rtelles

Madweazl, how're you liking the photon24 so far? I'm in the same boat as the poster and will be upgrading to a 48" and am currently using a single reefbreeders superlux LED over a 40B. I'm debating whether to purchase a second superlux or upgrade and purchase a photon24 as a second light. Has the controller been worth the extra cash so far?

Nice! Those are going to be really nice. Are you ordering them or did you find them locally? They seem to be really expensive online.

At most, you may be able to get away with a kole or bristletooth tang in a 65G, even if it's a juvenile. I'm far from the tang police as I've had a kole and yellow tang in my 40B, which has the same dimensions of a 65 but is a few inches shorter, for a month in anticipation of an upcoming upgrade that has been delayed until March. Even though I purchased the smallest, healthiest tangs I could find (and they were/are tiny at 2-3"), they're both cramped, especially the yellow tang. They school together, and it's obvious that they need more space to really stretch out, and these are babies. I can't even imagine how rough it would be for a powder blue or blue hippo. I sometimes questions whether tangs in general should be part of the hobby, especially as a new reefer. But then I'd have to question the morality of keeping fish in our water boxes, period, and who wants to do that? (certainly not me). If you decide against everyone's advice and get a larger tang anyways, I strongly advise that you get the smallest possible individual and spend 5 minutes watching the tang swim around its enclosure as well as watching him/her eat. I purchased a kole from a reputable LFS that had been through a quarantine and treatment process and watched it eat in the store, but didn't watch it swim around the tank. It turned out that it could barely swim and only lasted about a day before dying. Expensive, sad mistake. Either way, good luck and I hope you find a good match for your setup!

Had the same issue with my 40B this Summer. Nearly removed the livestock and started over but the following worked for me: Suck out every dino you can see, especially the large ones (I used a simple turkey baster and methodically went from one side of the tank to the other. It took a long time.) Vacuum the sand. Replace only the water you basted out. Do a 72 hour lights out period, and cover the tank completely so that no ambient light gets in whatsoever (your fish will not be happy, but they'll survive. I still fed mine, but not much, since I knew I wouldn't be changing the water for a bit). When you light the tank up again, suck out every dino you can see. No water changes for a bit. Lower your light intensity to as low as you're comfortable with, and then a tiny bit lower. Repeat the lights out period every two/three weeks and slowly increase the light intensity between treatments, but only if you have a noticeable decrease in dinos each time. Your corals will not be happy, but unless they're super sensitive will probably be fine (not sure about SPS, though). I lost a few small frags, but my colonies were okay. Also, if the dinos are heavily infesting a certain area of the rock or sand, cover it with something that won't allow the light to get through. The dinos underneath will die relatively quickly. Don't increase your CUC - they'll just die from eating the dinos and further foul up your tank. I'm not sure about dosing or any of the other stuff since I never tried it. You may go through a few days without dinos after each blackout and you'll be tempted to blast the light again to keep your corals happy, but you'll quickly be at square one again if you're not patient. This was only my experience, and I'm sure there are other successful methods. I haven't seen any dinos in 3-4 months, though I've been doing a 3 day blackout period (without covering the tank) every month since as regular maintenance.

I'll play devil's advocate and say that the extra rock work in the back would give you some more room to play with additional corals and that the extra biological filtration never hurt anyone. That said, I agree that you've pretty much nailed it as-is.

We all need to see this video.

I bought my Kole at Quantum Reefs and it was the same price as LA, and he was young and incredibly healthy. He spends all day picking algae off the rocks and glass and has a nice, peaceful disposition (so far). He and my yellow tang even traverse the tank together and sleep in the same area. Last time I was at QR they had another juvenile kole in stock. Reef eScape would also probably have most of what you are looking for, and they are close to Centreville. They keep odd hours, but they have a solid pre-sale treatment and quarantine program. I wouldn't put a sixline with firefish. Mine has killed two of them and I've heard of many others that have done the same, especially in a 4' tank where they'll be swimming through the same parts of the aquarium. You might get lucky, but why risk it? Firefish are really timid and sixlines become jerks as they mature (though they are really cool fish if their tankmates won't be bullied).

You really don't mess around at all. Everything is top notch (I love seeing vortech's on tank's that size, if only because I'm envious), and that rock is amazing. Any ideas what you'll be putting in there?

