Cali Kid Corals

Peter's Garage Tank

Houston we have skimming!! The HOB overflow box came today. I was a little skeptical that it was going to work, but it is a really cool idea. We are overflowing over the rim of the tank, into the skimmer area of the sump, then through the baffles and into the chaeto chamber and out the return into the main tank. The whole thing is running wide open at approx. 350 gph. (we can actually add up to a 800gph return pump) and it looks to be pretty stable. Next up is a couple of switches, one for an ATO and the other to turn off the return pump before the sump runs dry.
Cheers! Mark
 
The sump is running great! Chaeto has quadrupled in size, making minor adjustments to the skimmer. I guess the news of the day is that we shut down the frag tank. I moved all the corals and critters to the DT. We are going to turn the frag tank into a refugium. This morning I ordered 100 amphipods to get it started. The lighting on the frag tank was giving us issue and until we get it sorted out, I am not going to waste money running 113 watts of lighting that sucks. Also winter is coming and I have to start thinking about winterizing the tanks and cultures in the garage or I will suffer $600 PG&E bills :eek: If we run the old frag tank as a pod refugium, then I don't have to worry about heating 5 buckets of cultures, they can all go into the refugium. And since they don't need light, I can insulate the whole refugium (even the cover).
Cheers! Mark
 
Wow! it has been a while since I updated our garage reef. Everything is running smoothly.
- The cryptic tank is teeming with Amphipods and Copapods. Roostertech gave us a feather duster and we had some sponges. There are also some strange things starting to grow in the dark. All different colors of sponges and some kinda like clear sponge/jellyfish with orange dots on its tentacles. Peter also found a handful of sponges at Mavericks that we tossed in.
- The sump is running great! Skimming a couple cups of "chocolate" everyday and the Chaeto is still growing like a weed. All of the parameters are good and consistent. I had one issue with the overflow box losing siphon and a gallon or so of water overflowed onto the garage floor. I think the hose for the siphon pump was clogged with salt. Glad I was standing right there!
- The D/T is looking pretty full, everything (except for 1 monti ) is looking good. Everything from the frag swap is alive and coloring nicely. Starting to get some folding on the montis and some of the other corals are getting large enough that I am able to start fragging them. We also added an LED strip light to one end of the tank to fix a dark area. The one problem we have is that the tank is so full of corals, it makes Aptasia eradication impossible. I do more damage to the corals trying to kill the Aptasia than the Aptasia does if I let them live. I really need some Peppermint shrimp!
Cheers! Mark
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I wont know until the 16th or so if I can get my Peppermint Shrimp. Edgar Sandoval recommended getting some Bergias so I did some research. They are not cheap ($15-$20 each), I would need at least 10, there is a good chance my Wrasse would eat them and you want them to lay eggs but the eggs are a favorite food of Amphipods (which we have a LOT of) Not to promising for our reef, so I started back manually killing them. I had a grouping of about 15 Aiptasia. I slowly injected each with white vinegar, let them sit for a couple minutes, then set up a siphon hose and "vacuumed" the area thoroughly. It did a surprisingly good job and there were a lot of Aiptasia tentacles and parts in the bucket.
 
Picked up some new corals today. We got a rock covered in Mean Green Zoas, a Tyree Ponape Birdsnest, some Sakura Zoas, and a Reef Raft "The Vinh". If we didnt have too many corals before, we are close now. Also ordered some Red Sea Energy and will begin dosing as soon as it arrives.
Cheers! Mark
 
Flagg37 said:
Just curious, but why is it you think you need the Red Sea Energy? Is there a deficiency that you are noticing?
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Although our corals are alive and growing, a little faster growth and more color would be good. I have been very impressed with how healthy Eric (lbn's) corals look and he mentioned that he is adding the Red Sea Enegy. I did a little research and after watching the BRS and Red Sea videos, I figured it was cheap enough to give it a try. I will try to get Peter to take some nice pictures with his "good camera" and do a 45 day test with before and after pics.
 
Today's tank additions:
2 Miyagi Torts
2 Tri-color Validas
1 ORA scripps Stagg
1 Bubblegum digi
1 Orange digi
1 Reef Raft Acro
1 Red Monti cap
2 Purple Stylos
1 Copps Calacali
We're gonna need a bigger tank:eek:
 
While having a tank in the garage is okay, it really limits the work I can do out there. I cant run any of my saws or do much tinkering for fear I will pollute the reef with saw dust and chemicals. If I could get rid of the freshwater tanks (100g, 55g, and 45g ) then I would set up a huge tank in the house. The problem is my daughter is emotionally attached to them (not that she has ever lifted a finger to care for them) and wont let me re-home them. I do need to find new homes for some of the Plecos though, They are just too big for my tanks.
 
Mark B said:
While having a tank in the garage is okay, it really limits the work I can do out there. I cant run any of my saws or do much tinkering for fear I will pollute the reef with saw dust and chemicals. If I could get rid of the freshwater tanks (100g, 55g, and 45g ) then I would set up a huge tank in the house. The problem is my daughter is emotionally attached to them (not that she has ever lifted a finger to care for them) and wont let me re-home them. I do need to find new homes for some of the Plecos though, They are just too big for my tanks.
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LFS for store credit?


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