GTi Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 Hi James. Thanks for stopping by. It seems there's a slight improvement to the algae on the glass already but it's too early to say for sure. Some of my corals are slightly lighter in colour where they get the most light so it will be interesting to see if that is helped by photo period or just intensity. I'm selling off a couple of pieces later today (Scoly, Duncans and possibly GSP rock else moving it to the sump) which should clear up the sand bed. I will also be making up a zoa rock or two with the frags I have which will clean things up further and hopefully look better. At the same time I am going to shuffle around the front rock work on the left side as it isn't quite what I am looking for. If it all gets done, pics later! Also, I will be doing a Lugols dip for my Dr Who zoas. They opened up the first few days but have been closed for a week and now have a slimy coating on them. I will be quite disappointed if they don't make it. Link to comment
JamesHL88 Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Btw I have a colony of those doctor who's in me tank. I didn't know what they were called, but they are the healthiest zoa colony in my tank. Edit: lol predictive text on my wife's phone thinks i should speak like a cave man Link to comment
GTi Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 If mine don't make it maybe I can buy a frag from you when it warms up a bit. My wife's phone is the worst for autocorrect. Sometimes i just haven't a clue what the message means! Link to comment
GTi Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 So I sold the Scoly and threw in the GSP rock, keeping a couple of small pieces of the GSP and gluing them the the anemone rock. There's a bit more space on the sandbed after the sale and rearranging: I shuffled the nem rock over to the side a bit more. Really, I should have used a smaller rock but the anemone has its foot in a deep hole so I don't want to mess with it. The rock looks bare so I added a tiny piece of GSP to each end of it and look forward to seeing how those take off to add some contrasting colour and texture. I added a couple of small pieces of dry rock to the edges of the existing rockwork and glued the Candy Apple Reds to one and the Emerald Way Galaxy to the other. They are already starting to open. I tried to get small rocks that I could partly bury so they look like a continuation of the main rock going under the sand. I moved the Purple Gorg to a small rock, along with the Whamn Watermelon zoas, and put it at the back of the tank in between the 2 islands where it will look good against the background. I am considering ordering a yellow sea fan from Sea Life Inc to put there but htis will do for now. I now have a lot more sand bed than before and need to find something to be a focal point in the foreground. It will need to be low(ish) so as not to block what's behind it and cool as it is in prime position. I'm thinking either a nice zoa colony or mixed zoa rock, a nice plate or possibly a low LPS like a brain or blasto. If you have any suggestions on what would look cool on the sand, please post it. I am also trying to add some macro algae but the turbo snails eat my Dragon's Breath so I need something that looks good tha tthey will not touch. I posted on Keydiver's FS thread and will see if he has any ideas. I want to take out corner frag rack. It's too big and distracting. I am going to buy a couple of smaller racks from BadFish. I had to email because I couldn't see how to buy the contents of the cart! They will be smaller and allow me more flexibility with placement. Link to comment
GTi Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Couple of new additions: Maze Brain: Alveopora: Plate: Link to comment
GTi Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 Some close ups of the new corals: I have dialed my lighting down a little, both blue and white channels, because I noticed a couple of the acans in the colony and a Ric on the rick rock have started to become bleached. This seems odd as the acans have been in there since day one and the ric for a couple of months. Stranger than that, none of the surrounding acan polyps or rics have any signs of bleaching. Link to comment
bencollinz Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 awesome, i can't wait to get coral in mine! Link to comment
GTi Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 awesome, i can't wait to get coral in mine! Looks like yours is coming along - the hardest part for me is waiting for the cycle to finish. Link to comment
GTi Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 I was out of town for 2 weeks for work. While I'm away my kids keep things ticking over for me - feeding the fish, empty skimmer, refill ATO. After being away for 2 weeks it's easy to see what has changed in the tank! When I got back yesterday I was pleased to see the reduced lighting intensity has resulted in improve colours of my birdsnests and particularly the alien eye chalice which is looking very bright and inflated and the Rastas near the top of the tank are looking much more colourful. The Acans didn't seem to have changed much and the Dr Who Zoas had melted away. I also have one Ricordea that is very bleached and not looking too good. I got the Badfish frag racks in before I left and I like them a lot - big enough to hold a few plugs but small enough to blend in. I caught up on my maintenance - scraped the glass, filter sock change, 10 gallon water change. I didn't see my YWG at feeding time which is unusual but not unheard of. When I asked the kids, they hadn't seem her for a few days. I'm keeping my fingers crossed but I think she is gone. She was one of the first fish I had in my Biocube when I started in saltwater in August 2011. A Ricordea let go of the rock and needs reattaching and the frogspawn has grown and some Devil's Armor Palys need fragging because they are being stung. I always seem to have a little cyano in sheltered spots. If I turn up the MP10s any more, they blow the sand around. I have tried repositioning them slightly so they are not exactly opposite each other to see if this will allow me to turn the speed up a bit more and get more movement in the sheltered spots without blowing the sand away in the middle of the tank. I run GFO and Purigen in bags - I have ordered a Hanna Phosphate checker (I hate my kits with the vague colour differences) and am considering a BRS reactor for the GFO. I will try to get a new FTS and new coral shots up this week but it's going to be busy as I have another week-long trip coming up on Saturday. Link to comment
