Steely185's rimless 75 edge

[steely185]

Thanks middreef. I'm happy with the progress so far. I'm getting great growth right now. I don't think I'm going to do much more to the tank other than minor tweaks over time.

 

Kat I think he may have more than 4 in his 900. He has some other nice displays including a 1200 that had a nice 24" maxima that recently died. It was in his posession for several years. I only have 3 clams right now. At some point I may pick up another from pacific east ( the best place to get clams in my opinion, good size for the price). I have had as many 4 clams at once. I have only lost two and those were during a tank crash.

[metrokat]

It was in his posession for several years. I only have 3 clams right now. At some point I may pick up another from pacific east ( the best place to get clams in my opinion, good size for the price). I have had as many 4 clams at once. I have only lost two and those were during a tank crash.

I bought two baby maximas yesterday. The larger of the two is a doll, the smaller one has not opened fully and is more hesitant of the two. I hope it is able to get used to the tank soon. Do you maintain low level nitrates for the clams and SPS?

[steely185]

Cool. I have had pretty good success with small clams. IME clams in general are pretty tough. They can take higher nitrates. I just like to keep nitrates lower by using my bio pellets because I have had better color and growth for everything in the tank when keeping them low. It also allows me to feed heavily for the fish and corals.

 

Taken from page 28.

 

When I say coloring up, this is a prime example

 

Color differences

 

 

Now

 

 

month or so ago

 

couple months ago

 

 

This was after starting a calcium reactor and bio pellets.

[ZephNYC]

Hey Legend, Do you use Kalkwasser in your clam tank ?

[steely185]

I'm not currently using it in this tank. I was using it in my top off water before I moved in July. Since moving I haven't set up my ATO so I haven't been using Kalk. I've been doing a manual top off very 3 days or so. All the calcium is coming from the calcium reactor.

[metrokat]

I'm not currently using it in this tank. I was using it in my top off water before I moved in July. Since moving I haven't set up my ATO so I haven't been using Kalk. I've been doing a manual top off very 3 days or so. All the calcium is coming from the calcium reactor.

 

What levels do you keep Calcium, Alk and Nitrates?

[steely185]

I keep calcium around 400-420, alk around 8-10, and nitrates undetectable. I'm horrible at testing parameters though. I may only test every 3-4 months unless something seems out of order.

 

Keep an eye on the small clams, a lot of the gold clams wil change color to blue over time as they grow.

[metrokat]

I keep calcium around 400-420, alk around 8-10, and nitrates undetectable. I'm horrible at testing parameters though. I may only test every 3-4 months unless something seems out of order.

 

Keep an eye on the small clams, a lot of the gold clams wil change color to blue over time as they grow.

Thanks. I got a black one and a green/blue one. Very cute.

[steely185]

Awesome. You will really enjoy them.

[steely185]

I had to stop and pick up some water for the tank today so I took some video of the other displays. Here are some pics until I can upload the videos. I also counted 6 maximas in the 900 gallon display Kat.

 

The 1200 gallon display, not much for coral but plenty of tangs with the room for them.

 

 

 

 

Next there 150 gallon display

 

 

 

[metrokat]

very nice

[steely185]

Videos as promised

 

 

LFS 1200 gallon display

 

LFS 150 gallon display

[steely185]

I've got a little bit of work to do with the tank. I noticed some red bugs on my loripes frag which means they are elsewhere. I should have some interceptor already but if not I plan on ordering some. My milli's and a few other corals have had very little polyp extension since moving so I'm hoping red bugs are the reason. The tank has great random flow. I've had red bugs before and they usually are more of an irritant than anything. They have never killed anything. Either way I plan on getting around to treating them.

 

I'm also on the lookout for a rose bubble tip and a nice fiji leather. I've had my clowns for years and feel like treating them to an anemone. The male clown has been semi hosting a small cluster of majanos which is pretty sad so he needs an anemone.

[steely185]

 

[Arkayology]

Looking better and better!

[metrokat]

I have a Fiji leather that I might be selling. Don't mean to Bongo price it either.

[steely185]

Keep me posted. I'm going to look this weekend and maybe around Black Friday. The LFS here has some good deals on livestock on Black Friday.

 

I may try for the rose this weekend if I get the chance.

 

They look pretty nice and better than store prices.

 

http://richmond.craigslist.org/fod/3350219369.html

[metrokat]

Pretty!

[jball1125]

Looks great!

[steely185]

Thanks.

 

I just noticed you can see my male clown hosting his flock of majano in the center of the tank.

[steely185]

My person selling rose bubbletips was not available yesterday so I couldn't pick one up yet. I'm going to try again this weekend. She is supposed to be sending me some pictures of what they can safely get off the rocks. I'm aiming for a larger one since it's for a pair of adult maroon clowns.

 

Looking forward to sales on corals for black friday.

[steely185]

Just a sample, more for later including clam shots

 

[metrokat]

Flock of majanos? pic please, like a zoomed in pic.

 

So what causes SPS to brown? This has been a subject of debate on my thread and a condition that has plagued me now 3 times. The corals eventually recover but it takes forever. My Alk and Calcium have been unstable, with massive swings, from exceedingly high to very low. That has now stabilized with dosers. Sorry for the rant, I was wondering if you had an opinion on this?

[steely185]

I will snag a picture for you later.

 

It's a tough question since lots of things can cause SPS to brown. I think first on my list is poor lighting like running old bulbs or not enough light. Next is general stability of water parameters. pH not so much as others because you have a natural drop and rise in pH with your light cycle. Alk swings can attribute to it because Alk seems to stress corals quicker than other parameters (example being RTN). Calcium is generally a slower parameter to stress corals. A coral will have it's best color with calcium generally above 380. Long periods of low calcium will help keep corals from staying colored up. Obviously higher nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia will keep SPS browned out or will quickly kill them.

 

Some SPS are more sensitive than others to certain parameters as well. A good example for me has been green birdsnest which is a good measure of salinity. If my salinity is running to high then you will note small tissue loss (not around the base like most birdsnests) prior to seeing any problems with other SPS. Usually purple corals are the hardest to color up and long periods of steady parameters do best in coloring up purple corals. Some will say certain trace elements help but I'm skeptical. Zeo system owners would disagree but I don't trust dosing certain trace elements/aminos or the test kits available for them. I've seen too many people lose entire reefs by overdosing them with things like small amounts of lugols. Tech-M is about the only thing I've seen that you can dose a ton of and not have any problems. I trust water changes more than dosing trace elements.

[metrokat]

Dan, can you elaborate more on what you notice about the green bird that points to salinity issues?