DAY 7 (since 1st Monti Eating Nudibranch sighting)

Still nothing. Nudibranch threat level has been changed to code yellow.

CORALS

QT is cycled. Looks like I'll be buying some new acros, my all time favorite SPS. NO MORE PESTS. Wish me luck this time around.

Looks great!

Wow...the tank is look absolutely fantastic....what an explosion of color.

Quick question - what is the Acro in the third picture from the top in the above post? I was thinking that it is the ORA Joe the Coral but thought I would check. It looks to be quite the specimen.

What acros do you have your eyes on getting?

Looking great. Its come a long way, when I got out of the hobby I checked this thread out and loved it.

Keep up the good work!

-Dave

Thanks All! I was just thinkin the same thing. As you can see, I don't have much space left to mount frags with room to develop. Perhaps five to six 1" frags would be my limit (in my display anyway). Blues and purples are my fav, so most definitely a Garf Bonsai and a nice tri-color species. I may be a little slow to mount them in my display to keep me interested in my tank for the long-term. For now I may begin collecting some in my frag bin, until I figure out exactly what I want and where I want it. lol

And yes, you do know your ORAs. It's a Joe. As you can see in the picture, it whitened a bit in the lower parts of its branches when I failed to light acclimate it. Placed it at the top of the tank right away, thinking that it would not be nearly as bright as the 400K LFS lighting. I was very wrong about that. Looks like it's coming back though and fast. From now on, I'll be sloooowly moving my SPS to the upper parts of the tank.



Hey, thanks for the tip on the nudibranchs. Haven't been able to put it to use though, since I haven't seen any!!!



Thanks for the encouragement, Dave. Sometimes I need it - ESPECIALLY WHEN THINGS GO WRONG.

wow,awesome tank ,purp!me likey that pink chalice.trades?

Makoy, for somethin in your tank? Hmmm. lemme think... OK.

Here's a top down of my uncut pizza pie. This will probably glow like crazy in under your lighting. I'll be glad to give you a nice BIG slice, with multiple eyes on it. Tell me what you have in mind?

Your tank is making one heluva comeback from your multi-month vacation from NR.
Inspiring to say the least!

THANKS TJ. I learned a lot from you last year, man. Just keepin it real. It hasn't been easy though. Damn pests always find a way to make it into my tank. It's all a part of the hobby though. The ocean has to deal with pests too - and HUMANS ARE THE WORST KIND. lol

Lookin forward to your next tank...

Not sure how that chalice there could glow any more than it is in your tank. Although m'akoy does have some amazing eye candy

ONE of my acans, the green one, doesn't seem too happy. But then again, I've never had acans before so this could actually be its happy state. The border of its polyps seem to have receded. I'll try to snap a pic later. Curious to know what you all think.

(No Nudis)

Cancel that. I noticed a tiny scar on my red monti. Looked on the underside of the one adjacent to it and there she was - an adult nudibranch protecting her eggs. Sucked her out first with a turkey baster, violently brushed the eggs off, rinsed the underside with fresh water, then dipped both red montis in Revive for 10mins. They are now in my QT tank for 30 day observation. They'll most likely loose color in there, but the infestation may be contained.

There are still a few montis in the display, including an idaho grape, highly flourescent orange cap, rainbow, sunset, poker star and undata. I'm only concerned about the caps bc it seems eggs are laid UNDERNEATH. If I had to pull out the grape, it would be completely destroyed as it's encrusted over rock. But if it must be done, then so be it.

8 days ago, I wasn't foolish to think I got rid of them by pulling out only two. And now I've found eggs. Tiny tiny tiny clusters by the way. There's no way I would have found them if the mother was not trying to guard em. Hopefully, I pulled out the only host(s). The battle continues...

S#!T.

Bummer.

Sounds like you have everything setup and ready to take care of these little bastards. Maybe you found the main b*tch and got rid of her

I have some green w/blue polyp cap and some flourescent orange cap if you end up losing your pieces. I'm sure others will be willing to chip in as well.

