slowngreen Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Changed my scape to what Im going to leave it at ... for now atleast. Not a good picture though. Took a couple other randoms too. http://s183.photobucket.com/user/slowngreen/media/IMAG0660.jpg.html'> http://s183.photobucket.com/user/slowngreen/media/IMAG0661.jpg.html'> http://s183.photobucket.com/user/slowngreen/media/IMAG0663.jpg.html'> http://s183.photobucket.com/user/slowngreen/media/IMAG0664.jpg.html'> http://s183.photobucket.com/user/slowngreen/media/IMAG0665.jpg.html'> http://s183.photobucket.com/user/slowngreen/media/IMAG0666.jpg.html'> http://s183.photobucket.com/user/slowngreen/media/IMAG0667.jpg.html'> Link to comment
markalot Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 You're tank always looks so darn healthy. Thanks for the pics, need more. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Thanks man, I really appreciate the input. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Is there much of a difference between the cheaper no name brand 12000k and actinic's vs the ati aque special and true actinic? What would that difference be? Id hate to "upgrade" my 3 12k's and one actinic to ati's if all it did was make it more blue. Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Is there much of a difference between the cheaper no name brand 12000k and actinic's vs the ati aque special and true actinic? What would that difference be? Id hate to "upgrade" my 3 12k's and one actinic to ati's if all it did was make it more blue. IME the ATI bulbs instantly make your tank brighter... I think this has to do with the build quality of the bulbs. They also stay brighter a lot longer, so you will get quality light for 8-12 months out of them where as a no name brand probably starts to go downhill around the 5-7 month mark Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 OK thanks. Ive run part ATI and part no name since the beginning (with new replacements twice now) and stuck with it since I liked the color but if switching the ones that are cheap to ATI's will be brighter/crisper then thats what I want, just wanted to be sure I wasnt gonna just be making it more blue. Link to comment
markalot Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 OK thanks. Ive run part ATI and part no name since the beginning (with new replacements twice now) and stuck with it since I liked the color but if switching the ones that are cheap to ATI's will be brighter/crisper then thats what I want, just wanted to be sure I wasnt gonna just be making it more blue. There is a big difference in PAR and perceived brightness can be deceiving. The AB special had the most PAR I measured of any bulb with the Coral+ close behind. The cheaper 10K bulb, I tried aquatic life, was 75 PAR lower when I tested it. So if you move to cheaper bulbs I think you'll be ok as long as it's bright enough, but if you move back the corals might be light shocked. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Well right now Im running 3-12k's, one actinic and two Blue +. All of which are new. So your saying if I went to all ati's that my corals might bleach? Maybe I can do a two at a time upgrade with less run time on that side at first?? Replace my actinic and one 12k for a true act. and a aquablue? Wait a couple month then replace the other two? Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I definitely skipped over the part of your question about how blue the look is. I think Mark has covered it pretty well though. I run a AB special on my freshwater planted and it gives me a clean white look when paired with a Giessman 10k Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 The AB special are considered 12000k's right? Thats kind of why I wanna upgrade, Im just assuming a better looking 12k than my cheapo's. Was hoping the true actinic in place of my cheap actinic might produce some more pop too. The cheap actinic doesnt really do anything. Link to comment
markalot Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I'm not sure it will look better, it's all in the blend. I can't stand the AB Special, way way too greenish yellow. The AquaticLife 10K looked better IMO, even though it has less blue in it, but the PAR was significantly lower. Our eyes are so hyper sensitive to green light that any peak in or near green is going to really make the tank look brighter and change the perceived color. I'm not sure we all see the same, so results may vary. And yes, if you want to add ATI I would do it one bulb at a time and let the corals adjust before adding another. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Could you guys possibly I.D. these two sps for me? I was worried when I got them that they wouldnt do great, read so much about sps being hard to keep. But even though its only been 2-3 weeks, they are doing really good. They have got more color then when I got them and seem to have excellent polyp extension. With that said, if I can get these ID'd for me, Id like to maybe add a couple more frags of them in the near future.... Link to comment
markalot Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Based on the size of the trunks alone and the spacing of the polyps I will guess Stylophora on both of them. Keep these in lower light for a while while they adapt. If one of those is a pink stylo they are notoriously hard to care for unless they are in the perfect spot. Green and Purple stylos, on the other hand, grow like weeds. Could you guys possibly I.D. these two sps for me? I was worried when I got them that they wouldnt do great, read so much about sps being hard to keep. But even though its only been 2-3 weeks, they are doing really good. They have got more color then when I got them and seem to have excellent polyp extension. With that said, if I can get these ID'd for me, Id like to maybe add a couple more frags of them in the near future.... Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Thanks buddy, the LFS guy didnt have a name for them. Wouldnt it be a good sign that they are liking where they are at by now? I cant get a good pic but their polyps stick out pretty far, enough that you can watch them flow. Link to comment
