Jadette's 140g Rimless Build Thread

[xxvietxjustinxx]

3) The experience has led me to come to a realization. I love cheap corals. I love the look of digitatas and birdnests. Sure, they won't fetch top dollar at the local frag swap (not that I am known to sell my corals anyway) and they won't get ooh's and ahh's from the most discriminating collectors. No one will envy my 7 inch colony of neon green birdsnest. But gosh darn it, I think large colonies of SPS corals that will not RTN if I look at them the wrong way is the direction I want to go with my tank!

I agree with you wholeheartedly here. Birdsnest and montiporas are such underrated corals. While they may not be the most colorful of SPS, their formation as well as their ability to grow into such beautiful colonies in such a small time makes them great corals for both the advance and beginner reefer.

 

[waterman78]

So impressive Shirley. Nice update!!!!

 

[qwuintus]

Gorgeous tank...

I skimmed through from the first post and was wondering if you help answer some questions:

Why the switch to halides?

What happened to that giant rbta? That was my favorite part of your tank.

How's that magic marine doser been working for you? Worth not going that ($)
BM route?

 

[jadette]

Looks great Shirley I love cheap corals also but I can't keep some SPS of the moment but hopefully I can have some in my cube soon and it seems the lemondrop can only keep the bright neon yellow under heavy blue LEDs mine looks crappy at the moment( not much blue LEDs in my tank ATM ) because I don't like heavy blue lights it makes my fish looks dull and ugly

My tank is lit with only blue LEDs for the last 30 minutes of the light cycle. I get the cheesy fluorescence look that makes everything just glow beautifully. I'm glad that I have this option, and I'm also glad that it only lasts for 30 minutes, b/c I would puke from the longterm gawdiness of it. This paragraph did not make sense. Oh well. It's late.

Really?!?! That's obsessive! God bless those families of victims from school shootings.

Back to your thread, Shirley, awesome review on zeo. I have a vertex zeovit reactor with the basic 4 I am contemplating whether or not to try.

Sponge power and xtra are two items I recently started using from pohls recently and they have definitely increased coloration, tissue depth, and metallic shimmer to the acros. Sponge power has increased purples and water clarity, while xtra deepened the tissue color and metallic shimmer that's been lackluster for the past few months. Have you considered dosing only specific products from pohl's to target your goal?

I'm actually using sponge power, Pohl's Xtra, and Coral Snow in addition to the basic Zeovit. I am seeing that metallic shimmer in some of my corals. It seems to add a 4th dimension to the corals.

I'm using Coral Snow b/c I am experiencing a minor cyano problem since starting Zeo. Not quite as bad as when I was using the Bio Actif salt, but enough to stick onto some undesired places such as my gorgonians.

My goal for Zeovit was to get better growth. I have always been happy with the colors on my corals. Three months in and I'm still meh about it. I have about 3 more months of Zeovit supplies. If I don't really see much of a change, I'll probably go back to GFO and vodka dosing.

I agree with you wholeheartedly here. Birdsnest and montiporas are such underrated corals. While they may not be the most colorful of SPS, their formation as well as their ability to grow into such beautiful colonies in such a small time makes them great corals for both the advance and beginner reefer.

Stylos are quickly becoming one of my non-acro faves as well. I'm very bad at keeping ALK stable, and it looks like birdsnests, montiporas, stylos and poccis are not that ALK sensitive.
I want to take a stab at porites. Wonder how sensitive those are.

So impressive Shirley. Nice update!!!!

Danke!

Gorgeous tank...

I skimmed through from the first post and was wondering if you help answer some questions:

Why the switch to halides?

What happened to that giant rbta? That was my favorite part of your tank.

How's that magic marine doser been working for you? Worth not going that ($)
BM route?

T5s had great color, but I couldn't live with the 1-dimensional, non-shimmer feel of it.
LEDs required so much figuring out to do as far as placement was concerned. When I used a par meter, it was shocking to see the huge difference in par when a coral was just moved a few inches over. And this was with 80 degree lenses. I guess I could have made it work, but I hate aquascaping and I didn't want to deal with having to check par everytime I moved things around. I guess a way around that would be to have more LEDs and have them closer together and run them at a lower current.
I went back to metal halides b/c I really wanted to try radium bulbs. I had DE fixtures before, so I really never had a chance to play around with radiums on my old tank. Since heat was never an issue for me (we like to keep our house cool 24/7 even during the summer) and the cost of running MHs versus LEDs was only about a $30/mo upper, MHs were the clear choice for me. Nothing beats the even coverage of a MH bulb with a good quality reflector!

The giant RBTA I had got too big and was stinging everything on the right side of my tank. I started pushing him farther and farther away in the corner where there was not enough light to keep it happy. It started getting smaller and smaller, and in fear of losing something that I had for over 4 years, I moved it to my husband's tank where it is quite happy now with a new pair of clowns to host in it (my old pair I had given away).

