Utahpico Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 I've had sps in my pico tank for over a year and no filtration. My ada mini m I just set up has a heater pump and light that's it. Encrusting Acro's and birds nest doing amazing. I'm going to find some branching monti's and acros this weekend to add in. Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 15 hours ago, Utahpico said: I've had sps in my pico tank for over a year and no filtration. My ada mini m I just set up has a heater pump and light that's it. Encrusting Acro's and birds nest doing amazing. I'm going to find some branching monti's and acros this weekend to add in. So it can be done!! I have my eye on a hawkins, but I need an mp10 first. Maybe lfs can work out a deal, seeing as its been there for over a month. Quote Link to comment
Utahpico Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 I have my pump on wave mode and it's awesome seeing everything sway Quote Link to comment
Asureef Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 On 6/10/2018 at 8:47 PM, BaristaBob said: OMG! So I decided to take the sandbed out because I thought it was leaking nutrients into the water. I took the main rock out and put it in a bucket of saltwater with a power head, and started to take the sand out. With my first scoop, I PULLED OUT A RUSTY GOD DAMN NAIL. I have no idea how it got in there. I sifted the sand before I put it in, and even sifted it before I filled my tank up. I think it may have been my neices, as they are very young, and love to throw seashells in my tank. No longer are they allowed to be near my tank without someone watching. As I pulled the main rock out of the bucket, the putty broke. FML so my main rock is now in 2 pieces, so I decided to make a new aquascape. I am really loving this barebottom look, plus it will be way easier to clean. Maybe my damsel jumped out because the copper was too high? Who even tests for copper? I am surprised my acro's didn't die from the copper intoxication. Anyways, it looks sooo much better. Very happy with the outcome. image by Bob Scholz, on Flickr In that size tank, I would definitely run some fresh carbon. Who knows what could be in that nail. SPS may not react to it right away. Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 11 minutes ago, Asureef said: In that size tank, I would definitely run some fresh carbon. Who knows what could be in that nail. SPS may not react to it right away. Well, when I took everything apart, I did do a 100% Waterchange. HOB is now off. With my testing, I lose 10ppm of Ca and Mg a day, so I am going to dose slowly to raise ca to 420, mg to 1320. I want nitrates to be around 3. So I'm gonna have to figure out whether to add a fish, or dose nitrates. Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 Update time!!! I have added several new acropora. Got a small frag of pink passion for 150. I AM SO EXCITED FOR IT TO COLOR UP. Got a small frag of a wildcaught acro called serenity. Not exactly sure what color its gonna turn. The joe is coloring up so nicely! A vibrant dark green with blue tips. It has also sprouted a new branch. The slimer is turning purple now, so I am not sure that it was infact a slimer. I think I am going to stop going to that store. Looks like they also may have some MEFW. Nice guys though. I added an mp10 and keep it at 5 reef crest. The acros absolutely love the turbulent flow. I also put this little Japanese filter on there; It is just running floss that is changed daily, and chemipure blue. Levels: Alk: 8.4 Cal: 420 Mg: 1400 Nitrates: 2.5 (I alternate between rotifeast and roids) P04: Undetectable I did have an alk swing after a full WC. I didn't realize that my LFS keeps their alk at 12, now I know! I have started only using reef crystals for WC. I only do WC 2x per month. Cleaning schedule is scraping sides of tank and turkey bast everything. Bump reef crest to 8 and let filterfloss pick everything up. New FTS: reef by Bob Scholz, on Flickr 1 Quote Link to comment
Utahpico Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Looks great! Hows that mp10 working out for you? Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 18 minutes ago, Utahpico said: Looks great! Hows that mp10 working out for you? I like it a lot. Wish I had gotten it a little sooner tbh, haha. It's a lot more pleasing aestheticly versus the 2 Koralia. And it works better!! Quote Link to comment
Utahpico Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 I would love to get one, but with 3 kids I feel that eventually one of them would grab the motor and RIP it off. Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 So just an update I would like to document all of my growth and thoughts on how corals are doing. So here is a photodump and info. Everything is doing much better with the stable alkalinity. I am dosing .2KH in the morning and evening. Calcium is replenished via water change; I lose about 10ppm per 3 days. Magnesium stay around 1400. Salinity is at 1.026. Serenity Acro (wild caught) 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr I got this acro about a week ago from BSA corals. It is doing extremely well. Awesome polyp extension and color is really starting to take hold. Blue/Turquoise Acro 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr This guy has been in the tank for around a month, I'm guessing. Good growth so far. Color is changing into turquoise base with bright blue tips. Fuchsia Acro 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr One of my earlier sps. It has tiny polyps. Not a very fast grower. $10 frag 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr So, I took a gamble on this acro. It was completely bleached out and in the $10 section. I saw the skin lines and knew it had potential. Light green polyps with light green base and has blue tips right now. The base is getting darker each day. Very excited to see this grow. Green slimer? 