My 65G Shallow Reef Tank

[DiscusHeckel]

That's a very pretty coral, I hope it does well!

Thank you Mark. I very much hope so.

That echi is looking great Bulent. They always pale on the branches as they expel the zoa levels normally present in the ocean if conditions are 'icefire' friendly :thumbsup:
As long as you don't increase light drastically and it has PE at least during lights out i'd move it to wherever you want mate. It should have good PE 24/7 after a few weeks of settling in and if you never see day time PE and have no nippers it's in too much light.

The branches appear to be very pale red with a blue wash over the red color as it transitions to very pale cream which looks stark white from a few feet away. It's a weird color to describe but i wonder if you know what i'm trying to describe Bulent.

Really pleased it's doing well for you mate

Thanks for your invaluable advice again Andrew. I will be making changes to its position very slowly after observing its PE. It is already showing good PE when the lights out. I think I sort of understand what you tried to say about how the appearance of branches ("very pale red with a blue wash over the red colour") will change in time. This is a very descriptive colour reference. Thanks. This coral came with a very slender-looking serpent star with long legs. It looks quite transparent and blends with the skin of the coral.

My other frag, A. desalwii, is maintaining its colour and is showing fairly good PE though out the day. I cannot decide where to place it after your description of it. The fact that the formation of the frag looks tabling-shape, it makes it difficult to place it on live rock. I may have to cut some small branches to create some sort of "trunk" to push it into a small crevice. I intend to keep it low and perhaps in a shady position, but I am not sure if the purple tips will appear under these circumstances though the cream/green background colour is likely to stay in this way due to perhaps low light.

Here are two photos I took last night with my iPhone.

 

[biggles]

Those latest pics make me sure it's A. desalwii Bulent, they have a very beautiful glowy paleskin with the colorful tip highlights making and awesome contrast. That's a great score buddy, you need to mount it horizontally because it's never going to go up mate lol.
It needs the same PAR the echi needs to hold the 'icefire' look to give you the beautiful glowing creamy pale green branches with the saturated purple tips you are after.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Those latest pics make me sure it's A. desalwii Bulent, they have a very beautiful glowy paleskin with the colorful tip highlights making and awesome contrast. That's a great score buddy, you need to mount it horizontally because it's never going to go up mate lol.
It needs the same PAR the echi needs to hold the 'icefire' look to give you the beautiful glowing creamy pale green branches with the saturated purple tips you are after.

Your nice delicate piece is A. desalwii, they don't like high light or flow - not ever Bulent. They are touchy little buggers...........;

It is going to be very challenging to find a spot without high light in an 18 inch-high tank illuminated by a powermodule AND without high flow. My display tank's water turnover is well over 120 times per hour. Arrggh. I need a bigger tank.

I have a spot in the middle of the tank, which receives very high PAR, but it is slightly overshadowed by the branches of the adjacent Acropora copiosa staghorn. I might just place it gently on the orange montipora and see how it will react to new light in the next few days.

 

[biggles]

Your tank looks very bright Bulent lol. Just keep a close eye on it and you'll be right, you know what you're doing just as much as me when it comes to keeping acros mate
The acros are looking great even overexposed :beer:

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Your tank looks very bright Bulent lol. Just keep a close eye on it and you'll be right, you know what you're doing just as much as me when it comes to keeping acros mate
The acros are looking great even overexposed :beer:

Thanks Andrew.

I have just ordered Tropic Marin Pro iodine, which is essentially lugol solution (I2). My local chemists did not know what lugol was even if I rephrased it as iodine, elemental iodine, potassium iodide, and eventually gave up in despair. Although Tropic Marin Pro A- elements that I use contains iodine, I am still going to experiment with it by dosing 1 drop daily for at least a week. My expectation is that it will not make any difference since my blues and purples are good and deep, but can they get deeper and better? I will report back.

After I conclude my iodine experiment, I will also start to dose Brightwell's KoralColour as I am intrigued by what you said about how it improved your pink colours. I want my pink A. millepora to look as pink as "Bulent's bliss :lmao.

