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Cultivated Reef

Sadies Biocube 16


sadie

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11 hours ago, banasophia said:

Matrix Media is like little rocks that are very porous and add surface area for your beneficial bacteria to grow. You would use it in addition to Purigen. I use filter floss, Chemipure Elite, Purigen, and matrix media. 

Oh, okay.  Funny, I ordered Chemipure Elite one time, but then when I read it, it sounded just like the Purigen so I didn't get it again.  😁  So in my 3 shelf tower, I have the filter floss on top, then the purigen.  Could I put the Matrix on the same shelf as the Purigen and the Chemipure on the bottom shelf? 

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3 hours ago, sadie said:

Oh, okay.  Funny, I ordered Chemipure Elite one time, but then when I read it, it sounded just like the Purigen so I didn't get it again.  😁  So in my 3 shelf tower, I have the filter floss on top, then the purigen.  Could I put the Matrix on the same shelf as the Purigen and the Chemipure on the bottom shelf? 

Yeah, I think it’s pretty flexible where you put them as long as the water flows through them... I have one sack of the matrix sitting on the bottom and one on one of the shelves. To be honest, you don’t have any nitrates or phosphates in your system at this point so you don’t have much to filter out... I’d still probably add the Chemipure though since lots of Biocube 16 owners are successful running that combination. 

 

I’m wondering if you have some sort of toxin getting into your system, or maybe stray electricity??? Still not sure what’s going on... Or if it was just bad luck with your losses. Once ready to try something again, I’d probably try a clownfish pair... 

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I went through everything the other day, trying to figure out why my corals aren't happy.  I think it was the water temp.  I had my heater ( a small preset 50 W) in the far right chamber with the temp probe in the far left.  In pulling everything out, I found my temp probe in the same chamber as my heater.  I have no idea when or why I put it from the far left to the same chamber, as that would give a false reading.  

 

I switched out the heater for my old one, and sure enough within a few hours my corals were starting to open.

 

It would be GREAT if this was the reason for my coral not doing so great.  We will see.

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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE:

 

My algae problem has totally gone away, just by shutting a blind. (It's been about 3 or 4 weeks)  And my coral are happy, getting their color and size back just by switching out the heater and putting the probe in the right chamber.

 

Still gonna take it slow, I want to see some growth before I add anything new.  But it finally looks like I'm back on track

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Funny you should ask-  Things were going great.  My coral are growing and doing great, but I have some kind of fungas or bacterial bloom.  I was just going to scrape it all off and do a huge water change, but was thinking that might make it worse.  Maybe it needs some kind of medicine?

 

Here are some pictures.  It't kinda a white fuzzy something all over everything.  It is a little stringy on the output nozzle, but other then that, not stringy.

 

Anyone have any idea what this is and what I do?

 

DSC_1652.JPG

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  • 5 months later...

UPDATE:

 

I let my tank sit for a bit just to make sure closing the shade really did make a difference, and it really did.  The end of last month I ordered 2 pajama cardinals and a cleaner shrimp on line.  They came so tiny I was nervous, but it has been a few weeks and they are doing great.  I feed a mix of food 2x a day (flake, frozen mysis shrimp).  

 

The increase in feeding has caused some algae to grow.  I ordered some snails and along with increasing WC 2x a week I am hoping that will get rid of it.  I got a huge zebra turbo snail (I named Godzilla) that is doing a great job.  I wish I could control him like a Rumba.

 

I wanted to order some coral and it is killing me looking at all the beautiful coral on line, but I want to make sure the algae goes away.  My GSP are not doing too great. Godzilla knocked them off the top and to the sand.  I moved them to a high flow area low in the tank. My white toad stool that was shrinking jumped off it's rock.  I kinda picked him up off the sand and stuck it in a hole in my LR.  He seems to like it there and has attached himself.  He has been coming out lately and I hope it will do good there.  My green toadstool is doing great.

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cardinal fish 9.15.19.JPG

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The very tiny head on my acan died yesterday. (the one on the far left in the above picture)  You can just see a little bit of color, but there was 2 heads.  It didn't look all that great when I got it (very receeded).  I was thinking that my stock LEDs are not as strong as what they came from, so I moved all 3 coral higher in my tank.  If they improve I will probably glue them there.  Time will tell.

 

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coral up higher.JPG

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I just noticed my back wall!  😆  You can see Godzilla (giant  zebra turbo) has cleaned the right side of the wall.  He was starting on the left side this morning.  He almost has it all cleaned.  He is awesome.  He hasn't knocked over anything since the first night.  Maybe I can keep him.

