Newest additions...

[pegasus]

I have three new SPS corals enroute at this moment. They won't be here until tomorrow, but I'm already excited! LOL! My only hope is that they look similar to the "stock photos". Won't know until tomorrow afternoon. These aren't "fresh-cut, fresh glued" frags that a lot of sites sell. Here's a "sneak-peek" of what the three should look like:

Seriatopora guttatus (Green Bird's Nest)

Acropora Valida (Tricolor)

acropora microclados (strawberry shortcake)

 

[lmforbis]

I really like the green one. I've been thinking about trying some SPS in the next few weeks after I supplement my lights.

 

[pegasus]

The green birds nest looks very similar to my stylophora, and I think it should be as easy to keep. I have pink and green pocilloporas, red monti digitatas, green stylophora, red and green monti caps, yellow porite, and they're all thriving and growing under "moderate" T5 HO lighting and moderate flow. The new Acros will be placed higher in the tank, but both of these can do well with moderate lighting, also. I'm still nursing my color-tip acro back to health after it arrived 24 hours late, and totally bleached. I don't know that it'll ever get it's original color back, but the branches have taken on a light emerald green tone, and the tips are a reddish-purple... nothing like the blue branches and white tips of the normal color-tip.

Other than Acros, the SPS mentioned above are really easy to grow... as long as you have "decent" lighting and keep Mag, Alk, and Cal levels within specs.

 

[2014FishKiller]

The pictures are very good, you must be have a very good camera. I want to start to getting more coral that don't need to feed, what is your suggestion.

 

[Kristin1234]

Those are freakin awesome!

 

[pegasus]

My first Acro experience wasn't that great. A 24 hour delay on delivery, and a couple of sickly corals didn't make for a good intro. One of the Acros died within two weeks, and the other was so bleached that I wasn't sure if it would survive. I've been pampering it... as much as is possible for a coral inside a glass box. According to what I've learned, shipping is very stressful for acros, and it can take them up to six months to acclimate to a new system. Over a period of 53 days, I hadn't noticed any significant change other than what I thought was a very slight increase in color. The stock photo shows this colort-tip acro to be blue with white tips. I don't know that mine will ever be blue with white tips, but it has a nice color to it so far, and I'm expecting it to get more intense as time goes by. The same goes for the newest corals (post #1). Naturally, the "stock photos" are taken of ideal frag, under ideal lighting, using very expensive photography equipment. It goes without saying that mine don't look exactly like the pictures above. However, they are fresh shipped, fresh acclimated, and are now adjusting to my lighting. I expect them to intensify in color as well. Good things come to those who wait, right?

Here's a before and after (53 days) of my color-tip, as well as a shot of each of the new kids on the rock...

New additions:

 

[lmforbis]

What kind of lighting are you using?

 

[2014FishKiller]

Would like to see the entire tank pictures

 

[pegasus]

What kind of lighting are you using?

I have a 48" T5 HO fixture with 54W bulbs (324W total). I have been running a 12 1/2 hour photoperiod, with 3 bulbs on during that time, and the other 3 bulbs burning 4 hours (10am-2pm) to simulate midday. I think I'm going to bump the midday lighting up to 6 hours to see if I can't get better coloration...

 

[pegasus]

Would like to see the entire tank pictures

From left to right:

I think it's time to scrape coralline algae off the back glass...

 

[lmforbis]

The green birds nest looks very similar to my stylophora, and I think it should be as easy to keep. I have pink and green pocilloporas, red monti digitatas, green stylophora, red and green monti caps, yellow porite, and they're all thriving and growing under "moderate" T5 HO lighting and moderate flow. The new Acros will be placed higher in the tank, but both of these can do well with moderate lighting, also. I'm still nursing my color-tip acro back to health after it arrived 24 hours late, and totally bleached. I don't know that it'll ever get it's original color back, but the branches have taken on a light emerald green tone, and the tips are a reddish-purple... nothing like the blue branches and white tips of the normal color-tip.