Now, random pictures, which I took a few nights ago under dawn-to-dusk setting (front ATI actinic ATI blue+ back):

 

[reefmutt]

The new guys seem to be doing very nicely, Bulent.
And I love the new top downs.. I think that the blue+ and actinic combo is very satisfying for viewing.. Love that combo..
If you are worried about having the new corals under too much light, you could try adding a few dim periods in your daily light schedule..
When I set up my current tank, I started having the mh turn off 3 times a day for about 45 minutes each during my 8 hour mh period to help new corals acclimate but I ended up liking the results so much, I never went back to a static 8 hours...
I'm very jealous of that ice fire! That would be a $250-$350 (retail) piece around here! I almost bought one about that same size but I just couldn't do it... I bought a shockingly expensive frag of it instead!!! I now have 3 pieces of ice fire in my tank - one is a year old, one 3 months and one a week...
I have yet to see even the slightest amount of growth on any of them.... Grrr.. Colour is good however..
Good luck with it!
I am also in love with that smooth skin in he fourth shot down...

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Your tank looks very bright Bulent lol. Just keep a close eye on it and you'll be right, you know what you're doing just as much as me when it comes to keeping acros mate
The acros are looking great even overexposed :beer:

Yup. My looks very bright visually. I managed to disintegrate my Apogee sensor from my multi-meter. I struggle to put it back together. As soon as I do that I will take some PAR measurements. The desalwii is still on the sand bed for the time being.

The new guys seem to be doing very nicely, Bulent.
And I love the new top downs.. I think that the blue+ and actinic combo is very satisfying for viewing.. Love that combo..
If you are worried about having the new corals under too much light, you could try adding a few dim periods in your daily light schedule..
When I set up my current tank, I started having the mh turn off 3 times a day for about 45 minutes each during my 8 hour mh period to help new corals acclimate but I ended up liking the results so much, I never went back to a static 8 hours...
I'm very jealous of that ice fire! That would be a $250-$350 (retail) piece around here! I almost bought one about that same size but I just couldn't do it... I bought a shockingly expensive frag of it instead!!! I now have 3 pieces of ice fire in my tank - one is a year old, one 3 months and one a week...
I have yet to see even the slightest amount of growth on any of them.... Grrr.. Colour is good however..
Good luck with it!
I am also in love with that smooth skin in he fourth shot down...

Thanks Matt.

Although I love the visual effect of the blue+-actinic combination, I have a strong suspicion that the actinic spectrum is encouraging excessive green pigmentation on my corals. For example, my Acropora granulosa looked like this on 13th August last year under (front blue+ blue+ coral+ blue+ coral + blue+ coral+ blue+ back]):

The new tube combination, including the actinic tube, was put in place on 19th September last year (front blue+ coral + actinic+ ABS purple+ blue+ coral+ blue+ back]). Since then the A. granulosa has become progressively greener as shown below:

Even my A. gomezi started to show a hint of green instead of white between blue corallites.

I am wondering if this can be attributed to only the actinic tube or the new combination as a whole, or if the water quality has something to do with it. What is your opinion?

As for the retail price of the ice fire echinata you saw in your retailer, $250-$300 sounds too much. Coral prices in the UK are quite high, but not as high as that. I paid £60 for the 5"-piece in my tank.

 

[reefmutt]

I feel like a clown wanting to nest in an anemone when i see that coral, Bulent. I just want to go snuggle in there..
I really couldn't say about whether the actinic is responsible for turning the corals green.. There are so many parameters that could change the colour of a coral..
The true actinic certainly makes the corals fluoresce differently from the blue plus..
How are all the new acquisitions doing?

 

[biggles]

I haven't even got a granulosa Bulent but i would put yours in my display in a minute mate, i'm with Matt - i want to snuggle in that acro lol.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I feel like a clown wanting to nest in an anemone when i see that coral, Bulent. I just want to go snuggle in there..
I really couldn't say about whether the actinic is responsible for turning the corals green.. There are so many parameters that could change the colour of a coral..
The true actinic certainly makes the corals fluoresce differently from the blue plus..

