In the Vlamingi photo you can see how that gorgonian is beginning to direct it's growth upward. A few arms are budding new arms vertically, while others have just decided to make the turn.

When I secured that gorgonian in the tank, it had a couple of arms that were nearly 2.5 feet long. I was unable to make it stand vertically because those arms broke the surface. So it ended up sort of angled, which has caused the growth direction change I just mentioned.

Ftv
 

Im always so amazed at your tank man... cudos!

More tank egg-citement
 

Yup, sometimes it seems everyday there is something unique going on somewhere in the aquarium. It would seem that last night the sea hare laid eggs.

This egg mass is about 3" in diametre and maybe 3/4" thick. As usual, a picture does this more description than I ever could...
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0337.jpg

That grey and black speckled blob visible below the eggs is Mom (and Dad!?)

Apparently, sea hares are hermaphrodites...but I'm unsure if this means that they can actually fertilize their own eggs. Under a microscope, I can't yet determine if the eggs are dividing yet. We'll look again tomorrow.

It also seems that they do this at the end of their lives, so I'll have to keep a close eye on the health of the sea hare over the next while.

Looking amazing, and I'm proud for this to be my first post on Canreef. Early on you mentioned you were going to program your light rack to raise and lower over a several hour period - is this in place or did you abandon that idea? Also, do you keep your Aquatronica connected to your PC 24/7? Are you using the Ethernet module?

Thanks,
Mike

Welcome to Canreef :)

The aquatronica has the capability to control the light lifting by second and do a daily cycle... but I have yet to pursue that idea. There are a few hurdles to that plan:

1) As the lights lift, they hit the front door hinges about 1/2 way in their travel. (a design error on my part) That's no problem when I'm doing the lifting, but it would limit the automatic lifting to only 1 foot. I've since decided that 1 foot might still be enough to simulate a daily intensity cycle, so that's OK

2) The actuator has "up" and "down" buttons. The AQT can only power things "on" and "off". Making that translation would involve rewiring the actuator controller. I'm not sure I would want to relinquish total control of the lights to the AQT because I raise and lower these things all the time and it is easier to push the buttons that it is to touch the touchscreen (AQT software would require this to be a "right click", which involves more than just a quick touch.

3) Finally, there is the difficulty of the controller getting "lost" and not knowing what level the lights are actually at. If I were to manually move them during the daily cycle, the controller could drive the lights too high or too low and cause unpredictable damage or problems. This is really the most significant hurdle to the idea. There's no feedback in the system to tell the AQT where the lights actually are. A number of optical or pressure switches could be built in, but at that point it is just asking for trouble!

Yes, I do keep the AQT connected via computer 24/7. There is a good thread about this on Reefcentral...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1292495

It seems that the AQT was not properly designed for this, while they never state that you should NOT do this. Suffice to say there are a few things that don't work properly when the AQT is connected to a computer.

No, I do not use the Ethernet module. I use "LogMeIn" to remotely access my system when necessary. Works perfectly and it was free.

Der Iron Chef - Thanks for the welcome!

Untamed - I see what you mean regarding your reluctance to have the controller raise and lower the light rack for you. I considered something similar for my tank, but instead I think I'll have the lights turn on and off at different times so that it gives the illusion of the sun passing over the tank. You could do that with your separate pendants, too, if you're not already.

I read the RC thread that you linked and it does seem that the controller's functions are a bit blunted with the 24/7 connection, although it is clearly serving your purpose quite well.

Regarding our pm discussion, if you really wanted to keep wrasses, you could also consider placing some finer grade sand beneath the aquascape somewhere that the closed loop doesn't blast and which wouldn't be viewable? Just a thought. Anyway, I just checked out your webcam - very cool indeed!

Trigger Trick
 

While defending the Majestic Angel from the Blue Throat Trigger, I discovered that the Triggerfish has an unusual reaction to being touched on his sides.

When you make gentle contact with his sides, he immediately erects his dorsal fin and freezes. Once he does this, it is actually possible to push him around sideways in the water.

Anyway, in this video I catch him up against the wall of the tank and you see the reaction. He's free to swim away whenever he likes, but he stays frozen for quite a while! I've tried to do this by hand, but he doesn't like my hand to get that close and he keeps thinking my fingers are edible.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...h_100E0502.jpg

That's trigger torcher. LOL

Very interesting.

trigger
 

That's neat! Lookin' at the pics there , those fish are HUGE!