I don't think it will get to that point, since I babysit my coral too closely not to notice any tissue damage. But I may be underestimating these bastards. I'll trade you something for the "green w/blue polyp" anyway lol. I already have a small frag of my undata set aside for ya.

Funny, I can't even notice the red montis are gone. They were mounted at the rear of the tank. Still looks like Disneyland in there, but in reality A WAR IS RAGING: Human vs. Nudis.

Sounds great on the trade I can snip you off a nice piece of ORA Cali Tort if you want as well.

Sounds good. Perhaps the pearberry as well? We should wait until I permanently beat these thugs and you relocate to your new place. Could also give me more time to buy and frag more stuff for ya. We could do a BULK trade w/ lots of goodies. Good luck with the move btw.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks for the well wishes on the move...I'm sure it will go smoothly

Here's what ORA, Joe the Coral looks like naked:


MORE IMPORTANTLY: Is this acan sick or healthy? It's been like this for 2 days.


As you can see here, the others seem to be doing very well.


Is there an acan PEST I am not aware of? Could this be its healthy state? If it is sick, will it spread to the other acans? What to do? Any advice would be appreciated since I have never kept an acan.

It looks a little upset but certainly nothing to be overly concerned about. I had acans recover from some serious anemone attacks (not sure if you remember that) that looked far worse then yours. Just food and some flow and they tend to do well. I had a green one very similar to yours that periodically deflated for a few days - never figured out why.

And I feel your pain with the monti-nudis. I fought them too - total pain in the butt...

Thanks TJ, it's good to have you back man. TJ *AND* JOSH, my two main sources of reef knowledge in '08.

I remember reading postings of your nudi infestation. Pain in the butt to say the least. Good luck with your new build. No need to ru$h it.

SHOULD I DRILL?



This was the reply:

"Sorry, we don't do custom size aquarium. However, the ADA tank you use now is not made with tampered glass, you could drill holes if you like. But, the warrenty is not cover for any damage due to modification. Thank you."

I'm thinking of taking a $300 gamble on a new one and having my existing tank drilled. If it breaks, I simply swap it with the new one and continue using the siphon overflow I've been using since this tank has been running. BUT IF IT WORKS, I drill the 2nd one too! I found a local guy who claims to have drilled 400+ holes without ever breaking a tank. This same guy says don't even think about drilling tempered glass period. Think it's worth the risk?

Hmmm... YES!!!

Well, that's easy for me to say as it's not my $$$!!!

Ha, yeah, we'll see. It would be an unnecessary upgrade at this point. My current overflow works flawlessly, especially after my surface skimming mod.

So my green acan is big and poofie again. The rose milli is growing arms. And I've been dosing Elos A.A. more routinely over the past few days. I swear my corals are richer in color now, especially the pink chalice, but that could be psychological. I'll be adding Elos ProSkimmer, now that my AquaC is properly dialed in. Had to readjust settings after adding the frag bin and extra plumbing.

No mo nudis (so far). They're definitely not eating any montis. Just need to make sure they become extinct.

I think it is worth the risk.

Remember how many holes I drilled in my 40br? SEVEN!!! Not only did I think it was worth the risk, I thought it was worth it 7 times over!!! lol...

If it isn't tempered and they guy has experience, then I say go for it.

As you all know, we lost all the data from 07/01/2009. Nothin to cry about, but I figured I'd take the time to update the system info on my front page. From now on, I'll be updating the FTS on the 1st posting of this thread on a monthly basis.

Oh, and I think I'll be adding this pretty soon:
JBJ Mini-Arctica Chiller w/ Digital Controller 1/15HP. Cost me more to run AC on 100+ degree days!

Have you bought it yet? if you haven;t i would tell you to go with a currrent 1/15 or 1/10hp because i had the JBJ 1/15hp and it crapped out on me with in 6 months . just a thought

scott

go 1/10 for sure. it'll run less and therefore last longer and put up with a higher load in the future. the cost difference is worth it.

NOT YET. Tank is running between 80 to 80.5 on average. It can handle that so long as the house doesn't heat up more than 86 or 87.




