Zibba's Reefs -- ADA 90P & Envision 100g
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good deal. 1smile1Fish QT Update: Well both fish were pretty active yesterday and ate a little more mysis in QT. I'd say the RG has a much better chance now. After taking a closer look, it seems that its right pectoral fin was badly damaged during transport. I'm going to have to watch that for infection but I'm hopeful that it will regrow and he'll be near 100% soon. Certainly not my best work because the lighting over the QT is really bad (just enough so I can observe) but I snapped a few pictures:
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zibba
Valuable Member
I've used kalk and kalk+vinegar in the past to keep up with demand and it worked great! 
There are a lot of benefits to kalk and, with enough redundancy, I think it's still a viable option on this system. Ok, fine...I won't rule kalk out!
There are a lot of benefits to kalk and, with enough redundancy, I think it's still a viable option on this system. Ok, fine...I won't rule kalk out! 
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zibba
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Tried out feeding a food that I haven't used before -- Nutramar Ova -- and the two fish in QT went bonkers for it. I've really kept it simple with foods and mostly stuck with PE Mysis, but after seeing the plethora of food that Marvin's feeding his tank, Im inspired to branch out. If anyone has other "must" try foods, let me know.
Flipside
Well-Known Member
Tried out feeding a food that I haven't used before -- Nutramar Ova -- and the two fish in QT went bonkers for it. I've really kept it simple with foods and mostly stuck with PE Mysis, but after seeing the plethora of food that Marvin's feeding his tank, Im inspired to branch out. If anyone has other "must" try foods, let me know.
Very interesting. I feed small pellets too. I think they are Oceans Nutrition. And dare I say... FLAKES TOO. D'oh! Oh, and Rod's Food.
I usually make my own stuff but I've been lazy lately.I might try that Nutramar Ova. Sounds killer!
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zibba
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Good to know. I've noticed that my pH is running a little low 7.9-8.05 so kalk may really help out. I'll need to look into whether the Tunze Osmolator pump can handle kalkwasser. Would probably be best to find kalk reactor -- Avast's kalk reactor looks like a good option. Barring any catastrophes or jumping, I'd say both fish are going to make it just fine. I'll probably give it another 7-10 days before making a decision on whether they go in the tank or need to be treated.
Very interesting. I feed small pellets too. I think they are Oceans Nutrition. And dare I say... FLAKES TOO. D'oh! Oh, and Rod's Food.
I might try that Nutramar Ova. Sounds killer!
I travel occasionally (actually heading to LA tonight for work) so I need to figure out a dry food/autofeeder option eventually. I picked up some Instant Ocean pellets last night, so we'll see if they like those too. I wouldn't mind feeding flakes every once in awhile either. I think variety is key and feeding some of the less nutritious foods isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've always thought that brine shrimp was like white bread -- the fish usually love it though.
Flipside
Well-Known Member
I would get one of those feeders and maybe switch it up with pellets and flakes then. I feed my tank 2-3 times a day, not including the small strip of nori I put in there. As long as your skimmer keeps up, you're fine. I never understood the concept of feeding next to nothing to our little fishies. They get hungry too! LOL!
I miss LA. Good times, good times! (I was born in raised in San Diego).
I never understood the concept of feeding next to nothing to our little fishies. They get hungry too! LOL!I miss LA. Good times, good times!
(I was born in raised in San Diego).
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zibba
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Couldn't agree more. I like my fish to be healthy and fat!
San Diego is one of my favorite cities and I would love to transition out to SoCal someday. I usually make a few personal trips out to SD when it's scorching hot here in the desert. I haven't spent much time in LA though. I was out in Pasadena for the Breeder's Cup in early November and saw a little bit of LA's night life on that trip. This is a quick in-and-out trip unfortunately. I'm actually heading back out there next Friday as well, but again, it's a quick trip. I want/need to make a trip out there specifically to check out the reef shops!
