http://www.reefaddicts.com/blog.php/144-bleachandvomit en Fri, 24 May 2013 22:49:52 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.reefaddicts.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.reefaddicts.com/blog.php/144-bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1660-Anemone-jawfish-video Sun, 22 May 2011 19:11:21 GMT hey guys and gals. Just uploaded a new vid of my tank!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmC6_WGbnl0

I've got 2x RBTA that i bought from Anthony Calfo, 1x GBTA, and 1x small speckled BTA that was just added a day ago.

You can see my BSJF peeking his head out, as of lately he has been venturing out of his hole to touch the waterline for no apparent reason.

Mystery Wrasse is skiddish, nobody likes him around because he is a trouble maker!

Helfrichi hides for 15 minutes any time you put your hand in the water. Otherwise he is always surfing right in front in the same place day in and day out.

About to do a water change, gotta go! ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1660-Anemone-jawfish-video http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1457-Been-a-while-since-my-last-update Sat, 19 Mar 2011 04:47:47 GMT Hello everyone! I have some updates for my Elos and Mr.Aqua, sans pictures unfortunately. *_Elos -_* * Monti caps were devoured by Nudibranchs... Hello everyone! I have some updates for my Elos and Mr.Aqua, sans pictures unfortunately.

Elos -

• Monti caps were devoured by Nudibranchs (didnt realize they were so small !).
• Alk related crash wiped out the Acros (switching salt mixes I presume)
• Added sand! Tank seems more stable since adding it.
• In the process of catching the Chromies, one down two to go.
• Added a Blue Spot Jawfish - 2 months and going strong.
• Lowered temp to 77*F, cooling fans kick on at 77.5*F.
• Added DFS premium nano live rock to help seed the ecorox better.

All other livestock is still alive including the Clownfish, Mystery Wrasse, Helfrichi Firefish, GBTA, and Zoas. Since adding the liverock, the dead rock has colored up nicely and has started showing red, purple, and green coralline growth. In a month or two I will try some new coral.

Overall, good progress. A rocky start but everything is working out better than I imagined it would.

Mr. Aqua 17.4 gallon -

• Hawkfish jumped one night that my girlfriend came home blackout drunk (causing a shit storm), RIP
• Added various macro algae (big mistake on a skimmerless system, in my situation at least)

Needless to say this tank is a solid mass of Grape Caulerpa, Ulva lettuce, and Hair Algae which I find quite hilarious.

TLDR - Moved too fast with the Elos, but it is looking clean and more mature. MrAqua is F@#$!&. ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1457-Been-a-while-since-my-last-update http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1052-Elos-update-frags-galore-fish-success-species-profiles Fri, 19 Nov 2010 02:53:22 GMT Hello all! It's been a while since I updated, I've been very excited with my tank this week so here are some tidbits!

• My first helfrichi died after three days. How sad and discouraging :( It was replaced under warranty and the new one has been going strong for two weeks! The new one isnt as buddy buddy with the other fish as the last one, but this one is a lot more active and eats a broader variety of foods.
• Visited PHISHY BUSINESS in columbus and snagged a beautiful purple/green/blue chalice for 20 dollars. It is about the size of the palm of my hand and is coloring up by the day.
• The GBTA is EXCELLENT! It hasnt moved since the first day which was my biggest concern (whew!). It was 3 inches when I first got him and now he is about 4 inches when fully inflated and coloring up under my Phoenix bulb.
• Transferred the frogspawn to my 17 gallon upstairs (softie tank) but did not do very well. It's tissue was receding so I moved it back to the Elos in hopes that it will recover. If it perishes I might try an elegance coral in it's place.
• The hammer coral is doing spectacular. Today I noticed a baby head forming where the skeleton meets the soft tissue. It is so cute! It has little baby tentacles and everything. This is a good sign.
• More zoanthids added. I believe they will fill in nicely in their designated area.
• Visited a local reefer and bought some ORA sps frags for 25 dollars each. They are generously sized frags and have stunning colors. A few have some bleach spots from stings but lets hope for the best. The frags include Pink/blue Milli, Strawberry shortcake acro, VIVID cherry milli, Joe the coral, Tri-color, Lokani, green Milli, Oregon Blue tort, and he gave me a hydnophora for free (As some of you may know, Hydnophora are EXTREMELY aggressive!!!).

