aquavista99

I am still a huge fan of the stick corals, but I have added a few chalices to the darker areas of my reef over the years.

Wow, it has been a while (over 4 years) since I last updated this thread. Where to begin......well, I moved to a new house in the Fall of 2008 and started up a 400 gallon SPS system (300 gallon display tank connected to the same 125 gallon refugium). All is well here in Ohio (Midwest portion of the United States). I still have a lot of the same corals and all the fish from my last system are still doing well. Here are a few pictures of my existing system. I ended up removing the mangroves ... they outgrew my existing system but I was able to successfully transplant them to a larger home.

The price for upgraded drivers is $75 per wireless driver. I purchased two (pictured above), but demand is high and most vendors are out of stock. They were released in the United States a few weeks ago. You can buy a new Vortech pump w/ the wireless driver for $420. I am also running the VorTech battery backup system for my Vortech pumps as well (in event of power failure). Attached pictures of the battery backup system below. If power fails, each Vortech pump can run up to 30 hrs on battery power.

I will be upgrading my Vortech pumps this weekend with the new wireless wave drivers. I am looking forward to setting the pumps on "Reef Crest Mode" which is suppose to simulate the high-energy conditions of a natural reef crest environment.

I think it would be difficult to propagate mangrove trees in captivity, due to the large size of the trees and the way the seeds mature. In the wild, "red mangrove trees are viviparous,meaning the seeds mature while they are still on the tree, and only afterwards do they fall in to the water. For the seed to reach its full level of maturity, it needs to spend about a month in the water. During this time, the seed collects the water in its lower portion of the body and floats vertically, with the bud facing skyward, and roots facing down. These seeds will be floating in the salt water for months until they are washed on the shore. One of the conditions needed for the seed to start growing, is absence of disturbances. This is the way nature makes sure that the plant will grow in good conditions." http://toptropicals.com/html/aqua/plants/m...angrove_eng.htm

Mangroves do best under intense light. They are trees exposed to the same intense light found in all tropical reef zones. Mangroves can grow under less intense light, but they will thrive under metal halide lamps. I am growing my mangroves under 175 watt 10K metal halide lamps. I use 400 watt 14k metal halide lamps for my corals.

Very nice footprint on your new tank! I would like to go about 4 ft or 48 inches wide on my next aquarium. Your corals will have lots of room to grow out.

Thanks for the compliment, neokn. I am the only reefer in my area that has a display "macro sump," so everything looks neat and clean because the entire ecosystem is basically on display. Here are a few pictures of my fastest growing coral (Acropora humilis). It has very thick branches. I have had the coral for 10 months. Arrived small and ugly.

A few more pictures

The new tank is 72 X 29 x 24. The GEO CR is nice. Here are a few more pictures.

My mangroves are now thriving as well. Here are a few more updated pictures of my system.

Updated 10/29/07 I recently upgraded again. Here are a few pictures of my new 210g. Added more live rock as well. Same corals and fish. Just a little bigger now.

Just returned from a snorkel and dive trip to Dry Tortugas, which is a cluster of small islands located 70 miles west of Key West, Florida (IE, very close to Cuba, but still in the United States). Enjoy the pics! BTW, Fort Jefferson is located on Dry Tortugas, which is the largest 19th century American coastal fort. Fort Jefferson's construction began in 1846 and continued for 30 years but was never finished. The fort is now a National Park and wildlife refuge.

Fantastic job, Reefaholic!!! If you don't mind me asking, what type of camera do you use....excellant pictures and truely an amazing SPS reef. Tim

You are probably right. I am already offering some frags, but down the road, fragging will be a part of routine maintenance. I added some nice new acro frags last night and changed the landscape of my reef (moved some corals and rocks around). In my area, there are not a lot of people interested in trading, buying or keeping SPS corals. My best bet is to offer frags for trade/sale at frag swaps.

I am already planning my next reef tank....it is still a few years away. Would like something around 8 feet long by 3 feet wide and 31 inches tall.....300 plus gallons. Eurobraced. My current system is 6X2X2

I will not be adding more live rock.....want lots of space to allow the acros to grow out. There are many different types of calcium reactors on the market now ... some with second single pass chambers as well. Geo calcium reactors use a "bottom up flow of water" design which captures free CO2 and draws it back into the pump. This means less gas in the reactor and less gas in the effluent.

I would like as much room as possible for the acros to grow out in all directions. I plan on adding a few more acros and monti caps in the near future as well (IE, the corals in the QT system have not been added yet)...Again, this is a young new reef. After a few years, the acros will hopefully have enough room to grow out.....then upgrade to a much larger system.

A few updates. Recently changed my calcium reactor media from crushed coral to Acropora branches. Added a Tunze Nano Stream 6045 pump to my 30g SPS QT tank. Mangroves are doing well. And finally, a full tank shot.

I have gone without a skimmer for a while with good success, but prefer skimmers. Others have had great success with SPS going the skimmerless route. It is just a personal preference in my opinion.

I recently purchased MacGillivray Freeman's Coral Reef Adventure on DVD (Imax movie from Fiji and South Pacific). Highly recommend.....here is a preview of pics from the movie I photographed from my living room TV.