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Grog

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Everything posted by Grog

  1. The word I hear the mot regarding lawnmower blennies is : personally. And they have it for sure.
  2. You may be right. He does like to perch on stuff.
  3. Cherub angel, blenny, royal gramma.
  4. So, Every morning, I notice that my Hollywood Stunner has about 1/2 a teaspoon of sand and or gravel in it. Something is filling the cup up. I don't have crazy flow stirring up the sand bed, so something or things, are putting sand in the chalice. It is not directly on the sand bed either, and its edges curve upwards. Who is the cuprit? A snail? A fish (blenny) or something else? Seems like an odd thing to do... My plating monti does not get these deposits. Something likes the HS.
  5. Looking at that made my teeth hurt.
  6. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    Something cool. One of my crabs. Not sure if it's the mitrhax or pithos has molted and changed colors to a powder blue. I'm liking this. I think it is the mitrhax as the pithos have a different shape. He's been hanging out under the Hollywood Stunner and munching algae. 😎
  7. Welcome back! I'm beginning to think people don't actually leave this hobby. Only tank long vacations.
  8. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    I guess today is a progress report day. Other corals I don't talk about a lot. Purple Stylo: Not sure why this isn't on everyone's beginner or easy to grow coral list. Looks like the 'stick' corals but super easy to grow and isn't fazed by anything. As in, I've seen crabs hanging on it, snails, light changes, nutrient levels, it is fairly bullet proof. So much so when I got the frags in the mail, they had good polyp extension on arrival, in the bag. I liked the purple so much I bought some green to go along with it. But the purple is a great color in the tank. Highly recommend. Here is what they looked like when I got them in May of 2023. Small frag. Here is what they look like today. Excellent growth and the frag plugs are totally encrusted. Yes, there is an algae problem. Not sure why but that one rock is a trouble spot in the tank. I scrape it weekly. But hey, I'll show the good and the bad. This hobby is fun, but it ain't all roses. The Caulerpa I don't mind so much but the hair algae is awful.
  9. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    Happy Friday people! Here are Galaxea doing Galaxea things. I looked back at old pictures of this one. It is growing well. My best guess is about 25-30% increase in size via polyp counts and eyeball math. It appears to be expanding outwards not vertically. The side on the right is where I see growth. The colony is not radial per say, it has become kind of liver shaped. My hope is that this one takes over the middle of the tank and fills in spaces between the rocks. Second picture is the green variant. It is growing too. The things on the bottom were indeed new heads. Picture from today attached and you can see the polyps emerging. I'm in agreement with Tim though, I the white spongy stuff is some sort of sponge. It is strange. It grows and contracts over the weeks. IMO the green variant is a much slower grower. It almost NEVER has any sweepers. I'm not saying it doesn't, but I've never witnessed any out. I guess the white one makes up for it. Last picture is the whiter Galaxea when I bought it in April of 2023 for reference.
  10. A little bit every day... Got glass tops cut at a local glass shop yesterday and picked them up this morning. Way cheaper than buying stock ones. They are just big enough to cover the openings but I can slide them towards the center brace to get access without actually removing them. I'd call them eel-tight. And eel-tight will be good. Sump is done and I put it underneath. Fits just right. Have lots of room to the right for gear. I'll start working plumbing next. May not get the tank wet again till after Panama. I don't think my house sitter is up for dealing with a leak in the garage. 🤣 I'm happy with the Fiji Cube sump baffle kit. It fits well and was pretty easy to install. I should be able to have a deep sand bed and several inches of water on top of it. I need to think of what oddities I want to put into this area. The intent is to keep it cryptic, so maybe a non-reef safe star and the mantis may end up there too. I'm not going to run any lighting in the sump. No macros, no reverse lighting schedule etc. Just a plain old sand bed and a few rocks. One other thing I learned from my previous builds. I didn't go with the largest sump I could fit. I think this will work fine, and I have enough room to mess around in there. When I had the larger sump under my 140 it was a total PITA to service pumps and clean it. This will make cleaning filter socks, pumps, swapping rocks out all way easier.
  11. Mithrax are easy, just grab them with your fingers when you see it, they are kinda slow and I've never been pinched. Don't do that with a blue or rock crab. Those you need to grab by the swimmers.
  12. Project is moving along albeit slowly. Tank trim painted to match the stand, bye bye woodgrain. Tank has been moved onto the stand. Eventually, there will be removable panels on the stand but I'm not bothering till it is all set up. They would be in the way during the move, and probably get dinged up. The blue background on the tank got the best of me. I've tried 10 different removers and it ain't budging, so I'm going to rely on GSP to hide the gaps in the back paint. I intend to have only easy corals in here: GSP, Xenia, Kenya Tree, Mushrooms, Toadstool, Stylo, Candy Cane, Zoas. The one tough thing I plan to add is a Magnifica anemone as the focal. So.... GSP and the nem get to hide the goofy background eventually. I know people worry about GSP taking over but this is mainly a fish tank so IDK. Also, I think the nem will keep it at bay on that part of the tank and I'm going to try to restrain it to the rear wall. Purchased a Fiji Cube acrylic sump kit for the 40-breeder sump. Totally happy with it. Easy to install, it fits easily, no cutting acrylic, etc. Came with a filter sock section, filter socks, adjustable baffle for water height, little filters and shelves for media for the bubble trap section. Worst part is peeling off the protective film from the acrylic. Assembled it and siliconed it in over the last day or two. It is curing now, and I'll move it under the tank tomorrow and work on a little plumbing next week. I had to get the sump knocked out before starting plumbing. (Picture below doesn't have the adjustable baffle installed. It goes in the section with the blue tape on it.) Having said that, I need a break this weekend, so I'm hitting the coast tomorrow. No tank work after I do my water changes tomorrow morning. Need some chill time, so going to a couple of parks and may do some fishing too. Project can wait. This weather is too nice to miss out on.
