TJ_Burton Returns - last pics...

[TJ_Burton]

That's pretty exciting! Put a link here if you start a new thread...

 

--Diane

 

Here you go Diane! Good suggestion

 

New Office Solana!

[TJ_Burton]

Ok, well I have been somewhat neglecting the tank due to an extremely busy schedule at work since a new gentleman took over as my boss, and my tank isn't doing all that well.

 

My parameters are all good, except my Alkalinity which is quite low, and affecting my SPS. I also am in a battle with zoa nudis at the moment (which will be dealt with when I set up my prop tank. I will dedicate the day to freshwater dipping and inspecting every colony before it goes into the prop tank).

 

On the bright side, my Berghia nudis are cleaning up my aptasia much faster then I expected! I might actually start having to harvest aptasia out of the fuge to keep them fed.

 

I will bring more progress and photos once I get my Alk stable and things start looking better.

[j'field]

Hi TJ_Burton, wow nice colourful zoas! And those maximas are ....... sorry too nice that i dunno how to describe! But I would really like to see a clearer pic of those clams

[TJ_Burton]

Hi TJ_Burton, wow nice colourful zoas! And those maximas are ....... sorry too nice that i dunno how to describe! But I would really like to see a clearer pic of those clams

 

Thank you for the kind words!

 

I will try to get a good pic of those clams very soon!

[abe]

Thank you for the kind words!

 

I will try to get a good pic of those clams very soon!

you better! work before tank... always

[SeeDemTails]

What are you using for your alk/ca maintenance?

 

I have some aiptasia in my tank but after what my last peppermint did to some of my corals I just dont want to go that route, I assume the nudis are workings well? Do you worry about them getting sucked into anything?

[TJ_Burton]

What are you using for your alk/ca maintenance?

 

I have some aiptasia in my tank but after what my last peppermint did to some of my corals I just dont want to go that route, I assume the nudis are workings well? Do you worry about them getting sucked into anything?

 

Honestly no Alk maintenance this far which is exactly why my Alk level is so darn low. I use Kent Turbo Calcium to maintain Calc in my tank.

 

The nudis are awesome, and I have nothing in my tank to "suck them up"

[SeeDemTails]

I have three Maxijets, so I would be a little worried!

 

I use B-ionic and love it, great product.

[TJ_Burton]

Currently for Alk I will be using the Brightwell Aquatics Alkalinity 8.3 buffer. It is pretty strong stuff, but I think it will do a good job if I manage to dose it correctly

[TJ_Burton]

Got my Params stable.

 

PH 8.3

Alk 8.4 dkh

Calcium 400ppm

 

Just need my corals to start looking better!

Also, my prop tank should be up in the next month.

[TJ_Burton]

Ok,

 

Big news...

 

I am about to attempt a different form of lighting on my aquarium. I am currently not at all happy with how the halides have turned out, and I believe it is mostly due to the configuration of the bulbs and the choice of reflector. I also believe this is the primary or secondary (to parameters which are now stable) reason for my lack of color in my SPS. As neat and tidy as my lighting looks, it is just not doing what it should. I figure this as good a time as any to try out a new type of lighting.

 

I have seen many successful SPS tanks (in person and online) using HOT5 technology. I have made the decision to give this type of lighting a shot. I am going to be purchasing (today) a Current USA 36" Nova Extreme Pro light fixture. It has an individually contoured reflector, which is more or less a once piece reflector, that contours around each bulb. It is similar to have individual reflectors that are all attached at their highest point.

 

If I am not happy with how it looks I am simply going to take it back to the LFS (I am fairly good friends with the owner).

 

I will take some before (halides) and after (HOT5) pictures for reference, and will post them later tonight. Hopefully I don't miss the shimmer too much, and hopefully it gives me the coloration I am looking for.

 

I have changed the stock setup. The fixture's bulb configuration is as follows:

 

Back

-10,000K

-460nm Actinic

-10,000K

-460nm Actinic

-10,000K

-460nm Actinic

Front

 

I have changed the two center bulbs to a 6,700K and 420nm Actinic. So now the setup looks like this:

 

Back

-10,000K

-460nm Actinic

-6,700K

-420nm Actinic

-10,000K

-460nm Actinic

Front

 

I will report back with pictures and my thoughts later tonight.

[brshriver]

Got my Params stable.

 

PH 8.3

Alk 8.4 dkh

Calcium 400ppm

 

Just need my corals to start looking better!

Also, my prop tank should be up in the next month.

What about Magnesium? My SPS fade when my magnesium levels drop.

[TJ_Burton]

What about Magnesium? My SPS fade when my magnesium levels drop.

 

This isn't your typical lack of mag 'fading'

This is more like, my sps don't have enough light brown-out. Just out of curiosity though, where do you prefer to keep your mag levels?

[TJ_Burton]

Alright,

 

I am not sure what I want to do at this point. The T5 certainly seems a lot brighter, but like I said my halides are somewhat gimp at the moment due to their reflector and also the distance they are from the surface of the water.

 

I do really enjoy the look of halides more then the T5's, but it could also be the bulb configuration I have in there currently which just isn't as attractive as it could be. Either way I also miss the shimmer.

 

On the pro side, this is dramatically less wattage, and from the looks of things, potentially better then what I had. However getting new reflectors and lowering etc. the halide setup could solve the issues as well.

 

I may hold on to this fixture for now, fix the halides and switch back to halides... I am not sure. I am going to have to let some ideas roll around in my head for a while before I make up my mind.

