ViewTank

On this page you will find the evolution of the Big Reef Project in pictures.

This is basicly the second year of the log page. I found that I was making as many comments on this page as I was in the LOG. So, why be redundant

I didn't take very many pictures while I was setting up the tank because my camera was broken. Most of the pictures that were taken during the "break-in" phase and can be found on the EQUIPMENT page.

Most of the picures taken for this site were taken with a Pentax P3 w/ Kodak Gold film. Most of the close-up inhabitant shots were taken with my brothers Sharp digital video camera (in still mode).

This is the latest shot of my tank. Not the best picture, estheticly speaking, but you can see everything.

The dwindaling sponge has been moved to the back corner of the tank. It hasn't done well anywhere else, might as well try it here.

The "algae patch" (front right) is looking a little shaggy. I cut it back a couple of days after this picture. Notice the Lawn Mower Blenny's head peaking out of the "algae patch".

The BIG REEF PROJECT has been up and running for a year now. I'm finally beginning to feel like I have a reef tank and not just a wannabe reef tank. There is a very diverse assortment of inverts, fish, and plant life.

There is still plenty of room for more corals, but at least now it doesn't look like "just a pile of rocks with an anemone in the back corner".

The plate coral (fungi), Lavender Leather, Purple Tang, Lawnmower Blenny, and Cleaner Shrimp are the latest additions.

The Purple Tang ate my pretty purple macro algae.

My "algae patch" experiment seems to be working. The algae is allowed to grow in one patch using up the "hair algae friendly" nutrients. This keeps the rest of the gravel and rocks algae free.

The Tang and the Lawnmower Blenny are keeping the other algaes at bay.

Finally I added some corals. A Hammer (Anchor) coral and an Open Brain. I think it looks more like a reef now. I have so many more corals to get. And I know just where to put them.

I added two Green Chromis. But, one was whoop'n on the other so back one of them went.

The tank looks so lush now. I love all the calcarious algae growing over in the left corner.

Unfortunately, I still have a lot of hair algae growing in the tank. Kalkwasser seems to presipitate out the phosphates that cause the algae, but it still grows like crazy sometimes.

I have noticed that most of the algae grows in the gravel just below where the return nozzel blasts the front glass. I'm thinking: if it grows best here, let it. Maybe it will act as a algae filter and keep the rest of the tank clear of algae.

I have also (finally) added a light to the refugium in the Sump. I added one of the smaller rocks from the tankand some algae to the refugium.

The sponge is still decaying. I moved it into a darker area.

I added my first coral. A Scroll Coral. A guy I met at the LFS gave it to me. It's in sorta' bad shape but might be able to get it looking good again.

I bought a rock at the LFS that was covered in "grape calerpa", a macro algae. But, it all died two days later. Now, the rock (right front) is just sitting there growing hair algae. I planned on putting this rock (and algae) in my sump as soon as I got some lighting for it.

My tak looks like a big nasty refugium. After Christmas money won't be so tight, then I'll get some corals.

I need to take a new picture. The "algae patch" is gone. The refugium is really doing it's job of keeping the algae out of the tank. I just put some caulerpa in the refugium under 24 hour lighting to keep it from spawning.

I'm adding Kent Marine Coral Vital, because of the iron in it, for the caulerpa and Kent Iodine once every three days for the corals and the anemone.

I'm feeding a 2"X4"piece of plain dried nori from the oriental food store (cost 1/3 what Two Little Fishes is asking) twice per day, a pinch of Prime Reef flake in the morning, and a "soup" consisting of frozen zooplankton, frozen daphnia, and either a frozen whole shrinp or a cube of Formula One in the afternoon. It is thawed in a cup of tank water and administered with a turkey-baster. I add Kent Marine Micro-Vert every three days.

A funny thing happened a few weeks ago. My tank looked great. The corals were more colorful than ever and there was little-to-no green algae in the tank. I checked to see all the gunk the skimmer must have pulled out to get the tank looking so good only to discover the venturi was clogged. The skimmer had not been working for days. Hmmmm.