JCOLE's Big Box of Rocks

[ScottB]

"coral snow" ... is that CaCO3 or something else?

I dump some in every time I stir up the sand or during a WC so every two weeks at least.

 

[JCOLE]

"coral snow" ... is that CaCO3 or something else?

I dump some in every time I stir up the sand or during a WC so every two weeks at least.

Yes. Coral snow is the fancy word for it. It is just Calcium Carbonate. I used to do it with the old tank but haven't done it since the new system is up and running. I did like the results before, so I will start doing it again on this tank.

 

[SunnyX]

Decided to blow the rocks off yesterday for the first time since setting the tank up. I decided now would be a good time to run the @SunnyX Coral snow method. Tank looks cleaner now. I will incorporate this into my regime.

@SunnyX I forgot but do you add the coral snow daily or weekly in your systems?

Hello,

I add it each Saturday after tank maintenance has been completed. On a side note, man, that's ALOT of PVC piping back there!

-Sonny

 

[JCOLE]

Hello,

I add it each Saturday after tank maintenance has been completed. On a side note, man, that's ALOT of PVC piping back there!

-Sonny

Perfect! Thanks.

Yeah, it is a lot. 50' of pipe into the garage got old real quick. My wife was questioning my sanity at that moment.

 

[JCOLE]

I guess SBREEF PCBs aren't what they used to be. After 8 months, I will need to replace 50% or more of the diodes. The boards arrived with Chinese characters all over the box, so I assumed it was a direct import. My intuition was correct.

I noticed that several areas of the tank were turning yellow. I discovered why. 75% of the blues were burned out, and the rest of the black boxes were the same after additional inspection. I suppose that 100% on the blue and white channels is too much for those low-cost diodes.

I changed all of the damaged diodes as well as a few whites, and everything looks much better now. I'm waiting for a shipment of diodes, then I'll finish the rest.

So I think all of this is to imply that if anyone is looking forward to getting their hands on these boards, they should plan on replacing the diodes sooner rather than later.

 

[JCOLE]

Had a sexy snail party this morning.

 

[JCOLE]

I cleaned the tank last night and snapped a couple phone pictures. The tank is still a little dirty from the miles of Coralline algae I scraped off. The tank is now 9 months old, and things are starting to color up and grow nicely.

I plan on pulling out the real camera this week to get some better pictures.

 

[JCOLE]

Quick walk around from last night.

 

[JCOLE]

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Quick walk around from last night.

Tank is just incredible to look at

 

[JCOLE]

The Hulk

It is hard to capture the fluorescence of this piece. It glows green from across the room. Nothing crazy, but green is also beautiful.

What I like the most about this piece is the new growth. The new growth has a white body and yellow polyps with green tips.

 

[JCOLE]

This is what I enjoy about the hobby. I was going through pictures and this was the same Confetti piece from a year ago during my crash. I snapped this picture during the Cipro treatment while it was sitting in the sump in the garage. Now, a year later, it seems to be very happy. I love to see pieces come back from the dead.

 

[JCOLE]

Green and pink stag - Similar to the Bleeding Tree.

 

[Troylee]

Green and pink stag - Similar to the Bleeding Tree.

Killer piece!

 

[JCOLE]

Sweet little hairy piece I received from Steve Garrett. I believe it is Acropora Insignis.

 

[FoD]

This is what I enjoy about the hobby. I was going through pictures and this was the same Confetti piece from a year ago during my crash. I snapped this picture during the Cipro treatment while it was sitting in the sump in the garage. Now, a year later, it seems to be very happy. I love to see pieces come back from the dead.

Love the confetti, and the success after $:&@ story. I’ve had similar in my years. I gotta get some pieces now that my new tank is finally up and running.

 

[JCOLE]

Love the confetti, and the success after $:&@ story. I’ve had similar in my years. I gotta get some pieces now that my new tank is finally up and running.

Yes! The bad times are rough but when things turn around it can really make up for it.

 

[JCOLE]

TSA Twisted Sister

 

[JCOLE]

Blue Cardinal - This is one of my favorites. The tips glow, and you can see them across the room in daylight spectrum. A really stunning piece that I cannot wait to see as a full colony.

 

[JCOLE]

UC Strawberry Shortcake - Almost lost this piece during last years crash. I tiny little frag held on. It is looking good these days.