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 Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium

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mangoman
lostintravise
schudini
Nicholas41
Sam_G
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Sam_G
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Sam_G


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PostSubject: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptySat Jun 04, 2011 10:25 am

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium diving

First, some history:
I got into the saltwater hobby about two years ago. I started with a 14 Gallon Biocube that I kept in my dorm on-campus. A year later (when I moved back home), I upgraded to a 46 Gallon Bowfront Aquarium. Last August, I upgraded to a 50 Gallon, which is my current main aquarium.

Where I began - The BC14:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium 0820091325b

My Old 46 Gallon:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC01986

Here's a link to my old 46 Gallon's build thread on Living Reefs...
http://www.livingreefs.com/samanthas-46-gallon-bowfront-t26188.html#post346353

My Current Set-Up - Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium:

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05135

I plan to give a condensed summary of the set-up of my 50 Gallon in my next few posts, but if you want a more in depth version, below is a link to the build thread for my 50 Gallon Reef that I maintain on Living Reefs:
http://www.livingreefs.com/samanthas-50-gallon-reef-aquarium-t28239.html


Last edited by Sam_G on Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:27 pm; edited 2 times in total
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyMon Jun 06, 2011 9:04 am

My 50 Gallon Reef - How It's Changed Over Time...

August 2010 - The New Aquarium:

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC02987

August 2010 - A Week Later:

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC02992

December 2010:

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC03728

January 2011 - After a Bad Coral Bleaching Accident in December:

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC04337

April 2011:

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC04468-1

May 2011 - After Changing My T5 Bulbs:

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC04846
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Sam_G
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyMon Jun 06, 2011 9:19 am

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium - Current Set-Up:

June 2011:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05136

My Set-Up and Equipment:

DT Set-Up:
- CPR Refugium
- Eshopps Single Overflow
- Mesh Screen Tops
- Current Nova Extreme Pro 36" T5 Fixture w/ ATI Bulbs
- 80ish lbs. of LR
- 80ish lbs. of LS
- Tunze Nanostream 6045
- Hydor Koralia Nano 425

20L Sump Set-Up:
- Odyssey PS-75 Protein Skimmer
- Refugium
- Aqueon Pro 200W Submersible Heater
- Eheim 1260 Hobby Pump
- Fan
- PhosBan Reactor 150
- Titanium Grounding Probe
- Gravity-Fed 5 Gallon ATO

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05143

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05145


Last edited by Sam_G on Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:29 pm; edited 5 times in total
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyMon Jun 06, 2011 9:20 am

My Fish fishy

Currently, I have five fish in my 50 Gallon. Here are my peeps:

Goby, My Yellow Watchman Goby:

Yes, he's a goby, and I named him Goby. I know, original. Wink Goby was my first fish. He started out in the BC14, survived being moved to and from my dorm, survived the move to the 46 Gallon, and now he makes his home in the 50 Gallon. I love Goby and his perpetual frown. I often refer to him as "Mr. Grumpy Gills".

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC03267-1


Harry, My Splendid Leopard Wrasse:

Harry is definitely the star of the tank. He swims around all day looking for pods on the LR and showing off his colors. Harry is actually a girl currently. However, leopard wrasses can change their sex. While I bought Harry as a female, "she" should one day change into a "he", so, therefore, I gave the wrasse a "boy" name and refer to it as a he.

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC03568-2


Sean and Sydney, The Clownfish Couple:

Last December, Sean and Sydney were added to the family. They are naked clownfish, because they have no stripes. Sydney is the bigger one (females are always the larger one in the pair). They like to host the large green montipora in my aquarium.

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC03639


Waldo, My Tailspot Blenny:

Waldo is the latest addition to my aquarium. I bought him just a couple of weeks ago at Aqua Star Aquarium Center. He's a cute little guy with an interesting personality.

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05095
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Sam_G
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyMon Jun 06, 2011 10:13 am

Some other members of the reef...

While I'm not going to go through every hermit crab, snail, and other critter in my aquarium, there are a few important ones that I'd like to introduce you to:

Junior, My Skunk Cleaner Shrimp:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC03365-1

Chip and Chad, My Sand-Sifting Starfish:
(The pic is of Chip. Chad looks pretty much the same)
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC04200

Chuck, My Red Fromia Starfish:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05089-1
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Nicholas41

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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyTue Jun 14, 2011 9:37 pm

The picture of Goby getting cleaned is priceless!!! And I wanted to say congrats on keeping a leopard wrasse, I hear it takes an expert reefer to keep on of those! I think I read about them in a book on expert reef keeping! study
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyTue Jun 14, 2011 11:10 pm

Nicholas41 wrote:
The picture of Goby getting cleaned is priceless!!!

Thanks! Very Happy

Nicholas41 wrote:
And I wanted to say congrats on keeping a leopard wrasse, I hear it takes an expert reefer to keep on of those! I think I read about them in a book on expert reef keeping! study

Yeah, cuz you're such a BIG reader! banned
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyWed Jun 15, 2011 3:22 pm

My dog really likes the new sump set-up. Smile She thinks it's her own personal aquarium. fish 3

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05157

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05155
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyMon Jun 20, 2011 7:29 pm

I got a new coral! Smile

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05215

I've always wanted a bubble coral! It's one of the corals that I had wanted in my aquarium before I even owned an aquarium!! mr. green
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyMon Jun 20, 2011 7:31 pm

Also, I placed an order with Mr. Coral! My first Mr. Coral order!! I'm pretty excited! excited It will ship out tomorrow, and should arrive Wednesday. Pics coming soon! loopy
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jun 23, 2011 11:14 am

I traded a frag of my ORA Miami Orchid Staghorn and my Blue Formosa Staghorn for a frag of ORA Red Planet two nights ago. I'm in LOVE with this new coral! love Check it out!

