Christi's 85 gallon reef

Discussion in 'New Tank Builds' started by LJC6780, Apr 9, 2017.

  1. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    So I got my birthday corals in today along with my new frag shelf, which ended up being free because it took and extremely long time to even be put into the mail system. Anyway ... I am super excited. When I opened the box today I counted all of the separate little baggies and ended up with a bonus coral! I received 15 in all!! :eek::D I had been looking for some torches that were a bit different and found a couple along with a lower priced more common one. They sent me a free torch with the order! I also got some pretty acans, zoas, cyphastrea, leptoseris, a monti of some sort. I'm working on my zoa garden and plan to do an acan garden also. I plan to dip and quarantine these new corals, separate from my other QT probably for a couple months or so to hopefully keep any pests from entering the DT! So I'll have plenty of time to plan out where everything will go! I'm sure there will be some rearranging and possibly some fragging in the mean time. I know I need to thin out my frog spawn and some green dot yumas, but I'm not sure if that's all. o_O:rolleyes:

    This day completely got away from me ... my wife was off and we had lots to do and ended up being gone or busy all day. I kept the box warm until I could mess with it but that wasn't until late tonight! :( Everybody looks ok so far but I decided to just float the bags in the 20 gallon with fresh water, heater and powerhead until morning when I can set up a proper dip station and get them settled into the tank. Clean tank, new frag rack and new corals. Now all I need is a good light for them! I don't want them to just survive but to thrive and look beautiful while in QT! Hopefully I can get a better light this week. We just spent a ton of money on a new washer and dryer and new dishwasher today though, so buying a light may have to wait. :(

    I'll post pics tomorrow of the new setup and the dip station and everyone displayed on the new rack! I can't wait to see them all open and lit up! I really want to start messing with it now but I'm seriously about to fall asleep typing! I just turned 37 but I feel so old sometimes! o_O

    Anyway ... enough about me. Stay tuned for fresh corals tomorrow!
     
  2. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    My progress for today.
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    Coral rx, seachem iodine dip, rinse.
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    I ordered 4 different torches and they sent me a free one!
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    Everyone in the new QT recovering.
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    NatalieMadison likes this.
  3. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    So these are my favorites so far! I've been wanting a torch for a while and found some pretty good deals compared to most that I've seen. I tried to get all different color combos too. I think the freebie may be the same, or very close, to one I bought (that actually has 2 heads!) maybe slightly different.

    Anyway, most favorite find was the green center, dark purple tentacles and orange tips!
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    Next is possibly the purple center, greenish purple tentacles and blue tips.
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    Then purple center, lighter purpleish tentacles with neon green tips. It's hard to see here but it actually has orange stripes down the tentacles too.
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  4. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Looking back, it's a shame I didn't realize those montis were covered in nudis! I mean, look at those edges. Hindsight is 20/20.
     
  5. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Took a few pics a while ago. My acan and zoa gardens are looking pretty good. Still need to do some rearranging overall though. Zoas are still recovering from the bleaching (or whatever) that happened in the other tank. That pink and blue acan in the center is the latest club coral. It has been that color since I brought it home. Is that normal? I haven't seen one like that before. I kind of like it.

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  6. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Well I used flatworm exit again last night. While reading the directions it appears that I misread the drops per gallon last time and didn't use near enough. No wonder I didn't see flatworms scattering. I really didn't see any at all last time, or since, until the last couple days. Unfortunately it wasn't just the red ones this time. They had to go! Shortly after dosing I saw them scattering around the hammer I'd found them on. I sucked them out as soon as I could see them and scoured the tank hunting for them so hopefully there weren't a lot of toxins released. I'll be checking over the next few days to see if any survived.
     
  7. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Also ... FINALLY getting around to doing TTM and letting my display remain fallow for the 3 months to ensure there is no ich lingering, even though no one has shown signs since I moved the clown out a while back.

    I got the new cabinet built for the 20 gallon to get it up off the floor and provide some storage space underneath. My plan was to put a shelf in the middle but that'll have to come later as I didn't have any more time to waste.
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  8. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    So a while back my Skimmer pump crapped out on me. So I removed the Skimmer and cleaned it the best I could. This particular model has a design flaw of not coming apart enough to clean the inside fully. Anyway ... it sat off to be side for a while. Earlier this afternoon I was cleaning up some random stuff and decided to give all of the pumps a good vinegar soak and cleaning to see if anything worked or if it all needed to be trashed. Well ... only one will be trashed so far. The Skimmer pump! The others (return pump I thought was crap for one) were just super gunned up inside and needed a good cleaning. So ... I found some parts and tubing and rigged up the old return pump (DC Jebao) and set up the new stand I got and actually dialed it in super easily! It is so much better being able to adjust the pump output as well as the Skimmer knobs! It's not all bubbles like it was before but the stuff that reaches the top is darker and definitely carrying gunk already! I'm so glad this pump was not actually broken because it is perfect for this Skimmer!

    This was earlier this afternoon right after setting it up.
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    And this was just a while ago.
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    The water in the cup was because when I first turned it all on I had the pump set way too high and it filled the cup with water. It would only drain to that level. It hadn't filled any more water ... just gunk!
     
  9. Brian

    Brian Blenny

    Dont sniff that stuff, it is foul smelling
     
  10. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Yep ... pretty gross! I usually drain it into a jug that I leave in the cabinet. Honestly, the only time I smell it is right when I drain it. I guess it's so bad because it's closed up in the cup.
     
  11. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    So I was reading up on grafting corals the other day and learned that some corals don't even have to be growing together to share traits but just touching. I realized this when I was looking at my zoas. Some are already sharing traits they didn't have before. I think it's kind of cool and wonder if they were removed from each other if the traits would stay or if it's a permanent thing. And will it be passed along to new polyps?
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    Also thought this was weird. So I dropped in some shrimp and spirulina pellets last night before going to bed. Lights were off and I didn't really see where they landed but wanted to give all the shrimps, crabs and snails a good meal. This morning when doing a little tank maintenance I found one head of my dendro looking dark and rather odd. I finally realized that one of the spirulina tablets must've landed on it and it ate the whole thing! I didn't see what happened but I'm assuming it spit it out because it was looking much more normal later on.
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  12. huntindoc

    huntindoc RRMAS BOD Membership Director Staff Member

    Coral will eat some unexpected stuff. I had a Lobo eat a shrimp molt.

    Great pictures of the zoas/palys!
     
  13. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Ok so it’s been forever since I updated my page. I’ve been so busy lately I can’t think straight half the time. :eek: My big tank has gone through some parameter fluctuations and I’ve not had a lot of time to keep up with testing and all so it’s looking rough. I’ve unfortunately lost a few corals in the process. :(

    I have moved my clowns into the 29 cube and they seem happy. I was feeding them today and noticed my nem looking small ... it’s usually good and expanded and happy. I looked closer and there was a second nem a few inches away! My first baby! I’m so excited! I guess I need to feed them tonight and keep em fat and happy and hopefully they’ll split again soon so I can start selling some!
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    Don’t mind the algae!
     
    roco and Kim like this.
  14. LJC6780

    LJC6780 Grouper

    Hey! So it’s been a while but I’m moving and taking down my tank. Sadly I’ve let it go over the years and am down to 2 fish (coral beauty and banggai cardinal) and a handful of soft corals. I am selling it all. Text me if you are interested in anything. 501-240-1634
     

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