The marine magic doser is working okay. The pumps work great and are reliable. What I don't like about it is the programming (not user friendly) and the fact that there is no battery backup on it - only static ram. So it will retain the programming when I lose power, but it loses its real time clock, so I would have to set the time again each time I lose power. Also, where I have it placed in my stand, I have to pull it out to see the display and each time I do this, the lose plug comes off - losing power - and thus requiring me to set the time again. Real pain. That's more a function of me putting it in a bad location than the doser itself.
If I had to do it all again and was budget minded, I would still go with the marine magic. It's a solid unit. If I had the extra money to spend, I would probably go for the BM b/c of the front display.

 

[qwuintus]

Thanks for your detailed response!

I am in the middle of planning my tank and forgot to consider the corals potential to sting each other. It's a shame since there are so many that look great together.

Did you have a favoirte DE bulb? Any recommendations as I will be using a hamilton unit with a 250 DE and 2x T5s.

 

[jadette]

Thanks for your detailed response!

I am in the middle of planning my tank and forgot to consider the corals potential to sting each other. It's a shame since there are so many that look great together.

Did you have a favoirte DE bulb? Any recommendations as I will be using a hamilton unit with a 250 DE and 2x T5s.

You know, I see these tanks with coral colonies just packed in so close together and I honestly don't know how they do it. I guess they either live with the coral warfare, or they are meticulous about trimming all the time. Once the corals start touching each other, they leave dead white spots that I just can't stand. Sometimes they play nice though and the result is a very interesting look! My forest fire digi and purple digi are now growing into to each other and the sections where they meld together are quite the sight to behold. Another interesting thing about my purple digitata is there are certain spots on it where the polyps are a bright green instead of purple. Only a few polyps here and there, but it is an intriguing thing to see.

Anemones though will sting the crap out of corals - not just annoy them. Again, I see some tanks with anemones right next to a coral colony and they do not seemed bothered much by it. My corals next to an anemone will flat out die after a few weeks of the stinging.
I currently have two small anemones in my tank - the lemondrop and a small flame tip rbta. It's on the side where I keep my "hardy" corals, so I'm interested in seeing how much damage, if any, the anemones will get once they expand. Right now, they're not big enough to sting the corals around them. They did kill one section of my bed of mohawk zoas though (which grow like weeds in my tank. I easily have over several thousand polyps).

For 250W DE bulbs, I went with the 14,000K phoenix bulbs. I really liked the color (crisp white with a hint of blue). They were supplemented with a fiji purple and blue plus T5 bulbs. I loved that combination. I got great growth from the phoenix bulbs as well. The red from the fiji purple made my RBTA really pop. Really brought out the oranges in my fish as well.

Here's my old 75g with the bulb combo I mentioned above:

I had purposely turned off the lighting in the back of the tank for this photo to create depth. Something my hubby told me to do with my lights that really works out swell. I do this with my current tank as well for the dawn and dusk look. With the front illuminated with just LEDs and the back dark, it makes my tank look really deep. Wish I can take a pic of it, but it's hard to do with the dim lighting.

 

[trackhazard]

The giant RBTA I had got too big and was stinging everything on the right side of my tank. I started pushing him farther and farther away in the corner where there was not enough light to keep it happy. It started getting smaller and smaller, and in fear of losing something that I had for over 4 years, I moved it to my husband's tank where it is quite happy now with a new pair of clowns to host in it (my old pair I had given away).

Here is the RBTA in my tank. As you can see, its gotten quite smaller but it still looks nice IMO.


DSC_5066 by ultrabreak, on Flickr

-Charlie

 

[bullitr]

Looks good Charlie.

 

[jadette]

Oops.

I did it again and bought a fish I could not afford. But I've been VERY VERY good lately. This would be my first fish purchase since January.

Probably not going to be reef-safe, but I've done dumber things in this hobby. I've been eye-ing this cutie at happycoral.com for some time now and finally pulled the trigger when they had an Easter sale today.

 

[bullitr]

Oooh ooh
Bad Shirley bad ...
What's next goldflake angel?

 

[waterman78]

Cool looking stripes and color scheme...

 

[dodgerblew]

Is that a Mitratus Shirley? Very Nice

 

[jadette]

Yep, a Mitratus. I was debating over getting this one, or the tinkeri hybrid at PIA. Went with the Mitratus b/c I wanted more yellow fish. Hard to find a yellow fish that's not a yellow tang for a reef tank!

 

[elio]

Amazing job with the tank! Looks GREAT!.. definitely inspiring. Thanks for sharing this great thread!.

 

[ReefPharmer]

Hey Shirley
I noted you use IO salt and do smaller water changes few times a week. Why do you use regular io instead of reef crystals ? I realize reef crystals are more expensive but you are also getting higher lvls of all chems in it

 

[jadette]

I used to use reef crystals, but the ALK was just too high. I keep my ALK at around 8 dkh, and I had tested batches of reef crystals at 14!

I make 30g batches of water with IO every week. I just throw in about 200 mL or so of calcium and a bit of Mg and potassium for good measure and I'm good to go.

I struggle with keeping my ALK stable. It's usually hovering about 120 ppm, but I can not get it steady there for long. Sometimes will drop to 90 and then go up to 140 ppm. I have a feeling that my water changes with IO (which tests at about 11 dkh for me) is causing fluctuations. If I'm "too good" with my water changes, it'll run a bit high, and if I'm bad with it for that particular month, it'll run low.

