C'mon down!!!!!!!!!!! We'll drag David and Roz over, and have a fish catching party!

Hmmm, Mark (JBM), now that I know you're an electrician...I have a question.

I have a Nova Extreme on the tank, standard bulbs. I don't want to change the fixture (if it ain't broke, why fix it), but I've been thinking about when I need to replace the bulbs. Can I get the nicer bulbs to use in the Nova (ATI, fiji, etc), or would that be unsafe?

Gurls,gurlz, gurlz...oh, sorry. Pics, pics, pics

clowns testing out leather


pipe organ/fire shrimp


zoas from pratt tank


pretty zoas


pink zoas


maxima


yellow frag


healing orange digi--oops, became two frags when I was trying to putty it down earlier


hydnophora--I love this one, great growth and color


rainbow monti, I couldn't get the colors in the photo


mystery leather


ever growing chocolate torch


cap garden, red, orange, green


red cap mystery hole


green cap growth


ric garden--still want a blue one and a yellow one


watermelons?


pipe organ from side panel view


center tank


left side


ultra cruddy fts


other side panel view


evil beauty and omen


galaxea and reflection, I thought this was cool


poci/monti/candy cane


yeah, he's cool


closest I can get of poci polyps


ultra rare limited edition entlebucher

turn flash off & turn macro mode on. if your p&s has a sports mode use it.


as far as the bulbs, i wouldnt know. im not familiar with it. But in my travels today i'll pull up the specs & have a gander at it.

Thanks Mark.

The pics were all taken in macro or sports mode, I did some of each. I didn't actually know the flash was on until I uploaded the pics. I don't have a working camera, and David was kind enough to loan me one that he isn't using.

Looking at the photos, I'm thinking I need some corals with height. Suggestions?

any branching sps will work

I finally got the rics I wanted. Actually, I got a fantastic deal, so I got two blues, two yellows, and one more orange. Pics later when the lights are on.

Unfortunately, when I was placing the rics with my usual grace and style, I broke off the edge of the red monti. So much for that interesting growth pattern.

Working on a wish list...pink poci (cause I love the green one so much)
birdsnest (green or pink, depending on what catches my eye in the moment)
some kind of brain/scoly--only if I can ever find one I can afford
another clam, maybe one with some gold this time
jawfish
mandarin
either one cool goby or two neons
winning lottery ticket, to pay for above items

i would like that last item aswell

today's pics

ric garden


evergrowing leather and frogspawn


plate


closeup rics


more close rics


pipe organ and sadie the fire shrimp (larry the superman aiptasia growing from the right


red monti growing w/out a problem even after I--oops-- broke off the rim


green monti


orange monti (I'm hoping the three will eventually meld together as they grow)


multiplying striped mushies--the stipes are a cool turquise color IRL


Yellow scroll--funky spot in the middle is where the coral beauty took a bite


hydnophora--this was my first SPS, courtesy of DCG128, the growth and neon green color has been tremendous


torch


Thanks for looking! Sorry my photo skills are imaginary.

Any one else remember that cartoon? Should have named these darned clowns Elmira 1 and 2.

Reefing equivalent of a day late and a dollar short.

I just posted the other day, asking questions about the possibility/feasibility of getting a nem for my clowns. Well, I'm too slow. They have started hosting my leather, and I suspect they will soon kill it if I can't turn their attentions elsewhere. The leather is now barely extending any polyps, and not inflating fully--can't say I blame him, the clowns are nibbling on him, rubbing all over him, and sleeping in his branches.

And for the first time my params are messed up, calcium too high, alk too low. (I posted in water chem forum). Of course, I told hubby the only way to solve the too high calcium is to buy two new clams.

Overall, aargh!

Tank is looking great Anne!!! Everything is coming along very nicely!!! I see a ton of new growth on that orange monti cap ... it is really in great shape now!!!

Thanks David! Despite whatever problems/issues that come up, I'm really pleased with the progress. This glass box brings me great joy.

Update: Thanks to Weetabix's suggestion of dosing only Part B for a few days, my alk is now a normal, healthy 9 Calcium is also down to 500. I'm so relieved, problem solved.

