KingOfAll_Tyrants

this is about 16 inches from the surface. Intensity got up to 100%. As I recall, the PAR measurements were between 50 to 100 PAR. if you want, I can dig through my notes and try to find the number. I found the Kessils do pretty well for this coral.

My kind of tank. That being said, his tank was very clean (when I saw it) and even though I added a big piece of red planet that he very generously gave me, I've had no hitchikers at all. (for my part, I have a fair number of things that came in on aquacultured kp aquatics live rock - tube worms, several bivalves, brittle stars, sponges, etc. But AFAIC nothing dangerous from anyone else's tank..... yet. :O I did have a asterina star infestation, but those disappeared long ago)

I have a good amount of Caulerpa mexicana, i think. I am at Arlington, though.

Nice! Thanks for sharing, that's pretty awesome. My guess is that it will be eaten by eager filter feeders in your tank. But if you're worried, IMO a water change won't hurt at all.

Random thoughts that came to me when I looked at one of my corals yesterday. This was my first stony coral; I got it from Azim in December 2017. (the pic of it on the sandbed was the day I introduced it) It did OK for a bit, but then went through a rough patch, to include some bleaching last year (thanks to dpassar for taking it in when it was injured and I was out for like a month last year). Now, looking at it (the second picture), I swear that the "brain" grows noticeably every day. There was at least 1-2 coralites that were flat on the rock on Saturday, now presumably part of the "brain". The colony definitely further encrusts daily……….. it's grown well under a Kessil 360, and a dosing regimen that tries to keep DKH around 8.0 or so.

I tried more gelly stuff for a long time, but tried this yesterday. Didn't work so well. :( http://www.loctiteproducts.com/en/products/fix/super-glue/loctite_super_glueultraliquidcontrol.html

Ditto from me! I didn't know we had an FB group, and I joined the NOVA group.

Paul, I like it. Perhaps I'll try one again; I do have lots of iittle sponges and filter feeders.

