tibbsy07 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 i had zoas melt on me a few times for no reason, but never palys...not sure why. maybe it's cuz of those damn zoa eating nudis in my tank. Hmmm maybe the plain green palys you were contemplating is toxin central. Not all palys have toxins. How do I tell? Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 On second thought, i can handle the toxins. Gloves for handling the corals and I'm not going to be boiling anything (never understood that...). I'll see what palys and/or zoas i can get around here. There is a store about an hour away that looks fantastic. Actually near Dave at NanoBox. He says they are great. I'll pop by this weekend and see what i can find Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Current FTS: Left side of the tank looks really good, I think. The hammer feels a little skinny, not as fluffy as I have seen others. Here is a more recent picture of the GSP. Growing like crazy Punk rocker zoa - I think it's ok? Definitely got a small polyp budding from the lower right. It's mouth looks a bit stretched, though. I'd really like to be able to take better pictures than with my phone... My wife has the Sony Nex F3, which has served us pretty well, but it doesn't really like the tank much. Not sure how to fix this. I'd prefer to take pictures with that, though the LED and camera makes everything look super blue. Link to comment
joy13 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 On second thought, i can handle the toxins. Gloves for handling the corals and I'm not going to be boiling anything (never understood that...). I'll see what palys and/or zoas i can get around here. There is a store about an hour away that looks fantastic. Actually near Dave at NanoBox. He says they are great. I'll pop by this weekend and see what i can find What is the name of the store? Might be needing a road trip soon! Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Triad Reef Critters up in Greensboro. I've heard great things. What is the name of the store? Might be needing a road trip soon! Link to comment
joy13 Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Yeah I have been there, hey have some decent $10 frags usually. My bf got some I am waiting to start getting big enough to frag. I know they got a shipment of rock anemones in again. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Yeah I have been there, hey have some decent $10 frags usually. My bf got some I am waiting to start getting big enough to frag. I know they got a shipment of rock anemones in again. Yeah I saw that. I want to see their fish stock, too. I have like 1.5 weeks until the 12 week fallow period is over for my tank. Hoping to get a small blue/yellow damsel at some point. I don't trust the other fish place where I got my YCG. Their fish always look sick to me, and if my YCG was any indication, they are. Link to comment
markalot Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 So the latest FTS looks great, there is nothing wrong with this tank that age won't fix. I disagree your parameters are good by the way. 10.4 KH should be matched to at least 450 calcium. 400 calcium is typically what I hold at and matched at 7.5 KH. Most likely meaningless as far as tank health goes. If a zoa does not perform well for you chuck it, or move it to the back, and try another. Some are just punks and melt or close up for no apparent reason. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Thanks! I'm happier with it today Yeah, I think the calcium could be a bit higher, but I'm ok with it. The tank looks good now. I'm going to try and get a glass lid today to reduce salinity swings. I'm also really considering moving to T5 lights or a hybrid set up. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Went to a new LFS this weekend (new for me, popular here) called Triad Reef Critters. Was kind of a stupid decision - took me an hour to get there and by the time I decided to go and then actually drive there, they were only open for another 15 minutes Really, really nice store. Jebaos, maxspect lights, BRS stuff, brightwell aquatics, boyd, etc. all in stock. Beautiful corals, too and a great range of prices. Definitely more coral than fish, but a good amount of both. They also run led/t5 hybrids some using maxspects and some using Dave's pre-NanoBox lights. Cool to see! They also had itty bitty clams for 45. About 1 1/2" long. Next time I head out there I'll make a list and go early enough for me to be able to shop. Also went to the other LFS this weekend, and I am just not impressed. Expensive prices, minimal coral options, bubble algae on a lot of things... just not great. I like getting my ro/di there but I dunno how much else I'll be buying there. Also got a lid this weekend, finally. Now iit's a matter of cooling vs evaporation. I have a fan blowing on the tank 24/7 now. Causes a lot of evaporation but I needed it. Now with the lid, it's staying a bit more warm but I'm losing less water. Kat asked me a question this weekend about my lights and brought up a good point. I like the CC bulb, and for 60 bucks it was a great deal. It is really purple though. I've been discussing putting the tank in a more visible area but my wife dislikes the light color. I'm going to try and convince her that a different light would be better Link to comment
