Jump to content

New aquascaping


skippy

Recommended Posts

Finally got round to re-scaping my reef tank to try and move away from the brick wall look. :roll: Decided to move all my big leathers to one end and make a bit of a lagoon/bay for my heliofungia to live in. Also wanted to get rid of quite a bit of coral rock and the egg crate framing in behind it all. Think I did it reasonably well - pretty happy with the lagoon, not quite so sure about the rhs - still a bit wall like but at least it is a much lower wall :D

Only a couple of hiccups - put a royal dottyback out with the rock (he had hidden in a hole :o ). Fortunately heard him flapping in the polybox so quickly put him back in the tank. Biggest drama was almost tossing my citron goby down the drain in the driveway :o He is only a bit more than 1 cm long and got siphoned up with the sand. Only noticed him as I tipped him in the cesspit :o Fortunately managed to grab him before he headed off down the drain. Seems happy enough now though so no ill effects. Have put up a few pics, before and after shots

Rescaping011.jpg

Overall tank shot before

Rescaping013.jpg

lhs before

Rescaping014.jpg

rhs before

Rescaping012.jpg

Setting up the lounge

Rescaping016.jpg

Most of the rock removed

Rescaping023.jpg

Rock all over the floor

Rescaping026.jpg

Not quite Steve Weasts worm incident but the biggest bristleworm I've seen :o

Rescaping029.jpg

New lagoon scape

Rescaping032.jpg

New rhs of tank - still a bit wall like but wanted a flat bit for my pagoda to sit on nice and high

Rescaping034.jpg

Overall of new aquascaping

Rescaping031.jpg

Nice pic of pulsing xenia. Didn't stop pulsing the whole time it was in a polybox :D These ones were about 1 cm high when I got them from Puttputt in late July. Have grown heaps

Be interested in any comments folks out there have on the new look :D

Cheers Skippy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fay wrote:

I think you are going to need a bigger tank when puttputt gets up there and start giving you frags

Ain't that the truth! :D Problem is that to go bigger I really need a sump room and I cant get one in this house. Already thinking about the tank that will go in the next house - thinking BIG :D

Thanks for the kind comments. JDM and Stompa - you're right it does make it look bigger and quite a bit lighter. The pics were taken just after I'd finished so the corals hadn't extended fully and the water was still a bit cloudy from all the mucking about. Should look nice tomorrow :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A rollerskate or barbie doll with toxic skin??

probably more like a beer can :D

I'd say the opposite. Depends what you mean by "good" i guess.

if that's the case then it would explain why my xenia are shrivelled up to hell. too much clarity and too pure water?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd put my sps growth and condition up against anyones and I've got thriving xenia colonies. So don't tell me Layton, that xenia don't thrive in the same conditions sps do.

I have read that when xenia crashes it can be a good indication of a problem, and also that they pulse more in lower nutrient tanks to facilitate nutrient uptake, and pulse less in higher nutrient tanks cause they dont need to to get the supply of nutrients.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had the best xenia growth in "good" water, ie. clean as. They do like enough nutrients in the water though, dosing Reef Solutions is the absolute best thing you can give to xenia. Always had been told they do best in a dirty tank and I've tried that, but not such good growth.

Thought I'd cracked the "why do they pulse" riddle a few times, but no, it's still a mystery, to me, anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fay wrote

he he make sure the new house has a spare bedroom behind the lounge that you can turn into a sump room

You betcha. I'm thinking along the lines of a dedicated sump room, purpose designed and built. Full water supply, drainage and electrics with a workbench and as maintenance free as possible short of turning a few valves, etc. Purpose designed frag tank, and QT with common sumps with isolation valves for if/when I need the QT and all the goodies. When I said big I was thinking along the lines of 2.5 - 3m long, 700 odd high and 1.2 - 1.5 deep to give the 3D perspective a la Steve Weast! About 2000 - 3400 litres :D

When I build another house it will probably be the one I retire in so the tank will be the last one too so it will be my ultimate tank. Could be another 10 years or more before that happens though :D Plenty of design time.

Evil wrote:

Got any live rock spare now that you can sell me

Sorry mate, I've got another tank that I will probably turn into a trigger tank at some stage so will be putting the rock in storage for a bit. Plus it is a hell of a drive to Te Puke from Kerikeri :D

Its funny that some of you are having the debate about water quality and the pulsing of xenias. I don't think my water quality is particularly brilliant, never has been and my xenias puls all the time. My nitrates are consistently above, yes above, 15ppm and usually about 20- 25ppm. My Ca is normally around mid to high 400's, PO4 always 0, Mg around 1330 - 1360. All the talk about "good" water quality doesn't wash with me. Folks probably reckon that nothing should survive in my tank but I bet I've got some of the biggest and fastest growing devils hand, finger leather, elephant ear mushroom and rhodactis of all sorts of colours you will see anywhere in NZ. My anenome was all but dead in July - I now have two (so I discovered yesterday) both about 10cm round. My clowns continually lay eggs and my red mushrooms are multiplying like mad, started with 6 in August now have about 12 spreading around the tank, same with my zooanthus. Water quality - pah 8)

BTW - thanks for all the kind comments - tank looks way better today with everything extended.

Cheers

Skippy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...