The Bluegrass Reef

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Wrassenaround

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How big is your Kole tang?
He’s a good size. You can see him on the upper left side in the photo below.
Model citizen and first tang I ever got but I think his time with me is almost up.
IMG_0325.JPG
 
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Wrassenaround

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So I've picked up the TNT piece that a buddy of mine was holding for me until my levels were ready. He also gave a me a Acro that was given to him as a freebie but it was one he already had so lucky me.
The surprise in all of this is that I have also picked up 8 RBT anemones from him. I have them in a box in the tank so they are isolated from the corals. I've always wanted to keep anemones and even tried in my old tank (failed). Im planning on either keeping them in the box in this tank as an "extra" thing to look at and they add a different color. The other option is to get a nano tank and just have nems in there and get a clownfish pair.

I'm also thinking about re-homing my Kole Tang as he has gotten fairly large and I would like to add some more wrasses. Im afraid the bio load would be too much so the biggest and least colorful fish would get a new home.


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So unless something wild happens I'll be picking up a used RedSea Max Nano (20 Gallon) tomorrow. It's coming with an AI Prime, heater, powerhead and clean live rock and only a few fish I'm going to find a new home for. The tank is approximately 5 years old but I'm not super worried about the seams since a lot of those issues have arisen from their larger tanks.

Going to get it setup tomorrow, get the nems in a few days later and then try to source my designer clownfish.
 
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A little late but here's an update on the Anemones -

I got the tank all setup and it's running very well.
IMG_0941.jpeg

IMG_0943.jpeg


The tank came with everything that would come with it if you bought it new. I got rid of the powerhead as I want something that I can control on my phone and will be getting a newer one.
Likely a Nero 3 since I'm running a Prime 16 HD

The anemones themselves are doing amazing. Pretty much all of them have settled in the middle of the rock work. Some are still moving around but not much.
Right now my biggest issue is the algae growing on the glass as there isn't much flow in the tank.
I'll be adding a pair of clowns next month. I'm going to a pair of SA Fancy White Extreme.
Also probably going to order a few green BTA from Reef Beauties.
IMG_1075.jpeg
 

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A little late but here's an update on the Anemones -

I got the tank all setup and it's running very well.
IMG_0941.jpeg

IMG_0943.jpeg


The tank came with everything that would come with it if you bought it new. I got rid of the powerhead as I want something that I can control on my phone and will be getting a newer one.
Likely a Nero 3 since I'm running a Prime 16 HD

The anemones themselves are doing amazing. Pretty much all of them have settled in the middle of the rock work. Some are still moving around but not much.
Right now my biggest issue is the algae growing on the glass as there isn't much flow in the tank.
I'll be adding a pair of clowns next month. I'm going to a pair of SA Fancy White Extreme.
Also probably going to order a few green BTA from Reef Beauties.
IMG_1075.jpeg
Those guys are stunning!!!
 
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Update Time!
My anemone tank has been rough this past week. I installed a UV Sterilizer to take care of a green algae bloom which worked wonders and the algae is long. My tank temp got up to 86 degrees (YIKES) but got it down to 78 within a few hours. The nems really shriveled up during the UV use and obviously didn't like the temp fluctuation so my fingers are crossed that they start to improve.

As for the Reefer! I had a shipment of 3 wrasses arrive on Tuesday. I picked up a Yellow Coris, Carpenter Flasher and a Radiant Wrasse. All three arrived in great shape and were swimming around once they got acclimated. Unfortunately the Radiant wrasse perished over night on night 2. I'm bummed out, even though they are known to be really delicate shippers this one was doing very well when he arrived. Maybe I'll try and get another one but like not.

IMG_1299.jpeg

IMG_1331.jpeg
IMG_1333.jpeg


A good full tank shot with the new additions present. Notice how fast the Coraline algae has grown back on the back wall . Time to get it scrapped off again!
IMG_1330.jpeg



I have 3 torches coming from @Queen City Corals next week so keep your eyes peeled for an update on them
I've been thinking about nominating myself for Reef of the Month but we shall see. I know mine isn't one of the popular ones on the forum and nothing exists for it on social media so we'll see. I know that there are a few of you who really like it and enjoy the updates.
 

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Update Time!
My anemone tank has been rough this past week. I installed a UV Sterilizer to take care of a green algae bloom which worked wonders and the algae is long. My tank temp got up to 86 degrees (YIKES) but got it down to 78 within a few hours. The nems really shriveled up during the UV use and obviously didn't like the temp fluctuation so my fingers are crossed that they start to improve.