San Diego is one of my favorite cities and I would love to transition out to SoCal someday. I usually make a few personal trips out to SD when it's scorching hot here in the desert. I haven't spent much time in LA though. I was out in Pasadena for the Breeder's Cup in early November and saw a little bit of LA's night life on that trip. This is a quick in-and-out trip unfortunately. I'm actually heading back out there next Friday as well, but again, it's a quick trip. I want/need to make a trip out there specifically to check out the reef shops!
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zibba
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All is good still after a few days away. The fish in QT are becoming much more aggressive eaters and are looking much healthier. The corals in the display have great polyp extension too. Still getting microbubbles from the ATB, so pictures aren't turning out that great. I'll try turning off the skimmer and other pumps for awhile tonight to see if I can get some pictures worth posting. Ordered up the light for the ADA 90P -- going with the 27" MaxSpect Razor R420r 16,000k fixture. I've seen them in person at a few LFS and personally think they look great. I think it will be a good fit over the ADA. It should be here soon (tomorrow? keeping my fingers crossed!) and I'll give a full report.
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zibba
Valuable Member
Very nice! I expect a full review as I'm planning on putting one over my refugium. I saw one at one of our LFS' the other day. They are toight! (Yes, I spelled that like I say it).
Lol, you got it!
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zibba
Valuable Member
I took some pictures tonight in-between the water change while the pumps were off. I got all of these corals from Phoenix's local reef club (FRAG) members at the most recent holiday party on 12/15, except for the chalice. None of the corals are in their final position as I'm letting them acclimate and most are really low in the tank (hence not the best color):
"Grape Juice" Acro
"Joe the Coral"
Some random tenius:
"Red Planet"
Neon Nepthia (this will go in the ADA once I get the light over it)
Looks really sweet under actinics--
"Grape Juice" Acro
"Joe the Coral"
Some random tenius:
"Red Planet"
Neon Nepthia (this will go in the ADA once I get the light over it)
Looks really sweet under actinics--
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zibba
Valuable Member
Haven't updated in awhile because I was traveling a bit, slammed with work and tied up with the holidays. But there's a lot that has been happening behind the scene and I'll try to this thread caught up. Might take a few days because I want to include pictures and simply haven't had a chance to take pictures of everything yet!
As I previously mentioned, I decided to go with the MaxSpect Razor over the ADA. Here are some pictures of the unboxing:
I'm planning to hang the light tomorrow, but I couldn't resist just getting it up over the tank on the legs that come with the light. I must say that it looks really sharp! And, I'm happy with the color that it's putting out (approx. 50% W; 75% B) -- hopefully the corals will be happy too!
I also decided to give another brand of salt a try: Red Sea's Coral Pro
I've always used Instant Ocean in the past and added 2-part to get it to the proper levels without issue. But with the last two batches of salt, I've had issues with cloudy water and/or precipitation in the QT tank and salt mixing bin, so I decided to give this one a try. I've read good reviews and looks like the chemical profile is "better" than IO. Certainly there are a ton of successful reefs operating with both IO and RSCP, just going a different direction.
Anyway, stay tuned -- lots more to update with -- particularly, corals!
As I previously mentioned, I decided to go with the MaxSpect Razor over the ADA. Here are some pictures of the unboxing:
I'm planning to hang the light tomorrow, but I couldn't resist just getting it up over the tank on the legs that come with the light. I must say that it looks really sharp! And, I'm happy with the color that it's putting out (approx. 50% W; 75% B) -- hopefully the corals will be happy too!
I also decided to give another brand of salt a try: Red Sea's Coral Pro
I've always used Instant Ocean in the past and added 2-part to get it to the proper levels without issue. But with the last two batches of salt, I've had issues with cloudy water and/or precipitation in the QT tank and salt mixing bin, so I decided to give this one a try. I've read good reviews and looks like the chemical profile is "better" than IO. Certainly there are a ton of successful reefs operating with both IO and RSCP, just going a different direction.
Anyway, stay tuned -- lots more to update with -- particularly, corals!
Lilmatty5dimes
2500 Club Member
nice love the slim design of the razor. make sure you roll the bucket of salt around before adding it to the water or it'll be a lil cloudy.
