1st SW/Reef Tank: 14g BioCube

[nstiesi]

interesting....the phosban I just bought says it will NOT leech PO4 back into the water. either all GFO is not created equal, or phosban LIES!!!

[djbacon]

Looking great in there - the algae is indeed gone - terrific work. I hope I am as fortunate

[astiesi]

Well, today is this tank's 6 month anniversary! It's been slow going but I'm quite pleased with the success I've had so far. I'm already thinking upgrade but the lack of space in my house is keeping me from taking that step just yet.

Here are some pics 6 months into the project...

First a FTS:


The blue zoa colony that has really taken off:


The very first coral, a hammer coral which now has 3 heads instead of just one...kinda hard to tell when its open:


My first internet coral purchase, a small toadstool frag which isn't far from outgrowing the tank already:


Here is a neon green zoa colony that was just a single polyp not too long ago:


The latest addition:


The original inhabitant:


Other news....I will be traveling out of town 6 days, 5 nights starting tomorrow. I have another reefer coming over Thursday to feed and top off, otherwise I'm just praying nothing bad happens.

Thats all for the update.

[yungreefer2410]

very nice looking

[astiesi]

Well, I lost my first corals this past week. I picked up 3 loose mushrooms from an LFS about 2 weeks ago. I was away from the house for a while so I was unable to put them right in the tank. About 6 hours after purchasing them I started the acclimation process but the corals looked horrible. It seems the temperature got colder than I thought it would in the bag and all 3 died within a week.

So in order to make myself feel better I decided to buy a small rock with 2 Orange Rics on it today. The large ric has 2 mouths and seems to be in the process of splitting. The second one is just a baby, maybe half the size of a dime. I was pretty happy to get this piece for only 19.99. Pics will follow in a day or two.

[astiesi]

Well I forgot to get a good picture of the new orange Rics but I bought a Zoa and Xenia frag off of a fellow RS member. Here are the pics...







The only thing I'm still frusterated by is the Lobophora algae that I just can't seem to get a handle on. Otherwise, I am very pleased with the tank.

[jgking21]

Looking good! I'm upgrading from a 25 Gallon to a 54 Gallon, it's taken me 3 1/2 years to make this upgrade. Work with what you have for now, Reefing is FUN!

[astiesi]

Just ordered two zoa frags, one with about 15 polyps of what look like eagle eyes, the other a single polyp of armageddon zoas. I can't wait for them to get here....will be here Tuesday!!!

[astiesi]

If anybody is following this thread, how long should I wait until I start to get worried about the armageddon zoa polyp? Its been 3 days now and it has yet to open. The eagle eyes opened the very first night and everything else in the tank looks great. Water params are solid.

[yungreefer2410]

what do the zoas look like? do they have white specks or a film over them?

[astiesi]

No film or white specks, polyp looks good, just has yet to open. Tuesday night will be 1 week. I'm still hoping for the best.

[astiesi]

The armageddon polyp finally opened last Monday. I'll update with pics of the new corals after cleaning out the tank tomorrow.

[astiesi]

I'm beginning to feel like I'm talking to myself with this thread but here's another update...

I changed out the PC bulbs today and I was really surprised by the difference. You don't realize how yellow the 10K gets after about 12 months until you drop a new bulb in. After seeing this I'll probably start changing the PCs out every 9 months instead of 12.

And here are some pics:

[nstiesi]

thats one hell of a zoo garden you got going on there!

Lookin good brotha....

[astiesi]

Here's a picture update. I have to start thinning out the Xenia as its beginning to block out the light from the Zoo colony next to it. I'll probably have to start giving it away.