My 40 gallon recife build

[kingranch2003]

Euphyllia
Torches, hammers, and octospawn.

 

[kingranch2003]

Then there are "my aliens". Two Cynarina that are as cool as any puppy! These guys eat like horses and have 100 different personalities! If anything drives me to a bigger tank in the near future, it'd be these two monsters.

 

[kingranch2003]

Right now I'm running PURA filter pads in two places behind my AIO wall. I'malso running a bag of GAC, with a couple spoonfuls of phosbond. Nitrates are below 10 and phosphates are .02. All major elements are on target, so here I go into sps.

I put in an order with @DIYreefer on eBay. I'm excited about this one because I'll be trying my hand at Anacropora, and a couple different montis. I'm hoping good water chemistry and a perfectly dialed in radion xr15 will help me grow these sticks right. This order also has my first acans. I've always wanted to keep acans, and these are rainbow beauties! I'll update with photos as soon as the order arrives!

 

[DIYreefer]

Right now I'm running PURA filter pads in two places behind my AIO wall. I'malso running a bag of GAC, with a couple spoonfuls of phosbond. Nitrates are below 10 and phosphates are .02. All major elements are on target, so here I go into sps.

I put in an order with @DIYreefer on eBay. I'm excited about this one because I'll be trying my hand at Anacropora, and a couple different montis. I'm hoping good water chemistry and a perfectly dialed in radion xr15 will help me grow these sticks right. This order also has my first acans. I've always wanted to keep acans, and these are rainbow beauties! I'll update with photos as soon as the order arrives!

So, you’re getting a couple of extras as well. In addition to the frags you ordered I also sent a cali kid electric daisy favia and a Cali Tort frag. The scans you ordered are gorgeous and full of color so I figured I would continue that theme with the favia frag. It’s on par with them. The Cali Tort may very well be the easiest to keep of all acropora in the hobby, so I figured it would be a good fit for a newer reefer that may not realize that they are ready for that next step! Its colors are nice, too!

My one bit of advice for your new frags, and I can’t stress this enough, be sure to keep the scans in very low light! Even a shaded area wouldn’t be a bad idea if you can find one. Acans, and rainbows in particular are very light sensitive. They will not open fully if they are getting too much light, and they can color shift as well. Low light and the occasional feeding will keep them very happy though!

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

So, you’re getting a couple of extras as well. In addition to the frags you ordered I also sent a cali kid electric daisy favia and a Cali Tort frag. The scans you ordered are gorgeous and full of color so I figured I would continue that theme with the favia frag. It’s on par with them. The Cali Tort may very well be the easiest to keep of all acropora in the hobby, so I figured it would be a good fit for a newer reefer that may not realize that they are ready for that next step! Its colors are nice, too!

My one bit of advice for your new frags, and I can’t stress this enough, be sure to keep the scans in very low light! Even a shaded area wouldn’t be a bad idea if you can find one. Acans, and rainbows in particular are very light sensitive. They will not open fully if they are getting too much light, and they can color shift as well. Low light and the occasional feeding will keep them very happy though!

Spot on! I'll have to put in a order with you soon. You sound amazing!




@kingranch2003 I can't wait to see the new corals in your tank! They're going to look AMAZING!

 

[DIYreefer]

Spot on! I'll have to put in a order with you soon. You sound amazing!




@kingranch2003 I can't wait to see the new corals in your tank! They're going to look AMAZING!

Thanks! I’m just a regular hobbyist, same as anyone else here. :) Although my love of aquaculture and coral propagation is probably a bit more extreme than most, lol. I’ve got an entire bedroom that is dedicated to coral grow out (in addition to the 125g display tank in my living room) and I’m working on reorganizing things in there in order to add more frag tanks. As long as it pays for itself, I have the green light from my wife to do whatever I want in there.

 

[kingranch2003]

So, you’re getting a couple of extras as well. In addition to the frags you ordered I also sent a cali kid electric daisy favia and a Cali Tort frag. The scans you ordered are gorgeous and full of color so I figured I would continue that theme with the favia frag. It’s on par with them. The Cali Tort may very well be the easiest to keep of all acropora in the hobby, so I figured it would be a good fit for a newer reefer that may not realize that they are ready for that next step! Its colors are nice, too!

