John's new water holder

[FireWater]

I had to use my old camera so the pics are even worse than normal.

Hopefully you get the idea anyway.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/001-10.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/002-7.jpg

Here's my new tandem turbo snail. I hope they will make head way on the algae I am battling.
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/003-7.jpg

And a FTS.
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/004-8.jpg

[Europhyllia]

water! fish! corals!

how does it feel? :)

[FireWater]

It feels slow. LOL
I want to speed it up now that I have stuff in there, but I keep looking at my list of things that still need to be done.
I will be adding more frags from the Finnex this week so it will start filling. I really want to get rid of this hair algae though. First big water change happened today so that will help.

[Europhyllia]

Not sure if you are a hermit fan (I know some people are completely against them) but the hair algae in my seahorse tank was depressing me and all the snail like critters failed me. The best herbivores I found were plain Mexican redleg hermits (not the pretty Scarletts). They just did a really awesome job

[alton]

John what % are you running your lights at?

[FireWater]

Karin, I put 20 assorted hermits in about 2 weeks ago and the turbo snails in yesterday. The algae is slowly going away, but you know how hard it is to see progress when you want progress NOW. I will go look for some plain old red hermits and try them as well.

Alton, I am running at 80% on royal blue, 50% on blue, and 40% white. Once I move some more of the coral this week then I will start bumping up the %'s until I hit 100% on everything.

[Texreefer]

oooohhhhhhh,,,,,, aaaahhhhhhhh!! Thats Nerd speak for "nice tank"

[cbianco]

The tank looks nice! Glad to see that everything is plugging along.

Christopher :)

[Europhyllia]

until I hit 100% on everything.
really? why is that?

[FireWater]

I like the look of 100%. Just the right color for me. Also, I am only running 2 units over this tank. If I bump up to 3 or 4 then I will ramp then down.

[FireWater]

Moved most of the major colonies over from the Finnex tonight. My fingers are crossed. It would be crushing to lose these colonies.

Still dealing with the hair algae, but the clean up crew and water changes are making headway.

I tried to get some pics, but they really sucked. Bad. I will have to beg for someone to shoot some for me until I get my work camera home.

[justahobby]

Fingers crossed!

[FireWater]

If I didn't have Barney Rubble feet I would have my toes crossed too.

The colonies I am most worried about are my Lovelli, ORA Joe the Coral, ORA Pearlberry, and ORA Cali Tort.

[justahobby]

Yabba dabba doo! Those are some choice pieces. Do you have a monti or some other easier sps you could do a trial run with?

[FireWater]

I did a trial run with 2 less choice sps frags and a Red Planet frag. Those guys are doing ok so far. Out of all the frags that I have moved over so far these guys were the center pieces and ones I want to make it the most. I don't want to lose anything, but these are colonies.

So far I have lost the rest of my Bubble Gum Chalice and my True Undata. I hope that is all the casualties.

[justahobby]

Gotcha. I have monkey toes so I will keep them crossed for ya. Great thing about led's is you can place them where you want and dial the fixture down if you are wprried about bleaching them.

[CoryDude]

I did a trial run with 2 less choice sps frags and a Red Planet frag.

I was just about to suggest you do a trial run. Have you considered banking some frags during the move? Troy and myself have been doing this so we have backups in case something happens.

[FireWater]

Thought about it and then forgot about it. Lol.
I did what Justin said and ramped the led down. I think they will be fine and I am freaking about nothing.

[FireWater]

Well, all the colonies I put in the other day are still doing well. Color is good and polyps are coming out with more frequency.
I will be looking for a Frag of true undata pretty soon if anyone has any they can frag.

[FireWater]

Quick pictureless update.

All the sps made the move and are not showing any signs of stress or going to the fish bowl in the sky. We are a couple of weeks in so if they were going to croak I figure it should have been by now. The color of the coral under the AI's is way different than I was used to with T5 lighting so I am researching the purchase of another led brand or something to give me more UV spectrum. I have lost quite a bit of red and yellow. Reds look brown. Blues, oranges, and greens are rocking though. I am not unhappy with the lights, just getting used to them.

I am still testing the water frequently. All levels are holding steady. Even Alk and Ph, which I have always had issues with in other tanks. I am doing twice a week water changes for now - 10 gallons at a time.

