Orion September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 I have stayed Halide and T5 my entire time doing reefing. I love the color and growth. Bulb replacement is crazy expensive though. The expense doesn't bother me. It's all a part of the hobby. I started with LEDs, and now I have T5s. I like the T5s but the next build for sure will be Halide/T5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 Bonsai style requires A LOT of restraint. My old setup started with 50 frags and ended with 15 colonies 2.5 years later. If it was Bonsai style, I may have ended with 6-8 corals. Did you just pick the ones that grew fastest for you? My plan is to do something a little unorthodox, and do a primarily zoa dominated setup, with choice SPS. There are those that say SPS/LPS or softies will not work. To those I say "challenge accepted." I guess it would be helpful if Bonsai style was defined, I hope to illustrate the style through my aquascape as well, which will be tough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 So mixed reefs don't work? Not much of a challenge : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 So mixed reefs don't work? Not much of a challenge : ) Have you ever seen eight or so giant SPS colonies planned and spread out over droves of zoas? In my opinion, and in my experience, there is a real belief that something above can not be successfully done without one side suffering. I think that filling a 180 with zoas is a challenge in itself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati September 18, 2014 Author Share September 18, 2014 Did you just pick the ones that grew fastest for you? My plan is to do something a little unorthodox, and do a primarily zoa dominated setup, with choice SPS. There are those that say SPS/LPS or softies will not work. To those I say "challenge accepted." I guess it would be helpful if Bonsai style was defined, I hope to illustrate the style through my aquascape as well, which will be tough for me. Eventually coral wars will occur and a decision needs to made. I kept the corals that I liked the most. Speed of growth was not a factor. I only keep fish and corals that excite me. I loosely defined Bonsai by the amount of rock used. For example, a 100g tank with 25 - 50 lbs of rock with artistic elements could be described as such. A mixed system can work, the challenge is balancing the correct nutrient and light requirements to keep everything thriving. I often hear, "Why is this coral doing so well, but the SPS are dying?", and vice versa. Stick to bullet-proof SPS and you can focus on the zoa's as they are the primary actors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati September 18, 2014 Author Share September 18, 2014 Stay away from plating and tabling SPS. Zooanthids and stags work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati September 18, 2014 Author Share September 18, 2014 I think that filling a 180 with zoas is a challenge in itself! Depends on how much rock is used. 40 lbs, easy. 300 lbs is a challenge that can be solved with money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 300 lbs is a challenge that can be solved with money. That is the biggest challenge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 I plan on setting mine up with the rock work naturally spaced out in the middle of the tank in a couple different shapes. The rock work will only be in the middle and not up against either side or end. I estimate I will need about 6"-8"+/- of open space around all rock work to allow the corals to grow out and still be able to allow for cleaning of the glass. The top of the structures will vary from about 8" to 18" which will allow for growth of the different corals. I figure it will take 3-4 years to really get the grow out to start looking sharp. Part of that structure has to factor in caves for the fish, since I like both the corals and the fish equally. Once I have the rock work built, then I can lay out a plan to space out the different corals by: size, growth rate, PAR requirements, flow requirements, shape, and color. To me, this is just like creating a natural landscape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djplus1 September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 It is an awesome looking tank but he must have spent about five thousand on stocking it with corals and fish. It would be nice to see some info on it, like how long he has had it running. He sure feeds a lot of flakes. Man you are optimistic. I was going to say at least 10k maybe even 20k. Looking at my tank, on the low end I'm probably at a grand probably more (but I refuse to really think about it) and NO WAY is his tank just 5x the cost of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 Stay away from plating and tabling SPS. Zooanthids and stags work. Tony- Why stay away from plating and tabling SPS? Just because they take up a lot of room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 Thanks for the explanations Tony, it really helps. I have removed increasing amount of rock over the past year. I would say I now have a moderate amount of rock, and a lot of negative space. I also just spent last Sunday with a hammer and chisel removing all of the plating and encrusting corals in my tank. They grow too fast and cause too many wars with the colored sticks I am trying to focus on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati September 18, 2014 Author Share September 18, 2014 Tony- Why stay away from plating and tabling SPS? Just because they take up a lot of room? Plates and tables will shade out his zoanthids. A rose bush has no chance under a tall Oak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati September 18, 2014 Author Share September 18, 2014 Thanks for the explanations Tony, it really helps. I have removed increasing amount of rock over the past year. I would say I now have a moderate amount of rock, and a lot of negative space. I also just spent last Sunday with a hammer and chisel removing all of the plating and encrusting corals in my tank. They grow too fast and cause too many wars with the colored sticks I am trying to focus on. 90% of the time, removing rock will make the aquascape look better. I know the hammer, chisel, and epoxy well. Encrusting corals are on my tier one bad land list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 This is why 95% of my monti's are on their own rocks in the sandbed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 The main things I noticed about that tank were that the sohal tang never moved except for food, and the purples were jousting with each other and all had torn tail fins. Way too little swimming space, IMO. Nice looking corals though, just needs about 1000 gallons worth of volume around and above that patch of reef to give the tangs some space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 A rose bush has no chance under a tall Oak. Wise you are, Sensei. the purples were jousting with each other and all had torn tail fins. Saw that. And agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 Have you ever seen eight or so giant SPS colonies planned and spread out over droves of zoas? In my opinion, and in my experience, there is a real belief that something above can not be successfully done without one side suffering. I think that filling a 180 with zoas is a challenge in itself! For sure a large tank with a lot of small zoa colonies is hard because they are hard to keep an eye on. We lost a lot of stuff in the shallow reef from them falling into rocks and lost. A zoa tank with sps in it is a beautiful thing. Its fairly easy to do though because both zoas and sps love high light and great flow. The hard part is incorporating lps in a tank like that. But with a large enough tank it's possible to have everything and keep it all happy. Its my dream to do this once we move to a new house. I would love to have all my corals in one tank again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 Plates and tables will shade out his zoanthids. A rose bush has no chance under a tall Oak. I don't want to burst Sensei's bubble.......but azaleas will do ok in the shade. If you elevate the lower branches of the Oak you will allow sunlight to get to the azalea and it will do just fine...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 For sure a large tank with a lot of small zoa colonies is hard because they are hard to keep an eye on. We lost a lot of stuff in the shallow reef from them falling into rocks and lost. A zoa tank with sps in it is a beautiful thing. Its fairly easy to do though because both zoas and sps love high light and great flow. The hard part is incorporating lps in a tank like that. But with a large enough tank it's possible to have everything and keep it all happy. Its my dream to do this once we move to a new house. I would love to have all my corals in one tank again... It's my goal, it will be slow, but steady. I wish I could have seen your big tank before you shut it down. I don't want to burst Sensei's bubble.......but azaleas will do ok in the shade. If you elevate the lower branches of the Oak you will allow sunlight to get to the azalea and it will do just fine...... LoL. Technically you are my Sensei as well, Ken, by true definition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k September 18, 2014 Share September 18, 2014 It's the classic "fruit Stand". nice corals and fish, blah rock work. he should feed more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos September 19, 2014 Share September 19, 2014 (edited) It's the classic "fruit Stand". nice corals and fish, blah rock work. he should feed more.I thought I was being original with the "fruit stand" comment! So is that a real expression? OK, wine is flowing....... "Grand Standing"- looks like the Horseshoe at Ohio State ..... I saw it when VA Tech pounded Ohio State. "Giant Staircase" - looks like the stairs on the Lincoln Memorial "Chichen Itza Pyramid " - one of the sides of this Mayan temple " Vietnamese Terraced Rice Field" - these are actually prettier then the tank. Edited September 19, 2014 by DuffyGeos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore September 19, 2014 Share September 19, 2014 I don't want to burst Sensei's bubble.......but azaleas will do ok in the shade. If you elevate the lower branches of the Oak you will allow sunlight to get to the azalea and it will do just fine...... I have a nice rose bush growing directly under an enormous tree. Not an oak, but it is just as shady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite September 20, 2014 Share September 20, 2014 +1 more. It is both awesome and monotonous at the same time. Makes me feel confused. + another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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