Finally My Custom Miracle Build with Fish Room

shred5 said:
Very nice...

I wish there was a like button...

Wonder if RC will ever get a update.
Click to expand...

shred5 - I guess the closest thing we have is the rate the thread at the top...thanks for thinking I should get a like though.

McPuff said:
Image 4149... do you know the name of this coral?
Click to expand...

McPuff - Man I man I am not even sure. I have lost so many corals. I just tried looking back at some old pictures and I can't remember where or what I may have fragged it from. I can say it should be pretty when it finally colors up. I don't think its one of the "named corals". I can't tell it is a frag of an old tort. I need these corals to take off...lol.
 
Looking good Henry. Too bad about all the funky fish issues!
You better start naming your shots, when you know them or people like me will be constantly bothering you for names. :)
There was a time when ‘old school’ corals were purple monster, Oregon tort and pink lemonade... I guess I’m getting old!! Wait... definitely getting old...
 
No worries. I don't care much about the name to be honest, but I have one that looks identical. So it's a curiosity...can't seem to figure out what type of coral it is. But it looks good so I'm happy. 😉

nightOwl said:
shred5 - I guess the closest thing we have is the rate the thread at the top...thanks for thinking I should get a like though.



McPuff - Man I man I am not even sure. I have lost so many corals. I just tried looking back at some old pictures and I can't remember where or what I may have fragged it from. I can say it should be pretty when it finally colors up. I don't think its one of the "named corals". I can't tell it is a frag of an old tort. I need these corals to take off...lol.
Click to expand...
 
McPuff said:
No worries. I don't care much about the name to be honest, but I have one that looks identical. So it's a curiosity...can't seem to figure out what type of coral it is. But it looks good so I'm happy. 😉
Click to expand...

McPuff - Hopefully as it grows we will figure it out...lol. I'm old school so it may end up being (insert color) tipped acro...lol.


reefmutt said:
Looking good Henry. Too bad about all the funky fish issues!
You better start naming your shots, when you know them or people like me will be constantly bothering you for names. :)
There was a time when "˜old school' corals were purple monster, Oregon tort and pink lemonade... I guess I'm getting old!! Wait... definitely getting old...
Click to expand...

reefmutt - Yea the fish losses lately have been a bit tiresome. After the holidays I will regroup and order some new fish. LOL I am right there with you on the old school corals. Funny thing is tracking them down is hard sometimes...lol. And some of the really old ones seem to have gotten new names since the shift from MH to LEDs. As these start to grow I will be able to see what I really have.

UPDATE TIME

I increased the intensity on my lights a little and I think it may be helping bring out the colors in my corals. I decided to keep track of what the previous settings were in a spreadsheet and that way when I take pictures I can reference back to see any color shifts. I also have lost all the Cardinal fish from my last order. I think they were two small and unhealthy when they arrived. I my try again but think I need a place where I can see the eat first. I finished my new top down and it seems to be working well with no leaks. I am trying to keep the pictures as true to my eye as possible but some of the colors are not showing as great as they are in the tank.

Here a few things I have on my list to fix in the upcoming weeks:
  • Redo top off plumbing
  • Install check valve on return line
  • Fix connection issue in the basement
  • Redo wrasse keeper 1000


12/20/2018 - New Top Down Pictures
My new top down box has great promise. I made it from a piece of circular acrylic tubing and then just added a scrap piece of 1/4" acrylic I had in the garage. I painted the walls black and because the circumference was close to my lense there is not a lot of moving inside the box. The pictures were taken only 6 days after my last post but I like the way they came out. I have tried to take out as much as the blue as possible and make the colors look like what I see in my tank.

IMG_4249 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4206 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Notice the damaged part starting to close
IMG_4213 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


IMG_4221 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4228 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4232 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4234 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr



This color is insane

IMG_4254 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


IMG_4253 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr



​
 
General Updates - Cont
12/20/2018 - Frag Tank Algae Issues
​

My Frag tank algae issues are out of control. I ordered a turbo snail for it but he is not fast at all...lol. He is slowly eating away the issue. I am going to add a lawnmower blenny. I think the frag tank is very stable now. Despite the bad algae issues corals are growing and some are starting to show color. It's going to be interesting once this gets going again.

IMG_4257 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4277 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4279 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4280 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4281 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4282 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Not sure whats going on here :( I have had this guy since 2004.
IMG_4283 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4285 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

​

12/23/2018 - Algae harvest

For the amount of fish I have I feed pretty heavy so I am always worried about nutrients and phosphate levels. I am trying to make sure I have some nutrients but not ultra clean. Fish poo and feeding make for pretty corals. In about a month I had a pretty good harvest again. Next month I will weigh the amount of algae to see how much is being removed. After taking it from my sump I take the time to rinse it in the main display to release all the mini starfish, pods, and bristle worms and there were a lot of them.

