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Unread 02/25/2013, 10:32 PM   #26
watchguy123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sasharotty View Post
Very nice colors! Whats your lighting consist of?
3 x 250 watt 20k ushios (my ballast won't fire up radions) plus 2 x T5 80 watt actinics. I color correct in photoshop elements by doing two things: 1.) temperature correct to 20k and 2.) my pictures are generally underexposed so I increase exposure to +0.35 The intent is to get the colors to look like they do in person.


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What was the cause of the crash?
Primarily stupidity. I introduced biopellets, made some slight changes, had some more unhappiness in the tank, made bigger changes, even more unhappiness, made crazy changes and the spiral down just escalated.

Forgot about slow and steady. I do not blame biopellets, I blame myself for not being more observant, diligent, and cool headed. Just a bunch of dumb errors that got bigger. I am in counseling and trying not to rehash it anymore. Just kidding, well maybe.

Really, the bottomline is don't make a lot of simultaneous changes because you can't tell cause and effect and then your only options are guessing at what should or should not be done. So now I do indeed take a slow and steady approach.

Garf Bonzai




Last edited by watchguy123; 02/25/2013 at 10:40 PM.
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Unread 02/26/2013, 05:16 AM   #27
SpinyReef
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Very nice pictures and corals!

PS: I think one of your frags fell in your rockwork
http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...ps61600a92.jpg


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Unread 02/26/2013, 08:19 AM   #28
watchguy123
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Originally Posted by SpinyReef View Post
Very nice pictures and corals!

PS: I think one of your frags fell in your rockwork
Yes, it did indeed fall but actually it was doing pretty well there. But I picked it up and put it back in its correct place after







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Unread 02/26/2013, 08:29 AM   #29
watchguy123
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A few more shots from the other day (I'll try to keep adding a few at a time cause I took a boatload of pics then)

I am not sure about this one, had it in the dark and now it is finally in light.




unknown name



Ultimate rainbow acro



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Unread 02/26/2013, 09:26 AM   #30
Skynyrd Fish
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Nice tank. Thank you for sharing. How long has this tank been set up? Whats in your sump? Thnx.


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Unread 02/26/2013, 09:39 AM   #31
dvanacker
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Awesome Mark! It is Mark right?

Quite the collection of awesome corals.!


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Unread 02/26/2013, 09:59 AM   #32
watchguy123
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Originally Posted by Skynyrd Fish View Post
Nice tank. Thank you for sharing. How long has this tank been set up? Whats in your sump? Thnx.
I got this tank used about 3 almost 4 years ago. My sump has a bubble king protein skimmer, two socks, a gfo reactor with phospban in it which I do not always run, a small bag of carbon. I also have a refugium with chaeto. Oops, almost forgot, I have a calcium reactor but it sits next to the sump but the effluent goes into the sump. And lastly, I have a Tunze osmolator that works as my automatic top off. And more, I forgot I also have a chiller.

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Awesome Mark! It is Mark right?

Quite the collection of awesome corals.!
It is Mark. And thank you. Delighted that you noticed my pics. Developing a flourishing tank like yours, is everyone's goal.



Last edited by watchguy123; 02/26/2013 at 10:13 AM.
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Unread 02/26/2013, 07:39 PM   #33
acroholicreefer
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Amazing tank! Thanks for the inspiration.


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Unread 02/26/2013, 07:57 PM   #34
philip mendes
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wow!!!!!!! u have what everyone is determined to have..growing corals with great color...amazing looking tank ..


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Unread 02/26/2013, 08:06 PM   #35
Geo_85
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Nice pics man. Tank looks amazing.


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Unread 02/26/2013, 08:13 PM   #36
bryanracing95
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Beautiful tank man, what does your system consist of? I seem to be able to grow sps to a point and then they begin to receive from the bottom, tried dips and they still ended up bleaching?


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Unread 02/26/2013, 08:23 PM   #37
Mangodude
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if you ever find a name on this guy, let me know. I've got a whole colony of it with no name

beautiful tank btw, what are the dimensions? It looks deep!


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Unread 02/26/2013, 08:35 PM   #38
watchguy123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philip mendes View Post
wow!!!!!!! u have what everyone is determined to have..growing corals with great color...amazing looking tank ..
hey thanks

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Originally Posted by Geo_85 View Post
Nice pics man. Tank looks amazing.
I keep working on my photo skills--its a work in progress. That is one of the many great things about this forum, you can share and get input.

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Beautiful tank man, what does your system consist of? I seem to be able to grow sps to a point and then they begin to receive from the bottom, tried dips and they still ended up bleaching?
Alkalinity, it is always alkalinity. If not, then its nitrates, or its phosphates, or its pests, or its calcium, or its magnesium, or its salinity, or its your lights or its your skimmer, or its your chiller, or its your heater, or its your reactor or its your dosing pumps or its your dosing, or ....... But it is still probably alkalinity.

It just seems that if you can keep your alkalinity stable, then you understand that everything else also needs to be stable and you understand how to do that as well. Its a process. I have been trying this for 15 years and I have finally had success the last few years and it seems like I am doing everything the same as always. But like I said, it is a process and I have slowly (very slowly) understood the need for patience and diligence and careful observation. Heck, my tank crashed two years ago, so as if I really know what I am talking about anyway. Its the ocean in a little glass box, and no matter how hard we try, we can't really reproduce the ocean in a box--its always on the very edge.

