Polarcollision's Nuvo 24: March FTS

[Illuiix]

Mmm so this might be a hard decision for you, I mean it's either you buy two female wrasses or just 1 female and 1 mandarin? Hmmm, you're lucky to have pellet trained mandarins at your lfs, I wish I had access to that at the lfs lol.

[MikeTR]

Very nice pics! I've not had good luck fragging birdsnests. Even using bone cutters, I seem to break branches off that I didn't intend on. Black clown still looks pretty juvenile to me so probably will still be male.

[Polarcollision]

Very nice pics! I've not had good luck fragging birdsnests. Even using bone cutters, I seem to break branches off that I didn't intend on. Black clown still looks pretty juvenile to me so probably will still be male.

 

Good to know they're so fragile. Maybe a dremmel will cut them off without jarring. I did superglue a broken birdsnest and monti digi back together. There's no evidence on the bird now.

 

Happen to know if clowns that have been bachelorettes their entire lives will bond with another clown? I know nothing about clown sociology... if that's even a thing. I've heard that if they don't bond and the black clown ends up in it's own corner that it will also become female.

[markalot]

 

 

Happen to know if clowns that have been bachelorettes their entire lives will bond with another clown? I know nothing about clown sociology... if that's even a thing. I've heard that if they don't bond and the black clown ends up in it's own corner that it will also become female.

 

 

I have a tank raised false percula girl who lived alone for 1.5 years before I introduced a small clown 6 months ago. They paired up in days, sleeping together after a week, and I never witnessed any fighting.

 

I think mileage may vary greatly and I probably got lucky. Unfortunately my female likes the top left corner of all the tanks she's been in, and now so does the male.

[Cameron6796]

Amazing tank come a long way

[Polarcollision]

Red Sea alk titration progression. Last pic is with entire 1 mL added

 

 

[NanoTopia]

I would say the second pic is your end point.

[Alex B]

Yup! Hard to tell in pics, but i would say between 2 and 3.

As it goes on you can see how orange it gets. You want that first pink color.

[Polarcollision]

I ran the test again after a water change tonight. The start blue color made it's first slight color change at 0.72 mL titrant used. The transition through pink to salmon used up 0.80 mL titrant which makes a range of 0.08 mL. The card shows around 0.07 mL per each dKH unit from 7-10 dKH, so even with the difficulty in picking the exact color, the test wouldn't be off more than 1 dKH.

 

For example: It would be nice to keep it between 7-9 dKH. If I aim for a steady 8.5 dKH based on the color point in pic 2 or 3, then alk likely couldn't be any lower than 7.5 with user error. I can live with that.

 

I would say the second pic is your end point.

Yup! Hard to tell in pics, but i would say between 2 and 3. As it goes on you can see how orange it gets. You want that first pink color.

 

Thanks! With ELOS alk test, the color transitions from green to yellow. It doesn't keep changing again to orange. One drop makes the difference between slightly green and yellow. You just know when it's cooked, no questions asked. You have to count the drops, but when you're done just divide by two and you've got your value. easy peasy to keep in your head. With Red Sea I have to write the starting amount of titrant drawn up because it never makes it to an even 1 mL, then you have to subtract unused portions, and then compare that result to the card. Complicated, if potentially a little more precise. I'm going back to ELOS when RedSea is used up.

[NanoTopia]

 

With Red Sea I have to write the starting amount of titrant drawn up because it never makes it to an even 1 mL, then you have to subtract unused portions, and then compare that result to the card. Complicated, if potentially a little more precise. I'm going back to ELOS when RedSea is used up.

Deb can you explain what you are doing here?

[Polarcollision]

Deb can you explain what you are doing here?

 

Not quite sure what you're looking for, but I'll add more detail? The titrant syringe never pulls up a full mL. Usually 0.99-0.97 mL is the most the syringe will pull. I write that amount down. Then drop titrant until color change, read the amount remaining. Subtract that from start amount to get actual amount used. Then find the amount used value on the card with it's corresponding alk value. It's not HARD, but it's more COMPLICATED and time-consuming than ELOS alk test.

 

Curious about something. The blue color intensifies but does not change *hue* for the majority of drops added. Then there's a point where 1 drop creates a slightly greyish purple hue. How many drops do you have from the point of this first hue change to the end point color? I'm going to count them on a test today. It will likely take more drops to change from the first greyish blue-purple to pink at higher alk, but the number of drops from start of hue change to final developed color may be fairly consistent in a dKH range between 7-9.

[NanoTopia]

Deb, are you accounting for the air in the tip of the syringe? That is dead space and should be ignored. If the plunger is all the way to the bottom of the syringe and you draw up solution so the bottom of the plunger is at 1mL, you have 1mL of solution in the syringe regardless of the air between the plunger bottom and top of the solution. Always read from the bottom of the plunger, disregard where the solution line is. Some how you have made this more complicated, LOL.

 

Incidentally, when I spoke with RedSea a few months ago, they were not even sure what the "end point" colours should be on their Alkalinity test. For example, with the RedSea alkalinity test kit, the pink before the orange is the end point, and the orange is just an accumulation of titrant in the solution.

 

In regards to the RedSea Ca test kit, the first blue, or blue-grey is the end point and full darker blue is accumulation of titrant in the solution. When you see the first blue stop, this is your end point, if the solution turns back after a second or two, don't keep adding, it's the first blue your achieve when adding the titrant in this test.

 

Basically, the first true colour change is the one you should be reading with titration.

