Jadette's 140g Rimless Build Thread

Sanh - Just let me know when you're ready for some frags. I'm actually going to tear down my frag section in my sump soon. I've neglected it and the chaeto has all but strangled most of them. Going to grow macro-algae in there instead.

What problems are you fighting with your tank? Do you think it's the LEDs?

Yes, I went back to MH, but I'm going to put up LEDs for supplemental lighting. Was thinking about VHOs (I have enough icecap ballasts in my garage to cover this), but that's just too much wattage over a 140g.

Mike - Thanks so much for the frags! The bellina is just so fuzzy. It opened up immediately in my tank. Can't wait for it to grow out. Polyp extension on it looks very much like my crayola plana, which is another favorite of mine. Shortly after I left your place, it hit me that I didn't pick up the pearlberry that I wanted! I have plenty of things in my tank in needing to grow out though, so I am certainly content for now.

So the flavor of the month for me in my tank are....

Gorgonians!

I had all these weird little bare spots in my tank that were too awkwardly shape to place a hard coral in. I also wanted something that would not cause too much coral warfare.
Gorgonians are perfect for that. They look like staghorns with lotsa PE from a distance that are bendy!
I got about 8 different varieties from Sealifeinc.net (excellent vendor, btw). Some definitely look better in an SPS tank than others. The Muriceopsis flavida is my favorite.
 
awesome tank! wish I could see this in person since pics usually dont do justice. what is that red mille colony on the top left island?
 
Hey Shirley, if you ever feel like getting rid of some frags then please let me know. ;) I absolutely love your tank and aquascaping!
 
Hey Lawrence!

Oh I bet. That's gonna be my next purchase. A nice harem of anthias.
Just trying to decide on which ones to go with.
 
Shirley's newest anthias addition i believe are 10 Randall's
I think they are really nice and they stay relatively small.
 
Thanks for the thumbs up guys. I've been very happy with my tank lately and I owe it all to my recent decision on spending extra money on buying more salt.

I recently got to thinking that I could spend $35 on a bottle of amino acids for my tank, or I can spend $35 on a 200g box of IO salt and do crazy 20% water changes every week for a month. I was guessing the latter would give my corals better growth and colors and I dare say that I guessed right!

I am also happy that the weather is getting cooler which means I can add 1 or 2 hours of MH on time without having to deal with the high temps.

Rene - You are welcome to swing by again to see my tank - although it's a bit of a mess right now since I took down my frag tank I have frags just sitting all over my sand bed.

And shame on you Lawrence! You of all people should know that I added more ignitus anthias to my tank instead of randalls! ;) the ignitus are beautiful but are as dumb as a brick. They get all excited when I feed the tank that they'll make a jump for the food and with my open top tank ... well you know ... I've been fortunate to be around to pick them up and throw them back in the tank, but there have been 3 occasions already where my boys have found pink anchovies on the carpet. This is the first time i have experienced jumping anthias. Interestingly enough, I have NEVER had a wrasse go carpet surfing on me. I know. I know. It's not about if it'll happen, but when it'll happen.

So I was going through old photos of my tank and noticed some decent growth on my red planet. I try to keep a clean looking tank (minimize stuff on the sandbed, scrape algae off back and sides every week, etc..), and the color on my corals have always been half way decent, but I was never able to really brag much about coral growth. Even now with my MH lighting, I'm getting good growth, but certainly not the 'I grew this 12" round colony from this 1/2" frag in 6 months!' type of success that I see on the SPS forums.

Anyway, I want to show everyone at least some progress in coral growth that I've been noticing.

Here's my red planet back in 3/26/2012 under T5s (pretty gross looking):
redplanet3.jpg


Here it is on 8/8/2012 under metal halides (I think I transitioned to MHs in May. Don't quite remember exactly when):
redplanet2.jpg


And here it is again taken on 10/20/2012. I had fragged a piece of it for my brother, but it still showed growth on the main branch.
redplanet1.jpg


That blue tenuis on the left of it grew a significant amount as well. The blue tenuis is one of my favorite corals in my tank.
 
Sorry about that

Speaking of randall's anthias on the picture
my dozen of glass cardinals did not do well in my tank :(
Although my 30+ anthias seems to be doing very well
 
No good growth? I say for 5 months, it's pretty darn good! Then 2 months later, even better. Congrats to you and you still make me want to go mh.

A bit off topic, but what does your I/O salt test at alk/ca/mag? I just got my first box of it a week ago, but haven't started mixing it. Also where are you getting your I/O at that price?!?! Pm me if you can :).
 
Lawrence - Glass cardinals are poor shippers, but once they survive the first week, they're hardy. That's why I like getting them through petsolutions.com or liveaquaria.com since they have a 14 days stay alive guarantee. How are you handling the extra bioload?

Kenny - The IO salt reads 11 dkh for me. I run my tank at ~8.5 dkh, so it bumps it up just a little for me. I actually don't do large water changes all at once. I'll do about 4-5g a day 3x a week, and will do a larger one over the weekend. It sounds like a lot of work, but it actually is therapeutic for me. I don't check for Calcium regularly. Over 6 years of reefing, and I have never seen my calcium fall below 420 or go above 480 when I randomly test. Probably not a smart thing to do, but as long as I dose Ca+ at about 75% the amount I dose Alk, my tank seems to do okay. I don't check my new salt for Mg. I just dose 100ml once a week and test Mg about two or three times a year. Since I do multiple small water changes a week, I don't really run the chance of spikes due to water changes. Not something recommend, but I eyeball things a lot. If my tank looks a little off, then I test frequently. If all is well, I test when I'm bored.

I get my salt at a local place (Rainbow Pets) for $35 a box. If I don't feel like driving, I'll just wait for DrsF&S or Petsolutions to have a sale. Petsolutions has it for $38.99 for a 200g box right now - no tax. If I buy two boxes (or hit $49, which is very easy to do), shipping is free. You can actually price match that at Marine Depot as well. So many options on getting IO for cheap!
 
I would like to, especially since there's a WYSIWG item at uniquecorals that I have been eyeing for some time now. But Sundays are bad for me. Everyone is so far, and I have only about 2-3 free hours on Sunday so I end up driving out for an hour, hanging out for 30-45 min, and then driving home.

Is the meet east or west of Unique Corals?
 
Thank you for the huge Sps colonies Shirley
You are always so generous.



I seen the tank today it's getting better and better colors are insane under metal halide without any supplemental actinic or anything. Radium metal halide is the best!!!
Picture don't do this tank justice ...

Hand down the best mixed reef in RC
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Is smaller leveling mat with tank overhang safe?
2
Replies
30
Views
537
wvned
wvned
ClownBubbaJoe
Help To Build A Dream Anemone & Host Fish, Crab & Volcano Tank.
Replies
14
Views
315
vlangel
vlangel
skeeter_ca
How do i alternate two closed loop system DC pumps.
Replies
11
Views
213
wvned
wvned
S
Lighting Question - Glass penetration
Replies
7
Views
281
xabo
xabo
E
Which heater
Replies
13
Views
593
griss
griss
Back
Top