A Splash of Color

biggles · 09/26/2015, 10:31 PM

This is my 60x32x18" SPS dominant reef display. I am restarting my journal since i have abandoned plans to keep a peninsula type display so a fresh start is in order.

The aim remains the same - to make my reef tank a big splash of acro colors.

I ran a 100 micron felt sock for 24 hours before taking this pic, the water is very clear. I didn't clean the end panel glass so you could see the algae buildup in 24 hrs - nitrates are at 10 and phos is about .08 at the moment which is a good balance but way too high a concentration.

This thread will be the kind of journal where the frog in the pic above gets glued feet down on top of the green soli which ate my orange pavona frag. That's the way i roll so don't say you weren't warned..........

Site of the soon to be soli encrusted acro frog, beside the burial site of the orange pav seems a fitting place to entomb the poor creature.......

nemodan · 09/26/2015, 10:35 PM

Amazing !!!!

Do you have 2 sets of lights ?

Chevelle5434 · 09/26/2015, 10:38 PM

Love it!!! Makes me want to start on a shallow reef.

pstank1 · 09/26/2015, 10:40 PM

The tank is still looking great Andrew. That tank is missing a firetruck though, Moby is still looking good.

I've heard that licking the bum of an acro frog can have hallucinogenic effects, be careful when handling it. You might want to consider using gloves, just to be safe.

edit: Once the matrix starts kicking in, I'm pretty sure those levels will start getting closer to where you want them.

Wrangy · 09/26/2015, 10:48 PM

You're just doing this for more attention...

Looking good Andrew, the left island has come along in leaps and bounds since you put that 400w over it!!

Dave really did talk you into a lobo

I was skeptical when you said that lol a good piece to be talked into though!

Have you got the Jebao Automatronic Pulse Flow Reactor online yet?

biggles · 09/27/2015, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemodan

Amazing !!!!

Do you have 2 sets of lights ?

Thanks Daniel, i have a 400W Radium over each end and triple T5 units either side of each halide. The tank is 5ft long so i have a 2 & 3 ft unit on each side. The old 65 gal light hood is the right hand side setup and the left side is the old 250W socket from the 65 gal sump. I need to change all the bulbs soon as the T5 tubes are all over 18 months old and the 400W bulbs are both 8 moths old from memory.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chevelle5434

Love it!!! Makes me want to start on a shallow reef.

Thanks mate, shallow displays let you see down on most of your acros almost with top down colors. The highest acro on the right island is 8" off the glass bottom at the moment. The left island is higher and scaped with acros much more dramatically than the right table island. The highest acro on that island is a stag at 12" off the glass bottom. Most people goof with shallow scapes simply because they make their rock work way too high to begin with. It's easy to add more rock down the track but impossible to do if you have used large overly tall pieces to begin with.
Use corals like stags for height rather than ugly lumps of rock......

Quote:

Originally Posted by pstank1

The tank is still looking great Andrew. That tank is missing a firetruck though, Moby is still looking good.

I've heard that licking the bum of an acro frog can have hallucinogenic effects, be careful when handling it. You might want to consider using gloves, just to be safe.

edit: Once the matrix starts kicking in, I'm pretty sure those levels will start getting closer to where you want them.

I don't even know where i'm going to put my little red firetruck frag mate, it won't be hidden away that's for bloody sure

I wore gloves a few days ago when i cut paly's off the base of the clam, pretty sure i got rid of every one. I'm basically waiting now for the matrix to kick in before i stress too much about the nutrients. Growth is very slow with the nutrients high and the pinks and reds are not crash hot as expected.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wrangy

You're just doing this for more attention...

Looking good Andrew, the left island has come along in leaps and bounds since you put that 400w over it!!

Dave really did talk you into a lobo

I was skeptical when you said that lol a good piece to be talked into though!

Have you got the Jebao Automatronic Pulse Flow Reactor online yet?

Pretty sure that dropping a 54 page thread isn't the way you gain more attention for a journal Dom, it's supposed to be the exact opposite actually mate

I thought Dave was pulling my leg when he siad he had a lobo i might want to look at lol. Nothing but bags of matrix sitting in the sump with a 6025 pointed at them so far Dom. You can't rush these things mate.

sahin · 09/27/2015, 04:10 AM

The new flubbery thing looks great Andrew. I'm sure after a few weeks basking under the glory of the Radium sun it will look better.

Will be following the non peninsula SPS thread.

