Acielot Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 Got the order today. The acro was virtually DOA as all of the flesh has melted away around the base of each branch, no PE either. One of the acans looked a bit wimpy in the bag but quickly started to inflate once it was in the fresh water. The ricordea and the other 2 acans were wide open with full PE. The acan with mostly red coloration is stunning in person and the green acan complements it well. I wish I would have ordered some more colors now so that I could start my acan garden. Oh and mystery coral was some zoas. they haven't opened up yet but they have some orange coloration on their base. Link to comment
Acielot Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 And nothing is left of the acro at all. Just a green skeleton. :/ the good news however is that the acans have full PE and are eating like pigs. Even the slightly gimpy dragon eye. Mystery zoas have still yet to open but they appear to be either pink or orange. Hopefully they have some more color inside Oh and I just blew $120 at gl@ssholes.com (for some reason glassholes is sensored?) to get the overflow and return kits for the 20 gallon. I've decided that I will just get a 20 long for the sump of the 40B. The 20T will be the future mantis/frag tank but until then everything will be slowly transferred from the 10 gallon into it. New side project checklist! build a new stand drill tank make a sump buy a new fish to ad some more life to the tank get the new tank running on January 1st of 2014 keep the new setup FOREVER Link to comment
Acielot Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 Can I just say that I am ready to get this tank setup already. I fixed the mp10 in the most ghetto fashion but it works sorta. The tank: Photon 24 and other equipment inside http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1832_zps4a90715e.jpg.html'> Acans post makeout http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1831_zps75e731ea.jpg.html'> The broken impeller http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1830_zpsc340b246.jpg.html'> More of the tank: overflow and return are easier to see http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1824_zps59bb4abf.jpg.html'> Obligatory cat picture for thread traffic. Her name is Sarah she's roughly 11 years old. http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1816_zps32e78806.jpg.html'> Link to comment
Acielot Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 So I caved and got a test kit. Actually a marine care kit from Red Sea. Was I surprised, well yes considering that I cannot seem to keep montipora alive and that I have a horrid algae taking over the tank. Parameters temp:78* SG: 1.028 pH: 8 Alk: 11dKH NO2: 0 undetectable NO3: 0 undetectable NH3/NH4:0 undetectable PO4 the phosphate test is not included so I suspect this may be my out of whack parameter. Link to comment
Acielot Posted November 28, 2013 Author Share Posted November 28, 2013 The current state of the stand and tank. I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate the sump into the stand http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1853_zpsef7d2252.jpg.html'> A new coral. A green Duncan. There were some more blue ones to choose from but I like the original color more. http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1846_zps0b1ea225.jpg.html'> The Blackhole Acan Lord. The only one that is usually this fluffy looking. The other ones do not extend their feeders as much. http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/DSCN1845_zps28e5347e.jpg.html'> Link to comment
Sunar357 Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 Nice looking Acan! I just placed an order with Saltcritters this week...can't wait to see it. Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 They are pretty true to color if you compare the last acan pic with the one from saltcritters at the top of the page (my pic is under 10K). They were just smaller than I expected to see. They already have great PE after getting used to the tank and they eat like pigs. I think I am getting a new head on that Black hole already. I definitely plan to order from them in the future. Link to comment
metrokat Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 How is your SPS growing capability coming along? Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 How is your SPS growing capability coming along? Meh alright I guess, they are still alive so that must count for something. The capricornis has only shown a tiny bit of growth around the edges. The digi died back around the tips when I got it but it is healing up quickly. I picked up 2 acros about a week ago, they have full PE and haven't lost color yet but I haven't noticed any growth out of them. I have a few pics but they don't photograph well. I'm not as successful as you but they are still alive. Link to comment
metrokat Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 All fresh cut corals need a lot of healing time. Fragging can retard growth for a long time. I have a Millepora from 1 year ago that is crawling in terms of growth and then I have others that are ready to frag in 6 months. Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Yeah I'm not exactly expecting them to shoot out new branches anytime soon. But to see it encrust some more would be nice. The new rusty orange acans. I cannot remember the names of these zoas but I have been on the hunt for them for sometime now. Acro #1 Feel free to give me a more exact name if you know it. http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/RSCN1932_zpsb8da1b84.jpg.html'> Acro #2 Same as the first if you know its name please tell me. http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jamesb2012/media/RSCN1931_zps77dff9a5.jpg.html'> Link to comment
metrokat Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Acro #1 Feel free to give me a more exact name if you know it. Funny, there was discussion about this acro just recently on Hype's thread. I am poor at identifying acroporas honestly but this looks like Acropora Abrotanoides. It is not very commonly available in the hobby so nice find. Link to comment
