jlanger's 120gal Arts and Crafts Inspired Reef Build (1 Viewer)
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
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I took more photos during today's water change, but I couldn't wait to post this one.
This is my encrusting Pokerstar Montipora coral that I have usually dismissed because it was just another montipora coral in my tank filled with them.
But after this pic, I'll be appreciating it a bit more.
This is my encrusting Pokerstar Montipora coral that I have usually dismissed because it was just another montipora coral in my tank filled with them.
But after this pic, I'll be appreciating it a bit more.
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Walter84
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The colors on that are sweet
Do you have a "FCS"? ( full coral shot )
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jlanger
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Of course, I do.
I took this photo as a part of a series for a new thread topic I'm putting together.
But after looking at the coral through the macro lens, I needed to get some nice close-ups of the polyps.
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jlanger
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There's bit a bit of a buzz with leopard wrasses lately, so I spent a little time getting some pics of my male Blue Star Leopard Wrasse; M. bipartitus.
This fish has so many common names and the name I liked the least was the Blue Star Leopard. Since we mainly see these fish come in as females with a white/orange/black/green coloration, I didn't think that the Blue Star name was a fit. Even pictures of the males look more green/violet/red than blue. Now I completely understand why they use the common name of Blue Star Leopard Wrasse.
This fish has so many common names and the name I liked the least was the Blue Star Leopard. Since we mainly see these fish come in as females with a white/orange/black/green coloration, I didn't think that the Blue Star name was a fit. Even pictures of the males look more green/violet/red than blue. Now I completely understand why they use the common name of Blue Star Leopard Wrasse.
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jlanger
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Here's a couple of photos showing the new growth that a couple corals have had since March.
These were the two corals that started showing the unusual new growth pattern of having multiple regenerated axial corallites.
Here's the Green Slimer; March and June.
Here's the staghorn; January, March and June.
It appears that my corals are back on track; for the most part.
It will be interesting to see how these two corals continue to grow.
And just because...
These were the two corals that started showing the unusual new growth pattern of having multiple regenerated axial corallites.
Here's the Green Slimer; March and June.
Here's the staghorn; January, March and June.
It appears that my corals are back on track; for the most part.
It will be interesting to see how these two corals continue to grow.
And just because...
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There's bit a bit of a buzz with leopard wrasses lately, so I spent a little time getting some pics of my male Blue Star Leopard Wrasse; M. bipartitus.
This fish has so many common names and the name I liked the least was the Blue Star Leopard. Since we mainly see these fish come in as females with a white/orange/black/green coloration, I didn't think that the Blue Star name was a fit. Even pictures of the males look more green/violet/red than blue. Now I completely understand why they use the common name of Blue Star Leopard Wrasse.
Beautiful color, I wish one of my three females would transition, its been over 1.5 years; Male leopards are some of the most attractive wrasse out there IMO.
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jlanger
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Thanks.
From my posts, it looks like the transitioning started around two years in my system.
I don't think there's really any unattractive leopard wrasses; males and females are all gorgeous.
I'm leaning towards using this genus as my first installment in a new project. :yumyum:
As owning 6 of them and wanting more I recommend it.
Beautiful leopard wrasse pic, Jason! Question: did he become a male without any others of his species in the tank? I ask because my blue star leopard wrasse is a voracious eater and has become very round bodied in the year I have owned her, but has not changed sexes.
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jlanger
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Yep, he transitioned without any other females present.
Although, I bought the wrasse as part of a pair of small females in August of 2013. When I introduced the pair to the tank, my Lamarck's Angelfish was not really happy about it and would scare the wrasses back into the sand bed. The smaller of the two females ended up starving and died.
The larger female was able to handle the aggression and acclimated well. While it constantly picks at the rocks for pods, it readily eats any and all of the frozen foods that would feed. The fish never looked skinny and began to put on some size.
After two years, it was noticeable that a change was occurring. The colors were deepening and the white lower body was completely colored in and the bars were starting to develop on the face.
This photo was from January of 2015.
By October of 2015, the transition was almost complete. The body color had lost all of the deep orange color and was now black and blue. The spots along the body were starting to line up with the stripes on the head.
And then this latest pic shows how those spots have continued to band together and form the stripes that make up the front half of the body. You can even notice the canine teeth that leopard wrasses have located at the base of their jaw.
Ta da!! Female to male!!
Will...
It's promising to hear that your fish is a voracious eater. I think that diet and health would be a major factor in how the fish develops over time. My wrasse will devour everything I feed to the tank; mostly frozen LRS Frenzy blends. The wrasse will even take chunks from the nori sheets I feed to the tangs, rabbit and angel. So with such an appetite, the fish is fat and healthy.
Keep feeding, stay patient and hopefully you'll be rewarded with a stunning male.
Although, I bought the wrasse as part of a pair of small females in August of 2013. When I introduced the pair to the tank, my Lamarck's Angelfish was not really happy about it and would scare the wrasses back into the sand bed. The smaller of the two females ended up starving and died.
The larger female was able to handle the aggression and acclimated well. While it constantly picks at the rocks for pods, it readily eats any and all of the frozen foods that would feed. The fish never looked skinny and began to put on some size.
After two years, it was noticeable that a change was occurring. The colors were deepening and the white lower body was completely colored in and the bars were starting to develop on the face.
This photo was from January of 2015.
By October of 2015, the transition was almost complete. The body color had lost all of the deep orange color and was now black and blue. The spots along the body were starting to line up with the stripes on the head.
