Learning/rebuilding from my epic fail

[Pife]

The newish one from Raja is incredible. That could be in my top 10 favorite acros. Thanks for the porn!

[Usernam Invalid]

Drool worth pics thanks matt

[Wrangy]

I hate you Matt, I hate you so very much. Screw you and your wonderful acro's!! Absolutely gorgeously stunning

How are the fish all going?? Haven't heard any updates on the scalely babies of late

[kevlow]

Wow,!!!
That Furiosa and Raja piece did it for me. My day is complete and basically a let down from here on out.
Pics like these are true Acro porn.

[reefmutt]

Thanks, guys! I love some good acro porn in the morning!!
Dom, what fish? I have fish? Oh yeah.. they are all doing fine. No additions or subtractions..
I'm too scared to add fish. I know the next one I add will cause a wipeout. Anyways nutrient ate too high for more fish.
I will definitely track that red piece from Raja. It's got cool green polyps in it as well..
Here's a similar piece I got from him at the same time. I don't think it's the same type of coral, however..

And another focal view of the first one.

The purple wave continues to spread dramatically.. here it is against my habanero and 24k

Couple close ups.. 24k

Habanero

Customary artsy fartsy..

[FloformAustria]

Matt good to see your tank is still here after the few months i was away!

looking good as i hoped!!

how is everything else?

cheers, Flo

[kevlow]

Matt,
Where do I find info on the Uncle Raja that you list? Googled it and came up dry.

Thanks,

Kevin

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by FloformAustria

Matt good to see your tank is still here after the few months i was away!

looking good as i hoped!!

how is everything else?

cheers, Flo

Thanks, Flo! Looking forward to seeing your new baby take shape.
Everything else? Well.. I'll tell you. I could use a bit more work, I'd love to win the lottery, renovate the house, have more free time, maybe better growth in my reef.. or a bigger reef... blah blah.. who cares.. I am a very lucky person. I live in a free and beautiful country, amazing neighborhood.. I have a happy and healthy family. I am healthy and comfortable. And I have an exceptionally cute dog! I am very fortunate to have a life that is far and away better than 95% of the people on this planet and for that I am very grateful. So, everything else is awesome, thank you.

Originally Posted by kevlow

Matt,
Where do I find info on the Uncle Raja that you list? Googled it and came up dry.

Thanks,

Kevin

Hey Kevin, I just call him Uncle Raja because there are times when I spend more time in his shop than anywhere else!
Raging Reef is the name of his store. Pretty sure he's on Facebook. And his webpage is his store name.
Raja's got a few very good connections for corals. And often has more corals than I can ever take home in one haul, unfortunately..

Here's the last few shots from my latest photo foray..
Random top down:

Fiji fruit bowl successor. I don't think it'll ever be as crazy as that coral but it did come in in the same shipment last year sometime... continues to get more colour in the body, though..

I probably posted this shot or one similar yesterday but I like it so much, I'm posting another! Orange polyps have decide to come out a bit more. Happy about that.

And finally a good ol fish eye top down..

The blue rim around the photo is the edges of my viewing box.

Enjoy your weekend, folks!

[FloformAustria]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Thanks, Flo! Looking forward to seeing your new baby take shape.
Everything else? Well.. I'll tell you. I could use a bit more work, I'd love to win the lottery, renovate the house, have more free time, maybe better growth in my reef.. or a bigger reef... blah blah.. who cares.. I am a very lucky person. I live in a free and beautiful country, amazing neighborhood.. I have a happy and healthy family. I am healthy and comfortable. And I have an exceptionally cute dog! I am very fortunate to have a life that is far and away better than 95% of the people on this planet and for that I am very grateful. So, everything else is awesome, thank you.
Here's the last few shots from my latest photo foray..
Random top down:

Fiji fruit bowl successor. I don't think it'll ever be as crazy as that coral but it did come in in the same shipment last year sometime... continues to get more colour in the body, though..

I probably posted this shot or one similar yesterday but I like it so much, I'm posting another! Orange polyps have decide to come out a bit more. Happy about that.

And finally a good ol fish eye top down..

The blue rim around the photo is the edges of my viewing box.
Enjoy your weekend, folks!

that´s what i wanted to hear.... but at "free country" i had to check if you're from CA or USA
yes free ^^

who wouldn't want to win in the lottery? man what i would do with that money... but i am grateful too and thankful

enjoy your weekend too mate!

Cheers

ps: pics are looking good!!!

[glaukos]

i've been staring at the pics for about 20 minutes man.....and all i can say is thanks for sharing
There are moments that you forget why you do this hobby and there are moments that remind you the exact reason...those pics were the later

[nemodan]

Nice !!!!

[mhucasey]

Damn! That whole tank top-down is SWEET!

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by FloformAustria

that´s what i wanted to hear.... but at "free country" i had to check if you're from CA or USA
yes free ^^

who wouldn't want to win in the lottery? man what i would do with that money... but i am grateful too and thankful

enjoy your weekend too mate!

Cheers

ps: pics are looking good!!!

Thanks Flo, yep we are still free up here in the cold north.. I think it's the weather. No hotheads..

Originally Posted by glaukos

i've been staring at the pics for about 20 minutes man.....and all i can say is thanks for sharing
There are moments that you forget why you do this hobby and there are moments that remind you the exact reason...those pics were the later

Hey Mike, I'm very glad I was able to slow you down and focus you for at least 20 minutes. Thanks for the kind words.

Originally Posted by nemodan

Nice !!!!

Thanks, Dan!

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Damn! That whole tank top-down is SWEET!

Thanks, Matt. Looking forward to an update in your tank.

