NextWave 2011

I recently visited the Dallas/Ft. Worth reef club website with the intent to browse the used equipment selling forum in search for a 400w metal halide ballast. I am currently using a single 250w over the 50g tub and I am happy with results thus far, but I have this increasing curiosity to experiment with a 400w to compare growth rate and coloration in the corals versus the 250w. Once I entered the forum menu the first post I my eyes ran across was the Next Wave 2011 event details thread... of course I had to look at that! Event details can be found in the link I included in the line above, but for those who do not enter clickable links, here is the general run-down...

Next Wave 2011

Fort Worth Botanic Garden

3220 Botanic Garden Blvd.

Ft. Worth, TX 76107

Saturday, February 26, 2011

*Now click on the link above for ticket price details,

speaker line-up, vendors, etc.!*

Although I am a Houston area native, I attended the past two Next Wave events (annual ordeal), have already made arrangements to attend this one and plan to attend future Next Wave events assuming the tradition continues and pending any catastrophic situations. In my previous two years experience at this gala, the DFWMAS club has yet to disappoint! The special features usually include: wonderful guest speakers, a vendor hall full of quality vendors with quality products, nice "high-end goodies" usually thrown in with the typical lower end, but essential, raffle items and the event coordinators always seem to deliver with a quality venue in which to enjoy this annual gathering. Speaking of raffles, last year I cleaned up! Before then, I remember winning only a single raffle prize (and that was an All-Star fishing rod from Academy that I was able to win only because the first two names drawn ahead of me had left the store before the drawing took place!). However, last year's trip to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area changed all that and I came away with: a Reef Keeper Lite controller, 2 x Seachem's Reef Fusion two-part dosing system (a total of 4 bottles, 2-calcium and 2-alkalinity supplements), an Alkalinity test kit (that I later found out expired shortly after the event... Doh!), a Diver's Den coral from Live Aquaria (dubbed "orange-eye leptastrea") and a half-gallon jug of Purple-up! Yes, I would say my raffle luck changed on that day. Not only are the incentives put in place to lure you out there, but the guest speakers are generally always a nice treat and the DFW club has some great members to include in your network. Prior to making my five hour trek north for the event each year, I would make it a point to post in the buying forum exposing my "feelers" for any DFW members who had neat frags available to add to my collection. Both occasions resulted in coordinating exchanges at the event and yielded myself nice, quality frags. Unfortunately since then, I experienced a very, very nasty hurricane by the name of Ike and an acropora-eating flatworm invasion that both wiped out my entire system at the time. Both were sad events, but I was able to pick myself back up and continue on the reef path (and try not to think about the continuing expenses related with the hobby... ouch!).

I am looking forward to the upcoming year's Next Wave event even more so because it will be paired with Steve Tyree and The Coral Farmers Market sm Coral Show. Yeay!... double goodies! It is also unfortunate that I did not find the information about this event before October 31st, because a raffle was held for all ticket holders with tickets purchased prior to Oct. 31st for a four-eyed frag of Miami Hurricane chalice! Dang... I just missed it! Additionally, it appears four-to-five of my reef buddies are also interested in attending this upcoming event which should create a more memorable experience this next trip. I am definitely going... will I see you there?

"New" house = new tank

I made a small, nonchalant, reference in my last entry to the latest reef-related project I am currently working on. As the remodel to our town home is finally coming to what seems to be an "end," I can switch gears a bit and make some real progress on the up-and-coming display tank that will be showcased in our newly renovated abode. The wife and I decided to go with a Marine Land 93 gallon cube tank (30"l x 30"w x 25"h) in an effort to maintain a nice, stunning reef display while still allowing daily functional living space around the fixture. I was set on a cube tank (not to exceed a 36"x36" footprint) because I wanted something I could light with a single 250w or 400w metal halide pendant. I will not bore you with all the details and lay-out of the system here because that is what the build-log is for!! So if you feel like following along in the build process, you can keep tabs on me here. Thanks for tuning in!

