Mitten_reef’s IM30L

[mitten_reef]

So got bored and decided to take the porthole from @Cannedfish for a spin. the first two pics are shot with the porthole.

@HarryPotter, here's a better picture of the new mini colony - looks like it's just pink tips now?  I swear it looked purplish blue at the shop. Oh well, what you see at the shop is not always what you got at home, hahaha.

 

the comeback of the red dragon

 

time for photo-dump:

FTS: 6-8-2018

 

contest frag

 

Blue tort

 

CR's Leng sy

 

5 acros

 

Acro war

 

After getting beat by BTA for a long time, this sunset Monti is coloring back up

 

Micro

 

 

 

zoas

sunnyDs aren't very glow-y today, 😒

 

 

 

[teenyreef]

Beautiful! I really like the colors of the upper left acro in the acro war picture 

[mitten_reef]

1 hour ago, teenyreef said:

Beautiful! I really like the colors of the upper left acro in the acro war picture 

Thanks teeny!  I can only hope that one day my topdown shot can be as colorful as your tank 😍. I need to work on color composition of the corals, between the contrasting and the complementary ones. 

[mitten_reef]

On 6/9/2018 at 12:01 PM, teenyreef said:

Beautiful! I really like the colors of the upper left acro in the acro war picture 

the colors were even nicer when I got it, I think it is the crayola plana type.  I got it as an imported frag/scraps.  Definitely looking forward to it growing out. 

 

   

[mitten_reef]

How to create something like this in a shallow front-to-back AIO? I’m hoping to have some elements of this as part of my renovation vision. 

 

 

Also while we’re on topic of aquascaping, I posted on aquascaping topics a few days ago, but only got one response. 

Ideally I want to move/remove the shelving green monti without affecting the other two. Also have two stubborn BTAs on the same monti rock that could use relocation. 

 

What tool/method would ppl recommend?

 

As far as my own idea, I’m thinking of drilling and making holes along the base of the green monti shelf and hopefully it will break off easily.  Would that be the best approach?  I wanna take the monti down because I wanna put an acro there instead. That would then likely require BTAs removal also.  One nem in the front view and one right behind the green shelf monti. 

 

light fixture update: usps says it should be here by tomorrow evening 😁. I’m thinking Saturday morning is probably more likely with usps. 

[ninjamyst]

get a bigger tank =P

[teenyreef]

23 hours ago, ninjamyst said:

get a bigger tank =P

That was my first thought when I saw that scape. It's awesome but the tank is huge!

[Sancho]

Throw money at it. 

[teenyreef]

On 6/14/2018 at 9:37 PM, micoastreefing said:

How to create something like this in a shallow front-to-back AIO? I’m hoping to have some elements of this as part of my renovation vision. 

 

 

Also while we’re on topic of aquascaping, I posted on aquascaping topics a few days ago, but only got one response. 

Ideally I want to move/remove the shelving green monti without affecting the other two. Also have two stubborn BTAs on the same monti rock that could use relocation. 

 

What tool/method would ppl recommend?

 

As far as my own idea, I’m thinking of drilling and making holes along the base of the green monti shelf and hopefully it will break off easily.  Would that be the best approach?  I wanna take the monti down because I wanna put an acro there instead. That would then likely require BTAs removal also.  One nem in the front view and one right behind the green shelf monti. 

 

light fixture update: usps says it should be here by tomorrow evening 😁. I’m thinking Saturday morning is probably more likely with usps. 

Plating montiporas are almost impossible to remove intact once the get encrusted. You have to cut it somehow without breaking it, because they never break where you want them too, and they usually break into pieces even if you drill holes. Maybe a zip (rotary saw) could cut it right where you want it.

[mitten_reef]

14 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

Plating montiporas are almost impossible to remove intact once the get encrusted. You have to cut it somehow without breaking it, because they never break where you want them too, and they usually break into pieces even if you drill holes. Maybe a zip (rotary saw) could cut it right where you want it.

The one I’m removing? I don’t care if that one shatter into pieces.

My main concern is that I don’t want any collateral damage on the leng sy and the big red, which just got groomed recently. 

Yeah thought about using the Dremel. But too expensive a tool to tool around saltwater, could buy a cheap ryobi version?

[teenyreef]

Just now, micoastreefing said:

The one I’m removing? I don’t care if that one shatter into pieces.

My main concern is that I don’t want any collateral damage on the leng at and the big red, which just got groomed recently. 

Yeah thought about using the Dremel. But too expensive a tool to tool around saltwater, could buy a cheap ryobi version?

I have both a dremel and a cheap rotary saw. The rotary saw is a lot more powerful. With a ceramic tile cutting bit I think it would really easy to use to cut through the coral and even some of the rock cleanly. A cheap one like the ryobi would be perfect.

