A Splash of Color - My SPS Peninsula Reef

[M007]

What purpose will the frog be serving? Is that to scare any pests?

I wondered that myself, I think Andrew just put it there to get us going

 

[Chris155hp]

very nice

 

[markalot]

The frog is actual size.

 

[plyle02]

I'm glad you're seeing positive signs already Dom, you really won't know your display in a few months i'm betting :beer:

I think you guys can see i have a big bucket of fun planned for the weekend. I have to:

1. Add some sand to stop all the whining about having none......
2. Use my new chemistry set to dose the water
3. Assemble the white wand of death and kill all sorts of things
4. Move an acro off the chalice that's stinging the you know what out of it
5. Repair the bare patch on the chalice after the acro is removed - reef plastic surgery
6. Move the scoly that's also stinging an acro
7. Place the bottom dwelling horrida where the scoly was because i don't know where else to put it

Oh boy Andrew, what do you have going on there? Looking like this is going to be an epic weekend :celeb1:

 

[M007]

Does not appear to be the indigenous Aussie tree frog :frog: What's the deal with the frog Andrew? :wildone:

 

[bibarassa]

Andrew has a frogs tank too

 

[Oldude]

Andrew has a frogs tank too

Maybe being from Australia he doesn't realize he should have a frag tank not a frog tank.

 

[biggles]

very nice

Thanks Chris

Oh boy Andrew, what do you have going on there? Looking like this is going to be an epic weekend :celeb1:

I had to go in to work yesterday which is why i didn't get anything except the pumps cleaned Saturday. It's Sunday lunch time now and i've just finished sorting out the horrida and removing the acro from the chalice etc. I'm having mon off now as well because i am not allowing work to interfere with my acro stuff - lots to do Perry :thumbsup:

What purpose will the frog be serving? Is that to scare any pests?

I wondered that myself, I think Andrew just put it there to get us going

The frog is actual size.

Does not appear to be the indigenous Aussie tree frog :frog: What's the deal with the frog Andrew?

Andrew has a frogs tank too

Maybe being from Australia he doesn't realize he should have a frag tank not a frog tank.

Acro frog makes random appearances throughout my journal boys - he does what he wants and goes where he wants................:reading:

I'll post some pics of what i just played with next post :spin1:

 

[biggles]

The horrida has been happy as pie rolling around the BB for weeks but i decided to place it on the end island in place of a scolly that was stinging my nice blue acro. I super glued it to a rock which i had checked made a good fit in the spot the scolly was removed from.

I removed the acro and chalice piece which is actually self supported and just rested against the island rock work - easy peasy to work on outside the tank. I then used putty and glue to stick the horrida rock into the hole left by the scolly. I'm too busy to spend ages correcting tank pics so ignore the bad colors.

Here's the acro being stung underneath by the chalice. Knowing it was a stupid idea in the first place i kept a small frag of the same chalice for just this day See the weird colored growth in the middle of the acro, that's where the chalice has been stinging the acro from underneath and the acro has an infection as a result judging by the rot that was all the way into the branch itself. I used a sharp knife to scrape the entire area clean off tissue and then used a cotton bud to treat the cleaned area with straight iodine (lugols).

Removed and ready to have the spot covered with the repair frag

Back in the same spot it was before - minus it's acro hairdo. You can see the removed scolly near the yellow tang, no idea where it's going and don't care at this point.

Side view

That's about it for work on that island, next job is to attach the acro i just removed to the spot i have chosen for it, that little island i made last time with the reddy colored acro is about to spend some time on the kitchen bench again.........

 

[westreef]

Have you given a name to this frog? You must have and you forgot to tell us!:bounce3:

 

[biggles]

Have you given a name to this frog? You must have and you forgot to tell us!:bounce3:

I have not named the frog Bernie............frankly i find him a little creepy :twitch:

After making a quick visit to macca's for lunch i returned to acro duties. The little rock outcrop i made a while back.

I expect free macca's for life since i put the cup in the pic. You can see the cut out i made on the left of the rock for the acro to rest on with that small bit of putty and some super glue gel holding it as usual.

Glued into place and then put into the sump for 10 mins to set firmly - the stench of acro slime is attractive to frogs it turns out........:rolleye1:

Back in the water :thumbsup:

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Nice Job Andrew.

I would like to know how close you place your frags to each other. It is not very clear from the pictures above.

Thanks

Bulent

 

[shih87]

Wow... Someone having fun over weekend....I hope and I know everything will go alright with you.

I did lots of weekend work as well, but that came with an unexpected small fire disaster and burn my Apex controller.... Dammit.....:headwalls:

 

[bibarassa]

I expect free macca's for life

Oh no macca's for life :facepalm:"¦"¦"¦"¦"¦.dishes of spaghetti for life"¦...

