My SPS Colonies & Frags

[kevlow]

A side shot to see how the lights are suspended.
Both tanks are plumbed into the same sump beneath the frag tank.
2018-07-16_06-54-05 by kev low, on Flickr

 

[kevlow]

A comparison of the same piece. The first pic was from May of 17. I thought the piece was going to be a stunner. It changed and I think it had to do with switching tanks. But sometimes corals are like people. They were cute as kids but not so much as adults.

_DSC2930 by kev low, on Flickr

 

[Danny_M5]

Wow amazing so cleann

 

[bubbaque]

A comparison of the same piece. The first pic was from May of 17. I thought the piece was going to be a stunner. It changed and I think it had to do with switching tanks. But sometimes corals are like people. They were cute as kids but not so much as adults.

_DSC2930 by kev low, on Flickr

I think the colony looks nice!

 

[kevlow]

I think the colony looks nice!

The coral is a healthy, well formed acro.
But the top down is the best view. The lights shine directly on the skin and the color is really visible. From the side the skin color is not as intense. The polyps changed from powder blue center with red on the branches; to a drab grayish color all over. Also seemed to be a lot hairier as a frag.
It is a nice piece but did not become the show stopper that I thought it could be.

Maybe a should change light and flow. It does seem to like higher nutrients. I used to keep the nitrates at about 25 and phosphates about .018 . That is when it looked great in the frag tank.

 

[kevlow]

Wow amazing so cleann

Thank you, Sir.
If only I kept my office desk as neat as the tank. lol.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Oh my god... you have this oneee... I have lost my entire colony. [emoji24][emoji24][emoji24]

I presume yours is also solid purple and if you look at it from the top it’s dark blue instead of purple.

 

[kevlow]

Oh my god... you have this oneee... I have lost my entire colony. [emoji24][emoji24][emoji24]

I presume yours is also solid purple and if you look at it from the top it’s dark blue instead of purple.

Yes that is correct. It is an unnamed coral but it is a very nice piece. I gave some of this to Aquarium Depot.com. They may still have some left. I believe they want to may be trying to grow a mother colony to frag from.

 

[Macdaddynick1]

Yes that is correct. It is an unnamed coral but it is a very nice piece. I gave some of this to Aquarium Depot.com. They may still have some left. I believe they want to may be trying to grow a mother colony to frag from.

I just found out that a friend who I gave a piece to a while back still has a colony of this baby left. I called it grape vine. It's actually the nicest valida I have ever seen. You did a great job taking that photo, but it's still doesn't compare to how it looks in person. Take a good care of that gorgeous piece. When mine died I was heart broken, and when I had to take it out of my tank the skeleton weighed about 3-4 lbs.

 

[kevlow]

I just found out that a friend who I gave a piece to a while back still has a colony of this baby left. I called it grape vine. It's actually the nicest valida I have ever seen. You did a great job taking that photo, but it's still doesn't compare to how it looks in person. Take a good care of that gorgeous piece. When mine died I was heart broken, and when I had to take it out of my tank the skeleton weighed about 3-4 lbs.

That must have been a beautiful colony. I traded a small colony of this to a LFS and they flipped it quickly for nearly nothing. I was shocked. Somebody got a great deal.
Long ago I nearly lost this when a Blue Rimmed Hydnophora slimmed and ate nearly half the colony. It sat for six months recovering.
I love this piece. It is one that stands out when you view your tank from across the room.
Good luck with your new piece from your friend.

 

[BoomCorals]

A comparison of the same piece. The first pic was from May of 17. I thought the piece was going to be a stunner. It changed and I think it had to do with switching tanks. But sometimes corals are like people. They were cute as kids but not so much as adults.

_DSC2930 by kev low, on Flickr

Looks like Bloody Mary stag

 

[Dlealrious]

Nice stuff, this is exactly what im about to do, shallow acro grow out tank!
What is the dimensions of your 80g? I was going to use egg crate to sit tiles on but now i thinking i will just sit them on the glass.

 

[kevlow]

Nice stuff, this is exactly what im about to do, shallow acro grow out tank!
What is the dimensions of your 80g? I was going to use egg crate to sit tiles on but now i thinking i will just sit them on the glass.

Thank you.
My 80g is 4 'x 2'x 16"h.
I am about to make a change. I will still use my granite tiles but will no longer stack them to different heights. I am having three acrylic stands made to set the tiles on. This will allow more water volume in the tank and increase flow along the bottom of the tank.
Each stand will be 4" wide to exactly fit my 4" tiles.
They will all be 27" long.
The back stand will be 6" high.
The middle stand will be 4" high.
The front stand 2" high.
There will be a row of corals sitting on the bottom right in front of the 2" stand.
I will still be able to stack multiple tiles if needed to adjust for growth of individual pieces.

I am hoping that this goes smoothly and in theory it should. But it seems that when bad things happen it is usually because I did not leave well enough alone. lol.

 

[kevlow]

Nice stuff, this is exactly what im about to do, shallow acro grow out tank!
What is the dimensions of your 80g? I was going to use egg crate to sit tiles on but now i thinking i will just sit them on the glass.

My 40g is same dimensions but only 8" high.
The tiles in it are only 2" tiles and they will all remain sitting directly on the bottom.

 

[Dlealrious]

My 40g is same dimensions but only 8" high.
The tiles in it are only 2" tiles and they will all remain sitting directly on the bottom.

Cool my tank is going to just under 4' x 2' x 14", looking forward to seeing how your racks come out, thanks for the ideas!! Im around 3 months from getting it built. Going to run 3' Pac Sun 8 x39w unit on it.

 

[kevlow]

Just got a bunch of pieces in. Some show potential, some are projects, some need a little TLC. I cannot wait to get home this evening and see how they look after a day in my tank. It is like Christmas morning as a kid and seeing what you got.

 

[kevlow]

This is an AppleBerry monti. Not a favorite but photos really well on the close ups. One of the few branching montis. I have fragged this thing a lot. It is a great starter coral for new sps keepers. Likes a wide range of light and can tolerate most conditions. Actually it kinda prefers nutrient rich water.
_DSC2843 by kev low, on Flickr

 

[kevlow]

I have never started with anything nearly this size before. A piece came from an importer in less then desirable shape. Had a few branches taken off. I was asked to see if it would revive. I will gladly volunteer for this duty. It is faded yellow.[sorry for poor cell pic] It might really be green but is just too stressed atm. I am hoping for Yellow! Let's see what happens.

2018-07-25_06-00-23 by kev low, on Flickr

 

[kevlow]

Big change today. Had some shelves built for the display. It really increases flow and lifts some corals into higher par. Hope I did not set off a bomb in the tank from all the rearranging and fragging.

2018-07-28_07-12-38 by kev low, on Flickr

 

[kevlow]

All good after 2o hours in the increased flow and light of the new shelf system. No RTN or discoloration as of yet. LOL.
As a matter of fact every looks even happier. I am not breathing a sigh of relief for a week or two.