My 65 Gallon Mixed Reef
- Thread starter biggles
- Start date
biggles
Premium Member
Thanks Baros 
They have a way to go yet but should all give up the color sulks completely over the next 4-8 weeks. I removed the two rocks on the left and made the raised raft you can see in the first pic on this page - the frag rack closeup. I also removed the tall rock with the hitchhiker clam on top and put it in the sump. Replaced it with a much smaller piece from the sump as i felt it was too crowded on the right side.
I've removed a few acros and chopped them back at the base before re attaching them as with everything growing well i realised i need much smaller pieces or it's going to fill too quick and then i can't buy more SPS lol. There's only 10 pieces in there and i expect to add at least another 25-30 SPS along with some colorful LPS, we have some stunningly colored LPS commonly available in LFS's here in Aus so i want to grab some scolys and rics along with a fluoro green hammer. Lots of stuff to go in there yet.
I love anemones but i have seen the result of the carnage wrought when one went wandering in one of my tanks lol - it looked like a napalm drop across my SPS reef........ oh and the bloody pain in the bum coralline has started going nuts which i don't want on the black background. :headwally:
They have a way to go yet but should all give up the color sulks completely over the next 4-8 weeks. I removed the two rocks on the left and made the raised raft you can see in the first pic on this page - the frag rack closeup. I also removed the tall rock with the hitchhiker clam on top and put it in the sump. Replaced it with a much smaller piece from the sump as i felt it was too crowded on the right side.I've removed a few acros and chopped them back at the base before re attaching them as with everything growing well i realised i need much smaller pieces or it's going to fill too quick and then i can't buy more SPS lol. There's only 10 pieces in there and i expect to add at least another 25-30 SPS along with some colorful LPS, we have some stunningly colored LPS commonly available in LFS's here in Aus so i want to grab some scolys and rics along with a fluoro green hammer. Lots of stuff to go in there yet.
I love anemones but i have seen the result of the carnage wrought when one went wandering in one of my tanks lol - it looked like a napalm drop across my SPS reef........ oh and the bloody pain in the bum coralline has started going nuts which i don't want on the black background. :headwally:
Bello
New member
How the hell did you manage that with an iPhone camera?? Looks awesome!
"Bello's Brown Bomber", eh? :fun2:, Lmfao!
Was looking at the LED's. Seems that they're mounted on PCBs, in which case it may be a bit difficult to use Cree's or Luxeon's. However, Epileds, or quite a few of the chinese made ones are available on eBay. Not sure if you already know about this, but when placing a RED led (660nm), you could place a CYAN (495 or 505nm) and a BLUE (450-480) on either side, so the entire look appears white instead of reddish. I believe some of the popular t5 bulbs also have a spike at 530nm, for brightness, as perceived by our eyes. This should then reduce the number of whites required. At least this is what I'll be doing on my fixture.
Show me the Bomber!!!
"Bello's Brown Bomber", eh? :fun2:, Lmfao!
Was looking at the LED's. Seems that they're mounted on PCBs, in which case it may be a bit difficult to use Cree's or Luxeon's. However, Epileds, or quite a few of the chinese made ones are available on eBay. Not sure if you already know about this, but when placing a RED led (660nm), you could place a CYAN (495 or 505nm) and a BLUE (450-480) on either side, so the entire look appears white instead of reddish. I believe some of the popular t5 bulbs also have a spike at 530nm, for brightness, as perceived by our eyes. This should then reduce the number of whites required. At least this is what I'll be doing on my fixture.
Show me the Bomber!!!
biggles
Premium Member
Ha - i knew that one would catch you off guard lol. I used a $15 iphone macro lens.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/120967804639?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
BBB frags are $500 btw....... i'll do you one for $400 though since your names going on them.
Thanks for the help with the LED conversion mate, i think i'll go with your suggestion and have a go at adding some reds and cyans beside the blues. :thumbsup:
Don't worry Bello - your namesake will be appearing in all it's brown glory tomorrow lol.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/120967804639?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
BBB frags are $500 btw....... i'll do you one for $400 though since your names going on them.
Thanks for the help with the LED conversion mate, i think i'll go with your suggestion and have a go at adding some reds and cyans beside the blues. :thumbsup:Don't worry Bello - your namesake will be appearing in all it's brown glory tomorrow lol.
Bello
New member
Ha - i knew that one would catch you off guard lol. I used a $15 iphone macro lens.
BBB frags are $500 btw....... i'll do you one for $400 though since your names going on them.
:uzi: Very clever..........very clever!!! Still got some tricks up your sleeve, eh? Now I've gotta go hunting for one for my Galaxy S2!!
