Renton's Evolution from 200 to 440 gallons

[Marty's Reef]

It was made by Ocean Life Aquariums out of FL. He did great work!

Thanks for the info. Since I’m in Florida as well I will have to check them out. I plan to do a large tank once we buy a house. Market pending lol
But thanks again.

 

[McPuff]

Oldman Leopard Wrasse 7/1/2011 to 5/14/2021 RIP

Oldman wrasse was one of my oldest fish and has been in all stages of my systems over the years, started in my 93 gallon cube, moved to the 200 gallon tank when I upgraded and made the last move to the new tank.

Over the past year or two he was really starting to show his age. He finally tuckered out. Fun fact about Oldman Wrasse, when I got him he was a small female

10 years is pretty great for a wrasse... generally they top out at 7 years. I had 3 together for over 6 years and they all died within about 6 months of each other. There is a good thread somewhere on this very subject.

 

[Renton777]

10 years is pretty great for a wrasse... generally they top out at 7 years. I had 3 together for over 6 years and they all died within about 6 months of each other. There is a good thread somewhere on this very subject.

Yes, I thought it was a great run.

Speaking of wrasses, I snagged a Moyer's leopard wrasse from Diver's Den. It arrived this week and seemed to have a temporary swim bladder issue that resolved over night and its doing well now!


Having some trouble upon arrival:



Looking great on day 2:

 

[Renton777]

My yellow tail tamarin wrasse has been catching my eye recently as its spot pattern and coloration looks strange to me at times.

Yesterday I was testing out making a video with a Go Pro and it finally dawned on me that the yellow tail tamarin wrasse is turning male.

Around the 1 minute mark of this video you can see the new variation pattern on his head, a few spots "missing" on the side and its bright yellow tail is now much darker.

 

[Renton777]

I just returned form a two week vacation in Hawaii. Thanks go a great group of fellow reefing friends my tank looked great upon my return. To further help alleviate my concern I had the info from my Apex, Alkatronic and web cam at my finger tips the whole time.

Here is a quick clip of when I got back before I did any clean up or chores.

 

[Renton777]

If you are into other people's vacation videos, boy are you in luck!

Here are some of my favorite videos I took with the a Go Pro. I was most pumped about seeing a few Achilles tangs and coming arcos some sea turtles.

In my opinion, Honolua Bay was the best spot to snorkel. A bit of a trick to find parking and get to and a bit of a swim out to the "good stuff" but totally worth it!!

 

[Renton777]

I have a bunch of other snorkeling clips in these play lists, but you are going to have to sort through some of the other little adventures as well:

 

[Renton777]

 

[Renton777]

I was fortunate enough to grab a Mastertronic a couple days ago and have had it up and running for a few day. I really like it so far. The tests seem to be reading accurately with the exception of Magnesium reading 150 to 200 points high (this may very well be user error as I have not looking into it yet).

My calcium is on the low side and I am working to bring that up over the next week. I am also looking to take nitrates and phosphates down a bit over the course of a month or so.

Waste Bucket

 

[Renton777]

And for those that might be curious

I plan to schedule tests for Calcium, Nitrates, Phosphates and Magnesium 2 or 3 times a week as well as an occasional "on demand" test when I am feeling spicy.

My Alkatroinc currently tests Alk every 10 hours

 

[Digitalfirex]

And for those that might be curious

I plan to schedule tests for Calcium, Nitrates, Phosphates and Magnesium 2 or 3 times a week as well as an occasional "on demand" test when I am feeling spicy.

My Alkatroinc currently tests Alk every 10 hours

Where did you get this mastertronic?

 

[Renton777]

Where did you get this mastertronic?

I got it from a local fish store, The Salty Critter. I had told them months ago that I would like one so they put in an order with the distributor a while ago and finally got a couple in.

 

[tripdad]

Would love to see how this tank has grown....

 

[Daniel@R2R]

@Renton777 can we get an update on your awesome reef?

 

[Renton777]

@Renton777 can we get an update on your awesome reef?

I will have to get an update together. Still up and running and growing!

 

[Renton777]

 

[Renton777]

 

[Renton777]

The corals and fish are doing well. My time had become more limited as my kids have gotten older and I am coach some teams. The biggest problem I have now is taking the time to trim corals and find them new homes. I have had a couple of colonies get too big and dense, limit the flow to their core and die form the inside out.

I almost never list corals for sale, I need to do that more often to get things thinned out!

 

[Luke Schnabel]

Come on Nathan we all know that all your free time is spent with the dogs now… blame it on the kids…

 

[Renton777]

Come on Nathan we all know that all your free time is spent with the dogs now… blame it on the kids…

This is partly true, I have a 9 month old Malamute and a 11 week old Malamute. They are great but a handful and I sort of had to really talk my wife into getting them (or letting me get them) so I do have to tend to that.