The 20H Atoll

[lakshwadeep]

Like other threads, this one has lost recent posts, and unfortunately a search of google cache was not able to record most of them because the last post ended up on a new page. So, I want to say thanks to anyone whose posts were unread by me before the site crash.

 

More updates:

 

After not seeing it shortly after the addition of the SPS frags, I now realize that the small Trimma goby probably died. I suspect a mini-cycle from the goby had an impact the STN symptoms of some of the new frags.

 

In more exciting news, I got new bulbs today: 3 ATI blue plus and 1 UVL actinic white. I previously had the same combination with 3 blue pluses and an UVL aquasun. The actinic white is very bright and has made the tank more pinkish/white. Frankly, I'm not sure how I like it. I took some pictures today, and I plan on posting them soon.

 

As for the frags, I have finally mounted them all (some have been browned out), and I know realize just how hard it is to fit so many frags on the rocks.

[divecj5]

After not seeing it shortly after the addition of the SPS frags, I now realize that the small Trimma goby probably died. I suspect a mini-cycle from the goby had an impact the STN symptoms of some of the new frags.

 

In more exciting news, I got new bulbs today: 3 ATI blue plus and 1 UVL actinic white. I previously had the same combination with 3 blue pluses and an UVL aquasun. The actinic white is very bright and has made the tank more pinkish/white. Frankly, I'm not sure how I like it. I took some pictures today, and I plan on posting them soon.

 

Sorry to hear about losing the Trimma. The LFS had a couple the other day and they are such cool little fish. I would love to pick up 2-3 for my 20H but just think they may get lost somewhere in and amongst the rock and corals. The ones they had were TINY.

 

Great news on the new bulbs...although it sounds like the color is going to take getting used to. I, personally, really like the ATI Blue + bulbs but have never giving any UVL bulbs a try other than the 75/25 which I'm planning on switching out. Looking forward to seeing what your pictures look like with the new bulbs.

[lakshwadeep]

divecj: Check to see if the gobies are really trimmas. Unlike eviotas, many trimma species don't like to stay in groups. However, it looks like many LFSs don't know the difference if their wholesaler mislabels the fish. That's how I got my Eviota as a "Trimma".

 

And now for some pics!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[illuminano]

Loving the new bulbs, way too blue before, you're gonna get some explosive growth now. Loving those acro frags, i wish we had an equivalent to livwaquaria here in canada. Its so annoying

[divecj5]

Good catch and thanks for the suggestion on the Trimmas. Knowing my LFS, they are more than likely Eviotas instead of Trimmas.

 

Really like how the tank looks now that you have the frags all moved off the sand and up on the rock. Looks a lot more balanced and the color is spread out more throughout the tank.

 

Diggin' the macro as well. Looks like you have some really nice variety in there - halimeda, bottlebrush, etc. How have the bottlebrush (I'm pretty sure what it's called) doing for you? I always thought they were really cool macros as they remind me of some sort of Dr. Seuss tree

[SPS20]

I am loving the aquascaping of this tank. This will be an award winner when all grown in, imo.

[lakshwadeep]

Loving the new bulbs, way too blue before, you're gonna get some explosive growth now. Loving those acro frags, i wish we had an equivalent to livwaquaria here in canada. Its so annoying

 

Thanks, I'm still a little unsure about the pink color. I may go for a cooler white appearance.

 

Good catch and thanks for the suggestion on the Trimmas. Knowing my LFS, they are more than likely Eviotas instead of Trimmas.

 

Really like how the tank looks now that you have the frags all moved off the sand and up on the rock. Looks a lot more balanced and the color is spread out more throughout the tank.

 

Diggin' the macro as well. Looks like you have some really nice variety in there - halimeda, bottlebrush, etc. How have the bottlebrush (I'm pretty sure what it's called) doing for you? I always thought they were really cool macros as they remind me of some sort of Dr. Seuss tree

 

Thanks! If you have a pic of the gobies, you can PM me for an ID or look here for reference photos

http://www.fishbase.us/identification/spec...ns=&c_code=

 

Yes, I'm hoping the frags will color up as I previously had the lights roughly 6 inches above the tank, which probably influenced some of the frags' browning out.

