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ADA - the 2 island reef


Andreww

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On 1/5/2018 at 4:12 AM, Andreww said:

Here’s the weird thing. They asked me how the heat pad looked. It has separated itself from the lid right on top of the clam bag. 

The lady I spoke to was 100% positive that the heat pad had cooked the clam, she said when they break the pad and install it on the lid it is very hot, and that the foul smell leads to the heat issue rather than anything else.

 

Could that be it? Gotta say, the heat pad was hot when I got it out so Im only thinking right when they put it in it must have been super hot and cooked the clam ...had the pad not separated from the lid and landed on the clam bag, I’m sure it would have been alive now.

The monti was in a smaller bag under some foam nuggets so it survived.

 

I had a Pederson's shrimp from regular LiveAquaria come with an ice pack next to its bag. It looked bad from the outset and did not survive very long.

 

On 1/8/2018 at 1:07 PM, Andreww said:

Yeah that hitchhiker is not even in the same galaxy as the tridacnas. 3 gallons is very small and the calcium and alkalinity would get depleted very fast, likewise, feeding it will pollute the water super fast. What kind of light do you have over the 3g?

I’m no expert in clams by any means I’m just talking from the experience I had with these 2 and another blue maxima that I killed a year ago by ripping apart its byssal threads and gland while trying to move it around the tank and didn’t know any better. 

 

Many people with picos regularly feed heavily and do large water changes after. I expect the PAR LED bulb he's using is more than capable of growing a clam in the right spot. Of course, 3g is far too small to be a permanent home for a clam but I have occasionally seen people start small ones in pics. I wonder if it would be easier to feed a small one that way?

 

On 1/8/2018 at 5:39 PM, Andreww said:

It depends on your bioload, how much you feed and how much water you change , how often.

If you do 100% water changes, you gotta be sure you’re not shocking the tank with different levels of ALK and CA than what you already have in the tank.

Soft coral might not care and some LPS won’t mind the shift in these parameters but sensitive inverts like clams do care and won’t like it.

Another thing, clams like nutrients in the water, that doesn’t mean elevated phosphates and nitrates but surely a bit of each . Fish poop is pure ammonia, which is the source of the nitrates so a clam feeds on that.

If you don’t have anything like that, the clam “might” die.

If you really wanna try one, Id get a fully grown maxima and have a fish in there. 

Why a fully grown 6” maxima...because it already reached the max size and won’t grow new shell and take out ALK and CA out of the water (at least in theory) , plus it’s supposed to be hardier.

Is it worth it though? Only you can say...that’s gonna cost a pretty penny and if it’s going to die then....it was a expensive experiment.

3 gallon is small for even a fish if adequate filtration isn’t in place .

Maybe more suitable for shrimp and zoas or smaller coral??

Not trying to sound like a smart Alec because I do not have long time experience with clams , but over the last 2 years I read pretty much every article that is available on clams and the majority of reefer comunity’s experiences seem to align with those articles ...high mortality on small clams and sometimes death coming out of nowhere on healthy specimens that have been established for years in a tank. 

 

On another note, some crocea and hippopus clams, as well as some maximas are found at a depth of 6meters or so.

That’s as intense as it gets PAR wise. Only you can tell if your light can sustain something like a clam or acropora long term.

A PAR meter is essential to figure out placement of various coral or clams and I’m planning to get one so I can get numbers instead of guessing.

 

If someone were dosing the pico to the levels their salt mixed to, or is changes were frequent enough that there was little to no fluctuation, would it still be problematic? Just brainstorming here. There are some small gobies that could go in a 3g but otherwise the nutrient levels could be created by feeding more or even dosing nitrates I think. Many types of coral can be grown in picos if one is prepared to frag. ;)

On 1/11/2018 at 9:57 PM, Andreww said:

Take whatever I say with a drop of Manuka honey instead of the typical grain of salt?

Not a grain of Himalayan pink salt? :lol:

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Lol @Lula_Mae, yeah the Costco brand works haha

Anything is possible in this hobby even with a pico tank, the problem is with the end user and how much work he/she is willing to put in to make that tank thrive long term.:)

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I keep playing around with my iPhone 7+ camera, nothing too fancy.

I did get the Aquarium App and that filters out a lot of the blue light but the photo size and resolution is 10 times lower which is a bummer so I only use it in certain situations...

The last few shots were with the iPhone camera , no app, portrait mode.

Thx for the compliment, I thought they look just ok...??

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On 1/11/2018 at 9:57 PM, Andreww said:

Lol yes I “take” it just like that. A teaspoon every day followed by 2 pills of propolis and a pill of olive leaf extract. Too much info already haha

Mixing it with hot tea loses much of its benefits. Just like pasteurized honey loses its good stuff when exposed to the high temperatures, mixing honey with hot liquids is not recommended for that purpose.