As you can see, I've been super busy. Now I just have to find spots that the acro's do well and dial in my two part regiment.

My Calcium has been bouncing from 400 to 440, all these additions messed me up :)
Alk has been steady at 8 to 9 dKh
Magnesium took a huge dip today at 1050. Added BRS supplement today to fix it.
Doing every other day 5 gallon changes to help with the fluctuations.

For those of you that have read to this point, I plan on writing a few species profiles on Hydnophora and Blotched Anthias. I think these two organisms are widely misunderstood and overlooked - some little factoids could go a long way for hobbyists.

Pictures at the bottom! Please excuse the knocked over frag and the little diatom (should of bought Melev's RODI).
As always, thanks for reading and let me know what you think! Pictures at the bottom!

Justin

















]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1052-Elos-update-frags-galore-fish-success-species-profiles http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/964-Helfrichi-added-what-a-marvelous-fish Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:03:30 GMT Added my Helfrichi today! I was expecting him to hide immediately and not come out for a while... which was not the case. He hovered in the middle of... Added my Helfrichi today! I was expecting him to hide immediately and not come out for a while... which was not the case. He hovered in the middle of the water column and all of the resident fish came up one by one to greet and check him out. Male maroon touched nose to nose for a few seconds and I think they will be best of friends. No aggression to speak of which is awesome. When I first added the Mystery Wrasse, everyone picked on him for a few days so I'm really glad with how things turned out.

Yesterday I changed out the GAC and GFO, cleaned the skimmer head and vortech, and tomorrow I'll be doing a small water change with reef crystals (been using regular IO).

I have my camera charging while I leave the lights off a bit to subdue the fish while Helfrichi gets accustomed. When I feed I'll try to get some shots of the beautiful new fish.

His name is Bill Murray.

---------

BFFs





Kissing



Mystery wrasse turns tail


FTS
]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/964-Helfrichi-added-what-a-marvelous-fish http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/945-New-Additions Wed, 20 Oct 2010 22:49:12 GMT So over the last two weeks I've added some new critters. I joined PMAS and found that the local forums are a good place to buy livestock on the cheap.

Monti caps (Green, purple, orange) - 10$ each
Frogspawn (2 heads) - 10$
Hammer (3 heads) - 10$

2-3" GBTA - 10$

I got the monti caps last week to kind of "test" the water, they are starting to encrust on the rocks a little and havnt browned out, which is a good sign that my nutrients are low.

The GBTA I got today, picked him up from a local reefer whos orginal nem split the first day he got it. Thats a good thing, the "split" gene is said to be a sign of a hardy BTA.

The maroons are hosting this poor little nem already, pestering the shit out of it. Hopefully it doesnt get stressed too badly. I may need to block it off from the clowns.

Opinions?

----

Edit: also forgot to mention that i have a towel over the screen top to acclimate the BTA to my halide. The owner had it under PC so its a HUGE difference that may hurt it. I plan on leaving the towel there until monday, then I will use more transparent paper towels. ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/945-New-Additions http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/905-Elos-coral-placement-plan-ideas-welcome Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:17:47 GMT I originally wanted to take a purist approach and only house Clowns and BTAs, however, the more I looked at my rockscape the more I envisioned a... I originally wanted to take a purist approach and only house Clowns and BTAs, however, the more I looked at my rockscape the more I envisioned a SMALL variety of corals. I would hate to waste PAR and flow on an anemone that can adapt to low/low conditions, so here is a coral dream team.

Assorted BTAs on left side of tank
Zoas on the foreground "arm" of rocks
Table Acros right in the focal point, high flow, directly under lights.
Monti Caps all down the side, any vertical dropoff can have them table off

That's FOUR types of coral I want. I wouldn't consider it a "garden" reef by any means.

??? - not sure what to put in that moderate flow, moderate light peninsula. I would like to maybe keep some Chalices but I fear the light will be too much. One thing I am brainstorming on is that the Monti Caps can provide shade for the chalices, but relying on another coral to provide optimal conditions is a very strange concept.



What do you think? Would you change anything? Any corals you recommend? ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/905-Elos-coral-placement-plan-ideas-welcome http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/902-17-gallon-s-lighting-predicament Sat, 09 Oct 2010 06:49:19 GMT So the DIY stunner strip was a failure. I gave it a chance, and the two daylight bulbs simply overpower the blue LED's.

