DrGibbys 10g shutting them down :(

[Droy008]

I wouldn't count the monti out completely. Unless it has algae growing on it.

Get a uv flashlight and shine it on the monti at night, you might pick up just some tiny fragments of fluorescence. My monti browned out really bad after a kalkwasser incident, but is slowly on its way back.

They are pretty hardy.

[drgibby]

I wouldn't count the monti out completely. Unless it has algae growing on it.

Get a uv flashlight and shine it on the monti at night, you might pick up just some tiny fragments of fluorescence. My monti browned out really bad after a kalkwasser incident, but is slowly on its way back.

They are pretty hardy.

Ok ill crank up the blues tonight when the lights are all out to see if i get any fluorescence.

 

Is it sad im secretly hoping that i win the nanobox concept series contest so i can retire this tank or make it a frag tank

[drgibby]

Well Droy i cranked up the blues and maybe just maybe saw some green.. but it would be soooo little. I left it in and figured what the heck. Today i did water change and saw this
20160706_084955 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

Im almost positive thats green and it will recover.. can't believe it but im happy.!

[metrokat]

Sorry to hear about the crash. peroxide is very powerful. I only dribble it if using full strength but diluted is best. Rinsing before putting back in the tank is necessary when doing large areas. I hope the lepto and monti recover.

[drgibby]

Thanks Kat. I learned the good dangers of peroxide the hard way. works well just need use less and rinse i guess. The lepto actually looks good that picture doesn't do it justice. The monti looks great compared to what it use to look like. I think things will be just fine. We live and learn i guess.

[teenyreef]

That's great news about the monti! As long as there's anything alive it will grow back eventually.

[drgibby]

The monti and leptoseris are going to recover just fine! The parameters of the tank have been stable now for 2-3 weeks sooo i placed an order for some corals. We will see what happens. On a good note... no algae

 

Does anyone else get all anxious when they place a coral order and have to wait. I feel like christmas is coming!

[drgibby]

[drgibby]

So im telling myself im in the clear. The rocks have been rearranged and the MP10 in its new positions to maximize water flow around the tank.

 

The monti cap and lepto have recovered or are well on there way and will be fine. 2 Weeks after complete brown/white and it almost has all its color back

20160714_093039 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

I decided to celebrate i would add some new frags so Holly at Cultivated reef was kind enough to mail some out.

20160714_092940 by drgibby, on Flickr

20160714_093008 by drgibby, on Flickr

20160714_093032 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

I added another bowerbanki to replace the one i dissolved but i didn't' get a picture of it yet. I also added 2 more turbo snails. I will not have algae over grow in this tank again...

 

Ill work to get you a FTS soon. I kinda want it to look more filled first but it has been a while so maybe ill give you a sneak peak

[drgibby]

So here you go a picture of the bower and a FTS

20160714_150331 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

 

20160714_150313 by drgibby, on Flickr

[drgibby]

Time for a community help session

 

So im starting the process of looking at different branching acros. Im looking for something that pops color wise. My favorite colors are red and orange.

 

GO!!

[metrokat]

You're limited with branching acros in those colors

Red Dragon

PC Rainbow

Christmas Mirabilis

Hyacinthus

Tierra Del Fuego

Millepora

Non branching

Setosa

Porites

Psammacora

Montipora

[Droy008]

So happy to see the monti making a good recovery.

Also Kat's right you should look into some of those non branching across. They really offer some color.

[drgibby]

Thanks Kat ill be sure to take a look at those.

 

So i thought things were back to going well. I placed a bunch of the frags again on Saturday and then Today i noticed the ice fire enchenata is angry. I think its dying?! Although it could be going to its white with blue tip appearance its suppose to have? I dont know. Either way im just watching and waiting. The White is very white with some blue in it but it seems that the darker skin on it seems to be peeling off?

 

The white does have some polyps though that are sticking out to filter feed so i have no clue what to expect. Heres a before and after picture

20160714_093032 by drgibby, on Flickr

20160717_153008 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

Thoughts advice?

 

This hobby is so confusing.. maybe thats why i enjoy it so much

[drgibby]

So by 940 this piece was all white. It must have gotten rtn I have no clue why as nothing has changed and everything else looks fine. Should I worry about others in this tank! Is it select pieces it happens to? It's so wierd.

 

I have removed it from the tank and cried a bit.

[drgibby]

You're limited with branching acros in those colors

Red Dragon

PC Rainbow

Christmas Mirabilis

Hyacinthus

Tierra Del Fuego

Millepora

Non branching

Setosa

Porites

Psammacora

Montipora

Thanks Kat! Im looking at a bunch of different things now. Never knew some of those were ever around. So much eye candy to look at. Now to stabilize this tank so I can buy with confidence...

