Hahahahaha fair enough! Had a good laugh as each salt mixes differently... I get it. I was just hoping to save the guess and check. Been using Reef Crystals so long I got my 2 1/2 cups down to a tee.

I will start with that and go from there. At least you said it is good salt or I would have been angry for changing it up. I’m a creature of habit.

Sad day as my female clownfish of 4 years died today :sad: after laying another round of eggs. She left behind my little black onyx clown who is currently looking after the eggs. Today the wife and I picked up another clown in hopes that they will now pair up and continue to host in the ritteri anemone.

Meet snowflake

http://i.imgur.com/RUGZJka.jpg

Took a couple more photos of the tank and tried playing around with my iPhone settings to wash out be heavy blue. Somewhat getting the hang of it I think...let me know what you think :wink:


http://i.imgur.com/8mx5I2A.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RxBABur.jpg

Very nice! Can definitely see all the colours better.

Sorry about your clown. I’m pretty attached to my fish so I know that can be a real bummer. Just last night I dreamed my tank cracked open and I started grabbing containers to put the fish in. I was so relieved to wake up and realize it was just a dream ha ha. The new clown looks really cool though - hope they bond nicely.

Ya it totally sucks. Especially for my “OG” fish as they have been with me for years. Thanks Dash. Fingers crossed for the bonding.

When I introduced the new clown it quickly went into the nem and my other clown was chasing it around. Now the new clown “snowflake” is in the upper portion of the back corner by himself. Hopefully it sorts out and he doesn’t live there :lol:.

Yay for colors in the tank Haha. Omg those are not good dreams to have!! I’m glad your tank is doing well. Looking forward to some new photos :biggrin:.

I took a look at the tank this morning and panicked as I didn’t see the new clown fish. He has been up on the top left corner for days and has been eating with no problems. To my surprise I found the little guy playing in the anemone. My other clown hasn’t kicked him out yet so hopefully in the future they pair up without issue. My current clown is still looking after the remaining eggs


http://i.imgur.com/85NaxrH.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XLC53IO.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EFTQ7qI.jpg

Aww so jealous

All 3 clowns that have been in the tank love the magnificent anemone. I’m glad he’s been in it and hope my black onyx takes interest in the new black snowflake. Fingers crossed.

So my wife surprised me with an early birthday present!!! Some sweet Zoa frags


http://i.imgur.com/OWHzYvR.jpg

Wow - she did good! Beautiful variety of form & colour.

Thanks! I am going to place all of them on ththe right side of my tank where I have a a shelf rock and make it in to a large Zoa combo rock.

Just a quick update...chaeto has been growing great leaving me trim once a week or once every 2 weeks. Here is a couple photos to show the massive trimming (usually half at a time).


http://i.imgur.com/HR5wrAq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/z8VdKOm.jpg

A little coral spot feeding and my little helper letting me know I missed a spot :lol:


http://i.imgur.com/LbRPLkE.jpg

Ha, so nice that someone shares your interest. My cat completely ignores the tank. I’ve even held him up to it

Hahahahaha ya he is obsessed with the tank when I’m down there. My wife also put a cat tree near the tank so he can lay and watch the fish. He is well behaved and has never shown any interest in jumping on top.

Just a quick update... tanks looking great and everything is really starting to grow. Most my acros are growing new tips and some of the new pieces have encrusted the plug. The bad news my wife and I closed on a our dream acreage and will be moving by the end of the month.

Sadly I’m going to have to tear down this system, once again stress out all my fish and probably incur losses. The good thing is after this move the tank should be settled in for years to come and it will finally grow out. One day in stride, looking at a large move which I dedicated an entire day of the move to the 305g.

Wow, congrats! I love that word - acreage:lol:

Good luck on the move. Your fish are gonna be like, what?

Good luck with the move!

The good...the bad... the ugly!
 

Ouch! Well, glad to hear no one got hurt. Moving those massive tanks is a beeotch. So many things can go wrong. On the bright side it looks like your tank has secured its own fish room (garage) in your new house.

Gosh sorry things were a bit bumpy. Hope it’ll work itself out now that you’re settled in. Do you still have plans to bring the tank inside the house?

Is it possible having the mp40 on the Rubbermaid, that the dry side and wet side were too close together? Did you use it with proper spacer to make sure the 2 parts are the right distance apart. Might have caused mp40 to shut down.

