Coral Lovers Thread!

[SueAubu]

Lol I was using your words and then giving the actual name. Jabba the hit is an appropriate description haha I won’t get that out of my head. But it is a 24k gold acantho

I don’t have blue zoa. Can you reply with the picture your talking about for the green thing?

Neon border

There was an "above" pic where the zoas looked blue. But the circled area.

Also, dare I ask what lighting you use? Beside blue and white?

 

[tbrown]

That stylophora is huge! Beautiful duncans, too!

That's a Birdsnest. The Stylos are Hiding.

 

[VintageReefer]

@Vintage reefer how old is your tank?

It’s hard to accurately answer that
This tank was setup for a few years as a mixed sps reef, and then I broke it down to move. Sand stayed in the tank with 1” water. Rock went in brute trash cans. Coral was sold off. Fish were transported. I moved in this house 10 years ago and first thing on arrival was setup the tank and get the fish back in their environments

Throughout the 10 years I’ve been here the tank has been in the same spot. With the same rock and sand and water

I’ve gone through a few different setups for coral and livestock.

I had what I’ll call a personal disaster and a personal blessing and the tank went though a few years of severe neglect but I always managed to have very easy fish and very easy coral. And algae took over but I didn’t care, it’s ugly but harmless

I rebooted the tank November 2022. That’s when I started building and growing the setup I have today

To

So the tank and rock and sand and most of the water is around 10 years. Some coral are 2 or 3 years. Most coral were purchased and grown in the last 1.5 years. Things grow fast in here.

Two head hammer became 25 heads in a year. Single head torches became 4-6 heads in a year. Many things have doubled in size in a year or less.

And I do not perform any water changes, I don’t use any automation, I don’t have vodka dosing or anything complicated or risky. My only form of filtration is a Santa Monica surf 2 algae scrubber and a sump filled with live rock

 

[Northern Flicker]

Nothing to replenish your alk/cal/mag?

 

[steveschuerger]

@steveschuerger will you pass on any goni care hints?

Biggest I’ve found are moderate flow and generally just taking care of the tank as usual. I add B-Ionic 2 part morning and evening before bed and a bit of magnesium every 2-3 days. I’ve also started dosing AB+ every day and I think it’s helped as well. As far as PAR, mine are in as low as 130 and as high as around 200 or slightly higher. Also I have been using kz 4 part micro element but it’s seriously expensive so I’ve been testing out Microbe Lift All in One supplement as well.

​

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

That's a Birdsnest. The Stylos are Hiding.

Ah, okay. Looked so much like a purple stylo. It's very pretty!

 

[tbrown]

Ah, okay. Looked so much like a purple stylo. It's very pretty!

Lights are waking up. Purple in the front, Rainbow in the back.

 

[VintageReefer]

Neon border

There was an "above" pic where the zoas looked blue. But the circled area.

Also, dare I ask what lighting you use? Beside blue and white?

The first pic I detail here, it’s a shelf/grow out system I invented and designed and had built

Exosphere’s vanishing - losing colony need help

No idea here everyone Bought a colony of 25 heads of exosphere. Looked very healthy. Within a few days I was down to 15. Looked like all the lower and smaller ones melted and turned to mush. I dipped it in revive and coral rx and gave a light scrubbing with a soft brush and got all the mush...

www.reef2reef.com

The second pic with the acans is another shelf but instead of magnet mounting it to the glass I put it in the sand bed to use to keep frags from being knocked over.

I have…lots of 3d printed parts and shelves. It’s good to have a buddy with a 3d printer

My lighting is a reefbreeders photon 48v2
I use all channels except red and green. Most of my photoperiod is blue, royal blue, and violet but I do use whites also during peak times in day to balance it out

I have 7 fish, 6 are in this pic. The 7th fish is a cardinal

 

[tbrown]

Ah, okay. Looked so much like a purple stylo. It's very pretty!

I need a filter. The polyps are actually blue. Green flesh. It's a beautiful Birdsnest.

 

[steveschuerger]

These are my 2 oldest corals. The Duncan I’ve had since late 2021 and the Goni since the beginning of 2022

 

[steveschuerger]

I need a filter. The polyps are actually blue. Green flesh. It's a beautiful Birdsnest.

