Mr. Reef

UH make that 14 weeks.............

 

 

Well time flys- I figured I should post some pics since hopefully I will be tearing this thing down by the end of August-Time will tell

 

I am glad this is a transition tank because its FULL-DOH!

 

Can you tell I favor SPS-(whistle)

 

I think its easy to tell what pics are under the LED fixture I built and which ones are the 400 watt MH 14K bulb-I like the LED's-14K is looking pretty ugly-IMO

 

sorry pic heavy-(laugh)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man, you have amazing taste in coral. I like the setup a lot! Great coral-scaping, color placement, everything. Very impressive.

-Ricky Soutas Jr.

I'll try to keep this as simple as possible. A couple things I saw that you could change:

1. 83F temperature- Try to get this lower at least to 80F, if not 76-78F. Possible install some cheap smart fans to blow across and out of the canopy if you have one. Keep the lids off your tank. If you have some jumpers (like jaw fishes) get some cheap egg-crate and cut to fit.

2. Feed your fish more often- I personally feed my fish every day, not heavily, but a nice light feeding. Keep in my mind some fish need more than others. However, as long as the fish don't have pitted stomachs you could possibly get away with every other day if you wanted just depends on what fish you have.

3. Make sure the fish you are getting are compatible. That is a huge one.

4. If you've just had quite a few fish die in your tank consider waiting for about a week or two before you add anymore fish. It's really a good idea considering you're using a sock filter system in a 60+20Gallon reef tank.

5. Fix the lighting schedule. Put it on for at least 8 hours straight as long as it doesn't cook your tank. If it does, you might consider finding something with less heat output and is still compatible with your corals as well. Exploring the other options I listed above should help with that.

6. Try other fish shops. Never rely on one single location for fish especially if you're having bad results. Mix it up, find other shops that sell fish and try them out. If you still are having problems after fixing the above five things I would definitely consider trying another place.

7. The mystery problem: Without every single bit of information about your tank their could always be other problems. However, I feel that the above information will give you much better results than you have currently been having.

-Ricky Soutas Jr.

commonly called a Scroll coral. Soutas had one of the nicest ones around years ago.

and I still do, if I may say so myself. (laugh)

It is definitely a type of turbinaria that you have there. It will have polyps that come out of it, given it's in the correct environment. Looks like it will be a bit on the yellow side, 10k light could help accentuate this. They are generally very hardy corals.

Sorry for not responding to any of your posts...I forgot this was even up. I was told they were Yuma's...however I'm probably misinformed and you are probably right that they are giant hairy shrooms...however, there is no blue on them. They are Pink and green...I have a crap camera. It messes with the color. I'll frag one off and take it in to West Side and ask Tim what the heck it is.

 

I'll post back up here in a day or two...I have a couple tanks to move before I can post again.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

 

Matt

Aquarian Saltwater LLC

There's no doubt about it those are hairy mushrooms as stated previously by Perry and others. We've been aquaculturing these for a while along with ricordias and other various mushrooms, so I've come to know these well. I hope someone didn't sell them too you as Yumas.

Because of what appears to be forked tentacles they are probably Rhodactis Sanctithomae. However, they could also be one of the similar below or something I'm forgetting:

Rhodactis Rhodostoma

Rhodactis Indosinensis

I think Tim will know what they are. He's been in our store a few times.

They look like they have a nice vibrant green hue to them!

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

Big Thanks to John manrow for the '09 xmas party, we really packed the room tonight!!. The raffle was awsome with all the donations from sponsors and members (I didnt win(flame)) but I couldnt believe the amount of tickets sold for the club!!. The frag auction was next and a big hit! Thanks to all that donated.. Soutas, Very nice pieces, Seahorse and OX.. is all I heard, all very nice donations for the club

Thanks again!!

Glad to hear someone enjoyed the corals we provided!

We truly meant to stop on by and hangout with you guys, but got stuck working on some projects at the store to try and get caught up not even realizing until it was too late that we already missed a huge chunk of the party. :(

Sounds like you guys had fun, so that's whats really important.

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I was in there tonight, My wife gave me a $300 budget to buy some new coral. I had read some of the reviews of Soutas Saltwater and it sounded like i should go check them out based on what i had read. I Had to drive Past 4 other fish stores to get there but i thought that i would give it a try. I wanted to buy a few small colonies (4-6 in total) none larger than 6 inches or so in total size. The first 3 that i asked about the price on the guy told me they were not for sale, and that he had some smaller frags 1-1.5 inches that he would sell me. I found this to be very disappointing. I have a 150g tank 1 inch pieces would just get lost. I would have been willing to pay good money, cash for the coral (my wife made me take cash so I would not spend more, don't laugh you have all been there!!)..

