High Tide Aquatics

Tamazula - A Biocube 29

Tamazula

Tamazula

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So my tank has been up for well over a year now and has been going strong. I first set it up in November of 2009 and have only lost one coral so far- my orange Yuma, in a move. With proper positioning I've kept Monti cap and two species of birdsnest with success and rampant growth, even if they are lacking in the color that comes along with better lighting.

This isn't going to be a full retrospective build thread but I'll post up some highlights and then going forward will try to update so that there's a history for any future DBTC activity and for fellow nano keepers. :)

There is a lot more history and info in my blog; a link to which can be found in my signature.

This was my tank around the beginning of 2010...
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My Dendros early on.
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More recent photo of the Dendros.
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Dendro babies. :)
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My first two SPS.
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Birdsnest a few months ago... I've actually had to frag it since then.
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Really janky drop-in refugium.
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Fuge being dropped into place. I am harvesting a fist full of Chaeto every other month from this thing... need to make a bigger one.
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Torch on a frag mag. I love these things.
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Mounting some live rock.
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Finished product! A home for my Cyphastrea.


Cyphastrea, day 1.
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Cyphastrea a few months ago. It's almost completely covering the surface of this rock now.
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Christmas Favia spreading on to LR.
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Zoa garden. The ones in the center are, I think, Eye of Rah. They aren't doing so hot anymore... can't figure out why.
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Another little magnet project of mine... GSP on some dead coral epoxied together into branches, and mounted on my back wall.
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That does it for now... will put up a FTS when I get a chance.

My current undertaking is a LED retrofit and I should be getting the parts today. Looking forward to putting it into action and giving my corals the love and attention and photons they need.
 
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Thanks, I love the way GSP looks but don't like the way it takes everything over. I have to snip off little feelers every few months or else it'll reach over to the back wall or onto a rock.

The Cyphastrea looks really nice on the contoured rock and also won't encrust onto the wall since very little light reaches all the way back there. I figured it was a good solution... and I can take these rocks with me into the next tank. :)
 
Love that 'GSP acro'. I'm doing something similar with GSP but doesn't look as good as yours. creative use of magnets to rocks, the one floating on the back wall is very unique. Be careful of those blue star polyps guys- the ones in the pic of your cypastrea- they'll take over.
What LED retrofit will you be getting and what bulbs?
 
Thanks for the comments everyone. I'm glad my gsp rock is such a hit. :) It's like a poor man's green slimer or something.

CookieJar said:
Love that 'GSP acro'. I'm doing something similar with GSP but doesn't look as good as yours. creative use of magnets to rocks, the one floating on the back wall is very unique. Be careful of those blue star polyps guys- the ones in the pic of your cypastrea- they'll take over.
What LED retrofit will you be getting and what bulbs?
Click to expand...

They are in a few spots in my tank but they seem to be on the "bottom of the food chain", so to speak, as corals go. The Cyphastrea has obliterated any of them that remained in it's path as it grew out. I have some elsewhere in the tank but have otherwise been careful to keep large swaths of real estate clear of rapidly entrusting softies. I had to trade back my Xenia already.

For my retro I went with RapidLED in Oakland and got a custom version of their 20 LED nano retro kit. I looked at various prices (kits and individual components) for weeks and that was the best deal by a good amount- plus Mike has some of the best customer service I've seen. Cree emitters, 10 RB and 10 CW. No optics. I have both channels on dimmable drivers and will be able to dial in whatever mix I want. I know there are complaints about LED lighting but they seem like the best option for me. That project will have its own write up soon.
 
Just finished mounting my heatsink and LEDs into the stock hood. Estimate I'll be done this weekend barring some unforeseen difficulties but after months of research and planning, I'm hoping it goes without a hitch. Build thread should get posted up before the swap if I have time.
 
LED retrofit complete! It's up and running and looks amazing. Currently dialed down to about 40-50% emission for the sake of acclimation.
 
So I fixed the original list of pictures for the new format. In doing so I felt a lot of nostalgia for my old corals, most of which are gone due to the heater mishap.

Tank is currently in its first 24 hours of the 72 hour dark period to deal with some cyano. We'll see how it does. I'll do a big water change after the 3 days are up and then take some pictures. Have a nice new Trachy that is dying for a closeup shot.
 
GSP looks great. I hope it stays that way.
I tried something similar, but even with pruning, it eventually turned into a giant mass.
I still like mine though.

My guess is that the zoas are fighting each other a bit, and the ones not doing well are losing.

I like that encrusting Cyphastrea. May have to get some.
 
Well - the GSP is still there and it's making a comeback. It was down to an unhealthy looking patch after all of the unpleasantness.

You do have to help it along the branches (it doesn't grow 'down', only 'up'). I just cut off the little feelers that grow out of a dense clump of it and I superglue them to where I want the colony to spread.

The Cyphastrea is gone :( that whole rock was totally covered and it was beautiful, but then the colony started dying. I cut it up and sold/traded the parts that were still healthy. There was still a large hunk attached to the two magnets, and I am trying to turn that remainder into a mini zoa garden up on the wall. I'll get a FTS soon.
 
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