Tuffryu Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 Testing. Finally maintaining a decent alk level. I'm finding that low nutrient makes sps happy, but softies not so much. LPS like either it seems. Happy Friday! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted November 23, 2016 Author Share Posted November 23, 2016 I won this stuff from a drawing at my LFS. The pellets are large enough to where the fish even started eating it, while the other stuff is powder form similar to the reefroids I've been using. Will give this stuff a shot and see how the tank reacts over the next few weeks. Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted November 26, 2016 Author Share Posted November 26, 2016 New pics. Acros mainly. This guy is finally starting to extend. Body is turning lighter purple and extensions are dark. Kinda nice. This guy is a light green-ish color. Encrusting looks awesome. The other purple one is always extended. Green pavona is sticking to the rock nicely. New green guy is always extended as well. Nice piece, but I need to find a place to glue him. Duncanopsammia. Top shot. I still feel hungover from Thanksgiving. Happy Friday! 3 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 New tank shot 12-3-16 Tank is doing well and water params are at a good consistent level(s) after the tank transfer. The consistency is apparent in the corals that were alk burned last month as they're starting to grow back in those areas. No new additions although I am considering removing my cardinal and trading him for something else. I may do another goby. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 I was able to catch my banggai cardinal fish relatively easily without doing knocking down anything in the tank. Just fed the fish as normal and scooped him out while he was eating. Took the cardinal straight over to the LFS for credit and picked up this gorgeous purple firefish. I've had regular firefish before, but none of them lasted long for some reason. I'm hoping I have better luck with this guy as he's simply beautiful. I acclimated him for about an hour and both he and the assessor get along perfectly. I put the ugly mesh top on that came with the tank for the first few days just in case. Luckily, no signs of stress and the firefish seems to be doing very well. I'll remove the top after another day - hate the look of any top especially this one. This guys adds tremendous color to the tank. 2 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 He's pretty! Firefish are notorious jumpers, be careful with the lid off Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 He's pretty! Firefish are notorious jumpers, be careful with the lid off Thanks. Yea I've had a couple of jumpers in the past, but I'm hoping it was due to other inhabitants. 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I'm pretty sure firefish jump because they think it's worth sacrificing their lives just to make us feel bad 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Big water change today. Nitrates hit 5.0 for some reason. I think my emerald crab may have died as I haven't seen him in weeks. Probably need to cut down on feeding amount as well. New resident. Couldn't resist the cuteness. The yellow clown has always been a favorite. Colorful, peaceful, and fun to watch. He's getting along well with the others. I'm off for vacation and have the tank set up on auto-pilot for the most part. We'll see how things work out after 10 days. Happy Holidays everyone! 2 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 New resident. Couldn't resist the cuteness. The yellow clown has always been a favorite. Colorful, peaceful, and fun to watch. He's getting along well with the others. I'm off for vacation and have the tank set up on auto-pilot for the most part. We'll see how things work out after 10 days. One of my favorites too! I think it is the rosy cheeks. Tank is looking great! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 One of my favorites too! I think it is the rosy cheeks. Tank is looking great! Thanks man! It's probably the cheeks and the size of this guy. He's probably an inch more or less lol. Quote Link to comment
Okinawa_Reefer Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 You're the second person I've seen using that skimmer. Can you post some pictures of the skin your getting out of it and offer any of your thoughts on it? Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 You're the second person I've seen using that skimmer. Can you post some pictures of the skin your getting out of it and offer any of your thoughts on it? Hi Okinawa. There are many others using this skimmer. I'll be able to take some photos next weekend as I'm out of town at the moment. The skim is fairly light as my tank isn't too dirty so the photos may not help. The skimmer has been a great addition IMO. I needed something very quiet and small. The airstone needs to be changed out monthly but other than that it's been very handy. The only other option is the eshopps nano skimmer. I've heard good results from those using this skimmer as well. 