I guess in short, I am disappointed in the whole experience there. I was hoping to walk out of there with some coral. When instead I just walked out....(scratch) This does not seem very business conducive to me. (nutty)

 

If anyone out there has some colonies they would like to part with for cash, please let me know, send me a pic and price

Thanks

G

Alright guys. Every story has at least two sides to it, and now it's my turn to tell mine:

Gentleman (origional poster) walks in.

Gentleman looks around.

I ask gentleman if he needs any help or has any questions.

Gentleman responds "Not at the moment."

I go back to work for a while.

Gentleman summons me over for questions.

Gentleman asks me if we are selling a medium/large colony of purple rimmed capricornis.

I ask Rick (Dad) the same question.

The answer is not at this time.

I offer the gentleman a large 1.5-2in frag of this coral at a discounted price.

Gentleman doesn't say anything and seems rather agitated already.

Gentleman then brings me over to large colony of Ponope Birdsnest and asks if it is for sale.

I know for a fact that they aren't for sale but I once again offer a large 1in frag (large for this coral) of this coral to him at a discounted price.

At this point of time the gentleman seems infuriated with me for some reason and literally storms out the building saying out loud "Let's go! Obviously they aren't selling anything!!"

Gentleman slams door out of anger.

This is what really truly happened. I was very polite the whole time, and have no clue what I did to offend him. This is all we have to say on this matter. You can draw your own conclusions from it.

We have not been closed during normal business hours for the past four months. I have posted this several times on the forums, and if you wish to call before coming please do so at least one minute after 12:00pm so that I'm present to answer your calls.

Now has never been a better time to get coral frags from us! Most of our corals are around 50-75% off regular price, and you still get nice big frags as usual.

Not only that but we have the cheapest prices and best overall selection *of chemicals, tanks/stands, frozen food, pumps, salt, light bulbs, books, and many other miscellaneous items that are used in the hobby. I can say for a fact that if you haven't come by our store you are definitely missing out on some fantastic deals. If for some reason a competitor has a lower price than us on anything we will do our best to match/beat the price for you.

In short I'd like to state that this thread seems to have turned into yet another bash on Soutas thread while plugging other stores left and right. It also seems that the same people who have already done this in past are now doing this again on this thread. I would like to see a end to this in a pleasent manner. If you have a problem/complaint with the way our store is run you can come back in to the store and take it up with me. I'm willing to let you honestly know what I think as well and we can work together to solve this problem. Making random and obvious posts that are meant to hurt a business or making snide comments on the side while sitting behind a computer is a very immature behavior and one I'd like to see less of on this respectable forum. We support this club generously every year, and even more this year donating over $350.00 in actual coral to the Christmas Party alone. From what John Manrow has said many companies/sponsors aren't even donating anywhere near as much this year, so we tried to help fill the gap.

That's all I've got say folks! Thanks to anyone who has tried to defend our name in this thread.

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

- Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc. -

Your picture of Soutas' display tank did not do it justice. That sucker is gorgeous' date=' I could stand & stare at that all day. Keep up the good work, I'm liking it![/quote']

 

 

 

 

I'll try to take some pictures here soon, It's starting to look a little better now after that horrendous summer heat we had!

 

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

We get some in from time to time. We have a couple of bangaiis left in stock right now though.

The next stop on the PDX reef bus LFS tour: Soutas Saltwater. Chooooo Choooo

 

Soutas is located in a part of SE Portland in which I have never been, 2404 Southeast Gladstone Street. The neighborhood seems like a mix of industry and residential. The building is cleverly placed between residential houses. I felt as though I was going over to my neighbors to check out his kick a@# saltwater tank! Location, gold star. The windowless exterior of Soutas is deceiving. It almost seems as though there may be a mechanic inside, working on Grandma's Volvo, but instead we have a coral enthusiast's wonderland.

 

 

 

 

The first thing you see as you enter Soutas is the large display tank, into which you are forced to gander...it is located right next to the door.

*camera used -- cell phone -- I figured that if I gave you all GREAT pictures to see, then some of the excitement of your first visit may be lost...or, maybe I'm just un-edumacated in the ways of camera technology/know how.*

 

 

Soutas dry goods selection, while slender in proportion, is well thought out. There is no wasted space for birds, reptiles or Cichlids. This is a reef store only and it is outfitted very nicely for the reef enthusiast.

 

The coral selection was impressive to say the least. If you are looking for fish, you may want to try another store, but when it comes to coral, SPS specifically, Ricky has it!

