Steve's 180 of Madness

[Eagle_Steve]

That really is a cool shot! Did you mean for it to come out as though you’re in the water or was it just an odd happenstance?

I’m a HUGE Puffer fan from the way back far away era! Show me someone who doesn’t like Puffers and I’ll show you someone not to be left alone in your house!

I just put my phone to the tank, zoomed it out to .5 to get the puffer to focus and took a pic. Not intended lol.

As for puffers, love them too. What I have 11 baby checkered puffers in there lol. All collected over my trips to FL. I have to actually drive a bit south to collect them, as collection/harvest is not allowed in Martin or St. Lucie county FL. Too many people have died trying to eat them lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Talk about a mixed reef area of the tank lol. May need to move the gorg, but it doesn't look like the clam cares. heck, it doesn't care when the sebae touches it either lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

and a quick top down section.

 

[Crabby48]

The top down is a great picture. Loving how everything is growing together but happy

 

[Eagle_Steve]

The top down is a great picture. Loving how everything is growing together but happy

This is the 180 of madness. It is survival of the finest or get along lol. I let things grow as they grow. While the acro colonies do get trimmed and recycled into the CaRX, the rest is allowed to do it's thing with some fragging here or there to give others somethings or to get some credit for food and salt lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Somebody is finally not scared of the phone anymore.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Finally got a shot of the small female hairy blenny. (Labrisomus nuchipinnis)

Ignore the bubbles on the rocks, I just got done resting the flow and there are a ton of bubbles all over from the wood stone used to allow the return to blow bubbles everywhere, so I could see the flow lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Haha. Better pic of the female. Then the male poking his head out and my baby yellowfin mojarra (Gerres cinereus)

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So, Dinos decided to show up in the past few days in the newly setup tank. Seems about 400 lbs of live rock and a small bio load for the tank size has led to 0 nutrients. Ehh, no big deal. Mixed up some sodium nitrate and trisodium phosphate and began dosing. Will keep increasing dose amount and amount of times dosed until I can get them to hover at about 10 NO3 and .1 PO4. Once I get that stable, they will go away. Same thing happened when I setup the macro tank a while back with the same rocks. Rocks have been kept alive and were fed ammonia when in garage, but this seems to always happen lol. Guess I should have just thrown more fish in the tank to begin with lol. I am also not worried about the algae, the rabbit fish is actually mowing it down and the other one will be coming out of QT in 2 days, so between them and the urchins, not worried.

Anyways, ignore the snot bubbles. Here is my big hairy blenny. He is now not afraid of the phone, as I have been holding it to the tank when I feed. He makes the hawkfish look small lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Since nutrients are now staying around 10 NO3 and .1 PO4, Dinos have vanished. This is day 2 with no snot bubbles or any sign of them being in charge. The GHA is also now dying off and it appears that the sponges, macros and other things are outcompeting it. Not sure, but do not care lol. I will be going and picking up a sea hare today, as there is quite a bit of GHA for it and once it is done there, there will always be plenty in the sump. Grow light for Mangroves makes sure of that lol.

End of day, as usual, it was just something simple to correct the crap. No need t over react and go "OHHHHHH my G_d DINOS!!!!!!!".

Some crap pics, but shows how the GHA is now there on the rocks and there are even spots where it has come loose from the rocks with just the flow.

 

[deerhunter06]

Your corals (even sps) are happy with 3- hydra 32s? I have a 180 I’m building and have same lights was wondering if I was going to need more.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Your corals (even sps) are happy with 3- hydra 32s? I have a 180 I’m building and have same lights was wondering if I was going to need more.

They are. I just have everything that needs high light up high, euphillia midway and lower light stuff down low. Excluding the clam on the sanded. It has an a360x with the narrow lens over it.

I also run quite bit more on the white side of lighting. I think this helps, as it allows for more light from the light to be used.

I think at leak my UV and Blue are maxed, violet and royal blue are at 100%, white is at 75% and red/green at 15%. Have to look later, as I changed it up a while back.

 

[deerhunter06]

They are. I just have everything that needs high light up high, euphillia midway and lower light stuff down low. Excluding the clam on the sanded. It has an a360x with the narrow lens over it.

I also run quite bit more on the white side of lighting. I think this helps, as it allows for more light from the light to be used.

