I have SPS now!

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 10, 2020

On my way to my LFS today!

WIReefer · Oct 10, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
I have been trying to order a screen kit for, BRS for months now.... they keep being out of it ... yeah, still my fault : (

Why don’t you just head to menards or a similar store and make a easy diy eggcrate kid.

sawdonkey · Oct 10, 2020

When I saw those mariculture pieces at the start of this thread, I thought “oh no!” I went that route when I first started too and had the same result as you.

I know named corals are kind of a gimmick, but at least you know others have gotten them to survive. How’s the PC Rainbow doing? That is a great choice for starter SPS.

I’d suggest buying a pack from Battlecorals and tell him you want some of his hardiest stuff. He’ll hook you up and his prices are reasonable.

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 10, 2020

sawdonkey said:
When I saw those mariculture pieces at the start of this thread, I thought “oh no!” I went that route when I first started too and had the same result as you.

I know named corals are kind of a gimmick, but at least you know others have gotten them to survive. How’s the PC Rainbow doing? That is a great choice for starter SPS.

I’d suggest buying a pack from Battlecorals and tell him you want some of his hardiest stuff. He’ll hook you up and his prices are reasonable.

The PC rainbow is doing well. : ) the color is good... it’s only been 2 weeks, but it is showing evidence of growth.

I have not bought any corals online yet. My QT is not quite ready... I found a really good LFS finally. ...not really the best for coral variety, they are really more of a service company. But, I really like these guys: smart, professional! I am trying to establish a relationship with them (in case I have an emergency)

My biggest problem right now is stopping myself from buying species I am not ready for yet lol

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 10, 2020

WIReefer said:
Why don’t you just head to menards or a similar store and make a easy diy eggcrate kid.

I really like having my top opened up. (Excuse the horrible pics below) I have a canopy that protects my fish from jumping on 3 sides. I have an idea for putting up a net across the back and over the top of my overflow. ...even egg crate effects PAR.

(edit) forgot to add the pics lol

WIReefer · Oct 10, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
I really like having my top opened up. (Excuse the horrible pics below) I have a canopy that protects my fish from jumping on 3 sides. I have an idea for putting up a net across the back and over the top of my overflow. ...even egg crate effects PAR.

Sorry about your fish loss! I had my first fish jump last month and I’ve been i the hobby roughly 8 years now was a sad day. Never had a lid on any tank either.

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 10, 2020

melanotaenia said:
Sorry to hear about the goby; do you have a source for ORA corals? Their frags have always done well for me so could be a good starting point given their hardiness compared to Maricultured pieces.

I do have a source for ORA corals... I just bought one today. He called it an “original” ORA...? T is a Purple Stylophora. I also got Green Hydropora

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 10, 2020

Here are the 2 I got today! : ) A Purple Stylophora and a Green Hydropora these are not the best pics I have ever taken : ( I will do a full tank shot after the sun goes does tonight. They are both nice size!!

I got a nice green BTA today... he is still wiggling around right now, looking for a home (and, I am almost certain, he is about to split! And of course, I replaced my Bella Gobi!

WIReefer · Oct 10, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
Here are the 2 I got today! : ) A Purple Stylophora and a Green Hydropora these are not the best pics I have ever taken : ( I will do a full tank shot after the sun goes does tonight. They are both nice size!!

I got a nice green BTA today... he is still wiggling around right now, looking for a home (and, I am almost certain, he is about to split! And of course, I replaced my Bella Gobi!

Best of luck! Nice pieces! Shouldn’t have a problem with the purple they are pretty easy!

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 10, 2020

The t is sooooo nice to be buying livestock again!!! My LFS just got me a Cherry Bomb. I pick it up on Tuesday. Super excited! (Taking a good full tank shot is tuf... glares, reflections... tank lights! Lol (still fun!)

Gernader · Oct 10, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
The t is sooooo nice to be buying livestock again!!! My LFS just got me a Cherry Bomb. I pick it up on Tuesday. Super excited! (Taking a good full tank shot is tuf... glares, reflections... tank lights! Lol (still fun!)

