Perry's 120 Gallon Reef

[plyle02]

Your colors are really showing great in your FTS Perry! Of course the close up shots are stunners as always.

Thanks Tim, I appreciate the kind words! I am finally getting closer to balance, now I have to sit back and let the acros intertwine, lol...

Looks great perry. Love those millie.

Thanks Matt! I love me some millis

:inlove::inlove::inlove:
Soooo amaaaazing colors there bud!!!
Perry,in the first pics orgy,what's the one in the last one called?
I've one similar and been looking so long in the net for some id.

Thank you Mike! I believe that one to be A. Desalwi, here it has been named by ORA as Chips Acro. The color has changed considerably, so it really does not look like Chips anymore, kind of morphed in it's own direction. Cheers my friend

 

[Wrangy]

Simple stunning Perry my friend Your colonies are starting to get big and they look amazing! lol
I really love the layout of the tank and how you've placed everything and in another 6-12 months of growth things are going to be even more unreal than they already are! The tank definitely looks nicer with the sand too, which is kick-*** white! lol
The anthias are looking lovely and fat and healthy They're really holding their colour well, they must have someone nice looking after them

Have I mentioned I'm in love with the acid trip milli before? :lolspin: :inlove:

 

[biggles]

Crazy beautiful Perry, colors are off the charts mate.

I think this one must look very shimmery bright, going to be really pretty i think.

 

[plyle02]

Simple stunning Perry my friend Your colonies are starting to get big and they look amazing! lol
I really love the layout of the tank and how you've placed everything and in another 6-12 months of growth things are going to be even more unreal than they already are! The tank definitely looks nicer with the sand too, which is kick-*** white! lol
The anthias are looking lovely and fat and healthy They're really holding their colour well, they must have someone nice looking after them

Have I mentioned I'm in love with the acid trip milli before? :lolspin: :inlove:

Hey Dom,
Thank You! The left side has some really cool pieces, and they are finally taking off, it will be a game of patience, but hopefully I will get to see my vision complete. Time is the only thing that will allow this to happen, so in the mean time....lol...

Crazy beautiful Perry, colors are off the charts mate.

I think this one must look very shimmery bright, going to be really pretty i think.

Hello Andrew,
That one is from your native land, A. Anthroceris I believe. I will be very lucky to see this one continue to encrust and then go mad, I am patiently awaiting, as with my wild aussie spath, seem the goodies take time. Thank you for your kind words mate!

 

[MichaelW]

I do need to know how you keep your sand so white. It's one of the only areas of my tank right now driving me crazy. It looks horrible.

 

[joshky]

Perry your tank layout is so beautifully done, I love the valley you've created because it looks so natural. Your acros of course all look bloody amazing, what can I say? Your acid trip is slow getting some size to it, looking really great.

 

[plyle02]

I do need to know how you keep your sand so white. It's one of the only areas of my tank right now driving me crazy. It looks horrible.

Hey Mike,
The sandbed has 5 fighting conchs, 3 huge cucumbers, sand sifting star, and several blue leg hermits. I also have a mp40 on reef crest 100% near the bottom, you cannot see in the pics, but the front part of the tank is really bb... Spots I see having gathering are disturbed as necessary. My skimmer is very efficient at removal when I disturb. Cheers

Perry your tank layout is so beautifully done, I love the valley you've created because it looks so natural. Your acros of course all look bloody amazing, what can I say? Your acid trip is slow getting some size to it, looking really great.

Thanks Josh,
I appreciate your checking out the thread. I feel the colors have dipped a bit lately, so I will enjoy the vacation, during this time I will suspend all dosing of AF, I am doing a water change before I leave, then I will do one when I return. Hopefully all is well, won't really have phone access, so fingers crossed, lol...

 

[MichaelW]

Hi Perry. I have many of the same sand critters as you (minus the hermits) none of them actually seem to do much though if I'm honest. I have to use my turkey baster to blow jets into the sand to mix it up. After that it looks fine but within a couple days it's back to actually fairly brown again. Its kinda new this starting (I was never able to keep sparkling white sand but was not as bad) weirdly though it seems to have coincided with a nutrient drop rather than an increase. I think when I upped 1 drop of each pro bio s and np pro and added more of each media to my reactor. I got now have backed down to the original amount of drops but left the media.

