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Unread 02/01/2009, 02:58 PM   #1
noahm
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590 miles through ice and snow. 125 g TBS Tank. (Pic intense)

Ok, a bit misleading. The ice and snow only made up about 20 miles of the trip. I apparently live as far from any major airport as any point in the US (again exaggerating. But, after 6 months of planning, 12 hours of driving and 400 lbs of boxes later, finally rock is in the tank.

The tank is a 125 gal custom acrylic 48"x24"x25" with a diy 45 gal sump w/25 gal approx fuge area. ASM G2 skimmer and an Odyssea multi fixture w/ icecap ballast upgrade. DIY steel stand.

Full tank empty:


I asked for larger rocks, and Richard came through WAY bigtime. This is just part 1. 3 showpiece rocks just covered w/life.

Heres a few shots. Remember, the tank is 4' long.




This third rock is the one on the far left. It is like UNBELIEVABLE.
The pic does it no justice.




More to come.


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Unread 02/01/2009, 03:18 PM   #2
noahm
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Here is some cool stuff. There are every color sponge. Blue, orange, purple. What I have seen so far are:various filter feeders, porcelain crabs, sponges, clams, limpet, snails, deco crab, slipper lobster, cup corals, odd stuff.

Serpent star. This guys about the size of your hand


Slipper lobster. About 1 1/4". Now he's buried in the sand up to his eyes.


Dead center is the tiniest little deco crab. About the size of a large tick.


Jewel box clam. There are about 6 or 7 of these from quarter size up to large egg size. Hard to see until they open.



mixed stuff:








Tiny feather duster dead center


This guy has a bright yellow shell. About egg sized.


Side view of RH rock.



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Unread 02/01/2009, 03:29 PM   #3
noahm
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I will keep posting as I take more pics. The MH def make for a better shot than the actinics. I have noticed a few things so far.

I modded my koralia 4s with the MJ 1600 upgrade (black prop/magnet) and it easily doubled the flow. I have them basically pointing a little upward and it is plenty. I noticed that a few things come out depending on whether it is calm or not, so I have decided to put them on timers so one is on at night, one during the day and about 2 hrs of overlap morn and evening. The variety seems to let stuff settle for the sand critters, then when the two are on at once, kicks up detritus for the filter feeders.

I have at least two mantis shrimp. They'll pose for me until I get ready to take the pic. I have banished at least one gorilla to the sump. I have several porcelain crabs, but seem to be moonlight critters. I am enjoying the mantis so far, so I probably wont set the trap for a day or so.

Other than that, my wife and I are very pleased so far. My eyes hurt from looking for so long. I will try to keep the pics coming. Maybe I should put the doors and ends on the stand as well. I'm sure that will become priority soon.

Thanks again all and especially Richard.

Noah


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Unread 02/01/2009, 03:47 PM   #4
liverock
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whoa!

Hey wait a minute!

That rock was in my tanks yesterday morning.....took a plane ride to Portland Oregon....and then a few hundred mile road trip to your casa.....GOOD JOB...looks awesome...in fact the pic with the star looks EXACTLY like it did when I harvested your rock on Tuesday from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico...the live sand looks perfect...just as it is in the wild! I'll have to add that sand pick to the critters list as everybody wants to know what it looks like....and you got a great pic of it..

Good job on placement so the clams can open....

Now keep the ammonia under 1ppm, and you will be ready for part two next week....and another 590 mile trip.....funny is the same distance to the Keys and back when I go there to collect!

And we need to than Southwest airlines on doing such a good job getting it there....with no leaks....as one of the boxes weighed 106#...not an easy feat getting it in the cart...to the airplane...up the ramp, into the belly of the plane, and then repeating the process again in Portland Oregon!

sea ya
Richard TBS



Last edited by liverock; 02/01/2009 at 04:01 PM.
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Unread 02/01/2009, 07:04 PM   #5
noahm
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106 lbs? good thing no one told me.

Yeah, props to Southwest and a packing job that would survive anything short of a grenade.




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Unread 02/01/2009, 09:34 PM   #6
docklink
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Re: whoa!

Quote:
Originally posted by liverock
...the live sand looks perfect...just as it is in the wild! I'll have to add that sand pick to the critters list as everybody wants to know what it looks like....and you got a great pic of it..
sea ya
Richard TBS
Have to agree. That's the best sand pict I've seen since I first started hanging here. Good shot of the serpent star too.


