FlowerMama Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 DSLRs just take getting used to and figuring out the optimal settings for your light. Then you'll be able to blow away cell phone pics I still usually take around 6-10 pictures for every one good one lol Yep, about taking so many pics to get one of which you approve. Link to comment
Viking Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 I'm wanting to upgrade the Aquaticlife actinic that came with my fixture. I switched out the 13k it came with already with an ATI Coral Plus, and I'm not sure witch ATI bubs would go best with it, The True Actinic, the Blue Plus, or the Aquablue Special. I want to make sure that I still have a decent amount of pop, but most important is making sure the corals are getting the spectrum they need. I would like to avoid too much blue glow from the tank, if possible, as it's in the living room. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Blue Plus. True actinic is not a standalone bulb, and the Aquablue Special looks like shikaka next to the Coral Plus, not sure why they're even produced anymore. Link to comment
Viking Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Appreciate that very much. One of the workers at the LFS i'm getting them from recommended the same, and he has given good advise so far. Your consensus makes it easier Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 This is the Coral Plus by itself: This is the Blue Plus by itself: The first photo is less true to life than the second. The first is a little more purple in the picture than in reality, but it is still pretty close. Beautiful bulb. Link to comment
Viking Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 I love my Coral Plus, it was a massive improvement over the 13k that came with the fixture. And the actinic is "doing it's job" , but it was included with the fixture, and I am sure an ATI "almost anything" would be a step up. Link to comment
Viking Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 I have some new Pics that i am am happier with, thanks for the advise guys . First off, I have been planning to start an Acan garden and bought my 1st piece a couple of weeks ago. I expanded it at the 1 year anniversary of the LFS I have been getting my water and other stuff from for the last 2 months. This is my collection so far, the bigger ones front left are the ones I got earlier. Please excuse the photo-bombing clown. The GSP colony I transplanted a few weeks ago with my Duncans, followed by my Birdsnest. My Rockflower is still going, if you can see it behind another photo-bomber. The Halimenia seems to be holding on as well. The rock that the 2 larger musheroos are attached to (along with that little duster and pallies in the middle) has been a problem child recently. I just pulled an ugly spiong off of it as it was growing out to the point the mushrooms were jumping off of it. I still haven't found my orange shroom Since I haven't posted one in awhile, this FTS was done today... ...and this is the view I have now from my desk Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Looks great! I'd pop those acans off of their frag hunks, though, just glue the skeleton right to the rock, looks a lot better after Link to comment
Viking Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 That's the plan. I want them all to grow together in varicolored mass Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 If you want them to have the fastest growth, then you'll want them to plate along a fairly flat surface. The rock you've got them on looks pretty good how it is, but you can take some epoxy and kinda smooth out any bigger bits on the rock, as when they start to encrust, they'll start to pretty much fill in everything, so the less space they have to fill in, the more they'll grow out Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Rockflower still doing good!!! Link to comment
Viking Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 My intent is to avoid chemical "adjustments" whenever possible, that being said I decided to use an additive to assist with a cyano outbreak. I wanted to do just a "lights out" period.. but my rock flower forced my hand as it started to climb the wall that my powerhead is attached to. Don't know if it was trying to reach more light or end it all, but I opted to try some red slime remover and turn the lights back on. It is moving back to the sand bed and so far the cyano seems to be dissolving. Will provide an update tomorrow. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Rock flowers don't necessarily move from a lights out, they'll move from just about anything, so it may just be a coincidence. Link to comment
Viking Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 Rock flowers don't necessarily move from a lights out, they'll move from just about anything, so it may just be a coincidence. The only thing that keeps me from agreeing with you IS the coincidence. It hasn't moved more that an inch since I rescaped the tank while replacing my substrate a couple months ago.. On the good side, since I turned the lights back on, it is moving back towards the sand bed, just a little further towards the back of the tank Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 At least it behaves most of the time! Link to comment
