Bubba's SPS Journey

[bubbaque]

Water volume I believe to be around 290 gallons

I have 32 total fish
6 tangs (4 in the display and 1 in each frag tank)
1 anthias
1 bi color blenny
1 mandarin goby
6 banggai cardinal (including the 2 babies)
2 clowns
4 wrasses
1 blue spot jawfish
2 rainfordi gobies
1 orange spot goby
1 copperband butterfly fish
6 chromis

 

[BigJohnny]

Btw, since you are close to WWC you should get a frag of this from them. I got it off Ebay so it may only be one of their farm chop shop jobs but I think it's going to be pretty sweet. Green with yellow polyps. Very thick branches too, well, at least my frag was cut from one. I just got it obviously.

Looks really unique imo, have never seen a green acro with yellow polyps and I love the thick branch. Excuse the ****** pic it's in the back of my tank and I used my phone.

 

[bubbaque]

Btw, since you are close to WWC you should get a frag of this from them. I got it off Ebay so it may only be one of their farm chop shop jobs but I think it's going to be pretty sweet. Green with yellow polyps. Very thick branches too, well, at least my frag was cut from one. I just got it obviously.

Looks really unique imo, have never seen a green acro with yellow polyps and I love the thick branch. Excuse the ****** pic it's in the back of my tank and I used my phone.

The yellow polyps look nice! Did it have a name when you bought it?

 

[Caravanshaka]

Water volume I believe to be around 290 gallons

I have 32 total fish
6 tangs (4 in the display and 1 in each frag tank)
1 anthias
1 bi color blenny
1 mandarin goby
6 banggai cardinal (including the 2 babies)
2 clowns
4 wrasses
1 blue spot jawfish
2 rainfordi gobies
1 orange spot goby
1 copperband butterfly fish
6 chromis

I keep wondering if I have enough fish. I've got a 165 display, and about 190g total volume and 9 fish with 2 of them being tiny gobies like your rainfordi. I feed about 2 cubes worth of food a day and still have to dose 30ml of nitrate and 6ml of phosphate to keep them detectable. Was also interesting to see your nutrients are undetectable through hobby kits as well...they have be there if your corals look that good...just in small volumes I guess.

 

[bubbaque]

BC Secale

 

[BigJohnny]

Water volume I believe to be around 290 gallons

I have 32 total fish
6 tangs (4 in the display and 1 in each frag tank)
1 anthias
1 bi color blenny
1 mandarin goby
6 banggai cardinal (including the 2 babies)
2 clowns
4 wrasses
1 blue spot jawfish
2 rainfordi gobies
1 orange spot goby
1 copperband butterfly fish
6 chromis

Imo that is why it doesnt matter if you have testable nitrate or phosphate. Well stocked tanks that feed well and dont use artificial/chemical means of nutrient export do great regardless of 0 testable levels, imo. Obviously you have to scale your fish bioload with your coral stock/growth rates but you should be good for a while with 32 fish lol.

 

[BigJohnny]

The yellow polyps look nice! Did it have a name when you bought it?

Yea my bad, name would have helped.

WWC Kolaches

 

[BigJohnny]

I keep wondering if I have enough fish. I've got a 165 display, and about 190g total volume and 9 fish with 2 of them being tiny gobies like your rainfordi. I feed about 2 cubes worth of food a day and still have to dose 30ml of nitrate and 6ml of phosphate to keep them detectable. Was also interesting to see your nutrients are undetectable through hobby kits as well...they have be there if your corals look that good...just in small volumes I guess.

I would say no but it depends on your tank and how growth/colors are. I have a new tank so still stocking but I plan to have at least 10 fish in a 90g reef/110g total volume. I can physically see the difference every time I've waited too long to add another fish/after I add one. My growth always picks up as well. Obviously there is a break even point but I don't think you have enough. I wouldn't use testable levels to judge though, just observe coloration and growth rates.

Also depends on how many corals you have and how big they are.

 

[bubbaque]

I keep wondering if I have enough fish. I've got a 165 display, and about 190g total volume and 9 fish with 2 of them being tiny gobies like your rainfordi. I feed about 2 cubes worth of food a day and still have to dose 30ml of nitrate and 6ml of phosphate to keep them detectable. Was also interesting to see your nutrients are undetectable through hobby kits as well...they have be there if your corals look that good...just in small volumes I guess.

