Amphibious' 135 gal Reef

[JR Aquatics]

I agree with reefbaby "pocillapora". I have the same thing in my tank and under MH and is showing slow growth compared to yours. By the way I really appretiate you taking the gamble on the solaris and posting your findings. From what you have shown so far, one day this fixture may be above every tank.... That's if the cost comes down.

[Amphibious]

Originally Posted by Reefbaby

Is it some kind of Pocillapora?

Again, Dick, phenomenal growth as always! I think you're a lucky duck anyway, even under your MHs you get better growth than I get in a year!

RB, I think you are right. I got out "The Corals of the World" by Veron and looked up Pocillopora and believe it's P. damicornis. On ORA"s site they list a green and a pink. This one is the green, I believe.

About your coral growth. Have you checked your Magnesium level. Six months ago, Russell Whitney, the Owner of Ocean's Blend additives explained to me the correlation between Calcium levels, Alkalinity and Magnesium and importance of keeping Mag at or above 1250. If Mag is low Calcium will not hold at 450 but precipitate out quickly to 350 or below. You can add all you want but if Mag is low it disappears and not where you'd expect or want it to go. If you are not testing and supplementing Magnesium, that's what I would suggest. My coral's growth spurt began after learning the above and supplementing Mag.

Of course the latest growth spurts have been after adding the LED lights. It's truly phenomenal. I'll be posting more pics each day for a while.

[Amphibious]

Originally Posted by JR Aquatics

I agree with reefbaby "pocillapora". I have the same thing in my tank and under MH and is showing slow growth compared to yours. By the way I really appretiate you taking the gamble on the solaris and posting your findings. From what you have shown so far, one day this fixture may be above every tank.... That's if the cost comes down.

Thanks JR. I, too, believe this is the light of the future. Like all new technologies the cost is high and the advantages just theory at first. My first noticeable benefit was my chiller actually cycled off for the first time since I had to add it back in April. If it ever cycled off before I hadn't noticed it. Now it's off about 50% of the time. The next thing that pleased me is my energy bill, 3 weeks of running the Solaris, dropped from $364 the previous month to $297 last month. The November bill is out the 21st. I'll report here the result of a full month's savings.

I believe PFO is working on a no frills version of LED fixture. Don't know when it will be out though. The 400W version is coming after the first of the year. Last time I talked to Pat he indicated, with a bit of humor, the 400 would be out sometime between Jan and June.

[Amphibious]

In early Sept I was invited to a doctor's house to view his extensive collection of rare corals. His practise had gotten too busy for him to continue his hobby at the current level. He had an 850, 250, 180 and a two tiered frag tank of 90 gallons each. It was awesome to see but, evident of his lack of time to keep up with. I was able to purchase some rare coral frags from him.

Here's the first of a series showing the Mother colony and then the frag.

Turbinaria reniformis mother colony.



The picture is not too bad but doesn't do the coral justice. At the time I was there the tank was lite only with Actinic. A rather impressive colony in his 850 gal reef.



Turbinaria reniformis frag. I'm thinking this is a low light coral because it has shown little growth and almost no polyp extension in the time I've had it.

[Amphibious]

Here's another of the corals picked up from the Dr's collection last August. I'm still trying to ID this one. First the parent colony.



The above mother colony, while kind of a bland light green in color, has an interesting irregular pattern of scrolls and folds.



Here is the frag from the Mother colony the day I acclimated it to my system, August 9th.



This is the coral Nov 14th about nine weeks into being fragged and introduced to my reef. It's showing nice growth and beginning to curl it's edges. The polyps are nearly always extended, even at night. It isn't a dazzling coral but, shows interesting growth forms and is becoming one of my favorites.

If you have any idea as to the ID of this coral, I'd appreciate all suggestions.

[JR Aquatics]

Wow Amp, that is an awsome find. I have never seen anything like it. When you do ID it sure to let us know. I sure would like one in my tank. Thanks again for sharing. This has been one of my favorite threads.

[Reefbaby]

that's a stunning coral dick! I have to disagree with you - I think it IS dazzling!

[Reefbaby]

the furry corals are anyway my favorites!

[Amphibious]

Thanks Christi. I love it's kind of meandering, irregular growth form and it's "fuzzy" look about it. I guess it is a bit dazzling. I have a few more from this guy that I will get posted soon.

[Amphibious]

It seems like it's time to test my water. When you can't remember the last time you tested, it's past time. So here's what I got right now, as fresh as it gets. This 135 gal reef has a very high Bio load.

Ph = 7.99 (meter reading)
Salinity = 1.026
Ammonia = .25
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10
Magnesium = 1300 ppm
Alk = ? (out of reagent)
Calcium = 400 ppm

Notes:

Ammonia should read zero on a maturing reef aquarium. Ammonia is constantly being produced by the bio load in the system. This 135 gal reef carries a heavy bio load and a reading of .25 does not worry me. It does indicate a need to watch it. A perfect example of why we test regularly.

Nitrate will be zero in a new system. As the system matures it's common to have Nitrate accumulate. What you don't want is excess Nitrate concentrations. Like Ammonia and Nitrite, Nitrate is a toxin and needs to be controlled. The key is to find a way to reduce it to acceptable levels. An acceptable level in a FOWLR would be 25ppm and under. A reef aquarium should be kept under 15ppm. This can be done with regular water changes and utilizing Nitrate reduction filtration such as a DSB. My preferred methods.

Calcium is a little low. Natural Sea Water (NSW) is 450ppm, I like to keep it 450 to 500ppm. Since I use 130ml Ocean's Blend 2 part daily and haven't added todays dose, I suspect this is a normal morning level.

Magnesium is found in NSW at a level of 1250ppm. In reef aquariums where Magnesium is not being monitored via regular testing the level will be considerably lower. Magnesium plays an important part in the ability of the closed system to maintain an equilibrium between Calcium and Alkalinity. Regular testing and supplementing Magnesium when lower than 1250 is as important as maintaining proper Calcium levels. In fact if you have trouble maintaining 450 Calcium, test your Magnesium level. My guess is it's low. I like to maintain a Mag level between 1300 and 1400ppm.

Here's some eye candy as a reward for reading all the above.



My Crocea clams. The two on the left I bought at IMAC in April and the one on the right I bought from the Dr. that I got the corals from in August. I love clams!

And one more treat.



My seldom seen Yellow Coral Banded Shrimp. Every one of these I've had over the years have been extremely shy. He's been in the system since May and seldom graces me with much more than a glimpse.

I hope all of you are enjoying this reef hobby as much as I have over the many years I've been involved. It's so rich and rewarding with moments of despair. But, isn't that life in general?

Dick

[CarmieJo]

Dick,

Really good explanation of the "why" of the chemistry. Love the pix!

[Amphibious]

We're all aware that Anemones need bright light to survive more than a short period of time. But, are there Anemones in the trade that shun light? I would have said no, until I bought the Anemone pictured below.

I've seen Anemones on TV ocean specials at depths that defy logic. Obviously they don't require much light. But this guy, when placed in a prominent place in my reef to show his beautiful colors, promptly moved under the rock work and disappeared for months. I could see him by shining a light under the rocks but he seldom came out to be photographed. Today, I caught him peeking out the backside of the LR and took this picture.



I find him quite attractive. To bad he does not move into the open. This is a rare glimpse of him.