michealprater
Well-Known Member
Looking great bud! Keep at it!
The "She Said Yes!" 120 Gallon Build
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OP
OP
dangles
Valuable Member
New fish!
- Lyretail anthias x3 (2 more females are paid for but they are waiting for a new shipment at my LFS)
- One spot fox face
- Molly Miller blenny
- Convict tang
- Pajama cardinal (my wife wanted this one so naturally a I agreed
)
Crappy photo of the PJ cardinal, and I haven't been able to get a picture of the Molly Miller blenny yet because he's been hiding in a hole in the rock scape.
I had also reserved a yellow tang and a Scopas tang but they're waiting on a new batch of yellows from Biota so I'm waiting until I can a) choose from a big batch, and b) introduce at the same time as the Scopas to hopefully avoid as much drama as possible!
My nutrients are finally getting to where I want them. I have some Pom Pom gracilaria and a couple of candy cane corals coming from TSA on Tuesday. I'll be firing up my refugium! I figure with the doubling of my bio load and the resultant increase in feeding I'll be able to utilize a refugium finally - even if only for a small window during the day.
My dKH has been holding steady around 8.3-8.5 as I've been slowly increasing the kalk each night. I'm up to 500 mL nightly. My pH has been slowly increasing and is now around 8.05-8.15.
My seriatopora are SUPER happy!
I have a 3 week trip coming up I'm starting to get nervous about. I'm not 100% sure yet who will be able to watch my tank for me
- Lyretail anthias x3 (2 more females are paid for but they are waiting for a new shipment at my LFS)
- One spot fox face
- Molly Miller blenny
- Convict tang
- Pajama cardinal (my wife wanted this one so naturally a I agreed
)Crappy photo of the PJ cardinal, and I haven't been able to get a picture of the Molly Miller blenny yet because he's been hiding in a hole in the rock scape.
I had also reserved a yellow tang and a Scopas tang but they're waiting on a new batch of yellows from Biota so I'm waiting until I can a) choose from a big batch, and b) introduce at the same time as the Scopas to hopefully avoid as much drama as possible!
My nutrients are finally getting to where I want them. I have some Pom Pom gracilaria and a couple of candy cane corals coming from TSA on Tuesday. I'll be firing up my refugium! I figure with the doubling of my bio load and the resultant increase in feeding I'll be able to utilize a refugium finally - even if only for a small window during the day.
My dKH has been holding steady around 8.3-8.5 as I've been slowly increasing the kalk each night. I'm up to 500 mL nightly. My pH has been slowly increasing and is now around 8.05-8.15.
My seriatopora are SUPER happy!
I have a 3 week trip coming up I'm starting to get nervous about. I'm not 100% sure yet who will be able to watch my tank for me
love the anthias, I used to have a school of 5 at one time. beautiful fish!
3 weeks is a long time to rely on someone for sitting the tank, hopefully you'll find the right person.
3 weeks is a long time to rely on someone for sitting the tank, hopefully you'll find the right person.
OP
OP
dangles
Valuable Member
Yeah I'm not at all looking forward to that part of it
I need to install a wifi camera or two on the tank/sump so I can have a little more piece of mind if/when something gets weird.
08TRDOFFROAD
Well-Known Member
Uh both!Thank you!
Tacoma or Tundra?
Have a 2008 Double Cab Tacoma I bought new in October of 2007. It has 173k miles on it now. As the family grew, it got really tight in the back seat with 3 car seats and my towing needs also changed. So, in May of 2022, we picked up a Certified 2021 Tundra Platinum, which fits the kids way better and the thing tows like a beast! Can't convince myself or my wife to let the Tacoma go, so I daily it to work, and the plan is to keep it and let my oldest kill it when he starts driving in 5 years. By then it will probably have 225k miles on it and will make the perfect first vehicle for.him!
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OP
OP
dangles
Valuable Member
Uh both!
