FarmerTy's 215-gallon SPS Tank

tripdad

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
1,906
Reaction score
4,259
Location
Chicago suburbs
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You got it! There is a disposal fee. I’ll send you my Venmo.
giphy.gif
Nah, I don't do those new age, hipster pay sites. I'll drop it in the good old US Mail. It should reach you sometime in the next decade. By then the trimmings will be full blown colonies. :)
 
OP
OP
FarmerTy

FarmerTy

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
6,513
Reaction score
28,258
Location
Austin
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’m getting past the “just keep it alive” mode in the backup system and starting to keep color on the frags now.

There may be a lot of corals getting moved to that system soon! I’m excited!
BE553F3E-BBE3-47E6-B085-65D2C9E9E1A7.jpeg
FF2003FA-334A-4B30-8FF1-5984A05DEA9A.jpeg
D4C05945-70AC-488E-A16D-4FCD1BD5F13D.jpeg
100AD9B6-B28F-4990-B31F-A8D981B2FC4D.jpeg
82B96E15-1B69-4683-BDD5-D53282E42D6E.jpeg
19AA76DD-01D2-4349-96E8-DC5B23F6693B.jpeg
BE5046FF-9065-4582-B504-D2402E78DE48.jpeg
3F851976-E999-479B-8530-AF6552019BDF.jpeg
61D1FF3A-BA1B-46F0-9D6F-7D9AEDF2B887.jpeg
0B975B75-379D-49A7-BF58-9218F1DEE316.jpeg
 
Last edited:

ScottB

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
Messages
7,884
Reaction score
12,162
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How many months expired between startup on the backup tank and completion of the "just keep alive" phase?

Even though I started with a bunch of rock & marine pure block from my old display, I think it was 9 months or so before things really settled down. If you made it faster, I am sure I'm not the only one who would enjoy learning how you managed to accelerate what can be a long process.
 
OP
OP
FarmerTy

FarmerTy

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
6,513
Reaction score
28,258
Location
Austin
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How many months expired between startup on the backup tank and completion of the "just keep alive" phase?

Even though I started with a bunch of rock & marine pure block from my old display, I think it was 9 months or so before things really settled down. If you made it faster, I am sure I'm not the only one who would enjoy learning how you managed to accelerate what can be a long process.
Hey Scott, I wish I was a model for how to do it the fastest but I definitely am not. I started it up about a year ago and then 2 weeks later, my wife had our second child. Then the pandemic and no daycare for our 3 year old meant it was us with two young kids... every day... like the kid version of Groundhog’s Day except I’m Bill Murray with a newborn and a 3-year old.

The frag tank was largely neglected for 5-6 months and then I started really trying to rectify that the last 3-5 months. At one point, Mg was 800 ppm and the tank resembled a refugium more than a coral frag tank. Oddly torches and montis were still alive so that gives you an idea of their tolerance.

I still stick to the 1-year window for an SPS tank to be fully established and good to go. I don’t plan to usually rush that and use that as a guideline for future plans. So, with all that, I like to think I’m right on schedule. :p
 

ScottB

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
Messages
7,884
Reaction score
12,162
Location
Fairfield County, CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You are certainly not describing a perfect alignment of the stars for optimal reefing conditions. Just be glad to have (most of) your sanity.

My backup frag system started really small with a 20G tank and sump full of rock. It is now 3 tanks and 3 sumps connected together for total volume of 300g. Each time I added volume to the system, I'd get hit with dinos for a spell and have to dump in a bucket of PO4 and NO3. And hang a UV on the side of the tank for a few weeks. So while the initial set was relatively smooth and quick there were hiccups and minor losses along the way.

Keep those beautiful pics coming!
 
OP
OP
FarmerTy

FarmerTy

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
6,513
Reaction score
28,258
Location
Austin
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
You are certainly not describing a perfect alignment of the stars for optimal reefing conditions. Just be glad to have (most of) your sanity.

My backup frag system started really small with a 20G tank and sump full of rock. It is now 3 tanks and 3 sumps connected together for total volume of 300g. Each time I added volume to the system, I'd get hit with dinos for a spell and have to dump in a bucket of PO4 and NO3. And hang a UV on the side of the tank for a few weeks. So while the initial set was relatively smooth and quick there were hiccups and minor losses along the way.

Keep those beautiful pics coming!
Most of sanity intact is debatable but I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt.

I’ve noticed the same anytime another tank was added to the already stable system... it’ll go through it’s own cycling period and ugly stage despite sharing the same water as the mature system. I thought it was really an interesting phenomenon albeit annoying.
 

Foothill Corals

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 13, 2018
Messages
497
Reaction score
904
Location
Roseville, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Your corals and pics are amazing!

Can you share a little about how you take your pictures? I assume that you use a porthole for shots like the Orange Crush above. What setting do you use?

I honestly find acros easier to grow than photograph. Your skills are truly impressive!
 
OP
OP
FarmerTy

FarmerTy

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
6,513
Reaction score
28,258
Location
Austin
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Haha, thanks. Hopefully the thread helped with any anxiety with election week.

Here are my settings for this picture of my RR Red Bull.
6F97387D-1551-42F8-B27A-4DE561104910.jpeg

ISO 1250
Exposure time 0.01 secs
F/5.6
I shoot with 100% on my Radions running AB+ and 2 T5 Blue+ bulbs and 2 T5 actinic bulbs. Par is roughly at 350-500 on most of the shots. Using a Nikon D5300 with a Neewer Brown filter and WB set to “Shade” setting. Nails down the color pretty well with minimal post processing needed. Mainly cropping and adjusting for exposure and slight adjustments on temp depending where in the tank I took the shot.

I hand shoot everything with a Avast Marine look down tube for my Laowa 60mm macro or my Tamron 90mm macro.
@Foothill Corals

I appreciate it! Here are the details of how I take my shots. I only started photographing only in the last two years. After an initial learning curve, doesn’t take too long to get up to speed.
 
Back
Top