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My 300 to 294 build and fish room (2 Viewers)

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Cody

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The Acros I got from @FarmerTy a few months ago are settling in nicely.

Farmer Ty Blue Cotton Candy. I like fuzzy corals.
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Z's Blue Floyd. I really appreciate Ty taking the time to carefully outline each corallite with a hilighter pen.
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And despite franks best efforts, those corals are looking sharp! I still need to see your tank one day, Frank. Or at least let me hand feed the deer that terrorize your lawn so as to encourage them to come back.
 
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frankc

frankc

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And despite franks best efforts, those corals are looking sharp! I still need to see your tank one day, Frank. Or at least let me hand feed the deer that terrorize your lawn so as to encourage them to come back.

The deer come back just fine on their own. Between them and the armadillos, it's a wonder I have any plants left. They really don't cause much damage, but they do limit the types of plants I can keep.
 
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frankc

frankc

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Do you think my Oregon tort is trying to tell me something? I didn't even know that Acros could grow in a curve towards the light like a plant. I think it wants to be moved.

Of course, Oregon did just semi-legalize heroin and cocaine, so maybe that's why it's growing wonky.

By the way, it looks much more blue in person, this camera likes to make things purple for some reason.

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frankc

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With the anemones from the big tank sold, I put a flat rock near the top so it sticks out to give more room for Acros in the brightest light spot that the anemones used to occupy. The shrimp love hanging out under it. Left to right in front is a cherry bomb, fruity pebbles (this broke when I tried to remove it from its frag plug, so it became a micro-frag experiment), and at the far right you can just see part of a pearlberry. In the middle is a JF Frankies Neophobia. On top is a Gold Finger, and a Walt Disney that I've had about a year, but moved to a brighter spot to see if I could get any colors other than green.

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frankc

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My fox flame seems a little confused about what color it's supposed to be, with bright green polyps at the base and a blue cast to the main section.
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This tiny bit of del fuego is starting to color up nicely. I like how not only the base color gets more pink towards the top, but the polyps too.
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This nasuta was just green for almost a year, but lately has really started to grow and has blue tips.
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And no talk about colorful corals is complete without showing off the beach bum.
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frankc

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The strange "blueification" of some of my Acros continues. The pink lemonade and strawberry shortcake both are getting some blue/purple areas, and I don't think they normally have those colors.

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The fruity pebbles Acro I got in November is coloring up nicely, and I'm liking the micro-fragging concept. All three pieces are encrusting nicely, and the two larger ones have joined.

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RR-MAN

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Nice pics Frank.

The new leds working for you I guess [emoji4]
 
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frankc

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Nice pics Frank.

The new leds working for you I guess [emoji4]
Thanks. Yeah, for the most part I'm pretty happy with them. They bring out a lot of nice colors, although no yellow or pink in the pink lemonade, and I have a JF yellowjacket that has no sign of yellow on it.

If I had to start over, which i really hope I won't, I would probably go back to a 6' tank or up to an 8' and get four lights. These do a better job than most I think in covering more than 2', but there are definite darker areas between the lights. Good thing there are corals that like less light, even some Acros. I have an echinata that is growing in one of the "light trough" zones, and it's doing fine.
 
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frankc

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This bird's nest just can't catch a break. It was doing great for a while, then over 60% of it got killed by the anemones. Still trying to recover from that, now it's getting shaded by the elkhorn Monti that's growing really well. I think I will be moving the bird's nest.

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The other side of the Monti, growing in less light, grows a little differently.

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The fruity pebbles is doing well.

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Cody

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I don't think my tank will ever be Elkhorn free, even if I tried.
 
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frankc

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I don't think my tank will ever be Elkhorn free, even if I tried.
Yeah, it's pretty tough stuff. When I set up this tank not quite three years ago, I was down to about a dime-sized piece after the anemones got ahold of the rest of it when everything was in temporary quarters. I carefully fed it and got it back to health. Now I don't feed it because I'm afraid it's trying to take over the world.
 

Cody

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Yeah, it's pretty tough stuff. When I set up this tank not quite three years ago, I was down to about a dime-sized piece after the anemones got ahold of the rest of it when everything was in temporary quarters. I carefully fed it and got it back to health. Now I don't feed it because I'm afraid it's trying to take over the world.
Are you feeding corals? I mean, sps and the likes that don't have a large mouth. I feed Reef Chili but i just mix it in with my frozen food, shredded nori, etc and broadcast feed.
 
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frankc

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Are you feeding corals? I mean, sps and the likes that don't have a large mouth. I feed Reef Chili but i just mix it in with my frozen food, shredded nori, etc and broadcast feed.
About once a week I feed a mixture of Reef Roids, Oyster Feast if I can ever find it, or Phyto Feast or some sort of more or less liquid food, and Reef Energy amino acids and vitamins. I don't know if it does any good, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for them.

And here's the ASD rainbow milli I got from you. The picture doesn't do its colors justice, but it is doing great.

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Cody

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About once a week I feed a mixture of Reef Roids, Oyster Feast if I can ever find it, or Phyto Feast or some sort of more or less liquid food, and Reef Energy amino acids and vitamins. I don't know if it does any good, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for them.

And here's the ASD rainbow milli I got from you. The picture doesn't do its colors justice, but it is doing great.

P5081434.JPG
I need to get with you on how to take better quality pics but I can't believe how big it has grown! Looking so much better than mine these days!!!
 
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frankc

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This Cynarina is by far the most expensive coral I've ever purchased. The picture looked spectacular on the Tidal Gardens website - different shades of purple, lavender, and pink - but when it arrived it was mostly brownish. I got it the week before the big freeze, so worrying about it added to the stress of that event.

I didn't take any pictures of it until today because I was so disappointed with it, but gradually it has been getting some color. It still isn't too exciting in normal light, but the second picture with blue light and orange glasses makes it look pretty cool. Maybe in a few more months it will look worth what I paid for it.

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frankc

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I had a hard time deciding which of two mushroom shots to use for the photo contest this month, so I'll post the other here. This yuma is 4-5 inches, maybe more if it is in the mood to really stretch out. I like how it has a neat row of enlarged tentacles.

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frankc

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Well, I guess it's official now - the name "intergalactic spaghetti" anemone is in print, so it must be a real thing. I had responded to Coral magazine's survey about anemones a while back, and on page 98 of the May/June issue, Matt Pedersen lists several of the named varieties such as Sherman and Colorado Sunburst, and it included Intergalactic Spaghetti.

I should probably charge a grand for them now haha.
 
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