Bonecutters are great, but I made the mistake of trying to frag a duncan with them (I'm an idiot) and broke the cutters (again, I'm an idiot). Picked up a dremel with a diamond tip saw and it's worked really well on a few different LPS, including the stupid Duncan. Simple razor blades work wonders on softies. Than from Tidal Garden's had the really great idea of using a sashimi knife for anemone's and soft corals, and those are pretty cheap on amazon. Have to 2nd the Quantum Reef's recommendation. They know their stuff, though you'll be paying full retail. Reef eScape also sells a small number of fragging tools and kits, including some reasonably priced BRS stuff. What do you plan on fragging?

Those are the fattest mandarins I will ever see. I also love your brine shrimp autofeeder and hope you include that in your book, since I plan on making my own when I pick up a mandarin later this year. I've seen L8 2 Rise's tank and his dragonets are also really fat and awesome. Diets for everyone. I'm more curious about the rearing process. Once they spawn, is raising mandarin fry similar to raising clowns, for instance, or is there another process? Either way, really great looking dragonets and gobies.

Really love the stand and 'scape. That shelf rock on the left is fantastic. Would love to see the sump and plumbing once everything's up and running. Great start!

A few months ago I broke down my 12g planted freshwater edge setup to focus on my 40B reef. Since then, I'd had my edge sitting unused in a closet. I'd always wanted to use it as a nano, but I was worried about fluctuating parameters and the potentially high cost of some of the components, notably a nano light that could support some low-medium light softies and lps. However, I read a number of threads about edge reef maintenance that suggested that I was overthinking the process, so I decided to give it a go. Current Equipment: -Fluval Edge 12G (Minor crack in the top glass pane. The tank is still watertight, but I can't fill the water all the way to the top. I plan to seal it at some point to add an overflow) -Stock Aquaclear 20 filter -Purigen -Filter Floss -Koralia Nano Powerhead -50W Aqueon Heater -Wave-point 12-Inch 16-Watt Super Blue and DaylightMicro Sun LED -Edge Stock Lighting (to lower the overwhelming blue tint of the wave-point) -Live Rock and Live Sand from my main Livestock: -Snow Onyx Clown (added a few days ago. Story below) -Snowflake Clown -Yellow Clown Goby -Yasha Goby/Pistol Shrimp -Skunk Cleaner -CUC (a few snails and hermits) Corals: All were fragged from my main, aside from the frogspawn. -Hammer (5-6 heads, clowns are hosting) -Duncan coral (two frags, one with 2 heads and the other with 5) -Frogspawn (2-3 heads) -Xenia frag -Kenya tree -Various small mushrooms Having a main tank that has been established for a number of years now (the first two by the previous owner and 8 months with me) with an abundance of live rock and sand was immensely helpful, since I was able to kickstart and expedite the cycling process. I threw some sand and a few piece of live rock in the edge and added toms and little bit of flake food. The cycle only lasted a few days. I added a yellow clown goby and a yellow watchman goby. I sadly lost the yellow watchman goby within a few days. I checked my parameters, and everything was pretty stable, with no ammonia nor nitrites and an imperfect but not horrible nitrate reading, so it's possible that he had a rough acclimitization process and wasn't in great shape when I picked him up. Full disclosure, I stupidly didn't look too closely when I purchased him, since he was the last YWG available, and he was pretty pale and listless, so it was absolutely my fault for not being vigilant and making sure that, for example, he was eating and active. Lesson learned, though it should have already been at this point.* I added the yasha/pistol shrimp combo a week later with no issues. I then added the wavepoint light and a few corals. A week later, I added the small snowflake clown, along with a juvenile true perc, with relatively disastrous results. They got along fine for the first week or two, sleeping together and displaying very little aggression. However the snowflake was incredibly aggressive as soon as I introduced the hammer coral, and the poor perc was relegated to the top left corner of the tank. Although I understand that this is normal clown behavior and that they would probably figure it out over time, I decided to rehome the true perc and wait a while before adding another clown. However, I visited Quantum Reefs to pick up a few items and there was a beautiful snow onyx that was slightly larger than my snowflake and still unsexed, so I opted to pick him up and add him, hoping his size would curb the snow's aggression, and it's worked rather well. They're now both hosting the hammer coral and seem to have already paired up. They've been doing the clown shaking thing and swim around the tank together. In total, I've had the tank up for about a month now and aside from a few small diatom blooms, everything's been surprisingly stable and everyone's getting along now. I change a few cups of water every day before bed and add about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of rodi water in the morning as a top-off. Future plans include adding more live rock that I am currently curing, an overflow to a small sump, and maybe a better light, as well as an auto-top off, but for now I'm pretty happy with the setup. *Quick Tangent: The same thing happened with a kole tang I purchased from a different reputable LFS that I really respect and like. I purchased him after he had been quarantined, so I assumed he was okay, but it wasn't until I got home that I realized his fins were all sorts of ragged and that he could barely swim in the light current in my tank. I did what I could, but he only lasted a few days, and was an expensive mistake.