markalot Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 We had a LFS close here recently. It was only a year old and concentrated on selling corals and fish and not much else. They had a small number of supplies but stocking was haphazard. I don't think you can run a store these days without concentrating on the entire picture ... corals, fish, equipment, and a good selection of supplies. It seems the stores with mediocre displays but lots of variety have no problem staying in business. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 The one I normally go to to get water has ok stock, but often the fish are obviously sick, and their prices are a bit unreasonable (20 bucks for 6.5oz CPE, 30 for a 25W heater, etc). The coral farm I have gotten my coral from is great, but the pretty much only sell coral frags. They are, after all, a coral greenhouse. The one I went to yesterday is an all-around great store. Great tanks, great livestock, great equipment or varying price points... Plus they have a couch and a TV for customers, there are dogs in the store that are super cute, they all KNOW what the heck they are talking about. They are ONLY a salt water store. I was impressed. If it wasn't an hour away, I'd go every weekend Kat gave me a great idea, too. I am unhappy with my rock. Because it's dumb and stupid-looking. I want more coral. Pacific East Aquaculture sells "Pieces of the Reef" which is a small cured piece of LR covered in coral for like 60-80 bucks, plus shipping. I think I may do this and swap out my rock with the "Pieces of the Reef" and just transfer my current corals over to the new rock. This kills 2 birds with 1 stone, and it costs less than what I was planning. I just need to find other places that offer this so I can figure out my options. AquaSD apparently does, but I don't see any available on their website. Link to comment
markalot Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 The one I normally go to to get water has ok stock, but often the fish are obviously sick, and their prices are a bit unreasonable (20 bucks for 6.5oz CPE, 30 for a 25W heater, etc). The coral farm I have gotten my coral from is great, but the pretty much only sell coral frags. They are, after all, a coral greenhouse. The one I went to yesterday is an all-around great store. Great tanks, great livestock, great equipment or varying price points... Plus they have a couch and a TV for customers, there are dogs in the store that are super cute, they all KNOW what the heck they are talking about. They are ONLY a salt water store. I was impressed. If it wasn't an hour away, I'd go every weekend Kat gave me a great idea, too. I am unhappy with my rock. Because it's dumb and stupid-looking. I want more coral. Pacific East Aquaculture sells "Pieces of the Reef" which is a small cured piece of LR covered in coral for like 60-80 bucks, plus shipping. I think I may do this and swap out my rock with the "Pieces of the Reef" and just transfer my current corals over to the new rock. This kills 2 birds with 1 stone, and it costs less than what I was planning. I just need to find other places that offer this so I can figure out my options. AquaSD apparently does, but I don't see any available on their website. Interesting about the nice store. The people that bought out of business store want to do the same thing. This is the outfit that bought it: http://www.aquariumartisans.com/blog/ We shall see. The Cincinnati area has some dedicated reefers but I would not call it a hotbed of reefing activity. Not sure how much support a new fancy dancy store can maintain, other than the same 5 or 6 reef bums hanging out on the couch wishing they lived near the ocean. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Kat gave me a great idea, too. I am unhappy with my rock. Because it's dumb and stupid-looking. I want more coral. Pacific East Aquaculture sells "Pieces of the Reef" which is a small cured piece of LR covered in coral for like 60-80 bucks, plus shipping. I think I may do this and swap out my rock with the "Pieces of the Reef" and just transfer my current corals over to the new rock. This kills 2 birds with 1 stone, and it costs less than what I was planning. I just need to find other places that offer this so I can figure out my options. AquaSD apparently does, but I don't see any available on their website. I got one of their Pieces of the Reef. AWESOME SAUCE. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 I'm thinking of doing 2 of these over the next few months and basically changing my reef completely. I've also been talking with Kat about using T5s over this tank alongside LEDs. I contacted Dave about a Tide + T5 (9"or 12" bulbs), but he suggested just sticking with the Tide. I really like the T5 look, though, and I just think they give really great color. I may buy Kat's old 4-bulb T5 coralife 9" bulb fixture and put 2 10k white and 2 actinic blues in there, and pick up a stunner strip or two to make the colors pop. I don't know. I really like the power efficiency of LEDs, and normally the bulb issue would keep me from getting a T5, but the 9" bulbs would cost me like 30 bucks to replace all 4, so... Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Checked on the tank this morning. I think I have some growth! I did a 1g water change last night and did a bit of "rearranging". Pictures later. The Hammer has 2 mouths now that I can see from the top of the tank, and the little branching head on the base of the coral is becoming larger and more defined! Whoo! The punk rocker zoa absolutely has a polyp forming at its base. The GSP is really starting to cover the rock it's on. The punk rocker was placed on the actual rockwork now, and the GSP has a new home, too. Link to comment
joy13 Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Yeah you went to Triad, you will be back. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 Yeah you went to Triad, you will be back. Seriously - that place was AMAZING! Yay for growth. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 The PicOAquariums 5g AIO is finally out... Oh man, that thing is sexy. 195 for the tank and glass lid? Mmmmmm.... Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Just back from a week's vacation. Tank is unhappy, kind of. I had my neighbor do top offs every other day and he fed a capful of phyto each time he went. The pulsing xenia had 3 feet down. One of them detached and has reattached at the base of the inside of the right rock down near the sand. I almost missed it, assuming it had died, but my wife saw it last night. Barry 2.0 molted - there is an upper carapace shell laying in the tank and he has been out a bit more. The punk rocker zoa has 3 polyps pushing from its base. The GSP is doing on. The Watermelon zoas look fantastic. Here is the odd stuff - the back of the upper right rock is COVERED in feather dusters. I mean, seriously covered. They are growing their tubes over each other. You can barely see the rock. Is that ok? The AC70 is also infested with some kind of white, hairy stuff... I dont know if it's algal, bacterial, or fungal... You can see it here (ignore the salt creep) where the water is running out a bit to the left of the intake tube. It's stringy and soft. It's all over the inside of the AC70, though. I think it may have come from the live rock rubble that I got from that crappy LFS... I am going to do my weekly water change tonight (I did one the morning I left, though it wasn't a full cleaning like I normally do, just a 1g water change). I bought some hydrogen peroxide and some white vinegar to clean stuff with. I am going to do the peroxide soak, a water rinse, the white vinegar soak, and then another water rinse. I am going to remove the LR rubble and I may toss the CPE. Hopefully that will take care of it. I really like some of the PAE pieces of the reef right now, but they don't have the fish I want and for the price of the pieces of the reef plus shipping, I can go to that AWESOME LFS I went to a week ago and get the fish I want, and a whole slew of coral frags from 10-30 dollars, plus a piece or two of cured LR. Not sure what I am going to do yet... Link to comment
markalot Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Just back from a week's vacation. Tank is unhappy, kind of. I had my neighbor do top offs every other day and he fed a capful of phyto each time he went. The pulsing xenia had 3 feet down. One of them detached and has reattached at the base of the inside of the right rock down near the sand. I almost missed it, assuming it had died, but my wife saw it last night. You wanted the Xenia to grow and spread and now it's starting. That's a good sign it likes the conditions and will start spreading as each individual stalk starts to get larger, and lean over and put down another foot, and split, and get larger, and lean over and put down another foot ... etc. It's really kind of fun to experience, but at some point you will have to practice Xenia pulling, which involves grabbing the Xenia near the base and carefully pealing the foot loose. Honestly I knew I made it with my new 150 when I transferred the rock with Xenia on it and they did not shrink up. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 Well the xenia are still shrunken, but one detached and has taken hold way down below. Ever since the peroxide debaucle with the purigen, it's been touch and go witht hem and they have been pretty small. Link to comment
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