New tank build!

[CHSUB]

replaced my mp40 with a second mp60 today...increased flow to about 65x!!!!! hoping soon i can start posting some health sps's...

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[jacob.morgan78]

If you're not using that mp40 anymore... No need in it laying around collecting dust... You might as well let me use it for you since you're not using it right now

It will come around, just be patient and up the water changes for a while... Looks good!

[CHSUB]

Originally Posted by jacob.morgan78

If you're not using that mp40 anymore... No need in it laying around collecting dust... You might as well let me use it for you since you're not using it right now

It will come around, just be patient and up the water changes for a while... Looks good!

yeh, that mp40 is one expensive paper weight....i would have given it to you except it's sold!!!

patients is tough, especially when a couple of my buddies are calling my tank a "micky mouse leather tank".

[jacob.morgan78]

That's just mean! :-)

[CHSUB]

i'm feeling good about the lighting change, in terms of sps's. the new pieces i got last week are doing very well and the few older pieces i had remaining from the led's are coloring back-up. yes, it is still to early to tell, but i'm taking the "plunge" back into sps's. here is the order i placed. these are all colonies not frags. i will be picking them up at the airport next wed.



Clavularia aasp (not sps)
Acropora abrolhosensis *
Acropora aspera *
Acropora chesterfieldensis **
Acropora echinata ***
Acropora efflorescens ****
Acropora humilis **
Acropora jacquelineae ***
Acropora kimbeensis **
Acropora loripes ****
Acropora millepora **
Acropora suharsonoi ****
Acropora tenuis **
Acropora turaki
Acropora yongei *
Montipora confusa
Montipora danae (Ultraman)
Montipora danae (Superman)
Montipora undata
Montipora venosa
Seriatopora caliendrum
Stylophora pistillata
Euphyllia ancora(not sps)

[mess7777]

You have an awesome setup cory, your tank will be looking great with this massive edition of new corals.

[jacob.morgan78]

holy crap that's a lot of colonies... you probably paid more for that order than I did for my whole setup :-( jealous....

that's what I get for being a teacher! :-/

[CHSUB]

Originally Posted by mess7777

You have an awesome setup cory, your tank will be looking great with this massive edition of new corals.

Originally Posted by jacob.morgan78

holy crap that's a lot of colonies... you probably paid more for that order than I did for my whole setup :-( jealous....

that's what I get for being a teacher! :-/

thanks, i'm really looking forward to getting these corals. i'm going to leave work early so i will have most of the day to work on getting them in the tank. my only concern is no3 @ 5ppm, but i'm going to do a large wc tues so i can go a few weeks without another wc, so not to disturb the system.

i choose corals that i think will go well in different areas of the tank?

[phantomg23]

Those dimensions are my dream dimensions, i got it quoted and its insane how much tanks can cost. Any problems with the dimensions, or anything you would change with them?

[CHSUB]

Originally Posted by phantomg23

Those dimensions are my dream dimensions, i got it quoted and its insane how much tanks can cost. Any problems with the dimensions, or anything you would change with them?

i agree, the size is great!!! makes an awesome presentation, height and width!! sometimes getting to the bottom, middle is hard; but i would not change anything. 6' would have been nice too, but would have cost alot more, and i would have needed 3 vs 2 MH lamps to get good coverage! so i'm glad i did 5'.


the big day is tomorrow, i pick-up the corals at the airport!!!! today i did a 100 gal wc and vacuumed the sand. no3 is still at ~5.00 ppm??? also cleaned the fug. i harvest this much hair algae from the fug about every couple of weeks. po4 reads 0.00 but you would think no3 would be lower!!! any thoughts? i have tested all top off and wc water and it always tests 0.00 on salifert.

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[mess7777]

If your algae is growing that well and consuming nutrients...you could try feeding more. This will add a little more phosphate and might help get rid of those last remaining nitrates. That said, a lot of people love to be around 5ppm, get a clam and call it a day...they love to consume nitrates and need a little bit.

[CHSUB]

ok, the corals arrived.....awesome stuff, 21 of 23 ordered but that's enough. i inspected each coral as best i could. some i broke the bases off and the ones i couldn't i dipped the bases in fresh water. these were all cultured corals shipped direct from bali!



i'm going to keep the MH off today and start glueing in the next couple of days!

here's how they were shipped...attached to stryoform and floating in double bags. best i've seen.




corals on sandbed!!!



that's about half!!!!

pics are not good, but corals are outstanding!!!!

[Pumilios]

Originally Posted by CHSUB

"micky mouse leather tank".

Made me lol

[jacob.morgan78]

Where did you order those from? They look nice! If you can't post the site or company here, can you shoot me a pm?

Thanks!!