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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
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Current Tank Info: 50G RR Acrylic / DIY 20 gal sump-fuge, Home brew lights (2-175w 10K MH mogul with 2-54w T5 actinic+, ES5-2, mag 9.5, SCWD, TBS "package", true Perculas, RBTA, assorted zoo's, SPS
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Unread 02/02/2009, 02:03 AM   #7
Wolverine1
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I thought I had it bad with 250 miles to denver--you WIN! Rock looks great and just wait for the life--more is to come and its amazing (I am planning on building a stool at the right height so I can stare into the tank even longer!)

Thanks for the picts and keep them coming.


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Unread 02/03/2009, 02:44 PM   #8
noahm
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Just an update. Ammonia steady at approx .15 for 2 days. Getting a bit of die off on a few sponges, mostly the blue branchy ones. A couple others have a white film (bacterial growth?) covering them, but other stuff is doing better.

I have I believe 4 mantis shrimp. One is brilliant green. I haven't caught any in pics or trap (seem to be ignoring the trap altogether although I have caugh a few snails in it.) although I have fed the green one with tongs.

Anyway, things have cleared up, so I took a few more pics.

My fav in the whole tank is this dime sized purple striped anemone. Dead center, kind of transparent.

Couple of odds and ends.





Enjoy

Noah


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Unread 02/03/2009, 03:55 PM   #9
docklink
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Actually sounds like things are going well. A little die back of the sponges sounds pretty normal at this point. Given good conditions, they'll slowly grow back. You can use a turkey baster to gently blow off some of the film/ detritous.


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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." Carl Sagan
"It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt." Samuel Clemens

Current Tank Info: 50G RR Acrylic / DIY 20 gal sump-fuge, Home brew lights (2-175w 10K MH mogul with 2-54w T5 actinic+, ES5-2, mag 9.5, SCWD, TBS "package", true Perculas, RBTA, assorted zoo's, SPS
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Unread 02/04/2009, 04:38 AM   #10
shadowbearwv
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Those arent rocks they are boulders, hehe. Great start.

As for my veiwing pleasure I've actually move an old computer desk chair out to the from of my tank. I just lean back and sit and sit and sit.

It's so relaxing watching the tank I've fallen asleep staring at the tank.

Have fun and just wait til part two!

SB


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Unread 02/06/2009, 03:07 PM   #11
noahm
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Just an update. Ammonia had gone up to around .3-.4 ppm and has come back down to around .1-.15 so it appears to have spiked and is on its way down. Lots of neat stuff still coming out; anemones etc.
A couple of the sponges had gotten covered with a white film that has since started to peel off revealing good sponge underneath. It must have been a bacterial film attacking damaged tissue, or possibly some protective slime?
Caught one mantis ( the green one) and banished him to the sump. Other than that, all is well. Probably looking toward next weekend for part 2.

Noah


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Unread 04/15/2009, 08:59 PM   #12
mcdonaldtj
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I love TBS rock so much life on it Yous looks amazing keep the Pics up.


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Unread 12/30/2011, 01:02 AM   #13
Johanv
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Any updates????


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Unread 01/06/2012, 05:24 PM   #14
noahm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Johanv View Post
Any updates????
Hah, you necro'd my thread back to life. Sadly (for me), a friend bought everything as I graduate in 6 months and am selling the house for a long distance move. Several corals and a few sponges even are still alive from the original order as well as one mantis that I just made peace with (hard to pull 14" rock out to do a search, lol). Some really cool stuff went on in there. It was pretty full of zoas and rics and a hadful of gorgs and hard corals from the gulf when I sold it, but haven't seen it for a couple months.

I live in the lounge now, so I don't get by here too often. Hi Richard.


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Unread 01/07/2012, 03:45 PM   #15
Jaxom
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Noah, sorry to hear you had to get rid of it, it was a nice setup. Hope to see your replacement once you make your move and get settled in. You should have your friend post some pics of the tank here so we can see how it has matured. Anyway, best of luck with your move and this new chapter in your life.


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Unread 01/07/2012, 08:46 PM   #16
Heavy Hittah
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So the sand came from tbs to? Is it OK for gobies?


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Current Tank Info: 75 gallon tank, DIY Stand, 20long sump, 29g reef, 10g nano
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