"The Two Towers" 62G SPS Starfire Reef (Rebooted)

[Ebn]

Drop the skimmer in deeper to see if that helps (>6").

[JDigital]

Drop the skimmer in deeper to see if that helps (>6").

 

I have.. it makes it worse.

[heifinator]

Small adjustments are key honestly. I run my reef octopus at like 7 inches of water. Works great. Is the skimmate you are getting really dark?

 

Its quality not quantity. My last skimmer filled in about 3 days but it was very light. My reef octopus is only about 1/2" a week but its REALLY thick and dark goop.

 

 

I have.. it makes it worse.

[JDigital]

Small adjustments are key honestly. I run my reef octopus at like 7 inches of water. Works great. Is the skimmate you are getting really dark?

 

Its quality not quantity. My last skimmer filled in about 3 days but it was very light. My reef octopus is only about 1/2" a week but its REALLY thick and dark goop.

 

I get some nice frothy foam up in the top end of the cup neck, but getting that to bubble over into the cup seems near impossible. After tweaking it the past few days that's where I'm at as of last night.. LOTS of good dry skim foam but just doesn't want to collect in the cup, the neck just starts getting caked in gunk rather than in the cup.

 

It's just frustrating how sensitive it is compared to my skimmer in my 180G tank (Skimz SM202). That things skims a full cup of dark liquid every 4-5 days, granted the bio-load is higher but so is the water volume. As of right now I'm tinkering with it, but I'm not overly concerned.

 

 

Added a decent number of frags on Monday. A few test pieces I picked up about 1.5 weeks ago have been doing well, so I pulled the trigger on a few more.

 

- ORA Red Planet

- ORA Frogskin Acro

- Red Monti Cap

- Montipora Confusa

- Unknown Purple Acro (was surrounded in palys that I didn't want, but too small to ID, fingers crossed)

- Blue Tip Stag

- Lavender Bottle Brush Gorgonian

 

I'll try and get some photos this weekend for ya'll!

[pschom]

Good to see its still going well. Pics please

[JDigital]

So I almost added a new fish yesterday..

 

I saw this little guy at the LFS yesterday with no price tag on the tank. It's a Super Male Ember Blenny. I'll be honest I have not seen one before but didn't think much of it. So I hung around for 20mins waiting for some service and finally got someone to stop and give me a hand. Asked how much he was.......

 

http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/DarkFader10/media/JDigitals%2062G%20Reef/photo_zps8973ab1c.jpg.html'>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

........ $250!

 

Needless to say I passed on it.... not because I think it's to expensive (although based on Liveaquaria, it is overpriced) but because I didn't have $250 on me.

[JDigital]

Added a decent number of frags on Monday. A few test pieces I picked up about 1.5 weeks ago have been doing well, so I pulled the trigger on a few more.

 

- ORA Red Planet

- ORA Frogskin Acro

- Red Monti Cap

- Montipora Confusa

- Unknown Purple Acro (was surrounded in palys that I didn't want, but too small to ID, fingers crossed)

- Blue Tip Stag

- Lavender Bottle Brush Gorgonian

 

I'll try and get some photos this weekend for ya'll!

 

 

Well this is backfiring on me.. again...........

 

I'm currently losing the Frogskin Acro, Red Monti Cap, Blue Tip Stag to STN. The Confusa isn't STNing yet, but there is NO polyp extension what so ever.

 

I'm at a completely loss as to what's going on. There isn't a single piece of SPS that has survived longer than 1 month in my tank. My params are all in good standing, I'm doing weekly water changes with H2Ocean salt, I'm careful on my feeding to not overfeed the tank, I'm running HC GFO, I've dialed back my lighting with regards to intensity and also raised the unit another 1-2" off the water level. I've dialed back the flow a bit thinking that I was possibly blowing the tissue right off the skeleton. None of my fish are to blame. The tank is completely free of any algae except for the little bit of film algae on the glass every few days.

 

I'm about ready to shut this tank down and sell it off at this point. I wanted this to be an SPS dominant tank with a few pieces of LPS and zoas down along the sandbed but that doesn't seem to be possible. Although my Acans are rocking.. Certain zoas are struggling.

[heifinator]

I had a very similar issue with my tank for 9 months. Turned out to be a host of small deficiencies.

