My 20-Gallon (Tall) Softie/lps Nano-Reef!

[Fishgirl2393]

I actually do NOT think it is a predator after taking a close look at things today. I have several mushrooms that are now gone. The ones that are still OK but are affected have slime coming off them. What is this??? Help!

[Fishgirl2393]

After having had brown jelly disease in my tank, which killed several corals (including all my LPS, my hairy mushrooms, some of my blue mushrooms, my red mushroom, and my rics), I want to make sure new corals that get added are healthy and disease-free before adding them (since this started with a duncan coral that introduced the disease to my tank). So, I am planning a quarantine tank (I already quarantine all fish, just have never done corals before) so I have set up a 3-gallon tank with a VERY thin layer (only enough to barely cover the bottom, not even 1/4 inch) of sand and will be adding some established rock (since medicating the tank is not likely because most meds are NOT coral safe). Would a PC screw in (standard lamp base) bulb like the Zoo-Med Reef Sun (50/50) bulb be OK for temporary lighting for corals? And how long should I keep new corals in the quarantine tank (I'm assuming somewhere in the vicinity of two weeks, which is what I do for fish)? Should I also dip in some iodine solution before quarantining? What is NORMALLY done to prevent diseases?

[Fishgirl2393]

Still no BJD deaths so things are looking better. I removed Phosguard a while back (couple of weeks ago) and have been relying on water changes to take care of nutrients. The tank has carbon and floss (changed regularly) for filtration. I may end up having to move it by the end of the year (MAY be moving across town but not sure yet) but that is down the road if at all. The quarantine tank is ready to go for all new corals. Plan is to dip them, quarantine them a week or two, dip again and put into main tank. Still trying to decide about a skimmer (the one I fixed it still working but will obviously have to be replaced at some point).

[Fishgirl2393]

Tank is still doing pretty good. The corals that survived brown jelly disease are still healthy and happy. I have not added anything new yet so the tank is not as populated as it has been in the past. There is a little bit of hair algae that I'm battling but not much and it is getting better. I am not using phosphate control at the moment but am just doing water changes for control. I tested nitrate today (for the first time in a while) and it was about 5ppm so that's good. I have asked my LFS to order me some cool and pretty zoas from Eye Catching Coral so we'll see what they get in.

[Fishgirl2393]

So it is looking more like I will be moving the tank before the end of the year. This makes me slightly nervous because of the risks that come with disrupting a tank. I really don't want to replace the sand but know I may end up having to. I have been vacuuming it to try to get it as clean as possible so that I could maybe NOT replace it. Tank is still doing good though I'm still battling a bit of hair algae. I may add a phosphate remover pad (I know it is not amazing but the PhosGuard led to unhappy corals so I don't want to use that) to help that battle.

[Fishgirl2393]

Tank is still doing OK though I had to add the phosphate control media again because I am still having some algae issues.

[Fishgirl2393]

So, I may be getting some zoas and/or ricordea once my LFS gets them in either tomorrow or Friday. My question that I'd really like answered if possible is why am I getting very little growth from my corals (I'm seeing quite a bit more in the past few weeks from my clove polyps as they have added about 4-5 polyps)? They're all softies and my tank shouldn't be too clean (since I have algae growing). I'm feeding Zooplanktos-M (Brightwell Aquatics) and SMALL amounts of ChromaPlex (Kent Marine) to the tank and (of course) feeding the fish (royal gramma). So, how can I increase the growth rates. Recently I've had NO new mushrooms in months, kenya trees haven't grown much, zoas haven't put on any/many new polyps since I got them (maybe 1 new polyp since I got them in may). Cloves (as I said above) have added some polyps, but that's all. Tips?

[Fishgirl2393]

Anyone?

[acrab78]

Anyone?

Do you leave them alone? Are they adjusted to the surroundings? If you move them sometimes they take several weeks to adjust and then start growing. Most corals grow very slow anyways.... just try and keep everything stable and on a normal schedule and let them grow and they will.

[Fishgirl2393]

Just added an acan coral to the tank. It's not open yet but was dipped and was previously at the LFS for about 1-2 months so it is healthy.

[Fishgirl2393]

The acan already looks really happy and seems to be well adjusted. It is orange/red and lavander(ish).