[Gil03]

I have the AI vega color and from what i've read most people start their % out really low when introducing corals, like 30% low and it being months before they even get to a max of say 60%. Same with the radions from what I've read, especially if they're the pro's.

[CHSUB]

Originally Posted by mess7777

If your algae is growing that well and consuming nutrients...you could try feeding more. This will add a little more phosphate and might help get rid of those last remaining nitrates. That said, a lot of people love to be around 5ppm, get a clam and call it a day...they love to consume nitrates and need a little bit.

took your advice....

on the clam!!!!

[IMG][/IMG]

[CHSUB]

in a continued effort to control nitrates, i did a 65 gallon wc and completely cleaned my fug. rather than let it just accumulate crud, i felt it was contributing to the problem even though the algea was growing well. i rearrange the rock so it would allow easier cleaning while not disturbing the algae. the aquamedic denitrator has worked some but still not processing enough water to reduce no3 much. here is the fug after cleaning.



no3 after wc is above 5ppm, i'm hoping it will go lower after the clean and the fug starts going again.

here is a video i made today, all the new corals look good. i think they are starting to color up nicely. time will tell?

[IMG][/IMG]

[SPotter]

Corey the tank looks awesome!!!! Amazing what a few changes to the tank will do for you! I wouldnt worry too much about the N03....I see a lot of people targeting 2-5ppm for N03 and .03 ppm for P04.

[CHSUB]

Originally Posted by SPotter

Corey the tank looks awesome!!!! Amazing what a few changes to the tank will do for you! I wouldnt worry too much about the N03....I see a lot of people targeting 2-5ppm for N03 and .03 ppm for P04.

thanks steve,

i agree the tank is looking very good, the sps' are really coloring up and growth is taking off...the lighting has made a HUGH difference. the LEDS looked good and have there uses, but they simply are unable to support a fully colored sps' tank. imo tanks with higher DOM, more suited for leathers, leds are perfect. reefers that desire colorful, thriving sps tanks that use powerful skimmers and efficient fugs require MH/t5 lighting......i guess i just need to live with the idear of no3 being around 5ppm. i found no3 much easier to control with a DSB and more LR, now with pilars and a SSB no3 is harder to control, but i find the system cleaner, if that makes sense?

[CHSUB]

continued good reports. here is a pic of a green slimer i bought about 4 months ago that followed a typical path in my tank. i bought it from Strickly Fish in miami from a colony in their dt. it is a handsome green coral lit by MH/t5s. i got a 1.5" piece and placed it on my sandbed for a few days then glued it at about middle height in my dt. the first month or two it seemed fine, even growing over where it was cut. soon after it begin to lighten in color and have less pe. in the ~third month it became very pale and started to stn from the base, i thought it was a goner like so many sps' in my dt.

since the lighting change it has stopped stn and has completely colored-up. now it is nearly as green as its mother colony and has good pe again!!



i had a nice credit with DD so i ordered 2 sps', i will be getting them thursday. i increased fug lighting 2 hours and was advised by AquaMedic to feed my Nitatereductor every day until it starts processing more water. the effluent out of the reactor is 0.00 no3 but it needs to process more water. Aqua Medic suggested i feed more for a while until more bacterial builds up. both i hope will help reduce no3, which is >5.00 ppm right now.

[CHSUB]

added a couple more corals this week and ordered 3 more from DD, arrival Tues with UPS...i wish they would have stayed with FEDEX, but we will see?

here is an elegance coral i got today, very nice!!!



couple of long view....tank is starting to look very nice, much easier with MH/t5s vs LEDs!!! still need to work on picture taking, color is much better in person.

[CHSUB]

got my order from Divers Den this morning with their new shipper UPS; order was fine. new clam and 2 sps', getting another order tomorrow, then going to cool it for a while.

here's the clam, nice color!!!! maybe it will suck-up some no3. lol, that's what i tell my wife why i needed another 5" clam!

[codyreed29]

Hmmm you got me thinking here> I've go alot of rock. I'm in texas by the way. I've got the gulf of mexico Spi a block from my condo. I think "I've got a condo A year or so Hmmm, Something to think about. A few rocks from my back yard Here in the hill country. Fill my truck with rocks from backyard and dump them in the ocean for the summer are you nuts. Oh yeah i am nuts.

[CHSUB]

Originally Posted by codyreed29

Hmmm you got me thinking here> I've go alot of rock. I'm in texas by the way. I've got the gulf of mexico Spi a block from my condo. I think "I've got a condo A year or so Hmmm, Something to think about. A few rocks from my back yard Here in the hill country. Fill my truck with rocks from backyard and dump them in the ocean for the summer are you nuts. Oh yeah i am nuts.

very doable, most of my rocks came from my backyard!!!

dig.jpg

[codyreed29]

LOL right on to crazy rocky backyards.