Cali Kid Corals

Nano sapiens 12g - Ye Olde Mixed Reef

tr1gger said:
Insane tank! And 5 years old to boot. So impressive. That was a great write up and photo journal. Seriously impressed :)
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Thank you. It was quite a surprise, since the site has quite a number of very nice, TOTM worthy tanks. Nanos have come a long way since the first one I put together back in the mid '80s.
 
A few pics of the Clowns playing in the overgrown Ric garden:

12gOrClownampRics_110813_zps2128b2c5.jpg


12gBlkClownampRics_110813_zpsccf69486.jpg
 
DeeAnnMG said:
I love seeing those pictures of growth over time. TFS.
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I updated the FTS (first page/first post) to give an idea what's been going on the past six months. Due to constant coral warfare and space issues, I've had to cut back on feeding a bit to try and slow everyone down while still maintaining good coloration.
 
A couple shots taken yesterday:

Speckled Fire & Ice Zoas. Looks like different morphs, but all are from the same parent:

SpeckledFireampIce2120913_zpsd19e4e6c.jpg



Superman Blasto: (with alien baby attached):
wink.png
From the two polyps I got a few months ago it now has at least four, but probably more since I can't see well under all the puffiness...

SMBlasto120913_zpse609466f.jpg


All's well in Nano Land :)
 
Since I have a 'Franken-LED' system, I've always wondered about the light waves' specific intensity, relative to each other. Since Santa forgot to bring me a Spectometer...I made one up myself:

DIYSpectrometer122813_zpsabc8ddad.jpg



Here's the output representation of my current array (all Stunner Strips on plus 75% on a DIY strip):

12gLEDArrayStunners75DIY122813_zps7f914111.png


The measurement was taken dead-center and about 8" away from the light source in air.

Assuming that this is a fairly accurate graph, it appears I have cobbled together something fairly close to natural reef lighting conditions at ~10 feet depth, but with a bit of extra 'green-yellow':

LightSpectrum10ft_zps6fbba5c4.png

Credits to Dana Riddle for this image and the fantastic article found at Advanced Aquarist : "http://www.advanceda...013/12/lighting"

The graph certainly explains why the tank has such a warm look to it as opposed to the more common bluish tint found in many reef tanks these days and at greater depths in the ocean.

For anyone interested, the spectrometer can either be created from online instructions (which is what i did) or can be bought in various configurations at: www.spectralworkbench.org. Create a 'Log In' first and then do a search on 'Spectrometer'.
 
Wow, very cool, a DIY spectrometer.:cool:

But unfortunately, I have to be rather skeptical on the accuracy of the results.
The problem is the sensor processor.
As it attempts white balancing and other processing it will tweak the RGB a lot.
Further loss is when it converts to YCrCb and encodes in JPEG.
That can potentially have a huge effect on your measurements.
You basically need a device where you can look at the true RGGB "RAW" Bayer data from the sensor.

Still fun though.
 
rygh said:
Wow, very cool, a DIY spectrometer.:cool:

But unfortunately, I have to be rather skeptical on the accuracy of the results.
The problem is the sensor processor.
As it attempts white balancing and other processing it will tweak the RGB a lot.
Further loss is when it converts to YCrCb and encodes in JPEG.
That can potentially have a huge effect on your measurements.
You basically need a device where you can look at the true RGGB "RAW" Bayer data from the sensor.

Still fun though.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's just for fun, but I'm hoping that it's 'somewhere in the ball park' :) Now if only I could find someone with a lab grade spectrometer since it would be interesting to to see how much this little DIY is actually off.
 
LOL, that's okay. By design, I've finally got some sand showing again (woo-hoo!) :)

A rare moment when the tank looked like crap after a recent two week vacation when the auto-feeder got a bit too generous with the pellets: :(

12g2WeeksVacFront_020314_zps741268d5.jpg


...and a week or so later after some TLC: :)

12gNano021614_zps0969efce.jpg
 
Last edited:
Been a while...updates!

Due to my auto feeder delivering too many pellets for two weeks, I had nitrates approaching 30 ppm. This tank typically runs '0' nitrates, so I was expecting some trouble. Luckily, the issues were not severe and mostly cyano related (still working on eliminating it from the SB) and the browning of a green A. millepora and a Ric or two. On the plus side, the LPS, Zoas and 'Shrooms are looking fantastic in the 'dirtier' water and today I'm seeing a more respectable 15 ppm nitrate.

This Lobo is looking so plump I've knick-named it 'Radioactive Green/Yellow Krispy-Kreme Donut Lobo' :)

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In other news, I finished up a second 'LED DIY Strip' to light up the back 1/3 of the tank properly (If any one is interested in specifics, let me know and I'll add here):

12g2xDIYLEDStrip032214_zps813dbedf.jpg


This was a lot of fun to put together, but also an interesting challenge to get the color output to where I like it (I personally prefer a less blue, 10-12K look).

...and here's what it looks like today with the DIY LED strips at 75%:

12g2xDIYStrips032314_zps874a26d7.jpg

I'm very pleased with the results and the product/service from LEDGroupBuy was excellent.
 
Just a few fun pics...

New addition: Orange Rhodactis sp.

12gOrangeRodactisShrrom_041314_zps02c3f6d7.jpg



A trio of green-gold R. yuma 'babies' and a few starting up below. 'Pink' R. yuma (upper left) finally turning from orange to pink due to new DIY LED strip:

12gBayRics_041314_zps70773031.jpg



Starting a new 'Paly Garden':

12gNewZoas_041314_zps90070d22.jpg
 
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