$400 for a BBB? Sheesh, I thought brand ambassadors get the poo for free? :dance:
So envious, any chance you could take some pics at the LFS? Would love to see what you guys have available there?
Are you seriously gonna do the rimless second tank?? Would be really awesome!
troubadour11
Member
Thanks for the kind words troubadour11
Any time on the kind words! You've got some interesting ideas that I'm excited to hear more about. Although my wife may kill me if I take up bonsai before I even finish building our new system and the get corals in it! :debi: Hahaha
I'm about to start up a 90dt mixed reef build. The new carpeting just got finished going in the living room. The tank is in it's permanent place and now I can finally start laying out the plumbing through the wall. No way I was tearing down the system to move it for 2 days while new carpeting got installed in a couple years. So only a slight delay on the build to get that done.
For now, I'll tag along this conversation like I've done a million others while studying up and planning this build. My build thread, aquascaping, and plumbing to start next, ASAP!
The lighting concepts are great info as well. I'm expecting to build a custom LED set up once I get the system cycling. I've done lots of reading on full spectrum LED designs too.
biggles
Premium Member
Lol, indeed i do mate. I've never let my lack of finances hold me back - it's been good in a way as i've been forced to learn ways to cope without any high end equipment. The only reef equipment i use and will pay good money for is:
1. Skimmer - best thing since sliced bread was invented !
2. Lighting - doesn't matter what type it is or what it cost you, if it's not the right spectrum you're up sh*t creek without a paddle and your fugly corals are coming along for the ride.
3. Circulation - Have lots and bounce the streams off each other if you haven't got a pump controller like me.
4. Return pumps and heaters - if you skimp on either of these you're just asking for trouble.
I'll definitely try to take some pics of what's in the tanks at the LFS today for you Bello :thumbsup: I found a pic of the SCC branch when i bought it a few months back, paid $45- and it's the most expensive coral i've bought to date.
Of course i'm going to do a rimless tank, look at the wasted wall space in this old shot - game on Bello ! :strooper:
My pleasure mate, thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings. :beer:
Wise move waiting for the carpet mate, look forward to following your 90 build.
That's all you can do with the many different takes we all have on maintaining our reefs - don't be a sheep, use the info and follow advice that make sense to you troubadour11 and you won't go too far wrong. The knowledge base here is tremendous with so many experienced and helpful reefers.
I'll be watching how you go with your custom LED build and will likely annoy you with questions as i want to play around with them too. :beer:
Here's potato head begging me to stick my hand in the tank as usual......
Red shrooms - never, ever, ever let these things loose on your rockwork or you'll catch the 'red plague' lol.
Time for my LFS visit - i promise i won't rub it in if i manage to score something cool Bello.........
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biggles
Premium Member
Last time i visited the LFS i asked whether they could get me a pair of percs down the track as they never seemed to have any in stock - they always have 50-100 tank bred ocellaris - no probs to order me a pair so i left it at that. I also asked about these new fancy colored clowns that all you guys seem to have and was told they're very hard to get in Aus and expensive so i scratched that idea. Today i go in - ' don't suppose you have any percs in i can look at ?' - 'Nope, no percs just occy's' - 'okay no probs i'll check out the SPS'. As i'm turning away i hear 'i have got a picasso'...........
Obviously it's not my fault that i no longer have a fish-less reef, it's the LFS guy's fault.......:worried:
Obviously it's not my fault that i no longer have a fish-less reef, it's the LFS guy's fault.......:worried:
Bello
New member
Heavens be praised, for ye have purchased a stupid fish :fish1:. Looks great and something special! How big a hole in your wallet?
AUD 45 for the SSC? Sheesh, I'll have to throw some shrimp at you now. The improvement in colors is pretty awesome, from the pale specimen first purchased. I'll need some tips from you when I get mine.
Game on for the rimless!! Where you placing it though? Left/right/opposite to the current system?
Spill the beans on the new purchases!! I already see 2 hot blue stags!
AUD 45 for the SSC? Sheesh, I'll have to throw some shrimp at you now
. The improvement in colors is pretty awesome, from the pale specimen first purchased. I'll need some tips from you when I get mine.Game on for the rimless!! Where you placing it though? Left/right/opposite to the current system?
Spill the beans on the new purchases!! I already see 2 hot blue stags!
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biggles
Premium Member
I can't believe i spent $100- on a bloody fish but i did. How much do they go for in your neck of the woods mate ?
