Wild and Maricultured SPS Reefers Thread

[biggles]

I thought it might be good for those of us who keep wild collected or maricultured SPS systems out of choice or circumstance to have a thread where we can share info on what works for us so that we can all benefit from the knowledge pool and hopefully end the 'brown outs' that many seem to suffer.
Hopefully other 'wild' reefers will join in and post a few pics with some details of your systems and we can see what's working and what's giving anyone dramas so we can all improve our displays with the knowledge shared here. :thumbsup:

Now we don't want any arguments or fights here as commonly occurs on Zeo threads and the like so anyone who gets nasty or insulting will have to sit in the tank naughty corner - there's flubber in that corner so you don't want to go there...........

40x24x18" display running for 7 months now. Corals were added after 1 month and last added a piece 6 weeks ago. I've had two previous SPS tanks so don't do this if you're not confident in keeping SPS as going slow is always easier on your nerves lol.
Lighting is a single 250W radium (10hrs) and 4 x 39W T5's (3 B+, 1 KZ purple) for 12 hrs. I run a skimmer in the sump, GFO and carbon passively only if i feel it's required otherwise just the skimmer and live rock for all my water filtration. I have a clownfish, mandarin and a cleaner shrimp. The clown and shrimp are hand fed twice a day with marine pellets and the corals are fed 5 times a day with reef roids, cyclopeeze powder and pulverized mysis slurry. The display and sump have very healthy populations of pods and mysis and the rock is crawling with filter feeding organisms.
Circulation is a 6095, 6045 & modded 6025 all running flat out. I use a WP-25 to randomize the overall flow of water movement in the display.
Temp - 80
Salinity - 1.0260
Alk - 8.2
Cal - 420
Mg - 1300-1350
Nitrate - 0 Salifert
Phos - 0 Hanna

I use randy's 2 part for my big three and keep alk very stable by dripping the daily dose over 20-22 hrs each day. I always use RO and have only ever used NSW.
Apologies for the mess of frags all over the sand bed i know it looks terrible and it's all going next time i go to the LFS.

 

[williewilliams]

Your corals look amazing! Your bulb choice is almost exactly what Im using in my new build. I however can't decide if I should change one of the blue+ out for a true actinic. ie... 250w radium, Blue+, purple+, actinic, then Blue+. Have you tried this combo? Yours looks perfect so maybe Ill just stick to your combo. Not sure what to do. A+++ tank

 

[biggles]

Thanks mate Everything seems to be in various stages of coloring up, encrusting or growing out or a mix of the three lol. The 12 month mark should see it looking a lot more grown in hopefully.
I've tried exactly that bulb combo with a front B+ bulb swapped out for an ATI actinic, it did nothing for the colors and i noticed the loss of par to the corals down low at the front - i'd give that idea a straight miss lol.
The B+ bulbs i run at the front have definitely affected the color of one particular stylo piece i broke up with two pieces very shaded from the radium but copping a lot of B+ light turning mauve whilst the two pieces almost directly under the radium at the back up higher are hot pink - you can see all four in the last pic and the color shift. The color change is obvious even under the radium only now and it's actually a bonus - two colors from one stylo. :thumbsup:
I think you'll be really happy running the 3 B+ and a purple with a pair of radiums. I have a crisp white tank with a sparrow's fart of blue. I'm going to grab a couple of the coral plus and try swapping a front B+ to see what happens so maybe grab one of those so we can 'speriment' together lol.

I posted this on my journal nearly 3 months back but i thought you might like to see the shots of the different lights. It kinda shows the different spectrums that you'll be hitting your tank with... kinda sorta lol.
Btw, if you like the super funky actinic eye popping fluoro look last thing at night use a RB LED strip just for that - it will blow you away how much better blue LED's pop your corals over actinic fluoros.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21456394&postcount=121

 

[Finland]

I think this is a great topic. In the past, I've struggled with wild or mari corals. Now, I have had a few wild/mari doing pretty good, with the exception of a. plana(browned out turd). They have been in the tank for about a year. My system is very similar to yours, with the exception of feeding. I don't feed nearly as much. I feed once a day with flake, and 3 times a week I use either reef roids, cyclopeeze, or frozen Mysis. I do 15-20% water changes every 2 wks. I think what is making the difference for me is being able to hold alk & calcium rock solid with the use of dosing pumps on a timer. I dose w/ randys 2part also.

