REEF OF THE MONTH - May 2023: Ancient Mariner's 100 Gallons of Acropora Splendor!

[nuxx]

Stunning

 

[n00bReefer]

Just ... wow!

 

[tikireefer]

Congrats! Beautiful Tank!

 

[McPuff]

Love it! Was amazed when I saw that the tank slid out! Very cool idea.

Great to see some other people that are into the "old school classics." It's what I like the best in my tank. I'm going for a smaller number of large colonies and really like the way it looks... though I still have quite a few colonies! I like the natural look when they start growing into and through each other. The fish really seem to like it too as they are always perching or hovering in the corals.

 

[djf91]

Gotta love that old school style/aesthetic. Can’t be beat.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

For those who want to see the slide out in action, here's a video:


I also added it into the main article.

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Beautiful tank and the design is amazing. I also love that you do not overly complicate things. Strategy that comes with experience I think

You're exactly right. With this reef I knew the lights were good, the water quality was good, the live rock was proven, the salt was good, and the minimalist additive regimen worked. So when the poop hit the fan, I knew to stay calm. It took the three previous reefs to prove to me that this approach would work!

 

[Khalilkaram]

brilliant setup and collection

 

[T00LFan]

Beautiful Tank!! Curious if you have any hitchhikers that came in while stocking? Bristle worms and such?

 

[parclife]

Just WOW!!!

 

[Aspect]

Wow that temp variation is pretty significant. Surprisngly the system does not seem to care.

 

[acesfull44]

AWESOME tank! Very well done. Cool spin on the slide out for maintenance. Unique!

 

[DHill6]

Wow, very interesting and beautiful! A sliding tank….amazing. Enjoyed the read.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

Beautiful tank! A well deserved honor! I love the slider, what a great idea...

 

[Ancient Mariner]

Beautiful Tank!! Curious if you have any hitchhikers that came in while stocking? Bristle worms and such?

Ohhhh, yes! I never quarantined anything because I have no space. And I started with old live rock and muck from my previous reef knowing they had all the nuisance stuff. So I’ve got them all: Aptasia, bristleworms, Asterina, limpets, micro snails, vermetid , etc. The vermetid tubes are the most annoying because they appear on the corals. But otherwise there are no negative effects. They all are still present but thankfully the nuisance populations seems to be at a standstill, even Aptasia.

I still have patches of Cyanobacteria and Valonia (bubble algae) but very tiny amounts. I used to do near daily siphoning of cyano and harvesting of Valonia but now even they are at minimal levels.

I’m guessing that a highly stocked mature reef has extreme competition for some factor or factors between corals,algae,and nuisance invertebrates that the nuisance stuff eventually becomes controlled (not necessarily eliminated). It might be competition for substrate, light, flow, some biological factor, some chemical factor, or some nutrient.

 

[FrugalReefer]

Metal halides for the win!!!

 

[Aquakingdom]

Wow beautiful tank. Brilliant with the slide pullout.

 

[MickeyCT]

Wow. Tank is spectacular. Love the slides. Wish I had a closed to use as an equipment room.

How do you manage to only clean your skimmer once every few months? Or is that the skimmer body and the cup and neck are cleaned daily or weekly?

 

[Reef Altitude]

Love the reef! So many huge acro colonies. Really like the tort.

Congrats on the write up!

 

[shakacuz]

beautiful display! love how it comes out of the wall