SURVEYMAN46123 Posted June 23, 2017 Author Share Posted June 23, 2017 So I don't know what's going on with my coral. Some seem extremely happy, some not so much. Below you can see in photos what I'm talking about. Remember these corals were underneath a IM Skkye 18 watt led. Non dimmable. Ran for an 8 HR period each day. Corals, especially the ricordea and hammer were nice and open. The frogspawn has never really opened much since I've had it which is disappointing. So the Kessil A80 has been on the tank for little over a week. The first few days everything seemed happy and normal. Then about day three you could see some of my zoa's reaching and the ricordea curling upwards. So I upped the intensity a tad to around 50%. I've left it there with no changes in those corals, and the hammer receding even more. The acans love it and seem very happy. The frogspawn is bigger than ever and seems happy as well. My other colony of zoa's are really taking off with two more heads found during feeding this evening. So I'm not sure what's going on. Re-position the hammer and frogspawn higher in the tank? Keep the intensity around 30-40% for a week or so? Increase the intensity? Up the color spectrum to more whites? Maybe my calcium and ALK are off. Don't scold me but I need to get my own test for these as I usually have a local guy test for me. The light is set 8" above the water surface and only on for 8 hours a day. ? https://instagram.com/p/BVqSiRihYEN/ Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 On 6/22/2017 at 8:35 PM, SURVEYMAN46123 said: So I don't know what's going on with my coral. Some seem extremely happy, some not so much. Below you can see in photos what I'm talking about. Remember these corals were underneath a IM Skkye 18 watt led. Non dimmable. Ran for an 8 HR period each day. Corals, especially the ricordea and hammer were nice and open. The frogspawn has never really opened much since I've had it which is disappointing. So the Kessil A80 has been on the tank for little over a week. The first few days everything seemed happy and normal. Then about day three you could see some of my zoa's reaching and the ricordea curling upwards. So I upped the intensity a tad to around 50%. I've left it there with no changes in those corals, and the hammer receding even more. The acans love it and seem very happy. The frogspawn is bigger than ever and seems happy as well. My other colony of zoa's are really taking off with two more heads found during feeding this evening. So I'm not sure what's going on. Re-position the hammer and frogspawn higher in the tank? Keep the intensity around 30-40% for a week or so? Increase the intensity? Up the color spectrum to more whites? Maybe my calcium and ALK are off. Don't scold me but I need to get my own test for these as I usually have a local guy test for me. The light is set 8" above the water surface and only on for 8 hours a day. ? https://instagram.com/p/BVqSiRihYEN/ First a disclaimer. I am not an LED expert. If an LED expert comes in here and says something different from me, listen to them. I do know corals and their behaviour and I have a basic familiarity with the Kessil A80. 8" above the tank sounds kinda high for that light. If possible, I'd try lowering it slightly, increasing whites slightly for a day, and see what happens. From your description it sounds like the frogspawn has been happier with the light change, so I'd leave it where it is. I would expect a Hammer to recede if it was being bothered by something or getting too much light rather than too little, although Acans tend to be happier in lower light and Zoas reaching also sounds like the light is less intense. Is the Kessil at the same height above the tank that your previous light was? Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 1 hour ago, Weetabix7 said: First a disclaimer. I am not an LED expert. If an LED expert comes in here and says something different from me, listen to them. I do know corals and their behaviour and I have a basic familiarity with the Kessil A80. 8" above the tank sounds kinda high for that light. If possible, I'd try lowering it slightly, increasing whites slightly for a day, and see what happens. From your description it sounds like the frogspawn has been happier with the light change, so I'd leave it where it is. I would expect a Hammer to recede if it was being bothered by something or getting too much light rather than too little, although Acans tend to be happier in lower light and Zoas reaching also sounds like the light is less intense. Is the Kessil at the same height above the tank that your previous light was? Actually the kessil is higher than the first light. I actually lowered it a bit last evening but it is still higher than the first light. The pink zipper zoa's are really stretching, but the watermelon zoa's are happy as can be and they are next to each other. I turned down the intensity and the hammer started to open a bit more, but not as much as it was under the previous light. Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 On 6/24/2017 at 9:40 AM, SURVEYMAN46123 said: Actually the kessil is higher than the first light. I actually lowered it a bit last evening but it is still higher than the first light. The pink zipper zoa's are really stretching, but the watermelon zoa's are happy as can be and they are next to each other. I turned down the intensity and the hammer started to open a bit more, but not as much as it was under the previous light. Any new changes? Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Light is about 6.5" or so off the water now. I'd say closer to 7". Can't get it any closer with the current mount. The intensity has been turned down for now, but the ricordea and pink zippers are still stretching a bit. The hammer is opening up a bit more but not as much as it used too. I'm just going to be patient and see how things go. Saturday we are planning on picking up a tail spot blenny, and maybe a small clown. Also my LFS had a purple torch they are going to hold for me. Maybe they will have some other pieces I can add to this tank. Still trying to figure out what I can put on top of the rock that will look good. So I hope to have some awesome updates this coming weekend. 3 Quote Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 On 6/22/2017 at 8:35 PM, SURVEYMAN46123 said: So I don't know what's going on with my coral. Some seem extremely happy, some not so much. Below you can see in photos what I'm talking about. Remember these corals were underneath a IM Skkye 18 watt led. Non dimmable. Ran for an 8 HR period each day. Corals, especially the ricordea and hammer were nice and open. The frogspawn has never really opened much since I've had it which is disappointing. So the Kessil A80 has been on the tank for little over a week. The first few days everything seemed happy and normal. Then about day three you could see some of my zoa's reaching and the ricordea curling upwards. So I upped the intensity a tad to around 50%. I've left it there with no changes in those corals, and the hammer receding even more. The acans love it and seem very happy. The frogspawn is bigger than ever and seems happy as well. My other colony of zoa's are really taking off with two more heads found during feeding this evening. So I'm not sure what's going on. Re-position the hammer and frogspawn higher in the tank? Keep the intensity around 30-40% for a week or so? Increase the intensity? Up the color spectrum to more whites? Maybe my calcium and ALK are off. Don't scold me but I need to get my own test for these as I usually have a local guy test for me. The light is set 8" above the water surface and only on for 8 hours a day. ? https://instagram.com/p/BVqSiRihYEN/ I switched over from the Innovative Marine skylight to the kessil a160 and it took a long time for my corals to adjust.. just be patient and try not to change setting too much...find one and stick with it for a while Quote Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 My kessil is on for about 10 hours of the day.....but i have a controller and it ramps up the intensity with the max at 45%....i know we have different kessils so it's hard to compare Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 I'm leaving it on a low intensity for a while to see how things pan out. I'd dont have a controller yet, so the ramping is non existent. Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted June 28, 2017 Author Share Posted June 28, 2017 Everything seems to be slowly starting to open up more and become acclimated to the light. So that's good news right? ? I posted this to my Instagram last night. Mainly asking what people thought of what I should add next in the bare spots on my tank. Id love for you to all take a look and give me your suggestions. I'm kinda lost on what might look good in these bare spots. Thanks. 2 Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 Update: We have fish, I repeat, we have fish. ? 6 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 6 hours ago, SURVEYMAN46123 said: Update: We have fish, I repeat, we have fish. ? Such different behavior than the baby clown I brought home, which only reinforces my belief that she was sick when I brought her home. The clowns and tailspot are gorgeous! Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 14 hours ago, Lula_Mae said: Such different behavior than the baby clown I brought home, which only reinforces my belief that she was sick when I brought her home. The clowns and tailspot are gorgeous! Thank you. Lenny the Blenny has been very shy. Hopefully he kicks that soon. The clowns are pigs and seem to be quite happy. I'm sorry to hear about your clown Lula. 2 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Congratulations on the new fish! Is the frogspawn doing better now that it's had time to get used to the new light? Blennies are shy, they mostly hang out in their hiding spots with just part of their bodies sticking out. Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 40 minutes ago, teenyreef said: Congratulations on the new fish! Is the frogspawn doing better now that it's had time to get used to the new light? Blennies are shy, they mostly hang out in their hiding spots with just part of their bodies sticking out. I am wondering about the Frogspawn as well. Love the new fishies!!!! Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 The frogspawn is still the same way. The hammer has expanded a bit more, but not as much as in the past. I can see the skeleton now, in the past I could not. Below you can see in the video what I'm talking about. I'm picking up a few more ephuyllia frags this afternoon. Hopefully those will act more "normal". 1 Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 4, 2017 Author Share Posted July 4, 2017 Yesterday after work I picked up some new euphyllia frags from a local reefer. I'm letting them acclimate and hopefully finding a good place to glue them down soon. Might move the problem frogspawn to a new spot to see if it does better elsewhere. I also met @frahny yesterday while I was out and about and he sold me another NUVO 10 that I'm going to set up at work eventually. He even threw in some black sand he had left over! ?? He's good people. Thanks again man. 3 Quote Link to comment
