[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by jimw369

I like how the Blue Chromis are now Blue!

I thought the same thing as soon as the Actinic's went on, they are no longer silver! My Yellow Coris Wrasse is doing the violent thrashing again (probably because he can actually see his color now.) He has already given himself another smaller blood spot under the skin, but it is pointless to try and stop him because as soon as I walk away he just resumes. I will try and catch it on video to show you what I mean, but he is pretty camera shy.

Originally Posted by WhatReef

looks pretty awesome, that light made a huge difference with your tank, good buy!
as for me i have just be workong on my basement and just recent lost a leather coral, it was one of my first corals so it was kinda sad, it just like started decaying for some odd reason i have never see that before perhaps it had something to do with my low PH

Thanks Garrett, it was a really tough decision between T5's or MH, but overall I am very satisfied with the outcome. A little down the road I plan on switching up the bulbs from the Current's to UVL's. Their Super Actinic 420nm and Actinic White really make a huge difference in intensity, but its not immediately required as there is no coral in my display YET.

Sorry to hear about your Leather coral, it is pretty hard to cope with the loss of the livestock that you started with. I felt terrible when my Flame Angel passed, I loved that fish. That is strange that it would just start decaying like that, maybe your right and the pH is to blame. Most corals have quite the lifespan, but some do just "give up" and wither.
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So I have come to the conclusion that a ReefKeeper is almost mandatory for me now because the T5's have the independent switches and two analog dial timers are way to hard to keep calibrated to a half an hour exactly. I probably will not go with the Elite model yet, I will get that when I get the 300. But I have settled with the ReefKeeper Lite Stage 3. It has all the functions that I would need for now, plus the expandability. But man, I tell ya, Digital really has their marketing down to the T because they price each model close enough to try and motivate you to go to the next level hahaha. I'm sure you know this, all you have to do is go to their store and look at the prices, its like they persuade you to upgrade and before you know it your already in the Elite models, then start getting more and more greedy and wanting the better one on and on. The have sales down to an art!

And I forgot to readjust the images for better color rendition in Photoshop, but oh well, will do next time for future pictures.

[BLKBRDTA]

Yellow Coris Wrasse violent thrashing

He does it at around 25 seconds in.. I could only get him doing it once because he is definitely camera shy..

YouTube - Angry Yellow Coris Wrasse

[BLKBRDTA]

Just wanted to share a quick video

YouTube - Just a little video of my finned buddies..

[BLKBRDTA]

Update (Corals are initiated!)







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And a full tank shot with the black lining on the back (much better looking.)

[WhatReef]

hey the tank is looking good man, i like the torch and cleaner shrimp, i plan on get some cleaner shrimp but i just gotta get my coral banded shrimp out of the tank as last time i think he killed two on me so im not taking any chances this time around

[BLKBRDTA]

Yo Garrett, thanks for the props broddah.

Yea once I got the lights in I had the sudden coral rush and splurged at my LFS a week later haha. The Torch is doing great, it is extending its tentacles more and more as it becomes comfortable with its surroundings. And my cleaner shrimp.. that little guys my buddy, his name is Jacque like the shrimp from Nemo. I have heard that the Coral Banded will tear apart a Skunk Cleaner, so I guess your experiences solidify that statement. The culprit/adversary with my shrimp is the Coris Wrasse. That guy is mean. I drop a piece of algae sheet down to the bottom with a split-shot for the shrimp, and the Wrasse will know its there and watch it.. But only when the shrimp goes over to it to eat, thats when the Wrasse will come swooping in, startling the Shrimp and stealing the food. The even meaner part of the whole situation is that the Wrasse will just shake violently and chew it up then spit it out for the other fish to eat. So when I drop the food in now, I always guard Jacque in the corner by putting my hand against the glass whenever the Wrasse comes near hahaha sad but it works.

I also got a Condylactis Anemone (Condy Nem) yesterday. I will post some pictures of him as well, hes just now starting to unveil his arms. I know they usually don't host Clowns, but some people do report success. I guess we'll find out.

[WhatReef]

No problem man, I know a nice tank when i sees one lol.
Yeah i just assume my coral band killedmy cleaner shrimp both times so now i have been on the hunt to get him out of my tank, problem being he only comes out at night so i have to hunt at night time so hopefully i can get him soon.

Yeah before i got my anemone the maroon clown was hosting my buddle coral but once i got the nem is was all over well first the clown that came with it was but he jumped out of the tank like a week last and the maroon took over for him so it work out well for the maroon clown so al in all everything is good.

did you see my post on photo plankton?