 

[FloformAustria]

wow Perry! :bigeyes:

your tank is really doing good!! Love it!!

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers

 

[reefmutt]

Love it, Perry!
Such good saturated colours- even if you think they've faded a bit.
Impressive growth as well.
I love the fts still good room for the colonies to get big and mature.
What's your daily dose of coral e? Are you doing a full 1 drop per 25 g?

 

[Myka]

Perry, have you done any Triton tests on your tank since running Aquaforest? I just got results back, and I'm curious how they compare to other Aquaforest tanks.

 

[plyle02]

Hi Perry. I have many of the same sand critters as you (minus the hermits) none of them actually seem to do much though if I'm honest. I have to use my turkey baster to blow jets into the sand to mix it up. After that it looks fine but within a couple days it's back to actually fairly brown again. Its kinda new this starting (I was never able to keep sparkling white sand but was not as bad) weirdly though it seems to have coincided with a nutrient drop rather than an increase. I think when I upped 1 drop of each pro bio s and np pro and added more of each media to my reactor. I got now have backed down to the original amount of drops but left the media.

Sounds like bacteria related to me, I have the same thing happen, this is why I turn my sand, I get random spots on the back glass and on certain places on rock, typically where epoxy has been used, where it seems to grow as well. The urchin and turbos seem to keep in check, but the sand is another issue. I found it gathers in spots where the flow seems to be less, I recently changed my flow in the tank to combat this issue. Please update me if you change your schedule, and what you observed, I will most certainly be interested

wow Perry! :bigeyes:

your tank is really doing good!! Love it!!

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers

Hi Flo,
Thank you, I see you are sporting a new reactor that looks sharp Hope all is well my friend

Love it, Perry!
Such good saturated colours- even if you think they've faded a bit.
Impressive growth as well.
I love the fts still good room for the colonies to get big and mature.
What's your daily dose of coral e? Are you doing a full 1 drop per 25 g?

Hey Matt,
Thanks for the kind words, the left side does not compete with the right, in fact, I think that the right side would look pretty kick *** in 24x24x24" cube, exactly 1/2 my tank, lol... But this is the design, and time is the only thing that will allow for the vision to complete, so other than an upcoming bulb change, just let things be. As far as AF Energy(Coral E) goes, I drop every other night, and recently bumped it to 6 drops those nights. I have been more consistent lately with dosing. I am going on vacation for a week on Sunday, so wish me luck dude!!!

Perry, have you done any Triton tests on your tank since running Aquaforest? I just got results back, and I'm curious how they compare to other Aquaforest tanks.

Hello Mindy,
I have not done ICP or Trition yet, I have the capability to send to AF Lab in Poland, but have been so swamped with work, MACNA, Central Pets Show, vacation, and general life stuff to focus outside the norm lately. I know how the product is assembled, and that Debora, for example only showed increased copper levels, likely because she uses more than recommended daily on AF Energy, but that is my only feedback for now. I know Flo will be sending his in soon, and when I get back, I will hunt down some sterile containers and do the same. I will most definitely share my results Cheers!

 

[Myka]

Hello Mindy,
I have not done ICP or Trition yet, I have the capability to send to AF Lab in Poland, but have been so swamped with work, MACNA, Central Pets Show, vacation, and general life stuff to focus outside the norm lately. I know how the product is assembled, and that Debora, for example only showed increased copper levels, likely because she uses more than recommended daily on AF Energy, but that is my only feedback for now. I know Flo will be sending his in soon, and when I get back, I will hunt down some sterile containers and do the same. I will most definitely share my results Cheers!

Good morning Perry,

Hmm, you guys are all using the AF ICP? I can't get access to the AF ICP since it is not offered publicly. I think comparing AF ICP to Triton ICP would not be comparing apples to apples, and the information would be less useful. I posted my results in my tank journal if you care to see them. Of note, I'm low on S, Li, V, Zn, Mn, Mo, I, and off the charts high on Ba. As well, Mg is high compared to Ca and K. I don't think AF is providing any sulfate in their mixes, so I'm curious to see if everyone else is low in sulfate. In another thread Randy Holmes-Farley says that Ba is not soluble in seawater (with typical sulfate levels of seawater) over 60 mg/L, and Ba in my tank is 267 mg/L which sounds impossible. Some of these "low" values probably don't matter as far as the fauna is concerned.

