badxgillen Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Well Contestants this is the official thread to post your Premium Aquarium Acan Grow Out entries! If you post your entry in another thread it will not count. Contest begins March 20th!You have a week before and a week after to post up your picture. This competition will run 4 months! For those of you who grabbed more than one of the Acan varieties offered we request that you choose one, either Acan A or Acan B. Also these were fresh relatively fresh cuts so new polyp growth will be slow. And if anyone has an issue with their frag before the first deadline let me know and I will see what I can do within reason. Ground Rules: The goal of this competition is to be both educational and fun. I am hopeful the winners will be able to share their "secrets" and truly see how different lighting, supplements, dosing, and tank parameters can make a difference in growth. Rules and Guidelines for The TPA Acan Grow Out Competition. 1.Your first post must include a quick write up of your system in this competition thread. Including tank size, flow, lighting, placement of the frag, frag measurement, equipment (ie calcium reactor, dosing, etc), feeding regiment, etc. 2. You will be required to post photo updates. The contest will start March 20th. You will be required to post a photo update once a month. I will remind you of this when the time is soon to post. I know life gets busy and people go out of town so you have a 2 week window to post.You will have 7 days before the 20th and 7 days after to post your update. If you do not post within the allotted time frame you will be disqualified. 3. Please no cheating. This competition is meant to be fun and for bragging rights. Cheaters will be disqualified and banned from any future competitions. 4. The frags must remain on the original plug. You may modify the plug if needed example cutting off the stem for placement. You may place the frag anywhere you want in your tank and you may move it to a different spot during the competition but it is frowned upon. You cannot move it to a new tank as the point is to see how the frag does over time in different systems. 5. Initial photos of frags need to have a top down as well as side shot so we can all see the frag and what you are starting with. No hiding polyps in your photos. Not following the rules will cause you to be disqualified, I know that sounds harsh but it is out of fairness to the rest of the group. Remember a lot can happen in 4 months. During the last growout many were DQ'd due to not posting. It's really simple. JUST DO IT. Length of competition: The competition will run for 4 months. This will give us enough time for the frag to grow. A lot can happen in 4 months and a lot of people could drop out, so if you are persistent, you have a chance to win the grand prize. This will give EVERYONE the same advantage\disadvantage with acclimation and so on. Pictures will be required frequently for updates. Final post will be July 20th 2020 for the winner. Judging a winner: Should be pretty straight forward this grow out. The most polyps gained after the initial count at the end wins. But the Grand Prize is... Not going to spoil it yet, you have to play our little game here. Our Standing List of Fine PNWMAS Contestants are... Badxgillen, DuckHead, CoralReefTankers, Snappy, Tandor69, Obrien, 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Thanks for writing this up Bert! Now, I have to hope one of them survives long enough to post my initial pics 😁. Actually, so far they survived a dip and transfer to the tank so hoping to see some progress during the comp. my existing acan colony has perked up considerably lately so there is a chance 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 On your mark, get set, GO!!! We now have from today until the 27th to enter a submission to participate in this little grow out competition, so snap a couple pictures and type up some aquarium system details to get you started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandor69 Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 So here is my entry. This tank is a 10 gallon pet-smart tank. Filtration is an Aqua-clear 30 HOB filter with a 3D printed surface skimmer box and a flow diverter. Flow is a Hydor Koralia Nano Aquarium Circulation Pump 240. Heater is a 50w Aqueon. Light is an Hipargaro 30w light. Frag is on the right side. Only fish is a yellow tail damsel. Inverts are 3 astrea snails and an emerald crab. Other corals are xenia, green mushrooms, green nepthea leater, kryptonite candy cane, a duncan with several heads, 3 different zoanthids, purple hammer, green tip tourch, dragon soul favia, forest fire digitata, some blue polyp digitata, and bryopsis (lol). I don't dose anything, just weekly 1 gallon water change. I feed the fish Omega one fish pellets, and the corals get 2 drops of Brightwell coral amino every couple of days. Tank has been running for about 4 months now, and most of the rock and some of the corals came from a five gallon that was almost a year old. Tank is controlled by a reef-pi diy controller. This tank was my test tank and still runs on my first reef-pi. The heads are probably and