albertareef

Haha! Too funny... just like our cats - they spend their entire lives trying to train their humans!

Nice! I have always liked these and have kept them before in my mixed reef. The initial challenge was getting them to open at a regular time for feeding but they eventually seemed to get in sync. Did you get any tricks from Jeff or others on how best to entice them out? I am guessing these are going in with Fred and Ginger so they should get exposed to a fairly regular feeding schedule. Enjoy!

This is too funny... don't make me reference the bylaws twice in ione day people!

Bet he would even be willing to vacuum up afterwards ?

Congrats Nanoreefer! Sweet pic and zoanthids!

Whoa... that is pretty slick. I will say, however, that I notice at least a couple of SPS in there! You will need to mount a video camera over the tank and project the image to your big screen 24/7 to get the full effect. Well, that or tilt the tank per Cherany's suggestion

Looks like things are settling in nicely! Glad to hear things are off to such a good start. Did you ever figure out your salinity monitoring issue?

Haha - get used to it! Not the shocking part (although there is some of that) but the staying up late and not sleeping part as that comes with the whole reefing package!

Interesting question Bill. Seems like most vendors are speccing submersible pumps to provide the flexibility for in-sump placement but it isn't clear that any of them are modified with better seals for those of us that use them externally. Will be curious to see what other people's experiences are with this. I have been lucky in that the two different ones I have used (both Reef Octopus models, CR-100 and CR-140) have held up fine (knocks on wood).

I know you don't have a tank up right now but if you want to check one out in person, Cuttlefish and Coral had another in one of their tanks - at least they did as of a couple weeks ago.

Interesting info. This could definitely lead to a lot of false positives but I can see the logic (from a safety protection standpoint).

In the same boat as everyone else here. If I recall correctly, I think your current 120 went up about the same time as mine last fall and it just now seems to be settling in somewhat. Already went through one fish crash (largely self inflicted), a major leak and equipment failures that all had me questioning my sanity and commitment but I still love the look of the tank and being able to spend time just watching all the various aspects of a captive ecosystem playing out in my dinning room. Give it a bit more time and once things start hitting their stride I am sure you will be thankful you did! I do like Jeremy's suggestion though - the more automation you can achieve the lower the overall stress level seems to be and the more time you can spend focusing on the "cool" aspects of having a large tank. Now getting there... that is another story! Good luck and hang in there!

Oh man... I guess I am slow today. I kept trying to figure out what that was actually supposed to be. Touché Holly!

Nice! Starting to look "lived in" (in a good way). I notice the conch in there, did any of the other inverts make it? I assume you kept the goby/pistol shrimp combo and maybe the harlequin?

Thanks again Nick - much appreciated.

Haha! Just checking to see if you are paying attention! (although it does look nice )

Thanks Stugots! Someone else actually already volunteered so I think I'm covered but will let you know if that doesn't work out for some reason. Thanks Kim! Yes indeed - especially since I have the famous Tierra del Fuego in there right now It is looking pretty sweet and happy so not sure I will let Brian take it

Welcome! Euphyllia are fun because you can get so much motion out of them - which really adds to the interest in a small tank I think. Good luck with your first coral... always an exciting step!

Since I appear to be the first user of the new USB meter, I thought I would post a quick update. This is really simple to use once you get the software downloaded and installed but be aware that the Mac OS requirements are pretty tight. I was able to get it to run on OSX 10.5 no problem but failed on some earlier versions. Other than that, however, just start the app, plug in the sensor which will auto-detect and you are good to go! The sensor has an ample cord attached so you should be able to put your computer/laptop at a safe distance from the tank while working. The sensor holder (stick) has sections that screw together so you can make it long enough for a deep tank and the mounting head tilts so you can get just the right angle for difficult spots. It also has a couple of velcro bands to help keep the cable out of the way when in the tank. Did a series of readings across the length of the tank and at different depths both with full light and blues only (out of curiosity) pretty quickly. Based on the differences between blue only and full spectrum, it seems like the sensor is, indeed, pretty responsive. Hope this might help those trying to decide which way to go.

Thanks for the update. I actually was curious about that as well - guess it was a pretty memorable discussion!

Hi all, I will be away from my tank for the first time since it has been up and could use someone with an experienced eye to look in on it over the weekend of April 22nd and 23rd. Will have someone coming in to feed cats so they should be able to deal with food (will have it measured out) but I would feel better if someone could swing by and make sure there isn't anything going completely haywire or flipped over corals etc. (darn turbo snails!) Unfortunately, I don't have any handy frags to incentivize with but would be more than happy to reciprocate if/when the need arises and also would gladly introduce you to some great beer at the pub next door.. The tank is a 120 gallon mixed reef with refugium, sump, skimmer, CA reactor, ATO and on a controller so pretty automated. I am located in inner NE PDX so let me know if you think you might be willing and able. I really think one visit over the weekend would be fine and make me feel a lot better about being away. Thanks!

Yeah, her comment showed up as I was looking at it going "what am I missing here". Can't slip anything past Holly!

This is awesome! At least you can see them more easily if they are filled with flowers...

Haha! I thought that was pretty creative myself... is there a special prize for morphing the coral back and forth from softie to SPS? Seems pretty impressive to me! Good luck all - I will be interested to see how this turns out!

Crazy nice tank and great deal. Hope it stays in the family (so to speak).