Jestersix

Writer's Reef (Bruce's Tank)

Bruce Spiegelman

Sponsorship, Public Relations
BOD
I've been meaning to do this tank journal for -- umm ... almost a year now. I guess since it hasn't crashed yet it's time to post. I'll break this up into a couple of posts. The top post will be the equipment and livestock as it currently stands. I'll update as things change. The next post will be some shots during set-up and the first few months. The final post will be the most current pictures as of this posting date.

As of this posting date the tank's been up for about 10 months.

Main Equipment List:

  • Innovative Marine SR120 with stand
  • Four (4) Kessil 360's with rigid arms.
  • Spectral Controller
  • IM Ghost Skimmer
  • Apex Classic w/ EB8, PM1, PM2, WXM
  • Two (2) Ecotech MP40's
  • Three (3) 475 GPH return pumps
  • Bubble Magus Doser (3 heads)
  • IM Refugium LED Light
  • Two Media Baskets
  • Two Hydor Heaters
  • DJ eight port power switcher
  • 60# Live Aragonite sand
  • 90# Real Reef rock

Current Livestock:
  • Four Ocellaris clownfish
  • Comet
  • Two Firefish
  • Red Hawkfish
  • Purple Tang
  • Blue Tang
  • Yellow Tang
  • White Tail Bristletooth Tang
  • Red Mandarin
  • Blue Mandarin
  • Purple Dottyback
  • Two RBTA's



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Set-up:

Tank was purchased used. It had been set-up for three months as a FOWLR tank, but the original owner was forced to sell when his landlord told him he was in violation of the lease.

I used a combination of standard and shelf Real Reef Rock (synthetic) and live sand. I used Dr. Tim's One and Only to help speed the cycle up and began moving corals and fish from my previous tank after three weeks.

The initial set-up utilized three Kessil 360's over the 6' tank. . After a few months I was getting almost no growth in my corals and added a fourth -- it made a big difference and coral growth took off. Kessil's were ramped up using a Spectral Controller over the next six weeks. They currently max out at 60%/55% and I'm pretty happy at that. They have been at that level for the last 5 months.
 
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Nice! When did you get your mandarins and how are they doing? I want to get one...but hear all these starvation stories.

Looking forward to photos.

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I added the first Mandarin (Blue) around the third month. Prior to that I established three different colonies of Copepods -- Tigger, Tisbe and Apocyclops. Once a month I dropped in a bottle of each. Since then I add a bottle of one type or another about once every 45 days. I added the male Red Mandarin about three months ago. They are both very fat and healthy and have begun to exhibit mating behaviors.
 
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Culture your own pods. Mine multiplying in the pod tank (2.5 gallons) there's like millions of the darting around


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I have a 4g tank I could use. Just low flow, rock, some chaeto? I'll give it a try. Would love a pair of mandarins :)


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I added the first Mandarin (Blue) around the third month. Prior to that I established three different colonies of Copepods -- Tigger, Tisbe and Apocyclops. Once a month I dropped in a bottle of each. Since then I add a bottle of one type or another about once every 45 days. I added the male Mandarin about three months ago. They are both very fat and healthy and have begun to exhibit mating behaviors.

Does it matter which order the pod is introduced? I randomly added some Tigger first.
 
;l
Does it matter which order the pod is introduced? I randomly added some Tigger first.

It doesn't matter what order you do them (or even if you space them out). The only thing that matters is how you add them. Tisbe's and Tiggers should be added at night and directly to the rockwork or sand bed. Both of these species are crawling copepods. You should also ad some of each to your refugium if one's available. In my case I have a media basket in the back section of the AOI tank that I grow Chaeto in. It's easy to do that way and mine is full of pods.

Apocyclops should only be added to the Chaeto. The reason is adult Aocyclops are free swimmers, but juveniles are crawlers. If you add the juveniles to the Chaeto they will hang out there till they are bigger and then release and make their way into the main display on their own.
 
I chose to only go with tisbe pods. I read that over the long term that one species will out compete the other and you'll end up with that one only anyway. I'm skeptical about that claim since their food supply seems to be plentiful.

I was also worried about having enough since I added my mandarin only a few weeks after it's cycle. I ended up buying 2 batches just to be sure but was probably fine with just one. I see them all over my glass near the sand bed and can see Mandy (my mandarin) eating them off the rockwork. I'll likely add another one since the pods seem to be in abundance.

@Bruce Spiegelman, I bought a red one from Live Aquaria but it doesn't look that red. Does yours look overwhelmingly red?
 
@Bruce Spiegelman, I bought a red one from Live Aquaria but it doesn't look that red. Does yours look overwhelmingly red?

That's both a yes and no answer. It is overwhelmingly bright red when he's courting (which I catch him doing once or twice a month.) He becomes bright red and his fins unfurl completely. At other times he is a duller red. Still significantly red, but duller. I'll try to grab a picture this week.
 
Were you able to positively sex the mandarin before purchase?

I talked with Liveaquaria when they came in stock, but they couldn't guarantee sex. So I bugged Jess at Diablo Coral every week when the fish list came out to check for reds. He got two in, and in person, I was able to sex the male fairly easily even though he was a juvenile.
 
I have a 4g tank I could use. Just low flow, rock, some chaeto? I'll give it a try. Would love a pair of mandarins :)


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Need phyto. No need rocks or chaeto. Lots of phyto and watch them multiply. Don't even need a heater.


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