I was on the hunt for a candy hog/2 spot hogfish this weekend, but came up empty. I did how ever get a scopas tang. It was not on my must have list. It looked healthy and I wanted some more movement in the tank. I researched it a little more while at the store and decided to get it after reading it's max size and compatibility with the other tang I want to get later.

I am still fighting the "new tank" algae. I thought I had the upper hand, but it came back. Time and a larger clean up crew will help I am guessing. I redid the return into the tank to make it a little straighter and am saving up for another vortech to help with flow. I also think my lighting has a little to do with the growth of the algae. I was playing with different color settings and run time on the AI's so I will give it a week to see if there is any difference.

[RayAllen]

Sounds like you a moving a long nicely John. Congrats on the transition.

[allan]

I'm convinced.

[FireWater]

I'm convinced.

Good. We will start soon then?

[Europhyllia]

I am researching the purchase of another led brand or something to give me more UV spectrum. I have lost quite a bit of red and yellow. Reds look brown. Blues, oranges, and greens are rocking though. I am not unhappy with the lights, just getting used to them.

Have you considered upping the white and taking down the blues to less than 100%. If you have the SOL Blue you got twice as many blue/green/purple as whites.
Do you just want cheap spotlight warm tones? My DIY on the seahorse tanks already has a couple of warm whites in the fixture but to give it an even more golden glow I added a Par38 in warm white with CREE Leds from COSTCO! of all places.

[FireWater]

I have been messing around with the color a little at a time Karin. I am trying to find the "sweet" spot on the color combo. It just takes time that I don't want to wait for.

Right now I am running the whites at 50% for a total of 10 hours with a 2 hour window in that 11 that they are up to 70%. The blues run at 70% and royal at 60% all the time for about 11 hours. The whole ramp up time to the chosen setting is throwing me off still. If I want to run the lights for 4 hours with a 30 minute ramp up and ramp down time then it adds an hour to the time. It is just a matter of getting used to the lights I think.

What I was really complaining about is the loss of red in the corals. Blues, greens, and oranges are screaming right now. My reds just seem to be blah. I was thinking of running some of the Orphek par 38's or 30's with some extra UV in them. I have to be careful what I put on the light rack because it is open and my wife reminds me of that all the time. We (read she) doesn't want a bunch of gangly lights hanging around up there in the open.

Over all I am still very happy and excited about the tank. I had a vision and it is actually pretty close to what that vision is. I just have to put on glasses every once in a while.

[FireWater]

Oh and as for the led bulbs from the regular store - I am running one from Lowes on my fuge and it is growing macro like crazy. Very impressed with the output on those lights.

[Europhyllia]

Ah you are just running too much blue (compared to white ratio) ... happens to guys all the time ;)

[allan]

Good. We will start soon then?

Yes. I'm going to start another rebuild tank thread. Gloria is on board with this and I have an idea that will capitalize on what mike did with his.

[FireWater]

Ah you are just running too much blue (compared to white ratio) ... happens to guys all the time ;)

LOL. Thanks Karin. I will keep playing with the settings a little at a time.

[FireWater]

I need to learn to be more patient. The algae I was battling and kept telling myself was new tank syndrome is finally gone, seemed like it disappeared over night. Still dealing with nasty sand bed and need to find some more cleaners for it. Little algae left on rocks as well.
Rick swung by the house today and taught me some new camera tricks. I have never been able to take decent pics to save my life. Still can't, but had fun anyway. Hopefully he will post some up for me soon since we uploaded them all to his computer.

[justahobby]

I highly recommend fighting conchs for the sand bed. How's the fish stocking list coming along?

[BSJF]

Can't believe I was tricked, no pics?

[FireWater]

Nope no pics yet. I am putting Rick (regric) on the spot. I did however get a fairly decent pic of the little guys Lorraine.

Justin I thought about a conch, but I am worried about my sand depth. I am only running about 1" of sand in the display. I am hoping to find that goby we were talking about.

So far in the tank I have 3 chromis, a tail spot blenny, a scopas tang, a pink streaked wrasse, a candy hog, a wardley's wrasse, and 2 picasso clowns.

[justahobby]

With the hermits and wrasses, a conch would probably be safer with a deeper sand bed. The fighting conchs stay on top of the sand bed while grazing. I had a cc/ sand mixture and struggle with algae/ diatoms until I added a conch. I was so impressed with its productivity I even made a thread lol

I'm jealous of your candy hog. I fishset one that was hiding in a coral I bought from Jeremy at R2U and loved it. Definitely one of the next fish purchases I make.

