Monthly Update

I haven't been able to get any posts out lately, mainly due to a busy schedule. There is not much to report in terms of tank news, the tank continues to do well and thrive even though it is essentially running skimmer less and with little filtration other than live rock and a small fuge. The corals continue to grow and do well. Something major is in the making, but I can't make any promises. What I will say is either a new tank is on the way or a major overhaul is going to happen on the current one. I will talk more about this on another post due to come out later this week.

The reef podcast show Reefcast that I talked about back in January (see this post: http://henryreef55.blogspot.com/2009/01/reefcast-update-test-results.html) is back from several months of no new releases. The new show (episode 31) is now available for download! Click the latest show button on the home page to download it or go to http://reefcast.com/downloads.php. I love this show and have learned so much from it! I think it is a great entertaining and educational podcast (for more of my thoughts on reefcast check out my prior post, liked above). The latest show is 2hrs and 48minutes of reef craziness and a great show! I strongly think you should check this podcast out.

Since this is my first post in august I will re-post the July 2009 FTS to end the month.
I will have a major post disscussing the possible major overhauls and summarizing the journey, successes, failures, and faults of this tank. I will discuss the initial goals this tank was set up for and what I would like to accomplish going forward.

Big Update

The powdered sugar fish that decorated my birthday (July 18th) cake made by my sister.

Wow, this update has been long overdue! If you have been following my Twitter Updates (follow me if you have an account {my user name is henryreef} or read updates on this site or my twitter home page: http://www.twitter.com/henryreef) I have been trying to get a post out but have been delayed on numerous occasions. Here are 2 screenshots to help you out:

The Twitter Feed on my site (outlined in red)

My Twitter Homepage


The tank has been looking great the past several days! I am very happy with the way everything is growing and the general aura of the tank. The only major update is that the tang got into a fight with one of the Damsels and tore up its fin, I am giving it some extra TLC and making sure to feed it often. It should make a full and speedy recovery. Here are some various tank shots:



I performed a 27 gallon (about 50% water change) and the tank looked even better. That is all for now, but I will be releasing some big new posts coming out soon. Here are some of the topics:

• A New Domain Name
• The possible big upgrade
• Camera Upgrade
• Reef Central News
• Water Changes

Update and much, much more!

I apologize for not getting a post out sooner. I have been busy with vacations and other various stresses in my life. Any how, I tested water yesterday and here are the results:

Calcium: 400
kH: 6
Nitrates: 0

This looks fine, but I am still working on getting the kH up. I also am planning on doing a water change later today/tonight of at least 10%.

I already got a post out on the commercial brand Kalk mix versus pickling lime. I just wanted to get a direct ingredient list comparison.

Here are the ingredients in Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime

Here are the ingredients in Kent Kalkawasser Mix.
They both have the same ingredient: Calcium Hydroxide. This makes me feel very happy about substituting Mrs. Wages for Commercial Brands. It will save me money and has no catch.

This is a quick post, I will get another one out later today or tomorrow with general tank news and pictures.

Some Tank Shots....

I am once again leaving for this forth of July weekend and I am racing to get this post out and beat the traffic up! I will try to get something out later this weekend but I don't know. The BTAs and everything looks great upon departure. Here are some pictures of the BTAs and the Tank befroe I leave. I am also behind on my water quality graphs so I will get those out asap. I can hopefuly update at least once via email from a mobile phone, but that means no pictures.

More posts and updaes coming soon!

Back in Town

I got back from my vacation late Sunday night and I haven't been able to get an update out untill now. The reef looked very nice when I got back and I was happy to see that everything was happy. I tested water earlier today and the results were good except kH was a little low. Here they are:

Calcium: 400

kH: 6

Salinity: 1.024

Nitrates: -0-estimate...I didn't test because I have been gone for several days and have added no nutrients.

I also got around to cleaning up my area somewhat here are some shots of what it looks like now.

This week I will try to get everyone filled in on the possible 90 upgrade, I will get some nice tank photos out and also since the end of June is upon us: the June water quality graphs!

Hope you all enjoyed reading the Henryreef blog, check in later for more info.

The Pre-Vacation Week Roundup

I am going out of town for the weekend, so I wanted to leave the tank in the best condition possible. I did a 15g water change and cleaned all the pumps in vinegar. It really made them run better. I try to do this once a month but I have been quite busy. I also tested water here are my results:
Calcium: 365
kH: 10
Salinity: 1.025
Nitrate: 0 (I think it was high before my water change)

I will not be having anyone come to monitor the tank as I will only be gone for one full day. In general tank news the only major item of notice is that the BTAs were looking a little deflated, but that happens sometimes.

I hope you all have a great weekend and check the blog for updates. Hope you enjoyed the henryreef blog, that is all for now.

Major Update

OK first off the weather in Ann Arbor has been super hot! This has raised the temperature in my reef to over 84 (this is my max temp). I know that these days are few and far between, so a chiller is really a waste of money (and alot for that matter). The first way I am attacking this problem is ice. I will freeze 2Ls and put them in a bag and float them in my tank (in most setups the sump is the best place). This works quite well, but is a pain in the rear. I will use this tactic on those few days.

The second thing I am doing to combat the heat is installing a clip on fan to move the hot air between the Metal Halides and the water out. This dramaticaly reduces heat exchange and therefore helps cool tank. This also helps by evaporative cooling. I think I will get another of these soon as one really doesn't cut it.

Secondly a new frag is now for sale. One of those mushrooms that i found in my system when it was first started is now for sale. Here is a picture of the very first one!

Now they are all over my tank and I have to many. They are very hardy and this is going for $20 (quite cheap). The picture is not very good but they are really beautiful.

