bryman

Nice. Welcome. That's a massive birds nest. In the pic I thought it was a nem at first.

I like it. Your tank is nice and clean and the rock looks healthy, encrusting with coralline algae. You may want to scoot the clam out into the light a bit more, as it seems to be shaded somewhat.

Do you go by the same username elsewhere? Tell us more about your tank.

Originally Posted by melev

I like it. Your tank is nice and clean and the rock looks healthy, encrusting with coralline algae. You may want to scoot the clam out into the light a bit more, as it seems to be shaded somewhat.

Do you go by the same username elsewhere? Tell us more about your tank.

Thanks Melev, I appreciate the kind words especially from you! The rock is TBSaltwater rock and was hand picked for me to my specifications. I'm still hunting gorilla crabs (mantises vanquished long ago) but I love all the porcelains, little pistol shrimp, cup corals, and other cool life that comes on it.

I also go by "bryman" on that "other big reef site", and I have a whole build thread with tons of pics and complete info there. I am not sure if I can link to that here so let me know. The tank has been up and running for about a year now, and before that I had a 29 gallon reef for about 7 years, and a 12 gallon nano for 3 years before that while I was in college the first time(before the ready-made nanos existed). I have been reefing for about 11 years total, but this is my first time at having some success with SPS. I believe in setting up tanks to be as automated as possible, partly because I am an IT guy and partly because I'd rather enjoy watching the tank than making it a daily chore.

And I don't have a clam - my pics and video must not be so good

Anyhow, I've been a fan of yours for a while now and I am sorry to see about what happened to your big tank. I hope you are able to get your new tank up and running soon (haven't had a chance to read about it yet) and have no losses!

Originally Posted by Jessy

Nice. Welcome. That's a massive birds nest. In the pic I thought it was a nem at first.

Thanks - this is what it looked like 12-24-2009:


Kind of a weird growth pattern but It has grown a ton in about 10 months. Now I am trying to figure out how the heck I am going to frag it or break it up before it takes over

Hey Bryman, your tank looks very nice. That Birdsnest is growing pretty weird; looks cool though. Welcome to the site! ;-)

Great looking tank. I'm also an IT guy and believe in tank automation. Please post another blog entry explaining your current automation!

Well, I have a Reef Keeper Elite V2 running the show, with 3 power strips and one SL1 (I think) grabbing temperature and PH readings. My BRS Dosers take care of Alk and Ca for me 2x 15 minutes a day, running off timers on the RKE. The RKE also controls all the lighting with dawn/dusk, as well as the refugium lights. But the best thing the RKE does for me is bring in RO/DI water direct from my RO/DI unit, which has a feed line going to the sump. I have a float sensor that integrates into one of the RKE modules. 3x a day, a timer allows it to open the solenoid if the float is below where it should be, thus activating my RO/DI unit and filling it back up to the float. In case any of this fancy automation should go bad, I have a kent float valve on the entry of the RO/DI water as a fail safe. I got tired of having water on the floor of my old setup

I also use an eheim feeder for multiple feedings a day when I am not feeding Rods frozen foods. I just met him in person last weekend - nice guy!