50b Sumpless Mixed Reef Build!

[BigJohnny]

So jealous of those corals man! I wish I could get some but neglected my tank too long so everything's off. Gotta fix all that up first then I can start adding corals again. Keep up the good work!

Thanks man, I'm really happy with what I've got in the tank right now. Over time I will be adding some more acros but plan on waiting a bit. Right now I have 17 frags in the tank and 4 in qt so once I add a few more acros and everything grows out it will be quite full in this 50g.

Once these all start growing out a bit, I will be at the point where the weekly drop in Alkalinity/Calcium is too large to be stable enough for my/the corals liking, nor easily replenished by weekly water changes. My plan is to go with kalkwasser initially and then supplement with 2 part once everything really takes off and the kalkwasser is no longer sufficient.

The good news for you is that once you get everything straightened out in your tank again, it will be a lot easier to keep it there than it was to get it back!

Keep in touch and when the time comes where I can frag, I will hook you up with frags of those same corals if you want!

 

[BigJohnny]

Looking amazing!!! I can't wait to see those things in a year or so!

Thanks! I can't wait either! Still trying to figure out where I want to put everything but luckily have some time since I'll be light acclimating everything for a while.

 

[Isaacs55]

Haha thanks bud, I'm a montipora addict so to come home with 4 cool ones was awesome. Had to get an acro though because you can't have a tank with just encrusting montis, it'd be too flat!

How's your tank coming along, are you still cycling?

Good man! Nope cycle has been complete since the 4th day of setup! My wife actually came home the other day with a 1.5" blue hippo tang! I was devastated! Nice gesture but it was my fault for not telling her what fish we cant have in our aquarium. Lfs wouldnt take it back! I was going to sell it but I'm holding off and going to let it stay for a while till I feel it's too big for the tank, like 4" or so and then I'll trade or sell it.
FTS

 

[Das awesome]

Thanks man, I'm really happy with what I've got in the tank right now. Over time I will be adding some more acros but plan on waiting a bit. Right now I have 17 frags in the tank and 4 in qt so once I add a few more acros and everything grows out it will be quite full in this 50g.

Once these all start growing out a bit, I will be at the point where the weekly drop in Alkalinity/Calcium is too large to be stable enough for my/the corals liking, nor easily replenished by weekly water changes. My plan is to go with kalkwasser initially and then supplement with 2 part once everything really takes off and the kalkwasser is no longer sufficient.

The good news for you is that once you get everything straightened out in your tank again, it will be a lot easier to keep it there than it was to get it back!

Keep in touch and when the time comes where I can frag, I will hook you up with frags of those same corals if you want!

Hahaha yes!!! I definitely will! I've mainly got my eye on that leptoseris and encrusting monti's!!! When do you plan on placing everything on the rocks?

 

[BigJohnny]

Good man! Nope cycle has been complete since the 4th day of setup! My wife actually came home the other day with a 1.5" blue hippo tang! I was devastated! Nice gesture but it was my fault for not telling her what fish we cant have in our aquarium. Lfs wouldnt take it back! I was going to sell it but I'm holding off and going to let it stay for a while till I feel it's too big for the tank, like 4" or so and then I'll trade or sell it.
FTS

Aw man! Even a baby one needs more space than a 40b brotha. Obviously better than having an adult in there but it will be stressed regardless.

That's bogus that your lfs wouldn't take it back! Not even for half price or something?

Your best bet then is to put up a help rescue add on your local reef clubs forum and on here with your area in the title. Someone will be willing to help you out!

Your scape looks tight btw.

 

[BigJohnny]

Hahaha yes!!! I definitely will! I've mainly got my eye on that leptoseris and encrusting monti's!!! When do you plan on placing everything on the rocks?

The Jack-O-Lantern lepto is so crazy in person, won of the most beautiful complex corals I've ever seen. Obviously the montis are sick as well. My cell phone pics don't do them justice, at all.

I will finish light acclimation in the next 2 weeks, at which point I will put everything in trial locations and observe for another week or 2 to see if they respond well. If I have no issues, I will glue/epoxy em down!