I have a calcium reactor, a really good skimmer, I run phospban occasionally (currently), a small bag of carbon in the sump. I have a 30 gallon sump or so. I have a 20 gallon refugium or so with chaeto. And I have a chiller. I have metal halide lights, 3 x 250 watts 20ks and two T5 80 watt actinics.

Oh and last comment, if I can do it, I am sure you certainly can as well.


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Unread 02/26/2013, 08:41 PM   #39
watchguy123
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Originally Posted by Mangodude View Post


if you ever find a name on this guy, let me know. I've got a whole colony of it with no name

beautiful tank btw, what are the dimensions? It looks deep!
I want that frag to be the Atl Strawberry fields. I bought a frag a long while back and I have no idea where it ended up. Unfortunately, this frag/mini colony does not look like the tips are going to get red enough to be the real deal. But it is pretty, in its own way.

The tank is a 180 bow front, and I believe it is 72x26x24. Its just deep enough that if I roll my shirt up all the way, it still gets wet when I reach for something on the sand. My arms are average in length and the depth to the sand is still doable (is doable really a word)

and thanks for noticing my thread.


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Unread 02/26/2013, 09:23 PM   #40
Dapg8gt
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Subbed again LOL.. Look forward to some more screensavers :-)


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Current Tank Info: 105g SPS dominant euro braced powered by 4 ecotech pumps and lit by an ATI powermodule controlled by a reef angel =).
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Unread 02/26/2013, 09:38 PM   #41
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Where do you typically like to keep your parameters like alk, ca, mg, nitrate, and phosphate?


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Unread 02/26/2013, 10:05 PM   #42
Mangodude
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Thank you

oh, and whats the phsycadellic orange encrusting frag? a lfs has something simmilar.. might just have to pick me up a frag


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Unread 02/26/2013, 10:07 PM   #43
watchguy123
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Wink

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Where do you typically like to keep your parameters like alk, ca, mg, nitrate, and phosphate?
Pretty much like everyone else. I like my alk sound 8-8.5, calcium 410 plus , my mag is always around 1150 no matter how much I might dose in addition to the calcium reactor , nitrate and phosphate low. I only test about monthly. Oh i hate testing because of my frustration with test kits and Hanna checkers. I try and be meticulous but they all seem so incredibly variable. My most reliable test is with the Hanna alk checker for what that's worth



Last edited by watchguy123; 02/26/2013 at 11:00 PM.
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Unread 02/26/2013, 10:44 PM   #44
sweet ride
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wow very nice collection! your top down shoots are very nice as well!


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Unread 02/26/2013, 10:58 PM   #45
watchguy123
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Oops duplicate


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Unread 02/26/2013, 11:11 PM   #46
JohnnyHeavens
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Such an amazing tank. Nice work! One lame question, what are you placing your frags on? In your other thread it almost seems like they are on ribbons of coraline.

Thanks and again, simply amazing coral!


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Unread 02/26/2013, 11:22 PM   #47
REEF SMAC
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That is one bad a$$ tank you have there.

Thanks for sharing those awesome pics. Wow!

Reef on!


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Unread 02/26/2013, 11:35 PM   #48
watchguy123
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mangodude View Post
Thank you

oh, and whats the phsycadellic orange encrusting frag? a lfs has something simmilar.. might just have to pick me up a frag
If this is the frag you are referring to


Then that is the pink smoothie digitata


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Originally Posted by JohnnyHeavens View Post
Such an amazing tank. Nice work! One lame question, what are you placing your frags on? In your other thread it almost seems like they are on ribbons of coraline.

Thanks and again, simply amazing coral!
Thanks for the compliment. I put my chalices often on reef putty, d-d reef epoxy. The idea is if I wanted to move or frag my chalices then I could. Unfortunately , once the chalices grow past the putty, they tend to encrust on the reef and become virtually unmovable. Additionally, I don't really want to frag any of my chalices, I like them getting bigger and bigger. I place my sps directly on the reef with zap gel and want those to fully encrust


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Unread 02/26/2013, 11:37 PM   #49
sail33
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did someone say "Tank of the month " ??

I've NEVER seen corals placed so close together. I didn't think it could be done....chemical warfare anat...


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Unread 02/27/2013, 12:17 AM   #50
watchguy123
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Originally Posted by sail33 View Post
did someone say "Tank of the month " ??

I've NEVER seen corals placed so close together. I didn't think it could be done....chemical warfare anat...
Well, I am still not sure it can be done.

Actually, there all all kinds of responses to competition for space and light. The acros either sting (chemo tactic warfare) or they encrust over the other in a race to shade out the competitor My red planet is both stinging and encrusting over the palmers blue Millie that it is next to. Montiporas come right up to acros and either try to encrust over the acro or if the Monti is stung(via chemo tactic warfare), it obviously dies back but then re-encrusts over its dead skeleton, repeating this pattern over and over again until it completely grows over and/or shades out the competing acro

But most just race for light and rock to encrust. I had envisioned a gazillion corals of all shapes and sizes growing next to each other. I still think I may be able to accomplish this if I aggressively trim my garden. I am pretty sure without consistent trimming (and maybe even with it), there will be winners and losers in the race. Perhaps the most likely long term outcome will be a handful of very large colonies.

And I have discovered, coral are difficult to trim-- something breaks accidentally, either the main branch breaks off or you break an adjacent colony. They are most definitely not like plants, no give in them, they don't bend, they just break

In my defense, all the original frags were so small and there was so much space. And there is always one more acro that I have never seen before, and how much space it could really take up. I am sure I am not the only person addicted to coral


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