300gal Rubbermaid transition reef pond

[karimwassef]

Alk 8.5
Ca 480ppm
Mg 1440ppm

so the parameters are shaping up



some deaths due to transportation (temp did go from 64 to 87) but a lot survived

[karimwassef]

[karimwassef]

[karimwassef]

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[karimwassef]

[karimwassef]

my poor setosa ... doesn't love sunlight as much

[karimwassef]

[karimwassef]

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[karimwassef]

all the featherdusters and Xenia survived

[karimwassef]

The fan above the tank is reflected in the water...

[karimwassef]

I apologize for the terrible quality of the images... taking pictures in sunlight is somehow more difficult than indoors. I had expected it to be easier.

The images show very washed out colors but the real colors are a lot more vibrant... I still need to figure that out.

[karimwassef]

Also... special thanks to Danny who helped make this move possible and helped most coral to survive.



We literally pulled each 40lb slab of concrete rock up out of the tank with corals still attached... transported in the large plastic containers on a trailer in the freezing cold and reassembled the suspended rocks again. It was an ordeal.

[karimwassef]

Next step is the supplemental lights and the external cryptic zone.

[biecacka]

Karim, is the coral color from sunlight similar to 10k bulbs? I'm running a 10k bulb for the first time on my tank and it looks very bright, sunlight like.

Corey

[karimwassef]

A bulb's color isn't related to its brightness. 10k is close to the sun's color spectrum most of the day but the sun actually changes color spectrum from dawn to dusk. It starts very red, then turns yelowish and white, then bluish before reversing back to sunset.

In terms of brightness, the sun is brighter overall. I know I compare my MH 1900 PAR to the sun 1700 PAR but the truth is that my MH only hits 1900 in a small area immediately under the bulb ... maybe 8" x 8". It goes down to 1000 or even 800 at the edges.

The sun's 1700 is everywhere and so it looks much brighter. When I turn my MH on at noon, I can barely tell that it's on.

I plan to use the Apex to turn on the MH if the PAR drops under 1200 from noon to 8pm... basically to extend the photoperiod.

[o2manyfish]

Most LPS don't like the sunlight. I have also found that with montis it's 50/50 as to the sunlight being too much. The encrusting Montis don't like full sun. Caps and Digis go nuts for it. The grafted Monti in full Sun grows mostly green, you get the reds with less light.

Before you start adding the Halides, realize that your halides are strong PAR but it's from a single point of light over a tank (or sensor in this case). The sunlight is coming from pretty much every angle at the corals. You are getting way more light from being outside than even if you were running 1000w Halides (I did the tests).

Give the corals a chance to adjust to new lighting. Some corals come around within a week and some take months. You changed alot all at once - With SPS if you had done all those changes and still had the same lights you would have had some upset corals. - Stability is the key to SPS happiness.

Dave B

[karimwassef]

I actually ran a grid map of PAR with my MH. I should compare the total PAR integrated over the surface to the sun PAR.

I agree that the sun's coverage is substantially better but it's still a much shorter duration.

[karimwassef]

None of the corals are dying (except for the setosa that's way up and I should frag and drop).

I don't see the same polyp expansion yet but that may be a matter of time.