The Bluegrass Reef

[Wrassenaround]

So for those of you who've followed this since day one have known that I have not had the best luck with SPS, Acros to be specific. I have since given up on trying to keep them....or have I

I visited a fellow hobbyist's tank today and he has branched off into the SPS realm of reefing and so far has been pretty successful with it. A lot of his pieces are from @WWC whom I have not ordered directly from but have some pieces in my tank. I am intrigued how some of their "Vics Picks" have the actual par amount they receive which makes me optimistic that I would have a higher chance of success. I have ordered some from @TopShelfAquatics which I'm open to doing again.

I am thinking about getting some Acros from @TCK Corals as they have their weekly auctions and can get some major deals on there.

What would be 2-4 pieces that I should look out for that you guys think would look good in my current tank (doesn't matter the price)
If its pricy I'll look for a good substitute....that is if I like it

This Golden Dragon on WWC is catching my eye right now but at $150 before shipping it is on the high end of my budget per piece. I realize it's a large piece with a lot of growth spots but I'm not trying to spend a lot given my lack of success in the past.

The acros have arrived!!
Last week I took delivery of 7 pieces from @TCK Corals and they are all doing quite well.
I purchased the following -
TCK Wildcard, Solar Beam Malaysia & Lemoncake
RRC Marvin the Martian, Og Oregon Tort, Green Slimer and a Jingle Bells cyphastrea that looked to good to pass up on.

With the lack of open rock space in my tank I opted to try and mount some of the frags on the back wall of my tank above where my GSP is encrusting. I was able to find some suction cup frag holders that are perfect for what I was wanting to achieve. My pieces are able to get high par and high light, no worries at all about them popping off.

Here's a link to who I got the frag holders from.

USA - Washington, D.C. - Suction cup coral mount

I have a number of suction cup mounted coral holders. $6 per plus shipping which is usually around $6. I have a bunch and can always make more. Sorry about my photography skills. It's late...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Wrassenaround]

A pre Memorial Day update!
Unfortunately my Carpenter Flasher Wrasse (Flavianalis) has perished. About 2 weeks after it was introduced it disappeared and I was never able to find it. First fish I have lost that I couldn't find.
On the bright side I have ordered a Captive Bred Yellow Tang from @Biota_Marine that will arrive the first week of June. To go with this I have also ordered an acclimation box from Octo Aquatics with the dimensions being 14x6x6.

With already having a Kole and a Desjardini I am wanting to make sure I acclimate this guy properly to avoid as much harassment as possible. Yes I know 3 tangs is stretching, if not overdoing the limit given the tank size. However they are all still small enough to comfortably live together and I babe a re-homing plan in place when the time comes.

My acros that were shared in the last update are all doing well. The only one that seems to be struggling is the WildCard (very little polyp extension and it has greyed) I suspect my higher posphates are the subject and possibly to much lighting. (Not sure on the exact number but its not crazy high)

I have also ordered a mini reactor from BRS that should be here next week. This will house GFO that I will control with my apex to run intermittently to control my Phosphate levels.

 

[saltcats]

Beautiful mix of colours in your tank. What's the really bright yellow coral on the left (not zoas)?

 

[Wrassenaround]

Beautiful mix of colours in your tank. What's the really bright yellow coral on the left (not zoas)?

Thank you! I've tried to have different color pallets and have some pieces that pop against the green corals and purple rock I have.
The yellow one is a WWC Stellaria Chalice that I picked up from @Living Reef Orlando

It's been all over my tank. Started on the back wall, then on the top of the rock thats currently above it and finally where it is now and you can see its taken off. The upward growth is from where part of it bleached and then grew back. I haven't seen a chalice have nubs like that before.

 

[TX_REEF]

I like the suction cup frag holders!

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Very beautiful! I can't wait to see that yellow tang! Just a reminder when it shows up don't expect it to be pretty!

 

[Wrassenaround]

I like the suction cup frag holders!

So far they are working as intended and I love them. If my acros can do well hopefully they will encrust on to them and then the back wall. If they don't do well then I have a few more areas now that I can put corals on since my rocks are pretty full

 

[Wrassenaround]

Very beautiful! I can't wait to see that yellow tang! Just a reminder when it shows up don't expect it to be pretty!

Oh yeah the captive bred ones look pretty ugly at first. This one is 2+ inches so hopefully it won't be as pale as the smaller ones. I've been very cautious on ordering tangs and angels online since I don't have a quarantine system. I'm pretty confident that Biota ones will be in good shape. I've ordered wrasses and a basslet online but nothing else.

 

[saltcats]

Oh yeah the captive bred ones look pretty ugly at first. This one is 2+ inches so hopefully it won't be as pale as the smaller ones. I've been very cautious on ordering tangs and angels online since I don't have a quarantine system. I'm pretty confident that Biota ones will be in good shape. I've ordered wrasses and a basslet online but nothing else.

I have a biota gramma and goby on my wishlist, it sounds like they come in really healthy. And maybe one of their angels too... Is your flame angel good with your zoas and acans?

 

[Wrassenaround]

I have a biota gramma and goby on my wishlist, it sounds like they come in really healthy. And maybe one of their angels too... Is your flame angel good with your zoas and acans?

The flame has been a model citizen for me! I picked it up at an LFS that I trust and he said he had for a while and it came from a tank full of corals and it gave that owner no issues. The flame is FAT and was when I bought him, I keep him well fed so he doesn't show any interest in the corals.

 

[Wrassenaround]

I have also ordered a mini reactor from BRS that should be here next week. This will house GFO that I will control with my apex to run intermittently to control my Phosphate levels.

Funny how I ordered this and today my Phosphates tested at .03 & .02 on the second test
2 weeks ago I increased the amount my ReefMat moves the fleece roll every cycle to see if that would help. Seems like it has because I haven't fed less or had any livestock pass away since.

 

[JustAnotherNanoTank]

This tank is more than decent! This tank is gorgeous!!

 

[Wrassenaround]

This tank is more than decent! This tank is gorgeous!!

Thank you! It's been a work in progress but this year it has really started to fill in everywhere. Currently trying to fight back some hair algae