Anemone action

Reef lingo 101

RBTA - Rose Bubble-Tip Anemone

GBTA - Green Bubble-Tip Anemone

nem - anemone

As stated in the previous entry, I acquired a RBTA from a reefer friend a couple months ago. For the short while that I have had the anemone, it has already split doubling my rose anemone population! Not only is that exciting, but it also is a good indicator that my water quality is in check and the anemone is happy in it's new home with no stress. Moreover, the local coral selling/trading market value on a rose nem is about $50-$75. I was in no hurry to sell my newest invertebrate addition because I wanted to enjoy and grow it out for a bit. I also figured because I had experienced one successful split already, why not hold off to see if i can get these two to equal four in nearly the same amount of time?! Shortly after the split, I noticed both nems became very mobile, perhaps searching for new real estate to call their own. One day while I was feeding the tank, I noticed one rose was hanging out on the body tube of the skimmer, and the other was making its way along the wall around one end of the tub (I lack a display tank

at the moment, therefore all my livestock resides in a pair of rubbermaid tubs, 50 &

100 gallon, until the current 93g cube project is prepared to accept the move). The following day, I had to rescue the "skimmer surfing" nem from the intake of the skimmer; the remaining parts of the anemone not being sucked into the skimmer pump were shriveled and hanging on for dear life. I immediately jolted into action and unplugged the skimmer pump releasing the suction on the tentacles. Next, I gently peeled the foot away from the intake tube and allowed the nem enough time to attach its foot to a solid rock structure so the whirling current created by my four Tunze 6055 pumps would not set it free into the water column sending the stressed anemone into further disaster. Whew!... loss of life overted... or so I thought! The following day, or two, again while feeding, I was searching for the pair of RBTA's but could find only one. Upon further inspection, I found ghost-white remnants of the second nem, in the form of a larger "glob" of anemone being chewed on by a skunk cleaner shrimp with a smaller "glob" nearby. Oh no!!!... loss of life inflicted this time! My hypothesis is that the wall-crawling nem must have been sucked into the nearby Tunze powerhead, chewed up by the propellor and shot back out into the sand bed. Obviously, I did not see this happen, but I further predict for a moment there bits 'o anemone scattered the reef and became clownfish, tang, cardinal, wrasse, cleaner shrimp, hermit crab, snail and other clean-up crew inhabitant food. Poor invertebrate... although recycling is a good thing right?... sorry, just kidding. After finding this evidence of tragedy, I quickly removed the sad remnants of this guy to prevent further pollution

of water quality. Experiencing loss of such a beautiful (and certainly not cheap) marine specimen such as this is certainly disheartening, and the irony in this situation is the anemone fell victim to a piece of equipment that is essential to sustain life within a captive reef system. Unfortunately, loss happens with just about any pet(s) we choose to keep and the reef tank is no exception. Side note: I worked for a short while at a marine livestock wholesaler and later at a local retail fish store, and let me just share with you that fishing a dead, rotting anemone out of the tank with your hands is a stink that will linger with you for days! In my experience I have determined dead anemone smell ranks highest in disgusting and putrid, with dead clam ranking in a close second. Pee-eww!!!

I must confess, this was not the first time one of my anemones had fallen victim to a powerhead. In my old 75g reef system, I had a small GBTA take a trip through the mechanics of a modified Maxi-jet 1200. The large GBTA I have now decided to take on a Vortech MP40w wavemaker within the first five minutes it was introduced into my wife's 40g breeder! After I had acclimated the nem to the tank's parameters, I proceeded to introduce it into the system. When I "thought" the GBTA's foot had a solid anchor into the live rock, I turned away to dispose of the bag used to transport it home and the acclimation water. Upon return, I discover the anemone stuck to the side of the Vortech pump with half of it shooting out the front taking a strong beating from the propellor. In both cases, the battered, damaged anemone pulled through and survived with no ill effects. The larger one referenced in the second story is still alive & healthy today and resides in the 50g tub (it is also featured in the picture on the main page of this blog). These seemingly fragile, blobs of beautiful "goo" can take quite a beating from a powerhead or pump yet still survive and live with no scars to show. In fact, I have read instances where some reefers' anemones have experienced the same trauma and the anemone actually split as a result! Some reefers have intentionally cut their anemone in half in an effort to propagate, although I highly recommend against this!! These decorative "goo" balls are not completely indestructible though, despite their immunity to trips through powerheads it is still vital to ensure you have proper water quality and parameters in addition to adequate lighting support prior to introducing any anemone species. Please practice responsible reef-keeping and do your research before you buy!!!