GTi Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 I thought I had better do this sooner than later or it wouldn't get done at all! New FTS New Plate settled in nicely: Ponape with improved colour: Birds of Paradise with improved colour: Rastas with improved colour: Alien Eye Chalice looking good again: Link to comment
JamesHL88 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Looking good! So many colors Link to comment
GTi Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Thanks! I'm not really sure that I have a theme -I want to have a variety of corals (certainly have that - soft, LPS and SPS), variety of colours and textures and make it all fit together in a neat looking way. The last part is what I struggle with. I want to get the Plate and Maze Brain further in towards the middle of the tank to add some interest to the vast area of open sand but I need to do this gradually so they get acclimated to the lights. Those Nanobox fixtures are deceptively powerful! I also want to add to the Ric rock and some GSP on the anemone rock as a contrast. I should be able to do that with some trades for some zoas I am growing out. Link to comment
got2envy Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Looks great man! you know I loves your rastas what is that plating SPS in the middle? I need a close up! Link to comment
GTi Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Looks great man! you know I loves your rastas what is that plating SPS in the middle? I need a close up! Hi Maria! Rastas are cool! They were looking a bit sad from too much light up there but they have coloured up quite well. Which SPS? There's a Hollywood Stunner chalice near the Rastas, Orange Monti Cap on the left, Setosa and seasons greetings (?) on the right. Let me know and I'll get a photo up! Link to comment
opaquelace Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I love this tank. The scape makes the tank look HUGE. And that green table acro makes it. Following along so I can drool over your tank Link to comment
GTi Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 Thanks! That acro is my fave, too! Link to comment
opaquelace Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Thanks! That acro is my fave, too! Also very impressed with the growth of all of your SPS! Those comparison shots are great. Link to comment
GTi Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 The Birdsnests and Pocillopora are fast growers - the Purple Bonsai has hardly done anything! My zoas weren't doing much growing but nowI have the lights dialed in a bit better, hopefully eveything will be happy! I hardly notice changes when I am at home, unless something bad is happening because then the change is quick. If I am away for a week or two, it's amazing how much you can see howmthings have changed. That's usually why I take lots of photos then there's a record of how things have grown, how I have changed the tank around and what didn't make it. Link to comment
got2envy Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Hi Maria! Rastas are cool! They were looking a bit sad from too much light up there but they have coloured up quite well. Which SPS? There's a Hollywood Stunner chalice near the Rastas, Orange Monti Cap on the left, Setosa and seasons greetings (?) on the right. Let me know and I'll get a photo up! It's green sticking out sideways right in the middle Link to comment
GTi Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 It's green sticking out sideways right in the middle Ah! That's my tabling acropora! There's a full colony shot in post number 4 and here's a detail shot from just now: Enjoy! Link to comment
GTi Posted February 23, 2013 Author Share Posted February 23, 2013 Just checked my Phosphate with the new Hanna. It read 0.15 ppm I have just changed out the GFO and am due a water change this weekend anyway. Planning to use the Hanna to monitor when the GFO is typically used up and change it preemptively in future. Link to comment
got2envy Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Ah! That's my tabling acropora! There's a full colony shot in post number 4 and here's a detail shot from just now: Enjoy! want. Link to comment
GTi Posted February 25, 2013 Author Share Posted February 25, 2013 Once it puts on some growth, I might make some frags - if and when I do, I'll let you know! Link to comment
GTi Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 I added an Innovative Marine reactor and have been running activated carbon and GFO in it. Before I was running these but in media bags which didn't result in as much exposure of the media to the tank water. Last few weeks phosphates have been zero! Nitrates also show zero but my kit is a bit basic and it is either 0 or 2.5 ppm as the next step. Macros (Chaeto, Dragon's Breath) have been growing fast under the new fuge lighting arrangement as recommended by Jedimasterben - thanks! Decided to change from the current light fixture (Nanobox) to 2 G2 Radions. The Nanobox is nice but the adjustability is manual and there isn't the programming flexibility. My rockwork also means there isn't great light coverage in certain areas. Radions are backordered and won't be here for a week and a half or so. Will post some new pics soon. Link to comment
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