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr It was bright green when I got it and now is turning purple. It doesn't have the same polyp extension that I have seen other slimers with. The fact that it is turning purple leads me to believe it's not a green slimer. Not good vertical growth, but it is encrusting. Yellow Acro 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr I honestly don't care for this that much. Might get rid of it. Great growth and Polyp extension though. Starting to turn yellow after it was completely white. Jedi Mind Trick 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr It was complete brown when I got it, and is starting to color up now. Mulicolor tenuis 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr The base started to stn, so I fragged the branches. Its been about a week and all the frags are looking great. ORA joe the coral. 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr So the rock I glued it to fell against the front of the tank and it snapped one of the branches off! I glued it ontop and once I saw the colors, I fragged the other branch off the plug. And the plug is starting to encrust over the broken branch!! Now I'm gonna have 3 of these :). It has great growth and great color. Green Acro with blue tips 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr This coral is really taking off now. With the stable KH, its turning colors. The blue tips started a few days ago. Awesome polyp extension! Pink Passion Acro 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr Got this a few days ago. Starting to color up too! Red Milli 6/7/18 by Barista Bob, on Flickr Got this a couple weeks ago. Maroon with black polyps Thanks for reading guys. Used an iphone for the pictures, so they may not be that great. Everything looks a little blue, but the camera was much better then expected! Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted July 7, 2018 Author Share Posted July 7, 2018 4 minutes ago, banasophia said: Wow beautiful! Thanks! I have done quite a bit of research on how to take care of these animals, and have finally got the basics down! Now I just need an autodoser. I look at this tank as more chemistry instead of a fish tank. I'm learning that its mostly just basic chemistry to keep these guys alive. 2 Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 It's been a couple weeks since I've updated my journal, and I have some pretty cool things to share. I really enjoy keeping this tank. It is so satisfying to watch these animals grow and observe polyp extension, color changes, and growth patterns. It has finally put a sense of stability into my life. It took me awhile to get the hang of things, but now for less then 15 minutes of work a day, I get hours of fascination. The Acropora are doing extremely well. I have noticed that with the water flow I am giving them, they are starting to really thicken their bases. I can observe this directly with the ORA joe the coral. It has started to develop deep purple bases and deep purple tips. I am surprised because I thought it was supposed to have light blue growth. I think the perhaps my stable nitrate levels (around 5ppm) have an effect that allows the colors to be much deeper. I took pretty much everything that wasn't an acro or cap out and traded for store credit. They just don't interest me. Time for pictures!!! Pink Passion (not so pink anymore 🙂 ) IMG_0396 by Barista Bob Serendipity: I cant believe the amount of growth and color I'm getting. IMG_0397 by Barista Bob Wild caught rainbow. Dark green polyps and out of this world color IMG_0398 by Barista Bob Not sure but polup extension is nuts IMG_0399 by Barista Bob ORA joe the coral IMG_0400 by Barista Bob, on Flickr Thanks for looking. 3 Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Hey Bob! Im like Wow lmao, I saw alot of What I'm doing with my tank with yours! great tank so far btw! Im super jealous to hear about the ADA tank, was that from here locally? I knew I asked at a couple stores about ADA but they all complained they were too expensive to get and no market for them! Also, what was the overflow for the AQ20 and why did you take it off? I saw the surface skimmer on it and thought it was really nice, if a little obtrusive in the scape. In my IM 10 before I moved, I originally was going to go barebottom with the tank, but I had a Court jester and added substrate to better accommodate it's feeding habits. I thought BB tanks usually look very clean, and hopefully nail-free! Quote Link to comment
jSully Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 man these are beautiful. Are you using epoxy to attach to the rock or just superglue? Quote Link to comment
