|
11/16/2015, 10:10 AM | #176 |
...
|
The nasuta, which has always had good color, is losing some of it, however other corals are doing quite well.
Finally I have real pink on the pink milli. But the real success is from the SSC, it's actually growing. This is a frag from purchased over a year ago. Moved the Red Planet up and to the other side of the tank in more flow. Seems to be doing well and maintaining decent color. Trying to get a picture of the Lokani ... you wouldn't guess I just fed these fish not 15 minutes earlier! The slimer is a pretty good indication of PO4 ... if the tips turn yellow PO4 tends to be elevated. I had to clean the glass for the first time in a week so obviously I let them drop way too low.
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
11/16/2015, 02:11 PM | #177 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Kirkland WA
Posts: 1,061
|
Every time I see those stags I drool a little bit.
|
11/16/2015, 08:33 PM | #178 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Mtl. Canada
Posts: 7,824
|
+1
I might have mentioned how much I like them... They look so good together!
__________________
Matt. Current Tank Info: 53x32.5x26 190g dt 60g of sumps 3 tank-100 gal frag system 6xAI prime 8xt5. 4x maxspect gyre. Skimz Dual internal sicce pump skimmer Deltec PF601s ca rx+Kalk stirrer |
11/16/2015, 08:35 PM | #179 | |
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Oceanside, California
Posts: 3,706
|
Quote:
__________________
- Matt I call the big one "Bitey" - Homer Simpson See my tank thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2468548 Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Rimless Starphire Shallow Reef. Reef Octopus Diablo EXT-200 skimmer, Chaeto Reactor, Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X39W, 6X39W Sunpower |
|
11/18/2015, 07:17 AM | #180 | |
...
|
Thanks Mike.
Quote:
Thanks Matt. The Nasuta continues to look unhealthy, I may have to break it off and dip it, however everything else is improving. The Horrida has gained a racing stripe. I did my first water change in here since breaking my back. 25 gallon Brute on wheels for dirty water, with a cheap pond pump to drain it. I've been slowly switching back to Kent reef salt, the salt I used when I first started in the hobby, mixing at around 50/50 with Red Sea blue bucket. I've also been slowly raising Calcium from the 400 where it's been for a while up to 450 to better match the elevated levels of Kent. KH remains at 7.8. A few more pics. Closeup of the Jacquelineae, not the prettiest coral but has potential and at the moment is growing like crazy. My stylos, purple and Orchid. Kind of wishing I added some more Chromis, they love to hang out in the stylo/stag forest and they look darn good. Why the long face? The slimer used to have 4 dead areas at the base, now only one is visible. Skin almost blue way down there and looking extremely healthy ... why can't all acros be this easy? I'm ignoring the fact the Red Robin might look a little more red, I don't believe it. How awesome would it be to have a red, blue, and green stag forest? After the water change the Sarmentosa was showing unusually strong polyp extension. This little frag is still the one I watch the most. It shows a sky blue color occasionally and I suspect if I can achieve more stability and higher water quality this might be a real stunner. FTS
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
|
11/18/2015, 07:24 AM | #181 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 4,743
|
Tank looks really nice Mark. Love the blue stag.
__________________
Mark Beware the light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it's a train. Current Tank Info: 120, LED, Bare Bottom, SPS/LPS |
11/18/2015, 07:24 AM | #182 |
...
|
A few more things ....
I replaced the wet side of my left MP40 (with quiet drive controller mod) with the newer QD wet side. The change is that the top solid area was removed so the cage is similar to the MP10, meaning it tends to suck in air if positioned too close to the surface. Flow IS noticeably stronger. I did the QD upgrade because my old controller dies, so that's two things that have broken on this pump. I re-aimed the RW-15 on the back left to improve circulation around the stags, I worry this will be a big issue as they get larger however the increased flow from the MP40 helps tremendously. I credit the health of the Horrida to the RW-15 on the other side of the tank aimed directly at it. Without a crap ton of flow the Horrida will quickly show reduced polyp extension and then skin loss.
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
11/18/2015, 07:24 AM | #183 |
...
|
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
11/18/2015, 01:41 PM | #184 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: El Paso, TX
Posts: 846
|
Tank looks amazing!!!! Love the center two stags.
