Some Dude's Reef - led's vs halides post 347

[CoryDude]

Hey, I get to join the big boy club...barely!!! I just got a new 120 4X2X2 that going to replace my standard 90 gallon. It's an aqeon (or all-glass as I like to still call them) reef ready with dual overflows. I've had all-glass aquariums before, and I've never had a real problem with them, so I wasn't too hesitant about ordering one. Gabe and Chris were nice enough to help deliver last night. Thanks guys.Now, I get have the fun of tearing down the old tank, and ripping out the stand my dad and I built for an in-wall setup. We built that thing to hold a sherman tank, and it's going to be a pain to rip it out. Won't bore you with too many details, but I'll be trading in most of my current fish and moving the surviving corals to a 60 gallon. Live rock, equipment, and a yellow tonga blenny are going to be the only holdovers from the old tank.

[Big_Pun]

good luck with build, dont let it sit in your garage too long

[Europhyllia]

Lots of work for sure but you'll be glad you did it! :)

[txav8r]

Thats good news Cory! Be sure to take pics of the build.

[RayAllen]

Sounds good man, look forward to your build.

[ErikH]

Happy, Happy, Happy Days.

http://www.tomcho.com/images/the-fonz.jpg

AAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

[CoryDude]

That's too funny Erik. Thanks for the well wishes everyone

I'll be pulling the rocks early next week and transferring the livestock to either Gabes or a 30 long tank that will be hooked up to the Hiatt. I'm planning on drying the rocks in the sun and then freezing them and finally using a power washer to get them as clean as possible.

I've already starting taking pics.

[Reefer4ever]

PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ErikH]

I would say this thread needs pics, but I posted one already. Ho-hum.....

YOUR TURN! LOL

[CoryDude]

Well, if a pic of a tank and stand still wrapped in cardboard and plastic floats your boat, I'll post one when I get back home tonight.

[kkiel02]

NOOO I wanted to take a look at your fish room. If you need any help let me know I owe you big time for helping me.

[CoryDude]

Kevin, I should be pulling the tank out sometime this coming week, so I can do some finish up work on the fishroom this next weekend. There's a few things I've always wanted to do, but couldn't since there was a working tank in there. Budget constraints will dictate what I do and don't do. But one thing is to install some greenboard, installing conduit to run electrical lines, and remounting the halide ballasts outside the fishroom to help with heat buildup.

Here's a few shots:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0012.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0009.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0015.jpg

[CoryDude]

Water leak check has been passed. Tank has been holding water for the past 2 days. Operation 90 gallon tear down to commence today.

After looking over this tank for almost a week, I'm very impressed with the build quality. Corners are nice and neat. It may not have starfire glass or euro bracing, but it works for me.

[CoryDude]

So I finally finished drywalling the fish room with greenboard, but apparently it's now a purple color instead of green. The last layer of drywall compound is drying as we speak, and I should be priming the walls tonight. Painting on the room should be done by tomorrow.

Drying the rocks in the sun. My neighbors didn't appreciate the smell for the first few days.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0100.jpg

Sequential tear down and rebuild pics:

It took me a full day just to rip out this platform we built for the old 90 gallon:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0114.jpg

Need to cover the exposed water lines to the washing machine:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0128.jpg

First layer of drywall compound applied:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0129.jpg

The exposed 2X4's will also getting a water sealent application tomorrow.

[neogenix]

tagging along :)

[CoryDude]

Got the tank lifted in place, but I got hemorrhoids in the process! Man that thing was heavy. Thanks a billion Gabe!

[ErikH]

Looks good my man!

[CoryDude]

Thanks Erik.

So I finished painting. I'll be sealing the crevices in the room w/caulk tomorrow or Thurs. Most of the time during the last few days have been spent rewiring the elect circuits to the room. Thank God I spent way too many summers working with my Dad who's an electrician. Doing this myself has saved me a lot of money.

I now have 2 dedicated 20 amp circuits with 1 double gang and 1 single gang box (6 individual plugs) on each breaker . I also added a 3rd single gang outlet that is shared by the electric dryer that has a 60 amp breaker on it. I'll put the reactor pumps or some other small load device on that one.

Trying to get this tank wet by this weekend. Then I'm going to try Hiatt's 24 hour nitrogen cycle to see if it really works.

[Europhyllia]

I like how fast you are proceeding with this! Looks good :)

[hobogato]

no kidding karin, he is not wasting any time!

it will be interesting to see how well the 24 hour cycle works.

[CoryDude]

Thanks Karin and Ace. I'm a little skeptical about Snake's claim, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I've got a potters angel and a golden tonga blenny in a 30 gallon holding tank hooked up to the hiatt. The tank's only got 3 med size pieces of live rock in it. The potter's is eating Formula 2 and some Dainichi pellets, but the blenny is totally dependent on grazing on the lr for algae. So, the faster this tank gets filled the better.

I appears that the hiatt is working in the holding tank. It's been running over a week with heavy feedings, no water changes, dried dead live rock, and no detectable ammonia, no2, and no3.

[RayAllen]

great progess Cory. You will have water in it in no time.

[CoryDude]

Thanks Ray! Well, the tank is installed, leveled, and framed in. Need a little bit of trim around the opening and some paint and she's ready to be plumbed. Too tired to upload pics to photobucket, but will do soon.

Got in-laws in town through Sunday, so I'm really going to try and get it plumbed Fri or Sat. But, as they say, "The best laid plans of mice and men".

[CoryDude]

Almost there. Tanks is 3/4 full of ro/di water, bought the rest of the plumbing fittings, and will be building the sump tomorrow. Will post pics tomorrow.

Picked up a Sicce 4.0 for the return pump on Friday. Thanks Gabe.

[CoryDude]

Busy with the last minute build items. Got the tank plumbed with lockline and durso standpipes.

Added 3 compartments to a 29 gallon tank that will be the sump. One for the Hiatt, another for a fuge, and the last compartment for the skimmer and sicce return pump. Also run pvc for the chiller which is located outside the house. All that's left is to connect the plumbing to the chiller and connect the return/drain lines.

My first diy sump:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0122.jpg

Lockline and dursos:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0128-1.jpg

Just a few more gallons to go:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0131.jpg

[Kristy]

Umm Cory, saltwater is probably not too good for those cd's. Hope you already downloaded them to your MP3 player!

Looking great... won't be much longer now. I'm getting excited for you.

[CoryDude]

Ha ha Kristy. The cd's weren't that good anyways. Stuff like Enya, Jefferson Starship, Winger, etc.

Sump didn't have any leaks so I installed it and plumbed the overflows. Should get to circulate some freshwater in the system and check for any leaks. It's a tight fit under the stand, and the skimmer is going to be a pain to service, but it looks like everything is a go for flipping the switch tonight.

[Mr Cob]

Yeah...looks awesome! Darn-it...I thought this was a thread about "some dude's reef" lol and I never clicked on it....didn't realize it was some local dude's build thread!

4x2x2 is a great footprint all around!

Anyways...great job!

[tebstan]

Darn-it...I thought this was a thread about "some dude's reef" lol and I never clicked on it....didn't realize it was some local dude's build thread!


I did the same thing! haha
Glad I finally checked it out, the quick progress is impressive

[ballardjr2000]

[QUOTE=CoryDude;790530]Ha ha Kristy. The cd's weren't that good anyways. Stuff like Enya, Jefferson Starship, Winger, etc.

What's wrong with those send them my way. LOOKING GOOD can't wait to get my tank back online

[CoryDude]

Thanks Rob, tebstan, and ballardjr!!! This was the first build that I actually had a pre-formed plan in place. Pretty much owe all my ideas to maast.

There was a slow leak on one of the return bulkheads. Think I got it fixed now. Just lacking about 10 gallons of water to get the sump full enough to turn power on. Need to shut down the ro unit tonight so the tank and sump won't overfill.

I did arrange the dry rock today, so of course I'll be playing with that for the next few days. There's going to be some die off (the rock still smelled a little) so we'll see if the Hiatt is able to consume the organics that are being released.

[Mr Cob]

Ahhh...don't get me started on bulkhead leaks! Glad it has stopped though....I had the same problem.

Can't wait to see some more pics of the entire system.

[CoryDude]

Well, the Hiatt 24hr setup seems to be working, but it's too soon to tell. There was some die off from the liverock. After running the hiatt for 24 hrs, the smelly and cloudy water were gone. Went ahead and added the tonga blenny and newly purchased potter's angel to the setup. They don't seem to be stressed, and there is no detectable ammonia. However, it's too soon to tell since it's going to be a least a few days before ammonia would actually show up.

