Poodges Posted November 6, 2021 Author Share Posted November 6, 2021 Big change for the tank... I decided to get a new light. The Kessil 160s are great lights but I got tired of the extreme shimmer and never liked the goosenecks plus all the cords and plugs. I did a good bit of research and came across the @Reef Breeders Photon V2 Pro. It has everything I wanted: high quality, good looking/sleek design, powerful, afforable, easy to program and control from my phone, built in moonlight etc... it is loaded with features. Setup was a breeze and the color mix is awesome. I purchased their BOT back of tank mounts and I think it looks pretty clean. I went with the 24" model even though my tank is 36" because I have mostly softies and LPS. I mounted them high at 16" above the water level to get a good spread and for easy tank access. So far, I couldn't be happier with this purchase. My corals are responding very well. A few shots from today post install: 7 Quote Link to comment
Reef Breeders Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 Tank is looking awesome! Thank you for choosing ReefBreeders to power your tank 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted November 16, 2021 Author Share Posted November 16, 2021 Last week I added a fish I always wanted but have never kept before, a Tailspot Blenny. Cool little fish that's always picking at the rocks and finding hiding spots in the rocks. It's getting a little bolder each day. I added 2 new corals as well, a large Acan colony and a nice Lobo from a new LFS that opened up in my area. I like the way things are looking in the tank and I think I'll take my hands off for a while now - male clown is nipping the hell out of me between my fingers. I've tried to flick the little booger to show him who's boss but it never works. FTS - loving this Reef Breeders light, camera is not doing the color justice Top Down Left Island Right Island New Lobo Mel the Wrasse - the peacemaker of the tank New TSB Mona and Leo (the nipper) DaVinci Clowns Cloves and NPS Gorg 4 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 I moved a few corals around and traded a few as well. Added a Bubblegum Digi frag as well as some Xenia.. many years in the hobby and I've always avoided Xenia but figured what the heck. I can always rip it out right? I added a Ruby Red Dragonet which is one of my favorite little fish. That makes 8 total. This one is a bit shy but I expect it will become bolder as the days go on. The biggest update by far is the addition of a Red Fromia Starfish. I've always wanted a starfish but avoided them as they are usually labeled expert only. I did a ton of research and found an exceptionally healthy looking specimen which I drip acclimated for 3 1/2 hours. I'm surprised at how active this starfish is and how fast it can get across the tank. It's been in my tank for several weeks now and seems content. It's on the front glass quite often which makes for a neat viewing experience of it's little tube feet. Only time will tell but I'm happy with the addition so far. Here are a few pics from today: Current FTS: New digi: Starfish: LPS shot: Right Island: Right side, Clownfish territory: Favorite spot of the tank at the moment: Long Distance FTS: Stand I built with Quartz Top: 6 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 Starfish was hanging out up front so I snapped a quick cell picture. Anyone else keeping a starfish in their tank? 4 Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted December 28, 2021 Share Posted December 28, 2021 On 12/23/2021 at 1:20 PM, Poodges said: Starfish was hanging out up front so I snapped a quick cell picture. Anyone else keeping a starfish in their tank? Keep us updated on the sea star. Are you target feeding it? Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 On 12/28/2021 at 11:58 AM, DevilDuck said: Keep us updated on the sea star. Are you target feeding it? Will do. Still doing well. Cruising the tank and rock work consistently. Occasionally sticks to one place for a few hours then resumes roaming. When it’s up high on the front glass and I’m feeding, I’ll try and sneak a little something to it but I can’t tell if it’s actually working. 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 On 12/24/2021 at 3:20 AM, Poodges said: Starfish was hanging out up front so I snapped a quick cell picture. Anyone else keeping a starfish in their tank? So cool! Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 17 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said: So cool! Thank you so much! I’ve long admired your tanks. I appreciate the shoutout. 1 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 So I was working in the tank about 2 weeks ago and knocked a rock over...what could have been a 5 minute fix turned into a 2 hour mini rescape (my choice). I've gone back to the "cave" look versus "2 island" look. I've also made a few other changes namely removing an MP10 that got really noisy and adding a RBTA. The tank seems to be getting plenty of flow with just the one MP10 running at 60% and my return pumps on full blast. I cleaned my pumps and they put out some pretty serious flow. I did a waterchange yesterday and scrubbed my NPS gorgonians with a soft toothbrush; thanks for the tip @mitten_reef. Hopefully that will help get those polyps back out. 2022 photo dump: Current FTS Right Side RBTA Pipe Organ (totally underrated coral IMO) Left Half Nepthea Left Side Torch Top Down Happy Acans Frogspawn 3 1 Quote Link to comment
