Neal's Barebottom SPS & ZOA System...

[Heavy Hittah]

Hey Neal, quick question. What range do your phosphate level stay around? I'm having the hardest time with my zoas (led lighting). They were exploding before. But now I'm at a stand still. I'm thinking it's my phosphate level but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[oneradtek202]

Neal, awesome setup, yea we all go threw our issues and usually recover from them, i understand completely! i loved teh video and kind of got a chuckle out of the tangs, just the fact that they swam around that green sps colony about 25 times at about mach 3 lol. anyways, what are those frag squares? are they just tiles you bought at the local department store?

 

[Pallobi]

Hey Neal, quick question. What range do your phosphate level stay around? I'm having the hardest time with my zoas (led lighting). They were exploding before. But now I'm at a stand still. I'm thinking it's my phosphate level but maybe I'm wrong.

its been a while since i checked my phos level... ill check it soon and get back to you thanks for the reminder, lol...

 

[Pallobi]

Neal, awesome setup, yea we all go threw our issues and usually recover from them, i understand completely! i loved teh video and kind of got a chuckle out of the tangs, just the fact that they swam around that green sps colony about 25 times at about mach 3 lol. anyways, what are those frag squares? are they just tiles you bought at the local department store?

thank you

and jus for the record and everyone knows, i jus relocated the smaller tang to a new 220g home... it was not a good idea to house them together, but i gave it a shot... my display is jus too small for two to co-exist... i do not recommend what i tried...

they are tiles made of all natural tumbled rock... from home depot, as though dont have this style at lowe's... they are about $4.30 for 9 of them... they come in different sizes, but cost about the same per square foot... these are 4x4"... i really love them, and they work great, i jus wish i got a bigger/taller display to really accentuate the look im going for... ill have a new/taller display soon... but i really love how these tiles color up and grow a host of organisms... and work incredibly for a safe haven for pods of all sizes...

and congrats, your damn Orangemen beat my huskies again today, BARELY, again!!! lol... great game though if you happen to be a college basketball fan

:beer:

 

[oneradtek202]

thanks for the info and thanks for the congrats on the win, such a good rivalry between huskies of orange. you guys started off not so great in the season but made a huge turn around and came back when it was needed.

 

[29reef]

Tank is looking good Neil; tangs can be a mixed bag, just like corals. If your confident in your water perameters you might want to take a razor blade to some of the acros that don't have as much growth as the others. Use the blade to cut the tips and stagnant areas and in a few weeks you should see some new branches. It doesn't always work but sometimes it's just what they need to get going.

 

[ReefyReef]

Great job neil, amazing setup.

 

[imisky]

nice growth! Your setup is probably the most unqiue one I've ever seen

 

[Pallobi]

a video which starts kinda trying to focus on the fish, but then i jus started looking at everything and then was hurried to finish...

thanks for looking as always

 

[Pallobi]

Hey Neal, quick question. What range do your phosphate level stay around? .

i tested my phos yesterday for the first time in months... it was untraceable to maybe .01 ppm... its hard to tell exactly sometimes with the salifert kits when the level is very low to untraceable on the chart, but its very very little if any... which is good, imo...

 

[Pallobi]

Tank is looking good Neil; tangs can be a mixed bag, just like corals. If your confident in your water perameters you might want to take a razor blade to some of the acros that don't have as much growth as the others. Use the blade to cut the tips and stagnant areas and in a few weeks you should see some new branches. It doesn't always work but sometimes it's just what they need to get going.

thanks my friend... i actually removed one purple tang (the newer one) and have the one now... it was an attempt, but i got both tangs in very much need of a better home and conditions, i jus cant give them the size they need right now... but my original, who was in very bad shape when i adopted him, is staying for now... its OK, not ideal, for one, but two jus wasnt working... and its interesting as well, becuz they didnt really beat each other up or anything, but i could notice that it was a constant source of stress for each other... which mentally is not good for any animal...

anyways, jus felt like sharing my experience with them a little more... ive kept a fair amount of tangs, but there is nothing like the Purple's imo... they are incredible, and very interesting creatures...

i see your from SB... i lived in Pismo for about 8 years... good for you friend

:beer:

 

[Pallobi]

i am trying to sell this one and its the last good pic i will have of it and wont be keeping this peice anymore, or any confusas again most likely... so i jus wanted to document it here... started as a 3/4" frag, has broken many times, and is still about 7" across and has grown down 7 tiles... pretty proud of it, i would have to say... but its time to free up some space, stabilize my system, lower its needs, and actually find a couple really nice sps frags to add to my system... im actually looking to spend about 200 bucks on a real nice peice of purple monster to start with this time around... so fingers crossed i find a nice one, of good size

anyways, the last photo of my monti confusa...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/?action=view&current=IMAG1943.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/IMAG1943.jpg" border="0" alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App"></a>

 

[Pallobi]

my new pearlberry, which is actually my third... important thing is, i understand what happened and why, and will make sure its fixed from this day forward the best i can...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%20March%202012/?action=view&current=IMAG1965-1-1-1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%20March%202012/IMAG1965-1-1-1-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App"></a>

 

[Pallobi]

my icefire echinata... that will have been with me for 1 year in another 3 or 4 weeks... when things got a bit off track lately, my hawkins blue echinata got smoked, but this one jus lost PE and had a little burnt tip at most... surprised... but very grateful at this point, lol...

