nickkohrn Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 your scape is amazing! Thank you! I'll add an updated shot of it in the morning, after the lights come on. I was actually thinking about reducing the amount of rock in the display, but I have decided to keep it as it is for now. I will reevaluate when my corals start getting larger and making maintenance more difficult. Link to comment
SideCar_Falcon619 Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Thank you! I'll add an updated shot of it in the morning, after the lights come on. I was actually thinking about reducing the amount of rock in the display, but I have decided to keep it as it is for now. I will reevaluate when my corals start getting larger and making maintenance more difficult. too funny you say that... I reduced rock today and I already regret it... Really think hard on it! Speaking from VERY recent experience lol Link to comment
nickkohrn Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 too funny you say that... I reduced rock today and I already regret it... Really think hard on it! Speaking from VERY recent experience lol What makes you regret it? Link to comment
nickkohrn Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 Went to a shop today while I was in Columbus and decided that I wanted a mixed reef after I fell in love with a Lobophyllia. I have always loved the look of them, and I got a good deal on it. It also came with an unknown Zoanthid attached to the bottom. It hasn't opened yet, but with the help of the actinic lighting from my Radion I can see that it has bright orange/yellow through its flesh. I really hope it's from the Green Bay Packers colony that was next to the Lobophyllia in the display because that's my wife's team, and that would help make the tank more appealing to her, which in turn would make me able to spend more money on the tank. Talk about some sound logic. The lovely Lobophyllia was under a Kassil a360w, but it was quite dull-looking in their display. However, I could see that it really had some color to its flesh. As soon as I got it under my lighting, the bright orange center popped against the blue/teal/purple-ish rim. I'm sorry for the low-quality photos. I do not have a camera other than the one on my phone. I will just add that to the long list of wants! Lobophyllia Bonus Zoanthid (Featheduster above) New aquascape (consists of only turning and moving pillar to the left-rear) I'm still debating on whether I want to add sand. I would absolutely love the look of corals on the sand, but I also love that I can clean up detritus very easily with a bare bottom. Another reason I am considering the addition of sand is that the leveling mat that Innovative Marine uses on the Fusion series is glued to the bottom of the tank, and you can see in my full-tank photos that there are glue lines and other lines where the mat is not touching the tank because of the glue. I have about 10 pounds of sand, but I don't want to add all of it; just enough to cover the bottom and not leave any bare spots. As always, thoughts and criticism welcome! Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Lobos/Scollys...be careful to give it lots of room: It survived, barely, but sadly the blue one did not Link to comment
nickkohrn Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 Lobos/Scollys...be careful to give it lots of room: It survived, barely, but sadly the blue one did not Oh, wow! What a bummer! Sorry to see that had happened. I will definitely keep it as segregated as I can. Maybe that will push me to the bigger tank sooner than later! I definitely want a Scolymia as well. I really had a plan to stay SPS-only, but I can't do it. There are way too many gorgeous LPS & soft corals to stay away from. I blame you because I was content with my plan until I saw your amazing build the other day! Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 I blame you because... LOL. I like Acros as much as the next reefer, but 'variety is the spice of life'. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 That's a pretty lobo, and it looks like it's got plenty of room. At least for now I would just keep getting corals to go on the bottom and let them spread out. No sand to worry about, but you won't be looking at the glue lines for the pad any more Link to comment
nickkohrn Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 My SPS frags have been looking crappy over the past few days, and I couldn't figure out why. I tested my water tonight and my nitrates were high. I only have frags in the tank; no fish or clean-up crew. The only cause that I can think of is the filter floss in the overflow chamber. It was pretty brown, so I replaced it and did a 50% water-change with temperature-matched/salinity-matched water. Hopefully that will dilute the nitrates enough. I'll test my water again tomorrow and do another if it isn't any better. I'm getting diatoms all over, so hopefully my clean-up crew, which arrives on Thursday, will get a bunch of full bellies out of it. I hope that changing the filter floss really makes a difference. It was probably in there for two weeks, but I didn't think anything of it since I have nothing but a few frags in there. I haven't fed them yet because the Reef-Roids come tomorrow or Wednesday, along with my Salifert phosphate test kit and my Python siphon with priming pump (can't wait for that because priming by mouth is not fun). Link to comment
