Timfish Posted October 30, 2010 Share Posted October 30, 2010 Nice setup! Sounds like you had fun designing and building it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 Been a while, I guess it is time to update. The tank has been doing really well. I lost a couple of fish over the holidays while I was traveling and someone else was watching the tank, but everything else has fared very well. I changed the lights out to a 24" Aquatinics TX5 and built a new skimmer, the other one was really inconsistent. The rock is really starting to color up and I am still very happy with the results. Frustrated that I cant get the encrusting montis to color up the way they should and I cant get a red planet to hold its red color. Here are the pictures, feel free to ask for any more specifics. New Skimmer during construction and finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekreefer Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Looking good! How did you get your clam to stay in place? I have placed my little guy on multiple small rocks sitting on the sand bed and he keeps jumping off. I guess mine just likes the sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 I couldn't get him to stay on the rock. Every few days he would fall off, finally I gave up. Unfortunately, I lost him a month or so ago- I guess it was while I was gone. I usually force fed him with phyto every week but didn't have a chance to for a month between finals and vacation. I am not sure if that i what did him in or what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Wow great looking tank!!! I can't believe that is a 20, it looks so much bigger, you really did a great job designing everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Somehow I never commented on this; magnificint! Another TX5 fan. Really like your ric farm too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Very nice tank! A thought on your comment regarding your montipora and red planet's color: If the color is from nonflorescing pigments you'll probably need a lower kelven bulb to bring it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted January 29, 2011 Author Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks guys. Timfish- the problem isn't from nonflorescing pigments. I have tried to different pieces of red planet and both were substantially red when placed in the tank, however they have turned green over time. It is my understanding that green is brought out in a red planet under lower lighting conditions, but I cant imagine that is the case when they are less than 12" under a 5-wide t5 fixture. As for the encrusting montis, the base color has faded in the corals under direct light (and the polyps have changed colors) so I assume there might be too much light for them. For example, the rainbow monti on the main SPS rock lost all the green pigment in the polyps and now almost resembles my superman monti. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaarrrggg Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Wowy look at those colours! Fantastic! I can't believe its a 20g! You'd think adding all that back wall rock would make it feel smaller, but it's a beast! Looking forward to watching it fill in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 29, 2011 Share Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks guys. Timfish- the problem isn't from nonflorescing pigments. I have tried to different pieces of red planet and both were substantially red when placed in the tank, however they have turned green over time. It is my understanding that green is brought out in a red planet under lower lighting conditions, but I cant imagine that is the case when they are less than 12" under a 5-wide t5 fixture. As for the encrusting montis, the base color has faded in the corals under direct light (and the polyps have changed colors) so I assume there might be too much light for them. For example, the rainbow monti on the main SPS rock lost all the green pigment in the polyps and now almost resembles my superman monti. I'm intrigued, is it possible to move one or both to just under the fixture to see if an increase in intensity helps? I haven't looked into it and you may have already seen it but Offroadodge had some suggestions for colors in this thread: http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/15021-heres-how-u-can-help-your-colors/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 Time for another update. Tank is really starting to become stable and take off. The growth had stalled out but really starting picking up within the last month. I raised the lights up a month ago and that has really been beneficial. All the SPS colors darkened up and many of the zoas had been closing and have stopped that. The one interesting thing is that my red planet had turned completely green when I had him in a high light spot. It was my understanding that they turn green in lower light and red in higher light. When I switched the SPS rock to the darker side of the tank and put the red planet in much less light, he has started turning red again, weird. As also, feel free to ask questions or make any comments. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 I cannot believe it has been nearly a year since I updated this post. There have been a lot of changes to the tank. Mainly because of a crash that happened over Memorial Day. I had moved the tank to Dallas for the summer and everything was going well. However, when I came back from Memorial Day, the breaker the tank was on had flipped and the tank had been without power for some time. I lost every fish and every SPS except the encrusting montis. Most LPS and polyps pulled through, but I lost 99% of the rics to bleaching over the next month. It was devistating and made me lose some interest in the tank. The tank basically sat in that condition for the rest of the summer. I hardly did any water changes and it just limped along. I have slowly been rebuilding the tank and have focused more on the SPS than anything else. I am still looking for a few pieces (sunset montipora, Palmer's blue milli and a green slimer) if anyone has some frags. Enough blabbering, here are some pictures. I am hoping in the next month or two to have someone with a better camera come over and take some shots. Red Planet and Hawkins are coloring up nicely. Thanks Calvin. I accidentally broke the blue polyp digi today on the left branch and then glued it on backwards.... New acro in back. I am really excited about this one. The fish being buddies. The angel picked on the clown the first day, but now they follow each other around all the time. My randall's goby was being shy and didn't want to be photoed. Cant complain about modesty. A shot of the acros with the dendro in back. The dendro has been growing well. A shot down the side. Couple of other points to note. I added a dosing pump for Ca and Alk. I have them pretty tuned in now and everything is staying stable. I am keeping Ca at 480 and Alk at 8.0. Keeping this constant has really helped with the growth and color. I have been obtaining quotes for my tank upgrade this fall. I am thinking it will be 40" x" 30" x 20". Should be right around 100g. I think I will go with a DIY wavebox and a closed loop on a VFD for flow. I am still really up in the air about lighting. It will either be a MH/T5 combo or a DIY Led fixture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Can a mod move this over to the tank building forum. It probably fits better there. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Good lord, this tank is gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Tank looks great Jason, and so does the new acro! Man, its a shame about the rics sorry to hear about that, but the tank looks like it is doing very well and all the SPS seem to be very colorful. This tank is gorgeous cant wait to see what you got coming with the new tank build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJones Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Brooks- Thank you. I have to do my best to keep up with you! Rob- Thanks for the comments. I really miss the ric garden. It was one of my favorite parts of the tank. Hopefully the next tank will help me take everything to the next level. I think it will be a pretty neat tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 updates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Looks great! How long did it take to color up after you made the rock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.