REEF OF THE MONTH - March 2023: Dragon Lee's NPS Paradise

[MoshJosh]

Beautiful tank!!!

I was wondering, what is the white material on the right and is that some sort of baffle or "sideways" overflow?

 

[mattdg]

Very nice tank. NO light or skimmer is so different than what we are used to.

I do wish you had shared more info about this setup. How much and how often water is changed? How and what exactly you feed? Specific NPS species and care requirements.

Out of all of the Reef of The Month write ups, this is the one where we could really use all of the little details.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Gorgeous! Congrats on a well deserved honor.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Congratulations, Well deserved! Takes a special Hobbyist with special Patients and determination to do a NPS Reef!

 

[Dee313]

what an absolutely dreamy tank. gorgeous layout!!

 

[AcroNem]

This looks fantastic. @Dragon Lee Can you elaborate more on feeding? Are you hatching brine shrimp daily? From what I've seen and read many of these species would require food much smaller than brine shrimp or even nauplii. Very interested in hearing more about it.

What's the oldest colony in your system?
Any other foods you give them?

 

[biophilia]

I'm also curious about this feeding strategy given how large artemia nauplii are in comparison to the polyps of some of those animals. How long have those dendronephthya and other nephtheidae. been in the system, for example and are you feeding them anything?

 

[AcroNem]

There was one study conducted to determine the concentration of brine shrimps needed for Acropora Millepora, Horn Coral and Duncan to display their maximum feeding rates. They found that it takes between 50 brine shrimps per ml to 120 brine shrimps per ml for all three corals to achieve that goal. They also found out that it doesn't matter whether you feed the corals during daytime or nighttime.

Assuming there are 250 000 brine shrimp eggs in 1g, for a 155-galon tank that means:

• At 15g, the concentration is 6.4 brine shrimps per ml.
• At 30g, the concentration is 12.8 brine shrimps per ml.
• At 200g, the concentration is 85.2 brine shrimps per ml.

Reference: "Optimizing heterotrophic feeding rates of three commercially important scleractinian corals"

Thank you for Referencing this. Although that study does specifically focus on Scleractinia. Many of these species in this system wouldn't be able to consume nauplii, hence my question on if there are any other foods added to this system. It also appears to only be fed twice weekly

 

[bnord]

superb

 

[Dragon Lee]

Congrats @Dragon Lee!! Such a uniquely beautiful tank. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you very much!
A new pic for you.

 

[Dragon Lee]

Wow. I cant believe how much success you had with something I thought was impossible!

Thanks.A new pic for you.

 

[Dragon Lee]

Congratulations @Dragon Lee !

The different corals and how different they are from SPS, LPS, etc. is fascinating. Happy for your success and thank you for sharing your beautiful creation with us.

Thanks so much!
A new pic for you.

 

[Dragon Lee]

T

I as well as many others here congratulate you on keeping such a beautifully gathered, grown, and meticulously groomed and lovingly cared for LPS tank. I have to say your tank is the only one I have ever seen with such exclusively chosen LPS corals. I am not sure that another exists, I haven't seen any other LPS tanks that are truly LPS till yours. I knew you would win hands down the first time I viewed it. I was in disbelief that it could be real. You have achieved what many people would say is one of the hardest tanks to keep and my friend it is magnificent and magical. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful work

Thank you very much.
A new pic for you.Hope you love it.

 

[Dragon Lee]

Incredible tank congrats. I love gorgonians! They are my favorite. I have tried NPS unsuccessfully and I think it’s because of Lightning. Your right they need their own tank. Such inspiration here great work!

Come on!

 

[Dragon Lee]

I love it so much! The bright colors and fine textures. Gorgonians are my favorite and I would love an NPS tank, with seahorses of course! But I travel too often to feel comfortable with the caretaking of these gorgeous creatures. Thanks for sharing this with us! It makes my day

Good idea!Seahorse!
I have a pineapple.The pic for you.I gonna to put a seahorse.

 

[Dragon Lee]

Congrats @Dragon Lee

Very nice job here, your tank looks great!

Thank you!
I'll keep it up!

 

[Dragon Lee]

Absolutely stunning! I love the blue Gorgonians . Congrats this is an honor well deserved.

Here it is！

 

[Dragon Lee]

Very nice work (emphasis added)!

Thanks!!!

 

[Dragon Lee]

Congrats! Honestly been waiting for this post since the moment I saw your first reef2reef post a few months ago. This is honestly probably the most impressive NPS tank I've ever seen outside a public aquarium. Truly a fantastic job you're doing

Thanks for your encouragement！I'll keep it up!
There is a new pic for you!New color

 

[Dragon Lee]

Congrats on this well deserved honor. Your tank is stunning.

Thank you!