I was impressed with the color of that SCC when i bought it. That's the first time i've ever been able to purchase a pink acro since starting in the hobby Bello. Going to put the rimless on the side where the chair was in that pic, i have 50" to play with hence the idea to go with another 40" wide tank but much deeper this time.
I took a few shots at the LFS for you but it's nearly impossible to do with their blue/white LED lights. There was lots of crappy stuff and very little new corals
Their main display looks to be 10x4x2.5' - it's huge and all chinese blue/white LED's like mine.
The new SPS kinda stick out amongst the old stuff lol.
Pristine SPS holding tank......
The guys had just broken up a large fluoro pink/orange hammer, couldn't really do the colors justice.
I drove half way to the LFS before i realised i'd left the frags at home so they are messing up the tank still LFS was out of sand so that was disappointing. The new corals have just been shoved where they rest for now.
Browned out pocil - hopefully it's pink not green. $30-
Browned out pink stylo. $35-
One of the two blue stag branches i scored - they're dirty water acros so i have high hopes that they will retain a lot of the blue they have now. $65- each.
I had to grab a piece of the hammer - very pale atm but is fully open now so it should be stunning when the color returns fully. $45-
That was it for today, five new corals and a fish - i came home a very happy reefer all things considered.
I was impressed with the color of that SCC when i bought it. That's the first time i've ever been able to purchase a pink acro since starting in the hobby Bello. Going to put the rimless on the side where the chair was in that pic, i have 50" to play with hence the idea to go with another 40" wide tank but much deeper this time.
I took a few shots at the LFS for you but it's nearly impossible to do with their blue/white LED lights. There was lots of crappy stuff and very little new corals
Their main display looks to be 10x4x2.5' - it's huge and all chinese blue/white LED's like mine.
The new SPS kinda stick out amongst the old stuff lol.
Pristine SPS holding tank......
The guys had just broken up a large fluoro pink/orange hammer, couldn't really do the colors justice.
I drove half way to the LFS before i realised i'd left the frags at home so they are messing up the tank still LFS was out of sand so that was disappointing. The new corals have just been shoved where they rest for now.
Browned out pocil - hopefully it's pink not green. $30-
Browned out pink stylo. $35-
One of the two blue stag branches i scored - they're dirty water acros so i have high hopes that they will retain a lot of the blue they have now. $65- each.
I had to grab a piece of the hammer - very pale atm but is fully open now so it should be stunning when the color returns fully. $45-
That was it for today, five new corals and a fish - i came home a very happy reefer all things considered.
Bello
New member
I have to be honest here, and I apologize if I may have been misleading, but unfortunately, I don't live in the US, so honestly, that clown you purchased, and a lot of the coral that you have are pretty much priceless to me. Which is all the more reason why I wanted to see your LFS, its a dream. The only time I get a chance to see stuff like this, is when I travel abroad, dragging my poor wife along to places she wouldn't rather go. Once again, I apologize.
That looks like a good spot for the rimless. How tall are you going with the stand? Could you be tempted to go 48x48x14 :lol:?
Your LFS has a pretty decent display. Quite a nice scape, and is that a Milka stylopora I see in the centre, or the led's rendering a pink stylo, purple? Looks pretty good for blue and white LED's only.
I really like the blue stags!! Even in the store, under blue-white led's they look gorgeous, and all the better in your tank. There's still a lot to duplicate to get that Radium spectrum.
Though I've been staying away from LPS recently, that's a very nice hammer pickup. The current pale color is down to low nutrients from place of origin? I ask, because I have a very pale looking trachyphyllia, which I believe was brighter/richer under higher nutrients.
I'm curious about the blue stag coming from "dirty water"? Surprising to hear that the SSC was the first pink acro you've bought. I'm aware that the aussie livestock import laws are very strict. But it seems that varieties of fish are available? What about coral?
Fingers crossed that the brown turds turn pink :lol:
That looks like a good spot for the rimless. How tall are you going with the stand? Could you be tempted to go 48x48x14 :lol:?
Your LFS has a pretty decent display. Quite a nice scape, and is that a Milka stylopora I see in the centre, or the led's rendering a pink stylo, purple? Looks pretty good for blue and white LED's only.
I really like the blue stags!! Even in the store, under blue-white led's they look gorgeous, and all the better in your tank. There's still a lot to duplicate to get that Radium spectrum.
Though I've been staying away from LPS recently, that's a very nice hammer pickup. The current pale color is down to low nutrients from place of origin? I ask, because I have a very pale looking trachyphyllia, which I believe was brighter/richer under higher nutrients.
I'm curious about the blue stag coming from "dirty water"? Surprising to hear that the SSC was the first pink acro you've bought. I'm aware that the aussie livestock import laws are very strict. But it seems that varieties of fish are available? What about coral?