 

1) Bad skimming

2) Fiddling

 

I was very concerned and tried fixing WAY to much at once. If you have another tank or a friend with a tank that can support SPS, go buy a very hardy that gives visual clues (slimer).

 

Make a change, wait a few days, put the coral in, take pictures daily. If it starts to look worse, remove let heal. While its healing change something else.

 

It took this methodical method to find my issues. I borrowed another skimmer, dropped it it, then did a water change, my slimer did great so I bought a new skimmer and we were off!

 

Stick with it. You will figure it out =)

[JDigital]

I had a very similar issue with my tank for 9 months. Turned out to be a host of small deficiencies.

 

1) Bad skimming

2) Fiddling

 

I was very concerned and tried fixing WAY to much at once. If you have another tank or a friend with a tank that can support SPS, go buy a very hardy that gives visual clues (slimer).

 

Make a change, wait a few days, put the coral in, take pictures daily. If it starts to look worse, remove let heal. While its healing change something else.

 

It took this methodical method to find my issues. I borrowed another skimmer, dropped it it, then did a water change, my slimer did great so I bought a new skimmer and we were off!

 

Stick with it. You will figure it out =)

 

I've got a buddy that is offering to replace a large portion of my "dry rock" with live rock.

 

I am strongly starting to think is has to do with a lack of micro flora, fauna, and bio-diversity in the tank. I've got a few reefing friends that have seen other dry rock tanks suffer similar issues when it comes to keeping SPS. I had the same problem in my 180G tank and in the end decided to just not keep SPS in that tank for many other reasons.

 

I really do think my only option besides shutting down completely is to gut the "live" portion of the tank and restart with ALL LIVE ROCK, no dry rock whatsoever. Every tank I've previously ran has used Live Rock and I've been pretty successful in keeping most SPS (or anything for that matter). The issues I've seen in the 2 tanks I've ran Dry Rock in are completely out of character compared to every other tank I've had.

[heifinator]

I've got a buddy that is offering to replace a large portion of my "dry rock" with live rock.

 

I am strongly starting to think is has to do with a lack of micro flora, fauna, and bio-diversity in the tank. I've got a few reefing friends that have seen other dry rock tanks suffer similar issues when it comes to keeping SPS. I had the same problem in my 180G tank and in the end decided to just not keep SPS in that tank for many other reasons.

 

I really do think my only option besides shutting down completely is to gut the "live" portion of the tank and restart with ALL LIVE ROCK, no dry rock whatsoever. Every tank I've previously ran has used Live Rock and I've been pretty successful in keeping most SPS (or anything for that matter). The issues I've seen in the 2 tanks I've ran Dry Rock in are completely out of character compared to every other tank I've had.

 

You don't need to gut it. Honestly go get yourself 10lbs of fiji rock and put it in your sump. Thats how I seeded my SPS tank (sig) and it is going just fine. Unless you think there is something BAD in your rock you need not replace it, just add what you feel you are missing, it will spread just like any fauna / bacterium.

[JDigital]

You don't need to gut it. Honestly go get yourself 10lbs of fiji rock and put it in your sump. Thats how I seeded my SPS tank (sig) and it is going just fine. Unless you think there is something BAD in your rock you need not replace it, just add what you feel you are missing, it will spread just like any fauna / bacterium.

 

The thing is I have 10lbs of Pukani LR in the tank. It's been in there from since early July I think. I've taken my GFO reactor offline last week thinking that I may have been too aggressively pulling phosphates out. The STN slowed up a little bit, but I have definitely lost 1 piece. My frogskin acro is about 50% left, but still has polyps in the dead zones. My other 3 main pieces are STNing from the base up, including my Red Planet which everyone says is near bullet-proof.

 

Two things that are doing really well are is my Acan colony and my Lithophyllon frag which is encrusting quite noticeably. Zoas are 50/50. Some never open and some are open but haven't grown in months.

 

I think I am going to try some LPS for the next little while and see how it goes.

 

On another note I put 4 Zebra Bar Gobies on hold (paid) last night at the LFS for pick up today. They should add a nice touch to the tank.

[JDigital]

So I added 4 of these guys to my tank yesterday.

 

 

 

Do they ever look amazing under LED lighting however I can't get a good pic of them with my iphone so had to borrow LA's pic. . They school nicely together as well. Pretty satisfied with the purchase.

[Spencer7]

When can we expect an FTS?