Wassup Dan. 1/10! I AIN'T GOT NO MONEY. Plus, Island Creations seems to be putting together a good deal on some rare chalices for me (hopefully).

Sounds like you may be nearing the small El Nino I had going on in my tank a couple weeks ago when it was 100+ (115 w/heat index a couple) here. Before I hooked up my fan, things were getting close to 80.6 and dropping to 78 at night. SPS really took a hit during that time but are looking fantastic with more stable temps now. Guess I never really thought how important keeping ALL things stable with SPS is.

Right now the fan has been able to keep up with the tank and also I have the tank close to an A/C vent as well as a ceiling fan. That seems to help

Looking forward to the pictures of the goods you got from the swap.

80.6 isn't too bad. I guess you must have unplugged your heater for the summer, huh? I did the same thing until my wife decided to crank up the A/C one night. Brought temp down to 76! I was upset about that and she couldn't relate. LOL

I feel you on the temp swings though, and I can see how the SPS react when it becomes either too hot or cold. Scottyreef tipped me off on a local used chiller. It's about a one hour drive from me, and I think I'm picking it up TONIGHT. So that'll be 2 fans, 2 Iceprobes, and a 1/15 HP chiller on this system. Haha, think that's enough?

haha not if i beat you to them!

1/10hp for the win. reason why: if (and when) you upgrade to a larger tank (you're getting pretty full there bud) you'll need a bigger one anyway. so the fact is you're SAVING money by getting the 1/10 not


EDIT: and you could scrap those inefficient iceprobes, selling them to make up the difference in price. listen to me damn it!

Hey Purple this was the book i was talking about last weekend its a great read. I forgot my brother borrowed it so i dont have it to lend until i see my bro next

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/

HEY, LET'S GO HALVES ON THOSE CHALICES! Tyree Watermelon and Mummy Eye. Dude, I might be picking up the 1/15 for 75 bucks. Besides, there are holes in my sump for the Iceprobes. If I sold them, all of the water would exit my tank! It would be a b!^ch to seal them. Those iceprobes actually cool my tank about 3-4 degrees. Could be more, but I got about 40gals of water. I'm guessing they're more energy efficient too. Lastly, there's a little green light on the units that go on when the probes are activated. Provides a chill ambiance at night. LOL

wow 75 bucks is a steal! even if it ends up needing a recharge (which i hear A/C places can do easily) it's still a good deal.

1/2 on the chalices? i am getting a ME already but i don't have a tyree watermelon. is it the red or the pink? i got a red watermelon from him a while back but i don't know if it's a tyree. he also has a nice grape variety.

Recharge? Didn't know that could be done.

4 eyes on the watermelon and 10+ for the mummy. I want the pink one. He's getting em from someone else in BAR. He says lineage is true (considering that might be important).

Yeah, the wife always asks me why I have to keep the tank downstairs where it's cooler and why I can't set it higher than around 73 in the house

So did you pick up the chiller? Sounds like you are getting one heck of a deal on it. I think with the 2 fans, 2 iceprobes, and the 1/15 HP chiller you could create a small iceberg in the tank

Are you getting more into Chalices?

I absolutely did get the chiller! Got a steal of a deal on it bc the intake fan doesn't work. I ran a cheap honeywell fan behind it last night and it cooled the tank down to 76 degrees with no apparent issues. Even better, I found out that this guy was selling all of his coral too. Insane what he had in his JBJ nano (halide mod): collectible zoas and 3 LE chalices, including a bazooka joe, bubble gum, and miami hurricane. Jungle-like green hair algae with high nitrates, but surprisingly VERY BRIGHT and extremely healthy corals. So he gave me the hurricane for a steal of a deal since I was already there. The other 2 chalices are being shipped out tomorrow. Might go back this week for a zoa/paly pack!

So I decided that I'll be running the Iceprobes FIRST, until they can cool no more. That chiller would get my office HOT if I ran it all day.

Oh, and I suppose I am into chalices now. So far, I have 4!!! I'd like a bazooka joe, but I think I might buy it from yourreef to make sure it's the real deal.

