teenyreef Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Nice pickups! I'm glad everything seems to be going well. And I'm sorry you got hooked on that ASD crack. to the ASD addiction club. Link to comment
jimmyree Posted May 25, 2016 Author Share Posted May 25, 2016 Nice pickups! I'm glad everything seems to be going well. And I'm sorry you got hooked on that ASD crack. to the ASD addiction club. Thanks! And i'm guessing no one has found a rehab yet? Link to comment
teenyreef Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Thanks! And i'm guessing no one has found a rehab yet? No, and we like it that way Link to comment
dropped Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Have you got this o*&y started yet? Link to comment
jimmyree Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Guess I better update this mess with some crappy pics... Decided to go with a Aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer, did the research and weighed the pro's and cons, and then pulled the trigger. I've been doing once water changes once every five or six days but my work schedule can get kinda brutal at times and when I get to that seventh day I can tell i'm overdue. My water stinks, my SPS turns brown and looks unhappy, and my glass algae goes into overdrive. I still wan't to do once a week water changes to replenish stuff my coral needs but I don't want to always feel like i'm on the edge of a tank disaster if I have to put it off a day or two because of work. So i'm trying to buy a little safety net and I think the HOB skimmer will help me out. I'll run it for a month or two and reevaluate how my system is doing in general. Got it mounted up Saturday and it was already pulling out some tea colored skimmate with some chunks within a couple of hours. I actually pretty pleased with it's out of the box performance right away as I was expecting a week to two week fight to get it dialed in. New FTS, complete with all kinds of reflections and background clutter. Under full day lights some of my SPS colors are starting to come back. They always look good under blues, but whites is the real test. This guy growing like crazy, he's almost made it to the rock behind him. Under whites. Link to comment
jimmyree Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Zoa's doing well, have to blast dirt from the Goby off them every day but they seem to be tolerating it well, been slowly ramping my lighting up and they are not "reaching" as much as they were before. In the middle Blue Sympodium colony seems to be recovering from nudibranch infestation. This "colony" rock I bought from Live Aquaria brought nudibranches and Vermatid snails into my aquarium, i'd chuck the whole thing if it weren't for the little bi-valve on the right side of the rock, if you look closely you can see his two little red mouths. Again under whites. Link to comment
Sancho Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 How you liking that skimmer? That thing looks like a beast. I was gonna get the In tank version but it was too big for my tank. Link to comment
jimmyree Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Washed out pic, but on the right you can see my "Hulk Smash" Acro starting to get his green back. The Rainbow Acro on the left is encrusting nicely and has held its colors well. The "Dragon Queen" in middle is still pink with blue tips but appears to have some kind of STN on on the backside of the base, I will have to give it a closer look tonight. How you liking that skimmer? That thing looks like a beast. I was gonna get the In tank version but it was too big for my tank. Man two days in and it's like a dream so far. I had zero problems with setup (except making room in the midget trap), zero micro-bubbles, got it primed in a matter of seconds, and it started producing foam within hours. I've only had to adjust the cup to try and get a little dryer skim and just a little bit at that. Either I got real lucky or I followed the instructions and research I did very well. There is no doubt its a big bastard, let me know if you need more detailed pics. Another angle, once again under whites. Colors coming back, just trying to find that perfect balance of water and light parameters. Im close, I can taste it. Yes I lick my coral. Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Washed out pic, but on the right you can see my "Hulk Smash" Acro starting to get his green back. The Rainbow Acro on the left is encrusting nicely and has held its colors well. The "Dragon Queen" in middle is still pink with blue tips but appears to have some kind of STN on on the backside of the base, I will have to give it a closer look tonight. Man two days in and it's like a dream so far. I had zero problems with setup (except making room in the midget trap), zero micro-bubbles, got it primed in a matter of seconds, and it started producing foam within hours. I've only had to adjust the cup to try and get a little dryer skim and just a little bit at that. Either I got real lucky or I followed the instructions and research I did very well. There is no doubt its a big bastard, let me know if you need more detailed pics. Another angle, once again under whites. Colors coming back, just trying to find that perfect balance of water and light parameters. Im close, I can taste it. Yes I lick my coral. Looking good. Link to comment
