BeltedCoyote’s reboot: the birth of the leviathan

[najer]

Your mimics ate corals? That sucks. Mine never did for me, and have not touched a thing in Dads tank.

What corals did they eat?

Finger leather softies, blasto, hysrix ...

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I have had aip eating, matted and a trio of mimics all of which ate corals even though they all ate offered foods, the mimics ate from my fingers, the only file fish I had that never touched a coral was my tassle that I lost a few months ago.

Tassle Filefish (Leafy or Prickly Leatherjacket Filefish): Saltwater Aquarium Fish

www.liveaquaria.com

id love a tassled file. Had been planning on waiting until I got the eventual upgrade. I’ve always read they get pretty large

 

[najer]

id love a tassled file. Had been planning on waiting until I got the eventual upgrade. I’ve always read they get pretty large

I got mine as a one inch baby, passed at about three inches, grew pretty quickly.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I got mine as a one inch baby, passed at about three inches, grew pretty quickly.

think I’ll wait then. I’m planning on sticking with 120 for at least 5 years before upgrading.

 

[danieyella]

I've had great experiences with tiny file fish. Any time I bought them even half grown they've turned to corals

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I've had great experiences with tiny file fish. Any time I bought them even half grown they've turned to corals

so get ‘em before they get a taste for corals essentially?

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Water change Wednesday. Hard to do in depth maintenance one handed but managed to get 15g changed and things back in line. Foxy is looking better since the addition of Pierre the cleaner.

additionally, I think my hammer might be in the process of splitting. So I took some pics. Also got a few of the absurd $10 digi colony. And I believe the $15 stylo is showing some growth

 

[BeltedCoyote]

May be very brave and try an angel or two. Figure worse comes to worst, set up the 40b as another reef for whatever ends up being nom’d on in the 120

 

[Crabby48]

Been thinking trying an angel also. Sorta hoping the urge passes

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Been thinking trying an angel also. Sorta hoping the urge passes

Oh I’m lost to the urge. Regal angel is a dream fish for me and reasonably doable with my 120…

 

[Crabby48]

Yup regal is mine too. I never looked at angels much because I couldn’t house them. Now I got the room so down the rabbit hole igo

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Yup regal is mine too. I never looked at angels much because I couldn’t house them. Now I got the room so down the rabbit hole igo

Same more or less. Always thought a regal was too big. And didn’t really know which corals I really wanted to keep so I didn’t want to limit myself. So far though, it’s the overly fleshy lps and zoas that seem to be targets for the larger angels. And as it turns out I prefer other corals than the above. Well…zoas. I like zoas but I’ll have my 120, the 40b, and my stepdaughters 53 for zoas….

 

[Crabby48]

Zoas aren’t hard to pass for a regal having other tanks. Few people that have lick with angels and coral seem to say Red Sea. Not sure if it matters much but they been having luck. I’m not sure what I want to do for coral yet.

 

[fishguy242]

RED SEA...

 

[BeltedCoyote]

RED SEA...

happens to be my favorite out of all the variations. Lucky me

 

[najer]

RED SEA...

The manager at my lfs is a friend and I have helped him out loads in the past, he is the only one that buys fish from the wholesaler and I have had a baby Red Sea regal on order for about a month now, love the more yellow.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

The manager at my lfs is a friend and I have helped him out loads in the past, he is the only one that buys fish from the wholesaler and I have had a baby Red Sea regal on order for about a month now, love the more yellow.

please share some pics once you bring the little beauty home

 

[najer]

please share some pics once you bring the little beauty home

I will, they have had three or four through the shop since I put my order in, he knows I want a baby one but they come through less often, no rush here.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Might or might not have emailed TSM about sourcing a baby Red Sea regal. Just questions like how much, what’s the process like, etc…

not saying I’m set on them when the time comes but.……

I’m a planner and I enjoy knowing my options

 

[BeltedCoyote]

So as have been running the 53g by the seat of my pants. Running it with a hob that only has biomedia, KP rock, a plug and play circulation pump, and a light that maybe puts out 200 par 6 inches down, I’ve realized some things.

-I have had noticed growth, albeit slow, from all but 3 of my corals (the montis). That said. Both digits have PE consistently. so I’m beginning to believe that the key to success is much more nuanced and gentle than what most of we newbies get thrown at us. Less seems to be more, providing there is enough to meet the needs of the life in your care.

also, biodiversity is, to some degree, the key. The whole “battle” mentality…yeah. Idk. I tend Buddhist in my beliefs and am more “big picture” in my focus of philosophy. Idk. I think systemically rather than seeing something and viewing it as a problem that is disconnected from the over all web. All of which to say. First reef tank is doing well, but I have the most basic nutrient management plan possible, basic flow, and a light that shouldn’t be enough for sps or lps. Yet I’m getting growth. Slow. But still. Only thing I have going that is ideal is the micro-faunal diversity for my rock. Which is the basest portion of our ecosystems. I have a small sample of what occurs in the Florida Keyes. I have not seen the buildup of the uglies beyond a brief bloom of hair algae which subsided with the introduction of some herbivores.

now. I’m not saying ocean rock = anyone can keep coral. Rather, it’s been an interesting lesson for me. It’s shaped my methodology with reefing. I’m now in an even better place to hit the ground running with my first true display tank.

oh, and don’t be like me. But I’ve only tested 2 things. I have no idea what my params are beyond salinity and temp. Everything else has been eyeball. Can I look at anyone else’s tank and say what needs to be done if something looks weird? Heck no. But I’m developing that skill for my systems. Beyond that, I know if nothing else, water changes and being hands off beyond occasionally picking up a frag that a ruby knocked down, will keep the system going. At least with what I’ve got in the 53 now.

so why do I find that important? I know what I need to do, at a bare minimum, to keep the 53 going as it is right now, for the foreseeable future. So I have a good baseline. Whatever comes up in the future (assuming I was just keeping the 53 as my sole tank), I know the basic stuff I need to do, and can be more educated and, idk, systematic if I need to start bringing new variables into the system to address something.

furthermore, I have an even better idea of the system I’m still building and how it fits with the method of reefing I’m slowly codifying for myself as I go.

Just realizing the path my build has taken is turning out to be best for me. I’ve been forced to stop and learn. I have run a barebones reef for a month and a half and have had to put my “book learning” to the test and so far I still am driven to move forward.

if any other new reefer comes across this ramblefest, I hope you can pick up what I was trying to share within the nonsense