SPS Nano w pics

[gjuarez]

Decided to start a new thread of my tank. This is the thread that i will be updating every now and then with pics of growth shots and new additions. Currently have a little bit of cyano, the water i was using was not 0 TDS. Need to get myself a RO/DI unit. Heres my tank.

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=504

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=503

[hobogato]

looking great jerry, those snails are huge!

[fishypets]

Nice colors Jerry. Are the corals new to the system or have they been in for a while?

[gjuarez]

Hey clint, they are new to the system, got them from liveaquaria but they are doing well so far. They have good polyp extension. My 70w mh might not be enough light though but we shall see.

Hey ace, those snails keep my tank clean from algae but they are bulldozers. I have two but i might get rid of one because they are just too big.

[mikedelgado]

what is that fat purple one called? purdy

[gjuarez]

Its called an A. Gemmifera... THere is also a nice purple one that looks alot like this one, its called A. Macostroma oh and the A. Monteculosa are really nice too.

[mikedelgado]

I like its color and chunky growth pattern,keep me posted on how i fares in captivity, color retention growth ect. thanks

[greenmako]

looking nice!

[MattK]

Very nice!

[gjuarez]

Mike I will do, hopefully it will keep its color. I am doing 25-30% water changes a week, that cyano should be gone in no time. Using a little bit of b-ionic for cal and alk although the weekly water changes should be enough for now. Alk is staying at 9 and cal at 430, cal might be just a tad low on what i prefer.

I am running a small biocube skimmer on this tank, i am very happy with it and recommend it to anyone out there who has a biocube. WIsh me luck with this nano!

[gjuarez]

Some actinic shots:

Non-Sps
http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=508

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=507

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=505

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=506

[BioCube14]

the 70 watt is not enough light for acros! maybe montis though

[aggman]

this is a sweet little tank, hoping all goes well for you.

and yeah those snails are beasts, lol. i had some in my tank and they kept knocking things over...i had to send 'em packing. now i got 30 little guys doing the job of my 6 turbos. crazy trade out i know, but no more tumbling rocks, hehe.

~alex

[gjuarez]

Thanks for the comments, i am very pleased with my nano. They are retaining their color really well. The yellow austera, which could possibly a miyagi tort, has colored up really nice. It was really white when i bought it, now the tips are coloring into a nice blue.

When i got this corals 6 days ago, the A. Parilis broke of a little branch that resulted in a small frag. WHere it broke off, you could see the bare white calcium skeleton. Today only 6 days later its almost fully encrusted. I know its hard to believe being that it has only been six days but thats the truth, perhaps the fastest growth thats ever happened to me in my 5 years of keeping sps.

[rebelprettyboy]

Love all ur sticks in ur nano! Colors look awesome

[gjuarez]

Sticks in my nano? LOL not sure i understand.. Thanks, the sps have been in my system for about week now, hope they retain their colors. So far i am seeing a little bit of growth

[ErikH]

Very nice! I agree about that purple, it's a showstopper!

[blindside]

haha my tanks has been reffered to as having sticks as well. i take it it is all the sps we keep

[domloz]

very nice.

[gjuarez]

Lol.. Like mentioned before the purple is a Gemmifera.. Got it at live aquaria, the price on it was very good too... I really want to get a gomezi. Ive always wanted a Turaki but they are horrible shippers. Next in the wish list is a pink millie.

I still have a little bit of cyano and i have been doing super aggressive weekly water changes. I am pretty convinced its the water i am using from the windmill express. I dont think its 0 TDS water. Guess I am going to have to buy from some local reefers until i get my RO/DI unit.

[rebelprettyboy]

Beautiful Nano

[gjuarez]

THanks...

I am starting to think that cyano is photosynthetic.. LOL It comes out during the day and it goes away at night.. LOl My explanation on why that happens is that turbo snails are more active by night, which means that they of course eat it and in the mornings it no longer appears. When i come back from work there its always there. I am hating it. Rick, if youre reading this, I am coming over this weekend for 0 TDS water for my next water change. I dont trust the windmill express water anymore.

