The 40 Breeder Mixed Reef

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Dempsey941

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Weekly Update #9: Day late and a Dollar Short

FTS

FTSOCT12019.jpg


Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 10
Calc: 420
Mag: 1410
Phos: .55
No3: ~5


Apologizes for missing our weekly update yesterday, but if you have ever been buried alive in paper work you can understand my plight. Suffice it to say that I have finally finished it all and now I can unwind ... wait we have a test tomorrow? Whelp there goes my weekend plans.

The frag tank is up and running and so far everything seems to be okay. I really need to get a new ammonia test kit, this fluval thing my lfs recommended is just not working for me the whole color scheme does not match id card, not to mention the 20 minute development time? pfff I'd rather just grab an api ammonia kit from petco! The main display seems to be just fine this week. The goby and pistol shrimp have had to evacuate their previous hole, due to the largest of my emerald crabs attempts to get in. So they moved literally 2 inches over.

My Finger Leather coral has just not seemed himself this week, perhaps he is shedding again? or maybe someone/thing is bothering him? Also my LA Laker zoas from WWC have been closed up for an extended period of time (To be fair, the hermits and snails have picked those frags clean of any algae that may have been on them, which is an added bonus.

I have no real goals this upcoming week outside of hopefully seeing some progress on the frag tank cycling.

Here are some other pictures of the reef from this week hope you have a good rest of your week, and hopefully I can get back on schedule with these updates.

As always feel free to leave a comment or question and I will hit you back as soon as I can.


GoblinForest.jpg
Frag Zone.jpg
Torches.jpg
 
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Dempsey941

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Weekly Update #10 Not a Whole Lot

FTS:
FTS10082019.JPG




Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 10
Calc: 420
Mag: 1410
Phos: .55
No3: ~10



I totally did not just snap that FTS just as I was about to write up this weeks commentary. Anyway the week has been good to me and the reef; the corals are flourishing and the fish have really started to become more active! Maybe its the consistency? the past few weeks.

Aptasia and Bubble Algae:
The emerald crabs have really started to push back on my bubble algae which in the ruins exposed my mortal enemy ...aptasia. So i spent the better part of half an hour smothering every single blasted anemone polyp I could see and now I wait to see if they dare to return.


Dosing Changes:
I have gone ahead and increased my daily nopox dosage back to 2.5ml a day due to an uptick in my nitrate the past two weeks and I really gotten into a rhythm with my bionic dosing 5ml in the morning before work, 5ml when I come home. and My alk has stayed at 9.8-10 dkh, so its working for me.

Frag Tank Updates:
No real news here as it is still cycling, but I am totally ready to start shoving some these frags in there to help clear up my sand bed. I have also gone ahead and purchased some large frag disks to attach my zoas to for propagation.

Future additions:
I have been getting the itch to make an addition to the reef this past week, and I am still holding out for LA to put back some long nose hawkfish, but I might wait up until the frag tank is up and running that way I can snag a sixline wrasse for it and maybe I'll get another blenny? I kinda miss my tailspot, but I was think of a starry blenny this time around, but we will see.

I have also taken a peak into the future and see TSA is having a live sale towards the end of November, so you can bet I'm gonna get in on that action.

Here are several shots of the reef this week. Feel free to drop a comment!
side109082019.JPG
reefoct2019.JPG
mushroomsoct2019.JPG
cloves10082019.JPG
lepto10082019.JPG
zoas10082019.JPG
euphy10082019.JPG
favia10082019.JPG
toadstool10082019.JPG
 
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Dempsey941

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Weekly Update #11 Same old Same old

Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 10
Calc: 420
Mag: 1410
Phos: .55
No3: ~2

Not much to discuss this week as the tank is still in autopilot while the new frag tank is still cycling. I can officially say that 99% of my bubble algae is now gone thanks in part to me droping my nitrates and phosphates down and the emerald crabs of course. Now comes the real challenge; removing those crabs should they start to get frisky with my corals.