jimmyree Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Looking good. Thanks buddy, i'm actually starting to get more excited than fearful of this thing. And Marine Depot on my thread, awesome! Yea I bought my HOB-1 from you, and yea I love it! Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Thanks buddy, i'm actually starting to get more excited than fearful of this thing. And Marine Depot on my thread, awesome! Yea I bought my HOB-1 from you, and yea I love it! Nice. You don't have to be fearful, just careful with any change (even the slightest one). Link to comment
YaBoyLaj Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 I'm too cheap and lazy for sps... Love the thread though following fo sho Link to comment
teenyreef Posted June 15, 2016 Share Posted June 15, 2016 Looks great, and I'm glad the Aquamaxx is working so well! Link to comment
dropped Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Nice. You don't have to be fearful, just careful with any change (even the slightest one). you are not bloody wrong there, even worse when 99% of your tank is SPS haha.... must test alk every day Link to comment
12_egg_Omelette Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 With you Radions set your kelvin to 10k to take good pictures. Link to comment
dropped Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 With you Radions set your kelvin to 10k to take good pictures. thank you! i was trying to figure this out recently! Link to comment
jimmyree Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 With you Radions set your kelvin to 10k to take good pictures. Sweet, i'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip! Link to comment
12_egg_Omelette Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 No problem. It gives a very realistic image with good color without to much blue. The best pictures come out between 10-14k with no editing needed between 10-12k. A great program to take pictures almost anytime is the high growth schedule. Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Sweet, i'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip! What camera are you using? I have to go into manual mode with my DSLR and cellphone cams in order to get a good pic. I make my lights as white as possible then use exposure compensation to get rid of the "too white" look. Link to comment
jimmyree Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 What camera are you using? I have to go into manual mode with my DSLR and cellphone cams in order to get a good pic. I make my lights as white as possible then use exposure compensation to get rid of the "too white" look. Sorry I didn't see this. I'm using a Samsung cell phone to take my pics, lol. For some damn reason its locked into auto and I can't do any manual settings, prolly because my provider gave me a cheap ass version of the newest phone to make me feel like I was getting a good deal. I'm buying a DSLR soon, just been doing research on which one I want to get. That's one of the reasons I don't update this thread enough, tired of loading crappy pics. I'm sure I can come up with another reason after I get a good camera though. Too much work, too many hobbies, not enough time. Link to comment
jimmyree Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Well, I think this is about as dry as I can skim and get anything out. My skim juice is a lot darker than it looks in this pic (weird yellow vanity lights in the bathroom) and has a almost toothpaste like gelatinous consistency to it. How can anything this disgusting be so facinating? I could go wetter and get more out but I don't want to over skim and the tank is looking pretty good right now. My zoas have been a little upset, probably because lower nutrients in my water so I upped my feedings a little. Good news is my tank water doesn't smell like an impeding algae outbreak all the time anymore and I think I could miss a weekly water change without a complete disaster which is what I was hoping for. And since I started skimming i'm starting to get some coraline algae growth around the tank which is awesome. Link to comment
dropped Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 what tiny skimmer is that? and does it put any bubbles into the display? Link to comment
jimmyree Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 what tiny skimmer is that? and does it put any bubbles into the display? That's a Aquamaxx HOB-1. I haven't had any microbubbles from it but some people have. I have it discharging into the chamber next to my return pump so I think bubbles have a chance to float up and dissipate before my return pump. I also run my water level a little higher in my AIO sump since I installed it, it just seemed to make sense at the time and I think it helps.They also sell a newer model with a "bubble stopper" on the discharge. One thing is for sure it works great, haven't had one problem with it since day one and it started producing within hours of setup. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Nice skimmate! Ok, that was weird Link to comment
YaBoyLaj Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Nice skimmate! Ok, that was weird It's a sludge only a reefer could love Link to comment
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