Tangboys 40g Breeder Build.

[emnmtony]

Scratch the feeding question, i just read the end of your last post.. lol
when you feed, do you put your hand in the tank and try and get the food close to it on the bottom or just drop and he finds it??

[Tangboy]

I usually hold a pinch at the surface and let the clown come and pick the little pieces out of my fingers, inevitably some food calls down and the YWG grabs it. Usually the shrimp and YWG just sift through sand to find bits of this and that.

I've had the pair for about 6+ months and have had about 2-3 molts from the shrimp so I know hes still growing and the YWG is pretty thick/fat and his coloring is good (although his blue spots don't really show as large as some others I've seen).

My clown is the fattest of them all, shes a big ole pig and when her mate was in there she never let him have food, and would chase him around the tank all day. I finally took him out because he looked pretty thin and deflated. So he's much happier in my 8g nano for right now because the only thing in there to pick on him is a small GSG (Green Stripped Goby or Limed Stripped Goby) which of course doesn't do anything but hang out on the bottom or side of the glass.

Thanks for all the kind words guys, I do believe the tank has progressed a lot since I first started it and I'm not feeling as noobish. If you see/hear anything that looks off please let me know or toss some opinions out there, I take criticism well!

[Tangboy]

Update time I guess, no pictures though since I'm at school.

The overflow I purchased wasn't keeping up with my Mag 3 pump (350gph) and I found that odd since the overflow can handle up to 600 gph. I had to check specs and I found that I believe I have a Mag 7 pump pushing so I was somewhat pleased to hear about that. After a little modification everything is working beautifully.

Yesterday, since it was my 28th birthday (I'm feeling old by the way!) I went to the LFS and picked up some carbon, and 2 Hydor Koralia 3's. Since it was my birthday I got everything 20% and I had some gift certificates to use from Christmas.

Needless to say with an extra 1700 gph turnover from these bad boys my tank is a turbulent mess in a good way. My poor clown isn't used to the flow but seemed to enjoy having fun chasing food around in the cyclone thats my tank.

I have the powerheads on my light timers so that at night the tank calms down a bit and the fish can rest a little in peace without being tossed about.

There is a lot of movement and my corals opened up almost immediately and seemed to enjoy the extra flow. Hopefully it will keep down some of the cyano I was building up due to dead spots since my feeding has been cut back.

I am also in the process of trapping an unided crab... he's eluded me for the last 3 nights but I'll get him! Hes a creamish color but very fuzzy and has very red eyes that doesn't like my flashlight. If I catch him he'll probably end up in my fuge?!

That's all for now, time to grade math papers!

[Tangboy]

Finally grabbed that crab that has been eluding me. He was out in front on a nice flat rock so I quick pinned him to the rock and pried his little butt off that rock. He's now soaking up some salty water in my fuge where he can run around and do what he wants.

Also pulled out quite a few of my hermits and tossed them in my fuge to keep them from picking on my snails and frags. Hermits can be such a pain, good thing I only have a few.

Had to do some work on my Finger Leather :/ There were some hair algae strands wrapped around some of the fingers cutting into the fingers. So I used a disection needle to get under the wrappings and pull them loose. The finger would swell and grow and literally cut into its flesh. So today it's doing great and has lots of polyp extensions and swelled to the largest I've seen

I also moved some of my EvilMel's (zoa named after a local reefer) from my 8g BioCube. They opened up within seconds and were just soaking up the T-5 lights and loved the flow!

Before and after working on the Finger Leather I put in a bag of carbon to help keep toxins down. I only kept it in a few days and moved it over to another tank. Will bring it back over in a month or so for another few days. How often do you guys soak carbon?

Tomorrow, I have the day off, so I will get some FTS after my corals have opened up for the day.

Have a great Presidents Day!

[ChuckG]

I'll bet by now you feel like we have all forsaken you and you are simply talking to yourself.

And no one came up with a BDay thread for you? What's up with that?

- belated

And this is for the BDay overseer (whoever that is)

Your tank looks good. Keep up the good work.

[Tangboy]

Woot a beaten horse on my thread!

Thanks for the kind words Chuck... I'm just trying to build the best tank that I can with what I got suckered into pre-RAG :P

Sand in the fuge is next step, then the wife wants another blenny!

[Tangboy]

Alrighty got some new pics, not the best so don't get your hopes up but here lets try it...

FTS



Finger Leather (notice notches from hair algae strands cutting into flesh, algae has been removed so coral is getting better)



Zoas purchased from Weety!



Some EvilMel's recieved locally from fellow reefer!



Galaxy with polyps extended for food grasping fun!



Pink-tipped Frogspawn



Pink-tipped FS on left, Cabbage Leather in center, and Green Star Polyps bottom right...



FFS (Full Fuge Shot)



Hoped you have enjoyed todays version of "Tangboy wants to be a reefer!"

[ChuckG]

Rip that Caulerpa Mexicana out of that fuge while you still have a fighting chance.

[Tangboy]

Mexicana? Which is that? I have razor caulerpa don't I? If it's in the fuge is it going to take over in my display? I thought it did a good job of denitrification process etc?

[ChuckG]

(the feathery stuff). Look up Caulerpa Taxifolia. It probably won't take over your display but it will take over your fuge. It's roots will cling to everything - hard to erradicate. It does well at nutrient exportation however it also goes asexual and releases the stuff right back into your system. The chaeto will do a good job for you without the hazards.