My one bit of advice for your new frags, and I can’t stress this enough, be sure to keep the scans in very low light! Even a shaded area wouldn’t be a bad idea if you can find one. Acans, and rainbows in particular are very light sensitive. They will not open fully if they are getting too much light, and they can color shift as well. Low light and the occasional feeding will keep them very happy though!

Oh man that is absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much, my friend! You wouldn't believe that those two were on my list to add!! These will be perfect for the color scheme im shooting for. I went back and forth for a while before I chose the ones that I chose!

What an incredible kindness!Thanks for the advice. I had a couple ideas about where to put them. This settles it. I have a nice shady spot for them.

And I'd like to shout out @DIYreefer and his eBay site to my #SmorgasbordFamily . He is very accommodating and has an amazing collection. The prices are rock bottom in my opinion.

 

[kingranch2003]

Thanks! I’m just a regular hobbyist, same as anyone else here. :) Although my love of aquaculture and coral propagation is probably a bit more extreme than most, lol. I’ve got an entire bedroom that is dedicated to coral grow out (in addition to the 125g display tank in my living room) and I’m working on reorganizing things in there in order to add more frag tanks. As long as it pays for itself, I have the green light from my wife to do whatever I want in there.

You are definitely hanging out with some like minded folks my friend. Welcome!

 

[kingranch2003]

Spot on! I'll have to put in a order with you soon. You sound amazing!




@kingranch2003 I can't wait to see the new corals in your tank! They're going to look AMAZING!

Thanks Walker. I'm so excited to get them tomorrow. I'll have some pics for the Smorgasbord tomorrow. Including my first acro

 

[DIYreefer]

Oh man that is absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much, my friend! You wouldn't believe that those two were on my list to add!! These will be perfect for the color scheme im shooting for. I went back and forth for a while before I chose the ones that I chose!

What an incredible kindness!Thanks for the advice. I had a couple ideas about where to put them. This settles it. I have a nice shady spot for them.

And I'd like to shout out @DIYreefer and his eBay site to my #SmorgasbordFamily . He is very accommodating and has an amazing collection. The prices are rock bottom in my opinion.

Well, you definitely made some nice choices! I think you’re going to be quite pleased with the coloring on those scan frags. Acans are such underrated corals! They’re pretty easy to keep nice you accept that they really don’t like much light at all (which I totally get that that can be a hard pill to swallow as it generally goes against everything we learn when we first enter the hobby. Most of the time light = good for corals lol.

I did notice in an earlier post that your nutrient levels are pretty low. That’s totally fine, just be sure to keep a close eye on the acans be sure to feed them a bit after they settle in. If you keep them well fed they will tolerate the lower nutrient levels just fine. :)

 

[DIYreefer]

Thanks Walker. I'm so excited to get them tomorrow. I'll have some pics for the Smorgasbord tomorrow. Including my first acro

Responses like this are seriously a big part of why I sell my frags. It makes me feel like Santa Claus!

 

[kingranch2003]

Responses like this are seriously a big part of why I sell my frags. It makes me feel like Santa Claus!

When my boys get home from school and see these corals tomorrow, you will be ! Such a fun hobby filled with great people

 

[kingranch2003]

Well, you definitely made some nice choices! I think you’re going to be quite pleased with the coloring on those scan frags. Acans are such underrated corals! They’re pretty easy to keep nice you accept that they really don’t like much light at all (which I totally get that that can be a hard pill to swallow as it generally goes against everything we learn when we first enter the hobby. Most of the time light = good for corals lol.

I did notice in an earlier post that your nutrient levels are pretty low. That’s totally fine, just be sure to keep a close eye on the acans be sure to feed them a bit after they settle in. If you keep them well fed they will tolerate the lower nutrient levels just fine. :)

This is the advice I need for sure. I have been a little concerned about my lps bc of the low nutrients to be honest, so I'll see if I can get those nitrates up just a bit.

