Jagadeesh's Elysian Gills

[thespinningsadhu]

25 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said:

Show off the meth lab!

 

I would build a sort of arch with the rock on the left against the middle big rock.

 

I'm sorry about your blenny

 

I found the little shit hiding behind the two anemones. 

 

You can just make out his head

 

 

[Lugmos12]

alive?

 

 

[thespinningsadhu]

5 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said:

alive?

 

 

LOLOLOLOL Yeah, Alive.

[Lugmos12]

Just now, thespinningsadhu said:

LOLOLOLOL Yeah, Alive.

yay! I watched your tank video again - i really want an anemone ???‍♂️

[Lula_Mae]

3 hours ago, thespinningsadhu said:

@Lula_Mae - please watch and check out my esponja. Is yours like this??

 

 

 

 

Ooh. Uh, well, mine is the same color but I am totally bewildered by the holes in yours. I'm pretty new to plating sponges but I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing...

[Weetabix7]

Just stopping by to say Hiiiiiiii, glad you're still in the Stew. 

[seabass]

11 hours ago, thespinningsadhu said:

@Lula_Mae - please watch and check out my esponja. Is yours like this??...

I enjoyed the video.  I saw the brown RFA.  OK, not the most attractive one I've seen.  But like they say, if everything is bold, then nothing is bold.  Some of mine have had babies and one of my favorites is this rock colored, plain looking anemone.  It's parents weren't anything like it.  I'm not sure why I like it; it's not very attractive.

[thespinningsadhu]

Here's a better photo of the sponge. It's like it's dying from the inside. I never let it hit air. 

 

 

 

 

Here's my first little feather duster I found. He's getting to be a big boy. LOL. 

 

 

 

Pineapple tree coral. Should it eventually stand up straight?

 

 

[seabass]

56 minutes ago, thespinningsadhu said:

Pineapple tree coral. Should it eventually stand up straight?

Yeah, it should eventually look like the pic you posted from Live Aquaria.

 

 

Sorry for the PSA, I'm going to suggest taking a brief break and let some of your livestock grow out and/or recover.  When everything is looking good (water parameters, livestock, even algae) then get some more stuff.  I like to tell people not to add any new livestock when you are dealing with a problem.  While it doesn't seem that you have a problem per se, there are a couple of items which could use some recovery time.  Just a friendly suggestion.  It doesn't seem like you are overly rushing things, so please don't take it as a criticism.

[thespinningsadhu]

58 minutes ago, seabass said:

Yeah, it should eventually look like the pic you posted from Live Aquaria.

 

 

Sorry for the PSA, I'm going to suggest taking a brief break and let some of your livestock grow out and/or recover.  When everything is looking good (water parameters, livestock, even algae) then get some more stuff.  I like to tell people not to add any new livestock when you are dealing with a problem.  While it doesn't seem that you have a problem per se, there are a couple of items which could use some recovery time.  Just a friendly suggestion.  It doesn't seem like you are overly rushing things, so please don't take it as a criticism.

Can you tell me which you think need recovery (besides the RBTAs which are doing well)? I need specifics. The sponge is a lost cause and I've asked for my money back. There's a bit of algae because yesterday I put in live phytoplankton and it always sticks to the glass in patches. The cespitularia has recovered nicely. And I have new coralline everyday! 

 

Coral gumdrop croucher will be here Saturday. 

 

Tailspot blenny... he hides all the time. Every video I watch they're all out in the water column being charming. Ricardo has a malfunction. 

[seabass]

Ricardo will come out more as time goes on.  You will eventually appreciate his personality.

 

11 minutes ago, thespinningsadhu said:

Can you tell me which you think need recovery (besides the RBTAs which are doing well)? I need specifics.

I was going to say the RBTAs, the pineapple tree, and the sponge.  There were a few polyp corals not open, which I understand was mostly due to the water change.

 

Like I said, I don't want you to take it the wrong way.  Things are looking good, and it doesn't seem like you are really adding too much too quickly.  IDK, sometimes it's nice just to relax and watch things grow (and let everything mature and stabilize).  Forget I said anything.

[thespinningsadhu]

14 minutes ago, seabass said:

Forget I said anything.

No! Your advice is invaluable. The pineapple only arrived yesterday. 

 

I don't have anything planned for the tank after the Gumdrop. Maybe something branchy for him to crouch in.

[thespinningsadhu]

@seabass did you put a curse on me? ? I came home this evening to red slime algae. I think that's what it was. It was more brown and it had iridescent places. There were air bubbles everywhere on the rocks. I got my toothbrush and scrubbed it all if and then added some clarity to the tank. Should've taken photos but I wanted it gone. And I just did a five gallon water change day before yesterday. 

 

I wonder how I got it? Off to research....

 

 

[seabass]

I mean

 

No curse.  It just takes a bit of getting used to in order to balance keeping everything fed with exporting the organics and nutrients.  Tank maturity, cleanup crew, and biodiversity also come into play.  Sometimes it's a matter of sand bed maintenance (or blowing detritus off of the rocks).