I have a very ligth bioload, dont feed heavy at all, do 30% water changes a week. THere is no way the water quality can be bad, unless of course the water wasnt 0 TDS to begin with. So... No more watermill express for me. I am ordering my RO?DI unit next week. Corals look great though. I am noticing some growth

[gjuarez]

Update: I am almost down to zero cyano... I am sure its because i kinda disturbed the sand bed.. the SSB has been established for about 2 years now, a no no, the sulfates probably elevated... COrals are doing great, my idaho grape is back to being purple and no light tan like it was. I am very impressed with the growth I am getting, not bad for being lit with a 70w halide. I am sure the corals would do better under 150w. Ill post some pics this weekend

[gjuarez]

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=685

[gjuarez]

Heres an updated pic of my nano, the blue acro did not make it. It RTNed 1 hour later, it will be replaced. It did not ship too well, we knew it probably wouldnt make it cause it got banged up during shipping. New pieces are the superman monti, green candy cane, the zoo rock, feather duster, a frag of bird's nest. My purple gemmifera did not do too well, it used to be purple now its the brown coral on the left hand side. Its not doing too well, i think it might need more light

[gjuarez]

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=686

[Jonthefishguy]

Your Acros may all start changing colors from whatever they were to brown as the zoanthella are adjusting to the new spectrum. Consider changing your bulbs to a 14 or 20 instead of the 10k that you have. This will help the corals keep their color. All in all, looks nice. I like the candy cane. I wonder where that came from!:wink_smile:

[gjuarez]

Lol. THanks for the freebie, its actually one of my favorite pieces. I am going with a 14mh in a couple of weeks. I really dont like the ushio, but it was a brand new bulbs so i had to use it. My zooxanthellae are going to love me i know. We shall see how everything turns out.

[reefer man]

nice tank

[gjuarez]

Reeferman - THanks

I have not made a water change in two weeks, its starting to show on the glass. I will get a water change in this weekend. Considering going with a 150w halide, anyone out there have a pic of the biocube with one?

[Mr Cob]

Looks nice Jerry!

[rebelprettyboy]

Love the nano! I need somemore sticks in mine

[gjuarez]

LOL. Love the sticks!! Can't say that they are thriving, they are only surviving. I am not seeing a lot of growth on them but they are starting to color up a bit. I know i dont have enough light, 70w of mh is not enough. THe sticks will be transfered into my 75g once its up and running and the rest will stay there. My nano will become a zoa garden with some nice LPS.

[gjuarez]

Added a zoa garden. Check it out. SOme actinic shots.

FTS
http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=773

Pinkies
http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=774

Radio Active Greens
http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=775

[gjuarez]

In addition, I also added a 4 head acan lord, a blue ricordia, and some eagle eye zoanthids. I had trouble getting some pics. I'll get them tomorrow

[gjuarez]

I guess its no longer an sps tank. Here is my new dendro and acan lord.

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=780

[i_am_poor]

That looks great. I just set up a 29g Biocube as my holding tank and will be keeping sps also.

[gjuarez]

Thanks i am poor. Been stocking it slowly. I added 3 more ricordias today, now have a total of 5. I will post pics of them soon

[gjuarez]

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=783

[gjuarez]

5 new rics:

2 orange
1 green with pink mouth
1 green
1 blue

[LittleReef]

Looks great Jerry! :) *Drools over the Pinkies.*

[gjuarez]

LOl.. Thanks. Those are the screaming hawks. A friend got them for me at B & B aquatics

[LittleReef]

Well, they sure are purdy! :D

[gjuarez]

THanks. I am taking some acros over to rick's tank. They are living but they are not thriving at the moment. Right now that would be the best thing either until i setup my 75g or until i get a stronger light for my nano

[kkralicek]

AWSOME TANK!!!!!!! I did the nanocustoms PC upgrade. Should have waited and did the Mh upgrade :(.

