Alan's Rimless 75 build

[sachabballi reef]

yes and the single best behavioral tool you will have LOL....I love torturing my kids with not having the lights on too early....I get them to do sooooo much stuff to "earn" it....LOL...once they learn the lights are on a timer I am doomed. 

[zygote2k]

Only 1 Royal Gramma? Why not a school of 10 or 12? I just put a dozen in a 240 and they're interesting to watch- much like the damsels/skunks in Bendalats video.

Just caught up on reading the last 5 pages. Refreshing to see someone actually doing it the right way around here instead of the usual noobs that come along and post their problems because they didn't read up on things before buying.

If you need books to borrow, I can loan you the first 3 volumes of "The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" by Fosse and Nilsen.

The translucent flatworms are a type of Acoel Flatworms that eat algae. They're in almost every tank but since no one typically does what you have done, they aren't very visible. Here's an excellent scientific article on them:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0005502

As far as cowfish being toxic- it's purely a fish tale as there has never been any real evidence showing that this is true.

Travis had one that was tiny and it grew to nearly 8". It now resides in a 375 and is almost 10" long. They grow big fast.

[sachabballi reef]

Nice post rob! Would love to see a pic of the RG crew....such a beautiful fish...I would love that

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[lnevo]

So all these updates a NO Pics!!! What the ????

 

Let's see the progress already!!!

[surf&turf]

So all these updates a NO Pics!!! What the ????

 

Let's see the progress already!!!

+1

[AlanM]

If I'd known Rob would give his approval for a school of 10 grammas I would totally have done it. 8)

 

Thanks, Rob for the kudos and the information about the flatworms.  If I look really close at the rocks I see lots of 1-2mm size glowing blue spots, which are all flatworms.  They're really everywhere except for in the shadows and on the parts of the glass that I scraped last.  I'm glad I didn't decide to use flatworm exit to get rid of them since they seem harmless.  Also, one thing I'm enjoying seeing is that Tom was totally right about the tiny hydroids being part of a new tank and that they'd disappear.  They did.

 

I also see about 1mm of some kind of fur or biological film coating or something all around every bit of the rocks.  It's even in the shadows, so I assume it's not all algae.  My guess is that it's some kind of thick bacterial slime of the kind that Linckia stars and other stars are alleged to eat.  Dunno.  It's all over everything in the sump too, and I am assuming it's a good thing. 

 

Everything in the water for any length of time gets coated with slime.  Also, the vinyl tubing gets brittle pretty quick.  I didn't expect that it would lost it's plasticity so quickly, but I'm having a hard time keeping the tubing secured to the MJ1200 outputs.  They're fine if I don't move them, but as soon as I do, they slip off.  Not a huge deal for now, though. 

 

I haven't posted any pictures because everyone knows what a Randalls goby and a royal gramma looks like, and other than that it's a glass box full of rocks, sand, algae, snails, and hermits.  Everyone's seen that before too, heh.  I'll take a pic tomorrow when the lights come on of the mess I've made of the place with the little frag plugs of zoas and post it.

[bengeeee]

I haven't posted any pictures because everyone knows what a Randalls goby and a royal gramma looks like, and other than that it's a glass box full of rocks, sand, algae, snails, and hermits. Everyone's seen that before too, heh.

 

We've all seen naked women before but that doesn't mean we refuse to see others lol. Because I love my fiance so much I no longer partake.... But tank porn is still allowed!

[lnevo]

Don't you realize that having a tank thread obliges you to post pictures after any change.... jeez  

 

You think we read these things for the lovely descriptions? 

[AlanM]

I thought everyone read them for the opportunity to give me stellar and thought provoking advice!

 

I'll post a pic tomorrow.  My camera is basically a fail with the blue overwhelming everything, but if I take in RAW mode I seem to be able to kind of white balance using a non-algae covered piece of rock as the reference.

[monkiboy]

We've all seen naked women before but that doesn't mean we refuse to see others lol. Because I love my fiance so much I no longer partake.... But tank porn is still allowed!

 

 

Don't you realize that having a tank thread obliges you to post pictures after any change.... jeez

 

You think we read these things for the lovely descriptions? 

you guys got it exactly right! you're lacking in the photo dept, alan!

 

thankfully i had the pleasure of seeing it in person today and the tank and light and sump design are super clean and well executed. i only saw the gramma while there, i think the other was hiding.

 

keep up the good work, bud.

