ReefTourist
New member
I now have LR in the tank! I bought 75#s of "cured" Fiji from Premium Aquatics, w/ a description of the aquascaping look I was going for, and they delivered! 
Having never purchased LR before, I think it's in good shape since there were only 2-3 black dead things in the whole batch despite 2-day shipping. I see a good amount of nice green encrusting, orange, and a little purple/pink. My thumb is kinda pointing at a purple-ish polyp in this closeup:
So does that look like good LR to you more experienced reefers? I've spotted a worm or two and some hichhiker coral so far.
I only bought 75#s b/c Jeremy at PA said that the current rock was very porous, and I wanted to keep an un-crowded look to the tank. Even as a first-timer I can tell he was right - I put back nearly every bit of water that I took out in prep for the displacement!
After the first round of aquascaping I could tell I needed 1 more good size piece in the back to bring out the depth. Off the LFS! The piece I bought there has very nice coloration, but was MUCH more dense. I used it on the back island to show off the nice caves that were part of the rock.
As I told PA, I'm aiming for two islands that descent toward the tank floor creating a channel between them that runs diagonally across the tank. (I've seen the look on a few amazing tanks, and love the effect.) I asked for longer pieces, not too many boulder shapes, and any good ones they think would work. I'm very impressed with the shapes they picked out.
Of course, you need some pics. The haze is mostly due to the initial siltstorm from the un-rinsed southdown, and some from the aquascaping effort (was very careful). Now that there's also some LS to hold down the silt I can blast the Seio1100's at full bore. Here are the results:
from the side that you see when entering the room:
A shot of the channel:
:bum: So celebrating tonight, and watching the cycle. Remember, this was "cured' LR, but I expect to see at least some level of cycle due to shipping.
Ammonia - 0.5/1 (free/total)
Nitrite - ~1.25
Nitrate - ~1
now the fun begins....
Having never purchased LR before, I think it's in good shape since there were only 2-3 black dead things in the whole batch despite 2-day shipping. I see a good amount of nice green encrusting, orange, and a little purple/pink. My thumb is kinda pointing at a purple-ish polyp in this closeup:
So does that look like good LR to you more experienced reefers? I've spotted a worm or two and some hichhiker coral so far.
I only bought 75#s b/c Jeremy at PA said that the current rock was very porous, and I wanted to keep an un-crowded look to the tank. Even as a first-timer I can tell he was right - I put back nearly every bit of water that I took out in prep for the displacement!
After the first round of aquascaping I could tell I needed 1 more good size piece in the back to bring out the depth. Off the LFS! The piece I bought there has very nice coloration, but was MUCH more dense. I used it on the back island to show off the nice caves that were part of the rock.
As I told PA, I'm aiming for two islands that descent toward the tank floor creating a channel between them that runs diagonally across the tank. (I've seen the look on a few amazing tanks, and love the effect.) I asked for longer pieces, not too many boulder shapes, and any good ones they think would work. I'm very impressed with the shapes they picked out.
Of course, you need some pics. The haze is mostly due to the initial siltstorm from the un-rinsed southdown, and some from the aquascaping effort (was very careful). Now that there's also some LS to hold down the silt I can blast the Seio1100's at full bore. Here are the results:
from the side that you see when entering the room:
A shot of the channel:
:bum: So celebrating tonight, and watching the cycle. Remember, this was "cured' LR, but I expect to see at least some level of cycle due to shipping.
Ammonia - 0.5/1 (free/total)
Nitrite - ~1.25
Nitrate - ~1
now the fun begins....