[drgibby]

Parameters in the tank are all stabilized now time to monitor twice a day until i find a pattern and hook up the doser to account for and issues. I hope i dont lose my tyree as well it has started to show some white on the tips but its not progressing nearly as fast as the other one did. I hope im just paranoid but who knows

20160718_114424 by drgibby, on Flickr

[drgibby]

So I called instant Ocean today because i had always wondered what normal parameters of there mixture should be. I really only asked cared about CA and MG

 

So normal CA should measure out between 380-420 in there mixture

Normal MG should measure 1250-1390.

 

I had always been getting 300 for CA and 1200 for MG the Calcium is low way low in my opinion for what it should be measuring out to in a reef. The lady on the phone suggested i gradually switch to reef crystals as it adds in extra CA and minerals for a healthier reef environment. So i asked what the parameters test out to on that would be. She went on to say it should be about the same. Which got me confused because i thought she just said it would have extra in it. So what kind of salt do you use and have you ever had troubles with parameters being off in the mixture.

 

She never admitted it was a bad batch or offered anything so im confused.

[metrokat]

Hmm

[drgibby]

Hmm

Thats what i said!!

[drgibby]

I feel like so much time has passed but its really only been a few days. I went ahead and bought a batch of Red Sea Pro Salt because the parameters were suppose to be so much higher and better for sps growth. It came on Friday I mixed some up and tested it. It came out perfect CA was 450 MG was 1300 and ALK was 10.

 

So much better then the IO salt batch was doing for me. I did a 2 gallon water change on this tank and a 1 gallon in the 4g tank. Things seem to instantly perk up. The colors are looking much better. All the parameters are now where i want them to be. Im very happy with the new salt.

 

Todays question is Can RTN stop? I thought once it started there was no stopping it. The alk has been stable for about 6 days. and the Tyree hasn't RTNed any more Since Thursday it has been stuck looking like this. 20160725_111248 by drgibby, on Flickr20160725_111258 by drgibby, on Flickr

It has patchy flesh but nothing seems to be peeling off. It actually seems more stable and possibly some of the polyps are starting to extend out of it.

Can a colony or frag recover from RTN?

 

I have a local guy that said he will sell a $25 acro frag that i can put in to test so ill prolly do that sooner or later.

[metrokat]

STN and RTN can stop. Because we really don't know what 'exactly' causes it in the first place - was it salinity, temperature, bacterial infection, alk swing. So much can cause it. So yeah, it can stop. Don't know why or what causes it to stop though.

Good news about the tank perking up. It seems like more and more people report salt issues. Maybe the new batches of salts aren't mixed well or they need to be mixed up prior to use. I had a similar issue, luckily nothing died but things weren't exactly overjoyed at the change.

[drgibby]

STN and RTN can stop. Because we really don't know what 'exactly' causes it in the first place - was it salinity, temperature, bacterial infection, alk swing. So much can cause it. So yeah, it can stop. Don't know why or what causes it to stop though.

Good news about the tank perking up. It seems like more and more people report salt issues. Maybe the new batches of salts aren't mixed well or they need to be mixed up prior to use. I had a similar issue, luckily nothing died but things weren't exactly overjoyed at the change.

Thanks for the knowledge Kat, interesting to know. So much to learn in this hobby and about marine life. Im guessing mine was nutrient and alk related but not sure why it was triggered or what cause the rapid change. Now that things are stable things are fine so heres hoping that the tyree recovers eventually.

[drgibby]

So much has happened with this tank in which feels like a long amount of time. Looking back its only been about 4-5 weeks. Im happy to say that i am happy again. Changing salts seems to be working well. Parameters are all great corals have never looked better. The RTN acro is recovering and i think this weekend ill drive up to columbus to visit Matt Bennett at Matts corals cuz he said i could get a $25 frag from him to try out.

 

Here is the FTS

20160727_093853 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

and a top down cuz it looks so different.

20160727_094032 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

Also my frogspawn frag is doing well and i think its time to get rid of it. So if anyone knows someone that wants it let me know. Also how do people ship things?! Ive received a bunch but no clue how they seal the bags.

[drgibby]

Did some fantasy shopping today (thats where you look and dont buy)

 

Screenshot 2016-07-28 18.00.54 by drgibby, on Flickr

 

Now to trim down the cart and decide what i really want and wait for the tank to be ready