Mike and Terry's 300g Reef

[Graffiti Spot]

Cant wait to see the tank on sat. guys, will be nice to see it with water in it this time :) i will be after some of thoes raffle items as well! From the pics and videos things look great, curious to see what the leds are doing.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Thought we'd share a few pics from our Reef Party...

The food drive was an incredible success with the final weigh in at 1,325 pounds of food and an additional $200 donation which will provide an additional 1,000 meals to local families in need. We could not have pulled this off without the generous support from the following local and online vendors:

I'mAReefer, Premium Aquatics, Bulk Reef Supply, Reef2Reef, AquaCraft, Archetype, Tiki Corals, Gr8 Polyps, Chester Aquaria, Mid Atlantic Marine Aquarium Society (MAMAS), AquaBox, and LiveAquaria. The Richmond Reef Club has a LOT to be proud of! :bigsmile:

 

[Aquaph8]

That's awesome!!! How many people were there?

 

[Mike&Terry]

Here are a few pics Terry snagged the other night:

DSC_3830_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

DSC_3905_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

DSC_3815_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

DSC_3817_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

DSC_3813_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

 

[Mike&Terry]

That's awesome!!! How many people were there?

Upwards of 80 I believe... We were beginning to reach critical mass, LOL! There were several vendors and hobbyists that setup frag tanks in our garage (the largest was 5'x2'). It looked like a Coral Mall, LOL!

Next time, we're going to schedule the meet when the weather is a bit more temperate and start earlier so that we can utilize our outdoor space better - picnic tables, outdoor games, etc... since we do have a lot of families.

 

[Aquaph8]

I love that trio shot, very nice!

 

[Mike&Terry]

^ That was a lucky shot for sure...

 

[Mike&Terry]

WOW! 173grams. Two weeks growth:



This is the first time in several months that we've weighed the algae after removing it from our turf scrubber.
@SantaMonica :xd:

 

[mrbee2828]

I had a great time guys! Amazing tank and great company all night.

 

[Mike&Terry]

I had a great time guys! Amazing tank and great company all night.

So glad you were able to attend, BJ, and thanks so much for all of the support!

 

[Mike&Terry]

A few more pics to share:

DSC_4202_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

DSC_4221_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

DSC_4236_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

And lastly, a full tank shot:

DSC_4159_1114 by terryl93, on Flickr

 

[prsnlty]

The pictures of your fish, corals and tank are stunning as always! I love dropping in to see the new AND the old pics :) Congrats on doing so well collecting for the needy. 80 people is a lot to fit in 1 house, even a big one! LOL Did you take pics of the garage tanks? Sounds like you all had a lot of fun :)

 

[zibba]

Every time I check into this thread, I drool. You two have put together an amazing system and it's great to see that you're engaging the local reefing community to donate back to those in need. The world needs more people like you two! :)

Do the Bellus and Semis play nice? I'm thinking about adding a few Genicanthus species down the road but I haven't gotten a chance to research how they mix together in a home aquarium.

 

[Mike&Terry]

The pictures of your fish, corals and tank are stunning as always! I love dropping in to see the new AND the old pics :) Congrats on doing so well collecting for the needy. 80 people is a lot to fit in 1 house, even a big one! LOL Did you take pics of the garage tanks? Sounds like you all had a lot of fun :)

Thank You for the compliments and the kind words! The Reef Party was a lot of fun AND a TON of work. We did not make it any easier on ourselves by hosting the party on Halloween weekend either. I wish I had gotten a pic of the garage - went to do it once and there were so many people that I could not even step onto the landing, LOL!

-Terry

 

[Mike&Terry]

Every time I check into this thread, I drool. You two have put together an amazing system and it's great to see that you're engaging the local reefing community to donate back to those in need. The world needs more people like you two! :)

Do the Bellus and Semis play nice? I'm thinking about adding a few Genicanthus species down the road but I haven't gotten a chance to research how they mix together in a home aquarium.

Thanks so much for the kind words, Z! Mixing Genicanthus is not much different from mixing wrasses - I actually think it's easier. You will want to keep 1 larger male and the rest females, otherwise the males tend to revert back to female coloration/disposition. Our male semi is treating the female Bellus as one of his harem.

 

[DaCamp815]

Hydra 52s

If you don't mind sharing what are your current ramp settings and light intensities settings for the hydras

 

[Tonyreefer]

BEAUTIFUL tank not a spec of hair algae I'm having a major battle with my tank whats your secret !

 

[geckoejon]

fantastic looking reef tank! you have some very nice sps and your fish list is outstanding!

would you be kind enough to give your input on a couple areas.... i'm trying to decide on what route to go for my next upgrade. i'm thinking between 220-300g....

would you go with another marineland tank, after a devastating seam failure and then a custom overflow coming loose on the replacement tank? did they cover just the tank, or home repairs as well? i've decided to go with a new tank, but it seems like i have heard of numerous marineland tanks splitting seams. maybe because they are one of the larger makers and just a matter of having more in the field?

how do you like the single center overflow? would you go that route again? aesthetically it looks much better then the dual, imo.

 

[Mike&Terry]

If you don't mind sharing what are your current ramp settings and light intensities settings for the hydras

Sure:

BEAUTIFUL tank not a spec of hair algae I'm having a major battle with my tank whats your secret !

Thank You! We employ several options to keep nuisance algae at bay: heavy skimming, GFO, turf scrubber, filter socks, and keep our peak lighting period at 6 hours per day. We also just started vinegar dosing about 2 months ago to allow us to feed a bit more since we do have quite a number of fish in the display. And lastly, we keep some GREAT algae eaters in our tank (bristletooth tang, Desjardini tang, Flame Angel, Regal Angel, as well as fighting conchs) that constantly graze the rock work and sand bed.

 

[Mike&Terry]

fantastic looking reef tank! you have some very nice sps and your fish list is outstanding!

would you be kind enough to give your input on a couple areas.... i'm trying to decide on what route to go for my next upgrade. i'm thinking between 220-300g....

would you go with another marineland tank, after a devastating seam failure and then a custom overflow coming loose on the replacement tank? did they cover just the tank, or home repairs as well? i've decided to go with a new tank, but it seems like i have heard of numerous marineland tanks splitting seams. maybe because they are one of the larger makers and just a matter of having more in the field?

how do you like the single center overflow? would you go that route again? aesthetically it looks much better then the dual, imo.

Thank You so much for the compliments!

The Marineland 300 DD's are a lot of bang for the buck and there are numerous 300 DD's out there that have been running for several years without issues. If/when we decide to upgrade, it will more than likely be to a larger footprint tank which would require a custom tank builder.

The damage (which was significant) to our home was covered by our insurance company. They did not cover any damaged equipment or the tank, but did cover damage and repair of our tank stand because it was built in and considered the same as cabinetry. The LFS dealt with the tank manufacturer directly and eventually ordered our replacement tank at no cost to us. Our situation was a bit different in regards to warranty because the LFS modified the tank for extra drains and a closed loop.

We love the look of the tank with the center overflow and would definitely do it again, although cleaning it can be a chore, LOL!