A Reef in the Sky

[Reef_Noob]

Hey Andrew,
Welcome back...
Oh yea and ur back with a bang captain
Those colour contrasts of the corals look super beautiful.
You have really gone minimalistic with the rock work but still the tank is rocking
Are you running the Eco-lamps at reduced percentage? Is it just me or does the photos look bit dimmed out?

The coral growth looks amazing.
Thanks for the update
:thumbsup:

 

[sahin]

Wow Andrew, your corals look super! Very very nice! I'm inclined to almost say that the colours under the LED's look better than they were under T5's. In person, is this your own perception?

Regards.

 

[toofrigginswt]

I have always loved your tank! To be honest, your tank inspired my build. Hopefully mine can be at least half as nice as yours in a couple years. I noticed that you still have your T5's hung... do you still run it or has the last few months been strictly LED? And I'm gonna ask the forbidden question.... do you like the LEDS better than your T5 setup?

 

[Walter Costa]

Good to have u back, man!!!!
Happy 2013!!!

 

[Reef and Rock]

Wow. Amazing Tank

 

[FlyboySMB]

Looking good Andrew! Happy New Year!

You have apparently removed quite a bit of rock. Can you describe any unusual procedures you used to remove the rock, but save the coral. I am thinking of doing something similar.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Greg_P]

Hi Andrew.

Corals look in really good health and you are getting some great colours as usual.

As already mentioned the photos do look a but dim? Were the lights on reduced output?

I have always loved your system along with many others but despite the fantastic colours of the corals I can't help but think they should be sat upon a more interesting aquascape. As time has gone on the rock has dwindled in the tank and, if I'm honest, I miss your scape of old with the corals sat in prime position on those great structures you made.

Any reason you have stripped so much out?

Best regards

 

[Greg_P]

Hi Andrew.

Corals look in really good health and you are getting some great colours as usual.

As already mentioned the photos do look a but dim? Were the lights on reduced output?

I have always loved your system along with many others but despite the fantastic colours of the corals I can't help but think they should be sat upon a more interesting aquascape. As time has gone on the rock has dwindled in the tank and, if I'm honest, I miss your scape of old with the corals sat in prime position on those great structures you made.

Any reason you have stripped so much out?

Best regards

 

[Greg_P]

Hi Andrew.

Corals look in really good health and you are getting some great colours as usual.

As already mentioned the photos do look a but dim? Were the lights on reduced output?

I have always loved your system along with many others but despite the fantastic colours of the corals I can't help but think they should be sat upon a more interesting aquascape. As time has gone on the rock has dwindled in the tank and, if I'm honest, I miss your scape of old with the corals sat in prime position on those great structures you made.

Any reason you have stripped so much out?

Best regards

 

[Crazy_Beaver]

U have gonne a bit too far in the minimalistc end IMHO but still your tank is on of teh best around!

Well done Andew!

 

[Bandos reefer]

Amazing! How do make your montis curl upwards and the pink Millie at the most back rhs. Stunning!

Also I sell there's 1 less mp40?

 

[RoWall]

Did some of your corals started to grow upwards after you added the LED? That's what I noticed in some tanks and see it in yours.

 

[v1...rotate]

Hi Andrew,
Beautiful tank and pictures as always. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing the PAR measurement.
With less live rock, can you place more corals in the tank or it is about the same?

Bernie

Thank you. I can't really place many more corals. Just allow more room for them to grow.

Unbelievably beautiful and clean setup. One airman to another, that there is a "greaser" captain. Nicely done.

Your livestock collection is almost identical to mine. What's your feeding regimen like?

Thank you. I don't feed any specific food except Coral Vitaliser

Your setup is very inspiring. I want to do a large scale version of your tank maybe minus some corals because i love my fish.

Thanks

what are you dosing for calcium and alkalinity?

See below

I believe he uses 2 Part ESV B-Ionic.

Thank you

Andrew, it really bothers me how you continually do things... well "half fast"

Looking good my friend!

LOL... thanks

Hi Andrew.

It is great to see everything is going well, save for a few minor problems.

I must say, I am not sure about your switch to LEDs. The colours you achieved in your system with t5s have been nothing short of world class, and to see you change a winning formula leaves me a little confused about the reasons.

What made you switch?