There's still a leak on the lines running to the chiller, so I just have that bypassed for right now. Spend most of the day rewiring my diy light rack I made last year. I added some white plastic to act as a reflector and rewired the Icecap to run 4 110W VHO bulbs. So there's going to be 440W or actinic light and 2X 250 hqi metal halide 14K's for 940w total.

A few hours after adding salt and liverock
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0002.jpg

Turbo charging the diy light rack:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0007.jpg

Tools needed:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0008.jpg

The entire backyard was glowing blue tonight:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0011.jpg

Crowded space under the stand:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0025.jpg

Finally, a FTS:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0012-1.jpg

[CoryDude]

Since everything is pretty much roughed in, next week should be the final week of the build. Just need to add the trim to the viewable side of the wall and paint it white. I'll also be installing a vent van to help with air circulation within the fish room and rerun the pvc lines to the chiller.

[RayAllen]

Looking good man!

[txav8r]

Coming along great Cory!

[CoryDude]

Thanks again everyone! The chiller was plumbed today, so this should be the last of the build pics. Just need to install some plastic conduit to hide the cords and wires from the vortecs, power supplies for the equipment, and tunze ato lines. I'm running the actinics now to acclimate the tank and won't be running any halides until next week at the earliest. May try and put a few acro frags (nothing too special) this coming weekend to see how things will do.

Supply/return line shutoffs and chiller bypass valve
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0123.jpg

Insulated the outside water lines and installed some disconnects. The chiller will have a green plastic cover that protects it from the rain.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0127-1.jpg

[Mr Cob]

Looks great....

.....dreaming of a fish room.

[CoryDude]

Well, my 3 year old was playing around and fell into the tank. He busted a seam and 120 gallons of water went everywhere.

[kkiel02]

Oh my gosh. Do you have everything under control? Call if you need help.

[Mr Cob]

WHAT!?! Guessing your son is ok? Sure that was a nice scare for him.

How's it going now?

[CoryDude]

Just kidding. Bad joke. Just seeing if anyone was still following along.

The Hiatt 24 hour cycle was a complete joke. Ammonia started to creep up after 3-4 days. Lost the Potter's angel. Levels are coming back down and I'm seeing measurable NO3, so the Hiatt method may accelerate the nitrogen cycle but, I would not setup a fully stocked tank using his 24hr method. I'm going to try and take some more FTS this week.

[Mr Cob]

lol...I'm holding you to your FTS promise this week. No FTS and me no follow anymore.

Sheeesh....had me feeling sorry for you and the boy.

[kkiel02]

Yeah I felt horrible for you. lol

[Europhyllia]

Oh my that poor baby!
And poor you. :(

[Europhyllia]

Argh...Cory...

[CoryDude]

Again, sorry for the bad joke, but I couldn't resist. My kid and the tank are both doing great.

On Sunday I had ammonia levels of 6 meq/L!!! The tonga blenny and clown fairy were very stressed and I was afraid I'd lose them. I added 3 more lbs of tri-based carbon to the torpedo, did a 20 gallon water change. When the lights came on at 10am on Monday, I saw fish swimming around and acting otherwise normally. I tested and found undetectable levels of ammonia, a trace of nitrite, and 10meq/L of nitrate. So maybe the Hiatt 24 hr nitrogen cycle should be retitled the 96hr cycle.

Also added some generous amounts of cheato donated by Eve and Ross tonight. So that should start seeding the tank with pods.

I still have a few larger pieces of live rock that are sitting in the freezer, so once those are ready to go in the tank on Thurs, I'll get an updated FTS ROB.

[ramsey]

It was nice meeting you at Gabe's today Cory. Nice tank! I really like the aquascape.

[CoryDude]

Thanks Ramsey. I've got tank envy after seeing your new setup. 60x30x25 sounds better than 48x24x24.

[CoryDude]

For Rob:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0054.jpg

My favorite new wrasse:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0062.jpg

[Neptune@gabesfish]

Boom!!!

[kkiel02]

My favorite new wrasse:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0062.jpg

Fairy wrasses are quickly becoming my second favorite species of fish. Of course tangs are still no. 1 though.

[ErikH]

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I fear that I may be on the same path as you, Texas trash sucks!

Your tank looks so perdy. Congrats on the rebuild.

[CoryDude]

Thanks Kevin, Gabe and Erik. I think I'm finally as happy as I'm going to be with the rock work, so I'm basically done with the build. Now it's time to start stocking. Gabe's got a few pieces in his display tank that I banked, so I'll get new frags of some of my old sps growing again.

Agree Kevin. Fairy wrasses kick butt. Other than the habit of acting like a lemming and jumping to their death, I love love, love them. C Solorensis has ben on my wish list for a long time. Does anyone have any experience keeping multiple reef safe wrasses in the same tank. I'd love to add a radiant or maybe a scott's.

[CoryDude]

Algae bloom!!!I hate green water. Getting ready to do a 50% water change Fri or Sat.

The Hiatt has under performed up to this point and nitrates have gotten above 20+meq/L. Debating on disconnecting it and going with a large sulphur denitrater. Will decide after the large water change.

[CoryDude]

Picked up a purple plasma and borealis last night from Gabe's.

Plasma
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/plasma.jpg

Borealis
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/borealis2.jpg

[Big_Pun]

this coral is so healthy, it's amazing. I picked up the bellina and it's looks great. hey you need to swing by and bring the camera sometime

[rsalinas5]

Those r some nice looking corals.

[Mr Cob]

For Rob:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0054.jpg



Awesome Cory! Looks amazing!

[CoryDude]

Those r some nice looking corals.

Thank you! Welcome to Maast! These frags were some of the healthies pieces I've ever seen. Right of the bag the polyps were extending and were showing lots of color. I guess that's why ORA is one of the best in terms of propagating corals and fish.


Awesome Cory! Looks amazing!

Thanks Rob. I was wondering if you'd seen the FTS. I wish I could say the tank looks as pretty as it did in that pic. I'm fighting the usual start up algaes.

[Mr Cob]

...I also like that ORA is known for only selling established frags (more like mini colonies), I think every ORA frag I have seen (SPS) was encrusted. no fresh cuts with them. I hate fresh cuts!

[CoryDude]

Couldn't agree with you more! An encrusted plug gives the frag a much better chance of long term survival. I'd rather pay a bit more if it means getting a coral that's been allowed to heal after propagating.

[CoryDude]

Couldn't resist another plunge and bought a frag of Miami Orchid and Verde last night. I'll try to get some pics, but it's going to be a few days since I'm fighting dinos right now.

I don't know if these dinoflagellates are a hold over from the old tank (I washed and lightly bleached all the equipment that was moved over) or just part of the normal algae stages most new tanks encounter. I've done some manual removal, but this stuff disentigrates on contact so it's hard to get most of it. Decided that limiting nutrients and taking away their light source were the best way to getting rid of them.

Two weeks ago I turned off all actinics and halides for 4 days straight. Then gradually went back to a 10hr vho 5hr halide schedule over 4 days. The dinos returned, but were not as bad as the week before. Last week, I went 3 days lights out and then returned to a 10VHO/5HQI as before. Now there are just a few strands of dinos on the sand bed and some light filmy covering on the liverock.

I figure if I keep going with this light cyle of 3 days off and 4 days on, I should have these pests gone in another two weeks.

Any advice y'all have on your experiences with dinos is appreciated.

[CoryDude]

As far as limiting nutrients, I opted for reduced feedings (1/2 cube of assorted frozen foods daily instead of 1-2 cubes). For nutrient export I have the hiatt, a refugium, and a semi diy sulphur denitrator that was added 2.5 weeks ago.

I did reduce the hiatt carbon amount by a few pounds. I'm guessing theres about 3-4lbs of carbon in the cannister, which is about half of what is recommended for a reef tank. The cheato has been growing nicely, but has slowed considerably since adding the denitrator.

Here's a few pics of the semi diy sulphur media setup I added. Basically all I did was take a NextReef XL reactor and the regular MK1 reactor and plumb them together.

