metrokat Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 What difference are you seeing with acro power? Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 What difference are you seeing with acro power? Growth. And the coloration of the new growth is noticeably more vibrant. My cali tort and my green slimer have really taken off. In particular, the green slimer is going nuts. My pink birdsnest more pink than it ever has been. 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Quick update. The LED's are up to 68% so far. I'm bumping them 1% every 3 or 4 days. The SPS is growing much faster than I would have imagined. The green slimer is going nuts. The pink birdsnest is becoming brighter and the colors are more vivid than they ever have... the underlying tissue is starting to show a fluorescent green color. These are the same SPS that I had in the 10 gallon tank. They're obviously loving the added stability of the 30 gallon tank and we'll see what happens as I slowly get the LED's up to full brightness. I'm dosing AcroPower once a week at about 2/3 of the recommended dosage and feeding Reef Roids once a week. Every couple days, I'm feeding Rod's Food. And here's some Betty love for you all... 6 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Curious but well behaved Betty ... Quote Link to comment
Maniu Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Cool video man. Want one even more now. Quote Link to comment
Nocturnal Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Quick update. The LED's are up to 68% so far. I'm bumping them 1% every 3 or 4 days. The SPS is growing much faster than I would have imagined. The green slimer is going nuts. The pink birdsnest is becoming brighter and the colors are more vivid than they ever have... the underlying tissue is starting to show a fluorescent green color. These are the same SPS that I had in the 10 gallon tank. They're obviously loving the added stability of the 30 gallon tank and we'll see what happens as I slowly get the LED's up to full brightness. I'm dosing AcroPower once a week at about 2/3 of the recommended dosage and feeding Reef Roids once a week. Every couple days, I'm feeding Rod's Food. And here's some Betty love for you all... Looking good! Did you notice any brighter coloration on the Mantis after being under the bright lights? Also, are you terribly concerned about shell rot? I'm planning out my permanent mantis tank right now. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Did you notice any brighter coloration on the Mantis after being under the bright lights? Also, are you terribly concerned about shell rot? I'm planning out my permanent mantis tank right now. Obviously, the colors she has look different under different lighting. The only actual physical change in coloration seemed to be when I she started getting Selcon and VitaChem mixed into her food when I got her. After two molts, here colors were more vibrant and have continued to become deeper and richer ever since. She only spends about 10% of her day outside of the den. The rest of the time, she's either not visible, or just her head or upper body is visible. Of course, as soon as I get home, she comes out to visit. As far as shell rot goes, I'm not too concerned (of course, if should occur, I will be immediately concerned). I'm keeping my water quality super high; happy, colorful SPS level of water quality. I think that's your number one priority, followed closely with a proper burrow and vitamin supplemented diet. I feed krill soaked in both Selcon and VitaChem. You've seen her burrow in the previous pictures and it works well for her. She obviously feels safe and secure in her burrow, and she behaves in a manner that makes me confident that she's relaxed, happy and unstressed. That's my feeling on the shell rot issue; until more is learned about it, we just have to go with what we're learning from others who are having good success keeping O. Scyllarus in reef tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment
Nocturnal Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Obviously, the colors she has look different under different lighting. The only actual physical change in coloration seemed to be when I she started getting Selcon and VitaChem mixed into her food when I got her. After two molts, here colors were more vibrant and have continued to become deeper and richer ever since. She only spends about 10% of her day outside of the den. The rest of the time, she's either not visible, or just her head or upper body is visible. Of course, as soon as I get home, she comes out to visit. As far as shell rot goes, I'm not too concerned (of course, if should occur, I will be immediately concerned). I'm keeping my water quality super high; happy, colorful SPS level of water quality. I think that's your number one priority, followed closely with a proper burrow and vitamin supplemented diet. I feed krill soaked in both Selcon and VitaChem. You've seen her burrow in the previous pictures and it works well for her. She obviously feels safe and secure in her burrow, and she behaves in a manner that makes me confident that she's relaxed, happy and unstressed. That's my feeling on the shell rot issue; until more is learned about it, we just have to go with what we're learning from others who are having good success keeping O. Scyllarus in reef tanks. She looks great for sure. You must be doing something right. Thanks for the info. I'll have to start up the supplements as well. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 "The magnetic cleaner! I want it! Wait, what sorcery is holding this thing to the glass?" 5 Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 "The magnetic cleaner! I want it! Wait, what sorcery is holding this thing to the glass?" I think the sorcerer is called ... islandoftiki 1 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Lights up to 72% so far... 2 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 And here's a video... 2 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 We're excited to announce a new line of cephlapod tentacle mugs at Peadog Studios! They will be going up for sale on the 13th of February! Check out this insane speed time lapse video of the creation of a mug from start to finish! (It's pretty cool, there's fire involved!) 