My 2 ft cube ...

[teebs]

Your tank is filling up very nicely...

[digibee]

hey guys!

Some updates from my tank ....

Pics not as nice as real life though ... have not got a high end camera yet.

Changed the maxspect custom made stand to this railing one ...

It is lower than my previous tank; so hope my sps like it this way.

Though I prefer to have acrylic custom stand ... probably next time...

Rics fever is here .... so here is additional ric .... yes from Peter the ric master!

Bigger than my first orange ric.

Standard green starpolyp ... like its luminosity!

Justin, you may want to compare your starpolyp colors to this one

Background posing is the bright yellow pineapple zoas!

Yuma fever too!

Got a rock with 4 yumas ....

Acquire a clam too ... heard that it will reduce ammonia/nitrate?

Sandwiched between two zoas.

Latest favourite sps acropora?!?

Like its yellowish green color ....

And it is like a lamp under blue light

Got a couple of crabs in there though ...

Cheers!

[digibee]

Yes! The first pic crab.

I have like about 3 of them.

Very small; I have epoxy my sps;

so will just leave them alone.

Thanks!

[digibee]

Okay, found out that those crabs are ok.

"It is very common when buying or collecting corals and anemone to find small crab species living amongst the corals, these are invariably harmless species which have a symbiotic relationship with the coral. While the coral provides shelter and possibly a bit of mucus to feed upon, the crab also returns the favor by acting as the coral's guard, fending off coral predators and parasites. These are the only types of crabs that I allow within my reef aquarium since I know they will not wander the tank causing damage"

Here is the link.

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/coral_crabs.html

Cheers ... the crabs can live !

[teebs]

hey guys!

Some updates from my tank ....

Pics not as nice as real life though ... have not got a high end camera yet.

Changed the maxspect custom made stand to this railing one ...

It is lower than my previous tank; so hope my sps like it this way.

Though I prefer to have acrylic custom stand ... probably next time...

Rics fever is here .... so here is additional ric .... yes from Peter the ric master!

Bigger than my first orange ric.

Acquire a clam too ... heard that it will reduce ammonia/nitrate?

Sandwiched between two zoas.

Cheers!

Hmmm...I thought the ric you got was green??? Orange ric looks nice. Anyway, if the ric doesn't open up much larger over time, you may want to shift it to either a more shady area or somewhere brighter.

Anyway, never had much success with my previous clams reducing the nitrates in my tank.

[digibee]

By the way, my aiptasia has only left one now ... out of about 9 of them.

This one is a huge one, but now seemed to have shrunk... from 20 cents to 10 cents coin size.

I guessed I have to thank my 2 peppermint shrimps.

Seemed like they have been doing overtime since I put them in the tank 2 weeks ago!

Cheers!

[digibee]

Hmmm...I thought the ric you got was green??? Orange ric looks nice. Anyway, if the ric doesn't open up much larger over time, you may want to shift it to either a more shady area or somewhere brighter.

Anyway, never had much success with my previous clams reducing the nitrates in my tank.

It is green ... or it is changing color?!?

Yeah, I am not sure about clam reducing nitrate too.... it is a very tiny clam.

Nevertheless, this clam seems to be adding a nice color (blue) to my tank.

[digibee]

Don't kill your crabs found on your SPS.

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1023-ucsb.html

University of California - Santa Barbara:

Tiny 'housekeeper' crabs help prevent coral death in South Pacific

Tiny crabs that live in South Pacific coral help to prevent the coral from dying by providing regular cleaning "services" that may be critical to the life of coral reefs around the world, according to scientists from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Tiny trapeziid crab helps prevent coral death. Photo by Hannah Stewart of UCSB

The story of the relationship between the crab and the coral is described in the November 2006 issue of the journal Coral Reefs and is now available on-line. The coral provides a home and protection for the crabs. The crabs provide "housekeeping" duties for the coral, routinely "sweeping" out sediment that falls onto the coral, according to the study.

Thus the relationship between the corals and the trapeziid crabs is mutually beneficial, or symbiotic. The little crabs, measuring only a centimeter wide, make their home in branching corals like Acropora or Pocillopora. The research was done on coral reefs near the shore of the French Polynesian island of Moorea, in the South Pacific.

"Although we don't know much about these crabs, we do know that they are 'picky,' and are always tasting and exploring," said Hannah L. Stewart, first author of the paper and a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB's Marine Science Institute (MSI). "They use their front appendages to manipulate and shovel out the sediment."

