xM3THODx 20gal long, SPS dominated Mixed reef

[WV Reefer]

1 minute ago, xM3THODx said:

Well I appreciate your compliment very much, Thank you!  You can barely see it but there's a strawberry shortcake right in between the leather and the green sps colony that suppose to fill in that gap. It think it'll be visually pleasing with a bit of red in that area. What do you think?

 

I agree. 😊

[xM3THODx]

It's kinda difficult from doing some kind of tinkering in this hobby even when things are doing well. I guess there's always something that can be improved such as color. The illumagic fixture delivers in both spectrum and intensity. I've been adjusting the intensity to where I feel the corals other than sps aren't appreciating it and even with sps colors are great....I sit and wonder, what if or maybe colors can be better?

 

I did a little tweaking and went from a 20k spectrum to more of a 15k, so turning down the blue and uv intensity and increased the white/red/green. To be continued..

[Tamberav]

On 7/30/2019 at 1:25 AM, xM3THODx said:

I decided to start broadcast feeding my tank every night again with Benereef due to the sps presently looking pale. 8-9 months ago I was going through the same thing and fed every night but noticed the vermetid snail proliferated so I stopped. At this point I feel the sps health is more important than a plague of vermetid snails.  I do have bumble bee snails currently that may help control the population and I plan to add a few more. 

 

Monthly update pic for Aug.1st and 1 week-is in on nightly feeding...

 

Sooo pretty!! 

 

I am dealing with some pale issues also 😞 I am thinking I will add sand back to trap some debris 😜

[xM3THODx]

21 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Sooo pretty!! 

 

I am dealing with some pale issues also 😞 I am thinking I will add sand back to trap some debris 😜

Thank you! 

[devaji108]

OMG WOW. love this build not much of a stick guy but this has me thinking... 

[xM3THODx]

On 8/11/2019 at 8:33 PM, devaji108 said:

OMG WOW. love this build not much of a stick guy but this has me thinking... 

It ALWAYS starts with one!  All you need is a bit of patience and good water params, hehe. 

[xM3THODx]

This Acro on the left is a beautiful piece and has been with me since 2015 when I bought it from a local reefer. The red/pink was acquired from AquaSD called "Birthday Cake".

Photos taken from my Iphone6, so the quality isn't great but fair enough.

 

         

[Asureef]

Some crazy growth! 

[xM3THODx]

Monthly update...Sept. 6, 2019

 

I was away for a week and got back to a heat wave. Tank was pretty warm at 83F at 12 midnight when I got home. I can only imagine it was at least 85 midday. 

I have a small fan I manually turn on when necessary and had it set up with a classic timer I had. Apparently it didn't work because my daughter said it wasn't running during the day.

 

Luckily she was aware enough to turn it on and the tank look like this. Some color was lost and corals didn't look too happy. I did lose one sps just above the Setosa on the right side, a $500 efflo(just a name), I really wanted to see it grow out though so it was a small but tough loss.

 

Another coral affected was the Photosynthetic Gorgonia on the left. It looks like it's possibly shedding a layer of skin at the moment, so I hope that's the worst of it. We'll see in a few days.

 

I'm super happy that there wasn't a total crash.

 

[Justind823]

Well despite the heat the tank still looks amazing. Your growth is crazy

 

Looks like you swapped out a gyre? Why the change?

 

Are you still using Carbo-Calcium? I just switched from Kalk in my ato and so far I'm loving it

[xM3THODx]

4 hours ago, Justind823 said:

Well despite the heat the tank still looks amazing. Your growth is crazy

 

Looks like you swapped out a gyre? Why the change?

 

Are you still using Carbo-Calcium? I just switched from Kalk in my ato and so far I'm loving it

Thank you for the kind words! The pump was temporary while the gyre was soaking in some vinegar water and is now clean and back in action.

I am still using Carbocalcium and now dosing beyond the recommended amount at 37mis/day. Last time I checked Alk levels was a week and a half ago and it was at 7.5dkh.

 

I also dose kalk as part of my ato and is a major part of the ph stability. 

[Justind823]

17 hours ago, xM3THODx said:

Thank you for the kind words! The pump was temporary while the gyre was soaking in some vinegar water and is now clean and back in action.

