50b Sumpless Mixed Reef Build!

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Das awesome

Damn you're gettin some nice corals!

Thanks, I agree! The acan pic is clearly enhanced but I still expect it to be a stunning specimen. It should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, along with those 2 zoa frags and the UWW Rainbow Sunburst Monti Frag.

Can't wait!

[BigJohnny]

Frags arrive tomorrow before 10:30am!!!

In other news, the collection is growing:



I absolutely love these things, just got the calcium. It was on sale on amazon for $30!

[Happyschneider]

Oh wow. Would be interested in how complicated the caclium meassurement is! The alk I have the impression I am faster with the kit by hand and REEF analytics or Salifert is plenty accurate enough.

Phosphorus I got from Milwaukee, I think they are exactly the same and it makes it so much easier when you don't have to compare different shades of blue anymore

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Happyschneider

Oh wow. Would be interested in how complicated the caclium meassurement is! The alk I have the impression I am faster with the kit by hand and REEF analytics or Salifert is plenty accurate enough.

Phosphorus I got from Milwaukee, I think they are exactly the same and it makes it so much easier when you don't have to compare different shades of blue anymore

They are all very quick and easy. Especially after you do them a few times.

The alkalinity-

1. Put sample in checker and push button
2. Take sample out, put 1 ml liquid reagent in sample and invert 5 times before putting back in.
3. Push button, wait 2 seconds.

Done. Not sure you can get faster than that. Probably takes me under a minute without rushing. I think it's easier than other test kits and I value the digital readout accuracy (Salifert is sufficient for sure, but I like not having to interpret anything)

Calcium is very similar except you use RODI water and 1 reagent initially, then 1ml of sample and 2nd reagent after the first button push. Same steps just different ingredients. Titration with Salifert takes me a lot longer.

Phosphorus is the same as alk but you have to mix the reagent for 2 mins and wait 3 mins for results.

Overall they are all faster than my red sea or Salifert. IMO an electronic phosphate test is a must, otherwise it's a crap shoot with those color shades. Plus phosphorus test is superior to phosphate as you know.

I've never heard of the Milwaukee phosphorous but I am sure it's good because i have their digital refractometer and love it. As you can tell, I prefer electronic testing haha.

Other test kits are certainly sufficient (except for phosphate), but for me, nothing beats the ease of use, accuracy, and confidence in the results of a hanna checker.

[Happyschneider]

Thanks for your overview. The alkalinity really sounds easy. Might consider it when I finish the current batch. I go through it quickly anyway.

The silica test from salifert is a real pain. Need to investigate how easy/comlicated the one from Hanna is. This might be a realy option if I realise that I need it more often.

Thanks again for your quick description!

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Happyschneider

Thanks for your overview. The alkalinity really sounds easy. Might consider it when I finish the current batch. I go through it quickly anyway.

The silica test from salifert is a real pain. Need to investigate how easy/comlicated the one from Hanna is. This might be a realy option if I realise that I need it more often.

Thanks again for your quick description!

No problem bud. Yea the alkalinity is really easy and the only one I use on a regular basis.

Never tried the silica one (not sure they have one) but I'm sure it's great. I'm a big fan overall. Plus they are just cool haha.

[Isaacs55]

Sweet! I gotta get me one of those phosphorus Hannah checkers! Do they have a nitrate one? My salifert test kit keeps reading zero nitrates...I'm not sure if that's right or not lol unless my maintenance is on point and my DSB and filter socks are working...

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Isaacs55

Sweet! I gotta get me one of those phosphorus Hannah checkers! Do they have a nitrate one? My salifert test kit keeps reading zero nitrates...I'm not sure if that's right or not lol unless my maintenance is on point and my DSB and filter socks are working...

Yea man they are great I definitely recommend. Make sure you get the Phosphorus ULR and not the phosphate, it's a lot more precise and gets you into the lower range that we desire in reef tanks. You have to do a quick calculation to convert from ppb phosphorous to ppm phosphate but it's simple ( x 3.066 / 1000), and after you do it once you'll know what ppb reading your looking for next time. It also picks up on forms of phosphorous that the phosphate test does not.

I will say that the Phosphorus one is my least favorite because of the fine powder satchel vs liquid or crystal reagent, but it's still very simple and I would never even test phosphate if I didn't have it.

[BigJohnny]

So I guess I forgot to update everyone, the uww rainbow sunburst monti arrived 3 weeks ago but stn'd within 24 hrs because it got waaaay too cold during shipping due to a random 20* swing in whether. It looked very stressed right out of the box and I couldn't save it. Luckily, the vendor cut me a fresh frag which has been healing for 3 weeks and will be sent out Monday and arrive Tuesday!

Here is a pic of the uww rs monti upon arrival (still looks cool even while dying haha)


The next day:

[BigJohnny]

I also may or may not have ordered again from vivid last night.......

Emerald Echinata (WYSIWYG)


Pink Prostrata (Frag)


Strawberry Shortcake (Frag)


And ofcourse.......some montis:

Superman Monti (Frag)


Jedi Mindtrick Undata Monti (Frag)


I actually just really needed a couple trochus and nassarius snails to clean up my tank but all my lfs carry is astrea and turbo. I currently only have 1 big cerith in my tank (have a few youngins in my qt tank that I may move over) and about 4-5 scarlet hermits. So I had to order online.

Shipping was more than the snails though and I needed to get some acros anyway to balance out the tank once everything grows in (threw in the montis to hit the free shipping mark), so I pulled the ol keyboard trigger.

