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Couevas' 20G Tall Mixed Reef


couevas

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Thanks guys...

 

The tank is doing pretty well. I got rid of the green cyano (finally :happydance: )

Still battling this micro/macro algae that is growing on my rocks. I will post some more close-ups of it later, along with some current FTS shots.

 

I got a stunning Coral Beauty a while ago to see if it would help with the algae. It was super healthy and ate like a champ as well as got along with everyone perfectly. The FTS I took the other day have it in them.

 

However, I came home from work yesterday and she was missing. I looked in the rocks, caves, everywhere. She was nowhere to be found. Well....I found her.

 

Somehow, my RBTA caught, killed and ate her. I could see the full body through the side of its foot. Kinda gnarly. I was not expecting that!!

 

Bummer.

 

(I will try to post those pics tonight)

 

-C

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Small CB or big ass nem! That's too bad though, they are very pretty fish.

 

Large but not huge CB, Large but not Huge nem!

I am surprised she got it down...

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Hey man. Glad to hear that things are still going well with this tank as it really has tons of potential. Sorry to hear that the Coral Beauty didn't make it and it ended up an expensive snack for the anenome. It looked like a really beautiful specimen.

 

Glad to hear that your battle with the cyano is over. As far as the micro algae on your rocks, you'll have to take a close-up. Looks like you might just need to use a turkey baster once in a while to blow off the debris of the rock. I try and always do that right before a water change. Just helps to keep things mixed up and keeps crap from building up on the rock.

 

Overall, the coral look really healthy and happy.

 

-Adam

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Thanks Adam.

 

I will take a close up of the algae on the left island. It is not detritus, that I am sure. That side gets a good, strong blast from the MP10 and I manually blast it before WC's. Maybe someone on here will be able to ID it. I fear the algae may be toxic when eaten (explanation below)....

 

When the algae started to pop up months ago, I tried to battle it with an Emerald Crab. I also had about a dozen blue legs and the tail spot blenny that would occasionally take a bite. Then the emerald died, so I got another. It died and I got another. Three emeralds dead after a few days each in the tank. Then I noticed that my hermits had disappeared. Around the same time, I found my tail spot dead in the shroud of the MP10. And now the CB is gone (although he may have just been snagged by the RBTA perfectly healthy).

 

So, I am starting to get a sneaking suspicion that this stuff is toxic. Seem like anything that grazes on it ends up dead. Everyone else in the tank (fish, snails and corals) are healthy and thriving. My water is also near perfect in all params and mineral levels are strong.

 

Weird.......

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Does seem really odd. Also, I meant that you could help keep it contained or get rid of it by blowing off the detritus, not that it was just detritus itself.

 

I would definitely snag a shot and post it on here and also in the ID section and see what folks think.

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It looks like a cross between hair algae and this....

 

red_wire_algae.jpg

Gelidium (courtesy of Reefcleaners.org)

 

When it was first growing out, it really looked like this pic. However, now it looks more like a cross between the two. I will take a close-up pic tonight.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here are some more pics. I finally snapped some close-ups of the mystery algae and my new sponges/tunicates. Any ideas on what these are and if they are dangerous or not?

 

 

 

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FTS

 

 

001.JPG

Mystery Algae

 

 

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Mystery Algae

 

 

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Mystery Algae

 

 

004.JPG

Tunicates? Dangerous?

 

 

005.JPG

Tunicates? Dangerous?

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The algae does remind me a lot of Gelidium.

Ask johnmaloney for an ID and how to combat it.

The others are Pineapple Sponges, totally harmless.

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+1 Gelidium and best I know there is not alot that eats it straigh up.. could do an urchin heard of success with those.. manual removal and lowered nutrients more frequesnt water changes all have been reported with sporatic success.

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Yeah, it has actually been in slow decline for a couple weeks. My 25-30% weekly WCs and small feedings along with cheato and aggressive skimming keep my water pretty clean...

 

Although I recently had an issue with the skimmer overflowing and dumping about 5 gallons of water on my floor. This left my surface level dangerously low (with some corals exposed to the air for part of the day). In the emergency, I had to use bottled Arrowhead mountain spring water to quickly mix up some salt, instead of my usual RO/DI. This has probably given the algae a little extra fuel for a while.