As for the Reefer! I had a shipment of 3 wrasses arrive on Tuesday. I picked up a Yellow Coris, Carpenter Flasher and a Radiant Wrasse. All three arrived in great shape and were swimming around once they got acclimated. Unfortunately the Radiant wrasse perished over night on night 2. I'm bummed out, even though they are known to be really delicate shippers this one was doing very well when he arrived. Maybe I'll try and get another one but like not.

IMG_1299.jpeg

IMG_1331.jpeg
IMG_1333.jpeg


A good full tank shot with the new additions present. Notice how fast the Coraline algae has grown back on the back wall . Time to get it scrapped off again!
IMG_1330.jpeg



I have 3 torches coming from @Queen City Corals next week so keep your eyes peeled for an update on them
I've been thinking about nominating myself for Reef of the Month but we shall see. I know mine isn't one of the popular ones on the forum and nothing exists for it on social media so we'll see. I know that there are a few of you who really like it and enjoy the updates.
Yes!!!! Tank is looking so good.
 
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Tiny update but need some help!
Once again I am a contestant in the Photo Of The Month contest for September. I am photo number nine of the candy cane coral.
Any votes would be greatly appreciated :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
 
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A pre halloween update -
I've been battling an algae outbreak for the last few months which I have narrowed down to me not swapping out my RODI filter like I should have. Since replacing the cartridges I have not been as aggressive in removing the algae as I could have been.....well until this week.

I decided to go to town the rocks with a tooth brush and some good old fashion manual removal. Two water changes in one week and we are back to the tank looking very pristine.

Prior to this the three wrasses I received from Reef Beauties are doing great with the exception of the Radiant wrasse who didn't make past two days. I was bummed out but I understood the risk associated with it and wanted to try anyway.

I also did a homemade treatment of 3/4 hydrogen peroxide and 1/4 ro water to treat Brown Jelly on one of my torches. Ii had a decent effect on the head that was infected but it ultimately perished. The rest of the colony however has recovered very well and is going great.

IMG_1387.jpeg
IMG_1390.jpeg


As for some new additions. I took delivery of the three torches from @Queen City Corals a few weeks ago and they are doing great. I waited until my rocks were algae free to get them placed and they look amazing. I also had a small package come in from @TCK Corals that consisted of a Chalice, Favia and Zoa colony.
IMG_1434.jpeg

IMG_1853.jpeg
IMG_1852.jpeg


I decided to lump all of my Acans together instead of having them throughout the sand bed and boy do they look good.
IMG_1854.jpeg


Now for a full tank shot. The GSP wall is nearly covering the entire area and is returning to its green color (hallelujah)
IMG_1846.jpeg

I lost a few torch colonies randomly and since then I have done a lot of research on when tanks reach the 3-4 year mark (like mine) they struggle to stay healthy as the biome is pushed to it's limit. Whereas the tanks you see that have been running for 5+ years, the owners trim their colonies back (something I've been bad at because who doesn't love looking at a colony with 30+ heads)

I will be getting rid of some hammer colonies along with my Kole Tang to try and maintain the biome that is keeping the tank running well. I will likely take them to an LFS in Nashville but if anyone is interested I may make a listing in the Livestock selling forum.
 
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Manose

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A pre halloween update -
I've been battling an algae outbreak for the last few months which have narrowed down to me not swapping out my RODI filter like I should have. Since replacing the cartridges I have not been as aggressive in removing the algae as I could have been.....well until this week.

I decided to go to town the rocks with a tooth brush and some good old fashion manual removal. Two water changes in once week and we are back to the tank looking very pristine.

Prior to this the three wares I received from Reef Beauties are doing great with the exception of the Radiant wrasse who didn't make past two days. I was bummed out but I understood the risk associated with it and wanted to try anyway.

I also did a homemade treatment of 3/4 hydrogen peroxide and 1/4 ro water to treat Brown Jelly on one of my torches. I had a decent effect on the head that was infected but it ultimately perished. The rest of the colony however has recovered very well and is going great.

