MrObscura's Nuvo 10... still reefing.

[MrObscura]

Well the acro experiment was an utter failure, which I knew was a possibility. But it failed far quicker and far more spectacularly than I ever imagined. 

 

I'm not sure it's anything I did or anything wrong with my tank though since it seemed to be going down hill the moment I added it to my tank. It was awfully bare and smelled and within a few hours had completely wasted away. 

 

Its weird though because the guy I got it from is very reputable and I saw him frag it of the mother colony, which was gorgeous. Maybe being such a fresh frag had something to do with it? 

 

It sucks, but acros weren't part of the original vision anyway. It was mostly for curiosity. Which in this case killed the acro rather than the cat. Plus I wanted it for the pink. But now a pink birdsnest will fill that role. 

[Daniel91]

2 hours ago, MrObscura said:

Well the acro experiment was an utter failure, which I knew was a possibility. But it failed far quicker and far more spectacularly than I ever imagined. 

 

I'm not sure it's anything I did or anything wrong with my tank though since it seemed to be going down hill the moment I added it to my tank. It was awfully bare and smelled and within a few hours had completely wasted away. 

 

Its weird though because the guy I got it from is very reputable and I saw him frag it of the mother colony, which was gorgeous. Maybe being such a fresh frag had something to do with it? 

 

It sucks, but acros weren't part of the original vision anyway. It was mostly for curiosity. Which in this case killed the acro rather than the cat. Plus I wanted it for the pink. But now a pink birdsnest will fill that role. 

You got it right after it was fragged? Yeah, that might have a say. New environment, New parameters and stressed. Doable but definitely a hard switch. In the end of this hobby, we gotta test and fail. No other way to learn.

[MrObscura]

Yea, knew going in that there was a good chance it wouldn't make it. Though it lasted far shorter than I expected. Guess they don't call it rtn for nothing.

 

But at least I pretty much got the two frags for the price of one, so,  I have a Starburst cap which I wanted anyway and probably would have had to spend double on otherwise. 

[falcooo]

Hey, for taking pictures have you tried playing around with the manual settings on your AI Prime? I'm still trying to figure out what's best, but so far generally turn the UV/Purple/Blues down pretty low and whites up a bit. 

[MrObscura]

4 hours ago, falcooo said:

Hey, for taking pictures have you tried playing around with the manual settings on your AI Prime? I'm still trying to figure out what's best, but so far generally turn the UV/Purple/Blues down pretty low and whites up a bit. 

Yea, I've heard turning down everything and upping the whites will help with pics but I honestly rather not mess with lights. Decent white balance control would be great but no free camera apps are that good at it. Or at least I haven't found one. 

[MrObscura]

Couple of questions... 

 

1. Does anyone know what kind of chalice this is? I'm guessing a mycedium? 

 

2. Is this new growth or ressesion on this lord? I don't remember it having a fourth mouth when I got it so I'm not sure. 

[Stoops718]

2 hours ago, MrObscura said:

Couple of questions... 

 

1. Does anyone know what kind of chalice this is? I'm guessing a mycedium? 

 

2. Is this new growth or ressesion on this lord? I don't remember it having a fourth mouth when I got it so I'm not sure. 

If you have an Android phone try Snapseed.

 

Regarding the Acan, it doesn't look new. Newer "buds" are usually way smaller when they first come in.

[MrObscura]

9 hours ago, Stoops718 said:

If you have an Android phone try Snapseed.

 

Regarding the Acan, it doesn't look new. Newer "buds" are usually way smaller when they first come in.

Cool I'll try snapseed. 

 

And when I got the lord a little over a week ago, I think that head was smaller, but I'm not sure. But I just remember seeing g a very tiny speck of green in that side without a noticeable mouth.

 

Anyway does it look healthy or should I worry about it? 

[Stoops718]

15 hours ago, MrObscura said:

Cool I'll try snapseed. 

 

And when I got the lord a little over a week ago, I think that head was smaller, but I'm not sure. But I just remember seeing g a very tiny speck of green in that side without a noticeable mouth.