frahny Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 2 hours ago, SURVEYMAN46123 said: Yesterday after work I picked up some new euphyllia frags from a local reefer. I'm letting them acclimate and hopefully finding a good place to glue them down soon. Might move the problem frogspawn to a new spot to see if it does better elsewhere. I also met @frahny yesterday while I was out and about and he sold me another NUVO 10 that I'm going to set up at work eventually. He even threw in some black sand he had left over! ?? He's good people. Thanks again man. Anytime man! Pleasure to meet you and looking forward to having a reef buddy local? btw everything looks good! 1 Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 So…. The new fish seem to be doing great. They are eating well, and generally seem to be very happy and healthy. The girls love watching them and the blenny is coming out more often. However…. The corals I have in the tank have been up and down as of late. The zoa’s, ricordea, and new additions seem to be doing great. Honestly everything seems okay, just not as open as usual. I’m not seeing any tissue loss, or pests on my corals. Things seem to be just kinda blah to be honest, and I’ve also noticed a bit of white film that is on my encrusting monti, but it seems to be doing well other than that. Encrusting a lot on my rocks. My one torch that has always been open and happy before adding the fish last Friday is now opening fully for a couple hours then receding into what you see below. Also the candy cane colony I have hasn't been as full as usual. The tank filtration is filter floss and two chemi-pure blue nano packs. Friday afternoon when I added the new fish, I also added a small amount of Chateo to the display. Eventually planning on using it in a macroalgae reactor. I’m not sure if I’m having an ALK swing, my tank water is too clean, or it’s something else. I am starting to get small amounts of coraline patches on the rocks, but it doesn’t seem to be spreading around much. I’ve also noticed a few spots of hair algae and bubble algae in the past couple days, something I want to combat quickly. To save a bit of cash, and an excuse to oogle at a friend system, I usually take some water to him to test for me. Not a practice I am proud of, but hey I did it. However I have kept an eye on nitrates at home since starting to add coral and fish. I have purchased a couple Sailfert kits (Alk, CA, and MG) and they should be arriving any day now. When they arrive, should I do a water change and then test everything daily for a week to possibly see what is up? What numbers should I be aiming for in a strictly LPS and softie tank? I am using distilled water for my salt water and top off. I have been told that simply doing water changes will keep my figures where they need to be for LPS, but I’m beginning to think that might not be the case. I’m doing 2 gallon WC’s weekly and vacuuming half the sand bed each time. Parameters as of last night: Instant Ocean Salt Salinity - 1.026 Temp - 78.2 PH - 7.9 ALK - 7.2 CA - 400 MG - 1275 Phos - 0 Nitrates - 10 ppm Light cycle is 10 AM to 9 PM. Low intensity on the Kessil A80. So, should I be dosing, remove the chemi-pure, remove the chateo, or something else? I’m trying to do my best with this tank, and avoid a crash. However I realize I might be over reacting a bit. Photos of the corals I am concerned about. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 I can't really tell what's going on in the first photo and I'm not sure what's up with the torch, but if you can get the torch out, try a Lugol's iodine dip. 1-2 drops in a cup of tank water (adjust amount as needed) for 3-5 minutes. It can be a big help to ailing corals. 2 Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 6, 2017 Author Share Posted July 6, 2017 Thanks Lula, I will keep that option open. :thumbs up: 1 Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Water change was done Sunday morning. Afterwords I tested, and plan to re-test before the next change. 7-9-17 Temp: 78.2 SG - 1.026 CA - 500 Alk - 8.6 MG - 1470 7-12-17 Temp: 78.1 SG - 1.026 CA - 470 Alk - 8.6 MG - 1460 Nitrates - <20 PPM Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 17, 2017 Author Share Posted July 17, 2017 So I tested everything again last evening before the weekly water change. Did not see a significant decrease in any parameters. Sure there is a drop, but that is a given, but no obvious spikes. So why certain corals are acting or looking the way they are are still a mystery to me. CA - 460 Alk - 8.4 MG - 1450 PH - 7.6 Nitrates <20 PPM Temp 78.8 SG - 1.026 Oh and here is a FTS of Day 142. 3 Quote Link to comment
SURVEYMAN46123 Posted July 19, 2017 Author Share Posted July 19, 2017 Thinking of adding a powerhead to my tank for some more flow. I have one area that is a dead spot that the spinstream doesn't seem to hit. I want something that is controllable but affordable. I was thinking the Jebao PP-4, but worried it might be too much. Does anyone have any suggestions? Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 19, 2017 Share Posted July 19, 2017 25 minutes ago, SURVEYMAN46123 said: Thinking of adding a powerhead to my tank for some more flow. I have one area that is a dead spot that the spinstream doesn't seem to hit. I want something that is controllable but affordable. I was thinking the Jebao PP-4, but worried it might be too much. Does anyone have any suggestions? Maybe this? I haven't used it myself, but a knowledgeable friend recommended it to me when I was worried about a Jebao pp-4 being too strong. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS8782D/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A7SIQ2Y2T11UM 1 Quote Link to comment
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