zenreefer Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Heading over to check it out. Found out today that it's a good idea to use something internal to the rock to hold it up. The top column on mine just fell over. EeeK! Thanks! Lots of knowledge on nano-reef to stand on. :-) Ouch, that sucks! My rock is very fragile too, It'll probably happen one day... Quote Link to comment
Zia Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Publish a coffee table book with your fantastic reef photos already, id buy it! 2 Quote Link to comment
Lalani Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 How did I miss this thread?? Lovely stuff going on in here and I'm a fan of your photography. Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Ok, so somehow I wasn't following your thread and so I missed your recent updates. That has been remedied and now you are on my daily follow list I just need to say, hot d***! Both of your tanks are just beautiful! That temperate tank is fascinating and the tropical tank is so full and lush and colorful! I can't get over that FTS on the last page. It should definitely be in the running for TOTM! Wow! Oh, and Namara is a beautiful cat. She looks like such a princess laying right in front of that fan 1 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 Just a quick update on the aquarium, unfortunately a little setback this time. But for anyone learning who happens to follow, it's probably just as helpful to see what happens when things go wrong, too. I re-glued the toppled rock-scape, but had a few casualties from stings and crushes. The pink pocci is hanging on by a thread after spending the night in GSP, and I lost my larger red-orange acan colony to a crush injury. The only other piece to completely bite it is the pink lemonade acro after being exposed to air too long in the re-gluing process. This loss breaks my heart, to be honest, as it was my first really pretty acro that was actually growing in my tank. Collateral damage and probably the new RAZOR lighting is affecting the ORA green birdsnest which has sloooow STN. I'm not too worried about this since it happened with the last lighting change. It should pull through. All this happened days before leaving on my honeymoon. So I put the aquarium in the hands of the cat-sitter and crossed my fingers and popped a valium. I had her feed just enough pellets to keep the fish from starving in hopes that keeping nutrient levels lower would stop the progress of any further collateral damage. I'm relieved she didn't feed more since NO3 was 10 (!!) and PO4 was 2 when I got back from vacation. Holy sheesh! NO3 has never been higher than 4 and PO4 never higher than 1. Ever. So I did an emergency 70% water change last night and will do another large change tomorrow evening. The montis have lost some color, but they'll perk back up in a few weeks. Ouch, that sucks! My rock is very fragile too, It'll probably happen one day... Your rocks look like they're pretty well supported in the sand, without the precarious bend in mine that broke. I'd guess you'll have better luck. Still, I'm sold on drilling and placing resin/plastic rods for support in the next build. Publish a coffee table book with your fantastic reef photos already, id buy it! Serious? Hmmm... that could be a fun project. really? you'd want to look at them in a book?? I'm flattered! :-) How did I miss this thread?? Lovely stuff going on in here and I'm a fan of your photography. Whoa! Lalani dropped by? That's awesome! I'm a huge fan of your aquariums. Just saying. It's an honor. :-) Howdy! Howdy! Hi! I sent you PM about the zoas. Thanks for being patient. :-) Ok, so somehow I wasn't following your thread and so I missed your recent updates. That has been remedied and now you are on my daily follow list I just need to say, hot d***! Both of your tanks are just beautiful! That temperate tank is fascinating and the tropical tank is so full and lush and colorful! I can't get over that FTS on the last page. It should definitely be in the running for TOTM! Wow! Oh, and Namara is a beautiful cat. She looks like such a princess laying right in front of that fan Thanks Felicia! I hope I can keep up with pics and interesting stuff to share. :-) Glad you like the temperate tank, too! Tim and I have taken to exploring the tidepools around here and I soooooo wish it was legal to collect in WA. God the creatures I'd keep. It's such a bizarre/foreign world. We are lucky to have made the acquaintance of a local marine legend who is a virtual encyclopedia about all creatures Puget Sound. The gunnel is also warming up and has started coming out to greet us in hopes of food when we sit in front of the tank. And last night I noticed tiny white polyps growing on the power head. I think they're seeded plumose anemones! The great part about living minutes from Puget Sound is that water changes are right from the ocean, so all kinds of planktonic hitchikers have a chance to settle in each week. Once we figure out how to harvest and culture live temperate plankton, I'd like to try some of the filter feeders like tube worms, hydroids, and sponges. And eventually a lumpsucker. THAT would rock. :-) Hopefully my little setback is on the mend and I'll feel worthy of your TOTM comment in a few weeks. :-) I've made a few changes since that last FTS, mostly adding in 3 more acros in a little SPS garden surrounding the duncan. Oh, aren't all cats princesses? At least in their own minds. LOL 4 Quote Link to comment
