Stevo's Ultimate 2016 R2R Red Sea Reefer 525XL

stevo01 · Oct 6, 2017

TonapahNorth said:
Super sweet.! Thanks for sharing!

Is that typical of your flow?

I see 4 (?) wrasse. Can you tell me what kind they are? Is that a pajama card? Are they ok to be alone?

Thanks!

No this is new flow im trying. Got rid of the sand when i moved the reef. Today in these videos I had cranked them all the way up. After the video I moved it back to 50% on the left side and 100% on the right side. I also run my return as fast as I can without too much noise. This is on reef crest setting 24/7.

The fish list right now.

QT - C. rhomboidalis (golden rhomboid fairy wrasse), C. isosceles (pintail fairy wrasse)
DT - C. rubripinnis (red fin fairy wrasse), Halichoeres melanurus (Hoevens wrasse), 2 m/f Kauderns cardinals, 2 m/f ora mocha gladiator clownfish, 2 anthias a male lyre tail and male Marcia’s, and one firefish.

I plan to add

Lawnmower blenny, C. exsquisitus (exsquisite fairy wrasse), C. jordani (flame fairy wrasse), M. choati leopard wrasse.

Thats 15 fish.

stevo01 · Oct 6, 2017

if thats not too much id like 3 chalk bass too.

TonapahNorth · Oct 6, 2017

Awesome. Nice to see those wrasse. Gorgeous

stevo01 · Oct 7, 2017

Oh I have 2 anthias. A male lyre tail and a male marcias.

stevo01 · Oct 7, 2017

I mocked up this awesome image from Reef Builders. The yellow circles are the Cirrhilabrus ill have in my DT.

stevo01 · Oct 7, 2017

So the rubripinnis was a mistake getting. It was my first fairy purchase and i didnt research the species enough first. My luck or bad luck is its one of the more aggresive. I hope he will accept my peaceful beauties. Doing a DIY acclimation box tomorrow.

stevo01 · Oct 7, 2017

Im posting Hunters new chart here because I love wrasse so much! Hunter’s, Lemon’s, and RB’s work on the subject is what made me want wrasse. If you squint a little the species names clear up lol. This was from Macna this year during Hunters lecture.

stevo01 · Oct 8, 2017

I'm ready to move the pintail and rhomboid into acclimation of my DT. Im doing a DIY and if it works out sweet. If not I'll explore other ideas.

I picked out this large clear plastic bin. Cut it up a little to accept an acrylic mount off a small fish trap. Now it hangs and firmly attaches to the rimless tank. Next I'm using a soldering iron to make holes in all the sides, bottom, and lid. Hole need to be with soft edges and smaller than the fish head.

Here it is without holes.

Think it'll work OK after the hole are in?

stevo01 · Oct 8, 2017

Here it is finished.

stevo01 · Oct 8, 2017

I used a propane torch and heated up the tip of a torque style screwdriver. After it hardened back up the burs were easily removed with my nails.

TonapahNorth · Oct 8, 2017

Can you increase oxygen in the acclimation chamber with an airstone? How restrictive is the flow in the chamber? If it flows well, I wouldn’t worry too much about oxygen, if there’s any question, then adding an airstone will be ok.

stevo01 · Oct 8, 2017

TonapahNorth said:
Can you increase oxygen in the acclimation chamber with an airstone? How restrictive is the flow in the chamber? If it flows well, I wouldn’t worry too much about oxygen, if there’s any question, then adding an airstone will be ok.

I could easily run an airstone into that, but really dont think it will be a problem with the ammount of flow I have.

stevo01 · Oct 13, 2017

My first piece of reef art. This was done by a friend of mine on FB. Its a graffiti style with UV paints. I love wrasse and asked he do a wrasse. Send me a pm if you would like to get in touch with him.

stevo01 · Nov 17, 2017

I have a little fish and coral update for the tank.

I hung a mirror on the mid left side of the tank for over a month. The rubripinnis is finally a chill fish. Does some flashing like it should but very minimal chasing these days. He is doing fine with the new wrasse.

I added a starry blenny after QT a month. He's loving the big tank and loves to lay in the big toadstool or GSP.

A reefing friend that has an amazing tank gave me a gorgeous colony of coral divas blue magic chalice. About baseball size and ready to encrust something new. Currently in QT. Photos are during daylight, moonlight, and light out with a flashlight.