As always I wish you continued success and I will be following this closely as I have done since the start.

Ps. More Ryan Farish music on the next video please! which I hope will be soon so we can see more of the led's in action

Thanks for the kind words. The reason I switched was to try something new. That's all.

As reefers many of us are like scientists, having a thirst for knowledge and an open mindset to try out new things and technology. I would commend Andrew on that very reason for switching to LED lighting from something that was working well for him...
That is a brave choice!! Most us will stick to a regimen and won't change anything. But if it werent for people like Andrew a lot of things would have remained the same and nothing new and innovative wouldv ever seen the light of day.
I wouldn't judge anything at this moment coz photography under LEDs is a "science" in itself. It's quite hard to get the true to life colours in photos under LEDs. The colours we get under LEDs and when viewed live are just mind blowing. Capturing them on photos is very hard. The pictures of the corals under LEDs that Andrew has dished out are just superb and believe me it's not easy.

Hats off to Andrew for documenting his journey for us.
Each and every change or addition he makes will help us all learn something.

So far so good and the future looks LED bright!! :thumbsup:

Thanks Noob

Just went through this thread.. That tank is impressive!
I love how it came out, nice job

Thank you

nice my friend!
I follow your thread from time to time.. and its nice to see the great progress

Thanks berlin-riff

Andrew: I know you've not had the LED's long enough; but since I consider you to be a very experienced reefer, I think I can ask this question now:

What are your current thoughts regarding LED's for SPS coral colour? We all know LED's can grow SPS, so I'm not concerned about coral growth, but rather, how you feel about SPS coral colours?

I really like my T5/LED hybrid ATI Sunpower...but I am coming up to bulb replacement time and I am really wondering whether I ought to make the switch to full LED: either the Radion or the GHL Mitras.

Thanks Sahin for the kind words. Yes, corals can certainly grow under LEDs. As for colour I am happy with my LED lights. I have many abilities to fine tune the colour as I wish and with time I believe this can slightly adjust coral colours

I haven't seen much written about the new combo lights as I haven't had time to do too much research just yet. For the time being though, I plan to stay with the LED's.

how is your achilles?
did he get any better?
how long do you have him?

Yes he is doing great thanks. I have had him 2.5yrs so far. He is the boss of the tank and one strong fish.

Looking great!

One question thou: How do you like the light spread of the leads?

By the photos it looks like you dont have the same blend of colors as you had with T5.

It looks like you could see the different color projections over the sand.

Thanks Walter. The light spread from one unit wasn't enough so I got another unit. Having the second unit is much better. Yes you are correct regarding the different colour projections. It will depend on the settings you have on the lights.

Love this thread what an amazing work of art really!

Thank you

Hi Andrew, how is your tank?
Your tank is my favourite.
Congratulations from Spain.

The tank is going well thanks.

how are the LEDs doing ?

They are going well. Update on them shortly.

Your aquarium is amazing...

Thank you

Not good that we havnt heard from Andrew recently? Anyone know what's up?

Sorry for the delay... Was a little busy with work. The tank was on auto pilot though.

I am not impressed with LED's in comparing to previous T5 lighting. Except lower elec. bill I don't see any advantage. Too bad, maybe if you go with ECOXOTIC will be better. That is my opinion only

That's a shame

Hey "busy at work" and being a Airline Pilot those lines don't go together! Lol

LOL... yeah i know. But you know that too... right? ;p

Dear Andrew,
Wishing you all the best and a prosperous 2013 :thumbsup:

Thanks noob. Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year. I was working both

 

[v1...rotate]

I love the growth on that red table!! Beautiful

Thank you

Fantastic!
Happy new year to you as well!

Thanks

I'm in an ohhhhh and awe mode! How do you like the new light changes

I really like them.

Hey Andrew,
Welcome back...
Oh yea and ur back with a bang captain
Those colour contrasts of the corals look super beautiful.
You have really gone minimalistic with the rock work but still the tank is rocking
Are you running the Eco-lamps at reduced percentage? Is it just me or does the photos look bit dimmed out?

The coral growth looks amazing.
Thanks for the update
:thumbsup:

Thanks Noob... you are too kind. The pictures were taken in the evening so yes, the LEDs were not at 100%. I really like the evening settings I have programmed.

