# Updated pics of my marine tank :)



## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Looking alright I reckon! Getting there at least. Been running... 4 months now. I've ordered a 3-pump dosing unit from fleabay, a chinese do-dar, for like £100. Looks to be quite good I think - got the magnesium / calcium / sodium bicarb in 1kg tubs sitting waiting. Should arrive any day. 

I just _cannot_ keep up with alkalinity demand in my tank! It's crazy! But I think that can only be a good thing, I am not complaining :lol2: The dosing pump will make it so much easier. 

Anyways, some pics!


FTS:










Torch:










Catalaphylia:










Toadstool and euphylia:










New monti (left) and old monti (right - with the dead edge from the ever-growing torch :blush:










FREE hystrix frag from South West Marines :flrt:


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

AshMashMash said:


> Looking alright I reckon! Getting there at least. Been running... 4 months now. I've ordered a 3-pump dosing unit from fleabay, a chinese do-dar, for like £100. Looks to be quite good I think - got the magnesium / calcium / sodium bicarb in 1kg tubs sitting waiting. Should arrive any day.
> 
> I just _cannot_ keep up with alkalinity demand in my tank! It's crazy! But I think that can only be a good thing, I am not complaining :lol2: The dosing pump will make it so much easier.
> 
> ...


amazing! how big's the tank, ash?


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

wilkinss77 said:


> amazing! how big's the tank, ash?


Thanks  130L with a sump - still about 130L though as the sump pretty much adds in what the rocks take out, about 20-25L :lol2:

Tis very cool! I do enjoy it


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

looks great ash , just got some monti green and the red like your new one , how quick does the torch grow i got a tiny frag of it the other day, and love the cat picking one up hopefully soon , looks fantastic!


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> looks great ash , just got some monti green and the red like your new one , how quick does the torch grow i got a tiny frag of it the other day, and love the cat picking one up hopefully soon , looks fantastic!


Thanks!  Ah cool! My torch isn't growing very fast, as I've only got T5s. But it's certainly wider and bigger than it used to be! Which is cool. 

Yeh the cat is lovely. Sulks a bit if I don't feed it though :lol2:


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

any fish, ash? can't see any in your pics.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

wilkinss77 said:


> any fish, ash? can't see any in your pics.


Just a rainford's goby so far. Had him 2-3 months or so, and he's not eaten a single item of food I've given him in all that time :lol2: But he's eating all the 'pods in the tank, he's always got a fat belly and is poo'ing and happy. 










Next fish are going to be a pair of skunk clowns... but I'd rather get this fish accepting food I give him first incase the live food population in the tank is decimated by addition of new fish and he starves  No rush!

Some more pics:

clavularia:










And the gorgeous catalaphylia :flrt:


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

AshMashMash said:


> Just a rainford's goby so far. Had him 2-3 months or so, and he's not eaten a single item of food I've given him in all that time :lol2: But he's eating all the 'pods in the tank, he's always got a fat belly and is poo'ing and happy.
> 
> image
> 
> ...


what skunks you gonna get? there are 3 species- pink skunk, orange skunk & yellow skunk. i forget the latin names, but they are separate species, one of which has no vertical stripe.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

wilkinss77 said:


> what skunks you gonna get? there are 3 species- pink skunk, orange skunk & yellow skunk. i forget the latin names, but they are separate species, one of which has no vertical stripe.


Yes I know there are. I'm getting the ones with the vertical stripe - pink skunks I believe. Lovely salmony colour to them too. 

As I say though, would rather the cute goby was feeding properly first just incase...


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## Dibles (Nov 7, 2011)

Looking great!!! Give it 6 months and thats gonna look fantastic!! Some great pics!! Good luck with it!!


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## Horsfield (Oct 1, 2008)

When you over next we need to go back to south west :whistling2:


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

going to take a trip there soon i think , ive finished my fish stocking , after seeing what went well in the tank and what didnt , few expensive mistakes, now to find corals. a couple just over the bridge which are great for marines , are delta marines in caerphilly and rocks and critters in barry just outside cardiff


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Horsfield said:


> When you over next we need to go back to south west :whistling2:


We do! :gasp: I'll be going there _every_ time I am around yours now :no1:



ridium said:


> going to take a trip there soon i think , ive finished my fish stocking , after seeing what went well in the tank and what didnt , few expensive mistakes, now to find corals. a couple just over the bridge which are great for marines , are delta marines in caerphilly and rocks and critters in barry just outside cardiff


It's awesome! Really friendly, loads of stock, really good prices 

I've not been to either of those, will make a trip :2thumb:


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

a guy i get my frags from told me about south west marines only place he uses,
rocksncritters has a website , and delta marines is liverock.co.uk , you just dont see the corals on there just his live rock


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

oh and maybe worth a trip to the guy who runs reefstore.co.uk house, he sells cat's for £25 , his acans are cheap too , acros from £5


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> a guy i get my frags from told me about south west marines only place he uses,
> rocksncritters has a website , and delta marines is liverock.co.uk , you just dont see the corals on there just his live rock


Yeh it's cool  I'll check 'em out ta. 



ridium said:


> oh and maybe worth a trip to the guy who runs reefstore.co.uk house, he sells cat's for £25 , his acans are cheap too , acros from £5


Will check it out!


