Smirky's Reefer 450

ngoodermuth · Mar 27, 2017

Nice! It's crazy how good that stag looks several inches out of the water! Do you ever have to frag some of the tips?

Mirkus · Mar 27, 2017

Thank you for the kind words! i would love to improve my coloration though. Some of my corals look good while others are ho hum.

Also, encrusting monti's seemed like a great idea at the time, but now they are a real pain. I have to continuously put aquamend down to create a barrier between the montis and acros that can't fend it off. I was slacking on my maintenance and Joe the coral is losing big time to seasons greetings.

Mirkus · Mar 27, 2017

ngoodermuth said:
Nice! It's crazy how good that stag looks several inches out of the water! Do you ever have to frag some of the tips?

Thanks! I was doing a water change. I shot the video earlier and the camera was right there, so I grabbed it and started filming. When the pumps are on the tips of the stag come up to water level.

ngoodermuth · Mar 27, 2017

Mirkus said:
Thanks! I was doing a water change. I shot the video earlier and the camera was right there, so I grabbed it and started filming. When the pumps are on the tips of the stag come up to water level.

Ok, that makes more sense. Interesting, I wonder if it just knows to "stop" at the surface?

Mirkus · Sep 7, 2017

A quick video. I decided to throw it together before doing some major fragging/damage.

Mirkus · Oct 12, 2017

Just pulled the trigger on some new lights

. I had to sell my wife and kids for them

Bronc · Oct 12, 2017

What kind did you get?

Mirkus · Oct 12, 2017

I have gone back and forth on lighting (& forth and back). I think t5's are great, but my only complaint is with the flat look. I've run metal halides in the past with ho-hum results(really liked the look). However, I am sure my lack of success was caused by water quality issues not the lights. The big debate at the time was whether T5's could color up SPS as well as Halides

This time around I've gone with a whole lot of LEDs (radion g4 pros). I'd like to give them a shot and see how I do with them. The last couple of versions of Radions look like they are pretty good. I also considered AI Hydras and ATI LED powermodule. I probably would have gone with a 6bulb ATI hybrid if I was able to get white without a 2-3 month wait.

Mirkus · Oct 22, 2017

Oh boy, 2 days of new lights and my alkalinity shot up to 10. (I knew I should have tested daily). My tank consistently runs alk at 7 ... to high 6's. I don't think a 7 to 10 jump is too bad, but it does mean my coral is using less than normal. Actually, a lot loss to cause 3dkh jump in 2 days.

Mirkus · Oct 26, 2017

Initially, I cut alk dosage in half but have since had to increase the dose. Alk uptake is increasing, so I'll take that as a good sign.

Mirkus · Nov 3, 2017

It hasn't been that long, but the move to LED hasn't impacted corals adversely. The Led definitely gives the tank a little more pop.

Mirkus · Nov 21, 2017

Ha, this thread is like my own little diary. I didn't realize that it had been a month since my change over to LED. Alkalinity consumption has returned to normal. I am still in the process of increasing the intensity of lighting. I started at 50% and have worked my way up to 62% (4 hours). To date, I haven't seen any significant color change or impact on corals.

Mirkus · Oct 6, 2018

I know it’s been a while. I have totally neglected my tank the last 8 months or so. The transition to radions has been tough on the tank, especially my pearlberry. Under t5s, it was amazing.. led’s blah.

Hopefully with some renewed interest and husbandry, I can get the tank back into shape.