JCOLE
Grower of the Small Polyps
Was that a Par 3 course? If not that is one impressive score and you need to join the tour.
jda's 240g Acropora Rebuild
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Was that a Par 3 course? If not that is one impressive score and you need to join the tour.
Wow this is awesome! Having to remove colonies and start fresh every few years is a true testament to your skill and the value of a mature reef tank. I also appreciate the natural lighting that you use and photograph under. To me it’s a better representation of the corals and makes you appreciate the corals with true beauty. I can’t wait to see how this progresses and I will definitely be taking notes! 
OP
OP
I have not even mounted all of the acros yet. You all are the most impatient.... It is a re-build thread, not a "already done" thread. I guess that it is good that we are in semi-quarantine or else I would not have as much done as I do.
I guess that it is good that we are in semi-quarantine or else I would not have as much done as I do.
I can’t imagine how heavy that tank is. My last tank was a 6 ft oceanic 125 and it was a real bear to move to say the least. I got rid of it because I scratched it pretty bad plus got tired of that glass divider and trying to deal with lighting around it. Good luck on the rebuild.
I prefer eager to impatientI have not even mounted all of the acros yet. You all are the most impatient.... It is a re-build thread, not a "already done" thread.
OP
OP
BTW - I tried some full tank shots and there were awful. I have an iPhone X something if anybody has any tips. The light spill just killed the photos.
I also have a few Canon 5ds (Mark II and Mark IV) and nearly every lens you could want, but they are not much better. The only thing that I have not tried is to cover the whole top with cardboard and prevent any light spill at all.
I also have a few Canon 5ds (Mark II and Mark IV) and nearly every lens you could want, but they are not much better. The only thing that I have not tried is to cover the whole top with cardboard and prevent any light spill at all.
What is happening to ruin the photo? Exposure issues? I have the iPhone 11 Pro and I use some 3rd party apps for my photos since it gives a bit more control.
bubbaque
Follow me on Instagram @ Bubbaquecorals
I mean I want to see a pic before you took it down when it was full of colonies. Can’t tell us you had wall to wall coral and get us excited and not even show us!I have not even mounted all of the acros yet. You all are the most impatient.... It is a re-build thread, not a "already done" thread.
Seconded!!!
OP
OP
Somebody is going to have to loan me their DeLorean if they want that. The Flux Capacitor on mine is still under repair.
Definitely following, went through your flickr and you had lots of beautiful coral! I want to see the Purple Monster!
OP
OP
Mixing station, storage and my live rock bin. My tank is in the family room about 60 feet away from this mixing station. This is why I have to have the hoses which have ball valves on the end. The 55G tank on the left is RO water with a float valve for my RO unit with a PanWorld 150 that pumps to the hose, or fills up the other tank. The one in the middle is salt with a PanWorld 200 for mixing and also to work the hose - I am going to put another 55g tank where the IO salt is... have have not gotten around to it. For now, if I need more salt, I just drag in a 44g brute.
The 150g Rubbermade is for live rock. I will buy or take any from people who don't want it, as long as it is alive. There are some circulation pumps and heater in there. When I get some really nasty rock, I run that ETTS skimmer which does a marvelous job. About 4 months in here and the rock is beautiful, algae free and phosphate free. There is about 300lbs in there now, or so.
I had to special order that shelf to fit in that area... 60 inches where most at Home Depot or Sams Club are 72 inches. Shame that I have a bunch more shelves just in the corner.
The 150g Rubbermade is for live rock. I will buy or take any from people who don't want it, as long as it is alive. There are some circulation pumps and heater in there. When I get some really nasty rock, I run that ETTS skimmer which does a marvelous job. About 4 months in here and the rock is beautiful, algae free and phosphate free. There is about 300lbs in there now, or so.
I had to special order that shelf to fit in that area... 60 inches where most at Home Depot or Sams Club are 72 inches. Shame that I have a bunch more shelves just in the corner.
OP
OP
Might be a good time to talk cleanup crew. I get all (well, most) of my crew from ReefTopia out of the Florida Keys - I like the better than reef cleaners and the like with always higher quality product and I like some of the species and variety out of the Keys better.
Asteas - I love them, but they cannot always right themselves in the sand. These are good algae eaters and I like to have them in my tank. They will grow from dime sized to smaller-than-a-quarter in a year or two. I have a couple that are slightly larger than one inch and you can see a difference in growth pattern on their shell from the wild and captivity. These do die regularly with plenty of algae around - throw their shells behind the rocks for other creatures to use. I order these 100 at a time.