Has anyone successfully bred dragonets? I know that ORA was breeding mandarins for a while but the prices were too high so I believe they stopped. Is there anything going on with ruby reds, and is it even possible to successfully rear their spawn to adulthood?

I also want to take back everything I said about my yasha's reclusiveness. Once he figured out my presence means food, he's been out and about and even lunges at his tankmates when they get too close to his cave (clown pair, yellow clown goby, skunk cleaner shrimp). That said, it may be because there is not a single threatening fish in that tank, so he's realized he has nothing to fear. Given his earlier temperament, I'm not sure I'd get the same reaction if he was in a tank with an orchid/sixline/gramma, etc. Beautiful tank, Madweazl.

Per Tropical Fish Magazine: http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/dottybackschoose-carefully.htm " As with other dottybacks, [the orchid] is a meat eater that should have at least one meal per day. One minor drawback is that it tends to jump out of aquariums, but covering any open areas should do the trick." I'm not trying to dissuade you from an orchid dottyback in general. I really like them, and they're a beautiful and interesting fish, but these are things to keep in mind. Unlike my sixline, the dottyback never killed any other fish, but it bullied the H-E-double hockey sticks out of my firefish and clown goby, and would sometimes lunge at my randall goby. If I only had slightly larger fish in my setup, I'd absolutely include an orchid dottyback. Others may have different experiences with them, though. Choosing fish that get along seems to be 80% research and 20% luck.

My orchid attacked my clown goby when I had them in the same setup - basically chased him all over the tank whenever the goby entered any open space. Had to move the goby to a nano. Not sure if I had an ornery one, but that was my experience.

So it begins.

Something you may want to do when searching for clowns for the tank is ask one of the vendors or an LFS if they have any established clown pairs, which will make your life much easier as someone new to saltwater. They shouldn't be too hard to find, especially if you want a basic ocellaris and not a fancy designer clown of some sort. There are tons of resources online that explain how to pair clowns, but getting an established pair will save you the trouble. Another common misconception is that clowns need an anemone. They don't, and will find some object in your tank to call home (mine have hosted my powerheads, a duncan coral, a hammer coral, a tiny frag of xenia, and various corners of the tank. Clowns are weird). If you get a firefish, you may want other fish that are considered peaceful (clowns generally fall into that category, except the hellspawn that are maroons). You probably don't want to get a sixline and a firefish. Firefish tend to be timid and sixline's can be jerks. I had a firefish in my tank before my sixline, so they got along fine until the firefish jumped through the egg crate. I tried to introduce another firefish and the sixline killed it since he had already established its territory. As sixlines mature, they become much more territorial and aggressive. They are beautiful, active fish, but do keep that in mind. A firefish and a royal would probably work, but the gramma is known to be an active fish (not sure about territorial) and that may spook the firefish into hiding. Skunk cleaners are awesome. I highly recommend you add one or two, even though they're pretty expensive. They eat everything and spend all day scavenging and are basically an ideal addition to a CUC. Sexy shrimp are also really neat and do a little wavy dance thing that's fun to watch, but they're really tiny. I see the orange stripe goby on your list, and I highly recommend them as well. Mine is in my main display along with a number of other fish and he spends all day looking attractive while guarding the entrance to the massive cave his pistol shrimp built. He's also becoming much more striking as he gets older and larger. Really cool to see in person on a daily basis. There are other beautiful "watchmen" gobies, including the yasha, hi-fin red banded, and yellow versions. for a tank your size, you may want to check out the nano section of live aquaria to see other fish that would work. (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124)

Dottyback's are really flashy and interactive, but they can be mean little buggers. Orchid's are supposed to be the least aggressive of the dottybacks, but that's like being the nicest of the bullies. I had an orchid dottyback that was starting to display aggression so I had to rehome him. If you want some movement in the tank and a really attractive semi-aggressive fish, you could also look into a sixline wrasse. Mine's a jerk to anything timid or small (he and the dottyback ganged up on a firefish when I had them both) but they spend most of the day darting around the tank and being attractive. He spends a bunch of time working in and out of the rockwork and doesn't bug anyone else in the tank (randalls goby, clown pair, yellow tang, kole tang), but I would hesitate to put a smaller fish than him in there (same with a dottyback). He isn't any more or less aggressive than the dottyback, and I liked his color and personality more, so I kept him over the orchid. He also has never touched any of my inverts (skunk cleaner, peppermint, pair of sexy shrimp, many types of crabs and snails).