M007 · 09/27/2015, 05:21 AM

Just checking in Andrew, looking forward to the continuation of your awe inspiring thread

nemodan · 09/27/2015, 06:03 AM

Andrew, I was going to paste a link of your old thread here, but though that it has to be your decision, because is your thread. So instead I decided to suggest and request if you would be so kind to paste a link of that thread. It contains such an amount of good info that for new guys that start to read this new thread can be, and probably it will be , very good to take a look to the old one.

Beside, there are guys like me, that have interested threads as bookmark but nevertheless how well I try to save them, when I change the toys (phone,computer, tablets) in some way I finish screwing all and losing all my old info. It has been always my karma in life with computers, smart phones and tablets since they where invented .... LOL.

Enough begging for now .......

plyle02 · 09/27/2015, 06:39 AM

Andrew,
Your tank is amazing, the bommies are super cool, and I love the color spread, this is truly a splash of color, well, more than a splash, let's re-title with "A wave of color"

Very nice mate!

bibarassa · 09/27/2015, 08:38 AM

Andrew, your tank is always an inspiration for me……..and I'm waiting for your new super tank

mhucasey · 09/27/2015, 08:57 AM

I liked your peninsula tank way better...this one is rubbish

Years from now new reefers will be told that they will need to find a location for their acro frog as part of tank setup. It will be part of the established protocol for SPS tank setup, though none will remember why or where the practice began

Keep on being yourself Andrew, you're a big part of what I love about coming here...and that sneaky Sahin will get away with a lot of sneakiness without your oversight!!

Pife · 09/27/2015, 02:41 PM

Keep coming this new thread with beautiful pictures and I won't car that you abandoned your of thread. Your tank is looking good.

reefmutt · 09/27/2015, 03:35 PM

I'm always the last to know when Andrew goes and starts something new..
So... That Acro frog can't swim? I want to see him doing the backstroke amongst the acros and snuggling into that new flubber.

martinphillip03 · 09/27/2015, 08:50 PM

I'm in!

Marty

markalot · 09/28/2015, 11:18 AM

Looking forward to more coral goodness, don't let us down. No pressure though.

cugly · 09/28/2015, 11:38 AM

Beautiful my friend i haven't seen a video in a while.

JB NY · 09/28/2015, 02:51 PM

Are you still taking pictures with an iPhone?

reefmutt · 09/28/2015, 05:12 PM

Excellent question, Joe!...........

BrentH · 09/28/2015, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB NY

Are you still taking pictures with an iPhone?

damn i didnt know pics could come out this nice with an iphone?.......

biggles · 09/29/2015, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sahin

The new flubbery thing looks great Andrew. I'm sure after a few weeks basking under the glory of the Radium sun it will look better. Will be following the non peninsula SPS thread.

Thanks buddy, hopefully it colors up a lot brighter than it is now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M007

Just checking in Andrew, looking forward to the continuation of your awe inspiring thread

Thanks Mike, we shall boldly go where others are too sane to tread mate........

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemodan

Andrew, I was going to paste a link of your old thread here, but though that it has to be your decision, because is your thread. So instead I decided to suggest and request if you would be so kind to paste a link of that thread. It contains such an amount of good info that for new guys that start to read this new thread can be, and probably it will be , very good to take a look to the old one.

Beside, there are guys like me, that have interested threads as bookmark but nevertheless how well I try to save them, when I change the toys (phone,computer, tablets) in some way I finish screwing all and losing all my old info. It has been always my karma in life with computers, smart phones and tablets since they where invented .... LOL.

Enough begging for now .......

Your wish is my command Daniel

My Peninsula Fail......

Quote:

Originally Posted by plyle02

Andrew,
Your tank is amazing, the bommies are super cool, and I love the color spread, this is truly a splash of color, well, more than a splash, let's re-title with "A wave of color"

Very nice mate!

Thanks for the kind words Perry, considering how colorful your SPS display is it means a lot mate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bibarassa

Andrew, your tank is always an inspiration for me……..and I'm waiting for your new super tank

Thank you my friend, i'm pleased to see you here. I'm also looking forward to the upgrade next year, that's why i didn't mention tank size in my journal title

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhucasey

I liked your peninsula tank way better...this one is rubbish

Years from now new reefers will be told that they will need to find a location for their acro frog as part of tank setup. It will be part of the established protocol for SPS tank setup, though none will remember why or where the practice began

Keep on being yourself Andrew, you're a big part of what I love about coming here...and that sneaky Sahin will get away with a lot of sneakiness without your oversight!!