[BLKBRDTA]

I found this video i'm sure you would enjoy since you don't seem very fond of the Coral Banded. Its a Coral Banded versus a Mantis Shrimp, pretty graphic lol. The Mantis snaps off both this Corals arms and drags him into his cave and feasts haha. I was going to post it but I don't know if many on here would enjoy seeing that kind of stuff, I know I thought it was pretty cruel for a guy to buy one then purposely kill and video tape it all.

Anyways, My two clowns haven't hosted the Torch or the Condy Nem, but thats okay, no rush. I want to get pictures up of the Condy but I can't find my camera now lol sound familiar (s/d card)?

Yea I have been watching your thread this whole time. Great idea with cultivating your own plankton, and the procedure doesn't seem too hard to do. I have a stock light left over now so I could probably do the same, but I would end up with way more plankton then I needed for a 50g lol. I guess one smaller pop bottle would be fine though. Your corals look outstanding too! I wanted to comment, but i'm giving others time to share their thoughts. Really nice though!

I'll see if I can find the camera and get some pics up of the Nem.

[BLKBRDTA]

Finally found my camera, here is a picture of my new Condylactis Anemone..:



Also, I thought I would try and take a decent looking up photo, here is what came out..:



Hope you enjoy as it comes along..

[WhatReef]

Nice pics looking good, if your clowns havn't hosted anything they most likely never will and they are most like tank bred clowns no big deal though, as for the coral banded video i think i may have seen that before, anyone got a mantis with a lesh? lol. Ya you could make photoplankton in smaller bottles, the longer its in the bottle bubbling the greener is gets providing you have done everything right and it hasnt gone sore on ya lol. cheers thanks for the positive feedback

[BLKBRDTA]

Update (Coral and fish added)

So I went to the Midwest Fragfest about a month ago.. yea it took that long to post some pictures up lol. I got some really nice corals, met some great reefers in this hobby and got some outstanding prices on frags! I really enjoyed my experience at the convention and will surely attend it for the years to come.

I will take a comparison picture of the tank 2 months ago when the T5's were just put on, and now with everything in.

Now, to the coral and fish!

[WhatReef]

nice corals man looking good!

[BLKBRDTA]

Thanks Reef, it took me a long time to update this thread with the new stuff. Some Cyano has been going after my Zoas and I have been pulling the stuff off them for a few days now. Its not hurting them though, just a hassle. I have been watching this stalk of Xenia separate itself from the group and attach itself to another rock. I'm thinking of putting some pictures up in the POTM section and see what comes from it. Anyways, I forgot to post up the pictures of the 2 new fish yesterday. The Goby was pretty easy to get a picture of, the Angel was zipping around the rocks too much so that ones a little blurry..:

Purple Firefish Goby


Coral Beauty Angelfish (Too fast to get a good still shot)


Tank comparison pictures are still to come, after this Red Slime is taken care of.

[WhatReef]

nice fish!, i used to have a fire fish but 2 weeks later in jumped out of the tank so i never bought another one lol but there nice as long as they dont jump out

[UnoZeus]

Awesome setup you got there! You have what I am working toward. I am still in the planning stages for a 36 gallon bowfront. Keep up the good work! Looks great!

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by WhatReef

nice fish!, i used to have a fire fish but 2 weeks later in jumped out of the tank so i never bought another one lol but there nice as long as they dont jump out

Yea they are jumpers, that is for sure. This one hasn't taken the leap of faith (yet.) Him and my Neon Goby both sleep inside of the same rock, so he seems pretty comfortable with his new surroundings so far. The Coral Beauty on the other hand, he bumps heads with my Canary Wrasse because as you know, most Angels like to be the top dog of the reef lol.

Originally Posted by UnoZeus

Awesome setup you got there! You have what I am working toward. I am still in the planning stages for a 36 gallon bowfront. Keep up the good work! Looks great!