Where did you find the wardley wrasse?

[FireWater]

I found it at AD. I stopped by there looking for the candy hog and saw it. I looked for some information on it while at the store and made the purchase. I was wanting to get a vrolicks wrasse, but was having trouble locating one. Information regarding the wardley and vrolick keep pointing back to the melanarus wrasse. All of them are in the halichores family.

What about adding a cuc for the clean up?

[Europhyllia]

I enjoyed the conchs as well. Would have considered another if I wouldn't have been worried about them disturbing the jawfish burrows. 1 " is pretty puny though ;)

[Regric25]

I'm currently working on the pics as I type. :) They will be up soon.

[FireWater]

Sweet! Are you going to let me know which ones were mine and which ones were yours?

[Regric25]

Alright! Sorry it's so late... Been a looong night lol. I can't wait to do a full on shoot when this take has matured some more!!!

Here are the pictures he took first... Not bad at all!!!

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns18.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns17.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns16.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns15.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns14.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns13.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns12.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns11.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns10.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns9.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns8.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns7.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns6.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns5.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns4.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns3.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns2.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/johns1.jpg

Next are the ones I took.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine12.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine11.jpg

[Regric25]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine10.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine9.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine8.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine7.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine6.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine5.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine4.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine3.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine2.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n269/REGRIC252006/mine1.jpg

[FireWater]

Sweet pics Rick. I have a lot of algae - thanks for pointing that out. LOL

Thanks again for the pointers and helping me out.

[Kristy]

Nice progress John! You are getting some really nice jewel tone colors. Love the top down shots.

[CoryDude]

Awesome, awesome pics Rick!

I'm sold, the maxi-mini is my favorite. Think I'll be in the market for one now too. The 2 last pics made my jaw drop. The monti is out of this world. That last zoa frag is super sweet. What are they called?

[FireWater]

The monti is a chili pepper and the zoas are fruit loops. Definitely one of my favorites next to the rastas (which were not happy in the pics).
The maxi came from MrCob and I believe he just might have one similar. I am contemplating on getting another one to add to the tank. This one was put in bottom center of the tank and evidently wasn't happy with my choice so it made a full circle around the rock and wound up where you see it in the pic.

[FireWater]

Took a couple of pics today. Still trying to do a decent job of photography, but forgot most of what Regric taught me.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/003-8.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/007-5.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/011-5.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/012-3.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/022.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/043.jpg

[FireWater]

Some top downs.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/059.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/058.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/057.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/056.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/055.jpg

[Europhyllia]

looking really very very nice!

[FireWater]

The colors on the pics are a little off. Trying to remember how to "brighten up" the photos.

All in all I am still happy with the tank. Couple of live stock issues lately - my orange marked goby killed milled my ufo micros and caused some serious tissue loss on my hollywood stunner chalice. Did a big water change and thorough cleaning today since I was off. I have been meaning to do it for a while since my nitrates have been creeping up slowly.

[FireWater]

Thanks Karin

[CoryDude]

I didn't realize you had an undata in there. Very nice!

Is that last pic an oregon tort or cali tort?

[allan]

Really nice, John.

[FireWater]

Thanks Allan.

Corey, I scored the undata from Jeffco at the last swap. I lost mine a while back and was looking for a replacement. The pic doesn't do it justice. It is tan/cream with screaming purple edges. The tort is an ORA Cali. I had issues with the colony when I moved from my old 90g to the Finnex. The colony was in the care of a friend and it didn't do well. I was able to save 3 frags that were about a 1/4 to 1/2" each. That one was the only one that survived into my tank. The other one is in Texreefer's tank.

[hobogato]

looking good john

[CoryDude]

The first undata I ever saw in person was Todd's. One of the prettiest corals out there.

I think he got his from Jefco also, and yes it is insanely purple on the edges.

[FireWater]

No update other than there is still water in the tank.
There may be some pics up tonight or tomorrow. I had someone poking me constantly yesterday for some updated shots of the back wall and the growth. I will see what I can do between projects and schoolwork.

[hobogato]

alright, now you are just teasing us.

[Mr Cob]

beautiful John

[FireWater]

Dang it! I pulled out the camera and then started looking at some pics I took. The glass was dirty so I started cleaning it. Then I moved some stuff around. The the water was dirty. An hour and half later I have no pics, but the skimmer is clean, the pump is cleaned, the sump is cleaned, and I am wondering how I went from taking pics to scraping glass and ended up in the sump.

