schgr.cube's Ultum Nature Systems 45u - tons of new coral added

[TheKleinReef]

After draining my tank and dowsing my rock in peroxide to get rid of bubble algae my bones literally ache reading that 😂😂😂😂

[schgr.cube]

1 hour ago, TheKleinReef said:

After draining my tank and dowsing my rock in peroxide to get rid of bubble algae my bones literally ache reading that 😂😂😂😂

lmao, I mean…it’s not like this is a coral focused tank that I have to worry as much. But Tigahboy kind of made me like it…

 

[schgr.cube]

Got those new macros in today, and feel like I am happy with their initial placement. I may end up moving things around a bit as I get more in, but I think it looks good so far!

 

New scores:

• Gracilaria hayi 'Titan'
• Gracilaria parvispora 'Red Gracilaria'
• Codium taylorii
• Caulerpa cupressoides
• Ulva lactuta

[TheKleinReef]

My favorite thing about your tank is how recently it was set up yet it still looks 10037x better than mine lol 

[schgr.cube]

14 hours ago, TheKleinReef said:

My favorite thing about your tank is how recently it was set up yet it still looks 10037x better than mine lol 

 

I always move fast with tanks, considering I am almost always moving the livestock from one build to another. I just hope I can have the patience to stick with these builds for a while.

 

Which reminds me, I filled the planted tank last night. I'll probably post a photo of that this weekend when I get my new plants. 👀

[schgr.cube]

When I had moved over to the Fiji Cube 38 gallon, I bought two clownfish hoping they would pair up. They never really attempted to bond, and just kind of hung out on opposite sides of the tank. one of the clowns ended up dying of Brook, and I got another but it appeared to be sick right after purchasing.

I have been waiting to find a replacement until I found one that was just right, and this weekend I found one that really spoke to me. It was also a little bit bigger than I normally find out the local stores, so I was hopeful it was already becoming female. Even if she isn't already fully transitioned, it appears that my existing clown is already smitten with her and won't leave her side for more than a few seconds.

The new clown, a Mocha Storm Ocellaris

 

They're almost always together

 

My original Wyoming White Ocellaris

 

I also picked up a Yellow Finger Gorgonian while I was there, because I had a 25% coupon!

 

 

And two other random shots:

 

Codium

 

A Banded Trochus that found a little outfit to wear 😂

[Reefkid88]

Looking gorgeous bud !!! 

[schgr.cube]

2 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Looking gorgeous bud !!! 

Oh shit, he is alive! I haven't seen you active lately, I thought you disappeared. I made a new IG but I somehow unfollowed you on my other account (I unfollowed like 2k accounts so must have accidentally hit you). Hit my on @schgr.cube!

 

 

 

In other news, I put an order in through Mosaic Macros on Etsy for the following:

• Caulerpa sp. "Lobe-Bladed Fern Caulerpa"
• Halimeda opuntia "Carpeting Halimeda"
• Portieria sp. "Red Lace Algae"
• Caulerpa sertulariodes "Feather Caulerpa"
• Caulerpa verticillata "Fuzzy Caulerpa"
• Caulerpa mexicana "Mexican Fern Caulerpa"
• Caulerpa chemnitzia "Mini Suction Cup Caulerpa"
• Neurymenia fraxinifolia "Red Sawblade Algae"
• Botryocladia occidentalis "Red Grape Algae"
• Rhodepeltis sp. "Branching Hex Algae"

[Justind823]

Nice choices! I've always loved the look of the chemnitzia, great texture for the tank.

[schgr.cube]

13 hours ago, Justind823 said:

Nice choices! I've always loved the look of the chemnitzia, great texture for the tank.

I agree, I think it is going to go well in the front left corner, just to break things up a little bit.

 

I forgot to get that shot of the planted tank, so here it is!

 

First filled shot of the planted tank.

[TheKleinReef]

how tf do you keep your water that clear. Mine always has a green tint. Even after replacing carbon I get like maybe a day with clearish water.

[Reefkid88]

Oh yeah,I am alive. I have a little tank still going and all that. Working on something small for a build. I won't release any info until its done. 

 

 Haha its all good I followed the new account. Man I love what direction your tanks moved in to. May I ask what made you change directions ? 

[Reefkid88]

2 minutes ago, TheKleinReef said:

how tf do you keep your water that clear. Mine always has a green tint. Even after replacing carbon I get like maybe a day with clearish water.

 

 I use poly filter to keep my water clear. I just got a HUGE bag of some shit from petco,kinda looks like pillow stuff and dude,it catches EVERYTHING. My water in my pico went from greeish/hazy to CRYSTAL clear over night and has stayed clear for over a week now. 

