Surprise Attack! Trying Something New!

[Marc.The.Shark]

Okay, so the slime/white fuzz crap is still on the decline & prob 99% gone. But, new development....

Moved a little sand (Tropic Eden Meso Flakes) and got an instant white dust storm! So I stirred some more sand & it looked like a freakin snow globe!! This crap was growing on my sand a little...I thought....uh, no! All over in the sand bed! Its not alive & stringy or fuzzy, just particles like it's dead and was harboring in the sand all along. I've been running socks + floss & stirring and siphoning for the last 3 hours and have done about 2/3's of the sand bed, PITA! I'm wondering if my problems originated from the Tropic Eden sand all along now. Read about some people having bacterial problems with it when i was researching before I purchased, but it seemed isolated & figured it was a non issue....matbe not! Holy Hell, this has been one nightmare after another! Lol. Good thing is, coral dont seem to give a shit about all the particulates in the water between stirrings & clown is ok. Assessor and Dottyback are hiding in caves cause of the sirring stick in the tank, but no issues with them either. Hopefully this is the last test of my patience. I almost started to scoop all the sand out to rinse & put back in, which probably would have been easier than what I'm doing now, but mosly done. All I need is some icing on this shit cake now & I'll be all set! Lol

[teenyreef]

Wow!

 

At least you have a possible explanation for what caused it in the first place. Hang in there!

[metrokat]

Think I'm definitely going to lose my green psammy from the salinity swing, was just brown but now I'm starting to see some white tips

Noooooooooo

[Marc.The.Shark]

Wow!

 

At least you have a possible explanation for what caused it in the first place. Hang in there!

 

Yeah, dismissed the couple/few reviews I saw about the sand thinking it was just a co-inky dink......mayby not....

 

 

 

Noooooooooo

Sick about it Kat.....

Not totally a goner yet, 1/3 of the base is white, but hasn't gotten worse & just the tips of the branches & hasn't gotten worse. We'll see, hopin for the best

[Marc.The.Shark]

Tank is still on the mend. No fuzzy rocks or anything, but once in a while when I change the filter socks, I still see a little bit of slimy floaters. Not bad tho & seems to be steadily diminishing, prob 99.5% gone. I mounted a some frags & put one frag rack back in the sump. Ordered 2 RFA's, a Red/Yellow & a Red/Green. The red/yellow one sucked under a rock & is barely visable. The other one stayed in the spot I put it for 3-4 days then disappeared into a hole in the rock 1/10 its size & havent seen it in a week. I also just ordered a few more frags from AquaSD, a couple Acan frags, a Bubblegum digi colony and a few random zoa's & stuff as fillers, should be here Thursday....

 

 

 

[vlangel]

O those are purdy!

[Marc.The.Shark]

Here's the one RFA that isn't MIA! Maybe poking out from under the rock a little more, been squirting it mysis to encourage it to come out a little more. The other one is gone. Hopefully it will reappear at some point. Can't see in that rock it went into, it's pretty porous & who knows how deep it went or where. This one is the nicest of the two tho...

 

 

O those are purdy!

Thanks, looking forward to getting them.

[teenyreef]

That RFA is sweet looking! Hopefully he'll stay out now that he knows he'll get fed

 

I love those ASD frags. I can't wait for my tank to start doing well with SPS again, I'm gonna buy a bunch of sticks. Oh, and just a few of their beautiful acans to round things out.

[Marc.The.Shark]

That RFA is sweet looking! Hopefully he'll stay out now that he knows he'll get fed

 

I love those ASD frags. I can't wait for my tank to start doing well with SPS again, I'm gonna buy a bunch of sticks. Oh, and just a few of their beautiful acans to round things out.

Yeah, those Acan frags were < $30 each, the green one $15. You have to scan all their stuff, but can find some hidden gems, plus they always send you a couple freebies too, which usually covers the shipping costs. Wanted a Darth Maul Porites, but sadly they don't have any. I wasn't going to keep going with the acans, but you've inspired me! Lol. I have a couple colonies that have 10+ heads that I grew from 2. Kinda red tones, so these will be a nice contrast for a little garden.

[teenyreef]

It's pretty hard not to order from ASD, you get so much for your money, especially if you take the time to look through everything, like you said. The mouths on the second acan are just incredible. Keep them under low light and they should look fantastic!

[Scorched]

Ordered a few things from AquaSD myself this weekend. I check out their stuff every Saturday and its really hard to not get stuff all the time.

 

The forest fire / bubble gum is a good choice.

[1reefluvr2]

Wow, I'm going to be following this build.

[Marc.The.Shark]

It's pretty hard not to order from ASD, you get so much for your money, especially if you take the time to look through everything, like you said. The mouths on the second acan are just incredible. Keep them under low light and they should look fantastic!

Yeah, have my other ones down low at the base of one of the islands. Had to lower my light intensity down some. With four Nanobox arrays on this tank I don't have any shadowing, but the intensity can be a little much if I'm not careful. Especially as shallow as it is.

 

Ordered a few things from AquaSD myself this weekend. I check out their stuff every Saturday and its really hard to not get stuff all the time.

The forest fire / bubble gum is a good choice.

I do too! Lol. Haven't ordered from Will in over a year, but that Digi was calling my name! How's the new build coming?