Hey Matt, acro frogs will be like running carbon mate.........
You can rely on me to watch Sahin like a hawk, if he said it was sunny out i'd take a bloody umbrella with me........

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pife

Keep coming this new thread with beautiful pictures and I won't car that you abandoned your of thread. Your tank is looking good.

Thanks mate, i'll do my best to keep the pics coming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefmutt

I'm always the last to know when Andrew goes and starts something new..
So... That Acro frog can't swim? I want to see him doing the backstroke amongst the acros and snuggling into that new flubber.

Hey Matt, the frog may take a wander around the reef prior to going into soli hibernation........... i'll be sure to take a pic or two if i spot him on one of his rare underwater sorties.

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinphillip03

I'm in!

Marty

Good to have you on board Marty.

biggles · 09/29/2015, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markalot

Looking forward to more coral goodness, don't let us down. No pressure though.

There's no pressure Mark, as long as the display looks like a rainbow with the runs took a dump in it i'll be happy. Anything less is unacceptable

Quote:

Originally Posted by cugly

Beautiful my friend i haven't seen a video in a while.

Thanks Dan, i'll try to make a video soon mate

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB NY

Are you still taking pictures with an iPhone?

I don't own a camera Joe so any pic i post is always taken with a phone camera.

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Excellent question, Joe!...........

I used to shoot macro still life's on Ektar 25 with a Nikon F90X and a couple of Nikkor macro lenses back twenty years ago. From memory i spent a bit over three grand on just the two lenses way back when money was worth something but i was single and making very good money so went nuts on my hobbies.
If i had access to a DSLR and macro lens i don't think it would take me long to get back into the swing of real macro work again

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrentH

damn i didnt know pics could come out this nice with an iphone?.......

Hey Brent, i haven't tried the iphone 6 yet. I like using the Nokia lumina 1020 since it has many camera adjustment features and captures images 7712 x 4352 - that's a lot of detail for a phone camera.

sahin · 09/29/2015, 06:35 AM

I had a good reputation here on the SPS forum before Biggles ventured to this forum...

Now I get called sneaky.... If anyone cares to remember, Biggles was the leader of the sneaky reefers group...why do you think at some point Biggles decided to be called "Andrew"...

Look at the SNEAKY thread change...all very sneaky plans he has...he has you all under his spell with his highly coloured acro pics posted onc every blue moon...

Andrew/Biggles/Boggles/Kevins dad, where are all the sump and equipment pics? A new thread deserves such photos.

reefmutt · 09/29/2015, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sahin

I had a good reputation here on the SPS forum before Biggles ventured to this forum...

Now I get called sneaky.... If anyone cares to remember, Biggles was the leader of the sneaky reefers group...why do you think at some point Biggles decided to be called "Andrew"...

Look at the SNEAKY thread change...all very sneaky plans he has...he has you all under his spell with his highly coloured acro pics posted onc every blue moon...

Andrew/Biggles/Boggles/Kevins dad, where are all the sump and equipment pics? A new thread deserves such photos.

Hm.... I must say, these comments and question do have merit..

biggles · 09/29/2015, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sahin

I had a good reputation here on the SPS forum before Biggles ventured to this forum...

Now I get called sneaky.... If anyone cares to remember, Biggles was the leader of the sneaky reefers group..

You have a great reputation still Sahin, i and many others consider you to be a huge asset to this community and a good friend - don't ever doubt how much you're valued here mate

Why else would we put up with all the lies about having no new acros..........

History Reality Check

It was Bello who started hiding a few frags and then i decided if it was ok for him then it was ok for me to hide a couple of pieces. You then took it to another level and hid half of divers den acro inventory behind your rock work

I'll take some sumpy equipment pics so you can see what's what down below when i get a chance, speaking of pics i think it's a blue moon tonight..........

Remember this piece

At night with the camera phone pressed against the glass and the flash on, the acro is 5" from the glass.

Zooming in on the image you can see some pretty decent detail captured.

Piccy Tip

If you are using a phone camera and want to capture some nice images of your corals try using the flash at night and select those acros who's pigments appear colorful under the flash. Most stuff will be yucky and or brown but a few will look even more beautiful than you realised when photographed at night.
You must have the phone flat against the glass or the flash will reflect and fog out your pics with glare. Using the flash removes any shake or movement on your behalf as does resting against the glass. There's no reason every person with a camera phone can't capture the same sort of images as there is nothing at all tricky to using a camera phone if you do it this way after lights out. Everyone should give it a try, you'll be surprised at the results

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Hm.... I must say, these comments and question do have merit..