__________________
Robert Current Tank Info: 80g rimless. |
11/18/2015, 04:21 PM | #185 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lake Helen, FL
Posts: 5,526
|
Mark,
Tank looks great man, keep up the awesome work, those stags are cool Anyway, all your corals look great and the PE looks nice as well
__________________
Perry "Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die" ~Buddha~ Current Tank Info: 50 Gallon AIO Cube, Aquamaxx WS-1 Skimmer, LED/ Hybrid 4x24 watt t5 |
11/22/2015, 07:16 PM | #186 | |
...
|
Quote:
Some of my acros are doing quite well but honestly I almost nuked the tank with a series of unchecked newbie mistakes. I changed bulbs. I lowered fan speed to increase PAR. I added some carbon to clear the water. I reduced vinegar to clear up the water from having too much bacteria (vinegar + biopellets). I OWN a PAR meter, but it doesn't work unless I use the damn thing. My PAR goal is 400 at the base of the highest acro and 200 on the sandbed. I was near 600 and 350 on the sandbed. Golly, I wonder why my chalices croaked? I haven't even cleaned the glass lids. Combine this with the fact I had been feeding less due to the back injury and I suppose it could have been worse. I raised the fixture and put a couple of actinic bulbs in to help lower the PAR. Bulb lineup is coral (Gieseman version), actinic, blue, coral, actinic, blue. I also had to lower the LED intensity a bit. I will be watching KH very closely because I expect usage could drop here for a bit. The slimer was getting about 700 PAR and loving it. I've lowered the output of the biopellet reactor and reduced vinegar in the topoff to 15ml a gallon from 20ml. Did a full set of tests, just in case. KH 8.0 Ca 410 Mg 1330 NO3 2.5 PO4 < .05 Salinity 35ppt Another clue I ignored is how healthy the corals on the frag racks were doing compared to under the main lights. I saved 3 frags from my big purple Duncan colony that died a horrible death. I placed 2 of these on frag racks and one in the rocks. The one in the rocks is nearly dead. Very low nutrients plus a crap ton of light will do that. Now I have to find the balance where everyone will be reasonably happy. This acro was hit the hardest, but you can see healthy skin making a comeback already. I did more pest checks, with flash, of the AEFW magnets and found nothing, plus those bite/scratch marks are gone so perhaps it was a nutrient issue all along. My big Valida is receding, hopefully the lighting and nutrient fix stops this. Other than that most of the acros look healthy, with nice puffy skin. I love this one, sitting on the top of the "dong" on the left side. Seemingly unphased by lighting or nutrients. Wild acro frags on the left frag rack showing good color and healthy. Miami Orchid (impossible to photo) could care less. Slimer never cares. Teal is the same way. Now I must be careful not to overdo any changes. I've diluted the Kalk in anticipation of a KH rise. Will evaluate daily but I would rather be sitting at 7.5 then 8.0 so a slow drop will be good.
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
|
11/22/2015, 07:31 PM | #187 |
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Oceanside, California
Posts: 3,706
|
We are working in parallel here - It must be Murphy's law week! I had the lights drop in the water, which ended up burning out some bulbs, leading to changing the bulb layout to a brighter mix. I added sand which was like putting a mirror on the bottom, and changed the photoperiod. I shudder to think how high the par is in there. To top that off I over adjusted the Bopellet reactor so it was just recirculating the same goop over and over. So far only lost a couple of frags, but its crazy how the tank disasters snowball!
Its good that you can see the recovery happening that quickly, thats a very good sign. Its also a good thing that you are anticipating an ALK change, just be careful to not overthink/overadjust. Oh, and I'm still super jealous of your Teal stag. When spring comes we should swap some frags. I'm growing a big crop of my best corals as frags as we speak
__________________
- Matt I call the big one "Bitey" - Homer Simpson See my tank thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2468548 Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Rimless Starphire Shallow Reef. Reef Octopus Diablo EXT-200 skimmer, Chaeto Reactor, Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X39W, 6X39W Sunpower |
11/23/2015, 08:46 PM | #188 | |
...
|
Quote:
Colors are coming back quickly, I'm quite surprised at how fast. Is it the lower light, less vinegar, both? The actinic bulbs really seem to be bringing out some more colors as well. I have never shipped a coral but I've got a lot of folks pining over that blue stag, which I thought was common but haven't seen it for sale since I bought it. Check a store called salty underground. They have one listed, Aquacultured Blue Acro Coral, that may be it. I was told it had been grown for years by a local hobbyist who brings in frags from time to time. I was buying berghia and added this to my order on a lark. Make sure to dip for pests and triple check. After 2 dips... it was a solid light blue when I got it, I have yet to achieve that color. 3 weeks after i got it was the great Alk spike of 2014 that browned or killed half of my acros.
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
|
11/23/2015, 09:02 PM | #189 | |
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Oceanside, California
Posts: 3,706
|
Quote:
__________________
- Matt I call the big one "Bitey" - Homer Simpson See my tank thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2468548 Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Rimless Starphire Shallow Reef. Reef Octopus Diablo EXT-200 skimmer, Chaeto Reactor, Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X39W, 6X39W Sunpower |
|
11/23/2015, 09:21 PM | #190 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Kirkland WA
Posts: 1,061
|
If you do start shipping out frags of that teal let me know 2! I love your combo of slimer and teal
|
11/24/2015, 11:18 AM | #191 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Mtl. Canada
Posts: 7,824
|
Glad to see you are on your feet!
