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Teenyreef's IM40 Not-So-Teeny Tank - August FTS


teenyreef

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On 30/09/2017 at 11:49 AM, teenyreef said:

 

Thanks! I've heard good things about Snapseed, but I use Adobe Lightroom to adjust the color of the pictures. Usually all I have to do is put the eye dropper on a neutral colored part of the rock or sand. That typically results in reducing the blues as much as possible, and a slight reduction in the reds. If necessary, I tweak it by hand until it looks like it does to my eye in real life.

Oops I forgot to mention that snapseed was more for your phone. For the odd picture you take on it. I'm sure Lightroom is way better on the computer, especially with batch edits.

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Sorry for not posting more often and for my slow responses, but it's been really hard to find time to keep up on N-R lately because work is so busy. But I promised pics today and I'm going to do it no matter how late they are :)

 

Here's a top down showing everything glued up. This shot turned out really well, if you click on the picture you can zoom in and see just about every coral pretty clearly. 

2017-10-01 IM40 Top Down

 

My wife and daughter went to the coral show with me and picked out a few corals. They found a vendor with some nice montis. They were buy three get one free, and then the lady running the booth gave my daughter another one for free because she was having so much fun picking them out. So we ended up with three montis, a psammacora, and a nice little war coral for $75, even though I had no idea where any of them were going to fit :lol:

Here's the psammacora:

Psammacora

 

This one is supposed to be a pokerstar but it looks more like a rainbow to me. 

Pokerstar Monti

 

This is a rainbow for sure. 

Rainbow Monti

 

A wider view:

Pokerstar Monti

 

Mystic sunset, along with the new blue tenuis. 

20171001-untitled-034-Edit.jpg

 

Here's the purple passion and JF fox flame:

Purple Passion and JF Fox Flame

 

Red dragon acro. The elkhorn stag below it is getting big! 

Red Dragon Acro

 

Then I noticed the new zoas I got for $10 had fallen of the zoa rock where I glued them. I can't remember what these are, anybody recognize them? 

20171001-untitled-048.jpg

 

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On 9/30/2017 at 8:49 AM, teenyreef said:

So far so good with the ATI essentials. Adjusting the dosing was a huge change. I mixed the dosing elements at the more diluted ratio per their instructions for smaller tanks, but I won't do that again. 

 

With Seachem Reef Fusion (which is a liquid), I was dosing about two ml per day. With ATI, I'm up around 45ml per day and just starting to get it fine tuned. So the difference in concentration was huge.

 

As far as RSBB goes, the goal with sps is to keep parameters as stable as possible, so I wanted a salt that mixed up as close to my alkalinity levels as possible, and then use the dosing to keep the levels up.

 

RSCP is definitely the one to use if you don't dose, because you need to elevated levels to keep your parameters consistent. If you're only dropping .3 to .5 in a week, I'd say dosing isn't that critical for you yet. I probably lose that much in a day.

Thanks! I've heard good things about Snapseed, but I use Adobe Lightroom to adjust the color of the pictures. Usually all I have to do is put the eye dropper on a neutral colored part of the rock or sand. That typically results in reducing the blues as much as possible, and a slight reduction in the reds. If necessary, I tweak it by hand until it looks like it does to my eye in real life.

 

I will have to try ATI at some point, but will wait for your results ;)

 

I am in fact dosing quite a bit of Alk to keep levels up - I'd say approximately 25ml a day - as I'm losing quite a bit daily but Coral pro makes it much easier to maintain. So I'm beginning to wonder if a salt mix that is closer to alk levels and dosing even more would be better than using a salt that's higher in alk and dosing less. The swing in water change is probably a little more dramatic than yours, although when i measure it after WC, it's only like .3 - .5 of a difference. 

 

I've actually cut back on the amount of water changed to keep the swing minimal.

 

 

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On 10/1/2017 at 11:03 PM, Orangutran said:

Oops I forgot to mention that snapseed was more for your phone. For the odd picture you take on it. I'm sure Lightroom is way better on the computer, especially with batch edits.

