seabass Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 10 minutes ago, gena said: The one I had a few years ago was perfect. I think I got it from Marine Depot. Probably the same one that I have. I believe that I've had to adjust it once. 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 11 minutes ago, seabass said: Probably the same one that I have. I believe that I've had to adjust it once. I bet it is. Ok.....this sounds good too. And it has great reviews. Maybe I'll go this route!!!! https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/high-precision-hydrometer-tropic-marin.html 1 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 I use a Milwaukee digital refractometer and I love it… you calibrate it with distilled or RODI 2 Quote Link to comment
mcashatt01 Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 I second that I love my Hanna Salinity checker. Added bonus of giving you temp reading as well. Makes water changes and acclimating super easy. 2 Quote Link to comment
TatorTaco Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 On 8/18/2021 at 7:00 PM, gena said: Well, I'd love a neon green sinularia. That's the next big one I'll probably buy. I also like the neon green/orange cloves but I'm not sure I'll have space for those. I might try to squeeze them in. I'm supposed to be on a coral buying ban for a few months LOL. But I am getting a box from @jack1978 tomorrow...yay!!!! So I'll see what the tank looks like after I put the new stuff in from him 😊. I need ideas for softies too! What are some cool softies? There are different colors of kenya tree that I would like to have. Pulsing xenia is cool. I totally forgot I had that in my drop-off tank!!!! I was watching the video I had of them on my IG page today. They were so cool. Pulsing. I had a pretty big colony. Totally forgot about having had them LOL. That was an awesome tank, the drop off. I miss that one. It was so exciting when I picked that up at Macna San Diego. Then it started leaking from a seam and that was the end of that. What else....a pink cabbage leather would be cool. There's a lot I would like. Maybe I should have gone with a bigger tank this time LOL. I'm going to google the newest drop-offs just to see. I think they are glass now. Mine was acrylic. Here's my drop-off tank with the xenia. That's a green nepthea or sinularia. That's what I want to find again. The photosynthetic gorgonians are awesome too. So is my blasto collection but I'm going to stay away from LPS, I think. Strictly softies here this time. I much prefer my pink cabbage leather over green. It's just too dang easy to overwhelm your tank with various shades of green, and cabbage leathers grow too quickly (and big) and would dominate the tank with green. The reefing community is so small here... I can order corals online, but they're always small frags and larger/cheaper frags are harder to find. Someone on the state reefing FB page had a TON of kenya tree coral frags, but it was plain brown and I was terrified it'd self-propagate and take over my tank like it did to his. I wasn't aware that kenya tree came in multiple colors. What do you think about those red or blue discoma mushrooms? They're soft corals and might fit in your tank. Quote Link to comment
glat1957 Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 Just read through this thread and wanted to say what a great job you've done with this tank! Amazing what some TLC will do. That clown looks super happy and that toadstool is getting color! 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 7 hours ago, banasophia said: I use a Milwaukee digital refractometer and I love it… you calibrate it with distilled or RODI I saw someone said to not waste money on the digital one I was considering. Instead get the Milwaukee one. It's has very good reviews. So if I do go digital, I'll do this one. I did find the old refractometer I had on Amazon. Only $17. I'm thinking I'll try that first. It's pretty cheap, which I really like LOL. And it also has great reviews. If it's anything like my old one, I'll be super happy. Thanks for the link to this digital one!!!!! I'll put that on my birthday or Christmas list if things don't work out with the refractometer. 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 4 hours ago, TatorTaco said: I much prefer my pink cabbage leather over green. It's just too dang easy to overwhelm your tank with various shades of green, and cabbage leathers grow too quickly (and big) and would dominate the tank with green. The reefing community is so small here... I can order corals online, but they're always small frags and larger/cheaper frags are harder to find. Someone on the state reefing FB page had a TON of kenya tree coral frags, but it was plain brown and I was terrified it'd self-propagate and take over my tank like it did to his. I wasn't aware that kenya tree came in multiple colors. What do you think about those red or blue discoma mushrooms? They're soft corals and might fit in your tank. There's a ton of green in corals. Good thing I love green LOL. Pink and green is what I always end up with. I'm ok with that. Honestly, if you're ok buying from Petco...check out their softies. That's where I got my pink kenya tree for $20. And it's a decent size. I also got my first long polyp toadstool from them, $20. Both totally worth it. Some people refuse to buy from Petco, but for those that don't mind it, it's a great option. Someone here, can't remember the name (still learning names) has an amazing green kenya with purple polyps. They are in Canada and got it locally. I would LOVE to find one of those but I think it might be difficult to find. Nothing showed up in my search. If I make a trip to Toronto, I can get a cutting, and smuggle it over the border though hahahaha. Don't worry...I won't try that. I don't think I'll be going to Toronto anytime soon anyways :). I've seen turquoise/green kenya, pink, and this green with purple. There might be more but that's all I can remember right now. They do grow a lot but they are so easy to propagate. Just slice them off. Take them to your LFS for store credit or sell them locally on FB marketplace. That's what I plan to do. I LOVE the generic red and blue discosoma mushrooms. I would totally add those to my tank. In fact, I have a tiny red one somewhere in there. It was a hitchhiker with my shipment from WWC. I dropped it in and never saw it again LOL. If you check the gallery on the homepage...scroll through. There's someone there that just posted photos of their tank and it's FULL of red and blue mushrooms. It's fantastic!