Mark's 40B and 46 bow

[metrokat]

Cute zoas. Crappy FW.

[markalot]

I don't exactly remember these zoas. I recall there was a loose one in a LFS tank that I got for free ... anyway these appeared when I was doing the rock removal and flatworm treatment so I moved them up front where I could get a better look. Not bad. These are in the 40 ... note single flatworm in this pic.

 

 

Page quote.

[markalot]

Now some not so fun pics.

 

 

 

 

My red planet, or whatever it is, is half dead. I will probably frag a few pieces and discard the rest. You can't see most of the damage in this pic but the top has died off.

 

 

Next, you can see some recession on the Sunset monti, but the capitata (blueberry) is ugly but looks fine.

 

The setosa has receded on the tips, but the remaining coral looks good. The ORA supernatural looks horrible from a distance, but up close you can see all the polyps are still there and out, they just lost their green coloration.

 

 

 

[metrokat]

Hopefully the corals will recover. I didn't know FW toxin could do that.

[markalot]

/ramble on

 

Yesterday evening the skimmer was full, suds coming out the air holes on top. Thick brown smelly liquid, a really nice skim. Why?

 

Friday evening I dosed some Kent Coral Accel to knock down the skimmer (it stops skimming for a few hours whenever I add it), then I put in some Coral Amino, fish food, and a pinch or so of Reef Roids.

 

Except for the Coral Accel this is my normal routine. I am using coral Accel because I'm lazy and don't feel like unplugging the skimmer.

 

This morning corals are obviously snapping back. Everything has more color, except for the red planet. I think the red planet has stopped STN'ing but I'm not sure.

 

So, is Coral Accel the miracle potion some say it is? Did it increase the skimmate production, or did I have another flatworm dieoff? I don't dose the recommended amount of Accel, I just squirt maybe a teaspoon in, enough to kill the skimmer. I used this stuff a year ago and I certainly saw more rapid growth, but I was feeding very lightly, had poor colors, and stopped when I had an algae outbreak.

 

/ramble off

[markalot]

Now how about some good news.

Visited the LFS I like and picked up some goodies.

This new Monti goes is in the 40. Sand Dollar maybe? Not sure.


Look at how rapidly the Supernatural is recovering. Most polyps now showing green. This is just 2 days difference.

Friday


Sunday



I rescaped the 46, moving all the shrooms I could move into the 20 along with the Gorgonian




Moved the asshole wall frogspawn to the far left since he insists on reaching out and trying to kill anything nearby. Added a new Rainbow Acan and a Hollywood Stunner chalice.


Also added a mummy eye chalice. Check out the deep green of the encrusting monti just below the orange digitata. This tank ... why! Also added a new blasto from a local reefer (top right)



... and finally the 20. Firefish thought the camera was an enemy so he's hiding again.

[Arkayology]

The scape on the 46 looks great.

[markalot]

I dislike my 46 bow because the bowfront makes it hard to photograph things, but as irony would have it everything seems to do quite well in it, for whatever reason. This tank has not had any acros in it for 3 months so I decided to try one and see what happens. This was sold to me as a Rainbow millepora. Mostly brown and green but with some orange hints under blue light.

 

[markalot]

40 FTS. Color is really making a comeback now. Daily alk usage up 5ml in the last week. I rescaped a bit to give me some room on the right side so I could move a frogspawn into here.

 

 

Blue light shot of one of my montis. Under white light it's a brownish blob but you can see the green coming back in blue light.

 

 

My chalice, picked up over a year ago and has been kept in shade in the 40 forever. Since I upped the feeding growth has really picked up. It keeps changing color so I'm not sure what it's going to look like.

 

 

Playing around with the extension tubes (cheapskates macro lens). This Rainbow Acan is in my 46 and I'm shocked the picture turned out so well. There is some trick to taking pics through curved glass and I haven't quite mastered it yet.

 

[gena]

I know your pink birdsnest is bleached...but I really like it's coloring in the FTS. It looks like peaches 'n cream .

[markalot]

I know your pink birdsnest is bleached...but I really like it's coloring in the FTS. It looks like peaches 'n cream .

Thanks!

 

It's growing fast and has not changed, so it may have adapted. I like it too, except for how fast it grows! Still a medium green in my 46 under a little less light. I have what the seller called a ponape birdsnest mounted fromt left under a lot less light, but the polyps look the same. We'll see.

[Arkayology]

So you think the Kent Coral Excel is doing something good for your corals? I have been thinking about getting a bottle of TLF Acropower. It is getting good reviews.

[markalot]

So you think the Kent Coral Excel is doing something good for your corals? I have been thinking about getting a bottle of TLF Acropower. It is getting good reviews.

