Over the Edge

[cbort]

Added a bit more rock to create some excess overhangs and frag placement. I think i will leave it alone for awhile now and simply keep adding frags from this point. I did add a few new inhabitants as well...
Blue Linka Starfish (instantly crawled into the rock work and haven't seen since)
Red reef safe mini starfish (seen him a few times but was on the back glass)
7 Blue/Green Reef Chromis (first 48 hours, could only find 3, now I've seen 5, we'll see if the other 2 have made it)
Firefish (made it 24 hours before eaten by Mr. Pinktail) :mad:

 

[cbort]

I'll be tagging along to watch how the zoa garden progresses. I love how no two look the same with each one having it's own growth and pattern.

Thanks Sully! Zoas are by far my favorite type of coral! The original 32 that i had picked up as 1-3 polyp frags have all done very well and multiplied like crazy, which i am super happy about! A few years back my collection was nearing 160+ different types, hope to get back to that number again soon! In the past i was all about fragging and trading, and now I am just going to set and forget and try to allow them to simply grow into small colonies!

 

[cbort]

Some updated shots of the Elos 120 tonight....

 

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Some updated shots of the Zoa Garden and misc. frags....

 

[cbort]

Doing some more trading with the same hobbyist whom i received my last frag pack from. Here are some iPhone pics he sent me! They have all been cut for about 3 weeks are are currently healing and almost ready to pick up! In total it's going to be 35 SPS and 12 Zoanthids! I also picked up a container of NYOS Reef Cement to help secure all of my frags since my two Tangs won't quit knocking them over.

 

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Frags made it home!!

 

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and a few more....

 

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Picked up some new pieces!

 

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Took a chance yesterday and added a 2nd pair of clowns to my reef. Clowns are some of the easiest fish to remove, so if they don't do well, I will remove them to my 40g refugium that I have set up. It was scary, as I love my Platinum and Frostbite pair that I have now, but they don't host my carpet like i was hoping, and the cool part is, the new pair went straight to it and began hosting it right away! There was a bit of aggression toward the evening, and i even caught my new male and my female Platinum lock onto each other's left fin and dance "in a bad way" for about 5 seconds before i could reach my hand in to break it up. Since then, the new pair has stayed put in their Carpet which resides in the center of the display, while the Frostbite and Platinum stay home in the top right corner in their Rainbow BTA.





Here are some shots prior to adding them. The Female looks to be a Percula and the Male a Ocellaris.

















This is about 2 minutes after adding them to the display

 

[cbort]

Quick little update:



Purchased another piece of equipment that was on my list. Going to give the SKIMZ MBR127 Cheato Reactor a try. I was trying to decide between this and a Scrubber, and with my limited Sump space, i decided to go this route.











Loaded her up with some Cheato from a fellow reefer, set the flow setting to F2 per recommendations from individuals with experience using the reactor, and now to find room in the sump to place it!





Sump is getting pretty tight!! I foresee an additional equipment cabinet in my near future!

She fits! The LED lights are pretty bright!





Love the looks of the pink glow with the stand lights turned to Blue! Now to set it and forget it! I will follow up with an update with parameters, and how she performs in the coming weeks!

 

[cbort]

Looking for some advice.....I would like to upgrade my skimmer soon. The Eshopps S-150 Cone skimmer does an amazing job, but my bio-load has pushed it past it's limits. I could easily empty my cup every other day, and I am not even skimming wet. Also, the cup on it so so small that adding any sort of float switch or optical sensor is nearly impossible. So....I am looking for recommendations for an upgrade. My Elos120 is 90 gallons, and my bio-load is HEAVY. A skimmer that my LFS is pushing really hard on me is the new Zetlight Aqua Excel EC30. He is running EC30/EC40 models on all of his systems, and he says that they are out performing anything non-commercial he has ever used. Only problem is, that these skimmers are so new that I can't find any reviews or testimonials besides his.

As you can tell, i am fond of SKIMZ and would like to keep the SKIMZ theme going, but again not sure on which model best suits my needs. I also found a Bubble King Double Cone 150 for a great price, but am afraid that it may be too small as well. Let me know what you think or what you'd recommend!

Thanks!

 

[cbort]

Deep Blue setting on the Radion 3G Pros....Sorry I got camera happy

 

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Picked up some “reef janitors” today! My LFS had a sale going on clean up crews, so I brought home blue/red legged hermits crabs for 10/$10 and a nice sized Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber.

As usual, I always try to involve my “little reefers” whom love to help acclimate all of the new inhabitants. I love to see their little expressions when they see something new and unusual. They were pretty amazed by the Sea Cucumber, and of course gave him the name “Spike.”

 

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New Pump! Looks like I’ll be working under the stand tonight!

 

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Brought home 3 more Rainbow Bubble Tips and a HUGE rock of shrooms!

 

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What's everyone's preference when it comes to running carbon? I have an extra reactor i am not currently utilizing plumbed into my system, and really want to see how much it can improve my water clarity. I have heard mixed "expert" opinions with running carbon and having Tangs?

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have a yellow currently and a Kole for over 12 years with no issues. I run carbon continuously due to high toxins in my system. Just make sure to rinse well and buy high grade carbon.

 

[ncaldwell]

Yep, high grade with low dust. Not the 7 dollar little canister from Petco. I've been using rox.7 for years with an Achilles and a purple tang with no effects

 

[cbort]

I have a yellow currently and a Kole for over 12 years with no issues. I run carbon continuously due to high toxins in my system. Just make sure to rinse well and buy high grade carbon.

Thanks for sharing your personal experience! That's good to hear. All the research i have done in the past couple days confirms that as long as you are using a mid to high grade and not Walmart/Petco brand for example, you will not see any ill effects. Also, I run a system with lots of zoas, so that is another good reason as you stated "high toxins" to run carbon. Thanks!

 

[cbort]

Yep, high grade with low dust. Not the 7 dollar little canister from Petco. I've been using rox.7 for years with an Achilles and a purple tang with no effects

Thanks for the advice! Great to hear you've never had any issues as well! My sailfin and Vlamingi are 2 very adored fish and would hate to be using a product that could potentially harm them! Thanks again!