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 4 hours ago, mcashatt01 said: I second that I love my Hanna Salinity checker. Added bonus of giving you temp reading as well. Makes water changes and acclimating super easy. That ease of testing is a big draw!!!!! Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 42 minutes ago, glat1957 said: Just read through this thread and wanted to say what a great job you've done with this tank! Amazing what some TLC will do. That clown looks super happy and that toadstool is getting color! Thank you so much!!!! The green on the toadstool gets brighter everyday. I don't run my tanks blue, never have. I always lean more white. I run white, red, and green at higher numbers than most people I think. So far so good LOL. I do have some hair algae though but I think it has more to do with how dirty the tank was from the previous owner. I'm working on it!!!! With not as much blue, it's hard to capture the bright color of the toadstool in a photo. Plus I kinda suck at taking photos now. I used to take better photos 3 years ago LOL. But it does glow under blue light. Thanks for checking out my thread :). Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 20, 2021 Author Share Posted August 20, 2021 Here's a photo of my amazing new jawbreaker mushroom. Never had such a fancy mushroom in my life. Looking forward to seeing if I can coax some green, red, and purple stripes out of it!!!!! I think it's already attached too. I dropped it in a crevice in a pretty low flow area. It hasn't budged. And it's bigger today than yesterday. Unfortunately the clown likes to swat sand around in that area and it does collect a bit of sand. Hopefully not enough to irritate it into relocating itself!!!! 7 Quote Link to comment
Melfy77 Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 5 hours ago, TatorTaco said: I much prefer my pink cabbage leather over green. It's just too dang easy to overwhelm your tank with various shades of green, and cabbage leathers grow too quickly (and big) and would dominate the tank with green. The reefing community is so small here... I can order corals online, but they're always small frags and larger/cheaper frags are harder to find. Someone on the state reefing FB page had a TON of kenya tree coral frags, but it was plain brown and I was terrified it'd self-propagate and take over my tank like it did to his. I wasn't aware that kenya tree came in multiple colors. What do you think about those red or blue discoma mushrooms? They're soft corals and might fit in your tank. I'm probably gonna get that one! Love that place it's all aquacultured/ captive bred and their customer service is just amazing! https://ndaquaculture.ca/collections/soft-corals/products/cracked-ice-capnella And I agree, I prefer pink sinularia but cannot find it anywhere, ugh so frustrating, too much green lol 2 Quote Link to comment
glat1957 Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 5 hours ago, gena said: Thank you so much!!!! The green on the toadstool gets brighter everyday. I don't run my tanks blue, never have. I always lean more white. I run white, red, and green at higher numbers than most people I think. So far so good LOL. I do have some hair algae though but I think it has more to do with how dirty the tank was from the previous owner. I'm working on it!!!! With not as much blue, it's hard to capture the bright color of the toadstool in a photo. Plus I kinda suck at taking photos now. I used to take better photos 3 years ago LOL. But it does glow under blue light. Thanks for checking out my thread :). With the AI Prime I like to run the AB+ spectrum that BRS made on their Youtube channel. Then you can set whites to your liking. My tanks are mostly SPS and other light intensive stuff though so you could probably dial it down. The hair algae could be due to the green and red but I agree it's probably nutrients from the previous owner. That sand looks gnarly! 1 Quote Link to comment
jack1978 Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 5 hours ago, gena said: Here's a photo of my amazing new jawbreaker mushroom. Never had such a fancy mushroom in my life. Looking forward to seeing if I can coax some green, red, and purple stripes out of it!!!!! I think it's already attached too. I dropped it in a crevice in a pretty low flow area. It hasn't budged. And it's bigger today than yesterday. Unfortunately the clown likes to swat sand around in that area and it does collect a bit of sand. Hopefully not enough to irritate it into relocating itself!!!! Tank looks great! Nice placement for the JB, I have mine in the same basic placement. It'll get big ..... and it's already got some red starting to show through if I remember correctly. Give it a few weeks to start coloring back up. Here's the mama.... It'll be Purdy! 3 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 21, 2021 Author Share Posted August 21, 2021 14 hours ago, Melfy77 said: I'm probably gonna get that one! Love that place it's all aquacultured/ captive bred and their customer service is just amazing! https://ndaquaculture.ca/collections/soft-corals/products/cracked-ice-capnella And I agree, I prefer pink sinularia but cannot find it anywhere, ugh so frustrating, too much green lol Oooooh...that's nice! Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 21, 2021 Author Share Posted August 21, 2021 10 hours ago, glat1957 said: With the AI Prime I like to run the AB+ spectrum that BRS made on their Youtube channel. Then you can set whites to your liking. My tanks are mostly SPS and other light intensive stuff though so you could probably dial it down. The hair algae could be due to the green and red but I agree it's probably nutrients from the previous owner. That sand looks gnarly! I'm going to play around with it today. Do some searching on what other people use, with a similar setup and coral as mine, and try different things out. I've found what looks good to my eyes, but I'm not sure that's what's best for the tank. Lighting is confusing to me, obviously LOL. 10 hours ago, jack1978 said: Tank looks great! Nice placement for the JB, I have mine in the same basic placement. It'll get big ..... and it's already got some red starting to show through if I remember correctly. Give it a few weeks to start coloring back up. Here's the mama.... It'll be Purdy! LOVE it!!!! It's still in the same spot today and open. I don't see any of the other colors yet, but I'll keep looking. Your long polyp toadstool was closed all day yesterday but it's open now. It's fantastic! I love having two long polyps that are different colors. It's one of my favorite corals. Here's a pic. You can see both types/colors. 3 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 I figured out my light schedule over the weekend. I'm doing a 12 hour light cycle. 3 hours ramp up, 6 hours peak intensity, 3 hours ramp down. 7am-7pm. We'll see how this goes. I'm feeling really good about this, so no one burst my bubble LOL. 3 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 24, 2021 Author Share Posted August 24, 2021 A bit off-topic, sorta kinda, but...... I just went to the Sponsors section of NR and noticed Bulk Reef Supply is not listed. Marine Depot used to be such a big sponsor for this website. Why isn't Bulk Reef Supply a sponsor yet? I just sent a nice email to BRS asking them to consider a sponsorship. I see they sponsor other websites so they really should be here. In my opinion :). They have a lot of customers that come from NR, myself included. It would be really nice if they could sponsor us!!!!! That is all LOL. 6 2 Quote Link to comment
mipster Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 Your lighting schedule is similar to mine in terms of peak levels though I don't use so much white. It looks pretty good to me! 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 25, 2021 Author Share Posted August 25, 2021 22 hours ago, mipster said: Your lighting schedule is similar to mine in terms of peak levels though I don't use so much white. It looks pretty good to me! Cool! Yeah I like more white than blue. I already struggle with photos as it is, and the blue makes it so much more difficult for me to photograph. Photos turn out way more blue than they actually look in person. I don't have many corals that fluoresce anyways so I don't need as much blue :). 1 Quote Link to comment
PeterU Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 3 hours ago, gena said: Cool! Yeah I like more white than blue. I already struggle with photos as it is, and the blue makes it so much more difficult for me to photograph. Photos turn out way more blue than they actually look in person. I don't have many corals that fluoresce anyways so I don't need as much blue :). When taking photos with the AI Prime, on the App Dashboard I select "Lights On" for a few minutes while taking photos then "Enable Schedule" when done. This makes it white enough to take pictures with my phone. Eventually I'll get a filter attachment. 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 25, 2021 Author Share Posted August 25, 2021 2 hours ago, PeterU said: When taking photos with the AI Prime, on the App Dashboard I select "Lights On" for a few minutes while taking photos then "Enable Schedule" when done. This makes it white enough to take pictures with my phone. Eventually I'll get a filter attachment. Great tip!!! Thank you!!!! What's the filter attachment? For an iPhone? Do you have a link? I was walking over to the tank and nearly had a heart attack LOL. Someone put this cat toy mouse on the back of the chair and well....you know that split second when you think something is real? hahahaha 7 Quote Link to comment
PeterU Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 9 minutes ago, gena said: What's the filter attachment? For an iPhone? Do you have a link? https://www.polyplab.com/products/polyplab-coral-view-lens 3 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 18 hours ago, PeterU said: https://www.polyplab.com/products/polyplab-coral-view-lens Awesome! Thanks! I just might need to get something like that. I bet it would make a big difference for me. 1 Quote Link to comment
Melfy77 Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 On 8/20/2021 at 6:59 PM, gena said: There's a ton of green in corals. Good thing I love green LOL. Pink and green is what I always end up with. I'm ok with that. Honestly, if you're ok buying from Petco...check out their softies. That's where I got my pink kenya tree for $20. And it's a decent size. I also got my first long polyp toadstool from them, $20. Both totally worth it. Some people refuse to buy from Petco, but for those that don't mind it, it's a great option. Someone here, can't remember the name (still learning names) has an amazing green kenya with purple polyps. They are in Canada and got it locally. I would LOVE to find one of those but I think it might be difficult to find. Nothing showed up in my search. If I make a trip to Toronto, I can get a cutting, and smuggle it over the border though hahahaha. Don't worry...I won't try that. I don't think I'll be going to Toronto anytime soon anyways :). I've seen turquoise/green kenya, pink, and this green with purple. There might be more but that's all I can remember right now. They do grow a lot but they are so easy to propagate. Just slice them off. Take them to your LFS for store credit or sell them locally on FB marketplace. That's what I plan to do. I LOVE the generic red and blue discosoma mushrooms. I would totally add those to my tank. In fact, I have a tiny red one somewhere in there. It was a hitchhiker with my shipment from WWC. I dropped it in and never saw it again LOL. If you check the gallery on the homepage...scroll through. There's someone there that just posted photos of their tank and it's FULL of red and blue mushrooms. It's fantastic!!!! I have this one. They call it green fuzzy leather. Really fuzzy lol 1 Quote Link to comment
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