|
|
|
|
#52
03/07/2005, 11:32 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
gm, I'm now using aminos by Korallin. I've used Salifert and Kent Marine before as well. I'm indifferent to the brand, they all do the job IMO. I follow the recommended dosage although given my stocking level, I'm probably under dosing.
Ti, how far off the water surface is your TEK T5 fixture and what bulbs are you using? |
|
#54
03/07/2005, 01:03 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Very nice, in the article you mentioned porites, how much light do they require? My LFS who sold it to me did not know that much. It was all green when I bought it and through out the day it shifts in color from green in the morning actinics to brown under the MH by the end of the day and through the night the green returns. I have been shading it but it still turns colors.
|
|
#56
03/07/2005, 05:00 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
superb tank keep up the good work
__________________
g w smith |
|
#59
03/07/2005, 09:56 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Julio, the 54w bulbs are almost 10 months now and still going strong. The 24w bulbs over my prop tank are 20 months and sps still maintain color or colour up. The older bulbs are really the test for me but I plan to change them out soon. I plan to replace the main tank bulbs every 18 months or so or if I observe a degradation in overall sps color.
I find that regular cleaning of bulbs and reflectors is important as precious light intensity is lost with salt coated bulbs/reflectors. mhornsby, porites are pretty hardy sps and seem to do well under a diverse range of lighting conditions. All of mine are in low light regions, except for my purple porites that's getting direct light on the sandbed. |
|
#61
03/08/2005, 04:24 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
yew
__________________
D.Mitchell |
|
#62
03/08/2005, 11:07 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
The corals look great and it's a nice setup, but I think it looks like everything is crammed together with about every inch on the rock and the sand taken up with a different piece of coral. I think it would look more natural and pleasing if you had fewer corals that were allowed to grow more and take up more of the tank.
I am really impressed by the health and coloration of all your corals. |
|
#63
03/08/2005, 11:17 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Dan,
where do you get your corals? From the wild? I noticed that you filled that tank pretty fast and at least around here it's imporssible to find so many nice corals at the LFS that fast (it's good if they get a nice one every 2-3 months). M. |
|
#65
03/08/2005, 12:03 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Good job!!
__________________
What you achieve or fail to achieve is directly related to what you do or fail to do It's the Journey that makes the Destination so sweet C. Taylor, M.Ed. |
|
#66
03/08/2005, 04:16 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Danano ~ To add one more comliment: "I absolutely love your tank!" I am looking to upgrade my PC's on my 50 gallon long tank (48"L x 13"W x 19"H) and I would love to have SPS like yours. I think I can only fit four 54 watt T5 bulbs on the top of my aquarium because of the reflector size. Do you feel that would be enough light intensity? If not, maybe another option would be to overdrive them up to around 80 watts which I heard you could do with an icecap ballast.
__________________
Remember when you first decided to make the jump to reef tanks by convincing yourself you would do it on a shoestring budget? |
|
#67
03/08/2005, 06:46 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Dan
all I can say is "Gorgeous!" you have one of the most amazing looking and thriving sps tanks out there! Keep it up!...Water quality must be impeccable
__________________
I may not have morals but I definitely have standards |
|
#68
03/08/2005, 07:58 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#69
03/08/2005, 09:10 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#70
03/08/2005, 09:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Dan, congrats.
I couldn't believe how so fantastic it is even under T5's. I don't hasitate to call you a real master. By the way, would you recommend what kinds of corals are easy to keep relatively from your experience? Thanks 
__________________
Have a great one, all you guys! To your coral healthy! |
|
#71
03/08/2005, 10:55 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Mikeo, I talked about aminos above, I've used 3 brands and they all do the job. As for iodine, I use Kent Marine.
tibbs, I agree with you.  On hindsight, given the space limitations of my living room, I would have designed a slightly wider (front to back) tank. 2.5ft instead of the current 2ft. The extra space would just be sandbed. That said, it's a goal of mine to eventually clear my sandbed. As for the reef proper, the closely packed sps depict a hard coral reef where everything grows into each other, as in the wild. Pruning is a regular exercise. If necessary, I usually give or sell away colonies that grow too large and just keep a frag or two for myself. Hmmm... perhaps a 300g is in order!  Mihai, corals in my tank come from all over the world. About half were aquacultured specimens, a quarter from frags and another quarter wild colonies. Some of the aquacultured ones even came from the US. Mikeo, the pink and other exotic color yumas are sold per polyp here and are typically less than $100 each but I've heard of some going for more. Conversely, we pay per polyp prices for Florida's shipped here from the US and they aren't cheap. They are all fragments. Lunarlander, given the width of your tank, you should do fine with 4x 54w T5s. What fixtures/reflectors and bulbs do you plan on using? Kev, more than anything else, water quality is paramount. Time for a water change...  aero, assuming you're asking about sps, relatively speaking, I would say montis. Most do well with medium lighting and some even low lighting. Porites too, if you'd rather have Christmas tree rocks in place of some LR. The brown seriatopora seems to thrive in a variety of conditions. 2nd/3rd/etc generation and aquacultured specimens tend to be hardier. The less intensely colored sps may be easier to keep as well. If it's corals in general, then mushrooms, zoanthids, LPS and then SPS, in that order. |
|
#72
03/08/2005, 11:06 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Dan,
I love seeing other peoples aquariums and can find something I like in everyone. Yours however falls into the category of superb which I've only given to less people than I have fingers on one hand. Two of my favorite things is your ability to maintain or promote such attractive and diverse coral coloration and the way your tank looks much larger than it is. Also I love aquariums when they get the grown in look with no more visible rock work. The coral diversity is a little higher than what you mite find in a small reef area but who cares the affect is awesome. Are you able to get any glitter lines using T5 bulbs? It looks like color rendition is very nice not overly blue. I really dislike aquariums with 20K only MH bulbs. Well let me stop rambling. Thank you for sharing your aquarium. It's a real work of art!
__________________
Steve Ruddy |
|
#73
03/08/2005, 11:23 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Steve, you are most welcome! And thanks.
You've hit the nail on the head. Coral and color diversity were two of my main objectives when creating the reef slopes you see. To achieve this, I acquired small specimens whenever possible. If too large, I would keep a frag and share the colony with other reefers. The only time I get some glitter lines is when 2 bulbs that are at least 2 reflectors apart are lit. Other than that, glitter lines are non-existent with T5s. Dan |
|
#74
03/09/2005, 01:32 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
A small aquacultured colony (with coloured tips but not a solid colour) goes for SGD30 each which works out to be about USD18 bucks. Yumas are a lot cheaper than floridas as yumas are from neighbouring Indonesia and I got a bright orange yuma rock (with five yumas) for SGD35 @ USD21 bucks. It's only in recent times that the quality of livestock sold at Singaporean LFSs have improved to the point that they are on par with what the European and American LFSs offer. Sadly, Malaysian LFSs are still offering run-of-the-mill stuff which I why have to drive to Singapore to pick up good stuff. |
|
|
Linear Mode