Ceriths - Absolute bad ***** for algae. They can right themselves in sand and get into small places. I keep about 100 of these in most of my tanks. They are amazing at their jobs. Perhaps my favorite snail. I order these 100 at a time too.
Pincushions - Great for turf algae and to eat coralline (totally a plus for me). I have glass tanks, so no issue, but I have heard that they can scratch acrylic. They will not usually eat hair unless you have a bunch of them and the other "easy" algae is gone, but they will destroy it in time. I helped a friend with a 180g that he did dry rock and it was covered in hair and between 2 dozen pincushions and siphoning the longer algae, he was algae free in about 5 months - after this, he had to give most of them away, but he was happy to do so. These stupid things can pick up and carry around small frag plugs, so secure them down. The pincushions will also eat the short turf algae that can cover rocks. These can all die if you add an algaecide... they seem to die from the poison that the algae takes up (my own words and ideas, I have no real idea why they die). I keep 3 or 4 in the this tank at all times, but sometimes more if the algae wants to ramp up - I move them back and forth from the frag tank or fuge.
Peppermints - There are more than half a dozen kinds of peppermints, but the ones from the Keys have always destroyed aiptasia for me. The ones from other parts of the gulf do not always. L. Wurdmanni are the ones from the keys. I usually have to raise them in a fuge until they molt a few times and get the deep red color - at this size, they are hardy and easy. They need to be fed or they can eat coral - they are not coral eaters by nature, but they are not going to be happy about starving to death and they cannot live on fish poo. You or I would also likely try and eat coral under the same circumstances. They only seem to live about three years, so they need replacement. If you get lucky, you can sometimes see some females with eggs and tiny babies, but I have never seen any of them live. They will not always go after the huge aiptaisa that can eat them, so you sometimes have to knock these back with kalk, but they otherwise do a good job. One reason that I order from ReefTopia is that the collect from the Keys only.
Cucumbers - I love them in my sand and they are wonderful cleaners. They will divide if the ecosystem will allow it and they also seem to change sizes from small to large. Sometimes I do not see them for months and then one day, they are out doing their thing.
Fighting conchs - Good sand stirrers and cleaners. I do not see these much either, but they are hardy and appear to do very well. They do not grow much for me.
Emerald Crabs - The ones that I get from ReefTopia are awesome algae eaters. They eat bubble algae too with a gusto. Like the peppermints, they will need fed when the algae is gone or else they will eat coral and try and catch fish. They do not do either when food is present. They will not be happy to live on poop either. The red ones act the same, just with a different costume.
Blue Leg Hermits - I like to keep a handful of them around. They will eat some algae and they are also good cleaners of many items and also will break down poo. I leave the dead astrea snails in the tank and the blue legs are less likely to assasinate a snail for their shell when they can find their own just laying around. They nearly always end up in an Astrea shell. I also like Halloween Hermits from Hawaii, but they are really expensive. I really like the larger scarlet hermits too.
Nerites - Great glass cleaners and will also do a good job on the pumps and other things on the glass. They are small and hardy and they leave eggs everywhere. They seem to like being up near the top of the rim cleaning that area. I get these 20, or so, at a time.
Fish - Yeah, right!? I have had a few rabbitfish that are good at cleaning up, but otherwise, fish are a joke to me. Magnificent Rabbits have been good for me when they get the idea that they are not going to get much else food - so you have to feed them at first to get them going and then cut them back later sometimes to nearly nothing.
Mexican Turbos - I do not seem to have enough algae for these, but they eat a lot too. These will also eat some hair algae when the other stuff is all gone, but they do not seem to prefer it. They are also clumsy and brutal/relentless movers of anything in their way unless your stuff is secured down well. I have mostly stopped using them since I seem to get the colder water ones and they are short lived. The ones from the Gulf do better at 78 degrees than the ones from Baja or the Gulf of California. (FYI - lots of snails offered in the hobby are colder water creatures, so read up well... if the info says 65 to 78 degrees, then they will suffer at 78 degrees for long periods of time).
