Mr. Microscope's JBJ Picotope

[Mr. Microscope]

Okay. So, here is an image of the mystery zoas that I said I'd post. They have finally colored up well. I can't believe they started as brown. Really amazing colors here:

 

[.Newman.]

yes nice color to them

[JBM]

Those are some good lookin zoas there.

 

Did you get the bubble yet?

[Solarflare8806]

wow they really colored up well! how long have you had them?

[ParanoidObseshun]

Mystery zoas are looking good.

[Mr. Microscope]

wow they really colored up well! how long have you had them?

Thanks! I got them in May. So, I guess it took that long. However, the majority of color change occurred in the last couple months. Especially since I raised my light up to its maximum level.

 

Those are some good lookin zoas there.

 

Did you get the bubble yet?

 

Thanks!

 

Not yet. I don't think it would be too happy in there right now. Maybe after a few more water changes.

[JBM]

what happened?

 

did you make a boo boo?

[Solarflare8806]

Well that's cool, I'm hoping mine colors up some more. When I saw them online they looked red/orange but whn I got them home and into the tank they were really brownish. They are starting to get a littl orangish though.

[animalmaster6]

Nah.. I sat down with some clay the other day, but didn't feel inspired. Thanks for asking though. Have you undertaken any clay projects?

No I probably won't until some kind of scool vacation Been super busy

[JBM]

how are things going?

[Mr. Microscope]

how are things going?

 

Hi JBM!

 

Thanks for asking. With my water change last friday, things are starting to perk up. I think a couple more and I will be in the clear. Thinking about doing two this week. Perhaps the root of this problem lays in putting some uncured rubble in my tank in addition to a bit of overfeeding the fish and jumbo nassarius. It appears that I have avoided a crash though, or at least am making it through a minor one. My GSP is out for the first time in two or three weeks and the algae is almost gone. Most of the trumpet that I got for free is toast, but two are hanging on and might make it. One mystery about this whole situation is that my toadstool has been looking fine throughout the whole ordeal. I thought they were more sensitive. Some zoas are still angry, some look fine. Overall, the tank seems to be going the right direction.

[JBM]

i find that different zoas are angry at different times during the day in my tank. Not untill almost lights out is everything 'happy' per say & open to it's fullest.

 

 

adding the rubble probably caused a mini cycle which has pissed some things off more than usual. what are your parameters?

[Mr. Microscope]

Today's post to the General Discussion Forum:

 

Show off your pillars

 

Check it out for some inspirational rock-scaping.

[JBM]

I need inspiration for my 7.5g cube

[jdl]

hey man hope all is well with the tank!! i gotta admit this is the only thread that i follow now, probably b/c we both have a similar setup and started around the same time...anyways how do you think two pars would be in this tank? overkill? i am over my coralife setup and want to upgrade. almost 100% on a par38 thinkin two ? any thoughts?

[Mr. Microscope]

hey man hope all is well with the tank!! i gotta admit this is the only thread that i follow now, probably b/c we both have a similar setup and started around the same time

Hey jdl! Thanks for asking and thanks for following! As you may have seen, my tank had somewhat of a crash because I added some uncured rubble which caused a mini cycle. On top of that, I was doing smaller water changes at the time. I'm sure that only added to the problem.

 

Well, today (I took off Monday and haven't seen the tank since Friday). I declare a major victory. My Magicians which had been completely closed for no less than four weeks are finally opened!

 

Tad-ah!

You can see that they lost the intense blue flecks in the center that they used to have. This pic was taken on August 9th. I think they closed shortly after.

The flecks have dulled down and have spread over the whole polyp. I have faith that their intensity will return with time.

 

Overall, all of my corals are looking better and almost all the algae is gone. I even thought that I lost my scarlet crab on Friday, but it's shell is in another part of the tank now. So, it must have just been a molt.

 

I thank this improvement to returning to my regular 4 liter weekly water changes. Last week, I did two of them instead of my normal one on Friday, and also put in fresh Chemi-Pure Elite. I couldn't be happier with the status of things.

 

One change that i made on Friday was to my lighting schedule. I observe that most of the corals I get have a bad reaction to my lights and take a while to photo-acclimate. I'm also wondering if I do in fact have 80 degree optics on my PAR38 or if they forgot to change them and left in the 40 degree. I say this only because everyone else that has the PAR38 seems to have corals with larger polyps (GSP that can actually sway in the current, zoas bigger than a cm, etc.). I once read about a technique of using a 4 hours on, 8 hours off lighting schedule. I'm experimenting with a variation of this. I figure that the shortened photo periods might help the corals not only to grow, but reduce things like photo-bleaching and improve overall color and size. If my tank were at home, I would be doing the 6am-10am on, 6pm-10pm on, schedule. Since my tank is at work however, and I want to maximize viewing pleasure, I now have the lights on from 6am to 10am and from 3pm to 7pm. The lighting schedule used to be from 9am to 4:30pm. I think this is better for overall viewing because it will be on in the morning when I get to work and on while catching up on emails, then off in the middle of the day when I'm usually out of my office anyway working on the microscope. Also, I always do my water changes after work. Now I don't have to do them in the dark anymore and I can see if I need to move anything around or do some fragging.