 

Anyway does it look healthy or should I worry about it? 

It looks fine to me. My Acans are weird. A few frags went through a spurt where they grew multiple buds but now it's been a couple weeks and an no new buds. They always alternate being deflated and then super inflated. I'm sure you're good. Just keep an eye on it. I need to update my build thread. LOL.

[TatorTaco]

When you took the high TDS water back to the LFS, what was their response for that?   Genuinely curious how that even happened, other than not changing their filters out. 

[MrObscura]

4 hours ago, TatorTaco said:

When you took the high TDS water back to the LFS, what was their response for that?   Genuinely curious how that even happened, other than not changing their filters out. 

They apologized and rinsed out my containers and replaced the water no charge. Their water read 0tds but after sitting in one of their containers he detected elevated levels as well. The only thing he could think of was that the containers needed to be rinsed better since they were from a new supplier. He said they're food grade and perhaps whatever it was the manufacturer deemed harmless. At least to humans I'm guessing. 

 

Its weird because I have 3 containers from them and the two that read high tds were always used up right away while the third was used for top off. The top off one read 0 tds even after having water in it longer than the other two, but the other two jumped up high as hell after a few days of sitting.

 

Now they all read 0 afrer a couple days. 

[MrObscura]

I'm an idiot. All this time searching for a camera app without even thinking about trying the default one. Its by far the best with coral coloration coming closest to matching those in person.

 

 

 

[MrObscura]

[banasophia]

10 hours ago, MrObscura said:

They apologized and rinsed out my containers and replaced the water no charge. Their water read 0tds but after sitting in one of their containers he detected elevated levels as well. The only thing he could think of was that the containers needed to be rinsed better since they were from a new supplier. He said they're food grade and perhaps whatever it was the manufacturer deemed harmless. At least to humans I'm guessing. 

 

Its weird because I have 3 containers from them and the two that read high tds were always used up right away while the third was used for top off. The top off one read 0 tds even after having water in it longer than the other two, but the other two jumped up high as hell after a few days of sitting.

 

Now they all read 0 afrer a couple days. 

Wow, so I thought of all you guys and this thread during my crazy LFS/RODI experience this evening. @MrObscura, you are lucky your LFS responded in such a helpful manner!

 

First, to give some background... I had a problem in the past with LFS RODI water and containers. I had picked up several containers from the LFS and had them fill them up with RODI. When I got home I’m pretty sure I tested the RODI and it was zero, but this was extra water I had intended to keep on hand for future use, and when I went to use it a couple weeks later there was a foul chemical smell and the TDS was around 40. I had also had a recent problem with another LFS selling me some bad saltwater. So, I decided to start using distilled water to avoid problems. This was maybe two months ago. 

 

Fast forward to this evening. I have been bummed out about all the plastic jugs I’m having to toss/recycle due to using the distilled, so I had some food grade 2 gallon jugs that I rinsed out with vinegar and decided to go back to using LFS RODI water. I went to the most respected LFS in my area and set down my jugs. The owner/manager kindly said he wasn’t busy and he would fill them up for me... he filled up the first of my 3 jugs and then I asked if the TDS should be zero and he explained it would not... he said he mixes his saltwater in the same large container so there’s always some residual saltwater and the TDS will therefore not read zero. When I explained I wanted to be able to confirm it was pure RODI he got extremely upset, grabbed the jug and dumped the water out, said I should be able to trust him since he has the best corals and reputation, and he got so angry he started raising his voice saying how I was insulting him and he wouldn’t discuss it with me further. 😯

 

He at first wouldn’t let me explain where I was coming from, made some kind of remark about whether I wanted to stand there for four hours while his filter generated enough water to fill my containers directly, and then suggested I go to another specific LFS for my water instead (that doesn’t have a good reputation) and then see how my corals respond. 😯 I told him of course I wouldn’t get my water from there, but I guess I would go to the third LFS in the area, and he told me he knows the guys that work there and they don’t change the filters like they should so I shouldn’t trust them either. 😯😯 (That’s where I had gotten the zero TDS RODI water before.)

