Top down shots

[Big E]

I picked up all these frags in Feb thru April. Most were browned out & it took at least 2 months to get them where they are now. I'm fairly happy so far & wanted to have a record for them to refer to in the coming months to update.

Watermelon Milli--hard to see the green, but it's there....needs some work.
[IMG][/IMG]"~original"

Rasberry/Blueberry Milli
[IMG][/IMG]

Rouge Milli
[IMG][/IMG]

Pearlberry
[IMG][/IMG]

Vu's Rainbow Milli
[IMG][/IMG]

Shortcake
[IMG][/IMG]

Peach rainbow acro
[IMG][/IMG]

Pink blue tip Milli-----hansn't grown on the tips. This piece had nice sky blue tips & was nice when I got it.
[IMG][/IMG]

Killer Canary---was completely bleached when I got it. Still need some work & hasn't gown at all
[IMG][/IMG]

Lime in the Sky
[IMG][/IMG]

[Renton777]

Beautiful corals Big E! What are your system spec's?

[Big E]

Here's the ones that are still cooking---

Snowcone prostrata-only had this one for about 6-7 weeks. Should have purple branches & blue tips & greenish/peach inner branches



Purple/Green Papillare---polyps are killing this one.......totally brown & blocking everything.



Tyree Ultimte Blue stag---ughhh......it took 3 months just the get the green coralites & the little blue that's showing now.

[chefzif]

Looks good Big E

[dogpound]

Very nice coral great pic

[Lilmatty5dimes]

those are lovely. def the rasp/blue berry ones

[SaltwaterAdict]

colors look good to me. nice corals.

[purplereef]

Ed I like your Rough Milli.

[Big E]

Thanks for the compliments everyone.

Here's the system specs--

75g tank bare bottom--90 total volume

Lights--4x48" T5 on and ice cap ballast--- bulbs are two coral+ & 2 blue+

Skimmer-- Old 30" Euroreef with Bubble blaster hy-3000
Carbon --passive in mesh bag
10% weekly water changes
Dose 20ml vinegar daily

Here's a few top downs of the larger pieces I have----

Palmers blue milli
[IMG][/IMG]

Oregon Tort
[IMG][/IMG]

Paletta pink tip top down & one from the front also
[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[purplereef]

Nice Ed. See you on Friday about 1ish.

[Big E]

Thanks Dan, see ya Friday

[myzislow]

Awesome stuff man, great color on everything, well done for sure. I agree with you about the tyree ultimate stag; that piece can take forever to get going.

[rocsec1]

I am new to coral. Why the vinegar?

[mike660r]

Gorgeous man, simply gorgeous.

[PirateFish52]

What is the process you are using, other than water changes, to unbleach a coral? Or is it only water changes?

[Big E]

Thanks Mike & myzislow

Pirate.............the water changes are just part of my general weekly maintenance.

Bleached corals that still have the skin & polyps intact will color back up in most healthy systems over time.

rosec1--- I'm using the vinegar to control some of my nutrients & keep algae in check. It's a carbon source to help grow bacteria that will consume nitrates & phosphates that are in turn taken up by your skimmer I'm only using about 1/2 the amount recommended.

If you want to learn more hang out in the chemistry forum.......there are a ton of threads & Randy Holmes Farley & friends can anwser any questions you have. I believe they also have an article written now specifically about vinegar dosing.

[rocsec1]

Thank you

[DEERE G]

Ed, Very nice corals and pics.

[myzislow]

Do you run and GFO at all or does regular water changes and vinegar dosing keep your PO4 where you want it? Where do you keep your PO4 at and at what level do you see coral color intensity diminish?

[Big E]

i don't run GFO......just the water changes & the vinegar.

Honestly, I have no clue what my PO4 levels are. For this set up I wanted to let my coral colors on my acros & algae growth dictate how much I wanted to manage nutrients. In other words, use my eyes more than chase numbers. I get a light film of algae appox after about 2 days.

I'm pretty sure I'm not below .10 PO4. I should probably borrow a Hanna & check it for curiosity sakes. I sold my old meter about 3 years ago.

I have a few acros that are canarys & use the colors on them to give me clues.

I believe too many people knock down the nutrients too low & that's when problems happen. Some algae controlled by snails is a good thing.

When you look back at all the old TOTM those guys all had nice bright deep colors unless the acro was naturally light. That was before we could measure PO4. The tanks rocked with high par.

That's what my goal is with this tank natural pastels like say for Pearberry or say a light deepwater, & rockin deep bright colors for the other acros.

Too often now it's all pastel on most tanks I see.........people have gone too far.

[myzislow]

Originally Posted by Big E

i don't run GFO......just the water changes & the vinegar.

Honestly, I have no clue what my PO4 levels are. For this set up I wanted to let my coral colors on my acros & algae growth dictate how much I wanted to manage nutrients. In other words, use my eyes more than chase numbers. I get a light film of algae appox after about 2 days.

I'm pretty sure I'm not below .10 PO4. I should probably borrow a Hanna & check it for curiosity sakes. I sold my old meter about 3 years ago.

I have a few acros that are canarys & use the colors on them to give me clues.

I believe too many people knock down the nutrients too low & that's when problems happen. Some algae controlled by snails is a good thing.

When you look back at all the old TOTM those guys all had nice bright deep colors unless the acro was naturally light. That was before we could measure PO4. The tanks rocked with high par.

That's what my goal is with this tank natural pastels like say for Pearberry or say a light deepwater, & rockin deep bright colors for the other acros.

Too often now it's all pastel on most tanks I see.........people have gone too far.

Thanks for the reply man; I completely agree and subscribe to the same methodology. I recently got a hanna low range and was pretty surprised how high my po4 was, yet my coloration and growth is pretty good IMO. I'm hovering right around .08 and am hesitant to try and bring it down when things are doing so well. I may start to mess around with vinegar a bit to see if I can cut down my GFO usage. What brand of vinegar do you use?

[Big E]

You can use any brand of distilled white vinegar 5% acidity. I buy the cheap stuff for like $3 a gallon.

Here was my start up................I went slow.

Total volume--100g
__________________

1/17/2012--- Dosed 3.2ml for 3 days

1/20--Start 6.4 ml for 4 days

1/24---Started 11ml a day

1/30-- Started 15ml a day

2/5-- Started 20ml day

2-10 Start 25ml day

Btw...........I'm famiiar with your tank.....really nice set up.......love the mirabelis & bubble gum.

[Lilmatty5dimes]

you should only do this with a good skimmer right?

[Big E]

Any skimmer will work..............unless it's a total piece of junk that isn't get the job done for your tank if you weren't dosing vinegar.

[Kreeger1]

Looking really good Ed, I've got to stop out again and see the new setup. I'm probably headed to dans within the next month maybe I can do a combo tank tour?
Erik