DaveFason Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Tons of goodies. Lets hope for some killer growth. -Dave 2 Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 On 7/30/2018 at 4:11 PM, sapling said: Hey Bob! Im like Wow lmao, I saw alot of What I'm doing with my tank with yours! great tank so far btw! Im super jealous to hear about the ADA tank, was that from here locally? I knew I asked at a couple stores about ADA but they all complained they were too expensive to get and no market for them! Also, what was the overflow for the AQ20 and why did you take it off? I saw the surface skimmer on it and thought it was really nice, if a little obtrusive in the scape. In my IM 10 before I moved, I originally was going to go barebottom with the tank, but I had a Court jester and added substrate to better accommodate it's feeding habits. I thought BB tanks usually look very clean, and hopefully nail-free! I ordered the tank from Aquaforestaquariums; The only shop in town that carried them was Aquatouch, but they unfortunately closed down. I took the aq20 off for aesthetic reasons, the mp10 provides more than enough surface agitation to keep the surface free from film. The smaller HOB is actually much easier to maintain and less of an eyesore. On 7/30/2018 at 4:40 PM, xtra0t said: man these are beautiful. Are you using epoxy to attach to the rock or just superglue? I'm just using a small amount of superglue. I feel like its a super solid base, and the corals tend to encrust over it in a few days. 1 Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 On 7/31/2018 at 5:34 AM, DaveFason said: Tons of goodies. Lets hope for some killer growth. -Dave Thanks Dave. I'm sure once they finish bulk mode, outward extension will be great. 1 Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted August 2, 2018 Share Posted August 2, 2018 that mp10 looks good for sure! That hob reminds me of the ones for nanos I saw Cory from aquariumcoop recommend at one point. Do you plan to use any filter media with the hob or only the sponge? I personally am leaning to use purigen in mine, Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 45 minutes ago, sapling said: that mp10 looks good for sure! That hob reminds me of the ones for nanos I saw Cory from aquariumcoop recommend at one point. Do you plan to use any filter media with the hob or only the sponge? I personally am leaning to use purigen in mine, Oh, I actually keep chemipure blue and filterfloss. The floss gets changed every couple days. I do baste the rocks to get any waste picked up. I feed the fish 2x per day to keep steady fresh nutrients vs decaying nutrients which IMO is healthier option instead of feeding coral foods. The HOB is an Azoo. They are popular for nano planted tanks. Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 IMG_0513 by Barista Bob, on Flickr KH 8.4 Ca 450 Mg 1320 NO3 ~7 PO4 - undetectable Well, I think it is time to let everything grow in. It's time to go back to school so it's kind of perfect timing. Colors seem to still be blowing my mind everyday. Growth is pretty noticeable as well. Time for pictures! Pink Passion IMG_0494 by Barista Bob, on Flickr IMG_0509 (2) by Barista Bob, on Flickr No Name IMG_0495 by Barista Bob, on Flickr No name Rainbow IMG_0496 by Barista Bob, on Flickr IMG_0510 (2) by Barista Bob, on Flickr Joe the coral IMG_0497 by Barista Bob, on Flickr IMG_0505 by Barista Bob, on Flickr No name $10 & $5 frags IMG_0506 (2) by Barista Bob, on Flickr The bottom one was actually a tiny bleached out piece at the bottom of the $75 frag section where they keep all the ORA coral. Its growth structure and pattern leads me to believe its some kind of valida. I hope its the tricolor! 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 8 minutes ago, BaristaBob said: IMG_0513 by Barista Bob, on Flickr KH 8.4 Ca 450 Mg 1320 NO3 ~7 PO4 - undetectable Well, I think it is time to let everything grow in. It's time to go back to school so it's kind of perfect timing. Colors seem to still be blowing my mind everyday. Growth is pretty noticeable as well. Time for pictures! Pink Passion IMG_0494 by Barista Bob, on Flickr IMG_0509 (2) by Barista Bob, on Flickr No Name IMG_0495 by Barista Bob, on Flickr No name Rainbow IMG_0496 by Barista Bob, on Flickr IMG_0510 (2) by Barista Bob, on Flickr Joe the coral IMG_0497 by Barista Bob, on Flickr IMG_0505 by Barista Bob, on Flickr No name $10 & $5 frags IMG_0506 (2) by Barista Bob, on Flickr The bottom one was actually a tiny bleached out piece at the bottom of the $75 frag section where they keep all the ORA coral. Its growth structure and pattern leads me to believe its some kind of valida. I hope its the tricolor! Looks great!!! Eager to see them fill in. Quote Link to comment
BaristaBob Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 My friend lent me her DSLR, so time for photodump. These were taken with a kessil a160, while my nanobox gets repaired. Should be back tomorrow though! This little light pack a punch. At 65% intensity, I noticed bleach tips and lowered it to 55%, and getting better growth then before. Still like the nanobox better though. The LEDs were pretty old, so I think when I get it back, it will be outrageously bright. These photos were taken on manual dslr, and post edited on lightroom to correct white balance and sharpen. It was my first time doing this, but I feel like the photos reflect what I am actually seeing. Freshly cut piece on the right. It should turn into something nice 🙂 . Making a comeback! 1 Quote Link to comment
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