Thanks for the props UnoZeus! This tank has been established for about 6 months now, and everything said about taking your time is oh so correct. It takes years to build a beautiful system, and even longer to propagate LPS and SPS into solid foundation colonies. Take your time with everything, I'm sure your 36 Bow will look outstanding before you even know it. Let us know if you have any questions about anything, thats why we are all members of the same forum.
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Update

The Red Slime problem that has recently risen is now being addressed. Instead of dosing chemicals and additives to try and mask the problem for a short time, I am purchasing a NextReef MR-1 Shorty PhosBan Reactor rated for up to 150g. This will hopefully eliminate the Phosphates in the water column, which in turn will starve off the Cyanobacteria that has been starting to plague my display. A more natural and healthy way of taking care of the problem. (Read about it, and the help from other members here: http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/m...ime-algae.html)
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NextReef MR-1 Shorty PhosBan Reactor

[WhatReef]

yeah phosban reactors are good for any reef tank i use one on mine and there not cheap to by but there worth it and the media for them isnt sheap either i think it cost me $50 a shot every time and i replace it 2-4 times a year depending on how my tank is doing but yes definitly a good addition cant wait to see some pics of a Cyano free tank : )

[BLKBRDTA]

Exactly. I never am geared towards adding chemicals, the natural way is always the best path. As Pogodzib said it best, "..Chemiclean will work, however, it isn't usually a permanent fix. I wouldn't use any other chemical additive. Just remember, chemicals only hide problems, they don't solve problems.."

Wise words. And yes, PhosBan Reactors are very important to ensure that the algae problem doesn't rise again in the future. The media inside them removes the Phosphate steadily and stores it without releasing it back into the water column.

On that note, I have been thinking about adding either a Protein Skimmer or Kalkwrasser to the system within a couple months. But I can't decide which to go with first lol.. Which would you get first?

[BLKBRDTA]

Well as promised, I have updated pictures of lots of things.. Including coral growth, the addition of a 420nm T5HO bulb and the reduction in spreading of the Cyanobacteria.. The list will get somewhat long so I will try and space everything out neatly.. Here we go!
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Start out with a 45* upshot..

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Current USA 420nm Actinic T5HO

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I am very pleased with the results that this bulb has cast, and am in the process of ordering another one.. These next couple of pictures show the combination of the bulbs, however the camera could barely pick up the difference in spectrum and rendering colors and levels didn't help much so it looks more drastic in person, as always lol..
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(From left to right) 460nm - 10K - 460nm - 420nm - 460nm - 10K

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(From front to back) 460nm - 10K - 460nm - 420nm - 460nm - 10K

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Cyanobacteria growth before seizing the addition of supplements..

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Cyanobacteria growth 2 weeks after seizing the addition of supplements..

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Before

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After

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After

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Small Mushroom growing next to its big brother..

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Torch Coral (I liked the way this one looks with the flow.)

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The Lone Ranger

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And his followers

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[BLKBRDTA]

Its been over a month now since I have last updated this thread. So I figured I would add some coral growth pictures. Everything is doing great, besides the Six-line Wrasse randomly disappearing. I am also going to purchase a ReefKeeper Lite level 3 because I am going to the West coast for a week again so at least while I am there I can have some peace of mind knowing everything is going off and on properly.. All I have to worry about now is my buddy topping off the sump and not overfeeding, all while not having the urge to host a bash in my house while I'm gone haha.

Now to the coral!







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And a couple random fish pics.. (Actually got the angel in a non-blurry still shot! He usually does not stay still.)

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And my Blenny being antisocial haha just kidding.

[jeanne]

What incredible pictures! I have learned alot from you. Please keep up the updates. How's the algae problem? Thanks, Jeanne

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by jeanne

What incredible pictures! I have learned alot from you. Please keep up the updates. How's the algae problem? Thanks, Jeanne

Thanks for the props Jeanne! Your the first to comment on them in about two and a half months haha. Oh well, I know I'm at least getting plenty of view hits so I guess its all worth it. But I have more pictures again! And the Cyanobacteria/Red Slime has completely disappeared with minor supplement, feeding, lighting and water adjustments.. I was going to get a PhosBan Reactor (as you may have seen) but the problem was gone before I could even get around to ordering one.. I guess I lucked out somehow on that one ha. Now to the pictures and updates!
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As some of you may know I will be going out of town for a week shortly and I have no trustworthy people with knowledge of SW DT's around here.. So I decided to have my tank pretty much run itself for a week lol. I purchased a ReefKeeper Lite L3 for system monitoring and control.. And also a Rena LG100 Auto-Feeder with built in 1W heater so the food does not dry out and clump, plus a built in light sensor for no unwanted night feedings.. So now that you know the updates in text, its time to give you the visual references.. Here we go!
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Shipping - First off, shipping on both items were fast and had great quality.. But DA's RKL packaging was by far the most superior, almost too many packaging peanuts or whatever they are called.. So I took a picture ha!
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Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Lite 2nd Generation Level 3 unpacked and laid out
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Size reference - The head unit is fairly small and very light.
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Digital Aquatics pH Probe and Temperature Probe
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2 x DA PC4's with 15A Max Relay's
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DA SL1 Module with 3' and 6' BUS Cables, and a DA USB Adapter for Firmware updates with USB Cable
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Rena LG100 Auto-Feeder
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Food container with adjustable quantity slider (Holds 4oz of any dry food)
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Heater that sits protected inside the food container
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Switch to turn night feeding on and off
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Light sensor if night time feeding is not desired
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ReefKeeper Lite installed flush against the wall.. (Finishing patchwork to be completed)
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RKL next to the tank..
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PC4's and SL1 mounted..
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....Now of course I am going to have somebody coming in and checking that everything is going smoothly. But now at least I know exactly how much is being fed, exactly what time everything is being turned on and off everyday, and I know exactly what to do if something happens and an alert gets triggered.. Basically.. all he has to do is pick up the phone and call.. hahaha I love it!