Orphek or Coral View . Both are good, and actually almost identical

 

[VintageReefer]

Nothing to replenish your alk/cal/mag?

Once a week I take 2g of water from my sink and add in All For Reef to replenish alk, calcium, and trace elements. With a solid lid my evap is very slow. So over the course of the week my numbers decrease very slowly then I bump them back up when I top off

Alk goes from 8.7 to 8.2 then gets bumped back up to 8.7

Calcium is always over 400

My phosphates and nitrates are always .02-.05 and 2-5 despite not doing water changes. I feed heavy…3 frozen cubes spread into 4 feedings thanks to the anthias. Plus I do a mix of target feeding and broadcast feeding the corals with a mix of flake food and various powdered coral foods a few times a week

Edit: I did install a home water filtration system, so any water outlet in my house has gone through a sediment filter and a carbon filter. It’s basically the first two stages of a rodi.

I figured it’s a good trade off - I don’t have to wait for an rodi to make water and don’t lose 3g for every 1g I produce. I can just turn on any sink or tub faucet and instantly get safe filtered water for any tank in my house

 

[SueAubu]

Biggest I’ve found are moderate flow and generally just taking care of the tank as usual. I add B-Ionic 2 part morning and evening before bed and a bit of magnesium every 2-3 days. I’ve also started dosing AB+ every day and I think it’s helped as well. As far as PAR, mine are in as low as 130 and as high as around 200 or slightly higher. Also I have been using kz 4 part micro element but it’s seriously expensive so I’ve been testing out Microbe Lift All in One supplement as well.

​

Gonna have to study and translate this. Lol

AFTER the tidal gardens sale!!! (All you people with actual money keep away!!!)

 

[SueAubu]

Yes! This!!! Definitely on "the list"!

At this point I'd usually say "I'm gonna need a bigger boat"... But one is coming and I get to PLAN!!!

 

[SueAubu]

Biggest I’ve found are moderate flow and generally just taking care of the tank as usual. I add B-Ionic 2 part morning and evening before bed and a bit of magnesium every 2-3 days. I’ve also started dosing AB+ every day and I think it’s helped as well. As far as PAR, mine are in as low as 130 and as high as around 200 or slightly higher. Also I have been using kz 4 part micro element but it’s seriously expensive so I’ve been testing out Microbe Lift All in One supplement as well.

​

Gonna have to study and translate this. Lol

AFTER the tidal gardens sale!!! (All you people with actual money, keep away

These are my 2 oldest corals. The Duncan I’ve had since late 2021 and the Goni since the beginning of 2022

That saves my next question...how long did the gonis take to get that big...

 

[VintageReefer]

Yes! This!!! Definitely on "the list"!

At this point I'd usually say "I'm gonna need a bigger boat"... But one is coming and I get to PLAN!!!

Buy now while it’s available…pm me if you’re interested or want more info

Best reef ready tank deal of 2024 - whose looking for a new tank?

I’ve been holding off on posting this but now I’m ready I came across what I believe is the absolute best deal you’ll ever see on a reef ready system Background - Current USA had a custom tank built for their marketing photos. It’s all over their website under the sections for r24 led reef...

www.reef2reef.com

Mines in my garage waiting for me to make room in my house for it

 

[SueAubu]

@VintageReefer last question (probably not)- how big is the tank?

(They always look so much bigger on tv )

 

[ESABOE]

There is a Wrasse Lovers Thread, Anemone Lovers Thread, CUC Lovers Thread, and even specific coral lover threads, but I have yet to find one on corals in general, so this is the official Coral Lovers Thread! Let see some of your awesome corals!

Also feel free to discuss coral, or ask people about their corals!

Thank you Walker for creating this! I think we all have a special coral or two we’d like to share and weren’t sure the thread to do so!

 

[ESABOE]

I'll start with one of my favorite corals at the moment, my small neon splatter hammer.

Nice spread on the splatter Walker - that should really be even more spectacular once it goes to maturity. I learned from Blaine at TSA that it’s the unique pattern on these type of hammers that really sets them apart and makes them more valuable. Who knew?!

 

[ESABOE]

I got a thing for sps coral. All of them.

Wow Matt! How do you get such good color saturation- in actual coral and in photo?