inch across and there are 2 full size ones and a little blob I am not sure if it is a new head or a piece of flesh from the fragging. Pictures were taken on my iPhone XR, I couldn't find my coral vue lens set so I used the Fritz orange sunglasses lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDan Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 So here are my pics of my frag, side and top view. System: Tank: Red Sea Reefer 350, 73g display 18g sump. Lights: Red Sea 90's x2 Blue: 50% 8 hours White: 20% 8 hours lunar cycle: 4 hours Skimmer: Simplicity 320 DC Power heads: Icecap Gyres 3k x2 running 10-50% surge cycle Salt: Reef crystals at 1.024 sg Heater: 300w Hydor Temp: 78.4 Return Pump: I believe its 1250gph Fish: Yellow Tang, 6 Line Wrasse, Maroon Clown, Tuxedo Urchin, 2 Cleaner Shrimp, 3 Blue Leg Hermits, 2 nassarius snails, 2 Turbo snails, 1 Rainbow BTA Mixed corrals I do weekly maintenance on the tank, 5-20% water changes, Random Cleanings, I use only RO/DI water, and as of now I don't dose the tank. The pictures were taken with the frags on my sand bed because i didn't have a frag rack at the time of the pics, future pics will probably be of it on a frag rack. I feed the corrals once a week with reef roids, and prior to feeding i feed the tank with polyp booster. Tank is about 4 months old. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoralReefTankers Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) The Tank: Reefer 250 with Gen3 XR30 for lighting. Icecap Gyre for flow, Bubble-Magnus curve 5 protein skiller and current eflux DC return pump. Most of the rock is from Cuttlefish and Corals, it's the man made rock they carry. It and the other live rock from another tank cycled in a brute tube for 3 months before setting up the tank. Tank has been running for about 2 months. Fish are 2 clowns, a pink spotted watchman goby and tiger pistol shrimp pair and a cleaner shrimp. There are other various corals and plenty more to come 😁🤑! Acan is placed on a small Reefing Art frag rack on the left side of the tank. There are the 2 main polyps and a few little ones on the backside. Pic was taken with Samsung Galaxy S9+ with Reefing Art 20k filter lense. I will get a few more angles including the top down tommorrow the other pics turned our really fuzzy and I didnt notice until now and the lights are off 🤦♂️. Other pics added 3-20-2020 Edited March 20, 2020 by CoralReefTankers 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted March 21, 2020 Author Share Posted March 21, 2020 Well I wish I got your frag CRTanker, that is "Money"!.. BUT, I got this! 2.5 polyps of my beautiful rainbow Acan... Don't be jealous. The system I am keeping them in is a 40 breeder all glass aquarium with minimum filtration. I have a HOB Aqua Clear filter with carbon. A HOB Remora protein skimmer. No name Black box LED lighting. 3 part and HRD carbon dosing. And maybe 5 gallon monthly water changes with Fritz blue box salt. Very low flow , maybe 700GPH, and very little bio load, just a clown pair and cardinals. I only feed Omega one marine pellets everyday, and then frozen brine shrimp or Mysis shrimp once a week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckHead Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Equipment: 75 gallon tank under two Viparspectra 165w black box leds from Amazon. Two 2,100 gph Current eFlux pumps on wave mode facing each other plus one IceCap 3k gyre pump opposite of my return. Reef Crystals salt and I try to keep my temp at 78. Frag: My frag has three full heads and what appears to be two baby heads. It’s sitting on a frag rack about 4” off my sand bed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 1 hour ago, DuckHead said: My frag has three full heads and what appears to be two baby heads. It’s sitting on a frag rack about 4” off my sand bed. Wow - you scored a nice frag out of this deal! Need to get pics up of my lowly two head frag... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snappy Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Nano Cube 29 gallon AI Prime HD alternating 165GPH pump water fan Aquamaxx 1.5 HOB skimmer I use an 11 watt sterilizer spot feed mysis or brine shrimp about 2x per week frag plug is on magnetic frag rack on side of tank. It has 2 full polyps and a half polyp. The half was mostly full, but the skeleton beneath has had a couple pieces fall off, so it’s losing flesh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 Last day for entrees folks. And I talked to Exodus yesterday and unfortunately he is bowing out, he is moving and temporarily breaking down his tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 22 minutes ago, badxgillen said: Last day for entrees folks. And I talked to Exodus yesterday and unfortunately he is bowing out, he is moving and temporarily breaking down his tank. Thanks for the reminder. Been a little busy... Will try to get this up tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 OBrien Acan-A, Check-in: March 27 Frag info: -Acan-A, looks like Runt of litter. Two small heads, still on original plug Tank & Placement: Acan in ~middle of 10gal shorty frag tank. 24" x 17" x 8" tall. Connected to 120 gal main tank, with 20gal in sump Lights: Single XR30 pro G4, approx 12" over tank. 60% intensity, Ramp up / down over 12hr period per day Flow: two MP40's, mounted on back wall, opposite side of tank. 30% max flow. with 15% constant flow from midnight to 7am System Equipment: Calcium Reactor, plus all makeup water is Kalk. Chiller & Heaters, Apex controlled. Reef Octopus Elite 200-INT skimmer Feeding/Additives: Target feeding with Benipets and micropellets 1-3 times/week. Two cubes frozen brine shrimp / day for fish (two tangs & one foxface). Brightwell Amino 1x/week. Parameters: Temp 77, Salinity 37ppt, pH ~8.1, Alk ~10, Ca ~500, Mg ~1400 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 And check my Unofficial March 1st photo, posted to club meeting thread. March 1st Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 OK... guess I will have to go with the crappy pics - got busy and now the lights are down. Sorry folks. Tank: 125 display with sump and separate refugium (about 40 gallons), 3 ReeFi Duo Extremes for lighting, Aquamaxx ConeS3 skimmer, Ca reactor, ATO, Aquatronica controller with Temp/Orp/Density/pH. Parameters currently pH 8.2-8.4, salinity 1.0245, Alk 9.4, Ca 430, Mg 1280, Nitrate 4, Phos 0.1. Acan frag on frag rack about 1/3 down (8 inches) on one end of tank. Like I said, crappy pics but as I hope you can see, two heads with clean cuts on both sides - no babies at this point 😔 This is the "A" frag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuncrestReef Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 31 minutes ago, albertareef said: OK... guess I will have to go with the crappy pics - got busy and now the lights are down. Sorry folks. Tank: 125 display with sump and separate refugium (about 40 gallons), 3 ReeFi Duo Extremes for lighting, Aquamaxx ConeS3 skimmer, Ca reactor, ATO, Aquatronica controller with Temp/Orp/Density/pH. Parameters currently pH 8.2-8.4, salinity 1.0245, Alk 9.4, Ca 430, Mg 1280, Nitrate 4, Phos 0.1. Acan frag on frag rack about 1/3 down (8 inches) on one end of tank. Like I said, crappy pics but as I hope you can see, two heads with clean cuts on both sides - no babies at this point 😔 This is the "A" frag. One of these days after the COVID lockdown is lifted, I’m going to come over and show you how to use that Nikon macro lens I sold to you! 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 24 minutes ago, SuncrestReef said: One of these days after the COVID lockdown is lifted, I’m going to come over and show you how to use that Nikon macro lens I sold to you! 😊 Yeah, yeah... that was the plan but ran out of time and tried to grab some quick shots with the phone, embarrassing for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 Well it looks like 5 out of the 13 contestants have already dropped out! This leaves a small group of players to compete for the final prize. So get those Acans hunkered down and ready to grow because this $hit just got real! PS, I have confirmation on a first place prize of beautiful LPS frags... But be sure there is more as time goes by, things only get better from here on out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 A little late to my update but here is my little frag doing just dandy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDan Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Almost forgot to update lol, finally got it moved to a frag rack but fighting diatoms, everything seems to be happy though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandor69 Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 My update for April. He is retracted because of course a hermit crab knocked him into the sand. No noticeable growth since last month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoralReefTankers Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Here is my April update. I have seen more growth than I thought I would. Have now 6 polyps and a small 7th that is starting to show on the left side. Had 5 polyps and 1 cut in half polyp when started. Though my tank is a bit pissed right now. My alkalinity has started to consume faster than my hand dosing was keeping up with (and I have been bad at testing lately) so my Alk is low now. Just got a doser in the mail last week and am waiting on a the dosing container to get here so I can setup and get back on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snappy Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 One of my Acan polyps still won’t heal. There is a hole or open crack in its skeleton just below the polyp that leaves room for critters to get inside. Is it safe to seal the crack with super glue? Not sure if that might prevent polyps growing over that area in the future or not. Btw, I have 2 confirmed newbies and a likely 3rd new polyp since bringing it home. I’ll take pics in the next day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snappy Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 2 new polyps and a pic of the hole/crevice in the rock below the dying polyp. Should I glue it or leave it be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 OBrien Acan-A, Check-in: April 26th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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