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First ever sexy sps growout!!!!!

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islander84

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I will consider growing them but i am extremely busy with my Coatings business, and Rodan + Fields business and 2 kids and wife ;) lol. I try to get on R2R 2 or 3 times a month minimum! When im not swamped i get on every day of the week! :nerd:
 
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bct15

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It took me forever to find this thread, it is not updating in my subscrided threads list and isnt even showing up in the list now. Anyway here is my tank info as requested

Tank is mixed reef with zoas, sps, lps, nps, and anemones. Most fish have a purpose in my tank.
3 Tangs (yellow belly blue, yellow, PBT) - Clean frags of nuisance algae (very successful it doesnt grow anywhere in my display and any frag I drop in will be clean by the morning)
6 Chromis - Eat small particles of uneaten food in water column
yellow wrasse - keep pests down
bangaii cardinal - keep pests down
mandarin - keep pod levels in check (and personal amusement)
black and white clowns - have to have clowns in a reef
royal gramma pair - wife liked them
golden dwarf eel - I like eels and wanted a reef safe one, no real pupose
future additions - Hoevens wrasse and dragon face pipefish pair when my LFS can order them
I also have millions up millions of mini brittle stars, every frag plug or rubble rock I pull out has at least 6 underneath it and if I break more inside. I guess they are good at getting into the crevices.
My rocks are gravity held and are sort of a rock wall, I want to redo it but Ill probably be moving in about a year and ahalf and am just going to leave it till then. Will be building a massive tank shortly after I finish the PhD.

tank and equipment
150 (Inside dimensions 63x22x24) gallon display + 90 gal sump + 30 gal fuge (fuge used to be afrag tank but is a fuge now and will stay that way for a while)
2 250w xm 15k + 2x 80 ati blue + (I get growth out of sps frags in the sand, my rocks do not get close to the top though I'd say the closes is 8-10 inches from surface)
Halides are 7.5 inches from surface
2 mp40
h&s external skimmer
BRS 2 part dosed with brs dosing pumps
BRS dual reactor with gfo and rox carbon
Red Sea Coral Pro Salt

Parameters
alk ~ 9
Cal ~ 400
PH ~ 8.4 (Apex readout)
temp = 79.6
SG ~ 1.025
Nitrates < 20ppm (lowest my test reads but there is a slight color change, just much less than 20ppm)
I do not have a hanna checker to check phosphates, but dont have any alagae on rocks or sand but there is some on the back and sides I let grow for my tangs to pick off.
Other nitrogen components are 0

I spend saturdays doing water and media changes, and all other tank maintenance. This is a part of my regular routine and very rarely gets missed. My tank is recovered from a crash that was caused by a multitude of things but is growing sps successfully ATM (frags extremely well). I do not see any sps pests on my coral but have seen some burnt tips on larger colonies lately, making me think my water is a little to clean so I am in the process of dirtying my water a little. I currently use 1 cup of gfo a week but am going to cut back to a half cup every two weeks for a while. I have never been able to keep chalices alive except for one little turd frag I got several years ago. I only have to wipe my front glass once a week, and it still isnt bad at all but is a little cloudy looking in some areas so I wipe it.

Im working on my PhD in mechanical engineering and at times get very consumed with my work, as of late I have been able to monitor the boards fairly regularly but this is not always the case and there may be a week to two weeks I am not on at all or just a little bit. However, I try to get on at least once a day. I was a grower in another growout and it started off great but didn't end so well, and I felt terrible for the losses. I did my best to compensate for the losses but still am not happy with it. If I were to grow then I will say up front that if some or all of the frags are lost I am not responsible, and do not want to feel guilty if they do. I do my best to keep my tank in top shape but things can go south with a reef tank very very fast and sometimes can not be stopped. As far as reef keeping, I think I have learned every lesson the hard way.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I do 98% of my work from home so I am home all of the time. I get up and look in the tank at least once every hour as a stress reliever from the mind taxing research I am doing, so I spot a problem relatively quick but haven't always been able to get the right solution as quickly. I think I have learned more about reef keeping in the last year than the four years this tank has been setup and at the end of this year I seriously considered getting out of the hobby after my crash but decided to hang in there and give it another go. The crash didn't kill everything but I lost 80% of my stuff over about a four month period. Once one thing went wrong and I fixed it something else happened and so on.
 