 

Macroalgae are nice, but each type has a different "annoyance". The Halimeda have to be pruned as they can grow a new "leaf" in less than a day. Halymenia and chaetomorpha are nice, but broken fragments often find the worst places to get stuck in (i.e. the corals). I also have some neomeris cordoned off on my feather duster rock. The "bottlebrush", shaving brush is another common name for Pencillus spp., is very easy to keep and I like the new shoots. The grey one behind the idaho grape frags was a new shoot, with the oldest one disintegrated. I wouldn't mind if a little forest grew in the sand bed.

 

I am loving the aquascaping of this tank. This will be an award winner when all grown in, imo.

 

I'm not sure about awards, but it will be interesting to see the frags grow.

[PurpleUP]

I'm really diggin the macro algae. Wish I had room for some in my tank. Excellent design.

[Kraylen]

You got a real nice selection of SPS corals M-co, be sure to let me know when you have fraggable growth!

[lakshwadeep]

I'm really diggin the macro algae. Wish I had room for some in my tank. Excellent design.

 

Thanks. IMO, every tank can have macroalgae, even something like Chaetomorpha.

 

You got a real nice selection of SPS corals M-co, be sure to let me know when you have fraggable growth!

 

Currently my fastest grower is the one in the last pic. Just a plain cream with greenish base, but it's good. The idaho grapes are also fast, with the largest frag already having 1/2 to an inch of growth around its rim.

[MedRed]

Don't know what took me so long to find this tank. I knew something from lakshwadeep wouldn't disappoint.

[lakshwadeep]

Thanks medred.

 

Sad update: I can't find my Eviota goby. I've tried looking on all the rocks and checking if it jumped, but there's no sign of it. It never hides in holes like the neon goby. I also don't know where my emerald crab is (the other died a few weeks after being introduced). I'm not sure if the goby died from old age as its eyes were a little dull.

 

Also, I keep complaining about aiptasia, yet I haven't done anything to stop them, and now I see tiny individuals popping up everywhere. So, I'm in the process of researching how to breed some aiptasia-eating nudibranchs (widely called "Berghia verrucicornis", actually Aeolidiella stephanieae). From what I've read so far, it's hard to completely eliminate aiptasia without having a constant supply of nudis (and growing aiptasia!) for many months.

 

The SPS carry on with encrusting their bases and growing, thankfully.

[divecj5]

Sorry to hear about the missing Eviota. Sounds like it may have died and quickly been consumed by snails, etc in your tank. I'm sure it would be next to impossible to find the skeletal remains of such a small fish.

 

Great news thought that the SPS continue to look healthy and continue to base out. How close are the aiptasia to your SPS? Are they all over every rock or just a select few pieces. I had a rock or two that was pretty infected with them in my BC29. I used Joe's Juice with some success but they ended up coming back in the end. As you mentioned, it sounds like others have had success with nudibranchs. Hopefully they will help you as well.

[lakshwadeep]

Yes, I was thinking that it would be pointless to search for the goby's remains. Also, I was not completely right about Trimmas and their compatibility in groups. There is a good article that explains there care here:

http://reefhobbyistmagazine.com/downloads/pdf/version5.pdf

 

The larger aiptasia were one a low rock, and unfortunately I also thought my concentrated kalkwasser had killed them. Now I see dozens of tiny (~1/4") aiptasia dotted everywhere. Currently I'm thinking how to set up an "aiptasia culture tank" :X so the nudis won't starve.

[lakshwadeep]

Yeah, so I procrastinated even more, and the aiptasia just keep on popping up everywhere. I still haven't got any nudibranchs because I finally have accepted that my corals have red bugs. They apparently came with my first acropora set (on the "purple valida" that is very pale). I guess I was a little too optimistic like the time when I bought rocks and saw a coral, which turned out to be my first aiptasia.

 

I plan to follow this red bug treatment method:

http://www.shadowramysreef.com/index.php?o...s-and-predators

 

So, I'm planning to take all acroporas out when I can get some interceptor. A wide rubbermaid bin is what I plan to use as a treatment tank, and a spare 10 gallon will be used as a QT tank. I may bring the birdsnest, pocillopora, and montiporas with my T5 lighting to keep all "important colorful corals" happy while leaving the display tank fallow for 5+ days under my old PC lights.

[divecj5]

Sorry to hear that you have Red Bugs. Sounds like you have a great plan together.