Fingers crossed that the brown turds turn pink :lol:
biggles
Premium Member
You have nothing to apologise for Bello, i just assumed you were from the US so if anything it's my goof mate. :beer: Since you don't get to visit stores very often i'll take a heap of pics next time i go to the store of both the coral stock (including flubber) and the fish stock - i'll PM you the pics buddy - you'll prob lol when you see what i ignore simply because it's too flubbery looking.
They had lots of colorful scolys, acans and trachys etc that you'll like - the ones that cost an arm and a leg in the US. I ran out of money otherwise i would have grabbed one of the bright red Cynarina's that did catch my eye. Look up button corals on divers den and check out the 'super red' (super common) - i'll grab one next visit as they're very cool and way more vibrantly colored than those sale pics.
Btw, i'd swear i saw a beautiful little angel that is in your avvy pic at the store - multisomething angel. I would buy one of those in a heartbeat if it wasn't a bloody angel lol. Pics don't do them justice at all so if you're keeping one successfully with SPS you've p*ssed me off again lol.
I intend running a 400W radium surrounded on all 4 sides with double 3ft T5 units over the next tank so don't be trying to sabotage my heavy artillery display - 'tank battles' are coming so you better dig in as it's going to get brutal :strooper::lol2: I won't hesitate to carpet bomb you with scolys and acans if i have too..........
Pretty sure it was a pink stylo just looking weird under the lights, the display corals don't look too too bad considering the lacking spectrum - blues and greens were loving it as usual with those LED's.
They got 20 branches in of that stag which is a bit sad really as imagine the damage done to the wild colony, i do feel a sting sometimes about all these corals being removed from the reef or butchered at the very least........ There were only about 12 pieces of the blue stag left as all the guys at the store took a few home lol.
The hammer arrived a couple of weeks ago apparently, totally bleached and they've brought it back from white to what you see now. I rang before i went to see if they had anything cool and was told they were thinking about breaking up a big unusually colored hammer so i said i'd def buy a piece if they did - i get to the store and what do you know it's in pieces lol. I've had a few trachy's in my ULNS systems and never saw probs with colors so i don't think nutrients are your problem.
'Dirty water acros' come from Western Aus rather than Queensland and that's why all the guys at the store jumped on the blue stags - the waters around Aus are not all the same and W.A. SPS have always been my best pieces for color. If those branches came from Cairns etc in Qld i wouldn't be as hopeful of holding the blue - that's just from my experiences over the years. The acro i had that spawned was from W.A. and it released in my tank on the exact same night as the mass spawning event in W.A. - 9 months after collection, i think the spawning date was already locked in prior to collection off the reef.
Sorry for the long post, i ramble on at times. The turds are going sun baking today, oh yeah - i ordered a 400W radium bulb....... game on Bello
They had lots of colorful scolys, acans and trachys etc that you'll like - the ones that cost an arm and a leg in the US. I ran out of money otherwise i would have grabbed one of the bright red Cynarina's that did catch my eye. Look up button corals on divers den and check out the 'super red' (super common) - i'll grab one next visit as they're very cool and way more vibrantly colored than those sale pics.
Btw, i'd swear i saw a beautiful little angel that is in your avvy pic at the store - multisomething angel. I would buy one of those in a heartbeat if it wasn't a bloody angel lol. Pics don't do them justice at all so if you're keeping one successfully with SPS you've p*ssed me off again lol.
I intend running a 400W radium surrounded on all 4 sides with double 3ft T5 units over the next tank so don't be trying to sabotage my heavy artillery display - 'tank battles' are coming so you better dig in as it's going to get brutal :strooper::lol2: I won't hesitate to carpet bomb you with scolys and acans if i have too..........
Pretty sure it was a pink stylo just looking weird under the lights, the display corals don't look too too bad considering the lacking spectrum - blues and greens were loving it as usual with those LED's.
They got 20 branches in of that stag which is a bit sad really as imagine the damage done to the wild colony, i do feel a sting sometimes about all these corals being removed from the reef or butchered at the very least........
There were only about 12 pieces of the blue stag left as all the guys at the store took a few home lol.The hammer arrived a couple of weeks ago apparently, totally bleached and they've brought it back from white to what you see now. I rang before i went to see if they had anything cool and was told they were thinking about breaking up a big unusually colored hammer so i said i'd def buy a piece if they did - i get to the store and what do you know it's in pieces lol. I've had a few trachy's in my ULNS systems and never saw probs with colors so i don't think nutrients are your problem.