 

[purplereef]

Hi Perry,
What is the street name of the acro in post 1557 second from the top photo?

 

[plyle02]

Good morning Perry,

Hmm, you guys are all using the AF ICP? I can't get access to the AF ICP since it is not offered publicly. I think comparing AF ICP to Triton ICP would not be comparing apples to apples, and the information would be less useful. I posted my results in my tank journal if you care to see them. Of note, I'm low on S, Li, V, Zn, Mn, Mo, I, and off the charts high on Ba. As well, Mg is high compared to Ca and K. I don't think AF is providing any sulfate in their mixes, so I'm curious to see if everyone else is low in sulfate. In another thread Randy Holmes-Farley says that Ba is not soluble in seawater (with typical sulfate levels of seawater) over 60 mg/L, and Ba in my tank is 267 mg/L which sounds impossible. Some of these "low" values probably don't matter as far as the fauna is concerned.

Mindy,
I tend to agree, I am really not worried about what my levels are at, to be honest, lol... I will send in only because the MACNA event had free tests available. The ICP OES machine is pretty accurate, to my understanding. They have this machine in the lab at the AF facilities. The products are used in the coral farm and results are monitored with the test machine. I believe we have moved further in terms of advancement in our understanding of things never considered 10 years ago, heck, we didn't often check PO4, as the only tester worth a darn was a Hanna, and they were not cheap. So as we have moved forward, trace mineral dosing has gained attention, and I do believe it gives us a good baseline for where we are with many trace minerals that home tests really can only get close. We can then calibrate our test results to our test kits, and that makes things much clearer. Anyway, I will eventually get around to sending off my water and will post results too.

Hi Perry,
What is the street name of the acro in post 1557 second from the top photo?

Hello,
This is a maricultured piece from Indo I believe. It is doing some really funky things, but has always been a teal color with pink polyps, recently has taken on new colors, which makes it look pretty cool. It has only been fragged once

 

[bobssecrtsn]

Plyle02, Thanks for all the information on Aquaforest, especially What your dosing and amount,


I have a question, My tank is cycling atm, Ammonia 0, Nitrite .50 ppm and I'm still dosing BioS.

I also have the ProbioS and NP PRO. When do you think I should start dosing this?

Thanks!

 

[plyle02]

Hey Bob,
AF Recommends doing BIO S for 2-3 weeks, once you see the Nitrite move to zero, it should be ok to begin stocking with less fragile animals, at this point, you switch over to Pro Bio S and NP Pro. Cheers

 

[Myka]

Mindy,
I tend to agree, I am really not worried about what my levels are at, to be honest, lol... I will send in only because the MACNA event had free tests available. The ICP OES machine is pretty accurate, to my understanding. They have this machine in the lab at the AF facilities. The products are used in the coral farm and results are monitored with the test machine. I believe we have moved further in terms of advancement in our understanding of things never considered 10 years ago, heck, we didn't often check PO4, as the only tester worth a darn was a Hanna, and they were not cheap. So as we have moved forward, trace mineral dosing has gained attention, and I do believe it gives us a good baseline for where we are with many trace minerals that home tests really can only get close. We can then calibrate our test results to our test kits, and that makes things much clearer. Anyway, I will eventually get around to sending off my water and will post results too.

Perry, I meant that comparing test results from two different labs on two different tanks would not be as useful as comparing two different tanks' test from one lab.

I wouldn't worry either - worrying is a waste of energy. However, I am interested in the test results and concerned about the parameters that significantly vary from natural seawater.

 

[Mr.Fishtank]

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Did you ever figure out what was causing the dark brown algae growth on you sand bed? I have never been able to clear mine up. GFO seems to only make it worse in my tank. I was thinking lack of PO4.

 

[Piper27]

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This bad boy is beautiful!!! What species do you think it is and was it wild or maricultured? Looks like a sarmentosa but I have never seen one with blue polyps and branch ends.