Some of my Acro Collection

[reefluvrr]

Whatever happened to your reeffi uno 2.0?

 

[coral reeftank]

Whatever happened to your reeffi uno 2.0?

I don’t like it :)
Not because it is a bad light, just because it doesn’t mesh well with my current lighting setup. I’d have to get 5 fixtures to replace my 3 radions, and that seems like an unneeded expense.
If I was starting from a fresh slate I’d definitely consider them, but I don’t think I’ll be replacing my radions unless the reefis come out with a different form factor/increase their spread.

 

[Heabel7]

The way I see it, if you can grow coralline in a barren tank then you are acro ready. It doesn't have to be a lot, but is a sign that the microbiome is stable and can support calcareous growth. It can be frustrating to get different results while using the same water, but it goes to show how important microbial curation is in our systems.

Regarding the cyano, I use to get outbreaks now and then too. Back in the day I use to just dose a ton of aminos, sometimes a bit too much and some cyano would appear even with my massive bioload. Since then, I've tweaked my methods. I no longer dose aminos directly into my system. I've began to use my concoction, I can really explain the premise behind everything when you visit. The results have been mind blowing! I swear I put more and more food in everyday but the water stays incredibly clear, rocks are clear, frag racks are clearing up, algaes are detaching, all the things you want to see are happening!

Aminos are the fundamental building blocks for protein synthesis. That is why your corals look so much better when you dose the tank. It seems that your corals are responding well to the aminos, but unwanted organisms like cyano are responding better! It makes sense since these tiny microbes with extremely fast metabolisms will be able to exploit this sudden boost in resources much faster than our corals. What have been your natural ways? There is a point where cyano can become an insane eyesore and headache. Manual removal, water changes, and good bacteria are your friends.

If you are looking for a more natural way of controlling cyano, I'd recommend starting the use of probiotic bacteria (zeobak, FM Rebiotic, Af Pro Bio S) and zeozym. This will not instantly kill the cyano unlike chemiclean, by doing this we are entering a long, targeted war with our microbiome compared to indiscriminately nuking it. The most natural way is through competition. Continual competition will keep everything stable and at bay. The use of antibiotics or other drugs can possibly do too much damage to the microbiome and you will be left trying to reestablishing your system which is another headache we want to avoid.

Don't worry, I'm here to hopefully make that leap! I've been corresponding with a few different colleagues and experienced SPS reefers and they are stoked to see that my method is working in my tank and in theirs! If you want to talk about legwork, thank @SunnyX. His methods prompted me to do all this research and experimentation on my own systems.

It's just beautiful, Ryan runs moonshiners so this is probably the closest to peak coloration in this coral.

Definitely gonna stop by again soon. I think I’ll do my best to copy your methods. So far when I tried to mimic others it has not worked out long term. I’m a meticulous reefer in most cases and been doing this for 10+ years with the same issues year after year. Although with some great success attached to what I consider failures. I don’t change things fast and I let them ride rather than snap to something new at the first sign of trouble. This calls for some fellow reef talk and a bogalooga, delight and some other stuff. Never stopped by to pick up my Father’s Day gift to myself. Now I had a birthday too! I’m looking forward to it.

 

[Heabel7]

I don’t like it :)
Not because it is a bad light, just because it doesn’t mesh well with my current lighting setup. I’d have to get 5 fixtures to replace my 3 radions, and that seems like an unneeded expense.
If I was starting from a fresh slate I’d definitely consider them, but I don’t think I’ll be replacing my radions unless the reefis come out with a different form factor/increase their spread.

$2500 for Reefi with more power probably better spectrum options vs $3000 for radion. I wonder how much the T5 like spread of the G6 radions has an impact over the spread of the Reefi or gen 4 radions. Although some claim it to be BS. Ray’s reflecting off the glass and being more horizontal definitely seems like it would have a significant impact to growth considering you should be hitting more of the coral tissue on the underside.

 

[coral reeftank]

$2500 for Reefi with more power probably better spectrum options vs $3000 for radion. I wonder how much the T5 like spread of the G6 radions has an impact over the spread of the Reefi or gen 4 radions. Although some claim it to be BS. Ray’s reflecting off the glass and being more horizontal definitely seems like it would have a significant impact to growth considering you should be hitting more of the coral tissue on the underside.

More spectrum yes, but the shading is such a big issue with the reefis. Even with no reflectors I had poor coverage on my tank. It’s just because the light is so small.
You can see what I mean when you stop by.

Imho, I think that a very blue spectrum philips coral care fixture would be the best light out there! Super high build quality panel light, IP rated and intense blue pop. Until something like that hits the scene I’ll be sticking with radions.

 

[coral reeftank]

CRT Hot Rod, I love the way this thing grows!

CRT Super Shortie looking good after a haircut!

Super dope smoothie!

 

[Perry]

CRT Hot Rod, I love the way this thing grows!

CRT Super Shortie looking good after a haircut!

Super dope smoothie!

Allan,
What are you calling that last one? Cool color combo!

 

[coral reeftank]

Allan,
What are you calling that last one? Cool color combo!

No name yet, that one’s still in the cooking phase so it’ll be in the oven for a bit longer!