I decided on ditching the LEDs, and swapping one D-D aquablue + for an ATI blue plus. According to the PAR levels by Grimreefers, this will actually take away about 2 - 5% PAR overall, but give a nice actinic look.

I tried the two daylights alone, and just couldn't force myself to like the aesthetics. A few of my mushrooms dissolved as well, so I think it had ill effects. ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/902-17-gallon-s-lighting-predicament http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/881-Elos-is-finally-cycled Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:48:39 GMT Both of my tanks actually are finally cycled!

The 17 gallon stabilized a few weeks ago and since then I've added my orange and darwin clown pair, and a small flame hawkfish. Most of you might think a hawkfish is not suitable for such a small tank but I like to push the envelope. He's not cramped at all and he loves all the perching spots, including my mag-float that I have resting horizontally. The 17g has also had a cyano outbreak, from the post-cycle or from overfeeding. Another cool thing to note is that my clowns absolutely love this hawkfish! They all sleep in the little cave together every night.

In the Elos news, the parameters cleared up earlier this week and today I added my maroon pair. I'm going to wait on adding the mystery wrasse, as it isnt as hardy as clowfish or hawkfish. Not taking any chances with such an expensive specimen. Still waiting on my digital osmocontroller, venturi cleaner, and replacement o-rings from Jesse at Elos.

In closing, does anyone have tips on getting this fracking chromis out of my Elos?! That bugger hides the instant the net touches the water. Might have to get 3-4 more and make a school if i cant get him out...

XOXO ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/881-Elos-is-finally-cycled http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/838-Screen-top-and-dream-team Fri, 17 Sep 2010 02:18:28 GMT Here is my screen top finished and on my tank. It rests level but i might modify it to add some weight. Image:... Here is my screen top finished and on my tank. It rests level but i might modify it to add some weight.





This has added some potential to my tank, a new stocking list!

2x Maroon Clowns
1x Mystery Wrasse
2x Helfrichi Firefish
1x Blotched Anthias
1x Cave Basslet
?x GBTA

This is my "Dream team", some may be omitted such as the Cave Basslet. ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/838-Screen-top-and-dream-team http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/833-Mystery-Wrasse!-Crap-I-need-a-cover Tue, 14 Sep 2010 05:33:37 GMT Image: http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af216/Justin_Zeedrich/fish/0913101-020.jpg Got this little guy today off of divers den. My plan is to...

Got this little guy today off of divers den. My plan is to put him in the RSM until the Elos finishes up it's cycle. In the mean time I need to make one of those screen covers im afraid...

What do you guys think? Should I play it safe or grow a pair? I dont want to ruin my clean tank! ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/833-Mystery-Wrasse!-Crap-I-need-a-cover http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/828-More-Elos-70-shots! Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:22:24 GMT Here are some more pictures of my Elos that I wanted to share with you. You can find the specs in my other blog posts. Image:... Here are some more pictures of my Elos that I wanted to share with you. You can find the specs in my other blog posts.









]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/828-More-Elos-70-shots! http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/827-Finally-Elos-70-and-Mr-Aqua-17 Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:03:16 GMT * Elos 70 * 250w, 14k phoenix * MP40W ES * DA Reefkeeper lite * 2x Phosban reactors daisy chained * 150w Jager heater * 4x fan unit * 2x...

• Elos 70
• 250w, 14k phoenix
• MP40W ES
• DA Reefkeeper lite
• 2x Phosban reactors daisy chained
• 150w Jager heater
• 4x fan unit
• 2x manual dosing containers
• Barebottom

• Mr. Aqua 17g
• 24" T5HO SLR, 2x Aquablue+ (12k)
• DIY blue stunner strip in the mail
• MP10ES (Just upgraded 5 minutes ago from 1st gen)
• Arduino controller in the works
• Glass holes 300gph overflow and return
• 10g DIY sump with LR and filter sock
• 1" sand bed

]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/827-Finally-Elos-70-and-Mr-Aqua-17 http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/629-Premnas-Anemonarium-New-tank-build-in-the-works! Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:08:56 GMT Finally decided on my dream setup, so I went ahead and ordered an Elos 70 system. In a month or so I'll have all the parts delivered and ready to get wet, but in the meantime here's a product list.

