Airedale.Reef Posted June 11 Author Share Posted June 11 5 hours ago, ml86743 said: Oooooo i can't wait to see what you get:) 23 hours ago, anizato said: yess!! welcome back on the edge of my seat here On 6/9/2024 at 9:58 PM, Crawford_T said: Glad you’re back safe, looking forward to see things kick off. ah cheers! I appreciate the kind words and excitement for the tank! Now the fun stuff begins right?! I was able to check parameters, and completed a 5g water change this afternoon. I hope to visit a LFS this weekend and pick out a few coral pieces and possibly an invert or two. I will most likely delay fish until my lid arrives. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Kev1n Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 13 hours ago, Airedale.Reef said: Yes, we had a wonderful trip, thank you! Some lovely images from your trip. Scotland is beautiful, I was best man at a wedding up there and spent a day in a kilt. Skye is delightful. That would be the Talisker Distillery that you visited on Skye down in Carbost? It’s beautiful there right on the edge of the loch. 1 Quote Link to comment
anizato Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Smart choice!🧐 I also have a lid on the way, who did you order from? I ordxered from Kraken Reef. After the Randall goby jumping in the first night (I am still convinced the Clown bullied him into jumping) I placed the order and should be arriving soon. I will also be waiting to add any jumpers until after the lid arrives 😁 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 11 Author Share Posted June 11 12 hours ago, Kev1n said: Some lovely images from your trip. Scotland is beautiful, I was best man at a wedding up there and spent a day in a kilt. Skye is delightful. That would be the Talisker Distillery that you visited on Skye down in Carbost? It’s beautiful there right on the edge of the loch. Cheers, thank you! Yes, Skye was beautiful and we could have spent multiple days exploring the island. You are correct - Talisker! In all honesty I have always preferred bourbon to scotch, but I definitely have much more of an appreciation and taste for it now! Lagavulin is still my preferred, just something about that smoky, peaty flavor. A true proper drink. 1 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 11 Author Share Posted June 11 3 hours ago, anizato said: Smart choice!🧐 I also have a lid on the way, who did you order from? I ordxered from Kraken Reef. After the Randall goby jumping in the first night (I am still convinced the Clown bullied him into jumping) I placed the order and should be arriving soon. I will also be waiting to add any jumpers until after the lid arrives 😁 Yeah, good idea as well. I too went with Kraken Reef. I get their ads on social media all the time, but their products seem to be top of the line. No experience with them as of yet, but I have been very pleased with their customer service and customer engagement! I am looking forward to seeing how it looks on the tank. Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 Big week for the Airedale Reef! Now that we have returned from our trip abroad, I was able to visit a few of my favorite LFS in Houston, and finally purchased a few coral pieces! The big haul this weekend included two fire shrimp, as well as a few torch, hammer, and mushroom coral. Here are a few pictures of my favorites (Hellfire Torch, green tipped purple torch, and Neon Green Rhodactis mushrooms.) Livestock list added to my first page of the journal. I suspect I'll post a FTS as soon as I get these corals glued down in the proper place. 5 1 Quote Link to comment
Kev1n Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Really nice. The Mushrooms look great. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 7 hours ago, Kev1n said: Really nice. The Mushrooms look great. Thanks! I seem to be drawn to these Rhodactis mushrooms. They always catch my eye.... More in my future for sure! 2 Quote Link to comment
Crawford_T Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Sweet! Great first additions, love those torches. 1 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 1 hour ago, Crawford_T said: Sweet! Great first additions, love those torches. Thank you! I miss the days when torches were considered lower tiered euphyllia! Some of my favorite pieces, but they unfortunately can come with a heavier price tag. Like many others, I plan to see how the tank reacts to the new additions, and interested in my next parameter readings. This will also give my bank account some time to recover too haha. Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 16 Author Share Posted June 16 Happy Sunday all, and Happy Fathers Day to all the gents out there! Here is a full tank shot to start the week! 5 1 Quote Link to comment
Crawford_T Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Happy Father’s Day! Tank is looking killer. I hear you on the prices. I was blown away by the 40-75/head at a few places. I ended up finding my 2 head hammer for 40, unfortunately it’s been receding from the base for a while and I don’t anticipate it making it long term.. I’ll try again when it goes. Quote Link to comment
anizato Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 cool torches!! great selection! Be careful with Rhodactis Mushrooms, they will take over if you don't isolate them. I've seen people either isolate them or use other stronger coral (I don't remember which kind) to keep them from spreading, but they are quite invasive. I had some blue ones in my last setup and in about a year the entire rock was covered and then some were even crawling away on the sand to grow on the wall. Quote Link to comment