Click to view all of my frags that I am selling (including this one). This button is always on the sidebar of my site, and you can setup and RSS feed with it to know whenever I add a new frag listing.

Finally in general tank news, the tank is doing very well . Nothing major to report other than this cooling issue. I tried to add the modded maxi-jet (described in earlier post) and it worked very well but fell from its magnetic mount (my fault) and created a sandstorm which was a pain to have to clean up. It took hours to baste the sand off everything.

New additions, coral warfare and a general update

Wow I am really late on getting this out, this happened over a week ago! One of my friends set up a SW fish tank for a science project and then, when he was done gave me the contents. It was a very simple setup with little filtration, live rock, a damsel and a few hermits and snails. But none the less I decided to add the contents to my reef. Among the additions was a beautiful green muscel that I really wanted to survive, but within a day my brittle star killed and consumed it :(. Here are the new additions acclimating with an airstone. Zoom out Pic: After an hour of acclimation I addded the contents to my tank and everything went well. The yellow tail damsels (yes I have 2 of possibly the cheapest scrapiest fish on the planet) seem to get along fine. The live rock was also added to help fill out the other side. The new Damsel (which is now named joe six-pack ;) is a little shorter than my first one and I don't know if thy can breed in captivity but it would be nice to have some fry to feed the corals. Here is a picture of him. Next topic: I am having some trouble with coral wars in my tank. The first one is between my M. spongodes and a mushroom. The mushroom has a more powerful sting and is killing the edge of the spongodes (which is turning white). I have several of these mushrooms in my tank (maybe even too many......any one want a frag??) and don't like to see a fifty buck rare coral getting killed so I think I will kill the mushroom with some kalk paste tonight or when I have the chance.

The second battle I am having is between the birdsnest coral and my mongo

orange cap. The cap. is a much faster grower and is overgrowing and stinging my smaller birdsnest. I have seen large nemocysts at night and think they are also starting to engage in chemical warfare. Thankfuly these are not known for being 'tank nukers'. The solution is much harder to decide though as they are both nice, expensive and beautiful corals. I think I will let things play out, but I may frag one of them if it gets worse.

Some close ups from the secene of the crime!!! Note: white stems are bleached from conflict.

The damage is really evident in this picture

I think I will end this post with a picture of my large mother anemone which now has 2 clones in the tank (talked about earlier this year see anemone split). I will update later this week with some growth shots and an fts. It is exam week for me, so I am very,very busy!

Back from vacation

I had a nice Memorial Day and spent it at the lake. I came back and found the big BTA had moved and I will see where it decides to settle down tomorrow. I did a 5 gallon ( a little under 10%) water change before I left. The params were excellent before I left also (2 days ago)
Calcium: 420
Alkalinity (kH) : 8.5
Salinity: 1.025
I will test and maybe take a picture or two manana, as for now Henryreef blog wishes you a happy Memorial Day.

Weekend update

I was quite busy this week and didn't have time to take any pictures, but I did test water. The results were:
Calcium: 410
kH: 8.5
Nitrate: 0
Salinity: 1.025

I am very pleased with these results. I also went to Pressue (LFS) and got some kalk, a new refugium bulb, and a new test kit. Sadly I got the 18wt and not the 24wt that I wanted, so I need to make another trip and I might pick up some livestock when I go. Overall it has been a succesful week and my tanks is thriving. I think I will take some growth shots to show the growth on my latest frags.

BTA Split Update and More!

First off I want to recap the BTA split. My large BTA split a month ago due to my ato [automatic top off] failing. It split into 3 different anemones. One took residence in the very back of my tank hidden by tons of rocks. I can't get a good look at it but you can see it (sort of) in this picture
This is the only one I don't really know how its doing. Another took up the spot where the orignal used to be.The final one (the largest) crawled all the way under the rocks and took up recidency near the frogspawn.Zoom-out:I think I may sell or trade the smaller splits off, but I will let them get bigger for now.

The Latest FTS:

I tested water yesterday and here are my results:
Nitrate: 0
Salinity: 1.025
Calcium: a little under 400
kH: 6 (???? I think I am going to get a new test kit as this one is old and that doesn't seem right)

I may go to the LFS today, in which case I will post what I get. I also have lots of big news that will be releasing soon. I am updating the Henryreef News Flash to inform you.


That's all for now! Happy reefing

Update

It has been another busy week, so I could not get another post out. The tank has been doing well, the BTA splits have been looking very good, but I still haven't been able to get any pictures :( I ordered some salt last week and it came yesterday. I got Kent Marine salt which was the cheapest (makes 200g @ $55 shipped). Here are some pictures of its arrival.
I did a large 30 gallon water change yesterday and I think there was something wrong with that water. It was either deficient in calcium or alk, because when I tested the Tank water it was
Calcium: 375
kH: 7
Nitrate: 0
This morning some of the corals looked a little off, I think everything should recover though.

Some posts coming soon:

1. Update (with pics) :)
2. My camera upgrade
3. Big news
4. How to mix saltwater
   

Weekend update

I did a big 50%+ water change as it has been really overdue. My BTA was retracted I tested nitrates and they were 10+. I looked back on my logs and it has been over a month since a water change so i decided to do a big one. A day later the tank looked great. I have not had time to test parameters yet, but I will probably test later today and post them later today or (most likely) tomorrow. I have not been able to take a fts (full-tank-shot) in awhile so i did one today :). It is labeled in my logs as January FTS, but It actually is taken in feb. It is kinda blurry so enjoy:
I also decided to label the corals in my middle section. Check it out