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FlowerhornNYC

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Ok so here is little info about my tank. It had been running for around 15months now. I work only couple miles from the house so I'm home a lot. Well I'm trying to do wc every 2 weeks.
140 gallons with 30gl refugium & 40gl breeder sump
water circulation 2 mp 40, 1 mp 10 & 1 tunze
Power by 48" Giesemann infiniti 2-250watts & 4-T5 5 hours mh & 9 hours T5
Vertex In 280 skimmer with red dragon pump
Bubble magus doser
NextReef carbon reactor
Atomic phosphate reactor
Return pump maxi-jet 5500

Last week water test (all by salifert)
Calcium 400
Mag 1350
Alk 11
Ph 8.2
Phosphate .03
Nitrate 10
Temp 75
SG 1.025
 
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xxbrianxx

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My main tank is more of an experimental/frag tank than a display tank, but it's slowly being converted. It started out as a 2 gallon tank around 4 years ago and has gradually been upgraded from 2 gallons to 5 gallons and now a 20 gallon high (been like this for around 2 years) with a total water volume of around 30+ gallons including main sump and "secondary sump".

Livestock:
I have pretty much everything in my tank, including a decent amount of sps. Just fyi I don't get very good growth from sps. They grow gradually, but at least from what I've read/heard growth rates aren't amazing. I also don't have too many large colonies, but the thing is every one of my corals was purchased as basically a single polyp/corallite. So relative to their initial size I've gotten pretty good growth. Who knows, maybe growth will increase with size. As for fish, I have a six line, yellow tail blue damsel, and a juvenile pair of oscellaris clowns.

Hardware:
20 gallon truvu aquarium
ATI 6 x 39watt T5 fixture
SWC 120 protein skimmer
~8 gallon main sump w/ chaeto/carbon (been experimenting with gfo, but it causes problems with my sps)
~3 gallon secondary sump holding skimmer
old rio return pump (600gph)
two ~200gph hydor circulation pumps each w/ hydor flo's
pH monitored with american marine pH probe
coolworks ice probe/jager heater controlled with grainger temp controller
various hob filters for experimenting w/ filter media
GHL 4 channel doser, dosing esv part A/B
tunze ato
DD H2Ocean salt

Seems like my tank is pretty small compared to everyone elses' so not sure how comfortable you guys would be with that. I'm currently an undergrad engineer at UCLA, but will be taking a quarter of leave the coming quarter to pursue other opportunities. As a result, I'll be back in my hometown (san jose/bay area) and will have a good amount of time to take care of the tank. I'm usually glued to the tank when I'm home, so I pay close attention to the condition of my coral. Water changes will be ~5 gallons/week. I used to have a hard time balancing feeding between lps/sps, but with the recent (about six months) addition of the SWC skimmer, water has been clean even with heavy spot feeding for my lps. So feeding will probably be daily/every other day.

Not able to measure tank params atm, but I can do so once I go home.
 
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xxbrianxx

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Raggamuffin is having SPS issues, so his tank is a no go. This is what Islander messaged me:

"My tank is a little over 2 years old, params are solid. Mh/t5 combo lighting. I have about 10 acros and they are all colored up and healthy, some growing faster than others and most importantly BUG FREE!! Lol. That would be one thing i would do if recieving corals, i snip base off into good flesh and dip the mess out of them suckers!"

Islander, feel free to include a bit more tank info if you have the time. I think we're all in the same position in terms of desire to grow. No one really wants to take on the responsibility/pressure, but will do so if no one else will. So I think we know enough to choose a grower at this point.

