The Alcyonacea Lagoon

[joshky]

Unfortunately I couldn't start this from the beginning as this is just me rebuilding from my stony corals crashing back in December. I've opted to take the road less traveled and focus on leathers this time around, done correctly I strongly believe these can be just as beautiful as any acropora dominated reef out there. Over the past couple of months I've slowly been adding new pieces and working on the aquascape, so lots of growing in to do, but so far I'm happy with where things are at.

Aquarium specs:

Tank: 48x24x16 Deep Blue
Sump: Tideline 36 by Trigger Systems
Skimmer: Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2
Return Pump: Ecotech Vectra M1
Lights: 3 Chinese Black Boxes
Doser: Kamoer 3 Channel (not in use currently)
ATO: Tunze Osmolator 3155
Flow: 2x MP40wQD

The tank has been wet and running since 10/08/15, and I replaced all of my live rock with TBS rock on 02/25/16.

Current fish:

Amphiprion bicinctus var. "Spotcinctus" pair
Siganus doliatus
Macropharyngodon ornatus
Halichoeres melanurus
Acanthurus nigrofuscus
Zebrasoma flavescens
Apogon spp. "Flame Cardinalfish" trio
Salarias ramosus
Synchiropus sycorax

A few pictures to start







More to come soon.

[joshky]

A few more pictures....

[top shelf]

Looking really nice. Question for you, how are the flame Cardinals? I've heard mixed reviews about them from low survival rates to being little terrors. Was curious about your experience.

[joshky]

Originally Posted by top shelf

Looking really nice. Question for you, how are the flame Cardinals? I've heard mixed reviews about them from low survival rates to being little terrors. Was curious about your experience.

I haven't had them very long so I can't comment on long term survival, but so far they've done really well. I quickly found out after purchasing them that they're nocturnal, so you only get to see them out of their chosen hiding spot every now and then. I think it actually adds character so it works for me, but probably not a great buy for a smaller tank. They've been extremely docile so far, so much so that I can't see them being aggressive, but I guess tank size can change everything. Time will tell on their aggression too I suppose.

[top shelf]

Originally Posted by joshky

I haven't had them very long so I can't comment on long term survival, but so far they've done really well. I quickly found out after purchasing them that they're nocturnal, so you only get to see them out of their chosen hiding spot every now and then. I think it actually adds character so it works for me, but probably not a great buy for a smaller tank. They've been extremely docile so far, so much so that I can't see them being aggressive, but I guess tank size can change everything. Time will tell on their aggression too I suppose.

I appreciate the feed back but being nocturnal would sorta defet the purpose for me, glad it works for you. I was looking to try and add a small trio of fish and DD often has these and some other small Cardinals.

[Piper27]

Beautiful start to the new tank! I cant wait to see what you add to the tank. It's so hard to find nice rare colored leathers where I live. The lfs's are great at being fooled by died leathers and lps from shady places. Some of these people wers really getting good at dying softies too. Not sure if it's still being done though have you heard about it before?

[joshky]

Originally Posted by top shelf

I appreciate the feed back but being nocturnal would sorta defet the purpose for me, glad it works for you. I was looking to try and add a small trio of fish and DD often has these and some other small Cardinals.

Right, they don't add enough of a footprint in my tank, but a smaller tank would be a waste honestly. I do see them pop out occasionally, and they'll eat when I feed, so it just makes it feel more natural in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Piper27

Beautiful start to the new tank! I cant wait to see what you add to the tank. It's so hard to find nice rare colored leathers where I live. The lfs's are great at being fooled by died leathers and lps from shady places. Some of these people wers really getting good at dying softies too. Not sure if it's still being done though have you heard about it before?

Yes dyed leathers are a huge issue, I don't see them where I live very often. Mostly I buy online now, the closest lfs to me is an hour away and with me looking for specific pieces, it's just not convenient to stop in all the time.

[reefmutt]

Love it Josh!
Looking super healthy!
Fantastic magnifica.
Really looking forward to watching this tank develop.

[joshky]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Love it Josh!
Looking super healthy!
Fantastic magnifica.
Really looking forward to watching this tank develop.

Thanks Matt!

I'm looking forward to seeing it progress myself, which is a big deal because I haven't been excited about the hobby at all for a while now. There's barely a handful of tanks that I'm using for inspiration, people just don't own leathers anymore; and those that do generally have way too much rock, in my opinion of course. I have a long way to go, but definitely shorter than if I went with acros again.

[reefmutt]

It’s true.. you don’t see as many tanks out there with leathers.. I’m sure there are many out here though..
Here’s an old tank I take care of..
not sure the Facebook link will work..
https://www.facebook.com/reefmutt/vi...2680597628280/
It’s all softies..
The movement is nice..

[joshky]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

It’s true.. you don’t see as many tanks out there with leathers.. I’m sure there are many out here though..
Here’s an old tank I take care of..
not sure the Facebook link will work..
https://www.facebook.com/reefmutt/vi...2680597628280/
It’s all softies..
The movement is nice..

Man that magnifica is a bit scary in there. I guess as long as it isn't moving!

The movement, texture play, and general pastel colors with small pops of color from LPS and invertebrates has the potential to create something really serene and low maintenance/stress free. That's the idea anyways, we'll see on the execution after a few months.

I'd love to get my hands on another super nice magnifica to put on the rock with my current one, but the idea of setting up the QT for it kills the idea for me. I guess if the right one ever popped up, I probably couldn't resist.

[joshky]

I was saving this for a bigger update, but one of my black box power supplies went out. I get a new one soon, but until then, this update will have to do.

I purchased this chalice in Cincinnati a couple weeks ago and I'm really digging the magma feel to it, so I'm dubbing it the "Magma Chalice", original right?





I can't wait to update when the new power supply comes in, lots of changes in the past few weeks.

[joshky]

Did some work in the tank today, so some of the leathers/gorgs are a wee bit upset, but overall things were looking good so I decided to take some photos.

[joshky]

Two more photos....

[joshky]

My Starry Blennies favorite place to perch, so glad he didn't freak out on me with the camera. All of my fish are super camera shy and will not let me get good photos, I need better camera lenses.

Enjoy!

[joshky]

I'm currently in the process of removing the larger sand/crushed coral that I had to use due to having SPS and high flow in a shallow tank, it's been something I've absolutely hated for a long time and has been by far the biggest regret of mine with having a shallow tank. I'll be replacing it with CaribSea Fiji Pink Aragonite, it's such a lovely sand and I truly believe the softer foreground of having small sand granules will really compliment the tank better. I'll be removing a few cups of sand a day, mostly focusing on getting the larger granules/crushed coral out; once I feel like I've removed most of the larger pieces, I'll start replacing it with the Fiji Pink Aragonite.


And here's an obligatory picture of the tank. This piece was looking super fuzzy tonight so I decided to get the camera out and try to get some photos of the tank, but this is the only one that turned out decent and the lights were switching over to actinics on me. I wanted to have a few more to post, but alas.... hopefully more photos soon, especially a FTS when I get the sand swapped out!

[markalot]

Looks good, looking forward to more photos.