Felicia Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 That purple w/ white gorg is lovely!! Is that true to color and do you remember which that was? I have a lighter purple with tan, but now I want some of that! Thank you! That one is my favorite of the 6 that I got. Yes, the photos are really true to color, although I'd say the polyps are more of a cream color than pure white. That one is the purple sea rod from KPA. Love the Gorg forest! I have some gorgs coming from Zia this week, so I'll be enhancing my gorg collection too. Thanks, Mirya! Gorgonians are one of my absolute favorite corals. They add such a lushness to a tank, and its nice that they're so easy. Eddie has tons of nice gorgs, so I'm sure you're going to be getting some nice stuff! Your tank is amazing Felicia, every angle has so much color and health. Great job. What is the purple gorgonian in the front of this picture? And I hope Lily is well also. Thanks so much, Kat! I was struggling with my tank for a while but its finally doing really well. I'm really thrilled with it all atm, so I'm glad you all appreciate it too! The gorg that the lions are on is a purple sea rod from KPA. Its absolutely my favorite gorg I've ever had. Wait until you see a full shot of it! They sent me a really nice one with a cool growth pattern. Also, the lions love it which is a plus Lily is doing well and is her usual princess self. She actually just had her yearly vet checkup and she's nice and healthy! She's always my box and coral inspector when I got new things. These are from when the KPA shipment arrive last week: Wow! Where did you get those Gorgonians? These pictures are making me want to try a Gorg so badly!!!! I like how the "New" Gorgonians are also huge- thats always a plus over tiny frags The gorgonians are pretty awesome I got them from KP Aquatics (online retailer), which is my go-to for nice gorgonians. They're very generous with the sizes. All 6 of the ones I got are their "medium" size, which are only $15 each. Looks beautiful, Felicia! Thank you, Stella! 5 Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Looking forward to seeing those acro frags. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Alright, sorry for not being around! Life got a bit hectic again, but I've got a quick update tonight. I worked on the tank tonight to get it all nice and clean, so tomorrow evening I'll try to take a new FTS if I have time. Anyway, I placed an order with KPA because I wanted to get a bunch of nice gorgonians to intersperse throughout my scape to give the tank that lush, gorgonian forest feel. I thought the lions would look really cool swimming in between and perching on the gorgs. Basically, I wanted to make this take a combo of the things I loved from my mixed reef tank and the things I loved from the seahorse tank. I got 6 of the medium sized gorgs from KPA (purple angular sea whip, knobby sea rod, purple plume, purple sea rod, purple sea feather, yellow sea feather) and some blue leg hermits to augment my clean up crew. KPA delivered as usual! They sent some really lovely, big gorgonians! How about some preview photos before the new FTS reveal tomorrow? Let's start with lions perched on my favorite of the new gorgonians. Knobby sea rod and a glimpse of the antennata The antennata really loves perching on these new gorgs. Yellow sea feather Little bit more of the lions! Mushu with a Draco photo bomb (fin in the upper left). Draco being a ham. Ignore the stuff floating on the surface of the water. I had just fed and its bits of food that got skimmed up as soon as the return pump kicked back on. I also took a few shots of some of my other tank inhabitants. One of my two huge red mithrax crabs that do a great job eating algae. I call this one Godzilla Haven't photographed my two starfish before. One is a nano serpent star from KPA that I got a while back. The other is a huge monster of a harlequin serpent starfish that I got a few months ago. I needed some critters that would help pick up any food bits off the sand bed since I can't have any shrimp in with the lionfish. When the lions eat, they suck in the food so fast it sort of blows up and little bits go everywhere. The hermits and starfish do a great job getting those bits off the sand bed. Wish I could get a full shot of this guy but he's shy and usually only comes out all the way after the lights shut off. One of my two trusty fighting conchs. The two of them are like Roombas for my sand bed. Awesome critters and very hardy since I've had both of mine for quite some time now! And finally, Falkor the eel and Mushu in the background. Oh, and in other exciting news, I won a few ebay auctions today for some nice SPS frags. Here's what I got: 1) Sky blue tort 2) Yellow sunset mille 3) Powder blue tenuis 4) Purple horrida Moving these to the new page Looking forward to seeing those acro frags. I figured you'd want to see the acros. I'm hoping they do well for me! Trying to get back into the SPS game. My slimer and the hydnophora are doing awesome and growing, so its time to try more SPS. I'm hoping the LFS can ship today for delivery tomorrow, but not sure yet. 2 Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Moving these to the new page I figured you'd want to see the acros. I'm hoping they do well for me! Trying to get back into the SPS game. My slimer and the hydnophora are doing awesome and growing, so its time to try more SPS. I'm hoping the LFS can ship today for delivery tomorrow, but not sure yet. I am really interested because you're forced to move a lot of nutrients through this tank for the piggies. Either all the acros will look fantastic because of this or some will look fantastic and others will stay brown, all depending on how good the export is. I'm betting all will look fantastic. 