Maggie's Mixed Reef Build V3, now a 75!

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Mhamilton0911

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Had to get frag racks. Got them up and protected until I find the best spot for them. What lovelies I've gotten from aquasd!
 

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Another picture of this rock flower anemone eating its shrimp molt breakfast. Yummy. Looks like it's got all the legs in its mouth, why is this so interesting?! I'll be watching this all day! Imagine the number 2 this rfa will have later, lol
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Took a few photos after cleaning the glass. I need to whack that xenia back now, but overall I'm happy with everything. I still have things I need to glue around, but I've been busy with the new tank. But I sit by this everyday and love to look at everything.
 

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Mhamilton0911

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Ordered a beefier CUC from reefcleaners. Hopefully they all make it. I've seen mixed reviews but lately most seem better experiences. Should ship tomorrow. My lfs just isn't getting different snails or any hermits so I had to look elsewhere.
 

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Yay, another build thread of yours to follow! I just ordered ~50 snails from reef cleaners, and they all arrived healthy and happy. I did pay extra for the ups overnight delivery, though. Just wasn’t worth my time or money to leave it in the hands of usps express.
 
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Nice. I'm excited, all my lfs tend to get is astrea snails and most just topple of the rocks and die. I have a few hermits with their shells now.

Really wanted a more diverse crew so I'm pretty happy with my list. I'll be spitting between the two tanks once the little 7g gets to the point of needing more CUC.

I also visited a Petco in a town a few hours away and I'm just shocked at the difference. Definitely a reefer who is managing that store. I might stop by there and pick up something new in a day or two when the hubs goes back up there. At least another conch and second tuxedo urchin. They had the smallest urchins, it could really get into tiny places for a while before it got too big. I love my urchin, total workhorse!
 

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Nice. I'm excited, all my lfs tend to get is astrea snails and most just topple of the rocks and die. I have a few hermits with their shells now.

Really wanted a more diverse crew so I'm pretty happy with my list. I'll be spitting between the two tanks once the little 7g gets to the point of needing more CUC.

I also visited a Petco in a town a few hours away and I'm just shocked at the difference. Definitely a reefer who is managing that store. I might stop by there and pick up something new in a day or two when the hubs goes back up there. At least another conch and second tuxedo urchin. They had the smallest urchins, it could really get into tiny places for a while before it got too big. I love my urchin, total workhorse!
Glad to hear that! We ordered a blue tux through Dr Reef. Should be arriving in a few weeks!
 

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This is a cool build! My very first reef in 2001 was a 29g. Didn't have equipment like they do these days.
FB_IMG_1520051774045.jpg
 
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This is a cool build! My very first reef in 2001 was a 29g. Didn't have equipment like they do these days.
FB_IMG_1520051774045.jpg
Nice tank though!! I do agree that today's reefs are easier with all the available tech and knowledge. Reefin' back in the day must have been like the wild west, lol. I always wanted to try saltwater forever ago, but that was waaaaay over my head then. This forum was a huge help to me, countless hours reading and research.
 
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Box from reefcleaners came in great! All snails and hermits look alive and got a great assortment of extra shells.
 

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I released the CUC yesterday, and I haven't cleaned the glass in a few days, I wanted to give the new crew things to eat. There are quite the artistic snail trails on the glass. And also snail eggs?? I can see those will be annoying.
 

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About a week ago I got a replacement conch snail. It, too, has perished. RIP little conch. My rude Halloween hermit crab is a murderer. I'm not going to try it again sadly. At least ask long as I have this Halloween hermit. So far I've only seen it kill conch's, no other types of snails. But if it starts a murder spree I'll have to LFS it.
 
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Even better than that .... I see another leopard flatworm. It's encasing the shell of the conch. I tried to scoop it out but the shell was leaning on a rock so the flatworm escaped before I could get the shell out.

I hate these flatworms. I just added so many snails, it's going to have a feast. Hopefully I can see it on another shell and grab it out of there before it does too much damage.
 
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Lookie what I found.... It took a lot of back and forth on this Apogee USB meter or the Seneye, and I was moments from buying the Seneye and last minute went with this one. So far I rigged up a wand and took measurements. Easy as pie.

IMG_20221103_132300912.jpg
 
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Confused. My pulsing xenia that had been doing so good is starting to close up and whither away , and dropping new pieces to float and start new colonies. I had been gently scraping it back to keep the 8"x8" area it's occupying from encroaching on nearby corals, but maybe I did to much? Seems angry now, it's been happening for the past week or so . That big bald spot in the middle has disappeared. I have found rolling pieces on the sand bed and a few have already anchored elsewhere. All other stuff is growing though..... Ooooh and this weird huge sponge or weird tunicate I need to get ID'd. It's black/dark blue in color and overtaking 2 different blastos.
 

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Whatever sponge or tunicate thingy is stretched holding together the rock that I mounted the blasto into. Both blastos are held from falling from that sponge only. Looks like I'll be taking out what I can today. It looks sketchy. I bought fresh carbon so I can run that with some filter socks while I'm hacking that sponge. I took photos a few days ago before it shifted so I think I'll still make a new ID post to try to get it identified so if it returns I'll know more about it.
 

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A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 76 37.8%
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  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 12.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

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