duncanoctober2019.JPG
spacemonstr1october2019.JPG
ricsoctoober2019.JPG
spshilloctoer2019.JPG
Gobyoctober2019.JPG
zoagard1october2019.JPG
24kleptooctober2019.JPG
euphyoctober2019.JPG
 
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Dempsey941

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Weekly Update #12: Autopilot

Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.025
Ph: ~8
Alk: 10
Calc: 420
Mag: 1410
Phos: .55
No3: ~2


FTS:
FTSOctober222019.jpg


acansoct2019.jpg
zoarock2oct2019.jpg
euphy2october2019.jpg
zoas2october2019.jpg
acans2october2019.jpg
farsideoctober2019.jpg
 

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Dempsey, I cant believe I missed your thread! You have a beautiful 40B! Keep an eye on those emerald crabs! I had one in my display until it decided one of my acans would make for a tasty treat. The only reason I realized it was the culprit and not my flame angel is because it was sitting under a ledge next to the victim grooming itself and looking smug. It now lives in my refugium with plenty of chaeto and ulva for it to snack on
 
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Dempsey, I cant believe I missed your thread! You have a beautiful 40B! Keep an eye on those emerald crabs! I had one in my display until it decided one of my acans would make for a tasty treat. The only reason I realized it was the culprit and not my flame angel is because it was sitting under a ledge next to the victim grooming itself and looking smug. It now lives in my refugium with plenty of chaeto and ulva for it to snack on

Yea I am keeping an eye on them! I will probably end up pulling one or both of them and returning them to the lfs since my bubble algae has all but been defeated except for a few that have latched onto my frag plugs on the racks. It should totally be easy since they run like a fat kid to a buffet to the front when I drop pellets or feed reefroids.
 
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Weekly Update #13 I may have over done it.

Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.026
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.2
Calc: 408
Mag: 1395
Phos: .72
No3: <2

FTS:

FTSoctober 282019.jpg


Dosing:
Well folks I may have over done it with the NOPOX, nearly sapped my nitrates right out of the tank. I could barley see any color in my nitrate kit from RedSea. During this time I have also noticed my poor gold torch has declined considerably. I have also decided to reduce my alk/calcium levels from 10dkh to 9.5dkh I feel this number give me the better flexibility, and may be closer to what my levels were when this tank was really growing strong.

Sad Gold Torch:
sad goldtorch october282019.jpg


This once semi-proud statement piece has declined considerably I in all honestly believe I have accidentally starved it by dropping my nitrates down to far. I looking back in previous photos I can see that its decline had steadily been declining since I started the NOPOX dosages. So for the time being I am discontinuing the NoPOX in order to raise my nitrates back into the 5-10ppm range. I have also gone ahead and painstakingly removed it from its place of honor on the top of my rock structure. I do not think I will put it back up there and will instead find a new location to place it. Where? I do not know.

No new additions to report at this time. The 20 long frag tank is currently underway and we are finally getting my nitrite spike and my ammonia has finally dropped to below 1ppm, so we are finally getting this cycle rolling which makes me very excited, because my sand bed is full of frags that really need to go.

Sand Bed:
sandbedoctober 282019.jpg


Some hoe the emerald crabs have figured out away on to my frag racks, which while interesting is also a testament to how large the have become these past few months. With my bubble algae war coming to an end, it may very well be time to pass them off to another who is in need of their assistance.

The livestock has been quite content these many moons, and I am happy to seem them so, I have still been looking into adding another fish to my current load, however I will most likely wait until after I get the frag tank up and running before any new livestock additions are added.

As I right this very comment I captured a rare sight for me, the pistol shrimp made a brief appearance I was lucky to catch it (so pardon the dirty glass).



Anyway back to my main thoughts I am not 100% certain what the future of this frag tank will be, mostly just a place to put more zoa frags for trading/selling purposes.