The clowns are continuing to host the leather; the male has taken to sleeping in its branches. Kinda funny when he does it, 'cause he looks dead. I'm still not sure how this will go for the leather, but he is starting to extend *some* of his polyps a bit more, and closer to fully inflated.

Thanks for reading.

Ahem...... OK, so when did we sneak in the yellow / gold ric hmmmm?

Been looking around for one for months

Beautiful!

Tee hee, a couple of weeks ago--and look closely, there're two! The second one is still just a baby. Ever get into the city? I learned how to share.

Thanks for the compliment--and the comment, I hate talking to myself; the kids look at me funny.

not just the kids, but employee's also look at you funny!


i want rics, but cant justify spending $20 for something the size of a dime

This morning I woke to find both shrimp had molted last night. Cool part = when I removed the molts, I found a teeny tiny brittle star on the fire shrimp molt.

Anyone else feel virtuous when they get their water change done in a timely manner?



Hi there Come uptown, maybe we could work out a trade. I've got a green one and an orange one I can trade.

what do you desire in trade?

Whachoo got?

Checking your thread...

Think I'm in trouble here.

One head of my torch looks dead (skeleton showing), another head looks sickly. Candy cane is not looking so hot either.

Don't know why or what, but I can't do anything other that watch right now. I've been really sick for a week, and can't get to the store today for fresh saltwater or carbon.

Blargh.

Ugh.

I hope you and the tank are feeling better very soon!

Thanks, Richie.

I'm not quite sure what to think, but as time goes by nothing else seems to be effected. SPS are fine, polyps extended, pipe organ is fine, shrooms, rics, plate, clam, galaxea, fish....all good.

On the second head of the torch (the one that looks sick), the tentacles look empty and limp. Candy cane: one head looks worse than the other, both sort of squishy/pinched, and on the worse looking head the mouth is gaping a bit.

Here's hoping...


~Anne

what are your params?

PH-8.2
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-0
Calcium-480
KH-9

I can accept that sometimes life happens, trying to recreate and grow these creatures in a glass box is tricky business...it just hits harder when the tank is still somewhat sparsely stocked.

maybe they just are not happy today?

one of my frogspawns got stuck in my siphon tube yesterday. it was not happy for most of the day. but today is better

The candy cane looks like it could just be unhappy. The torch, on the other hand, looks fatal.

Glad your frogspawn is doing better.

I have no experience with torch corals, so I really can't say.

Do you have a fish that might be picking at it? I know my clown keeps trying to host my zoa rock. It's quite funny.

Speaking of zoa rock. I got a frag from it with your name on it (if you want)

While my coral beauty is known to nip, I haven't ever seen her anywhere near the torch. My clowns have been hosting the leather, so it isn't them either.

Before this, the torch has proven to be extremely hardy. On the bright side, that second head doesn't look as bad as I thought it would this morning (best as I can tell, still dark in there).

Zoas? Sounds good to me. Bring yourself uptown--just wait until I'm feeling better.

Hopefully today will be a better day

I LOVE those Rics!!! I need to get me some! And that orange plate coral reminds me of mine a couple years ago...that was my favorite coral.

Update. First head of the torch gone/melted/disappeared. Second head dropped off. Third head still looks ok, not as lush as before, but not quite sickly.

I have a new beautiful green stick courtesy of DCG.

Question for the ny area folks. I'm hoping to replace my bulbs soon (and I need to); is there anywhere local to buy the better bulbs (ATI, KZ, Geisemann, etc) or do I have to order them online?

I haven't look for bulbs when I was there, but did you check NYAS? Another option might be New World Aquarium over on 2nd and 38th, but they are pricey. I don't know if either carry those bulbs for sure though.

Thanks D! I love the rics, too. Great corals, easy to take care of, split regularly, and beautiful, can't beat it.
The plate is absolutely one of my favorites in the tank. Not the most exotic, but always awesome.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try calling NYAS and New World. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if NYAS is now more expensive than New World.

I don't mind helping you out with deciding what bulbs to get.
What kind of fixture do you have?
What kind of look are you going for?

Sorry about the tank problems.
Have you ruled out any foreign substances getting into the tank?
Has there been any aerosol spraying in it's general vicinity?

Hi Weetie! Welcome to my thread, and thanks for offering to help.