I think at leak my UV and Blue are maxed, violet and royal blue are at 100%, white is at 75% and red/green at 15%. Have to look later, as I changed it up a while back.

Thanks, this helps me.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Thanks, this helps me.

Also, one thing I forgot to mention. The rock structure is almost set dead in the middle of the tank. This puts the acros directly under the lights. Behind the rocks is a macro field and in front is quite a bit of sandbed. In short, all corals are under the lights and not really spread out past the light spread. If I had the rocks setup differently I might need more lights or need to throw the hybrid fixture back up there. They layout was based on 3x kessil a360we lights to begin with and all grew well with those, so knew it would be OK with these lights and the same setup,

Here is a screen shot of the lighting at peak. It hold this for 4 hours and then ramps down. Little more blue at night on the ramp down, while ramp up in the morning is a little whiter. You can ignore the moonlight, s I just leave it at 5% all throughout the schedule. I do have the lunar phase turned on, so at night it varies from 0%-5% depending on the moon phase.

 

[deerhunter06]

Also, one thing I forgot to mention. The rock structure is almost set dead in the middle of the tank. This puts the acros directly under the lights. Behind the rocks is a macro field and in front is quite a bit of sandbed. In short, all corals are under the lights and not really spread out past the light spread. If I had the rocks setup differently I might need more lights or need to throw the hybrid fixture back up there. They layout was based on 3x kessil a360we lights to begin with and all grew well with those, so knew it would be OK with these lights and the same setup,

Here is a screen shot of the lighting at peak. It hold this for 4 hours and then ramps down. Little more blue at night on the ramp down, while ramp up in the morning is a little whiter. You can ignore the moonlight, s I just leave it at 5% all throughout the schedule. I do have the lunar phase turned on, so at night it varies from 0%-5% depending on the moon phase.

Ok, thank you again. I have two kessil ap9xs as well but if I didn’t need them in addition to the hydras I was going to sell them.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Ok, thank you again. I have two kessil ap9xs as well but if I didn’t need them in addition to the hydras I was going to sell them.

If your tank has center braces, the ap9x are a pain to get set right so the light is not half blocked by the braces. I have 3 of them and 4 700s in a closest (Used to be over my 500 with quite a few 360s) and for the life of me could not get them mounted to be even with spread and not have one part directly over a brace when I wanted to try them over my 180 after taking the 500 down lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

If your tank has center braces, the ap9x are a pain to get set right so the light is not half blocked by the braces. I have 3 of them and 4 700s in a closest (Used to be over my 500 with quite a few 360s) and for the life of me could not get them mounted to be even with spread and not have one part directly over a brace when I wanted to try them over my 180 after taking the 500 down lol.

I will say, if you are used to Kessils, the hydras will take a bit to get used to. The lights look so much different and it is hard to get it to "look" the same. The peak for my settings is very close (minus a little of the kessil shimmer) color wise to a group of 360s at 65% color and 95% intensity.

 

[crusso1993]

I have 3 of them and 4 700s in a closest

I’ve heard of people putting brighter bulbs in a closet to see better because closets are not always well lit. But 3 AP9Xes and 4 AP 700s in a closet seems a little excessive!

 

[deerhunter06]

If your tank has center braces, the ap9x are a pain to get set right so the light is not half blocked by the braces. I have 3 of them and 4 700s in a closest (Used to be over my 500 with quite a few 360s) and for the life of me could not get them mounted to be even with spread and not have one part directly over a brace when I wanted to try them over my 180 after taking the 500 down lol.

If your tank has center braces, the ap9x are a pain to get set right so the light is not half blocked by the braces. I have 3 of them and 4 700s in a closest (Used to be over my 500 with quite a few 360s) and for the life of me could not get them mounted to be even with spread and not have one part directly over a brace when I wanted to try them over my 180 after taking the 500 down lol.

It does have center braces, which is why I wanted the hydras. I have a ton of rock to work with I may just try and get the aquascape perfect for the hydras.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I’ve heats of people putting brighter bulbs in a closet to see better because closets are not always well lit. But 3 AP9Xes and 4 AP 700s in a closet seems a little excessive!

They are not enough. There is more in there.

6x 360we
5x reef breeders photo v1s
lord knows how many black boxes that work or half work,
some older primes
some more 32s
couple of older radions that need repair
and probably a few more I am forgetting about.

It is an "Instant Tanning" room. Heck with that spray on tan stuff.