 

It should go back to its slow die off soon.....

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The real test is coming up.....

 

I am heading to Japan and South Korea for two weeks for business. My wife will have to handle feeding and making sure the ATO isn't depleted. I am going to try to daisy-chain 3 one-gallon jugs so that she won't have to, but I am not sue if my air pump will be able to handle that much head pressure.

 

We will see if her training has sunk in.....

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I know how this goes....as I've now left several of my tanks in the "caring" hands of my brother, brother-in-law, and wife for up to 2 weeks.

 

Just make sure to lay everything out in a clean and organized fashion and have things labeled. I even went as far as measuring out Ca and Alk for dosing every other day and marked which day it should be dosed. Pre-measure the food beforehand, unless you think your wife can be diligent with the amount, and you'll be all set.

 

When are you heading over to Japan and South Korea? By the way, that sounds like a great trip. My dad has gone several times to Japan for work and LOVED it.

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Yeah, I am pre-cutting chunks of Rod's for her.....don't want her to get over-zealous. :P

 

I am heading out on Saturday morning. I am going to Nagoya, Japan for a week and Busan, South Korea for a week. I will be working mostly (teaching the Japanese and Koreans how to build an airplane.....j/k) but I hope to have a free day over the weekend to check out Nagoya Castle and any other touristy stuff I can do....

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Yeah, I am pre-cutting chunks of Rod's for her.....don't want her to get over-zealous. :P

 

I am heading out on Saturday morning. I am going to Nagoya, Japan for a week and Busan, South Korea for a week. I will be working mostly (teaching the Japanese and Koreans how to build an airplane.....j/k) but I hope to have a free day over the weekend to check out Nagoya Castle and any other touristy stuff I can do....

 

Sounds like you have it pretty well planned out man. Don't worry, you'll be surprised when you come back to find your tank in great shape. Whenever I leave, I always come back to discover how well the tank has done in my absence ;)

 

Sounds like a great trip!! I'm jealous for sure as Japan is one place I've always wanted to travel.

 

Are you still planning on moving to Charleston at some point?

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Adam,

The Charleston thing is still a possibility, though probably not for a couple years. Once we start to transition from development to production of the 787-9 (bigger version of the Dreamliner) then we will be engaging the Charleston facilities much more. As of now, I am busy working with our Japanese and Korean partners on designing and figuring out how to manufacture the upcoming aircraft.

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  • 1 month later...

So, I haven't posted in about a month....

I was in Japan & So. Korea for 2 weeks, and have been crazy busy since I got back.

 

Well, I am about to buy new bulbs for my tank. I want to see what you guys think of the combo I am about to pull the trigger on. FYI, I am looking for a fairly blue appearance with nice fluorescence, but also good PAR values. Here is what I put together from research....

 

1 UVL Aquasun

2 ATI Blueplus

1 ATI Aquablue Special

 

 

How does that sound? Any sage advice?

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1 UVL Aquasun

2 ATI Blueplus

1 ATI Aquablue Special

 

 

How does that sound? Any sage advice?

 

You might get more white then you want with that combo, though I am not 100% sure. If you want a more blue looking combo, why not go for 2 blue+ and 2 aquablue special. Would that be too much blue?

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You might get more white then you want with that combo, though I am not 100% sure. If you want a more blue looking combo, why not go for 2 blue+ and 2 aquablue special. Would that be too much blue?

 

My problem is I don't know.

This is my first tank running T5's and I have only seen the stock Aquaticlife setup that I am running now.

Wouldn't 2 blue+ and 2 aquablue specials be about the same as 3 blue+ and 1 UVL aquasun?

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My problem is I don't know.

This is my first tank running T5's and I have only seen the stock Aquaticlife setup that I am running now.

Wouldn't 2 blue+ and 2 aquablue specials be about the same as 3 blue+ and 1 UVL aquasun?

 

That would be a lot of blue. Have you checked the T5 lighting thread for examples of different combos?

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Yeah, I have spent a lot of time on that thread. It is still tough to decide....

I will head there again.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

So, I found this little guy today. Not something I bought......

Sorry for the bad pics.

Fuzzy Chiton???

He is about an inch long.

 

007.JPG

 

008.JPG

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