nickkohrn Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 I'm highly considering adding a shallow sand bed to the tank. The more that I see other tanks with sand, the more appealing it is to me. Having to do a little extra maintenance doesn't bother me. Also, I'm missing the corals that I used to have; Acans, Duncans, Plates, Blastos, Ricordeas, etc. I loved how they looked on the sand, and I really want some movement in the tank. The sand will also help with the upwelling of light to aid in growth under the corals above. I love the bright white contrasting with the coralline on the rocks, so regular cleaning will also help keep me more in tune with my tank. Any concerns that I should be aware of? Link to comment
MR.FEESH Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I'm highly considering adding a shallow sand bed to the tank. The more that I see other tanks with sand, the more appealing it is to me. Having to do a little extra maintenance doesn't bother me. Also, I'm missing the corals that I used to have; Acans, Duncans, Plates, Blastos, Ricordeas, etc. I loved how they looked on the sand, and I really want some movement in the tank. The sand will also help with the upwelling of light to aid in growth under the corals above. I love the bright white contrasting with the coralline on the rocks, so regular cleaning will also help keep me more in tune with my tank. Any concerns that I should be aware of? Regardless of sand type, I think it's reasonable to expect that adding sand this late in the game will (at the very least) result in some wonky levels/params, even if only for a short period of time. Link to comment
nickkohrn Posted July 5, 2016 Author Share Posted July 5, 2016 Regardless of sand type, I think it's reasonable to expect that adding sand this late in the game will (at the very least) result in some wonky levels/params, even if only for a short period of time. Agreed. I will probably just keep it bare for now, but still entertain the idea of sand. Thanks, MR.FEESH! Well, I picked up a filefish today! I couldn't go any longer without a fish. I tried, but I love the activity that they bring to a tank! It also found it's hiding spot immediately, under the pillar: I was afraid that I wouldn't have enough hiding spots for a fish, but it turns out that I overlooked some. I actually have quite a few places for it to hide. The bottom, supporting rock actually has a big hole in the middle of it, so it creates a nice hidden cave for hiding with a few tunnels from there. However, it came out a minute after being added to the tank. It seems to like the left-rear side of the tank the most, but it still seems to swim the entire tank. Also, it took quite a bit of food about thirty minutes in! I wanted to post a video that would clearly show the cloudiness of the water. I am not sure why it has been cloudy over the recent three days, but I threw in come carbon this morning, but it didn't seem to make a difference. Could it be bacterial? I also have an unidentified Zoanthid, if anyone has an idea of what it may be. It seems to be brown with a brown skirt and blue/purple stripes. Sorry for the quality of the photographs! Link to comment
nickkohrn Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Well, I found where my Firefish sleeps early this morning. And I also decided to add some sand to the tank. I felt so much better afterward. It looks more natural, and it's shallow so that maintenance is easier. I'm hoping that my Lobophyllia starts making a quick recovery. I had noticed that it's skeleton is poking through it's flesh in places the day that I brought it home. It has seemed to start settling in well so far though. You may notice the white skeleton poking through on the top of the two polyps, and almost poking through the concave section on the side. I am starting to see more colors on the rim of the Lobophyllia so hopefully it colors up nicely as the Radion's light-acclimation mode intensifies. I tried feeding it last night to no avail. My Reef-Roids came in today so I will give that a try tonight. I haven't seen any feeding tentacles yet though. The Firefish, on the other hand, has been eating like a pig! It is out swimming in the open fairly confidently. Maybe I will add a Pygmy Wrasse in the future. As for now, it will occupy the tank as the sole fish. I'm heading out of town this weekend and plan on stopping at a couple of shops to see what I can find. I have my sights set on a Fungia, a Euphyllia, or an Acanthastrea. I have SO many wants now! Link to comment
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