Project 58!! (Image intense)

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Angel,
Thanks for the condolences.....I'm hoping this gets resolved also...
I'm on dayshift now so I leave my house at 515 am every morning and dont get to check out the tank until I come home...

Nick
 
I hear you Nick, I work days too but Tues-Sat. Tank lights don't even come on until after I leave but atleast they are on when I get home.
 
Wow.....I hadnt realized it had been so long since I posted any updates to this thread!

Alot has happened, some good, some bad. I 've had some losses to the tank, but also have some new additions too.

Bad news first:

Lost the Teardrop Crocea. It didnt survive the Pinched Mantle treatments, but the Blue Crocea did. The Blue Crocea is doing fine and showing no signs of PM or further stress.

I lost all of of the purple tipped acro. I was having a pH swing that was causing the RTN events. I started dosing Kalk, and have since stabilized the pH fluctuations. The tank appears better overall now that I'm dosing Kalk.

I lost the Bellus angel. She started having trouble maintaining her equilibrium while swimming, and died shortly thereafter. The Cleaner Wrasse disappeared one day. No idea how it got out, (I cover the top of the tank with egg crate) and no idea where it went. I was unable to find it anywhere.

The current fishload is:

(1) Tomini Tang
(1) Royal Gramma
(1) Chalk Bass

I will be adding a pair of Onyx Percula clowns eventually, and that will be the last fish I add in the tank. I had added a gorgeous Coral Beauty to my tank for a period of about two weeks...
The little angel came from a 90 gallon SPS reef and was reefsafe in that tank. Not so much in mine. He started nipping at all my SPS, and beating up on my Tomini. I expected a little bit of aggression when it was first added, but after the first week of seeing new damage on the Tomini every morning, it was clear the angel had to go. I was finally able to catch the angel in a trap from the LFS. It took me a week to get all the fish acclimatized to new thing floating in the tank. I just kept the door of the trap open and only fed the tank with food placed in the trap. The Chalk Bass was the first to go inside, but shortly afterwards, the other fish followed.

I also had to treat for Redbugs. I think I know where I acquired them from initially, but I was horrified to find the Redbugs on a frag I received from a reputable online vendor who assured me they treat for Redbugs in their tanks. The moral of the story is that everything that goes in the tank, gets QT'd and spends several hours getting treated for Redbugs and Flatworms.
I removed the two acro crabs I had from the tank during treatment, along with all the hermits I could find, (missed one), and my shrimp. I did not lose either acro crab, or either shrimp, but did lose a total of 3 Scarlett Hermits, and my Emerald Crab. I'm sure my pod population took a hit, but I've seen plenty of exoskeletons floating around the tank altely, so I know some of them are still around and growing. My tank will repopulate with pods in time.

Now for the good news.
I managed to pick up alot of frags locally for the tank, they have been in the tank for awhile and most are growing well. I also puchased two new clams and need to get the instructions for a Korrallin Calcium Reactor so I can set it up. I will continue to drip Kalk in addition to the Calcium Reactor so I dont have anymore pH issues.

I have several new pictures to post.....

Nick
 
08-08-05

Okay, here are pics of new additions to the tank:

Here is a Cali Blue Tort

Blue_Tortuosa_04-03-05.JPG


Here is a green polyped Stylophora..these polyps are electric green!

Green_Stylophora_pistillata_04-03-05.JPG


Pink Seritopora calendrium

Bird_s_Nest_04-03-05.JPG


A Montipora vietnamensis

Montipora_vietnamensis2_04-03-05.JPG


Acropora micropthalma and Larry Jackson Tri-color, (sadly, the LJ Tricolor was hit hard by Redbugs and the top half of the largest frag died. It appears to be making a slow comeback though.)

Micropthalma_and_Larry_Jackson_Tricolor_04-03-05.JPG


Pink and Blue Millepora

Red-Blue_Millipora_04-03-05.JPG


Nick
 
08-08-05

I also managed to talk the LFS owner into giving me a badly distressed coral. She had received it a couple of months ago and it wasnt doing so well. Infact well over a third of the coral had died. Here are pics of it when I first got it.

Rescue1_06-24-05.JPG


Rescue2_06-24-05.JPG


Here is a pic of the Tiger Striped Derasa Clam I picked up from Reef Science. I've always loved the way these look. Its got a blue rim.

Derasa_06-24-2005.JPG


Nick
 
08-08-05

Some before/after and growth shots

If/when I use a species name in conjunction with a coral in my tank, its really just aguess based on pictures of other corals that closely resemble mine. Its not at all scientific, and I honestly cant be sure the names I'm using are correct. It does however help keep track of corals in the tank. Instead of referrring to Unknown Acro #27, I can say, the Chesterfieldensis....etc.