I have a Nova Extreme. Not the fanciest, I know, but so far, so good. I've been reading and rereading the T5 thread, but my brain always starts to spin by about pg 3. I don't want the tank to be too yellow, I love blues, but don't want it to look totally blue all the time, kwim? I do think I want one of the Fiji Purple bulbs.

My tank is lightly stocked (strict budget, it will be a long time before it's full), a mixed reef, so it's very important to me that I make as much as possible pop.

As for the rest, I'm now certain the prob in the tank is limited to the torch. Everything else is totally fine and healthy. The candy cane looks better, and I'm pretty sure the odd shape the second head was forming has to do with it beginning to develop a second mouth.

Thanks so much for stopping in!

~Anne

i can check petswarehouse (but i highly doubt) they carry ati & gliesman bulbs

Thanks Mark, that would be great!

I don't blame you for not wanting to wade through the whole thread, it's gotten pretty cumbersome.
Look at these pics of my tank, and tell me if you like this look or if you want something slightly different, and we can go from there.
I won't be offended if you want something different, it's your tank and you need to do what works for you.
FWIW, the PAR on my combo is pretty decent too.
Also, the colors in these pics are pretty true to life.
However, the purplish look to the background is a little different from real life, it's just the white wall behind the tank reflecting the light in an odd way.
The colors of the corals and fish in the pics is true to life.







The bulb combo for the above pics was:
BACK
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue+
KZ Fiji Purple
FRONT

It has been my experience that Fiji Purple bulbs work much better in one of the front 2 bulb slots, if placed in the back they give the tank an annoying pinkish cast.

I like to use ReefGeek.com or AquariumSpecialty.com for my bulbs.

Thanks Weetabix! I like. Very pretty and looks "clean", enough to enhance colors but not so much that I'd feel I had a permanent blacklight in my living room.

I'm assuming it would look somewhat different in my tank because I've got a black background, and the tank is against an espresso colored wall.

Can I ask, what is the difference in color for the blue+ vs the aquablue?

PS: I'll be following your experiment in the lounge. I'm young at heart, like to "play," but way too old for a steady diet of "stfu" and "gtfo'.

So, I've been looking at DHaut's display fuge, and loving it, so I'm thinking about adding one or two macros to my display tank.

Suggestions?

Aquablue looks white
Blue+ looks similar in appearance to a PC Actinic bulb, but it actually has a decent PAR.
One of the things that's really different about T5 is the way different bulbs and colors combine together; it's very different from PC or MH.

And as for the lounge and my experiment, an interesting end result is that I'm resigning as a Mod.
If I were you I'd just stay out of the Lounge, I doubt the "stfo" and "gfo" will change anytime soon.

I really like the T5s because of the flexibility in colors. Thank you so much for answering my ? about aquablue vs blue+, now I just need to get my pennies together.

I'm so sorry about the end result of your lounge experiment, I think you bring much to this site as a mod.

~Anne

I thinks we needs an update

pLEASE!!!

Awesome! I would definitely go with some calciferous algaes - halimeda, flame, shaving brushes. They don't overrun your tank and they almost never go sexual (you'd have to have a TON of it for it to go sexual). reefcleaners carries all of those. i'd be happy to hook you up with some halimeda and flame if you would like - just pay shipping. maybe one day you could hit me with a frag of something if you need to clear some stuff out

Well, hello there.

I know, I'm behind on updates and add pics.

I'm running now, I'll update later. Pics will have to wait for a bit. I've got to find the cable and figure out how to upload the pics. My oldest did the last couple of sets for me and he's back to school now.

Or Just bring it here when you come over ... she is 5 blocks down from me ...

LOL - yeah, lets do that instead.

Oops, so sorry, Haut. I posted and then ran off to pick my daughter up from school, so I didn't see your replies.

I've been looking at the calciferous algaes on the reefcleaner site, I love how they look. As far as a frag for you, come take a look at my tank and see what you like.

Happy Birthday to ME!!! In celebration, I just ordered new bulbs from Reefgeek.

I hear the Blue+ bulbs do a miraculous job of softening the appearance of wrinkles.

woohoo! HBD!

i'm trying to get up to the UWS this week to see david's tank. if i do, i'll bring along some macros for you.