I counted 6 LARGE frag tanks that were stocked fuller than my daughters stocking on Christmas morning.

This place has been in business for a long time and they certainly know how to grow, propagate and sell coral.

 

 

 

The only downside's to Soutas are these: Too far from where I live, but that's more my problem! Limited invert and fish stock. The upsides have a laundry list...don't miss this place!

 

The best thing I saw while at Soutas was this -- Looks good enough to eat!

Thanks for having me Ricky Jr., see you next time.

Thanks for all the compliments and the great review, but you actually caught us at a very bad time. :P

We had to catch up on some projects we were working on and the store definitely wasn't as "Up to date" as it normally is. Water quality and health of the occupants in it always comes first before aesthetic's (I.E. Coraline on front of glass).

We normally have a huge selection of Net/Hand/Tank Raised/Mac Certified fish in stock. A wide range of Tangs, Lionfish, Seahorses, Blennies, Gobies, Damsels, Triggers, Cardinals, Wrasses, Anthias, Dartfish, Angels, and Pipefish are some of the most common fish you should see in. You came in during the end of our last shipment. There's still a few good fish to go round, but we'll be getting some more in here soon.

The invertebrates were on the same level as the fish when you came in. We usually have a good selection of nassarius snails (vibex & distortus), margarita snails, trochus (black foot, white foot, red foot), tiger/zebra turbos, pacific turbos, normal astreas, ninja star astreas, blue leg reef hermits, mexican red leg reef hermits, anemones rose/green, crocea clams, maxima clams, derasa clams, emerald crabs, peppermint shrimp, blood shrimp, cleaner shrimp, banded coral shrimp, large neon blue leg hermits, electric lipped scallops, random starfish and quite a few other interesting critters. What we had in at the time though was mainly nassarius snails (vibex & distortus), margarita snails, tiger/zebra turbos, normal astreas, blue leg reef hermits, mexican red leg reef hermits, anemones rose/green, crocea clams, maxima clam, cleaner shrimp, banded coral shrimp, large neon blue leg hermits, electric lipped scallop, a random starfish.

One of the things we don't like bringing in however are Sea-Hares. We believe that these creatures deaths are easily caused by a lack of food in tanks and the majority of them should be left in the wild. Some people have reported great luck, but the majority of them die. We have kept our dolabella genus in with massive amounts of chaetomorpha algae for quite a while and it has thrived. He takes up the palm of my hand. He's a well fed, slimy, yet cute creature and we're glad to have him, but we suggest putting these into a refugium with algae for maximum life capacity. Taking them out of the refugium and placing them right next to a hair algae clumps can be useful, but putting him back into the refugium is advised after he has navigated away from the area. This is a completely different subject though, so I'll stop rambling on.

We are currently aquaculturing over 135+ corals ranging from SPS, LPS, and Soft Corals. I definitely advise anyone who loves coral as much as we do to come in. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I agree with you guys, Ricky is always helpful and he got a lot of good stuff.

I lost My Acropora Yongei in july for the heat (my fault) so I would need some soon.

Alex

Thanks!

Yeah, your not alone, believe me. I think almost everyone suffered from that a bit. I had about 30 or so people come in that told me they lost everything but the Electric Green Hydnophora they received from us due to their tanks climbing over 85f and going as far as 95f. One thing I will say is that hynophora seems to be quite tolerant as many people experienced the same thing with it during this event.

My slimmer is growin like a weed all post picts soon thanks

Ricky!

I'd definitely like to see them! Acropora Yongei has some serious growth potential, at least that variant does. (laugh)

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I have a frag of your hydno & it got swept by a frogspawn causing damage to the hydno. You are right about it being greener than green & I love the thing so I cut 25 heads off the frogspawn. I need to get back up there & get a few more goodies from ya.

Wow, sounds like that frogspawn was huge! It will think twice before messing with that hydno again that's for sure. :p

I look forward to seeing you!

An oldie but a goody:

 

Now that is some heavy duty Acontia distribution!:eek:

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

Thank you guys for coming in! It was good talking with both of you again.

Glad to hear the corals are doing well!

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

It's absolutely beautiful! :) :)

I knew this would happen one day!

Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I finally got a good picture of my orange tipped clove polyps (well, my wife did actually). These are some of my favorite corals in the tank...the color is just amazing. I have put a few rocks near this so I can get some frags going...

 

We are interested in aquaculturing this species of clove polyp. When do you think you might have some available?

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I am willing to give it another try. See you thursday.

I look forward to helping you my friend!

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I find Soutas is not a good option for me as the last 5 times i have gone during there posted bussiness hours they are CLOSED.