In the back of my mind some dangerous thoughts have begun to sprout ... upgrade. While I have zero desire at this moment to upgrade my current set up outside of some automation *cough*Apex Dos*cough* it still makes me think what the next tank will lead to? I have been fantasizing about a water box 130 as my main display and converting the 40 breeder into a frag tank and using the 20 long as a proper QT (I do not currently QT, however I fully recommend it and will on the larger tank). These thoughts most likely will not happen for another 3-4 years however and who knows what will happen in between now and then.

Well I feel that is enough chatting for this week here are some extra pictures of the tank of some of my favorite things.
FragRackB October282019.jpg
euphygardenoctober282019.jpg
fragrackAoctober282019.jpg
goblingardenoctober 2019.jpg
torchandoctospawnoct282019.jpg
zoarockoct282019.jpg
 
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Dempsey941

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Tank Update #14 Adding to the Menagerie w/ Frag Tank Update

Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.026
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.7
Calc: 412
Mag: 1395
Phos: .88
No3: 10


Not a lot of photos this week, because 1. Its been a long 2 weeks at work and 2. I have got a huge post in the works surrounding the 40 breeder's 2nd birthday, so stay tuned.

Notable Losses

Well I'm calling it, I think my gold torch has finally bit the dust. I'm afraid there is not much more I can do for it. I may have found the culprit however I myself am mostly to blame. One of the three emerald crabs in the reef was spotted ripping the tentacles(?) from the torch while it was on the sand bed. If it had been picking at the dead sections of the skeleton I would not have cared but it was legitimately ripping off the good sections of the head and eating them! So he had to go, and while I was catching him I also removed the largest of the emerald crabs which was a task in of itself and they were returned to my LFS. There is still one more in the tank, however he does not venture out of the rock work, so for now he will stay.

RIP Gold Torch.jpg


Notable Additions:

Perusing the DiversDen section of LiveAquaria I saw they had a beautiful looking Longnose hawk and a fish that I was very curious about a Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse. I had been considering adding a mini wrasse to the frag tank setup just as a fun and unique fish to go along with my coral frags (and maybe handle some pests, but its would be secondary) so I snatched them both up and requested that Liveaquaria eat up the remainder of my extra credit to cover some portion of the cost. Unfortunately LA on put $11 of the ~$30-$40 I had on file, so once I'm done here Ill give them a call or shoot them an email.

Now when I ordered these two I did not check on the weather for this week (which was my own fault) and had I known it was going to go from 70F to 20F OVERNIGHT! I would have waited until better shipping weather. Once I opened the box and check the cargo I was 95% convinced that the possum wrasse did not make it, The Longnose however was active and darting around the bag so he's got some life to him. I floated them in my frag tank for nearly 2-3 hours and when I checked the possum wrasse bag he was swimming around enjoying himself so he must have just been in shock with the cold. Both were acclimated and were placed in their appropriate aquariums.

Longnose Hawk.jpg


Possum Wrasse2.jpg



Frag Tank Update
Frag Tank October.jpg


The tank finally cycled (thank fish jesus). I ended up on top of adding a second bottle of bacteria scooped up some sand from my main display and poured it in. She finally cycled and we were golden. Now when I was at my LFS returning those emerald crabs, I did something I have never done to my knowledge impulse buy. Now in my defense I define impulse buying as when I buy something that I had zero intention on buying, like ever and with no background research (Live Sales do not count as impulse buying because its really a free-for-all and sometimes you just gotta buy something that catches your eye). So anyway has the LFS guy was removing my emeralds from my container I was just walking through the SW fish side of the store and the frag tank just looking for what ever and I saw these purple fire fish. The guy came over with my container and asked if I needed anything else and I just pointed to the fire fish and said "I'll take one". It never even came to me that I had purchased it until I was walking up to my room with this bag from my LFS with a fish in it. So I acclimated him and plopped him into the frag tank and seems quite content and is eating, so I have no complaints.

PurpleFireFish.jpg


That's all I have this time around, like I said keep an eye out as we close on December and celebrate 2 years with this big beautiful 40 breeder.
 