IMG_1387.jpeg
IMG_1390.jpeg


As for some new additions. I took delivery of the three torches from @Queen City Corals a few weeks ago and they are doing great. I waited until my rocks were algae free to get them placed and they look amazing. I also had a small package come in from @TCK Corals that consisted of a Chalice, Favia and Zoa colony.
IMG_1434.jpeg

IMG_1853.jpeg
IMG_1852.jpeg


I decided to lump all of my Acans together instead of having them throughout the sand bed and boy do they look good.
IMG_1854.jpeg


Now for a full tank shot. The GSP wall is nearly covering the entire area and is returning to its green color (hallelujah)
IMG_1846.jpeg

I lost a few torch colonies randomly and since then I have done a lot of research on how tanks that reach the 3-4 year mark (like mine) struggle to stay healthy as the biome is pushed to its limit. Whereas the tanks you see that have been running for 5+ years, the owners trim their colonies back (something I've been bad at because who doesn't love looking at a colony with 30+ heads)

I will be getting rid of some hammer colonies along with my Kole Tang to try and maintain the biome that is keeping the tank running well. I will likely take them to an LFS in Nashville but if anyone is interested I may make a listing in the Livestock selling forum.
Love the acan bundle and really love the star polyps on the back wall.
 
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If I do end up rehoming my Kole Tang I would like to add at least one or maybe two more smaller fish. One wrasse for sure but I'm open to suggestions on the possible next two additions. What are some thoughts? I am ok with some higher end fish
 

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Update Time!
My anemone tank has been rough this past week. I installed a UV Sterilizer to take care of a green algae bloom which worked wonders and the algae is long. My tank temp got up to 86 degrees (YIKES) but got it down to 78 within a few hours. The nems really shriveled up during the UV use and obviously didn't like the temp fluctuation so my fingers are crossed that they start to improve.

As for the Reefer! I had a shipment of 3 wrasses arrive on Tuesday. I picked up a Yellow Coris, Carpenter Flasher and a Radiant Wrasse. All three arrived in great shape and were swimming around once they got acclimated. Unfortunately the Radiant wrasse perished over night on night 2. I'm bummed out, even though they are known to be really delicate shippers this one was doing very well when he arrived. Maybe I'll try and get another one but like not.

IMG_1299.jpeg

IMG_1331.jpeg
IMG_1333.jpeg


A good full tank shot with the new additions present. Notice how fast the Coraline algae has grown back on the back wall . Time to get it scrapped off again!
IMG_1330.jpeg



I have 3 torches coming from @Queen City Corals next week so keep your eyes peeled for an update on them
I've been thinking about nominating myself for Reef of the Month but we shall see. I know mine isn't one of the popular ones on the forum and nothing exists for it on social media so we'll see. I know that there are a few of you who really like it and enjoy the updates.
Looking great! The tank filled in nicely. I like the rock scape.
 
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Well I think its time for along overdue update on the tank.....unfortunately it doesn't look like it did nearly a year ago.

The tank has definitely had its fair share of problems some of them being errors on my behalf and others being perfect examples of bad luck.
My fish crew is still pretty good with the wrasse gang taking a big hit. I now have the Yellow, Kole and Desjardini Tang, Flame Angel, Blue Reef Chromis, Swissguard Basslet, Timor wrasse and one Gladiator Davinci Clownfish. With a cleaner shrimp getting an honorable mention.
Corals are very slim with just a few zoas, one small acan colony, a bicolor hammer colony, the remnants of what was once a thriving chalice and a quite healthy back wall of GSP and a finger leather.

The Yellow Coris, Carpenter and Solorensis Wrasse quite literally disappeared and the blue sided Fairy decided to go on a permanent fast. The last fish I had from my original tank and one of the first fish I had decided to pull a free willy and met its demise behind the tank. (hence only one clownish now) Something must have spooked it enough overnight to jump through a weighted cover I had over a gap where my light bracket is.

As for the corals, the brown jelly took about 2 more torches. Algae starved some zoas from light and what did in the rest of my corals was something so unexpected I almost got out of the hobby all together. I was away from the tank for a week and we had a brief power outage (maybe for 30 minutes). Well the Apex did everything it was supposed to do and I was able to get everything back online from across the country. However my light schedule was completely flipped by 12 hours. The lights stayed on at night and went off during the day. Additionally it said I was dosing Alkalinity but actually wasn't. This as you can guess really stressed out my coral and when I returned home it was too late to save everything that had already died or was in the process of STN.
On the flip side I do have some really cool colony skeletons that I have bleached that I am working on displaying.

My plan for the tank right now is unknown. I've fought back from the algae and figured out what happened with the dosing (unknown on the light schedule flip). I don't envision putting a lot of $$$$ into it as I will likely be moving at some point and would like the livestock to be at a minimum when that time comes. I'm thinking now to have a softy dominated tank with whatever zoas I have and let the GSP do its thing. Maybe get a mushroom leather but we will see where I go from here. I may try to try my luck with some fish that are reef safe with caution since I don't have a ton of coral to worry about now.

IMG_4737.jpeg
 

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