Newport reef

2007-04-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Reef A showing the extent of the growth of star polyps and xenia,

2007-04-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

Mandarin hovering near the furry mushrooms seeking small zooplankton. It is up long before the lights are on. Occasionally it is sidetracked by its reflection and displays furiously.

2007-04-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Close-up of the nuisance brown algae in Reef B.

2007-04-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

Pocillopora and 2 frags of spaghetti leather in Reef B.

2007-04-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

This is Reef B up for about three months. A large portion of this scene is taken up by a fuzzy brown algae that nothing seems to eat.

Testing recently showed a pH of 8.0, alk 3.5, temp. 79.8, Ca 420, sp. grav. 1.025.

2007-04-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

This is a frag of a Acro for which I traded a frag of Montipora digitata . It is about as high in reef B as it can be.

2007-04-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

Another out-of-focus shot! This Bicolor blennie is new to Reef B. After about a week it has become much more comfortable. It bites at the brown algae but does not seem to be making much of an impact - at least not yet.

2007-04-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

One of 6 Scarlet hermits in Reef B. The hope is that they would make an impact on the brown algae.

Two Peppermint shrimp were added at the time but have not been seen since intro. Sometimes there is some concern that there is some contaminant (eg. Copper) that new critters are unable to resist. However, there are 3-4 species of hermits and numerous amphipods.
A 10-gal water change is scheduled. A phosphate, heavy metals sponge will be placed in the sump for a couple of weeks.
Incidentally a Nitrate test today came up with 0 nitrate.

2007-04-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

A new Yellow Clown Goby nestled between the leather and striped mushrooms.. (It has since disappeared. IF I had a deceased body I could claim a rebate but like many deceased critters in a reef they are gone very shortly after dying.)

2007-04-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Anew Rainfordi in Reef B. It was very difficult to get his picture thus the out-of-focus shot.

2007-04-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

The torch coral in the newer reef (Now known as Reef B).

2007-02-18T20:10:00.000-08:00

The year-old reef. In the far corner is the mother Taro tree coral. This shot shows how extensive the Pom Pon Xenia has become.

Remember to click on the photos to make them enlarge.

2007-02-18T20:08:00.000-08:00

In the center is a small frag of Chili leather glued here about 3 days ago. Barely visible are some extended polyps.

2007-02-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

The large Pocillopora is the mother colony of all the others in this tank and the newer tank also. Two frags were recently donated to the Hatfield Marine Science Center. The Xenia in the lower right corner is several colonies that have gone through 4 0r 5 cuttings.

The Banggai is about a year in this system.

2007-02-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

This Flame Scallop has been in this same spot for over a year. There was another one but it hid deep in the live rock an is suspected of being deceased. It is rare to get one to live this long in captivity.

2007-02-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

The Yellow and Brown polyps continue to spread having started over a year ago with only 10-12 polyps each. The Sinularia has been cut a few times and moved to the other tank. The Montipora on the left was placed there about a year ago. This tank has several colonies of this coral, probably the fastest growing SPS known to reefers.

2007-02-18T19:53:00.000-08:00

The Yellow Tang and its reflection which annoys it a great deal. Below is a frag from the Taro Tree Coral just crammed into a hole in the live rock. It is a very rapid grower. It can grow from pieces less than a cm long.

2007-02-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

In the center is a M. capricornis recently detached from its plug and glued in this spot. With a magnifying glass one can see real small bright orange polyps.

2007-02-18T19:48:00.000-08:00

This Star Polyps has spread to three other rocks and continues to do so at a rapid rate.

2007-02-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

A Cabbage Leather recuperating from recent cutting for frags in the new tank.

2007-02-18T19:44:00.000-08:00

In the center is a frag of Endive Hydnophora, a slow-grower. The Pocillopora in the upper-right has been in this spot for only a couple of months,

2007-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

The Pagoda coral from the older reef.

2007-02-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

Furry mushrooms were moved from the older reef to under PC lighting (and away from the pesky Clownfish) where it appears to be recovering from the abuse they had suffered.

2007-02-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

One of the only 2 fishes in the newer reef.