markalot Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Thanks buddy, the LFS guy didnt have a name for them. Wouldnt it be a good sign that they are liking where they are at by now? I cant get a good pic but their polyps stick out pretty far, enough that you can watch them flow. Yea, it would, but look for bleaching. A healthy stylo will have a dark skin with colored polyps, unless it's a pink or rainbow variety, which tend to have brightly colored skin and not so colorful polyps or brilliant blue polyps. Hope you got a Rainbow, they are stunning. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 I was thinking the green one looked alot like a pocillopora, but was just going by this picture and not knowing anything about sps...yet... As long as I keep my params the same as well as I can, you think I can try some acro frags too? The place I got these sell tons of frags for $10-15 but is 3 hours away, so I wanna have an idea before I go next next of what I can get.... Link to comment
markalot Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I was thinking the green one looked alot like a pocillopora, but was just going by this picture and not knowing anything about sps...yet... As long as I keep my params the same as well as I can, you think I can try some acro frags too? The place I got these sell tons of frags for $10-15 but is 3 hours away, so I wanna have an idea before I go next next of what I can get.... Well, The stylos, if they are happy, are going to be sucking down alk and calcium like crazy. If you are dosing and monitoring and keep up on the daily usage then acros can work, but you will have to dose and it IS a lot of extra work. Usually what happens is people start to add SPS, they do fine for a while, but daily alk usage is climbing and eventually it will start dropping to dangerous levels prior to a water change and end up killing corals. The extra trouble with acros is they hate unstable alk (KH) so while they may live and grow, as long as KH is between 6.5 and 10, they won't look good. Think hard before adding too many SPS because it does change the amount of work required to keep the tank in good health. As far as ID; Poci's tend to be stubby all over and lack any longer branches. Stylos, in lower flow, can grow fairly long fingers and also have thick trunks with branches radiating from the trunks. All my Poci's are basically mounds of bumps, if that makes sense. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Ok thanks a ton for the info, glad I asked. Definitely not looking too increase the work haha. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Well some bad news. I went to work day before yesterday and I always leave my door open for air to circulate and keep it cool (through my screen door), but I guess I closed it on my way out this time. It got over 100 again and when I got home and saw my door closed I ran to my tank and sure enough it was very warm, wasnt on the stick on thermometer any more it was so warm. Guess because of this, my plate coral died and my goby. Ive checked all my perams today and everything is stable. Today, two days later, all zoas are fine but my leathers havent opened up since, hopefully they will pull through. Just sucks that coolers are so much money. Kinda makes me want to down size Although I doubt I will but it would be less to worry about again. Link to comment
markalot Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Sorry to hear about this. Have you tried a fan to help cool it, just in case this happens again? Link to comment
slowngreen Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 I have one too I just had gotten into the habit of leaving the door open and messed up. Hate when something dies in my tank as a result of something I did. Link to comment
markalot Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 I have one too I just had gotten into the habit of leaving the door open and messed up. Hate when something dies in my tank as a result of something I did. It happens. Lots of variables and things to remember along with the rest of life going on at the same time. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 Been wondering more about adding a couple more sps frags ( in a month or two from now) again. My calcium is always steady around 550 since I use the higher calcium mixing with Kent salt. If I were to add a couple more, would I just need to watch the calcium level once a week or daily or what? If I could just add a few more and end up having to dose manually like once a week I think I could live with that just fine. Link to comment
markalot Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Been wondering more about adding a couple more sps frags ( in a month or two from now) again. My calcium is always steady around 550 since I use the higher calcium mixing with Kent salt. If I were to add a couple more, would I just need to watch the calcium level once a week or daily or what? If I could just add a few more and end up having to dose manually like once a week I think I could live with that just fine. Don't worry about calcium, watch Alkalinity. The easiest method is to get a good 2 part kit, like C-Balance and then test Alk same time every day and figure out how much you need to dose. So if it's a half cap of Part B (Alk) a day then also do a half cap of Part A (calcium) a day and don't sweat it. Test Calcium and magnesium once a week, or month, to make sure they are staying in range. It kills me that Part A is not Alkalinity. Link to comment
slowngreen Posted August 18, 2014 Author Share Posted August 18, 2014 Ok thanks Mark, I knew you would come through What types should I aim for? The place I go has a large selection of various sps frags. Link to comment
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