I am still using Carbocalcium and now dosing beyond the recommended amount at 37mis/day. Last time I checked Alk levels was a week and a half ago and it was at 7.5dkh.

 

I also dose kalk as part of my ato and is a major part of the ph stability. 

Awesome! You should take a video of that tank! I'd love to see that flow with both gyres going 

[xM3THODx]

On 9/7/2019 at 8:06 PM, Justind823 said:

Awesome! You should take a video of that tank! I'd love to see that flow with both gyre's going 

 

 

So every 3 hours the gyres alternate at 100% constant as the opposing gyre is set to random at 60%. I also have one three hour block of each set on 60% random for more of a calm period.

I tend to change the flow often such as having one at 100% random and the opposing 30% random, etc.

[banasophia]

Wow! 🤯🤯🤯 That is a gorgeous reef!!! How was I not following you on here and on Instagram?! Excited to follow along in both places, and the new reef/life/chat thread. Like @devaji108, I haven’t really been into SPS, but seeing and reading about your tank made me seriously reconsider for my next build.

 

Thanks for putting together the history of the tank the way you did; great to see the progression. I thought it was interesting that you found your sump at a thrift shop. I enjoy going to garage sales and thrift stores, but I’ve never even thought of looking for aquarium related stuff at a thrift store... I guess that would be an LTS instead of an LFS. 😉😂

[mitten_reef]

On 8/10/2019 at 3:36 PM, xM3THODx said:

I did a little tweaking and went from a 20k spectrum to more of a 15k, so turning down the blue and uv intensity and increased the white/red/green. To be continued..

Not sure if it makes significant in the actual SPS coloration, or just our own eye's perception.  But I see more red/pink hues when the light is on a slightly warmer spectrum.  AND it's a bit easier on the camera to boot.  

On 9/8/2019 at 2:45 PM, xM3THODx said:

 

 

So every 3 hours the gyres alternate at 100% constant as the opposing gyre is set to random at 60%. I also have one three hour block of each set on 60% random for more of a calm period.

I tend to change the flow often such as having one at 100% random and the opposing 30% random, etc.

every time I see video like this, I feel like my tank doesn't get enough flow.  But I also get "hotspots" of flows from my one tunze 6040 and one IM wavelink.  Would you say that gyres in general eliminate all the hotspots? I would love to try them out, but also don't know if I want more stockpile of pumps at my house...really need to clean out the spares/unused cabinet.     

[5*Chris]

Oh damn, such an incredible tank!! I just looked over at an empty 20g long tank I have in the corner and without skipping a beat, my wife said no 🤣🤣😭

[Tigahboy]

This tank is killer, man!  I enjoy seeing your posts over on IG as well.

[xM3THODx]

1 hour ago, banasophia said:

Wow! 🤯🤯🤯 That is a gorgeous reef!!! How was I not following you on here and on Instagram?! Excited to follow along in both places, and the new reef/life/chat thread. Like @devaji108, I haven’t really been into SPS, but seeing and reading about your tank made me seriously reconsider for my next build.

 

Thanks for putting together the history of the tank the way you did; great to see the progression. I thought it was interesting that you found your sump at a thrift shop. I enjoy going to garage sales and thrift stores, but I’ve never even thought of looking for aquarium related stuff at a thrift store... I guess that would be an LTS instead of an LFS. 😉😂

Thank you Banosophia for the kind words and checking out my journal. Just like any coral it all starts with one, then two and so on....before you know it you've learned how to care for them as with other corals. Digitata's are great starter sps and have awesome colors available, especially the bubble gum digi. 

 

The funny thing about the thrift store is that the whole system was for sale, 90 gal tank, stand, sump, pumps, proteins skimmer, all for around $150-$175. I would've bought the whole thing but after inspection the tank was cracked on the the bottom corner, I'm guessing it was damaged from the movers, so anyway I talked them into selling me the sump and equipment only. I was also planning on flipping it to make money because I already had a tank running, but I realized I should use it myself.

 

You never know where you'll find good tank stuff, just like someone here who recently found a 15gal tank and stand in the alley.

