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SaltyBuddha's IM10 Fusion


SaltyBuddha

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You should do it!  And ya know, maybe a pom pom or porcelain crab or something. ;)

 

Whatever you do, don't get the zebra hermits.  Little devils! :angry:

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SaltyBuddha

CYCLED TANK WITH FIRST CORALS!

 

First off. The honorary cycling picture

 

Went to the LFS last night after work. Turns out that they get their stock in on Thursday so it wasn't the best day to go. But they keep their tanks at 1.025 so acclamation should be easy in the future. Was really looking for a skunk shrimp but they were all out. I opted for a hermit crab instead. Still plan on getting the shrimp later on though.

 

 

Also got two corals. A cheap little candy cane and two zoa polyps that I got for free :happydance: they were just floating around in the bottom of the tank and I asked for them. They only had big zoa rocks and I don't have the space. One was open when he grabbed it, the other not so much. 

 

Here is a picture when I first out them in. One of the do as is actually opening up a little now. The candy cane almost instantly took out its feelers when it went into the tank. I had moonlights on to help them adjust.

 

 

Honestly, never realized how small these guys actually are. The zoa polyps are so tiny. I love it.

 

Going to feed them tonight. The candy cane should feed no problem and we will see about the zoas.

 

 

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SaltyBuddha
4 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Yeah zoas can be pretty tiny!  As opposed to my grandis palys, the largest of which is nearly two inches across when open! :D

If all goes well in the next week, I'll be keeping an eye out for a yasha and shrimp pair on DD. Will also be adding a pom pom and a dwarf feather duster! 

 

I never realized the feather dusters were actually a worm! I'm not sure if it is possible, but I think mine has killed the Halimeda it is attached to. Maybe burrowed in it? All I know is that since the duster started growing the Halimeda stopped growing and some is falling apart. I'm going to take it out tonight and try to put the duster on a frag

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  • SaltyBuddha changed the title to SaltyBuddha's IM10 Fusion - First Corals!

Not sure on the halimeda (maybe you could try sticking the base in sand/on a rock and see if it roots?) but yes they are funny looking little worms!  Had one that abandoned his tube in shipping last year, sadly he did not live very long as he kept moving round the tank and didn't find a place to settle.  Hermits probably harassed him too.  Another I had years ago dropped his crown of feathers once after the zebra hermit bothered him too much.

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SaltyBuddha

Yeah no idea on the Halimeda either. I can't find any reference to them growing on a calcified algae. It was getting kinda fugly anyways though. I'll post how it looks tonight when I get home. Sadly I don't think it ever recovered from the 5 gallon ammonia bucket of death. No clue how the duster made it through all that but if it did, he must be a hardy little worm.

 

I'll try and put him somewhere the hermit crab won't bug him.

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As long as he's in his tube, he'll likely be ok unless your hermits are super-aggressive.  If he's not in his tube...I believe placing them in a safe spot between rocks or in sand where they can build their tube can help but prognosis isn't usually great for tube-less worms, from what I remember reading. My zebra hermit was a nasty little booger and there were times I sorely wanted to flush him lol.

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SaltyBuddha

FIRST FEEDING

 

First feeding or the candy cane coral. Some weird slime was on it but I could only see it once the food got caught in it.

 

The hermit came out right after to see what he could get

 

20170426_210136-1.thumb.jpg.a7fcbe3a6ca10045ed8d5c84fabd4c89.jpg

 

Also think I lost the feather duster worm. He was so small and had to get off the macro. He was definitely dug into it a little bit, but the Halimeda needed to get out of there.

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Nice pic. Do wish my GSP to open tonight. Last night I just glue it on the back wall. When I put the mat on the LR, my hermit keep on peeling it off when he try to clean the side. The shell literally drag it out of the LR. So I had to stick it to the back wall so that it can grow and be happy.

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SaltyBuddha
2 minutes ago, WolveX said:

Nice pic. Do wish my GSP to open tonight. Last night I just glue it on the back wall. When I put the mat on the LR, my hermit keep on peeling it off when he try to clean the side. The shell literally drag it out of the LR. So I had to stick it to the back wall so that it can grow and be happy.

Yeah I'm hoping the candy cane really fluffs up soon. My zoas haven't opened all the way yet either but I heard it can take a few days. GSP can also take a few days to open up. Just more patience after the cycle lol my hermit crab gets all over the place. Some places I didn't think he would be able to get there but he does

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Yeah, kinda love the hermits. They have character. I don't blame him, he is just trying to help cleaning but without realizing his back actually cause trouble. I'm thinking of getting another hermit in 2 weeks time. MY current hermit is the Electric Blue Knuckled Hermit. My next target will be the dwarf blue legged hermit and some cerith snails. Seems like my tank is having 2nd green algae bloom. Need some vegie CUC to control it.