[CronicReefer]

So, I may be getting some zoas and/or ricordea once my LFS gets them in either tomorrow or Friday. My question that I'd really like answered if possible is why am I getting very little growth from my corals (I'm seeing quite a bit more in the past few weeks from my clove polyps as they have added about 4-5 polyps)? They're all softies and my tank shouldn't be too clean (since I have algae growing). I'm feeding Zooplanktos-M (Brightwell Aquatics) and SMALL amounts of ChromaPlex (Kent Marine) to the tank and (of course) feeding the fish (royal gramma). So, how can I increase the growth rates. Recently I've had NO new mushrooms in months, kenya trees haven't grown much, zoas haven't put on any/many new polyps since I got them (maybe 1 new polyp since I got them in may). Cloves (as I said above) have added some polyps, but that's all. Tips?

My first mushrooms have never split in the 4months I've had them. My zoas grow like mad, 1 or 2 new polyps per week on some colonies, but two of mine have not put out a new polyp in 8 weeks. I would just focus on keeping the tank stable rather than trying different things to make the coral grow faster.

[Fishgirl2393]

So, I try to keep my sand bed and other areas clean and it works decently but I was wondering if getting a clean up crew (snail-only) from Reef Cleaners would be a good idea. I'm thinking it probably would be but I just want some opinions.

[Fishgirl2393]

Anyone? I'm thinking getting a snail-only clean up crew would be beneficial but want some imput from others.

[acrab78]

Do you have any snails etc right now? If not yes get some...

[Fishgirl2393]

Thanks! I have a few (3-4) blue legged hermit crabs but that's it so I'll probably order some from Reef Cleaners

[Pinner Reef]

Ya they help... alot. Doo eet!

[vlangel]

I have the Nassarius snails in my 30 gallon seahorse tank and they help a lot cleaning up meaty disbris. Although they do rise out of the sand bed, (like little zombies) and slime my nice clean glass at meal times, LOL.

[Fishgirl2393]

I treated the tank with ChemiClean today (added extra areation). I will be doing at least a 25% water change in a couple of days. The tank has some cyano and "junk" which is why I'm treating it.

[tibbsy07]

You don't have a clean up crew? That should have been one of your first purchases, in my opinion.

 

But, if you have cyano the CUC isn't going to help much. Cyano isn't really something most CUC critters eat except rarely. Algae and other detritus are their bread and butter.

 

To battle cyano, you need to reduce your photoperiod, increase flow, reduce nutrient load (CUC will help with this by removing detritus), do regular water changes that are a bt larger than your normal ones. Physical removal will help a bit, but Chemiclean will help for sure. Melev's reef really likes PhosphateRX a lot, and that will help, too. You could always try that first.

 

For chemiclean - DO NOT VEER FROM THE INSTRUCTIONS AT ALL. Follow all of them EXACLTY. Seriously. If you don't, the cyano can and will become resistant to the treatment. It happened to me because I was an idiot. Once that happens, you are screwed. Bacteria are hardy, cyano especially. Giving them resistance to the chemiclean is basically ensuring that you will not rid it from your tank save using hydrogen peroxide in massive amounts.

[Fishgirl2393]

I have some hermit crabs. I don't currently have any snails but I have in the past (they got eaten by hermit crabs). I have used chemiclean before but it has been a while. I followed the directions exactly so hopefully all will be OK. I plan to order from Reefcleaners soon.

[Fishgirl2393]

Water change is going to be done tomorrow. The Chemiclean seems to be working.

[Pinner Reef]

Good to hear hit us with some pics after the WC!!!

[Fishgirl2393]

Any suggestions on how to get rid of aiptasia? I have tried and tried and it seems to always not work. I've tried injecting with lemon juice, and injecting with kalk (it is so hard to get them on rock with lots of holes). Any other suggestions? I have zoas and other soft corals (plus LPS) so it must be safe for those too.

[Pinner Reef]

There are a great number of suggestions, however, hardly any will work for certain.

 

Joe's Juice/Aptasia X work about as well as kalk/lemon juice

Glue over it's hole if you can get to it.

Hydrogen peroxide if you can pull the rock to treat it.

Bhergia Nudibranchs or Peppermint shrimp for large infestations.

 

Sadly, they are one of the great scourges of the salt water world.

 

The next time I got some I was going to experiment with actually feeding them "tainted food" but still haven't come up with any viable "Poison"

 

I think up stupid procedures like that a lot.