[FireWater]

Here is a couple of quick pics. Sorry for the quality - I couldn't turn all the lights in the house off and I was fighting with my camera.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/007-6.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/015-2.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/017-1.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/018-2.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/026.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/027-1.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/031-3.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/034-1.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/037-2.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/044.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/046.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/049-1.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/056-1.jpg

[hobogato]

very nice! i really need to get over there to see it in person.

[FireWater]

Come on whenever.

I am battling some algae from being lazy on the care. I upped my water change level and frequency and that seems to be getting ahead of it.
Looking into adding another vortech, probably a mp10 and I want another sol to even out the spread some more.

[FireWater]

I keep looking back on some of the older pics and I see some pretty good growth.

[CoryDude]

I was doing the same thing this weekend with comparing older pics to newer ones. Really gives you a good idea on the growth rate.

So, does the chalice ever throw out sweeper tenticles? I saw someone mention that on here and I have always wanted to add one to my tank.

[FireWater]

Yep, they throw out the tenticles when they get hungry. They are all a little different though. The hollywood stunner doesn't reach out, the miami hurricane and cornbread trash don't have a lot of reach, but the hybrid watermelon and the red chalice put out some long tenticles. All of the chalices are confined to one area so if they touch each other it's up to them to figure it out. I used to have my mary jane and hornets by them with no ill effect.

[txg8gxp]

I love the rock setup, your long planning really paid off

[FireWater]

Thanks Stephen. I am very happy with the way it turned out.

[Texreefer]

UN...DA...TA.... repeat!~

[FireWater]

Man, I looked at this thread for a pic to show lildingy and I just realized I am at one year with water in the tank. Time flies.

[Big_Pun]

Man, I looked at this thread for a pic to show lildingy and I just realized I am at one year with water in the tank. Time flies.

so where are the new pics!!

[Big_Pun]

Man, I looked at this thread for a pic to show lildingy and I just realized I am at one year with water in the tank. Time flies.

so where are the new pics!!

[Mr Cob]

....tick tock, tick tock... PICS!

[alton]

so where are the new pics!!

Exactly

[FireWater]

I tried to take a couple last weekend and got in a fight with the camera. I will try again soon.

[FireWater]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/057_zpsda78951c.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/043_zps9f301ebe.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p157/perry4083/048_zps3d1eb821.jpg

Having a hard time getting the pics to come out correctly so these will have to do for a while.

[FireWater]

16663

16664

16665

16666

16667

[FireWater]

16663

16664

16665

16666

16667

Took some top down pics with my iPad.

[FireWater]

16668

16669

16670

16671

16672

Hopefully these will keep the pic wanters happy. ;)

[Big_Pun]

wow you really have a tank!! and it looks good

[350gt]

Looks good..... Real good

[FireWater]

I haven't tinkered with the tank much and it is killing me.

Couple of weekends ago I did some major equipment cleaning and decided that I didn't like my sump/fuge set up as much as I used to. It is a good lay out and works fine, but it could be better. Thinking of building or buying a new one.

Has anyone had any issues changing out their fuge and sump while tank is settled in? I really hate the thought of messing with what ain't broke. I just have an itch that I need to scratch and changing things up will help.

[Big_Pun]

hey John look at my 70g build thread I swapped mine out after the tank was up a year.. one of the better choices I did on that tank

[FireWater]

I already know my answer. I just don't want to kick myself for screwing up what ain't broke.

[Big_Pun]

I already know my answer. I just don't want to kick myself for screwing up what ain't broke.

if it will makes life easier and sets things up the way you want then it's worth it. when you make things easier you enjoy tank more

[RayAllen]

Tank Looks great John,

I would change it if it were bugging me. I would wait until it was time for the next water change and do it then. In that case the water coming out of the sump would be the water you are changing at the same time. Drain the sump, move some things around, put in new sump with new water and be done. I do not thing it would disrupt anything.

[350gt]

What lights are you using again? Evos still? I read back to page 27 but couldn't find if you ever replaced them, I did read where u were not happy with the spectrum... Do you feel you ever resolved that problem?

