Blog Comments

I've only had them in the 280g and 400g and they tend to stay very low in the tank. I've never had any issue with jumpers.

I was referring to the fish because I had read "The Lyretail Blue Gudgeon Dartfish should be housed in a 30-gallon or larger aquarium with plenty of loose coral rubble, and requires ample swimming room with a sand bottom for burrowing. It may try to jump out of the aquarium or other small opening, so a tight-fitting lid is required." that is why I was curious.

I think you are both talking about different things. Maybe cyano was talking about the tiger cowrie???

Well, they don't burrow but they find a tiny hole and hide there as a group. Then they come out in succession, and retreat in the same order. It's only been a couple of days, but I'm hoping to see them out in the open soon.

how often do they burrow? tanks looking great as always

Yes, that is the challenge. That anemone was in the back of the tank and crawled around to that spot in the front. I like it where it is - hope it stays there.

Wonderful idea of choosing the nem with a big group of clowns that will host it. Watching 2 clowns host a nem like the typical setup is great, but having 16 host a nem is is much more fun and interesting, and borderline genius. When I upgrade to a large enough system (still a few years from now when we move) I'd love to try what you've done here. The only concern I can think of is somehow getting the nem to plant itself in an area where I can have a good view where it won't bother corals, and having it stay there.

They seem to be okay overall, but there are hints of territorial issues amongst themselves. I've never kept more than pairs of clowns, so this is new to me.

I bet they are so fun to watch. Can you see any personalties forming?

thats awesome! I could just sit and watch them in that anemone for days. I just as of this morning got mt yellow watchman goby to pair with my pistol shrimp and I am just amazed by the symbiotic relationships that are formed naturally in the reef environment.

Thanks! Some of it is luck.

The more stable the water parameters, the happier the corals. I had a small alkalinity swing and lost a birdsnest this week. But I have a bunch of happy corals, the alkalinity is back on target and the fish are content.

Congrats Marc, your tank(s) are looking wonderful now despite that prodobio hiccup. Whatever you did to correct the damage, it worked. Looking forward to seeing these corals grow even bigger (if that's even possible!). And that's awesome you've had the same naso for that long...12.5 years! Quite an accomplishment. I've had my powder blue and purple for a little over 2 years now. I hope I have the same luck (and of course I know it's not just luck that given you success)

Amazing!!!

Damned good looking top downs Marc!!

Hey Dustin, thanks for the feedback and thoughts. The Ecotech glue is pretty amazing. I don't know what's in it, but it never clogs up and lasts and lasts - so it's all I use now.

Drilling the rock. Technically, you only have to keep the drill out of the water so if you had a shallow vat filled with rock and tank water you could drill underwater. The water will get cloudy, and I'd use a cordless drill for safety reasons. The bit may rust after that, but masonry bits are cheap. If you pulled out a rock out of the water, placed it on some thick towels and drilled some holes, you could submerge each rock back in water in less than 10 minutes I'd bet. Holes drill pretty quickly.

Your question about dry rock - I think it's best to get it in some circulating saltwater for a couple of weeks (or longer) before you put it in your tank. This would get the air out, and you could test the water for any surprises like phosphate or alkalinity spikes. I'd have it indoors in a bucket or trashcan with a powerhead and heater. When you are ready to use it, shake it out in the trashcan water as hard as you can, then it will be cleaner going into your reef.

Another excellent video with tons of great information Marc. Your tank appears very healthy. Thanks so much for doing these videos; I've learned loads of new info and tips. I really like this idea of pegging corals into the aquascape. I'm sick of the method I've been using: using dollar store super glue, apply to frag plug and hold onto a spot in my rockwork for 30 seconds. Many times it doesn't hold and I have to repeat the process again, or, more often, the frag holds but only on like a corner of the bottom of the plug, making it very fragile; the next morning I almost always find the frag on the sandbed due to being knocked off by a snail, flow, etc.. For me to do this I'd have to take out some of my existing rock from my tank obviously and drill holes. I imagine the rock would be out of the water for maybe 15-20 minutes tops. Is this safe for the life on the rock? Also I'd like to do this with some dry rock I have and wanted to put into my tank (maybe 3-7lbs). I was wondering if it's safe if I added this dry rock to my display (even though my tank is a few years old and I didn't begin this rock)? Would I expect to find a small cycle occur or anything? Also, do you have any suggestions as to how I should clean the dry rock before I add it to the display (it's dry tonga rock from BRS)?

I'm excited to change up my aquascape a bit and finally have a process where I can easily mount frags without the worry of having them get knocked off so easily. And I think I'll grab some ecotech glue...the dollar stuff works but the bottles are so small and I have to use so much.

Thanks again for creating these knowledgeable videos/posts, and for taking your time to help out people like myself. You are truly a valuable resource and your efforts are much appreciated! - Dustin

I'm going to try to incorporate what I can within the time constraints. I did add something new to this week's video.

I would certainly be interested in a quick recap of your reef at the end of each video! As a reefer I know that there is never a week when nothing changes, and I find all those little details quite interesting.

That's pretty much how I felt as well.

Cost of majano laser: yes, a little pricey (but not as bad as I thought)

Zapping any bastard majanos that dare show their face into oblivion: priceless