Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

That's amazing. They're the only other ones I've ever used. :D
I just ordered parts for my Diatom filter from them a few weeks ago cause they're the only ones that carry them.
The only thing I can say negative about That Fish Place/ That Pet Place is that I've called them for a couple things and talked to everyone in the store and no one knows anything about what they're selling.
One time I just gave up.
I've always wanted to visit their store but it's about 4 hours away. I'm not that excited about it. :)
My all-time favorite store is Elmer's in Monroeville, PA. It's a smelly little store but at a time they had the best selection of fish anywhere. Good and healthy, too. They've slipped in recent years but sometimes they're good and sometimes not. I still stop every time I go by. :)

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

In the San Jose area, this store is incredible. A little high priced but very good. Dr. Le is the best adviser I have ever found. He sets up and maintains commercial aquariums. Tiny little hole-in-the-wall store that is jamb packed with some of the most beautiful aquariums.
http://www.aquatic-gallery.com/

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

My brother in law actually went out there from NJ.
He liked driving to it.

Another one I just thought of that although I never bought as much from as the other two I mentioned, I did buy from them and they do have a massive, massive location about a half hour from me is BigAl's.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Boy......

I stayed away from this thread as long as I could.

It breaks my heart that I don't have a tank anymore. I'll start one up again one day for sure but here are some pictures of the one I used to have about 4 years ago.

90 gallon corner unit

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/...66c1ed5b_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3528/...325040f5_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3412/...4f0d7a98_o.jpg

By far my favorite in the tank was this blue carpet and it's buddies
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/...78227fbb_o.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Really miss it.....:(


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3098/...28d01a1f_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3303/...5c187889_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3257/...7e1a9e9f_o.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Wish I had some close ups of the Ricordia in that first picture on the right side of the tank.

They were gorgeous!!!

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

The very top tank pic is the best. It's like a snapshot of a real reef.
I'm excited about the coralline spreading over the rest of the new rock I have in my tank. It'll do so much for "the look".
It's kind of neat how age and patience play into reefkeeping maybe even moreso than cigarkeeping. :)
I think cigars may be more work, though. :D

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

LFS got me going here. 25lbs fuji, 29G BioCube enough sand for 3 inch base, 400GPH Power head with wave thingamabob rotator thingy. Some Cheato(free:rolleyes:) a small light to put above chamber for cheato. Stealth heater. I think thats it... Rock comes in tomarrow, I get first pick, but i have to cure in :( Kinda nervous for this. and the smell:pu.

Thanks for enspiring me to spend more money! :D:salute:

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

You got no animals, you can cure it right in the tank.
Everything saltwater smells. If it doesn't I'd be concerned. :)
You learn to love it. :tu

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I shouldn't have asked.
I should have just gone ahead, dragged the 55 out of the garage, set it up in the office room in the house, bought all the crap I need on the business card so she won't see it and I would have had a reef running already as a second tank again, at WHOLESALE!!!
Instead, I ask if I could.
Am I a child?
Did I need to be excused in class to go to the bathroom?
Did I forget my hall pass or something?

Crap!!!
Man I fear that woman.:r

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Put drugs in her drink.
Problem solved. :tu

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

OK, here goes:
Flash on, tank setup. The cooler with the skimmer on top is off to the right side.
http://130.94.224.229/share/reef-full.jpg
No flash, left side. There are five fish in this shot. The clowns are in pulsing Xenia, the polyps close and open suddenly about once a second. The pineapple looking coral started out as a dead chunk of rock.
http://130.94.224.229/share/reeftank1.jpg
No flash, right side. Pseudochromis fish, 6 year old maximus clam, porites coral that appeared from dead rock and then grew huge, hammer coral that was a LFS dieing castoff deal, cool red mushrooms, etc.
http://130.94.224.229/share/reeftank2.jpg
Along the bottom are a lot of small brown anemones called majano that are major pests. Nothing eats them that wouldn't eat the rest of the tank. They have to be picked out by hand. A good way to find bristle worms.

