"Bonsai Reef" (SPS style)
- Thread starter tmc1313
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tmc1313
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Thanks a lot guys! I appreciate the compliments.:beer:
Reefmutt, I had bought that coral as a bi-color monti cap. It was supposed to be a green and red glued on one disk. Then, it was supposed to grow out and kind of swirl together. Well, the red frag ended up being a cap, but the green certainly is not and has a much faster growth rate. I wasn't sure what it was, so I posted it in my local forum and the consensus is that it's a Montipora Hirsuta, but still not 100% sure.
tmc1313
Active member
After a year and a half of encrusting and being an unknown brown coral I picked up at the LFS, I'm FINALLY getting some branching out and best of all some color. As it slowly improves I'm trying to I.D. what it might be. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I'm starting to think it may be Pearl berry like, Desawalii maybe. The pic isn't great but what do you guys think?
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tmc1313
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Yes, I think you two might be correct. I looked up Granulosa and this one came up called "Northern Lights Granulosa". Looks remarkably similar. Of course, this one is a much better picture.
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tmc1313
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We'll, I got lucky because there was no way you would ever know that it would turn out the way it has. Wish I took a before pic to show you. When I gamble like that, I usually lose.
Myka
Reefing since '93
I just read through your thread now. Sometimes I like short threads like these because I can read through 3 years of updates in only 10 minutes. 
You're lucky that glass pane didn't crack when the bracing suddenly let loose! Yikes!
Did you ever get your nutrients up? Your corals look darker in more recent photos (or maybe it's because of the halide upgrade). You also commented on burned tips when alk was over 8.5 dKH. You're a good reefer to make note of this on your own.
"We" as a reefing community are now aware that low nutrients and high alkalinity are a bad combo. If your tank's nutrients were high your corals wouldn't get those burned tips at 8.5 dKH. In the more recent years though, there are a lot more of us running NSW (natural seawater) values in our SPS tanks to prevent alk burn since we are so good at starving our reefs these days. :lol:
You're lucky that glass pane didn't crack when the bracing suddenly let loose! Yikes! Did you ever get your nutrients up? Your corals look darker in more recent photos (or maybe it's because of the halide upgrade). You also commented on burned tips when alk was over 8.5 dKH. You're a good reefer to make note of this on your own.
"We" as a reefing community are now aware that low nutrients and high alkalinity are a bad combo. If your tank's nutrients were high your corals wouldn't get those burned tips at 8.5 dKH. In the more recent years though, there are a lot more of us running NSW (natural seawater) values in our SPS tanks to prevent alk burn since we are so good at starving our reefs these days. :lol:
tmc1313
Active member
I just read through your thread now. Sometimes I like short threads like these because I can read through 3 years of updates in only 10 minutes.
Did you ever get your nutrients up? Your corals look darker in more recent photos (or maybe it's because of the halide upgrade). You also commented on burned tips when alk was over 8.5 dKH. You're a good reefer to make note of this on your own.
LOL, yes I like to keep it short and sweet. I'll update every 3 or 4 months, mostly for documentation on growth, color, new additions, etc..... Although, I am pretty much on RC lurking:bigeyes: and reading everyone else's threads everyday. I've been keeping alk pretty steady at around 7.4 and it seems to keep things happy. I have been able to get nutrients up ever so slightly. I think the biggest change for the better has been the addition of 5 drops a day each of coral vitalizer and amino acids.
tmc1313
Active member
Time for a quick 3 month update. The tank has been doing pretty well and still growing slowly, but steady. The biggest change has been getting rid of the overflow box and replacing it with an H2O overflow. It definitely gives the tank a much cleaner look. The plan over the next few months is to add about 3 more acros I've been trying to get and increase the fish population a bit. Hope you enjoy the update and thanks for looking:
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Very nice tank. What are your thoughts about your new overflow? It looks very promising. Thanks.
tmc1313
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Thanks, the convict tang has been a model citizen and a really good algae eater. I have a yellow eyed Kole tang in there as well and they get along just fine. The convict just recently got into a little squabble with my clowns for some reason (every now and then they will go at it), but there is never any lasting damage, just some split fins and they heal right back up. Some ideas I'm thinking about for additions are green chromis, maybe some anthias, foxface, or a pair of blue throat triggers. Not sure yet, I need to clean up my quarantine tank and then I'll decide.
tmc1313
Active member
Thank You!
Thanks, A couple of things about the overflow. It is very nice and I think a good alternative to an overflow box or even built in's. I've never had tons of flow going to my sump (roughly 1x turnover per hour of my tanks volume). I have never relied on my return as part of my flow for the tank. With that being said, the overflow (which has a 1.5" bulkhead) handles my flow just fine and is pretty much silent. H2O says the overflow can handle around 1200gph, but I screwed up a little when I installed it and can't test it out, even though I would never even come close to that flow in reality. I had to install this on my tank that was already stocked and full. It was not the smartest thing to do and was very risky, but I did it anyway. I drained the tank down half way, clamped on the included template and drilled away. It obviously worked, but the template was supposed to line up with the bottom of the outer frame and I had drilled it from the inside out, not the outside in. So, my alignment of the template was slightly higher than the actual bottom of the frame. The overflow works fine, it's just that my water level is higher in the tank than I would want it to be. For anyone else who likes a high flow sump it would probably be an issue, because if I crank the pump flow, the tank won't overflow, but it comes up to the level of my center brace and then starts draining. I have low flow and always will, so no issues for me. If it was installed properly, I'm sure it would handle the claimed 1200gph with no problem. I just don't know how quiet the drain would be. Sorry for such a long explanation, and I hope I didn't make it to confusing.
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Thank you for the explanation regarding the overflow. I have been looking for something along these lines.
Continued luck on your build.
Continued luck on your build.
tmc1313
Active member
Hey guys, haven't posted in awhile. Reef is still in pretty good shape. I've made a few changes over the last few months. Got sick of nitrate dosing so I decided to pull the skimmer about 3 months ago and so far the tank hasn't skipped a beat (knock on wood). I also, sold the RW8 pumps and bought a pair of gyre 230's. They're louder than the RW8'S, but the flow is fantastic. So for now, I'm sticking with them. I still haven't added the extra fish I wanted to, but hopefully over the next few months. Here are a few recent shots. When I look at some of the past photos, things look like they're finally filling in.
Full tank shot (back glass is dirty) to lazy to clean it.
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Here's a shot under the hood. Notice something missing (NO SKIMMER)
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And one photo showing the gyre's. One on each side
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Thanks for looking!
Full tank shot (back glass is dirty) to lazy to clean it.
screenshot toolHere's a shot under the hood. Notice something missing (NO SKIMMER)
upload image onlineAnd one photo showing the gyre's. One on each side
free picture uploadThanks for looking!
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