2007-02-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

The Torch Coral fully extended. Two polyps receded prior to being moved to this tank. It appears to be doing better under the PC lighting than the MH. The current in this tank is stronger which is supposed to be something this coral does not prefer.

2007-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

A close-up of the finger-leather showing considerable rehab since the tank was set-up the end of December '06.

2007-02-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

In the foreground is a ribbon gorgonian. In the center (slightly out of focus) is the largest colony of encrusting gorgonian, And of course the ever-present Xenia.

2007-02-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

This is a close-up of one of the three Pocillopora frags in the newer reef.

2007-02-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

Overall view of newer reef. two coral frags on the upper left are Pocillopora crassicornis (SP) from the other reef. They appear to be growing. The lighting is 4X55wt 10K K PC lights on 10 hours/day.

2007-02-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

Upper center: a Montipora digitata from the year old reef.

2007-02-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

In the middle is a frag of Yellow Porites. It is often open but has not shown any growth in the past 6 weeks.

2007-02-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

Photo from newer 50 gal reef of Xenia and Taro Tree Coral.

2007-02-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

This crab is releasing its larvae at the highest point she could find after the lights had gone out.

2007-01-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Shots of old reef showing new Royal Gramma. It came in last week and was presumed dead as it had stayed hidden until yesterday. It appears to be healthy. It is eating but very easily spooked at this time.

2007-01-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

The picture is a little dark. This Green Mandarin was added yesterday. I rec'd it plus 2 Firefish, A Royal Gramma and a Cleaner shrimp from Coralsplus. I had paid for a Anemone crab but it was not in the shipment. At this point it appears that only the Mandarin survived. They came in very cold and hardly moving. This was the third time I had a shipment from them that was incomplete. Before this I had orderred Neon gobies and for the second time rec'd Engineer gobies DOA. I had orderred Scarlet hermits and got Blue leg and Mexican hermits. Half the shells were empty.

Conclusion: I will not order from them again. Good prices are hardly good prices when you do not get what you ask for!!! Later a refund was made for the last shipment.

2007-01-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

Photo taken on left side of new tank. Appears to be a strand of eggs from a Cerith snail. Under 30X magnification hundreds of eggs can be seen. In the same area are several gravid copepods.

2006-12-30T09:56:00.000-08:00

After the water was mixed the plenum was added. It is set back so it (the plenum) will not show once the crushed coral and shell are in place.

System description:

Tank: Used 50 gal TruVu acrylic tank.
Circulation: Hagen 802 to return water from sump, Same above for circulation and siphon bleeding and 2 Power Sweep PS-40 for circulation.
Protein skimmer: DIY air injected powered by a Maxijet 12oo.
Refugium/sump: Converted wet dry holding about 15 gal.
Lighting: 4-55 W 10K PC on for 12 hours.
Refugium lit by one 6500K 65 W Yard light and one board of LEDS.

It was only able to stock immediately because the live rock and live sand were in a tote with lighting for about 2 months.

2006-12-30T09:52:00.000-08:00

50 gal tank and DIY stand. Water mixing with two power heads on the bottom. The 5 gal bucket on the left is the freshwater reservoir for continuous top-up.

2006-12-30T09:33:00.000-08:00

Picture of the new 50 gal reef after live sand and live rock were added. Water is fairly cloudy at this point.

2006-12-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

A picture of the live rock that was curing in tote in the store room.

2006-12-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

Right side of 50 gal reef. The water is still clearing. In the upper left corner the black sponge with the plastic tie covers the input for a Hagen 802 powerhead. The reason for such a large powerhead is to bleed the siphon to prevent it from developing an air lock.

2006-12-30T09:22:00.000-08:00

These critters were on the live rock transferred from the 29 gal reef. The smaller system is now in the store room. The anemones and Engineer goby were left with several pieces of live rock in the 29 gal system.

2006-12-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

A Montipora, Tree Coral and Sinularia were added right after the live rock was put in place. They appeared comfortable with their new home from the first day.

2006-12-30T09:17:00.000-08:00

Critters from the right side: Zenia, Ribbon Gorgonian, encrusting gorgonian. The move has had little, if any, negative effect on these animals.

