L8 2 RISE

Not really sure what look your going for, as I can only picture it looking messy, but I would use carbon fiber rods. Use a paver or a spread out pvc base, then drill a small rock, then put a flat marco-rocks piece on top of that to give you your overhang. You could then just pile sand on the flat piece, or epoxy rubble around the edge to create a little pool. I used this method to aquascape my 57 (minus the sand on top), because I like to have minimal LR sitting on the sandbed. There's some pics in my build thread.

I say go for it, they're very interesting and can be a lot of fun! A 50 would be big enough for a small group of bandensis cuttles (imo your best option), or a smaller species of octopus. Rich Ross has published a lot of literature on cuttles and some species of octopus, so most that you need to know is already out there. I also suggest checking out TONMO.com where many other Ceph heads post. What experience do you have in reef keeping? If you have some, then bandensis are relatively easy to already be prepared to raise. You can keep them under normal reef tank conditions with peaceful corals. Water quality is very important, however. You can also raise cuttles from eggs- which is important because they ship much better this way, and you know exactly how old the cuttle is (most ceph's have a 1ish year lifespan). Octopuses require a lot more work- octo proofing can be difficult (tonmo has a lot of info on this), no powerheads, stronger rockwork, added difficulty in getting them to eat as adults, typically are already halfway through their lifespan when collected, etc. if you go with octos, I strongly recomend doing your research on the differences between species and waiting to buy until the right species and age comes available (can take a lot of patience). Many octos are nocturnal and/or VERY shy. If I ever get an octopus I would like to get a bimac - which would require colder water than a reef, or a briarius - which would need at least 75 gallons IMO. Very interested in following along, so keep us updated with what you decide!

Is there any negative effect from having the red and green light on? Or is there just no positive effect?

So just to clarify this- sponges don't actually sting, right? Corals are all in the phylum Cnidaria so always have a sting to some extent- whereas sponges are not and basically will attack each other through "chemical warfare"(allelopathy). This, I assume, is similar to how large soft corals can wreak havoc in a tank without actually touching anything. So if one of your sponges happens to be a type that uses Allelopathy, you may see some of the sponges struggle for no other apparent reason. Whether the sponges are touching or not shouldn't make a difference... Is that right?

Yes! I spoke to her briefly about it at MACNA this year and would love to be at this meeting, unfortunately I'm overseas for a couple months and won't make it.

Cuttles are really why I got into the hobby, though it took 10 years for me to finally get back to them after everything else distracted me lol. I just recently raised bandensis cuttles through adulthood/ senescense. I've also raised them to several weeks of age twice before, but in one case I was experimenting and didn't feed correctly, in the other the eggs hatched in shipping and inked, which messed up the cuttles pretty bad from the start. Walter (seahorseconservancy) was also trying to raise his around the same time as me. Not sure how they ended up fairing. Dave Lin has kept octopuses a few times too. What were you wondering?

I think it would be ok. If Ellegence corals are like a few other LPS corals (my experience makes me believe they are)- the tip is used to secure the newly settled polyp to a hard surface in the ocean- as the coral grows, this often breaks under the weight of the coral and gets worn down. Without seeing/examining myself, I wouldn't say for sure though. In my tank, I glued the tip in between two LR rubble pieces and burried them in the sand to raise the coral out of the sand and give it more stability. As the elegence grew, the tip sort of faded away and it now just sits flat on the sand.

This. Big tube and then control flow by bending/pinching it with your free hand.

Interesting, that's pretty cool!

Rob, what do you mean by "float" in the shipping bag?

I have had one for years. Very easy/typical LPS. Not sure how you'd get an aquacultured one as they don't frag well and grow slowly

Any idea where/how he will be presenting this? I'm interested, but not gonna walk around calling his name lol

I'll be there with my mom!

I love these guys! Never kept one, but always enjoyed finding them while snorkeling/diving around the carribean.

I've used a mirror on one of my tanks and loved it! This is risky with some fish though because they may attack their reflection. I had it on a nano with nano fish so had no issues. You could also do black faded to blue at the top to give more depth. There's some examples online. One I have always wanted to try is a shadow box. Basically a couple inch thick box behind the tank with a clowded acrylic face up against the tank. You put a floresent light under the box and (if you want) some small rock structures in the box to add features. Again some examples online. The problem is it limits your plumbing options on the back of the tank.

^this or put it in a brute trash can on wheels with water and make sure to aerate/maintain water flow. It sounds like you are not keeping any other livestock though, so easiest thing would be what eric suggested.

Most unique species of macro either die or sell quickly in LFS's so it will be hard to find somewhere with a large selection on standby- you may have to special order. Reef escape usually has at least 1 or 2 unique species in (they did yesterday when I was there), and I've seen some in incredible corals / brk too.

Zoa tank, or dwarf pony tank

Wooo! I've been waiting to see this for all of those 3 years! Not sure if I understand where the tank is going, will it be a divider between the kitchen and dining room, so peninsula style? Or something else?

It's important to determine what killed your fish. The life cycle is very different for various diseases and parasites, additionally there are a couple that can live without fish hosts, which would require some form of treatment. You should plan on 6-8 fallow though. Moving forward, as Seth said, nothing comes close to replacing QT. For fish that will go into a 50 gallon (which should not include a powder brown tang), just 10-15 gallons for a QT will suffice, you can fit this almost anywhere. If you MUST avoid QT, then you need to source your fish from places that practice REAL QT procedures (not just treating with copper while the fish sits in the store, but actually QTing for 6 weeks or doing thorough prophylactic treatment for at least 4 weeks). Reef eScape, ERC, and Quantum come to mind.

Nothing I've tried beats the ecotech glue. It is perfect for aquarium use. It's also the most expensive.

I've always heard and said Stomella Snail, just started noticing a lot of people write Stomatella (extra A) snail. Google turns up many results for both. So what is it and where is the disconnect?

Thanks, middle is a cuttlefish

A little update, the tank and inhabitants today:

I've had no issues using hardened salt.