 

[williewilliams]

Thanks so much for the info. I think I'll take your advice as your corals are smoking hot. I'm deleting the true actinic from my shopping cart as we speak. I'll add the coral plus for s and g's. You are absolutely right about the RB leds. I'm running a rapid build with a cobination of RB and violet chips 2:1 ratio and the corals glow when only it is on. Like a fun house!

 

[biggles]

Well it's not looking like there are too many reefers here keeping wild SPS so i'll give it a bump with some piccy's - don't chase growth as you can have that and crap colors....... chase colors and the growth will come along for the ride.

These two have been cuddling like this for weeks with no sign of any biffo - greenpeace acros i think..........

Lots of happy blue acros

Ice blue horrida

Dunno if this is a milli or a prostrata, either way the intensity of the pigments is crazy.

Same coral but you can see the effect of too much flow on the tips on these branches, see the axial corallites flattened into a bowl shape lol.

Leftover branch on the sand bed - this will be going back to the LFS looking way better than when i bought it off them lol.

These little frags are one of my favorites as they color best 2" off the bottom - btw see the stupid ric i wasted $50 on that lives upside down on an overhang :deadhorse1:

Despite being stabbed in the heart with a dirty great blue stag branch the green monster stag refuses to die..........

And since it's the weekend and i'm bored i stuck a frag on a rock upside down just to see what weird stuff happens lol. I'm pretty sure the corallites are all going ' WHAT THE ....... ! '

Quick vid with iphone - don't have a video color processor app so it looks a tad blue lol.

 

[rogerwilco357]

I love the size of the wild pieces and even when they turn brown after the wait which has been up to 6 months the return on investment can be rewarding ..would love to see some prime examples..

 

[rodneyri]

I will join this thread soon mate, tank is now ready for an attack of corals

your look tops!

 

[neuro]

the placement of coral is really close to each other. when you first put them down, about how far were they from each other?

 

[biggles]

That's the best thing about browned out wilds rogerwilco, they can only get better
I was hoping you'd join in Rodney, i must say the SPS being collected and sold in our LFS's compared to 10 years ago is a million times better both in colors and diff species regularly on offer - i see the coral bombardment has begun in your reef lol.
Most stuff has been placed 2-3" from each other neuro. Something to remember also is many of the branches i buy i break up into 2-3 bits and stick here and there to see how they go in diff conditions. I remove one if i buy something new and think it will do better there etc. That's why i have a never bloody ending frag count racking up as i can't bring myself to kill acros. I have 6-7 small colonies in the tank and another 30-35 SPS 'bits' which are basically branches broken off branches i bought.
On another note, check out the awesome color the acro i dumped from the display has turned under the LED light in the sump dump lol. You can see the little acro crab who's one of two living in the acro right down the bottom of the colony. That yellowy looking stag tip is actually from the green monster in the display - looks totally different after being under LED's for about 4 months. Everything else looks drab and sickly as you can see lol, blue white LED units are not something i'd recommend for SPS keeping after testing lots of stuff against the radium and T5's but i'm yet to try a full spectrum unit.

 

[reefmutt]

Interesting thread. I'll be adding some shots soon.
My tank is two months old..full led..Rodney will be familiar..
Anyways, I've got frags bought online, frags of wilds and lots of maricultured corals.
I'm very interested to see how mine color up..
Biggles, your tank is looking fantastic... White balance is a little funky in photos but the corals look extremely healthy.
Are all of your shots using the iPhone?
Where do you get cyclop eze powder?? I'd LOVE to get my hands on some of that! I bet the corals love it.
Have you tried that new product from the makers of reef roids? Called polyp booster.. It's a liquid...
Will you add more fish?