2006-12-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

A close-up of the Red Chili coral, a Christmas present.

2006-12-30T09:12:00.000-08:00

Striped 'shrooms and leather coral in the 50 gal reef. The leather does not appear to be doing well at this point. When it was in the ice chest waiting to be moved to its new home. It some how ended upside down.

2006-12-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

This Firefish is the only fish in this reef at this time. The plan is to add 5-8 small, peaceful fish.

2006-12-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

Shot taken from front, left side showing tree coral and Red Chili at the bottom. Keep in mind the tank has only been up less than a week.

2006-12-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

Shot of the new 50 gal reef taken from the left side.

2006-12-17T15:41:00.000-08:00

I rec'd this Engineer Goby instead of the Neon Goby I had orderred. When it was introduced to the small reef about 3 months ago it was a juvenile with one longitudinal stripe. It will come out for flake food but otherwise is rarely seen. It now ranges the whole tank. It probably deserves to be in a larger tank. It is peaceful although it looks rather mean. It must be 4-5 inches long. It is hardly ever all the way out long enough to get any more precise measurement.

BTW the brown algae seen in the upper left corner is becoming more a pest than the Caulerpa is/was.

2006-12-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

The Rainford goby.

2006-12-03T15:22:00.000-08:00

The M. capricornus (sp) was added on 11/23.
The Acro in this shot is the only acro left. It has been open a great deal lately and the branches are becoming more distinct. Its polyps are a light lime-green in color.

2006-12-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

On 11/30 I removed two frags from the Porites. This is on of them.

2006-12-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

On Nov 30th I fragged the Pocillopora and Birdnest. They are the ones with the white epoxy at their bases. This is the very top of the lg reef.

2006-11-18T13:26:00.000-08:00

This Caulerpa is uncontrollable! Harvest about a cup a week out of the lg reef. (It is also in the small reef). It breaks easily and any small piece of a runner (rhizome) contiues merrily on its way. If I waited for it to "go sexual" it would have overgrown all the corals!
Had hoped that the Yellow Tang would get it under control but its grazing has had no effect at this point.

2006-11-10T17:31:00.000-08:00

The protein skimmer on the tote curing the live rock and live sand. The skimmer will go to the 50 gal reef when it is set-up in the next3-4 weeks. I still have some work to do on the stand and would also like to give a little more time for the rock to cure. This set-up will take the place of the 29-gal in the living room. The fish, shrimp and corals will be moved to the larger system.

BTW the container on the bucket is a top-up dripper in which I put buffer every other day or so.

2006-11-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

A tote was set-up in the shop area. It was stocked with new crushed coral, about 7 cups of live sand and a few small pieces of live rock from both systems. Several pieces of old once-live rock were added to get cured. A Maxi-1200 runs the protein skimmer and a med. sized powerhead is used to circulate the water. It has been up for about a week. There are no measureable nitrates. The sand and live rock are odor-free. There is lots of green algae but no corraline as yet. Alk is around 4.0 and pH 8.0.
The Zenia was added yesterday just to see if it would do okay and it appears to be doing fairly well.

2006-11-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is the venturi in my latest DIY protein skimmer. And it is working pretty good at this time. I was injecting air but in the last couple of days have let it run purely on the venturi.

2006-11-10T17:15:00.000-08:00

These Golden Polyps are about 10 months in the reef. They have grown from a dozen or so to more than I can count. Frozen seafood is sprayed over them every other day or so.

2006-11-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

Several soft corals bunched together in the small reef.

2006-11-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

This tank has several colonies of Zenia that I would love to sell. In front is a green brittle star that came in with no arms. It was presumed dead but new buds can be seen on the end of the arms.

2006-11-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

On the left is a growing Pocillopora. Right next to it is one colony of Montipora and further right a thick-branch birdnest coral.

2006-11-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

With the waves it is hard to tell but these are gold polyps and they have spread a LOT.

2006-11-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

The small cleaner shrimp on some shrooms in the small tank.

2006-11-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

A picture of the encrusting gorgonia in the small tank. There are two other patches.

2006-10-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Note the growth in the unknown Acro. and the thick branch Birdnest. In the lower right corner is a frag from the Porites. The star polyp is spreading in all directions, Plan to make some cuttings and glue on the back wall.