First I drilled and tapped a 3rd hole into the nextreef reactor lid in order to vent the nitrogen gas that is produced by this filter.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0060.jpg

Then I added an old Eheim 1048 I had laying around, which is threaded to fit in one of the holes on the reactor lid.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0073.jpg

Then it was just a matter of added some 1/2 pvc fittings with barbed ends and a couple of 1/4" water line valves. An aqualifter feeds the unit.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0078.jpg

Right now the unit is filtering at almost 3 drops per second with no detectable NO2 or NO3.

[Big_Pun]

very nice, your so old school !!

[neogenix]

lol, old skool!

[CoryDude]

Old school is cool. Trying to keep up with a different drummer, so I'm not jumping on the pellet bandwagon just yet.

[ErikH]

old's cool.... :p

So what does that thing do? I could google it, but I would like to inform others via your thread since I am completely oblivious to what that thing-a-ma-jig is...

[CoryDude]

So what does that thing do? I could google it, but I would like to inform others via your thread since I am completely oblivious to what that thing-a-ma-jig is...

What's that, the sulphur denitrator? They were pretty popular a few years ago. I even had a thread going for a while with the Korralin Denitrator.

Basically, the yellow media is Caribsea Live Sulphur media (lsm) and the other is some left over unused koralith media. An oxygen depleted environment is created in the reactor and the sulphur media provides a place for anaerobic bacteria to colonize. The circ pump is just to increase water/lsm/argonite contact. The bacteria consume the nitrates and produce nitrogen as a byproduct. The aragonite is just there to help raise the ph/alk since the anaerobic bacteria tend to acidify the water.

Basically, it's a deep sand bed in a reactor.

[kkiel02]

The bacteria consume the nitrates and produce nitrogen as a byproduct.

This is the most important part of a dsb or, from what it sounds like, a sulphur denitrator as our nitrogen cycle doesnt completely "cycle" in aquaria. We mainly go from Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. Alot of us rely on water changes to keep the nitrate in check but if we could finish the cycle we wouldnt even need to do them to keep nitrates down. Although they do help with trace minerals, along with other things.

[CoryDude]

Alot of us rely on water changes to keep the nitrate in check but if we could finish the cycle we wouldnt even need to do them to keep nitrates down. Although they do help with trace minerals, along with other things.

Definitely! I still do water changes of 15 gallons per week. I can't vouch for the whole saltwater balance thing and what not, but the tank just looks more polished with regular water changes.

I always remember reading an article in Freshwater and Marine Aquaria years ago, when algae turf scrubbers were becoming popular. The author gave evidence as to how ineffiecent water changes alone were at exporting nitrates. He showed how removing a thimble full of algae removed more nitrates than a 5 gallon water change.

As long as ph/alk levels aren't drastically affected and the corals do well in a low nutrient environment, I'll continue to use these bacterial methods. I'm also trying to do everything to limit nutrients, as I don't want to battle any nuisance algaes down the road.

[Europhyllia]

Wow Cory... 7 pages and this is all you got in terms of fish and coral pics?!

[CoryDude]

Yeah, I know Karin. Seeing all these top shelf tanks lately hasn't helped either.

I've been battling some very nasty and invasive hair algae the last few months and it's been pretty depressing. I'll try and snap some pics toorrow of the good, bad, and the just plain ugly.

[Europhyllia]

Eek. Your remind me. I have a few tufts here and there. Need to get in there tomorrow and yank those out before they decide to spread...

[CoryDude]

Ok, here's the story. The tank was cycling and coming along nicely. I added a kole yellow eye and a flame hawk, to go along with the solar fairy wrasse, yellow watchman, and tonga blenny that were already in the tank. Then Gabe starting getting in some nice ORA pieces, so of course I had to add some of those.

Then the dinos came along, which wasn't unexpected because I've had some new setups do the same thing. So, I started turning the lights off for a few days at a time to knock out the dinos. Did this over a period of 2-3 weeks, but I started to notice a little stubble of something green that was growing under the dinoflagellates.

Well, I guess the whole lights on/lights off thing caused the algae to go sexual because before I knew it, they were EVERYWHERE!!! Every rock was covered in a green, thick, bristley algae. It grew on the glass, sand, rocks, and the overflows. It was difficult to scrape off the glass. Even scrubbing the rocks with a hard brush did very little to help.

Lowing the nitrates to < .2ppm has helped the algae from spreading and even caused the algae on the glass and overflows to disappear. But this stuff is so deeply rooted in the rocks, it's impossible to eradicate.

Otherwise, everything else has been very healthy. No fish or coral loses.

[Europhyllia]

Ugh, that would drive me nuts. Sorry you have to deal with this!

[CoryDude]

Ok, some updated pics

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/wrasse1a.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/hawk1.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/plasma-1.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/borealis-1.jpg

[CoryDude]

As you can see, there's green everywhere. As Grover would say, "Oh, I am so embarrassed".

[Regric25]

Wow man those are some nice SPS corals! I love that Wrasse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[vman181]

I've been battling some very nasty and invasive hair algae the last few months and it's been pretty depressing. I'll try and snap some pics toorrow of the good, bad, and the just plain ugly.

How does this happen if you sun dried and froze your rock?

[CoryDude]

I'm almost 100% sure that it was probably reintroduced on a piece of montipora I got from someone. I noticed it had some algae on it and I chipped away at the rock it was encrusted on to get rid of it. But, I bet I didn't get all of the root system. So, I guess you could say it was stupidity on my part.

[Big_Pun]

I'm almost 100% sure that it was probably reintroduced on a piece of montipora I got from someone. I noticed it had some algae on it and I chipped away at the rock it was encrusted on to get rid of it. But, I bet I didn't get all of the root system. So, I guess you could say it was stupidity on my part.

im having the same prob battling couple different pest algaes that i have never seen in my tank, so i guess it just happens. ive been using algaefix with a lilttle success, also going back to weekly water changes. just have to hang in there and not let it burn you out.

[Europhyllia]

Cory I have a bottle of AlgaeFix if you want to try it

[CoryDude]

I hate to admit it, but the new setup isn't working. The display rocks are buried beneath a layer of green hair algae. Imigine if scientists genticially engineered a strain of algae that combined the worst traits of bryopsis, derbesia, and every other ******* algae, then you've got an idea of what I'm dealing with. This stuff is thick, has a deep root system, and can grow in very low nutrient systems. I even have trouble scrapping it off the glass using a razor!!!

Plus, I'm having some of the same SPS problems (pale colors, loss of tissue) as with my old setup. So, I'm thinking the Hiatt is the likely culprit (yeah Bill and Ace, y'all were right). So, after seeing some really amazing tanks the past few weeks, I've decided to be honest with my tank and admit my mistakes.

The plan is to restart the system based on agressive skimming, a refugium, and a sulphur denitrator to manage no3.

I've already started bleaching and power washing the live rock. I also ordered some new substrate (caribsea reef sand plus) and some vials of prodibio bio digest to kick start the cycling process.

[Big_Pun]

any help holding coral or anything else just give me a call. also may I suggest bio pellets!!!!!! lol

[Europhyllia]

That sucks. But better scrap it now than later.
I got some ammonium chloride you can have to feed your bacteria and really kick start the cycle.

[hobogato]

sorry you are having to go thru all of that. better now than with a really established tank tho...

[CoryDude]

any help holding coral or anything else just give me a call. also may I suggest bio pellets!!!!!! lol

Thanks Chris. I may take you up on that.



That sucks. But better scrap it now than later.
I got some ammonium chloride you can have to feed your bacteria and really kick start the cycle.

Thanks Karin. Do you have any experience with prodibio products. I thought you had used them at one time.



sorry you are having to go thru all of that. better now than with a really established tank tho...

Thanks Ace. I wouldn't have minded fighting regular hair algae. But, this stuff literally feels like tufts of cotton and is just as hard to scrub, tear, and starve out. So far bleach has been the only cure.

The plan is to drain the tank this weekend and wash it down with bleach/water combo, steralize all the equipment, and bleach the rest of the lr. The fish will be moved to my other tank. The corals may go to Chris, or I may just store them in a tub for a few days.

[ErikH]

I am glad you are trying again. It's hard to do it!!!

[Europhyllia]

Cory
I've used the Prodibio to boost my biopellets -worked great for that purpose (too well for me in fact lol)

For starting a new tank I like to use Fritz Turbo Start 9000 - a refrigerated live bacteria with a shelf life of only 2 weeks. It ROCKS. I use it in combination with ammonium chloride. I accidently cycled the seahorse tank for a bioload of 24 seahorses instead of 2 starting at 4 ppm ammonium and the Fritz bacteria took it down to zero in 26 hours and zero nitrites in 36 hours.