[FireWater]

I am running AI Sols. 2 of them over the tank.
Yes, I am very happy with them. Much better than MH. ;)

[alton]

I am running AI Sols. 2 of them over the tank.
Yes, I am very happy with them. Much better than MH. ;)

They do a good job on your tank, but I still like my MH. Kind of like comparing a Toyota Corrolla S and a 74 Camaro with a 454 big block.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

The last time I checked the Toyota can get around the corner without running out of gas. :bigsmile:

[FireWater]

I have been very happy with my LEDs. Not that I am against MH at all. I like to keep the argument going - especially when BigP is involved. Lighting is just one element in the whole experience as we all know.

I do however plan to buy another fixture - the Vega. So I will be running three over the tank. It is fine now, but I am preparing for the new tank build at work and also tearing this one down in another year when it is time to list the house for sale.

[caleb_bartlett]

Don't use evolution

[Big_Pun]

The last time I checked the Toyota can get around the corner without running out of gas. :bigsmile:

?????

[350gt]

I would rather drive a corolla then a 79' camaro..... First off I can't grow the mullet to match, second gas would be killer..


but I didn't mean to rip this thread up, just wanted to know what was working for you. Did the reds ever come back?

[FireWater]

The reds are there just not popping. That is another reason why I want to try the Vega.

[350gt]

Yes I'm hoping to upgrade my units to Vegas soon...

[FireWater]

I haven't even followed up to see if they are offering upgrade kits yet.

[350gt]

Either have I.....

It won't be till after Xmas either way.

[FireWater]

It might be my Christmas gift if they are available.

[350gt]

Nice, well looking forward to your review.....


maybe then I can remove my t5 retro.

[FireWater]

Mike (Texreefer) put a vega over his 60 cube. I'm waiting to see his results as well. It looked sweet I can tell you that.

[350gt]

Hey what's ur lighting schedule like?

[FireWater]

I paid for 14 channels so I am using all of them. Lol

i start out with all blue at about 10% at 7 then go to a mix of royals at 8. So by 830 it is about 25% blue and royal. Whites start coming on around 9. By noon till 4 everything is at its highest. 95 % on blues and royals and 80% whites. Then it reverses and lights off by 9pm

[350gt]

Cool, ya I'm using all 14 channels, only having them peak for 2 hours though. Might bump it up some.

[FireWater]

Started to rearrange a little after the coral sale. Tank looks bare in some spots.
Picking up a vega tomorrow evening. Plan on running all three to see if there is any difference in the coral colors.

[FireWater]

Got my new toy today.

17438

[Scutterborn]

Groovy! Now it's time for pics!!


- Ben -

[Scutterborn]

Oh, yeah. And a review!


- Ben -

[FireWater]

Goodness gracious this thing sucks. I think I might go back to antiquated metal halides.



Ha. That's funny right there. Just this one vega appears brighter than both of my Sols together. Stealing Randy's phrase- I gave myself anal glaucoma by accidentally looking at the light when I plugged it in.

[FireWater]

17440

17441

[BBQHILLBILLY]

congrats on the vega:bigsmile:

[FireWater]

It's my new diet plan. I paid for a vega and the remote and now I can't eat for a month.

We are heading out of town for the holidays so I won't try to hang it until Sunday.

[reefreak]

Sweet! Where did you pick it up?

[FireWater]

Got it at Elegant.

[350gt]

So are you selling your sol?

[Scutterborn]

Last I heard, he's not but, have I got a deal for you, Tony!!


- Ben -

[FireWater]

Not selling the sol. I had no idea I had so many friends. Last night my pm box exploded with offers to buy my Sols. ;)
My plan is to run all three (2 Sols and the new vega) over the 120. I want to see if the vega provides anything to the color I currently have.

[350gt]

Lol

I didn't pm.... But I bet I know who did. ;)

Either way I'm sure it will add some color, are you going to run them on the same controller? Is that possible?...

Thought about adding more controllers to have individual control that way my tank lights from one end to the other....

Unneeded but cool IMO...

[Scutterborn]

I didn't pm either... I text, discreetly :)


- Ben -

[FireWater]

The pm'ers will remain anonymous or I will change their name to hide their identity.

The Sols will not run on the new controller that I know of. So, I will have two controllers until the upgrade is available for the Sols.

Or, I might sell the two Sols and get another Vega if I really really like it. The tank has been running with two Sols for over a year and they grow coral. 3 might be overkill.

[Scutterborn]

Overkill? What's that?!?


- Ben -

[FireWater]

Normally I would make a wise crack about these light emitting diodes not being like metal halide, but messing with Chris is getting boring.