[schgr.cube]

1 hour ago, TheKleinReef said:

how tf do you keep your water that clear. Mine always has a green tint. Even after replacing carbon I get like maybe a day with clearish water.

 

1 hour ago, Reefkid88 said:

 

 I use poly filter to keep my water clear. I just got a HUGE bag of some shit from petco,kinda looks like pillow stuff and dude,it catches EVERYTHING. My water in my pico went from greeish/hazy to CRYSTAL clear over night and has stayed clear for over a week now. 

 

I am honestly just running the stock filter foam that came with the Oase filter, and a bag of Purigren in the planted tank to help keep the tannins down. I figured once I needed to I would throw a finer filter pad in, but I haven't needed to yet.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Reefkid88 said:

Oh yeah,I am alive. I have a little tank still going and all that. Working on something small for a build. I won't release any info until its done. 

 

 Haha its all good I followed the new account. Man I love what direction your tanks moved in to. May I ask what made you change directions ?

I am glad to hear, stoked to see what you have going on!

 

And thank you so much. I DM'd you a few more details, but this is an idea that I had going a long time ago and always wanted, but never pulled off. I had a few mini crashes in the 38-gallon and got tired of dealing with it, so I figured I either go with nothing or do something easier. This was the result.

[schgr.cube]

Some recent photos:

 

The porcelain anemone crab finally molted, and looks MUCH cleaner...but it lost its claws in the molt. 😥

 

Trying to keep the Grape Caulerpa in check already, having it stay low growing for now.

 

The Gracilaria Hayi is growing in nicely!

 

One of my recent pickups, a Rhodepeltis "Branching Hex Algae".

 

Another recent addition, Caulerpa verticillata "Fuzzy Caulerpa".

[schgr.cube]

I may or may not have ordered something fun for lighting. Can't wait to play around. 😇

[schgr.cube]

I need to get some updated shots, but not a ton has changed lately. I did pick up a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp today to help with leftover food and get some more personality into the tank.

 

[laguna-madre]

On 9/20/2023 at 9:41 AM, schgr.cube said:

 

I also decided to mess with some background lighting, as I wasn't a big fan of how shadowed the light looks against the wall. I was originally hoping to find LEDs that I could match the tone of the AI Blade with, but everything either didn't match or was too dim to work. I ended up opting for some @Tigahboy style blue lighting, which will contrast nicely against a warmer white I am using for the planted tank.

 

Here are some comparisons:

 

What LED strip did you use for the nice blue background? I really like that effect. 

[schgr.cube]

Sorry it has been so long since I posted!

 

While having macroalgae was fun, it also grew so damn fast that I couldn't keep up with it. With how I had the tank set up, macro growing quickly essentially choked the filtration, so I decided to pull the plug on it. I ended up ripping it all out, and redid the rockwork so that I could have better access to the inflow plumbing.

 

I also decided that I was going to go back to having coral, so I picked up a Reef Brite XHO setup and made a custom hood. It isn't perfect, but it certainly does the trick!

 

Another fresh start.

 

The current inhabitants are my RBTA, clownfish pair, an orange RFA, a brown gorgonian, and my cleanup crew. I also recently picked up a Fu Manchu shrimp, but I will have to wait to get a photo of him later.

 

I'll be adding coral back in somewhat slowly, as I want to be a bit more specific about what I am adding this time around.

[Reefkid88]

Love it brudda. 

[TheKleinReef]

looks great!

[schgr.cube]

On 1/23/2024 at 5:20 PM, Reefkid88 said:

Love it brudda. 

 

On 1/23/2024 at 6:51 PM, TheKleinReef said:

looks great!

 

Thank you!

 

Here is to actually committing to something long-term? 😂 One change I am thinking about making is swapping the canister filter out for a Vectra S2 again to make a clean closed loop. I think I would prefer higher flow over housing filter media, but I am sure I can come up with a way to do both?

[ml86743]

So dang clean.  Love it 

[Reefkid88]

Lets ser those frags junior !! 

[schgr.cube]

On 1/25/2024 at 3:47 PM, ml86743 said:

So dang clean.  Love it 

Thank you!

 

On 1/26/2024 at 8:19 PM, Reefkid88 said:

Lets ser those frags junior !! 

I'll try to get some today, hopefully the Favia I got yesterday looks okay after the lights come on lol.

 

Yesterday I picked up about 5-6 heads of Yellow Submarine Favia, a small Jedi Mind Tricks monti frag, and a little rhodactis that is a bit of a rescue, but hoping it should look nice.