The Prodibio should be a fine start too though, just might take longer to multiply to adequate volume. :)

Don't rush the rock recycling.

When I recycled the rock from the 125 trying to get rid of racemosa I went in all directions just to be sure. Bleach it, completely dry it, freeze it if you have a freezer.
I wanted to do it only once and never see that pesty weed again

[Bill S]

What Karin said.

I'm sorry to see you have to go thru this. Been there, done that. My suggestion is that you should at least frag some of your corals that you are fond of, and put them somewhere else. If I'd have done that, I'd probably still have an SPS tank. I didn't, and crashed them all in my tubs.

[ErikH]

What Bill said! That's why I just sold off 3 tubs of coral for 3 Bills, pun intended.

All new rock Cory, all new rock....

[CoryDude]

Didn't want to invest in all new rock. If the same thing took over it, then I'd be out a few hundred dollars easily. Right now, I'm getting off pretty cheap in comparison.

The caribsea reef plus sand showed up today. Man, this stuff looks awesome. There's a nice mix of grain sizes and the pieces of shell mixed in really give it a nice look. The prodibio vials look interesting also, but the lack of directions leaves a little to be desired.

[CoryDude]

After a long weekend of scrubbing, bleaching, and rinsing, the tank is back together. Went ahead and dumped a big bag of carbon into the sump and added a large sheet of polyfilter to help remove in traces of bleach. Do I need to add anything else to help with this?

I'll probably go ahead and add a vial of prodibio bacteria tomorrow and start the waiting. All corals have been moved to a holding container and the fish were moved to my wife's tank.

[CoryDude]

Here's an update of what's been happening. Something happened to the holding container for the corals and I had a rtn event. I fragged the corals and spread them between my other tank and this one. Lost everything except a stylo I got from Chris. All the fish made it though.

I added the yellow watchman to the tank and fed the tank a 1/2 a cube of brine shrimp every other day to start the nitrogen cycle. I'm not sure if the probidio sped up the process, but ammonia levels never went above barely detectable levels on the seachem alert card. After a week, the levels went to undetectable so I added the remaining fish and a small clean up crew.

NO3 levels begain to show up about 4 days after adding the watchman. They climbed to over 100ppm, more likely above 150, over the next few weeks. A 33% water change and the denitrator have lowered the levels to 20ppm and falling as of yesterday.

Introduced 4 test sps frags a few weeks ago. Most browned out within days. Since the NO3 levels are finally coming down, some of the blue's and purple's have returned in 3 of them.

Other than that, I'm trying to take it slow and make sure nothing unwanted get's introduced. If the tank is still clean after a few months, then I'll start to re-stock with some ORA pieces. Also would like to go with a more mixed coral display, so I'll probably add some euphyllias, zoas, and acans. Maybe even a green nepthea if possible.

[CoryDude]

Since pics tell a better story:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0198_edited-1.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0144-1.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0140.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0120.jpg

[CoryDude]

Picked this little guy up from Gabe's shipment last week. I tried to hide him, but he was too electric blue for my wife to miss.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0098-1.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/DSC_0087.jpg

[Europhyllia]

Hawkfish. I am jealous!

[ErikH]

Is that a jawfish? If so what type? Looks good hombre.

[Europhyllia]

He said Yellow Watchman

[CoryDude]

It's my tonga blenny. He'll be on full display most of the time, but as soon as I whip the camera out, he ducks in between the rocks.

The watchman pretty much hides out all the time so I couldn't get a pic today.

Thanks for the compliments Erik. You and I are restarting about the same time, so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out in a couple of years.

[CoryDude]

Will do some coral progress pics. Here are some that were added last month.

Supposedly this is a chips acro, guess time will tell. It was in pretty bad shape when I got it. The base is starting to encrust on the plug.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1135.jpg

Lovely Eyes:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1159.jpg

Oregon Blue Tort. Already encrusting on the base:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1156.jpg

Nice little frogspawn that I picked up from Cob:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1154.jpg

Purple and green acan I received from Gabe's:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1167.jpg

[CoryDude]

Lost a few fish last week to some kind of disease. So far, no more fish losses. Remaining fish are active and eating heartily.

Weekly routine is adding fuel 2x a week, and dripping kalkwasser 2x a week.

Calcium is around 425mg/L, alk 3.5meq/L, ph 8.3 day/night, NO2 around 2mg/L, and phos is undetectable. Water changes are 10g every 1.5 weeks. Added some chemipure elite for the carbon and gfo.

[BSJF]

Looking good! Glad to see your fish losses have stopped.

[hobogato]

nice color on that oregon tort, great pics as always

[CoryDude]

Thanks Ace and Lorraine. Lorraine, you're tank has been a kind of inspiration to me. I think I'll be happy with a mixed tank like yours. I like how the top half of yours is sps, but the lower parts are dominated by lps.

Ace, your past tanks and endeavors have been a constant source of new material for me. I spend a good deal of time going over your past threads.

[kkiel02]

Those are some killer shots. I love the SPS and the Acan. Do you have a recent FTS?

[CoryDude]

Thanks Kevin. I'll post a FTS, but as Officer Barbrady would say, "Move along folks, nothing to see here". Haven't had much coralline growth due to the high lighting and everything is still maturing.

Sorry for the reflection on the glass.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1374.jpg

Picked this up the other day from Senor Gabe.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1366.jpg

Started seeing these little guys on the glass the other day. I looks like a small hydromedusae, more specifically species of Cladonema according to wwm.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_1333.jpg

[ErikH]

Doesn't look like a chips acro, more like a Paletta Blue Tenuis or an ORA Joe the Coral.

[FireWater]

Not sure about the naming on the Chips. Doesn't look like a Joe either. Kind of hard to tell with the variances in lighting affecting corals colors in different tanks. None the less, it looks awesome.

Tank is looking good by the way. I'm really getting the itch now as we wound up with similar tanks and mine is still empty.

[CoryDude]

Like I said, it's too early to tell on the supposed chips. Could be a joe, or just some blue tipped something or other. Not too concerned about it.

Man, I remember you ordered that 120 before mine. I can't believe it still isn't up.

[FireWater]

Life happens. I have parts of it laying around the house. Stand will be in place this weekend. Sump/fuge is 90% done. Need to order pump and skimmer. AI's and Vortechs are in. Couple months left and will have water.

I agree on the frag. I try not to get carried away with names - if it's pretty or cool looking that is good enough for me. Besides what looks like a Chip or Joe in my tank can be completely different in another tank.

Did you ever narrow down what caused the fish problems?

[Mr Cob]

great looking tank Cory! Lots of room for those corals to grow!

[CoryDude]

Thanks Rob! I wish I could fast forward a year to get it filled out more. I will say that using Todd's approach and dripping kalkwasser has had a lot more success in growth and colors than using a two part additive.

John, I wasn't able to figure out a difinitive answer. But, Richard had suggested it may be brooklynella in the other thread. I lost a clown pair a few years back to that disease, and this seemed very similar to that in the symptoms and speed of decline.

[Troy Valentine]

Cory,
It took me 7+ years to make it, and I am glad to give it to a wonderful guy with a beautiful tank... 300 posts. Cheers;) See you on the other side:)

[CoryDude]

Thanks Troy. Those Icacap's turned out really nice. I really appreciate it. Please hit me up when you'd like me to return the favor.

I'll hit you up soon to see if I can stop by and chat.

[CoryDude]

I just added that maricultured strawberry banana shake acro from gabe's yesterday. Took a chance and left it on the original base. I did, however, scrub the base with a 50/50 saltwater to hydrogen peroxide combo. Then it was dipped in betadine for 30 minutes.

I'll post another sideview shot later this weekend if we make it past Saturday. If I'm not here after this weekend, I'd like Chris to come by and take it, because there's no way he's getting into heaven right now.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/LFS%20Stock%202011/DSC_1692.jpg

[Europhyllia]

nice to see you bounced back from the algae disaster so fast! :)

[CoryDude]

Thanks Karin! Hey John, hope your able to get it running before the summer's out. I have a iwaki 40rlt (pressure rated) your welcome to, if you want an external pump.

What other kinds of non-sps corals should I add to the tank? I'd thought of adding another euphyllia like a torch coral or hammer, and maybe a few more zoa pieces to the bottom. My wife really likes the movement of the frogspawn, and I agree. The sps are very colorful, but the movements from fleshy lps, and softer corals really give a tank character.