And then this latest pic shows how those spots have continued to band together and form the stripes that make up the front half of the body. You can even notice the canine teeth that leopard wrasses have located at the base of their jaw.
Ta da!! Female to male!!
Will...
It's promising to hear that your fish is a voracious eater. I think that diet and health would be a major factor in how the fish develops over time. My wrasse will devour everything I feed to the tank; mostly frozen LRS Frenzy blends. The wrasse will even take chunks from the nori sheets I feed to the tangs, rabbit and angel. So with such an appetite, the fish is fat and healthy.
Keep feeding, stay patient and hopefully you'll be rewarded with a stunning male.
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Mandarin_Jake
Senior Member
All this talk makes me uber jelly, last small female.leopard wrasse I brought home. My green coris wrasse pestered it to death. 
Wow! Thanks for the fantastic response. My fingers are crossed!
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jlanger
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Just for my reference (and if you're keeping track), the encrusting montipora coral is a Monitipora hoffmeisteri.
ID credit goes to a R2R member that nailed it.
It's not a Pokerstar, but I cannot edit the above post.
ID credit goes to a R2R member that nailed it.
It's not a Pokerstar, but I cannot edit the above post.
Glad to hear the coral are turning around and growing! How are the nitrates and phosphates maintaining for you?
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jlanger
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The nitrates were last tested under 16ppm.
The phosphates were still around 0.04ppm.
I have a water change planned for today and I'll test again.
It's been a busy summer so I've really only been testing alkalinity on a regular basis; which has been kind of nice. As long as the corals are looking good and growth is apparent, I've not worried about the nutrients as much; a "good thing" or a "bad thing"?
On another note, I need to try and figure out why my Apex firmware won't update as it should!
Every time I need to do an update, it becomes a freakin' nightmare. I try every option and method that's been suggested and I have no idea how it finally works, but it does. This is probably my biggest headache in the hobby; damn computer software!
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jlanger
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Good news; all around.
The nutrient levels have stabilized with my current methods of control. Nitrates have stayed around 12-16ppm and phosphates have been 0.04ppm for the last month or so.
I did change how I had the ceramic media blocks placed in my sump. They were laying down so I had a "block" of 8"Wx16"Lx4"H. I turned them up on end to create a "block" of 8"Wx8"Lx8"H. This arrangement hopefully creates more area for anaerobic bacteria to colonize the block. And the arrangement opens up that section of the sump for another possible filtration method.
If I want to try and reduce the nutrient levels more, I may have to implement another method.
With the water parameters staying consistent, corals have been doing very well. I fragged a bunch of the plating montipora corals this weekend; even more today during the water change. There is growth evident with many other SPS corals. The PC Rainbow took a major hit during that last episode, but there are a few spots that have started turning bright green again indicating that they're coming back.
I received a bunch of SPS frags for safe-keeping that I am acclimating to my system before I start gluing them onto the reef. Hopefully, they will do well enough that I can offer them back when the time comes.
And with a couple of tips from Tim today, I was able to get the Apex controller updated and back online. Still took some unplugging and restarting the controller, but now I have it all written down for the next time it happens.
Obligatory pic. I haven't photographed this guy in a while.
The nutrient levels have stabilized with my current methods of control. Nitrates have stayed around 12-16ppm and phosphates have been 0.04ppm for the last month or so.
I did change how I had the ceramic media blocks placed in my sump. They were laying down so I had a "block" of 8"Wx16"Lx4"H. I turned them up on end to create a "block" of 8"Wx8"Lx8"H. This arrangement hopefully creates more area for anaerobic bacteria to colonize the block. And the arrangement opens up that section of the sump for another possible filtration method.
If I want to try and reduce the nutrient levels more, I may have to implement another method.
With the water parameters staying consistent, corals have been doing very well. I fragged a bunch of the plating montipora corals this weekend; even more today during the water change. There is growth evident with many other SPS corals. The PC Rainbow took a major hit during that last episode, but there are a few spots that have started turning bright green again indicating that they're coming back.
I received a bunch of SPS frags for safe-keeping that I am acclimating to my system before I start gluing them onto the reef. Hopefully, they will do well enough that I can offer them back when the time comes.
And with a couple of tips from Tim today, I was able to get the Apex controller updated and back online. Still took some unplugging and restarting the controller, but now I have it all written down for the next time it happens.
Obligatory pic. I haven't photographed this guy in a while.
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Looking great. Had not checked in on your tank since shortly after your tank move for new flooring. Some fantastic progress. The ceramic blocks are intriguing. I am always looking for a magic bullet for Nitrate reduction without a lot of side effects or a ton of equipment. Never had much luck with biopellets and some of the other methods are too complicated for my tastes. I may give the blocks a try in my new build I am working on. I always found my SPS did really well with some low levels of nitrates and I am not even shooting for near zero levels this time around. I would be thrilled with your recent parameters after your last round of water changes and tweaking.
Really liking your aquascape. As your corals are growing it is really filling out nicely. That last FTS looks really nice. Keep it up man. Looks amazing. If I commented on everything I liked I would have to write a book here so I will leave at this: Your tank is very inspirational. I hope my new set up looks half as beautiful as yours. Vey impressed!
Really liking your aquascape. As your corals are growing it is really filling out nicely. That last FTS looks really nice. Keep it up man. Looks amazing. If I commented on everything I liked I would have to write a book here so I will leave at this: Your tank is very inspirational. I hope my new set up looks half as beautiful as yours. Vey impressed!