High Tide Aquatics

Leemar Starphire 290

Wow what an amazing read this has been! The tank looks awesome, and I can't wait to see what the tank looks like after all those frags have grown some =)

Awesome job!
 
Thanks John for the article on phosphate. Very good stuff. @goldie......thanks for reading through. I can't wait till the corals get huge, however they have already grown a tiny bit, and I am STOKED!! 8)

Finally got the three tanks out of the room. Turning the nook / closet into a storage space for the tank complete with a custom FRAG TANK! Pretty excited about it. Going to plumb the frag tank directly into my sump. I know many folks have a complete seperate system, however I figure I already have the calcium reactor and such for the big tank, I should just tap into it.

Had Tap plastics cut and route the pieces and glued them together this afternoon. Seams aren't perfect, so I may have to add some weld on later. I'll do a leak test tomorrow. Frag tank is 28" x 14.5" x 10" tall. I used 3/8" acrylic to keep it from bowing (I hope). Using my 4x24" T5 lights. I think it turned out kinda cool. Ron wants doors on it. I like it open. Whatta ya think?

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Also took some pics of the fuge........


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This is my baby lion.....had it about 5 months now. Made the tank move very well, however wasn't eating anything that wasn't live. Been working on him for a long time, and about 2 weeks ago he finally started digging the frozen foods. Eating like a champ now. Now that I am more comfortable he will make it, I will be giving him away. Want to keep shrimp and smaller fish, so he has to go before he starts getting big. ;) Let me know if your interested. He is free to a good home.
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Coral reefer said:
I'd adopt him for a clients 240 gal

Hey Mike, that sounds pretty good. Give him a place to really grow. He is small.......about 2." If you want him, he is yours. Thanks.

@John and Jim..........thanks guys. I might need the back up. LOL!

I'll be leak testing today. :) I still have to add the two black pieces for the overflow. However I didn't have them knotched......there was a minimum 100 dollar charge for laser work. :( So I have to do it on the cheap and likely messy. But if water goes through, I'm ok with that. ;)
 
In my experience, putting doors on just encourages clutter build up, leave it open and show off. What macro algae do you have in your refugium, it looks good!
 
Not_Now_John said:
In my experience, putting doors on just encourages clutter build up, leave it open and show off. What macro algae do you have in your refugium, it looks good!

Thanks Mike, I agree about the doors. We'll see. That is a good question about the Macro Algae. I am not completely sure. It is all stuff I have been given.

The large thick "blades of grass" looking stuff I believe is Caulerpa prolifera from Robert at Neptune. The Red stuff up on the rocks I believe is "Red Dragon" from Gimmito. The red stuff on the bottom is a Red Gracilaria and the tall clump of stuff is some kind of Caulerpa that has been in my fuge for years and years. Got it from a LFS many years ago. Not sure what it is. It's all happy under the 5K LED's. The clown is hilarious. He is sleeping in the prolifera as if it was an anemone.
 
RE: doors or no doors.

If it were mine...

I'd do something to cover the left side of the nook and the area below the frag tank. Doors maybe. Curtain, perhaps.This is the show side of the operation, don't clutter it up with all the bits, pieces and plumbing.

Tank looks great, sump looks like it should be on display, frag tank looks promising.
 
Kmooresf said:
Not_Now_John said:
In my experience, putting doors on just encourages clutter build up, leave it open and show off. What macro algae do you have in your refugium, it looks good!

Thanks Mike, I agree about the doors. We'll see. That is a good question about the Macro Algae. I am not completely sure. It is all stuff I have been given.

The large thick "blades of grass" looking stuff I believe is Caulerpa prolifera from Robert at Neptune. The Red stuff up on the rocks I believe is "Red Dragon" from Gimmito. The red stuff on the bottom is a Red Gracilaria and the tall clump of stuff is some kind of Caulerpa that has been in my fuge for years and years. Got it from a LFS many years ago. Not sure what it is. It's all happy under the 5K LED's. The clown is hilarious. He is sleeping in the prolifera as if it was an anemone.


Beautiful fuge!! I would leave my door open too, I love the color. Thank you for all the names, I am going to have to look into some of these as well =)

Is all of it actually planted?
 
goldielocke76 said:
Kmooresf said:
Not_Now_John said:
In my experience, putting doors on just encourages clutter build up, leave it open and show off. What macro algae do you have in your refugium, it looks good!

Thanks Mike, I agree about the doors. We'll see. That is a good question about the Macro Algae. I am not completely sure. It is all stuff I have been given.

The large thick "blades of grass" looking stuff I believe is Caulerpa prolifera from Robert at Neptune. The Red stuff up on the rocks I believe is "Red Dragon" from Gimmito. The red stuff on the bottom is a Red Gracilaria and the tall clump of stuff is some kind of Caulerpa that has been in my fuge for years and years. Got it from a LFS many years ago. Not sure what it is. It's all happy under the 5K LED's. The clown is hilarious. He is sleeping in the prolifera as if it was an anemone.


Beautiful fuge!! I would leave my door open too, I love the color. Thank you for all the names, I am going to have to look into some of these as well =)

Is all of it actually planted?


Define planted. Algae do not have roots in the way terrestrial plants do. Most have some sort of hold fast that keeps them anchored to a rock or other substrate, but they don't need this for nutrients or anything like that. For most refugium plants, you can shove the algae into the rocks or sand and call it a day, or use super glue or rubber bands till they attach themselves. Some (such as Chaetomorpha spp.) can just kinda float around.
 
aqua-nut said:
RE: doors or no doors.

If it were mine...

I'd do something to cover the left side of the nook and the area below the frag tank. Doors maybe. Curtain, perhaps.This is the show side of the operation, don't clutter it up with all the bits, pieces and plumbing.

Tank looks great, sump looks like it should be on display, frag tank looks promising.

Good idea John, I like it better than full doors. However at the moment I am LOVING the convenience of having the extra space right here. I am already using it and keeping the normal clutter off the top of the tank.........tongs, food bowls, turkey basters, algae clips. The top is clutter free. Yes, I am that lazy that I don't put that stuff away. LOL!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments on the tank and fuge. I am so pleased with the progress. Love it when the plan actually works. Ha!
 
So I decided to break out my dive camera. It's just an old Cannon power shot that I bought the under water housing for. However it has an "underwater" setting and a Macro. Sooooooooooo..............

Meteor shower Cephastrea
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Red / Green Brain
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Pink Monti cap
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Undata!!!
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Christmas Monti?
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Acans.....
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Blue tenious from Rhyph / Gimmito......recovered from a sting a few weeks ago. Yay!
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Blue acro
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Sunset Monti from Sendo......thanks!
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Birdsnest directly under LED's......recovered from bleaching in my other tank.
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There are Many more great shots, but I'll try to refrain for now! LOL! Happy to have found a better way to get photos to chronicle coral growth (or not). ;)
 
Ok, I can't resist.......a few more....

This was an acro that I won at my first BAR meeting. The one Matt Wandell spoke at. It was a small brown Acro, but really happy to see some cool color coming from it now. Tripled in size in the last two months.
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Birdsnest that Robert at neptune fragged for me from his display (thx Robert)
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So this is a Monti that I had in my old tank. Bleached and barely any growth over about a 6 month to a year period.
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This is the same Monti.......two months after placing in the new tank. I forgot it was a killer Green.......more than doubled in size under LED's.

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Chalice
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Green Stylo
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Acro
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SPS
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Green Paly's
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Ok, enough already. ;)
 
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