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SaltyBuddha

Yeah he is definitely growing on me. Thinking about getting a blue legged one next too. Currently have a scarlet hermit crab. I haven't had any algae blooms yet actually. There is some in the back chamber with the chaeto, but not a lot. Definitely plan on getting a few ceriths when I need them

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SaltyBuddha

Open Zoas and my first leather 

 

My Candy Cane is still not getting really fluffy and it doesn't extend its tentacles as much at night. I've read that they can take a while to get used to a new tank. It want expanded in the LFS either so it may take extra time for it to acclimate.

 

The small zoa polyps weren't opening up either. One is opening half way consistently, but not fully. Super bright green though, so I really hope it opens soon.

 

This got me wondering if my tank was okay. So I ran more tests than I have before.

 

Ammonia/Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 10ppm (little high but manageable)

Alk - 10

Calcium - 480 (high due to salt mix?)

PH - 8.0

SG - 1.025

Temp is very stable between 78.3 and 78.7

 

I don't have a test for magnesium but I plan on getting one soon. I didn't think these parameters would do anything bad, so I was hoping the corals were being picky. I decided to grab a few more corals to see how they would do.

 

I grabbed two zoa frags and a leather from a fellow reefer here on Nano Reef.

 

New additions

Blue agave Zoa frag

Unknown Zoa frag

Toadstool

 

There was some GHA on the frags due to a tank crash. I figured it would be a good chance to give my try at removing it. And the hermit needs more food anyways. I dipped the corals in Coral RX and scrubbed the frags with a toothbrush. Also took some hydrogen peroxide on a Q-tip to the sides of the frag. I'll do a peroxide dip of the GHA survives the first dip.

 

Within a few hours all the 10 or so polyps are opened or almost opened. The Toadstool has polyps coming out as well. It's leaning a bit on a rock, but that is normal night behavior.

 

Feels great to actually have some open corals in the tank. Feels even better to know that my first two corals are just picky and that my tank can support life.

 

Pictures to come in the next few days.

 

 

 

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SaltyBuddha

The feather duster lives! I kept him in the tank even after I thought he was dead. I had a tiny rock with a cylindrical bore that I placed him in. At first he would just wave around and not actually move on his own. Obviously thought he was dead, but this morning he goes in and out on his own :happydance: 

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WV Reefer
5 minutes ago, SaltyBuddha said:

The feather duster lives! I kept him in the tank even after I thought he was dead. I had a tiny rock with a cylindrical bore that I placed him in. At first he would just wave around and not actually move on his own. Obviously thought he was dead, but this morning he goes in and out on his own :happydance: 

Yay! 

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1 hour ago, SaltyBuddha said:

The feather duster lives! I kept him in the tank even after I thought he was dead. I had a tiny rock with a cylindrical bore that I placed him in. At first he would just wave around and not actually move on his own. Obviously thought he was dead, but this morning he goes in and out on his own :happydance: 

Yay!  They tend to be pretty tough little guys.  Mine jumped his tube after the move last week but he's still hanging in there at the back of the tank.  I'm trying to disturb as little as possible so he can rebuild his tube, poor guy.  I can only imagine how stressed he is without the protection of his tube!

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SaltyBuddha
58 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Yay!  They tend to be pretty tough little guys.  Mine jumped his tube after the move last week but he's still hanging in there at the back of the tank.  I'm trying to disturb as little as possible so he can rebuild his tube, poor guy.  I can only imagine how stressed he is without the protection of his tube!

Yeah I was super surprised this morning. He was literally flopping around outside of the rock for at least 3 days. Luckily I had that rock with a hole already for him. If you have some rubble you can probably drill a little hole for him at least. Don't think mine would have made it without that. And now he has his own rock that I can move around super easily!

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SaltyBuddha

Brown hair algae?

 

Well, things can't all go according to plan. The corals I got yesterday had some GHA on them. I dipped them in Coral Rx and even wiped the frags down with peroxide. Today I noticed some brownish hair algae growing on some rocks. Not sure if it spreads within 12 hours like that, or if it is just a coincidence. Probably not.

 

Phosphates are 0 but nitrates are 20ppm. Currently the fuge is not doing what it should. I haven't seen the chaeto grow much if at all. That's okay because I ordered a JBJ nanoglo last week and it should be here tomorrow B)

 

I also ordered a bigger CUC (currently only one hermit strong) to help out. Especially since I plan on feeding the corals more often. 

 

By putting more skill points into leveling up my fuge and CUC, I'm hoping the problem won't last too long. Also reducing the photoperiod until the new CUC gets active.

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7 hours ago, SaltyBuddha said:

Yeah I was super surprised this morning. He was literally flopping around outside of the rock for at least 3 days. Luckily I had that rock with a hole already for him. If you have some rubble you can probably drill a little hole for him at least. Don't think mine would have made it without that. And now he has his own rock that I can move around super easily!

He's actually wrapped himself into the crevice between the two stacked rocks, and I can't tell since the filter is in the way, but I'm thinking/hoping he's starting to build a tube. fingerscrossed

 

2 hours ago, SaltyBuddha said:

Brown hair algae?

 

Well, things can't all go according to plan. The corals I got yesterday had some GHA on them. I dipped them in Coral Rx and even wiped the frags down with peroxide. Today I noticed some brownish hair algae growing on some rocks. Not sure if it spreads within 12 hours like that, or if it is just a coincidence. Probably not.

 

Phosphates are 0 but nitrates are 20ppm. Currently the fuge is not doing what it should. I haven't seen the chaeto grow much if at all. That's okay because I ordered a JBJ nanoglo last week and it should be here tomorrow B)

 

I also ordered a bigger CUC (currently only one hermit strong) to help out. Especially since I plan on feeding the corals more often. 

 

By putting more skill points into leveling up my fuge and CUC, I'm hoping the problem won't last too long. Also reducing the photoperiod until the new CUC gets active.

:lol:

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Weetabix7

Your Calcium and Alk both sound a little high. 

Salt mix seems like the most likely culprit if test kits aren't expired. 

 

I would really suggest using peroxide on that hair algae. 

Take the rocks or frags with hair algae out of the tank, use a q-tip or something similar to dab peroxide on hair algae, let set for 30 seconds to a minute, rinse off with SW, then return to tank. 

 

Sounds like you got some nice new stuff!!

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SaltyBuddha
1 hour ago, Weetabix7 said:

Your Calcium and Alk both sound a little high. 

Salt mix seems like the most likely culprit if test kits aren't expired. 

 

I would really suggest using peroxide on that hair algae. 

Take the rocks or frags with hair algae out of the tank, use a q-tip or something similar to dab peroxide on hair algae, let set for 30 seconds to a minute, rinse off with SW, then return to tank. 

 

Sounds like you got some nice new stuff!!

Yeah it's most definitely the salt mix. Using Red Sea Pro Coral Mix. Unfortunately, I still have over 55g of the mix left unopened. Do you think I should get a new brand of maybe the batch I'm using is a little off?

 

I'm really still not sure if it is hair algae. There are some strands left on the frags, but those strands are clear. So I'm assuming it is dead. I pulled off some of the stuff from my rocks and it melted in between my fingers. That sounds more like diatoms, right? Its a really small amount right now, less than 1mm by 1mm tuffs. And only 2 or 3 of those at the moment.

 

I've got peroxide on standby if it gets any worse. I definitely do not want to battle something like GHA for a long time.

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SaltyBuddha

Improved fuge, algae and coral placements

 

I was not seeing any growth in the chaeto and nitrates were consistently high (15 to 20ppm). I switched out the cheap Amazon light for a JBJ nano glo. The JBJ is way more yellow than the other light and I have seen a big improvement in chaeto growth. Actual chaeto growth lol nitrates have been going down as well so its working

 

I've also seen some algae and diatom growth. So of course I ordered a clean up crew from John at Reef Cleaners. Nerites, dwarf and Florida ceriths, and two blue hermit crabs. They have been doing a great job and I even moved a few dwarf ceriths into the fuge.

 

Candy cane - improving?

Man I have been struggling with this one. I moved it all over the tank and it always shriveled up. Sometimes it would fluff up, and then it would shrink back up. I thought it was flow, but now I think it was the lights. Initially, I ramped the lights way down. The whites were only at 15 to 20 percent during the day. Yesterday it started to recede and so I decided it had to be the lights. I ramped the blue up to 85 and the whites up to 50. I set it in a place will a lower flow in my tank. And I've seen it fluff up more in 1 hour than I have the entire time in my tank. I was too worried about acclimating to my LEDs when it really needed more light. Still a little early but its looking much better. I would have hated to lose my first coral. Really hope he gets better.

 

 

Toadstool - taking flight!

 

My Toadstool is looking great. I've moved him up in the tank closer to where I want him places eventually. He has waxed over once but he has been going through his own algae issue. His polyps are really extending now and he has started to lift up on his own!

 

 

Looking forward to getting more corals. I've been so close to getting more and even a fish. But I'm going to keep going slow. I also need to learn to stop messing with the tank. Now that the Toadstool and the candy cane are looking better, I'm going to wait a week to see how they do. If everything keeps getting better, I'm going to order a yasha and shrimp next week fingerscrossed maybe even a few more zoas and a frogspawn I've. Een wanting for a long time

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  • SaltyBuddha changed the title to SaltyBuddha's IM10 Fusion

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