ADA - the 2 island reef

[lkoechle]

36 minutes ago, Andreww said:

Well thank you. I needed to get the sand out. For the most part it was the original sand that I put in over 2 years ago.

Lots of stuff accumulated in it and I never truly deep vacuumed it, except last time when I had the Dinoflagelates outbreak. I made the connection immediately.

 

I will see if I’ll stick to it; it is not my favorite look, but it tends to look great when SPS are grown in more from what I’ve seen in other people’s tanks. I wanna give it a couple weeks see if it’ll grow on me.

 

Also planning on gluing some lower light montis or even acros to the tank bottom since flow is high now and there’s no sand to upset them.

 

Im definitely digging the higher flow in the tank right now;

 

The clam seems a bit upset about the flow especially when it’s getting hit at 100% but mantle is still fully out.

Tried to wiggle it free from its rock while holding a flashlight on the underside to see if it has attached to the rock and surprise surprise ...it has attached to it, sent multiple threads down so I let it be. 

 

I just decided to go BB with my 65.  For similar reasons.  I am having either a dino or cyano problem. So I am just going to ditch the bed.  My plan for the BB is a rainbow Monti and similar. Maybe cyphastrea gotta a weigh the pros and cons. I have also seen a couple tanks with favia for that purpose

[Andreww]

4 hours ago, lkoechle said:

I just decided to go BB with my 65.  For similar reasons.  I am having either a dino or cyano problem. So I am just going to ditch the bed.  My plan for the BB is a rainbow Monti and similar. Maybe cyphastrea gotta a weigh the pros and cons. I have also seen a couple tanks with favia for that purpose

Yeah I’ve seen some BB encrusted with corals that looked very good. I’d be careful with Favia...it does indeed look good but mine sends sweepers 6” long if it gets close to other coral so I keep moving it til I find a good spot for it.

In a 65 you have more room though so it might work.

 

[Andreww]

Got a 3rd frag of rainbow Montipora, this time it’s going on the bottom.

More like a test, see how it colors up compared to the ones all the way up on the overflow.

Hopefully it’ll encrust to the glass and cover a good portion of the bare bottom.

[Andreww]

I can’t, as much as I want the BB, I can’t do it.

Bought a bag of Fiji pink.

This time around, sand is getting vacuumed with every WC. 

The tank looks so empty with no sand...maybe more suitable for larger tanks but nanos...oh man. Even my wife commented on how unnatural it looks...😆

[Tamberav]

lol that didn't last long! You have to give it a few weeks to grow on ya and see coralline spreading across the bottom. 

 

I figure it will look fine in a few... years? Just need to get it so full there is no room for sand anyways... 
 

 

 

And no room to vac it 

 

[Andreww]

Lol yeah right I just couldn’t stand it anymore.

Trust me I hated it even more the next day haha. The fact that the rocks now weren’t stable at all and playing with them til 3:00AM made me decide back on the sand .

 

With a new build maybe...then the aquascape can be arranged from the beginning .

Im laughing at myself but so is life sometimes😆

[Andreww]

ORA green planet acro.

Some nice lime tips💙

 

[Andreww]

Maxima clam doesn’t react to light anymore but mantle fully open just like before, no gaping ...

Weird...worries me a little...

[Tamberav]

It doesn't react at all? Or less?

 

As they settle they get less 'jumpy' and that's normal

[Andreww]

Just now, Tamberav said:

It doesn't react at all? Or less?

 

As they settle they get less 'jumpy' and that's normal

It doesn’t react at all.

Makes me wonder if adding sand today had something to do with it.

After everything settled it forcefully spit out whatever got inside (sand, sand particles) and it went back to being a clam...just no reaction to light .

Hmm...I’ll keep an eye on it ..maybe it’s just being moody today.

 

[Tamberav]

Hows the clam today?

[lkoechle]

On 12/12/2018 at 2:31 PM, Andreww said:

I can’t, as much as I want the BB, I can’t do it.

Bought a bag of Fiji pink.

This time around, sand is getting vacuumed with every WC. 

The tank looks so empty with no sand...maybe more suitable for larger tanks but nanos...oh man. Even my wife commented on how unnatural it looks...😆

damn I just pulled my sand today.  I thought we would do this together! 

[Andreww]

4 minutes ago, lkoechle said:

damn I just pulled my sand today.  I thought we would do this together! 

Lol I was all in until I couldn’t stand it anymore.

Just like myself, you probably had it super saturated with nutrients so if you ever decide to go back , you’re working with a brand new substrate .

I read somewhere on RC a very successful SPS keeper was replacing his sand every 2 years or so. I guess not a big deal either way.

If you like the BB look, then there no denying it’s benefits . I went back for the look, nothing else.

[Andreww]

23 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Hows the clam today?

Hey thanks for asking.