Yep, it's a great phone app. Since I use Lightroom, I use their free app for any editing I need to do on the phone. It's a pretty capable app, and you don't have to buy the computer software to use the free app. It also syncs up with the Lightroom catalog on my PC which is really convenient.

On 10/2/2017 at 4:38 AM, Lynton said:

I see ur still teasing us.... with these amazing pic teeny! ??

Haha, thanks!

On 10/2/2017 at 6:55 AM, Reefkid88 said:

Super nice pick ups bud,the tank is filling in nicely. I believe the zoa's are Electric Ummpa's if I'm not mistaken. 

Thanks! You nailed it (of course). Oompa Loompas. The vendor didn't say they were electric, but I'll post a better picture of them once they start spreading. Definitely the best zoas I've ever gotten for $10 :D

On 10/2/2017 at 7:55 AM, spectra said:

Tank is looking great Teeny!

Thanks you, sir! Hope things are going well, I'm weeks behind in the Lounge.

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On 10/2/2017 at 1:08 PM, Tuffryu said:

 

I will have to try ATI at some point, but will wait for your results ;)

 

I am in fact dosing quite a bit of Alk to keep levels up - I'd say approximately 25ml a day - as I'm losing quite a bit daily but Coral pro makes it much easier to maintain. So I'm beginning to wonder if a salt mix that is closer to alk levels and dosing even more would be better than using a salt that's higher in alk and dosing less. The swing in water change is probably a little more dramatic than yours, although when i measure it after WC, it's only like .3 - .5 of a difference. 

 

I've actually cut back on the amount of water changed to keep the swing minimal.

 

 

Yeah, that's pretty much the way it goes. As consumption goes up and you rely more on dosing to keep things stable, the more difficult it is to deal with the alk spike you get by doing a water change with water that doesn't match your parameters. You have to play with the dosing amount to stay stable after a water change. Much easier to use water that already matches your parameters.

 

I've been fine tuning the dosage amount, it's right around 35 ml/day. That's with the concentration at 50% of normal as recommended for small tanks. Next time I'll do 100% percent concentration so I don't have to refill the dosing containers every month.

 

I never realized how concentrated the Seachem Fusion liquid dosing stuff was compared to mixed-from-powder solutions. I was dosing about 3 ml of Fusion per day, and now 35 ml with ATI. So while a bottle of Fusion seems expensive, it's really not when you calculate it based on the amount you dose.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tank is looking amazing my friend! I'm really interested to see what you think of those ATI supplements. A lot of talk about them locally but hard for us to get. There are two Aussie brands duking it out in the trace elements game over here at the moment. Coral Essentials by Sustainable Reefs and Reef Anabolics. I don't think Coral Essentials is available stateside yet (I've been using it for close to 3 months) but Reef Anabolics has at least 1 importer. May be worth checking out as an alternative option.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Work has been busy but I've got the weekend off and I'm finally getting a little time to catch up. Things are going well still, even though I haven't done a water change since October 1st. Here's an FTS I took last week:

2017-10-18 IM40 FTS

 

So far the ATI Elements system is working well. Parameters are stable, with nitrates around 5. I've cut back on PhosphateRX to a drop every three or four days but phosphates are holdout at around .02 or .03.

 

I was dosing a very small amount of NoPox, and I this week I bumped it up a little to try and keep nitrates right where they are now. 

 

I still have many corals with little to no PE, and the blues tend to be a bit green. I just sent in my first water sample to ATI, so we'll see what the iron levels look like. 

 

With no water changes, I've been pretty careful about housekeeping. I spend about five minutes a day with the turkey baster, blowing out the nooks and crannies in the rocks, and stirring up the sand. I also pull out any hair worms that appear in the process to try and keep them to a minimum. 

On 10/5/2017 at 3:00 AM, 4x5 said:

Everything is looking great! So much colour. :wub:

Thanks, Shawn, I hope you are doing well! 

On 10/17/2017 at 8:22 AM, RollaJase said:

Tank is looking amazing my friend! I'm really interested to see what you think of those ATI supplements. A lot of talk about them locally but hard for us to get. There are two Aussie brands duking it out in the trace elements game over here at the moment. Coral Essentials by Sustainable Reefs and Reef Anabolics. I don't think Coral Essentials is available stateside yet (I've been using it for close to 3 months) but Reef Anabolics has at least 1 importer. May be worth checking out as an alternative option.

