Amphibious' 135 gal Reef - Page 17

Skurvey Dog · 03-13-2008, 06:53 AM

That coral is absolutely beautiful. I love it's color combination.

Danamck · 03-13-2008, 07:14 PM

Just got around to checking out the recent photos - incredible. I am in awe of you photography skills (and the tanks not bad either!) I love the color you're getting from the Solaris lights. Every time I see them in stores, they always look a little sterile, for lack of a better word. I like a little 'yellow' mixed in with my 10K and actinic. You color looks perfect. What are the settings on your Solaris, if you don't mind me asking?

**Amphibious** · 03-14-2008, 12:14 AM

My Solaris solar settings are day blues 100%, day whites 75%. I have the cloud cover feature turned off. The lunar settings are lunar whites 0%, lunar Blues 5%.

**Amphibious** · 03-14-2008, 12:59 AM

The pictures below are two of the three corals I bought at the frag show last Sunday.

The first is Pectinia alcicornis. It's a large frag about 3 x 4 inches.

I've placed it about 12 inches under the Solaris light. You can clearly see several mouths and oral discs. The rising ridges form spires as the coral grows.

A close-up of the mouth and oral disc areas.

I'd never encountered this coral before and according to Dr. JEN Vernon in "Corals of the World", it is uncommon.

Next is Pavona decussata. This one was interesting to me because it has grown completely around and down the piece of 1 1/2" PVC it was resting on.

I wondered how long it has been in the vendors care. A long time, I suspect, to show that kind of growth. It isn't real colorful but, I found if fascinating. It is an abundant coral according to Dr. Vernon.

I liked the growth pattern above the PVC stand. I think I'm going to get out my frag saw and cut the PVC pipe off and mount the upper frag to a substantial rock and glue the PVC piece to another rock. I'm interested in seeing the growth pattern it takes off the PVC.

Dick

**Amphibious** · 03-14-2008, 01:17 AM

Tank water parameters remain consistantly good.

Ph - 7.98 (It's 1:15 in the am) No wonder I'm tired!
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5
Calcium - 450
Magnesium - 1350

Here's the latest full view...

Just cleaned it and picked about a cup and a half of Bryopsis out of it. That's about half of what I was getting 6 months ago. does that mean I winning the war???

I have another new coral, Montipora tuberculosa, that just couldn't get a good shot of today. I'll move it tomorrow and post a picture then.

Night all.

Dick

Skurvey Dog · 03-14-2008, 07:07 AM

Wow Dick! Those are interesting looking pieces. I really like the Pavona Decussata and can't wait to see the new growth pattern it starts when you move it to a rock. Gosh, your tank looks awesome and continues to look better every time I see it. I'm envious.

Now I'm really curious to find out what the 3rd coral was!!!!!! You gonna keep everyone in suspence?

Reefbaby · 03-14-2008, 11:25 AM

Great Dick! I'm loving the look...your tank is looking awesome.

I got a Pavona frag a couple of months ago. I find it to be a very forgiving frag. I had accidently placed it too direct of flow and it was kind of retracted all the time. After having moved it, the polyps popped right back out and it was all hairy again. Then, when trying to rearrange the aquascaping, we dropped a rock on it (oops!) and it broke in half. But, now the two pieces have recovered and doing fine. I think it's a pretty fast-growing coral...which is fine by me!
Have you ever seen different colored Pavona's? or are they all brown?

**Amphibious** · 03-15-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skurvey Dog

Wow Dick! Those are interesting looking pieces. I really like the Pavona Decussata and can't wait to see the new growth pattern it starts when you move it to a rock. Gosh, your tank looks awesome and continues to look better every time I see it. I'm envious.

Now I'm really curious to find out what the 3rd coral was!!!!!! You gonna keep everyone in suspence?

Thank you Lori.

Here's the third coral purchased at the frag show last Sunday...

Montipora tuberculosa, is what the dealer said it was. Coral variations among species makes IDing corals a nearly impossible task. I'll take his word for it. It will be interesting to see any color changes going from his MHs to mu Solaris LED lighting.

Dick

**Amphibious** · 03-15-2008, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reefbaby

Great Dick! I'm loving the look...your tank is looking awesome.

I got a Pavona frag a couple of months ago. I find it to be a very forgiving frag. I had accidently placed it too direct of flow and it was kind of retracted all the time. After having moved it, the polyps popped right back out and it was all hairy again. Then, when trying to rearrange the aquascaping, we dropped a rock on it (oops!) and it broke in half. But, now the two pieces have recovered and doing fine. I think it's a pretty fast-growing coral...which is fine by me!
Have you ever seen different colored Pavona's? or are they all brown?

Thank you, Christi.

Most Pavona are brown according to Veron, with variations of pink/brown, tan, yellow, orange, purple and green. Personally, I've seen browns and green.

Dick

**Amphibious** · 03-15-2008, 11:57 AM

I've taken lots of pictures for updating this thread. Here's one picture for you to ponder while I work on uploading the rest...

Question. What do you think has caused the cloudy condition in this photo?

Think about it before you answer. It was done on purpose. (To confuse you???)

Dick

Reefbaby · 03-15-2008, 03:37 PM

that looks suspiciously like my tank did two months ago....cloudy bacterial bloom.

Either you've added some bacteria or you've basted off your rocks and that's your nice little debris cloud......

what gives?

**Amphibious** · 03-15-2008, 06:08 PM

Christi,

You are close. Most everyone that knows me, knows I'm a DSB fan. You also know I clean my DSB by using a 1/2" diameter tube like this...

This method is for cleaning small areas. I do small areas every water change. It accomplishes a couple of things. By pushing the tube deep into the sand I'm raising some of the anaerobic sand up to the top and allowing some of the aerobic sand to fill the hole essentially exchanging sand layers in small areas. I feel it helps my DSB remain fresh.

To some DSB opponents, this is akin to polluting your water and destroying the DSB. So now, for the first time ever, I'm going to reveal just how crazy I am about cleaning my DSB. The tank is two years old this month. The DSB is in need of a more thorough cleaning. Here is how I go about it...

I use a pipette with a large bulb on it, fill it with water and blow the devel out of the sand, cleaning about an inch deep in all areas I can reach with the pipette.

It is evedent the DSB is "dirty" even though it's functioning properly. Occasionally I'll find an area that is clumping together. In that case I either get my fingers into the clumped area and lossen it or use the 1/2" tube in the picture above to losen the clump. I'll do this deep cleaning anytime I'm in the tank to my elbows or about once a month.

While I'm "cleaning", the main pump is off. I don't want this great stuff going to the sump. I have two Koralia #3 pumps for circulation and keep them running. This distributes the cloud around the tank and the corals, clams, feather dusters, gorgonia and all other filter feeders get a treat. I also add a mix of Reed's Phyto Feast and Roti Feast and add that at the same time. In about an hour the tank looks like this.

Then I feed the fish, make a cocktail and relax. So, now you all know just how crazy I am.

Dick

I think you get the idea.