 

[plyle02]

Andrew,
Great work there mate, got the drimmel out, hope you had your protective eye wear on, no need for taking an acro polyp to the eye :frog: As far as the frog goes, he is kinda creepy, did the frog get burned on his bum? Anyway, the tank is magnificent, I love the bb look in your tank, it looks very natural, I would do something similar, but only in a shallow/ish type tank. You are pulling the look off well :fun2: Your colors are outstanding, and I mostly like how you are so creative with your islands, bravo Biggles!!!

 

[M007]

Surgical precision :mtool: with a splash of Mickydees make for an epic weekend :celeb1: Outstanding :thumbsup:

 

[reefmutt]

Nothing like Micky d to get your creative juices going.
... Or to just give you the runs..

Andrew, you're an acro artist. Despite your food choices!

 

[sahin]

Reef is looking great Biggles. I remember froggy from the old journal. I wondered what had happened to him...good to see he's still starring in your journals.

 

[biggles]

Nice Job Andrew.

I would like to know how close you place your frags to each other. It is not very clear from the pictures above.

Thanks

Bulent

Thanks Bulent, frags and small branches behave very differently when glued into place. Small frags will seek to establish a very solid base prior to putting out branch type growth so the encrusting area i would allow is a lot greater than when i attach newly collected broken off branches. If conditions are similar to that which the acros are used to then very little encrusting takes place before the branch resumes the growth it was previously channeling the majority of it's energies into.
This is why it's very important to attach larger pieces or small colonies very well yourself, relying on the acro to once again establish a base capable of supporting its own weight as it grows is a trap. Most of my pieces are placed closer than i'd recommend unless you have the experience and confidence to manage the interaction between them that may take place.
There is no rule for safe distances, every acro will behave differently in regards to how it grows and encrusts depending on the light and flow you give it.

Wow... Someone having fun over weekend....I hope and I know everything will go alright with you.

I did lots of weekend work as well, but that came with an unexpected small fire disaster and burn my Apex controller.... Dammit.....:headwalls:

That sucks about the Apex mate, i would imagine it's a pretty big pain in the bum to manage the system when something handling so much of your equipment gives up the ghost.

Oh no macca's for life"¦"¦"¦"¦"¦.dishes of spaghetti for life"¦...

Ok i'll accept your offer of free spag for life mate, how are you going to get it to me though ?

Andrew,
Great work there mate, got the drimmel out, hope you had your protective eye wear on, no need for taking an acro polyp to the eye. As far as the frog goes, he is kinda creepy, did the frog get burned on his bum? Anyway, the tank is magnificent, I love the bb look in your tank, it looks very natural, I would do something similar, but only in a shallow/ish type tank. You are pulling the look off well :fun2: Your colors are outstanding, and I mostly like how you are so creative with your islands, bravo Biggles!!!

Thanks Perry, i don't actually like the BB look even though it makes water management very easy for a reefer. I think starting your first tank as BB would be the way to go until you get the whole nutrient control thing locked into your brain. If you plan for the addition of sand later by not attaching corals below the intended sand depth you can always chuck some in when your abilities match your scaping ambitions. :thumbsup:

First time reefer - bare bottom will be the highest chance of avoiding a nutrient nightmare imo as you get all the stupid mistakes out of the way that you will surely make, just like we all have done over the years.

Surgical precision :mtool: with a splash of Mickydees make for an epic weekend. Outstanding :thumbsup:

Thanks mate, i'm not really a 'sit back and watch the frags grow for two years' kind of guy lol. I prefer to play a bigger influence on my acro's lives than most i think

Nothing like Micky d to get your creative juices going.
... Or to just give you the runs..

Andrew, you're an acro artist. Despite your food choices!

Thanks Matt, you need to fuel the artistic fire and nothing does that like take away food. I don't have time to cook stuff when acros are drying out on the kitchen bench.........

Reef is looking great Biggles. I remember froggy from the old journal. I wondered what had happened to him...good to see he's still starring in your journals.

Thanks Sahin, i knew you'd remember acro frog from the 65gal.

 

[biggles]

I've decided the acro dragon is way too big for the open area on the left, it's making the scape look crowded and overdone so it's gotta go. I need to keep the stupid speciosa close to where it is though because it's finally coloring back up with the tips turning bright blue again for the first time in at least six months.
In keeping with my homage to bonsai and its influence on my scaping style i've decided to create a lotus flower. I have the two acros picked out that will be the two different colored rows of petals and both were chosen with their growing style also an important factor. I don't know what will be the center piece yet but it will need to be bloody nice considering what the petals are going to be.

My inspiration......

I think the large open space left by the dragon will be perfect to display a flower or two floating on the sand.

The very far left front end of the display in the pic above with just the 250W Radium over it along with 2 x B+ and 1 x Coral+ 24W T5's. For me the above combination is pretty much bullet proof if you're chasing pigments of any color and have the water where it needs to be.