JapanReef - 450 gallon In-Wall system - Page 2

rberrie · #26 04/26/2006, 09:41 PM

Laurence,
Outstanding thread and index/summary. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us and your support of others.

NexDog · #27 04/29/2006, 09:59 AM

Small update. Last week I came across a ReefCentral member who lives in the next city (30 miles away). He is a Japanese doctor widely respected in the hobby for his knowledge of Angels and Wrasses and goes by the name H.Tanaka here on RC. He told me about a shop over in Miyazaki that gets a good selection of fish and corals so today he kindly agreed to meet me and take me over there. Apparently Friday is the day they get new fish and many new arrivals were already gone. I still saw first hand many fish, corals and inverts that I'd never seen before so was very happy indeed.

I came home with a relative rare golden head sleeper goby that I've never seen in Japan. I have a huge White (6-Spot) Sleeper Goby that does an excellent job of keeping half the sand clean. I'm hoping this new goby will take up residence on the other side and keep that sand white too. I've been thinking about getting another yellow fish and almost got a lemonpeel juv the other day but held out at I already have 3 angels and there are others that I really want. So today I saw 2 Yellow Coris Wrasses - one juv and one adult and took home the juv. I hear they like to eat AEFW's (acro eatrng flatworms) so if I ever have that problem I hope this new addition helps.

I also took home two skunk cleaner shrimps. I used to have two in my 50g but only have one now and it's huge. He only comes out at night and lives under the left island in the PVC rock rack. Lastly I bought a green bubble coral which I've been trying to get for a few months. Upon inspection the white skeleton is slightly damaged and the tips are brown but I'm sure I can nurse it back to health. Similar LPS like the anchor and frogspawn are thriving in my tank so I'm sure this Bubble will do great. The only thing I have no luck on is the Brains. But that's due to the angels nipping at it. They had this wonderful Doughnut Coral (Cynarina deshayesiana) that was 10" across. It would fit perfect on one of my island walls at the front which is too narrow for SPS but I'm worried that the Emp would nip on this too.

Yesterday I did my long-awaited epoxy sessiom and stuck down half the acros that needed it. The right island has 10 of the 11 acros on it and is starting toi take shape. I'm thinking of doing mainly LPS on the left island.

No pics yet of course.

Dr. Tanaka has also written various books and gave me a beautiful hardback edition of his "Angelfishes" book and a copy of his book on Fairy and Flasher Wrasses. Thank you, Hiroyuki!

jnarowe · #28 04/29/2006, 10:08 AM

Wow...a good friend to keep!

melev · #29 04/29/2006, 01:07 PM

That is interesting. I've been reading some posts recently by H.Tanaka somewhere lately. Small world.

Did your skimmer act up after you were done puttying corals in place?

NexDog · #30 04/29/2006, 07:58 PM

Yep, skimmer is still going crazy 48 hours later. I just hooked the drain up the sump and let it do its thing.

melev · #31 04/29/2006, 08:01 PM

It is better to use a little bit at a time, securing a few frags every couple of days to keep your skimmer manageable.

NexDog · #32 04/29/2006, 08:09 PM

I had to use a lot as these pieces are pretty bib with bases of 3" across. I remember I used some before and even a little bit sent the skimmer crazy for 24 hours. So I thought just get it all over and done with in one go. Wonder how long it will be a foam machine.

NexDog · #33 04/29/2006, 08:36 PM

There's a shop here in Japan that I've haven't used before but I've been keeping an eye on their site as they've been starting to get some good stuff. Their corals are large and expensive though which is why I haven't used them yet. My tank now has lots of acropora and LPS so I do need to start branching out. I missed out on a nice purple monti the other day and last night I saw this place had new corals including a fairly large green monti and some nice stags. So I took the plunge and just ordered.

Hopefully be here tomorrow.

melev · #34 04/29/2006, 11:06 PM

That last coral is awesome, but the color is a bit misleading. The sand is ... um... blue-ish/pinkish.

Still a lovely piece and I hope you like it in person. I think I would. It looks like it has purple tips.

NexDog · #35 04/29/2006, 11:13 PM

Apparently that one has already gone but he just put a few more up. My choices are:

I wanted blue but the green has a nicer shape. What you?

jnarowe · #36 04/29/2006, 11:16 PM

take both. easier decision!

The overall color on the green is nice but check those tips. They look a little irregular. Blue one may be in better health.

NexDog · #37 04/29/2006, 11:24 PM

I think those tips are white as the sand is the same colour. And white would equal new growth meaning healthy. I think I'm going to go for that one.....

melev · #38 04/29/2006, 11:30 PM

They both look good. Darn those 'snipers', eh?

NexDog · #39 04/30/2006, 12:28 AM

Darn expensive though.

