danano

Jpaul, can you show some pics taken under normal white light? It's hard to tell the true colours under just actinics/blues.

weileong, they are both acropora sp. The purple one is unique. Are the polyps white? Don't remember getting the other one from AA. Maybe I got it for someone else. Not sure, could be a tenuis, there are many colour variations. Nice specimens and colours!

wlanz, I don't know which one performs better but I'm using a daeil 1/3 hp for my 4ft tank. With all lights on, it takes about 50mins to drop 0.8C with an ambient temp of 28C. Note however that I run only T5s (8x 54w). I run an Eheim 1260 (2400L/hr) with the chiller. RAV, glad to hear that almost all of your corals made it. How's the pink digi?

I only know of one ultra shipment. That was 2 years ago when PR brought in those stunning maximas. Even the leftovers were not bad, which is what I got. Hope some LFS will bring the ultras in again. Prices for choice specimens will probably be in the 3 digit range though. And yes, I picked up my leopard over the weekend.

Max, that's a great looking tank you have there. Even you coralline growth has nice swirls! Keep up the great work! Your passion and dedication truly shows.

Wowww! Nice wrasses and clams you got there DA.

Great to hear!

No. In fact, it was after getting good results with the 8x 54w T5s at mid levels in the tank that made my decision to rescape easier.

Fascinating creatures you have there! Have you researched on their natural habitat?

jc, hopefully my Barr Aquatics SK1600 beckett skimmer will do the job. I'll be monitoring the water parameters and health of the corals closely. I will also continue with my regular water changes, vacuuming of detritus and light feeding. My decision to remove the DSB was just to have peace of mind and not have to deal with it if an issue did arise in the future. I was already lowering the reefscape and I decided to do it all at one go. Here's a thread with some interesting info on DSB's in RC http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...ght=dsb+article madmac, as reef keepers, we all have a responsibility towards the marine life that we keep in our tanks, regardless of whether they are gems or not, whether it's a chromis/damsel or a rare angel/tang. We are all coral/fish collectors/keepers in our own unique way.

http://zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=359 Alan, stumbled on a thread where you posted some pics. Those are some awesome colours you're keeping with your bare bottom tank. Well done! How long have you gone bare bottom? I very recently contemplated going BB but decided on a very shallow sand bed (SSB) instead. With a BB or SSB, have to be disciplined with vacuuming though to keep detritus build-up to a minimum unless there is enough flow (with no dead spots) like in your tank. It would be great if you could share a pic of your tank with us. There's much that we can learn from your BB experience. Curious, you've spent thousands of $'s on your high-end equipment but stock up with just leftover $20 browned-out corals? Interesting.

Dav, the T5s are staying. ckevin, aside from Simon's, are those Paula's words you've quoted as well? Thanks for the kind words Kevin. But I feel it's not so much about setting standards (to beat) or competition but simply about sharing one's dedication, passion, commitment and discipline/husbandry. It's also about providing an ideal captive environment for our tanks inhabitants - that's the least we can do. Besides, there are many nice tanks out there and some have yet to come out of the closet, take yours for example.

Thanks all! Surf, I use minimal carbon but I do not think it has any direct affect on colour. And yes, a shallow sand bed it is. I think a little sand is more aesthetically pleasing than a true BB. Plus it helps to keep some of the LR in place. How do you keep your starboard clean? JC, i did indeed bring the cap forward. It's now closer to the middle and should look nice when it grows out.

After much thought, I decided to go almost bare bottom and lower the reefscape. http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...t=0#entry380098

After much research and reading up on the pros and cons of a DSB, I finally did "it". I removed the DSB. I have also been wanting to lower the reef flat/slope to make more room for growth. This was the added impetus. It was not an easy decision but I figured it was only a matter of time, less getting a larger tank. But that's at least a few years away. On April 2nd, with the help of Scarab, ckevin and LinkinPark (in the first 6 hours of my 17 hour undertaking), I removed the DSB and lowered the entire reefscape! Thanks bros!!! Here are the steps I took: 11:30 Prepared 4x 30g tubs; 3 to house the corals and 1 to hold the LR 11:45 Switched off return pumps for the main tank leaving the sump, prop tank and skimmer running as a standalone system 12:00 Added 10g of freshly mixed salt water into each tub (using oxygenated distilled water) and mixed in 10g of tank water into each tub as well 12:30 Removed all the sps and most of the lps 13:30 Removed all the LR 14:30 Siphoned and scooped out about 80% of the sand leaving behind a thin 1/2" to 1" layer 15:30 Fish, clams and some LPS remained in the tank the whole time in about 40 gallons of water; mixed 40 gallons of freshly made salt water using oxygenated distilled water and topped up the main tank 16:30 Activated return pumps and complete system was running again; water began to clear 17:30 Rebuilt reefscape with 100lbs of LR; lowered the top of the original reefscape by about 5 inches 18:30 - 04:30 Added back all the corals and connected the 3 streams I was butt tired by the time I was done but now, just over a week later, I feel it was well worth the effort and back ache! All the fish made it with the exception of one green chromis that I've kept for almost 2 years. A few of the corals were stressed and the colors slightly washed out from the change but after 3 days, I noticed a gradual improvement in their health and colors. There were 4 sps colony and 3 frag casualties. These were the ones that sat in the holding tubs the longest. On hindsight, I should have just placed all of them back in the tank first and work on placement later. I had to frag the large thin branch blue staghorn to fit it back in. This fast grower is now spread out in 3 spots in the tank. With the lowered reefscape, the Tunze streams are now visible. One is stacked on top of the other at the rear left corner and the 3rd is on the right. With the streams now exposed, the flow has greatly improved. Here's the tank, 9 days later.

Looking great and love the colours... especially the efflos! Well done, lightingstrike! At this rate, your sps will outgrow your Juwel Rio 180 in no time. TOTM in the making

Good one Bandit, I couldn't have put the day in better words! It was a pleasure meeting you, I think. Please stand by for your next instruction, code named 'Red Staghorn'.

For a 2ft cube, you could try a tunze stream with single controller. Place your LPS in valleys between your rock work if that's a major concern. Angle the Tunze stream slightly upwards or deflect it partially with LR to reduce the flow if necessary.

cured quality LR

Good morning! Pls PM me with you mobile number if interested. If possible, collect by today. Thanks. Dan

$8 per kg. Assorted medium size LR. Some tonga. Take all for $100. Collect on Sunday (today). Pls PM me if interested.

PMed u bro

What chope?? Don't know how to follow simple instructions ah? Let's see a pic of your tank! 35Cents, is the mother colony from AA?

Great looking tank bro! And it even looks better in person. Thanks for your warm hospitality. And the efflo, was undecided about cheonging the next day after we spoke. As you have seen, my tank is full. But after seeing the pic of yours over and over again, and sleeping on it, I awoke the next morning with renewed conviction! After service, I dropped my 'Chairman' (who gave the nod of approval ) off at Orchard and ended up picking a piece for myself and 2 additional pieces for bros that have been looking for a piece for a long time. Bumped into hamman there minutes after the doors opened and he picked up the last piece. You were right, the ones left were all pretty large, around 6 inches in diameter. I chopped the piece I got in two and to my amazement, I somehow managed to fit both halfs in!! It's a little different from the efflos that came in several weeks ago. This one's darker in the middle and more purple around the edges. Time will tell if they end up the same but even the growth tips and corallites are slightly different.

Missing??? If you are referring to Scarab's solid red milli, that one I also got . I agree, it truly qualifies as one of the ultimate millis. The picture doesn't do it justice.