[copps]

Originally Posted by tom obrecht

Any advice on keeping mag anemones in the reef? I’m also interested in not only dwarf angels as we have talked about but either a mag or gig anemone. Any helpful hints?

Tom, with Mags and Gigs there are few things that make your chances of success much greater...

1. Be sure to get your anemones in good shape... many times as fresh from the ocean as you can get them is best. If you order them in at a LFS I'd take them in the bag from the wholesaler, assuming the water in the bag looks clear and the anemone looks ok. If you can get them from the Diver's Den that great too... Kevin Kohen is the man...

2. Prophylactic treatment with antibiotics has been a godsend, particularly with gigantea. Look it up and understand it. I drop the Cipro in right after the lights go out, and just before they turn on in QT I do a 100% water change and allow them to be in antibiotic free water during lit hours. I do two five day treatments with two days in the middle to rest. It's brought the success rate of gigantea up significantly...

3. For magnifica, the nice thing is that once placed in a place they're happy, they will not travel over sand or crushed coral. This gave me the ability to keep them in my 1300 without fear they'd travel and mow through my SPS... for gigantea, I came up with another way to keep them happy, and where I want them. I place them in clay flowerpots. Once they're foot is attached they're quite happy there, and it gives you the ability to place them where you'd like, and remove them if necessary for more antibiotic treatment. Here is a shot of a few in they're temporary QT that I treated with antibiotics...


And in their secondary QT... when grown in you cannot even see the clay pot, as shown in my photos above...

Originally Posted by fishguy597

John , can you give a little more info on the kydex ? Is it pretty rigid and does it bow in the tank? I did a quick Google search and what I found was .8 for thickness. I assume you just cut it to size of each panel? Also where did you get yours from? Sorry for so many questions it's just a great idea that I have never seen before. Seems like a great application for acrylic tanks. Thanks in advance.

Btw love your tanks. Long time follower first time poster.

Thanks... I got my large order brought in by my buddies at Avast Marine here locally... great guys I've known from long before they started their company... but I've ordered it from here...

https://www.interstateplastics.com/K...80309012207-9p

I've used the two thinnest sizes... 0.028 and 0.04 inches thick. I now use the thinner one... because it's easier to get in and out of the tank and curl up around the mass of corals I have growing. You can order a few small sheets and decide for yourself which works best. For most sizes you don't have to worry about bowing... I strategically place a few magnets here and there to hold it in place on the 1300... but on the 240 it holds in place by itself. To cut it you need to score it very carefully with a razor blade knife... only one track... and then bend it along the track and it will snap.

Here's a shot of it at the Steinhart Aquarium... that's another MASNA Aquarist of the year... Rich Ross... another great guy to have a beer with. this is probably the 0.04" in black...


Here's another shot from the Waikiki Aquarium... this aquarium was a great inspiration to me... despite it's lack of colorful corals... Hawaii doesn't have much so they don't have much to work with... but it's setup is incredible... from the front you see no plumbing or anything... your eyes are fooled into thinking it's a patch or reef, despite the relative small size of the tank. here's a front shot of the tank...


From the top you can understand its setup... and looking at it this way you would not believe how stunning it is from the front...


Here's a shot showing the light blue Kydex they use... and a way of keeping carpet surfers in the tank...

Originally Posted by Haksar

Depends which fish you mean... some are unavailable and others are obtainable if you know where to look...

I was referring to those beautiful hybrid angels and blackxscopas tang.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by gregkn73

Wow, unbelievable system. Great commitment from a veteran. And you also skiing :-)
Did you ever think to use a Carlson surge maker to your system? If not why?

At waakiki aquarium, do they use any other flow devices, except Carlson surge makers?

Thanks in advance. Great reading.

Thanks... the biggest drawback to Carlson surge devices in closed systems is that they produce a temporary burst of microbubbles... this is not really that unsightly as it's temporary... and quite striking... like wave breaking... but the problem comes when artificial lighting like metal halides are used. In Waikiki they use lots of natural sunlight, so this doesn't become an issue. They use many more modern methods of wavemaking technology there now... like the Hydrowizard... but the CSDs are great and hold up for many applications still...

Copps