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Dempsey941

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Tank Update #15: Calm Before the Storm

FTS
FTSNOV2019.JPG


Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.026
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.4
Calc: 412
Mag: 1395
Phos: .29
No3: 20

Phosphates on the Decline


That's right i have managed to drop my phosphates to an all time low. I achieved this through the use of PhosphateRX and it has been a huge change to the reef. I have seen significant growth in all my sps corals and my alk and calc consumption has skyrocketed from it. So I think is fair to say that my tank is actually on the move after stalling out. I have actually had to trim those green goblin anacropra again, which only means I have a trip to the LFS to drop off some frags in my future.

Frag Tank

Frags are in the tank and my sand bed is clear once again. So far the corals seem to be okay I think the fireworks polyps have really started to explode since they have almost covered the whole of a 2 inch frag disk (more frags hurrah).

RIP Gold Torch

As of this morning there was no more flesh left on my aussie gold torch. I still am not 100% on what happened some combination of crabs/nitrate or something, but it is saddening because I really hoped it would bloom into something super special, but life moves on and so shall I.

TSA Pre Black Friday Sale

Holy smokes that was a lot of fun. Picked up some really sweet peaces and managed not to blow out my entire bank account. I think the only piece that I failed to acquire was a frag of smurfettes, but I was kinda indifferent about acquiring some. In total I snagged 11 sweet frags and look forward to adding them to my small collection. Most of the zoas will head straight into the frag tank so I can grow them out, but the bubblegum digi, and the fuzzy navels will be added to what I am calling my personal collection. TSA is having another small sale on Black Friday I might try and snipe another $1 coral because my shipping date is not until next week, but again kinda depends on what is going on that day.

PreblackfridaysalerhaulTSA.jpg



R2R Secret Santa

I just received my pull for secret santa and its really funny because I knew as soon as I saw their profile what they were going to get. So I look forward to receiving my gift from whoever is my draw and I pray that its not a glitter bomb.

Well I think that is going to wrap it up for this time around. I still am compiling everything for my big birthday post later on this season so stay tuned in because I think it is really going to show the history of growth on the reef.

ZoasideNOV2019.JPG
AcanGardenNOV2019.JPG
ZoarockNOV2019.JPG
EuphygardenNOV2019.JPG
FragrackaNOV2019.JPG
GreenGoblinGorestNOV2019.JPG


ZoasideNOV2019.JPG AcanGardenNOV2019.JPG ZoarockNOV2019.JPG EuphygardenNOV2019.JPG FragrackaNOV2019.JPG GreenGoblinGorestNOV2019.JPG PreblackfridaysalerhaulTSA.jpg FTSNOV2019.JPG
 
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Tank Update #16: Oh Lord What Have I Done

I am going to make this 2 year recap in multiple parts, mostly for my sanity because so much has happened in the past two years that it really cannot be summed up in one post. What I plan on doing here is doing the little FTS and equipment and stock lists and then talk a little bit about different parts of the reef and what I like and what I would change. Then sum it up with some goals for the next year on the reef.

FTS 40 Breeder
DEC FTS.jpg


FTS Frag Tank
Frag Tank FTS DEC 2019.jpg



Tank Specs:
40 Breeder
2x AI Prime HD
Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 Protein Skimmer
Tunze ATO
ApexEL
200Watt Cobalt NeoTherm

Current Stocking 40 Breeder:
2x Occ. Clownfish - formally named "Mama Clown" and "Male Clown"
Royal Gramma - "Purple Guy"
Yellow Not-so-coris Wrasse - "Yellow Guy"
Mcoskers Flasher Wrasse - "The Red Guy"
Bangaii Cardinal - "Stripes"
Orange Spotted Shrimp Goby - "The White Guy"
Longnose Hawkfish - "Lance"

Current Stocking 20 Long Frag Tank:
Purple Fire Fish - "Fabio"
Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse - unnamed

Latest Testing Results:
Salinity: 1.026
Ph: ~8
Alk: 9.4
Calc: 412
Mag: 1395
Phos: .18
No3: 20
 
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2 Year Tank Update: Part 1 - Look How Far We've Come

December 2017 FTS
40 Breeder December 2017.jpg


Holy crud 2017 seems like it was not that long ago, but here we are with our white-*** rock and a dream. Looking back at this photo apparently I did a minor rescape with the upper levels of the rock structure, this is probably why I like this photo of my rock work than the current one.