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

ash how did you secure your catalaphyllia


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## reptile_man_08 (Jan 14, 2008)

Sweet Ash. But sump it and get rid of that horrible powerhead! Edit: Ooh


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> ash how did you secure your catalaphyllia


Mines just laid on it's side - it came with a massive rocky body to it about 6 inches long, so just laid it down and it's happy there. 



reptile_man_08 said:


> Sweet Ash. But sump it and get rid of that horrible powerhead! Edit: Ooh


Lol... the powerhead is for circulation, it's got a sump but you still need circulation. This is a test tank... in preparation for a 2ft cube which will make powerhead placement much less obvious. But just not gonna have the money for that for a long time!


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

ive added some more corals today , some bright red blastomussa , a very bright black and lumo green Platygyra maze coral, a pink lobophyllia hemprichii brain coral and a very large catalaphyllia , and like the way that youve got it done , it has a solid "rock" body , dunno if id be able to use putty on it though :/


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> ive added some more corals today , some bright red blastomussa , a very bright black and lumo green Platygyra maze coral, a pink lobophyllia hemprichii brain coral and a very large catalaphyllia , and like the way that youve got it done , it has a solid "rock" body , dunno if id be able to use putty on it though :/


Awesome! I've just not got the money :lol2: 

Pics?


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

lol told you i get them dead cheap 
£90 in total for all
just uploading some , but they are not fully open and colored up as been in tank less then an hour


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> lol told you i get them dead cheap
> £90 in total for all
> just uploading some , but they are not fully open and colored up as been in tank less then an hour


Awesome! How comes so cheap? Which one was it from?


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

they are from the guy who owns Reefstore.co.uk he has a ad on aquarist classifieds 

Maze coral , being covered in sand by my maroon female digging again! paid £30









brain coral paid £20









cat just starting to open paid £25









and my 3 heads of red blasto paid £15


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> they are from the guy who owns Reefstore.co.uk he has a ad on aquarist classifieds
> 
> Maze coral , being covered in sand by my maroon female digging again! paid £30
> image
> ...


Nice one really cool! Remind me of a FTS... I'm sure I've seen it before but forgotten what it looks like...


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## Jb1432 (Apr 19, 2008)

Next time you venture up north Ash, visit Wharf Aquatics :2thumb:

Marine Department


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Jb1432 said:


> Next time you venture up north Ash, visit Wharf Aquatics :2thumb:
> 
> Marine Department


Nottinghamshire isn't north! :lol2: But yes I shall


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## Jb1432 (Apr 19, 2008)

AshMashMash said:


> Nottinghamshire isn't north! :lol2: But yes I shall


Isnt it? Damn i should of known you live in Southern England and can't decipher geograpical locations :whistling2:


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Jb1432 said:


> Isnt it? Damn i should of known you live in Southern England and can't decipher geograpical locations :whistling2:


Lol I used to live in the lake district...  Notts is pretty much midlands


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

AshMashMash said:


> Nice one really cool! Remind me of a FTS... I'm sure I've seen it before but forgotten what it looks like...


here we go mate , hasnt been fully scaped yet as undecided on coral posistions

fish stock :
5 Lyretail anthias , 4 female 1 male
2 pair of maroon yellow band clowns
1 Heniochus butterfly in QT at moment
1 Blue Mandarin

Corals :
2 types of xenia
rics
Furry Mushrooms
green and red plating monti's
Torch
Blasto's
Brain
Maze
Green and red zoas
Acro's
2 types of hammer
Toadstool 
Cataphillia


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> here we go mate , hasnt been fully scaped yet as undecided on coral posistions
> 
> fish stock :
> 5 Lyretail anthias , 4 female 1 male
> ...


Wicked! What lighting are you using? How do you control alk/calc/mag?


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

lighting is just 2 t5's and 2 x aquaray ultra 600 in fiji blue, i havent even delved into that side of things lol , but going to start vodka dosing when im fully happy with what i read and start monitoring things a bit more


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> lighting is just 2 t5's and 2 x aquaray ultra 600 in fiji blue, i havent even delved into that side of things lol , but going to start vodka dosing when im fully happy with what i read and start monitoring things a bit more


Awesome!  You got a sump? I've got chaeto in my sump and have really low nitrate/phos... typically 0-0.5 nitrates and 0.008-0.010 phosphate... chaeto grows brilliantly.


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

nope  would be too much hassle to sump it


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> nope  would be too much hassle to sump it


How comes? I've just got the Tunz overflow... no effort at all, just plonk it in and jam some tubing on a pump. 

Hopefully my dosing pump will come soon


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

would have to modify stand , and cant be arsed to empty the tank lol to get the stand done


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

ridium said:


> would have to modify stand , and cant be arsed to empty the tank lol to get the stand done


Fair enough.


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

i have to sort the back of it out too , theres no background forgot to do it lol! if i do strip it down , i may sump it while doing the background


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## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

ridium said:


> here we go mate , hasnt been fully scaped yet as undecided on coral posistions
> 
> fish stock :
> 5 Lyretail anthias , 4 female 1 male
> ...


Your tank looks nice but i think the Heniochus is a bad choice .
Nearly always give trouble in a reef tank.


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