Slice's 47g Coral Evolution

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jburgi http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/240#post_3467641
Do you still use the glass lid that came with the tank, or is it open?
Since my light fixture sits directly on the tank rim instead of using the legs, I've had to have something covering the tank under the lights to prevent an accidental bump putting the fixture into the water. For a good while, I used the larger section of the original glass lid under the lights (I cut the black plastic hinge down the middle and removed the halves of it from the 2 glass sections). The larger glass section was the right size to fit just under my lights (20" Current USA Extreme Pro 6 lamp T5) and leave the areas in front and behind the lights open.
In time, salt creep etched the glass and inhibited light penetration, which in our 30" tall tanks, is a great concern. I now have a piece of black eggcrate cut to fit under the light with the area directly under the lamps removed. It looks like a picture frame with the open middle a bit too small for the fixture to fall through. The ~3" area in front of the light fixture is completely open. I've been running my water level a bit lower lately, so I don't get appreciable salt on the fixture's acrylic splash shield.
There has been much discussion about keeping open tops to allow proper gas exchange. Folks like us who have very little surface area relative to tank volume (20" x 18" top on a 47g tank) have been warned to take steps to compensate for this relative lack of surface area.
I fretted over this for quite a while.
There are others, Acrylic51 first comes to mind, who say if you run a good skimmer and have good surface agitation in a sump and/or refugium, it should not be a big hairy problem. It isn't. I've not noticed any measurable effect on pH whether I *mostly* close up the top with glass or run the tank open as it is now. The glass still leaves ~3" in the back open, and apparently this, plus the skimmer and HOB fuge takes care of gas exchange.
An "open" top is a lot more convenient for feeding, dosing, etc, plus I like the look of the black eggcrate.
I've kept the glass sections for use when we are out of town for a few days to reduce evaporation (no ATO).
The other concern is jumpers. I've had jumpers in the tank from the beginning but have had no problems <knocks on wood>. I'm guessing that because the surface in our tanks is waaay up there, the likelihood is diminished, or at least, that is what I tell myself. There are plenty of tunnels and caves in the rock for sanctuary. My fish go down when startled....so far...
My attitude would change with a shorter tank.
I haven't been on the boards much lately, I guess I've just made up for it

PS
When I get out of this chair in a few minutes, I will take a blade to the monti. It has gone through another
growth spurt and has gone from huge to MASSIVE
. I'm not going to take a "before" pic, but look at the last one above and add another 2" all around. The candy cane, brain and many palys and zoas are pleading with me to get them out of the shade.
I'm curious what I get from the LFS today for 3-4 hand-sized frags...
 

jburgi

Member
My new lights sit about 4" above the top of the tank. I was thinking that after a couple weeks I would take the glass top off. My lights are def not as awesome as yours, but I am very excited to finally be able to put something other than mushrooms in my tank!
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jburgi http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/240#post_3467750
My new lights sit about 4" above the top of the tank. I was thinking that after a couple weeks I would take the glass top off. My lights are def not as awesome as yours, but I am very excited to finally be able to put something other than mushrooms in my tank!
What kind of lights? 4 inches is a bit close...6 inches at least should be there. Don't remove the glass if the unit is designed to have it there. The moisture from the tank will short it out pretty quick. I speak from experience.
 

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jburgi http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/240#post_3467750
My new lights sit about 4" above the top of the tank. I was thinking that after a couple weeks I would take the glass top off. My lights are def not as awesome as yours, but I am very excited to finally be able to put something other than mushrooms in my tank!
What lighting did you get? Hopefully it is something you will be satisfied with for a good while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/240#post_3467768
What kind of lights? 4 inches is a bit close...6 inches at least should be there. Don't remove the glass if the unit is designed to have it there. The moisture from the tank will short it out pretty quick. I speak from experience.
My T5 fixture's splash screen is maybe 1 1/2" above the water surface; the lamps are maybe 2 1/2" above the surface. If I used the legs, the light still would not be 6" above the surface and far too much of my precious lumens would be in the room and in my eyes instead of going into the tank.
 

blondie1

New Member
Nice tank!I just read the entire post on your tank and wow that is nice! I have just moved and am getting ready to start up my second tank (we upgraded from a 46g bow front to a 120g). I am totally itching to get started again!!! How did you attach all the corals? With putty and superglue? can that be done in the tank? I only had my few corals on top of the LR. I would really like to have a monte. How long did you wait to put that in?
Again Nice Tank!!!
 

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by blondie1 http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/240#post_3470439
Nice tank!I just read the entire post on your tank and wow that is nice! I have just moved and am getting ready to start up my second tank (we upgraded from a 46g bow front to a 120g). I am totally itching to get started again!!! How did you attach all the corals? With putty and superglue? can that be done in the tank? I only had my few corals on top of the LR. I would really like to have a monte. How long did you wait to put that in?
Again Nice Tank!!!
Thanks Blondie!
Welcome to the site!
Yep, used reef safe epoxy (putty) and superglue gel. Apply the glue to the bottom of the frag plug or rock, reach in and affix it to the rock.
The monti went in I *think* at about 10 months. It could have gone in sooner, but budget concerns throttled back the equipment additions (decent lighting, protein skimmer/fuge).
 

kiefers

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slice http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/240#post_3467731
Since my light fixture sits directly on the tank rim instead of using the legs, I've had to have something covering the tank under the lights to prevent an accidental bump putting the fixture into the water. For a good while, I used the larger section of the original glass lid under the lights (I cut the black plastic hinge down the middle and removed the halves of it from the 2 glass sections). The larger glass section was the right size to fit just under my lights (20" Current USA Extreme Pro 6 lamp T5) and leave the areas in front and behind the lights open.
In time, salt creep etched the glass and inhibited light penetration, which in our 30" tall tanks, is a great concern. I now have a piece of black eggcrate cut to fit under the light with the area directly under the lamps removed. It looks like a picture frame with the open middle a bit too small for the fixture to fall through. The ~3" area in front of the light fixture is completely open. I've been running my water level a bit lower lately, so I don't get appreciable salt on the fixture's acrylic splash shield.
There has been much discussion about keeping open tops to allow proper gas exchange. Folks like us who have very little surface area relative to tank volume (20" x 18" top on a 47g tank) have been warned to take steps to compensate for this relative lack of surface area.
I fretted over this for quite a while.
There are others, Acrylic51 first comes to mind, who say if you run a good skimmer and have good surface agitation in a sump and/or refugium, it should not be a big hairy problem. It isn't. I've not noticed any measurable effect on pH whether I *mostly* close up the top with glass or run the tank open as it is now. The glass still leaves ~3" in the back open, and apparently this, plus the skimmer and HOB fuge takes care of gas exchange.
An "open" top is a lot more convenient for feeding, dosing, etc, plus I like the look of the black eggcrate.
I've kept the glass sections for use when we are out of town for a few days to reduce evaporation (no ATO).
The other concern is jumpers. I've had jumpers in the tank from the beginning but have had no problems <knocks on wood>. I'm guessing that because the surface in our tanks is waaay up there, the likelihood is diminished, or at least, that is what I tell myself. There are plenty of tunnels and caves in the rock for sanctuary. My fish go down
when startled....so far...
My attitude would change with a shorter tank.
I haven't been on the boards much lately, I guess I've just made up for it

PS
When I get out of this chair in a few minutes, I will take a blade to the monti. It has gone through another growth spurt and has gone from huge to MASSIVE. I'm not going to take a "before" pic, but look at the last one above and add another 2" all around. The candy cane, brain and many palys and zoas are pleading with me to get them out of the shade.
I'm curious what I get from the LFS today for 3-4 hand-sized frags...
what color are these montis my friend? Hmmmmmm thinkin here.
I too have an open top with the skimmer in the sump. My top is the netting and it works great! Surface aggitation with good flow throughout the tank. show me some tank!!
 

slice

Active Member
I should have taken pics this past weekend after a good cleaning I did to the sand, back glass and powerheads.
Nothing major to report; monti was fragged back to about 30% of what it was, but is already growing back quickly.
Zoas multiply, acros grow, LPS becoming monsters, thats about it...
Oh... Dottie, the Royal Gramma will have her 2nd anniversary in the tank next month. Everyone doing just fine.
Thanks for the bump
 

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
What did you do with your frags??? Lol.
Glad everything is going well. I don't think I have ever remembered you having major problems with your tank. That's great!
 

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/240#post_3475545
What did you do with your frags??? Lol.
Glad everything is going well. I don't think I have ever remembered you having major problems with your tank. That's great!
I turned the frags in at my LFS for water, Seachem Fusion 2-part and some snails. I have a bit of credit left over, got $50 total.
Nope, never had any problems with the tank.
 

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slice http:///t/381452/slices-47g-coral-evolution/200#post_3455832
**PICS**NEW ADDITIONS**GROWTH**
I warn you that you will see gelidium on some of the rock (red wiry algae); it is some nasty stuff. I brought it in on some zoa frags. The recommended removal is manually with a dentist pick...really?
I've stopped its advance with elevated mag; some has already died back. It is like velcro, holding on to detritus which fuels a bit of HA, but for now, that is OK as several critters enjoy the food source. The gelidium is also being pulled, scraped and picked at. It will take a while, but in time it will be gone. If all else fails, I will cover it with epoxy slabs until it dies, then pop the epoxy back off. Now, on with the update...
Old Stuff First
Random Zoa Pics
Watermelon Morphs
These are probably my favorite, had them since last May, finally growing.

Radioactive Dragon Eyes and Eagle Eyes
These were my first, have grown about 5X the number of polyps

"Creamsicles", another favorite.
These came in on the Candy Cane frag, I removed 10-15 polyps and mounted them on this rock.
"Herb", the LMB (RIP) made this rock his favorite perch and beat the zoas down to 1 polyp. The "last man standing" now has 3 offspring.
Very slow growers.

"Extreme Pinks". Indestructible, very fast growers. Refugees from the center of the tank when the monti grew to rob them of light.

Peach centered zoas (forgot the real name); hardy fast growers, doubled since last Nov. Also shown:
Candy Apple Greens, Green Crosette, Tubbs Blue and Armor of Gods, all doing well

LPS and SPS

Tyree Tricolor Bali
The most recent SPS. Poor exposure setting; the tips except for the very ends are blue/purple.
This guy had me stumped for a while, but with help from The Doctor and The Professor* through PMs, it
is doing great and is growing quickly

*Florida Joe and Spanko
Green Slimer
Had not done a thing since arrival last May except to base out. Then the underside lost all color, no PE and the
flesh started to pull away from the edges at the plug. The Doctor, The Professor and I had written this guy off.
As soon as I began thinking I would replace it with a Neon Green Digitata, it greened up, shot out decent PE and
started tip growth plus a new branch!! Maybe it isn't done after all...

Hydnophora
Continues to grow and grow. Text says that these do not encrust. This guy didn't get that memo.
MONSTER. I keep waiting to find it one morning in the kitchen making coffee and wanting to bum a cigarette.

Mr Brain plots world domination.

Rose Millie
FINALLY a new branch!! Hard to see in this pic, but it is near the edge closest to you.
It puts out LONG feeders.

(the gelidium on this rock is all but done, dead and fading away)
This pic is an example of NOT following Saxman's photography recommendation of turning back the PHs,
had I done so, the long feeders would have been apparent (I always seem to screw up something).
Tricolor Acro
A little pissy in this pic after a waterchange, usually furry. Quick grower.

The Big Guy. Speaks for itself (with authority).
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New (finned) Additions
"Herb Jr" (named after the original Herb) https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/387400/r-i-p-herb#post_3408493
I just refer to him as "Junior".

"A little lower...lower....to the left....yeah, that's the spot...ahhhhh"

Peek-a-boo!

"Skittles II" named after the original Skittles who was falsely accused and wrongly exiled back to the LFS https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/385102/snapped#post_3376059
It turns out that "Dottie", the Royal Gramma was the instigator. They will just have to learn to live together this time. I suspect that Dottie may have bigger issues now anyway....

This about the best shot I'm going to get...he is fast
"Kev", named after a dear friend**. I've wanted a Flame Angel since starting this tank. You may have read of previous attemps, this one looks good.
He has been in the tank 2 weeks now and seems to be the model citizen (read: no one messes with him). Dottie has met her match.
I kept the lights off for 2 days after introducing him. He used that time to tool around exploring all the nooks and crannies, caves and tunnels. Mind you, Dottie is always up at the crack of dawn, when the first
sliver of light comes into the room, surveying her realm, but she stayed underground these 2 days. I can imagine her in her hidey-hole; her self proclaimed throne room, seeing this behemoth shadow moving around wondering "What the F*** is that?!?"
When the lights finally came on, Dottie stormed out of the rock and attempted again and again to get in Kev's face. Kev just went about his business, ignoring her. Dottie kept jumping in front of him saying "Hey!... Hey YOU!... YEAH YOU!!...I'M TALKING TO YOU!! I'm the Queen Diva of this tank and you can..." Kev, tired of the noise, spun around, squared up, cocked his head and whispered "B*tch, please
", then returned to his casual business.
Dottie, unaccustomed to such lack of respect just stood there, lost for words. After a few moments, she slunked away, looking back over her shoulder mouthing things I can't repeat here.
She spent most of the next 3 days shadowing Kev, a bit behind and above, looking for weaknesses. Having found none, she seems to have changed her tactics from brute force and intimidation to trying to out-eat and out-grow the bastard (I've never seen her eat so much or so aggressively).
"Kev" the Flame Angel

FTS

Thanks for looking!
**Kevin Arthur Knight
Left us Jan 18 2012 at the age of 49
A great friend, husband and father of 3
Kevin is sorely missed
Holy Crap!
You don't realize the growth until you compare old pics to what you see now...I gotta post new pics soon!
-yeah, I know, shameless self promotion, but seriously...this growth has sneaked up on me...wait until you see the rose millie...and the brain...and the tricolor, and the, and the...
 
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