<a href="http://s906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%20March%202012/?action=view&current=IMAG1975-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac268/Pallobi11/System%20March%202012/IMAG1975-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App"></a>

 

[cFloor]

Nice update Neal. Your two new corals are some of my favorites.

Anyway, your tank popped into my head as I was working on my background the other day for my tank. Now, this is more of a thought than a suggestion but I had to at least mention it. When I see a FTS of your system it really reminds me of an art gallery (as I've mentioned before in this thread) I was messing with my removable background and out of curiosity I wanted to see what it would look like white. I have your typical reef and I did not like the white, but couldn't help but to think it would be awesome on your tank. I notice you have coraline on your back panel so my idea automatically wouldn't work, but I just had to share my thought. Your system looks great as is though!

 

[iwishtofish]

Very nice pictures. Crazy confusa! Everything going well with the system?

Are you able to recommend a place to buy tiles like the ones you use? I want to mount a couple corals to keep on the bottom of my tank. Somewhat heavy tiles would be nice, so there's little chance of moving around.

 

[Pallobi]

i had alk issues, from over dosing, and not being as diligent about testing as i should have been and suffered some stability issues and high alk becuase of it... i lost my purple monster, pearlberry, hawkins blue... my green milli took heavy damage and i pulled it... PE suffered pretty bad... and my slimer got some ugly burnt tips... its finally been in the low 8 for about a week... i havent dosed anything... i test every other day, if not daily... bought dosing pumps for now... i have also reduced the number of colonies i am keeping, and i am removing all of the frags i have in my system this week... im gonna concentrate more on chalices and zoas and palys for a bit... and will find 4 or 5 nice frags of sps to add in the future...

 

[iwishtofish]

i had alk issues, from over dosing, and not being as diligent about testing as i should have been and suffered some stability issues and high alk becuase of it... i lost my purple monster, pearlberry, hawkins blue... my green milli took heavy damage and i pulled it... PE suffered pretty bad... and my slimer got some ugly burnt tips... its finally been in the low 8 for about a week... i havent dosed anything... i test every other day, if not daily... bought dosing pumps for now... i have also reduced the number of colonies i am keeping, and i am removing all of the frags i have in my system this week... im gonna concentrate more on chalices and zoas and palys for a bit... and will find 4 or 5 nice frags of sps to add in the future...

I'm sorry to hear about that. Sounds really frustrating. Chalices are beautiful corals, I think.

 

[Pallobi]

i had gotten a 2 eye frag of miami hurricane last summer... it now looks great and has grown over 3" in diameter, from a half inch in only like 8 or 9 months... i was concerned how they might do in my system, but its done great... ive never fed it, it looks great... great colors, with some yellow splashed in here and there... i want to start feeding them though...

i also added recently, a nice 2 eye frag of Tyree red watermelon, and tomorrow or wednesday, im picking up a Cornbread mummy eye, 2 eyes... so with some time, i am hoping they turn out like the hurricane did... gonna give them a month or two, and if they do well also, i wana add two more... something nice, and treat myself, ya know lol...

i wana cut down on my sps to help with balance, plus i have lost interest in some and would like to have the room for some nice new ones that may catch my eye... i have really learned to find a quality frag or small colony i have to be patient, and perhaps even spend a little more to ensure i get a quality peice... i am now in the process of running a barebottom, mixed system with no live rock, higher flow system which emphasizes skimming and the use of activated carbon... im really jus trying to expand my hobby a bit... i would love to try a nice few eyes of a nice favia in the middle of one of these tiles and see how it does encrusting and growing across the top of it... could work out nice perhaps...

i also really wana plumb in a nano sized tank since i got the top right of the stand finally cleared out... ive been saying that for a while, but its costly of course... but i mounted my dj strips on the under side of the top and mounted my vortech controllers finally as well... so i would love to the space and do something small and jus plumb it in... something creative... a 30 gallon cube, plumbed from the same return i have now, would be sweet...

to note, the rock is replaced essentially by alot of natural rock tile, which establishes jus like live rock... it jus makes for a different presentation, but work incredibly well for sake of biological filtration...

 

[iwishtofish]

Wow, you are still living up to my expectations as one of the most uniquely creative reefers I've seen. I hope you post frequently with updates and pics, if possible.

I have a favia on the bottom of my tank that needs to be mounted. Having learned that superglue doesn't really stick to glass, I'll try to find a rock tile like you use. I'm assuming I'd need one that is a pretty good size, though.

What would live in the nano?