400 gallons of saltwater running through my house.

[CarlaW]

Amen girl

 

[DevonM]

Here is a neat reef video I came across at Earth-Touch. Lots of different fish in one shot.

 

[DevonM]

Tank update picture time!

Over the past couple of months I have battled a little bit of green hair algae but everything seems to be happy and growing.

Recently, I have added a few Acro frags to the main tank that I got from Charlie and I've also added 6 red stripe cardinals and an octopus to the system from Reefmissoula.

I've pulled the clams out once more to remove the pyramid snails. This time I've taken the advice of putting them in plastic containers so that I can change the substrate out...

Hmmm what else, well today I chunked up the large green birdsnest that was on the left side of the tank so that I can better clean the glass. Took a few monti cap frags and birdsnest frags down to Reefmissoula. Now a few pictures.


3-5-11 Update by devonmorton, on Flickr


Untitled by devonmorton, on Flickr

Top Right Side


Untitled by devonmorton, on Flickr

Top Left Side. This is the green birdsnest that I fragged today.


Untitled by devonmorton, on Flickr

New clam homes, fancy.


Untitled by devonmorton, on Flickr


"Bali" Octopus by devonmorton, on Flickr

I grabbed this generic "Bali" octopus from Dan as he didn't really have a good place for it. I've also wanted to give one a shot. Right now he's living in an in-tank refugium inside of the refugium. It looks like he has been injured (white spots that won't change color). After looking around on a few web resources it looks like he's fully grown (~ 8" tip to tip) and probably has about 6 months to a year to live, that is if the injury doesn't cause issues first. I did get him to eat a piece of shrimp, or at least he took it into the rocks. I hope he lives for a while but they don't have very long life expectancies.


Untitled by devonmorton, on Flickr

 

[scooter54]

Your tank is looking great! An octopus should be very interesting.

 

[DevonM]

Last night I watched the octopus scale the in-tank refuge wall and crawl over the top to a small space between the in-tank refuge and the refugium wall... opcorn:

The octo made his way into the rock work, checked out all the nooks, then darted across the tank to check out the other side (or maybe the cleaner shrimp). He and the damsel met and each didn't really seem to know what to do with the other so they went their own ways. I was worried about the mantis trying to eat the octo, or the other way around. Then it was time for bed.

This morning I work up and checked the tank. The mantis was now hiding between the in-tank refuge and the refugium wall. I guess the mantis is more worried than the octo. I saw the octo hiding in a hole so I offered him a piece of shrimp which he gladly took. He actually tried to take the tweezers too. We will see how the rest of today plays out.
:fencing:

 

[vinny2261]

Man that piture was so BAD ASS. I have heard they will eat EVERYTHING in the tank. I have heard of them crawling out of one tank into another tank to eat and then back again before morning, but it is really BAD ASS !!!!

 

[DevonM]

So far so good. The octo, damsel and mantis shrimp are getting along alright. I've been able to feed the octopus a small piece of shrimp about every other day. At first I think he was more interested in pulling my tweezers into his hole but now I think he's starting to look for the food. Everyone has been playing musical homes so it will be interesting to see if everyone picks a permanent home. I did notice there was an astrea shell wedged into a conch shell opening so maybe it was strategically placed there or maybe left over from lunch. :noidea:

 

[CarlaW]

Man, that is so cool, I need to come down and take some pics, is it meeting time at Devon's?

 

[DevonM]

Yeah when it warms up a bit we could definitely have a meeting here. We just have a small house so we would need to probably spend a little time outside, lol.

 

[CarlaW]

Yeah when it warms up a bit we could definitely have a meeting here. We just have a small house so we would need to probably spend a little time outside, lol.

Should we maybe look at May Devon? We can't predict, but we can hope for good weather. Hell, if it don't stop snowing maybe we had better go far August.

 

[DevonM]

A few more update pictures:


Highfin perchlet by devonmorton, on Flickr.

This guy comes out more and more, very neat to watch him move about.


Red-Striped Cardinalfish by devonmorton, on Flickr

Very peaceful to watch in the reef.


Peacock Mantis Shrimp by devonmorton, on Flickr

Finally this guy came out to the font of the glass so I could get a picture of him. Actually I believe he's not sure what to think of the octopus so he's staying clear of it.


Octopus making a move by devonmorton, on Flickr


Octopus searching by devonmorton, on Flickr

He's was out checking all the nooks and crannies in the refugium.


Octopus door by devonmorton, on Flickr.

The octopus is using the Astrea shell as a door to his home.

 

[DevonM]

BRS 2 Part Dosing Pumps

After seeing Charlie's dosing pump in action I decided to set a couple up to dose BRS 2 part. I've put the assembly (pumps and 2 - 3 gallon jugs) under the refugium and plumbed it over to the sump under the display tank. Here are a few pictures :


BRS 2 Part by devonmorton, on Flickr


BRS by devonmorton, on Flickr

 

[CarlaW]

Hey, that's a great set up Devon. I take it you liked my idea?

 

[DevonM]

Yeah, after talking to you and Rob I thought it was something I should do. Plus I'm getting my network camera going again for remote monitoring. The idea is to be able to leave the house!

 

[CarlaW]

Yeah, after talking to you and Rob I thought it was something I should do. Plus I'm getting my network camera going again for remote monitoring. The idea is to be able to leave the house!

What a novel concept..............................lol

 

[DevonM]

Happy and sad at the same time...

The octopus has been pretty shy lately so I removed "her" door and saw her with a large clutch of eggs. From what I understand, this means that she's not going to live too much longer after the eggs reach full-term. And unfortunately, I don't think the eggs would be fertilized unless they were able to do that before her collection.

 

[CarlaW]

Well, in a way I guess it is a lesson learned. I also guess the octopus was nice while it lasted.

 

[DevonM]

Yeah, it was a lesson that I expected though, just not so soon. The octopus really intrigues me so I think I will get another one when the time is right. Probably a bimac if possible. After some more reading I found out that it is very possible that the eggs are fertilized and will probably go full-term. There is a very low chance of them will make it, but it will be neat to see what happens.

 

[DevonM]

I'm messing around with a network camera for tank viewing. It pulls an instant image for my web page but gives me access to pan, tilt & zoom. A great option for monitoring your tank when you are not home.

Guest access from 10AM - 9PM MST M-F... tentatively.

http://devonmorton.com/fish-cam/

 

[CarlaW]

Yeah, it was a lesson that I expected though, just not so soon. The octopus really intrigues me so I think I will get another one when the time is right. Probably a bimac if possible. After some more reading I found out that it is very possible that the eggs are fertilized and will probably go full-term. There is a very low chance of them will make it, but it will be neat to see what happens.

Well good luck, at least you are doin the research my friend . they will probably end up like my clownfish eggs did.....................caviar.