Growth Shots of a bunch of corals from Phasezero's Simple System

[phasezero]

I converted this 55g from a fowlr to an SPS tank about 4 months ago after i was inspired by resurrecting a RBTA on the brink of death. After i actually witnessed a sign of growth on some digitatas i became hooked on SPS since then. Here is a basic rundown of my simple setup. I apologize for the differences in color between many pictures. Some were taken with my cell phone and others with a Sony that i'm constantly changing settings with.

Standard 55g long - Worst dimensions ever
City Tap Water :uhoh2:
CPR Aeroforce HOB Skimmer
Aquaticlife Linkable T5 HO - was only using 2x54 for the first two months and decided to upgrade with another 2x54
Current Bulb Setup is B+,P+,Coral+,B+
BRS 2-part dosing the last 2 months
2x Evo 750, 1 Evo 1050

FTS

Stuber Staghorn 1/4/2012 - 2/27/2012 ~ 54 Days Growth

Red Planet 12/29/2011 - 2/27/2012 ~ 60 Days Growth

Acropora Valida 11/23/2011 - 2/27/2012 ~ 96 Days Growth

 

[phasezero]

Plum Crazy 1/18/2012 - 2/27/2012 ~ 40 Days Growth

Acropora Nana 11/23/2011 - 2/27/2012 ~ 96 Days Growth

Green Digitata 11/23/2011 - 2/27/2012 ~ 96 Days Growth

Turquoise Staghorn 1/18/2012 - 2/27/2012 ~ 40 Days Growth

 

[9thwonder]

very nice. keep up the good work

 

[mattgreene22]

yeah, nice. i posted in another thread it would be good to see some more pics. are there more growth pics etc?

 

[Reefer1225]

Awesome growth and colors. Keep this updated. Sucks for guys like me who buy all this expensive stuff and have less success than what you have been able to accomplish. Well done! Where do you get such large frags? Or did you grow them out from smaller 1'' frags?

Tap water? You must live in an area with amazing water filtration!

 

[HHIreefer843]

woah tap water?!?! nuts, tank looks great though!! should fill out in no time with the growth rate your getting

 

[Jamesfirth1]

Really like the red planet, but good growth on all of them.

 

[hypnoj]

any fish in there?

 

[defchild84]

haha, where do you live that the tap can sustain your sps? I remember in Utah, the tap was better than bottled water, but never tested for aquarium use. Here in Arizona, the taste of tap water is described as milky laden with calcium, with a metallic taste, finished with a hint of pool water-ish chlorine at it's best.

 

[jdraider75]

Man nice tank where you get the red planet I gotta get one.

 

[Ostara]

Very nice corals and growth! I was curious about the time period though, and it looks like you've been laboring over these beauties longer than you realized! According to the data stored in the pictures, the first shots of the Red Planet and Valida were taken 3/9/11, which makes it just shy of a year's growth. The Plum Crazy and Turquoise Stag were taken 3/29/11, so the second ones taken on 2/27/12 are about 11 months of growth. The Green Digi and Nana's first shots were taken 1/31/11, making it about 13 months worth of growth.

For around a year's worth of growth, that is really great! Time always flies with corals. I frequently think that I have only had different pieces for a few months and yet, when I go back to check, it's always much longer. :uhoh2: Whatever is in your tap water, those corals seem to like. Keep up the great work, you've got some lovely pieces there!

 

[redwingrob40]

Nice tank and growth shots. It is nice to see you growing great colorful SPS with a 4 bulb T5!! This gives me hope for my 55 with 4 bulb aquaticlife fixture!! And yeah gotta agree a normal 55 has terrible dimensions!!

Great looking corals, keep up the great work.

 

[hotsoup]

envy....

 

[BillyC]

Hmmm... To be completely honest, you really could be getting a LOT more growth. Your growth for some if these sps are a WAY less than a lot of others I've seen including mine. Not trying to be mean at all just trying to help out by suggesting you should make sure you aren't missing any problems like high phosphates, not enough flow/light etc.

 

[phasezero]

Hmmm... To be completely honest, you really could be getting a LOT more growth. Your growth for some if these sps are a WAY less than a lot of others I've seen including mine. Not trying to be mean at all just trying to help out by suggesting you should make sure you aren't missing any problems like high phosphates, not enough flow/light etc.

Thanks for the suggestions. I know there is much more room for growth from this system. I know this by comparing it to the frags I gave my friend who's 60g tank uses

2 BRS Dosers
2x 150W halides+ actinics
oversized skimmer+ refugium
RO/DI
Auto-top off
Low bio-load - Clown Pair , 2 chromis, 1 pj cardinal + light feedings

This is compared to my system which involves

Hand dosing every night 60ml each.
4x54w Aquatic life T5 - Fanless+splash guard = overheating
HOB CPR aeroforce skimmer
Tap water
Manual Top off when I can
High bio load - clown pair, Mandarin, YWG, firefish, Damsel, and Hippo Tang.

In my situation right now I don't have the money to invest in this tank for proper equipment. In terms of affordability I could probably work towards getting a top off or dosers. Probably dosers because my biggest issue at the moment is getting a consistent alkalinity. My tanks alk consumption is around 1dkh a day. I often leave on the weekends for 3-4 days at a time and it will drop from 10 to 5.5-6. Thankfully I don't see any adverse affects such as stn/rtn when I return, but I know it can't be good. I'll stop being lazy and update today with pictures from today.

 

[redwingrob40]

Thanks for the suggestions. I know there is much more room for growth from this system. I know this by comparing it to the frags I gave my friend who's 60g tank uses

2 BRS Dosers
2x 150W halides+ actinics
oversized skimmer+ refugium
RO/DI
Auto-top off
Low bio-load - Clown Pair , 2 chromis, 1 pj cardinal + light feedings

This is compared to my system which involves

Hand dosing every night 60ml each.
4x54w Aquatic life T5 - Fanless+splash guard = overheating
HOB CPR aeroforce skimmer
Tap water
Manual Top off when I can
High bio load - clown pair, Mandarin, YWG, firefish, Damsel, and Hippo Tang.

In my situation right now I don't have the money to invest in this tank for proper equipment. In terms of affordability I could probably work towards getting a top off or dosers. Probably dosers because my biggest issue at the moment is getting a consistent alkalinity. My tanks alk consumption is around 1dkh a day. I often leave on the weekends for 3-4 days at a time and it will drop from 10 to 5.5-6. Thankfully I don't see any adverse affects such as stn/rtn when I return, but I know it can't be good. I'll stop being lazy and update today with pictures from today.

IMO you should go with the BRS dosers. I too was dosing by hand for a long time, and when I added the dosers life became so much easier... The BRS dosers are a great investment IMHO, and if you can get them on sale even better! They will keep your alk and Ca nice and stable and you wont have to worry when you leave for those 3-4 days...

 

[sahin]

How is this tank doing? Please update if its still running. Thanks.