 

[Perry]

No name yet, that one’s still in the cooking phase so it’ll be in the oven for a bit longer!

Gotcha, it's nice brother!

 

[coral reeftank]

A few more lookers!

TGC Midnite Mamba

WCR Rainbow

CRT Vision

 

[Curiousbranching]

Can't help falling in love with these colorful sticks

 

[reefluvrr]

@coral reeftank, Allan do you see your pH drop when you feed your tank the big dose of bacteria loaded with food?

I fed my tank the bacteria loaded with AminS and amino acid. I turned my return pump off for two hours
Saw my pH drop from 8.3 to 8.05.
It has been over 24 hours and pH is only still at 8.09....

Thoughts?

 

[Perry]

A few more lookers!

TGC Midnite Mamba

WCR Rainbow

CRT Vision

Mamba is sweet!!!

 

[coral reeftank]

@coral reeftank, Allan do you see your pH drop when you feed your tank the big dose of bacteria loaded with food?

I fed my tank the bacteria loaded with AminS and amino acid. I turned my return pump off for two hours
Saw my pH drop from 8.3 to 8.05.
It has been over 24 hours and pH is only still at 8.09....

Thoughts?

No, I have not noticed any major pH swings in my systems. It is possible that this could happen though. What bacteria did you use? Any other effects besides the pH?
I would adjust your dosing so that you don't experience any swings, again I'm still experimenting with my concoction. I have been dosing every 2 days without any issues so far. However, everyone's system is so different. Please keep a close eye on your system and discontinue using if you experience any maladies.

Mamba is sweet!!!

Oh yea!! Grew it out from a small frag and now it towers over everything. An awesome piece for sure

 

[coral reeftank]

Some colony macro shots!

GB Fury, the polyps on this thing get so fuzzy! I love it!!

TGC Orange Creamsicle, this one's gotten massive!

RR Blue Thunder, super funky growth pattern and an awesome deep blue too!

 

[coral reeftank]

One more sweet treat!!!

Here is one of my Two-face Lokani grow outs. The camera really filters out how gorgeous the shades of blue/violet are on this piece, the grafted parts are the icing on the cake. Swirls and blotches everywhere!

 

[reefluvrr]

What bacteria did you use? Any other effects besides the pH?

I mainly use PNS Probio. Do you keep your concoction in a closed vessel or open container?
I may be driving up the anerobic reaction by keeping my container closed? Or I could be getting active respiration/metabolism as I double/triple the bacteria concentration as I let the bacteria grow and fester over the course of 8 hours.

Yesterday I made another batch of concoction of 10ml PNS Probio, 10ml PNS Yellow Snow, 6 drops of Amin S, 1 ml of Tropic Marin Carbon dose, 5 ml of Tropic Marin Aminos into 300ml of tank water. After 12 hours, I tested the pH of this closed lid concoction. The pH turned out to be 5.3!


Curious on how much bacteria you put into your concoction?

 

[coral reeftank]

I mainly use PNS Probio. Do you keep your concoction in a closed vessel or open container?
I may be driving up the anerobic reaction by keeping my container closed? Or I could be getting active respiration/metabolism as I double/triple the bacteria concentration as I let the bacteria grow and fester over the course of 8 hours.

Yesterday I made another batch of concoction of 10ml PNS Probio, 10ml PNS Yellow Snow, 6 drops of Amin S, 1 ml of Tropic Marin Carbon dose, 5 ml of Tropic Marin Aminos into 300ml of tank water. After 12 hours, I tested the pH of this closed lid concoction. The pH turned out to be 5.3!


Curious on how much bacteria you put into your concoction?

I keep it in a bbq squirt bottle that I vent. The mixture will build pressure if it is left in a sealed container, so I don’t want that mess.
I also put in the recommended amount of bacteria for my system volume into the vessel. I basically follow the guidelines of all the products but choose to mix in a different container before dosing my systems.

I definitely think that it lowers the pH while it is in the container as there are a lot of acids and enzymes. However, once I dose it into the tank I don’t experience any issues.

 

[coral reeftank]

Do what you love and never work a day in your life!

I joined r2r when I was 11 and I could’ve never imagined that my little hobby would propel me down this path. Due to my passion and love for reefs I was able to meet countless wonderful people, gain a plethora of knowledge, and ultimately attend and graduate from the best university in the WORLD! (Shout out U.S. News lol)

Thank you for everyone’s support over the years. I would not be the person I am today without this wonderful hobby and community!

P.S. we’ll back to our normally scheduled acro photos soon!

 

[Perry]

Do what you love and never work a day in your life!

I joined r2r when I was 11 and I could’ve never imagined that my little hobby would propel me down this path. Due to my passion and love for reefs I was able to meet countless wonderful people, gain a plethora of knowledge, and ultimately attend and graduate from the best university in the WORLD! (Shout out U.S. News lol)

Thank you for everyone’s support over the years. I would not be the person I am today without this wonderful hobby and community!

P.S. we’ll back to our normally scheduled acro photos soon!

Congratulations Allan, an amazing achievement my friend! Many good years to come, and as I have told you personally, I will say it here. You are light years ahead of your time!!!
Enjoy the ride brother ;)