Reefmack's RSM 130

[Reefmack]

Just a quick update. Did an overdue coralline scraping, cleaned the skimmer thorougly (working like new again!), did my water changes, replaced the carbon in the media rack, made next week's SW, and filled my RO/DI jugs. One 'back saver" that I purchased months ago is a battery powered transfer pump:



Inexpensive Ebay buy (available other places), but it really comes in handy for transferring water to my SW makeup bucket - it sure beats lifting my 5 gallon jug up, and no splashing compared to pouring the water in. I've also used in for water transfers in hard to reach places, such as filling & emptying a sump, and filling the ATO reservoir in my cabinet. For about $20 it was a tool well worth a minimal cost, and the batteries last a long time. It also pumps at a nice quick rate of flow.

I thought I'd post about it as others might find it useful.

[RaysReef]

I've always liked your tank reefmack. Is your flame angel behaving itself? Not tasting any corals? The damsel is a devil alright...

Did you tire of the coralline algae on the back, i think i still want that look?

[Reefmack]

Hi RaysReef & thanks! Actually I did no scraping of the back today - just the front & sides. The Flame is behaving perfectly. The Raccoon is doing what Raccoons do - eating some of my soft corals. But I think the Majoanos are just about gone now, other than a few short stubs, and most of those have disappeared. Neither of the 2 seems to have taste for SPS, and the Raccoon is pretty selective in what soft corals it likes - Majanos, Palys (not Zoas though), and my Green Nephthea.

[RaysReef]

That's good reefmack. The flame is a showstopper. I had one before but it would nip and nip, every day, my heart sank every time. It got moved to a huge tank so I was quite happy, but there is not a fish like it.

And what's with the damsel? lol. I'm only kidding.

Nice stuff reefmack. Oh look... there's a kitchen roll holder in the last pic lol

[Reefmack]

Hahahah on the kitchen roll holder! I was almost going to mention that, but figured it might confuse my countrymen LOL! It was empty because I used the rest of the roll wiping up my tank messes. I think I go through 2-3 small cloth towels and a dozen paper towels on a "tank day".

I agree that the Flame's are unique - nothing else with that coloration. Even the Raccoon is a pretty flashy fish. The Fiji Damsel is the one & only fish in my little 6G nanocube. I do have a Yellowtail Damsel in the RSM, and it gets along very well with the other fish.

[RaysReef]

"battery powered transfer pump" superb, I'd use that. And anything battery powered sounds safer... Are the batteries in the handle?

[Reefmack]

Yep the batteries are in the handle with a on/off rocker switch on top. It really is convenient for a lot of things,

Took a couple pictures today. After a thorough cleaning of my Euro-Reef skimmer I was going through a mini break in again, and had a microbubble outbreak. They're just about gone now, but still evident in this earlier picture:



One of my acans - my favorite one:



I posted a similar pic not long ago - I tried to crop the two to the same proportions as I wanted to see if there was noticeable growth in the "transplanted" birdsnest frags, relocated from breaking apart a larger piece.

July 18:


Today, August 1:


Surprisingly, now that I can see the pics side by side I do see noticeable growth in only about 2 weeks. They're starting to pink up a little too, now that it's not stuck in the back of the tank, and now getting more of the halide light. Fast growers.

One of my Yumas seems to be moving down and onto the substrate for some reason - taking a slow stroll I guess!



I don't think I've ever posted a pic of the sides of my tank. Here's the right side - this is where all of the detached mushrooms seem to end up. It's also the side that my clowns are always raising eggs on. The green Palys in the back came as a few on a piece of rubble I got a few months ago from my lfs. They've really multipled.



And the left side - the GSP came as hitchhikers on my original live rock, and one of my Florida rics that usually can't be seen in my FTS or other frontal shots is visible in this pic:



I find that I used to take much better pictures, but have lost a lot of my skill since I stopped taking frequent pictures. I'll have to work on that.

[nanoreefing4fun]

Great pics Terry ! Beautiful coral & gourgous fish !

[Reefmack]

Thanks Glenn! These tanks are a neverending progression of changes, some good, some not so good. Between corals fighting each other for space, with some dying off, changing the rockscaping, etc., it can be amazing how the look of so many tanks changes as time goes by.

[Sapphire]

That really is a beautiful acan.....!

Nice pics too -and you're right - it is amazing how much a tank changes over time - I wish I'd taken a whole lot more photos of mine to document the various ways it has looked.

Apat from the growth in the birdsnest frags the ric has grown alot too by thte looks - or is that just fully expanded?

[Reefmack]

I'm not sure if the ric has just expanded more or has grown. That was probably a dumb place to put the ric - in between the 3 birdsnest. I really don't need more coral warfare. I may have to move it if I see problems. I was just trying to fill in bare spots left from the recent, unexplained dieoff of my huge zoa colony on that side. Funny - I used to wish that those hitchhiker zoas hadn't taken over the right side of my rock - now that they're gone I wish my tank looked like it did with them there. I guess some of us are just never satisfied with the way our tanks look. I look at a lot of other RSMs and wish my tank looked as good as those. Never happy LOL!

[nanoreefing4fun]

I love your little ric ! There is just something about them, I think they are so cool !

[Reefmack]

Originally Posted by nanoreefing4fun

I love your little ric ! There is just something about them, I think they are so cool !

The Ricordea floridas are indeed cool! And are really colorful. Do you have any yet? I can't remember without going back to your tank thread.

Sea Life Inc. has nice ones at good prices, as well as reduced rate shipping on rics - they hold up well even without overnight shipping. Most floridas come unattached, but often have a piece of rubble on the bottom that helps glue them somewhere. It's illegal to harvest floridas along with the rock they're on, so a lot of sellers harvest & sell them unattached. That last one I got was from Pacific East Aquaculture, and was on a plug. They have some nice corals too, but the usual overnight shipping charge. Check both places out. Sea Life Inc doesn't have a lot of coral types, but does have some nice rics.

[nanoreefing4fun]

I do have one... lsf sold it to me as a yuma (I didn't know better), found out here he was a florida ricordea they are very pretty !

[Reefmack]

Yep - lots of bright colors too! Yumas are nice too, but they don't typically have the bright colors of the floridas.