But that’s just me. A health freak. Take whatever I say with a drop of Manuka honey instead of the typical grain of salt?

Nah man don’t feel weird about it, I’m the same. I REFUSE to take anything other than homeopathic medicine unless 100 percent necessary. I strongly believe in it, stuff like Echinacea tea. I don’t ever even take like Tylenol or ibuprofen, it’s not like they help much anyway. But I didn’t know honey lost it’s benefits under high temps, good to know.

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3 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Manuka honey dosing, how interesting! I recently started dosing myself with manuka honey to great effect, awesome stuff. ?

Ain’t that stuff great? :)

Ive got some medicinal grade one , the UMF 15+ stuff but I’m scared to put that in the tank, I fear it’ll sterilize the bacterial colony ? lol

 

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On 1/13/2018 at 1:57 PM, Andreww said:

Looks like this fighting conch lives up to its name. It really fights...the sand??...look at those trails!

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I had strawberry conch before and it was sooooo lazy.  Sometimes it doesn't move for a whole week.  I need to find a fighting conch now.

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I’ve heard they don’t move much sometimes but mine with the expeception of one day when it burrowed itself under the sand, it’s been super active. Left and right all day;I’m very pleased with it. Sand is CLEAN now.

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This guy is getting pretty good at pulling lines. Freeway for all the other snails ?

its funny, when I hear a loud knock, I know it’s  hitting the end of the tank and starting to turn. Fun to watch for sure!

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Manuka honey dosing day 5. No issues so far, everything looks great . 1 big drop (cuz it’s thick stuff)mixed with RO water. May increase dose slowly to 2-3 drops . So far so good.

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Getting a couple acros sometime next week. Will mostly keep an eye on SPS with this honey dosing to see if they get upset or lose/keep color or color up better. 

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Undata used to be up top and grow well but lacked color....

When I redid the scape, I turned the rock 180 degrees and that put it all the way to the bottom close to the sand bed and I left it there mostly because it has encrusted.

Its in very low light partially shaded by the monti cap. Lately I’ve been seeing better coloration but I adress that mostly to the more consistent parameters since switching to ESV 2part..

pretty happy with it..

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Ok, few things happened today. Redid my plumbing on my overflow, glued extra pieces for the end pipes, changed the ball valve with a gate valve. This thing is silent now....can’t stress it enough , if I turn the skimmer off I honestly can’t heat a peep...Bean animal for life lol

 

Red acans really started to show off a gray/white/blue rim. Don’t even know how to describe it but it’s awesome. Not sure how the better coloration happened but I’m happy...maybe stable parameters and feedings get them blushing haha

 

Started dosing Iron, 2ml/week for now...I’ll see how my macro responds.

Changed Vortech from Lagoon to short pulse mode on the longest frequency , I think it’s 2 second or so in between pulses. Was not looking to make a wave, but rather have what I see in the ocean , gentle swaying back and forth . Anemone loves it, same with the other corals. Video below:

 

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New Hydra 26HD diffuser. Figured I’d make a new one since old one I made was not that nice...

Moved the light mount on the back wall instead of side glass like it used to be. 

I wasn’t comfortable with it on a 6mm glass...and the new diffuser adds a bit of weight as well.

 

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On 1/13/2018 at 8:25 AM, JoeR said:

Nah man don’t feel weird about it, I’m the same. I REFUSE to take anything other than homeopathic medicine unless 100 percent necessary. I strongly believe in it, stuff like Echinacea tea. I don’t ever even take like Tylenol or ibuprofen, it’s not like they help much anyway. But I didn’t know honey lost it’s benefits under high temps, good to know.

I swear by homeopathy. My family and I are guilty of having enough homeopathy on hand to open a pharmacy. :blush:

 

On 1/13/2018 at 8:55 AM, Christopher Marks said:

Manuka honey dosing, how interesting! I recently started dosing myself with manuka honey to great effect, awesome stuff. ?

Been hearing about Manuka honey since yesterday - I'm going to have to try it. People claim it cures all. I just started alkaline water.

 

On 1/16/2018 at 12:00 AM, Andreww said:

Manuka honey dosing day 5. No issues so far, everything looks great . 1 big drop (cuz it’s thick stuff)mixed with RO water. May increase dose slowly to 2-3 drops . So far so good.

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Andrew - I missed it - why are you dosing Manuka honey and why that particular honey?

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Kat, a form of carbon and instead of aminos.

Why Manuka? Cuz that’s all the honey I eat now and I always have some on hand.

 

For yourself, make sure you get a real Manuka honey. There’s a lot of fakes out there.

See the brand I got, that’s a legit one amongst others .??

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