SeeDemTails Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Great looking tank! Quote Link to comment
spanko Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 (edited) Well well. Wondered where you went. Know what you mean about the sit-and-wait part of making a reef as that is pretty much where my tank is right now. Your stuff is looking mighty pretty. Do I see another plate in the bottom right corner? Couldn't stay away from them for long huh? http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...d+the+beginning Edited March 14, 2008 by spanko Quote Link to comment
nUgZ Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Looking great as always Josh. I'm glad to see you're back. Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 Excellent polyp extension on that acro! Yeah, he is very happy so far. I noticed recently that I tend to choose corals based as much upon their morphological appearance as color. I know there are alot of greens/yellows in my tank, but I am not so much a fan of the random rainbow approach as I am of having a variety of textures. This tank is so beautiful, if I were there in person I could sit and stare at it for hours. I hope to someday have a tank as beautiful as this. Just WOW. How is that Christmas Favia doing, is it recovering any? I've been wondering where you were lately too. If you ever find yourself in eastern PA, you are more than welcome to do just that. Thank you for your kind words. The Christmas Favia is just sort of hanging in there. I have recently removed the last slice of index card which was blocking some of the light hitting it. Every time I remove some of its shading, it bleaches out for a week or two, then slowly colors back up. Right now it is bleached again, but I have confidence it will color up again once it adapts. That coral was without a doubt the most light-sensitive autotrophic coral I have ever attempted keeping. If I didn't know better, I would have assumed it preferred complete darkness. That thing must have been collected from some VERY deep water. If you stop by, you should know I make some killer cookies! Josh, it is great to have you back man!!! I have been dying to see your updated shots. To be perfectly honest, your tank makes me want to use 10K bulbs and skip the 20,000K all together. If you haven't already, you should take a peek at my thread. I have some pics of the plumbing (not quite completed) up. I had decided to use your overflow method. It's good to be back! (I didn't really go anywhere to be honest, I just didn't have much that needed to be done with the tank, or much that I even could do, beyond maintenence.) As you can see, the tank hasn't really changed alot, apart from some growth. Obsessing over the tank at this point is somewhat akin to watching a pot of water waiting for it to boil. I just need to back off a bit, continue maintenence, and keep my hands out of the tank. I would stick with your plan of mixing spectra. You will get better coloration that way, IMO. The 10k bulbs seem to be working fine for me so far, but my tank does tend to heavily favor green/yellow colorations. If you like some of the more "rainbow" hues, I think you would be best served by using a mix of spectra. What works for me may not work for you, etc, etc. I'm curious to see how the overflow works out for you. I hope it works well, since otherwise i'll feel bad for filling your head with unneccessarily complicated plumbing schemes. Kidding aside, it should work fine, and be totally silent. I'll post in your thread when I have some time; I have already read it up to current. I'm not going to say wow...but wow the tank look beautiful. Thank you Maco, I'm glad you like! Great looking tank! Thank you! I hope your move is going smoothly; moving a reef tank can be very stressful for the owner, regardless of the inhabitants. Having to move all your stuff on top of that is enough to drive a sane woman nuts. I hope you are the exception. Well well. Wondered where you went. Know what you mean about the sit-and-wait part of making a reef as that is pretty much where my tank is right now. Your stuff is looking mighty pretty. Do I see another plate in the bottom right corner? Couldn't stay away from them for long huh?http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...d+the+beginning Yep, it's a Herpolithia, I think. I'm staying away from heliofungia for the time being, but I like fungiids too much not to have one or two. I checked out your tank thread that you linked; It looks very natural, so I think you are succeeding in your aquascaping plans. It is indeed reminiscent of the biotope you hope to emulate. It will be more so over time once those montis start whorling. Looking great as always Josh. I'm glad to see you're back. Thanks nUgZ! Good to be back. Your frags are looking tempting, if only I had another tank! Quote Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 The color in this tank has set the bar to higher standards in keeping SPS. This is where my tank wants to be! Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 (edited) The color in this tank has set the bar to higher standards in keeping SPS. This is where my tank wants to be! I take this as high praise indeed! Thanks man! Your tank has always been in my top 5, to be honest. Lately I have been buying alot of fairly drab-colored corals (like my new acro) that look pretty to me for reasons of texture rather than color. I think it might need a bit more color. There's still room for a few more frags in there, i'll have to keep an eye out for some nice colors. The thing i really like about more mature tanks (like mine... FINALLY) is the little algaes and such that pop up. Check out the red puffball growing off the return from the refugium in the upper back of the tank. I like that thing almost as much as the corals, lol. One day i'm going to set up a small tank into which I place no corals, just a few pieces of really nice rock, and just let it go nuts and see what happens. The red algaes, in particular, are quite stunning, and grow really well, at least in my tank. I think they really like the 10k lighting, as I have had trouble getting red algaes like Gracilaria to grow well in past tanks, which often had heavy actinic over them. I have to trim them weekly, but they don't seem to mind at all, they just grow back from where i trim them to nubs. I'm finally happy with my tank, though I do want to add just a few more small frags. I know, its pretty crowded already, but i'm willing to do weekly trinnings to help prevent all-out wars from breaking out. I'm definitely surprised at how much you can pack into a 20L. I would never have attempted densities like this in past tanks, but I had so much room to work with and was poor, so I took the buy-small-frags-let-them-grow-HUGE approach rather than lots of little colonies all nestled together like this one. I would never have tried a nano-reef had I not discovered this site and seen such wonderful little tanks. I just never thought it was possible to do well. I was so wrong, its every bit as doable as a 120, and a hell of alot less expensive. (well, ok, its still expensive, but not take-out-a-mortgage expensive) Edited March 15, 2008 by SPS20 Quote Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 (edited) The red algae growing off the return looks like a giant coco-worm. I'm at the point where I need to look at bulb selection again. I'm leaning towards a 14k 250W and a 10k 150. I like the blue, but it hasn't been so beneficial in terms of color enhancement for my SPS. Not sure which brands just yet. Any suggestions? Edited March 15, 2008 by PurpleUP Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 The red algae growing off the return looks like a giant coco-worm. I'm at the point where I need to look at bulb selection again. I'm leaning towards a 14k 250W and a 10k 150. I like the blue, but it hasn't been so beneficial in terms of color enhancement for my SPS. Not sure which brands just yet. Any suggestions? I am loathe to give you a reccomendation, per se, but I will tell you that I use Coralife 10k 150w bulbs, two of them. I have had good luck with them in the past in terms of coloration and growth. I know that Coralifes rank high in neither the CRI or the PAR department, but I really couldn't care less about that. In my experience, they just work well, and that's good enough for me. I hear good things about the 14k bulbs, but I have no personal experience with them so I can't comment on them. Bottom line: At least for the 150w 10k ones, Coralife isn't a bad way to go, and has certainly yielded good results for me. I like the idea of a mixed spectrum light field, and would highly reccomend such an approach. I have seen it done to good effect in the past, and it is a good way to compensate for the inherent weaknesses of MH bulbs. Mh bulbs tend to put out a very "spikey" spectral signature when compared to the even spread of sunlight, so the more different spectra you can get into the mix, the closer you can approach natural sunlight, the ultimate goal. Quote Link to comment
nUgZ Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 The Phoenix14k gives the best of both worlds. Excellent PAR and great color. Quote Link to comment
PurpleUP Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 The Phoenix14k gives the best of both worlds. Excellent PAR and great color. Josh, I don't doubt the Coralife 10k for one second. Your results speak for itself. I'm already running a 14k CL but it's so yellow that it might as well be a 10k. I might just give Coralife a shot for my 150W. But a Phoenix 14k is definitely a top contender for my 250W. BTW, what brands of Ca, Mg, & Alk are you dosing with again? I know you're doing water changes with NSW. Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 Josh, I don't doubt the Coralife 10k for one second. Your results speak for itself. I'm already running a 14k CL but it's so yellow that it might as well be a 10k. I might just give Coralife a shot for my 150W. But a Phoenix 14k is definitely a top contender for my 250W. BTW, what brands of Ca, Mg, & Alk are you dosing with again? I know you're doing water changes with NSW. Definitely keep in mind that my experience with the coralife 10k's is limited to the 150W HQI version. Different wattages of the "same" bulb are often different in terms of coloration as well as intensity, so just keep that in mind. I have heard very good things about the Phoenix bulbs, as well. I use the B-Ionic 2-part liquid supplement, about 30ml of each part per day. It has in it Ca, Mg, Alk, etc. Occasionally I use Seachem Reef Advantage Calcium (which also contains Mg and Sr) and Seachem Reef Builder (an Alk supplement) to bump up my Ca and Alk when the Bionic isn't enough to keep up with demand. I don't use the Seachem products on any kind of schedule, but rather on an as-needed basis. I also add one drop of Lugol's Iodine once per week, and do a 5g water change weekly as well. (With NSW, as you know) In the past I have generally used actinic supplementation to fill in the blue end of the spectrum, but in this tank, as you know, I do not. I don't use it because I like to keep the top of the tank open and uncluttered, so I use the pendants to give it a nice look. However, I still think it to be a good idea, and if you can supplement the blues in one way or another, I think it would do good things for the coloration of your corals, regardless of the success or failure of tanks without such supplemental lighting. Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) I made a (really low quality) video of my refugium, looking in one end. It is a CPR Aquafuge Medium, with an 18W Jalli PC light, for those who don't wish to look back through the thread to find that information. The refugium is absolutely lousy with mysiid shrimp, which are among my favorite little hitchers. They wash into the tank constantly and keep my fish and corals well fed. You can see them fairly clearly in this video, zipping around the algaes. I wish my refugium wasn't wedged between the aquarium and the wall so I could watch the critters in there. They are every bit as fascinating as the inhabitants of the main tank, IMO. In order to see them, you have to click the "full screen" button, then maximize the window, and you can see the little shrimp clearly. More to come, Josh Edited March 16, 2008 by SPS20 Quote Link to comment
VannReefer87 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Hey Josh, your tank is looking good as always...I'm looking forward to coming home for easter to do some shopping @ SF! Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 (edited) Hey Josh, your tank is looking good as always...I'm looking forward to coming home for easter to do some shopping @ SF! Thanks man! Send me a PM next time you are in town. I rearranged the tank a little bit today. I moved my green favia to a more prominent spot and shifted some of the SPS around. I did some fragging over the weekend, and you can see the frag racks i made out of zip-ties and eggcrate with the frags in them. Here's the Favia, in its new spot: And here's a FTS of the rearranged tank: More to come, Josh Edited March 25, 2008 by SPS20 Quote Link to comment
TJ_Burton Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Looking good, as always! I still want that green slimer Quote Link to comment
VannReefer87 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Hey Josh, how did you anchor your frag racks to the side of your tank...I really like that idea as my current rack is taking up a lot of LPS room on my sand bed.... Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 (edited) Looking good, as always! I still want that green slimer It's still here, growing like crazy. If you are ever in the area, you can have a few frags of it. If it weren't so neat, I would almost call it a weed. Hey Josh, how did you anchor your frag racks to the side of your tank...I really like that idea as my current rack is taking up a lot of LPS room on my sand bed.... I'll post some pictures later of the frag racks when I get home. They are really very simple to construct, just some eggcrate material and some plastic zipties. So, my MH bulbs were really starting to show their age. Algae was growing faster and faster, and some of the more sesitive corals looked a bit unhappy at the tips, so I got 2 new bulbs yesterday. I decided to try out the Phoenix 14k's and I must say, they are very different from the Coralifes. Much bluer and alot dimmer to the eye, but they really cause the corals to flouresce outrageously. It looks like someone painted my corals with highlighters. I'm not sure if I like the look, but the corals responded positively immediately. Within 20 minutes, some of the more sensitive corals opened up wide and looked puffy and happy again, and that's all I really care about. I am a bit concerned that the lower PAR might mean that I will be getting slower growth, and may lose some of the color in my corals that I love so much, but only time will tell. I'm sure it isn't going to kill anything, so if I don't like how it works out, i'll just go back to coralifes next time its time to switch bulbs. I'll try to post some pictures of how things look now soon. The tank is getting VERY crowded, so I have begun experimenting with which corals can safely touch other, and I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that some of the acros can touch each other without either coral being stung. I'll keep experimenting