Taqpol's 220 gallon custom Miracles tank!
- Thread starter Taqpol
- Start date
Taqpol
New member
I have a bunch of new corals that kinda look crappy, but they just finished their acclimation to LEDs (something I'm still getting the hang of). I am mainly uploading these for documentation purposes so a year from now i can show off how they started.
New Corals:
Green Millepora
Browned out ORA Pearlberry
Recovering Ponape Birdsnest
"Blue" Tenius
Yellow Tortuosa
Orange Monti Cap macro
My "Monti rock". A few pages back there is a picture of this that really shows off their growth.
New Corals:
Green Millepora
Browned out ORA Pearlberry
Recovering Ponape Birdsnest
"Blue" Tenius
Yellow Tortuosa
Orange Monti Cap macro
My "Monti rock". A few pages back there is a picture of this that really shows off their growth.
Taqpol
New member
Thanks to my friend Chris for the Lyretail Anthias. They are doing great!
I think one of the females might actually be transitioning into a male, even though there is a male in the tank with them. Her colors are definitely distinct.
With the Lyretails in the tank the lone Carberryi feels safe enough to come out and eat. Which is good, because he was getting dangerously skinny.
Solarensis Wrasse
I think one of the females might actually be transitioning into a male, even though there is a male in the tank with them. Her colors are definitely distinct.
With the Lyretails in the tank the lone Carberryi feels safe enough to come out and eat. Which is good, because he was getting dangerously skinny.
Solarensis Wrasse
Taqpol
New member
I recently picked up an arc eye hawkfish, as this was a fish I actually saw quite frequently while in Bora Bora. His antics are cute, and he has definitely claimed this spot on my bonsai-like coral because it is perfectly spaced for resting his fins.
His other favorite hiding spot
More cute fish
His other favorite hiding spot
More cute fish
Taqpol
New member
So.... I think my carpet anemone ate an urchin. Yes, a spiky urchin.
One day I walked by the tank and the carpet anemone was swollen up huge and round, larger then a softball. Every once in awhile the nem will do that and be back to normal the next day, so I just let it be. The next day I walked past and the anemone was back to its normal size and shape, but right in front of it was the half decomposed urchin body with all of its spikes ripped off and strewn around the sand. I think the nem tried to eat it and then spat it out!
Pictures:
Have any of you guys ever heard of something like this?
One day I walked by the tank and the carpet anemone was swollen up huge and round, larger then a softball. Every once in awhile the nem will do that and be back to normal the next day, so I just let it be. The next day I walked past and the anemone was back to its normal size and shape, but right in front of it was the half decomposed urchin body with all of its spikes ripped off and strewn around the sand. I think the nem tried to eat it and then spat it out!
Pictures:
Have any of you guys ever heard of something like this?
Padrino
New member
Alex,
Since moving my tank and switching to the vertex illumina 260, i have yet to see positive feedback, granted that the move was a massive shock to the tank however its been a few months and colors are definately not as vibrant or defined. Alot of my sps is kinda browned out or changing color. For instances my ORA pink lemonade is turning green. Well see what happens with the rest of the tank but im not convinced yet that LEDs are the way to go. However the reduced evap and humidity are great positives.
What are your thoughts so far?
Cheers
Rob
Since moving my tank and switching to the vertex illumina 260, i have yet to see positive feedback, granted that the move was a massive shock to the tank however its been a few months and colors are definately not as vibrant or defined. Alot of my sps is kinda browned out or changing color. For instances my ORA pink lemonade is turning green. Well see what happens with the rest of the tank but im not convinced yet that LEDs are the way to go. However the reduced evap and humidity are great positives.
What are your thoughts so far?
Cheers
Rob
Taqpol
New member
Hey Rob, sorry to hear about your tank troubles. Moving is hard and throwing in a finicky reef tank never makes it easier. As far as LEDs go, I have yet to see truly unequivocally positive results in my tank with my DIY LEDs either, but my tank has also just recently recovered from a series of bad events. At the very least I know my LEDs are growing SPS corals, but I feel like I need to get a few chemicals (nitrates...) in check as well as longer term stability before I make any true judgement calls.
Even if LEDs aren't the answer yet, I don't know if i could make any of the other light transitions at this point. I loved my T5's, but to light this size tank I would need at least eight five footers, if not twelve three footers. Add in the electricity bill of ~450 watts (minimum) of T5's and 12x$20 bulbs every twelve months and I will have paid for LEDs many times over. If I went the other way and did tried and true MH's over my tank (a much better idea considering the footprint), I know for a fact that i would need to add a chiller to the system with all of those associated woes.
Last but not least, while I have yet to achieve rousing success with my LEDs, others have. As far as coral coloration goes I always suggest checking out Sammy113's thread here on RC. I think it takes corals longer to adjust to LED light then other light sources, so since you have already dropped the money on the LEDs I would at least stick with it until you have some system stability before calling it quits.
Taqpol
New member
I spoke too soon, apparently Sammy has a new build thread up for his 40 gallon. If anyone here likes some real amazing DIY work, or LEDs, or both, you should check this out:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2067118
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2067118
Padrino
New member
Those are my exact intentions. This is also how I justified the cost of my vertex Illumina. Between cost savings a month and bulb replacements a year, it was less than 2 or 3 years for me alone. Not to mention that i have a fraction of the humidity in the house that I used too with MH/T5.
Taqpol
New member
Thanks! If you see anything you're curious about, just let me know.
Thanks!