[CoryDude]

Here's a few pieces that were recently added.

Purple rhodactis. I stole this from my wife's tank.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_2363_edited-2.jpg

The really nice green/yellow maricultured acro from Gabe's.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_2299.jpg

[CoryDude]

Picked up a new Borealis
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_3134.jpg

This purple one's been in the tank for a few months, but these yellow polyps just sprouted a few weeks ago
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_2649_edited-1.jpg

Started using Red Sea iron supplement part C and the frogspawn has intensified in color. This pic has only been cropped. No changes were made to the color saturation or brightness.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_3138.jpg

[kkiel02]

That frogspawn is intense!

[FireWater]

Sweet. New additions are nice.
How long were you running the iron supplement before you noticed any change?

And thanks for the pump offer by the way. It is very much appreciated.

[CoryDude]

Thanks Kevin.

John, I believe it's been 2 weeks since it was started. The cheato went into overdrive and turned a dark green color within days of dosing and I just noticed the euphyllia after comparing todays pics with the pics from may. The iron test kit still shows levels are at .05 ppm. Red Sea says the optimum level is around .25ppm. I've been dosing about 25-50 ml every other day.

Once the target level is reached, I'll probably cut the dose back to 50ml per week provided I don't see an increase in algae growth in the tank.

I also just started dosing their part D supplement, which is supposed to enhance blue/purple pigments.

[CoryDude]

And thanks for the pump offer by the way. It is very much appreciated.

No problem. I've got two iwakis laying around if any charter member needs to use them.

[FireWater]

I will have to do some more research on the supplements. I heard Chris and Gabe talking about them the other day.

I am still going with the Sicce 5 on the new tank.

[kkiel02]

Updates?

I ended up with a similar light rack just a little smaller. I just need to stain a 2x4 that I can mount the light rack chain to on the ceiling. Thanks to you and John!

[CoryDude]

I used a level and a laser pointer to mark the outlines of the aquarium edge on the ceiling. Then I mounted 2 - 2x4's to the studs in the ceiling. That way the lights hang parallel to the tank. Can't wait to see your tank on the tank tour.

As far as my tank, a few new pieces were added including a ridiculously sweet looking pink/green/blue rhodactis (thanks for the nudge Karin). New acros include an ora indo stag. If I can get some time this coming week I'll try and get updated pics.

[Europhyllia]

Aww. you're very welcome. I wouldn't have talked you into it if I would have thought it was a fantastic piece myself :)

[kkiel02]

I hope mine is skinned by the tank tour. I will probably end up doing that myself.

I am looking forward to your new coral shots... You're going to make me want to try SPS again. lol

[CoryDude]

Having problems with my SPS and it's starting to tick me off. Almost all of them have lightened in color and have zero polyp extension. Came home from work last week and the indo stag had rtn'ed during the day. Tried to save the tips, but they were gone a few days later. The borealis has lost all color and is almost gone. LPS and my new clam look good.

Thinking the issue could be two things. One, between the cheato, skimmer, and no3 reactor the tank is too sterile. I upped the feedings and turned the no3 reactor off. Thanks to Troy, I also started dosing fuel again.

The 2nd possibility is over dosing the tank with Reef Colors part C (iron supplement). No matter how much I added, the iron test showed I was in the low range. Went ahead and did two successive 50% water changes to try and bring trace element levels back in line. Also discontinued adding all supplements until the issues are resolved.

It's basically a waiting game at this point.

[kkiel02]

Sorry to hear that. Let me know if you need help.

[Europhyllia]

are you sure it couldn't be the after effects or the recent boiling?

[hobogato]

are you sure it couldn't be the after effects or the recent boiling?

i think karin is on to something, sometimes it takes a while for problems to show their effect in sps imo

[CoryDude]

That's the beauty of this hobby...never a definitive answer. Everything was progressing so nicely until a few weeks ago. All the sps had encrusted on their bases, there were pods galore, tunicate worms, sponges, etc. Even now, everything looks good except the acros.


Alk is around 3 meq/L, ph is 8.3, no3 is around 1ppm, phos is undetectable, ca is a little high at 460ppm. Right now I'm taking a wait and see approach. No need to throw the baby out with the bath water.

[FireWater]

What is weird to me is that you would have problems with the SPS vs having issues with the LPS with numbers like that.

Good luck with the waiting game and let us know if you come up with an answer.

[CoryDude]

Well, the tank has finally come back around. Polyp extension and colors have returned to the sps. I decreased the dosing of the Red Sea Color program to about 40ml weekly for parts B,C, and D, which is about half of the dosage prior to the coral problems. I replaced the year old phoenix 14's with new ones and disconnected the denitrator. So, it's hard to pinpoint the original problem. As Ace and Karin pointed out, it could have been a problem with a natural cycle since the tank is still less than a year old in its current setup.

After visiting cbianco last month, and seeing Todd's and Troy's setups, I've decided to take a more hands off approach to dealing with this tank. Since I'm working full time again, it also doesn't let me fiddle with the tank like I used to since I'm not as home as much now.

Current regimine includes feeding at least once per day, 1-2 weekly coral feedings at night, cleaning the protein skimmer every 3 days, and dosing the above referenced red sea additives. I'm only changing about 20 gallons of water per month. Nitrates are still almost zero, ph is around 8.2-8.3 day/night, alk is at 2.5-3 meq/L, and calcium is around 450-475ppm.

[CoryDude]

New additions (Allan) include a spotted mandarin that's as camera shy as I am, and a powder blue tang:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank Progress 2011/DSC_4306.jpg

Also, thanks to Europhyllia, I picked this up in Corpus last month at GC Reefs. Can anyone guess what it is (Karin and Lorraine can't play)
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank Progress 2011/DSC_4323.jpg

Recent pickup from cbianco
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank Progress 2011/DSC_4314.jpg

Coral losses last month were relegated to the ora borealis, purple indo-stag, and a beautiful maxima clam I picked up from live aquaria :cry_smile: . Everything else survived.

[kkiel02]

Ive been doing a similar approach as well and it is working great so far. On either Sat. or Sun. every week I clean my screen for my ATS and every other week I dump my skimmer cup. I only feed once a day either before or after work depending if Im on days or nights. I will probably start doing either biweekly or maybe even monthly 40g water changes here soon but even my older SPS I had written off is thriving at this point. Keep in mind my SPS is easier stuff- mainly montis. I can definately say doing so has really allowed me to enjoy the tank alot more. I would suggest this to anyone starting to get burned out for sure.

Is the coral a galaxia?

What other tangs do you have in the tank with the powder blue? Im getting the itch to try one but I love the powder brown(its my fake achilles) alot too. So its coming down to either one or the other.

And last but not least glad your tank turned around for the better!

[Europhyllia]

Oh it's nice Cory. When it multiplies I am definitely interested in a frag

[BSJF]

Me too. you won't even notice :)

Glad to see everything has turned around for you. I hate losses, especially the unexplained ones.

[hobogato]

cory, put me in line after karin and lorraine, i really wanted to bring it home the last time i was at gc reef. i could not believe how big it is!

[CoryDude]

We didn't know either till the young gentleman at GC pointed out the individual polyps. It's a rock covered by about 5 large rhodactis polyps. Lavendar and blue tips with a deep green base. It loves a lot of light and flow. Perfect for my tank.

I gave a single polyp to Troy. I owe Karin a piece because she was the one who talked me into getting it. Ace, you'll be second.

[CoryDude]

Ive been doing a similar approach as well and it is working great so far. On either Sat. or Sun. every week I clean my screen for my ATS and every other week I dump my skimmer cup. I only feed once a day either before or after work depending if Im on days or nights. I will probably start doing either biweekly or maybe even monthly 40g water changes here soon but even my older SPS I had written off is thriving at this point. Keep in mind my SPS is easier stuff- mainly montis. I can definately say doing so has really allowed me to enjoy the tank alot more. I would suggest this to anyone starting to get burned out for sure.

Is the coral a galaxia?

What other tangs do you have in the tank with the powder blue? Im getting the itch to try one but I love the powder brown(its my fake achilles) alot too. So its coming down to either one or the other.

And last but not least glad your tank turned around for the better!

It's the only tang in the tank. I thought tangs became agressive when you had more than one in a tank as small as mine.

I don't know if I'll ever have more than one. If I did add another it would be a kole yellow eye or a bristle tooth. I'd like to stay with the ones that stay relatively small. I hope your tank is on the tour. I'd love to see it filled with water, instead of seeing it on the back of a truck at midnight. I really want to see your ATS.