2006-10-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

The large reef. Note coral growth, especially the pesty Zenia! Just below the clown is the Kenya Tree Coral and in the back is the Pocillopora which has grown considerably.

2006-10-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

The rock with the leather and 'shrooms has been raised to mid-level and both appear to be doing much better.

2006-10-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

This is my 29 gal reef. I am having a constant battle with red cyano on the rock and sand. pH 8.2, alk 4.0, sp grav. 1.023 and temp 80-81. I am looking for a cheap solution to the problem.

2006-10-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Photo taken with flash about an hour after the light went out. Difficult to tell but there are two scarlet hermets that appear to be
mating.

On the sad note the female clown has died. She has been poorly for several days: refusing food, breathing rapidly amd lose of color. So far the male does not appear to be infected. I was able only once to catch her for a freshwater dip of about 4 min.

2006-09-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

In the center is a Six-line wrasse. It is very hard to get its picture as it is constantly on the move (and almost appears to be camera shy)!

It was kept in water with a sp. grav. of 1.019 but is now at 1.025. Since being introduced at the higher salienty it has darked and its colors appear brighter.

At the top is the Pagoda coral. I needed a place where it would be segregated from competitors so it is up at the top for now and appears to be doing okay.

2006-09-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Yellow tang was added this week. It usually hides in the rear right corner. Its stomach is very shrunken. It is still too scared to stay out and graze. It also has small small white spots on its pectoral fins. The hole in which it hides is also the abode of a cleaner shrimp so the hope is that the tang will allow its self to be cleaned. I tried feeding thin shavings of fresh garlic but it did not appear to be interested.

Added: 12/3/06: The Yellow Tang has been doing very well and appears to be very healthy at this point. It is very agressive to the Banggai Cardinal.

2006-09-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

The Banggai in its territory. I six-line wrasse is in the rocks just behind it but moves too fast to gets its picture.

2006-09-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

This leather is looking much better since the kalk drip was discontinued. The small frag of the same in the lg reef also is open more without the kalk drip.

The blenny is also new. I sure wish it would get busy on the algae!

2006-09-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here the Rainford is actively grazing.

2006-09-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

I recently added fish and and janitor crew to the small reef. This Rainford goby appears to like the cyano. Iys main adversary is the Royal Gramma. The Rainford moves in reverse about as well as forward. Several new hermits and astrea snails were added but the algae problem remains.

2006-09-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

This leather (on the left) in the small reef has been looking poorly for about a week. In the center of the right picture is some cyanobacteria. After some research it was decided to raise the pH by dripping Kalkwasser. It appears that the leather does not adjust to it, at least in this case. All other soft corals are open. Today a 10-gal water change was performed and the kalk drip will be discontinued. A powerhead was placed on the bottom to increase the current as other sources suggest that cyano does not grow in strong currents. We'll see!
Interestingly the cyano problem began after all the flatworms just disappeared. Not sure if this is related..

2006-09-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Probably want to click on the picture twice.
There bare spots on the acro. Was not sure what was causing it but it appears that something has been chewing on it. Upon lifting it out there was located a white limpet on the plug on which the acro is attached.
It will have to be monitored closely to assure that other predatory limpets do NOT appear. So far only this acro has suffered an attack.

2006-08-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

The left side of the tank. The Baggai cardinal is now out during the day quite a bit. Down front is a Kenyan tree coral that had been closed for several days then shedding before it reopened. SPS corals in view include a Canary Porites, an unknown acro, A montipora and a Pocillopora (behind the Banggai's tail).

2006-08-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

The zenia are getting out of hand. I don't seem to have any problem with growing it. This and more came from two very small colonies last December. I give them current, high alkalinities and weekly doses of iodine. In the upper right corner is a thick branch birdnest which has grown some also.

2006-07-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

The Coral Banded is looking fine now. It molted a couple of days ago and readily accepted some frozen food this AM.