Hard to say, I really don't know and don't know how to tell, but I do know it puts the skimmer out of commission for good hour or so and I've been taking advantage of it by feeding reef roids after dosing. Things are certainly growing, and fast. That damn birdsnest is growing even faster than it was before.

 

PO4 measured via Red Sea looked to be a solid 0.08, while then Hanna reads 0.03.

[Arkayology]

Hard to say, I really don't know and don't know how to tell, but I do know it puts the skimmer out of commission for good hour or so and I've been taking advantage of it by feeding reef roids after dosing. Things are certainly growing, and fast. That damn birdsnest is growing even faster than it was before.

 

PO4 measured via Red Sea looked to be a solid 0.08, while then Hanna reads 0.03.

Hmm, something to think about I guess. Has your red planet recovered?

 

I have been feeding reef chili for the past 2 weeks and I think it is a little too early to comment on any benefits of target feeding it, but I can say that I get a good feeding response from some of my corals. I almost bought some reef roids though. Do you get any little bits floating at the top of the tank or does reef roids dissolve pretty well into the water?

[markalot]

Hmm, something to think about I guess. Has your red planet recovered?

 

I have been feeding reef chili for the past 2 weeks and I think it is a little too early to comment on any benefits of target feeding it, but I can say that I get a good feeding response from some of my corals. I almost bought some reef roids though. Do you get any little bits floating at the top of the tank or does reef roids dissolve pretty well into the water?

 

Bits and floating dust. Red planet did not make it, the big slimer is the only acro left in this tank.

[markalot]

This is why I keep my thin striped hermits, even though they are getting big and like to move frags around. Sand cleaners! This morning the 40 was cloudy and I discovered Herman doing some serious sand stirring. I bet this is why there are days when my skimmer seems to go nuts for no apparent reason.

 

[markalot]

Latest 40 FTS

 

First one is from my tablet. Look at the over saturation! If I only had a tablet camera ....

 

 

Second is from the Nikon SLR, and I used some color enhancing to make it look more like what my eye sees. It's still not completely accurate though. Some colors are still too dull while others pop too much.

 

 

I've been trying to feed the tank while the lights are out at least twice a week. A squirt of Kent Coral Accel and two pinches of reef roids. The chalice (lower left) likes it and the Forest Fire digitata in the center has been turning a very rich orange, but still no green skin. Doing too many things to nail down exactly what is working.

[markalot]

I updated the second pic above to increase saturation. Now it looks natural viewing it on my tablet ad comparing it to the tank, but it looks like a cartoon on my PC monitor. :/ Hmmmm.

[markalot]

So now I'm on my work PC and the second picture above looks a tad over saturated but more natural than the under saturated pictures in previous posts. How annoying. I think the key is to bump up the lower level colors in order to be able to see color detail the eye can see but the previous pictures missed. Too much of this, though, and a cartoon color halo is created around the coral.

 

For example, the SuperNatural monti in the center has bright green polyps again and you can see that, but the pink pocillapora in the back left is NOT that pink! The orange digitata, bottom center, is that bright but a much richer orange that I was unable to recreate without messing up other colors.

[Sunar357]

Nice pics in any case. Glad to see some comeback there! I've been dosing with Kent Coral Accel also for a couple weeks and it definitely seems like i'm seeing more growth but we'll see.

[metrokat]

Sigh. I miss my Midas Blenny.

Are you sure you don't want any SPS?

[markalot]

Sigh. I miss my Midas Blenny.

 

Are you sure you don't want any SPS?

 

Not at the moment. I have a single milli in the 46 growing nicely. Once it's large enough to frag, or at least 90 days from now, I'll add it to the 40 to see if I have any AEFW remaining. I am hanging on to my green slimer in the 40 because I can't stand to lose it. It may be infected but shows no signs and has been dipped 3 times.

[got2envy]

Tank looks great Mark! I have been dosing Accel for about a week now and def see a difference in color.

[markalot]

Tank looks great Mark! I have been dosing Accel for about a week now and def see a difference in color.

 

Thanks!

 

Working on my macro skills. I use extension tubes, not a real macro lens, so I won't be getting the same quality. COlors are coming back but I still have a ways to go.

 

Pink Poci

 

Rainbow? Poci

 

 

BOP

 

 

Setosa

 

 

New, unknown monti

 

 

Forest Fire digitata

 

 

Look, a hint of green.

 

 

Diagnostic of the slimer. No hint of AEFW in either shot.

 

 

[bencollinz]

Reverse superman monti?

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/totm/images/aug2009/supermanmonti.jpg