First look at the new setup

[HummingBird]

Yeah that's all fine and great except for the radioactive waste they produce that has a half life of millions of years and they just put that in holes in the ground.

[Lucid]

Think of all the new species of fish and strain variations tho :lol: :roll:

B

[Pies]

It's physically impossible for it to runaway and cause a "meltdown", it self regulates

Sounds much like a famous boat that couldn't sink...

Pielon

[Pies]

Pictures:

An appauling attempt to take a photo of the lime green acro in the center of the photo that is hidden by rock, a massive sacrophyton and other corals. Still though its a good example of colour:

Down the long end of the tank. Also shows the insanse about of water flow in the tank, just look at the surface:

Crazy acro. Will only break its brown colour when in the brightest of spots. Actually about 4 inches below the water under a 400. Had to build a special rock pile to get it up high enough. Showing potential, looks better IRL:

Acro thats died alot when we moved house. Doing well though now, be interesting to see how it plays out, never grew much in the old system, growing now though:

Millpora: Photoshoped up the brightness so you can see the coral better, doing well and I have spread this one around. Colour varios from gold/brown to brown to pink/red to green depending on light current:

Baby poclipora recovering after bleeching in transit:

Softie. Not the top with no polyps. If anyone asks if a bi-colour blenny is reefsafe, tell them no:

Fairly hard for this not to be a favorite:

Also hard not to like this one too:

After all the sump room work its nice to know the corals are still holding up well. Be interesting to see how it looks over the next 3 months now that my need to interfare has been reduced. Colours on many coraling are looking good, with many others slowing changing or new growth is different in colour. I have other corals I would love to take photos of but in very awkward spots for photos. People who have seen the tank will understand what I mean.

Enjoy

Pies

[reef]

those acros are very nice. especially the tri colour.

[lduncan]

Looks like i'll be switching to radiums next bulb change. Nice colours Pies

Layton

[Ira]

I don't see any tips without polyps on that soft coral, Pies. Well, there's a little bit, but that looks more like it's just retracted them. I think I have a frag of that one and it has a single little finger doing the same thing without having any blenny hassling it.

[jetskisteve]

Stunning- put it on Trade Me

[Control]

Ira

I think NZ needs 3 nuke plants.

No we just need to cut the Cock Straight cable and leave you people in the north to get you own power supply and stop taking our.

People said it would cause problems with the inviroment of the lakes and glaciers if they took to much and they were obviously right.

Aaron

[chimera]

Cock Straight

:lol:

[Ira]

and leave you people in the north to get you own power supply and stop taking our.

Nah, just cut off Auckland. There's nothing important up in Auckland anyway and they're the ones wasting all the power.

[livebearer_breeder]

Solution: Bulldoze Auckland, tell all the Keepers and shop owners to bring there stuff down here, and make auckland a Nuclear not free Zone, :lol:

Shae

[Shilo]

Nah, just cut off Auckland.

Solution: Bulldoze Auckland

Great idea! That means all the Yucklanders will move down country and I don't have to go through the place to get anywhere.

Wellingtonians better prepare for the GREAT JAFA INVASION

[Ira]

I don't remember anyone saying we'd let the JAFAs out.

[livebearer_breeder]

I agree with Ira, Keepers and Pet stores Only, the rest of the JAFAs can stay there.

Shae

[cookie extreme]

jafa is spelled wrong!

just another f....ng amazing fishshop

it is missing an f

[Caper]

CONGRATULATIONS Pies on your amazing, fabulous, extraordinary, etc., etc, etc...new aquarium.

I was in awe when I went through looking at the pics...WOW

[Pies]

Started working on the back wall of the sump room now that the sump etc is in place. Lots of help from Suphew. Great result in the end but a long frustrating day, a few mistakes, and lots a 'massaging' things into place. Couldn't be much happer now that its up, but under estimated how difficult it was going to be.

Here is a pic of the new sump, which has worked out so much better than I had hoped. Its the first time i've had lots of spare room in a sump, and I am so glad I made it this size and not any higher (its as long and as wide as possibe).

Coral wise everything is the tank is going great, good colour (at least by my standards), great growth. The tank is starting to look a little more mature and setteled, going to be great watching it over the next 6 months.