[Sancho]

4 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

The one I’m removing? I don’t care if that one shatter into pieces.

My main concern is that I don’t want any collateral damage on the leng at and the big red, which just got groomed recently. 

Yeah thought about using the Dremel. But too expensive a tool to tool around saltwater, could buy a cheap ryobi version?

yep ive killed 3 Dremels cutting corals. Damn things just quit with the smallest amount of salt water spray.   

[mitten_reef]

2 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

I have both a dremel and a cheap rotary saw. The rotary saw is a lot more powerful. With a ceramic tile cutting bit I think it would really easy to use to cut through the coral and even some of the rock cleanly. A cheap one like the ryobi would be perfect.

Have to go to home depot tomorrow, will have to look around for rotary saw. 

2 minutes ago, Sancho said:

yep ive killed 3 Dremels cutting corals. Damn things just quit with the smallest amount of salt water spray.   

Good to know, sorry about yours. But I’m sure most of them don’t like salt spray, regardless of the brand. 

[Sancho]

there seems to be a design flaw in the Dremel.......it sucks all the mist up into the motor and like that dead  

[Sancho]

I think you could accomplish that scape with what you have plus an additional 5-7lbs of rock

[mitten_reef]

9 minutes ago, Sancho said:

there seems to be a design flaw in the Dremel.......it sucks all the mist up into the motor and like that dead  

Might not be a flaw, perhaps it was intended to draw air in to cool the motor, just not salt spray. 😄

6 minutes ago, Sancho said:

I think you could accomplish that scape with what you have plus an additional 5-7lbs of rock

Got some dry nano shelf rocks laying around, been piecing them together to see how to best use them. That involves dealing with the acro side of the tank - it might be easier to just wait til I get a new tank at that point, 😂.  Gonna have to just focus on the monti side for now. 

[1891Bro]

Hot topic!! Wooo!

[mitten_reef]

random, semi-pointless update:

Light - arrived last Fri, but the acrylic splash guard never made it from the vendor.  Dave ordered me a new one from a different place on wednesday and it was shipped the same day, and it should be here Monday, according to UPS.

Light hanging frame - ordered from 8020, borrowing the design idea from @Griever's Lagoon 50G.  

Dosing - pulled the trigger on a DP-4.  Seems like it will get the job done for now. 

 

[Cannedfish]

Shoooooooot, this dang here light thingy is taking longer than a month of Sundays.  

[A Little Blue]

Occasionally check dosing pumps for accuracy. It’s not exactly a Swiss made watch. 😉

 

[Polarcollision]

On 6/22/2018 at 8:21 PM, micoastreefing said:

Dosing - pulled the trigger on a DP-4.  Seems like it will get the job done for now. 

 

Sweeeeet! Min will arrive monday. The sea hare died last week. You would be impressed by the garden of hair algae suddenly sprouting everywhere that it kept under control. Lets just say the sea hare did not starve and my high po4 is a thing.

[DaveFason]

Glad everything is now sorted and looking forward to seeing the light bar you create. 

 

I have said it in a few other threads but make sure to keep an eye on the doser. I have had a few that have gotten pretty wonky and lead to more stress than manual dosing. 

 

-D

[mitten_reef]

And there it is, the belly of the beast. There is NO T5!!! @specore, I’m running a lesser version of yours. Mine only has 4 beam strips vs 8 on yours  

 

The 8020 order is still processing, so back to using AI tank mount rack for now. and here is a very crappy fts from the phone. I’ll have the real camera shoot by the end of the wknd. 

 

I’ve been holding off on posting any photos with the new fixture because it’s not “complete” yet. I ran into an issue with the splash guard, it’s too long to fit where it’s supposed to go. @DaveFason is working with me to resolve that. Going away on vacation didn’t help me with timing either. 

[specore]

26 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

And there it is, the belly of the beast. There is NO T5!!! @specore, I’m running a lesser version of yours. Mine only has 4 beam strips vs 8 on yours  

 

 

Twinsies...nice!  Mine arrives Monday.

 

And Dave pointed out  that I was confused about the T5.  Can't lie though, was looking forward to playing with T5 bulbs.  

 

So what settings are you running to acclimate this thing?

[mitten_reef]

8 hours ago, specore said:

Twinsies...nice!  Mine arrives Monday.

 

And Dave pointed out  that I was confused about the T5.  Can't lie though, was looking forward to playing with T5 bulbs.  

 

So what settings are you running to acclimate this thing?

 

For now:  morning and evening, all channels at 20% except white at 2%. Midday 40% on all others, white 4%. I might bump white a bit higher ratio later on, when I get to full setting. I use it to mainly round out a bit of the warmer tones on the corals, mint provides good visual brightness. 

 

It might be best to check with Dave on how your fixture was wired for controls, mine has all the beams on the same channel as the array’s royal blue.