2006-07-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

This coral banded shrimp is in the 29 gal reef. The last couple of days it has been very lethargic. (The camera was going dead so was only able to make this one photo). It did take food this AM but has not improved. It will probably die within a day or so possibly of old age.
Everything else seems to be doing fine in this tank. The refugium has a fiber pad that is supposed to remove all heavy metals and phosphate. However, I will go ahead with a 10 gal water change tomorrow.

2006-07-15T19:17:00.001-07:00

Closeup of a large Hawaiian feather duster worm.

2006-07-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

Closeup of a large Hawaiian feather duster worm.

2006-07-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

A closeup of the Canary porites. The branches are becoming more branched and it is growing down over the plug it arrived on. There are two small points in the new growth on the plug.

2006-07-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

The two upper colonies of zenia were cut drastically but have made a full recovery. The acro to the right has added several buds since being added. The star polyps are open all the time but do not appear to be adding much growth as yeat.

2006-07-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

Left side of the reef. Corals in this view include Pocillopora, Montipora and Hydnopora and 4 polyps of a trumpet coral. The sps corals are growing much more rapidly than the LPS corals.

2006-06-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

Zenia: it may well become a weed. There are something like 13 colonies in this tank. The two in the upper right were cut way back but one can see new polyps forming and actually pumping to some degree.

Alk is kept around 3.8, temp close to 80F and Iodine is added biweekly.

2006-06-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

In the center is an acro. If anyone sees this and knows the species please post a comment.

Since moving it up the small greenish polyps are out most all the time. On the back is a small branch that is dead but the rest of the colony appears healthy.

2006-06-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

The feather dusters are now looking very nice. I was hoping that they might reproduce but no luck so far.

In the bottom right corner is the Pagoda coral which opens most every day now.

2006-06-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the photo is a torch coral. It was further from the Caulastrea it appears to be growing.

2006-06-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

This is a picrure of the Pagoda coral taken last night. It is now on the bottom of the tank but in an area where it gets good lighting. It is open and appears to be content in its new location. (Sorry about the blurry focus),

2006-06-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

The acro required an excess of super gel to get it to stick. It did not seem to suffer too much as the small polyps can be seen under magnification.
A ten- gallon water change was made today along with a change in the power head sponges.

2006-06-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

The acro in the upper right corner was down more in front but it got knocked off when it was accidentally struck with a tube while cleaning the substrat. In the center is a star polyp colony moved from the right corner. The white spot is where the zenia was before the radical zenia-ectomy. (Remember by clicking on the picture one can get the enlarged view).

2006-06-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

The Pagoda coral in the center has not opened in 3-4 days. It has been suggested that the proximity of the zenia might be the problem.

2006-05-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

The clownfish appear to have adopted more and more these furry mushrooms as their home. However, it is very difficult to to catch them both there at the same time. Right behind him or her is a frag from the Sarcophyton digitatta. New branches are appearing. On the right are one of three ribbon gorgonians. it also seems to be showing new growth.

2006-05-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Royal Gramma is busy trying to build a nest up in the rock. The Pygmy Angel continues getting in its way. The angel is extremely hyper and it is frustrating to the gramma which sometimes threatens the angel but its threats are ignored by the angel. Sometimes the gramma looks like it is saying, "Would you give him some Ritalin or something!"
BTW there are several species of macro-alga in the tank but it is choosing only small pieces of Caulerpa.

2006-05-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Trimmed away most of the Caulerpa and shifted the rock to make the green-stripped mushrooms visible.
This tank is having more problems with algae. My DIY skimmer may not be removing enough wastes.
On the other hand there are several macro-alga that were not present when it was in Moses Lake.

Ten gallons of water were recently changed and may do another change mid-June.

2006-05-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

In the 29-gal reef after feeding resulting in the Coral Banded coming out of his hiding place. The back half of the Clown goby is visible in the center of the picture. The leather recently shed and the polyps are quite well extended.

2006-05-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

This Sarcophyton was the largest coral that survived the move from Moses Lake, WA. It is like a minature reef by itself. There are several small green-stripped mushrooms (battling with Caulerpa and tube worms). It has its own resident fish; a Yellow Gobidon. The base has numerous white and red featherdusters and some sponges. Sorry but with my limited photographing equip I am unable to get a picture of all these critters.

Remember to click on the pictures for larger views.