So it's officially crappy picture time but the good news is that my father-in-law is going to buy a digital camera today so I will be stealing it later tonight.

Remember these were taken with my camera that has good res up to about 3" away from the lens and shutter speed devised by a slug.

New Bubble

Brain (moved onto rocks to help it out)

Zoos

Various shots of the right island

melev · #40 04/30/2006, 04:40 AM

I decided to clean up an image, just to cheer you up.

NexDog · #41 04/30/2006, 05:27 AM

Thanks Marc.

Those first three came out well because I had the phone pressed against the front of the tank and the corals are just 4" away and plus the phone is dead still.

So my father-in-law didn't come back with a camera. I don't know what to do really. I gotta have a camera but at the moment I need to be spending money on other stuff for the tank. I can spare $300-$400 for a camera but not the $1000 plus for a RebelXT with macro lenses and tripod etc. I'm just scared I'll buy a camera that I can't understand how to use and if it's Japanese it will need to be not a P&S but a P&SWNI (Point and Shoot with No Instructions).

Marc, I remember you saying that you saw your camera on eBay for $200 or something but not sure how that works with FedEx International etc. I've never used eBay....

melev · #42 04/30/2006, 05:41 AM

I don't know either. I mean, I've used ebay before, but not shipped halfway around the world. Here's one I found for you:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7613708562

and

http://www.pricescan.com/digiphoto/items/item133769.asp

gregmoeck · #43 04/30/2006, 06:31 AM

dont buy one off ebay, go down to electric city and get one, you have the best selection.

Unfortunatly I'm not coming to Japan until Sept otherwise I could bring you one. I have a nice one I dont use anymore. I use a digital slr my wife bought that costs like 1700.00 , unfortunatly I dont know how to use it, she is the camera buff.

NexDog · #44 04/30/2006, 12:12 PM

Well, good news, he ended up getting a camera. I'll take a look and see if I can work it out.

Does anyone know if this juvie regal is Indo or Pacific?

Easy to tell on adults but not so easy on juvies.

NexDog · #45 05/01/2006, 02:15 AM

H.Tanaka believes it to be a Philipine Regal with a dismal survival rate so I'll wait for a Red Sea variety.

So the new stag and new monti arrived. The stag is quite tall and the monti has a nice shape but both browned out considerably in transit.

Neither came with plugs so I'm a bit unsure on how to affix them. I'm thinking about making a mould with epoxy and letting it harden for 24 hours without pressing the corals into them. Then sticking the corals in with supergel and then placing in the tank and fixing down with a bit more epoxy (so the epoxy sticks to epoxy).

Or am I making it more difficult than it needs to be?

vest0830 · #46 05/01/2006, 03:00 AM

this picture looks almost identical to the Kadena Steps which I snorkeled yesterday.

Did you get all of your LR from aqua planning out of Naha?

melev · #47 05/01/2006, 04:25 AM

Just attach them with Super Glue Gel. If you do it in the tank, hold the piece steady for 60 seconds before releasing. If you glue it out of the tank, dry off the rock and the base of the coral, apply the gel and hold it steady for 30 seconds or more. Add more gel where you see the need to make a good solid connection, dip it in a bowl of tank water, then put it back in the tank.

NexDog · #48 05/01/2006, 05:39 AM

Marc, I'll give it a go tonight - thanks.

vest0830, yep, all the LR came from there and they threw in that huge T. Squamosa and a small crocea plus a finger leather. Awesome company.

I drip acclimatised the new additions for 90 mins or and gave them a good dip in Reef Dip and put them in. I found a nice place for the monti and it sits there with no need for attaching. The stag I'll fix in tonight at the back.

Lastly here is a pic of the Dendronepthya I got a while back. I have it under an overhang and at some point I'm going to try and affix it upside down under the overhang.

NexDog · #49 05/01/2006, 05:51 AM

Marc, where are those damn ankle weights?!

Hiroyuki (H.Tanaka) emailed me earlier to tell me that he had found me some beautiful Regal Angels. He showed me the site and it's Christmas again! They had some simply beautiful fish and corals so out came the card.

I got this large mettalic green bubble (6"):

Some beautiful pink acropora:

And an awesome pink montipora cap:

Lastly, here is a pic of the Regal. It's a 4" young adult that has been in the store for two weeks. I was assured the fish is eating well and the store comes highly recommended so I have no reason to doubt their word.

My family is officially on bread and water starting tomorrow.

stephen76 · #50 05/01/2006, 06:09 AM

Unfortuneatly those photos have been photoshopped of the corals and i only hope you are happy with what you are purchasing . The photo of the two corals you recieved look totally brown in your hand but a vibrant blue in the shops photo.The pink acro looks extremely pink and the areas surrounding the coral is also pink which is a good indication that the colour has been adjusted.
Im sure with time they will come regain some colour and congratulations on an awesome tank