Fast Forward 1 Year


Apparently I didn't take a photo at the one year marker so this video will have to do. This first year had a lot of learning experiences in it with our battle with dinos, hair algae and a complete remodel post AIO Box. We also took out first steps into sps making the transition to an official mixed reef. Also look how small the neon green toadstool is!

Present Day
DEC FTS Reg Camera.jpg


The hustle and bustle of the reef leaves the tank in constant motion, we have lost some friends and expensive coral pieces but most continue on and now my rock isn't so white any more. Outside of my manual dosing and feedings the tank pretty much runs itself its a nice relaxing view from my desk while I work or read or what ever it is I need to do during the day and sometimes I find my self just watching the tank for hours at time thinking about how this reef has changed my life, and what a butt this tank going to be to move in a couple of years.
 
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2 Year Tank Update Part 2 - Let's Break This Reef Down

FRAG RACKS
Frag Rack Side 1.jpg
Frag Rack Side 2.jpg
TDS Frag Rack 2.jpg


So these are the frag racks that sit on the sides of the 40 Breeder they are Reefing Arts Mediums got them from amazon and have purchased 3 of them (2 for me, one for someone else *wink-wink*) they are a good quality rack with strong magnets and hold a crud ton of frags if needed.

Right now they have some purple birds nest, forest fire digi, honeycomb and burning leptos, beach bum monti, sunset monti, chalice, banana stylo, some flavor cyphastera, and a small frag of tnt anacropora.

In the future I would like to move the birds nests off one of the frags so I can put my beach bum and sunset monti on larger frag plugs and start fraging them.

Zoa GARDEN #1
Zoa Rock 2.jpg



Alright this rock has currently 4 different zoas on it Froot Loops, Egg Yolk, Haunted Forest, and Rastas (they have been taken over by the Haunted Forest but there are 3 or 4 polyps still there). This rock has been a mess there were originally 7 different zoas on here but they melted or died from the dino outbreak during year 1.

In future, I would like this rock to fill out more, and maybe I will try to take a few pieces and preserve them in the frag tank.

Zoa Garden #2[/B]
Zoa Garden 2.jpg


This is located on the right side of the reef next to the neon green toadstool leather coral. currently it contains gobstoppers, pink zippers, gorilla nipples, two different unknown zoas/paly, and radioactive dragon eyes. This garden crosses two different rocks and sits above my goby's hidey hole. The radio active dragon zoas are one of the oldest coral frags in the tank along with some of my frogspawns.

In the future, I would like to add one more zoa/paly to the mix (fuzzy navels), but right now the name of the game with this rock is to let it run its coarse and make sure the toadstool isn't blocking the light for them.

To Be Continued...
 

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What a fantastic thread, @Dempsey941! I am restarting with a RS 45g AOI and just read this from front to back. I found it thoroughly entertaining & educational. I absolutely love the current state of your 40, color me inspired. Thank you for taking the time & effort, please know it is appreciated.
 
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What a fantastic thread, @Dempsey941! I am restarting with a RS 45g AOI and just read this from front to back. I found it thoroughly entertaining & educational. I absolutely love the current state of your 40, color me inspired. Thank you for taking the time & effort, please know it is appreciated.
Oh man this reef is a fantastic part of my life and even with the ups and downs everyday is so much fun because I love watching everything grow and the fact that everything is thriving makes me feel like I am doing something right. This forum has been a huge help and 99% of questions have already been answered so it is just a simple search to find the answer that best suits you.

I originally wanted to get a Red Sea 250 or a JBJ 45 but budget constraints led me to the 40b. If/when I upgrade I probably will shoot for something in the 90-120 range. Also when I upgrade, I will actually sit down and QT everyone, which I feel currently is my biggest regret for this system.
 
