47 Column Mixed Reef

[aaron1987]

I'm shocked at the progress my CUC has been making at the coloration improvements I've seen from my SPS in just over a week. Perhaps it might be time for some new pictures in the near future..

[bitts]

pics

[Curry02]

Wow.... Beautiful rockwork... beautiful corals... Very nice job. Must suck when you have to get down there and get your arm all wet. lol.

[aaron1987]

Sorry for neglecting the thread guys. Things have gotten busy again around here and I just haven't had time to snap some pics of my now 99% algae free aquarium. I'll try to get some up tomorrow. Part of what I'm busy with is getting SSI OW certified for my trip to Cozumel the last week of May; I'm stoked!

[iglowce]

Just curious, how did you put the rocks that far up?

[aaron1987]

A little epoxy, a little luck . No rods or zipties like many other pillar-type aquascapes.

[iglowce]

I have a 37g tall. I'm afraid of doing that aquascape in california. We have too many quakes recently.

[aaron1987]

It's not unstable, believe it or not... I would think a quake would probably damage a tank pretty severely one way or another. If your glass is tempered it would take quite an impact from rock to break the glass.

[violinist]

That's a beautiful wrasse...

[aaron1987]

Thanks! I've been quite pleased with it and have high hopes for its coloration as it continues to grow. Sadly my velvet wrasse took a chunk out of his tail but with time that will heal. They ignore each other now.

[animalmaster6]

Epoxy works for LR?

 

I plan on doing my 125 with thorite cement, can make a lot of cool formations with that! www.reefvideos.com Check out Carl's 150 and 300 gallon, he used thorite cement.

 

I do plan on using epoxy for glueing the frags down to the rock when water is already in. Is 2 part epoxy the way to go?

[aaron1987]

The epoxy works for mine because its very porous. The epoxy doesn't "stick" to the liverock per se, it hardens and holds it in place by virtue of filling the cracks so the LR can't dislodge. I use epoxy from BRS.

[animalmaster6]

I might put epoxy in the cracks...

[aaron1987]

More bad news on the aquarium front... Here is my correspondence with Bob Fenner at WWM:

 

"Subject: Tissue Necrosis, Discoloration, and White Excretions on SPS/LPS

Hi there and thanks in advance.

<Welcome Aaron>

I've recently run into some trouble with my year old 47g mixed reef. Over

the past few days I've noticed some startling tissue necrosis and zero

polyp

extension as well as general paling out of colors on a relatively

localized

section of my display.

<I see this>

The affected corals include Cyphastrea, a Favite

(possibly), several encrusting montipora's, two Acropora colonies. In

addition to the tissue necrosis I've noticed a white, mucus/string-like

excretion from the stony corals. I was careful to verify this wasn't a

nudibranch or anything living.

Several weeks prior I added some clove polyps without dipping them (I'm

ashamed to say) but would think that if this was something I had

introduced

with them it wouldn't be affecting such a wide range of coral in similar

ways.

<Likely just an interaction (allelopathy) w/ the Clavulariids period...

Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/polypcompfaqs.htm

Perhaps a "cascade event" twixt them, the Zoanthids, Euphyllia in turn to

all>

I should note that a frogspawn, numerous zoanthids and several other

LPS corals, as well as a pocillopora are in the general area and not

exhibiting symptoms.

<The "winners">

I also ran a battery of tests with the following results: Salinity: 1.025

Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrite: 0ppm, Nitrate: 5ppm, Mg: 1200ppm, Ca: 440ppm, Alk:

5.9 dKH, pH: 7.8. Further investigation yielded a heater plugged into a

surge protector which had been turned off/blown within the last few days

(not quite sure when). Thankfully, the ambient temperature is around 75

but

it is likely that there were some temperature swings over night. Despite

the

low pH and alkalinity levels (which are being rectified), I'm not certain

that the parameters or temperature is causing the problems as there are

numerous corals (various acroporas, blastomussa, xenia, clams) that I

would

have thought to be more fragile in other portions of the tank that as of

yet

appear to be doing just fine.