[WhatReef]

Woow thats awesome man lol i cant believe you got a reef keeper before me : ( lol but yeah my tank doesnt really require one but it would be nice to have one if i had the extra cash, but yeah its good to see you are still improving the tank and all is going well.
I got one of those Gieesemen lights and its got all digital timers built in and everything else on my tank is pretty care free except for feeding but over the last year i have just had my mother come over and feed the fish when im away cause dry food and auto feeders wouldnt be enough for my tank plus its nice just to know so one is around incase something happened which is why i want the reef keeper so i can hook it up to the net and check on the tank via cell phone that would be awesome. But sorry to talk your ear off, your tanks looking great keep up the good work man hopefully il have some pics and updates soon, i lost my camera's battery charger so once i find that il be good to go
cheers!

[jeanne]

You're welcome. You deserve the props! The reef keeper is totally awsome too! Jeanne

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by jeanne

You're welcome. You deserve the props! The reef keeper is totally awsome too! Jeanne

hahaha yup so far the RKL is the best investment yet (besides the lights!)

Originally Posted by WhatReef

Woow thats awesome man lol i cant believe you got a reef keeper before me : ( lol but yeah my tank doesnt really require one but it would be nice to have one if i had the extra cash, but yeah its good to see you are still improving the tank and all is going well.
I got one of those Gieesemen lights and its got all digital timers built in and everything else on my tank is pretty care free except for feeding but over the last year i have just had my mother come over and feed the fish when im away cause dry food and auto feeders wouldnt be enough for my tank plus its nice just to know so one is around incase something happened which is why i want the reef keeper so i can hook it up to the net and check on the tank via cell phone that would be awesome. But sorry to talk your ear off, your tanks looking great keep up the good work man hopefully il have some pics and updates soon, i lost my camera's battery charger so once i find that il be good to go
cheers!

Yea I remember you talking about that RKE w/NET. I was pondering one too but decided to wait until I get the large reef tank, then I will need 64 timers, alarms and over 200 daisy chained modules hahaa. I have been keeping tabs on your build thread as well, gotta see some updates and growth pictures soon! I'm sure its looking great! How is the basement coming along? Still heat and ventilation issues?
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Well the RKL did its job perfectly! No complaints, although I did have 2 casualties.. Someone ate my Skunk Cleaner Shrimp! And somehow I can't find my Purple Firefish.. I don't think she jumped out because I have a lid fitted to the top of the tank.. Sad but small loss, considering all the coral made it along with the other fish.
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So to make up for the loss, I went out to the LFS and picked up a Fire Shrimp (pics to come as soon as I can get him out of the rocks long enough to take a pic..) And a baby Blue Hippo Tang! This little guy loves it in there considering his LFS tank mates were not so friendly.. Very healthy looking fish with the tallest dorsal fin I have ever seen on a Hippo (when raised.) I bought him small so he can grow into the tank rather than be stuck in it. He gets along great with everyone else, likewise, everyone else had to secure their spot in the pecking order and sleeping spots when he was introduced.. Now he shares with the Chromis, in between the heater and glass wall resting.. But he slid in nicely and they all get along great within 2 days of having him. Enough talking, here come the pictures!!!!
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Blue Hippo next to Coral Beauty (For size reference)
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A few free swimming group shots to show the compatability.. He loves the dawn/dusk light settings when only the Actinic's are on because he glows blue and has never seen that before in his confined, stock CF bulb store tank..
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And the first shot of the tank behind the bar in the wall.. Will try to get some better shots later..
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Hope you all enjoy! I will try to get some pics of the Fire Shrimp too. More to come, because you can never stop in this hobby!!!!