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05357

Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05459
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jun 23, 2011 11:31 am

Also, the Mr. Coral order came in yesterday! Very Happy I posted some pics in the "Corals" forum, but I'll try to take some close-ups of the frags and post them here...
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyTue Jun 28, 2011 11:10 am

Finally! Here are the Mr. Coral frags! Very Happy

First off, I got some acans. I've never kept acans before, so I'm pretty psyched about these lil' guys!

Amazing Acan:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05488

Last Samurai Acan:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05491

Holy Cow Acan (suffered a lot from shipping, and you can see its skeleton poking through grumble):
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05458

I also got a Superman Chalice:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05468

Some Fruit Loop Zoas (they look like morphs, though, not real Fruit Loops):
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05494

Perfect 10 Zoas:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05492

Magician Palys (the ones that I got at the TBRC frag swap died so I bought these to replace them):
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05501

When I ordered from Mr. Coral they had a deal going on that you got 2 free frags with every 4 frags purchased, so here are my freebies...

Pink Zoas:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05506

Purple People Eater Favia:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05507

Superman Zoas:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05504

Blazin' Watermelon Chalice:
Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium DSC05378


Last edited by Sam_G on Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:31 am; edited 5 times in total
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyTue Jun 28, 2011 11:15 am

Unfortunately, it's been almost a week now since the Mr. Coral order came in, and it seems that a few of the frags are looking worse. The acan that wasn't looking so hot when it arrived looks like it has taken a turn for the worse. The two chalices aren't looking so good either. Both of them have bleached pretty badly. The chalices are only about the size of my thumb nail, and I think they were just really fragile to begin with. I've been moving the corals around my tank trying to make them happier. I guess we'll just see what happens... I think for now on, I'll stick to buying locally... Neutral
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schudini

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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jun 30, 2011 5:31 pm

Nice acans.

I lol'd at the warning sticker on the sump. I need one of those.
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jun 30, 2011 5:38 pm

Thanks! Very Happy Unfortunately, one of the acans that I ordered (the one that suffered a lot from shipping) didn't make it. It bit it yesterday... grumble

Yeah, I found the sticker on Ebay and couldn't resist!! mr. green
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schudini

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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jun 30, 2011 5:48 pm

Were you feeding the acans anything?
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jun 30, 2011 6:26 pm

I tried feeding mysis and brine shrimp, but they aren't extending tentacles. One of the acans kind of extended some tentacles yesterday evening. I'm hoping maybe tonight the 2 remaining ones might...
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schudini

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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyFri Jul 01, 2011 9:54 am

I usually feed at night so the other fish don't try to pull the food out of their mouths (stupid clowns mad ). I melt a cube of brine, etc. in a bottle cap with tank water, then squirt a little of the melted liquid into the tank for all the LPS to get excited, then wait about 5-10 minutes until everything shows tentacles and use a long pipette (eyedropper) to squirt food near/into the mouths.
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyFri Jul 01, 2011 3:36 pm

Thanks for the advice, Josh. I'll give that a shot tonight. Last night I got distracted and forgot to try to feed the acans. ashamed
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptySat Jul 02, 2011 11:07 pm

I've continued to try to feed the acans but to no avail. Sad The acans did show a bit of polyp extension, but as soon as I try to feed them, my fish and shrimp steal all of the food. Even at night, my fish and shrimp come swimming over to steal the food. I don't think the acans got any of it. The good news is that the two acan frags that are left don't look bad. One looks pretty healthy, the other is still showing some skeleton, but at least it's not getting any worse. Unfortunately, the two chalice frags that I got from Mr. Coral were just getting worse by the day. I moved them to my brother's tank a couple of days ago to see if they'd be happier in there. I guess time will tell...
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyTue Jul 05, 2011 5:41 pm

Yep, that's the reason I hate clown fish and cleaner shrimp, they just come in and steal the food right out of the corals mouth!

Depending on where it's located, you can cut the bottom off of a water bottle and use the "bell" shaped part as a shield during feeding, to prevent everything else from stealing the food.


Also, showing a little skeleton isn't bad, they can still come back.

I've found mine like medium light and medium to low flow for maximum extension.
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyTue Jul 05, 2011 7:27 pm

The water bottle trick is a good idea! Unfortunately, I have the acan right under an acro and monti which makes it nearly impossible to squish anything in there. Where it is located now, it gets medium light and low flow, so it seems like I picked a pretty good spot...

The good news is that the acan is looking better. I barely see any skeleton this evening, and it's starting to look pretty plump and healthy! Keeping my fingers crossed! fingers-crossed
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jul 07, 2011 11:09 pm

Just chiming it to tell you I think your aquarium is great!
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PostSubject: Re: Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium   Samantha's 50 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium EmptyThu Jul 07, 2011 11:25 pm

lostintravise wrote:
Just chiming it to tell you I think your aquarium is great!

Thanks, Travis! Smile And, welcome to the club and forum!! You should introduce yourself to the rest of the forum in the "Introduce Yourself" Forum. What type of aquarium do you have?
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