Paul's Rubbermaid sps setup

[YHSublime]

Looks like you've got lots of nice stuff in there. If it all grows as fast as it did in your last build, you've got the magic touch.

[Sharkey18]

That is really cool.  You've quite a collection there!

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Thanks guys!

 

I am also out to prove something. I believe that there are too many people out there that are preaching this whole "buy from someone who has an established colony/tank thing". They say this thinking thoes frags will do best or better than wild stuff. Almost all what I have left is wild. Literally.... I have bought a lot of things from the "big boys" that have sat on frag plugs for a year and not even sprouted a branch, or grown off the plug. Most if not all of my mariculture or wild frags are branching out and turning into colorful pieces. Now that I have the right lighting I believe everything will do even better. My best looking pieces are all stuff I bought that were wild frags.

So don't buy frags from "the best" sps keepers because you think they will do better. Support your local stores that get good wild stuff and take care of them the right way. Also support your local stores that treat you the right way and tell you the truth.

Another myth is that buying from "trusted" members will keep pests out of your system. If you think that's true I wish you luck... You better know who your buyin from!

[CaptainRon]

I love getting wild frags. It's almost like gambling because you just don't know what's really going to show up months down the road, what colors will develop as the coral settles in, in a new system.

 

I also agree with you on bugs from supposedly clean systems. The same could be said for hardware like powerheads that go from one system to another - I think it's critical to watch out for creepy crawlies there too.

 

Some nice looking BIG corals in there Paul!

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Yea it's kind of a gamble, but if you know what kind your getting and do research it's not as bad. I think the bad wrap that wilds get is also people buyin the wrong subspecies of acropora that do not fair well in the tanks the have a little less light and flow.

 

But the thing is people don't send wild Aussie pieces over to the usa because they are not colorful. And they don't mariculture pieces that are brown. The trick is getting thoes colors back, that's the fun part we will see how I do.

 

nitrates are at a steady .02 (even dosing coral aminos)

Phos. Unreadable with saliferts but there because the cheato is blowing up and I have some hair algae (not really any clean up crew and I am also using small amounts of oyster feast often)

I need to get the ultra low range hanna checker but not sure where to find it

Alk has been between 9 and 10 although I want it more around 8...

Mag is at 1400

Calcium is at a steady 420

I am just starting to dose small amounts of potassium but am weary of really using it before I find a good test kit

I am not really doing waterchanges routinely.

[Sharkey18]

Thanks for pointing out the value in wild grown  / mariculture corals. 

 

Why oyster feast? 

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I see massive messerentrial filliment extension on most of the corals while using even a small amount of it. Most of the time I will feed that with fish food and a few drops of coral amino and turn off my skimmer (which is my return pump) and let everything circulate for 15 to 30 min. I don't have many fish so I am trying to make sure everything gets something. Also I think it's one of the things small enough for acropora to actually catch and digest. I dunno I am no expert, I just use a very small amount too, 1/8 of a cap ful every few days. Once a week I will do a good cap full. We are used to feeding a lot of food with lots of fish and have always had good results. But phosphates are the only thing I hate battling, hince my regenerating thread. One more day and I will be rinsing it and should have it running on all our tanks again next week. I will use a reactor on this tank and the shallow zoa reef. Our little Lps tank I will probly keep it passively in the hang on back skimmer. Since there is no sump, it's a simple tank.

Another reason I use oyster feast is because tony and a few other experienced reefers suggested it and I try to stick to what works for others with great tanks.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Well since upgrading the lighting some browned, most corals have lightened and lost a little color. They seem to be turning the corner especially the abros, they are definatly encrusting and sprouting new growth. I only get to go see the tank once a week... And I am in the process of switching controllers slowly, so it's getting a little stressful.

After the lighting switch the alk jumped up a little to just over 10.

Nitrates are completely clear (never had them that low ever...) which is a little worry some. Especially with the jump in alk. I have hooked up the auto feeder to feed a bunch of pellets twice a day and after two weeks still no rise in nitrates. Along with a cube of marine cuasine daily. Every few days I dose some aminos and oyster feast also. I think upping the aminos may help? I am using brightwells coral aminos. So far I just feed one vial full once or twice a week.