I love your fts. Looks great! Nice macros as well.
__________________
Matt. Current Tank Info: 53x32.5x26 190g dt 60g of sumps 3 tank-100 gal frag system 6xAI prime 8xt5. 4x maxspect gyre. Skimz Dual internal sicce pump skimmer Deltec PF601s ca rx+Kalk stirrer |
11/25/2015, 07:31 PM | #192 | ||
...
|
Quote:
Quote:
Took a bunch of topdowns until the back started to protest. The actinics seem to be either fooling the camera (and my eyes) or creating some new colors in the corals. Here's the acro the browned out big time and appears to be recovering. Normal color is green with purple highlights. Note the brown base, which was green just a couple of weeks ago. The Lokani is getting purple on it now. To the right is the Hawkins echi which browned and lost a few tips but continues to encrust. Jacquelineae is growing fast but look at all the brown. I threatened to get rid of this one but it's slowly showing more and more color. Tips have a distinct almost pink color to them with more green showing up in the interior. Maricultured Valida might be showing some green lower on the branches. I get nervous even looking at this frag. It was a nice size UC super blue tenuis and a rapid PO4 drop killed all but a tip that I saved by snipping and super gluing to this frag plug. Finally, after 6 months, I see new encrusting. Whew! Right hand frag rack, illuminated by the main lights with the help from two old BML strips well above the tank. PAR is still low, 200 or a little less, and yet colors are doing quite well. Middle bottom is a frag of the Jacquelineae that I accidentally broke off some time ago. It did not brown. Why? Artsy pic of the teals tag. I have to be careful, I can almost hit this tip with the topdown box. From the other frag rack, under a single old BML strip and even lower PAR. Saved this branch from a dying maricultured colony. One more teal.
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
||
11/25/2015, 08:30 PM | #193 |
Acros & Wrasses
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Central KY
Posts: 2,546
|
Man you have some gorgeous SPS mark, nice update!
__________________
Josh My 80g: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2677031 |
11/25/2015, 08:35 PM | #194 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,907
|
Couldn't have said it better Josh, that teal stag makes all mine look like rubbish Mark.
__________________
Andrew |
11/25/2015, 09:07 PM | #195 | |
Acros & wieners, oh my!
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Oceanside, California
Posts: 3,706
|
Quote:
You should do more top downs of the teal stag...don't worry about hitting it with the box, thats how baby corals are made The Lokani looks good no matter what shade its showing, and things are looking pretty good all around. That first Acro is the old avatar one, right?
__________________
- Matt I call the big one "Bitey" - Homer Simpson See my tank thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2468548 Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Rimless Starphire Shallow Reef. Reef Octopus Diablo EXT-200 skimmer, Chaeto Reactor, Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X39W, 6X39W Sunpower |
|
11/26/2015, 05:57 AM | #196 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Westford, MA
Posts: 1,063
|
Happy Thanksgiving day Mark.
Tank and corals looks amazing !!! Those stags are so nice. I hope one day my tank looks like yours. Cheers Daniel |
11/26/2015, 06:03 AM | #197 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,106
|
beauty pics bud,thanks for sharing
__________________
Mike Just doing my hobby and having great fun with it....no room/need for drama:) the only way to win with a toxic person, is not to play |
11/26/2015, 04:39 PM | #198 |
Acrotrooper
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,614
|
Loooking really really nice Mark!! As everyone keeps saying those stags are to die for! but the lokani I would kill for
__________________
Dom Courtesy of Nils: "you are welcome to your nem / flub tank because we need people like you to balance the sick ( sick in the head SPS OCD ) speaking for myself here!!" |
11/26/2015, 06:00 PM | #199 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Mtl. Canada
Posts: 7,824
|
Dom, not if I killed you first!
Love that lokani!! Nice shots! Feel free to go all artsy whenever you get the urge!
__________________
Matt. Current Tank Info: 53x32.5x26 190g dt 60g of sumps 3 tank-100 gal frag system 6xAI prime 8xt5. 4x maxspect gyre. Skimz Dual internal sicce pump skimmer Deltec PF601s ca rx+Kalk stirrer |
11/26/2015, 07:06 PM | #200 | |||||
...
|
Thanks Josh!
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
And thanks everyone for the kind words, it really means a lot.
__________________
-- Mark 150G (72x18x27) | 35G sump | SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer | ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays |
|||||
|
|