Tswifty's Custom 40g Rimless Build Thread

[Tswifty]

Also, for anyone interested. I have outlined my Vodka dosing plan in a thread in the SPS forum. I have a few loose ends I need to wrap up, but hopefully will be able to begin the initial MB7 phase later this week.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1685800

Here are the FTS's I took for the thread that will serve as my "before" pictures.







Water Parameters:

[Tswifty]

Oh, and here's the answer to the puzzle... and no it's not a giant lizard.

A C A N T H U R U S / T R I S T I S

Common name is the Eibli or Indian Ocean Mimic Tang, and I ordered it from Blue Zoo Aquatics. Here is the picture from their website.

[maroun.c]

Really nice fish don't recall seeing it before.
Good luck with the new dosing plan.

[Tswifty]

Thanks Maroun. I had never seen it either until I was at Kevin's house. He picked up a tiny one from a LFS, and the colors were amazing. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted one for my system. I just always had a hard time finding them in stock whenever I was ready to add one. LiveAquaria has the best picture I've been able to find online though. Apparently their colors can vary quite a bit, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



As far as the dosing goes, I'm hoping to start up the MB7 later this week. It just depends if I can find a LFS that carries it, or if I'll have to order it online.

[serpentman]

Awesome TJ! I got your note, interested to see how the dosing goes...

[Padrino]

Nice Addition TJ,
I will be following your dosing thread as well. Good luck and keep it well updated

[Tswifty]

Received my tracking information. The new guy is on his way!

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by serpentman
Awesome TJ! I got your note, interested to see how the dosing goes...

Originally posted by Padrino
Nice Addition TJ,
I will be following your dosing thread as well. Good luck and keep it well updated

Thanks guys. Hopefully everything will go smoothly, and I'll have some positive results a few months down the road.

[DiscoReefRover]

Hey TJ

Got a new toy Today .............
























MP40w............need I say more ........LOL

[Tswifty]

Wha... wha... wha... WHAT!?!?!

I thought you were a Tunze man for life? Which tank are you planning on running it in?

[DiscoReefRover]

I got it for my 70 ....had to try it out ..plus I got a great deal!!

[goldreef]

That's one sick tank man, Congrats.

[crvz]

Good luck with the new fish. Those mimic tangs are very dynamic as juveniles, but unfortunately lose the color as they age. They are often just a gray/brown color as adults.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by DiscoReefRover
I got it for my 70 ....had to try it out ..plus I got a great deal!!

Nice... That should rock in your 70. I still need to get out there and see that system.

Originally posted by goldreef
That's one sick tank man, Congrats.

Thank you.

Originally posted by crvz
Good luck with the new fish. Those mimic tangs are very dynamic as juveniles, but unfortunately lose the color as they age. They are often just a gray/brown color as adults.

Thanks. Yeah that was the problem with most of the Tangs I was considering. Most only kept the vibrant colors as juveniles, and were much duller as adults.

I'm acclimating the fish now, but it's hard to get a gauge on the coloration or markings at this point (through the shipping bags). I think it was pretty stressed from shipping, because the orange vertical lines looked almost nonexistent when it arrived. However, after floating the bag in my QT tank for about an hour, the markings seem to be much darker now. I probably won't be able to get a good feel for the colors until I let it out of the bags though. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[kudora]

hope the trip wasnt too rough for him.

[Tswifty]

He seems to be more relaxed now. I'm about to release him into the QT tank, then run off to the LFS to pick up some misc items. I'll try and get some pictures of him later tonight after he settles in.

Also, I dosed round 3 of the Interceptor treatment last night. So my display should be officially Red Bug free... now onto the Flatworms.

I thought about picking up some of those FW eating Nudibranches, but they're pretty much guaranteed to die, and was told that they probably won't even get all the FW's. So for $23 a pop... I think I'll pass. Hopefully a few treatments, and the Canary Wrasse will be all I need to keep their population in check.

[melev]

Some tangs will change their colors dramatically, usually due to some stressor. Just give it time to settle in and then you'll see its normal coloration.

[Tswifty]

Thanks Marc, that's what I figured. Also, I seem to remember it taking Merlin a couple of weeks to fully color up... basically until I was able to get him fattened up a little, and eating on a regular basis.

I stuck some nori on a clip in the tank, but don't expect the little guy to touch it. I'll check back in an hour or so, and if he hasn't touched it, pull it out.

Also, I picked up a small package of the famed "Rod's Food" today, and may give it a shot over the next few days. Not sure if it's going to be a staple in my system, cause man is it expensive! I just picked up the original, but noticed there is a herbivore and coral blend as well now. Down the road when I eventually begin dosing amino acids to the tank, I may give the coral mix a try.

[kb11235]

So how is the tang doing?

[chrismunn]

thats a cute little fish much better looking than that nasty lizzard!

[kmckay]

Your tank is beautiful. I really like the clean look of a rimless tank. I am sure that your current problems will seem like a minor blip in the history of this tank. Ok, this may be a stupid question, but I've always wanted to ask it of someone with a tank like this. How do you keep the fish from jumping to their demise?

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by kb11235
So how is the tang doing?

It seems to be doing well. Didn't eat the nori off the clip, which was expected. However, I have seen it picking at the rocks, and bottom of the tank.

Originally posted by chrismunn
thats a cute little fish much better looking than that nasty lizzard!

LOL... thanks.

Originally posted by kmckay
Your tank is beautiful. I really like the clean look of a rimless tank. I am sure that your current problems will seem like a minor blip in the history of this tank. Ok, this may be a stupid question, but I've always wanted to ask it of someone with a tank like this. How do you keep the fish from jumping to their demise?

Thanks for the kind words. Honestly, you just keep your fingers crossed. I cover the tank at night though, as that seems to be when they like to jump for some reason.

[Tswifty]

On the pest front... I spent a large portion of the evening siphoning out what seemed like a million flatworms. Then hit the tank with FW Exit, and probably a million more died off.

I'm debating about how long to wait before administering a follow up dose. I think a week is recommended, but I don't want to give the little buggers a chance to repopulate. So I think I'm going to hit the tank again in 3 days. I'd like to have everything cleared up before I start my MB7, Vodka, etc... dosing.

Also, I moved the VorTech about an inch or two higher on the right pane. Hopefully some of my corals that were getting blasted will get some relief now.

[Tswifty]

Oh and I've been slowly but surely demolishing my ORA Bird's of Paradise, which was growing out so nice lately. Over the past 24hrs I've managed to accidentally break off 3 nice sized branches.

[kudora]

Originally posted by Tswifty

Also, I picked up a small package of the famed "Rod's Food" today, and may give it a shot over the next few days. Not sure if it's going to be a staple in my system, cause man is it expensive! I just picked up the original, but noticed there is a herbivore and coral blend as well now. Down the road when I eventually begin dosing amino acids to the tank, I may give the coral mix a try.

i use rods foods a couple of times a week, its a good mix and one of the huge bags will last me 6 to 8 months. the fish and coral both like it but i think its a bit much lol thus i only feed it a couple of times a week.