 

Hopefully it's just cyano.  Everybody eventually gets it.  It usually shows up with an excessive buildup of organics, and often in combination with higher levels of nutrients (especially phosphate).  However, once a bloom starts, nutrient levels usually look low due to the consumption of the bloom.  A death can also trigger it.

 

In combination of detritus removal, and manual removal of the cyano, sometimes increasing flow helps.  Sometimes decreasing your light cycle helps.  Water changes, activated carbon, protein skimming, and/or phosphate reducing media may help too.  Once you take care of the underlying cause, Chemiclean can usually knock it out.

 

We won't even think about dinos. 

[Lugmos12]

I kept getting brown buildup on my sand; once in lowered the lights cycle to about 8-9 hours it went away. 

[thespinningsadhu]

So, I just ordered the CUC of the century, LOL!

 

10 Astraea Turbo Snail 

10 Nassarius Snail

2 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab

5 Cerith Snail 

1 Porcelain Crab

2 Fighting Conch 

5 Margarita Snail 

1 Babylon Snail 

5 Banded Trochus Snail 

10 Bumble Bee Snail

 

It's a lot for my small tank, I know, but when they run out of crap to clean I'll rehome them. There's a local reef group here in Bammy I just joined on Facebook. 

3 hours ago, Lugmos12 said:

I kept getting brown buildup on my sand; once in lowered the lights cycle to about 8-9 hours it went away. 

That sounds like diatoms to me. This is different. It's a film. I ordered Chemiclean Nano and will be dosing shortly. 

[thespinningsadhu]

8 hours ago, seabass said:

I mean

 

No curse.  It just takes a bit of getting used to in order to balance keeping everything fed with exporting the organics and nutrients.  Tank maturity, cleanup crew, and biodiversity also come into play.  Sometimes it's a matter of sand bed maintenance (or blowing detritus off of the rocks).

 

Hopefully it's just cyano.  Everybody eventually gets it.  It usually shows up with an excessive buildup of organics, and often in combination with higher levels of nutrients (especially phosphate).  However, once a bloom starts, nutrient levels usually look low due to the consumption of the bloom.  A death can also trigger it.

 

In combination of detritus removal, and manual removal of the cyano, sometimes increasing flow helps.  Sometimes decreasing your light cycle helps.  Water changes, activated carbon, protein skimming, and/or phosphate reducing media may help too.  Once you take care of the underlying cause, Chemiclean can usually knock it out.

 

We won't even think about dinos. 

Dude, when I googled dinoflagellates one of the photos looked EXACTLY like what I had. Thankfully, it was a post on here and dinoflagellates were ruled out. 

 

I ordered Chemiclean Nano. It's in a capsule form and premeasured. No guesswork. 

 

 

 

 

[seabass]

1 hour ago, thespinningsadhu said:

There's a local reef group here in Bammy I just joined on Facebook.

That's great.  Reef clubs are an excellent resource.  I spoke to our local club once, but I should really become a member.

 

A couple of thoughts on your cleanup crew.

• They will eat a lot, but also poop a lot, so maintenance/export is still required.
• Margarita snails are a cool water species.  While they are excellent grazers, they don't live as long at our typical reef tank temperatures.
• You'll have to rehome one of the fighting conches (and probably the Babylon snail) after a couple of weeks.  There just won't be enough for them to eat in the long run.

That said, I feel that this will be a good crew for your tank.  Do you have a few extra snail shells for your hermit crabs?  They will be less likely to kill snails if they have suitable replacement shells.

[thespinningsadhu]

Kept thinking this was a bristle worm but it's a pretty little red feather duster. 

 

 

 

Got the elegance to look almost like it did in the "wysiwyg" photo. Had to doctor the hell out if it. Figures. Believe it or not, no saturation boost. 

 

 

 

 

[thespinningsadhu]

@seabass I think my pineapple guy is healthy but he just grows sideways. I think it's the way they mounted the frag. What do you think? It's open fully. Just sideways. 

 

 

[Lugmos12]

How the f**k are you getting all this coralline algae!? 

[thespinningsadhu]

6 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said:

How the f**k are you getting all this coralline algae!? 

Dude. One day I had zero. Zilch. The next day I had I one spot. Next day two... seems like once it starts it goes fast. Also, I don't know if it makes a difference but the branch rock is real rock that I cured. The piece of fake rock barely has any. 

[Lugmos12]

Also your take makes me want to have an elegance coral but I don't think I Have space for it 

[thespinningsadhu]

1 minute ago, Lugmos12 said:

Also your take makes me want to have an elegance coral but I don't think I Have space for it 

The only reason I got it - besides it being on my list of wants - was that it was only forty bucks at the online store I got it at. And it's huge. 

[Lugmos12]

Just now, thespinningsadhu said:

The only reason I got it - besides it being on my list of wants - was that it was only forty bucks at the online store I got it at. And it's huge. 

I mean I'm fake lol bc i found a local reefer that is taking his tank apart and he's selling me some acans and euphyilia ??‍♂️ so I'll have to make it fit somehow