Growing Stones in the Clarktic Circle: Series Part III: What Are the Stones Growing this Winter in the Clarktic Circle?

"The mistress" is growing!

In case you have not been to our house, my loving nickname for Tim's salt water reef aquarium is "the mistress." She acquired this name because she takes up so much of Tim's time and attention and our money. But she is a beautiful addition to our house, and she satisfies Tim's ever present need to grow things during the winter months in our Clarktic Circle abode. So I'm not complaining.

Our indoor winter garden.

The mistress recently grew from being a 112 gallon acrylic aquarium to a 200 gallon glass aquarium. These upgrades came after a very drastic and painful tank crash that happened when we were diving in Indonesia this spring. We lost about 80% of the live corral and 95% of the fish. It was pretty heartbreaking but after hours of dedication and work by Tim the tank is well on her way to a beautiful recovery.

A behind the scenes look at the mechanical room and all the mayhem that is involved in controlling the complicated systems of a salt water reef tank.

The aqua controller is a computer that helps Tim monitor multiple water parameters and even sends him emails when the parameters are off.

Tim has made some on line reef keeping friends who have sent fragments of coral to begin growing again, and he has purchased some larger coral and fish to repopulate the new aquarium. Tim took all the of these photos yesterday.

The Lawnmower blenny likes to taco himself in the folds of the Giant Tridacna Clam.
Trigger fish in the background

Duncanosamnia (whisker coral) survived the crash

A valuable colony of acanthastrea lordowensis that has been in the system from the beginning

Some random purple sponge that got started.

purple goniopora

red ORA goniopora

dendrophylia

Again, some random LPS coral that came in on some live rock but Tim likes it and has been giving it meaty treats.. He thinks it is not photosynthetic like the rest of the coral.

A new frag of poccilopora damicornis

purple montipora capricornis

purple stylophora

montipora spongodes

A new frag of seriatopora (birdsnest)

A new frag of green fuzzy staghorn acropora This stuff does very well in Tim's system.

yellow palythoa

ricordia florida

green branching psamocora (cat's paw) also survived the crash and its color has returned

Bubble coral

This is a close up of new sell margin on the monster tridacnid clam. You can see in in the left corner of the tank in the first photo of this post.

Fungia (plate coral) who also survived the crash and whose color has also returned.

capnella

Naso tang

Squamosa clam and some encrusting gorgonian to the right

Lyretail Anthias (These guys are EVERYWHERE on the reefs on Fiji. The females are orange and the males are purple. They are hemaphroditic and the the dominant female in the tank will turn into a male... this is happening now.)

Blue throat trigger fish (one of the only triggers that won't pick at the clams)

Pajama cardinal fish (one of two fish to survive the crash)

Juvenile Unicorn Tang. When he grows up he will have horn on his forehead

Bengai cardinal fish and the big clam whose color is returning

Lawnmower blenny and a new frag of green stylophora to his left. He was one of only two surviving fish from the massive tank crash. The other was the pajama cardinal.