Have a night time SSC pic Matt, pics of acros always make things better i find mate

09/26/2015, 10:31 PM	#1
biggles Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Australia Posts: 3,907	A Splash of Color This is my 60x32x18" SPS dominant reef display. I am restarting my journal since i have abandoned plans to keep a peninsula type display so a fresh start is in order. The aim remains the same - to make my reef tank a big splash of acro colors. I ran a 100 micron felt sock for 24 hours before taking this pic, the water is very clear. I didn't clean the end panel glass so you could see the algae buildup in 24 hrs - nitrates are at 10 and phos is about .08 at the moment which is a good balance but way too high a concentration. This thread will be the kind of journal where the frog in the pic above gets glued feet down on top of the green soli which ate my orange pavona frag. That's the way i roll so don't say you weren't warned.......... Site of the soon to be soli encrusted acro frog, beside the burial site of the orange pav seems a fitting place to entomb the poor creature....... __________________ Andrew

09/26/2015, 10:48 PM	#5
Wrangy Acrotrooper Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Australia Posts: 1,614	You're just doing this for more attention... Looking good Andrew, the left island has come along in leaps and bounds since you put that 400w over it!! Dave really did talk you into a lobo I was skeptical when you said that lol a good piece to be talked into though! Have you got the Jebao Automatronic Pulse Flow Reactor online yet? __________________ Dom Courtesy of Nils: "you are welcome to your nem / flub tank because we need people like you to balance the sick ( sick in the head SPS OCD ) speaking for myself here!!"

09/27/2015, 05:21 AM	#8
M007 Acro Whore Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,631	Just checking in Andrew, looking forward to the continuation of your awe inspiring thread __________________ Mixed reef emphasis on SPS. Tangs, Triggers, Bartlets, CBB, Goldflake Angel, and a Pigmy or two. Current Tank Info: 250G SPS Mixed Reef. ATLAS 84x28x24. SuperMarin 250. Cebu Sun 3 x 250WMH Radiums 4 x 80W T5. Profilux 3 w/GHL dosing CA-ALK-MG. Moved by Tunze and Vertex. Reef Octopus 5K return.

09/27/2015, 06:03 AM	#9
nemodan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Westford, MA Posts: 1,063	Andrew, I was going to paste a link of your old thread here, but though that it has to be your decision, because is your thread. So instead I decided to suggest and request if you would be so kind to paste a link of that thread. It contains such an amount of good info that for new guys that start to read this new thread can be, and probably it will be , very good to take a look to the old one. Beside, there are guys like me, that have interested threads as bookmark but nevertheless how well I try to save them, when I change the toys (phone,computer, tablets) in some way I finish screwing all and losing all my old info. It has been always my karma in life with computers, smart phones and tablets since they where invented .... LOL. Enough begging for now ....... Last edited by nemodan; 09/27/2015 at 06:12 AM.

09/27/2015, 06:39 AM	#10
plyle02 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Lake Helen, FL Posts: 5,526	Andrew, Your tank is amazing, the bommies are super cool, and I love the color spread, this is truly a splash of color, well, more than a splash, let's re-title with "A wave of color" Very nice mate! __________________ Perry "Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die" ~Buddha~ Current Tank Info: 50 Gallon AIO Cube, Aquamaxx WS-1 Skimmer, LED/ Hybrid 4x24 watt t5

09/26/2015, 10:35 PM	#2
nemodan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Westford, MA Posts: 1,063	Amazing !!!! Do you have 2 sets of lights ?

09/26/2015, 10:38 PM	#3
Chevelle5434 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: St. Paul, Minnesota Posts: 111	Love it!!! Makes me want to start on a shallow reef.

09/26/2015, 10:40 PM	#4
pstank1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 246	The tank is still looking great Andrew. That tank is missing a firetruck though, Moby is still looking good. I've heard that licking the bum of an acro frog can have hallucinogenic effects, be careful when handling it. You might want to consider using gloves, just to be safe. edit: Once the matrix starts kicking in, I'm pretty sure those levels will start getting closer to where you want them.

09/27/2015, 04:10 AM	#7
sahin Ultimate Reefer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,540	The new flubbery thing looks great Andrew. I'm sure after a few weeks basking under the glory of the Radium sun it will look better. Will be following the non peninsula SPS thread.

