SWE Display 300Gal

[REEFSTOCK]

So far so good. The tank is still cycling heavily, but we aren't sweating it. It is hard for us to not throw in a big clean up crew... though we might... at least till the wrasses come

[crvz]

Well publicly admitted to the star isnt really keeping a good secret. Good luck with the flame angel.

[Havre]

Beautiful! I have always loved that plateau type rock work! These wide 300s make excellent room dividers and they can be ordered with the overflows on the ends instead of the back.

[aquawolf]

That is a really cool looking starfish. I would guess that it is not reef safe looking like that, is that correct?

[REEFSTOCK]

Sadly, it is not reef safe. That's why we all need one coral centric reef tank and one Fish centric reef

[REEFSTOCK]

Originally Posted by crvz

Well publicly admitted to the star isnt really keeping a good secret. Good luck with the flame angel.

Ah, you need some schooling, my friend. By admitting my sins in public and getting a whole bunch of people to sympathies with my transgressions, AND most important, getting a whole bunch of TRT members to fall in love with the star fish....

You are following me right?

[REEFSTOCK]

Speaking of getting members to see sympathies... If we watch out for any commercial language, could we move these to the general forum? I am sensitive to crossing the line between being a business owner and a reefer at heart; trying to get the name out for the store vs sharing the fun of our private reef tanks.

I know all the mods are watching these threads. Feel free to contact me by email or phone.

Thanks,

Fritz
sales@swemprie.com
952-838-0174

[condiman]

I know where your comming from and I have been doing the same thing

[Fat Tony]

I don't see an issue with moving the threads to the regular Forums, as you are a paying sponsor

[REEFSTOCK]

First post updated.
-Equipment list
-Stock list

[p&n'spop]

The three display tanks you have in your store are really impressive. As a customer, and fan of all things pretty, I say .


But the picture of the guy holding his package in the Nano thread scares me.

Package of Pods, people, get your minds out of the gutter.

[Timmy]

I would have said the stars were hitchhikers. Can't wait to see it in person!

[REEFSTOCK]

Of the three displays this one is the most frustrating right now. I think because it is the "Fish Only" We think of it as the most hands off. Nothing could be further from the truth!
On the other hand, we have some wicked fish coming up!

The Bad:
So we had some trouble with the water level in the sump, that kept the skimmer from doing its job. The cycle has been annoyingly long. Because we have been holding out on a cleaner crew the tank just looks nasty. We get in there whenever we can afford the time, but it just takes a few days for the siphoned diatoms and slime to come back. While I am not personally concerned for the tank (I've been through plenty of cycles), as a business owner I find it embarrassing. Normally the cleaner crew helps us cheat the look through the initial cycle.

The school of Heniochis are on hold. The last two batches have been less than healthy and I have talked with a few other stores in the area and they have been having similar troubles. Until I can figure it out or find more success stories, I am just going to have to say no to these beauties.

We were sent three wonderful squirlfish. I ordered six... sigh. They will have to wait till I can get the full school up or Jeff tells us three is plenty for the school. I keep forgetting to mention it to him. I'll be interested how he came up with the magic number of four.

We lost a raccoon. He died suddenly. The cause was undetermined. We haven't decided to try and restock one or not.

Another small note: we are trying to find a few good pieces, shorter than the main rock-work to add a few hiding places for the incoming monsters.

The good:
OK, OK,... OK I can't hold back the best for last. I have always wanted a harlequin tusk, but I always have had coral centric tanks. I can't even imagine running a reef tank without a cleaner crew. I read plenty of posts that say cleaner crews are bunk, but I have yet to be sold on that theory. We have a beauty going in tomorow and I am more excited than a bird nose wrasse in a mysis factory.

One of the most commented on critters in the tank is a large patch of zoanthids. "Oh, how much for those... what are those corals called anyhow?", "Dude, those would look great next to my PPEs!"... and other such exclamations. Unfortunately, I have to answer, "Um those are called, "Plasticitus gofilitus"." Yep, they are fake corals. I used to answer this with a kind of low pitch in my voice; the pitch-of-shame. What I have learned is that not all people are ready for the task of coral keeping, but want to enjoy the look, not all aquariums should have all or any coral species, and not all replicas look fake. I'm an sps lover and it is easy to slip into live coral snobbery. I can think of a dozen situations where replicas are better than the real thing. When we put live corals where replicas should be, we are doing these wonderful animals a disservice. Perhaps this is obvious, but I am glad to have been taught another lesson by this aquarium. I can now hold my head high and answer, "Why, these are the best in coral replicas, perfect for any fish only tank."

We have a hungry hungry hawkfish. He is smaller than we had hoped for, but in the tundra you can't just saunter down to LA's fish street and pick out the cream of the crop. He is healthy and we got him in there as soon as possible. I just hope he fattens up enough to survive the grouper when it comes his turn!

The reality is we all have seen a cycle before. Everyone is psyched about the tank. New-to-saltwater-customers go nuts for the juvenile Emperor. Having a running 300 is a nice draw in the store. There is much excitement over being able to watch the fish grow over the years.

[REEFSTOCK]

So, I was talking about this thread with Li. Apparently there is a Zeovite product that totally clears up your sand. This is how I understand it as it was explained to me:
The product comes in two bottles. One bottle is a super fast growing bacteria, the other bottle is food for that culture. You mix them up, then after some time throw them in your tank. The bacteria eats everything up and you skim it out.
I knew Li was testing this on the tank. When I told him how depressed I was about the 300g progress, he fessed up that he didn't understand at first that there were two parts... he had been just adding fuel for weeks... After a good laugh, he confirmed that he had thrown a phosphate reactor on in the morning.
I expect this overly long cycle will be coming to an end soon.

[aquawolf]

When I was at MACNA there was an exhibitor there called Microbe Lift. They were selling something similar to the product you are describing that is basically sludge eating bacteria that get between the rocks and clean everything. They also happen to be the ones whose products were used to clean the river for the Bejing Olympic Games. It sounds like a pretty cool concept and I may have to see about picking some of that up some time in the future.