gogo Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 nice tank. hope everything is all right... i 've had a few wipeouts before..you'll survive. Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Sorry to hear about the mishap! I totally missed that. I guess I was too distracted by your stunning photos. I'm sorry it happened right before your honeymoon. I really hope you had a great time and didn't stress too much. It sounds like most things will recover, so I'm glad it wasn't a complete disaster. Just take it as a chance to do some rearranging and let everything recover and I bet the tank will look better than ever! I would LOVE to have a temperate tank at some point, so I really love seeing photos of yours. I go diving off the coast of CA all the time, and its a temperate environment here. Its a very different environment than a tropical reef. I think the temperate kelp forests I dive in are just as beautiful as tropical reefs, just in a different way. That is so cool that you can get new water straight out of the ocean whenever you want. It really is too bad you can't get a collecting permit in WA. I'm not sure what the rules are here in CA, but if I ever get a temperate tank, I'd love to be able to collect for it while diving. I would love to see a lumpsucker in there! Those little guys are so cool! Quote Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Sorry to hear about the troubles Deb, how are things now? Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted August 28, 2013 Author Share Posted August 28, 2013 Yeah, when I first got the AI Nano, I put the power on too strong at the same time I underfed in hopes of preventing any algae growth. It wasn't pretty, but I learned a bunch from helpful people here on nano-reef and turned it around. This time I knew exactly what to do to stop the downward spiral early. I think I'll only have those two losses and everything else will pull through, with the pink pocci being the big question mark. It's a learning experience and could have been much worse. nice tank. hope everything is all right... i 've had a few wipeouts before..you'll survive. I joke about popping a valium, but it was probably a good thing I wasn't around that week. Everything happens slowly in this hobby, right? I probably would have just fretted and tried too many things to stabilize the aquarium and messed up the balance even more. I KNOW, right!! Lumpsuckers are one of the coolest fish I've ever seen! Seattle aquarium has a few, as does Vancouver Aquarium. They're housed in a tank with the tiny strawberry anemones (a different species than my strawberry nem) and little white plumose nems. It's a pink and white wall of color with the tiny yellow-brown fish. very, very pretty. And their goofy little body - I swear they're the inspiration for pokemon. We're hoping to get certified for diving sometime this year. There's an underwater marine sacntuary nearby that is supposed to be incredible. Sorry to hear about the mishap! I totally missed that. I guess I was too distracted by your stunning photos. I'm sorry it happened right before your honeymoon. I really hope you had a great time and didn't stress too much. It sounds like most things will recover, so I'm glad it wasn't a complete disaster. Just take it as a chance to do some rearranging and let everything recover and I bet the tank will look better than ever! I would LOVE to have a temperate tank at some point, so I really love seeing photos of yours. I go diving off the coast of CA all the time, and its a temperate environment here. Its a very different environment than a tropical reef. I think the temperate kelp forests I dive in are just as beautiful as tropical reefs, just in a different way. That is so cool that you can get new water straight out of the ocean whenever you want. It really is too bad you can't get a collecting permit in WA. I'm not sure what the rules are here in CA, but if I ever get a temperate tank, I'd love to be able to collect for it while diving. I would love to see a lumpsucker in there! Those little guys are so cool! Thanks Christine. :-) It's turning around. Will just take time for the green birdsnest and pocci to return to former glory and the montis to color back up. Everything else is doing really well and the scape is glued back together. I'll find ties of some sort to ensure the rocks don't break again. I'd drill and insert a post support if electricity and water mixed well. ;-) Sorry to hear about the troubles Deb, how are things now? 1 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 Geeze, hasn't your eight gallon been TOTM yet?! Nominated! 6 Quote Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 Pics it's been a year Quote Link to comment