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Dempsey941

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Well now that my cold has finally subsided and I no longer wish I was dead we can get back to work on this 2 year update.

Euphyllia Garden
euphy2october2019.jpg
euphygardenoctober282019.jpg

fragshowtricolortorch.JPG
ZoarockNOV2019.JPG

So here is the euphyllia garden this contains some of my personal favorite pieces of the tank. Originally with 4 torches, now down to 2.5, three different hammers, two different frogspawns, and an octospawn which I think had a change of heart and flipped over to a frogspawn, because it has changed dramatically over the many months I have had it. This is one of the most preferred parts of the reef from visitors due to the movement from the corals in the waves.

Hopefully this next year this section won't change up too much mostly because I don't have a lot of room to work with, but you never know what you'll find a frag show.

Green Goblin Forest
GoblinForest.jpg
Cyphastera.jpg

Goblin Forest DEC 2019.jpg


This Section of the reef has been termed "Green Goblin Forest" given that name due to the fact that have 6 different 3"+ colonies of green goblin anacropora growing here. Also in residence is a forest fire digi from TSA, and a cyphastrea coral.

It also was home to a gold torch, but due to my own failures it wasted away.

This next year I have no real plans for this section only to let these guys continue to grow and clip them back for trade credit at the LFS.

SPS Hill
spshilloctoer2019.JPG


Once this section of the reef held the famous neon green toadstool, who will have his own section later on, now plays host to my other meager sps collection Red monticap, red montipora setosa, green birdsnest, green pocillapora, and what a surprise more green goblin anacropra. This stuff is literally a weed in this tank.

I once had a huge supply of green birdsnest but due to me wanting to change it up has seen it reduced to a few minor pieces and the fragments that I have left on the rockwork. Look at the growth difference between the shot above and this shot from last march.
SPS.jpg


This next year porbably will not see much change, a bubble gum digi needs to find his place up here somewhere and still you never know when a sexy piece of sps will float down the river.
 
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Acan Garden
AcanGardenNOV2019.JPG
Ultra Zoas.jpg


Now in residence in the acan garden WWC Burning Ember, Rainbow Acan, Hulk Green, Red Lord, and and Ultra Acan frag. These little guys (except the ultra) all started as small 1-4 head pieces collected at the LFS or through live sales and they have done through a journey worthy of a novel.
Acans.jpg
see little baby acans in later 2018/early 2019

AugustAcans2019.jpg
couple of months later...

Green Acan.jpg
now they are so much bigger.

At some point my acan developed a bacterial infection which caused them to recede almost completely into their skeletons. for about a 3 month period of time I was concerned that they had died, so I decided to go nuclear. One Iodine bath 5x the recommended dose for 30 minutes. Either the acans were going to die or I would have pulled off a miracle. 2 days after the bath full extension and the acans had returned to their previous selves. I would later determine that the peppermint shrimp in my tank decided that eating the acans was a better plan than the aptasia.

Now the acans serve as a basic welcoming commity to any new frag that enter the main display not by choice, but that is were the open sand is.
acansoct2019.jpg


Also with the acans is my JF Candy Corn Favia he just kinda hangs out there with a hulk lepto no harm no foul.
favia10082019.JPG
hulklepto.JPG


This section as far I can see is complete with little room for more acans because I would like them to continue to grow up. acans2october2019.jpg Favia DEC 2019.jpg
 
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Leathers
Now its time to talk about the final section of the reef tank, my leather corals.
Leather.jpg

toadstool10082019.JPG


Both of these pieces were acquired from my LFS. The finger leather was basically a rescue from a back tank. and the toadstool was something that I wanted for a long time before purchasing. Both of these purchases I think have really made my tank the show case features of this system. I also get comments on how amazing the toadstool looks in my FTS and rightfully so, it is the super star of the reef tank.

In the upcoming future i may begin looking into fragging sections of the toadstool, if only to preserve it and pass on my pride joy to others, or maybe I'll just keep this little secret for my self.
 
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