# New Reef Shots



## Jon in SW Ohio (Jul 12, 2006)

Amazing how quickly this little tank changes and fills up. Just like growing areas for orchids, things get shuffled all around to make room for the new orders that arrive.

The tank today:






An impressive recovery, my Porites sp. rock with Spirobranchius tube worms. The coral the worms live in was nearly dead when purchased and was bleached terribly. Over the last couple of months the color and polyps have been coming back, and it's taken on its typical "brown that shines green" coloration.





My Lien copy cat coral, the red/pink Goniopora.





Red mushroom coral, not showing its vibrance on film. In person it is electric looking. A local coral greenhouse wouldn't sell me one of theirs saying they wanted to propagate them because they would be too expensive. I found this one online for twenty bucks, and got another one thrown in as a freebie. The greenhouse owner turned nearly as red as the mushroom when he heard I got two for twenty dollars. He said he couldn't get them for twice that wholesale.





Now for my current addiction, the Zoanthids. They are sometimes called sea mat or colonial anemones, and are getting very popular. There are some very colorful ones, and many have been getting names similar to the clonal name on an orchid(more like the japanese name on a Neofinetia), and the popular named ones get very expensive. They are easy to propagate from division, so lately I've been buying and trading them from other people.

This looks like some bland Zoa to non-reefing people, but on the reefing forums this thing is gold. It is an Orange People Eater. People Eater is a common term for ones with a green slit mouth. Orange is one of the rarest colors.





Armor of God on the left, a few misc ones on a rock. The blue ones in the middle(3 polyps) are all the rage right now, and go for high prices as well.





Left is an Eclipse Yellow, middle is a Whamin Watermelon Eagle Eye, right is a Ricordia florida mushroom. The green and white one on top is an unnamed People Eater.





My camera shy Eye of Rah colony, but I bought it for the yellow skirted ones in the middle.





Some more Zoas from the other side





Pretty Penny Zoas




________
HONDA CBR1000F HISTORY


----------



## Jon in SW Ohio (Jul 12, 2006)

And finally, the prize of my collection that just came from California this morning, Armageddon. It is fluorescent orange/red and something you'd have to see to believe.





Jon
________
Lupus Forums


----------



## kentuckiense (Jul 12, 2006)

I'm still amazed that those can be shipped in the mail.

That looks like an amazing project... I figure I'll always be way too intimidated to try, though.

Still having troubles with your jumping mollusk?


----------



## Jon in SW Ohio (Jul 12, 2006)

We'll see about him. I moved him today to make room for todays delivery, and so far so good. He hasn't been acting grumpy, ie. puffing and unpuffing, so hopefully he's happy.

Jon
________
MONTANA MARIJUANA DISPENSARY


----------



## lienluu (Jul 12, 2006)

Did you get the Gonipora?


----------



## Jon in SW Ohio (Jul 12, 2006)

Third pic down. Camera didn't capture it's color too well though.

Jon
________
HARLEY-DAVIDSON FLSTS


----------



## lienluu (Jul 12, 2006)

Jon in SW Ohio said:


> Third pic down. Camera didn't capture it's color too well though.
> 
> Jon




DOhhhhhhhhh i only looked at the very last photo and forgot to scroll up!!!!


----------



## L I Jane (Jul 12, 2006)

Absolutely stunning & oh so gorgeous!


----------



## Bob Wellenstein (Jul 12, 2006)

This is just cruel. I've been holding off a couple years. Must remain strong!

I can't believe how beautiful that tank is, its hard to believe its a "mini"

How many hours a week would a large tank require in maintenance?


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 12, 2006)

Watch out for those zoanthids! They can take over your tank! I had some that came on a piece of fiji rock...at one point they covered all my rocks and the back of the tank.....I was even shooting some of them with vinegar like aiptasia, just to keep them off of my other corals. Since then they have receded and gotten more well behaved...Bob- larger tanks actually need less maintenance once they stabilize. Its an expensive hobby to start off in, but its fascinating! (Turns out my ENT is a reefkeeper...every time I get a sinus infection I bring him some montipora and mushrooms...I never have to copay now! ) Take care, Eric


----------



## Jon in SW Ohio (Jul 13, 2006)

If all goes right, the Zoas will do just that...and then I'll have to set up a prop tank to raise divisions up for trades. And then set up a much larger tank for small polyped stony corals...

The tank doesn't require too much work, at least considering the hours I put into the orchids. Once a week I have to do a gallon or two water change which takes about half an hour. The night before I have to mix water which takes a few minutes and I also feed all the coral that night so they get new water the next day. Feeding takes about an hour to do a very thorough job, but it's kinda entertaining. Once a week I also do all my water tests, and they take about 5 minutes a piece. I test for: Nitrates, Phosphates, Ammonia, Calcium, Alkalinity, pH, salinity, and a couple others less often. I easily spend more time getting lost staring into the tank than working on it, so it is worth it in my book. The tank also stays very stable, which I attribute to my refugium in the back which is full of a macroalgae called Chaetomorpha.

Here's a better pic of the Crocea Clam, from above he shows his true colors. When I first bought him, he was in a short tank at waist level so I saw him from the top when picking him out. When I put him in my tank, I saw a drab purple clam and was ready to go back to the store to yell at them for bait and switching me...then I looked down at him instead of from the side and felt stupid. Compare this pic with the first pic of the thread and you'll see what I mean. Even this doesn't come close to doing him justice.





Unfortunately he may need to find a new home soon if I can't figure something out.

Jon
________
Babimac


----------



## adiaphane (Jul 13, 2006)

Jon, everything looks amazing!


----------



## Heather (Jul 13, 2006)

This is mesmerizing! I adore learning about this. That clam is fantastic!!!


----------



## TADD (Jul 13, 2006)

What a totally bland set of photos and hobby... Shah right! That is incredible! What an amazing collection you have accumulated so quickly. Impressive, most impressive! Well done Jon!


----------



## SlipperFan (Jul 13, 2006)

Impressive, beautiful, incredible. What a great combination of color, texture and shape! I'm surprised you can do anything else but look at it...


----------



## PHRAG (Jul 13, 2006)

Your tank makes me want to do this so bad. But moving a reef tank would be impossible, so for now I drool all over yours. I hope you have some windex.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Jul 13, 2006)

When I first started the hobby, I went through all that business of mixing up the salt water the day before, etc...Now I am much more casual. I do water changes every 2-3 weeks, usually 3...just mix the water up on the spot...I no longer attempt to equalize salinity or temperature. Since I use 2 part Ca/alk additives, salinity gradually creeps up...sometimes I'll just take a half gallon out and replace it with fresh DI water....Take care, Eric


----------



## Gideon (Jul 13, 2006)

That is really amazing, you have a fantastic collection


----------



## Park Bear (Jul 14, 2006)

looks great Jon....you do need more tanks


----------



## Heather (Jul 14, 2006)

Park Bear said:


> looks great Jon....you do need more tanks



Hahaha...we are awful! :evil:


----------