3 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 I am really interested because you're forced to move a lot of nutrients through this tank for the piggies. Either all the acros will look fantastic because of this or some will look fantastic and others will stay brown, all depending on how good the export is. I'm betting all will look fantastic. Yeah, I guess this is a good experiment on what you're thinking is going on in your tank isn't it? You're thinking you have issues with lots of nutrients and not being able to export them well enough? My tank seems to be doing really well on the nutrient export ever since I installed the biopellet reactor. My nitrates are sitting at about 5 with a Salifert kit (I don't want them any lower than that because of the clams), and phosphates are reading between 0 and 0.03 on the Salifert kit. Considering how messy the predators are, I'm really happy with that. My slimer and the hydophora are maintaining amazing color and getting really good fluorescence. However, those are both "easy" SPS so we'll see if that means other acros will be happy. I feel like you never really know with SPS. We will see. 1 Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Yeah, I guess this is a good experiment on what you're thinking is going on in your tank isn't it? You're thinking you have issues with lots of nutrients and not being able to export them well enough? I think so, yes. Now running over a liter of all-in-one BP and PO4 still rises without GFO, which means (I assume) I have PO4 leaching from poorly cared for rocks. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 I think so, yes. Now running over a liter of all-in-one BP and PO4 still rises without GFO, which means (I assume) I have PO4 leaching from poorly cared for rocks. That is soooo much media! Yeah, I can't believe you have that much phosphate all the time. It must be leaching from the rocks, because I don't think you could possibly be feeding enough to generate so much phosphate. Have you considered slowly replacing your rockwork? I know it would be a pain and costly, but with the amount of money you're probably spending on media at this point, it might be worth it. I know I was generating a decent amount of phosphate from feeding the lions and eel. When I had GFO and carbon in my reactor, the phosphate would drop to 0.03 with brand new media and slowly rise to 0.1 over two weeks. Then I'd replace the GFO and it would drop back down to 0.03. Now with the biopellets its staying stable between 0 and 0.03, so the biopellets seem to be exporting enough phosphates for my system. I think it helps that the biopellets have plenty of nitrates to remove. Before the biopellets, my nitrates were between 25 and 50, and now they stay around 5. Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Oh! And btw, I got confirmation that the acros shipped today, so they'll be here tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a stress-free shipment. Luckily they're only traveling like 20 miles This is one of my local stores that also does ebay auctions. If you buy through the auctions, they have to ship to keep their UPS bulk discount, so my corals get a nice quick trip on UPS ground 1 Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 That is soooo much media! Yeah, I can't believe you have that much phosphate all the time. It must be leaching from the rocks, because I don't think you could possibly be feeding enough to generate so much phosphate. Have you considered slowly replacing your rockwork? I know it would be a pain and costly, but with the amount of money you're probably spending on media at this point, it might be worth it. I know I was generating a decent amount of phosphate from feeding the lions and eel. When I had GFO and carbon in my reactor, the phosphate would drop to 0.03 with brand new media and slowly rise to 0.1 over two weeks. Then I'd replace the GFO and it would drop back down to 0.03. Now with the biopellets its staying stable between 0 and 0.03, so the biopellets seem to be exporting enough phosphates for my system. I think it helps that the biopellets have plenty of nitrates to remove. Before the biopellets, my nitrates were between 25 and 50, and now they stay around 5. LOL, it is, but the reactor I have can hold even more! My plan is to use the AIO to control PO4 and dose Nitrate if I have too. Nitrate powder is dirt cheap, either stump remover or calcium nitrate (which is what I have) can make a solution that will last for a year. Now if the pellets don't last long I'm in trouble, but hopefully they will. I'll either stick to AIO or go with cheaper regular BP and dose more nitrate. Either way I'm trying to go really slow since BP has a nasty habit of nuking tanks if introduced too quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I love all the new gorgonians . 2 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 You have the coolest creatures! 1 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Gotta love gorgs! They just give a more gentle appearance to a tank too. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 LOL, it is, but the reactor I have can hold even more! My plan is to use the AIO to control PO4 and dose Nitrate if I have too. Nitrate powder is dirt cheap, either stump remover or calcium nitrate (which is what I have) can make a solution that will last for a year. Now if the pellets don't last long I'm in trouble, but hopefully they will. I'll either stick to AIO or go with cheaper regular BP and dose more nitrate. Either way I'm trying to go really slow since BP has a nasty habit of nuking tanks if introduced too quickly. Well I guess you do have a big tank, but that is a HUGE reactor! Sounds like a decent plan to me. With the nitrates I have available to be removed, my biopellets are doing an awesome job with phosphates, so it does sound like you need more nitrates. Definitely take it slow! I added 1/4 of the recommended amount of biopellets for my system and they dropped the nitrates from 25-50 to 5, and the phosphates from 0.01 to 0-0.03. Luckily that happened over a month or so as they kicked in so it wasn't too fast to shock the system. I thought I'd have to add more once it stabilized, but the 1/4 amount I'm using seems to be enough for now. I love all the new gorgonians . You have the coolest creatures! Gotta love gorgs! They just give a more gentle appearance to a tank too. Thank you everyone! I love gorgs! They have such fun movement and texture. Also, I love that they are so cheap and easy! Ordering from KPA is always like "Instant Caribbean Reef" haha! More photos, including FTS are in the works... 