 

I'll be curious to see if the gobies stay as a foursome, in my experience, depending on how many fish, what kind, tank size, and tank mates, it doesn't last forever

 

of course when it does...

 

[flypenfly]

Are you acclimating your SPS?

 

I have an SPS dominated 65 gallon display with an XP1000sss and I feed HEAVILY although I run both UV, Vinegar dosing, and use a large amount of Phosguard. I also started completely with dry rock (Cerameco) as I hated curing live rock and all the pests that they come with.

 

Here's the order of what kills SPS faster than anything:

 

1. No acclimation (I'm talking about water)

2. Alkalinity swings and less than 8 dkh is playing with fire

3. Messing with the tank too much

4. Pests

5. No reason at all

 

While my display tank and most of the sand is new, the rock is several months old. Your system might not just be ready.

 

No offense but it also sounds like you're impatient and make too many changes and additions suddenly without letting an equilibrium balance and making fine tuning adjustments.

[JDigital]

Are you acclimating your SPS?

 

I have an SPS dominated 65 gallon display with an XP1000sss and I feed HEAVILY although I run both UV, Vinegar dosing, and use a large amount of Phosguard. I also started completely with dry rock (Cerameco) as I hated curing live rock and all the pests that they come with.

 

Here's the order of what kills SPS faster than anything:

 

1. No acclimation (I'm talking about water)

2. Alkalinity swings and less than 8 dkh is playing with fire

3. Messing with the tank too much

4. Pests

5. No reason at all

 

While my display tank and most of the sand is new, the rock is several months old. Your system might not just be ready.

 

No offense but it also sounds like you're impatient and make too many changes and additions suddenly without letting an equilibrium balance and making fine tuning adjustments.

 

My tank is moving into 10months old now. I'm hardly impatient, more frustrated now than anything.

 

When I lost my first $250 batch of SPS colonies, I didn't add anything for a few months. Then tried a few frags, they were doing good after 2-3 weeks then STN starts, and well that's been the case for the past month and half with any frags I've put in.

 

- I temp acclimate and dip with Coral Rx.

- My Alk stays pretty consistent around 8.3.

- I don't really "mess" with my tank besides water changes.

- I've looked for acro bugs.. haven't seen anything.

- hahaha.. ain't that the truth.

 

Thinking about going with LPS for a bit. Drains the wallet just as quickly!

[flypenfly]

I've never lost SPS faster than when I first started and only temp acclimated and dipped. Now I do 30 minutes at least of drip acclimation. Pain in the butt but my success rate for healthily arrived SPS is near 100%.

 

Maybe it's possible you have heavy metals somehow that got in the tank. Use cuprisorb for a week and just keep it in there for a few months.

[Arkayology]

Acclimate SPS? Never have and never will. I dip and rinse and drop it into the DT.

 

I would guess that you are stripping your water and the fluctuations in phosphates/nutrients are stressing the corals. You should reduce the amount of GFO, but not completely remove it, and just wait. Your corals will likely continue to STN if they already are or they will stop. There is not much you can do about it ATM. IME, It will take weeks/a couple months for your corals to rebound. Just try and keep things stable.

 

What are your params? Do you track them over time?

[JDigital]

Acclimate SPS? Never have and never will. I dip and rinse and drop it into the DT.

 

I would guess that you are stripping your water and the fluctuations in phosphates/nutrients are stressing the corals. You should reduce the amount of GFO, but not completely remove it, and just wait. Your corals will likely continue to STN if they already are or they will stop. There is not much you can do about it ATM. IME, It will take weeks/a couple months for your corals to rebound. Just try and keep things stable.

 

What are your params? Do you track them over time?

 

 

Params are pretty consistent.

 

Ca - 420-450

dKH - 8-8.5

Mag - 1350

Temp - 24.7 Celcius

PO4 - Haven't tested recently as I ran out of regent for my Hanna but was running GFO up until a week or so ago, I've pulled it offline to see if that affects anything. Lighting was also dialed DOWN on the weekend.

 

I added a few different things on the weekend to see how they react. 1 Lobos frag, 1 Purple Valida (middle but shaded), 1 Pink Millepora (sand bed). So far so good.

[Arkayology]

Params are pretty consistent.

