Potter's 300µL micro-reef

[patback]

1 hour ago, HarryPotter said:

 

I'll see what I can do! I can't find the orange lens for my DSLR anymore.

There are a couple Acropora colonies that must remain hidden to prevent the 'rifraf from asking for frags 🤐. I learned this the hard way. No more fragging!

 

 

 

 

You can always just tell everyone to #### off. Right after sliding some full frag disks Patty's way. You know, just to rub it in their faces that YOU call the shots when it comes to coral. 

[patback]

I'm just kidding. I am actually about to set back up the dosers you sent me years ago. It's been a long time since I've had a use for them.  

[mitten_reef]

9 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

 

I'll see what I can do! I can't find the orange lens for my DSLR anymore.

There are a couple Acropora colonies that must remain hidden to prevent the 'rifraf from asking for frags 🤐. I learned this the hard way. No more fragging!

 

 

 

 

Nice to have you back Harry, now when can I get some frags?

[HarryPotter]

11 hours ago, patback said:

You can always just tell everyone to #### off. Right after sliding some full frag disks Patty's way. You know, just to rub it in their faces that YOU call the shots when it comes to coral. 

What coral category are you looking for? I need to curb some overgrowth, may as well glue em down! 

[patback]

3 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

What coral category are you looking for? I need to curb some overgrowth, may as well glue em down! 

I'm leaning heavily towards sps. Let me know!

[mitten_reef]

On 2/19/2023 at 3:12 PM, HarryPotter said:

please tell me how to grow these guys....

I had some really nice ones toward the end of last tank.  Can't seem to get them to grow in this last tank - more than 2 years after started.

[spectra]

41 minutes ago, mitten_reef said:

please tell me how to grow these guys....

I had some really nice ones toward the end of last tank.  Can't seem to get them to grow in this last tank - more than 2 years after started.

I think it’s just luck….I had rics go crazy in my 100 swapped over to the RS tank and they were nothing special….

[braaap]

1 hour ago, spectra said:

I think it’s just luck….I had rics go crazy in my 100 swapped over to the RS tank and they were nothing special….

 

When I did Zoas and softies only I could grow them like crazy. When I started adding SPS and worrying about water quality rics just died off.

[HarryPotter]

8 hours ago, mitten_reef said:

please tell me how to grow these guys....

I had some really nice ones toward the end of last tank.  Can't seem to get them to grow in this last tank - more than 2 years after started.

 

I don't know, all my tanks historically have been mixed reef. Softies and SPS seem to just need different lighting, while acceptable nutrient levels overlap. 

 

Forgot to show the little Goniopora garden. This image is under whites and it fluoresces nicely under blues. 

 

 

[HarryPotter]

I thought the fish stocking seemed low, so went shopping this weekend. 
 

New additions: 

 

Chocolate Tang 

Powder Brown Tang 

Clown Tang 

1 BristleTooth Tang 

1 wrasse 

8 Chromis 

I’ll try to get a high quality video later. This was my previous fish video, since then I lost the yellow scopa a year ago when my heater died. 

 

[mitten_reef]

2 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

1 BristleTooth Tang 

Is that the white tail one?  been told the bristletooth family is great for algae control, and the white tail is really pretty option!  definitely among my options should I go larger one day

[HarryPotter]

36 minutes ago, mitten_reef said:

Is that the white tail one?  been told the bristletooth family is great for algae control, and the white tail is really pretty option!  definitely among my options should I go larger one day

Yep! Bottom right in that bucket. It’s really pretty with the orange speckles and white tail. 
 

So far the introduction looks good. The Sailfin as expected is flashing it’s fins and defending the nori clip during feeding time. But generally it’s not going after any specific addition. Will know within a  couple days if disease breaks out. 

[FISHnChix]

Nice video. What did you use to film it?

[HarryPotter]

1 hour ago, FISHnChix said:

Nice video. What did you use to film it?

A super old Canon T3i- I think 2011 model. Still way better with color balancing than an iphone. 

[HarryPotter]

Leather coral, or montipora digitata? Hard to tell! 

[HarryPotter]

Fish still look great, and the powder brown is coming out more and makes it to the algae clip! 
 

Heres an orange-filter evening photo. New frag rack getting built up for @patback! 
 

[geekreef_05]

Your nano reef is so big. What do you feed that thing? 

 

Looks superb. Nice mixed reef dude!

 

All your corals must be huge. Those btas look great. No clownfish? 

[HarryPotter]

13 minutes ago, geekreef_05 said:

Your nano reef is so big. What do you feed that thing? 

 

Looks superb. Nice mixed reef dude!

 

All your corals must be huge. Those btas look great. No clownfish? 

Thanks! 

I’m up to 4 cubes of mysis, 2 sheets of Nori, and a couple big pinches of coral food per day.
 

It is starting to become a problem because the 300g+ tank is under-filtered; just three filter cups with floss and a half-rated skimmer (Maxspect AD600, rated to 150g typical use). As I add fish and increase feeding nutrients are creeping up. 
 

Maybe I can add a refugium or redundant skimmer. I want to avoid using reactors. 
 

Two clowns live in Anemone Mansion. 

[geekreef_05]

11 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

Thanks! 

I’m up to 4 cubes of mysis, 2 sheets of Nori, and a couple big pinches of coral food . 

 

Two clowns live in Anemone Mansion. 

 

Oh i was joking like "hey your so tall, you must eat your wheaties for breakfast". 

 

But that definately sounds like alot of food in a single day. Your tangs must be feasting well on that! 

 

But if your nutrients are creeping up and the skimmer is working well, id say a cheato ball or reactor might be a goood next step. 

 

 

[HarryPotter]

[patback]

Those nems are looking happy. Looking good. 

[HarryPotter]

7 hours ago, patback said:

Those nems are looking happy. Looking good. 

It’s a real problem, and anemones are the most likely way this tank will crash. I think there are ~8 now in the rockwork. 
 

I could order some reef cleaners rock and remove/rebuild some structures that the anemones are on, but it would be a major effort. 

[mitten_reef]

10 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

What’s happening with the acro on the right structure, it has zero fluorescent in the blue pic?  

[HarryPotter]

On 5/23/2023 at 8:43 AM, mitten_reef said:

What’s happening with the acro on the right structure, it has zero fluorescent in the blue pic?  

It’s this huge colony of purple/blue acropora that just doesn’t fluoresce much. I’m trying some additives soon (based on ICP) to see if I can improve colors even more. 
 

 

 

[HarryPotter]

10pm glass scraping!
Everything is ridiculously overgrown, colonies fighting for light and stinging each other. This weekend I’m taking a hammer to them and prioritizing my nicer pieces. I have a whole frag rack with a dozen *perfect* grafted cap frags that have the ideal cup shape.