09/27/2015, 08:38 AM	#11
bibarassa Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: venice - Italy Posts: 248	Andrew, your tank is always an inspiration for me……..and I'm waiting for your new super tank

09/27/2015, 08:57 AM	#12
mhucasey Acros & wieners, oh my! Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Oceanside, California Posts: 3,706	I liked your peninsula tank way better...this one is rubbish Years from now new reefers will be told that they will need to find a location for their acro frog as part of tank setup. It will be part of the established protocol for SPS tank setup, though none will remember why or where the practice began Keep on being yourself Andrew, you're a big part of what I love about coming here...and that sneaky Sahin will get away with a lot of sneakiness without your oversight!! __________________ - Matt I call the big one "Bitey" - Homer Simpson See my tank thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2468548 Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Rimless Starphire Shallow Reef. Reef Octopus Diablo EXT-200 skimmer, Chaeto Reactor, Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X39W, 6X39W Sunpower

09/27/2015, 02:41 PM	#13
Pife Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 7,408	Keep coming this new thread with beautiful pictures and I won't car that you abandoned your of thread. Your tank is looking good. __________________ Brandon I'm not saying let's get rid of all the stupid people.* I'm just saying let's remove all the warning labels and let the problem work itself out. Current Tank Info: 150g DT plumbed to an 80g frag tank and 220g sump in the basement. ~6-MP40s ~ 12 ATI powered t5s ~ Reefbrites and Radions supplementing ~ Custom GEO Skimmer ~ GEO CA Reactor 6x24~ Iwaki 70 Return ~

09/27/2015, 03:35 PM	#14
reefmutt Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Mtl. Canada Posts: 7,824	I'm always the last to know when Andrew goes and starts something new.. So... That Acro frog can't swim? I want to see him doing the backstroke amongst the acros and snuggling into that new flubber. __________________ Matt. Current Tank Info: 53x32.5x26 190g dt 60g of sumps 3 tank-100 gal frag system 6xAI prime 8xt5. 4x maxspect gyre. Skimz Dual internal sicce pump skimmer Deltec PF601s ca rx+Kalk stirrer

09/27/2015, 08:50 PM	#15
martinphillip03 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Posts: 1,300	I'm in! Marty

09/28/2015, 11:18 AM	#16
markalot ... Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Florence, KY Posts: 3,806 Blog Entries: 3	Looking forward to more coral goodness, don't let us down. No pressure though. __________________ -- Mark 150G (72x18x27) \| 35G sump \| SRO-XP2000INT Skimmer \| ATI SunPower T5 / NanoBox LED hybrid 60" x 4 + 8 NanoBox v3.1 arrays

09/28/2015, 11:38 AM	#17
cugly Dansreeftank Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: chula vista Ca Posts: 1,388	Beautiful my friend i haven't seen a video in a while. __________________ 48x30x20 Leemar rimless starphire panels, lit by an Ati hybrid powermodule, apex controller with apex dos, ghl dosing, mp40qd and tunze. And korallen skimmer.

09/28/2015, 02:51 PM	#18
JB NY Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 9,207	Are you still taking pictures with an iPhone? __________________ -Joe TOTM Sept 2002 \| Reefland April 2004 \| CORAL Magazine Nov 2007 Featured Tank "Coral Reef Aquarium" 2011 \| Reef Spotlight 2018 Current Tank Info: 270G SPS Tank, 140G sumps, 35G Frag Tank, Ultra Reef Akula UKS-200 Skimmer, Apex, Giesemann Spectra 3x250W MH 4x80W T5, 2xReefbrite Tech 72" Blue LED, Triton Dosing, ARID C30 Algae Reactor, Maxspect Gyre

09/28/2015, 05:12 PM	#19
reefmutt Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Mtl. Canada Posts: 7,824	Excellent question, Joe!........... __________________ Matt. Current Tank Info: 53x32.5x26 190g dt 60g of sumps 3 tank-100 gal frag system 6xAI prime 8xt5. 4x maxspect gyre. Skimz Dual internal sicce pump skimmer Deltec PF601s ca rx+Kalk stirrer

09/29/2015, 06:35 AM	#23
sahin Ultimate Reefer Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,540	I had a good reputation here on the SPS forum before Biggles ventured to this forum... Now I get called sneaky.... If anyone cares to remember, Biggles was the leader of the sneaky reefers group...why do you think at some point Biggles decided to be called "Andrew"... Look at the SNEAKY thread change...all very sneaky plans he has...he has you all under his spell with his highly coloured acro pics posted onc every blue moon... Andrew/Biggles/Boggles/Kevins dad, where are all the sump and equipment pics? A new thread deserves such photos.