Hyacinth table 03-16-05

Brown_table_and_AcroCrab2-3_03-16-05.jpg


Hyacinth table 08-07-05 (sorry for the blurry pic)

Topdown_hyacinth_table_08-07-05.JPG


A. chesterfieldensis 03-16-05

Peachtipped_acro2-5_03-16-05.jpg


A. chesterfieldensis 08-07-05

A_chesterfieldensis_topdown_08-07-05.JPG


A. chesterfieldensis under actinics 08-07-05

Chesterfieldensis_actinics_08-07-05.JPG


A. albrohensis 06-24-05 (its in QT in this picture. the white spot on the left frag is an acro eating flatworm) ALWAYS QT YOUR CRITTERS BEFORE PUTTING THEM IN THE TANK!!!

Albro3_06-24-2005.JPG


A. albrohensis 08-07-05

Albrohensis_08-07-05.JPG


Peach Table frags 03-05-05

PTF2_03-05-05.JPG


Peach table top down shot 08-07-05 (I need to take more pics from a different angle with this coral. Its completely encrusted this rock.)

Peachtable_frag_08-07-05.JPG


Nick
 
08-08-05

Blue Tort 04-03-05

Blue_Tortuosa_04-03-05.JPG


Blue tort with a an unknown acro in front 08-07-05. Its kinda hard to see any growth from this angle...but its there. I'll take more pics later today when the lights come on again.

Tort_and_unknown_acro_08-07-05.JPG


Finally, the rescue coral on 06-24-05

Rescue2_06-24-05.JPG


Fragged from dead skeleton and epoxied to rockwork 08-07-05. This is only one piece. I mounted frags from this onto two seperate rocks, and for some reason only took pics of the left side yesterday...again, when the lights come on, more pics will follow.

Rescue_left2_08-07-05.JPG


Left side rescue under actinics 08-07-05

Rescue_coral_left_08-07-05.JPG


Nick
 
Finally,
The Royal Gramma enjoys hanging out under the large Lava rock on the left side of the tank. Whats interesting to me, (and everyone else who see's it and wonders whats going on) is that he does so, upside down. Its a behavior they display in the wild, but not typically in captivity. I just thought it was cool and would post up a pic of it.

Inverted_Royal_08-07-05.JPG


Here he is leaving and turning right side up....

Royal_rightside_up.JPG


Gratuitous fish pics

Tomini tang grazing between M. vietnamensis and S. calendrium

Tomini_08-07-05.JPG


Chalk Bass and frags, (you can see part of the rightside rescue coral frags here)

Chalk_Bass_and_frags08-07-05.JPG


Nick
 
This tank looks awesome in person. Nick has done an incredible job, and I can't wait for the rescue coral to grow for me....er....I mean grow for you. That goes for most of the corals in your tank. The corals look so much more colorful in person - they are very nice. I wish I would have had my camera on me over the weekend, and I could have taken some more macros.....figures I'd leave it at home considering all the other crap that gets brought with the family. Now, make a little side cabinet to store the Ca reactor and other stuff in, so Rocio doesn't have to look at it :D.

Just for kicks - here are the macros I took the last time I was out (in June)

NickMaze3.jpg


NickMaze2.jpg


NickSPSMacro2.jpg
 
fishcrazy said:
Looks cool Nick.....Congrats!!!

Thanks Curt. How ya been?



dgasmd said:
Very nice Nick. Pretty good growth for that time period too.

Thanks Alberto. Some seem to grow faster than others...I know thats life, but I wish they all grew as fast as the quick ones. Once I get this Korallin reactor online, I expect the ones that are just kinda sitting there to take off.


NaH2O said:
This tank looks awesome in person. Nick has done an incredible job, and I can't wait for the rescue coral to grow for me....er....I mean grow for you. That goes for most of the corals in your tank. The corals look so much more colorful in person - they are very nice. I wish I would have had my camera on me over the weekend, and I could have taken some more macros.....figures I'd leave it at home considering all the other crap that gets brought with the family. Now, make a little side cabinet to store the Ca reactor and other stuff in, so Rocio doesn't have to look at it :D.

Just for kicks - here are the macros I took the last time I was out (in June)


Nikki,
I could say the same things about your tank. As soon as things are at the fragging stage, you've got first dibs. Building a side cabinet is definately in the plans. I just need to figure out how I'm gonna make that happen.

Nick
 
Maxx said:
Building a side cabinet is definately in the plans. I just need to figure out how I'm gonna make that happen.

Well, that's what trips to St. Louis are for right? Let us know if you want our....er....Jeff's help, and we'll be there! :D
 
Just an update....

We spent the day yesterday (OK - it was day, then night, then wee morning hours :D) moving Nick's, er...I mean McGyver's 58 gallon to his new home. I have some pics to post. As soon as I get them downloaded, I'll post them....
 
How to move a tank in 3 easy steps...

Here is tank moving 101:

You, too, can move a tank in 3 easy steps. All you have to do is:

1. Take apart tank and place livestock in bins
2. Move said livestock and tank to new location
3. Set tank up and add livestock

ROFL - if only it was that easy. :shock:

Here are the pics from the 58 gallons transfer to a new home. Things went well for the most part....with a few glitches here and there. Of course, when working with any officer of the law....if doughnuts are not provided, the officer may become quite cranky ;) :lol: :p. Just kidding, Nick :D! Thankfully, there weren't any rabid attacking squirrels any where to be seen.