JMCollins24 Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Wow! Your tank is incredible! Definitely an inspiration for sure! I'll start following along! 1 Quote Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Any updates on the temperate tank? More video or pictures Deborah? It looked pretty jam packed in the last video, loos awesome! Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 I've been slammed with schoolwork and haven't had much time for anything but studying, but it's time for a FTS! Changes since the last update: on the way home from my honeymoon, we dropped by a fish store that had a great deal on acros. So I decided to switch direction a bit with the aquarium and try my hand with a few unknown varieties. I also got hit by upgrade fever and am cycling a Nuvo 24! I'll start a thread towards the end of November when studies let up a little and I can safely transfer everything over. Updates on my lighting switch from the AI nano sol to the Maxspect Razor: Some of the corals had improved pigment shifts. Pinks, greens and yellows came back in the acans. Some of the same pigments came back in zoas. The bubblegum monster chalice grew by nearly a third. And the green pigments in the acros really came out. However, most other corals shifted to a slightly less intense pigment and overall growth has slowed quite a bit. I used to get a polyp every two weeks from the zoas under the AI sol, but they have been mostly maintaining size after being fragged under the Razor. Overall, colors are not quite as intense under the 'violet' cast of the Razor. So... I have decided to see if I can get improved growth with 'full spectrum' LED and am going to use AI's Hydra over the 24 gallon. 6 Quote Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Wooooohooooooo nuvo 24 start a thread please Quote Link to comment
gena Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 It looks amazing!!!! Congrats on the upgrade (and marriage) . Quote Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Thanks for the update, tank always looks good Honestly, why don't you have Dave make you a custom nanobox led? Much better than the AI Hydra. Have you seen the led over my 7 gallon? Quote Link to comment
Lalani Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Beautiful, can't wait to see the upgrade tank! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Thanks for the update! Looks great! Good luck with school and the upgrade! Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Wooooohooooooo nuvo 24 start a thread please :-) Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it! I'll start a thread when studies slow down at the end of the month. It's just rock and sand so far. No scape built, but I'm going to stick with the bonsai-type look and if I can pull it off, I love the idea of a long shelf for SPS to fill in and fish to swim under. Even my husband can barely wait for it to cycle. Trying to figure out how to mount 2 hydras lengthwise... It looks amazing!!!! Congrats on the upgrade (and marriage) . Thanks Gena! Thanks for the update, tank always looks good Honestly, why don't you have Dave make you a custom nanobox led? Much better than the AI Hydra. Have you seen the led over my 7 gallon? Thought about it, but I'm turned off to buying lights unseen. It's personal preference, but I despise the purple color cast of the Razor. Water should be BLUE or without obvious color cast. I've seen the Hydra in person over a tank and I like the color mix visually, and with the additional color LEDs, maybe it will be enough to bring out some different pigments than just the blue and cool white LED did. I'd be content with that. Especially since the pigment shifts under the Razor weren't dramatic enough overall to convince me that LED alone is enough. I think T5 still has something over LED in that regard--just not gonna pay for it right now. Looking forward to reading your experiences with the nanobox! Beautiful, can't wait to see the upgrade tank! Thanks Lalani! You and Tim both. :-) He's even putting dibs in for a pajama cardinal fish. LOL And I have my eye on flasher wrasses and a white torch for the clown. I think I'm in love with them. Thanks for the update! Looks great! Good luck with school and the upgrade! Thanks for dropping by Mr Scope! The last few weeks have flown by in a blink. Hey--any new electron microscope images to share? 1 Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Congrats on the NTOTM win! Nice job with this little nano. Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Congratulations on your TOTM! Well done! Thanks for dropping by Mr Scope! The last few weeks have flown by in a blink. Hey--any new electron microscope images to share?The last thing I imaged was a tiny brittlestar. Nothing very new at the moment: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/280413-mr-microscopes-microscopy-of-the-reef-brittle-star-post-177/?p=4268793 Quote Link to comment
SouthFlorida_Tron Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Congrats. Very well done! Quote Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Deborah, congratulations !!!! Well deserved Quote Link to comment
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