Swannyson7's 180g mixed reef

[swannyson7]

Thanks guys! I'm quickly running out of room again as my frags grow out. I'm gonna have to ask my wife to upgrade again before too long...

 

[skinz78]

LOL I can relate to that, I am in the same boat already!

 

[Aquaph8]

I gotta wait atleast another decade before my wife agrees to that again. Really nice tank and beautiful pics.

 

[johnanddawn]

nice additions
i've been looking at one of those lantana montis - what is your first impression and do the blue polyps stand out?

 

[swannyson7]

The yellow lantana is nice, but not great. The blue polyps contrast well to the yellow base, but IMO it isn't as nice as a rainbow many of the other encrusting montis. The yellow base is pretty blah, and the polyps only stand out well if you are looking closely. Right now it's in my frag tank with about a 12k color spectrum, so my opinion may change a bit once it grows enough to move it to the DT with a color spectrum in the neighborhood of 20k. Overall a nice addition, but by no means a showcase piece.

 

[TinaFoster]

Impressive! The color in your tank is to die for! Makes me want corals!

 

[swannyson7]

Impressive! The color in your tank is to die for! Makes me want corals!

Thanks!

 

[swannyson7]

My pink birdsnest decided to RTN last night after a sting from my hammer, but on a happy note I got a few frags in from Wet Thumb and a few from a local reefer, so I figured I'd post a couple pics.

I finally got a frag of Pearlberry after searching forever!

 

[swannyson7]

I also made a DIY light rack for my LED fixtures. The only complaint I have with these fixtures is the cheap hanging kits. I had them suspended by a couple pieces of chain, but it looked sloppy, so I grabbed some angle aluminum the other day and made a nice rack to hold them. I didn't have access to a TIG welder so I had to bolt it together, but I think it it still came out pretty good. Here's a couple phone pics of it in action.

Painted it black with some Rustoleum

The rack is hung with a couple retractable light "yo-yos" on ball bearing sliders.

Here it is suspended in the tank:

 

[swannyson7]

And some videos of it in action. Getting the rack out of the way to access the tank is a breeze, but putting it back in place is a bit more work. Overall, it's a huge improvement from suspending the fixtures from chain on carabiners.
[video=youtube;-VCUlOHcA6Q]http://youtu.be/-VCUlOHcA6Q[/video]
[video=youtube;tJELsLhk6Ag]http://youtu.be/tJELsLhk6Ag[/video]

 

[Aquaph8]

Just watched your videos, your light rack looks great. Nice job making it work inside the closed quarters of the canopy.

 

[skinz78]

Nice looking frags Swanny, and the light rack is sweet too!

 

[gooch Verified Sponsor]

Thanks Chris! The pieces from the Alternative Reef look great and they let me get rid of the last of my frag racks in the DT. I think I'm going to ask Scott about building an arch for the back of the tank that goes around the MP10s seeing as the arch I attempted never looked quite right.

It's kinda funny you mention this. I was going to suggest something for those but I didn't want to come off as a pushy salesman. I have a real good idea for you. PM or e-mail me if you are interested. I don't want to hijack your thread. I actually love this tank. I think it is set up awesomely.

 

[swannyson7]

Just watched your videos, your light rack looks great. Nice job making it work inside the closed quarters of the canopy.

Thanks! Having them suspended by chains with carabiners looked really sloppy, and maintenance on the tank was a real PITA.

Nice looking frags Swanny, and the light rack is sweet too!

Tina really hooked me up! I also got a frag of Utter Chaos, but I just can't get a good pic of them because of where they are in the frag tank. Kind of hard to tell, but the last frag is a Pearlberry which I've been unable to find locally for the past 6 months. Glad I finally got a frag! :xd:

It's kinda funny you mention this. I was going to suggest something for those but I didn't want to come off as a pushy salesman. I have a real good idea for you. PM or e-mail me if you are interested. I don't want to hijack your thread. I actually love this tank. I think it is set up awesomely.

PM Sent!

 

[swannyson7]

Snapped a couple pics today, so I thought I would share.

 

[swannyson7]

 

[skinz78]

Beautiful as usual! What camera are you using?

 

[swannyson7]

Canon XSi with a Tamron 90mm in those photos

 

[gar732]

Nice pics. I'll have to bring my camera with me next time I head up, your corals are nicer than mine lol. What are those polyps?

 

[swannyson7]

Nice pics. I'll have to bring my camera with me next time I head up, your corals are nicer than mine lol. What are those polyps?

Not sure which pic you're talking about, but there is some fruit loops in the 1st pic, Utter Chaos in the 8th pic (baby is in focus, so it's not that bright yet) and sypodium in the last pic.