Wow Andrew, your corals look super! Very very nice! I'm inclined to almost say that the colours under the LED's look better than they were under T5's. In person, is this your own perception?

Regards.

Thanks Sahin... I really like sunset on the reef. I've been tempted to use that setting for all day too. I like the LEDs a lot. Correcting the light balance is rather challenging.

I have always loved your tank! To be honest, your tank inspired my build. Hopefully mine can be at least half as nice as yours in a couple years. I noticed that you still have your T5's hung... do you still run it or has the last few months been strictly LED? And I'm gonna ask the forbidden question.... do you like the LEDS better than your T5 setup?

Thanks for the kind words and Im sure your tank will be great!!
I don't use the T5 lights anymore but just haven't taken then down yet as I need a few extra hands. I'm going to wait until I pull the tank down (ie: move house).
As for which light I like more. There is no doubt that the LEDs provide more lighting capabilities (sunrise/sunset) of the T5 tubes. Corals grow under both types. The spectrum is different though but i'm no expert to give advise. All I can say is that I'm sure LEDs will be the future.

Good to have u back, man!!!!
Happy 2013!!!

Same to you Walter.

Wow. Amazing Tank

Thank you

Looking good Andrew! Happy New Year!

You have apparently removed quite a bit of rock. Can you describe any unusual procedures you used to remove the rock, but save the coral. I am thinking of doing something similar.

Thanks,
Steve

Happy New Year to you too Steve. I didn't do anything special. The rocks that I removed didn't have any coral attached to them. I simply dosed a little more bacteria (Zeobak) for a week or two and that was it.

Hi Andrew.

Corals look in really good health and you are getting some great colours as usual.

As already mentioned the photos do look a but dim? Were the lights on reduced output?

I have always loved your system along with many others but despite the fantastic colours of the corals I can't help but think they should be sat upon a more interesting aquascape. As time has gone on the rock has dwindled in the tank and, if I'm honest, I miss your scape of old with the corals sat in prime position on those great structures you made.

Any reason you have stripped so much out?

Best regards

Thank you Greg. Yes the the pictures were taken during sunset, hence not as bright.
Yes you are correct... the aquascape is not a 'exciting' as it used to be. But don't worry... it will changed later in the year.
The reason I removed some rocks was because they had weeds on them and I wanted to see what it looked like with the coral placed lower. Plus it gives more room for the fish to swim.

U have gonne a bit too far in the minimalistc end IMHO but still your tank is on of teh best around!

Well done Andew!

Thanks Crazy... yes to be honest, the rock work is not exactly how I want it but I can't really do too much right now. Plus... a lot of the corals are attached to the rocks. Things will change. Promise ;p

Amazing! How do make your montis curl upwards and the pink Millie at the most back rhs. Stunning!

Also I sell there's 1 less mp40?

Thank you. The corals you mentioned just grow like that. No secret method.

Well spotted... I actually had a MP20 (Ecotech's first type of pump back in 2008) but I have put it in storage since it's not powerful enough.

Did some of your corals started to grow upwards after you added the LED? That's what I noticed in some tanks and see it in yours.

The corals began to grow upwards with my ATI powermodule lights. I believe that they just continued to do so once the LEDs were added.

 

[fishmanstan]

How often do you WC?

 

[Reef_Noob]

Thanks for the replies Andrew!
You are again setting the bar by going more minimalistic with the rock work.
Hmmm making me rethink and go even more minimalistic with mine too
You planning to move?
Keep up the great work!! Thanks for the updates and the inspiration.

 

[yycguy]

Tank looks fantastic as always andrew!....... you in yyz at all next month (feb)?

 

[Greg_P]

Hi Andrew.

Corals look in really good health and you are getting some great colours as usual.

I have always loved your system along with many others but despite the fantastic colours of the corals I can't help but think they should be sat upon a more interesting aquascape. As time has gone on the rock has dwindled in the tank and, if I'm honest, I miss your scape of old with the corals sat in prime position on those great structures you made.

Any reason you have stripped so much out?

Best regards

 

[fishresponse]

Well I got through all 61 pages and Andrew you're probably sick of everyone telling you what a great reef you have but I must say, you're tank is beautiful! I'm looking for inspiration and I've gotten it now. Not that you need it, but Do you have any new plans in the making?

 

[cnguyenl]

Awesome tank!