[AlanM]

you guys got it exactly right! you're lacking in the photo dept, alan!

 

thankfully i had the pleasure of seeing it in person today and the tank and light and sump design are super clean and well executed. i only saw the gramma while there, i think the other was hiding.

 

keep up the good work, bud.

 

Thanks, Marco.  I need to do some serious cable management once I'm sure I have everything where it's supposed to go.  Also, I am planning to hook up that Reeflo Blackfin that I bought from Richard to get way more flow and pressure and run all of the reactors and skimmer off a manifold rather than having a bunch of small powerheads in the sump pushing water around. 

 

I forgot to take pictures of the fish today, I'll check them out at lunch.

 

How do folks try to feed their goby if he just hangs out in the hole?  He's in the spot where I pictured him ending up, but when I used a baster to blow some mysis into the tank I don't think he got any.  Also, I have to learn how to use that baster a bit better because I gave the royal gramma a heart attack when the blast of water and foot hit him.  He headed for the hills, but came back out and snagged some.

[AlanM]

By the way, I keep meaning to ask.  It's Marco right, and not Marcos?  I sometimes see you referred to as Marco and sometimes Marcos, and never got it straight.

[monkiboy]

By the way, I keep meaning to ask.  It's Marco right, and not Marcos?  I sometimes see you referred to as Marco and sometimes Marcos, and never got it straight.

half my family is italian, half is dominican, so take your pick! i've been using marco alot more this fall

Edited September 23, 2013 by monkiboy

[bengeeee]

How do folks try to feed their goby if he just hangs out in the hole? He's in the spot where I pictured him ending up, but when I used a baster to blow some mysis into the tank I don't think he got any. Also, I have to learn how to use that baster a bit better because I gave the royal gramma a heart attack when the blast of water and foot hit him. He headed for the hills, but came back out and snagged some.

Try some sinking pellet food near where he lives. Worked for me in the beginning when he was more shy.

[AlanM]

Thanks.  Will try that.  Will he scoop them up from the sandbed if they're sitting in front of him? or does he need to see them falling through the water and get them from the water column?

Edited September 23, 2013 by AlanM

[howaboutme]

My goby didn't visibly eat from my baster for the first few days (or weeks, don't remember) but I blasted the food into the burrow. I think this is just part of the acclimation of the fish into a new environment. Now, the goby swims right up to the end of the baster and catches the food before they even enter the water column....If not, everyone else would have gotten to it faster.

 

And yes, the goby will scoop food up from the sandbed. But you probably won't see that at the beginning because it's still being shy.

[AlanM]

My goby didn't visibly eat from my baster for the first few days (or weeks, don't remember) but I blasted the food into the burrow. I think this is just part of the acclimation of the fish into a new environment. Now, the goby swims right up to the end of the baster and catches the food before they even enter the water column....If not, everyone else would have gotten to it faster.

 

And yes, the goby will scoop food up from the sandbed. But you probably won't see that at the beginning because it's still being shy.

 

Thanks.  I'll give that a try.

[AlanM]

Here are some current pictures. 

 

Full tank with zoa plugs on the sand in the middle until I decide where to put them.  Also lots of snails and hermits in the middle.

 

 

Here's the gramma and some GSP near the cave where he seems to have decided to hang out:

 

 

Here's the little Randall's goby near the cave where he has decided to hang out.  Also, the conch trooping across, some discarded shells, and some xenia.

 

[smallreef]

Looking good!

Very open...I love how everyone likes their aquascape a little bit different...gives me some new ideas...

[surf&turf]

Very nice, plenty of room for corals to grow.

[YHSublime]

Looking good!

Very open...I love how everyone likes their aquascape a little bit different...gives me some new ideas...

 

I love the aquascape! This tank is going to be really nice once Alan gets some corals growing out!

[surf&turf]

Not to change the subject, but what's a reefopotamus Isaac?    

 

 

 

 

•  

• Reefopotamus

  • 

   

  •  
•  

[lnevo]

Very nice!!!!!

[Mattiejay6]

Awesome job so far! Lol your makin me wanna feed the snails I have lol!

 

I'm thinking I want a cow fish now after reading these posts. I loved them at QR when I have seen them... Lol they are so interactive.. Hmm

[YHSublime]

 

Not to change the subject, but what's a reefopotamus Isaac?

 

 

 

• Reefopotamus

  • 

A fat clumsy man like myself that is usually found in a reef tank, often abruptly arranging things in a hippo like manner.