mike_t_2019
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- Messages
- 36
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- Location
- Brisbane, AU
Not doing the whole fancy build thread with a spreadsheet and a name for the tank. Just my 65g that's finally stopped trying to die on me.
Started it last October after I broke down my 40 breeder. Kept the rock and sand, replaced basically everything else. 65g display, 20g sump, Reef Octopus 110, two XR15 G5s I got used off a guy in Buffalo, Jebao return pump (fight me, it's been fine for 8 months), Nero 5 that I've already replaced the impeller on twice. Alk sits around 8.3, dosing 40ml of B-Ionic split morning and night. Ca 440, Mg 1350, nitrates 5-8, phosphate 0.06 on the last ICP.
The part that'll annoy some of you: I fund a chunk of this by selling frags for ETH. Local guys hand me cash, out of town buyers send crypto and I ship. Moves faster, no e-transfer nonsense, no waiting three days for a cheque to clear. Sold a batch of zoas last month and it covered my salt for the year. It's not a business and I don't want it to be one.
Actual rant: why is a bucket of Reef Crystals $70 here and $38 across the border. Same bucket. Same manufacturer. I've started doing gear runs to Buffalo and I'm not apologizing for it. My LFS owner is a good dude and I buy livestock from him, but I can't eat a 40% markup to feel patriotic about a bucket of salt. And the "authorized dealer" thing drives me up the wall, nobody stocks anything, everything's a 3 week special order, and somehow that's supposed to be worth the premium.
Anyway. Tank's doing well. Acros are finally encrusting instead of just sitting there, the monti cap is going to be a problem in a year, and my clownfish are hosting a torch coral instead of the anemone I specifically bought them. Classic.
I'll post pics once I figure out why my phone turns every blue in the tank into a glowing purple smear. Anyone got a clip on filter that actually works or is that whole genre of product a scam?