tas5tas' 237g Total System Build
- Thread starter tas5tas
- Start date
henrystyle
Member
Just asking.....Looks good.
tas5tas
New member
Ok....here is a list of the SPS I tend to try and aquire next weekend for father's day.......
Pink Mili
Blue Mili
Powder Blue Mili
Candy Purple Tip Acro
Blue Acro
Purple Acro
Green Digi
I also intend to add a few more fish as well.....possibly another ocellaris clown for my female, two pink skunk clowns, and about 5-6 more chromis to go with the one I already have.
Pink Mili
Blue Mili
Powder Blue Mili
Candy Purple Tip Acro
Blue Acro
Purple Acro
Green Digi
I also intend to add a few more fish as well.....possibly another ocellaris clown for my female, two pink skunk clowns, and about 5-6 more chromis to go with the one I already have.
tas5tas
New member
Ok...I added a few more corals this weekend, but not as many as planned. I'm glad I didn't buy anymore because I don't know where I would have put them. I added the following ORA Corals.....Blue Voodoo Stag, Joe the Coral, Rose Mili, and Blue Mili. I was unable to aquire the fish I wanted to get because none of the local stores or the stores in Houston had them. I may just wait and purchase them online since the overnight shipping is about the same as gas to drive to Houston and back. I did start a new dosing regiment today that I think will not only improve growth, but also vastly improve my already great coloration. I picked up a bottle of Lugol's and a bottle of Coral Amino, both made by Brightwell Aquatics and will be dosing acordingly. I now have a total of 16 different SPS species in the tank and all but one are ORA. They are all on different rocks and about 6"-7" away from the next closest piece. I think the tank will look great in about a year to year and a half once everything grows in.
tas5tas
New member
OK....here is an update that I felt needed posting.
I have sold my current lighting setup of Lumenbrights, 12k Reeflux, Dimmable Ballasts, and VHO Actinics.
I am switching to a 6x80w T5 Retro kit from Reefgeek.com. The lights will feature the new Reefgeek reflectors and will be overdriven by two Icecap 660's. I haven't quite made up my mind on the bulb combo yet so I ordered three ATI Aquablue Special and four ATI Blue Plus. I will play with the number of each bulb type and placement once everything arrives. I should have my lights on friday according to the tracking info.
I am also ditching the Koralias that are all over the tank as well. Yea!!! I went ahead and dropped the big dough on a pair of Gen 2 Vortech MP40w's and they should be here this thursday. I think the added flow should make for alot better growth and a cleaner bottom in my barebottom setup.
Last but not least.......an update on the dosing of Lugol's and Coral Amino I started last week. I called Brightwell Aquatics and actually got to speak to Chris Brightwell and he helped me come up with a dosing regiment that he thought would benefit my tank the best. I explained to him that I had great polyp extension and good color but my growth just seemed to be lacking and that I wanted my blues to blue up just a bit more. He recommended that I start dosing 3 drops of Lugol's daily and 5 drops of the Coral Amino daily as well. It's been a week now and all I can say is WOW!!! I thought I had great polyps extension, but now it is truely unbelievable. Polyp extension overall throughout the day and night has almost doubled and when the drops of Coral Amino hit the water.....It's like SPS on steroids!!!! So far I have seen no adverse side effects of either of these products and the Lugol's has already started to help with my blues a little also.
I will shoot some new pics of the tank and corals once all the new equiptment has arrived and in on the tank.
I have sold my current lighting setup of Lumenbrights, 12k Reeflux, Dimmable Ballasts, and VHO Actinics.
I am switching to a 6x80w T5 Retro kit from Reefgeek.com. The lights will feature the new Reefgeek reflectors and will be overdriven by two Icecap 660's. I haven't quite made up my mind on the bulb combo yet so I ordered three ATI Aquablue Special and four ATI Blue Plus. I will play with the number of each bulb type and placement once everything arrives. I should have my lights on friday according to the tracking info.
I am also ditching the Koralias that are all over the tank as well. Yea!!! I went ahead and dropped the big dough on a pair of Gen 2 Vortech MP40w's and they should be here this thursday. I think the added flow should make for alot better growth and a cleaner bottom in my barebottom setup.
