kmitch August 3, 2008 Author Share August 3, 2008 I really appreciate it! I have always had a thing for hairy shrooms but I wont turn down some Monti. I plan on being at the 8/9 meeting to meet everyone, sadly I couldnt make fragfest. Kristen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf August 3, 2008 Share August 3, 2008 Pretty sure I have a few extra hairy shrooms, if you're definitely gonna be at the DC meeting, I'll bring you one to get you started. Although its probably a little too early, even for shrooms. The offer stands though, they aren't going anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 3, 2008 Author Share August 3, 2008 Yeah we'll see where params are at that point but I might take you up on the offer James Some updates: I painted the glass on the front of the stand so you couldn't see the chaos below! I used a gloss paint which gives a neat mirror effect to the glass.... which is why you can see the base of my roller chair in the glass Side shot: From the other side (you can see the outlet on the back wall which blasts water at the back of the rocks (its a MJ900) to prevent dead zones where detritus can build up) And just cause I think it looks so nice: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore August 4, 2008 Share August 4, 2008 And just cause I think it looks so nice: That is some very nice branch rock. Please don't take offense, but I think it looks like it was just piled up like a bunch of dead acropora. Since you want to make this an sps dominated tank, you should try to arrange the rock to support long-term growth of small frags into large colonies. What I would do with this is to take out most of the bottom rock, so that you have a few flat pieces mostly buried in the sand. Use that as a base, and attach the natural bases of the branch rock to the flat pieces, so they stand up in their natural orientation. This will serve two purposes: first, not make it look like an upside-down pile of dead acropora, and second, create a shape that expands out from the base. The key here is that you will get much better water flow through the branches, as they will be spaced out a lot more. The goal is to create a very open framework on which to glue frags (in all directions- facing up, inwards, sideways, etc) with the plan that as they grow into colonies, they fill in the entire structure in three dimensions. This will create a far more striking display than a standard rockpile on which the corals are only on the outside, facing out. The trick is to visualize the aquascape as it will look in a year or two, not right now. Securing the branch rock may be possible with epoxy and glue, but my suggestion is to drill the ends of the branches and use fiberglass or carbonfiber rods sunk into the base rocks. This will give you the flexibility to position the bases in exactly the orientation that they grew in when alive, which is also probably the best for water flow and most natural looking. Once you orient the rock correctly, you can bond the rods in with either gel superglue or liquid two-part epoxy. Drilling requires an appropriately sized masonry bit and a good power drill. I use a masonry hammerdrill for this; it will drill through even dense coral skeleton very quickly and easily. All of this seems like a lot of work, especially for a nano tank. I think it is worth the effort though, as there is a huge amount of potential with those branch pieces. Let me know if you're interested in doing this, and I could possibly even set up a rock drilling/pinning demo at the summer meeting if the officers decide there is time and/or space. Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 4, 2008 Author Share August 4, 2008 That is some very nice branch rock. Please don't take offense, but I think it looks like it was just piled up like a bunch of dead acropora. Since you want to make this an sps dominated tank, you should try to arrange the rock to support long-term growth of small frags into large colonies. What I would do with this is to take out most of the bottom rock, so that you have a few flat pieces mostly buried in the sand. Use that as a base, and attach the natural bases of the branch rock to the flat pieces, so they stand up in their natural orientation. This will serve two purposes: first, not make it look like an upside-down pile of dead acropora, and second, create a shape that expands out from the base. The key here is that you will get much better water flow through the branches, as they will be spaced out a lot more. The goal is to create a very open framework on which to glue frags (in all directions- facing up, inwards, sideways, etc) with the plan that as they grow into colonies, they fill in the entire structure in three dimensions. This will create a far more striking display than a standard rockpile on which the corals are only on the outside, facing out. The trick is to visualize the aquascape as it will look in a year or two, not right now. Securing the branch rock may be possible with epoxy and glue, but my suggestion is to drill the ends of the branches and use fiberglass or carbonfiber rods sunk into the base rocks. This will give you the flexibility to position