 

Wow, I'm going to be following this build.

Thanks for tagging along. Had a few setbacks, but looks to be on the mend now. I'll get a new FTS up soon when I get things a little more situated.

[drgibby]

Those frags look great! I need a bigger tank so i can get more acans in it I love that green one and can't believe the price!

[jack1978]

Nice new pieces Mark, glad your tanks on the rebound!

[Marc.The.Shark]

Those frags look great! I need a bigger tank so i can get more acans in it I love that green one and can't believe the price!

Yeah, I know. I have so much more room in this long tank than my 8gal cylinder. It's gonna cost me a fortune! Lol. If you've never checked out the ASD sales over on R2R, they're worth a look, awesome stuff. They have to be a premier buyer to get cream of the crop picks from the wholesalers.

 

Nice new pieces Mark, glad your tanks on the rebound!

Thanks Jack. It's been a battle for sure. Now I'm at zero NO3, PO4, which I've been trying to battle by feeding heavier with no luck. May have to get some food grade powder & dose both for a while till things even out.

[Scorched]

I do too! Lol. Haven't ordered from Will in over a year, but that Digi was calling my name! How's the new build coming?

 

Stand is done, tank is drilled, I have the sump, plumbing parts, and apex all ready to go. Just waiting on the Cor to be released...

[Marc.The.Shark]

 

Stand is done, tank is drilled, I have the sump, plumbing parts, and apex all ready to go. Just waiting on the Cor to be released...

 

Good luck with that wait! lol. I will say that with the way yours/mine is setup for only flow coming from the return pump, the DC pumps are very nice. I'm running a Jebao DCT8000 & picked up one of the CoralBox wireless controllers used on Fleabay cheap to control it vs. the stock manual controller. Now I have the flow programmed to slow at night with the lights off & pick back up during the day. It's nice! That & the SCWD for random flow is working out good for me. The wireless controller has a bunch of different modes, but I haven't tried them because of the SCWD. I'll have to play around with that when I get a chance & see if I like those. We'll see how long this Jebao pump lasts. If it craps out early, then I'll stay with DC, but get a better one. It would be nice to control it all with my Apex, but I'm sure for the flow I need that pump will be $$$$.

[ajmckay]

Wow sorry to hear about the recent issues with the tank - keep at it man hopefully you reach that point soon that things settle in.

 

I've had a Jebao DCT running for over a year now and I like it a lot as a return pump. Interested in what you did with the coralbox controller... does it improve performance or add features?

[teenyreef]

 

Yeah, have my other ones down low at the base of one of the islands. Had to lower my light intensity down some. With four Nanobox arrays on this tank I don't have any shadowing, but the intensity can be a little much if I'm not careful. Especially as shallow as it is.

 

 

I do too! Lol. Haven't ordered from Will in over a year, but that Digi was calling my name! How's the new build coming?

 

Thanks for tagging along. Had a few setbacks, but looks to be on the mend now. I'll get a new FTS up soon when I get things a little more situated.

With my wide quad over the 40g I had to be super careful placing my new acans to make sure they were in a shaded spot. Even though the tank's 18" deep, it's still a little to bright on the sandbed. I put them in a shady spot, but I messed up with one and left it out a little too much. Just one day later it was mostly plain red

 

The rest are keeping their color just fine, though.

[Marc.The.Shark]

Wow sorry to hear about the recent issues with the tank - keep at it man hopefully you reach that point soon that things settle in.

 

I've had a Jebao DCT running for over a year now and I like it a lot as a return pump. Interested in what you did with the coralbox controller... does it improve performance or add features?

Here you go AJ, this explains it better than I can

 

https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/aqualink-t1/

 

Oh, & I found out the overclock only gives you like 106% of max, not 120%. I bought a used one cause for some reason the app doesn't support the DCT8000, so I had to use the programming for the DCT9000. Eh, no issues tho. Looks like all the other pump models were listed for selection except the one I was using! lol. I found a used one for $35 shipped & figured it was a bargain! lol

[Sunstar]

I am going to "steal" all your ideas... especially that slide out.

[Marc.The.Shark]

I am going to "steal" all your ideas... especially that slide out.

Feel free! We're all family here. I've "stolen" my fair share over the years.LOL

[Marc.The.Shark]

My white slime still seems to be at bay. Been battling zero NO3/PO4 tho & started dosing Spectracide a couple days ago, also went down just a tad in my lighting as well. I have a lux meter, but no par meter for whatever that's worth. General idea I guess. Well, the addition of the Nitrates from the Spectracide immediately perked up some stubborn zoa's. Added a 2nd dose today and hopefully we'll see the trend continue. Here's a pic of my zoa rock, a bunch from my old tank & a few new ones I recently aquired. This is the rock on the right of the tank. It should look good when they start to fill in. Also my yellow assessor is out constantly all day long & the orchid dotty most of the time. Need another fish, just can't decide on what, something colorful. Also, ignore my photo skills.....shitty! Lol, looks better in person. Maybe I'll have to bust the Oakley's out again & use the lens for a filter! Lol, gotta find 'em.

 

[jack1978]

Zoas island is going to look amazing...already does!

How's the assessor temperament....peaceful or dickish?