[Big_Pun]

I'm bored too!! nothing to say anymore

[FireWater]

I pick up the other new Vega this weekend. Hopefully I can get some shots of the new lighting and differences between the Sols and Vegas sometime soon.

I just did a big fragging of the tank couple of weeks ago so a lot of the colonies are smaller. Can't wait to see the growth and color changes if any with the new lights.

[Big_Pun]

should be nice with multi color now, but wonder how big a diff. you and tony should have some good reviews since you both owned the sol also

[FireWater]

I'm hoping Chris. Not sure how much time it will take to see a difference if any. The other thing I plan to do is order a couple of the custom pucks and add some uv in one of the lights to see if that makes a difference as well. That will be later though.

[FireWater]

Got a package today.

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I know what I'm doing tomorrow morning.

[Scutterborn]

I just wanna know if I can have the tootsie roll...? Pretty please !

:)

Have fun this weekend! Pics required by Monday. I believe I speak for the masses on this.


-Ben-

[FireWater]

Dude, the tootsie roll didn't last ten seconds after that pic.

[Scutterborn]

Dang it to heck!!


-Ben-

[Big_Pun]

sweet tarts? I'll take a frag

[FireWater]

I left one for you Chris. I'd wash it off first though cuz Rej tried to eat it.

[Big_Pun]

I left one for you Chris. I'd wash it off first though cuz Rej tried to eat it.

trust the dogs mouth before yours !!

[FireWater]

New lights are up. Still hanging so that's good and I only had to drill 5 holes to hang 2 wires.

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[reefreak]

Truly stunning John.

[350gt]

Looks good......

[RayAllen]

Got to see Johns aquarium with the new vegas today in person. WOW!

Excellent aqua scaping and the corals look great. The new AI vegas are awesome. Thinking later this coming new year i may be switching my T5s to AI sols or vegas. Proof is in the pudding. Johns sols helped grow some nice coral and I imagine his Vegas will do the same or better.

[FireWater]

Thanks For the compliments. I wish I had done the water change before you got here though cuz the tank wasn't looking its best.

Overall I am pleased with the new Vegas. Right now I have them running in the auto set up function and will start programming the timers manually this week. First thing to go will definitely be the high amount of white that the auto setting uses.

[betiuminside]

They are awesome! I have one and they are a very very fun toy/tool/equipment to have. It's very easy to still be in automatic, and decrease the white... I have them at 83%. I have fish only and the fish and rocks without corals looks amazing! I wonder how yours looks! I will be placing fish for sale soon, so I can move to corals! I have an emperor and a porcupine that I don't trust with corals. Good job on the aquas-cape!

[FireWater]

Thank you.

[350gt]

I'm on auto also... I want to decrease the amount of white too...


Might just wait till driector is released...

[FireWater]

Only bad thing is waiting. I get impatient quickly so I will mess it with it for a while and then wait to see what director brings to the game. I want them to hurry up and make the custom pucks more available too.

[350gt]

Custom pucks :)


what you looking to add? UV?

[FireWater]

Yep. I want to try some UV to see if it actually makes a difference.

[FireWater]

Although with the different levels of blue and purple in the vega I am not sure if It would make a big difference.

[FireWater]

Couple iPhone pics. The colors aren't changing yet, but I am noticing more pronounced red.

First is a tyree fire undata
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The polyps were orange/brown last week.

Tyree pink lemonade.
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I posted a pic or two when I got it.
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And this is one of my favorite acans.
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Under the sols.
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[FireWater]

Those pics are at all levels of LEDs at 80%.

[Big_Pun]

wow big difference in color, I'm impressed!

[FireWater]

I want to give it a while to see what other colors come out. I was just impressed with the reds now.
I wish I could get some better pics. My pearl berry looks awesome. Remember the Walt Smith frag I got at Louis's Chris? It developed the yellow tips? The polyps are green under the Vegas.

[350gt]

iPhone pics are too deceiving...

[FireWater]

Only good thing is that the iPhone took all of the pics I posted so there is at least a comparison.
I can't stand using my work camera in the house because I don't know all the settings and it reeks like smoke from investigations.

[Big_Pun]

iPhone pics are too deceiving...

leds are deceiving!! lol

[RayAllen]

corals look awesome John.

My wife's Iphone 5 takes pretty good picks. That is what I have been using for all my pics lately..

[FireWater]

I use my 4s and iPad for pics and they do come out pretty good. The LEDs make it a chore to get some good pics because of the brightness and reflections. One day I will get a better camera and learn how to use it.