[gjuarez]

Thanks. I really like the MH but i feel my tank is underlit to keep sps. I should have installed a 150w instead. My acros are ligthening up a bit, they need more light

[ReefCube]

yup you do need more light but when you add more light you will have more heat...time for a tank upgrade with t-5s!

[gjuarez]

LOL. I actually already have everything ready to go for my 75g tank. I installed 6 x 54w T5s powered and overdriven by IceCap with SLR Reflectors. They put out a ton of light and the color is amazing. Here is a pic of the 75g.

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=88&pictureid=587

[QuickSilver525]

simply beautiful bro, i mean both tanks. cant wait to see the 75 up and going too. i love your nano, i wasnt sure if i wanted to do sps in mine but you inspired me. thanks :)

[gjuarez]

Quick, thanks man. Good to hear that you like the tank. Keepins SPS in a nano is not easy. SO far, I have been successful but only because i keep a strict maintanence routine. I had to take an acro to a friends home, it needed more light. I will be moving the rest of the sps to the 75g once it is established. THe nano will become a zoa tank with some Acans and other rare corals

[gjuarez]

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=803

[gjuarez]

made some changes, added a few things and took out some.

[LittleReef]

So purdy! :wub:

[rz1a]

made some changes, added a few things and took out some.

jerry looking good, youll have to hook me up with a frag of that dendro when it gets to a good sized colony

:hypnotyized:

once you get your system going, we all need to buy some SPS Frag packs from somewhere.. maybe www.yourreef.com ? $99 bucks for 10 frags, free shipping if theres 3 people ordering and thats about $10 a frag.

http://yourreef.com/spscoral.html

[fishypets]

Looking good man. Next time you're in Austin look me up and I'll send you home with something.

[gjuarez]

Clint where you been brother. I will take you up on that offer. Been a while since i have been to austin, im a little overdue.

[gjuarez]

Hey Ruben, I should be done with my exam this month. I am so frustrated already. As soon as I am done my tank will be setup. It just needs to be plumbed up, got everything I need. I cant wait

[hobogato]

WOW jerry!!!! looks really good!

[gjuarez]

LOL. Thanks Ace. Hey i like the new avatar, much nicer with the Dendro than the sps hair.

[gjuarez]

New addition, I added two rose bubble tip anemones. Pics coming soon

[gjuarez]

My new RBTA, have two of them but the other is one is wedged up in a rock underneath

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=812

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=813

[Agent Jones]

very nice setup!

[gjuarez]

Thanks agent. I see that you just joined a week ago. Welcome to the club. Still working on it, need a couple more zoo frags so that i can be happy with it. LOL

[gjuarez]

My newest addition, some sweet blue zoos

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=829

[ReefCube]

i like it!

[gjuarez]

Added five different types of zoas and palys, pics coming tomorrow. My tank has shifted into a zoa garden. Anyone out there keeping zoos?

[QuickSilver525]

I AM :) i love zoas. :) i love your tank by the way :) its so neat-o. cant wait to see pics :)

[gjuarez]

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=832

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=834

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=84&pictureid=833

[gjuarez]

A couple of people have PMed me asking what the new additions are called. Here's a few.

Recently added items:

Firecrackers
Green Bay Packers
Bam Bams
Blue zoos, not tubs
Orange Cap
Dragon Eyes
Pink Zoas, dont have a name for them yet. NOT AOGs or Devils Armor

Next on the wish list are some purple deaths, Nuclear Greens, Armor of Gods, Tubbs Blues, Darth Mauls, and some Mohawks.

[MRSBIGBIRD123]

Tank looks great, I am also trying to create my own little zoa reef.

[gjuarez]

Thanks Cheri. Thats the look that I am going for. I need to change lights to bring out the color in them. Definately interested in trading with ya.