James's RSM 130

[jroberts51411]

This is zoanthid frag I got from my LFS several weeks ago. It has several clove polyps in the mix that I plan on removing from that frag in order to prevent a colony of zoa's with random clove polyps throughout. I actually got a clove polyp frag from my LFS shortly after getting the zoas, so I will have a colony of those eventually too.

 

[jroberts51411]

I also noticed a new mushroom growing in the back corner of the tank. There used to be a mushroom in that exact same place. It had been there for a long time, and one day I noticed that it was gone. However, it left behind a tiny portion of its foot. I decided I wouldn't scrape it off the glass in order to see if anything happened. Low and behold, this week I noticed this mushroom (might even be two because I can see two mouth-like structures) pop up, apparently from the remnant of the previous mushroom. It has grown this big in a matter of a week and a few days. It's good to know that my system is stable enough to grow coral fairly well.

 

[jroberts51411]

I usually clean the glass more frequently than I did this last week. I did it on purpose so the new snails would have plenty of space on which they could graze. I also have some red-brown algae on the sand from my new sand (20 pounds on top of my existing 20 pounds) and new rock (5 pounds on top of my existing ~25 pounds). Apparently that happens when new sand and rock is added. Let me know if that is wrong, but that is what my research has told me. The yellow goby snuck his head into the previous picture too.

 

[jroberts51411]

I have another question for you guys too. Are the white spots on the back glass around the new mushrooms going to be coralline algae?

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Beautiful zoas !

white spots could be start of coraline algae or snail eggs

 

[jroberts51411]

I took a couple pictures during my "feed the fish" study break. First picture is my skunk cleaner shrimp. Second picture is my tiger pistol shrimp and his yellow goby pal.

 

[jroberts51411]

I am making a sub-album on photobucket with all my aquarium pictures for the sake of sharing them with friends and family. I will post them all here as I take them. In case anybody just wanted to browse them all at the same time, the link is http://photobucket.com/jamesrsm130aquarium. The password is fishyguest.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

great pics - pretty shrimp & goby

 

[Kevz71]

I like the two together it's so cool to see nice zoos and the fine sand I've alway liked better then crushed coral. I've read up on the study of the shrimp/ fish pairing they share the same hole and the goby lets the shrimp know where danger is near due to the shrimp being nearly blind .

 

[jroberts51411]

Took a couple pictures during my study break just before the lights went off for the night. First picture is obviously a RBTA and yellow-stripe maroon clown, but there is also a porcelain anemone crab in the picture too. Second picture is just a full tank shot. New snails are doing a great job so far.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

pretty new & clown ! and little porcelain

 

[jroberts51411]

Took these pictures while on a break from studying. First picture is a Nassarius snail. Other than the first day I put him in (last Friday), this is the first time I have seen any of them. They are all really small. I saw four of them today. The second picture is a new hermit that came from reefcleaners.org. I don't know if they meant to send me some hermits, but from what I can tell, I have two blue legs and one that I am not sure of the type.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Fantastic pics

 

[jroberts51411]

Took a picture of my anemone crab today. I thought he looked a lot nicer. Guess he molted overnight. You can see one of his former claws in the lower left side of the picture.

 

[jroberts51411]

Ordering new lights tomorrow. Should be here early next week.

Leigh - I am going to try these bulbs from ReefGeeks

Qty Item # Description Manufacturer Color Our Price Line Total
1 UVL1011 65W 75-25 14000K Aquablue Powercompact (Straight Pin) UV Lighting $23.36 $23.36
1 UVL1035 65W 2-in-1 (Super Actinic/75-25) Powercompact (Straight Pin) UV Lighting $23.36 $23.36
Subtotal: $46.72
Sales Tax: $0.00
Ground Shipping: $7.95
TOTAL $54.67

ReefGeek > Lighting > Power Compact Fluorescent > Bulbs

Lurkerz is running them...this thread... is where Lurkerz talks about them...
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...unze-9002-anything-else-i-should-upgrade.html

 

[jroberts51411]

Also took a FTS after water change tonight.

 

[jroberts51411]

Just ordered my lights:

65W PC-R 75-25 Aquablue 14000K Powercompact - Straight Pin UVL1011 1 $18.95
65W PC-R 2-in-1 14000K & Super Actinic Powercompact - Straight Pin UVL1035 1 $18.95
Subtotal $37.90
Shipping & Handling $8.95
Grand Total $46.85

Be here in a week or so. I will take a before and after picture when I get them.

 

[jroberts51411]

Just got my lights in the mail. Will be installing them later today after my clinical skills practicum. It figures I would be assigned the latest practicum time on the day my new lights arrive. I will post pictures later.

 

[jroberts51411]

Before the new lights:

New lights installed:

 

[jroberts51411]

Here are a couple more pictures taken with the new lights. There is definitely a difference. The colors stand out more in the tank. There is also a noticeable purple tint. It will take awhile to get used to but I think they will be really nice when all is said and done.

The picture below is off a small star polyp colony I got several weeks ago. It looks much better now than it did then.