therman's 12 year old SPS system...top down shot, starting to enjoy this tank again

[AKG]

However there aren't too many corals I let grow much over 6" as when they get to that point they grow so fast that they will overtake a TON of space within a year, and they are susceptible to crashing due to insufficient flow.

I imagine the die-off gets weird within the center of the colony too. I have a nice 4" section of your rainbow and while a weird acro in and of itself..... I guess shadowing means you either have to keep trimming and hoping you get the ideal growth you want, or just keep them small. I haven't had to deal with it much but I've had to move this mini colony a couple times to compensate for that so I can only imagine what it gets like as they get larger.

By the way this is sort of a odd question but do you have any experience with HOB overflows? I'd love to copy your 55g bucket sump idea from years past but I'm a little leery of using one, DIY or purchased, in the event of a power outage.

 

[therman]

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I imagine the die-off gets weird within the center of the colony too. I have a nice 4" section of your rainbow and while a weird acro in and of itself..... I guess shadowing means you either have to keep trimming and hoping you get the ideal growth you want, or just keep them small. I haven't had to deal with it much but I've had to move this mini colony a couple times to compensate for that so I can only imagine what it gets like as they get larger.

By the way this is sort of a odd question but do you have any experience with HOB overflows? I'd love to copy your 55g bucket sump idea from years past but I'm a little leery of using one, DIY or purchased, in the event of a power outage.

They typically grow to fit their environment, and lower portions get kind of smooth and polyp-less but dont always die. Usually when a big colony goes in my experience, the whole thing starts peeling from the base. Sometimes a few tips will be salvageable if you catch it early enough. Pruning huge colonies doesn't always go well either. Cutting through a major portion of a large colony can lead to it stalling out and eventually dying. Kind of like opening a massive wound that doesn't heal I'd imagine.

No experience with HOB overflows...they always freaked me out too! On the other hand I have experience drilling many hundreds of holes into glass tanks.

 

[AKG]

They typically grow to fit their environment, and lower portions get kind of smooth and polyp-less but dont always die. Usually when a big colony goes in my experience, the whole thing starts peeling from the base. Sometimes a few tips will be salvageable if you catch it early enough. Pruning huge colonies doesn't always go well either. Cutting through a major portion of a large colony can lead to it stalling out and eventually dying. Kind of like opening a massive wound that doesn't heal I'd imagine.

No experience with HOB overflows...they always freaked me out too! On the other hand I have experience drilling many hundreds of holes into glass tanks.

Fair enough! And didn't realize that about sps! Thanks for the tips, no pun intended.

 

[Gary67]

Just click on my username and then click “start conversation” to send me a private message, and we can go from there. Thanks!

after i get my lights fixed to the correct par i will get itouch with you thanks Gary

 

[minus9]

Fair enough! And didn't realize that about sps! Thanks for the tips, no pun intended.

Reefs are built on a road of bones so to speak. Go snorkeling on an actual reef and you'll see it first hand.

 

[Gary67]

Reefs are built on a road of bones so to speak. Go snorkeling on an actual reef and you'll see it first hand.

thanks i understand

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Around 6, with an hour ramping up and down at either end.

Hmmmm
So your lights are only on for 8 total hours?

 

[AKG]

Hmmmm
So your lights are only on for 8 total hours?

I only do 8 hours as well.

 

[therman]

Hmmmm
So your lights are only on for 8 total hours?

Yes. Incident angle of sunlight hitting the ocean surface has to be pretty direct for strong sunlight to hit corals on a reef. So they don’t get it much longer in nature aside from a few hours of dim blue light in the morning and afternoon.

 

[biecacka]

Tim, do you have a picture of your colony of the BC set to stun? Light and flow recommendations?

corey

 

[spsick]

Tim do you think LED par is different than like T5 par? My fastest growers (like faster than Slimer or tables) are an Oregon Tort and a green suharsoni under like 250-300 par from t5 but I can’t grow Millies for squat.

 

[therman]

Tim, do you have a picture of your colony of the BC set to stun? Light and flow recommendations?

corey

Way back on post #325 haha:

therman's 12 year old SPS system...top down shot, starting to enjoy this tank again

yeah...Bubble Yum... I don’t have major shading issues. Most tanks only have one fixture wide (a couple have two end to end), but the new backup system has broader tanks with two parallel units over 30” wide tanks to create a “hot zone” of 6-700 PAR where they overlap in the middle. It is far...

www.reef2reef.com

It likes higher par, with moderate to strong flow, maybe 400+ for the brighter blue color. At lower PAR it goes kind of purplish and slows down growth a lot.

 

[therman]

Tim do you think LED par is different than like T5 par? My fastest growers (like faster than Slimer or tables) are an Oregon Tort and a green suharsoni under like 250-300 par from t5 but I can’t grow Millies for squat.

millepora definitely seem to like higher par, 400-500 for some of them. I have very little experience with T5. I tried them once over a prop tank attached to my main system for comparison and was not impressed at all compared to LED. Plus bulb replacement seemed incredibly wasteful compared to LED (and why put your corals through the up and down cycle of deteriorating output?). I've got 2 DIY LED fixtures I made still growing corals after 13+ years running.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

millepora definitely seem to like higher par, 400-500 for some of them. I have very little experience with T5. I tried them once over a prop tank attached to my main system for comparison and was not impressed at all compared to LED. Plus bulb replacement seemed incredibly wasteful compared to LED (and why put your corals through the up and down cycle of deteriorating output?). I've got 2 DIY LED fixtures I made still growing corals after 13+ years running.

You should patent/reproduce your fixture design bc my hydra 52s only lasted 4 years and my crappy prime 16 hd didn’t even last 3

 

[therman]

You should patent/reproduce your fixture design bc my hydra 52s only lasted 4 years and my crappy prime 16 hd didn’t even last 3

My oldest Reefbreeders fixture is up to 7 or 8 yrs I think. I've replaced driver boards and power supplies here and there but I dont think I've ever had one go bad completely.

 

[Maximus]

Tim, I just tested my par on my 16" tall tank. I'm running 400w Radiums with 4 t5's and you can just imagine the PAR. I'm getting anywhere from 420-590 at the top of the rocks to 390-460 in the middle. LOL talk about PAR overload. What do you think? Will the acros adapt? I have a green slimer, Strawberry shortcake, superman monti, Oregon tort, Tyree undata, and a few unnamed ones. The Giesemann Spectra is already over 15" above the water line. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

 

[biecacka]

Tim, I seen that picture. Thank you. I’m looking forward to getting the frag.
thanks man!


corey

 

[RussiReef]

You should patent/reproduce your fixture design bc my hydra 52s only lasted 4 years and my crappy prime 16 hd didn’t even last 3

Did you try Radions?
I am happy with mine

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Did you try Radions?
I am happy with mine

I did. 3 xr15 g6 pros.

 

[ggNoRe]

Could you tell me your recommendation on acclimating new sps frags? Put them under 400 PAR right away? Start them around 200? If starting low typically how long to wait before moving to their permanent location?