I think I'll put those beautiful acans down on a lower ledge of my rock work and maybe one or two on the sand. There is definitely lower par there. And I think they would look good placed next to each other. I have some epoxy just in case. They will be over a Cynarina and scoly so they will be in the feeding zone at all times.

 

[DIYreefer]

This is the advice I need for sure. I have been a little concerned about my lps bc of the low nutrients to be honest, so I'll see if I can get those nitrates up just a bit.

I think I'll put those beautiful acans down on a lower ledge of my rock work and maybe one or two on the sand. There is definitely lower par there. And I think they would look good placed next to each other. I have some epoxy just in case. They will be over a Cynarina and scoly so they will be in the feeding zone at all times.

That should be a good spot. Just watch them close and if they aren’t opening up fully (nice and fluffy… that’s the technical description) they most likely need lower light and/or a little more feeding.

 

[ScottD]

Thanks so much. I appreciate the kind words. You nailed it. Those two are worth their weight in personality gold. It's funny, no other fish messes with the tsb. Everyone respects the little guy for some reason lol

Circling back to this. I got a tsb and love him. Always looking to see where and what funny position he’s going to be perched in. You weren’t kidding when you said nobody messes with the little guy. I also have a line spot wrasse that I added and he seemed to go a few days where he was being aggressive towards everyone. Well everyone but the tsb. He’d swim right next to him with no issues. Almost like the wrasse was a bigger brother, keeping everyone else away and they were the best of friends.

 

[ScottD]

Looks like you’ve got a nice selection of corals to start things. Looking forward to seeing where you go with the tank.

 

[kingranch2003]

Circling back to this. I got a tsb and love him. Always looking to see where and what funny position he’s going to be perched in. You weren’t kidding when you said nobody messes with the little guy. I also have a line spot wrasse that I added and he seemed to go a few days where he was being aggressive towards everyone. Well everyone but the tsb. He’d swim right next to him with no issues. Almost like the wrasse was a bigger brother, keeping everyone else away and they were the best of friends.

I'm so glad you stopped by to mention this! That never gets old watching a wrasse and tsb. It's almost like he commands respect. It's so cool what we can observe in our little slices of aquatic Heaven.

 

[kingranch2003]

Looks like you’ve got a nice selection of corals to start things. Looking forward to seeing where you go with the tank.

I appreciate that my friend. I recently added a few sps frags and some rainbow acans to the blank spots in my tank. Ill definitely do an update!

 

[ScottD]

I'm so glad you stopped by to mention this! That never gets old watching a wrasse and tsb. It's almost like he commands respect. It's so cool what we can observe in our little slices of aquatic Heaven.

Ya it is fun to watch them together, an interesting dynamic. Yes it is fun watching, just getting back in after a long break but have had small freshwater tanks as long as I can remember. It was fun growing up throwing random stuff out of the lake I lived on into the tank and watching them. The most interesting was the time I threw a small crawfish in there. The native fish all knew to leave it alone and stay clear. I had one store bought fish that I would see multiple times swimming around with it attached to its tail. Never learned to keep away.

 

[kingranch2003]

Ya it is fun to watch them together, an interesting dynamic. Yes it is fun watching, just getting back in after a long break but have had small freshwater tanks as long as I can remember. It was fun growing up throwing random stuff out of the lake I lived on into the tank and watching them. The most interesting was the time I threw a small crawfish in there. The native fish all knew to leave it alone and stay clear. I had one store bought fish that I would see multiple times swimming around with it attached to its tail. Never learned to keep away.

Crawfish are fantastic pets! Unless you're a fish. I began with freshwater aquariums and loved them. I still miss my cichlids to this day. Then I got into saltwater fish only tanks. Fast forward many years and two kids... It had been a while since I had a tank. My wife collected 2 thinstripe hermits from The Gulf of Mexico where we live, and began a tank centered around them and a pistol shrimp. I got bit by the aquarium hobby bug again, but this time I wanted to have a reef tank, so here we go (8 months in now). It's been so amazing. I've met such wonderful people along the way too.