 

Sorry for going on and on. I'm just excited about the improvements and changes. I think my tank is finally ready to add the bubble coral.

 

...anyways how do you think two pars would be in this tank? overkill? i am over my coralife setup and want to upgrade. almost 100% on a par38 thinkin two ? any thoughts?

To answer your question jdl, yes. From my experience with the PAR38, I do believe that two would be drastic overkill on the JBJ Picotope. Unless, however, I did accidentally receieved 40 degree optics. Unfortunately, all of the optics look alike. So, it's impossible to know for sure. I have seen one five gallon tank with two 60 degree PAR38s mounted above it. The owner's zoas look awesome and he said he hasn't had any problems with them shrinking like I do with 80 degree optics (further questioning my optics). I'm actually thinking about taking out the optics and seeing how everything reacts to just the LEDs. I like the PAR38 for it's elegance in design and simplicity of use. I do, however wish it had the capability to dim. I believe that I will be building LEDs for my next tank for this reason. Though, I imagine that even people who have dimming capabilities eventually stop using them once they find the right amount of light.

[jdl]

that is exactly what i needed to hear. thanks for the help. i had some of those zoas as well, unfortunately they did not make it (prob b/c the dumb girl @ the register dropped my bag on the counter and made a glorious piece into several crappy frags). out of 5 the different types of zoas only the rde's survived... on a side note if you have the time. i would go to rockaway (spelling?) and check out the surf. it is no doubt a meteorological phenomenon that is happening there right now with igor's remnants. keep up the good work on the thread. makes me wish i had started one..

[Mr. Microscope]

Awe! Sucks about the corals. I hope you didn't pay too much for them.

I haven't been to Rockaway yet, but I've been meaning to go. I've heard it's a nice little escape. Like a small fishing village within subway distance.

You don't have a thread? Hmm. Thought I've seen your tank before. You should start one. You started about the same time I did. So, you've been successful for almost a year. I'm sure everyone would appreciate your insight on the experience of keeping a pico. Just post a FTS, a few closeups of your favorite corals, and list your equipment. Send me a PM if you want some help. I'd be happy to get you setup.

[JBM]

how would you trigger that on off on off schedule? are you using some sort of electric timer? DETAILS!

 

Though, I imagine that even people who have dimming capabilities eventually stop using them once they find the right amount of light.

 

this is correct for me with a minor twist.

 

if i add a new piece of coral, i dim the lights down to 10%, then each day add a little tweak till i reach my happy medium.

[Mr. Microscope]

how would you trigger that on off on off schedule? are you using some sort of electric timer? DETAILS!

Yup, I have two timers which have been going since the beginning. One for my main lighting, and one for the fuge lighting which goes on at night.

 

this is correct for me with a minor twist.

 

if i add a new piece of coral, i dim the lights down to 10%, then each day add a little tweak till i reach my happy medium.

Ooh, good point. I forgot about photo-acclimation of new corals. It would be nice for that. Okay. I'm convinced. Especially since I can't move my lamp up any higher.

[JBM]

Yup, I have two timers which have been going since the beginning. One for my main lighting, and one for the fuge lighting which goes on at night.

 

thanks, that was ALOT of detail ( /sarcasm)

[Mr. Microscope]

thanks, that was ALOT of detail ( /sarcasm)

Alright Mr. Sassypants. How's this for details?

[straydog]

I added an extension cord to my lights so I also can have my korilla on with the lights so there is less flow when the lights are off.

[jdl]

Alright Mr. Sassypants. How's this for details?

im confused... why wouldnt you have the lights on for one long period like night and day? just tryin to gather as much info for when i get a par. and do you have the fuge light on when the tank lights are on? i thought this causes the ph to swing (if you have chaeto or other macro)?

[jdl]

Awe! Sucks about the corals. I hope you didn't pay too much for them.

I haven't been to Rockaway yet, but I've been meaning to go. I've heard it's a nice little escape. Like a small fishing village within subway distance.

You don't have a thread? Hmm. Thought I've seen your tank before. You should start one. You started about the same time I did. So, you've been successful for almost a year. I'm sure everyone would appreciate your insight on the experience of keeping a pico. Just post a FTS, a few closeups of your favorite corals, and list your equipment. Send me a PM if you want some help. I'd be happy to get you setup.

i will def keep that in mind. i do have some pictures posted in my gallery of the tank. kinda like a photo timeline.