We have been open on time almost every single day for the past two months. The only day we weren't open on time was yesterday and about 14 minutes of today, and that's only because I'm currently sick. Dad isn't however and he can help you out.

We have a refill option at our store and it costs you significantly less. We like to think it is environmentally friendlier too.

You might stop on by today and your get your chemicals refilled. I think you'll find the price is hard to beat.

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

We've got some really nice zoas coming in tomorrow and already have a few that we've been aquaculturing for a long time now. You might want to come on in tomorrow and check out what's available, I think you'll find something you like at a fair price.

See this post for more info:

http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14881

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

My Merulina would give your diplo a run for its money lol. For that matter it would give Ricky's hydno a run for it money too We should play "battle corals" one of these days(naughty)

I bet it would, I don't doubt that at all.

However, I rather aquaculture more of these two Hydnophoras than send frags of them to their death. :p

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I've seen the hydno reach out over 2". I won't have it in my tank unless I need to clear room for something. It is kind of like clear cutting the forest

You've viewed your Hydnophora reaching out over 2 inches. We must not forget that there are many different species of Hydnophora and even more variants that all have different levels of aggression and stinging capabilities. It would be a shame for such a beautiful coral to have its name ruined over a few bad experiences which were probably caused due to improper spacing.

A few other things that will make a difference in whether the Hydnophora will reach out and touch somebody are things like flow, and threat level. Something that the Hydnophora might perceive as a threat will more than likely be toasted on the spot than something that isn't as menacing.

We advise giving corals at least 4-6 inches of space from each other, trimming as necessary or relocating the colony to a more open space if it gets too big. This will also help with shading or what I call purposeful over growth. Corals will literally try to shade out their opponents (Other corals) by trying to grow up and over them causing the coral below them to receive less light and eventually none if the colony doing this branches over it excessively. I've even seen many times where large colonies will throw a branch directly in the direction of a small colony that has started to grow as to wipe it out before it even becomes a threat.

We have to remember that corals aren't simple beings that can be fully understood by one specimen, they are very advanced, very tactical, and in the case of Hydnophora made of many different creatures not just one. The algae Zooxanthellae that lives on them, and all of the polyps (Hydnophores in this case) that form the colony as well could quite frankly be counted as individuals, but they work together so that they all may thrive!

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

Looks like those Palythoas were asking for it. If they try to encroach on a Hydnophora's territory I guarentee certain death for the ones lucky enough to feel the wrath of its Acontia! (nono)

Enough of the dramatics though, because on a serious note if those Palythoas were at least 1 inch away while extended it might not be a problem.

Heck, we have a neon green Hydnophora in our store that we have been aquaculturing forever. Probably the greenest thing you'll ever see in your life. It doesn't seem to hurt a thing until something is right on it. However the darker green one that we have been aquaculturing is a little less forgiving, just by a inch or two though.

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I'll make sure to get you a giant portion of Chaetomorpha if you come on in to our store and get some. Quite frankly I think the portion I'd give would fill your entire refugium back up. (laugh)

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

Anyone notice where their PH is at?

Please raise it to around 8.1-8.4

If you have a dKH test kit and dKH Buffer get around the 9-13dKH area. It should fix the PH problem.

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

Hello! My wife and I just moved to Oregon from Kansas and are finally settling in. We are very involved in the marine hobby and love all it has to offer. It's great to see so many individuals involved in the hobby no matter where you go.(clap) We were active in our local reef keeping community in Kansas and would love to continue that. I know we are excited about meeting new people and checking out what Oregon has to offer. Here is a picture of our previous setup:

 

and here is a link to more pics; http://www.salt-city.org/portal.php?page=102008totm

 

We are going a different route this time and setting up a seahorse tank. I will be posting a build thread in the near future. While I am thinking about it, does anybody around the Eugene area have a used 25g or 20high? I will also post in the WTB section. Thanks, and we look forward to meeting everyone!

 

Nick

Nick,

Welcome to Oregon and PNWMAS!

I think you'll find Oregon to be a rather cozy place. You just missed some oddball weather for this state however (100-107F Summer days). Don't worry though, maybe we'll get a snow storm or two this Winter. (laugh)

If you want some help on the seahorse tank project you might swing on by our store sometime. I think you'll be impressed by the creatures that we take care of.

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-

I still have some nice fairy wrasses in and we get them in quite often. They're generally peaceful and can be kept with many others. It's probably one of the major reasons why I like them so much other than the outstanding coloration's and species you can find. Come stop on by and we'll help you out!

Best regards, Ricky Soutas Jr.

-Soutas Saltwater & Reef Inc.-