smeagol108 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Looking good! How's the salt switch going for ya? Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 The switch seems to be going OK. No real change in how the corals look, but I hear SPS take a while to bounce back. I'm still doing the 1 gallons water changes with 50:50 Instant Ocean and Red Sea. Almost finished the instant ocean, so then will be going all in. All the fish and shrimp are still alive, so that is a good sign. Haven't had a chance to check water parameters since starting the transition - been too busy with other things. It has been all I can do to do the small water changes. I'll check this weekend, though, and post the numbers. Thanks for asking, Smeagol! Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm just outside Toronto, about 45 mins away. It's cool how small the world has become. Also cool to see people with edges so close that I would have never know about. Really want to convert mine to salt but currently is fresh and have nowhere for them to go Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 The salt water switcheroo is complete. Today I did a 80-90% water change with Red Sea Coral Pro salt, after slowly doing gallon water changes every day or two, with a 50:50 mix for the first week, then with straight RSCP. Also picked up some new corals this weekend, but my favourite new mushroom (a Metroid Yuma) unfortunately floated off to a not very photogenic spot, so I don't have a picture of it. But, I do have quite the photo dump anyway! My Happy Happy Acan (one of my first corals) under Actinics: Nuclear Green Palys are thriving (unlike so many of my Zoas), as are the Red Monti Cap in the foreground and the Forest Fire Digitata in the background: My Green Birdsnest that really suffered from a week with no water changes (and was the impetus for the change of salt) still has some living polyps on it. Hopefully it will recover fully, though I would also be happy if just the tips survived, and then I could successfully frag it) Can't remember what this dude is called. I think it is a Micromusa. Not really growing yet, but not dying either. Colour is not so exciting under regular lights, but it really pops under Actinic Clive! The green clown goby The Forest Fire Digitata is starting to encrust on the rock after the change in salt! My Ponape Birdsnest that may or may not be still alive. I think I see polyps on it, but it has gone from being a nice light green-white to this sort of unattractive brown colour.. A close-up of another early coral purchases, my very vigorous Hairy Green Mushroom Now getting on to some of the new stuff. on the right is an encrusting Monti, I think. Any help on ID would be appreciated... I wanted something that would move with the flow, but was relatively benign, and came home with this Goniopora: And another shot of Clive, on one of his rare appearances front and centre: Oh, and I made a video, too! Link to comment
Slowtwitch Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Hope the birds pull through for you Doc. Brown outs are fairly common with SPS when stressed. I bet when things are back to stable they will color up again. Your acan and micro look great! Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 I have another video coming, but in the meantime, some new photos: Buffy was out tonight, dancing and shaking her Pom Poms! My healthiest colony of Zoas. Can't remember which ones these were: My Purple Death Palys: The Bird's Nest still has some polyps on it. Here's hoping it hangs on: I think I have a couple of baby Yumas! There is just the one centrally in this picture, but there is another, brighter looking one to the left of it in the tank as well! Oh, and the video is now ready, too! Link to comment
Slowtwitch Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Looking good Doc. Fingers crossed for the birdsnest. Love that crab. A ppm pom is on my list once the second tank is a bit more mature. Link to comment
smeagol108 Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Things are definitely looking better!! The encrusting on the digi is great and the birds nests will prob pull through in time. Glad it seems to be working for you!! Biggest thing with the sps is the alk stability. The can handle calcium swings, but alk swings piss them off. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Just caught up on your thread - I'm glad the water change seems to have helped! I love the picture and video of Buffy - what I great name for a Pom Pom Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted May 9, 2015 Share Posted May 9, 2015 Glad things are doing better. Birdsnest are pretty resilent as smeagol108 said- stable Alk is one of the keys. Looks like there are polyps on the ponape . Clive and Buffy are awesome! Link to comment
smeagol108 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 What are you taking your videos with? Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 What are you taking your videos with? Sony a7 with a nikkor 105 macro. Pretty nice combo, only downside is the lens becomes MF because of the adaptor Link to comment
smeagol108 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 nice! how has the tank been doing? I am getting somewhat frustrated with my edge lately. due to the amount of coral in and rocksacpe its pretty impossible to ever clean the sand bed properly and its starting to become a slight issue with algae on the sand only. Been keeping it under control but its PITA. I am prob upgrading from the edge to a 15-17 gallon rimless in the next month or so. I really love the tank but having no good options when it comes to maintenance has become somewhat of a pain. also, as I have a light that runs the whole length of the tank I have really no shadows on the sides and those are the places that are impossible for me to get to for cleaning. Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 nice! how has the tank been doing? I am getting somewhat frustrated with my edge lately. due to the amount of coral in and rocksacpe its pretty impossible to ever clean the sand bed properly and its starting to become a slight issue with algae on the sand only. Been keeping it under control but its PITA. I am prob upgrading from the edge to a 15-17 gallon rimless in the next month or so. I really love the tank but having no good options when it comes to maintenance has become somewhat of a pain. also, as I have a light that runs the whole length of the tank I have really no shadows on the sides and those are the places that are impossible for me to get to for cleaning. Tank's been pretty good. Some zoas and palys are thriving, others have died. Still not sure how the bird's nest and ponape will fare. The hammer slowly shrivelled up and died. But the mushrooms and rics and yumas are thriving, Duncan is doing great and the red monti cap is finally growing like gang busters. I blast the sand 2-3x/week with the turkey baster, which seems to keep algae in check (I have recently got into the habit of doing a 1 gallon water change daily and a 4-5 gallon once/week). But I hear you about the tank size. Right now we are looking at a basement reno, due to some pipes freezing in the winter. I think once that is all said and done, I will have a nice space in my home office for a bigger tank. But bigger tank = bigger expense and more gear to run it. I sort of like the simplicity of a 5 gallon tank and the ease of doing a water change... Link to comment
Slowtwitch Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 How are things coming along Doc? You get the tank for the spot in your office you were eyeing? Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Office is still a mess - home renovations are especially slow in our house. Realized this weekend I let the 6 month anniversary of the tank come and go without recognition. The quick summary is as follows: Jimi and Clive both seem to have passed on. Their bodies were never found, but they stopped coming up for feedings. Jimi was doing well with the hand feeding, and had been alive for 6-8 weeks so I was really hopeful that he would be a Mandarin that survived in a Nano, but I guess not. Clive never really came out for feedings and he passed away shortly after introduction. RIP little fishies. Buffy seems to be surviving well, though she stays mostly hiding. And the Sexy shrimp hop around and piss off the softies. the world of SPS in the tank is a mixed bag: The Birdsnests are not doing well. The smaller frag and the Ponape have a lot of Coraline Algae growing on them, which can't be a good indicator. The other birds nest is holding its own but not thriving. The Red Monti Cap has decided to plate out and grow like gangbusters and the Forest Fire Digi is also doing well. The microbus is neither growing nor shrinking at this point in time. In Zoa and Paly land, the Supernovas are growing like there is no tomorrow. The Nuclear Green Palys are expanding slowly, and fighting off encroachment from the Monti Cap, and the Purple Death Palys are also expanding nicely. The prize of the whole tank is my mushroom farm which is growing both because the mushrooms are growing, and I keep getting more. I added a couple of Yumas (both a Purple and Green and an Awesome Orange and Purple), and my standard green and yellow has popped off a few babies that I am hoping will grown. The Rics are doing well, or holding their own, and today I added a Tyree Green Toadstool, A Leopard Disco Mushroom and a Superman Mushroom. I also picked up a couple of Clove Polyps. Pictures to come soon - I sold my macro lens to make room for a native Sony E mount macro lens, which isn't in stock yet, so photos might have to wait a bit. Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 As Promised, a bunch of new pictures (as I await a flight to Alaska - I'll be gone 2 weeks. Here's hoping the wife can keep everything alive) To start off, a new FTS The forest fire diginis encrusting and growing As is the monti cap (so much so that it was threatening the nuclear green palys, so I moved the NGP after these pictures): My acans are doing pretty well, but I'm not sure what the white spikieness at the back left is about) The green and purple Yuma is a relatively new addition The tyree toadstool is also a new addition... Time to board my flight. May be time for more later Link to comment
teenyreef Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Looks great! That yuma looks really nice The white stuff on the acans looks like a little bit of acan skeleton from the flesh receding. Something might have stung them or bothered them somehow in that spot. They look nice and puffy and healthy so they should grow right back unless whatever is bothering them continues. Alaska sounds like a lot of fun. Have a great trip! Link to comment
Red_Blenny Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 My acans are doing pretty well, but I'm not sure what the white spikieness at the back left is about) Is the spikiness the skeleton? Link to comment
vlangel Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I really like what you are doing with the tank. Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Thanks, guys. It is coming along. After I took the pictures, I removed the skeletons of the birds nests that were in the top middle rock, then moved the nuclear green paly up there to give it space to grow. not sure what could be stinging the acan, as there isn't much around it to bug it, but it isn't as happy as it used to be before I moved it. I might have to try shifting it around if it still looks skeletal when I get home. Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 A few more photos: The new Orange and Purple Yuma: The Duncan is thriving (2 heads when I bought him, now up to 6)! And the view of my mushroom wall (yumas are elsewhere in the tank): Link to comment
Matthewdvm Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Things are going well. Nothing died while I was in Alaska, though I think one of my hairy green mushrooms is stinging stuff at night. Anyway, I thought I'd post up some mushroom photos for fun: The purple and orange yuma is settling in nicely As is the Green and Purple Yume: and this Ricordea And so is my toadstool: I'll need to take a FTS soon and post it up, too! Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Things are looking really good! I've had no luck with yumas - my Floridas are doing ok, but not so much the yumas. Link to comment
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