 

Ca - 420-450

dKH - 8-8.5

Mag - 1350

Temp - 24.7 Celcius

PO4 - Haven't tested recently as I ran out of regent for my Hanna but was running GFO up until a week or so ago, I've pulled it offline to see if that affects anything. Lighting was also dialed DOWN on the weekend.

 

I added a few different things on the weekend to see how they react. 1 Lobos frag, 1 Purple Valida (middle but shaded), 1 Pink Millepora (sand bed). So far so good.

Watch these corals carefully. I wouldn't make any big changes for a couple months to give your coral time to recover. You will want to get some more reagents and maybe put your GFO back online, but maybe do half the recommended amount on low flow. If you stop cold turkey your phosphates will rise quickly and this will be just as bad as using too much GFO and making your water too clean. Let us know how it goes.

[JDigital]

I think I have found my new love/hate relationship.. and the love part is hopefully still to come, so as of tonight it's all hate.

ROX 0.8 Activated Carbon.... This stuff caused me to rage tonight.. It's so damn lightweight that even with the valve on my 1.5 Vertex reactor nearly completely closed the flow still caused a mess everywhere when the pump fired up. What a nightmare to clean up with how fine this stuff is.. embedded in the threads of the of reactor, sticks to your fingers, floats right to the top of the reactor, it made it's way into my display tank, sump... EVERYWHERE. After about 1hr or so I finely got it dialed in but it was more effort than I was planning to exert tonight.

Before I pull the rock out I'm going to try carbon on this tank. It's the one thing that I have always used in the past that I haven't setup on this system until tonight so will see how it works out and if there are any noticeable changes.

One coral that does seem to excel in my tank is my Acans so I picked up a few frags from the grand opening of Concept Aquatics today. So many things I wanted to buy but didn't want to risk any expensive stuff till I get this tank sorted out.

I'll get some photos soon.

[pschom]

Sh.t man I feel like you've had nothing but problems with this tank. It's crazy. I set up a 10 gallon for my son and that thing is bulletproof. 0 water changes. My main tank needs a wc biweekly or I get red slime all over everything. Maybe you should just start over with this. Drain it and re do it completely. What will u do?

[JDigital]

Sh.t man I feel like you've had nothing but problems with this tank. It's crazy. I set up a 10 gallon for my son and that thing is bulletproof. 0 water changes. My main tank needs a wc biweekly or I get red slime all over everything. Maybe you should just start over with this. Drain it and re do it completely. What will u do?

 

Oh trust me man, that's about how I feel as well. And the thought of starting over is still in the back of my head, but I'm getting close to a year with this tank. Somethings gotta give and the tank balances out OR I crack.

 

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post was that as I was leaving the house this morning for work I looked at the skimmer and made a mental note that I should empty it and clean the cup when I got home. I haven't touch my skimmer in weeks and it had about 1.5-2" of DARK skimmate sitting it in it too. So I felt it was due for a cleaning.

 

Got home tonight, walked in the door, and the damn thing was overflowing into my sump like crazy... all the skimmate was gone and back into my system. NO IDEA what happened to cause it to go haywire, as I said, I hadn't touched it in weeks with NO problems what so ever. So that sparked me to start mixing up WC water tonight (thankfully I bought a new bucket of H2Ocean along with my new acan frags today). Will do that tomorrow night when I get home from work, ya know, if the house hasn't burnt down or something.

[heifinator]

It is so weird how these systems can be so individual. My 60 shallow needed a water change every 3 weeks or I would get slime and some noticeable decline in SPS. (10g every 3 weeks).

 

Now after moving the tank across town (6 months ago) it needs water changes every about 10 days (10 gallons). Same rock, same tank, just moved and rescaped.

 

Do you have any algae problems whatsoever?

[JDigital]

It is so weird how these systems can be so individual. My 60 shallow needed a water change every 3 weeks or I would get slime and some noticeable decline in SPS. (10g every 3 weeks).

 

Now after moving the tank across town (6 months ago) it needs water changes every about 10 days (10 gallons). Same rock, same tank, just moved and rescaped.

 

Do you have any algae problems whatsoever?

 

 

Nope.. nothing except the usual film algae on the glass that needs cleaned every 3-4 days. That is one thing I have been lucky with!

[Spencer7]

I do 10 gals once a week.

 

Due to rock, coral, and sand water displacement it ends up being a 50% change on the display tank.

 

I have bryopsis problems and after 5 days my glass gets coated/filmed.