New Stuff! Awesome!

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#1
So...for the wedding, my wife got me a $75 gift card to the LFS to show me she was "marrying my hobbies too" (there had been tension about my hobbies, as I have more than a few) and I went down and used it today. I got three amazing pieces of SPS and one tiny little one. I'm pretty darn excited about it, so I had to post...even though I don't have pictures yet. Tomorrow I hope.
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
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42
San Ramon, CA
#6
Well...I've already submitted for POTM this month so none of these will be in there. They wouldn't really have a shot of winning anyway imo as the corals are so new to the tank they don't have that established natural look to them. I shot 95 pictures just now and will try to get a couple of each of the new things up this afternoon.
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#7
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
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42
San Ramon, CA
#7
New Stuff

These are all from early this morning right after the lights came on. I am seeing much better polyp extension as I write this to you in the early afternoon.

They had this as Pocillopora sp. but I believe it may actually by Hydnophora. About 3 inches high, 3 inches across the top, and 1.5 inches across the base. A good size clump! Beige polyps on a crazy neon green base...the photos really don't do it justice. ($39.99)




This is a nice sized Pachyseris (or perhaps Pavona, but I don't think so)...again, $39.99. It also has a pinkish brittle star living within the branches so that was a bonus. This colony is slightly larger than the above. Maybe 4in high, 3.5in across the top, and 2.5in across the bottom.




The third major purchase was this Acropora. It is about 5in long, narrowing to a point on one end with the other end being circular with a diameter of around 2.5 to 3 inches. Thin blueish-green branches with pink growth tips and pinkish polyps. Really cool looking piece. ($49.99)




Then...from the $5.99 rack I got this tiny little Acro (1.5 inches long). It was browned out from being under their low power T5 lights, but there were some little hints of green and it had decent polyp extension and I liked the bulk of the branches, so I decided to give it a shot.




If you think I have IDed these wrong, let me know! I am far from an expert in the SPS world...
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#8
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#8
Some other miscellaneous shots from this AM

One shot of the "Green Gobblin" Zoas from EliteReefs. I'm really happy with the coloration now.




The nice thing about Pajama Cardinals is they don't swim quickly...easy to get some nice shots of them.




A rare shot where I managed to actually freeze the damn Yellow Tang in motion...thing is super fast.



I have other shots of my corals, but you will just have to wait for the POTM contest...the tank needs some attention before I would feel good about giving you a full tank shot (scrape the back wall, clean the glass really well, etc. and it is due for a water change tomorrow so I will probably hold off for a couple of weeks and then try to get a good FTS up.

- Kevin
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#13
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#13
I wasn't really on a price restriction...the $75 was just a gift card.

Matt - these are my first Acros so I am hoping everything goes well. I really like the color as well and I'm hoping they really take off for me.
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#14
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#14
That first pic is definitely a hydnophora....just make sure you keep it well away from anything else as they tend to put out sweepers that will melt anything nearby. They grow relatively fast and are fairly hardy. I had a small piece that grew well up until it touched something near it and killed the acro it touched and slowly it was choked out by some gsp.....great looking pieces and great prices. Congrats!
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#15
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#15
Yah, I will definitely keep it relatively isolated from everything else and frag as necessary. This is the first time I have bought any pieces this big and it was tricky to place them. Little tiny frags are easy to just glue down, but these needed some serious arranging and sticking down to get them in place. Now that I am done with the wedding and we have the two incomes coming in, I hope to fill up on SPS...
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#17
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#17
There is a local reef club, but I haven't really investigated membership much at this point. As you know, the tank hasn't seen much livestock added in the four years I have been down here and with my schedule I never really had time to get into it. You are absolutely right about joining the club though, it does make financial sense to buy at the LFS when the local guys will trade/sell at a discount. I think the wife is starting to get into this aquarium thing (she talked me into a gorgeous 5in T. crocea yesterday night - pictures to come tomorrow I hope - when we went in to the LFS for salt, and she was also starting to pick out other pieces) so maybe she will give me the go ahead for some local club involvement. After all, the less we spend on fish stuff the more she can spend on shoes and such...
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#18
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#18
Please get your new wife involved in your hobby. This hobby is poorly represented by women. I think I am the only female that attends our local club meetings. I am still trying to figure out why this is a hobby that is male dominated......very very sexists.....
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#20
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
2
0
42
San Ramon, CA
#20
Yah...the first thing she did when she got home from work the last two days was check on "Doug the clam" so hopefully she stays interested. I doubt she will want to go to club meetings or do tank maintenance, but anything is possible...
 

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