'Dirty water acros' come from Western Aus rather than Queensland and that's why all the guys at the store jumped on the blue stags - the waters around Aus are not all the same and W.A. SPS have always been my best pieces for color. If those branches came from Cairns etc in Qld i wouldn't be as hopeful of holding the blue - that's just from my experiences over the years. The acro i had that spawned was from W.A. and it released in my tank on the exact same night as the mass spawning event in W.A. - 9 months after collection, i think the spawning date was already locked in prior to collection off the reef.
Sorry for the long post, i ramble on at times. The turds are going sun baking today, oh yeah - i ordered a 400W radium bulb....... game on Bello
Bello
New member
Had a long day thus far, stayed up late last night to add the 3 x 3w reds onto the drop off. Lets see how that goes
Time to acknowledge my ignorance, I had to look up the map of Aus, to understand your references :lol:, and I didn't even know that there was collection in W.A. Sort of assumed that all Aussie corals come from the GBR, since that's all that everyone ever talks about. And now to learn the finer differences about their quality based on location, I have been enlightened!
Is there any article/thread you could guide me toward to read more about the spawning event in your tank?
All in all, it looks like you had a pretty good visit to the LFS. The stags and hammer alone would've been worth it. Would love to see the super red cynarina and scoly in your tank soon. I've been thinking about a scoly, but it looks like its gonna be quite while to source it. Have a weakness for acans. Pretty please get an aussie acan. Most that you see online are couple polyped frags, and it'd be awesome to see a full piece. Carpet bombing with scoly's and acans? :lol: had me in splits.
So lighting for your next tank is 400w MH + 4 x 2 x 36W T5's? Looks like I'm gonna have to prep my LED's for battle!!! Oh wait, they don't even know what spectrum they are :lol: Any idea when you're gonna start the build? Ordered the MH reflectors? Let the battle begin :strooper:
Allow me to ramble for a bit,
That angel, Paracentropyge Multifasciata a.k.a Multi-bar Angel, has to be my favourite fish, ever. Simplistic colours and fairly uncommon in aquariums, due to the difficulty in getting them to feed. It took a month of dedication to get him eating pellets. I had mine for 8 months, before I neglected to qt a long nose butterfly, which in turn infected the fish. In 10 years of marine fish keeping, I've never been as sad as losing that fish. Plus they are supposedly deepwater, so quite reef safe. Only thing he ever picked on, was a blue cespitularia. If there's any fish, I'd love to see in your tank (rather see it my tank, but that's gonna take a very long time :lol, it'd be the Multibar. IF it's eating you could throw it in your sump
BTW, I've officially subscribed to this thread :thumbsup:, and let's see you bring the poo!!!! One more thing, I can still see your bare bottom!!! :lol:
Time to acknowledge my ignorance, I had to look up the map of Aus, to understand your references :lol:, and I didn't even know that there was collection in W.A. Sort of assumed that all Aussie corals come from the GBR, since that's all that everyone ever talks about. And now to learn the finer differences about their quality based on location, I have been enlightened!
Is there any article/thread you could guide me toward to read more about the spawning event in your tank?
All in all, it looks like you had a pretty good visit to the LFS
. The stags and hammer alone would've been worth it. Would love to see the super red cynarina and scoly in your tank soon. I've been thinking about a scoly, but it looks like its gonna be quite while to source it. Have a weakness for acans. Pretty please get an aussie acan. Most that you see online are couple polyped frags, and it'd be awesome to see a full piece. Carpet bombing with scoly's and acans? :lol: had me in splits.So lighting for your next tank is 400w MH + 4 x 2 x 36W T5's? Looks like I'm gonna have to prep my LED's for battle!!! Oh wait, they don't even know what spectrum they are :lol: Any idea when you're gonna start the build? Ordered the MH reflectors? Let the battle begin :strooper:
Allow me to ramble for a bit,
That angel, Paracentropyge Multifasciata a.k.a Multi-bar Angel, has to be my favourite fish, ever. Simplistic colours and fairly uncommon in aquariums, due to the difficulty in getting them to feed. It took a month of dedication to get him eating pellets. I had mine for 8 months, before I neglected to qt a long nose butterfly, which in turn infected the fish. In 10 years of marine fish keeping, I've never been as sad as losing that fish. Plus they are supposedly deepwater, so quite reef safe. Only thing he ever picked on, was a blue cespitularia. If there's any fish, I'd love to see in your tank (rather see it my tank, but that's gonna take a very long time :lol
, it'd be the Multibar. IF it's eating you could throw it in your sump BTW, I've officially subscribed to this thread :thumbsup:, and let's see you bring the poo!!!! One more thing, I can still see your bare bottom!!! :lol:
biggles
Premium Member
I hope the red LED's make a positive difference mate, at worst i don't think they'll hurt anything so let's experiment :lol2:
Yes i don't think many non Aus reefers are aware of the different collection zones - i always buy a W.A. SPS over a Qld one. Sorry i didn't even own a camera phone let alone a camera when the acro spawned. As i said it had nothing to do with me as it must have already been locked into the night of spawning considering the reef it came from spawned the exact same night. Was very cool to watch but a pain to clean up the eggs floating in the sump.