Have a 2008 Double Cab Tacoma I bought new in October of 2007. It has 173k miles on it now. As the family grew, it got really tight in the back seat with 3 car seats and my towing needs also changed. So, in May of 2022, we picked up a Certified 2021 Tundra Platinum, which fits the kids way better and the thing tows like a beast! Can't convince myself or my wife to let the Tacoma go, so I daily it to work, and the plan is to keep it and let my oldest kill it when he starts driving in 5 years. By then it will probably have 225k miles on it and will make the perfect first vehicle for.him!
2016 Tacoma TRD Sport for me!
MAN the new Tundras are FIRE tho
08TRDOFFROAD
Well-Known Member
We considered the new gen Tundra. A twin Turbo would have been fun to tinker with. But we bought at probably the worst time in history to buy a vehicle due to the inventory shortages caused by the pandemic. When I hit up my local dealership, the truck I would have ordered was 18 months out....didn't want to wait that long, and the 5.7's are bullet proof (even though their gas mileage leaves something to be desired). So, we went that route instead because it was sitting on the lot and I needed something to tow my travel trailer.2016 Tacoma TRD Sport for me!
MAN the new Tundras are FIRE tho
08TRDOFFROAD
Well-Known Member
Have a link? I need something to test my PAR on my new build. Was going to "buy" one from BRS and return it afterward for their $100 fee, but for another 85 and to own it forever, I'm in!Trying this out today. Thanks to @telegraham for turning me on to this MUCH less expensive alternative to the almost $600 Apogee. They’re only $185 on Amazon!
OP
OP
dangles
Valuable Member
VBR Par Meter
It's not a perfect alternative, but it's "good enough" if you consider the differences between it and the Apogee (you need to multiply your readings by 1.17 to get the same readings you'd get with the Apogee). And I'm told the telescoping pole sucks lol
Check out Telegraham's posts about it here:
He has other posts about it in his IG as well.
@telegraham they should pay you for all the sales you've probably generated! But then you'd have to disclose that
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08TRDOFFROAD
Well-Known Member
First link is broken, but I assume this is it?
It's not a perfect alternative, but it's "good enough" if you consider the differences between it and the Apogee (you need to multiply your readings by 1.17 to get the same readings you'd get with the Apogee). And I'm told the telescoping pole sucks lol
Check out Telegraham's posts about it here:
He has other posts about it in his IG as well.
@telegraham they should pay you for all the sales you've probably generated! But then you'd have to disclose that
08TRDOFFROAD
Well-Known Member
Thanks! How did you fix yours? Apparently we can't link directly to Amazon on here?Your link is also broken lol
But I fixed mine
OP
OP
dangles
Valuable Member
This is what I got after "correcting" the VBR PAR numbers to show what the Apogee would read:
And my light settings...
AI Prime x2:
Blade Grow 48" x2:
Lots of room for higher PAR if I want to dive into more SPS
And my light settings...
AI Prime x2:
Blade Grow 48" x2:
Lots of room for higher PAR if I want to dive into more SPS
08TRDOFFROAD
Well-Known Member
Very nice! You are hardly even using the Blades!!! From what I have heard/read, they are capable of pumping out some crazy PAR! If I need more light on my setup eventually, I will have to decide between a pair or 21" Blades or an AL Coral Cover (half the price of 2 Blades) to supplement my A360X.This is what I got after "correcting" the VBR PAR numbers to show what the Apogee would read:
And my light settings...
AI Prime x2:
Blade Grow 48" x2:
Lots of room for higher PAR if I want to dive into more SPS
OP
OP
dangles
Valuable Member
Yeah I tried increasing their power early on when I was borrowing an Apogee PAR meter from my LFS and the lower levels and perimeter of the tank got BLOWN out with PAR. I would have been pretty much restricted to ALL SPS - which I really don't want to do.
So yeah, I'm definitely NOT getting my money's worth from my Blades
I'll have to play around with it all some more though. The Blades and Primes weren't designed to go together so it may not be an ideal setup. That's why I broke down and bought my own PAR meter - I may have to tweak quite a bit to get what I want, and renting a PAR meter every time would get expensive FAST.
oh wow I might have to pick one of those up toTrying this out today. Thanks to @telegraham for turning me on to this MUCH less expensive alternative to the almost $600 Apogee. They’re only $185 on Amazon!
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