FarmerTy Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Looks like you're getting some good encrusting on the plugs! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Color is looking good. Looks like you got that kessil dialed in. What ever your doing keep doing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Color is looking good. Looks like you got that kessil dialed in. What ever your doing keep doing it. So I'got my little Red Planet directly in the 'cone of death' under the Kessil. Decided to use it as my canary. It was solid red when I put it there and has slowly been turning more green. So, now I am dialing up the Kessil slowly until I see the green start to turn back to red. Currently at 40% intensity and 58% color. Going up 1% per week. Not that you halide/T5 guys care or anything .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 That comment hurts my red planet heart Jim! [emoji22] Just a quick question, was the red planet stable at the green color for a significant amount of time prior to your increasing the intensity experiment? I've found frags to lose the red color in transition to another system and then color right back up to red again in a month or so. Just mentioning because I'd hate for you to base the experiment on the frag if it hasn't reached stability in coloration in your tank yet. Ignore me if it has already. [emoji5] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Awe Jim I still care simply from a nostalgia standpoint It looks like your getting the kessil dialed in. I fought mine and fought mine. I was too close to the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 That comment hurts my red planet heart Jim! [emoji22] Just a quick question, was the red planet stable at the green color for a significant amount of time prior to your increasing the intensity experiment? I've found frags to lose the red color in transition to another system and then color right back up to red again in a month or so. Just mentioning because I'd hate for you to base the experiment on the frag if it hasn't reached stability in coloration in your tank yet. Ignore me if it has already. [emoji5] haha, I know you like the green/red combo. It's just that Red Planet has such a well documented color response to light I figured it is the best bet for a tuning guideline I have two different frags I put side by side. One I got last august from SAM and it has been just a brownie lump until about 2 months ago. Now it is completely lime green and really starting to encrust. The second I got at Reef Currents in early Feb and it came into the system bright red/pink and has slowly gotten more red/green. Both have been in their current position under the Kessil for about 6 weeks, under completely stable lighting parameters. Just started ramping two days ago, increased by the first 1%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Awe Jim I still care simply from a nostalgia standpoint It looks like your getting the kessil dialed in. I fought mine and fought mine. I was too close to the water. It still causes me grief over the shadowing. I like the shimmer from the single light source, but it just does not give good coverage. It seems crazy, but I think even on my little 20"x18" footprint it would be better to have two kessils running at lower intensity just to help eliminate the shadowing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Awe Jim I still care simply from a nostalgia standpoint It looks like your getting the kessil dialed in. I fought mine and fought mine. I was too close to the water. It still causes me grief over the shadowing. I like the shimmer from the single light source, but it just does not give good coverage. It seems crazy, but I think even on my little 20"x18" footprint it would be better to have two kessils running at lower intensity just to help eliminate the shadowing. I agree the shadowing was one of the deal killers for me too. Like you I love the shimmer but the shadowing on that particular light just isn't conclusive with full SPS growth. And I agree is 0 degrees is straight down it seems like 2 lights at 20-40 degrees pointing into the tank from the sides would help with the coverage issues. Most of the super successful SPS tanks I have seen run t5s secretly with the LEDs. Sam of course is the trend bucker lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Oh, I definitely agree with you using the red planet as a lighting guideline. I used to do the same before par meters started popping up locally to be borrowed reasonably easily. I just wanted to make sure they were fully colored pieces in your system before starting the experiment but 6 weeks seems pretty stable to me before ramping. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Measuring par with the kessil is impossible. Esacjack and I tried to work on a correction formula for days based on the linear response on the blue and white channels of the kessil. Jim and I spent a day measuring par to have data for that experiment. At the end of the day a par meter is pretty much useless for the kessil. You might as well drink beer all day and watch a ball game. The best way to adjust the kessil is exactly what Jim is doing. Start with a piece of known color and slowly adjust the lights until it holds the color you want. The only thing that a par meter is good for on a kessil is to be able to determine higher and lower lights within the same tank. Not to determine actual par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Today's installment of 'Cleanup Crew Cracks Me Up', hermit taking a nap on the nauti spiral ... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 A few more pics. I've only been keeping acros for a about 10 months. So, they are pretty new and full of surprises for me. It seems that recently a few tips on some have decided its time to color up and start growing. I'm guessing this is pretty normal. I've really been enjoying watching it! This is my ORA tricolor Valida. In the last couple of weeks one tip has decided to get really purple and has tripled in size This is my WWC yellow tips. Two tips have decided to get really yellow and have been shooting out. And this is my Pearlberry. This tip cluster is growing pretty fast! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Here's a shot from today 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Starting to look packed in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Yeah, I'm out of space. I am trying to be good until I have my larger tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 The FarmerTy mixed zoa frag from the frag swap seems to like my tank OK ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Looking good! That's a VividAquariums Blue Ice Zoa and a Legacy FarmerTy orange zoa. I've had that orange zoa since my first nanocube back in 2004. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Thanks Ty! I know absolutely nothing about Zoa varieties, never having taken much interest. But my wife was happy I brought these to her! Acros do nothing for her. And I might be warming up to these little guys a little myself now that I've gotten my feet wet 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Thanks Ty! I know absolutely nothing about Zoa varieties, never having taken much interest. But my wife was happy I brought these to her! Acros do nothing for her. And I might be warming up to these little guys a little myself now that I've gotten my feet wet You should have jumped all in and hit up Pham at the swap. He's like my zoa counterpart! [emoji4] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 That could happen in the near future. My wife likes the concept of a "zoa garden" for the new tank. But I will have to drag her to a future frag swap to pick out her own ... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Or my house Trade acros for zoas, or zoas for acros. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 My tank turned 2 years old today! My self-assessment: after two years I can say I've kept some SPS and some LPS alive and at least partially happy for more than 17 months. I am still learning every day, especially about lighting, nutrient control, and pests! But I feel I've learned enough that I can start my 180 build in the next few months with good confidence and making fewer mistakes than on this one! Here are some progression shots: Year 0: Year 1: Year 2: Various shots I took with my iPhone yesterday: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Cool shots, tank looks good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Can't wait for year zero with the new tank! Then you won't have any more excuses to not add more coral! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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