I was pretty pleased with my purchases and yes i would have been happy with just the hammer and the pieces of stag. Fed the hammer mysis tonight and he gobbled them up - yeah i fed the bloody fish too....... :facepalm:
I'll keep an eye out for a nice acan as i haven't even been looking at most of the LPS stuff and grab one when i see a nice one - i've never seen one that wasn't an entire colony, basically no frag trade in Aus. Definitely going to buy a red Cynarina as they're stunning under the shimmer of a halide. :thumbsup: Once you find your lighting spectrum sweet spot i'm certain your colors will go nuts - at that point it will be gloves off - i'm going to detonate a 400W radium nuke over my tank this week as a deterrent...... i'm not joking so don't push your luck with all those tanks Bello
I won't have the cash to start the next tank for months yet but i'm already working out the plumbing etc in my head. I love the radium and T5 lighting combo so i will use it again over the second tank i think. Would love an ATI hybrid unit but i'll never have the money for one of those
Thanks for sharing your experience with that angel. I had been looking at the beautiful flame angels at the LFS and then found the little 1 1/2" multi. Despite having nothing in the way of comparable colors it just looked awesome, where the flames look quite assertive and confident the multi has a timid and delicate look - hope i'm making sense lol. If i end up getting on and then have to catch it the result will be acro carnage and i'll be holding you to blame Bello lol.
Thanks for subscribing mate :thumbsup: I have no intention of showing my bottom much longer - winter is coming here.......
Yes i don't think many non Aus reefers are aware of the different collection zones - i always buy a W.A. SPS over a Qld one. Sorry i didn't even own a camera phone let alone a camera when the acro spawned. As i said it had nothing to do with me as it must have already been locked into the night of spawning considering the reef it came from spawned the exact same night. Was very cool to watch but a pain to clean up the eggs floating in the sump.
I was pretty pleased with my purchases and yes i would have been happy with just the hammer and the pieces of stag. Fed the hammer mysis tonight and he gobbled them up - yeah i fed the bloody fish too....... :facepalm:
I'll keep an eye out for a nice acan as i haven't even been looking at most of the LPS stuff and grab one when i see a nice one - i've never seen one that wasn't an entire colony, basically no frag trade in Aus. Definitely going to buy a red Cynarina as they're stunning under the shimmer of a halide. :thumbsup: Once you find your lighting spectrum sweet spot i'm certain your colors will go nuts - at that point it will be gloves off - i'm going to detonate a 400W radium nuke over my tank this week as a deterrent...... i'm not joking so don't push your luck with all those tanks Bello
I won't have the cash to start the next tank for months yet but i'm already working out the plumbing etc in my head. I love the radium and T5 lighting combo so i will use it again over the second tank i think. Would love an ATI hybrid unit but i'll never have the money for one of those
Thanks for sharing your experience with that angel. I had been looking at the beautiful flame angels at the LFS and then found the little 1 1/2" multi. Despite having nothing in the way of comparable colors it just looked awesome, where the flames look quite assertive and confident the multi has a timid and delicate look - hope i'm making sense lol. If i end up getting on and then have to catch it the result will be acro carnage and i'll be holding you to blame Bello lol.
Thanks for subscribing mate :thumbsup: I have no intention of showing my bottom much longer - winter is coming here.......
biggles
Premium Member
Finally cleaned up the tank a bit and stuck everything down except for the pocil that's laying on the raft rock - i think that a clean shallow white sand bed will look great with so many open spaces. Tank has come a long way since getting wet on Xmas eve and i'm finally happy with the aquascaping.