Thanks, Jase! So far, I like the ATI program. Other than refilling the dosing containers, there's not much work involved and I really like not changing water. Plus I've eliminated all the nightly additives for trace elements and amino acids. 

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Top down:

2017-10-18 IM40 Top Down

 

Acan garden:

Acan Garden

 

The Katropora is encrusting fast. But the green slimer seems like it will never grow up, only out. And when it touches the Katropora, it wins. 

20171019-untitled-011-Edit.jpg

 

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13 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Good lord those Acans look amazing. 

 

13 hours ago, Admonition said:

Agreed, tank is looking great!

 

12 hours ago, Orangutran said:

Top down FTW!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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We went to "trunk or treat" at our local church on Saturday. It was the first time we went, and we had a blast. Even the dogs dressed up, as "watchdogs". :D

download_20171028_161720.jpg

 

Our theme was "Under the Sea", with fish and corals and jellyfish. The girls dressed up with corals and fish on their dresses and I dressed up as a scuba diver.

download_20171028_161819.jpg

 

The dogs were even more popular with the kids than the candy. We had several hundred come through, and most of them asked to pet the dogs. They did great and really enjoyed all the attention. About halfway through, though, they wore out. I couldn't believe it, but all three just took a nap at our feet even while people kept petting them. They were so sweet :wub:

20171028_182944.jpg

 

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i'm pretty sure i've said it before, but i don't know what is more beautiful, your tanks or your dogs!

 

some great looking pups.  the little guy is not so little anymore!

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On 10/28/2017 at 4:08 PM, teenyreef said:

Thanks, Jase! So far, I like the ATI program. Other than refilling the dosing containers, there's not much work involved and I really like not changing water. Plus I've eliminated all the nightly additives for trace elements and amino acids. 

I'm glad it's working out for you so far! Nothing like eliminating some of the daily chores around the tank. The trace system I'm using I'm just adding to my Randy Recipe solutions so I don't even have to think about it any more :D. Luckily I can also use the recommended Aminos through the doser also so my entire tank maintenance is now weekly water change, glass clean, skimmer and sock clean and ATO top up. Most of the time I skip the glass clean though, been 3 weeks since my last clean haha.

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6 hours ago, RollaJase said:

I'm glad it's working out for you so far! Nothing like eliminating some of the daily chores around the tank. The trace system I'm using I'm just adding to my Randy Recipe solutions so I don't even have to think about it any more :D. Luckily I can also use the recommended Aminos through the doser also so my entire tank maintenance is now weekly water change, glass clean, skimmer and sock clean and ATO top up. Most of the time I skip the glass clean though, been 3 weeks since my last clean haha.

Man, I can't go even three days without scraping the algae, I can't imagine what I would do after three weeks. I'd need a bulldozer :lol:

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23 hours ago, gone_PHiSHin said:

i'm pretty sure i've said it before, but i don't know what is more beautiful, your tanks or your dogs!

 

some great looking pups.  the little guy is not so little anymore!

Thanks! Little Murphy is getting big! He's five months old now. 

 

I don't think I ever posted pictures from our Labor day weekend at my parents house at the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The dogs had a blast playing on the beach :)

20170903-untitled-098.jpg

 

20170903-untitled-145.jpg

 

20170903-untitled-067.jpg

 

Murphy passed out in my arms afterwards :lol:

download_20170903_215137.jpg

 

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Wow!  This tank never ceases to amaze me!  So many colors all packed in there!  Its too many things to look at and appreciate!  That huge plate coral was really catching my eye in the latest photos.  The purple green color combo is lovely, and it just looks so happy with its tentacles out in the photos!  I also absolutely love your acan garden!  I love how you've gotten them to grow together so nicely!  I love the different colors all blended together.  Also, that big green leather in the back left corner is awesome!  What is it?

 

Your dogs are so beautiful and little Murphy is just adorable!  I love the dogs' costumes and your costume theme!  Looks like a ton of fun!

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