metrokat Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 So this to me looks like a staghorn. Both these SPS need color and given the blunt appearance of their coralites, they are not happy. What are you testing at for all the parameters that you test for? Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Funny, there was discussion about this acro just recently on Hype's thread. I am poor at identifying acroporas honestly but this looks like Acropora Abrotanoides. It is not very commonly available in the hobby so nice find. Haha I would love if it was rare but it seems to be a run of the mill acro so far. Maybe when it colors up/down it will be easier to get an ID. Everything I just read on A abrotanoides says that it is hard to keep and that they don't sprout new branches often. 2 strikes against this species so far. So this to me looks like a staghorn. Both these SPS need color and given the blunt appearance of their coralites, they are not happy. What are you testing at for all the parameters that you test for? All that I tested at last. I was planning on testing again yesterday but my day was thrown of course due to my dog. temp:78* SG: 1.028 pH: 8 Alk: 11dKH NO2: 0 undetectable NO3: 0 undetectable NH3/NH4:0 undetectable I am working on getting the Calcium and PO4 test kits. Another Mag test too. Now I have a question. They do open their polyps in the evening especially when I feed but they are otherwise short and knobby like in the photos. Even in the LFS they only has pinhead sized PE. They were in a tank with other fluffy looking acros but these don't seem to have those long polyps. I'll try to snap some up close pics tomorrow night. Link to comment
metrokat Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 So this to me looks like a staghorn. I was thinking about this coral all night. It might be a tortusa. Alk is rather high. I guess we will see what your calcium and mag come out as. Haha I would love if it was rare but it seems to be a run of the mill acro so far. Maybe when it colors up/down it will be easier to get an ID. Everything I just read on A abrotanoides says that it is hard to keep and that they don't sprout new branches often. 2 strikes against this species so far. Another thought on that coral is acropora Samoensis but again, I am not sure. What I am sure of is that it is no millepora. Sigh. Or it could be Spathulata Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Sigh. Or it could be Spathulata The growth form of A spathulata looks close. But the corallites look more like pringles chips than cups. It's no big deal. I was just wondering if it was obvious what they were. Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Well I came home last night to both of the acros resting atop the anemone. The hidden cup coral colony and the black hole acan frag were touching. Luckily the acros are okay for the most part, just some flesh peeled up on the tips. The acan however was half melted but it has still been extending it feeders. There is hope yet! I picked up some pulsing xenia and I am going to maroon it with the anthelia and Kenya tree. It will be a little flowy island in the sun. Link to comment
axia55 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 The current state of the stand and tank. I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate the sump into the stand Just finished building a stand for my 40B with a standard 30g sump (36x12 base). Just make the distance between the corner supports 12.5 - 13" (front to back), cut pieces of 2x4 and put in the bottom for support across and then just put doors on each end to be able to slide the sump in and out. Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Just finished building a stand for my 40B with a standard 30g sump (36x12 base). Just make the distance between the corner supports 12.5 - 13" (front to back), cut pieces of 2x4 and put in the bottom for support across and then just put doors on each end to be able to slide the sump in and out. Thanks for the help. I am using a 20T to serve as a fuge and a mantis tank. When you say doors on each end do you mean the sides or the front? I have my computer desk right next to the tank so side doors won't be possible. Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Contacted a fish collector from the keys. Hopefully I can finally get another false stonefish The secret project is now 4 months and 3 days old. I cannot wait to unveil it. Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share Posted December 11, 2013 My red digi is in fact growing. I looked at the original pics of it and compared to now, there is more growth around the frag plug and the dead tips are starting to become covered again. The monti cap however hasn't shown any significant growth. As for the acros they have survived the anemone and crab assault. The only damage was the dead tips on 2-3 of the branches. The hidden cup coral has another 2 heads popping up in between the colony and the black hole acan is healing up after it's clash with the HCC. No other breaking news. Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 I finished building the sump it's getting water tested now. I think my return pump might be too strong in combination with the mp40. Supposedly it is only supposed to push around 600gph at 5' of head but it seems like a ton more than that. The refugium is a bit smaller than I would have liked but I had to accommodate a partition for the skimmer and filter sock. It will be big enough for a small mantis and some macro though so that is all that matters. Got my 40lbs of carribean sand today. After paying for my spring classes I'll be able to make an order for some live rock and this tank will be wet! Link to comment
Acielot Posted December 24, 2013 Author Share Posted December 24, 2013 It never fails. I always draw blood when i work on my projects. Cut my finger making the baffles for the stump. Water holding test went well so far. I think I'll do a leak/flow test this weekend Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 Yeah, don't do that. Link to comment
Mojado Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 The current state of the stand and tank. I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate the sump into the stand The fact that the weight of the tank is being held up by 12 screws and not the actual 2x4s makes me nervous for you. : S Link to comment
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