Jan 6 2013
April 14 2013
Dusk
Jan 6 2013
April 14 2013
Dusk
Bello
New member
Looking beautiful!!! A very shallow sandbed would be perfect. I used something like 9kgs of fine aragonite over 9 sqft, so its around 1cm thick. Blows over a bit though with the high flow. Like wearing cheap super tight jeans, may not be comfortable, but at least your bottom's covered :lol:
My only gripe with lps, is placing it on the sand. I kinda like that super clean sparkly white sand look. Still with those colours, it would be sinful not to have a couple. I'm trying to source an Aussie Scoly. Feel like a laugh? Coming to approx. AUD 300. And that's with a whole lotta effort and patience. Yeah yeah...laugh away :lol:
Come on...I know you love feeding your Picasso!! Picasso paints your tank with poo :lol:
I've actually been too lazy to feed any of LPS. Do you feel that recovery from tissue damage in the case of LPS is increased dramatically with regular feeding?
I saw the ATI hybrid, but its f****** expensive. Could you not purchase a cheaper fixture like http://www.fish-street.com/aqua_japan_6x_t5ho?category_id=144 and try modifying it yourself? Then again, why mess with Radiums and t5's.
Oddly enough, my second favourite fish is the Flame angel. Since it'll be looooong time till I can source out a Multibar, I'll be purchasing a Flame angel soon, and try to ensure that it plays nice with coral. I have a 2 year old Centropyge Tibicen aka Keyhole Angel, that has been banished to a fish only system for misbehaviour
What do you think about this.... In my drop off, I notice a green sheen on the coral i.e. they lose their original color (pink or blue), turn brown with a green sheen on them. I've read that its due to either higher NO3-PO4 (which I don't believe I have) or extra Iron, possibly due to rusty impellers. Any take on this?
It'll be a while till i get the spectrum right. Don't harass the coral. They're growing well at the moment, and thats most important. You still have time to prepare for battle :strooper:
My only gripe with lps, is placing it on the sand. I kinda like that super clean sparkly white sand look. Still with those colours, it would be sinful not to have a couple. I'm trying to source an Aussie Scoly. Feel like a laugh? Coming to approx. AUD 300. And that's with a whole lotta effort and patience. Yeah yeah...laugh away :lol:
Come on...I know you love feeding your Picasso!! Picasso paints your tank with poo :lol:
I've actually been too lazy to feed any of LPS. Do you feel that recovery from tissue damage in the case of LPS is increased dramatically with regular feeding?
I saw the ATI hybrid, but its f****** expensive. Could you not purchase a cheaper fixture like http://www.fish-street.com/aqua_japan_6x_t5ho?category_id=144 and try modifying it yourself? Then again, why mess with Radiums and t5's.
Oddly enough, my second favourite fish is the Flame angel. Since it'll be looooong time till I can source out a Multibar, I'll be purchasing a Flame angel soon, and try to ensure that it plays nice with coral. I have a 2 year old Centropyge Tibicen aka Keyhole Angel, that has been banished to a fish only system for misbehaviour
What do you think about this.... In my drop off, I notice a green sheen on the coral i.e. they lose their original color (pink or blue), turn brown with a green sheen on them. I've read that its due to either higher NO3-PO4 (which I don't believe I have) or extra Iron, possibly due to rusty impellers. Any take on this?
It'll be a while till i get the spectrum right. Don't harass the coral. They're growing well at the moment, and thats most important. You still have time to prepare for battle :strooper:
biggles
Premium Member
Thanks Bello I can believe the $300- price tag as i saw a stunning green and red striped one at the store, the ones they call bleeding apples or something and instead of being $40- like all the single colored ones it was $110- :eek1:
Me - 'why is this $110-'
LFS - 'it's an 'A' grade scoly'
Me - 'i don't care how well it's going at school, why's it so expensive'
LFS - 'lol shut up you bastard and go pick out some SPS'
Anyway the scoly stayed at the LFS school to study i suppose..........
I saw the Picasso poo a while ago and i actually groaned at the thought of all that filth going into the water - thanks fish, just crap all over my hard work :facepalm:
The hammer is very bleached except for the light orange tips. I believe that since it is unable to derive much energy from the lighting having hardly any zoa it is prudent to give it as much food as possible to hasten it's recovery. As soon as i see a tinge of green to the tentacles i'll know it's going to be fine and will back off the food - it likes the cyclop-eeze and frozen mysis.
If i wasn't going to use the radium/T5 combo again i'd probably run 2 - 6 x 39W ATI dimmable fixtures which would cost just under a $1000- and supplement them with DIY LED's. I'm very interested to see how your lighting changes are received by your SPS.
I've seen nice corals turn that weird green poo color in others tanks. It was usually down to their water as they had good lighting. I really don't know enough to give you an opinion but i would think if rust was the cause it would be nuking everything not just certain colors.