[FireWater]

That is a rock of shrooms?

[Kristy]

New additions (Allan)...

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Took me a couple of reads before this clicked and then I got a great big LOL out of it! :)

+1 on the gorgeous and unique fuzzy mushroom guess.

[CoryDude]

Like I said, we didn't even know it was a mushroom rock and we were looking right on top of it. My first guess was that it was some kind of weird euphyllia morph. If you see it at night when it retracts then its more apparant. I still can't believe GC only wanted $50 for it!

Hey Kristy, are you back in the states? We missed you at the social last week.

Hope Allan goesn't get mad. He could stomp me into submission in under 5 seconds.

[BSJF]

Seriously, Ace is ahead of my babies?

[Kristy]

Hey Kristy, are you back in the states? We missed you at the social last week.

Hope Allan goesn't get mad. He could stomp me into submission in under 5 seconds.

Not just yet.... but soon! I'm still checking in from Europe. I was enjoying a drink and some amazing people-watching in Zurich while you guys were at Chester's and there was a little part of me that was jealous not to be there. (Mike didn't quite understand it either.)

Don't worry about Allan. He probably won't get it. ;)

[CoryDude]

Ok Lorraine, Ace has a million projects going so he won't notice if we skip him.

Kristy, drinking beer in Zurich vs. hanging out with us in a greasy burger joint? I gotta agree with Mike on this one.

[CoryDude]

Wasn't feeling so good today so I took 1/2 day off. I actually got to sit in front of the tank today without the wife and kid around for about an hour. It reminded me why I love this hobby so much. Sometimes we get caught up in tank builds, maintenance, testing, finding the next great limited edition super expensive frag, and what not. Sometimes it's nice to take a step back and remember why we do what we do.

[Big_Pun]

after I reading this, I am now sitting and enjoying my tank under moon light

[kkiel02]

I get an hour or two before work on nights and love watching the fish/coral.

[FireWater]

Sometimes it's nice to take a step back and remember why we do what we do.

That is what it is all about. I love finding "new" old stuff in my tanks. I can't wait to start seeing more life in the new tank at the house. Alexis and I keep staring at it waiting for something new to pop up.

Glad you got to sit back and enjoy the work Cory.

[CoryDude]

Thanks all. What really sucks is that I only keep the halides on for 6hrs and I'm at work during that cycle. So all I ever get to see is a few hours of actinic dusk when everything's starting to shut down for the night.

John, your tank is definitely a labor of love and patience.

Kevin, what's your photo period? Are you running lights at night and then off during the day?

[BSJF]

So change the cycle silly. I have mine come on in the early morning so I get my quiet time with the tank. Besides, it keeps the house cooler to have the MHs off by the time afternoon rolls around.

[CoryDude]

Thought about but I don't want the halides on from 4-10pm during these 100 degree days, and if I have them come on any later, then I'll never get any sleep. Once it cools down I'll push the halides back a bit.

[kkiel02]

I have mine on from about 8-8 in the display but there is always some light on in my tank to look for stuff. My fuge is abosulutey crawling with pods. I thought I had them before but its rediculous now. I assume this is a by product of the turf scrubber. My next venture will be a pair of mandarins. :)

Yeah my tank gets up to about 81-82 with this schedule and we keep our ac at 75 although it gets up to 77-78 during these days.

[CoryDude]

Feeling a little excited...Found a place that had a juvenile yellow tonga blenny. Of course, I didn't want to pay for overnight shipping for just a single fish, so I ordered an ORA purple plasma frag too.

[FireWater]

Sweet. Always gotta do the 2 for 1 deal.

[CoryDude]

Yeah, but the darn plasma frag rtn'ed on me. I snipped some tips off, but I will be contacting live aquaria for a credit.

The juvenile blenny is the smallest fish I've ever seen. It's literally about 1" in length. It's the cutest thing when you see it swimming around. It's already eating algae off the glass.

[Europhyllia]

ahem yeah. too bad we didn't get to see it (the blenny), photo guy...

[CoryDude]

Believe me, I was going to get pics this weekend. Maybe the plasma will pull through.

Pics of the blenny will be tough since I don't have a macro lens. I'll get pics, but it's going to be a where's waldo type thing trying to find him.

[ErikH]

Dude, you oughtta see a panda goby. I had one, but then he disappeared into my lovelli colony, and I only saw him a few times since. He was the size of my pinky nail! Hope everything starts going better for you, losing expensive frags sucks!

[CoryDude]

Erik, my blenny's about that same size. It freaks me out when I don't see mine for a day.

The new blenny is plumping up nicely and is very active. Like most blennies, it'll perch on a rock and watch me anytime I come up to the glass

It also looks like I saved a few tips off of the plasma. The frag I received shed all of its tissue except for a few branch tips. I also snipped off four .25" pieces and glued them to a new plug. It'll be a while before they will look descent again.

I've been cleaning the glass almost every day so I restarted the nitrate reactor and started running gfo in a reactor again. Now I just need to stay away from elegant reef so I don't blow my paycheck there. They had some really nice acros and maxima clams.

[BSJF]

If I can get pics of my babies, you can get pics of your blenny! He even holds still. Easy shot!

[CoryDude]

Still truckin' along. Nitrate reactor and GFO keep the glass clean for about 3-4 days before it needs to be cleaned. Tank is pretty much fully stocked, but I've got a few places here and there that could use an addition, if the right coral comes along. Still want to add a maxima clam, but I'm holding out for the right one. May want to add 1 or two more fish, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

So far the fish list is as follows: target mandarin, powder blue tang, solar fairy wrasse, flame hawk, australian yellow tail damsel, and the little yellow blenny that could.

[CoryDude]

Though I'd add some actinic shots for my 2000th post:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_4436.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_4431.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_4393.jpg

[CoryDude]

A few more:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_4426.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_4395.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_4377.jpg

[Europhyllia]

spooky shrimp!!!

[Mr Cob]

so sweet man, love the shrimp shot

[hobogato]

looks like it things are going well cory, nice pics

[CoryDude]

Thanks Karin, Rob, and Ace. The shrimp pics is my fav too!

Tested nitrates tonight (the first time I tested the tank in almost a month) and the levels are creeping above 5ppm, so I ramped up the drip rate on the no3 reactor. I've been dosing kalkwasser about 2-3 times a week and have seen growth rates on the corals increase. Of course, the coralline algae is picking up too. Anyone remember when they used to love coralline algae? Now it just means I need to invest in a better cleaning magnet or start scraping the glass with a razor again.

[Regric25]

WOW Cory those shots are sweet. My favorite is the shrimp. It looks neon! Do I recognize a coral on those pics?

[CoryDude]

Thanks Rick. Don't have any of your corals in these shots, but your chips acro has fully encrusted the frag plug and is starting to branch out now. That frag has some sick polyp extension!

I didn't shut the pumps off and the shutter was too slow to get a good, clear shot of it in the reduced lighting.

Rick, I'd really like to know how you approach actinic shots. I usually try and go heavy in the red spectrum when setting the white balance. I also up the ISO too. But, I'm still not 100% happy with the outcome.

[Regric25]

Sweet man glad its doing good for you! That chips did have some sick extension.

Good question Cory! This past weekend I went to a fellow mast members casa to take pics of his tank for him and it was the hardest shoot I have ever done! It was a large FOWLR tank and it only had actinic lighting. Shooting moving subjects with low lighting is near impossible lol. I ended up doing the whole shoot using he flash. They still came out pretty good.

As far as shooting corals in actinic lighting goes I always shut off the pumps, tripod it and click away. I really don't like the grain higher ISO gives you so I almost always set it at 100 or 200. I have tried to to reduce the noise but it can make the picture blurry. For the white balance I just use auto white balance in the camera and correct the white balance in post processing. I'm not sure what format you shoot in but I learned that shooting in RAW gives you sooo much freedom and edits much better in post processing.

What type of actinic lighting is it? I have learned that depending on the type of bulb used sometimes its harder to get the results you want. For example, when I had my 20k MH lights it always looked actinic and it was the easiest to correct in post processing. PC actinics and T5 actinic bulbs sometimes can be a challenge because everything just comes out so blue. I noticed shooting LED actinics are my favorite becasue everything is so bright and the colors really pop.

I hope this helps man! Your pics are sweet!