the bases in exactly the orientation that they grew in when alive, which is also probably the best for water flow and most natural looking. Once you orient the rock correctly, you can bond the rods in with either gel superglue or liquid two-part epoxy. Drilling requires an appropriately sized masonry bit and a good power drill. I use a masonry hammerdrill for this; it will drill through even dense coral skeleton very quickly and easily. All of this seems like a lot of work, especially for a nano tank. I think it is worth the effort though, as there is a huge amount of potential with those branch pieces. Let me know if you're interested in doing this, and I could possibly even set up a rock drilling/pinning demo at the summer meeting if the officers decide there is time and/or space. Justin Hey Justin, Thanks for the reply. What you're more or less suggesting is to make a bloomin' onion out of my rock! lol I agree it leaves alot to be desired. What would you suggest doing with the larger pieces chunks of rock? Stack them on top? I guess i am trying to get a visual on the idea-- don't have any photos do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore August 4, 2008 Share August 4, 2008 Hey Justin, Thanks for the reply. What you're more or less suggesting is to make a bloomin' onion out of my rock! lol I agree it leaves alot to be desired. What would you suggest doing with the larger pieces chunks of rock? Stack them on top? I guess i am trying to get a visual on the idea-- don't have any photos do you? Yes, except with far fewer calories. If the larger chunks don't have an obvious role in the design, then they need to go. Don't just throw them in there because you have them. I don't have any pics but I will try to draw it for you at the meeting. Basically what you want is just enough rock to give an interesting shape and serve as mounting points for corals. As they grow, you prune them into the shapes and spaces that you want, sort of like a bonsai tree. A good example of this style is here. Yours would have more, thinner branches, but the idea is the same. I think the branch rock is even better suited for what this guy did though, even though his looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 4, 2008 Author Share August 4, 2008 Wow that is an amazing aquascape. Makes me wonder if I could pull something like that off! I dont guess you have any other links to amazing aquascapes to send my way? Wheres the best place to come by those rods you speak of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 4, 2008 Author Share August 4, 2008 Well I took some various pieces of advice and re-aquascaped. The new layout is more realistic looking and has more flat spots for coral. Was assembled using 2pt epoxy, putty and some patience! Saw the start of the diatom bloom today as well. Nitrates have gone down a touch otherwise its all holding constant. Pics of the 'scape: (water still cloudy from kicking it up) You can see theres some flat pieces on top now where some SPS can grow out nicely K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore August 5, 2008 Share August 5, 2008 You can buy stuff like this at mcmaster-carr (www.mcmaster.com). That place is DIY reef equipment heaven. Type in "fiberglass rod" in their search box and just click on "Plastics" then "rods & disks". I have some 1/4" fiberglass rod you're welcome to, which should be rigid enough for those size rocks. Anything larger I would use 3/8" or 1/2" rods. I will try to find more examples of good nano sps aquascaping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 5, 2008 Author Share August 5, 2008 Did I do better cnote? lol With such a small tank its tough making alot of neat shapes like that one guy did-- not alot of room to work with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 August 6, 2008 Share August 6, 2008 Probably won't bring frags to the meeting as I don't remember if we were allowed to bring them in last time. I think you could, but I'll be there for a long while so I wouldn't want them to die. When your tank is ready, let me know and we'll figure out a way to get you some "test" frags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 7, 2008 Author Share August 7, 2008 So I re-aquascaped (again) today after finding a few more good pieces of LR that had more flat parts for frags. I think I might finally be happy with it! Not the best picture ever, but the rock work is stacked in such a way that theres alot of small caves, swim thrus etc for fishes. These are some nice pieces of LR with some good stuff growing on them, I am excited about having that few extra pounds. Sadly that picture really doesn't convey the aquascape! Also got the start of my CUC-- an emerald crab, 5 red hermits, and 5 astrea snails. I'll add more as I see the need and eventually get some Nass. snails, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishcam August 7, 2008 Share August 7, 2008 Sadly that picture really doesn't convey the aquascape! That looks pretty sweet to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf August 7, 2008 Share August 7, 2008 That looks pretty sweet to me! Agreed. I think she finally has a winner!