Lilmatty5dimes
2500 Club Member
no problem we had a group buy on this and most of the ppl who bought it had problems with cloudy water. red sea wrote this about it. it's post #19 on this thread if you want to take a quick look before you mix it up. Red Sea Salts - Reef Central Online Community
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zibba
Valuable Member
Very informative, thanks! I started mixing the salt yesterday before rolling the bucket and about half way through mixing, I rolled the bucket. I woke up to a cloudy mixing reservoir today, so I guess I'll be holding off on doing the water change for a few days. Not a huge deal, but really happy that you posted the info above Lilmatty. I tested the parameters this morning (Alk = 7.2 dkh, Cal = 420, Mg = 1400) so I just bumped up the Alk a bit using 2-part. Aiming to keep it around 9 or so. I'll continue testing and adjust the dosing (if any is necessary) accordingly.
In other news, I moved the fish from QT into the main display about 4-days ago and both the Royal Gramma and Dottyback seem to be doing alright. They're hiding a lot in between the rockwork for the most part, although, they've come out to eat and seem to be healthy. The RG's fin damage is going to take awhile to fully recover but I'm still very hopeful that he'll be near 100% soon enough.
I added a bunch of new corals yesterday! Hoping to get some decent picture of all of them to share. Here are a few actinic shots from this morning:
ORA Hawkins
It's not looking the greatest right now and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it pulls through without having to chop it up. It was a fresh cut from a LFS's colony and is, itself, a mini colony. It's gorgeous!!
Oregon Tort
Also a fresh cut from the same LFS. Just a baby frag for now but will be fun to watch grow out.
Green Birdnest
This one is just too cool under actinics -- even though it's really common, I had to have one:
I also picked up the following:
-- Wild Aussie Tabling Acro (this is a mini-colony with a bright green rim where it's encrusing and looks like it's going to have some red/deep pink in it too. Should be fun to watch color up)
-- A stag with a deep green base and Teal tips
-- A strawberry-shortcake/limeaid looking table (another fresh cut from the LFS mentioned above)
-- Two Bright red mushrooms for the ADA (although one went missing last night -- so I'm kinda bummed)
I moved the duncans, the neon nepthia and the pink/blue chalice over to the ADA (the new red mushrooms went in the ADA, too). I haven't been able to get a good FTS of the ADA with the new light over it yet -- I'll keep trying though! This is the only picture that turned out alright under the LED lighting (sorry for posting so many pictures of this same coral):
In other news, I moved the fish from QT into the main display about 4-days ago and both the Royal Gramma and Dottyback seem to be doing alright. They're hiding a lot in between the rockwork for the most part, although, they've come out to eat and seem to be healthy. The RG's fin damage is going to take awhile to fully recover but I'm still very hopeful that he'll be near 100% soon enough.
I added a bunch of new corals yesterday! Hoping to get some decent picture of all of them to share. Here are a few actinic shots from this morning:
ORA Hawkins
It's not looking the greatest right now and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it pulls through without having to chop it up. It was a fresh cut from a LFS's colony and is, itself, a mini colony. It's gorgeous!!
Oregon Tort
Also a fresh cut from the same LFS. Just a baby frag for now but will be fun to watch grow out.
Green Birdnest
This one is just too cool under actinics -- even though it's really common, I had to have one:
I also picked up the following:
-- Wild Aussie Tabling Acro (this is a mini-colony with a bright green rim where it's encrusing and looks like it's going to have some red/deep pink in it too. Should be fun to watch color up)
-- A stag with a deep green base and Teal tips
-- A strawberry-shortcake/limeaid looking table (another fresh cut from the LFS mentioned above)
-- Two Bright red mushrooms for the ADA (although one went missing last night -- so I'm kinda bummed)
I moved the duncans, the neon nepthia and the pink/blue chalice over to the ADA (the new red mushrooms went in the ADA, too). I haven't been able to get a good FTS of the ADA with the new light over it yet -- I'll keep trying though! This is the only picture that turned out alright under the LED lighting (sorry for posting so many pictures of this same coral):
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