[Polarcollision]

Deb, are you accounting for the air in the tip of the syringe? That is dead space and should be ignored. If the plunger is all the way to the bottom of the syringe and you draw up solution so the bottom of the plunger is at 1mL, you have 1mL of solution in the syringe regardless of the air between the plunger bottom and top of the solution. Always read from the bottom of the plunger, disregard where the solution line is. Some how you have made this more complicated, LOL.

 

Incidentally, when I spoke with RedSea a few months ago, they were not even sure what the "end point" colours should be on their Alkalinity test. For example, with the RedSea alkalinity test kit, the pink before the orange is the end point, and the orange is just an accumulation of titrant in the solution.

 

In regards to the RedSea Ca test kit, the first blue, or blue-grey is the end point and full darker blue is accumulation of titrant in the solution. When you see the first blue stop, this is your end point, if the solution turns back after a second or two, don't keep adding, it's the first blue your achieve when adding the titrant in this test.

 

Basically, the first true colour change is the one you should be reading with titration.

 

Oh I see what you are thinking. Unfortunately the syringe breaks vacuum and draws in 0.01-0.04 mL of outside air, never the same amount, so I have to use the start/stop liquid level method to know exactly what went in. The extra air intake makes a drop or two difference and user error reading the final color can make a drop or two difference, so I figure my accuracy could be +/- 4 drops. Since 1 drop is slightly less than 0.02 mL, that's at most +/- 0.6 dKH. As long as I'm consistent in those differences and try to target 9 dKH, the reef should be within normal sea levels of alk.

 

Boy. RedSea Coral Pro mixed at 35 pmm puts alk at 12.3-12.7 (per their label). Guess that's a stability argument to do small weekly water changes instead of putting it off for two or more weeks.

 

Thanks for going through all this detail!

[Eckozulu]

Hey P.C, I was wondering if you had a pic of your light setup. I got another vega and I'm deciding how to mount it. Thanks for your time.

[Polarcollision]

Hey P.C, I was wondering if you had a pic of your light setup. I got another vega and I'm deciding how to mount it. Thanks for your time.

 

I used a long EXT rail attached to the stand that runs vertically, connected to a 9" EXT rail to form the right bend. Same as pics on AI's website. The two lights are connected with a 12" EXT rail. To assemble the two separate parts, I drilled a hole through the 12" rail and ran a flat bolt with washer/nut to connect them in a T-shape. If I get some time, I'd like to notch out the 9" rail to more closely fit the crossing rail. A little hesitant since it also adds support...

 

Update your thread already! I thought you abandoned your aquarium last year. Following now. :-)

[Eckozulu]

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been working on a cadlights 50g build, a small planted tank, and making my jellyfishart tank not a death trap for jellyfish. Gonna switch up my nuvo24 to a sps dominated tank.

 

Your tank is looking bada$$ though. Keep it up, you're killin it!!!

[Polarcollision]

This tank is now all about relationships! First the clown pair and their precious duncan.

 

After Mirya assured me that a red banded pistol shrimp is not a holy terror and that it doesn't have a death wish on pom pom crabs, I finally took the plunge. Meet my first ever red banded shrimp and yellow watchman goby. The shrimp is hiding out in the wrasse's sleeping den for now. Here they are acclimating together.

 

And now for the exciting news!!

 

I was able to score two female McCosker flasher wrasses to complete the McCosker harem! So excited about this relationship and the evening flashing/spawning rituals. Here they are scared into stripes while acclimating.

 

Once in the tank, the bolder female hid with the clown and the timid female is hiding... somewhere. As soon as the male noticed them, he swam over and hovered with the female for a while. When he swam off his new girlfriend almost followed, but was too shy. The male has been very active ever since, swimming lots of circles and keeping a watchful eye on the female hanging with the clownfish. I had a hunch that a social fish like that just wouldn't be completely happy as the only flasher wrasse in the tank. His colors had faded and he seemed a little timid. It's pretty sweet to see him perking up.

 

Even more stunning is how quickly his coloring is returning. The blue stripes are darkening, the red fins are coloring up and I think even his belly is picking up a bit more yellow color. He's also started to circle and flash. I think he approves!

 

Video of them first hanging out together soon!

 

Until then, here's a better picture someone else took of a female mcCoskers and the super male flashing.

[Felicia]

I used to have a Randal's pistol shrimp (red striped) that was paired with my YWG. Unfortunately I lost mine in my tank crash, but I still have the YWG. The Randal's pistols stay small and I never had any issues at all with mine. I also had a pom pom crab What a fun pairing!

 

The juvenile/female McCoskers are adorable! I'm so happy you found some. Once they become a harem, they are going to be so fun to watch. Hopefully they'll warm up quickly and stop being shy. Yay!

[Illuiix]

Wows, that is nice.

[Polarcollision]

http://vimeo.com/96878791

[Felicia]

Nice! The females are cute

[Polarcollision]

Nice! The females are cute

 

I need an octopus shirt like that. Awesome find!

[Alex B]

So pretty!! Must be awesome to watch them all day.

[Felicia]

I need an octopus shirt like that. Awesome find!

Thanks! Its from JCrew Factory. Here's the link:

http://factory.jcrew.com/womens-clothing/knits_tees/short_sleeve_tees/PRDOVR~62470/99103448701/ENE~1+2+218+22+4294967294+216+205~~~0~15~all~mode+matchallany~~~~~collector%20tee/62470.jsp?isFromSearch=true

[tam]

Your tank looks awesome! The colors on that male are stunning!