JapanReef - 450 gallon In-Wall system

[NexDog]

I tried that with an MJ 1200 and it didn't works too well. But I think I just had too much detritus and the filter sock got clogged too quickly.....

Hey, how much would those corals be in the US? I paid around $75 per colony on average. But I'm going to frag most of them immediately and put in the grow-out so I can place in the display later in the year and save cash. At $75 a pop - my God, think how much it would cost to fill my tank!

[melev]

Yes, that does sound kind of high. I shop around, and while I do see corals selling for $69 to $89 each, I look for stuff that costs $40 to $45.

If you frag them, and yet want to keep them in the display tank, then break them in two and put each piece in different locations. That way if you lose one for any reason, you've got the other half still growing happily in your tank.

[SERVO]

Too bad you didn't live a little closer and we could give you frags! But on the bright side.....You can go to Okinawa easier than I can!

[SERVO]

Do you guys have St. Patricks Day? LOL

[newtophish]

Nexdog, Just spent a couple of hours reading the entire thread. Great job, everything looks fantastic. The prior planning seems to have paid off. Can not wait to follow along with you on the rest of your trip.

[melev]

newtophish,

[welcome]

Where are you located in Texas?

[newtophish]

Marc, I am located in Gunter.

[Bax]

Nice lookin corals NexDog

[Pewe]

Hola,

Nice new Corals!!!

Yes, that does sound kind of high. I shop around, and while I do see corals selling for $69 to $89 each, I look for stuff that costs $40 to $45.

High?, ufff we here in Mexico paid around $100, we spend "mucho" more here

[agarza]

Originally posted by Pewe

High?, ufff we here in Mexico paid around $100, we spend "mucho" more here

And then some more, but I'm not complaining I love this hobby and every cent used on the tank is well worth it.

Cheers

[alien9168]

agaraza- thats the spirit

If i had that mentality, it would make my life way easier every time i droped some cash at the lfs lol

way to go man!

-alien

[jumboshrimp18]

NexDog: glad it's all coming together. Very nice corals.
I would opt to have more openings, caves and passages in the rockwork. I just think you would find it more interesting in several years when everything grows out.

[jeffb3t]

Nexdog, I went to PPM Today and all they have is coral. No fish there so your best bet is to order from Aquaplanning if you order from Okinawa. Have you found any place that has chaeto? I would like to get some for my fuge.

[NexDog]

I ordered some fish and coral yesterday from Natural in Tokyo and the box arrived at 2pm. All fish survived and the corals are stunning. I'm going to prepare a big update to this thread after the sumo musubinoichiban in a few minutes.

As for macro, I don't think you can get Chaeto in Japan. I use Grape Caulerpa which I ordered from a shop in Okinawa actually. It's called "Umi Budo" (Sea Grapes) and you should be able to find it easily in some speciality food place as it's considered somewhat of a delicacy I think.

[NexDog]

So....BIG day for me....and all done on a hangover after a 10 hour bender last night.

As I mentioned before, I ordered those corals and 7 fish (6 female lyretail anthias and a PBT). After 24 hours in transit in your standard LFS fish bag, all arrived alive and very healthy. I was expecting bigger bags or something and I would never have believed that a fish could survive 24 hours in a standard bag half-full of water. One small downer was that the red monti cap was sold out from under me so they sent me a smaller acro for free to make up for it. I love this shop!

THE BOX



THE BAGS



THE LYRETAILS



THE LYRETAILS AND PBT in QT

[NexDog]

THE CORALS











THE FREE ACRO



THE DIP

[NexDog]

THE PLACEMENT

[NexDog]

THE OUTCOME

[NexDog]

THE TANK

[NexDog]

I'm hoping to get 6 or 7 per month so by the end of the year it should be looking pretty. You can't even see the new corals in the full tank tank but the green SPS are really bright. The two larger purple colonies browned up a bit in transit but I'm sure they'll colour up quick under the 400w 14k bulbs.

Lastly, can someone attempt any IDs? Vague as acropora or millipora is fine by me because I have no clue.

[Aussiestar]

can i come for a holiday to visit, your tank is amazing. Xant wait till i have something like that one day

[steve68]

looking great.
i hope that as ur tank matures the anemones dont start to move, mine did & i lost some nice acros in one day, after that i learn my lesson no anemones in a SPS tant,
good luck.

[akirasan]

Dang Laurence, your tank is looking better and better with each update! Just to let you know, your tank has been a great source of inspiration and ideas for my own upgrade due in a couple of months. I look forward to reading your thread on RC each time I log on. Keep those updates frequent!

As for IDs, I might be wrong, but I'll give it a shot.
From the picture after your PBT and lyretail QT:
#1 - A. Formosa
#3,4 - Valida?
#5 A. Gemmifera

[NexDog]

Steve - yea, aware of the risk but my anenome never moves. It just split which worries me but the two halves are staying right next to each other for now......

akirasan - thanks. Should have an update like this once a month if finances hold together anyway. I'm thinking about getting some softies from a place in Okinawa but will run that past some RC'ers first. I would like to get some more eye candy to put in the sand (Maze, Anchor, Torch, Hammer, Bubble) but haven't seen any available in the usual places for a while. Thanks for the IDs. I might also post in the SPS forum to get confirmation.

The green SPS really pop out under the PCs. Unfortunately my digital camera is so poor it just doesn't do them justice but I tried.

[Bax]

Real nice NexDog ... Looks gtreat!