Mhucasey's SPS obsession

Here are the new additions:

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Scorpius said:
^ Cool corals. I'm just starting my sps addiction. :)
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reefmutt said:
New corals!! Yeah!!
Looking good.
Still following your transformation.
Good to see the ca reactor humming along as well
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Thanks, I went to two places today - one place twice. AquaSD's corals looked really good, normally they are very pale and blasted by the 400W radiums, but they had really nice saturated color. There was also a bit of hair algae throughout the system. The owner confirmed that they raised nutrients by taking pellets off line and going to a smaller sump/refugia.
 
Myka said:
Yeah, the AF guide says squat all about the Zeolites eh? I haven't checked of their website has more info...
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They have a recommended range for amount but really nothing else. The rep told me that I didn't need the Zeolites, that NP Pro and ProBio S were enough on their own.
 
I just added some Zeomix into my TLF 550 reactor along with GFO and carbon. I'm using the AF zeolite in theory anyways, to absorb ammonia before the breakdown into nitrates. It is weird how AF doesn't provide much instructions.
 
Tokyoyankee said:
I just added some Zeomix into my TLF 550 reactor along with GFO and carbon. I'm using the AF zeolite in theory anyways, to absorb ammonia before the breakdown into nitrates. It is weird how AF doesn't provide much instructions.
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I'd be nervous running Zeolites and GFO together- thats a lot of Iron leaching into the system. Keep a close eye on the bases of your SPS and good luck.

Zeolites dont bind ammonia in salt water, in fact salt water is used to remove ammonia from zeolites that have bound ammonia in freshwater systems. It does, however give off some iron and a few other trace elements, which may be the key to why it seems to enhance bacterial systems.

I think AF stays away from them because they can really mess up a tank if used improperly. Since they know that the carbon source will do the job for the most part, they promote that. Zeovit not only makes you buy the Zeolites and change them every 6 weeks, but also requires that you use a lot more of them at higher prices. The zeolites are a big part of their business.
 
Photos 1,2 and 4 are nice!
Number 4 looks like lokani... Paaaaaaale lokani. It'll be sweet when it colours up..
As will the rest of them!
Looking forward to it!
 
mhucasey said:
I'm a big proponent of T5 and don't really care about shimmer, I would suggest the 6 bulb Sunpower for your reef. An 8 bulb unit gives you more combination options but it isn't necessary for your footprint.

Metal halides are proven as well, especially the Radium, but I haven't dealt with Halides in a long time and I'm not really the best to comment.

Your Corals will thank you for the change!
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Thank you for your help i will go with the ati 6 bulb fixture but what is your opinion on the dimmable version?
Also either way i go dimmable or not i have a plan to get the ati fixture and later buy x2 kessil A160wes and use them for my shimmer effect and more growth i can have them on the gooseneck mounts shinning angled just under the fixture.
 
MrineLfRlz said:
Thank you for your help i will go with the ati 6 bulb fixture but what is your opinion on the dimmable version?
Also either way i go dimmable or not i have a plan to get the ati fixture and later buy x2 kessil A160wes and use them for my shimmer effect and more growth i can have them on the gooseneck mounts shinning angled just under the fixture.
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I have the dimable and I don't know that I would buy one again. The best feature of it is that there is only one cord lol. I don't use the dimming feature as I think it's unnecessary. Mine has been a total lemon. ATI has been amazing customer service wise, but I've had the fixture since August 2014 and I have replaced both relays and 2 ballasts so far. I purchased an extra ballast to have on hand for the next time one blows.

Now, the good folks at ATI insist that my situation is aberrant, and not the norm, but I don't know...I've certainly seen more threads with issues on the dimable units than the regular sunpower....
 
swk said:
I have the dimable and I don't know that I would buy one again. The best feature of it is that there is only one cord lol. I don't use the dimming feature as I think it's unnecessary. Mine has been a total lemon. ATI has been amazing customer service wise, but I've had the fixture since August 2014 and I have replaced both relays and 2 ballasts so far. I purchased an extra ballast to have on hand for the next time one blows.

Now, the good folks at ATI insist that my situation is aberrant, and not the norm, but I don't know...I've certainly seen more threads with issues on the dimable units than the regular sunpower....
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thank you for sharing your experience just how much controll do you have with the fixture though is it 2 on one channel and 4 on the other you can dim?
 
MrineLfRlz said:
Thank you for your help i will go with the ati 6 bulb fixture but what is your opinion on the dimmable version?
Also either way i go dimmable or not i have a plan to get the ati fixture and later buy x2 kessil A160wes and use them for my shimmer effect and more growth i can have them on the gooseneck mounts shinning angled just under the fixture.
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That sounds like a good plan, in fact I saw a really nice reef that did that. Get the non-dimmable, dimming T5s isn't useful or needed IMO
 
reefmutt said:
Photos 1,2 and 4 are nice!
Number 4 looks like lokani... Paaaaaaale lokani. It'll be sweet when it colours up..
As will the rest of them!
Looking forward to it!
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#2 will have bluish tips - they had a crapton of them at AquaSD with more color than that one. I got this one a bit cheaper since it wasn't as deeply colored yet:) The Lokani will have dark blue tips, there were larger frags with them.
 
MrineLfRlz said:
Here is the tank how it sits with the leds there is growth but the color is off and most sps grow very slow but they are surviving so until i can get the ATI they will have to work.
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj51/wldtimes/Mobile Uploads/20160103_135630.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj51/wldtimes/Mobile Uploads/20160103_135648.jpg

When the time comes to purchase i would like to get some help with bulb selection if thats ok.
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The corals look very pale, do you have measurable Nitrate? I'd be happy to help you with some suggestions, but keep in mind color preference is very subjective:)
 
Well the coral gods giveth and then taketh away... The yellow-tipped tabling coral I got yesterday was from a store that I don't usually buy corals from. Because of that I dipped it in Bayer to be safe. This morning when the lights went on it was STNing like crazy.

I figured I over-dipped it, being a smooth skinned acro they can be sensitive. I knew they had more pieces of the same coral at that store so I went back today. All three of the other pieces were in full melt down too. I guess it wasn't the dip:uhoh2:

I won't be buying any corals from there anymore. I consoled myself by buying two more frags from the awesome AquaSD. 30 bucks each and no worries about meltdowns or pests:thumbsup:

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Sorry you lost some of the first set but all the new frags look fantastic. You're lucky to have so many good sources, I have one decent source and one ... guess what this brown frag will do ... source.
 
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