 

[biggles]

Thanks for joining in Matt, i'm glad you and Rodney are using LED as your primary reef lighting as you'll be able to dispel the myth that they don't work - even my cruddy blue white LED unit over the sump has been able to keep everything alive i put under it despite lacking some spectrum that is obviously missing. I'm just waiting for guys like you and Rodney to do all the hard work nutting them out for me before i go down the full LED path
I take everything with the iphone 4s and all pics come out as blue as that video so i try to whiten them up using CS4 but it's very tricky hence i end up with weird colors sometimes. You can take 2 shots of the same scene from two diff angles and the shots will not look the same using the same correction settings, very frustrating lol. The three pics below are what things look like straight from the iphone, maybe i should stop trying to fix the colors so much.
I hadn't heard of that new product but i'll definitely look into it although my polyps don't need boosting lol. Freeze dried cyclopeeze is available online everywhere mate, i bought a tin from a freshwater supplier as it was $20- cheaper than at all the saltwater stores - surprise, surprise about that lol. It needs soaking or 'squishing' between your fingers to dissolve it into a watery mist for the corals though and yes the corals and pods go nuts for that stuff.
I want to add a couple more small fish and shrimps, i just haven't found the multibar angel i want lol.

Leftover bits......

 

[reefmutt]

I think Rodney has moved away from full led, but he used to run the same or similar lights to mine.. I'm using the newer 6200 hv Mitras with more blue LEDs.
I have cyclop eze.. I thought the powder was a different/new product. I love cyclop eze- fish love it. Even the flake was awesome, but I hear its discontinued.. The flakes were great for squishing..
When I get back from vacation, I'll post some shots..

 

[rodneyri]

Your right Matt, im now using a ATI Hybrid.

Here are the first lot of wild corals ive just put in my re-started tank

 

[bob1435]

Well they brown out because of low nutrients.....feed often and in 6 months they will color.up...

 

[neuro]

thanks for the response biggles.

Have you attempted to trim pieces, much like plants, in order to get them to grow in a certain direction?

 

[Volcano1]

I'll post a few pics soon of my wild colonies.About half the tank or better is wild/mariculture, ore wild.
Is there a given enviroment that wild come from that are more hearty, colorful, than other areas. I think I've got a mix of Aussie, Figi, mainly.I know the Aussie are more costly here, is it worth the extra price?

 

[biggles]

Those corals are all looking good Rodney. Are they newly collected or from your old tank - can't remember if you were going to get your brother to look after some stuff from the last tank. I hope you're going to pilfer some sweet frags from him as time goes by :thumbsup:
I agree that lots of the right foods targeted at the corals will lead to great colors bob1435, as long as you deal with the nutrients efficiently and keep the big three fairly stable you should see great results. Most of my crapped out looking corals return to vibrant coloration within 2-8 weeks of hitting the tank and longer is unusual in my experience. I have seen the odd coral surprise me 4-6 months down the track with a cool new color developing but not often. Is everyone else seeing similar to me or is it taking a lot longer ?
I either chop off a branch that is growing in a way i don't like and dremel a diff angle on the end and re stick it onto the stump now pointing a diff way or simply stick it too the rest of the coral somewhere else. I've had to remove pieces and re attach them at diff angles to allow for a new piece etc. All this obviously doesn't help the growth lol. I cut a 1/2" branch off the other day and it was hard as hell so when the cutters went snap they bounced off and smashed another acro to bits lol - i was a tad upset about that..........needless to say the original piece was blamed and went lawn surfing - it's never my fault, always blame the coral i say.
Look forward to seeing your pics Volcano1, i can't comment on the diff regions as i've only ever has Aus collected SPS but hopefully others will join in to share some opinions :thumbsup:

 

[trueblackpercula]

Great looking tank again. As for the LEDs they are working to perfection on my tank. I don't think I will every go back to MH even though they do work very well. I will tray and post a few pictures of my wild collect Aussie blue stag and I have a pink/green maricultured mili.

Once again that is for sharing your amazing tank and lets hope I can send you out that frag of true Oregon tort this year.

 

[biggles]

Thanks Perc but it's really just a big pile of colorful sticks atm and won't look grown in for another twelve months. I'm glad you're seeing great results with the Radion, i wish i had the money for one to put over my sump frag tank instead of the blue/white unit. I would have had a 'mini me' of the display in there by now if it wasn't for the poor spectrum LED unit i have - i spose i could always put the 400W bulb over the display and run a 250W over the sump..........
Those two wild pieces sound nice, do you find blues and greens love the LED's more than other colors mate, what are you seeing as far as any limiting colors. My SCC which is stunning in the display turns sickly flesh colored and loses all pink under the B/W LED.
Just how are you going to get that bloody frag through Aus customs Perc........... it takes them half a working day to work out what they're having for lunch and they spend the arvo working out what they're going to do the following morning........... it's a vicious cycle that tends to slow things down a tad. :deadhorse1: