Bubba's SPS Journey

Fudsey · May 31, 2019

Very nice ! !

hatfielj · May 31, 2019

bubbaque said:
I’ve always liked canopies on my tanks to hide the lights and wires along with hiding the water line. Still needs stain and a couple edge pieces buts it’s getting there.

I’m tempted to do the same with my tank. It would have to be “wife approved” though

Bpb · May 31, 2019

How long are you going to cycle the rock for before it’s safe for acropora? It’s a common problem for dry rock and sand tanks to struggle with sps for a year or more. How do you plan to mitigate/expedite? Sorry if it’s been mentioned, I’ve kind of neglected my forum use. I’m upgrading tanks right now as well and have planned to do the same to rid myself of discosoma by the hundreds, aiptasia, and blue cloves. I get sick of coating the rocks with kalk paste in between the colonies every couple weeks to keep all that stuff at bay

bubbaque · May 31, 2019

Bpb said:
How long are you going to cycle the rock for before it’s safe for acropora? It’s a common problem for dry rock and sand tanks to struggle with sps for a year or more. How do you plan to mitigate/expedite? Sorry if it’s been mentioned, I’ve kind of neglected my forum use. I’m upgrading tanks right now as well and have planned to do the same to rid myself of discosoma by the hundreds, aiptasia, and blue cloves. I get sick of coating the rocks with kalk paste in between the colonies every couple weeks to keep all that stuff at bay

I am not going to cycle the rock before adding coral. As soon as I get around to hanging my lights I will add a frag. If the frag dies I’ll retry 3 - 4 weeks later. I want to see at what point I can grow corals in a new tank. Most issues I believe come from new reefers who try and follow old ways of running gfo and carbon from day one. I’m not going to use any of that. I’ve learned to just keep it simple and feed the fish and not try and experiment or panic when hair algae shows up. I still see people giving advice to new reefers to run gfo when algae pops up. To me that’s horrible advice and just a part of the tank maturing. When algae grows I’ll add turbo snails and it should be gone in a week or two. By avoiding a lot of the mistakes new reefers make I believe success with come.

jsvand5 · May 31, 2019

bubbaque said:
I’ve always liked canopies on my tanks to hide the lights and wires along with hiding the water line. Still needs stain and a couple edge pieces buts it’s getting there.

Nice. I definitely agree with you on the canopies. I may be old fashioned but I’ll never understand the appeal of rimless. I have a rimless 90g and a 210 with a custom canopy and stand. The 210g looks so much better. I tried it once, but I’ll never buy rimless again.

Bpb · May 31, 2019

bubbaque said:
I am not going to cycle the rock before adding coral. As soon as I get around to hanging my lights I will add a frag. If the frag dies I’ll retry 3 - 4 weeks later. I want to see at what point I can grow corals in a new tank. Most issues I believe come from new reefers who try and follow old ways of running gfo and carbon from day one. I’m not going to use any of that. I’ve learned to just keep it simple and feed the fish and not try and experiment or panic when hair algae shows up. I still see people giving advice to new reefers to run gfo when algae pops up. To me that’s horrible advice and just a part of the tank maturing. When algae grows I’ll add turbo snails and it should be gone in a week or two. By avoiding a lot of the mistakes new reefers make I believe success with come.

Oh I couldn’t care less about algae. An urchin, rabbitfish, and tangs keep that from ever being a problem for me. I’ve just had horrid luck with acros In young immature tanks. I’ve seen it done though

najer · Jun 1, 2019

bubbaque said:
I still see people giving advice to new reefers to run gfo when algae pops up. To me that’s horrible advice and just a part of the tank maturing. When algae grows I’ll add turbo snails and it should be gone in a week or two. By avoiding a lot of the mistakes new reefers make I believe success with come.

I know I run things differently but spot on, how do people expect their box of rocks and water to mature when they fiddle with it from the start?!

Janci · Jun 2, 2019

bubbaque said:
I’ve always liked canopies on my tanks to hide the lights and wires along with hiding the water line. Still needs stain and a couple edge pieces buts it’s getting there.

Although I prefer rimless tanks, this is a very attractive view!!

Wrangy · Jun 2, 2019

SO nice Bubba!!

Going to be a real spectacular tank!!

roberthu526 · Jun 2, 2019

homer1475 said:
Yes actually. A flame back angel.

I know where your going to go with that question, and I have read about them nipping. But I have never seen it nip at any coral, although I suppose it is a possibility. I have considered it myself, and have been watching it like a hawk. No real concern as I do have great color and growth, but some SPS do not look the same without PE.

You don’t have to see it nipping. Angel in SPS tank simply means no PE. I have 9 angels in my 300G and I never expected PE. I love the colors of angels and it is a sacrifice I am willing to make. If you want to experiment, just pull the angel out for a month and see if you see any difference.