Viking Posted July 27, 2014 Author Share Posted July 27, 2014 I'm extremely happy for that . . It didn't chose the place I would prefer it to be, but it seems happy and it not rolling all over my other corals. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 My rock flower (well, technically my friend's rockflower, but he doesn't have a tank, so yeah lol) is literally inside of a small hole on the 'arm' of my big rock I made. It's getting blasted with light, too, I think I measured around 400 PAR peak, 250 PAR average in that spot. EDIT: here Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 My intent is to avoid chemical "adjustments" whenever possible, that being said I decided to use an additive to assist with a cyano outbreak. I wanted to do just a "lights out" period.. but my rock flower forced my hand as it started to climb the wall that my powerhead is attached to. Don't know if it was trying to reach more light or end it all, but I opted to try some red slime remover and turn the lights back on. It is moving back to the sand bed and so far the cyano seems to be dissolving. Will provide an update tomorrow. I had my lights out for a couple days for cyano as well and I had one that also climbed the wall closest to a blind closed window. Link to comment
Viking Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 The nearest window (the one in my "office") is closest to the wall the 'nem has been sitting against all along, so that seems to make sense. Link to comment
Viking Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 The Cyano treatment seems to have done the trick, did 2 doses 48 hours apart. Here we are, 1 week later and no sign of it so far. I still have some clumpy sand that I'm breaking up as I find it, but that could just be from the zombie snails. I do have some bad news. I found 1 of my Emerald Crabs dead on the sand yesterday morning, I think it was the one we named Butters ( consensus was that Garlic Butter was too long for that small of a crab). I could find no evidence of physical trauma, had all arms and legs. Kinda sad, he was cute. Plus side, the bigger of my 2 is still going, and he was the only one of the 2 that seemed to want to do his job ! Link to comment
Viking Posted August 3, 2014 Author Share Posted August 3, 2014 Also, as a heads up on the "Red Slime Remover" treatments like I decided to use... Don't take the recommendation of " no water change needed as literally as I did. I you are close to when you would do your weekly WC and are about to add the treatment, go ahead and do the change 1st . Once I added it, I realized that I didn't want to do a change and pull the additive back out, so I sorta skipped a week. Live and learn. Link to comment
Viking Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Time for another update! I finally decided to make a top for my aquarium using the eggcrate I bought back in June ( Traded in one of my square to-its for a round one... sorry, bad joke). http://imgur.com/xIeOTOJ'> The reason I got off my tuckus was I have been planing to get a Blenny for a few weeks now to assist with some hair algae, and my LFS order a few Tailspots earlier this week since I was after one, and they came in yesterday. I went and picked him up today as they were doing a fish sale this weekend. They gave me the sale price for it despite the fact that I would have considered it a special order, as they don't normally carry these particular Blennies, Kudos to them. http://imgur.com/qW4QfB5'> I also have some new Polyps on my Duncans and Utter Chaos Zoas http://imgur.com/WuBS8Fq'> http://imgur.com/Abh2wQ1'> Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Ugh, not egg crate!! Go to Home Depot and buy some window screen frame, spline, and corners, and use a small hacksaw to cut it to size, and then send me your address and I'll send you a bunch of 1/2" mesh that you can double up on to make a rather impenetrable top that doesn't look bad. Link to comment
markalot Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Hey, nice 20 long. Missed this thread somehow. Link to comment
Viking Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 I actually like the eggcrate, other than the massive amount of Light being thrown back on the walls and ceiling. Pretty sure I am losing some light to the tank as well. I do have some fiberglass screening, and am planing on removing most of the eggcrate in the middle leaving a border of about 3 squares (more or less, less in the corner with the skimmer) and stretching the screen across the gap. I was considering a frame, but do to the skimmer and filter, this seemed easier. Hey, nice 20 long. Missed this thread somehow. Thank you very much, They seem to be popular here for some reason. Probably seeing the awesome ones that have gone before Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.