Still doesn’t respond a bit to any shadows.

Mouth a little gaped IMO, I can see the insides a bit but it’s been like this before then back to being tight, so really I don’t know what to make of it. It never truly gaped like wide open shell. Looks normal like it looked for the last month.

I attached a few pictures .

 

Mantle fully out, at night it closes up just like before about 95%, just a little mantle is exposed.

I do believe I messed with it a little too much with moving it so many times but at that time it was never attached to anything.

 

Are your clams fully acclimated? How’s their health?

 

[Tamberav]

47 minutes ago, Andreww said:

Hey thanks for asking.

Still doesn’t respond a bit to any shadows.

Mouth a little gaped IMO, I can see the insides a bit but it’s been like this before then back to being tight, so really I don’t know what to make of it. It never truly gaped like wide open shell. Looks normal like it looked for the last month.

I attached a few pictures .

 

Mantle fully out, at night it closes up just like before about 95%, just a little mantle is exposed.

I do believe I messed with it a little too much with moving it so many times but at that time it was never attached to anything.

 

Are your clams fully acclimated? How’s their health?

 

 

Bigger clams don't always attach, my 6 in maxima never did which I understand is normal. 

 

You did change a lot recently.. I think? Clam was up top then down then no sand and new flow....and moved rock work then the sand was back. It has every reason to be angry with you 😛 Hopefully it's just being pissy and calms down.

 

Mine seem okay.. but it's too soon to know... I think the best way to know if a clam is doing well is growth. One of them was gaping a bit few days after I got it but it was shipped in winter so the water got cold and it was tossed around in the bag so not too surprising.  

[Andreww]

18 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

Bigger clams don't always attach, my 6 in maxima never did which I understand is normal. 

 

You did change a lot recently.. I think? Clam was up top then down then no sand and new flow....and moved rock work then the sand was back. It has every reason to be angry with you 😛 Hopefully it's just being pissy and calms down.

 

Mine seem okay.. but it's too soon to know... I think the best way to know if a clam is doing well is growth. One of them was gaping a bit few days after I got it but it was shipped in winter so the water got cold and it was tossed around in the bag so not too surprising.  

That is true. I messed with it a lot.

However, now it has attached to the rock I made for it. I know because I lifted it slightly and there I saw the “foot” then multiple threads attached to the rock.

And just like I thought, it’s back to being nice and tight . 

What I noticed when I wave my hand above it is that the out-current syphon reacts by closing up rapidly but not the mantle.

Weird.

Fingers crosses its no more than temporary temperamental behavior .

 

As a side note, I feed phytoplankton and Aquavitro Fuel aminos about 3 times a week.

If I dose the Fuel directly to the tank, the clam mantle shrivels and pulls in. So I started dosing that into the overflow with no side effects.

 

[Andreww]

About 1.5 months of growth in my birdsnest.

 

[Andreww]

So this frag has been sold to me as green slimer but it obviously isn’t.

Looks like the tip is getting lighter in color.

Im wondering if it’s a frog skin acro or something similar. 

Opinions?

Photo of colony is of a frog skin acro from the internet.

[specore]

Tank is looking nice 🙂

 

[Andreww]

20 minutes ago, specore said:

Tank is looking nice 🙂

 

Thank you. Pulling my hair atm cuz my ELOS Phosphate and nitrate tests are garbage. 

Love the ALK/CAL/MAG tests but these 2 are a waste of money.

Filled the test vial with water and a bunch of concentrated nitrate and it reads 0. (I was suspecting something is off with the reagents).

So I need to go get a RedSea pro nitrate kit to have a real idea of what the level is.

 

I know there is an ELOS professional phosphate kit and seems to work but the regular one didn’t do it for me.

 

[Andreww]

What lanthanum chloride does to your skimmer. Dosed into the cup.

Cloudy milky skimmate, phosphate skimmed right out.👍🏻

I think I’m gonna bring down Alk slowly to 8 and keep it there.

Dont want to risk burnt tips on my SPS if the nutrients get too low with my current almost 10dkh.

 

[Andreww]

Acans loving life.

The big one used to be a rainbow. Now more like orange with some specks of green and purple mostly on the newer more shaded polyps.

Not sure where else to place it to regain colors. Total darkness? Cuz shade isn’t working well. Maybe it needs a few months ....

😣

[Andreww]

Can you spot the starry blenny? New addition and probably the last.

This guy is so cute😁

[Andreww]

Maxima clam all good. It doesn’t react to light still, but it would have been dead by now if something was wrong.

It is business as usual, opens fully during the day and closes tight at night , just no more reaction to shadows which I don’t mind at all.

[Andreww]

Already getting more comfortable and eating well. Clam mantle, his new favorite spot to hangout😆

Picture is dark cuz it’s almost lights out.