REHEM's 120 Tank Thread...

[REHEM]

I know that I have posted pictures all over the place, but I wanted to start an official tank thread. I will not aggravate you with the redundancy of past pics, so I will start this new thread off with a few recently purchased goodies, of course from AQUARIUMS in Edmond!

They are:

Toadstool Corals
Yellow Polyps
and a medium sized Mushroom cap for four bucks!


Toadies!




TAG!


Yellow Polyps




Mushroom Cap




With *FLASH*

I brought them all home yesterday, and I think that they like the place. I can't wait to watch them grow! See ya!

[OUBrook]

Lookin good! You have quite an assortment of pretty fish

[REHEM]

Thanks! I think that I have a name for almost every one of them! I just named the Chromis "The Disciples" since there's twelve of them.

[OUBrook]

Lol, we name our fishies too. But if one goes carpet surfing, it makes it sting a little more... We just lost Bart the Toad Fish

[cmc0814]

I hope you never have one of them betray you....!! Then you'd have 11 disciples....

[REHEM]

Originally posted by cmc0814
I hope you never have one of them betray you....!! Then you'd have 11 disciples....

Now that you mention it, there is one out of the bunch that tends to stay off to himself. I'll watch him a little more closely from now on!

[OUBrook]

Judas!

[Dtking]

Everything looks great!!!

[okcfishlady]

I like this thread already! Lets hear the names of all the other brethren. Also, have you watched the gold polyps feed yet?

[REHEM]

Originally posted by okcfishlady
Also, have you watched the gold polyps feed yet?

Actually, now that you mention it..."No", I have not seen them feed. It's not that they haven't, I just have not paid attention during my last couple of feedings. I thought that they were photosynthetic and just kind of filter feeders? Why do you ask?

As for the rest of the fish's names, there's:

* "Baloo" the Niger Triggerfish (the bear from the Jungle Book)
* "Zap" the little Sailfin Tang
* "Pee Wee" the Diamond Watchman Goby
* "Barney" the Purple Tang
* "Larry, Moe, & Curly" are the Pajama Cardinalfish
* "Tanguy" the Blue Hippo Tang
* "Copper" the Copperbanded Butterflyfish
* "Pledge" the Lemonpeel Angelfish
* "Jeckyll & Hyde" the Percula Clownfish pair
* "Agni" the Fire Shrimp
* "Jacques & Saint Pierre" (2) White Banded Cleaner Shimps
* "Patty" the Peppermint Shrimp
* "Cash & Credit" (2) Emerald Mithrax Crabs
* "Gary & Larry" (2) Tiger Snails (from Spongebob Squarepants)

I think that it is pretty obvious that my 8 year old son helped me name most of these! But I have to admit that I named the snails from the Spongebob cartoon! I love that show!

[mskohl]

lol. I love pledge and barney.

[REHEM]

I came home from work today only to find that the cats had surprised me with my metal halides!



These ballasts are almost as big as my shoe!






I went with the (2)x 400 watt 20,000k Icecap kits. I've done my research, and I personally like a bluer look from my bulbs. I will balance them out with (2) 50/50 Actinics which I will also use for a dawn/dusk effect. I will mount the whole thing about 10 inches above the tank this weekend and post pics of the final set-up later!

Good kitties!

[jeeperrs]

Those cats gave me a good laugh. They look so over excited with the new toys Can you take some pics of the whole tank? I can't remember what the other thread was. Congrats on the new lights!

[happysak]

NICE!!!

[REHEM]

Originally posted by jeeperrs
Can you take some pics of the whole tank? I can't remember what the other thread was. Congrats on the new lights!

I have made a lot of progress on the set-up recently; namely finishing out the cabinet and the matching luggage canopy tops! I don't really know where this idea came from, but I think the canopies turned out pretty cool!

I was also able to get the metal halides mounted yesterday, and HOLY SH*T it's bright! I posted pics with just the 2 VHOs on compared with the metal halides. The difference is incredible!

Now I have the patient act of breaking the new lights in, which drives me crazy! I know that sticking to the break-in is a must, but geez the short light cycles drive me nuts!

The whole set-up:



The 30 gal. canopy top. I tried to make them look like old trunks!



The 120 gal. canopy top.



The new metal halide/VHO set-up.





With VHOs on only.



VHOs & Metal Halides!



30 gal. occupants.



120 gal. pic with new lights!



Well that's about it. I guess I'll go mow the friggin' grass now...See ya!

[REHEM]

Originally posted by happysak
NICE!!!

Thanks Happysak! It's getting there.

[Krbekk]

Those luggage canopy tops are so cool. The whole set up looks great!

[Tek]

What do you feed your tube anenome? Mine is starting to look skinny.

[REHEM]

Originally posted by Tek
What do you feed your tube anenome? Mine is starting to look skinny.

I target feed it using one of those old ketchup/mustard plastic bottles. I usually just thaw out some frozen mysis, brine, or sqid chunks in the bottle and just squirt it gently into its center tentacles. You have to be easy or it will withdraw into its tube from a harsh water burst from the bottle.

I feed it once a day, and it's tube has grown considerably over the past 6 months or so.

[Tek]

I will give that a try. Thanks.

[Dtking]

any new updates?!

[REHEM]

Originally posted by Dtking
any new updates?!

Not really. The new halides put out a lot of heat, so I cut a 5 inch circle out of the right side of my canopy top and mounted a 5 inch fan on the inside which blows air directly across both lamps. This seemed to help a lot!

Other than that, I think that I have finally reached a plateau point where I just need to sit back and enjoy for a while. Next on my list of "equipment wants" is a calcium reactor, but I'm not really in a rush for it. I only have two calcium demanding critters right now, so I think that I will take my time and thoroughly research the reactor.

Speaking of calcium critters though, I did purchase a Giant (gigas) Clam on Tuesday! It's beautiful and it is one of the true gigas clams that can grow up to 3 or 4 ft! Mine is already about the size of a coconut, and it is absolutely stunning! I got it at WET PETS by STEVE in Norman and I am simply captivated by it!

Thanks for asking about updates! It's cool that you have your buddy to Reef with and share in the hobby. All I have are girlfriends that are jealous of the time I put into my tank, so I don't really get to talk shop that often!

[REHEM]

Here's the pics of the Tridacna Gigas Clam. Since I don't really have any tank updates, I posted quite a few (sorry)! This is my first clam and I LOVE this thing! I also posted an update pic on that Yellow Pagoda. It's doing great!

I look forward to seeing some updates from you and happysak soon. See ya!

[okcfishlady]

The clam is huge, and very beautiful! They are fascinating. Has it reacted to the fish as they swim over, or the vibrations made when the TV is on loud? It's amazing how they can sense things.
We've had our two 6 year old Derasa clams in a holding vat for the last couple of days waiting on the tank to be ready for us to move them back into. Yes, I am as inpatient as the rest when it comes to getting a tank going. They squirt water like a fountain every time they sense movement around their vat. (The water isn't very deep over them). They are teling me tho hurry up and get them back into a big home!

[REHEM]

Originally posted by okcfishlady
The clam is huge, and very beautiful! They are fascinating. Has it reacted to the fish as they swim over, or the vibrations made when the TV is on loud? It's amazing how they can sense things.

Yeah, it reacts to the fish or whenever I walk by the tank. I have also found that it likes old Barry White tunes played at a moderate level! (Just kidding of course! )
I have a question about them that I PM'd you, so if you see this first, please let me know what you think...

When you get yours back in the new tank, PLEASE post some pics so that I can see them. I am simply enthralled with these things!