Jagadeesh's Elysian Gills

[thespinningsadhu]

20 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

He's adorable!  I vote yes, name him.  Or her.

I think we should have a contest. I feel that the winning name will dictate the sex - I mean, right now the fish is a hermaphrodite, right?

 

The winner will receive something. I don't know what. Some fish food? A gift card? Naked photos of Yasser Arafat?

[Lula_Mae]

1 hour ago, thespinningsadhu said:

I think we should have a contest. I feel that the winning name will dictate the sex - I mean, right now the fish is a hermaphrodite, right?

 

The winner will receive something. I don't know what. Some fish food? A gift card? Naked photos of Yasser Arafat?

I think you just scared everyone off from the contest...

[thespinningsadhu]

5 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

I think you just scared everyone off from the contest...

LOL. 

[thespinningsadhu]

Full Tank Film (lol) 

 

 

 

I'm loving the torch.

[thespinningsadhu]

So the little clown is pretty awesome - he ate a bunch so no stress. I used to feel sorry for the little clowns I saw in others videos because it looked like the current was always too strong and they were having to struggle. But no matter at what speed I put the wavemaker he gets right in the strongest part so he can swim against it. Cute. 

[Simulated Fish]

Coming together nicely! Keep the updates coming

[thespinningsadhu]

Got the Reef Chili in from BRS today along with a flake and mini pellet food. The Reef Chili seemed to make the fish ravenous. They like the flakes. Didn't see them eat pellets but those are for the sexy shrimp anyway. 

 

Salinity a smidge low at 1.024. I decided to keep it at 1.025 because it's hard as hell to read those little lines and the 1.025 mark stands way out. 

19 hours ago, Hippieheadshot said:

Coming together nicely! Keep the updates coming

Thanks! I'm loving this tank and this hobby. 

[thespinningsadhu]

One of the heads of my Duncan coral just spawned. What?

[thespinningsadhu]

Ha! I got some big flakes from BRS and they make the two fish insane! What's more is that sexy shrimp love them. I witnessed an honest to god tug of war over a big flake last night. So funny. 

[thespinningsadhu]

I've got crazy copepods all over the glass!! I'm so happy. This means I'm doing things right. WOOT!

 

 

[thespinningsadhu]

I was spot feeding the corals tonight and noticed four new heads growing on my duncan. And my fatty goby will eat from the pipette. So cute. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thespinningsadhu]

So, I'll preface this by saying I'm still going to test biweekly. 

 

I don't know how much faith I have in the API test kit. I just tested my water. 

 

pH - 8.2

Ammonia - 0.55 ppm 

Nitrite - 0.25 ppm 

Nitrate - 20 ppm 

 

Really?

 

So I rinsed out the vials really well and decided to test again. 

 

pH - 8.2

Ammonia - 0 ppm 

Nitrite - 0.5 (it went up - LOL) 

Nitrate - 80 ppm 

 

What?

 

I shook the shit out of the testing liquids and tested twice. So I don't really think I can be too confident in its results. 

 

I can't say I believe it. Everything - everything - is doing so well. Corals sprouting new heads, maxi-mini growing - shrimp super cool, fish awesome, and I just had a huge bloom of copepods. 

 

I feel like I should trust my eyes and the looks of the life in the tank instead of the tests. 

 

Anyway, I did a three gallon water change. 

 

I had to run out and get two gallons of distilled water because somehow, some way, my refractometer got way off whack even though I calibrated it before the water change. 

 

Time to invest in an RODI unit. Dang. 

 

@WV Reefer, @Lula_Mae, @Hippieheadshot, @seabass, & @Clown79 - what say you about the API test kit? Thoughts on chucking the test kit and just sticking to water changes religiously and observing the health and vitality of my corals, inverts, and fish?

 

 

[thespinningsadhu]

I just noticed that my ricordea has grown another mouth and is splitting again! A three-way split. Super cool. 

[seabass]

5 hours ago, thespinningsadhu said:

what say you about the API test kit? Thoughts on chucking the test kit and just sticking to water changes religiously and observing the health and vitality of my corals, inverts, and fish?

For the tests that you mentioned, I find them accurate enough.  A lot of people bash API; but with careful testing (and always shaking the reagents, and always cleaning the vials with RO/DI or distilled water), I find they get you in the ballpark.

