Growth pics: Be good to your frags and they'll be good to you!

[seth the wine guy]

When I started my tank I was strongly against buying colonies because I wanted the satisfaction of watching my tank grow and mature through all my own efforts. I made a lot of mistakes along the way but had some success despite those mistakes.

First and second pic is RD.

Third pic shows the EPB Stag and Rose Milli Frags then a top down and frontal view after some growth. I got the chalice as one lonely/sickly looking thing that had a nice progression.

Last two pics are my Oregon Tort

I have other examples but wanted to share some for those who are getting into the hobby. Sometimes it's hard to visualize what those tiny cuttings can become.

Size reference is difficult for people to know. The EPB stag pictured is as large as a basketball. Rose Milli about the size of a dinner plate. Tort and RD are cantaloupe size.

I've had to trim these colonies except the Tort and chalice several times to help with overcrowding.
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[spankdog]

Very nice!

 

[brandonmason]

Ill take some of these... Tank looks great Seth cant wait til mine looks like this..... How long has this taken to get to this level?

 

[ralph atl]

That's a WOW! That's crazy awesome! great job!

 

[seth the wine guy]

BrandonMason;919973 wrote: How long has this taken to get to this level?

It's a little over two years growth. Slow and steady wins the race. I'm a firm believer that getting the right equipment helps to forgive a lot of human errors.

 

[camellia]

ONLY TWO YEARS!
That's unbelievable Seth!
WTH, my coral don't grow no where near that fast!!! I think I have the best equipment, if not than its dang close to the best. I need to corner you next time I see you and find out what I'm doing wrong or what your secret is....
Very Nice!

 

[atmercure]

Amazing!!

 

[tbub1221]

This is a great testimony to patients , and the satisfaction of seeing it grow out.
Great pictures.

 

[redstang]

Great pics! Extremely nice. Could you post some of the right equipment that you use lol?

 

[mikesmith34]

Dang I see some sticks in there I want in my box. Very nice Seth

 

[nickh06]

Awesome! Def agree with you on buying frags and having the satisfaction of growing colony's. Do you have a build thread? Would love to hear what you do as far as maintenance.

 

[reefkeeper]

Those 400 watt MH's with the Led's supplements have done wonders for you Seith.

 

[mattgee87]

That is amazing , I needed to see that because my tank is full of frags right now and looks horrible. what lights are you using and could you show us your lights please. Do you dose anything? I have soooo many questions lol

 

[heathlindner25]

Very nice Seth.

 

[kirkwood]

Seth The Wine Guy;919976 wrote: It's a little over two years growth. Slow and steady wins the race. I'm a firm believer that getting the right equipment helps to forgive a lot of human errors.

I couldn't agree more with your preference of frags over colonies...

How would you break out your growth timeline?? Here is what I mean from what I've found and obviously this varies by species (I'm excluding BN)

1) first 6-8 months heavy encrustation phase and the beginning signs of new upward growth, most importantly the signs of new upward growth starting from the encrusted area. Original colors dissipate somewhat.
2) Next 6 months your encrusted frag starts looking like a mini colony as the encrustation has slowed heavily and growth is focused upward with new branching. Coral coloration rebounds most noticeably in new growth.
3) After these first 12-14 months you hit the exponential grow zone where your mini colony turns into one of those monster colonies pictured above. Growth is very evident, if you leave town for a few days you come home and can notice a difference. Branches rebound quickly with new growth after fragging...

 

[seth the wine guy]

Kirkwood;920070 wrote: I couldn't agree more with your preference of frags over colonies...

How would you break out your growth timeline?? Here is what I mean from what I've found and obviously this varies by species (I'm excluding BN)

1) first 6-8 months heavy encrustation phase and the beginning signs of new upward growth, most importantly the signs of new upward growth starting from the encrusted area. Original colors dissipate somewhat.
2) Next 6 months your encrusted frag starts looking like a mini colony as the encrustation has slowed heavily and growth is focused upward with new branching. Coral coloration rebounds most noticeably in new growth.
3) After these first 12-14 months you hit the exponential grow zone where your mini colony turns into one of those monster colonies pictured above. Growth is very evident, if you leave town for a few days you come home and can notice a difference. Branches rebound quickly with new growth after fragging...