I'm hoping for some sort of recommendation for treatment.

<... chemical filtration, water changes... taking out the most likely

offendees, slowly re-acclimating them through water-mixing... Read here:

http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm

and the linked files above>

Obviously getting

the parameters back in check is a priority (and I'm hoping your opinion is

that this is the root cause as it's easily fixed!). I did a 30% water

change

yesterday and plan to continue this for a number of days in case something

was accidentally added to the water (although, again, the localized nature

of the problem makes me wonder whether that could be the case.

Unfortunately, a freshwater dip for the corals would be quite difficult to

manage as many of them are encrusted on a very large rock but if it meant

containing the spread of something potentially lethal to my entire

aquarium,

I could find a way.

I have attached pictures of several of the affected corals for your

inspection. Please advise!

Thank you,

Aaron

<The most likely scenario/cause here is Cnidarian allelopathy... Read where

you are referred to. Bob Fenner>"

 

 

 

[aaron1987]

In somewhat better news, despite the last 24 hours resulting in numerous favites literally having chunks of flesh melt off, the cyphastrea develop holes in the tissue over probably 70% of it and portions of the setosa having burns all over it.. this morning nothing appears worse than last night when I went to bed. No favites with guts hanging out, no new corals exhibiting symptoms. Seems almost too much to dare to hope the fix was as easy as getting rid of the cloves. Hopefully the affected corals will regrow and haven't started an irreversible decline. Losing a meteor shower, setosa, tyree war coral, and a show-piece favia would be terrible .

 

I've been doing 30% water changes daily, and replaced the carbon. I'm still worried that this is something other than an allelopathy (and probably will continue to until i see polyps and regrowing tissue) but at this point there's really not much else I can do. I'm not sure I particularly want to photograph the carnage but I might if I have time as it may help other people who experience similar symptoms down the road...

[bitts]

if you or some one near by has an extra skimmer it would helpminimize the chemical warfare.

 

this sucks im sure. but the way your going about dealing with it, is comendable.

[aaron1987]

When it rains it @#&^!&@ pours. I cut off my hairy sea hare's head with a razor today.

 

Came home to find my skimmer overflowing purple skimmate (we're talking grape kool-aid color). Heard an odd pump noise. Didn't seem to be coming from the skimmer, checked the MJ900 that feeds my GFO/Carbon reactor. My sea hare is sticking out of it. #@*&(. Took it apart to find it's head wrapped around the exterior gate. Not sure how it got in cause I sure as heck couldn't get it out. Cut the head off to get it out. For those of you curious, YES hairy sea hares can release an ink. It released it into the column prior to me discovering it and severing the head dumped a bunch more. I know this has been the subject of considerable discussion on RC and NR. Will it nuke my tank? Not sure. Just did a 20% water change and am making more RO, skimming as aggressively as possible. I've dumped 5 full cups of kool-aid in the last 20 minutes. Skimmer is going nuts.

 

Not sure what I'm being punished for over the last few weeks but I'm running out of things that could go wrong. (knock on wood!)

[bitts]

dude...................

[aaron1987]

My sentiments exactly.

[aaron1987]

LPS have begun expelling zooxanthelle and entrails.

[bitts]

when the sponge nuked my tank this is what happened. just remeber that they can come, back saved like 75% of my lps, if you handle it right. aka water changes up the .................

[aaron1987]

Massive water changes seem to have done their job. Nothing looks substantially worse than it did prior to the hare's ink... that's not saying much given the effect the cloves had on everything, though. Thank God for small miracles I suppose.

[animalmaster6]

Wow dude that stinks

[bitts]

dont forget to keep them up for a while longer to compensate for the corals being po'ed & dumping wast in to the water colum.

[bitts]

any news, hoping for the best.