[CoryDude]

Got a little bored today what with the Cowgirls not playing till tonight, and started snapping away. And after the 1st quarter, I thought I'd start uploading some new pics instead of watching grown men lay eggs in Philadelphia.


My absolute favorite shot of them all:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5343.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5347.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5216.jpg

[CoryDude]

More livestock

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5225.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5235.jpg

[CoryDude]

Guess I need to get some new acans.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5274.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5276.jpg

[Europhyllia]

very nice. what a sweet face on the mandarin!

[CoryDude]

Here you go Rick. The chips has completely covered up the frag plug and is not starting to branch out.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5199.jpg

This little guy stn'ed up to just a few branch tips and now has made a full comeback after about 5 months on the mend.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5339.jpg

This coral looks absolutely stunning under actinics. The mother colony is a plating acro with highlighter yellow tips and beatiful red polyps.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5266.jpg

Picked this up from cbianco during the summer.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5285.jpg

[CoryDude]

My last coral purchase from Gabe.Man, I really miss his store. No one brought in the eye candy that he did.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5253.jpg

P. Lovelli
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5327.jpg

When the nitrates go up, the colors intensify. I've got a frag of this Oregon Blue Tort that'll be for sale in a week or so.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5248.jpg

[CoryDude]

very nice. what a sweet face on the mandarin!

Thanks Karin. I think you and I agree that there is almost no other fish that is as cute as a mandarin. I can sit there and watch them for hours.

It almost makes me cry when I see one at a store that is thin and starving to death.

[Regric25]

Holy COW that chips acro has grown sooo much! It had good polyp extension but it never seemed to grow in my tank. Glad its thriving!

The pics are soo freaking sick man! 2 thumbs up. :D

[Europhyllia]

Thanks Karin. I think you and I agree that there is almost no other fish that is as cute as a mandarin. I can sit there and watch them for hours.
only surpassed by seahorses :) (but they are almost a different non-fish category ;) )

[CoryDude]

Sorry Rick. I meant to thank you for your pointers the other night and forgot.


Shooting moving subjects with low lighting is near impossible lol. I ended up doing the whole shoot using he flash. They still came out pretty good.

Using a flash is not my favorite thing to do when it comes to aquarium pics. The natural colors never seem to come out. But, you and I both know that when you got to use it, you got to use it. I still think your flash pics turned out great.


As far as shooting corals in actinic lighting goes I always shut off the pumps, tripod it and click away. I really don't like the grain higher ISO gives you so I almost always set it at 100 or 200. I have tried to to reduce the noise but it can make the picture blurry. For the white balance I just use auto white balance in the camera and correct the white balance in post processing. I'm not sure what format you shoot in but I learned that shooting in RAW gives you sooo much freedom and edits much better in post processing.

This is where I always disagree with other camera geeks. I don't mind going with a higher ISO, especially if it means I don't have to use a flash. But, you're right, it does look pretty nasty when you start blowing up the pics. Personally, I like to keep the pumps on for most of the totm shots. I like catching the movement mid-action. But of course, you setup a razor thin depth of field with the wide open aperature. But, of course for macro's you have to shut off the pumps.

I never liked the auto white balance on my nikon. I just play around with the shade settings and bump the filter more towards blue/green/red/yellow, until I think it looks natural. Happy Corals posts a lot of pics on FB, and I hate that they filter their pics so the coral colors are no longer authentic.

I haven't played around with RAW mode. I just set mine to the largest sized jpeg that I can. Maybe one of these days I'll try RAW.

[BSJF]

Definitely do RAW, especially for any pic you intend to crop.

[LuckySingh]

Guess I need to get some new acans.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5274.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5276.jpg
nice cans specially the second ones!:)

[Kristy]

Cory.... DUDE! Things are looking great!! :)

Question: What is that blue acro with the bright green polyps from your actinic shots (2000th post)? Now that I've managed to keep one SPS happy, I am started to get a little more interested in learning about others!

[FireWater]

Pics look good and the corals look healthy. I love the one you got from Chris Bianco, I am trying to remember if that was one he got from me previously.

[ErikH]

nice cans

Uh huh huh huh huh, you said cans.

Cory your corals look wicked! Looks like you're not having growth issues!

[CoryDude]

I'll chalk the growth up to to Todd's secret recipe, Erik. So are you selling yours or moving it to the new home?

[zerreissen]

Great pics! Do you have a recent FTS?

[CoryDude]

I do, but it's not much to look at. Everything's still pretty small. I'll get one up in a day or two. Thanks for the compliment.

[CoryDude]

Two new editions coming next week! Reverse superman monti and a splendid dottyback. Tuesday cannot get here soon enough.

Well, it's been over a year since the tank is up and running. I wish I could have added more corals. I especially wish I could add more established colonies to the tank, but I was dead set on starting everything from frags.

Here's a FTS from Nov 9th:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Talk%20Build/DSC_0054.jpg

...and a recent shot:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/120%20Progress%20Fall%202011/DSC_5185.jpg

[Europhyllia]

I like the editions ... you and Allan ;)

And wow -really a year? That's so Firewaterish of you!

Holy cow about that purple hairy shroom though. That turned out AMAZING!!!

[BSJF]

I agree, that mushroomy thingy was a great find!

[CoryDude]

I like the editions ... you and Allan ;)

And wow -really a year? That's so Firewaterish of you!

Holy cow about that purple hairy shroom though. That turned out AMAZING!!!

Darn it! I meant additions. Sleep deprivation and a few glasses of wine short circuited by mental spellchecker.

Yes, if I end of ever giving those mushrooms a snazzy name, I need to pay homage to Karin! How 'bout Karin's Purple Wave?

[kkiel02]

Dude if your ever in my area, hit me up. I need you to give me some pointers! Those pics are amazing! The yellow highlighter with red polyps is awesome!

[Europhyllia]

You can call them Road Trippers. That's way cooler ;)

[CoryDude]

Picked up a new "edition" today. My first anthias EVER. Louis had a heck of a deal on a Lyretail Anthias. This lady (a lot more orange than red) is a social butterfly and was eating frozen plankton within a few hours of being added to the tank. Assuming the dottyback arrives in good shape next week, I think my tank is fully stocked in the fish department.

[CoryDude]

Cory.... DUDE! Things are looking great!! :)

Question: What is that blue acro with the bright green polyps from your actinic shots (2000th post)? Now that I've managed to keep one SPS happy, I am started to get a little more interested in learning about others!

Wow Kristy, sorry I missed this. You're trying SPS now? I knew you had a few montis, but not any acros.

I'm not sure on the exact name of it. It was a frag from Deep Sea Dwellings that I picked up from Gabriel's. It was just a purple acro at the time I got it. After a few months the yellow polyps starting showing up. It's my canary coral. When something is out of whack on the tank, it's the first coral to show it.


You can call them Road Trippers. That's way cooler ;)

Ohhh, I definitely like that name!

[FireWater]

Everything is looking good.

Did you put just one anthias in or a group?

[CoryDude]

Just the one John. Should I look at adding a group of them? Not much experience with anthias here.

[FireWater]

I don't have any experience at all with them. Alexis saw the anthias at Louis's and wanted one. I have always seen them in groups is why I asked.

[CoryDude]

I don't have any experience at all with them. Alexis saw the anthias at Louis's and wanted one. I have always seen them in groups is why I asked.

Read up some more about the Lyretails at wetwebmedia.com and most of the info seemed to indicate that going with one is ok and preferable in some instances. Don't think I'll be trying a harem.

[CoryDude]

I felt like Ralphie's dad in A Christmas Story during the lamp scene, when I left work early today to check on my new "editions". Opened up the liveaquaria box, then I fought to get those darn metal clasps open, and was a little shocked at how cold the water was. They packed it with multiple heat packs, but it must be really cold up in Wisconsin right now.

Everything seems healthy. The splendid dottyback lives up to its name, and the reverse superman monti is going to add a nice splash of red to the tank.

[Europhyllia]

Merry Christmas CoryDude! :) You deserve it

[Kristy]

Left work earlier to get your liveaquaria box.... what could be better than that?!? :)

[CoryDude]

Yes and it said FRAAAGILEEE on the outside! Of course I had some 'splaining to do to the wifey!

[CoryDude]

Thought I'd post a few pics from today.

