Who Doesn't Love Peninsulas? 40BR BB Mixed Reef - LED/T5 Hybrid

[ChouDawg]

I would suggest a yellow coris wrasse, possum wrasse, or a fairy wrasse would all be good choices.

 

 

I second the yellow coris, great fish... but will it do well without a sand bed? Some bangaii or pajama cardinals might do well in that that tank. Also... fantastic tank, looks great!

 

I was thinking a yellow coris wrasse as well but they need sand and I'm bb, I could do a "sandbox" but rather not. The Lubbock's fairy wrasse is awesome, also considering the Tricolor/Clown/Sunset Fairy Wrasses all which don't need sandbeds. But not sure about compatibility on those though...the Ruby Red Dragonets look awesome! Reminds me of the Red Scooter "Blenny" my friend used to have but even more colorful.

[Arkayology]

I was thinking a yellow coris wrasse as well but they need sand and I'm bb, I could do a "sandbox" but rather not. The Lubbock's fairy wrasse is awesome, also considering the Tricolor/Clown/Sunset Fairy Wrasses all which don't need sandbeds. But not sure about compatibility on those though...the Ruby Red Dragonets look awesome! Reminds me of the Red Scooter "Blenny" my friend used to have but even more colorful.

My yellow coris sleeps under a rock. I think you should be fine with one as it would just find a spot in a rock and wedge itself in.

 

I really like my solan fairy wrasse. That would be a good choice IMO. You could get something a bit rare (and more expansive ) and get a Naoko's. I've always wanted one of those.

[4x5]

Not sure how I missed this - but it's looking really awesome.

 

As for a fish addition - a Mystery Wrasse would look great.

[ChouDawg]

My yellow coris sleeps under a rock. I think you should be fine with one as it would just find a spot in a rock and wedge itself in.

 

I really like my solan fairy wrasse. That would be a good choice IMO. You could get something a bit rare (and more expansive ) and get a Naoko's. I've always wanted one of those.

 

oOo had no idea about all these awesome colored wrasses, there are too many to choose from!

 

Not sure how I missed this - but it's looking really awesome.

 

As for a fish addition - a Mystery Wrasse would look great.

 

Thanks, been subscribed to your Shallow Reef since the beginning and gotta say it's stunning! How do you do your WB? Neutral gray reference card or post processing?

 

My LFS has a Mystery Wrasse and it is gorgeous in all respects but the price tag. I've had bad luck with fish in the past which makes me hesitant to go "too expensive" with fish but this tank has been an exception so far.

[1.0reef]

What type of fish are you looking for? Swimmer, percher, shy cave dweller, etc.

[ChouDawg]

What type of fish are you looking for? Swimmer, percher, shy cave dweller, etc.

 

Down for pretty much any fish that has colors I don't already have and will be compatible...added bonus if they're a reef janitor.

 

So far I've got:

 

Starry Blenny (Percher/Shy Cave Dweller/Algae Janitor) - Dark Purple, Speckled White w/ Gold Tail

McCosker Wrasse (Swimmer Active) - Red/Yellow/Orange

Clown Pair (Bobbers Active) - Orange/White

 

Leaves me with blue, purple, green, yellow, etc

 

Would love a blue hippo tang but I know i'm going to get flack for that one...maybe some Anthias?

[4x5]

You can buy Regal Tangs under an inch in size. If the Tang police have an issue with one that size in your tank, well, I'd ignore them.

[4x5]

Thanks, been subscribed to your Shallow Reef since the beginning and gotta say it's stunning! How do you do your WB? Neutral gray reference card or post processing?

Thanks. I just adjust the white balance in Lightroom or Photoshop.

[ChouDawg]

You can buy Regal Tangs under an inch in size. If the Tang police have an issue with one that size in your tank, well, I'd ignore them.

 

Ya I've seen the small 1-2" hippos those are awesome, but I'd just be worried about survival rate at that size and also once it gets too big for my tank I'd have a hard time parting with it

 

Thanks. I just adjust the white balance in Lightroom or Photoshop.