This acro has being growing awesomly:

I think the same acro, but from a different source. Although it has grown slightly thicker:

Same coral but close up, showing polyps and skeleton:

Baby Fungia corals

Fat:

Loves comming to the front of the glass and following me back and forth when I have the camera out:

Its hard to image a healther specimin:

Peral Bubble going great considering the current in the tank:

Same deal for this green bubble:

So another day tommorow finishing the sump room, 1st coats of plaster etc. Also some other housekeeping to do then tidy the garage before Jane gets back from conference

Pies

[Brianemone]

lol, that mandarin looks a little top heavy. i dont think ive ever seen one that plump

[Caper]

Pies....that is an amazing fish...what is it called?

With all the living things in the tank (excluding fish), do they just keep growing or do they all have a size to attain and that's it?

[JoeBlog]

Hey Pies-

Looking good!! What are you dosing to your system with that dosing pump??

Cheers,

Steve

[chimera]

that is an amazing fish...what is it called?

it's a mandarin fish. they (typically) only live on live food. if your system is not well established, they will die of slow starvation over 6 months or so. not a large fish in the scheme of things (3-4 inches max?)

[Pies]

Looking good!! What are you dosing to your system with that dosing pump??

Thats forfreshwater/kalkwasser top off. I have a plastic 44 gallon drum on the other side of the wall as my kalk stirer.

Pie

[Pies]

Work on the sump room continues. Still needs painting etc, and a few more things to finished, but so far its working out better than expected. Interesting that it holds the heat so well, have only seen the heaters on twice since the back wall was built. I suspect heat may become a major issue in the summer, but I made space for a chiller anyway but I really have both fingers crossed that it will be un-nessessary. Given the cost of a chiller we may look at a aircon for the room insted.

My refugium is loaded with about 10 brittlestarfish, conches, crabs, snails, crowies, 2 fish, 2 carpet anemones, dozens of corals and lots of other misc life. It was also mega loaded with flat worms.

So on Saturday we did a water change (250 litres) and flatworm exits (Salifert) the tank. I didn't syphon out any worms before I started, as it didn't look like there were that many. Well there were millions. To kill them all I needed to quaddroople the medication. There was a film of dead flatworms accross the bottom of the tank.

I had a good look last night and can't see a single worm. Also nothing was damaged or lost, or even looked stressed in the refugium. I used some filter wool once the tank was re-circulated and about 2kg of carbon.

The water in my system remains crystal clear, but during the treatment it was stained yellow with all the dead flatworms.

So a successfull treatment. I have enough SFWE to do another dose and will do it as soon as I see evidence of worms in my tank, but do far not a single one has been visiable.

This is the 2nd time I have used SFWE without problems or losses.

The tank continues to do well, things are growing and corals are looking good.

Furture plans? Very little other than sit back and watch. I would love to add a ROWA reactor as some stage, but I would need to find a reasonable priced one, I have DIY jobbie at the moment, which is OK but could be better.

I would like to re-build my light hood, but still not sure what it will end up being. I may look at adding a 6th 400 watter, but am not sure right now. I may also look at adding a few 3 foot T5s to run widthway accross the tank as I have minor light issues at the back of the tank (because the Sea Swirls are in the way).

So thats about it.

Very soon, as soon as I finish painting the in-side of the sump room I am going to start my rotifers and greenwater cultures. With the plan to try and raise some clown fry. Will keep you all posted when this starts. Have access to a few different varities of clowns too, which should be good to see. anyone who has access to marine greenwater or rotifiers drop me a line please as I can use more sources of cultures.

Did water test on Sat:

Salinity .025 (refractometer)

PH 8.23 (pinpoint)

Calcium 420 (salifert)

KH 8.1 (Salifert)

Magnesium 1340 (Salifert)

Nitrate 0 (salifert)

Phosphate 0 (salifert)

Temp 26-27 (Electronic monitor)

So water is looking good and little to improve.

I am currently running 1 litre of carbon, 2 boxes of Phosphate absorbing resin (aquamedic). I am using RODI for freshwater top up (12L day) without Kalk, Kalk will re-commence in a few weeks when I finish paining a wall, its all fairly temporary right now.

Thats me.

Pie

[Pies]

Some pictures:

What are these things? I get dozens of them laid on the glass. They have a like a plastic bubble over maybee 10-15 'eggs'. Anyone?

Pink is just a pretty colour for a coral:

I think I have about 20 of these baby fungias:

These very cool and pretty anemones are budding off. I was given 2 of these, I now have 7. That start of life as white buds with purple tenticles and grown into the brow with green/pink/purple tenticles. I like them.

Every wounder what your corals eat when you don't feed them yourself? Well as it turns out some munch of bristle worms! I have never heard or read this before. Who knows, maybee its the only photo in the world of it happening, and you could be one of the first in the world to have ever seen it! Or not.

Enjoy

Pies