You hit it out of the park with that statement... it going to lie but getting it down was an absolute chore. Now working up the stairs was heavier then one could describe. So I initially just chose the garage as a placement because where else do you put a large leaky tank? Focus is to replace that bottom glass on the overflow box (thank the stars, I went with an external). That being said I’m really starting to like that the oversized garage in or new place has a huge offset which the tank doesn’t impede...oh and lots of room to expand to a fish room ahaha. The wife hasn’t complained about it being in the garage either. Little water on the epoxy floor...doesn’t bat an eyelash.ob and there is in floor heating so that should take away from the Alberta winter cold, one would think.


ya it was nerve racking experience. I’m so happy no fish were lost and it was only the overflow box plate. Surprisingly my water parameters didn’t change and all my sps look great (other then majority of the branches broken off my colonies). I’m exploring the idea of taking it downstairs however I’m worried as the whole house has hardwood floors including the stairs. Really worried about damaging them with the big tank going down the stairs. I may explore removing one of the large windows (day window) in the basement. Then just replace with a new window but not sure how expensive that will be.

Bottom of Overflow Removal?
 

Sorry to hear of your tank-moving woes. I'm picking my tank up tomorrow and I've got a sick feeling about it already. As for cutting that pane out I would use the smallest guitar string. use a blade to make a hole or just push it through. Then saw up and down with the string. I cut apart my 400g this way and that had inner eurobraces in the bottom. Would have been nearly impossible without the guitar string!

That’s a pretty good idea! I know they use wire to cut pvc so that would definitely work. My goal is to try and get the bottom panel out without compromising the rest of the overflow box.

I cut apart a 90g with an Olfa L2 and multiple passes until the blade went all the way through.

I thought this may work with a bunch of snapping the blade to keep it sharp. My other worry is cutting the black vinyl while trying to remove this darn piece.

Well I have been looking at my tank and the plumbing over the weeks. It looks like I might be able to cheat a little on the plumbing by ordering a couple new spears unions. I already have unions in place and should be able to add the small amount of plumbing to the existing half of the union. I will have to replace all 3 bulkheads and a couple short runs when the bottom plate is replaced.

I am just waiting for Dave @ Concept to make up the replacement overflow plate. For anyone on the fence with Concept, I would like to assure you I have received great customer service even after the tank was completed...just saying.

On that note it’s been almost 4 weeks since I moved the tank. I lost a total of 3 Coral Frags, no fish and the parameters have been spot on. The only hands on I have been doing is ensuring my salinity hasn’t dropped to much from the crack in the external overflow. Other then that it’s business as usual. I’m a little annoyed as I found a couple aptasia that I need to get rid of. In my first tank I used to use lemon juice and give them a squirt. I hadn’t had to deal with them for a long time. Is there any new effective methods for removing them? I plan on buying 10 peppermint shrimp to toss into the display. Let me know reefers what works for you in the meantime!

Looking good sir!

I’ll have to start the 150 build journal now lol

Thanks Ed. Yes you will have to document all your progress! Looking forward to following it.

Couple frags received from Jess! I definitely have to give a shoutout as the frags were gorgeous. My photo skills do no justice for these pieces, they are all encrusting nicely. Unfortunately my MP40’s program went astray and the flow changed causing my anemone to walk over my Marshall island :sad:. Here are a couple photos (don’t mind the aptasia outbreak).


http://i.imgur.com/Lbqzg4u.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ilYaFLB.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/itwof2i.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/isTv1Zg.jpg

So I came across a person shutting down there large tank and re-homing some fish. A Copperband Butterfly was needing a home and I couldn’t resist! Snagged him, he is known as “Spot” and was in the system prior to my purchase for 2 years. I have always loved the look of the CBB however was always worried about taking the plunge with a fish that struggles in captivity. I have seen that many people have CBB in their beautiful reefs and I’m hoping for the best with this guy. I have accepted that my Hawaiian feather duster will be eaten as part of the decision to purchase the CBB. Hopefully he’s a model citizen and enjoys my reef.

As always, here are a couple photos.

D


http://i.imgur.com/j6QhQOA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qu5UwSP.jpg

That's awesome. Copper bands are definitely one of my faves.

Ah he’s beautiful! I’ve gone back & forth about getting one of these guys but couldn’t decide for one reason or another. Hope he does well in your tank!

CB
 

I have 1 and love it to bits. The bonus with mine he loves aptasia so hopefully yours will clean that up ASAP

His name is “spot” and I’m super stoked. His colors are stunning and best of all he is a butterfly fish.

Thanks Dash! Today was a great day as Spot started swimming throughout the tank and blueberry (powder blue) left him alone. His little mouth is comical and he is really social for being in the tank for 1.5 days.

Fingers crossed that he takes care of the aptasia. I leaned toward a CBB to deal with the aptasia but also love the fish in general. I figured it made sense to acquire a gorgeous fish over multiple peppermint shrimp. If he doesn’t eat the aptasia...oh well. Still a great addition.