Last but not least.......an update on the dosing of Lugol's and Coral Amino I started last week. I called Brightwell Aquatics and actually got to speak to Chris Brightwell and he helped me come up with a dosing regiment that he thought would benefit my tank the best. I explained to him that I had great polyp extension and good color but my growth just seemed to be lacking and that I wanted my blues to blue up just a bit more. He recommended that I start dosing 3 drops of Lugol's daily and 5 drops of the Coral Amino daily as well. It's been a week now and all I can say is WOW!!! I thought I had great polyps extension, but now it is truely unbelievable. Polyp extension overall throughout the day and night has almost doubled and when the drops of Coral Amino hit the water.....It's like SPS on steroids!!!! So far I have seen no adverse side effects of either of these products and the Lugol's has already started to help with my blues a little also.
I will shoot some new pics of the tank and corals once all the new equiptment has arrived and in on the tank.
tas5tas
New member
Just a quick update on the lighting and pump upgrades........
The T5's are installed and look alot brighter than my halides ever did. The corals seem to be responding nicely as well also. My current bulb combo is as follows......
Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus
The combo is just a little off spectrum wise as my purple caps and blue mili just doesn't look their true color. I tried the combo with 3 Blue Plus and 3 Aquablue Special and there just wasn't enough actinic pop to some of my greens. I plan on adding another ballast and bulb in the near future and already left a space in the center of the setup. I may try a GE 6500k bulb to see if it helps even my spectrum where it's needed or just put in the extra Aquablue Special.
As for the Vortechs.....unfortunately one of them arrived DOA, but Ecotech was quick to ship me another one out and it should be here this Thursday. The one that works moves more water than all 4 of the modded Koralia's I had in the tank though. You definately get what you pay for when it comes to powerheads and pumps. I've already made up my mind to start saving up for another pair as I feel that having 4 of them in my setup would just be truly amazing and would be beneficial to my SPS once they're colony size. I plan on running 2 of them up high towards the front of the tank on each side for now in reefcrest and when I purchase the other 2 I will run them towards the back and about 7" off the bottom on each side in lagoon mode. I will post pictures of the setup in another 2 weeks, including a full tank shot as it will be the tank's 6 month anniversary.
The T5's are installed and look alot brighter than my halides ever did. The corals seem to be responding nicely as well also. My current bulb combo is as follows......
Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus
The combo is just a little off spectrum wise as my purple caps and blue mili just doesn't look their true color. I tried the combo with 3 Blue Plus and 3 Aquablue Special and there just wasn't enough actinic pop to some of my greens. I plan on adding another ballast and bulb in the near future and already left a space in the center of the setup. I may try a GE 6500k bulb to see if it helps even my spectrum where it's needed or just put in the extra Aquablue Special.
As for the Vortechs.....unfortunately one of them arrived DOA, but Ecotech was quick to ship me another one out and it should be here this Thursday. The one that works moves more water than all 4 of the modded Koralia's I had in the tank though. You definately get what you pay for when it comes to powerheads and pumps. I've already made up my mind to start saving up for another pair as I feel that having 4 of them in my setup would just be truly amazing and would be beneficial to my SPS once they're colony size. I plan on running 2 of them up high towards the front of the tank on each side for now in reefcrest and when I purchase the other 2 I will run them towards the back and about 7" off the bottom on each side in lagoon mode. I will post pictures of the setup in another 2 weeks, including a full tank shot as it will be the tank's 6 month anniversary.
tas5tas
New member
I talked to my father in law who is a professional photographer and he gave me a few pointers over the phone that I put to use. Boy did it ever enhance my photo taking ability!!! I always thought my 4mp Camera was junk....until now. Here are the pics.......
Green Bali Slimer
Blue Tip Acropora
Blue Voodoo Stag
Cali Tort
Cup Coral
Green Star Polyps
Green Bali Slimer
Blue Tip Acropora
Blue Voodoo Stag
Cali Tort
Cup Coral
Green Star Polyps
Charlie Davidson
New member
Very nice! While I and not a fan of T5's, I may be slowly changing my opinion! I have a few reef club members that grow very nice SPS for 2yrs! (I think he has 8 over his 125)
You still running the cat1? I love mine!
You still running the cat1? I love mine!
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Once those corals grow in that is going to be one sick mutha. Interesting rock work too.