And one other thing I think we should establish is that the grower has no obligation to compensate the rest of the group if anything is to happen. I mean we don't really know too much about each other, but I'm sure none of us would run away or neglect the frags after the experience with reef up. And personally, I wouldn't be angry or hold any grudges as long as the grower puts in the amount of effort he/she can afford to.

Do you guys think we should just vote by each giving our preferences in order?
 
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islander84

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Alright guys here is a bio of my tank.....

Its a little over 2 years old. Its a 144 gal Oceanic RR DT. 75 Gal Sump in basement. 2x Tunze 6100.10 and 2x Tunze 6045. 2 x 250 watt MH 14k Phoenix bulbs 4 ATI T5 3x blue+ 1x coral +. BRS Dual RX GFO/Carbon ROX. My pump went out on my skimmer so i will be upgrading soon...was running vertex 180 mod w hy3000bb, and will be converting return pump from internal to external....currently running ecoplus 4950(biggest internal i could find). Also just sold my Calcium RX and have been adding to ATO..... Waiting on dosing pumps from a friend... I have 2 AC/JR w DC8...1 on DT and 1 on sump. I have CPU fans on AC/JR and 2x 300W Heaters on AC/JR. I have ro/di system w meter in /out. 0 TDS! I use IO salt and sometimes RS. Try to do at least 15-20 gallons a month WC. A while back i had ALOT of sps and lost most of it to bugs! I pulled all sps out and let tank sit for months....I then slowly restocked and was VERY cautious to what i put in my tank! I will NOT put a colony in my tank, has to be frags!( I will gladly wait for them to grow) If a frag doesnt make it past my dipping/acclimation process then it wasnt healthy enough to survive! I will post pictures soon. I would like to get all my equipment sorted out before i do any kind of growing......

Temp stays @ 79.4 - 79.8 Very minimal swing day/night AC/JR Temp Probe Calibrated
Ph 8.15-8.30 AC/JR Ph Probe Calibrated
Alk- 8.4 RSCP/ Hanna
Ca-420 Salifert/ RSCP
Mg-1400 Salifert / RSCP
PO4- .1 Hanna
NO3- 5 RS

Fish
2 SA Mocha Clowns
1 Target Mandarin
1 Blue/green chromis
3 Lyretail Anthias 1 male 2 Female
1 Neon Goby
1 Melanurus Wrasse
1 Yellow Tang
1 Desjardini Sailfin Tang
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 Tenneti Tang

Corals

4"+ Tyree Pink Watermelon Chalice
2" Tyree Alien Eye Chalice
Orange/green scoly
Teal Micromussa 15 heads+
Large meteorshower 100+


Tyree pink lemonade encrusted but not alot of vertical growth
ORA Red Planet small colony 4"
Rasberry Nasuta encrusted
Crayola Plana encrusted
Sniper SPS Pink Selago encrusted
Sniper SPS Pink Divarcata encrusted
ORA Turquoise stag encrusted
Turquoise w Royal Blue Tip Acro (Tenuis)? 3-4" Small colony
Bright green acro 5-6" S-M Colony
Deep Blue/Purple Tort w/ Metallic green base encrusted
Shades Of The Fall acro encrusted
Bubblegum Mille encrusted
ORA Green Bird 2" Small


The red planet grew from a 3/4" nub to a small colony in 5-6 Months, Bright green acro yr old, Turq/Rblue 1.5 yr old, Others have been very slow!

I had a small issue few months back where i lost a few sps and lps because i stripped my system of its nutrients and was underfeeding. I have corrected the issue and things are doing great minus slow growth and one or 2 pieces could have better color but overall im happy. I dont know how new corals will react in my system, but im willing to give it a shot after i get equipment in order.
 
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xxbrianxx

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my vote would be for gary. sorry, I know you didn't want to grow, but I think you're the best option. And like I said I wouldn't hold anything against you if any accidents out of your control happened.
 
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bct15

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my vote would be for gary. sorry, I know you didn't want to grow, but I think you're the best option. And like I said I wouldn't hold anything against you if any accidents out of your control happened.