I can't wait to see all the colors of my montis completely covering the rocks. Then acros sticking out on the tops. Acans and chalice down low. It's going to look like a double rainbow tropical cornucopia of goodness.

I'm thinking about putting the lepto on the island rock in the center so that it encrusts and actually looks like a jack o lantern. [emoji3]

 

[BigJohnny]

Correction, the "reverse sunset montipora" is actually "rainbow sunburst montipora" so much cooler.

A reverse sunset is green with orange polyps:

Rainbow sunburst is actually green/teal/ purple with orange polyps:

Here's mine now, you can clearly see teal and purple in the base-

And here are some big specimens-

Epic. I thought it was rainbow sunburst when I bought it but dude was convinced it was reverse sunset. All I knew was it looked tight and had atleast 3 colors so I said eh, why not. Glad I did. It was only $25!!! Gotta love MACNA!

 

[BigJohnny]

Ok so now I don't think its a rainbow sunburst monti because those are rare and have different coloration even as frags. I did find a reverse sunset morph with similar coloration to my frag

My frag:

Reverse Sunset Morph pics:

That is the closest match overall to my frag. I'll just have to see what it looks like when it grows out! A lot of multicolored montis don't show all their colors unless they are on uneven surfaces.

On a side note, I was able to acquire a legit UWW Rainbow Sunburst Monti frag! Yesssss! Definitely different than what I have now so well see how they compare in a few months. Rare and expensive so be nice to me and I'll sell you a frag down the road[emoji6]

Frag:

Colony:

Also bought 2 new zoas

Pinwheels

Random Aussie Zoas

 

[Happyschneider]

Those really pop with colours. Very jealous!

 

[Swope2bc]

Looking amazing!!! I just picked up a couple more for me too!! Pics on my thread later tonight or tomorrow.

 

[BigJohnny]

Those really pop with colours. Very jealous!

They sure do! Move to US and I'll sell you frags in a year[emoji6]

 

[BigJohnny]

Looking amazing!!! I just picked up a couple more for me too!! Pics on my thread later tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks bud! Awesome, look forward to seeing them!

 

[jraker]

im a huge acan fan so i am jealous. VERY jealous.

 

[BigJohnny]

im a huge acan fan so i am jealous. VERY jealous.

Acans are doooope. I had to stop myself from buying 2 more over the weekend haha.

 

[Isaacs55]

Sweet Avatar change man! It suits you with all your Montis'!

 

[Das awesome]

Wow! I'd definitely be interested in a rainbow sunburst frag once it grows out

 

[Happyschneider]

They sure do! Move to US and I'll sell you frags in a year[emoji6]

:lol2:Not sure I can convince my wife to do so just for frags. Already taking over have the house with the new found hobby. But I must say we are living a dull life over here compared to the frags you guys have over there. Saw some videos from MACNA, wow. Need to discuss with my LFS why we only get the boring stuff

 

[BigJohnny]

Sweet Avatar change man! It suits you with all your Montis'!

Haha yea thanks man, can't wait for the UWW Rainbow Sunburst to arrive on Tuesday morning! Then I need to chill on the montis haha. I just love the intricate detail in the polyps and color combos.

 

[BigJohnny]

Wow! I'd definitely be interested in a rainbow sunburst frag once it grows out

I got you covered, just remind me once it does

 

[BigJohnny]

[emoji38]2:Not sure I can convince my wife to do so just for frags. Already taking over have the house with the new found hobby. But I must say we are living a dull life over here compared to the frags you guys have over there. Saw some videos from MACNA, wow. Need to discuss with my LFS why we only get the boring stuff

Well, in addition to reefing I am also a snowboarding addict, and you definitely have the edge on that front. One day I will ride the alps! My mother actually lived in Gstaad for 5 years and she's told me how wonderful Switzerland can be. So don't feel too bad about the frags.

I feel like the hobby is growing significantly more popular so I'm sure soon you'll be able to get the same stuff.