I have a sally lightfoot that is probably six or seven years old. I have no idea how it is still alive, but I see it from time to time. It is probably 5 inches across now and has never bothered anything. I have no idea what it does and I do not usually see it, but it is in there. It was a free gift once when ordering. I would probably not order another one, but I don't have any issue with it.
I "borrowed" some Harlequin Shrimp when I had thousands upon thousands of Asternia starfish that I need to whittle down. The Asternia starfish were good algae/film eaters for me and harmed nothing, but at some point, you just cannot have countless numbers on everything. The Harlequin shrimp pair did their job over about two years and then I caught them and gave them away to somebody else - they were going to starve if I did not. They were not seen much and nothing seemed to bother them.
I like me some cleaner shrimp, but they are not part of any kind of clean up crew that I have seen. These are decorations for me.
Most of these things can tolerate some elevated levels of N and P, but the urchins, cucumbers, conchs, shrimp and others will do better with more seawater levels. The shrimp need iodine/iodate/iodide to molt and can die without supplements (water changes work). The snails need balanced levels of carbonate, calcium and magnesium to make their shells. ...so basically real reef tank water will do.
Asteas - I love them, but they cannot always right themselves in the sand. These are good algae eaters and I like to have them in my tank. They will grow from dime sized to smaller-than-a-quarter in a year or two. I have a couple that are slightly larger than one inch and you can see a difference in growth pattern on their shell from the wild and captivity. These do die regularly with plenty of algae around - throw their shells behind the rocks for other creatures to use. I order these 100 at a time.
Ceriths - Absolute bad ***** for algae. They can right themselves in sand and get into small places. I keep about 100 of these in most of my tanks. They are amazing at their jobs. Perhaps my favorite snail. I order these 100 at a time too.
Pincushions - Great for turf algae and to eat coralline (totally a plus for me). I have glass tanks, so no issue, but I have heard that they can scratch acrylic. They will not usually eat hair unless you have a bunch of them and the other "easy" algae is gone, but they will destroy it in time. I helped a friend with a 180g that he did dry rock and it was covered in hair and between 2 dozen pincushions and siphoning the longer algae, he was algae free in about 5 months - after this, he had to give most of them away, but he was happy to do so. These stupid things can pick up and carry around small frag plugs, so secure them down. The pincushions will also eat the short turf algae that can cover rocks. These can all die if you add an algaecide... they seem to die from the poison that the algae takes up (my own words and ideas, I have no real idea why they die). I keep 3 or 4 in the this tank at all times, but sometimes more if the algae wants to ramp up - I move them back and forth from the frag tank or fuge.
Peppermints - There are more than half a dozen kinds of peppermints, but the ones from the Keys have always destroyed aiptasia for me. The ones from other parts of the gulf do not always. L. Wurdmanni are the ones from the keys. I usually have to raise them in a fuge until they molt a few times and get the deep red color - at this size, they are hardy and easy. They need to be fed or they can eat coral - they are not coral eaters by nature, but they are not going to be happy about starving to death and they cannot live on fish poo. You or I would also likely try and eat coral under the same circumstances. They only seem to live about three years, so they need replacement. If you get lucky, you can sometimes see some females with eggs and tiny babies, but I have never seen any of them live. They will not always go after the huge aiptaisa that can eat them, so you sometimes have to knock these back with kalk, but they otherwise do a good job. One reason that I order from ReefTopia is that the collect from the Keys only.
Cucumbers - I love them in my sand and they are wonderful cleaners. They will divide if the ecosystem will allow it and they also seem to change sizes from small to large. Sometimes I do not see them for months and then one day, they are out doing their thing.
Fighting conchs - Good sand stirrers and cleaners. I do not see these much either, but they are hardy and appear to do very well. They do not grow much for me.
Emerald Crabs - The ones that I get from ReefTopia are awesome algae eaters. They eat bubble algae too with a gusto. Like the peppermints, they will need fed when the algae is gone or else they will eat coral and try and catch fish. They do not do either when food is present. They will not be happy to live on poop either. The red ones act the same, just with a different costume.
Blue Leg Hermits - I like to keep a handful of them around. They will eat some algae and they are also good cleaners of many items and also will break down poo. I leave the dead astrea snails in the tank and the blue legs are less likely to assasinate a snail for their shell when they can find their own just laying around. They nearly always end up in an Astrea shell. I also like Halloween Hermits from Hawaii, but they are really expensive. I really like the larger scarlet hermits too.