 

You may want to check on PurpleUPs thread as I know he went through a pretty bad bout of them so he may have some tips, tricks, and encouragement.

[lakshwadeep]

Thanks. This, coupled with the goby death and aiptasia plague have made me jaded to the point that I considered taking down the tank. However, the growth on some of the frags give a strong reason to go ahead and hopefully see my first mini colonies.

[lakshwadeep]

Updates:

 

I have interceptor! I'm going to set up the treatment area and quarantine tank today.

 

After treating with interceptor, I will start dealing the aiptasia that has got out of control.

 

Also, one of my LFS informed me they have a "trimma" goby in stock, so I'm hoping to get it. I plan on giving away my blue neon goby, which is too skittish.

[lakshwadeep]

So, the treatment was done today. Unfortunately the flow in the treatment tank was not sufficient for at least my red tip green staghorn, one of the biggest frags (second to last pic in post #103). I found the frag almost totally affected with RTN with only the base, the part that had encrusted while in my tank, having any noticeable healthy tissue. I've basically lopped off all the branches, but I have little hope for its survival.

 

To those who have never used eggcrate as a frag rack before, be sure you have frag plugs that nicely fit the slots without tilting. It was stressful to try and pull frags that had been epoxied and super glued (one frag just snapped ) to the rocks only to find them falling down in the little squares. All the frags had bases made from old totoka live rock (pocillopora skeletons), with only a select few positioned to stay vertical. My other issue was using a shallow rubbermaid container. I thought going shallow would allow me to observe the corals easily, but instead the holes where the handles attached to meant the effective depth was ~5 inches to avoid water leaking.

 

At least now I see no red bugs on the frags. I'm putting the "sps only need 4-6 hours of light" idea to good use by sharing the T5 lights with the display tank and the quarantine tank. Also, I thought that buying 2 koralia 1s and a nano when having already one 1 was pointless (even before I got the vortech), but I've found uses for all the pumps.

[lakshwadeep]

So, my tank has been in autopilot, and I think some of the corals have suffered from infrequent dosing. In addition to the red tip green stag, I lost the tiny "emerald loisettae". I'm continually surprised the "solitaryensis" hasn't died, and I look forward to it plating out.

 

The aiptasia have continued their continual proliferation, but I have good news! Tomorrow, I will get two aiptasia-eating nudibranchs, commonly referred to as Berghia verrucicornis but actually Aeolidella stephaniae. Recently I've had some strange semi-rigid cyano on a few rocks. I hope they can survive in the tank to at least control the aiptasia population. The vortech will likely be turned to a maximum of 50-75%.

[Weetabix7]

I would strongly recommend putting that foam shroud/cover on the Vortech to protect the Nudi's.

Also, I don't know where you have the Vortech positioned, but if you have it higher in the tank and away from rockwork, they are less likely to wander in or be drawn in to it.

They are very shy and reclusive and really only come out at night.

If you see one wandering around during the day, it usually means they're hungry and are having a harder time finding food.

They're really fascinating creatures, I hope they work out well for you.

[lakshwadeep]

Thanks for the foam idea. While the vortech is a few inches below the water level, it still is close to my clump of chaetomorpha. As much as I like macroalgae like chaeto and halymenia, it's annoying when they get caught in pumps and the little pieces then float and get stuck in the corals.

[Arkayology]

The tank is looking good! Are there any plans for new additions?

[lakshwadeep]

Thanks. Unfortunately, my classes have got a lot harder this semester, and so my tank has suffered from a cyanobacteria outbreak with most of the SPS not thriving. The nudibranchs haven't made a big dent in the aiptasia population, and bubble algae have spread to multiple areas. I'm now thinking about setting up a separate tank so I can selectively transfer the corals and no aiptasia/bubble algae.

[imcosmokramer]

I would strongly recommend putting that foam shroud/cover on the Vortech to protect the Nudi's.

Also, I don't know where you have the Vortech positioned, but if you have it higher in the tank and away from rockwork, they are less likely to wander in or be drawn in to it.

They are very shy and reclusive and really only come out at night.

If you see one wandering around during the day, it usually means they're hungry and are having a harder time finding food.

They're really fascinating creatures, I hope they work out well for you.

 

+1

 

I use it in my anemone tank, just to be safe.