Beware the Shallows

[hey]

does your mag usually float around there? what salt are ya using?

[jedimasterben]

does your mag usually float around there? what salt are ya using?

I've never checked magnesium on a regular basis, to be honest, almost exclusively alkalinity. Using Instant Ocean.

[hey]

I've never checked magnesium on a regular basis, to be honest, almost exclusively alkalinity. Using Instant Ocean.

 

ah, just wondering. I am pretty sure thats around what IO is when mixed. Took me forever to get to the 1600+ for the tech m bryopsis treatments. going at 100ppm a day.

[jedimasterben]

seriously can't catch a break. I come home to find the tilefish dried up on the tank stand rim and my tang is nowhere to be found. gahhhh.

 

 

At least my corals look great, all have full polyp extension, nems are all open wide, etc.

[metrokat]

[FlowerMama]

Man, that blows. Many people are just not having luck lately. Either fish dying, corals receeding, bacterias, etc.

[jedimasterben]

I didn't even get to mention that I brought six fish home from the LFS and came home to that. Three chromis, two yellowtail damsels, and a springer's damsel. All are settled in now, except for one chromis. They're all three tiny, and two made their way into the overflow and down into the sump. The first one I corralled into the fuge section where it was easily removed, the second I couldn't get to very easily, it kept staying around the skimmer. It freaked out on me and zipped into the skimmer intake. Whoops.

[markalot]

Sorry about the fish.

 

You know you should check Mag, especially if using IO. No Coraline, SPS don't do well. It's screaming at you.

[jedimasterben]

Sorry about the fish.

 

You know you should check Mag, especially if using IO. No Coraline, SPS don't do well. It's screaming at you.

Tests were on the previous page I think, mag is around 1250, has always tested around that so I very rarely have tested it. I still havent had time really to make a standard to check the test kit with to figure out if my alk is really 5dkh, and today is my wife's birthday so I dont expect to be home at all today lol.

 

If my alk is actually 5, then that would definitely explain why I cannot keep ANY stony corals, whether SPS or LPS, and have no coralline. I'll mix up some more salt maybe tomorrow and test it and find out if it has low alk.

[jedimasterben]

After dragging me around Palm Beach all day, my wife went in to Ulta and I went to Petco next door and came out with a nice long polyp leather and a marble molly to acclimate, see how it does.

[hey]

After dragging me around Palm Beach all day, my wife went in to Ulta and I went to Petco next door and came out with a nice long polyp leather and a marble molly to acclimate, see how it does.

Shoulda got moar, have you seen the prices of their face paint and if you want a laugh read the names of half of the products, hilarity

[jedimasterben]

Shoulda got moar, have you seen the prices of their face paint and if you want a laugh read the names of half of the products, hilarity

In Ulta? Yeah, its pretty ridiculous lol. The whole makeup industry is insane.

[HarryPotter]

The IM Gourmet Defroster is amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

The Two Little Fishies Magfeeder can suck it.

 

So you put the cube up top, and it defrosts. Then how is the food released into the tank? Through those small holes?

 

I wish they had something like this but for feeding corals. Ive been just defrosting and giving the corals a pinch of Mysis

[jedimasterben]

 

So you put the cube up top, and it defrosts. Then how is the food released into the tank? Through those small holes?

 

I wish they had something like this but for feeding corals. Ive been just defrosting and giving the corals a pinch of Mysis

There are small holes in it that the food drops through. http://innovative-marine.com/auqa-gadget/gourmet-defroster.html

 

I dont spot feed any corals anymore, though to be honest I dont have any LPS now. Just some palys and anemones, but they tend to catch something every day.

[kguske2]

Sorry about the fish.

 

You know you should check Mag, especially if using IO. No Coraline, SPS don't do well. It's screaming at you.

Please explain. Something wrong with IO salt in relation to mag?

[plainrt]

Love your scape and clean looking sand. Nice work guy

[jedimasterben]

Please explain. Something wrong with IO salt in relation to mag?

IO doesn't push everything as high as reef crystals, but IO should still have mag at ~1200.

Love your scape and clean looking sand. Nice work guy

Thanks!

[jedimasterben]

So I finally got some baking soda (err... found a new box in my pantry ) and after looking for my gram scale I realized that it does not have the resolution I need to measure 0.252g to get 8.4dKH standard. :/

[HarryPotter]

So I finally got some baking soda (err... found a new box in my pantry ) and after looking for my gram scale I realized that it does not have the resolution I need to measure 0.252g to get 8.4dKH standard. :/

 

So quadruple the amount you are making? Or is it not precise enough.

[jedimasterben]

So quadruple the amount you are making? Or is it not precise enough.

The smallest calibration weight I have is 5g, so that is 20L of RO/DI I'd waste to make a stock solution that I know would be what it needs to be. It just takes so little baking soda to get the job done, and it isn't even baked lol.

 

I did another test. Elos says 4.5-5dKH (somewhere in between, the color change started on the 9th drop), Hanna says 127ppm (7.1dKH), so thats closer than it has been saying. I figured I'll give the Elos kit the benefit of the doubt and added 50mL of Randy's DIY Recipe 1 alk solution, which should raise my system by 0.75dKH. There was significant clouding upon dosing, which makes sense from the 500+ calcium reading, so I'm guessing this dose won't actually raise my alk, but will drop cal by some. Will test again tomorrow to find out.

[hypostatic]

So are you testing K yet?

 

 

Man, that blows. Many people are just not having luck lately. Either fish dying, corals receeding, bacterias, etc.

 

I'm convinced that it has to do with the changing of the seasons

[jedimasterben]

So are you testing K yet?

The test kit still doesn't go up high enough lol

[jedimasterben]

My tank continues to be a damsel black hole, but I keep trying them anyway, love them too much. Got two more chromis, a yellowtail damsel, a replacement potter's angel, and a small percula clownfish to try and pair with my big female.

 

 

And after dosing a whopping 250mL of alk solution, my tank's alkalinity has finally risen! It took between 12 and 13 drops on the Elos test kit, so that means my alk is between 6-6.5dKH. 250mL of Randy's alk solution should have brought my tank from 4.5-5dKH to 8.5-9, but with each dose my 500ppm+ calcium reading was causing significant precipitation of CaCO₃. I'll test calcium at some point and figure out where it is.

[jedimasterben]

FTS 5/30/2015

 

Fishies were all hiding lol. I have a Giesemann Aquablue Coral and an ATI Coral Plus on in this shot along with all the LEDs at maximum.

 

 

Bleached grandis palys I got a couple months back are gaining color and have a couple of new polyps.

 

 

All three of these fragments that the big leather dropped are all doing well where I've placed them!

 

 

Sypodium is still alive and is super colorful. These things glow.

 

 

Snake polyps from glenn! These are Isaurus tuberculatus. Super uncommon, and super awesome looking! My new little clown hangs around them, I think he thinks it's a big nem lol

 

 

Yellow leather from glenn didn't do so well. It is a maricultured piece, and as such came attached to a nice chunk of rock. Well, the rock with the snake polyps is big - real big, and in shipping, the yellow leather got crushed between the snake rock and its rock. I was hoping it would just reinflate and all would be good, but not quite. I had to cut these pieces away, but they look decent (shitty pic) and hopefully will survive!

 

 

One of the spots where the leather split a piece off is completely healed, and the other two will be healed up within a week or so.

[plainrt]

Man how I wish I could have more tanks. I miss soft corals