Blueheaven's 4ft Tank

[blueheaven]

I think I'll be focussing on SPS growth now since most of my SPS are still considered as frags

I'm trying to make my reef as bulletproof as I can

[blueheaven]

The result of successful "re-colouration" of a bleached tenuis

[blueheaven]

I am so proud of this guy as it grew out of a 1 inch frag

[blueheaven]

And my 3rd tenuis, a frag from danano

[blueheaven]

This unknown acro is still undergoing colour morphing

Anyone has an id?

[blueheaven]

My SPS mountain

[blueheaven]

And finally a full tank shot 2/1/06

[giantbicycle]

And finally a full tank shot 2/1/06

wow..much more fishes .....nice...nice

[blueheaven]

Thanks bro.

But sadly, the powder blue succumbed to some unknown disease

[blueheaven]

Even though my tank is already more than a year old, I still hope you guys can give some comments as it would look as if I'm talking to myself

[cityofangels]

Perhaps a list of the fishes you have in your tank?

[blueheaven]

Ok, I got

1) 2 Blue eye anthias

2) 1 Regal tang

3) 1 Purple tang

4) 1 Foxface

5) 1 Niger trigger

6) 2 Chromis

7) 1 True percula

8) 1 Algae blenny

[marble]

Even though my tank is already more than a year old, I still hope you guys can give some comments as it would look as if I'm talking to myself

U wan comment ah???

Ok its getting more n more chioh lor....Tats all i can say kekeke....

It reali look alot diff fm last mth when i wen collect e skimmer fm u..

keke....

[ef_med2001]

this is my comment:

[giantbicycle]

Thanks bro.

But sadly, the powder blue succumbed to some unknown disease

Ohh..Its such a beauty , such a waste and sorry to hear that

[ettin]

bro, so what's your secret to coloring those SPS's up so nicely. Do you think it's the lights? or the parameters? or Par ? Cos been following your thread since day one and I must say the growth and coloration is just amazing. Great job.

[Asklepios]

bro, so what's your secret to coloring those SPS's up so nicely. Do you think it's the lights? or the parameters? or Par ? Cos been following your thread since day one and I must say the growth and coloration is just amazing. Great job.

I would like to know too.

a big journey tank you have

[madmac]

Even though my tank is already more than a year old, I still hope you guys can give some comments as it would look as if I'm talking to myself

Its nice... now if you can jus wait for a year or two more, it'll look a great deal more nicer. The mini colonies look very healthy, and the close ups are beautiful. As for the overall tank shot, some colours don't standout as much, I think thats because the corals are still small. The LPS can do with more strategic placement so they'll catch the eye at first entry.

Some portions are too cramp for my liking, ( thats jus me as I like s p a c e ). Just a thought, but before long you'll be breaking them again...and I hope you'll won't have to start again growing them from mini-colonies. The strange thing is, I like to see Acros encrusting on the rocks they are attached to... it is like theres something done nicely... like a little bonsai growing and establishing boundaries before they grow even bigger.

Patience, grasshopper. you're doing well.

[blueheaven]

Thanks for the nice comments guys.

Well actually, I credit the success of SPS colouration mostly to the fact that most of my SPS are frags and they are more acclimatised to captive conditions and thrive better.

But if you guys want to know, this is how I rate certain aspects of SPS keeping

1) Water flow

2) Water parameters

3) Choosing healthy colonies/frags

4) Lighting

The reason why I rate lighting as least important is because of 2 factors.

Most photosynthetic corals have a light saturation point whereby no further increase in light intensity would result in more photosynthesis.

And if provided with extra light, the zooxathellae in the tissue shuts down and the coral would have to find other sources of nutrition.

The other reason is that water clarity plays a big role in lighting a tank.

Like Anthony Calfo said in last year's IMAC, there is no point of using light wattage halides when your water is yellowish and blocks out 20%-50% of the light. And the best part is that you are paying to do it!!

And bro madmac, I think we share the same liking as I truely like the way a frag encrusts onto the rocks naturally like a tree growing. The satisfaction you get from seeing a tiny frag grow out into a colony cannot be described.

As for the spacing, I try to always bear in mind the "elevator" theory whereby you imagine your tank as an elevator and the corals as the people inside it

[blueheaven]

I'll be starting a project to completely "refurbish" and "renovate" my refugium to be a full fledged frag growout tank

Stay tuned!!!

[blueheaven]

Just want to sidetrack and describe a small experiment I did with a R. florida

I wanted to see whether I could force the ric to split by giving it stress so I positioned the ric vertical on a piece of rock such that it is actually drooping down

And from observations, that ric had actually spilt in approx. half the time taken for my other ric to split. I know it is a rather unfair experiment but it was quite amusing how the "mouth" had actually stretched to the extent that it splitted

Now I'm going to try this again but using both frags for a more accurate experiment

[ciaolong]

pm blue

[blueheaven]

Went out in the rain yesterday to get some SPS

Here's "half" of one of the colonies I got

[blueheaven]

Here's another one

This guy is purple

[blueheaven]

A cup a day? More like 2 cups