 

What tools do you use for that? I use the Canon processing software, but have LR and PS as well. I've use click white balance or two different saved ones from past shots, but that is hit/miss.

[1.0reef]

Assessors

Other smaller fairy/flasher wrasse

Maybe a small Comet or Hamlet

Smaller basslets

cardinals

etc

[4x5]

Ya I've seen the small 1-2" hippos those are awesome, but I'd just be worried about survival rate at that size and also once it gets too big for my tank I'd have a hard time parting with it

 

 

What tools do you use for that? I use the Canon processing software, but have LR and PS as well. I've use click white balance or two different saved ones from past shots, but that is hit/miss.

I spoke to my LFS about them and he didn't mention anything about bad survival rates. It would suck to have to sell a buddy off if he got too big but perhaps you'd upgrade your tank by then. Haha.

 

I just adjust the white balance slider manually until it looks as natural as possible.

[ChouDawg]

Assessors

Other smaller fairy/flasher wrasse

Maybe a small Comet or Hamlet

Smaller basslets

cardinals

etc

 

More fairy/flashers are on my list for sure, I'm just a bit worried about compatibility and genders?

 

Was considering a Royal Gramma I had one of those in my first tank and love the colors but most people have mixed results with aggressiveness. Sixline Wrasse is another fish I've had in the past that I really liked as well.

 

I spoke to my LFS about them and he didn't mention anything about bad survival rates. It would suck to have to sell a buddy off if he got too big but perhaps you'd upgrade your tank by then. Haha.

 

I just adjust the white balance slider manually until it looks as natural as possible.

 

Haha ya I'll plan my 300 gallon tank upgrade for when that hippo gets too big cool I'll play with the slider in LR later then, thanks for the tip.

[ChouDawg]

Alright, so this will be a short update not much has changed in the tank so no FTS and too lazy to bust out the DSLR. My acros got hit with AEFW from some frag I brought in, latest Ricordeas perhaps...plan of attack was to take the blue/tricolor acro I have out of my tank, do a Bayer dip and get them on new frag plugs. This was aimed at killing as many live AEFW and inspect/remove the bases which harbor most of the eggs and was already dead skeleton anyways.

 

In case anyone is curious I mixed 10mL of Bayer Advanced Insecticide with 4oz of fresh mixed SW (matched the tank parameters of course) and dipped each coral after cutting it from it's infected base for 10 minutes. Then a 10 minute bath/rinse in a fresh cup of SW and onto new plugs and back in the tank.

 

Here are the acro on the frag rack 4 days after dipping, will be doing another dip Friday. And a bonus shot of some acans I've been growing out before I move them to the sandbed acan garden

 

 

 

[Kauai]

I myself really wanted a 40B PENINSULA, and could never find too many people with the same concept. Yours is unreal. And the pictures are great man. Thanx for the inspiration.

[ChouDawg]

I myself really wanted a 40B PENINSULA, and could never find too many people with the same concept. Yours is unreal. And the pictures are great man. Thanx for the inspiration.

 

Thanks for the support, I knew after my last tank I wanted a peninsula style tank. They are more rare over the standard layout tanks but I had great luck just searching "Peninsula Reef" for inspiration. Quite a few nice 40B peninsula builds out there, are you still planning to do a 40B?

[Bella's Reef]

Awesome layout - very well done. It looks lots bigger than a 40 breeder

[ChouDawg]

Awesome layout - very well done. It looks lots bigger than a 40 breeder

 

Thanks! Having two main viewing panels really helps the illusion...and I guess one of the positive aspects of having small corals that need to grow out lol

[Mr. Microscope]

Nice looking tank! I really like your nems. Looking forward to more.

[ChouDawg]

Update time...this time with actual DSLR photos!

 

The tank is 141 days old today, just under 5 months...feels like it has been way longer! Equipment remains the same I have a WP25 here but still trying to decide on placement. I'm thinking mid/low height on the right side of the overflow towards the far end to create a nice circular flow at mid to sand bed level. I want to move to BP soon but still working on my DIY BP reactor. I finally cleaned up the wires in my entire so I can be proud to show it off and skinned the stand so it looks less ghetto.