I have my acros massing at the border and you know i can call up the reserve scoly's and acans at will Bello - i'd be building a trapdoor over the drop off so you can hide your corals when my color blitzkrieg begins........:strooper:
I can believe the $300- price tag as i saw a stunning green and red striped one at the store, the ones they call bleeding apples or something and instead of being $40- like all the single colored ones it was $110- :eek1: Me - 'why is this $110-'
LFS - 'it's an 'A' grade scoly'
Me - 'i don't care how well it's going at school, why's it so expensive'
LFS - 'lol shut up you bastard and go pick out some SPS'
Anyway the scoly stayed at the LFS school to study i suppose..........
I saw the Picasso poo a while ago and i actually groaned at the thought of all that filth going into the water - thanks fish, just crap all over my hard work :facepalm:
The hammer is very bleached except for the light orange tips. I believe that since it is unable to derive much energy from the lighting having hardly any zoa it is prudent to give it as much food as possible to hasten it's recovery. As soon as i see a tinge of green to the tentacles i'll know it's going to be fine and will back off the food - it likes the cyclop-eeze and frozen mysis.
If i wasn't going to use the radium/T5 combo again i'd probably run 2 - 6 x 39W ATI dimmable fixtures which would cost just under a $1000- and supplement them with DIY LED's. I'm very interested to see how your lighting changes are received by your SPS.
I've seen nice corals turn that weird green poo color in others tanks. It was usually down to their water as they had good lighting. I really don't know enough to give you an opinion but i would think if rust was the cause it would be nuking everything not just certain colors.
I have my acros massing at the border and you know i can call up the reserve scoly's and acans at will Bello - i'd be building a trapdoor over the drop off so you can hide your corals when my color blitzkrieg begins........:strooper:
Bello
New member
I almost crapped my pants with the A-Grade scoly story :lol:
Yeah, the one I wanna get is a bleeder. Can't believe I'd pay sooo much for something that's bleeding :lol:
I've got a nice bluish acan colony and some blastomussa that would benefit from some mysis, sigh, time to throw away my lazy boots!!
Alright, so was up thinking last night about the cube system. Realized that adding reds on the drop off would do precious little for research, since water quality differs on both tanks. So, unfortunately, its bye bye t5's on my cube frag tank, and welcome new experimental diy leds trying desperately to imitate the Radium. On that note, I remember the Radion Pro's having a similar spec to the Radium, so I went about trying to imitate it. Setup the led's and just waiting for wiring. Obviously it won't be precise, but an approximation. Let's see
As far as the green poo on the drop off, I'm gonna take a shortcut. Transfer affected frags to the cubes, restore colour, dump 'em back and see what happens
I saw your post on another thread somewhere, about not trying to colour up ALL corals, and in the process, ruining what was already well coloured. This was my mindset at the beginning but got derailed along the way. Thanks, will now move pieces I'm not very happy with to the drop off, and commence building cyborg corals to destroy your reserves :lol:
Yeah, the one I wanna get is a bleeder. Can't believe I'd pay sooo much for something that's bleeding :lol:
I've got a nice bluish acan colony and some blastomussa that would benefit from some mysis, sigh, time to throw away my lazy boots!!
Alright, so was up thinking last night about the cube system. Realized that adding reds on the drop off would do precious little for research, since water quality differs on both tanks. So, unfortunately, its bye bye t5's on my cube frag tank, and welcome new experimental diy leds trying desperately to imitate the Radium. On that note, I remember the Radion Pro's having a similar spec to the Radium, so I went about trying to imitate it. Setup the led's and just waiting for wiring. Obviously it won't be precise, but an approximation. Let's see
As far as the green poo on the drop off, I'm gonna take a shortcut. Transfer affected frags to the cubes, restore colour, dump 'em back and see what happens
I saw your post on another thread somewhere, about not trying to colour up ALL corals, and in the process, ruining what was already well coloured. This was my mindset at the beginning but got derailed along the way. Thanks, will now move pieces I'm not very happy with to the drop off, and commence building cyborg corals to destroy your reserves :lol:
troubadour11
Member
We got lucky we thought of it (the carpet) and didn't get caught up in the whirl-wind of trying to get the build going! So glad we paused and got that done. Even though the cost put a damper on the build for a little while... And your right on with the tremendous knowledge base here. All the info gathered here has been extremely helpful in my planning.
And I'm definitely subscribed to this as well! Not only for the good topics, techniques, and conversation. But for the awesome Aussie coral pictures and info! I would LOVE to take a dive trip over there... for now I'll settle for building a killer reef in my living room with the corals I can get here.
My parents just finished up their week long visit. So now I've got the OK to get some dry rock ordered and make a mess of the house for awhile! :blown:
