Sweet Reef Corals Eye Candy Thread

[Sweet Reef Corals]

Dintrators and biolpellet reactors are two tools I've never been tempted with. Must be an advanced aquarist thing cause every time I read about them around here people are tearing their hair out with them.

Is there a secret to their utility?

Oh my that Jumanji. Oh my.

The denitrator is pretty straight forward. You’re just recirculating water over and over to create an anaerobic environment for the bacteria that consume phosphate and nitrate. The place where everyone makes a mistake is when the denitrator is cycling. The effluent during cycling is pure ammonia, nitrite and if you don’t drip that outside of the sump, you’re dumping it into your system and that is definitely not good and is destructive.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

LOL! Ya, they’re special. Especially when they’re happy. Man, you just can’t get those kinds of colors in anything else. Definitely my favorite!

Yes I am using the denitrator. I would have to check my log for the exact date that I put the drip back in the sump but I’m thinking it’s been 3 weeks since it cycled... You had mentioned before that no good acro grower has used a denitrator long term. My buddy @coralbeauties is the one that turned me on to it about 4 years ago. He’s been a stick head for a very long time and he used one for years. That’s why I feel they’re safe. It’s really just an environment you’re creating for anaerobic bacteria. Nothing too scientific.

Never said “no good acro keeper long term, etc”. Just the few ppl I know that tried the denitrator lost a lot of Tenuis and all their speciosa. Guess we’ll know in a few weeks or so. Fingers crossed.

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Never said “no good acro keeper long term, etc”. Just the few ppl I know that tried the denitrator lost a lot of Tenuis and all their speciosa. Guess we’ll know in a few weeks or so. Fingers crossed.

Same here Charlie, but I’m all for giving them success long term.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

The SBB Live Sale acquisitions delivered on 12-7-21. I am a bit rough on new additions. I have a ton of money wrapped up in my system and I cannot afford to take chances with new pieces, regardless of who they come from. So I generally do a 7-10 minute Bayer bath and then carefully trim away the existing plug and super glue and re-mount. So far, this practice has kept me safe for going on 2 years now! Usually the corals will be drab colored for several weeks after this process. With that being said, check out the amazing colors already coming thru on these 3. I am most impressed Shane!

RRC Bleeding Avenngers

BKChem FrootLoops
Look how hairy it is!

Here is an attempt at trying to get him to suck his polyps in so we can see that beautiful yellow skin.....He refused lol

Same with this one....
SBB Molten Core
Already showing good color development!

With less PE

I’m real excited about the potential on all three of these!

Approximately 1 month of growth....
RRC BLEEDING AVENGER

Nice crust growth and definitely better color...

SBB MOLTEN CORE
Again, decent crust growth and coloring up nicely

BKCHEM FROOTLOOPS
This one is growing very quickly!

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

This isn’t a stick but I thought it was a cool photo of my CC Goldfinger Torch

 

[biecacka]

quick question for you, when you trim the corals from the existing plug what do you do with the remnants left on the old plug? I have often tinkered with the idea of having a frag tank completely separate from main tank. Then when i get new frags and remove them from the plug, I can put the old plug with any leftover pieces on it in the frag tank and see if they grow out. For a backup piece so to speak....

corey

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

quick question for you, when you trim the corals from the existing plug what do you do with the remnants left on the old plug? I have often tinkered with the idea of having a frag tank completely separate from main tank. Then when i get new frags and remove them from the plug, I can put the old plug with any leftover pieces on it in the frag tank and see if they grow out. For a backup piece so to speak....

corey

I actually throw it away. That $20-$100 of coral that im losing is nothing compared to introducing a pest into my system. It’s just not worth it in the long term scheme of things.

If I get a piece in that has a lot of encrusting, then I will make a horizontal cut of the frag disc all the way thru. Then I can turn the frag upright to make a vertical cut just into the encrusting part of the flesh, all the way around the crust. This ensures that there are no remnants of the original plug remaining. It’s also very important that you cut all the way into the healthy flesh. AEFW’s don’t lay eggs on healthy skin. They will damage the skin to expose the skeleton and lay their eggs there, or they will lay eggs on the plug. Cutting into the healthy flesh ensures you didn’t leave an egg behind.

Again, I take no chances

 

[biecacka]

I agree 100%. That’s why I thought if I do it the frag tank would not be tied into my main tank. That way I couldn’t introduce a pest. I have a buddy that used to do it that way and it worked great having them as 2 completely separate systems.

Corey

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

I agree 100%. That’s why I thought if I do it the frag tank would not be tied into my main tank. That way I couldn’t introduce a pest. I have a buddy that used to do it that way and it worked great having them as 2 completely separate systems.

Corey

The only thing that would worry me is that I could see myself using the same tools or moving frags back and forth, and possibly cross contaminating. So I don’t let myself be tempted lol. Typically it’s only a couple weeks worth of growth anyway...

 

[biecacka]

That makes sense. Would require total dedication to the process. Good points!

Corey

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Wanted to show a quick 1 month update on the BKChem Jumanji. This is one of the few corals that look good in blue light but look amazing in full spectrum. Pic taken in all blue. I’ll get a full spectrum shot next time hopefully. Amazing growth at the base. It’s covering the putty ball now and spilling down onto the new plug

How much par are your speciosa’s in? And for how long?

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

How much par are your speciosa’s in? And for how long?

Well, the quick answer is 285 for 9 hrs/day

I feel like I have spots in my system that are “prime” spots for certain things. I have one 12” x 4” area under the Ocean Revives that I think is great for new arrivals. It’s 285 par with strong back and forth gyre flow. All the Speciosa went in this area upon arrival 12-9-21. After 3 weeks there, I made some cuts on some of the pieces that a friend paid half for. The pieces that I did not cut, I just moved to 320 par 1-24-22. That’s only about 4” from the new arrival spot lol.

What about you Charlie?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Well, the quick answer is 285 for 9 hrs/day

I feel like I have spots in my system that are “prime” spots for certain things. I have one 12” x 4” area under the Ocean Revives that I think is great for new arrivals. It’s 285 par with strong back and forth gyre flow. All the Speciosa went in this area upon arrival 12-9-21. After 3 weeks there, I made some cuts on some of the pieces that a friend paid half for. The pieces that I did not cut, I just moved to 320 par 1-24-22. That’s only about 4” from the new arrival spot lol.

What about you Charlie?

That’s about what mine are in. I have a couple in the 400-500 range. We’ll see how they do…but the 300 range are encrusting faster.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

That’s about what mine are in. I have a couple in the 400-500 range. We’ll see how they do…but the 300 range are encrusting faster.

That’s about the range he had them in before shipping to me. I guess I don’t understand that. These colors are unbelievable 7 weeks in at 285/300. What is the drastically higher par (over 400) gonna do for them?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

That’s about the range he had them in before shipping to me. I guess I don’t understand that. These colors are unbelievable 7 weeks in at 285/300. What is the drastically higher par (over 400) gonna do for them?

My answer, in regards to me having some higher is those are the only places I had room to mount them haha. I do have 3 Sunday drivers (different species) and the one in 500 par grows way faster than the others. I have been told by a very reliable source that bkchem blasts his display colonies.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

My answer, in regards to me having some higher is those are the only places I had room to mount them haha. I do have 3 Sunday drivers (different species) and the one in 500 par grows way faster than the others. I have been told by a very reliable source that bkchem blasts his display colonies.

He absolutely does. He gave me his parameters & also a PAR run down of each piece. He had the Crackjuice at 500! I’ve never put anything that high. I just have not had good luck with anything over 400. Once I get some size on the colonies I may try different PAR to see how they react.

I still need to get a good shot of my Sunday Driver (another “banked” piece from my buddy)

 

[Joe462]

I'm so jealous of your banked pieces and speciosa, don't have any currently, bought one but it was bad timing with some issues and instability and lost it.