Nerites - Great glass cleaners and will also do a good job on the pumps and other things on the glass. They are small and hardy and they leave eggs everywhere. They seem to like being up near the top of the rim cleaning that area. I get these 20, or so, at a time.
Fish - Yeah, right!? I have had a few rabbitfish that are good at cleaning up, but otherwise, fish are a joke to me. Magnificent Rabbits have been good for me when they get the idea that they are not going to get much else food - so you have to feed them at first to get them going and then cut them back later sometimes to nearly nothing.
Mexican Turbos - I do not seem to have enough algae for these, but they eat a lot too. These will also eat some hair algae when the other stuff is all gone, but they do not seem to prefer it. They are also clumsy and brutal/relentless movers of anything in their way unless your stuff is secured down well. I have mostly stopped using them since I seem to get the colder water ones and they are short lived. The ones from the Gulf do better at 78 degrees than the ones from Baja or the Gulf of California. (FYI - lots of snails offered in the hobby are colder water creatures, so read up well... if the info says 65 to 78 degrees, then they will suffer at 78 degrees for long periods of time).
I have a sally lightfoot that is probably six or seven years old. I have no idea how it is still alive, but I see it from time to time. It is probably 5 inches across now and has never bothered anything. I have no idea what it does and I do not usually see it, but it is in there. It was a free gift once when ordering. I would probably not order another one, but I don't have any issue with it.
I "borrowed" some Harlequin Shrimp when I had thousands upon thousands of Asternia starfish that I need to whittle down. The Asternia starfish were good algae/film eaters for me and harmed nothing, but at some point, you just cannot have countless numbers on everything. The Harlequin shrimp pair did their job over about two years and then I caught them and gave them away to somebody else - they were going to starve if I did not. They were not seen much and nothing seemed to bother them.
I like me some cleaner shrimp, but they are not part of any kind of clean up crew that I have seen. These are decorations for me.
Most of these things can tolerate some elevated levels of N and P, but the urchins, cucumbers, conchs, shrimp and others will do better with more seawater levels. The shrimp need iodine/iodate/iodide to molt and can die without supplements (water changes work). The snails need balanced levels of carbonate, calcium and magnesium to make their shells. ...so basically real reef tank water will do.
OP
OP
Got some new angels a few weeks ago and they are eating out of my hand. They will be going into the display soon. They meet all of my criterion for entry... eating flakes/pellets, eating mysis, not skittish and not mean while enjoying their tank mates.
Our Homewreckers are about the same sizeI have to reboot about every three years and I am going to document this time. In about May, I took out all of my large SPS and started over with frags from .5 to 1.5 inches, or so. I removed some colonies the size of dinner plates, cantaloupes and stags that were 12 by 16 inches. I left the clams and some of my slower growing frags. Some of the old colonies started to grow again from the base.
After spending about a month getting rid of some algae, apitasia and sponge that was hidden deep beneath colonies, I mounted some stuff in June and some has really taken off and some is going slower.
These photos are under 14k Phoenix on m80 with no supplemental lighting and no editing. This is the way that they came out of my phone - for better or worse.
I got a waterproof iPhone case just for this and I don't have a lot of good photos from before. Here is an example of what I took out...
Here are some of the new ones.
RR Pink Cadillac
BC Skinny Love - Yes, this is the real color
JKR Rainbow
AV99 Orange Crush
RR Wolverine - this is more purple and yellow in real life
My Two Blue Squamosas - my pride and joys... the little one is about three inches if you need some scale
BC Set for Stun - this one is more teal in real life and is one of the nicest pieces
ORA Pearlberry - did not mean to take this one out, but another colony fell on it and destroyed it
RMF Red Gecko - might be worst photo of them all, this one is more white and red but will show growth I guess
Efflo
JF Homewrecker
Westside Rainbow Tort
Tyree Superman
Fast Growing Deepwater
BC Space Laser
Electric Red Millepora -this one shines and really is this red in real life without any tricks
...more to come.
Can’t wait to compare in the coming months
Last edited:
JCOLE
Grower of the Small Polyps
mfollen
Valuable Member
Very gutsy to go with a French! They’re amazing, it would be awesome to see one in a reef.
I recently rolled the dice on a chaetodontoplus angel and it’s going well with minor nipping (so far).
I recently rolled the dice on a chaetodontoplus angel and it’s going well with minor nipping (so far).
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