It is with a great deal of sadness that I must get rid of both of my Blue Throat Trigger Fish. Their skin is just too abrasive for the acrylic tank. The male, in particular, swims constantly long the aquarium walls and has destroyed the viewing panels. It remains to be seen if I will ever be able to polish them out. (polishing pads are on the way...more on that later)

I love these fish, but I love the entire tank just that bit more.

So...it's figure out a way to remove them. So far, so good. With TomR's sage advice, I built a trap from an old reactor media bottle. Set it in place and caught the male on my very first try! Thanks Tom!!!

He is now a very, very unhappy triggerfish living in my WC sump. He will be transferred to a new home within the week.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0362.jpg

Man thats really too bad you have to give them up :neutral:

Is it actually there skin scratching the acrylic or teeth? I know my puffers teeth would scratch the heck out of an acrylic tank. He seems to constantly swim across the tank with his mouth pressed up against the glass.

Did you find them a good home yet?

Hey I was wondering if you could tell me where you got the beautiful big gorgonians? I have looked all over and have had such a hard time finding any in town like that.

Do you feed them?

I'm sure it is his skin. When you touch him, he feels like chain mail armor. No home yet, but a few options I'm working on. Certainly, it is more about finding a good home than it is about getting good money for them.

I've got three types of gorgonians. The largest ones are called candelabra and I have one single blade gorgonian among the forest of a third type that I'm not sure of the name. All have Zoanthallae, so I don't target feed them . I've noticed that the candelabra does eat cyclopeze whenever I put some of that in there. All came on the Live Rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater.

Great job Brad the trap looks good maybe we should start a home business with these traps.

Tom R

Thanks for the info...I have heard of people having a hard time keeping gorgonians but yours look amazing and seem to have great growth. I think a lot of people end up buying species that require a lot of feeding and they apparently can be tough to feed without really messing up your tank.

I will look into the same kinds you have. Do you know if Tampa Bay Saltwater sells them? Did you have it all shipped to the US side of the boarder?

Thanks again. I really love how natural your tank looks!

TBS does post prices for the gorgonians on their site. It is likely that they grow naturally at the aquaculture dive site. I don't think that they ship to Canada, however. All my stuff was shipped to Seattle and I brought it into Canada myself. (That's an entire discussion covered many pages ago...)

i ahve seen purple gargonians in calgary!!!!!! they had them at riverfront aquariums about 2 weeks ago didnt last long thou

were about 45 a piece for a 8 inch tall and 4 inch wide (at its widest point).

The female Blue Throat has eluded me on every capture technique. I spent last evening trying to fish her out with a hook...but she's too cautious (or not yet hungry enough!)

Meanwhile, the male Blue Throat has been delivered to the Vancouver Aquarium. Here he is in quarantine. In typical Trigger fashion, he refused to be removed from his vase. He even stayed put when the vase was emptied of water and held upsidedown! So...I left the vase with them. They can return it later when he decides the world is not ending.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0380.jpg

Here is the tank he'll be moving to. It is their nearly 11,000 gallon tropical fish display. I'm confident that he'll be much happier there. I'll have to go back and see him 30 days from now.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0375.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0378.jpg

A nice sweet happy ending for them!

That is great ... i've been thinking about doing something similar ... are you still liking the design as is, or would you do something different next time around?

Great looking tank!


Thanks,

marco

That light lifter has worked perfectly and I think it might be the greatest technical achievement of the tank design. The only thing I would do differently is to make it out of aluminum. The wooden 2x2's are a bit flexible and one of the lights hangs slightly lower than the others.

Any luck catching the female bluethroat yet?

That's way cool that the aquarium will take them though. I had sort of figured that you can't approach them with requests to take livestock as it sort of opens up a precedent you'd think they would rather avoid. (eg., "So I have this 6 foot blacktip shark that needs a home..." :eek:) But still, it would be really neat going to the aquarium and seeing your old "friends" like that.

There was a time I was contemplating approaching the aquarium to donate my ritteri as it's quite a large monster, and the cost to keep a tank running that's dedicated to it, keeps me from running a single "really nice" system. On the one hand, I'd hate to give up on it, after so many years it's sort of become my "one true identity" in this hobby ("the guy with the ridiculously large anemone") and it's the one thing I can truly post about with any authority on the subject over at RC .. but on the other hand, I look at tanks like yours and wish I could do something close to it ... but I'm more or less anchored unless I give it away. If the aquarium were interested, that would be a really cool send off knowing that they went to a facility where the public could enjoy seeing such a display.

