could get it out of the flow. It likes the flow VERY gentle and I can shade it a little better when I get new rocks. Getting a bunch when I finish the sump. The one with the clown shows the newly IDed snake polyps with their neighbor polyps. I tucked it under a little shelf for the snakes. They prefer to be under overhangs. Thanks to Mikes ID I know that now. You may be able to see the Red Mushroom who has decided to attach its self much closer to the polyp clump than I'd like. The Buttons aren't to happy about being so close to the Pink Stars. The buttons along their mutual border don't fully open. I figured that would be the case but went ahead a bought the clump anyway. I was hoping the Buttons would spread to the nearby rock. Unfortunately that's where the Mushroom decided to live. Oh well, I'll just have to pick a new spot for the clump when the big stand swap sump project happens. Should'nt be too much longer till I get the stand done. Had some financial delays getting the materials lol. Christmas is good like that.
Anyway, I have 5 more photos for you in the next post.

PS. Just pretend you don't see those water spots on the back of the tank. I set it way to close to the wall so I have a terrible time getting back there.

PPS. Take note in the much lower quantity of yucky algae. I think I'm getting somewhat under control. YAY

PPPS. BTW I got my phosphates to 0. Hope they stay that way lol.