  13. Red Mithrax Crab – Tampa Bay Saltwater (tbsaltwater.com) I agree with your assessment. It will likely get darker, less striped, and less hairy after a molt or two. Fun to watch them develop. Good guy. I'm keeping red, green, and pythos in my tank right now. Love some inverts!
  14. I say red mithrax is a good bet on this one.
  15. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    Per my other post, today is my reefing day. Tank cleaned, water change, and glued all my loose frags down: 3 green stylos, the candy cane, and two new gorgonians. NO FRAG RACK IN THE DISPLAY! NO LOOSE FRAGS! Yay! Even cleaned the covers on the light fixture. Trying to keep the hair algae at bay. Vacuuming it out when I do water changes. A little caulerpa is regrowing and that I don't mind so much. Way better looking than hair algae. I'm rooting for it to outcompete. Go team caulerpa! Here is a picture without a lens filter. Running two actinic T5, two aquablue special T5, and one Plusrite 14k 250W halide. It looks more 10-12k in person. It is better than the Oddysea bulb but still not clear or blue enough for me. I have a Reefbrite 20k on order and hope to swap it out next week. Obligatory FTS below.
  16. Weekend off, at home, it isn't below freezing. Time for some reefing! Need to clean all the tanks and work on the Heavy's stand some more. Played around with lighting last night but with a perfect day without interruptions, I have no excuse to not whoop these systems into shape. 5 Off for some fun!
  17. I bet the salmon will really bounce back. Hope the river gets some runs like you see in Alaska. Initially though, I bet the turbidity from all the backlogged sediment is pretty horrific. It probably makes our sumps look clean. The Largest Dam Removal Project in U.S. History Begins Final Stretch, Welcoming Salmon Home (msn.com)
  18. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    Odyssea bulbs have always been garbage, you saw how the T5 was assembled. The Phoenix bulbs should be here tomorrow. I'm excited.
  19. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    Thanks for helping yesterday, Tim! The halide and T5 combo are STRONG! 3000 PAR at the surface. Yes, 3000, and 400 in the sand bed. Right now, the lights are running 12 hours on T5 and 6 of halide in the middle of the T5 cycle. I will turn that down to 5 hours. I found some Phoenix 14000k bulbs and will swap the Odyssea for that. Tim agreed the stock bulb ain't 20000k, more like 10000k LOL. I was torn between the Reefbrite, Phoenix, and Plusrite bulbs. I've had good luck with Plusrite 20000k but they are unavailable now. Phoenix has been around for a while. The 14000k should look way better than this stock bulb. If I like it, I'll order a case and be set for halides for the next decade. So, Phoenix 14000k is what I went with. I like the actinic when the halide is on but alone it is not as pleasant. Going to run a single different colored bulb to get some other colors. Aqua blue special is my first choice. (I had to go back to my notes.) After HEAVY gets installed in the living room, I'll build a similar stand for the 40 and we will raise it up about 15" higher for viewing. At that time, I plan to also build a hanging mechanism for the halides to get them off of the surface a bit. This will reduce the surface PAR some, reduce the heat, and allow me easier access for cleaning. Livestock? Well between the coral banded shrimp, and the angel, they killed two other fish: (cryptic 6 line and Helfrichi) This coral banded shrimp is way meaner than the ones I've had previously. So, I added a single blenny to the mix. Blenny getting along ok as he's a little swifter than the other two were. I got a bunch of frags that I need to glue down today. I think they have been in acclimation mode in the sand bed for long enough. Now back to painting and plumbing on HEAVY.
  20. Brand new from Kessil. AP9X. $400. Also have the Kessil mounting arm that I'll throw in. I switched back to halides and only want to recover the cost I paid for the MH fixture and bulbs.
  21. Oysters are great food, great for water quality, and great fish habitat. 15 billion will be great for the bay. Right here in Palacios! 15 billion oyster initiative aims to restore Texan coast | The Fish Site
  22. Got the stand completed and primed and painted. Went with a blackish brown color. Used motor oil is what I'd call it. And now you know why I'm not in Marketing. Here is a picture of it from the back. I left the front and sides open for now. Will add removable panels later. They will just get in the way during setup. Tim and I will upsize the 75 next week.
  23. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    Gonna get cold this week folks! I'm running to the coast to keep the pipes from freezing in a 90-year-old pier and beam house with zero insulation. Fun. Got off the couch to do some repairs to the 40. ATO failed a week ago and I've been manually topping off. Installed the new one today. I'll be out of town for a few days, and I cannot get my wife to do anything tank related. I'm lucky that she even feeds them. Also, I set up a new power strip for the halides and a small exhaust too. Everything is back automated now they just need food and some glass cleaning. The single 250W halide I'm running with T5 now was raising the water temp to 82. Got a small Hygger fan for $15 and it keeps it right at 79.8 - 80 F where I want it. As far as Chinese cheap reefing gear, the Hygger stuff seems OK. I got a cleaning tool with removable heads. Neat little fiberglass rod etc. Well made but we will need to see how the 'stainless' parts hold up. Stay warm folks!
  24. Grog

    40 Breeder Build

    Full tank shot under the new halide and T5 actinic and I did some rearranging. I hate the look of frag racks in a DT but... I need this little egg crate one for a bit while I'm acclimating all these things. I have a conch in the tank. They sift the sand like nothing else and have a tendency to burrow under frags and knock them over. This is kind of a preventative measure against that happening. (I suspect the conch will still find a way to mess stuff up.) After the light change and acclimation is done, I'll permanently attach the frags somewhere.
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