Sounds good to me too, not sure which person is Gary but I'm guessing islander


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Me z

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Well I will cut up some sps and get them healing. Before I wasnt in a rush but some things have changed. I am actually getting out of the hobby for a while. So the sooner I can get you guys taken care of the better. Also be patient with the grower. With as many people as are in this grow out I am guessing you are looking at 18+ months minimum before every one gets a piece. Not like growin zoas!
 
AS

gmoney243

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Also if gary doesnt want to do it. I could do it. Im on these forums everyday and could update daily or weekly. Everyone would have my cell number. I could also throw in corals to make up for my part of the growout. Just would need once its done everyone paypal me the shipping costs as i couldnt cover this. Ive been a part of my local reef club for 2 years. MTRC here on R2R.

Basic tank info.
180g oceanic led+t5 lighting
40B sump ecobak and algae scrubber reef octopus nwb200 skimmer
Tunze 6105 with other powerheads for flow.
Tunze osmolater ato.

20G QT with 250w 14k pheonix bulb and 4 t5 the corals will go here first and be dipped in bayer as im not taking chances of getting Aefw or red bugs again.

Corals i may could throw in by time the other grow out are
Sunset milli
JF jack o lepto
Ora red planet
Ora pearlberry
Cali tort
Vivid rainbow delight
Another rainbow green with blue and purple tips. Called aquaholics julip
Tyree Monti setosa
Jedi mind trick
Bali green slimer
Ora spongode
Pink lemonade
Bird of paradise
Green and blue tenius think called fruit loops
Ice fire echinata
Pink dragon tails
Forrest fire digi
Bonsai
Tyree le tricolor
Loripes
Bright red milli
Pokerstars monti
Rasta zoas
Sunndy ds zoas
Seasons greetings chalice
Alien eye watermelon chalice
Purple with golden eye chalice from islander84 true gold eyes not green.

Some other stuff too but this is probly some of what people would want. I would also let everyone choose at the finish what frags from me they wanted so as to get what u want. To equal my share of the corals i recieve. Also if say i only get $200 worth of corals at the end im not.going to give out 18 jack o lepto frags lol. But i will def do my best to get everyone what they want from my list within reason.
If chosen i would like to see a list of people in and corals im going to recieve before we start just to make sure its corals i want also.

Just an option if u guys need. If not thats cool too ;)

I have build threads here and a youtube channel that i try to update monthly tank videos altho last 2 months ive been busy and havent gotten around too. But will do so very soon. Maybe this weekend.

My tank in jan. Also have a video of mark callahans 375g tank that i took while helping him move his old tank on my channel not that it matters to this growout but its a nice tank to check out lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTRmAMMKk-k&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
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Me z

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K I am trying to make this right with the people currently involved in the grow out that were wronged and ripped off. I am not making money on this I am doing it to try to make a bad situation better for others as I have been on the recieving end of something similar and its not fun. So seeing people trying to get into the grow out now and offering buy ins etc.. is really offensive. I understand people are offering to grow because of the hesitation of many in the grow but you werent wronged, you werent ripped off, you have nothing invested in this grow out. Once the frags are in the hands of those in the grow they can do what they wish with them. But I had to say something so everyone knows where I stand.
 
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islander84

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wasnt expecting the nominations.... :) guess thats good and bad....lol

so heres where i stand on this situation, and actually im really glad to see Mike chiming in. He is in my local reef club but i havent had a chance to talk to him about this as i have been busy w work and family. i am totaly ok with him growing on my behalf. Actually it would be alot of weight off my shoulders! :)

i know this is a bit of a game changer but if everyone is ok with that im good with it as well. I will stand behind him and say that i wouldnt trust just any amature reefer with our corals! He has enough experience to do a fine job growing some nice sticks! :)
 

Polyp polynomial: How many heads do you start with when buying zoas?

  • One head is enough to get started.

    Votes: 27 10.6%
  • 2 to 4 heads.

    Votes: 145 57.1%
  • 5 heads or more.

    Votes: 65 25.6%
  • Full colony.

    Votes: 10 3.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 7 2.8%
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