FarmerTy's 215-gallon SPS Tank

[tripdad]

You got it! There is a disposal fee. I’ll send you my Venmo.

Nah, I don't do those new age, hipster pay sites. I'll drop it in the good old US Mail. It should reach you sometime in the next decade. By then the trimmings will be full blown colonies.

 

[drawman]

I like that Irish table!

 

[FarmerTy]

I like that Irish table!

Me too! When I first got it I was underwhelmed. Now as a mini colony... wow!

 

[FarmerTy]

Copps 24k mille

AV99 Orange Crush recovering nicely after being used as a backup tank guinea pig for a couple months

 

[FarmerTy]

FarmerTy Pandemic

Exotic Aquatics Pink Lemonade

 

[Jimbo662]

Pic of the orange crush is very cool.

 

[FarmerTy]

Pic of the orange crush is very cool.

It’s such a simple acro but the growth form and the contrasting color is just really pleasing to the eyes.

 

[FarmerTy]

WWC OG Bounce Mushroom

Hellfire Torch

 

[mitten_reef]

this thread is NSFW - Not Safe For Wallet !!

 

[Alexdiaz]

Wow! Beautiful tank!

 

[FarmerTy]

I’m getting past the “just keep it alive” mode in the backup system and starting to keep color on the frags now.

There may be a lot of corals getting moved to that system soon! I’m excited!

 

[ScottB]

How many months expired between startup on the backup tank and completion of the "just keep alive" phase?

Even though I started with a bunch of rock & marine pure block from my old display, I think it was 9 months or so before things really settled down. If you made it faster, I am sure I'm not the only one who would enjoy learning how you managed to accelerate what can be a long process.

 

[FarmerTy]

How many months expired between startup on the backup tank and completion of the "just keep alive" phase?

Even though I started with a bunch of rock & marine pure block from my old display, I think it was 9 months or so before things really settled down. If you made it faster, I am sure I'm not the only one who would enjoy learning how you managed to accelerate what can be a long process.

Hey Scott, I wish I was a model for how to do it the fastest but I definitely am not. I started it up about a year ago and then 2 weeks later, my wife had our second child. Then the pandemic and no daycare for our 3 year old meant it was us with two young kids... every day... like the kid version of Groundhog’s Day except I’m Bill Murray with a newborn and a 3-year old.

The frag tank was largely neglected for 5-6 months and then I started really trying to rectify that the last 3-5 months. At one point, Mg was 800 ppm and the tank resembled a refugium more than a coral frag tank. Oddly torches and montis were still alive so that gives you an idea of their tolerance.

I still stick to the 1-year window for an SPS tank to be fully established and good to go. I don’t plan to usually rush that and use that as a guideline for future plans. So, with all that, I like to think I’m right on schedule.

 

[ScottB]

You are certainly not describing a perfect alignment of the stars for optimal reefing conditions. Just be glad to have (most of) your sanity.

My backup frag system started really small with a 20G tank and sump full of rock. It is now 3 tanks and 3 sumps connected together for total volume of 300g. Each time I added volume to the system, I'd get hit with dinos for a spell and have to dump in a bucket of PO4 and NO3. And hang a UV on the side of the tank for a few weeks. So while the initial set was relatively smooth and quick there were hiccups and minor losses along the way.

Keep those beautiful pics coming!

 

[FarmerTy]

You are certainly not describing a perfect alignment of the stars for optimal reefing conditions. Just be glad to have (most of) your sanity.

My backup frag system started really small with a 20G tank and sump full of rock. It is now 3 tanks and 3 sumps connected together for total volume of 300g. Each time I added volume to the system, I'd get hit with dinos for a spell and have to dump in a bucket of PO4 and NO3. And hang a UV on the side of the tank for a few weeks. So while the initial set was relatively smooth and quick there were hiccups and minor losses along the way.

Keep those beautiful pics coming!

Most of sanity intact is debatable but I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt.

I’ve noticed the same anytime another tank was added to the already stable system... it’ll go through it’s own cycling period and ugly stage despite sharing the same water as the mature system. I thought it was really an interesting phenomenon albeit annoying.

 

[FarmerTy]

 

[Foothill Corals]

Your corals and pics are amazing!

Can you share a little about how you take your pictures? I assume that you use a porthole for shots like the Orange Crush above. What setting do you use?

I honestly find acros easier to grow than photograph. Your skills are truly impressive!

 

[FarmerTy]

Haha, thanks. Hopefully the thread helped with any anxiety with election week.

Here are my settings for this picture of my RR Red Bull.

ISO 1250
Exposure time 0.01 secs
F/5.6
I shoot with 100% on my Radions running AB+ and 2 T5 Blue+ bulbs and 2 T5 actinic bulbs. Par is roughly at 350-500 on most of the shots. Using a Nikon D5300 with a Neewer Brown filter and WB set to “Shade” setting. Nails down the color pretty well with minimal post processing needed. Mainly cropping and adjusting for exposure and slight adjustments on temp depending where in the tank I took the shot.

I hand shoot everything with a Avast Marine look down tube for my Laowa 60mm macro or my Tamron 90mm macro.

@Foothill Corals

I appreciate it! Here are the details of how I take my shots. I only started photographing only in the last two years. After an initial learning curve, doesn’t take too long to get up to speed.

 

[FarmerTy]

Doing my morning post now since the forum is going to be down for an upgrade.
Walt Disney

RR Red Bull

 

[ScottB]

That Disney is amazing. Much better color than mine.

Do you have any SC Orange Passion? If so, can you share a pic of that?