I agree with BigJohnny. My main display is 180 gallons and I have 28 of the 32 fish in there. I would go with how your corals look more than anything, instead of dosing nitrate and phosphate just to have a number appear. What if we took your nutrient test kits away and said now you need to look at your corals and judge what they need. You would look and if the corals were pale, you would add more fish or feed a little more. If they were colorful and growing you wouldn't care what the numbers said on the test kit.

Imo that is why it doesnt matter if you have testable nitrate or phosphate. Well stocked tanks that feed well and dont use artificial/chemical means of nutrient export do great regardless of 0 testable levels, imo. Obviously you have to scale your fish bioload with your coral stock/growth rates but you should be good for a while with 32 fish lol.

I totally agree with you. What's the point of having a fish tank without fish to look at. Even if you are in it just for the corals, adding more fish will make them happier.

 

[JonJ]

Couple of new frags. I got the TSA Daydream during their live sale and the Fruity pebbles I went there and got.

TSA Daydream

TSA Fruity Pebbles

I NEED that Fruity Pebbles! I ordered a Jolt and the Sun God because of this thread. I'm going to have to unsubscribe if you keep it up!

 

[Caravanshaka]

I would say no but it depends on your tank and how growth/colors are. I have a new tank so still stocking but I plan to have at least 10 fish in a 90g reef/110g total volume. I can physically see the difference every time I've waited too long to add another fish/after I add one. My growth always picks up as well. Obviously there is a break even point but I don't think you have enough. I wouldn't use testable levels to judge though, just observe coloration and growth rates.

Also depends on how many corals you have and how big they are.

I agree with BigJohnny. My main display is 180 gallons and I have 28 of the 32 fish in there. I would go with how your corals look more than anything, instead of dosing nitrate and phosphate just to have a number appear. What if we took your nutrient test kits away and said now you need to look at your corals and judge what they need. You would look and if the corals were pale, you would add more fish or feed a little more. If they were colorful and growing you wouldn't care what the numbers said on the test kit.

I totally agree with you. What's the point of having a fish tank without fish to look at. Even if you are in it just for the corals, adding more fish will make them happier.

Thanks guys. I am dosing the nutrients because my sps were STN'ing without them. They have since gained color and are growing quite well. I knew something was wrong originally, but I never expected 0 nutrients in a fairly young tank so it kind of blindsided me a bit. The fish I do have are pigs, so I'm feeding a lot, but I have been thinking I should add more lately. I don't mind dosing nitrates, as it is on my DOS, but I'm manually doing the phosphates right now and would love to stop that!

 

[bubbaque]

I NEED that Fruity Pebbles! I ordered a Jolt and the Sun God because of this thread. I'm going to have to unsubscribe if you keep it up!

The Sun God looks better now than it did the two weeks ago I took that pic. The whole thing is almost a solid yellow with red polyps. The fruity pebbles is a nice one for sure. I only had it a short time so I am excited to see where this one goes. The Jolt I felt was a dud for so long. Polyps were pretty much only green but now they are getting the red like Jason Fox's pic, without the added saturation, lol.

 

[panic]

I saw your Fruity Pebbles and was like “I’m going to buy that.” Now, I’ve been off the forums and such for 3 or 4 years and am just getting excited about clearing some of my older corals and renewing with some new pretty sticks. I had to figure out what TSA was and then found the Fruity Pebbles on their site. After picking my jaw up off the floor after seeing the price I realized that I was in fact NOT buying it. Coral prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the last few years. I am blown away by it. Atlantis was the last order I made and I’m not sure they are still around. $120 was the most I paid for a Kryptonite - and I thought that was a lot. Guess you have to pay to play...

So where are the places to get the good stuff other than TSA? I need to get 20 or so.