Anyhow sorry for the off topic rambing. Very nifty, next time I make it to the aquarium I'll be looking for the big pair of bluethroats. :)

That tank is very impressive.....I first saw your tank thread a year ago ......Im glad I got to finish reading it today...and look forward to continued posts on it.....I have my own thoughts of a XL tank one day and automating it ......your thread has helped alot in the process mechanical end of things.....

Thanks

Some fishy photos...because I was practicing in preparation for the photo seminar this weekend.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...000_0090-1.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...000_0091-1.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000E0093.jpg

Am I supposed to have the fish swimming to the left...or to the right?

I think your supposed to mix it up.

From the second pic...it would appear your urchin is getting quite big or very close in the foreground.

Yes, that hatpin urchin is probably 10" in diametre. When I got HIM, he was maybe 2". There are two urchins in the tank. One hitchiked in on the LR. The hitchiker urchin is smaller, with generally shorter spines. That one has grown from <1" to about 3". Both eat coraline.

There is a display of Bengaii Cardinal Fish with Hatpin urchins at the Vancouver Aquarium. The young Cardinals are supposed to hide in the urchin spines, but I saw no evidence of that in the display. None of their urchins were as large as mine, and they are clearly the same species.

well obviously they are getting their fill of coraline.....

Big day today. Spent nearly 3 hours replacing all my bulbs. I've got to Geisemann 13000K. A job that should take 5 minutes takes 3 hours in part because of the foolish design of the Aquamedic light fixtures. Changing the halides and flourescents requires removal of 20 screws on each fixture.

Is it Aquamedic's fault?...or my fault?...or just the way it is?.... I cannot get a 250W MH DE bulb to go into the fixture!!!! It might take me 30 minutes or more of fighting with the bulb to finally get it to click into place. I break the ceramic tab on the bulb about 50% of the time.

Very frustrating job and I'm glad I don't intend to do it more than 1x per year. So far, I'm happy with the look the new bulbs are providing.

HI brad

My Geisemann fixture requires just one screw and then you slide out the 3 glass panels clean them and while they dry change out the lights. Total time maybe 15 minutes for 3 lights.

You should have had some off us help you after the camera clinic.

Tom R

Yes, changing the bulbs on an Aquamedic fixture is intense. Did you access all the bulbs from one end? You should only have to remove the far side panel, then slide the lenses down one end. Same with the fluorescents. It is very easy to damage the sockets when you are putting the bulbs back. We use a tiny slotted screwdriver to spread open the socket while inserting the bulb. Makes installation a lot easier. Obviously this is with the power off!:biggrin:
Depending on the age o your fixture, some of the sockets have been known to arc with the failure of the retaining clip in the socket. If you think the bulb change is painful, wait until you need to replace a socket!

Big Al's BC

Brad I know what you feel like I had a awesome pair of Aqua medic pendants, once. until i had to change the bulbs and ended up breaking a 100 dollar bulb and ended up arcing the socket , got mad at the fixture and ended up selling them really cheap just to get rid of them. they were fan cooled ballasts and electronic ballasts too. oh well that is why i will never go back to HQI ever again i will stay with the Moguls i like them for changing alot bettre and i dont break the bulbs. I wish that the 250 w were like the 150 w alot easier to change too.


oh well

Thanks for confirming that it isn't just me. I'm lucky so far that I haven't broken a bulb. I do use a slot screwdriver to try to spread the contacts just before I put the bulb in. Life time of these fixtures is probably 4 or 5 years...by then, I'm sure I'll be moving to LEDs.

deadly tank
 

unbelievable tank probably the best i've ever seen outside an aquarium park how much are you in for if you don't mind me asking? does the wife approve?

Brad-

I (finally) finished your tank thread. All I can say is "WOW". You are an inspiration. One day...

Thanks again for all your help over at RC.

Cheers,

Los

The babies do hide in the spines of the Diadema urchins. They don't do it for very long though, just while they're really small. :)

Here's a group of photos now that the new lights are in. There are some new fish in these shots if you look closely.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0403.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0406.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0405.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0404.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0402.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/000_0401.jpg