 

I realize that I'm more of a defender of API than most, even though I also strongly recommend that reef keepers not use API's phosphate test kit.  Not because it's inaccurate, but because it's a high range kit (goes up in 0.25 ppm increments, when the target range for a reef tank is typically only 0.01 to 0.03 ppm), making the API phosphate kit better suited for a planted freshwater aquarium.

 

Your different results could be due to not thoroughly shaking the reagents every time (or even some residue left on the test vials).  If you don't mix up the reagents, you change the concentration of reagent, not only on that particular test, but also in what's left in the bottle (throwing off any future tests).  Of course, this is true with other brands of test kits as well.

 

That said, I typically "recommend" other brands of kits.  Salifert is a respected brand that offers reasonably priced hobby grade test kits.  They can pretty much suit all of your needs.  However, I like using the Hanna ULR Phosphorus Checker, and their Alkalinity Checker.  Also, I still use API's ammonia test kit, because it's: cheap, easy to use, accurate enough (arguably too sensitive for some people), plus, I'm used to it and there is only an occasional need to use it beyond establishing the initial cycle.

 

As for your results, I'd trust the undetectable ammonia result.  An experienced reefer can usually visually see when something is off (corals closed, fish not eating, etc).  After the cycle has become established, there is little need to regularly check ammonia and nitrite.  One can argue that you don't ever need to test nitrite, since it is not very toxic at reef pH levels.  However, a nitrite kit might be helpful when prepping dry rock.

 

Now pH is another matter.  I don't bother testing pH unless I'm doing something that might affect it (like dosing CO2 or kalk, or running a calcium reactor).  I'm not a believer in chasing pH with buffers.  However, a pH test kit can tell you if you have a CO2 problem, so I feel that they still serve a purpose.

 

As far as nitrate goes, it's apparent that your tank has plenty of it (although the exact amount may be hard to determine with that test kit).  And, TBH, it doesn't matter all that much.  Some corals like a little nitrate (even phosphate) in the water.  Both are actually important nutrients for coral.  There are numerous examples of successful, even thriving, tanks that have relatively high nutrient levels.  It's usually much more harmful to suddenly strip these nutrients out of the water column.  That said, I'd still probably work to slowly lower it some.  Excess nutrients, especially when combined with excess organics, can lead to algae, cyano, or other problems.

 

I regularly test for phosphate and nitrate.  And if dosing two part solution, I test for alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium.  My ammonia kit stays dormant unless there is a problem noticed (or I'm cycling a tank or prepping some rock).

[Lula_Mae]

11 hours ago, thespinningsadhu said:

So, I'll preface this by saying I'm still going to test biweekly. 

 

I don't know how much faith I have in the API test kit. I just tested my water. 

 

pH - 8.2

Ammonia - 0.55 ppm 

Nitrite - 0.25 ppm 

Nitrate - 20 ppm 

 

Really?

 

So I rinsed out the vials really well and decided to test again. 

 

pH - 8.2

Ammonia - 0 ppm 

Nitrite - 0.5 (it went up - LOL) 

Nitrate - 80 ppm 

 

What?

 

I shook the shit out of the testing liquids and tested twice. So I don't really think I can be too confident in its results. 

 

I can't say I believe it. Everything - everything - is doing so well. Corals sprouting new heads, maxi-mini growing - shrimp super cool, fish awesome, and I just had a huge bloom of copepods. 

 

I feel like I should trust my eyes and the looks of the life in the tank instead of the tests. 

 

Anyway, I did a three gallon water change. 

 

I had to run out and get two gallons of distilled water because somehow, some way, my refractometer got way off whack even though I calibrated it before the water change. 

 

Time to invest in an RODI unit. Dang. 

 

@WV Reefer, @Lula_Mae, @Hippieheadshot, @seabass, & @Clown79 - what say you about the API test kit? Thoughts on chucking the test kit and just sticking to water changes religiously and observing the health and vitality of my corals, inverts, and fish?

 

 

FWIW, my test kits expired about 7 years ago and were never replaced. Sometimes it would be helpful in figuring out when something is off but if the corals are pissed, they will let you know.  I find reasonably regular water changes and running filter floss and carbon with macros in the tank seems to be enough for me.  Now, this regimen may not be enough when freak things happen (like the awful tank crash I had back in March before I had carbon running, that was multi-factorial and difficult to stop), but in general it is working well for me.