Very nice, I have a cherry bomb and I love it! Hope your SPS will do well from now on

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 10, 2020

Gernader said:
Very nice, I have a cherry bomb and I love it! Hope your SPS will do well from now on

Fingers crossed... keep learning... and most important... : ) stay active on R2R! You guys are hreat!

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 14, 2020

I picked up a new frag today! A little Cherry Bomb Arco : )

vetteguy53081 · Oct 14, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
Here are the 2 I got today! : ) A Purple Stylophora and a Green Hydropora these are not the best pics I have ever taken : ( I will do a full tank shot after the sun goes does tonight. They are both nice size!!

I got a nice green BTA today... he is still wiggling around right now, looking for a home (and, I am almost certain, he is about to split! And of course, I replaced my Bella Gobi!

Both very hardy

SeaDweller · Oct 14, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
I picked up a new frag today! A little Cherry Bomb Arco : )

That’s a generous frag! I bet this does way better than the MC piece you bought. Good luck!

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 14, 2020

SeaDweller said:
That’s a generous frag! I bet this does way better than the MC piece you bought. Good luck!

I did discovered something I had wrong... it was part of my problem. ...long story.... I had my “cool whites” set to high... way too high. I dropped them back today by a lot!

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 16, 2020

Okay so... not everything is a success story. I have now put a full $grand... in the trash. I killed them. Both of the first two Maricultured ones... And 2 others. This has been a disheartening start... although not completely unexpected ( look at my tag line down there...)

I found two problems I was not aware of before. I had my “cool whites” way too high on my LEDs.. going up to 49% at max. I dropped that to a max of 5% across the day now. And, a problem with something I thought I had solved. Flow...

I bought great equipKent : ) 2 power heads, 2 wave-makers and a nice strong return pump coming out of two pipes. Mathematically, my flow was right.... yeah, you gotta point that crap in the right direction lol 2 of the corals that died were in areas with very low flow. (I did fix that)

Why is learning always so expensive? : p

MERKEY · Oct 16, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
Okay so... not everything is a success story. I have now put a full $grand... in the trash. I killed them. Both of the first two Maricultured ones... And 2 others. This has been a disheartening start... although not completely unexpected ( look at my tag line down there...)

I found two problems I was not aware of before. I had my “cool whites” way too high on my LEDs.. going up to 49% at max. I dropped that to a max of 5% across the day now. And, a problem with something I thought I had solved. Flow...

I bought great equipKent : ) 2 power heads, 2 wave-makers and a nice strong return pump coming out of two pipes. Mathematically, my flow was right.... yeah, you gotta point that crap in the right direction lol 2 of the corals that died were in areas with very low flow. (I did fix that)

Why is learning always so expensive? : p

So sorry for the loses, it always hurts watching corals die.

We have all been there in one way or another and its the learning as you know that makes us better reefers.

Keep at it and once you add again keep us posted!

Daddy-o · Oct 16, 2020

Shawn_epicurious said:
Okay so... not everything is a success story. I have now put a full $grand... in the trash. I killed them. Both of the first two Maricultured ones... And 2 others. This has been a disheartening start... although not completely unexpected

What a sad start to SPS. Did you dip them? I have seen a bunch of guys kill corals they buy from us when they dip. I think they mix too strong & dip too long - especially Bayer. Sometimes the tank move itself is very stressful for a coral and then you add dipping and acclimation on the same day, along with a change in lighting and it is just too much.
Cheers! Mark

Shawn_epicurious · Oct 16, 2020

Daddy-o said:
What a sad start to SPS. Did you dip them? I have seen a bunch of guys kill corals they buy from us when they dip. I think they mix too strong & dip too long - especially Bayer. Sometimes the tank move itself is very stressful for a coral and then you add dipping and acclimation on the same day, along with a change in lighting and it is just too much.
Cheers! Mark

My LFS is running PAR very close to mine. (I took my Apoge with me one day : ) I have been dipping them.

I am using Revive (shown below) I am using it very conservatively... less than the recommended amount and for less than the recommended time. ...the smell... is STRONG! It makes me a lil afraid of it....