Chris, don't be a hater just because your metal halide lies to you.

[350gt]

leds are deceiving!! lol



Lol deceiving cause there too complex for someone like you to use......


should be a disclaimer on each box that states "takes brains to use properly" ;)

[Big_Pun]

do I have to quote Alton on his post about colors and how we perceive them lol.

brains I would confuse you if we got into a real talk about halides, on ANSI codes, magnetic/electronic ballast. pulse start, probe start. it's not all plug and play like you think. come on there's a big difference im colors between the two fixtures, that's been my biggest grip. at one point or another you have mentioned coral needing to adjust and how some colors looked diff. I said I was impressed by the vega and color difference. I would hate to switch and loose color in my sps after so much hard work. like I said I'm impressed by the vega, time will tell how it all pans out.

[FireWater]

Exactly, time will tell. I haven't "lost" color yet. Also I am still using the factory settings so I will get other colors later. Right now there is too much white for my liking with everything at 80%.

The lemonade pic I put up was an example for me. The frag before was a lot lighter and now the colors are more pronounced. The coral has not had time to change as the lights have only been on since Saturday. The perception is much different now though.

[350gt]

Chris LEDs IMO would be nothing but a benefit to the colors in your tank.. It would make things pop that look bland..

[350gt]

And IMO MH is plug in and play.... You don't have to dial in settings or pick a spectrum.. After you pick your ballast you pretty much set it and forget it, besides all the lamp changes you pretty much forget it...

[Big_Pun]

And IMO MH is plug in and play.... You don't have to dial in settings or pick a spectrum.. After you pick your ballast you pretty much set it and forget it, besides all the lamp changes you pretty much forget it...

but every bulb has its own kelvin rating, and every bulb acts differently on diff ballast. Bernie and i where talking about how diff the phoenix 14k looks on aro, and icecap ballast very blue, and on galaxy ballast its a nice crisp white. that same bulb will not work on a pulse start magnectic ballast properly even is its the right wattage it needs a probe start. then there are refelctors. so no there is alot of dial in, and alot of tweaking if you dont have prior knowledge of mh's.

[FireWater]

Tried a couple more pics tonight. Top down.

Pearlberry
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Joe the Coral
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Unknown Walt Smith
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My efflo
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[Big_Pun]

looks freaking awesome I love stix. need to do some trading wit you John. I'm going to give it one more year before I look into led. I'll get all my stuff grown out first.

[rockmp]

Looks awesome! How far off the water do you have the Vegas?


Thanks
Mark-
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FireWater]

Right now they are about 12" from water line. I had my sols 14" from wl.

[FireWater]

I plan on lowering them some more. Maybe 8" off the water line.

[Scutterborn]

Very nice, John. I take it the Vegas are doing you right!


- Ben -

[FireWater]

They are doing very well. I played with the color settings a little and am a little happier now. Turned the whites, reds, and greens down a little.

[350gt]

Very nice once again.. How low are the whites/red/ green compared to the blues?

[FireWater]

All 3 blues are peaking at 90% and the whites, reds, and greens are peaking at 80 and 75%

[ErikH]

I'm going to give it one more year before I look into led.

A pig just hit my second story window!


Great looking stuff John!

[FireWater]

Thanks Erik

[FireWater]

Quick and bad pic of my lovelli colony. I fragged the heck out of it and this is a month and half worth of growth. What appears to be bright white in the pic is new growth. Almost an inch worth.

18054

All under led. All I do for my tank is strict regular maintenance.

[Scutterborn]

Proof is in the pudding, brotha!


-Ben-

[Texreefer]

Nice

[FireWater]

I have been dealing with some cyano issues and some designs flaws that have been bugging me badly. So I get the bright idea to do something about it.

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18386

I haven't moved the sump since the day I put it under this tank- over a year ago. It was stuck and I think I pulled something trying to move it. All I wanted to do was rebuild the remote fuge and I forgot that I listened to my loving wife and made the stand 6" shorter than my last one so she could reach the tank. I was 3" short of enough room to remove the fuge without having to take the whole sump out.

[Texreefer]

should have called me,, i was home all day doing nothing

[FireWater]

All done and back together now. Added a filter sock holder and made the fuge a little smaller to help facilitate cleaning under it. Took all sand out of fuge as well. Thanks Ace.

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[RayAllen]

Looks great John.

