hey Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 this tank is awesome, I have quite an attraction to macro in my displays and I have always wanted to do a nem macro tank. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 this tank is awesome, I have quite an attraction to macro in my displays and I have always wanted to do a nem macro tank. It's nice if you have a wandering nem like mine, he crawls all over the macros without an adverse reactions whatsoever. If this was a typical reef I'd be losing my mind with the damage he'd do! Link to comment
leonel619 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 everything is looking great! are you selling any of those mangroves? Link to comment
clownfitch Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Awesome tank! I really love the lagoon style with tons of macro. You really nailed it! if you are wanting the red BTA to settle in I bet you could pick the spot by offering higher flow in that particular spot. It has worked for me a few times. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 everything is looking great! are you selling any of those mangroves? Thanks Armando! Not planning on it any time soon, I was giving away a bunch a couple months ago though. Might be willing to part with one if I ever get around to potting them. Awesome tank! I really love the lagoon style with tons of macro. You really nailed it! if you are wanting the red BTA to settle in I bet you could pick the spot by offering higher flow in that particular spot. It has worked for me a few times. Thanks! I'll see if I can pull off more flow in that spot, you're probably right. Link to comment
1.0reef Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Honestly, this may be one of the best macro tanks in the world. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Honestly, this may be one of the best macro tanks in the world. Wow, thanks. There are a few others I've seen around that are pretty awesome! Giga's mangrove tank, for example, was absolutely astounding (although very minimalist in stocking). Even more awesome in that he built and documented a very large amount of the tank himself (tank, lighting, enclosure in the wall, etc.) Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Wow, thanks. There are a few others I've seen around that are pretty awesome! Giga's mangrove tank, for example, was absolutely astounding (although very minimalist in stocking). Even more awesome in that he built and documented a very large amount of the tank himself (tank, lighting, enclosure in the wall, etc.) Link? Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Link? The build is here on nano-reef, and I think it's also on RC somewhere. The pic links are dead, but if you go through some archives you can find working direct links to the images. Really an absolutely amazing build, perhaps the best I've ever seen since he DIY'd so much of it. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Got some new stuff on the way so will be rescaping a bit sometime this week. Until then, a shot I really like: Link to comment
DurocShark Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Is that scroll macro really growing stacked like that? Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Is that scroll macro really growing stacked like that?Yep, it grows pretty dang quick too! Link to comment
DurocShark Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Yeah, mine grows insanely fast too. But not stacked like that. Hmm.... Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Yeah, mine grows insanely fast too. But not stacked like that. Hmm.... I run mine under super high lighting, maybe that's why? I also get way, way, way awesome coloring when it's under the highest light. Under moderate light I only get blue on the tips. Link to comment
DurocShark Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 That doesn't look like the scroll macro...? Here's how mine grows: Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 That doesn't look like the scroll macro...? Here's how mine grows: Nice tank! I'm guessing we probably have different varieties of Padina sp., or perhaps it's the difference in lighting intensity? Link to comment
Squared Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 what lights are you using for this tank? it looks really good! i've been debated selling my coral and setting up a macro only tank, mostly for the ease of care. are you dosing anything, and how often do you do water changes? Link to comment
vlangel Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Got some new stuff on the way so will be rescaping a bit sometime this week. Until then, a shot I really like: I can see why you like this shot...it is great! I love having macros in my seahorse tank too. Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 what lights are you using for this tank? it looks really good! i've been debated selling my coral and setting up a macro only tank, mostly for the ease of care. are you dosing anything, and how often do you do water changes? Thanks! My display is running the cheap 36" chinese full spectrum LEDs (MARSaqua on ebay), but it's really easy to set them too bright. I had to pull the optics off to get the spread I wanted without killing corals and plants from having it too bright. My sump is running two 17w PAR38 3000k LEDs, found at homedepot for $24 ea. Macro tanks are definitely lower maintenance. I don't skim, and I do dose nutrients daily: nitrate (KNO3), phosphate (KH2PO4), iron, iodide, and just started trace (Kent Marine Essentials). I was dosing ca/alk/mag via BRS bulk, but my brother dosed an entire gallon of freshly mixed calcium and 20 oz of mag over the course of two days and I'm all out. Gonna switch over to b-ionic for ease of use. And so he doesn't mix it up with a gallon of fresh top off water!!!! I try keep my nitrates at ~10-15ppm and my phosphates at .4-.8ppm. With a lot of macros I am a big believer in giving them all the nutrients they need to outcompete undesirable microalgae, as opposed to the traditional reef approach of starving out all the nutrients. Keeping the nutrient levels in balance is key. Oh, and my goal is to never change the water if I can help it. Usually 2-3 months between 50% changes, and that's almost always because I screwed up dosing (100+ ppm nitrates) or my brother doses a damned gallon of calcium! I can see why you like this shot...it is great! I love having macros in my seahorse tank too. Nice tanks! I'd love to add a couple of pipefish to my tank like you've got, but I think they'd have a hard time competing with the wrasses and mandarin. Cool stuff! Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 A little change to the scape, moved the Cladophora over to a lower light area and opened up the middle. Don't mind the dirty doors, that's what happens when you rebuild carburetors when you're reefing! The Red Branch (Scinaia huismanii or Ahnfeltiopsis?) is finally hitting its growth spurt! Hypnea Pannosa. Also have Blue Octhodes in my sump (lights off right now) - the Octhodes is bluer (even grown without blue lighting) and is a bit thicker in structure. They are extremely similar though. Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 A little change to the scape, moved the Cladophora over to a lower light area and opened up the middle. Don't mind the dirty doors, that's what happens when you rebuild carburetors when you're reefing! The Red Branch (Scinaia huismanii or Ahnfeltiopsis?) is finally hitting its growth spurt! Hypnea Pannosa. Also have Blue Octhodes in my sump (lights off right now) - the Octhodes is bluer (even grown without blue lighting) and is a bit thicker in structure. They are extremely similar though. Who would know that a macro algae tank could look so gorgeous, are water changes even necessary with macroalgae like this? Wouldn't it go against them rather than be in favor? I mean every so often change the water but like you said they need nutrients Link to comment
phobos2deimos Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Who would know that a macro algae tank could look so gorgeous, are water changes even necessary with macroalgae like this? Wouldn't it go against them rather than be in favor? I mean every so often change the water but like you said they need nutrients My goal is to never change the water if I can help it. Usually 2-3 months between 50% changes, and that's almost always because I screwed up dosing (100+ ppm nitrates) or my brother doses a damned gallon of calcium! I have started dosing trace elements to help with the lack of water changes. I'm curious to see if I get different/better growth due to that. Never changing the water is actually a challenge - not so much because of nutrient build up, like in a typical reef, but because of the constant depletion of nutrients. The challenge is in the stuff we can't or don't know to measure for. Link to comment
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