3 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 "Damn that infernal moving rock on the glass again!" That new tentacle mug is really awesome! Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Betty is so cute. Peanut (the mantis) has not harmed the 2 snails I put in his prison. I did put in some mysis yesterday but I am not sure if he ate those. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 We've got some new goodies! Because I'm not a fan of daily alkalinity dosing... And now I will always have 30 gallons of RO/DI on tap, ready to go. No more making 5 gallons at a time. No more forgetting to turn of the RO/DI unit and leaving it running all night, overflowing into the sink. Auto shut-off float valve. 5 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Really nice, practical setup. Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 Really nice, practical setup. I wish I had done this sooner. We're only talking about $30.00 for the trash can and the plumbing fittings. The RO/DI unit was already set up for and came with the float valve. I've already left it on over night twice and it really eats up the filters. Plus, I don't have a ton of 5 gallon buckets of RO/DI sitting around taking up space. 2 Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Tonight I threw on a spare PC4 module onto my ReefKeeper, hooked up the dosing pump and programmed a timer for it. I'm just running RO/DI into a graduated container to make sure I did it right before I actually start pumping anything into the tank. I'll be running the dosing starting when the lights go out to even out the night time pH drop. Approximately 1.5 ml of alk buffer. Quote Link to comment
paradizecityz Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hey sweet tank! I saw that you put a sheet of shatter proof acrylic on the bottom and you silicone the sides...just seeing where did you get the acrylic sheet and what silicone did you use? Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Hey sweet tank! I saw that you put a sheet of shatter proof acrylic on the bottom and you silicone the sides...just seeing where did you get the acrylic sheet and what silicone did you use? I used a sheet of acrylic from Home Depot, 1/8" thick. The silicone was also sourced from home depot. Make sure it says Aquarium safe silicone on the package. For what its worth, it probably wasn't necessary. Betty doesn't dig. I don't think there's any chance she'd ever break the bottom of the tank. And... Woohoo! Fun things happening in the peacock mantis tank! The BRS alkalinity dosing pump is dialed in and going online tonight! I picked up some new corals from Cuttlefish and Corals: This is Red Planet: Not sure what this is exactly, but it is kind of a dark forest green. (the color in the picture isn't quite accurate). And, thanks a million to my friend Bicyclebill for these beautiful additions to the tank: 3 Quote Link to comment
Maniu Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Do you think that securing bottom of the tank is necessary? I hear a lot of comments/warnings about mentis breaking glass or bottom of the tank with no real credible source behind it. Yes, I have heard myths about it and I am not saying that it isn't possible. From my understanding and what I gathered from owner of my lfs is that Mentis shrimp should not be treated like an evil parasite due to countless rumors from ppl with very little hands on knowledge about them. But use a common sense while setting up tank for him and provide healthy enviroment in which he will feel safe and comfortable. From his experience, mentis could accidentally strike aquarium glass if provoked (silly finger teasing qualifies), scared or freaked out. It is also a possibility while striking his victim stock against the glass. Then there is a question of glass thickness and size of the mentis. I would imagine that 6" Mentis in cheap 10G Petco tank could managed such a strike but honestly, how many real aquarium smashing stories did you hear....... with that being said, I probably would consider using something like acrylic on the bottom of the tank as Mentis are know to dig their burrow and occasionally strike while moving rubble around. I also have a question regarding aquascape and sand bed. Dos and donts as well as what works best? Quote Link to comment
Islandoftiki Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Do you think that securing bottom of the tank is necessary? I hear a lot of comments/warnings about mentis breaking glass or bottom of the tank with no real credible source behind it. Yes, I have heard myths about it and I am not saying that it isn't possible. From my understanding and what I gathered from owner of my lfs is that Mentis shrimp should not be treated like an evil parasite due to countless rumors from ppl with very little hands on knowledge about them. But use a common sense while setting up tank for him and provide healthy enviroment in which he will feel safe and comfortable. From his experience, mentis could accidentally strike aquarium glass if provoked (silly finger teasing qualifies), scared or freaked out. It is also a possibility while striking his victim stock against the glass. Then there is a question of glass thickness and size of the mentis. I would imagine that 6" Mentis in cheap 10G Petco tank could managed such a strike but honestly, how many real aquarium smashing stories did you hear....... with that being said, I probably would consider using something like acrylic on the bottom of the tank as Mentis are know to dig their burrow and occasionally strike while moving rubble around. I also have a question regarding aquascape and sand bed. Dos and donts as well as what works best? I did it as a cheap and easy precautionary measure. I can assure you, with my particular mantis, it was completely unnecessary. If you provide a proper burrow like I did, there will be no inclination to dig. Quote Link to comment
Maniu Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Let me see if I can take some pics of my aquascape attempt and see what you think......... Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 It may depend on the Mantis. My peacock has punched the front of the glass to get my attention. She is a pretty hyperactive little booger 2 Quote Link to comment
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