[xM3THODx]

58 minutes ago, mitten_reef said:

Not sure if it makes significant in the actual SPS coloration, or just our own eye's perception.  But I see more red/pink hues when the light is on a slightly warmer spectrum.  AND it's a bit easier on the camera to boot.  

every time I see video like this, I feel like my tank doesn't get enough flow.  But I also get "hotspots" of flows from my one tunze 6040 and one IM wavelink.  Would you say that gyres in general eliminate all the hotspots? I would love to try them out, but also don't know if I want more stockpile of pumps at my house...really need to clean out the spares/unused cabinet.     

Ya I agree, the blues tend to wash out the reds a bit and the camera absolutely hates any kind of blue. 

 

 "hotspots" as in low flow or dead flow areas? if so, yes and no... The ends of the tank under the gyres get low flow and detritus build up, everywhere in between get a ton of water movement. I feel ya with the extra pumps all over, but they are useful to have when you need one.

[xM3THODx]

29 minutes ago, 5*Chris said:

Oh damn, such an incredible tank!! I just looked over at an empty 20g long tank I have in the corner and without skipping a beat, my wife said no 🤣🤣😭

I've always love the dim's and esthetic's of a standard 20gal. I see it as a mini of a large dream tank. I know how that feels with the spouse shutting down tank ideas. I keep telling my wife how a 120 gal would be perfect where my tank is now, the look on her face says it all, haha!

[xM3THODx]

28 minutes ago, Tigahboy said:

This tank is killer, man!  I enjoy seeing your posts over on IG as well.

Thanks Tigah, likewise with your systems! I'm like I want a led light background because it looks badass, but I can't because mine's painted black.

[mitten_reef]

48 minutes ago, xM3THODx said:

Ya I agree, the blues tend to wash out the reds a bit and the camera absolutely hates any kind of blue. 

 

 "hotspots" as in low flow or dead flow areas? if so, yes and no... The ends of the tank under the gyres get low flow and detritus build up, everywhere in between get a ton of water movement. I feel ya with the extra pumps all over, but they are useful to have when you need one.

In order to have good flow throughout the tank, I get spots where flow is way too high at/near point sources.  There are always branches or frags or part of something that is getting blasted by direct flow to the point of them being unhappy (or in case of loose frags, bouncing/rocking around on the rack).   

 

I now have an unused 6040 that I swap out when one of the two in display needs cleaning - so it sure is convenient to have extras for sure 🙂.   

[xM3THODx]

On 9/11/2019 at 10:45 AM, mitten_reef said:

In order to have good flow throughout the tank, I get spots where flow is way too high at/near point sources.  There are always branches or frags or part of something that is getting blasted by direct flow to the point of them being unhappy (or in case of loose frags, bouncing/rocking around on the rack).   

 

I now have an unused 6040 that I swap out when one of the two in display needs cleaning - so it sure is convenient to have extras for sure 🙂.   

Oh I see and that was one of the reasons I felt moving over to they gyres was a good idea especially when the sps started to grow tall.  With the gyres streams being flat and across the surface and then crashing into each other, created chaotic eddies and a downward flow around the tips and branches. The jebao pump flow would be constantly hitting directly into the branches and polyps because they had to be positioned lower on the glass to keep from sucking air. 

 

Also with the sps growing so tall down the middle, the jebao streams wouldn't meet up to create that chaotic flow.

 

 

 

 

[xM3THODx]

So I'm planning to make some changes to the reef. The two favia colonies will be removed and brought back to the LFS. They were bought as 2-3 polyp frags and grown to a point where their sweepers are getting close to the bases of the sps colonies above them.  

 

I have a chalice tucked away on the sandbed that has been in the tank within the first 6 months  of setup. It never had a final spot in the tank and has been moved multiple times stunting its growth and I think that this area will be perfect. 

 

  

 

 

More plans to organize the zoa garden on the left side coming too. Stay tuned....

[mcarroll]

On 9/7/2019 at 5:20 PM, xM3THODx said:

I did lose one sps just above the Setosa on the right side, a $500 efflo(just a name), I really wanted to see it grow out though so it was a small but tough loss.

holy! $500?

 

...or do you mean the frag was small?