with this and if it works out well, i might try gluing 2 or 3 acro frags into a single clump and epoxying them together onto a rock, and see what kind of crazy growth forms emerge as they intermingle. Soon, i'm going to have to remove one or two of my least favorite corals to give the rest room to grow. I'm not sure what i'll do with them, but i'm sure I can find them homes. As the tank has grown, my calcium demand has approached truly absurd levels. I am dosing about 60 ml of each part of Bionic daily, and it is just barely keeping up. This is more than double the maximun "don't ever use more than this" amount listed on the bottle, but nobody is complaining or shriveling or anything, so i'll just keep on doing what I have been doing. I doubt the demand will climb too much more, maybe to about 80ml daily max, since there just isn't room for alot more coral biomass. I might start removing rocks bit by bit so there's more room for the critters to grow, i'm not sure. This is the part of reefkeeping where the really fun stuff happens. When I first set this tank up, I had low expectations, I just wanted a few easyish acros and montis to brighten up my house. Now I have this crazy exploding festering pool of life spun out of control, and I love it. I feel like it really has taken on a life of its own, and i'm just here as a referee, culling the herd and adding chemicals here and there. God I love this hobby. More coming, Josh Edited April 24, 2008 by SPS20 Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 So it has only been a little over 24 hours since I changed the bulbs, and some of the less desirable algaes are already starting to bleach out and die. That clinches it, my algae issues I think had more to do with the aging bulbs than nutrient load. Phew! Quote Link to comment
c est ma Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Man, I click on my email link thinking "oh, goody, Josh is back" and it takes me to a March 12 post! Either I was asleep all last month or some of my email notifications got lost in the ozone. . . But it's sure been fun catching up! BTW, I loved the 'fuge vid--watched it twice. Your tank is inimitable as always. I can't get over all the pics of so many plump, "fuzzy," happy corals. This is the part of reefkeeping where the really fun stuff happens. When I first set this tank up, I had low expectations, I just wanted a few easyish acros and montis to brighten up my house. Now I have this crazy exploding festering pool of life spun out of control, and I love it. I feel like it really has taken on a life of its own, and i'm just here as a referee, culling the herd and adding chemicals here and there. God I love this hobby. More coming, Josh ^^^^That's the kind of stuff I've been missing! You really have a knack for putting it into words, Josh. I would only add--what would this hobby be if we couldn't share it with each other like this? --Diane Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 (edited) Thanks for the warm fuzzies, Diane. I took some pics of the tank today, but the lights shut off before I got all the shots I wanted to get. Regardless, here are some of the ones that came out ok. As you can see, everything looks alot bluer, due to the new phoenix 14k bulbs, but the corals seem happy. I'm sure the bulbs will turn to a slightly "mellower" color as they burn in. Two FTS's. The little Acro grotto on the left end of the tank. A new M. Spngodes. The back edge of it is being stung a little by the favia nearby, but both corals seem to be holding up fine overall, so i think i'm going to let nature take it's course unless things get out of hand. The bottom left corner, a little further out. A new Acropora, tucked in the left acro grotto. The left end of the tank. There's all I got before the lights switched off for the night. I was working my way across, so I guess i'll get some more shots tomorrow. Here are thumbnail links to the above images in much higher resolution: More to come, - Josh Edited April 27, 2008 by SPS20 Quote Link to comment
reefone Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 (edited) damn ur tank looks nice! what is the pink thing on the left? digi maybe? Edited April 27, 2008 by reefone Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 damn ur tank looks nice! what is the pink thing on the left? digi maybe? Thanks! The whorling pink inverse-cone-shaped coral on the right end of the tank is Montipora Capricornis. Quote Link to comment
reefone Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 thanks but i meant this one http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/S...ED_IMG_1099.jpg Quote Link to comment
SPS20 Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 thanks but i meant this one http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/S...ED_IMG_1099.jpg Drr brainfart. I even see that the text I quoted clearly says on the left. Yes, that one is a M. Digitata. Quote Link to comment
reefone Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 i edited my post so u probabely seen it befor the edit i put right when i meant left. Quote Link to comment
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