 

Anywho, on with the pics.

I have noticed it is a lot more white, and does not have as much 20,000K halide glow/kick to it. It seems almost 'flat' for the lack of a better term.

 

 

 

 

 

[Greenstar]

Hmmm.....

 

I think that the T5 are lighting the tank better, certainly looks like a lot less shadows. I definitely makes the corals seem more browned out than when they were under the 20k. I think once they color up and you add a little bit more blue into the bulb configuration the T5s will end up being a better choice.

 

On another note, you definitely are doing something right for those acans. Some of the happiest looking ones I have ever seen.

[glennr1978]

Well it should be. I think there are a few factors at play here. One being the stress of the transfer, the other being the 20,000K bulbs I had in there were used for who knows how long. One burnt out the day I did the transfer, so in all those pics only the left 250w 20,000K and the center 10,000K were running.

 

I just purchased new 20,000K bulbs, unfortunately they are Coralife 20,000k bulbs, but they were very cheap and should certainly do the trick for now. I also changed out the Coralife 10,000K 150w DE bulb with one that a friend brought back from China for me. I can't recall the name, but hopefully it is a little more white then the Coralife was. I will get the name of it for when I post pics tonight of the lights.

 

I was having some issues with those crazy industrial fans I installed. First issue was that the transformer could only run one fan, and would cut out after about 30 seconds if both fans were wired up. So for a while I was only running one. The other issue is that the fan sounded like a leaf blower. My simple solution was to go to Walmart and buy two six inch clip on fans and put them inside the canopy and have them blow across the water. This worked remarkably well. In fact, it dropped the tank from 82 to 78. The aluminum reflector right above the bulb was actually cool to the touch.

 

 

As you can see from the pic I actually did this mod before the transfer. However I completely forgot to post about it.

Wal mart fans rule.

[TJ_Burton]

Hmmm.....

 

I think that the T5 are lighting the tank better, certainly looks like a lot less shadows. I definitely makes the corals seem more browned out than when they were under the 20k. I think once they color up and you add a little bit more blue into the bulb configuration the T5s will end up being a better choice.

 

On another note, you definitely are doing something right for those acans. Some of the happiest looking ones I have ever seen.

 

I agree, there are certainly less shadowed areas. I actually have an extra 10K and 460nm Actinic since I bought a 6,700K and 420nm Actinic to swap out. I could potentially remove one of the daylight bulbs and put the extra actinic in, but I am afraid I may be lacking PAR if I decide to do that. I am also concerned about how well the clams will do under this lighting.

 

I have heard tons, and seen proof of HOT5 success with clams and acros, but I am just so used to halides. I will have to give it some time before I can say if it is going to work for me or not. I guess this means I will be holding on to this fixture... More money invested in to the tank

 

Wal mart fans rule.

+1 lol

[brshriver]

This isn't your typical lack of mag 'fading'

This is more like, my sps don't have enough light brown-out. Just out of curiosity though, where do you prefer to keep your mag levels?

Yep - from your pictures I agree. I shoot for 1300-1400 for magnesium. I noticed fading in SPS and clams when my levels dropped to 1000 (after a few months of non testing since it had never been low - ooops!)

[TJ_Burton]

Yep - from your pictures I agree. I shoot for 1300-1400 for magnesium. I noticed fading in SPS and clams when my levels dropped to 1000 (after a few months of non testing since it had never been low - ooops!)

 

My Magnesium should be within that range, however I should re-test. I managed to miss-read my alk test three times in a row... so I wouldn't be shocked if I messed my Mag test up as well.

 

Whatever is wrong is only affecting my SPS, my Softies and LPS look amazing. My Cespitularia has grown it's first stolon which within a few days cam out, then attached to a plug I sat beside it. At this rate I should have a pretty large mother colony within the next 6 months (it is a coral that I want to grow as a large show piece in my tank).

[SeeDemTails]

If it was me I would gut the fixture and figure out how to use it with the halides too.

 

Looks good though!

[TJ_Burton]

If it was me I would gut the fixture and figure out how to use it with the halides too.

 

Looks good though!

 

I like your thinking

That may be a project in the future.

[SeeDemTails]

It certainly does look bright though!

[TJ_Burton]

It certainly does look bright though!

 

It is crazy bright. Much brighter then I expected to be honest. I just need some 'Actinic White' bulbs to replace the one or two of the 10,000K and give it that wicked glow.

[TJ_Burton]

I bought a new test kit today to test out my magnesium (fearing my other kit was not accurate or possibly expired, being over a year old). My magnesium is at 1000ppm yikes! So I will be raising it slowly over the next little while.

 

New corals (Pics will come later tonight possibly)

 

-Purple Death

-Nuke Green

-Green Nepthia

-Green Kenya Tree

-Green base/purple tip Octobubble

-Green base/purple tip Branching hammer

 

Also worth mentioning, the prop system is almost complete. I striped and replaced the silicon with black on both my 20L and 20H, and cleaned them up. I will take a snap of it later and show you what I am working with. It is pretty much identical in setup to my previous 20L holding tank, except I am using a Coralife 65 skimmer, and I also added a baffle to the sump. The baffle is more like a divider to keep substrate away from the pump. I just need to finish the drain (I am going to try to make this one dramatically quieter) and I am good to go!

[SeeDemTails]

Sweet I am going to World Wide Corals tomorrow to get a Purple Death Paly frag and a frag of German Blue Digitata!