I guess I should add an addendum since I've only had my yasha about 3 weeks. Maybe he'll begin to associate me with food and come out more, but it only took my Randall a day or two to set up his spot and, though timid, he was out and about almost immediately. Same with a yellow watchman I had awhile back. I literally didn't see my Yasha for a week and had to search the rock work with a flashlight to make sure he was still alive. Very cool looking fish when you can spot him, but possibly not worth the $40-$60 price tag if he spends all day hiding. Not a fish, but adding a few Skunk Cleaner shrimp might add some activity and color to the area (and the tank in general). They also have a ton of personality. I imagine you'd like some fish for the rockwork itself, but my cleaners like to perch under my overhanging rock areas in their respective tanks, and none of the fish pay any mind to them, unless they're being cleaned.

I'd go with a Randalls goby (pictured below) over a Yasha. I have both (separate tanks), and the Yasha is exponentially more timid than the Randalls. I really only see the Yasha 5-10 minutes after I feed when he (she?) pokes her head out and scavenges. That said, neither really perch on the rock and instead spend most of their time hanging out near the entrance of their ever growing caves (thank you pistol shrimp). I do like both, but if you want to see your fish, I'd go with a randall's. If you want an easy fish to perch on rocks or corals, a yellow or green clown goby is a cool, inexpensive little fish. Mine hangs out in the rock work and perches on various coral (they're only really hazardous to acropora). Firefish are pretty popular and readily available and dart in and out of holes. Same with dartfish. Neon gobies are pretty neat little guys that will clean your fish for you, and when I had one he was in and out of the rocks. You should also check out lawnmower blennies . They get relatively large, but they spend most of their time goofily jumping from rock to rock eating algae and generally staying out of everyone's way (except for watchman gobies. They will attack watchman gobies.) If your tank is large enough and established with tons of pods, mandarins and dragonets are pretty awesome and will scoot around the rock looking for food, but most tanks don't have enough pods and the fish don't last very long. Finally, liveaquaria has a section dedicated to nanofish that you should check out. Many of them will probably fit your criteria.

I used two electrical conduits with an elbow. Attached them to my stand with a couple of small metal pieces and screws (not sure what they are called). Works like a charm and I can strip it down easily if necessary. Probably cost $20. Only downside is I have pipe running up one side of my tank. Can bend a longer piece to alleviate that problem.

If I'm not mistaken, the Reefbreeder Photon 24" is identical to the amazon Euphotica light in the link you sent. Same price, same exact size. Looks like the same LED with a different brand name. FWIW, the Reefbreeders "Photon" light has a 2-year warranty and a much cooler sounding name. https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-24/

You might also want to check out Reefbreeders LED's, which run from $180-$230 for their value series. I picked one up from Tropical Lagoon about a year ago and it's been pretty great. They run them over their LPS frag tanks. For a value LED, it's pretty customizable and has a few helpful bells and whistles. I rarely run mine above 40% on a 40 breeder for 6 hours/day (each channel at 4 hours, overlapping for 2), and it's been more than enough for my mostly LPS dominated setup. I could probably run it for longer and at a higher intensity, but I'm happy with the growth as-is. I also have a maxi-mini that has grown quite a bit since I picked up the light, as well as an RBTA that had recently split and seems to be doing fine as well (the smaller of the two was in really bad shape from the recent split when I got it but has since perked up quite a bit.) I have a few SPS, but can't speak on their growth or health yet since I've only had them a few weeks, but they seem to be popping okay. That said, I'm not sure I'd go with a lower end light if I were focusing on growing out SPS, but I'm also relatively new to the game. https://www.reefbreeders.com/

Here's the mesh and clips for innovative marine nuvo aquariums. BRS doesn't sell just the clips: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/nuvo-aquarium-mesh-screen-lid-clips-innovative-marine.html Not Innovative Marine, but here are a few knock-off clips: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-Aquarium-Clear-Plastic-Glass-Cover-Clip-Support-Holder-6-12mm-/390730385607?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5af95888c7 If you type "clear fish tank cover clip" into the ebay search window you'll find a number of similar products.