Lazylivin's 55 gallon Reef

[Midwest Express]

Great looking setup!  Clean looking too.

Great job!

[lazylivin]

Well the Plexi frag racks did not work out. It kept trapping micro bubbles underneath so I pulled them out. Went old school with the egg crate and wire tires. Here is some shots of the frag/grow out tank.



Heres a couple of frags close up.





Also pulled out some of the rock in the center of the main tank to open it up and make more room for growth.

FTS



Right Side



Left Side

[apelaston]

Wow looks like u took out a lot of rock but it looks good . let me know when my hyndophora, pink cap, and radioactive dragon eye frags are ready....maybe we can meet up when the ora order comes in.

[MITCH]

Very nice, clean

[lazylivin]

Wow looks like u took out a lot of rock but it looks good . let me know when my hyndophora, pink cap, and radioactive dragon eye frags are ready....maybe we can meet up when the ora order comes in.

You can get them when ever you are out this way next.  Do you know when the ORA order is coming in? I was not sure if he was going to order now or wait until next year.

Very nice, clean
Thanks Mitch!

[apelaston]

well if it doesnt get ordered i will be that way the wednesday b4 xmas and then the day after xmas.

[lazylivin]

Okay, I am home both days

[jake]

Dig the tank 

[JoeAyers]

One of the best 55s I've ever seen. Takes mad skills to aquascape a 55. It has a difficult footprint.

[lazylivin]

The comments are very much appreciated. The rock is defintley a challenge and a back breaker. Had to glue some of it together.

[lazylivin]

Couple of new Corals today from the NDR order.... Merry Christmas to me

Left - Red Planet Table
Center - Pearlbeery
Right - Bellina



Pearlbeery

[apelaston]

Doh. i hate when u beat me to the deliveries! great pieces! they should add a nice contrast to what u already have in ur tank.

[Revaltion131]

I agree.  Most of your stuff seems orange and red, should be a very nice contrast.   

[lazylivin]

Thank you, I think most of my SPS are somewhat pale and faded compared to a lot of others I have seen. Still learning how to care for them. Could be in part related to chronically low PH and high Alkalinity. PH range is 7.96 end of Light Cycle - 7.70 Start of Light Cycle. Even if I mix a batch of fresh saltwater it is at 8.1 and by end of week still sitting in bucket not used just aerated and heated it is down to 7.75. ughhh.... We will see what spring brings hopefully higher PH. Reading about ozone to see if that is a potential solution as well.

[apelaston]

hey pictures look a lot better on this laptop than my cell phone...WOOOHOOOO
How is Sara's pink dell?? lucky.....

[Revaltion131]

Thank you, I think most of my SPS are somewhat pale and faded compared to a lot of others I have seen. Still learning how to care for them. Could be in part related to chronically low PH and high Alkalinity. PH range is 7.96 (end of Light Cycle - 7.70 Start of Light Cycle. Even if I mix a batch of fresh saltwater it is at 8.1 and by end of week still sitting in bucket not used just aerated and heated it is down to 7.75. ughhh.... We will see what spring brings hopefully higher PH. Reading about ozone to see if that is a potential solution as well.

The pH might have something to do with it, but don't you have a 10K bulb as well?  That would add to it, even though they grow faster.  I assumed it was your bulb before I saw these comments.  Your tank does look good besides that, so I'm sure that as soon as you've got it figured out, it'll look amazing. 

And man, wish I'd beaten you to the PB's...hehe.

[apelaston]

10k bulbs can fade colors?

[Revaltion131]

Not fade them so much as just influence or draw out colors closer to browns and yellows than blues and purples.

[lazylivin]

The pH might have something to do with it, but don't you have a 10K bulb as well?  That would add to it, even though they grow faster.  I assumed it was your bulb before I saw these comments.  Your tank does look good besides that, so I'm sure that as soon as you've got it figured out, it'll look amazing. 

And man, wish I'd beaten you to the PB's...hehe.

I actually have 2 250w 20k Coralvue's on the main tank and 1 400w radium blue on the grow out tank.
All three of the PB's were very nice but one was a little smaller then the other two. Bummer. I got a red planet instead of the red planet mini and mine was the same size as the mini's so the PB size definitively made up for it. I was very impressed with all three. It will be interesting to see the difference in colors between the three in about a month. All three looked identical regarding color so this could be a test as to what happens with different bulbs and tank parameters. Amy has 10k's with a little actinic supplement. What do you have Revaltion131? I think Nikki and Scott have one about a month old as well.

[Revaltion131]

I have the same bulb on my display that you do.  It's way to white for a 20K to me, I'm looking at a Helios or XM to replace it in a couple of weeks or so.  I must be seeing things because the light looks very yellow the second page, but much closer to what I'm getting on the first.

[lazylivin]

I would agree that the Coralvue 20k are whiter then most. I think my pictures are skewing things quite a bit as well. Before I take any pictures I set the White Balance on the camera which removes the blue light. I will take two pictures one with white balance set and one without so you can see the difference.

When I replace the bulbs next going to go with two 12k or 14k and add two t5 blue.

[Revaltion131]

I bet that would be the difference I am seeing.  So, remove my comments about your colors be effected by a 10K bulb choice, lol.

[aquavista99]

Thank you, I think most of my SPS are somewhat pale and faded compared to a lot of others I have seen.

Just drop off a few small pieces of your ORA frags and I will show you what they can look like over time  ...just kidding (maybe). Very nice reef!!!!

[Arcade_Guy]

very very nice tank man.

like you could win some awards or somethin lol

I can only hope that one day my 55 is as ultra sweet as yours. Very clean, and awesome aquascaping.

[lazylivin]

very very nice tank man.

like you could win some awards or somethin lol

I can only hope that one day my 55 is as ultra sweet as yours. Very clean, and awesome aquascaping.

Thank you Arcade Guy, you have a nice tank as well and yours will be there soon at the rate your going. I think the same thing when I see AquaVista's, his tank is off the hook.