Stewart said that this family of crabs is common around the world. "This relationship probably occurs all over the Pacific and is likely more ubiquitous than we know," she said. "Crabs are in corals everywhere. There are major ecological implications to this research; species of crabs that associate with corals may be more important than we realized."

She explained that coral reefs are one of the most productive and diverse ecosystems in the world. They support more than nine million species and provide a livelihood for millions of people around the globe.

The accumulation of sediment on coral tissue is known to reduce metabolic and tissue growth rates of coral, increasing the probability of bleaching and coral death. Many corals can remove some sediment from their surfaces but high sediment loads can be deadly. Predicted increases in sedimentation threaten coral reefs in many near shore areas around the world.

Coral reefs are threatened by a variety of environmental changes. For example, higher water temperatures and increased ultraviolet radiation, which are associated with climate change, are sources of widespread coral bleaching.

Changing land use patterns, caused by population increase on the coasts, are another threat because population growth increases the sediment load on coral. This is due to the higher amount of water run-off from development, deforestation with erosion, and expansion of agriculture.

The studies were conducted as part of The Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research Site (MCR LTER), located in the complex of coral reefs and lagoons that surround the island of Moorea. Stewart performed the research with Sally Holbrook, professor and vice chair of UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; Russell Schmitt, a professor in the same department and the director of the MSI's Coastal Research Center; and Andrew Brooks, assistant research biologist at the MSI and deputy director of the MCR LTER. Experiments were carried out in the coral reef as well as in the laboratory.

The scientists showed the importance of trapeziid crabs by gently removing crabs from sections of the two species of branching corals on a coastal reef. This resulted in 50 to 80 percent of those corals dying in less than a month. By contrast, all corals with crabs survived. The nature of this common symbiotic relationship had not been recognized until this study. For surviving corals that lacked crabs, growth was slower, tissue bleaching was greater, and sediment load was higher. Laboratory experiments revealed that corals with crabs not only shed substantially more of the sediments deposited on coral surfaces, but also that crabs were most effective at removing grain sizes that were most damaging to coral tissues. These were the largest grains studied, those measuring two to four millimeters in width.

[teebs]

It is green ... or it is changing color?!?

Yeah, I am not sure about clam reducing nitrate too.... it is a very tiny clam.

Nevertheless, this clam seems to be adding a nice color (blue) to my tank.

Nah...Rics won't morth their colours. Just that their colours may get more or less intense depending on the amount of light they are getting.

[digibee]

Hi, those who wants photos of corals and fish guide on their phone;

can take from this link http://coralidea.com/download.html

It is free

[tian1974]

I like your luminous green star polyps. I need to find a space to fit a small one in

[digibee]

I like your luminous green star polyps. I need to find a space to fit a small one in

Don't have to worry, your tank still got alot of space for colorful corals;

Those not so nice one, can give away

Or do a bit of rescaping

[tian1974]

Don't have to worry, your tank still got alot of space for colorful corals;

Those not so nice one, can give away

Or do a bit of rescaping

i dont have energy to do rescaping la. Will try to find a space to fit in

[Ketchup]

Don't have to worry, your tank still got alot of space for colorful corals;

Those not so nice one, can give away

Or do a bit of rescaping

haha... can donate to me.. our tank still have space... treat us like orphanage!

[teebs]

haha... can donate to me.. our tank still have space... treat us like orphanage!

Thats the good thing about having a big tank...can adopt many coral orphans....

[digibee]

Haha, yes, he will have to donate some soon; if he does not want to rescape

[tian1974]

Haha, yes, he will have to donate some soon; if he does not want to rescape

i got nothing expensive to donate out leh..all quite common ones la.

[digibee]

I like your luminous green star polyps. I need to find a space to fit a small one in

Yeah, I like it too; I bought it immediately when I saw it.

It brightens up the tank.

You can get one to replace your current one which is not that bright.

BTW, I have not got my royal gramma yet.

[tian1974]

BTW, I have not got my royal gramma yet.

oh but why?

[digibee]

oh but why?

Overslept ; getting it this weekend.

[jackywongto]

oh but why?

he overslept and did not make it to LCK lol.....

[digibee]

he overslept and did not make it to LCK lol.....

Yeah, called them to reserve; but he said no need to reserve; still got alot.

[tian1974]

can you buy a peppermint shrimp for me please? not to big and not too small.

[Ketchup]

hehe... common corals also can la.. otherwise only see algae on the rocks.. LOL

[digibee]

can you buy a peppermint shrimp for me please? not to big and not too small.

Ok, will ping you if I found them.

These shrimps grow very fast, in my tank!