So important question, of everything in your collection what is you favorite? not just the new fancy shmancy, but the classics too. Favorite and why, lol Or maybe top 3 if you cant decide.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

I'm so jealous of your banked pieces and speciosa, don't have any currently, bought one but it was bad timing with some issues and instability and lost it.

So important question, of everything in your collection what is you favorite? not just the new fancy shmancy, but the classics too. Favorite and why, lol Or maybe top 3 if you cant decide.

Sorry to hear about the loss. We’ve all been there brother. Hopefully I can offer some frags in the upcoming months! I’m working on getting a “new release” pack from BKChem as well as growing what I currently have.

You’re killing me Joe462! That’s like asking to pick your favorite kids!! Lol
Kidding aside, BKChem Jumanji is by far and away the most colorful, beautiful, polyp extended acro I’ve ever seen. It is simply gorgeous. There’s not even a close 2nd in the Speciosa world, in my opinion. It’s on its own at the top!

As for non-Speciosa acros, the MCC Prom Queen is probably #1 piece that I have because of the vibrant rainbow colors. Unfortunately mine is bleached right now. It will be a while before he’s photo worthy again but this is it shortly after arrival.

#2 would probably be a no name I picked up and named SRC Funfetti. Love the pastel & cream colors on this one

#3 would be a tie amongst my other favorites...
Vivid Insanity due to the unique growth pattern and vibrant pink and blue colors,
CC Bahama Momma because I like mille’s and this one has nice contrast between the skin and polyp colors
TSA Carolina Reaper due to growth speed and super rich maroon polyps
BC Shag Priority obviously for the crazy PE but it has nice varied color in the new growth

These are just my tops. I’m sure everyone will have different opinions.

 

[Joe462]

Sorry to hear about the loss. We’ve all been there brother. Hopefully I can offer some frags in the upcoming months! I’m working on getting a “new release” pack from BKChem as well as growing what I currently have.

You’re killing me Joe462! That’s like asking to pick your favorite kids!! Lol
Kidding aside, BKChem Jumanji is by far and away the most colorful, beautiful, polyp extended acro I’ve ever seen. It is simply gorgeous. There’s not even a close 2nd in the Speciosa world, in my opinion. It’s on its own at the top!

As for non-Speciosa acros, the MCC Prom Queen is probably #1 piece that I have because of the vibrant rainbow colors. Unfortunately mine is bleached right now. It will be a while before he’s photo worthy again but this is it shortly after arrival.

#2 would probably be a no name I picked up and named SRC Funfetti. Love the pastel & cream colors on this one

#3 would be a tie amongst my other favorites...
Vivid Insanity due to the unique growth pattern and vibrant pink and blue colors,
CC Bahama Momma because I like mille’s and this one has nice contrast between the skin and polyp colors
TSA Carolina Reaper due to growth speed and super rich maroon polyps
BC Shag Priority obviously for the crazy PE but it has nice varied color in the new growth

These are just my tops. I’m sure everyone will have different opinions.

Yeah, that is the way it goes sometimes, mistakes were made and i had to pay for those mistakes, lol.

very cool, its nice to hear what people like in their own collections based on how they look in their tanks, not the potential you see in vendor pics. I have a no name similar to your funfetti, its not super happy at the moment but i might be able to find some older frag pix, sometimes i call it pink milli? because thats what i bought it as but its not a milli, at least i'm pretty certain mine isn't. Its my understanding CC pink highlighter is same as prom queen? either way, both sweet, my pink highlighter just starting to grow out enough to look like something and i'm enjoying the process. I'm on the search for a vivid insanity, and Jumanji is now on the list.

I need to get a new pic, must be on a growth spurt, its definitely bigger and i didn't think this pic was that old.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

My Funfetti is a tabler. Here’s a pic of him this morning but I’m almost reluctant to share because he’s colored down right now. My colonies are getting so big I had to move him to a lower light area and he’s lost some color. Only in about 225 PAR...

Indeed, I’ve read that those two are the same coral as well. It’s definitely a beauty!