New journey has begun !!!!

ScottR

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Looks real nice. Wish I could shut down mine and GO BIG.
 

Rick.45cal

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That’s going to turn into a stunning display quickly! It will be fun to watch. It’s already looking fantatstic. Glad to see you back posting! Something exciting about having a standing wave in the center of the tank when all the pumps are on.
 
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Abhishek

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Looks real nice. Wish I could shut down mine and GO BIG.

Thank you ! Some dreams come true my friend . I hope it does for you very soon .

That’s going to turn into a stunning display quickly! It will be fun to watch. It’s already looking fantatstic. Glad to see you back posting! Something exciting about having a standing wave in the center of the tank when all the pumps are on.

Thank you !!! I was wishing you would take a look . One of the most amazing acro keepers I look up to . I have learnt a great deal from you and thank you for chiming in .

Here’s a video of the top of the tank when the pumps are running around 50-75% for you @Rick.45cal

 
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csb123

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Looking awesome, Abisheck! I can’t wait for your colonies to get bigger and need to be fragged;)
 

Rick.45cal

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Thank you ! Some dreams come true my friend . I hope it does for you very soon .



Thank you !!! I was wishing you would take a look . One of the most amazing acro keepers I look up to . I have learnt a great deal from you and thank you for chiming in .

Here’s a video of the top of the tank when the pumps are running around 50-75% for you @Rick.45cal



Yep, you’re doing it right! Love the slow mo water sounds! Lol. Thanks for the compliments, I’m just stumbling my way through this like everyone else! :)
 
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Abhishek

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A little disappointed you didn't go Orphek ;) Love the build!!!!

Lol ! I missed my ham s when you sold your orpheks . After that I had no money
Left . May be someday !!!

Looking awesome, Abisheck! I can’t wait for your colonies to get bigger and need to be fragged;)

Absolutely ! Although I still envy your 300 gallon beauty .

Yep, you’re doing it right! Love the slow mo water sounds! Lol. Thanks for the compliments, I’m just stumbling my way through this like everyone else! :)

You are too modest man ! Will see how the journey goes for me .

Very nice!!! Looking forward to watching this one grow out!!!

Am also excited to see it grow :D . Thanks for following .
 
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Abhishek

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As we talk through my process and build , thought I should start including pics at least once in a while of the residents of the tank .

When I made the video , somehow I completely forgot to capture my showpiece .

Even though it’s an acropora dominated tank , ironically my absolute favorite is my TSA Psychosis !!! A Zoanthids King amongst all my acros .

It’s large polyp, amazing coloration and ability to handle as much flow and light as possible makes it almost an acro in nature in disguise .

096EA4EB-7584-4453-B92F-67FF44CB30DB.jpeg


Just another example that 150-200 times water flow with high PAR is not always bad .
 
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Abhishek

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People who have visited my house after the new build often ask me - why I don’t have to deal with all the ugly phases of cyano , dino , GHA common in a less than a year old tank .

And my answer has always been - CRYPTIC REFUGIUM

When I planned for the new tank - I knew I would use my Fiji live rocks that I have been cycling for a year . But I wasn’t confident of it been able to handle all the ugly phases of a new tank build .
Determined I started looking for answers and was fascinated by Steve Tyree’s concept of cryptic refugium .

Got in touch with Steve and after countless stupid questions patiently answered by the man himself , embarked to setup my 25 gallon cryptic refugium .
It was seeded by cryptic rocks from Steve’s 15 year old system . I went a little distance and got a few small rock rubbles from 2 of my most favorite vendors - Adam at Battlecorals and Jared at RockyMountainFrags

In only a matter of 3 months, the refugium is teeming with countless lives and sponges .

I probably spend more time taking care of the refugium than my tank actually . It’s fed 6 times a day with benepets , KZ Sponge Power , Brightwells amino , ReefNutrition Oyester Feast .

And the growth of sponges speak of themselves .