The Frag Shack blog is born!!

Welcome! to the first installment of The Frag Shack's offerings. This blog will be used to provide updates and information pertaining to anything The Frag Shack related, my history and current adventures throughout the reefing realm in addition to sharing helpful information I deem worthy and beneficial for any reef geek, much like myself. Thank you for joining me, and let the journey begin!

Reef lingo 101
RC - Reef Central

Today I picked up a flat of Rod's Food from a fellow reef buddy who so graciously offered to include my request for a package at the same time he was re-stocking his personal supply during a visit to the local fish store. This was my first time using this product and after reading many rave reviews about it on Reef Central, and other reef boards, I figured I would give it a shot. Having only used it once so far, I can say that all my reef inhabitants seemed to enjoy it and I did not observe any negative results. Quite the contrary, I was able to witness something in my tank today that I have yet to see since joining the hobby. One of my four clowns recently discovered, and took refuge in, the rose bubble-tip anemone (added to the system roughly 2 months ago) that footed itself among live rock real estate heavily occupied by yellow polyps. Nearing the end of today's feeding session, I noticed a medium sized krill head floating around the food bowl. I took note of this and made sure that when I sucked it up into the baster and released it into the tank's circulation that I would maintain a visual on it to see who would claim the lucky prize. To my surprise, this newly hosted clown quickly snatched the krill head out of the water column and returned to the anemone releasing it into its tentacles, near the mouth. Once the anemone latched onto the piece of krill, the tentacles retracted and began to consume the gracious offering from its happy host. I have heard other reefers share stories of how their clown feeds its anemone, but I have never had the opportunity to witness this myself... until today!

This clownfish and anemone relationship is ultimately what pushed me over the edge to become part of this hobby. After seeing this relationship in a captive system, I knew right away this was something special worth capturing, enjoying and sharing with others in my own reef tank. Once you become more familiar with your own reef ecosystem, you begin to notice seemingly small, but neat and interesting, relationships like this all over! These small details draw my attention closer to my system and keep me a full-time, dedicated reef enthusiast. Sure, call me a reef geek because I deserve it, but it is the little things like this that attract my attention into the tank daily, several times a day. Additionally, it is dedicated, keen observation that helps develop a successful reef keeper. Paying close attention to your reef system and its needs provides you the advantage to pick up on a tell-tell sign related to a problem, in turn, allowing you to address (and potentially remedy) the issue much quicker. Needless to say, noticing and picking up on these signs and changes comes with experience.

Because I referenced feeding the tank in the entry above, I decided to share my feeding routine below. I suppose I have become a bit lazy as of late because prior to using ready-made frozen foods, I preferred to make my own frozen recipes from fresh ingredients. But I will save that for another post and stick with the subject at hand:

My typical feeding routine

Previous to using the Rod's Food, my usual feeding routine consisted of: start by partially filling a feeding container (small plastic cups works well) with tank water, add a cube of mysid shrimp or spirulina enriched brine shrimp, a cube of daphnia, rotifers or oyster eggs and shredded nori algae. Next, I add 1 to 1.5 teaspoon of Fuel or Selcon (basically a mix of fatty acids, amino acids and proteins. Be sure to follow the instruction label for solution to tank volume ratio) and allow mixture to soak as it thaws. I tend to occasionally stir the mixture to ensure full saturation, and to also speed up the thawing process. When ready to feed, I use a cheap, plastic turkey baster (found at the dollar store) to release the mixture into the flow of a powerhead. The baster also allows me to target-feed favias, anemones and brain coral.

*The recipe above is varied with each feeding. I do not add everything listed. Some days I will add the oyster eggs instead of the daphnia, and the mysid shrimp vs brine shrimp, etc. I tend to change it up to offer the tank a variety and to not overload on nutrients.*