[markalot]

Awesome Matt. Really love the big wide angle of the tank!

[slavetonet]

I need to buy a fish eye lens. Freaking awesome from that photo.

[tripdad]

Looking stellar Matt!! The furiosa is still my fave but some others....wow! Nicely done.

[w3bbo]

Looking fantastic Matt. Whatever you're doing don't change it. It's clearly working very well for you!

[Hentz]

Your tank is looking phenomenal, Matt!

Looks like I'm looking down into a bowl of Fruity Pebbles :P

But really though, your corals contain a very very natural saturation to them, its outstanding.


Are the Monti's causing any issues? I've always loved the color and shapes they add to a reef, however I fear the over-growing and space-taking issues for Acropora (or other corals).

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by markalot

Awesome Matt. Really love the big wide angle of the tank!

Thanks, Mark. It's a fun lens to play with

Originally Posted by slavetonet

I need to buy a fish eye lens. Freaking awesome from that photo.

thanks.

Originally Posted by tripdad

Looking stellar Matt!! The furiosa is still my fave but some others....wow! Nicely done.

Thanks, Scott. The tank is currently heading in the right direction.

Originally Posted by w3bbo

Looking fantastic Matt. Whatever you're doing don't change it. It's clearly working very well for you!

Thank, Rich. What I am doing is changing things, however, so I am hoping I am changing things for the better.. I think so..

Not being able to practice what I preach, however, I have done a few things.. the cheato I talked about.. it is growing very fast but not yet having a rapid effect on nutrients.. a small effect perhaps..
I also took a page out of Mark's book and put a liter of Aquaforest Fiji mud in a Tupperware, in the sump. I added it to a small amount of tank water and some fine crushed coral, mixed it until it was uniform and then covered it with a layer of more crushed coral. Then, I submerged it very slowly to not stir it up and just left it on the bottom of the sump- only did that 5 days ago. But man, the minute it hit the water, the lps opened up like crazy. Lasted a few hours and then went back to normal. Since adding it, I may have a bit better pe..
Here are a couple comparison shots of nitrate test from two weeks ago and yesterday. The cheato went in two weeks ago..
June 4

June 17

See any difference?? I see a slight reduction.. that is in the right direction!
Po4 may have dropped by .01 that's about it..
I'll give it more time..

Oh yeah! Did a few other things as well...... yep.. told you.. I did a RSR treatment last week. I had small amounts of cyano cropping up in my frag tank. I decided to do it because by killing it off, it would redirect bound nutrients to the cheato.. seems to have worked..
ALSO... I started adding a drop of Polyp Lab's pro colors amino acids. They are highly concentrated mixed aminos. . 1 drop/250 g tank water. I have 350 but I'm only adding a drop. ALSO, began adding AF vitamins each night as well..
I am doing this because as the cheato pulls down nutrients, I want the corals to have access to whatever they may need..

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by Hentz

Your tank is looking phenomenal, Matt!

Looks like I'm looking down into a bowl of Fruity Pebbles :P

But really though, your corals contain a very very natural saturation to them, its outstanding.


Are the Monti's causing any issues? I've always loved the color and shapes they add to a reef, however I fear the over-growing and space-taking issues for Acropora (or other corals).

Hey Hentz, thanks! Along with all the stuff I am doing, I have also reduced the photoperiod of my t5 and mh.. as per Ed and Mark, (watchguy123). And many others with shorter photoperiods.
As for the montis.. well they are becoming an issue.. two years later.. I deliberately added them down low in hopes that the acros would grow fast enough to shade them out but they can be relentless growers!
Look smack in the centre of this shot. There is a green deep water acro that is being swallowed by the nauti spiral.

Closer:

Granted, I should never have put that acro there.. it is totally shaded from above now by another acro but is still has great colour and growth. It wil lol be the monti that kills it as it grows around it..
I will relocate that acro..
the nauti spiral is a stunning coral when it gets large and looks fantastic..
---This is from last summer..---

The monti is amazing..
Here it is over the winter.. December. It had begun pushing up right between the acros..

I have since smashed that whole section back.. I will have to do more smashing soon I think. I still love it but eventually it may force me to de some very serious re scaping.. we shall see..
I have a couple other montis in there as well.. couldn't resist. If you love the aesthetics then go for it. If you love full control of every coral in your tank, don't.

[Pife]

That picture from last summer is one of my favorite reef shots ever. Do you mind if I use it to show barren tank what it needs to look like? I'm serious too. I'll print it out and tape it to the glass.

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by Pife

That picture from last summer is one of my favorite reef shots ever. Do you mind if I use it to show barren tank what it needs to look like? I'm serious too. I'll print it out and tape it to the glass.

Thanks! Yeah, it's one of my favs as well!
I don't think your tank will need any help, it'll be spectacular in no time.

Here's a few random colour contrast shots..


This Fiji is getting more orangish in the body with cool blue growth..

[Wrangy]

Now you're just making fun of us.... Just gorgeous matey

[kevlow]

Originally Posted by Wrangy

Now you're just making fun of us.... Just gorgeous matey

This ^^^^

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by Wrangy

Now you're just making fun of us.... Just gorgeous matey

Originally Posted by kevlow

This ^^^^

thanks guys..

Here's a little update on the cheato growth.
June 4 right around when cheato went in

June 17

July 3


So n has been coming down nicely but p has not dropped a lot. It's down only about .02. P is Right around .15 from .17 last month..
That would put my n/p ratio fairly close to 100/1.. hm! Look at that!
Going to continue to watch and harvest the cheato which is growing very well. In another month or two.. or when I see no more reduction in n, I will begin another form of nutrient reduction..
Otherwise the tank is doing really well.