Doing so , I literally never had a single ugly phase in my tank yet ( knock on wood) . A few discolored acros from the move but no major casualties whatsoever .

In fact , even with such crazy feeding schedule between 6 times of the refugium and 4 times of my tank , nitrates hover around 15 and phosphates around 0.1-0.2.

Trust me when I say - cryptic refugium is probably one of the most well guarded secrets in reef keeping but when done right - it works magical ..

I even have aiptasia that looks better than GB Buttkissers

I wish people try more of these than using ATS and refugium lit by leds to grow weeds

Anyways , here’s a video of the refugium -



Regards,
Abhishek
 
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Abhishek

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I am just so excited today that I just have to share it . Ever since for the last 15 years that I have been in the hobby , there’s only one dream of mi e that trumps keeping acros - keeping a pair of Copperband buttterflies !!!

It’s not a common sight to see a spit in a reef tank . Challenges with getting a copperband through qt , fighting with bacterial diseases , making it eat - these are just for 1 . The problem complicates exponentially when you try to pair since it’s extremely difficult to tell the sexes apart .

I have been ever since trying !!!

Finally after so many years I have finally got to a point when I possibly can have a pair and the male hasn’t killed the female yet . It has been a couple of weeks though !!!

And they seem to tolerate each other for now and roaming together in close proximity . If they pair up successfully and show breeding interest , I would gladly give up every acro I have to try and dedicate all efforts to breed them . All my acros become secondary to them !!!

@eatbreakfast - I have to tag you TJ as you have taught me everything I know about fishes !!!

Took lots of effort to figure out but finally it’s here :-



Regards,
Abhishek
 
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vetteguy53081

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Abishek, you got this! Everything you do has been top notch and all your equipment of utmost quality.
Id love some of those acros.
Pairing CBB is quite the feat But YOU would be the one to accomplish this Successfully.
 
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Abhishek

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Good luck! My favorite fish is the copperband.

Yes mine too ! Thank you . I hope the pair works out in the long run .

Abishek, you got this! Everything you do has been top notch and all your equipment of utmost quality.
Id love some of those acros.
Pairing CBB is quite the feat But YOU would be the one to accomplish this Successfully.

It’s an honor and a privilege that you are following my thread my friend . I have tons of respect for you and thank you for the wishes .
I would love to share some acros with you once I frag them .

So , this time will let you just watch the video . Things are going along smoothly .
I have never been a guy to monitor my tank pH closely but currently upon trying to check after every month or calibration it does seem to run a little low of 7.9-8.0 .
Not that am gonna do something about it though !

Anyways , here’s a video with my prized CBB pair

 
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Abhishek

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Looks great man Outstanding as usual:) will be a blast to watch this one fill.

Oh boy !! Am so glad that you have finally found my build thread . Was planning on forcing you to follow so that I can brag to all my reefing friends - Adam follows my build

None of these wouldn’t be possible without day in and day out help from you . And if anyone else reading it - trust Adam and his battleboxes to do wonders for your reef tank . No it’s not a publicity but a friendly gesture for one of the most amazing people in the hobby and his even more amazing acroporas !

I do realize that I need some battle corals soon as it has been like 6-7 months since I ordered
Regards,
Abhishek
 

vetteguy53081

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Way to go Abhishek !!!!
Tank looking good and those CBB's doing well together !!
 
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Abhishek

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Can you share some shots of how you've got your entire system set up and how the cryptic fuge is implemented? Just curious how it's all put together. :)


This is a pic when I had just set it up.

The black tub at the end is the cryptic refugium with no light what so ever .

It just gets fed from my sump and returns water back to my sump at an extremely slow flow . Slow flow is the key to a successful cryptic refugium .

E5A1BDC4-9E96-4F5D-BAF7-E15755E12F03.jpeg
 

Bonsai reef

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Great setup @Abhishek ! Went through your old build thread entirely today and loved the journey. Very interesting and engaging write-up. I am very new to this hobby and learning a lot each day from this great forum. Keep sharing and inspiring.
 
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