Here are some images of the move. The first is the tank just before the lights came down. Great looking tank. Then the subsequent images are of the tank after removal of water and stock at various stages. The pic of Nick in front of the tank he's trying to get the last of the snails, and probably trying to get the detritus from in front of the starboard.

The last image is one of the first glitches. Nick would have to explain the technical tool jargon, but whatever it was he needed to take apart the lighting doo-hickey, was nowhere to be found. Even the last minute run to Home Depot....Nick came up empty handed. Anyway....nothing a saw can't fix! In this picture you will see the boys cutting the lighting thingy apart, in order to get it out the door.
 
OK - in these pictures, you can see the various bins we put the livestock in.

In bin #1 - we tried to keep the corals as spaced out as we could. We added a little container in the middle to keep the corals from sliding into each other during the drive. It worked pretty well, and the clowns are in here as well. Most of the SPS and a couple of the small clams are in here.

In bin #2 - some of the live rock and more coral. I believe the royal gramma made his way into this bin by hiding in one of the rocks. That white blob is epoxy where we pulled off a coral.

In bin #3 - the rest of the live rock with attached corals. This bin will be important for a glitch later on.

In bin #4 - the Tomini tang, chalk bass, Brain coral, shrimp, and derasa clam.
 
By the time we got everything to the new house, it was late...around 11pm or so. Everyone unloaded the vans and the reassemble began. Everything seemed to be going very well, and the plumbing seemed to piece together perfectly. I was given the task of running the new water for the tank through a filter (aka brine shrimp net), to make sure there wasn't any type of particulate in the water from the storage containers. Yes, it was late...I'd say around 1am.....I started falling asleep doing my job :lol:. Thankfully, no one took a picture :D. Then, there was a glitch with the plumbing, which Nick figured out later. I was too tired to pay attention to what pump it was...I think it was the chiller. Anyway, the water was too cool to put the livestock in, and the heaters were left back at the other house. So, by the time Nick went to get the heaters, returned back to the new house, and finished getting the tank put together, it was going on 3:30 am. The heaters were placed in each bin, along with powerheads, and stock from bin #4 was added to the other bins.

In the morning, Nick began to add the livestock back to the tank. This is where bin #3 became a glitch. The heater in bin #3 stuck on overnight. When Nick put his hand in to transfer the livestock, he knew it was too warm. When I felt the water, it was very warm....I guessed over 90F. Well, I stuck the thermometer in there, and it registered at 96F! The smell of sick SPS was just getting into the air. Nick had to get ready for work, so we finished up what we could. Later in the morning, when we all (minus the working Nick) got back from breakfast, I went ahead and stuck everything from that bin in the tank. The corals in there were almost all gone. Such a bummer.

Here are the pics from the set-up. This is not the finished product. Nick will have to reaquascape, but it was the best he could do at the time. When I added the liverock from bin#3 I had to move all the corals around so the liverock would set in. Hopefully, when the tank is back up fully, Nick will repost new pics.

In the last pic, you can see the bleached out corals on the right side of the tank. These were the ones that were cooked. Everything else seemed to be fine from the trip.
 
10-26-2005

Rocio and I got married and bought a house. Thats the great news.

The bad news is that I lost 11 corals in the move.

First off, I owe Nikki and Her husband Jeff a HUGE thank you for their much needed help in moving my 58 gallon tank, I honestly couldnt have done it without their help, and the assistance of another friend, Pete.

One of the heaters malfunctioned and cooked pretty much every coral I had on the right side of the tank.

It was pretty nasty.

I lost:

an A. chesterfieldensis colony
a hydrophora frag
a M.vietnamensis frag
a S. calendrium frag
an A. tenuis frag
an A. prostrata frag which was all that was left of my green table
the unknown blue polyp acro
the unknown neon green polyp acro that was one of the first corals in the tank.
the neon green Stylophora pistallata frag
The blue tipped table colony
and the purple rimmed cap frags.

This was roughly half my tanks coral population.

I have the tank set up and more or less stable in its new configuration in the basement of our new house.

I'm hoping to slowly restock the tank with frags from my local reef club and friends...

It will take awhile, but the tank will come back.

Nick
 
Well congrats again on getting to marry a lady that will put up with the addiction to corals.
Bummer about losing so many nice corals. Stupid heaters. Its good to have friends to help out. Hope all goes better for your tank soon, and all stays well for you and Rocio
 
Ouch, that’s tough man... hopefully it won't take too long to get all stocked up again. I'm glad everything else turned out ok.

Your "Project 58!! (Image intense)" was one of the first setup threads that I ever saw, and was probably the only one I read all the way through, damn funny stuff. Quite inspirational.

I hope your light fiasco wasn't too bad.

Don't forget to post up some pics of your "new" setup.

~Brandon

I almost forgot congratulations!
 

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