[350gt]

Nice!

[CoryDude]

That's too clean to be a real sump!

[Scutterborn]

Mine will be that clean for the first few days after I set up the tank! Lol.

You obviously did a lot of good work, John.

[FireWater]

Wasn't too much work, just a pain in the butt.
It won't stay that clean for long.

[FireWater]

No new updates. I am having some troubles with a few colonies that I believe are attributed to water stability. Once I'm back up on my feet I plan to get back to daily testing of the big three and keep notes. I will come up with a game plan then as to what I need.

Might be planning on plumbing in a Kalk reactor along with a controller. I do know I'm getting tired of the rock layout and want more colony room so I will be taking out the large rock structure and coming up with something else. It's going to be a couple of months in the works though. I have to find out if they are going to slice and dice on me or not first.

[FireWater]

Recently bought some new stuff for the tank. I'll get around to hooking up the Apex soon.

Been looking to upgrade to a larger skimmer and in doing research and getting some advice I decided to go with a Skimz. It is the SK181 model. Louis brought it in for me and we put it in the sump of the large frag tank to break it in. Started it Friday and I picked it up today. It was already skimming crud from the tank.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/23/du4ytevu.jpg

[FireWater]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/23/6u9yzuza.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/23/2yvy4usa.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/23/yba3uver.jpg

[CoryDude]

How's the build quality on the skimz? Been checking them out for a while on aquacave.

How about the sps? Still having issues with faded colors and stn?

[FireWater]

I was worried about quality since I hadn't seen one in person. I am not worried anymore. It is very well built, nice acrylic work, stout. It has two separate means of control - water level and air control. You know where I live if you want to check it out, Cory.

The sps still are washed out, but no more stn. Working on water quality now.

[ramsey]

Nice! Steven at Polly's had one in the store that he bought for himself the last time I was there. It was a beast. Very thick acrylic and well made.

[Zack]

Nice dude! Steven showed me a similar skimmer last time I was there, I just got an apex and switched from DA, highly reccomend it dude.

[Reefnub]

How much skimate has it produced so far?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1) 2

[FireWater]

Still breaking in, but I have an estimated 1/4" in the container. I'm still trying to get it dialed in.

[FireWater]

So far I'm really impressed with it. Build quality is great as I mentioned. Thick acrylic and put together well. The pump is extremely quiet. I'll try to remember to update as it gets broken in some more.

[DrReef]

It was nice to meet you Sunday John. I learned a lot from your Aquascaping demo & hope to put what I learned to use very soon! I'll be looking for the link to the masonry site when it's posted as the group said. Thank You!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[FireWater]

My pleasure. Hope everyone got to take away something from the meeting.

For the MarcoRock link look in the meeting announcement. I posted it there last night.

[alton]

Darn John I thought you started up your old thread stating you where going to metal halide?

[FireWater]

Nope. I should've started it up to say it was fixing to be a dry tank though.

[CoryDude]

Darn John I thought you started up your old thread stating you where going to metal halide?

I just ordered my 250w Phoenix bulbs. Goodbye LEDs and hello new 1/2 hp chiller.

[FireWater]

No way! Say it ain't so, Cory.

[alton]

Come on John just relax and let the tank take care of itself while you chill until you get interested again. And Cory are you using SE or DE?

[FireWater]

I wish, Alton. We have the house on the market and we are moving to a new and bigger house. I'm going to take a small break for a while and set up another tank eventually.

[CoryDude]

Come on John just relax and let the tank take care of itself while you chill until you get interested again. And Cory are you using SE or DE?

Going back to the Phoenix de 14k bulbs. But I will be supplementing with the ai vegas. I'll just turn the whites down to 0%.


I wish, Alton. We have the house on the market and we are moving to a new and bigger house. I'm going to take a small break for a while and set up another tank eventually.

Cool! New house! New tank! New set ups are always a second wind for the soul, butt a pain in the arse during the take down of the old setup.

[cbianco]

I didn't even notice that you dug this up Christopher. ...

I got my shovel out and I'm digging it up again!

Remember the days when people use to work on their reef tanks? Well at least Ace and that other guy in the stripes.

Remember the days when Jack use to stare down rocks? He did this to keep them in line!

Remember the days when the tank owner would simply... watch others build his tank? You were a great super visor!

(*Insert something about Justin here!* Sorry bud, nothing witty to say.)

Still got the finnex? Set it up, we need you.

Christopher


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