I am thinking I could use heavier feedings and some more schooling fish.

Right now here is the fish list

Small sailfin tang for algae control and maybe three small Mexican turbos.

One odd chromis (forget what kind)

And 4 large pj cardinals.

I am thinking of adding the 6 chromis I have in Amanda's zoa tank.

 

Feedback would be nice, although I am sure the corals just need time to adjust to the new lights which are at least twice what I had...

[Sharkey18]

So why are you trying to raise nitrates? Why are low nitrates worrisome? 

 

The only reason I hear people intentionally increasing nitrates is if low nitrates limit phosphate reduction. But if your phosphate is undetectable, I'd say leave it alone. Or maybe I missed something? 

 

Also, wouldn't you expect more growth and less color with the lighting switch? Also, has long has it been? They could still be adjusting. 

 

Pics?

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I just went over there, everything is looking better. Everyday there is more growth and more color. The alk is finally being consumed more and lowering. I hooked up the gfo I regenerated in a phosban 550 instead of running it passively. I finally got a slight tinge of pink on the kit so I am guessing it was about .01. I added 6 chromis from Amanda's little zoa tank and I believe heavier feedings and such will be key to the corals coloring up properly and growing well. I still haven't done a waterchange for almost two months. I still need to get two 4' heatsinks for the 24 3w LEDs I have for the tank. I moved the cheato to the darker rock side of the sump and have some corals down there under the d120

[linkfalcon]

What skimmer is that

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

It's a 4' lifereef with a skimz 181 body glued on the top, then the lifereef collection cup glue back on top of that. The cone style too makes the skimmer much easier to dial in and gives the bubbles even more contact time.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I added 6 chromis and the nitrates still won't register. I did a waterchange to get the junk off the bottom of the tank. I am having trouble feeding the tank enough because there is not always someone there to feed it... When I get the Cree LEDs back up with new LEDs the colors will show out better on everything. I took a few random pics I will post in a bit.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Here are some random shots. Also a good note, every frag is encrusting and growing now, everything seems completely adjusted to the new light. Now I just need some free time to put these Crees back together and get some good blue color back in these pieces...

 

 

[Incredible Corals]

Awesome! Love the acro in the first pic!!!

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Me too, it was a nice blue and red until it started to rtn. That's what's left and finally getting colors back on it.

[Sharkey18]

That's looking awesome. 

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Well my auto feeder dumped a whole thing of food so I have nitrates now. But phosphates got high at the same time. Its frustrating having this tank at a different house because I rarely see it and never get to work on it. Everything is staying pretty green but doing ok. Here is a pic I took with my new phone a while back after the lighting switch.

 

Also I have only done two waterchanges since setting up the tank. I have also over collected corals so now Amanda's tank has 4 colonies in it... I now have two mp40s, two wp40s and one wp20. Its definatly random heavy flow! Sorry I haven't taken a pic with lights on yet.

 

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

 

[sachabballi reef]

why is it at a different house? 

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I set the tank up as a backup incase something major happened. I was having issues with the 210 including too much humidity in our house and rtn on the corals in the tank, which i was having trouble stopping. I knew i was going to want to keep some corals so I started this system.

[YHSublime]

There's a lot of nice acro in there. You have a green thumb for corals, sir. I hope to catch up!

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

The acros would be, happier, or more colorful if i could afford bulbs for my icecap t5 ballast. Right now its just one reefbrite strip and the two 10k 250's. I dont have time or energy to rewire all my cree leds :( With no real blue light I am having troubke getting any blue out of anything, plus the fluctuating phosphates recently didnt help. They got really bad, I am suprised i only lost one coral.

[JR-Tanked150]

Nice acros, you have some big colonies growing. How often do you frag them?

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Whenever someone wants a frag, i dont mind cutting stuff. But its not that often.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

Well i decided its time to take a break. So thats the last shot of everything in the rubbermaids. I will keep a couple corals to keep my sps addiction ticking but its time to focus on the other things I love

So hopefully i will have a good fs thread up soon.