ml86743 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Torches look great. Have you ever considered a pectinia? I feel like it would look nice on the right side and add some interesting shapes! 1 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 17 hours ago, Crawford_T said: Happy Father’s Day! Tank is looking killer. I hear you on the prices. I was blown away by the 40-75/head at a few places. I ended up finding my 2 head hammer for 40, unfortunately it’s been receding from the base for a while and I don’t anticipate it making it long term.. I’ll try again when it goes. Thank you sir! Yeah, not like the good ole days at $10 bucks a head. $40-$75 seems to be the going rate here in Houston. Difficult to spend the extra money on a slightly different shade of green/yellow/purple haha. I do hope your hammer pulls through! Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 9 hours ago, Kev1n said: Wow, that looks great. Top drawer. There it is haha! I will say, I definitely miss the UK accents as well as the proper lingo! Appreciate the kind words! 1 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 16 hours ago, anizato said: cool torches!! great selection! Be careful with Rhodactis Mushrooms, they will take over if you don't isolate them. I've seen people either isolate them or use other stronger coral (I don't remember which kind) to keep them from spreading, but they are quite invasive. I had some blue ones in my last setup and in about a year the entire rock was covered and then some were even crawling away on the sand to grow on the wall. Good looking out - thank you! So far the mushrooms are all on the last rock, and can easily by moved if decided to attach to something I don't prefer. I learned a similar lesson with GSP and Xenia in past tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 4 hours ago, ml86743 said: Torches look great. Have you ever considered a pectinia? I feel like it would look nice on the right side and add some interesting shapes! Much appreciated - thank you! In all honesty, I am unfamiliar with that coral and had to quickly research it. I do not believe I have seen too many around here at my LFS or is tanks online. (although I may not have know what I was looking at) I really like the odd shapes, and it would make for an interesting piece! I know plan to add a few acans/micromussa on the right side of the from rock, but still have room for other pieces too. I will definitely consider, and will be on the lookout for it at the LFS. Quote Link to comment
Kev1n Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 18 minutes ago, Airedale.Reef said: I definitely miss the UK accents as well as the proper lingo! Of course. 😄 Quote Link to comment
ml86743 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 35 minutes ago, Airedale.Reef said: Much appreciated - thank you! In all honesty, I am unfamiliar with that coral and had to quickly research it. I do not believe I have seen too many around here at my LFS or is tanks online. (although I may not have know what I was looking at) I really like the odd shapes, and it would make for an interesting piece! I know plan to add a few acans/micromussa on the right side of the from rock, but still have room for other pieces too. I will definitely consider, and will be on the lookout for it at the LFS. very forgiving coral too..I can't wait to move mine over and dedicate a space to it. Right now it's being neglected under a ledge 😞 1 Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 17 Author Share Posted June 17 I was able see it in your last photo posted on your tank journal! Awesome looking coral, and I am always in support of forgiving/hardy corals 👌 It reminds me of a stag horn type shape. Very nice, and something will be looking to spot in the future. Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 Solid week for the tank! The new corals are settling in nicely, and I am beginning to see loads of pods all over the glass and rock! I added a bottle of tisbe and tigger pods in mid May, and really just hoped for the best. I found a few in filter sock a few days later, and really didn't know what to expect. I have been checking po4 and Alkalinity daily as I was interested to see the affect the new coral would have on the readings. dKH has fluctuated between 7.8 and 8.4, and is currently reading is 7.9...to my surprise Po4 bottomed out at 0.00. I have slowly been manually adding a few ml of NeoPhos and AFR to increase. It is so foreign to actually add po4 to the tank as I have struggled to keep this number down for years! haha. I imagine once I secure a few fish, this will not be an issue. I did visit a LFS this week to check out some of their clownfish. I didn't purchase any, but did walk away with another coral 🤦♂️Cotton Candy Torch has been added to the mix. Current Parameters: No3: 10.1 Po4: .03 dKH: 7.9 Mag:1290 Cal:510 Happy Reefing! 4 1 Quote Link to comment
Crawford_T Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 The colors are very vibrant. How many torches do you have now? I too have super low po4, the reef roids help but I feel like they are contributing to my algae issue.. Quote Link to comment
Airedale.Reef Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 @Crawford_T Thanks - I picked up reef filter lenses off Amazon and have had a good time messing around with it. The recent photo was with a combination of yellow and orange. As of today I have three torches in total (Keep in mind this could change before the end of the weekend haha) 1. green tipped purple 2. hellfire 3. cotton candy I know it will be a rollercoaster trying to keep nutrients and parameters in check this early on, but excited for the challenge. I really seem to be focused on po4 and alk for now, as those seem to fluctuate the most. This will most likely change once fish are added to the mix. Still leaning towards a pair of designer clowns. 1 Quote Link to comment
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