I haven't even got a granulosa Bulent but i would put yours in my display in a minute mate, i'm with Matt - i want to snuggle in that acro lol.

Thanks for liking my coral. I am just very curious why some of my corals are hint of green pigmentation. Andrew, if you hunt iad an A. granulosa, it would look stonking in your tank without a doubt.

How are all the new acquisitions doing?

My new corals are doing just fine. I have fixed my small Acropora hyacinthus on live rock. it is under bright illumination (about 400 mmol/m2/sec) and show polyp extension during the light period. I have also moved my new echinata under a very bright spot. It is receiving more PAR than my A. gomezi (about 500 mmol/m2/sec). Itg is showing partial polyp extension during the light period, but good poly extension during the dark. The colour contrast between "white" and blue is becoming more noticeable. The only problem is that since it is upright, the bottom parts are self-shaded and this look more pink. As for A. desalwii it is still on the sand bed and is showing full poly extension during the light period.

Although it is not 100% certain, I have almost decided to trade my massive A. copiosa colony on the right hand side. In it splice I will get different tabling type-acropora corals, and will possibly be able to place the desalwii. The only problem I can see is that the mature look of my tank will be compromised and also I may not have the same success as I did have with the copiosa.

I would appreciate everyone's thoughts on this.

Finally, here are the recent photos of two of the new acquisitions:

Cheers

Bulent

PS. My b@stard crap has finally settled on Acropora millepora.

 

[mhucasey]

Bulent, the corals look great, especially the Blue stag! One of the hardest things to do I've found is to replace or heavily trim a large colony. Sometimes, its the right thing to do though, especially if it keeps you interested in the reef. Like any garden, some things overgrow, and starting with something new is a lot of times better than trying to manage a monster.

I remember one reefkeeper had a practice of fragging larger colonies, starting the grow-out in the frag tank, then pulling the large colonies when they were huge and replacing them with the small colony from the frag tank. He felt it resulted in better growth forms and healthier corals.

 

[drawman]

Bulent that granulosa is looking really nice!

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Bulent, the corals look great, especially the Blue stag! One of the hardest things to do I've found is to replace or heavily trim a large colony. Sometimes, its the right thing to do though, especially if it keeps you interested in the reef. Like any garden, some things overgrow, and starting with something new is a lot of times better than trying to manage a monster.

I remember one reefkeeper had a practice of fragging larger colonies, starting the grow-out in the frag tank, then pulling the large colonies when they were huge and replacing them with the small colony from the frag tank. He felt it resulted in better growth forms and healthier corals.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom Matt.

I think I will start to chop large frags from this coral and gradually reduce it to find out if I can enjoy my tank when it is significantly smaller. At least there will be a comeback if I decide that my tank will not be the same without it.

Bulent that granulosa is looking really nice!

Thank you.

The new "ice fire" echinata has started to grow after placing it under bright illumination. I can see new buds from the previously cut sections. Its colouration has also started to impress me. Here are three top-down photos, which I have just taken under blue+ and actinic:

 

[joshky]

Bulent your tank is looking fantastic, I loved the photos of your Genicanthus angels and all of your anthias schooling. You've got some nice new pieces of SPS recently too, keep it up!

 

[reefmutt]

Nice!! I'm very jealous of that ice fire!
It's one of those illusive corals for me.. Hard to find and harder to grow...

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Bulent your tank is looking fantastic, I loved the photos of your Genicanthus angels and all of your anthias schooling. You've got some nice new pieces of SPS recently too, keep it up!

Thank you Josh.

Nice!! I'm very jealous of that ice fire!
It's one of those illusive corals for me.. Hard to find and harder to grow...

Thanks Matt. I hope it grows as fast as my other A. speciosa/echinata.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I have lowered my light unit slightly just to experiment with the pigmentation on corals. The unit is now 7.25" above the water surface. I will provide PAR readings soon.

Nutrients have increased recently. NO3 = 5-10 ppm and PO4 = 0.046-0.092 mg/l.

