My 280g Custom upgrade.....

[SPotter]

Those rock are really nice. I am happy to hear that things are moving along so well.

Thanks Adam! Glad to see yours is moving along as well!!

Thanks Steve! Those rocks really look nice. Raise your salinity slowly. You aren't in a hurry!

I am still biased towards LED's but, you've been having success with the T5's.

As far as coral preference, you can't go wrong in any direction. I wouldn't read too much into the issues some of our fellow reefers have had with SPS. It has certainly been shocking with both Peter and Luc, but, they are different issues and different diseases. You just have to go with what you feel most comfortable with.

What did you end up doing with your old rock?

Thanks Dan. I do like LED's and think the modular setups are better than the all in one type set ups like mine. You have the ability move and adjust each unit to really create the optimal coverage. With mine, I would love to remove one fo the led banks and just run 3 instead of 4 but since its an all in one unit thats not possible. I think the greatest feature with LED's is the dimming. My favorite time to look at the tank is late in the evening when the lights are dimming.

As far as the old rock goes....I still have it and I am still trying to rid it of phosphates. I would like to sell it but wouldnt feel comfortable selling it knowing that there's a potential problem with the rock.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

I would have thought that after all the bleaching and LaCL treatments that the rock would be phosphate free.

 

[SPotter]

I have several very large pieces that have a lot of nooks and crannies in them. I am going to pull the big pieces out and see how the smaller ones do. It might be a situation where the bigger pieces need to be dipped again and for longer. Some of the pieces of are 18" long x 6-8" wide and easily weigh 10-15lbs each. the pukani is beautiful rock but I must say that I really love the new rock that I got.

 

[milonedp]

Sorry you had to go through that but the new rock looks really nice!

 

[SPotter]

Sorry you had to go through that but the new rock looks really nice!

Thanks Doug. I dont think I cured it long enough last year when I started the tank. Im sure that with a little more work or even another dip and plenty of time to cure the rock will be fine. I really need to sell it or give it away because the longer I hold on to it, the more I want to set up a fish only tank.

 

[CHSUB]

nice looking rock, looks like a nice pillar? keep it open, much easier to clean...

 

[nightOwl]

Steve that rock is looking good man. You really got some great pieces. You should be able to pull off some pretty nice aquascaping with that rock. You know I am a big fan of the Pukani but that rock you got has some great shapes. Looks like lots of nooks and crannies. Hopefully you are past the phosphate issues now! Take your time with the meter and get things the way you want them there is no rush to send it back down this way.

Please don't get trigger shy with SPS. Once your tank is stable again you should be fine. Just give it time to be stable.

 

[SPotter]

The New Rocks are In

The New Rocks are In

Im very happy with the new scape but will make a few changes to the right. I will make a clear separation between the two structures.

 

[M007]

Nice scape

 

[SPotter]

Nice scape

Thanks!!! Hows your Atlas tank? I like mine but was a little upset that they shut down so quickly.

 

[milonedp]

That looks really good.

 

[SPotter]

That looks really good.

Thanks Doug!

 

[danfeig]

Steve,

The rocks look fantastic! I love all the nooks, cranny's, levels... It is going to easy to place your corals in.

I am excited for you!

 

[RJT]

Wow!! Excellent job. I liked it before but this is even better. Great job of turning a negative into a positive with the rocks.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

The rock and aquascaping looks really good Steve. Me personally I like it the way it is but whatever change you make, it will still look great.

 

[SPotter]

Thanks guys! This is the most excited I have been about my tank in a long while. The rock in the tank was only about half of what I got. The other half is now in my rock tank. One of the things that I really love about this rock is that its so easy to work with in terms of stacking and placing. Because of all of the branches each piece has they almost lock in place and every time I put down another rock it instantly builds another set of caves for the fish. I will cut up small pieces of some of the other rock to use as frag plugs so when I get new frags, they will get mounted to the smaller pieces of the rock first and then placed into the tank when ready.

The new frag holding/qt set up and fish qt are set up and ready to go. I was supposed to receive an orange back wrasse yesterday from LiveAquaria along with a couple of coral frags that I ordered for the frag tank. But was disappointed and happy at the same time when the boxes arrived minus the wrasse. I was very disappointed that it wasnt in the delivery but very happy after I spoke with LA and found out what happened. They said that when they went to package the wrasse I ordered it didnt look good and decided they wanted to hold onto it for a couple of weeks before shipping. Once they feel that it is well enough to travel it will automatically ship out. This is why I only order livestock online from LA.

 

[Dustin1300]

Steve, not been posting a lot lately but the tank looks great and really like the new rock and aquascaping! Good shadowing and ordering my rock this week!

 

[FNHFan]

That rock is awesome. I hope you never get an aiptasia in the tank though, because a buddy of mine had rock similar to that (looked like long dead damicornis skeletons), and the aiptasia positively loved it. Totally overran his 400 gallon tank, and they were impossible to eradicate because of all the holes they could retract into.

 

[SPotter]

Steve, not been posting a lot lately but the tank looks great and really like the new rock and aquascaping! Good shadowing and ordering my rock this week!

Thanks Dustin! What kind of rock are you ordering?

That rock is awesome. I hope you never get an aiptasia in the tank though, because a buddy of mine had rock similar to that (looked like long dead damicornis skeletons), and the aiptasia positively loved it. Totally overran his 400 gallon tank, and they were impossible to eradicate because of all the holes they could retract into.

Thanks for the info! I will be on the look out for any pest anemones. Its one thing I have never had an issue with.

 

[Dustin1300]

Thanks Dustin! What kind of rock are you ordering?

Marco rock. Going to try to get some "prime cuts" too where Marc takes the rock and cuts it up and I can use for shelving. Thinking about 450 pounds of rock as of now? How much rock did you use?