Other than Acros, the SPS mentioned above are really easy to grow... as long as you have "decent" lighting and keep Mag, Alk, and Cal levels within specs.

I upgraded my light to Kessils with the spectral controller last week. I bought one birds nest to see how it goes. 4 days and polyps are out and tips are green. I also bought BRS two part (cal, mag and alk) to make sure everything stays balanced.

 

[pegasus]

I think the birds nest will do great under the Kessils. I recently bought BRS Alk and Cal, but not Magnesium. I already had 3 gallons of Kent Tech M, so I'm good on that... lol!

I also just added a Jebao DP-4 to my arsenal. Comes with a one year US warranty. #4 was back-siphoning, so they sent me a new head... complete with new motor! Cool...

 

[lmforbis]

I bought their two part (really 3 part) starter kit and a dual GFO / carbon reactor. Phosphate already dropped to 1/10th of what it was. One of the Kessils was over heating. Called BRS up and they replaced it with no issues. I live near their warehouse so I just drove over and had the new one in less than 2 hours. Was thinking about dosing pumps but my tank isn't really depleting cal alk or mag yet.
I ordered a Jabao WP-40 wave maker. It should arrive in a couple days. I was going to order 2 but thought I'd see if I like it first. Do you like their products?

 

[pegasus]

I have a pair of WP-10's, a pair of RW-4's, and a pair of RW-8's... as well as the dosing pump. I do like their products, and they seem to be making waves (pun intended) in the saltwater industry... lol!

I'll never be able to afford Ecotechs, so if/when the Sicces in my 125 die, I'll be replacing them with Jebaos. I'll probably go with RW-8's, as the Sicces are 1200 gph, and the RW-8's go up to 2000 gph... for about half the price. If I find a really good deal, I may go up to the RW-15's.

 

[pegasus]

Updated pics of my SPS collection:
(new acropora "aquaman" aculeus in center)

(new pink millie top right)

Updated pic of my color-tip acro:

Updated pic of my mint pavona:

 

[bang guy]

You should add one of these pictures to the picture contest!

 

[pegasus]

Thanks, BG! I haven't even considered entering the contest, as I'm not to pleased with how my pictures turn out. If I were going to enter pics in the contest, I'd definitely want to use a better camera. My G2 doesn't do the corals justice, and the pics always look a bit fuzzy. My Canon SX30 doesn't like to focus through water too well, either. Some day I'll own a DSLR, and then I can take great pics. In the meantime, if I can get a picture that I consider "decent", I'll post it there.

 

[pegasus]

I always like to take pictures of corals when I first get them, and then after a month or so of being in the tank. These "before and after" pics let me know how the corals are doing, as it's difficult to notice subtle changes when looking at them daily. These pics of my Montipora Digitatas were taken 7 1/2 weeks apart, and it's easy to see the growth of these corals when doing a side-by-side comparison. The dead section in the first picture (top center) was cut off shortly after the picture was taken.

April 11, 2015

June 3, 2015:

 

[2014FishKiller]

How often you use those supply picture? Or what is your routine schedule for your corals?

 

[pegasus]

How often you use those supply picture? Or what is your routine schedule for your corals?

I'm not sure I understand your questions, but I'll try to answer them. I take pictures of my corals all the time, but I normally wait a month or two before looking for any big differences. Routine schedule for my corals? Hmm... I dose Calcium and Alkalinity every day, and Magnesium when needed. I feed the corals AcroPower, Marine Snow, PhytoPlex, along with mysis shrimp and fish food. I want to buy oyster eggs for the SPS corals, but nobody sells them in my area. I'll have to order it online, and they have to be shipped 1-2 days, which makes it pretty expensive. I may have to choose another food option, like Reef Chili, Cyclopeeze, or something like that. If anyone has a good recipe or suggestion for SPS (especially Acros) food, please let me know. Thanks!