IMG_4286 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
​
 
It's about time for another update. Things in the main display are coming along nicely. I have noticed a little more aggression from my Purple Tang but I plan on getting some more fish to help spread the aggression around. The Yellow Tang is the main recipient of the aggression but it's more like annoying sibling aggression than real aggression. The Yellow Tang follows him around like a lost puppy dog and then the Purple Tang chases it away for a while then they swim together...lol. It's so funny to watch. I feed them multiple times a day so they all look pretty fat. I am just hoping the Yellow Tang hits a growth spurt soon.

Cheato Harvest
It's been about a month since the last harvest and this time I wanted to see how much was actually harvested. I borrowed the scale from the kitchen and grabbed a old bucket. I added the tare and looks like I am harvesting close to 1 lb. each time.

IMG_4286 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4302 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr


Organize Fish Room
I finally got around to labeling my test kits so I don't have to blindly pull them all down from the cabinet. Now instead of keeping them out all the time I can put them up and pull down only the ones I want. I also mounted my Apex Displays for the Frag and Main display. I almost had another water incident so figured that mounting was the smart thing to do. I built a holder and mounted it to the wall for the Frag Tank which is completely overridden with algae. Over the next few weeks I am going to organize my display board and a few more things in the fish room.

IMG_4299 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4298 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4297 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

Front Tank Shot
Each month I plan to take a FTS so far there is not much to show. Once the corals start to grow in I will be happy and hopefully will be able to share some cool corals. I may post some new top downs later this weekend. I am in the process of changing my lighting schedule to reduce the white channel a little. The change I made over a month ago is growing corals but a few appear to be growing increasingly pale.

Jan FTS
IMG_4312 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
 
Cap Growth - 3 Months
I have come a long way from killing corals to finally being able to grow them. My SPS are now growing especially encrusting Montis and Caps. Below is one of my growth shots. I will try to find some more old shots and a similar newer shot. The shot below is one of the first caps that started to show growth. This coral was receding and suffering from neglect. The picture below shows about 3 months of growth.

Cap Growth by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr​
 
Cap Growth - 3 Months
Below is another growth shot. The picture below shows about 3 months of growth between the two pictures. I wish I could have found an earlier picture. The picture from 12/20 already had signs of growth so it had been in the tank at least a month before that. When I initially put the frag in the yellow polyps were not as yellow. This one is another that has colored up nicely.


Cap Yellow Polyps Growth by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
 
SPS Growth
This one I am pretty excited about. Currently it will will be one of my center piece corals once things really start growing. I am excited about the color changes I am seeing. If the color gets more intense I am going to be a happy camper.

SPS1 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
 
Hey Henry, corals are looking good.
That last acro looks like a miyagi tort. A happy miyagi tort. It’s looking better and better.
Very nice!
 
reefmutt said:
Hey Henry, corals are looking good.
That last acro looks like a miyagi tort. A happy miyagi tort. It's looking better and better.
Very nice!
Click to expand...

Matt,
I was thinking the same thing about it being a Miyagi Tort. I kept looking back for old pictures and trying to figure out when I got it...lol. I just hope they all start coloring up so I can see what I have in the tank....lol. That way I know what colors I am missing or want to get next...lol. I can't get the the color just right but it looks so much better in person...lol. I am getting better with taking pictures with the LEDs. I have also figured if I take during my peak white spectrum its less work for me...lol.
 
General Updates

Things are coming along but I have started to hit a road bump. Corals are growing but my zoas are starting to melt. My rasta zoas were once thriving now they are melting on me very fast.

I was looking back at some pictures and noticed so far most of the coral pics are from only the left side of the tank. I took a few from right side of the tank and below you will see some new shots. I also and doing a few before and after shots. Since I removed the Chaeto I have noticed Red Slime has started popping up throughout the tank. I will cut back on the feeding a bit or change the flow of the pumps a bit and see if I can get it to go away.

Some of the corals are taking longer to color up than I think they should be progressing so I am thinking about doing some minor clipping to make the coral heal itself. Almost like what happens in the ocean when there is big storm and corals get damaged.

Coral Pic Updates - Right Side - 01-29-2019
IMG_4796 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4792 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4788 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4785 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4781 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4778 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4775 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4772 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4769 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr

IMG_4770 by LifeThrough_TheLense, on Flickr
​
 
General Updates Continued

More Coral Pics
 
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