Ah, this business again. First, there is a problem with the supply chain. The stereotypical one goes from collector to small island to major depot, thru major airports to LA wholesalers, and from there to the LFS. The potential for death in all of this is enormous. People have been saying that big wholesalers like Quality Marine - despite its claimed efforts to improve the supply chain - have more and more diseased fish. I would like to have a much more direct collector-to-consumer relationship, that is I would like to purchsae from the collector if at all possible. This is why I generally highly recommend KP Aquatics, an excellent Florida collector. I would pay good money for similar services from a collector in the East Pacific. Second, buying fish that have been cyanided, etc. is 100% wrong. Further, there should be a very careful reckoning of what fish are suitable for aquarium use, and which ones are not due to diet, etc. This is not new; John Tullock's book "The Natural Reef Aquarium" had a whole chapter on this ("net-caught or nothing"), which unfortunately is not remotely dated. :( All that being said, this kind of anti-aquarium argument is ultimately silly. Not to even hit the points it raises, which have been refuted above: - the number of species purchased for the aquarium hobby is a very small percentage of the total fish on a given coral reef (to say nothing of the broader ocean). And as we know, careful coral collection is 100% sustainable. (though of course cutting huge swaths of stuff willy nilly and throwing it in bags without any care for its survival is not) - aquarium collection is very low in things that "harm" a coral reef - again, unless it's done poorly with no regard for sustainability). Local pollution, damage from careless boating or non-aquarium fishing, warming, even using live rock for local buildings is far more "dangerous" than aquarium collecting. (I'll never forget a picture I saw from some south pacific nation where they were hauling a giant boulder- what we'd call "premium live rock" - out of the ocean to be used as builing material. [very uncommon species like the Banggai cardinal are an exception: at least last I heard, it was rapidly overfished to the point of being rare in its native waters. But then, either intentionally or IMO more likely just as a byproduct of fishermen throwing out marginal specimens that recover, it was introduced into areas it's not native to and is doing well.] - which gets to another point: collection of coral reef fish for local human consumption kills way more reef fish that aquarium collecting. I am told that the export of live reef fish and inverts for dinner tables in East Asia (i.e. China - and mind you I am Chinese) far outweighs export of live fish for aquaria. (and if one banned the export of life reef fish for East Asian consumption, it would, like drugs, cause the price of smuggled food fishes to rise astronomically. And besides, I know of no coral reef country that's banned export of live reef animals to China for food, as much as some of them posture about aquarium fish, because that trade is larger and is worth much more money than aquarium fish) - ORA, Sustainable aquatics, etc. have AFAIK basically crowded out the market for wild collected clownfish. There are numerous small Australian coral farms for apparently the local reef market, and coral farms in other countries supply a good amount of US coral imports. Of course, not every fish is at comparable levels of aquarium demand/suitability, so I think we will never be at the point where it's reasonable to captive grown every single species. (I'd also say that some species - e.g. lawnmower blennies - are not nearly as common captive bred as I would like). But I think it's practical to get maybe 66% of the way there, now. (and there are a lot of wild caught species that IMO should be caught in much smaller numbers because they're not anywhere near as suitable in an aquarium as their rampant easy availability suggests they should be -.e.g Yellow Tangs) - Finally, the ethics thing is just a rabbit hole. Ultimately, a store must treat these animals (as well as parrot, parakeets, even dogs and cats) as livestock. And before one hem-and-haws about that, I would ask why would one hold a dog owner to task, while ignoring the conditions of farm animals? For an aquatic parallel, where does the cut off come - why is it acceptable that 100% of oysters harvested in the chesapeake bay die within a few days of harvest and the industry has a waste percentage of (made up number) 10%, but that, say, 10% of yellow tangs don't survive the collector-to-Ifs process? Why is it acceptable for me to kill thousands of newborn brine shrimp at fish feeding time, while PETA and Sea Shepherd laments the loss of any fish in an aquarium? Also, I don't buy the "fish would be happier in the sea" argument. Assuming a (subjectively) decent quality of sustenance, space, habitat can be provided for the fish, I think anything is fair game. Clownfish in the wild do not stray far from their host anemones because they are not suitable as general reef fish. Royal grammas do not grow that big and stay IVO a given cave. Similar with lawnmower blennies. The criteria need to be changed for each species. (this is why I'm a member of the tang police). Finally, each fish produces 1000s of fry over its lifetime; if you have much more than 3 of those fry survive to reproduce, the species will take over the reef. I don't see why, when 1000s of fish die in the wild before having the chance to reproduce, one would make a big deal of a paltry percentage of those that end up in aquaria. Now, I can't abide sterotypical factory farming of pigs, and even though they of course in the end they are eaten anyway, I pay a premium for "non factory farmed organic", etc. meat when at all possible. I am completely against pet abuse and am fine with strict laws against abusers - I can't abide that someone has done the horrible things you'd see if you googled "cat abuse" to something as sweet as my Harriet. Likewise, I check the source of my fish and corals as much as I can to ensure they're from decent suppliers, and I think carefully if/how my aquarium can reasonably allow something like their wild habits. Harriet:

Neat tank! I've subscribed. I like the 30 gallon frag tank, in general, and this is a good way to populate it. As far as other fish in the tank, assuming you keep the maroon pair, you maybe could try a pair of melanopsus or similar clowns, assuming that the maroons feel they have enough anemone to live in. (I'm told they can be aggressive, of course, so I'm not so sure about this). You also could maybe keep a pair of Banggai cardinals; they are supposed to sometimes live in BTAs, though not anywhere near the degree of a clownfish. It seems to me you don't have enough space for a "real" harem tank (20+ ocellaris), if you had say 7 it might be hard to diffuse aggression among them (which accoding to what I've seen with harem tanks is one of the big long term problems with them). One fish would eventually become the scapegoat and die. Notwithstanding the fact that many fish school when they're small and seperate into breeding pairs after a few years when they mature. Anyway, I'll be interested to see how this tank grows!