LE MIAMI HURRICANE CHALICE

hey its great to hear that you got your chiller I am glad it all worked out. also we might have to do a trade soon if you gwt anymore chalices i want. do you want to go to the mars meeting on friday?

I see what people mean about getting a 1/10 over a 1/15hp. I haven't messed with it a whole lot, but it seems a struggle for it to lower the temps below 79 degrees. Could have something to do with the intake fan being broken. I have it running in unison with my Iceprobe so the chiller doesnt have to work as hard. One definite drawback is the added heat in the room. I think I'll have all these cooling components work to maintain 79.5 to 80 degrees. Less stress on the system that way, and less heat for ME to deal with in my office. *I should be getting a replacement adapter for the 2nd Iceprobe tomorrow. Fried.

I'm liking these so-called "high-end" chalices. Not sure that I buy in to the whole "lineage" thing, but if it's important to people who might someday be buying these pieces from me - then I guess I have to pay attention to it. I think we may be able to trace the lineage back on this Hurricane. The kid I picked it up from seemed genuine (from what I could tell). He gave me a copy of the original receipt, when it was bought 3-4mos ago at Aqua-life in Rocklin. I remember you mentioned that place at one time or another.

Sure, let's get the trade on. Got a dremel?

I'm curious about those Round Table MARS meetings. Maybe I can bring a frag of my pink chalice for their DBTC swap.

Purp, I think we're going to need an FTS soon... Especially with all those LE chalices. Awesome man.

If he bought it from Aqua-life I would trust there lineage they get some really good stuff there and they don't put out a coral thats not highend . on the chiller you may need to clean it with hot water and vinager and let it soak for a bit. yes the intake fan cools the coils so you can have a temperature differental for the compressor to work. you might want to vacuum out the coils and give it a spray with compressed air. as for coral linage i usually don't care if it a great looking piece but when the prices get over a $100 for a coral frag i get more weary of the coral and i need them to prove to me it is what it says it is.

yes i got a dremel and quite a few diamond cutting discs as well

also if all else fails i always keep two frozen water bottles in the freezer just in case

give me a call if you have anymore questions there buddy

Ha, thanks. But the FTS would look the same today. Perhaps with just a little more growth and filled frag racks. I'm gonna get a little more color out of my new acros and montis before I mount them. I got some stunning zoas coming in too, which could alter the tanks's appearance a bit. I don't know about "all those LE chalices." I only have ONE. lol. What I'm hoping to do is trade frags of it for other LEs. How bout you? Got anything cool?

Yeah, maybe can swing by Aqua-life and look into the ancestry of this piece. Maybe spend more money I don't have while we're there. lol

What are the water bottles for?

So I changed the chiller settings down 1 degree lower to 78 (from 79), for the RKL to cut power at 79.3. I think it might be cooling more now.

BTW, it's been a month and I'm STILL light acclimating the corals in the frag bin. 3 sheets of screening. I'll be taking one off tomorrow or Friday. or perhaps 1 off only 1 hr early, and then back on again for tomorrow.

Ha! I don't buy into that whole LE stuff (read: too poor). I've got a decent red/orange chalice, but it's not big enough to frag yet. I like it, but it's not going to set the world on fire. How are you're gorgeous new acans doing?

the frozen water bottles are for cooling if yor ac goes out or you just want to bring down the temp a bit. just float them in your sump. i know what your talking about spending money you don't have but kyle is really reasonable. he usually works the weekend if your game?

I thought the same thing about all the ridiculously priced corals, until I came to the realization that those were all of the ones I wanted! I guess when others have the same opinion, it QUICKLY drives up demand and price.

I have a humble pink chalice. Bought a 1" frag for $35 3yrs ago. Not an LE of any sort. Think that might be a nice trade. The new ACANS? I see babies! and I haven't been direct feeding. I got one more 4-pack from "NanoSapien." Not sure if he has an account here. Green and purple. I'll snap pics of them soon. Thanks for asking.

HURRICANE CHALICE EATING MYSIS

Great looking chalice you have there!

Your tank is a beauty! Good job!