I think you're pretty well on the money with the growth pattern. I have a MEGA HIGH flow tank so my encrustation period seemed to go even a little longer. It also forces much denser and thicker growth which slows the actual appearance of speed of growth. My Rose Milli tables where I've seen the exact same cutting in other tanks where it grows in long stringy branches due to lesser flow.

Hopefully before the end of the year I can have something that gives a breakdown of the equipment with pics, etc. I did my build using equipment with a much larger tank in mind so that when I do go bigger, all I have to do it pull out the current DT and throw another into its place. The way I look at it, you spend more money buying twice than buying right the first time. Only thing I had to really buy twice was the skimmer.

Had I never cut that EPB Stag, it would easily be 3'-4'+ in circumference. Nobody would believe how much of it I've cut.

 

[kirkwood]

How was your polyp extension from day 1 when the frags went in your tank?? I've had frags like Valida, Calitort, and Strawberry Shortcake where I wouldn't see much polyp extension in the first few months, however if I frag them now, the frags continue to show full polyps extension while they heal in my system. I assumed this could be explained by an acclimation period that any sensitive SPS would go through when it changes systems and deals with totally new water chem, light, flow, etc. Although I added one of Ralph's Red Dragon frags a couple months ago and I've had great PE from day 1. I guess I have to chalk that up to a skimmer upgrade.

I've got a few millies (palmers, 24k, sunrise) that are just hitting the 6 month mark and I'm just not getting the PE that I want and can't quite put my finger on the issue...

 

[1mbrews8]

OT growth is crazy!

 

[snowmansnow]

nice growth well done

 

[seth the wine guy]

spankdog;919972 wrote: Very nice!

mysterybox;919975 wrote: That's a WOW! That's crazy awesome! great job!

Camellia;919977 wrote: ONLY TWO YEARS!
That's unbelievable Seth!
WTH, my coral don't grow no where near that fast!!! I think I have the best equipment, if not than its dang close to the best. I need to corner you next time I see you and find out what I'm doing wrong or what your secret is....
Very Nice!

atmercure;919986 wrote: Amazing!!

Tbub1221;919988 wrote: This is a great testimony to patients , and the satisfaction of seeing it grow out.
Great pictures.

RedStang;919993 wrote: Great pics! Extremely nice. Could you post some of the right equipment that you use lol?

Mikesmith34;920010 wrote: Dang I see some sticks in there I want in my box. Very nice Seth

Nickh06;920017 wrote: Awesome! Def agree with you on buying frags and having the satisfaction of growing colony's. Do you have a build thread? Would love to hear what you do as far as maintenance.

Reefkeeper;920019 wrote: Those 400 watt MH's with the Led's supplements have done wonders for you Seith.

mattgee87;920032 wrote: That is amazing , I needed to see that because my tank is full of frags right now and looks horrible. what lights are you using and could you show us your lights please. Do you dose anything? I have soooo many questions lol

heathlindner25;920044 wrote: Very nice Seth.

1mbrews8;920084 wrote: OT growth is crazy!

SnowManSnow;920197 wrote: nice growth well done

Thank you everyone for your kind compliments. Now...

Equipment

Lighting:
(2) 400w MH using either Ushio 14k or Radiums
(3) AI SOL Blues
(2) Kessil a150w Deep Ocean Blues
(1) Kessil a360w Tuna Blue

Skimmer:
MRC Orca Pro II (and a half) It's a Pro II with the Pro III neck, skimmer cup, and wash down.

Calcium Reactor:
MRC CR-6

There's other things that factor in but I think the above are the "Big Three" as far as components important to any SPS dominant tank's success. Namely, a wonderful wife who tolerates and allows me to spend time doing it all. THAT'S the REAL key!