I dose two-part to keep levels up, but since the salt I use is at a different ALK as my tank, I become too reliant on steady water changes to keep my ALK stable.
This is just what I am guessing. Maybe I'm just really bad at measuring stuff.

The main reason why I use IO is the fact that it is so easily attainable for me at a reasonable price. I don't want to not do a water change b/c I ran out of salt. I can pick up a box at the SPS store or at rainbow pets for the same price (or cheaper) than online. If salt is affordable, I'll be more likely to keep up with my water changes, or be more willing to toss out a bad batch (no "I got some rain water in my salt mix. Can I still use it?" conflicted questions from me).

But with my ALK swings, I'm debating if I should switch salts. I've been slowly seeing a very very slow STN-ing on my deepwater corals that is, quite frankly, ****ing me off. I can't quite figure it out. I'm guessing it's b/c of my unstable ALK. Milleporas, staghorns, torts and all non-acroporas are doing great, but I can't seem to keep an echinata alive for the life of me. They have been the bane of my reefing experience. What kills me though, is that the echinatas do GREAT in my tank for the first 6 months or so. I get stellar growth and gorgeous hues from them. And then BAM! I'll see a white patch on the base, that will slowly creep up. It usually takes a full month or two before I lose the whole frag/colony.

Sorry for the rant. I know you asked about the salt and I just went off on a silly little tangent.

Maybe I should buy this off of Diver's Den and see if I can break the curse!

 

[bullitr]

Updates please

 

[xxvietxjustinxx]

I used to use reef crystals, but the ALK was just too high. I keep my ALK at around 8 dkh, and I had tested batches of reef crystals at 14!

I make 30g batches of water with IO every week. I just throw in about 200 mL or so of calcium and a bit of Mg and potassium for good measure and I'm good to go.

I struggle with keeping my ALK stable. It's usually hovering about 120 ppm, but I can not get it steady there for long. Sometimes will drop to 90 and then go up to 140 ppm. I have a feeling that my water changes with IO (which tests at about 11 dkh for me) is causing fluctuations. If I'm "too good" with my water changes, it'll run a bit high, and if I'm bad with it for that particular month, it'll run low.

I dose two-part to keep levels up, but since the salt I use is at a different ALK as my tank, I become too reliant on steady water changes to keep my ALK stable.
This is just what I am guessing. Maybe I'm just really bad at measuring stuff.

The main reason why I use IO is the fact that it is so easily attainable for me at a reasonable price. I don't want to not do a water change b/c I ran out of salt. I can pick up a box at the SPS store or at rainbow pets for the same price (or cheaper) than online. If salt is affordable, I'll be more likely to keep up with my water changes, or be more willing to toss out a bad batch (no "I got some rain water in my salt mix. Can I still use it?" conflicted questions from me).

But with my ALK swings, I'm debating if I should switch salts. I've been slowly seeing a very very slow STN-ing on my deepwater corals that is, quite frankly, ****ing me off. I can't quite figure it out. I'm guessing it's b/c of my unstable ALK. Milleporas, staghorns, torts and all non-acroporas are doing great, but I can't seem to keep an echinata alive for the life of me. They have been the bane of my reefing experience. What kills me though, is that the echinatas do GREAT in my tank for the first 6 months or so. I get stellar growth and gorgeous hues from them. And then BAM! I'll see a white patch on the base, that will slowly creep up. It usually takes a full month or two before I lose the whole frag/colony.

Sorry for the rant. I know you asked about the salt and I just went off on a silly little tangent.

Maybe I should buy this off of Diver's Den and see if I can break the curse!

I had this issue with my tank when I was using RC on my 40 gallon. One could imagine the big swings in alk one would get from doing a 5 gallon water change on a 40 gallon tank weekly. You should consider switching to D&D salt. It's alk is much lower than RC or IO and also closer to where I personally like my Alk (8) and calcium (430~).

 

[acesq]

I love your tank and enjoy reading your thread. Informative, inspirational and funny. Can't beat that combination!

My two bits on the water change/alk stability issue, after having struggled with the same issue: I use ESV Salt. Alkalinity is a separate component so I can set it at exactly my tank alk level and not have to worry about even the slightest swing when I do a water chance. It is more expensive than other brands, but I think its worth it. You might want to consider it.

Art

 

[jadette]

Updates please

No updates that you don't already know about Lawrence, but in case anyone else was wondering...

No, I did not buy that echinata. I did not have enough space for it. In fact, I wasn't liking how cluttered my tank was looking so I did some extensive coral trimming on the left side of my tank. Notice how I've only been posting pics of my right side! Left side will be experiencing some re-growing pains, but hopefully this time it'll be with corals that I am excited about.

So I did get the mitratus from happycoral.com. Unfortunately, it was looking a bit thin on arrival, and would not eat. Didn't make it past a week. I was rather disheartened.

So all you gamblers out there. What do you do when you're emotional unstable and lose a hand at the tables? You double down on the next bet!

Yes, I went off and bought not one, but two mitratuses to heal my depression. Bless my husband and his non-judgemental heart.