No flash, Sailfin Tang. This fish was an inch long triangle when we got it. It has amazing control of it's pattern, like contrast and tint controls.
http://130.94.224.229/share/reeftank3.jpg

Last picture, with flash. Under the tank.
Calcium reactor, chiller controller, 2x400w HID ballast with timer on the wall, the other side is a 25 gal refugium divided into three parts. The left side (can't see) has the main recirc pump and the reactor pump, the center is the part with live rock and the heaters, also live sand, the right side has the skimmer pump. The light for it doesn't show in the flash.
http://130.94.224.229/share/reef-under.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Looks like you have a small Aptasia problem. If it dosent bother you cool but if you get some lemon juice in a syringe you can zap em. Just make sure to ruin carbon for a week after.

Other than that beautiful tank. I love the Sailfin tangs but they get too darn big. I will stick with my Kole tang and add a hippo tank later on.

I wish I could get mushrooms to grow and spread like that.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Please set it up! I wanna see what you can do!

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I have a 40 gallon tank w/ stand that is currently not in use but used to be a freshwater tank. I have always wanted to start a saltwater one...but know how expensive/time consuming it is and just don't know if it is the right decision at this point in my life.... maybe just get it back running as a freshwater tank for a couple years before I try anything more involved.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

40 gallons is a good size for a sw tank. Even though after you get corals up and growing you will wan to upgrade to that 300gallon built in at the foot of your bed lol.

Saltwater tanks depending on what your planning need weekly if not daily maintenance. Initial setup cost is much more than a FW tank becaus eoyu have to take into account the salt, better lighting, live rock, and the live stock. In the Saltwater world there really are NO $3 fish. Same for corals. I pay between $15-$50 for a coral that is 1 square inch. Fish can get even more expensive, ask blue face.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Jim,
What he just said.
Just make sure you don't ask my wife.
Same nonsense she gives me with her sale items she buys, I gave her with the fish.:r

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Aiptasia are easy, those are majanos. Huge problem. All the injection techniques have a 60% kill ratio. If I could get them down to less than one hundred in there I would keep them that way by injecting them. Aiptasia has about a 98% injection kill rate and peppermint shrimp keep them controlled.
Lots of light and well balanced water makes things grow well. I have the two 400w 20K HIDs and two 80w daylight CFs in the hood. Also my setup is in a SW window corner. The lights are off in the middle of the day.
I only do water changes two or three times a year but I have the calcium reactor adding traces and the refugium and skimmer removing stuff so there is a cross flow of nutrients and waste. There is a big sack of charcoal in the refuguim.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

While not the hardiest, Longnose Butterflies are really good for this.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

But will they eat everything else? Why would they mess with these stinging little bastards if they could just chomp on a nice mushroom or xinia?

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

My tank isn't nearly as nice as some of the ones on here but I like my little puffer..

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n...n1974/puff.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Oh you guys...silly reefer botls.... scaring the newbies away from the hobby... It's not as hard as these bullies make it out to be...

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

It can be easy.
My first tank was a 7.5 gal with a behind tank filter and three pieces of live rock wedged in it. It took a while for it to stabilize but it finally did, enough for some coral, shrimp, crabs, damsel fish, critters, etc.
It evolved into the 10 gal nano I still have. I have to clean it before I can post a picture. It takes a lot of cleaning to keep them clear. Stuff grows vigorously in a marine environment.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

What, no monocle? I like it.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I know I forgot the Monocle.. okay if one eyeglass is called a monocle how cow a pair isn't called a bicycle??? :rolleyes:

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

biocle
where you wear two monocles, stylin'

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

You want to help out? With my funeral arrangements that is?:r

They are specialized feeders for nooks and crannies. They generally don't bother anything else. Might take out small feather dusters though.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

FYI on the Longnose:
This is a fish that can be more of a challenge when it comes to feeding because its tiny mouth limits the size of foods it can consume. Its diet consists primarily of living marine organisms, such as amphipods and copepods, and therefore it is best kept in a reef tank or fish-only aquarium that is partially filled with live rock that has an ample population of natural prey organisms present to feed on.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Dragonettes (Mandarinfish) are like this. Sounds like if eats 'pods that it wants crunchy stuff.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Curing the rock. scrubbed it, was kinda nasty, but some sweet color came out of it. Doing a high sality dip 1.030-1.040 to try to chase out the badies that may be hiding inside tomarrow and then ill let it soak for a week, rinse and repeat! :D