 

Livestock remains the same since my last update. The clowns are happily laying eggs every couple weeks, the McCosker is always out and about and the Starry Blenny is starting to behave more "puppy dog" like how everyone says they usually are.

 

Oh ya, last Thursday 3/6/2014 I came home to a skimmer going mad and a stinky fish smelling house. Turns out, the larger, always on the move, headache RBTA committed suicide and was shredded into millions of pieces by the MP10. I cleaned the skimmer cup which had a nice thick coating of red goo inside and smelled even worse; it performed it's duty wonderfully. I did an emergency 5G water change and changed my carbon. No losses from the fiasco but I am getting patches of algae that will hopefully go away as my tank levels out again. Now I'm down to just one RBTA which hasn't moved *knock on wood* and is actually a rescue from a small piece shedded off by the larger RBTA when it decided to scale the overflow. Clowns still show zero interest in any anemones and prefer to sleep in opposite corners of the tank at night...

 

Coral wise, I've added some colorful zoas and ricordeas and have completed 3 dips on my acropora which have proved quite effective in fighting AEFW. I'm starting to see encrusting over the super glue and the skin and polyp color returning. Will continue dipping indefinitely every week when I do water changes and won't be adding any acros until I'm certain I'm rid of the buggers. All my incoming corals since my discovery of AEFW have been dipped and removed from their plugs.

 

Now onto the good stuff, pictures! After picking the brains of a few spectacular reef photographers, thanks you guys..I think I have finally narrowed down the proper white balance for shooting under my T5/LED hybrid light. These photos are the best representation to what my tank looks in person.

 

I'm currently running two ATI Coral Plus bulbs and feel some "warmth" is missing, I could up my white LEDs or change my T5 bulbs...thoughts?

 

Left FTS

 

MOOAARRRRR

 

 

ISO FTS

 

Right FTS

 

View From The End

 

Topless Photography

 

Birds For Days

 

Mr. Bubbles

 

McCosker Wrasse (Male/Female?)

 

Magicians & Chong Bongs

 

Enter The Glow Realm (LED Only)

Magicians & Chong Bongs

 

Shameless Plug

 

RBTA

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

[Rehype]

Looks great....id swap one of the coral plus bulbs with a GE6500K if you want a more warm look

[Lalani]

Beautimous

[ChouDawg]

Looks great....id swap one of the coral plus bulbs with a GE6500K if you want a more warm look

 

Hm, never thought about running a "daylight" bulb, was thinking a Purple Plus since it has a bit more orange/red output. I'm only running my NW LEDs at about 200mA while my RB/HV are at 800mA or so I might play with that first before I go switching bulbs.

 

Beautimous

 

Thank you both for the comments

[Arkayology]

Nice shots of the corals.

[Rehype]

Hm, never thought about running a "daylight" bulb, was thinking a Purple Plus since it has a bit more orange/red output. I'm only running my NW LEDs at about 200mA while my RB/HV are at 800mA or so I might play with that first before I go switching bulbs.

 

 

Thank you both for the comments

 

 

Im sorry i thought you meant warm as in more "daylight" but your right a purple plus is perfect for more red. That one of the main things i felt is missing with LEDs it doesnt seem to matter the array a purple plus is always needed to add back orange/red especially when viewing certain corals.

[ChouDawg]

Im sorry i thought you meant warm as in more "daylight" but your right a purple plus is perfect for more red. That one of the main things i felt is missing with LEDs it doesnt seem to matter the array a purple plus is always needed to add back orange/red especially when viewing certain corals.

 

No worries, probably my fault for not explaining what colors I felt were lacking. I have two more brand new Coral Plus though so I'll have to see if anyone local wants to trade/buy those. Since I'm only running my T5 for 4 hours a day I think I may have been a bit crazy when I stocked up on bulbs, I plan to change them out annually which is probably still too often.