Kayman Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Tank looks amazing! Really all that can be said. Well done! Really interested in how the starfish does, I know my wife would really love if I could add one. What settings are your lights on for the photos and normally? And what camera are you using, photos look great! Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 10 minutes ago, Kayman said: Tank looks amazing! Really all that can be said. Well done! Really interested in how the starfish does, I know my wife would really love if I could add one. What settings are your lights on for the photos and normally? And what camera are you using, photos look great! Hey thanks so much. I really enjoyed reading your tank thread. Great job. I’ll keep you posted on the starfish. So far so good - picking the right one seems to have made all the difference so far. Oh yeah and a 3 hour drip acclimation. For photos I just take my whites up to about 30%. It shoots pretty true to color at that point. I use an entry level Canon DSLR with the stock 18-55 lens. Photoshop for simple cropping, occasional color correction so pics are true to real life. 1 Quote Link to comment
Kayman Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 9 hours ago, Poodges said: Hey thanks so much. I really enjoyed reading your tank thread. Great job. I’ll keep you posted on the starfish. So far so good - picking the right one seems to have made all the difference so far. Oh yeah and a 3 hour drip acclimation. For photos I just take my whites up to about 30%. It shoots pretty true to color at that point. I use an entry level Canon DSLR with the stock 18-55 lens. Photoshop for simple cropping, occasional color correction so pics are true to real life. Ahh okay that probably helps. I'll try bumping up my whites to next time I go on a little photoshoot. I haven't used my older DSLR for a few years on my tank, never really could get it right. I'll have to try again sometimes. Thanks for the info! 1 Quote Link to comment
mitten_reef Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 The gorg looks nice and clean and bright. I see you missed the upper right branches...for "control sample", 😂? anyway, it may take a day or two for the polyps to start to show back up. what are you feeding the tank, or specifically for the gorgs? 1 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 27 minutes ago, mitten_reef said: The gorg looks nice and clean and bright. I see you missed the upper right branches...for "control sample", 😂? anyway, it may take a day or two for the polyps to start to show back up. what are you feeding the tank, or specifically for the gorgs? Control sample…err yeah that’s right 😬 I feed a lot of different foods but specifically Reef Roids for the gorgs. 2 Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 1 hour ago, Kayman said: Ahh okay that probably helps. I'll try bumping up my whites to next time I go on a little photoshoot. I haven't used my older DSLR for a few years on my tank, never really could get it right. I'll have to try again sometimes. Thanks for the info! This is my lighting schedule btw and max intensities: red 10% green 10% white 18-22% peak (high noon at 2pm) cool blue 50% uv 50% royal blue 55% 1 Quote Link to comment
Kayman Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 On 1/14/2022 at 8:50 AM, Poodges said: This is my lighting schedule btw and max intensities: red 10% green 10% white 18-22% peak (high noon at 2pm) cool blue 50% uv 50% royal blue 55% Nice, yeah very similar to mine. I have a bit shorter peak with the blues but intensities are similar. I should throw mine into a spreadsheet to make a nice graph. Wish my light had the app but oh well. Quote Link to comment
Poodges Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 I'm excited to share that the RBTA I added has accepted my female clown and began hosting. No special techniques used, I just made a spot for the initial placement of the RBTA near where the clowns hang out. I noticed the female clown buzzing by the nem here and there but began nuzzling it pretty intensely 2-3 days ago. The nem defalted quite a bit and was not overly happy initially. However, now it's fully inflated all day long. I'm not sure if the male clown will figure it out, but it's really cool to watch the female. Add a nother Reefing first for me to the list. I've had an RBTA in the past but the clowns never showed any interest. Short video: 4 Quote Link to comment
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