Hardware

• Elos 70 system
• Icecap 250w pendant/ballast + 14k Phoenix bulb
• Vortech mp40ES
• Spectrapure RO/DI (sorry Melev, saved on shipping!)
• 50lbs. of 'reef saver' rock from BRS
• x2 American DJ 4-plug strips
• Azoo quad fan

My logic

• As this will be a species tank of sorts for my GSM pair and a slew of GBTAs, I feel BB is a no brainer. Quadricolors prefer to dwell on rocks opposed to sand and I'll also get to crank the MP40 without sand flying everywhere.
• I think the 30 inch tank will receive a nice cover of light from the single 250w halide. I might get some dark spots on the ends but I feel this will add a dramatic effect and I will save on power costs compared to multi-bulb fixtures.
• I'm against garden reefs. Absence of chemical warfare and other forms of competition allow for optimal growth.
• Maroons and GBTAs will contrast nicely and it's also worth mentioning that the two species are natural hosts. Art.

Pending work/input?

Black acrylic for bottom of tank - Know any place that will sell custom cut sheets? Starboard better?

Light hanger - Plan on bending a single rod and hanging light perpendicular to the length of the tank. Good idea or bad?

Waterproof lining for under the sump - Might just use some thick plastic or water absorbent material.

Ziptie/cement rock to form a desired aquascape - I have a feeling that this will suck.

Location for power strips - The plugs are located on the top of the American DJ so timers will be difficult to fit. Thinking of building a wood POWER TOWER to put all the electric stuff in.

Closing

Let me know what you think. Trying my hardest to make this go as smooth as possible!

XOXO
Bleachandvomit ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/629-Premnas-Anemonarium-New-tank-build-in-the-works! http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/226-Overflow-questions! Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:45:56 GMT I have a few questions pertaining to overflow mechanics. Ive decided on a 45g cube with an external overflow, however, I'm uncertain of what's best.

1. Do Durso overflows rely on siphon? I'd like to avoid any kind of suction and go with something that "drains" based off of the return pump's output.

2. I see lots of 6 drain-line complex plumbing mumbo jumbo setups around. Is this necessary? I was planning on just having a 500gph dual 1" overflow setup and I want to know if this will suffice.

3. Say the power goes out. With a durso setup in an external overflow, the only water draining to the sump will be what's in the external compartment? If the return pump is off, I don't see how things go awry if there's room for a few gallons in your sump.

I can't seem to formulate any more questions but if anyone could give advice or tips it would be appreciated! ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/226-Overflow-questions! http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/19-Help-me-decide-on-my-next-tank! Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:28:02 GMT First allow me to give an introduction of sorts. My name is Justin, and I'm currently deployed far far away from my mated maroon pair being cared for by my girlfriend (PLEASE BE ALIVE WHEN I GET BACK!). Being away from the tank for a year + the internet = tons of research and planning. I find myself at a crossroads and was hoping the community could give me some feedback. "Garden" tanks don't really tickle my fancy, as I feel concepts such as cross-species competition and chemical warfare are conflicts that we cannot fully understand as hobbyists at this point in time.

Proposition one:

-48x24x20 shallow rimless ~95 gallons with 1" lip
-2x 250w MH's, undecided temp. (10k or 20k)
-10 or so percula (raised together)
-10 or so BTA (clones, propagated possibly)

Once I saw Mobert's tank on RC, I flipped the script. A large tank full of RBTA's and Percs, the motion in this tank is art. I understand that there is a very large chance of this going awry, but I am very confident in my abilities.

Proposition two:

-2x 24x24x18 rimless tanks, adjacent, same sump
-Same said lights
-Pair of designer clowns in each
-Natural host anemones in each

A safer approach, but just as many bugs as the first idea. Lacks space for expansion or serving a purpose 3 years down the road when I want tangs, lookdowns (kidding), etc. This setup however allows me to keep multiple species of clowns that I've been drooling over (SPOTCINCTUS OHMA GODDDDD).

I feel like I'm forgetting to elaborate on some of my rationale, you all must think I'm crazy. It all stems from my purist attitude towards creating something great, which I'm sure some of you feel as well. Please give me resolution. ]]> bleachandvomit http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/19-Help-me-decide-on-my-next-tank!