 

[declanisadog]

I saw your Fruity Pebbles and was like “I’m going to buy that.” Now, I’ve been off the forums and such for 3 or 4 years and am just getting excited about clearing some of my older corals and renewing with some new pretty sticks. I had to figure out what TSA was and then found the Fruity Pebbles on their site. After picking my jaw up off the floor after seeing the price I realized that I was in fact NOT buying it. Coral prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the last few years. I am blown away by it. Atlantis was the last order I made and I’m not sure they are still around. $120 was the most I paid for a Kryptonite - and I thought that was a lot. Guess you have to pay to play...

So where are the places to get the good stuff other than TSA? I need to get 20 or so.

TSA is having a live sale today!

Also check out the sale forum on here. Lots of reefers willing to make packs for reasonable prices.

 

[bubbaque]

I saw your Fruity Pebbles and was like “I’m going to buy that.” Now, I’ve been off the forums and such for 3 or 4 years and am just getting excited about clearing some of my older corals and renewing with some new pretty sticks. I had to figure out what TSA was and then found the Fruity Pebbles on their site. After picking my jaw up off the floor after seeing the price I realized that I was in fact NOT buying it. Coral prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the last few years. I am blown away by it. Atlantis was the last order I made and I’m not sure they are still around. $120 was the most I paid for a Kryptonite - and I thought that was a lot. Guess you have to pay to play...

So where are the places to get the good stuff other than TSA? I need to get 20 or so.

I felt exactly like you did when I got back in the hobby. I remember my first sps order was from Battlecorals and it was 10 sps for I think $250 shipped. To even spend that price I felt I was crazy, lol. My wife and I walked into one of LFS's and seen this coral and asked what it was and how much. They told me it was RR Angry Birds and it was $225. My wife and I looked at each other and almost burst out laughing because the price seemed absurd to us. The longer I was in the hobby the more I started to desire the coral with lots of nice colors and colors cost money.

The best bang for your buck hands down is Battlecorals. He does sell some blind pick packs called "battleboxes" that you can't go wrong with. You can set your own price and say if you want high end only, old school or a mix or both. You can also check his website and pick the corals you want also. He also has some of the largest frags. I still order from him all the time. I think I have 10-15 coral coming from him in a week or so.

TSA is having a live sale today that you can find in the sponsors section. Most of their high end stuff is still probably considered expensive during the sale but if you want a collect system piece, it's a good time to buy. A lot of their frags are on the small side but their colors are really nice. Most of their pics, especially their updated pics are true to life. Check their website for updated pics instead of google pics.

 

[Norcalreef]

I saw your Fruity Pebbles and was like “I’m going to buy that.” Now, I’ve been off the forums and such for 3 or 4 years and am just getting excited about clearing some of my older corals and renewing with some new pretty sticks. I had to figure out what TSA was and then found the Fruity Pebbles on their site. After picking my jaw up off the floor after seeing the price I realized that I was in fact NOT buying it. Coral prices have absolutely skyrocketed in the last few years. I am blown away by it. Atlantis was the last order I made and I’m not sure they are still around. $120 was the most I paid for a Kryptonite - and I thought that was a lot. Guess you have to pay to play...

So where are the places to get the good stuff other than TSA? I need to get 20 or so.

I’ve found if you make a pack and put together a decent sized order most places charge a whole lot less than what is quoted on their site. Vivid gives me close to 50% off when I put together a pack.

 

[panic]

Thanks for the info guys. The Battlebox looks like a great idea for getting some new goodies and he seems genuinely excited to put together a cool pack.

 

[bubbaque]

Grafted Monti cap. Mine doesn't get to grow much as it's always in a battle for it's life. You can see at the top of the where it's all dead from a coral stinging it. Now off to the right of the picture it started to grow into the Pink Caddy and now the Pink Caddy is killing it from that direction.

I do love the contrasting colors of it though.

 

[Fudsey]

Cool looking mix of the colors on it too

 

[Norcalreef]

Grafted Monti cap. Mine doesn't get to grow much as it's always in a battle for it's life. You can see at the top of the where it's all dead from a coral stinging it. Now off to the right of the picture it started to grow into the Pink Caddy and now the Pink Caddy is killing it from that direction.

I do love the contrasting colors of it though.

Man yours has so much pink! Mine is ended up in 2 pieces and is like 99% green haha.