Rural Montana Reef

[Gjedde]

Things are really starting to look good. Ive got po4 down to .56 now using elimiphos and gfo. I figure in another week i should have it at that .2-.3 range thst i typically like.

 

[Gjedde]

That's the dream. I'm hoping our next house has an unfinished basement with plumbing hookups so I can build a peninsula style tank with a dedicated fish room that's attached to my home office. It's fun to dream :)

The penninsula works especially well for our house, the basement had the same layout as the upstairs other than the breakfast nook in the kitchen so the addition of the tank mirrors it nicely. They are both in the same place really and about the same length kinda fun.

 

[Gjedde]

Taken from about the same location in the house upstairs vs downstairs.

 

[Gjedde]

Back to work on the river! Which means more reef $$$.
Still dealing with my phosphate levels. Ive gotten them down quite a bit from 2.0. Trying to keep them around .15 but it looks like my rocks may be leaching .15 daily into the tank. And either my salifert nitrate kit is faulty or my nitrates are still at zero. Ill dose lc for a little longer but i am hopi g to get a gfo reactor going. Will keep testing phosphate for the next few weeks to hopefully get a handle on it before i leave for work. 6 weeks away from this newer tank makes be a bit nervous…

 

[Gjedde]

Just pulled a yellowhead jawfish and a mccoskers wrasse out of my observational qt and a round if prazipri just incase. Looking like they are settling in well. Also picked a big load of corals up including:
Large monty cap colony
Large pink birdsnest colony
Pink diamond zoa colony
5 inch stylo frag
Red anacropora frag
2 heads of a peach colored octospawn
2” oregon tort acropora
200 dollars for all!

Also moved over the last of my corals that i had my buddy watching:
Teal humilis
Purple acro colony maybe 4”

 

[Gjedde]

Need to work on getting my ph up to about 8.2 but otherwise id be pretty happy keeping everywhere it is.

 

[BR-549]

Following along! We are very close to building a house and I will have a similar setup with Peninsula tank and an adjacent 13 x 7 fish room.

I'm leaning toward glass cages with 72" x 30", but I can't decide on the height. How did you decide on 20"?

 

[Gjedde]

Following along! We are very close to building a house and I will have a similar setup with Peninsula tank and an adjacent 13 x 7 fish room.

I'm leaning toward glass cages with 72" x 30", but I can't decide on the height. How did you decide on 20"?

I am 5’7 and i wanted to be able to wear a tshirt but never wet the sleeves. I could have gone 30” width for effectively the same cost. However due to lighting concerns and just the asthetics of where it sat in the basement we decided 28 was best. It ended up being the right decision as those extra two inches would have made it much more challenging to navigate the stairs down. Would have gone 6’ but it was just a couple buddies and i bringing the tank down the stairs. Didnt want to push our luck.

You definitely wont be disappointed with glass cages.

 

[BR-549]

I am 5’7 and i wanted to be able to wear a tshirt but never wet the sleeves. I could have gone 30” width for effectively the same cost. However due to lighting concerns and just the asthetics of where it sat in the basement we decided 28 was best. It ended up being the right decision as those extra two inches would have made it much more challenging to navigate the stairs down. Would have gone 6’ but it was just a couple buddies and i bringing the tank down the stairs. Didnt want to push our luck.

You definitely wont be disappointed with glass cages.

Thank you! That makes sense on the height.

I've seen so many positive responses about glass cages! I can't wait to get started.

 

[Gjedde]

Glued a few corals and moved a couple rocks. Really coming together now!

 

[Gjedde]

Also, havnt seen the jawfish but the mccoskers is showing itself.

And i picked up my favorite wrasse that i had another reefer keeping until my tank was large enough and mature enough. A very large and stunning dusky wrasse!

 

[Gjedde]

ill be leaving this Thursday until june 15 for work. Figured id snap a few before pictures mow and post some afters when i get back. My valida and humilis have already noticeably grown, excited to see what they look like in 45 days! Hopefully they arent bone white!

 

[Gjedde]

 

[Gjedde]

Almost forgot to mention the newest resident, a female M. bipartitus

 

[trellemania]

ill be leaving this Thursday until june 15 for work. Figured id snap a few before pictures mow and post some afters when i get back. My valida and humilis have already noticeably grown, excited to see what they look like in 45 days! Hopefully they arent bone white!

Can't wait to see their growth! Hoping everything thrives!

 

[tritonpower]

Following along! We are very close to building a house and I will have a similar setup with Peninsula tank and an adjacent 13 x 7 fish room.

I'm leaning toward glass cages with 72" x 30", but I can't decide on the height. How did you decide on 20"?

My glass cages is 72 x 30 x 25. The 25 inch height is perfect. You just need to get up on a stool if you want to reach the bottom. Not difficult at all.

 

[Gjedde]

I wouldnt want my tank any deeper. My wife is 5’ tall. She would likely not be able to reach the bottom without her shoulder getting wet.

 

[Gjedde]

My glass cages is 72 x 30 x 25. The 25 inch height is perfect. You just need to get up on a stool if you want to reach the bottom. Not difficult at all.

I think with my tank being a peninsula it is also nice having a shallower tank. Especially with the scape being so low in a lot of areas. Your tank looks great btw!

 

[tritonpower]

I think with my tank being a peninsula it is also nice having a shallower tank. Especially with the scape being so low in a lot of areas. Your tank looks great btw!

Thx

 

[Gjedde]

Just got back from nearly 6 weeks away from the tank and i am happy to say there were no losses! The montis, favias, anacroporas, and one of my staghorns had noticeable growth however the rest look about the same. Alkalinity has dropped from 8.5 to 7.1 which is likely why growth has stalled. Going to start dosing kalkwasser so i should start seeing growth again. Will try to post some pictures soon.

Here are some pictures of fish from my last 6 weeks of work.