[thespinningsadhu]

Yeah, I shook them as directed. I rinse really thoroughly in tap water and then rinse that water off with distilled. The reason I think it's wrong - besides coral health - is that there were such drastic differences in the test results. 

 

I may have to just get a Hannah checker each paycheck and test that way. However, I agree with Lula that testing isn't necessary on the regular if everything looks great and you're doing religious water changes. And I do. Sometimes I change it twice a week. 

 

Thank y'all for helping me. I really appreciate it. 

[Clown79]

I'm one of those that finds that testing resultsaren't perfect no matter the kit but it gives you a ball park. I'm fine with that.

 

 

I found with api the results higher

 

Nitrate: api 10 salifert 5

Alk: api 10 red sea 8.4

Ca: api 440 red sea 420

 

 

For me as long as the numbers are stable and in a normal range, i'm satisfied.

 

i rarely test ph.

I rarely test magnesium now.

 

I test alk every few days just to ensure my dosing is good because i've had some issues.

 

Ca, nitrate, phos is tested weekly

[seabass]

53 minutes ago, thespinningsadhu said:

I may have to just get a Hannah checker each paycheck and test that way.

Most people like Hannah for phosphorus and alkalinity, but aren't as impressed with their other checkers.  In fact, I like the Salifert alkalinity test just as well as Hannah's.  If you are dosing, or plan on dosing two part, I'd probably just get Salifert kits for testing calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium.  Salifert is also acceptable for nitrate and ammonia.  But like I said, an ammonia kit isn't really used unless you are starting a new tank or have a problem.

[thespinningsadhu]

I picked up a couple of scarlet reef crabs today and asked for a couple of larger shells to be thrown in. I get home and get them in and see that one of the empty shells has a feather duster on it! Score!  LOL! I think there's also a red ball sponge on it but don't know if it's alive. The feather duster and ball sponge may be one-fourth of an inch? Tiny.

 

I also got a new maxi-mini. It's neon yellow. This guy has great color but he's not happy today. He's folded in half (foot side together) and won't attach. My first maxi mini attached in less than a minute. 

 

 

[Lula_Mae]

58 minutes ago, thespinningsadhu said:

I picked up a couple of scarlet reef crabs today and asked for a couple of larger shells to be thrown in. I get home and get them in and see that one of the empty shells has a feather duster on it! Score!  LOL! I think there's also a red ball sponge on it but don't know if it's alive. The feather duster and ball sponge may be one-fourth of an inch? Tiny.

 

I also got a new maxi-mini. It's neon yellow. This guy has great color but he's not happy today. He's folded in half (foot side together) and won't attach. My first maxi mini attached in less than a minute. 

 

 

Nice little score!  Hope your nem attaches soon.

[thespinningsadhu]

The neon yellow maxi mini attached. He seems to be happy. He didn't eat -that I could tell - when I fed him one mysid shrimp soaked in delcon. 

 

I got a new Jager eHeim heater for the tank - it's all fancy schmancy and I like it. I upped the temp to 80 degrees. 

 

MY DUNCAN HAS SIX NEW HEADS SPROUTING. 

 

Shrimp continue to grow and molt and harass the zoas. 

 

Its funny - the ugly brown zoas that are pretty in the blues love the delcon stuff. I just used it for the first time for my two gilled critters and the zoas are all fully open and extended like crazy. They have boners. 

 

My torch is a gorgeous purple again - an eggplant with gold tips. Maybe it was just getting used to the tank? 

 

My maxi mini that I've had has dulled. I've read a lot and it seems this can happen and they color up again in a few weeks or months. I'm going to buy and freeze table shrimp from Publix and feed him a whole one once a week. He's a big boy. 

 

The lobo continues to be boring. He's only pretty when the blues are on by themselves. 

 

I think I may be beginning to get little tiny dots of coralline. Can't tell if it's purple or red-brown on the glass. 

 

Ordered and and received PolypLab Nano One to dose calc-mag-alk. I've read this can contribute to color enhancement of the corals, as well as the growth. I just want them to have a boost on top of trace elements in water changes. 