Below is the latest FTS I took last night:

 

[reefmutt]

Very nice. Still looks very 'old' even after the addition of the new pieces..
How long have you been using the Koral color, now?
Have nutrients gone up because you've reduced your bacto balance dose, or because of the bigger bioload?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Very nice. Still looks very 'old' even after the addition of the new pieces..
How long have you been using the Koral color, now?
Have nutrients gone up because you've reduced your bacto balance dose, or because of the bigger bioload?

Thanks Matt.

One of the new pieces (A. desalwii) is still on the sand bed. It will remain on the sand bed until I decide what to do with the big staghorn on the right hand side. I think my tank will not be the same without it.

I started to use Koralcolor on 6th February. I am dosing 3 drops per day as opposed 12 drops as recommended.

NP bacto balance dosing has remained the same since 25th January. Recent recorded nutrients readings were as follows:

4th October (fish population has increased to almost what it is now)
4th October: NO3: 0.5-1 ppm; PO4: 0.046-0.092 mg/l (NP BB: 1 ml per day)

28th October: Siporax were placed in sump

7th November: NO3: 2.5 ppm; PO4: 0.046-0.092 mg/l (NP BB- 1 ml per day)
21st November: NO3: ~1.0 ppm; PO4: 0.046 mg/l (NP BB- 1 ml per day)
28th November: NO3: 1.0-2.5 ppm; PO4 not measured (NP BB- 1 ml per day)
13th December: NO3: 2.5-5 ppm; PO4: 0.046 mg/l (NP BB- 1.2 ml per day)
27th December: NO3: ~2.5 ppm; PO4: not measured (NP BB- 1.2 ml per day)
9th January: NO3: 5 ppm; PO4: 0.0046 mg/l (NP BB- 1.2 ml per day)
24th January: NO3: 2.5-5 ppm; PO4: 0.024 mg/l (NP BB- 1.3 ml per day)

6th February: Brightwell Koralcolor dosing began
Yesterday: NO3: 5-10 ppm; PO4: 0.046-0.092 mg/l (NP BB: 1.4 ml per day)

I try to use the same amount of food every day though there can be variations since I cut frozen food from flat packs. Increased feeding could be one explanation. The other explanation is that perhaps my siporax tower is not functioning as well as it should do. My final explanation is that perhaps Brightwell's Koralkolor contains some form of nitrogen and phosphorus to manipulate bichromes. I raised this possibility with Andrew in his tank thread. He seems to think that his nutrient readings had not been affected. I am going to stop using Koralcolor for about ten days while keeping other parameters the same to find out if the nutrients will come down. If they keep rising then perhaps I will need to examine if siporax is becoming a nutrient factory.

Interestingly, coral colours look good. I reduced the light unit in response to increased nutrients to enable corals to utilise them better. I will also clear my pumps to increase the follow further.

Cheers

 

[biggles]

We don't care what the manufacturer says Bulent, they don't know anything.....

What's this droppy thing, i dose 0.5ml a day so i really doubt it's the root of evil in regards to your nutrient issue mate. I'm not converting drops to mls so cut that out right now Bulent........

It's probably all this wacky doodle business you're up to........

7th November: NO3: 2.5 ppm; PO4: 0.046-0.092 mg/l (NP BB- 1 ml per day)
21st November: NO3: ~1.0 ppm; PO4: 0.046 mg/l (NP BB- 1 ml per day)
28th November: NO3: 1.0-2.5 ppm; PO4 not measured (NP BB- 1 ml per day)
13th December: NO3: 2.5-5 ppm; PO4: 0.046 mg/l (NP BB- 1.2 ml per day)
27th December: NO3: ~2.5 ppm; PO4: not measured (NP BB- 1.2 ml per day)
9th January: NO3: 5 ppm; PO4: 0.0046 mg/l (NP BB- 1.2 ml per day)
24th January: NO3: 2.5-5 ppm; PO4: 0.024 mg/l (NP BB- 1.3 ml per day)

Your latest FTS looks bloody beautiful btw and you don't seem to be having any probs with colors to me mate