Yeah, my understanding is that it requires the new ($400 base unit) apex.

Very nice work. Good luck on the new pump. IIRC, this one is lit by two Kessil 360s and then 4x T5s in an LED-T5 fixture?

Just a quick shout out to BRK - a recently purchased lawnmower blenny has made it out of QT, into the general aquarium population, and as of the past 2-3 days has stopped the normal post-introduction hiding and is eating GHA VERY heavily (it has a bulging belly). This follows a royal gramma a few weeks before, and my two ocellaris clowns many months ago - all of which came in happy and are doing very well now. (and this is not something I can say about every LFS - I've deaths after 1-2 weeks, as well as a death within 48 hours, with the same QT/introduction protocol, from another lfs. But this is not a "trash other LFS's" thread) Thanks, @johnnybv and BRK!

Thanks for this thread. If I'm able to escape to the USVI anytime soon I will keep this in mind.......

Funny, I'm thinking about this same thing, except for a potential 250. Honestly, doing some reading I'm sort of thinking on jumping on the MH/T5 bandwagon. (Hamliton 36" 1 MH/4T5 combo) I have kessils now; they're OK but I'm not too thrilled about them for acro growth. The measured PAR has never been great, and the narrow led area allegedly can cause shading. (which I think I see in some of my acros, but that may just be confirmation bias) However, they grow war corals, softies, zoas perfectly fine, and even though I want to transition to an shallow acro heavy tank, I'm not sure that I'm not just chasing some sort of unobtanium. I've also looked at the orphek strip lights. Those are pretty cool looking LEDs, and I would be lying if I didn't say I'm considering those. @YHSublime's pic of @AlanM's light is pretty cool. And I can attest, first hand, that @epleeds tank is awesome and grows a good number of acros quite well.

His rationale for keeping it blue is a big generalizaton. However, it seems - based on what I've seen anecdotally - that blue/actinic is what's responsible for all the cool colors we see in the aquarium. (which aren't as common in nature)

Who's selling this? I probably would have bought it if I were you. I'm pretty sure it has its foot - it would die in a month or two if it didn't. Finally, especially with maximas, from either this video or a different Dr. Mac video, lighting is key - you can't practically give a maxima too much light in a home aquarium.

I think this is the video people are referring to. Again, Dr. Mac is a highly recommended vendor! I got my Maxima from him at fragfest last year.

Quantum Reefs in Springfield has a few in stock, and was formerly a deep blue vendor. I’d imagine Blue Ribbon Koi in Manassas , another former deep blue vendor, also can get them.

Don't give up. Just don't keep hard corals. Again, an 80 gallon would be an awesome place for a deep-ish biotope tank. Dwarf angels, firefish, maybe a tang (depends how long the tank is). Local live rock. And locally collected sponges, etc (which I think is still legal, but check with the regs). A seagrass seahorse + similar animals tank would also be really cool. You won't have to pay for expensive lighting for the deep water tank; a blue flourescent would be plenty. One of the things I think I've had to learn in my learner's reef tank (in a woefully neglected build thread) is the importance of nutrient management - not just keeping nitrates and phosphates undetectable, but actually feeding the things that need them and not causing the tank to go to heck - which is necessary not only for my SPS, but also eventually for the nonphotosynthetic animals that came with my Florida Keys rock; I hope to keep more in the future. (you could probably legally keep a number of nonphotosynthetic inverts, though of course you should start simple and small). Do call the fish stores, but some of those people can be cagy unless you're actually on the ground. It's better to get to know them once or twice (and recon them). I'd recommend Coral Fish, but not without reservations. Also, get involved with the Waikiki aquarium - historically, they've been at the forefront in public aquarium cooperation with public aquarists, and have lots of SOPs that they can teach, and almost certainly the best group of local aquarium enthusiasts. They have a behind the scenes tour every Thursday IIRC. (In Army infantry terms, this is a counterinsurgency not an air drop - don't go in expecting to seize everything at once. Learn the human terrain, make inroads, and then launch your operations) Anyway, if you want more thoughts on moving, feel free to PM. I've never lived there but I've visited several times, staying in aggregate for several months. In the meantime, check out these youtube videos for some of my Hawaiian biotope tank inspiration (some of which are from Bruce Carlson, former director of the Waikiki aquarium, a leading marine biologist, and an important advocate of our hobby): Bonus, posted this in error, for our freshwater loving friends:

Hah! As you can see, I've thought about it a time or two. Brief addendum to the above: the link I posted is to the latest NOAA report on coral reefs in Hawaii. It shows the multitude of things that are damaging coral cover in Hawaii.

Aha. That makes sense. May be a bit much for my 29g, though...

Why do you guys inject CO2 into your reef tanks? (i.e. talk me into buying a new gadget. :D)

The state is ground zero for the U.S. anti-aquarium movement (using ostensible environmental and somewhat better animal welfare arguments*). Fishkeeping, especially saltwater, is under assault there - even Petco gets picketed by anti-aquarium folks there. Importing (somewhat logically) or collecting (illogically) stony corals is illegal. Collecting live rock is also illegal. I believe possession of black corals (NPS) except as small jewelry pieces is illegal (a few years ago some small boat captain was arrested for having too large of a non-locally harvested black coral ornament on his bridge). Nowadays, there are lots of restrictions on commercial fish collecting, though I don't know if that applies to personal collecting. Zoas are OK. I *believe* NPS wire corals should be OK. There is also a hard to find small NPS gorgonian, sponges and the like that are OK. There's a small, not very colorful Sinularia species that lives in areas with loads of flow and surge that should be OK. I've thought about PCSing there. If it were me, I'd keep a deepish (50m or so) water biotope tank; a lot of the local fishes (firefish, dwarf angels, tangs, etc.) live in that area, in beds of live rock or Porites compressa. You could get fake branching corals to mimic the Porites compressa. I'd also either buy locally aquacultured live rock (see below) or apply for a personal aquaclture permit to keep some dry rock in a crab trap for a few months. I'd also become a member of/volunteer at the Waikiki aquarium (a center for the any pro-aquarium activity in Hawaii), volunteer for reef restoration/pro-aquarium groups, and become scuba certified (if you aren't already. Best diving is out west I'm told. The big tourist dive sites near Waikiki are boring IMO). Shops I've been to include: Coral fish Hawaii, near JBPHH - decent shop; they have legal aquacultured live rock but you should order well in advance. One of the staff that I talked to is a collector and aquarium enthusiast, I'm sure if I PCS'd there he'd hook me up with whatever I could legally own. Pet Depot, out west - not as big, had a decent zoa and feather duster collection when I went Assuming you PCS to JBPHH, I'd live in Kaneohe. Relatively affordable, and decent commute. Good coral growth in the bay and at Lanikai beach for easy kayaking and snorkeling. Another option would be Milliani, though I don't know what the commute is like (it's not far though. Note that if you work near Schofield, I'd probably live in Milliani like everyone else, as crowded and small as the place gets. Or the north shore if you're rich. :D ). I know a dude who lives in Hawaii Kai and commutes to JBPHH; I think he said takes him about an hour each way (coming in at 10), though if there's no traffic it's like 30 min.(Hawaii Kai is my favorite part of Oahu. It allegedly has the best public schools. it also is near Hanauma bay; the actual fore reef is pretty awesome IMO. That place also has a big 500 year old Porites). I would avoid anything west; the traffic getting into even JBPHH is supposedly about as bad as Gainesville to Tyson's. Of course, if you're living a different island, none of the above applies. I'd think you very much have to get in with local divers and collectors. (plentiful on the Big Island, my favorite island by far) * https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/status_report/docs/Hawaii_status_report_forweb.pdf https://www.coris.noaa.gov/monitoring/status_report/

I take it you don’t keep Giant clams?