 

Broke down and bought the protein skimmer made to go with the tank. I know I don't need one as water changes will do, but I'm tired of the film on top and want it gone. 

 

The hammer is pretty and green and purple. 

 

Orange zoas are orange. And beautiful. 

 

I ate some noodles. 

 

Found huge bottles of Matrix and Phosguard on clearance at my Petco for $6.98 a bottle and got and added those to the tank. 

 

The ric has three mouths now and now and is forming a fourth to split. So much value for money. ????

 

 

[Lula_Mae]

22 minutes ago, thespinningsadhu said:

The neon yellow maxi mini attached. He seems to be happy. He didn't eat -that I could tell - when I fed him one mysid shrimp soaked in delcon. 

 

I got a new Jager eHeim heater for the tank - it's all fancy schmancy and I like it. I upped the temp to 80 degrees. 

 

MY DUNCAN HAS SIX NEW HEADS SPROUTING. 

 

Shrimp continue to grow and molt and harass the zoas. 

 

Its funny - the ugly brown zoas that are pretty in the blues love the delcon stuff. I just used it for the first time for my two gilled critters and the zoas are all fully open and extended like crazy. They have boners. 

 

My torch is a gorgeous purple again - an eggplant with gold tips. Maybe it was just getting used to the tank? 

 

My maxi mini that I've had has dulled. I've read a lot and it seems thus can happen and they color up again in a few weeks or months. I, going to buy and freeze table shrimp from Publix and feed him a whole one once a week. He's a big boy. 

 

The lobo continues to be boring. He's only pretty when the blues are in by themselves. 

 

I think I may be beginning to get little tiny dots of coralline. Can't tell if it's purple or red brown on the glass. 

 

Ordered and and received PolypLab Nano One to dose calc-mag-alk. I've read this can contribute to color enhancement of the corals, as well as the growth. I just want them to have a boost on top of trace elements in water changes. 

 

Broke me down and bought the skimmer made to go with the tank. I know I don't need one as water changes will do, but I'm tired of the film on top and want it gone. 

 

The hammer is pretty and green and purple. 

 

Orange zoas are orange. And beautiful. 

 

I ate some noodles. 

 

Found huge bottles of Matrix and Phosguard on clearance at my Petco for $6.98 a bottle and got and added those to the tank. 

 

The ric has three mouths now and now and is forming a fourth to split. So much value for money. ????

 

 

Sounds like the tank is doing great!  Was it a surface skimmer or a protein skimmer that you got?

 

What kind of noodles?

 

[thespinningsadhu]

LOL! 

 

Protein skimmer. The one they made to go with it. DF&S had a 25% off coupon so I couldn't pass it up. 

 

Egg noodles with a nice marinara. 

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=35633&cmpid=03cseYY&ref=6194&subref=AA&cmpid=PLA_G_6194&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv_fKBRCGARIsAL6R6eh66WMmtJDzWaHmzFg1zcXSNory3jvwyaCvrwBASQBU_XkUajy_aUEaAgeCEALw_wcB

[Lula_Mae]

5 minutes ago, thespinningsadhu said:

LOL! 

 

Protein skimmer. The one they made to go with it. DF&S had a 25% off coupon so I couldn't pass it up. 

 

Egg noodles with a nice marinara. 

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=35633&cmpid=03cseYY&ref=6194&subref=AA&cmpid=PLA_G_6194&gclid=Cj0KCQjwv_fKBRCGARIsAL6R6eh66WMmtJDzWaHmzFg1zcXSNory3jvwyaCvrwBASQBU_XkUajy_aUEaAgeCEALw_wcB

Oh yeah, that 25% off is hard to pass up!  If they'd had the IM Nuvo Fusion 10 without the light, I totally would've gotten it lol.  I got some sand, though, for my new build I'm planning.  Can't beat $17 for 20 pounds of sand!

[gogeta]

4 hours ago, thespinningsadhu said:

 

Ordered and and received PolypLab Nano One to dose calc-mag-alk.

 

 

hey man, just reading through your journal, tanks coming along nicely. just a quick thought though be a tad careful with an all in one dose for those 3. obviously tank will use different levels and frequencies of each. so make sure to test that your not going overboard with each individual one. also if your well aware of this and looking at me through your computer with a seriously face my bad just incase haha. looking forward to seeing tank progress.