3 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Alright, its photo time! I've got lots of photos for you guys! Let's start with the basic FTS from today 7/16/15. And a few fun angled shots. Decided to try out my fish eye iPhone lens And a few more fun shots of the whole tank 10 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Left side Center Right side 9 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Alright and now for some coral shots. Purple sea rod. This is my favorite of the new gorgonians. New palys from Eddie SPS land. You can see the new ORA German blue digitata from Eddie to the left of the slimer. Also, the teal tipped acro in the back and the small purple acro frag to the right are from Eddie. Off to the far left is a mini colony of tricolor that Eddie sent me, but unfortunately, it got stressed during shipping and started RTN'ing. Luckily it has stopped and about a third of the colony is alive with good color and PE. I'm letting it recover for a bit longer and then I'll frag off dead areas. More of SPS land. You can also see the nice chunky piece of poccilapora from Eddie. It also got stressed during shipping and has some dead areas, but seems to be recovering. Also, you can see a frag of the blue digi that broke off during shipping. I also decided to play around with the cheap macro lens for my iPhone. Pink and Golds and Whammin' Watermelons from Eddie 9 Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 absolutely beautiful - one of the prettiest tanks I've ever seen. 3 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 absolutely beautiful - one of the prettiest tanks I've ever seen. Awww, thank you so much! You are too kind Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I was asleep when you posted pics last night. Wow! Looks so clean and healthy, and those gorgs. I need to replace my brown one with one of those purples, wow! SPS are looking good, I don't think you can kill a tri-color so hopefully it will regrow well for you. What percentages are you running the Razor at when maxxed? 1 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 O my goodness felicia, your tank is magnificent! I love the fish eye view. I am inspired to order from KPA and add more gorgs to my reef. I love the look and am going to try and mimic it somewhat. 1 Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 WOWOWOWOWOWOW!! So beautiful with all those gorgs! 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Looks amazing, Felicia! I love how all the new gorgonians look. What is the coral on the far right that is light pink and has all the folds? Looks like an LPS? 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 I was asleep when you posted pics last night. Wow! Looks so clean and healthy, and those gorgs. I need to replace my brown one with one of those purples, wow! SPS are looking good, I don't think you can kill a tri-color so hopefully it will regrow well for you. What percentages are you running the Razor at when maxxed? Yeah, I stay up too late. Too much of a night owl! Thanks so much, Mark. The gorgs were really the icing on the cake in this tank! The gorgs from KPA really floored me this time with their textures and colors. The rick dark purples on these are beautiful! Yeah, I'm holding out hope for the tricolor since it was my favorite. About a third of the colony is still alive and has been stable for several days. No more death and good color and PE. Tomorrow I'll probably try to frag it down to just the live portion. Its got such a dense growth pattern though that that will be interesting. Think I'll have to get out the dremel for that. At maximum, I've got my Razor at 100% blue and 90% white. Hopefully that's enough light. I just increased the intensity about a week ago because I felt like things could still use more light. I tried lowering the light too, because I have it like 10" off the water surface, but the light spilling out the front glass when I had it lower was causing crazy algae growth on the glass. I think I have it at a good balance of height and intensity now. O my goodness felicia, your tank is magnificent! I love the fish eye view. I am inspired to order from KPA and add more gorgs to my reef. I love the look and am going to try and mimic it somewhat. Thank you so much! I am so thrilled you all are liking this latest set of photos! I was amazed how they turned out so I was so excited to share! The fish eye lens came in a set with the macro lens, but I'd never tried out the fish eye before. Definitely made for a fun, different shot. You won't regret an order from KPA! Prices are good and I've never been disappointed. WOWOWOWOWOWOW!! So beautiful with all those gorgs! Thank you, Kimber! I definitely feel like the gorgs completed the look I was going for with this tank. Now its grow-in time! Thanks so much, Mirya! Can't wait to see your new gorgonians today. I told Eddie that I hope you're the one who got the micro basket star. That thing is so cool and would look awesome in your Caribbean themed tank! I told him you'd really appreciate it and take good care of it, so he was pretty excited that he accidentally sent it to you! Looks amazing, Felicia! I love how all the new gorgonians look. What is the coral on the far right that is light pink and has all the folds? Looks like an LPS? Thanks, Gena! I'm glad you all are loving the gorgonians as much as I am. I was worried I might have been a little overzealous when they arrived because there were so many and I didn't have a lot of space, but I think they really worked to finish off the tank. I think its the perfect amount of full/crowded in there for me! That's a fox coral. They're actually supposed to be really easy and I believe they're kind of considered an "old school" coral. They used to be popular, but lately you don't see them much. They have a small skeleton like an elegance and then all those folds puff out of it. Its like a white/cream color that takes on a pastel pink hint under the reef lights. I really like it and so far its been super easy and hardy. 5 Quote Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 WOW! this is an unreal tank. What macro lens did you get for your iPhone? 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.