29G Biocube is here too with Koralia 400GPH power head and 75w Stealth heater.:D


http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/32...425x425Q85.jpg

http://inlinethumb47.webshots.com/42...425x425Q85.jpg



http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/35...425x425Q85.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Looks like really good rock there. Great start. I hope you can avoid all the algae blooms and cyanobacteria I had to endure at the start. Seems like one thing would go away and another would take over. For a while it was these tiny snails, smaller than a BB.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Where's the pics??? :)

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Tanks empty! :(

I can take pics of the empty tank if you want, but I figured id unveil it when i start its cycle!

:tu

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I can't wait that long. :)

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

actually with todays readings, it probably wont be to long. 1 ammonia 2 nitrites 3 nitrates. though just might not have started to spike the ammonia Cant remeber which one can be above 0 but still those are promising. evacuated a matis shrimp today, saw the little fugger diggin and dunked him in some fresh water, bastard came out and put the rock back in the tank. suprisingly big, probably 3/4 of an inch. flushed the bastard did the same with the rest of the live rock. chased out a couple of crabs. checked them, are good guys, put em back good news is no aptasia or whatever. at least as far as ive found so far. inspecting them with a magnifying glass. rock is suprisingly good quality. Just orderd 10 LBS more from a store down state, who gave me a much better deal than the local guy and the pics of the stuff they pulled for me is amazing! Also gonna send me some established livesand for me to start up the tank with

Shilia ill try to get pics of the tank soon for your impatient self!

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

w00t!!! :D

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Tank:
http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/18...425x425Q85.jpg

Night lights on:
http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/44...425x425Q85.jpg

Day Lights on:
http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/42...425x425Q85.jpg

only thing I dont like is that there is no switch for the night lights, always on, but i can kill either one or the other main lights, well both if need be by a switch. so thats kinda annoying but not really.

enjoy the empty tank:rolleyes:

oh, new live rock on its way!!

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Thanks for the pics!!!
Those nanocubes are awesome. If I didn't already have my tank I'd love to have one.
A little 12 gallon with a great big anemone and a pair of clowns would be incredibly cool.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Awesome Tank. I have the same one. I think... 24 gallon aquapod? Thats what I have. Definitely wait on the anemone they are tricky critters. Awesome tank though! Im getting ready to tear mine down and start over. New sand new LR then it will be a FOWLR tank. With a small Snowflake eel, and my maroon clown.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

29G Biocube from Oceanis. local guys gave me an awesome price. 250... couldnt beat it, even online!

My dads boss was saying he will give me a breeding pair of black clown fishonce iget it going. SWEET!! Dont know if ill actually breed them but from what i hear, I should because they are quite rare?
anyways,

This is fun!

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

An absolutely awsome thread! Thanks so, so much for the pictures!
:tu

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I am new here.

Here is one of mine.

http://webpages.charter.net/kingeryreef/Full.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

One?
Don't hold out on us!!! :)
Welcome to the Asylum!

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

you really get off on tank pics..:chr

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

LOL guys yeah that one is a 75 gallon.


This is a 120


http://webpages.charter.net/kingeryreef/08212005.jpg


And then a 210 that was just setup.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...n/DSC01299.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I sure do. :tu

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

anybody need some live rock cheap? I found a place thats getting rid of a ton of it for .99. Its been in an established tank for 2 years. Its not premium rock, but its not bad either. was 4.00 a pound but they hav a ton of it and need to get it out. so let me know and Ill get some. GROUP BUY! :D

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

The nano. I sits it the corner of our main bathroom.
http://130.94.224.229/share/nanoreef.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

That nano is awesome with all that mush! How big is it?

Depending on how bored I get I'll try and post some pics of my 55 later

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I've been running my diatom filter in my tank for the last couple days. The water is crystal. Some day I'll spend the 1000 bucks to keep it that way all the time. :)