The splendid dottyback has been pretty shy, like most other dottybacks I've had over the years. But, he/she is finally starting to come out more, and not just at feeding time.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6173.jpg

And a splash of holiday red courtesy of bizarro superman (aka reverse superman)
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6118.jpg

[CoryDude]

Some new fish pics
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6060.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6054_edited-1.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_5982.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6035.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6004.jpg

[CoryDude]

Highlighter yellow tabling acro with red polyps
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6083.jpg

Updated blue tort
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6098.jpg

A gift from JT. Thanks again man!
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank%20Progress%202011/DSC_6079.jpg

[Europhyllia]

I was starting to think WOW I LOVE SPS. They are super awesome. Then I realized I am looking at a Cory thread with Cory pics. You could make those plastic petco betta bowl decorations look awesome. the tort thingy is really really cool looking though!

[Big_Pun]

no karin SPS is the best!!! looking good Cory, your missing blue mili.... so I ended taking that potters angel from elegant reef(purple tang decided all other fish should die, killed female mandarin and angel). thanks for not taking it ;)

[Europhyllia]

purple tang decided all other fish should die, killed female mandarin and angel). thanks for not taking it ;)
Holy cow. How is Cory connected to the hannibal fish?

[Big_Pun]

Holy cow. How is Cory connected to the hannibal fish?

I had a potters angle it killed, and Cory passed up on one that elegant reef got it in. because he passed up on it i was able to get it.

[Europhyllia]

Oh good. So I don't have to give him a hard time about unloading some crazy serial killer fish ;)

[CoryDude]

Thanks as always Karin. No, I don't think I could make anything look from Petco look as good as these sticks. And no...I don't have anything to do with that hanibal fish. That fish is a gift from Emily that just keeps on giving, and giving, and giving.

Chris, that sucks on the Potter's getting killed. If the one from Elegant was still alive, it must be eating well. It should do great in your tank. But, I think the purple tang needs to go to Emily's tank, or at least move it to the sump. Maybe it's time to go fishing again.

[Big_Pun]

the potters from elegant is in my tank and the purple is in my sump!

[Gseclipse02]

A gift from JT. Thanks again man!
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/Tank Progress 2011/DSC_6079.jpg


it looks better in your tank man !!! good job it has to be hardy since i have not killed it !!!

[CoryDude]

I think that was my favorite coral of yours. I remember you had it right under one of your lights, so I did he same. The green has gotten pretty intense and the blue tips have gone to a royal blue color.

[CoryDude]

Now that the tank is being fed so much, I've started seeing some aptasia here and there. Now the fight begins.

Here's a progression video I threw together last night. I'm goint to document the progress over a few years and do a more elaborate edit than what you see here.

MaDJUbo5TDQ

[BSJF]

I love your videos.

[Europhyllia]

wow!

[CoryDude]

Frags from cbianco

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6505.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6368.jpg

I was able to save a few tips of the ORA Purple Plasma when it rtn'ed on me:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6395.jpg

[CoryDude]

A few shots of some nice acro polyp extension:

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6392.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6384.jpg

[CoryDude]

Reverse superman monti in it's new position:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6306.jpg

I think gabe called this piece arctic ice
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6339.jpg

Pelatta Lovelli. This piece does not appear to like a lot of light. Notice how it's growing away from the halides
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6334.jpg

[CoryDude]

Some 1/3 tank shots
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6274.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6287.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6254.jpg

[CoryDude]

Lyretail Anthias and Powder Blue Tang

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6326.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_6299.jpg

[Europhyllia]

Nice pics as always but you know what... it's way too blue! Looks kind of flat. Did you already get the LEDs or what?

[350gt]

Now that the tank is being fed so much, I've started seeing some aptasia here and there. Now the fight begins.

Here's a progression video I threw together last night. I'm goint to document the progress over a few years and do a more elaborate edit than what you see here.

MaDJUbo5TDQ


cant believe I missed this, very cool video.....

What camera are your using?

[350gt]

it looks better in your tank man !!! good job it has to be hardy since i have not killed it !!!

anymore of them gifts? thats a sweet piece...

[hobogato]

that purple mille (or prostrata) on the left side of that first 1/3 tank shot is amazing! great pics of some really happy corals cory :shades:

[FireWater]

I agree with Ace. That is nice.
Tank is coming along nicely. Any plans on the aptasia battle?

[CoryDude]

Nice pics as always but you know what... it's way too blue! Looks kind of flat. Did you already get the LEDs or what?

Yes, as we all know, LED's are way too blue. I almost give this some serious thought before I realized the inside joke. As soon as I have some extra money, I'm going LED on my 60 gallon tank.



cant believe I missed this, very cool video.....

What camera are your using?

Thanks! I use a Nikon D5000. Not the best camera on the market, but it gets the job done.

that purple mille (or prostrata) on the left side of that first 1/3 tank shot is amazing! great pics of some really happy corals cory :shades:

Thanks Ace! The purple one is a german blue monti frag that I got from Troy last year. It was about the size of a pinkie and has taken off. I actually broke off a good size chunk last week on accident.



I agree with Ace. That is nice.
Tank is coming along nicely. Any plans on the aptasia battle?

Ugh, you just had to mention the dreaded A****** word. I've been using a kalk slurry mixture with some success. Luckily it's managable (I've only see about 3-4 heads) right now, but if I don't stay on it, it will get out of hand. May look into one of those electric wands that buck27 was using. If you have any advise, please pass it along.

[Europhyllia]

Are there any ready made wands? What was the long term success of those (I don't need any more of these popping up)? I may be interested in a group buy! ;)

[CoryDude]

Bruce with Aquatek had posted a link to a ready made version of Josh's. I've been meaning to call him, so I'll ask to see what his price would run. May be able to get a small discount.

[Troy Valentine]

Tank looks great Cory!! Your videography skills never ceases to amaze me. We are so lucky to have you in this organization.

[Zack]

Video was very well done! Just curious, what was the song used?

[CoryDude]

Video was very well done! Just curious, what was the song used?

It's from the Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack. But, the song is actually from DeVotchKa "How It Ends" minus the lyrics. Here's a youtube link for the original version of the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfi1UQ_PKQI

[CoryDude]

Well, I've got some 'splainin' to do, as Ricky would say. I went ahead and ordered a beautiful maricultured red branching montipora and some halloween hermit crabs last night. Should be here on Wednesday. The wifey is going to want to know how much I spent on them. Shhhh, no one tell her.

Also stopped by elegant reef and picked up a nice red/green favia. Trying to add a nice mix of lps and sps to the tank.

Did some water testing yesterday (finally), and nitrates are running at around 10ppm. I had the effluent turned up too high on the no3 reactor. But, the coral colors always look so much better when there are some extra nutrients in the system. Other than cleaning the glass every other day, no negative results have been noticed with the elevated no3 levels.

Ph and alk were a little low (8.1 and 2meq/L respectively) too. So I'm back to adding a few tablespoons of baking soda to the makup water.

[CoryDude]

Was off today so I've took some updated pics:

Here's some frags from other maast members. Most were free or under $20:

Skittles Stylo from Big_Pun:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7304.jpg

Green Milli from Troy V:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7255.jpg

Another freebie from Troy:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7097.jpg

Yet another freebie from Troy (german blue digi):
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7071.jpg

[CoryDude]

A couple of free frags from cbianco:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7126.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7039.jpg

Red Planet from cbianco
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7084.jpg

[CoryDude]

Some updated pics:

Purple Nebula (my name) frag from Gabe. This thing has absolutely melted onto the rock and sprouted a few new branches
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7092.jpg

ORA turquoise stag
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7286.jpg

Reverse Superman
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7082.jpg

Yellow and Red tabling acro from Gabe's
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7110.jpg

[CoryDude]

Hey Lorraine, I think I'll have a frag of this guy very soon for you.
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7468.jpg

Updated Lovely Eyes stag from B and B (I miss that store)
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7452.jpg

Updated Pelatta Lovelli. Lots of new branches on this guy:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7031.jpg

[CoryDude]

A couple of fish shots:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank progress2012/DSC_7008_edited-2.jpg

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank progress2012/DSC_7028.jpg

My insane red flamehawk:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank progress2012/DSC_7068.jpg

I like the heart shaped spot on this little lady's back:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank progress2012/DSC_7195.jpg

[CoryDude]

A couple of shots from our 60 gallon.

Red/green lobo:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7526.jpg

red/green trachyphyllia
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7516.jpg

The ever watchful yellow goby:
http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp100/cpryor74/tank%20progress2012/DSC_7581.jpg

[350gt]

very nice pics....

[alton]

I like the Skittles Stylo