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 8, 2008 Author Share August 8, 2008 FINALLY! I got a picture of the tank I am actually happy about. Let's not discuss how many electrons I inconvenienced by taking a billion pictures to get this one, but it was worth it! So I am starting to really lean towards doing a school of green chromis in this tank-- like 5 of them or so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 August 8, 2008 Share August 8, 2008 The rock looks great - 5 green chromis wouldn't. Personally, I'm not partial to them. From personal experience, I don't think you'd end up with 5 in the long run, either. They are not schooling fish and every time I have gotten them, their numbers always dwindle down to 1. Going on the cheap, I think that a few yellow tail blue damsels would look fantastic in there, not very aggressive and prone to breeding, and would be less prone to jump out of a rimless tank. I think that another option is to get some fish that will dive for cover rather than jump and speed out of the way, so maybe some clown gobies or cardinals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf August 8, 2008 Share August 8, 2008 I'll second Dave's suggestion of cardinals. I just got my Mom a school of 7 glass cardinals and she loves them. They school so tightly together, I think they'd be great for a ~30gal tank. Plus if you you're using a 14K bulb, you should get some decent fluorescence from their blue eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryL August 8, 2008 Share August 8, 2008 i had a couple yellow tail blue damsels and thay were monsters to anything their size...so ime they too terror-torial. but it may vary with others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 8, 2008 Share August 8, 2008 Looks really good! Now you frags.............. how about a real pink birds nest frag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 8, 2008 Author Share August 8, 2008 Ohh i love the look of birdsnest! Yes please! I really want just one school of fish, I've done the "traditional" gobies thing and want something a little further from the mark, hence my thought of a school of a damsel fish. I might have to check out the Glass Cardinals at Aquarium Co tonite for their super party (planning on being there-- hope to meet some of you guys) Of course I'll also be at the meeting tomorrow night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 9, 2008 Author Share August 9, 2008 So one of the shops nearby, The Aquarium Company, had a special party get together tonight..... I feel like I robbed them.... For $150 I got: - 10 SPS frags - 4 Blue Cardinals - 10 snails (nass and margarita) - 1 red chalice frag - Reef putty (the good stuff) - 2 things of frozen food I didnt plan on adding the SPS this soon, but at $5 a frag I figured what the heck we'll give her a run. I went with some of the hardier SPS. So far everything acclimated well but we'll see tomorrow what kind of polyp extension I get. I've got some teaser pictures from just after acclimation, and fish pics will come after my fish decide to be more outgoing! FTS: Red Chalice: Un-Identified SPS frag (ideas?) Another teaser frag (unknown?) I will post more pics in the morning when everything wakes up and opens up for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 August 9, 2008 Share August 9, 2008 Wow, I think it's a bit early to stock it that much with fresh liverock. Watch out for your levels to ensure that you don't go out of balance on that. Even using livesand out of a bag, I think that you need to ensure that it won't cycle. Not that I haven't set up a tank like that and stocked it fairly quickly, but that was with livesand and liverock from existing systems so I knew what capabilities they already had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf August 9, 2008 Share August 9, 2008 Holy cow. Well I guess you are ready for those free mushrooms tomorrow I guess. If there's any room left!!!! If you don't want them anymore, let me know so I don't have to cut them out the rockwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmitch August 9, 2008 Author Share August 9, 2008 Well sad news-- this morning I did a fish head count and it wasnt good. After a two hr acclimation 3 of the 4 died last night. Thats a big time pisser....... One of them had what looked like an infection on a wound last night that I realized only after he was in the tank. I guess since these guys are so fragile they didnt take well to the whole deal. They had gone from the shops QT tanks to the display tanks to my tank in about 4 hours....... On a brighter note the SPS all seem pretty happy this morning. Water tests this morning showed a slight spike but with 3 dead fish and a ton of new coral I rather expected that. James I might hold off until I see what everything does-- but I will still take you up on the offer at some point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryL August 9, 2008 Share August 9, 2008 make sure you have extra water change ....er...water on hand so some of the levels can be kept in check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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