danano

Thanks for the kind words.... Jun, Apple and Bob! It's been three months since my last 'top-view' full tank shot. Here's a little update, one I took yesterday. Corals have grown for sure, and some have really blossomed....

From right to left. Approximate size indicated in cm. Lemonade Anacropora ~3cm 15 Turquoise Digitata ~5cm 20 Orangey-red Setosa ~2cm 45 Bright Green Pocillopora ~3cm 20 Please PM if interested. Thanks.

Acropora nursery, a few inches from the surface at low-tide.

Thanks! Doing what I can to bring out the best in the corals and livestock under my care. It's a continuous learning journey and the sharing of experiences with the reef keeping community which I enjoy. Happy reefing!!

LEFT: Miyagi Tort (fully encrusted on a large plug with multiple growth tips) 45 RIGHT: 'Bird of Paradise' Birds Nest (~1.5", encrusted, multi-branch) 20 Pls PM me if keen. Thanks.

Reserved, thanks.

This is what the poci looked like a few months ago in my main tank.

Bright Neon Green Poci 3.5" colony, outgrew my main tank, nice round/tree shape, with Deep Purple Monti encrusted/plating out at the base of the poci. 50 Pls PM if interested. Thanks.

Thanks Leon. I hadn't seen the Pom-Pom in over two months, then surprise surprise

To close for comfort, red table kissing the purple bonsai. It's time to bring out the coral cutter.

The elusive Pom-Pom Crab. It ventured out this evening, seeking shelter beneath the Montipora Setosa.

I've used TM before, for the 110g. A salt I'm familiar and had good success with. So just thought I'd give it a go again.

Weekly 5g water change with RODI mixed with TM Pro-Reef. After finishing one blue bucket of RS salt in March, decided to give TM a try. SPS continuing to show good growth and colouration. Key parameters tested just before the water change. Ca 405ppm Alk 7.0 dKH Mg 1350ppm

Miyagi Tort sprouting new tips and branches

A close-up of the capitata.

Thanks! Here's a Montipora Capitata. It's been with me for over a year. Interesting growth form. Creamy-yellow body with purple polyps.

Ice Fire A centre piece. It's smack in the middle, receiving optimal flow and light. I see a few new branches forming....

The original spot, before the minor rescape. Thin branch Hot Pink Stylopora with German Blue Polyp Acropora on the far left. Blue Hoeksemai in the background.

German Blue Polyp Acropora loses battle against Mini Hot Pink Stylopora. They've been friendly neighbours for over half a year until they grew within millimeters from one another. I fragged the German Blue once to allow more space for the pink stylo to grow. It didn't take long for the stylo to get up close and personal with the acro again. That's when the chemical warfare began. Notice the exposed/burnt section on the right side of the German Blue (in the first pic). Seeing that my only German Blue specimen was losing the fight, I made the decision to rescape a small section of the reefscape, moving things around a little. Given space constraints, I was forced to "resize" the stylo colony and relocate it to a less then ideal partially-shaded location. It's a fairly hardy coral species and should do fine, just that the pink colouration will be muted and growth stunted to some extent. At the same time, a Blue Hoeksemai was moved closer to the front, exposing the encrusting base with growth tips to more light. Stuck a small rock and a few frags to the recaped section as well, leaving a little space for perhaps another coral .

Ash, the gravel consists of a mixture of 40% course sand (approx size 2-3mm) and 60% coral chips/crushed coral (5-10mm). Just a thin layer for aesthetics. Sand for the wrasses.

Growth in a month

Thanks CK. Maintaining optimal water parameters coupled with mixed turbulent flow contribute to bringing out the best in SPS corals. Plus I've kept the bio-load low from the start, and maintained a low nutrient environment. This translates to "less brown" in the corals, allowing the colour pigmentation to standout. Equally important are the lights. I've always liked the look of corals under T5s. Its spectrum and coverage are still the benchmark. Going with full LEDs, I played around with the settings/spectrum and program to achieve a similar visual and effect. I blanketed the small tank footprint with two AI Hydra 52HDs, providing the corals with ample illumination and good light coverage. Added an Orphek light bar at the front for a little extra. The reefeeping principles I apply can be easily followed and replicated. The idea is to keep things as simple as possible, the overall setup and its maintenance. It just requires a little effort, discipline and commitment. As for checking newly purchased corals for aefw eggs, yes, that's a must. I inspect everything closely. If I see anything that resembles eggs, I will cut off the affected sections liberally and only keep the healthy branches/frags.

Haha. Looking forward to it! I really like the effect you created with the encrusting monti carpeting the base of the tank.

A close-up of the purple bonsai.

Another purple bonsai variety, grown out from a small two branch frag. This is growing in the lagoon tank, directly beneath the Kessil LEDs. Several inches from the surface, it enjoys optimal lighting and flow conditions.