Sometimes you gotta spend money to save it. I've had my eye on these corals for a while anyway, it was inevitable. You should've seen what I stopped myself from buying haha

[BigJohnny]

Just picked up 3 acros from a local reefer. Sunset milli, Blue tenuis, teal echinata. Can't really see the colors on my crappy cell but I'll try n get some legit pics tom. They are pretty sweet and only paid 20 a pop

[BigJohnny]

These are slightly better, but still don't do them justice. Everything is either too blue, or not colorful enough depending on cell phone settings.



(This is actually greener)


(the tips of this are much more blue, kind of like in the 1st pic of this post)


This is pretty accurate, hasn't fully colored up yet

[thedon986]

Those are some good looking frags. Looking forward to seeing it grow in!

[Swope2bc]

Can we all blink and then see this 1yr later?! I love all of them!!!

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by thedon986

Those are some good looking frags. Looking forward to seeing it grow in!

Thanks bud, me too!

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Swope2bc

Can we all blink and then see this 1yr later?! I love all of them!!!

I wishhhhh, right there with ya! I'm very happy with them as well, especially for the price. Can't wait for the new uww rainbow sunburst monti frag and the order from vivid to come in. I'll post pics asap ofcourse.

[BigJohnny]

In other news, currently test running one of my brs dosing pumps which I'm about to start dosing kalkwasser with. I plan to dose overnight to offset the pH drop and supplement alkalinity and calcium. Demands not too high right now obviously, but its enough that I want to dose small amounts daily to keep everything even more stable.

[BigJohnny]

Vivid order arrives tomorrow, and I believe my uww sunburst rainbow monti but don't have confirmation on that yet. There's gonna be a lot of dipping tomorrow!

[Swope2bc]

[BigJohnny]

So ready for these frags tomorrow. This is my work space when I get stuff in. I dip on a towel on the floor but this is where I do everything else:


Dave (the owner of vivid, you can watch his videos on YouTube) called me and confirmed I would be home so that was pretty cool. They always do that but I've never spoken to him specifically, super chill dude and fantastic vendor. I strongly recommend them. They also have free overnight priority when you spend 225 or higher which is the lowest I've seen.

[Novice101]

Saltwater fish has 125 free shipping and if you buy a cuc for 70 you also get whatever you buy with it free shipping

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by Novice101

Saltwater fish has 125 free shipping and if you buy a cuc for 70 you also get whatever you buy with it free shipping

I just looked them up and it's actually free at over $149 (plus $6.99 box fee so not actually free) if your referring to saltwaterfish.com:


They also have literally the worst selection of coral I've ever seen. Currently they only have 3 sps, period. Oh and they happen to be

1. Brown Acropora
2. Brown Acropora
3. Brown Montipora

Haha. No offense but not even in the same universe as vividaquariums.com. Vivid is high end wysiwyg and stock sps, lps, zoas, softies, inverts and fish. They have an incredibly solid reputation within the community and deliver high end livestock at fair prices with fantastic customer service. They also take great care of their livestock and have the longest livestock moneyback gaurantee in the market for a reason.

For shipping comparison purposes, other high end coral vendors usually either a) don't have free shipping at any cart total, b) have it at $250-$325, c) offer two day shipping which is far from ideal for most livestock, d) have terrible selection and quality, or e) some combination of the above.

I have yet to find a vendor that is better overall, and trust me I've looked. Sure some have more coral but they are usually way over priced. I've ordered from other places but for one reason or another (or several) I still think they are the best.

[BigJohnny]

Originally Posted by cghcgj

Looks good! All that beautiful equipment, but no sump. How come?

This is the third time you've posted in my thread saying the exact same thing under a new random troll username. Not only is it not even close to annoying, your lack of creativity is pathetic. If anything your wasting your time and making a fool of yourself. BTW, can't even see your gifs haha. What a sad existence........

[Novice101]

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

I just looked them up and it's actually free at over $149 (plus $6.99 box fee so not actually free) if your referring to saltwaterfish.com:


They also have literally the worst selection of coral I've ever seen. Currently they only have 3 sps, period. Oh and they happen to be

1. Brown Acropora
2. Brown Acropora
3. Brown Montipora

Haha. No offense but not even in the same universe as vividaquariums.com. Vivid is high end wysiwyg and stock sps, lps, zoas, softies, inverts and fish. They have an incredibly solid reputation within the community and deliver high end livestock at fair prices with fantastic customer service. They also take great care of their livestock and have the longest livestock moneyback gaurantee in the market for a reason.

For shipping comparison purposes, other high end coral vendors usually either a) don't have free shipping at any cart total, b) have it at $250-$325, c) offer two day shipping which is far from ideal for most livestock, d) have terrible selection and quality, or e) some combination of the above.

I have yet to find a vendor that is better overall, and trust me I've looked. Sure some have more coral but they are usually way over priced. I've ordered from other places but for one reason or another (or several) I still think they are the best.

I was close but if you buy their reef package which the lowest one is 69.99 you get free shipping which is kinda cool

[Swope2bc]

Originally Posted by BigJohnny

This is the third time you've posted in my thread saying the exact same thing under a new random troll username. Not only is it not even close to annoying, your lack of creativity is pathetic. If anything your wasting your time and making a fool of yourself. BTW, can't even see your gifs haha. What a sad existence........

I've seen this bozo on no less than 5 threads I follow. I am tempted to believe he is a bot, so I just report his posts every time I see them.