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ug...just came home from food shopping and I think my other head is dead.  😪  Bummer.  How do my other guys look?  I can see a little skeleton on the other acan, but just on the edge.  My candy cane looks really skinny, hoping he will puff up soon.  He did eat the other day when I fed the zoo plankton, so did the enchinata.  Maybe I will stick with online for fish and snails and get the coral at LFS.  The do have nice coral, but the hour drive is a pain.

2nd head died.JPG

candy cand & duncan.JPG

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17 hours ago, sadie said:

ug...just came home from food shopping and I think my other head is dead.  😪  Bummer.  How do my other guys look?  I can see a little skeleton on the other acan, but just on the edge.  My candy cane looks really skinny, hoping he will puff up soon.  He did eat the other day when I fed the zoo plankton, so did the enchinata.  Maybe I will stick with online for fish and snails and get the coral at LFS.  The do have nice coral, but the hour drive is a pain.

2nd head died.JPG

candy cand & duncan.JPG

Typically corals die from too much light and sometimes for no obvious reason. I got three acan from the same place, at the same time, placed in the sand bed for the first month and one didn’t make it. If they are able to take food that can help. Good luck, hopefully your acan bounces back. 

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I woke up this morning to find my candy cane coral face planted in the sand.  It must have been Godzilla.  I glued the CC back on the post and this time I glued the post to the rock.  He seemed to do good there.  I didn't notice any damage to his flesh, At first I just set him in the sand just to make sure he was gonna be alright.  Then tonight I glued him when he seemed fine.

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I also got the islands I ordered the other day.  My GSP have not been doing well, so I cut a patch off the rock and glued it to an island.  I glued it to the insert, so if it starts to spread I can take the insert out and put it where I want to.  Not sure I want GSP all over my back wall.

full tank shot 92519.JPG

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ugh! the glue didn't hold (I put the gel on the disk and stuck it to rock in the water.) I had to take the whole LR out and glue the CC outside the tank.  I thought I had it in the right spot, but nope.  It's a little different.  Then I couldn't get the rock back the right way.  And now the rock work looks worse (It didn't look very good before, honestly).

 

But, I will figure it out later, this little guy has been through a lot this week, time for him to chill.  I'll post a FTS tomorrow.

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I just tested my water and they are slowly changing since I added my coral a week ago on the 18th. 

9/22:                                               9/24:                                     9/26

KH 9.3                                             KH 9.6                                   KH 9,9

Mag 1425                                       Mag 1359                             Mag between 1260-1290 (the syringe was halfway between 0.10 and 0.20, not sure how to translate that on the chart)

cal 455 (500 on the 18th)               Cal 455                                  Cal 440

 

I have Nano A&B and was thinking of starting that tomorrow then testing.

 

Idid a 4 gal WC on the 24th and those readings were before that.

 

 

 

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Went to the not so local LFS today and got an emerald crab and some more sand sifting snails.  I also got a purple mushroom and some eagle eye zoas.  I have never been able to keep zoas, but maybe this tank it will work.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  They are already starting to open, kinda thought it would take a few days.  I put the zoas on my new island, I figured that way I could move them up or down, into flow or out of flow as they like it.  Hoping it works.

purple shroom 10.4.19.JPG

zoa2 10.4.19.JPG

eagle eye zoa 10.4.19.JPG

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Just came back from fish store.  I got the kenya tree (sooo small!)  a small rock of greenish blueish pallys/zoas.  He said they were zoas, but they look more like pallys to me, which I'm okay with.  yellow polyps (I can't help it, I just love them) and a red/orange acan that actually looks better in my tank then theirs!  😊  It has a lot of babies on the back side of it, I will probably turn it around, but will let it be for now.

 

I like to post pictures when I first get them, even if they haven't opened yet. 

 

 

 

10.11.19 kenya tree.JPG

10.11.19green pallys.JPG

10.11.19 yellow polyps.JPG

10.11.19red acan.JPG

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pallys/zoas (not sure what to call them) are starting to open.  They look nice.  I was trying to stay away from green because I have 2 green coral already, but I really liked them.

 

10.11.19 green pallys open.JPG

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14 minutes ago, kimdawg said:

Nice additions to your tank.  I like the shape of your rockwork.

thanks.  Everything is so little.  I use to buy small colonies, but now I only have access to frags.  In time it will all grow. 

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