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 I'm loving my Eshopps Nano. It's dead silent, and as long as I keep the depth spot on, I get about a cup of super nasty dark skimmate every week. I like my air stone powered skimmer that I have in my 4g, but changing that airstone gets old after a while PS: I love the yellow clown goby. I got one as my very first nano fish but he didn't last long, he just didn't survive shipping. I'm tempted to get one and put it in my 10g but I already have too many fish in there already 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 I'm loving my Eshopps Nano. It's dead silent, and as long as I keep the depth spot on, I get about a cup of super nasty dark skimmate every week. I like my air stone powered skimmer that I have in my 4g, but changing that airstone gets old after a while PS: I love the yellow clown goby. I got one as my very first nano fish but he didn't last long, he just didn't survive shipping. I'm tempted to get one and put it in my 10g but I already have too many fish in there already I may try the Eshopps as well at some point. I bought the yellow clown a few days before I left town for vaca so I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy seeing him. Just hope he's okay when I'm back. The Mame skimmer stone isn't too bad. It says it lasts 2-3 months which is pretty awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 I may try the Eshopps as well at some point. I bought the yellow clown a few days before I left town for vaca so I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy seeing him. Just hope he's okay when I'm back. The Mame skimmer stone isn't too bad. It says it lasts 2-3 months which is pretty awesome. That's really good. The ones I have in mine last about 2-3 weeks. But I have learned if I scrape it off with a razor blade, I can rejuvenate it and I can keep it going that way for three or four months. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 That's really good. The ones I have in mine last about 2-3 weeks. But I have learned if I scrape it off with a razor blade, I can rejuvenate it and I can keep it going that way for three or four months. how is the 4gal doing btw? 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 how is the 4gal doing btw? I've never really been able to make it work as a frag tank. It does OK for about a month and then starts growing algae. If I leave it unfed to reduce the algae, then all the SPS turns super light because they aren't getting fed. I'm going to try one more time, with weekly 100% water changes. If that doesn't work out I'm just going to take it down, and start a bigger frag tank. Maybe something with a sump 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 I've never really been able to make it work as a frag tank. It does OK for about a month and then starts growing algae. If I leave it unfed to reduce the algae, then all the SPS turns super light because they aren't getting fed. I'm going to try one more time, with weekly 100% water changes. If that doesn't work out I'm just going to take it down, and start a bigger frag tank. Maybe something with a sump 4 gal is gonna be tough - unless you're doing softies or LPS. For SPS, you're right in that keeping them fed is what helps retain color. I've noticed this with all of my acros. What I'm also realizing is that the acro food also pollutes the water very nicely. Bigger water changes are probably the best thing for small tanks 10 and under. A sump tank would definitely be the best route where you have more water volume that's much more forgiving than a nano. 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 I agree on all points. Although I was able to grow SPS quite nicely in the 4g before I crashed it. It's all about getting things in balance, and it's very hard to maintain that balance in pico tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 I agree on all points. Although I was able to grow SPS quite nicely in the 4g before I crashed it. It's all about getting things in balance, and it's very hard to maintain that balance in pico tanks. The santa hat on your avatar is a nice touch lol. 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 The santa hat on your avatar is a nice touch lol. Thanks Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 Got back from my vacation today and I was pleasantly surprised - everything lived except 1 acro frag that wasn't doing well. I had my dlink camera set up so that I could check in on the tank from time to time while I was out. Swapped the floss out immediately, and tested water. Nitrates were up to 8ppm, which isn't too bad seeing that the eheim autofeeder was doing it's daily thing. Updated tank shots. This purple acro frag (to the right of the green pavona) is showing some good growth and extension. This acro colony is doing okay as well, showing some extension finally. I get excited seeing acros extending in case you haven't noticed. FTS So the acro that isn't doing so hot is now on the rack. Did a 30-40% water change in hopes of getting nitrates down. I've had to increase Alk dosing as my reading today was down to 6.5. Not sure what happened but over the vacation, but it seems the tank is consuming a lot more now - which I hope is a good sign. I did notice however that bubble algae has started in some spots which really sucks Might shop for an emerald crab tomorrow as well as some snails. Happy New year all! 2 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Happy New Year! I'm glad the tank did well while you were gone. And I agree, higher alk consumption is a good thing. Just go slow in bringing it back up. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tuffryu Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 Happy New Year! I'm glad the tank did well while you were gone. And I agree, higher alk consumption is a good thing. Just go slow in bringing it back up. I recall you mentioning that it would be a matter of time before the sps frags would acclimate and start consuming more alk so I think that's starting. BTW, thanks for the tip about the the using a razor for the limestone on the skimmer. I'm waiting for some new stones and I basically scraped the outsides of the current one really good and it works like a charm. I guess the outsides of the limestone start deteriorating and it just needs scraping in order for the good limestone area to be exposed to water. I'm thinking about starting back NO3 dosing, and wanted to get your thoughts about it as you've used it for a while now. Let me know. 1 Quote Link to comment
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