 

So then I let the guy cool off a bit while I browsed his (very nice) corals (though one of his beautiful tanks is bare bottom but filled with cyano right now.) After a while I tried again to explain how I wanted to be sure the water was zero TDS so I could check the new containers aren’t leaching something. I reminded him I had asked him about this very issue a couple months ago. He finally started to calm down and conceded that this made sense and said he’d had a rough week. 

 

So then I buy a starfish from him to at least make nice and get something. I mention about the distilled water I’ve been using and he tells me distilled is “too pure” and I shouldn’t use it because it has been stripped of everything and in the long run it will deplete nutrients in the tank, and it would be better for my corals to use filtered drinking water. Fine, I head over to the other LFS I trust and pick up some water. They assure me their TDS should be at or near 0 TDS. I had them fill my three 2 gallon jugs. I get them home and test the first one - TDS was 66. I’m thinking it must have been the one that had been filled and dumped out by the first LFS, so it was reading high. But no, I test the water in the two other containers - TDS was also 66. Then I tested water from one of my jugs of distilled water to be sure my TDS meter is not malfunctioning - TDS was 0.  

 

So after all that, I guess I’ll be going back to distilled. (I had purchased an RODI filter a while back but I was distressed because it was producing a huge amount of waste water... still trying to avoid, but maybe I need to reconsider.)

 

What a stressful experience!

 

[MrObscura]

Wow, that guy sounds like an ass. And I've learned that even reputable lfs that have been in business for years can have people who don't know what the hell they are doing. Even owners. 

 

Based of the nonsense that guy said I wouldn't go back to him(plus he sounds like a prick). Why would the saltwater and rodi that you sell customers ever be in the same container? And wtf was he talking about with the distilled being to pure? Lol That's exactly what you want... Pure h20. That way you know exactly what's going in your tank. Your salt mix adds the essential elements. 

 

And then he suggests you should use  drinking water? Lol

 

Anyway, I'd go back to distilled if I were you or get another rodi unit. I'm probably getting one, that way I can control things. 

[banasophia]

7 hours ago, MrObscura said:

Wow, that guy sounds like an ass. And I've learned that even reputable lfs that have been in business for years can have people who don't know what the hell they are doing. Even owners. 

 

Based of the nonsense that guy said I wouldn't go back to him(plus he sounds like a prick). Why would the saltwater and rodi that you sell customers ever be in the same container? And wtf was he talking about with the distilled being to pure? Lol That's exactly what you want... Pure h20. That way you know exactly what's going in your tank. Your salt mix adds the essential elements. 

 

And then he suggests you should use  drinking water? Lol

 

Anyway, I'd go back to distilled if I were you or get another rodi unit. I'm probably getting one, that way I can control things. 

Yeah, what an experience. I guess I'll be dumping the water I bought from the second LFS with the TDS of 66 (which they actually gave me for free because they forgot to add it to my purchase), and going back to distilled for now. I'll have to think about getting another RODI filter. 

[MrObscura]

Bana, I noticed that you have some non photosynthetic corals in your tank? How often do you feed them to keep them happy and healthy? 

[banasophia]

18 minutes ago, MrObscura said:

Bana, I noticed that you have some non photosynthetic corals in your tank? How often do you feed them to keep them happy and healthy? 

I feed my sun corals once a day, in the evening usually while the blues are on. My tank is HEAVILY fed due to my suns and my mandarin, which is why I run a skimmer and just started using NOPOX to control nutrients. 

[MrObscura]

I was thinking about adding one in the dark cove area of my tank but I might just stick with cythastria in there. 

[banasophia]

5 hours ago, MrObscura said:

I was thinking about adding one in the dark cove area of my tank but I might just stick with cythastria in there. 

Your cove would be perfect for a sun coral! I do really enjoy mine... they always look so pretty at night, as I’m sitting on my couch and gaze over at my tank. Here they are right now:

[MrObscura]

Mounted corals in place so clean up crew would stop knocking them down. But it was a Pita. Everything was sticking to everything but what I wanted it to and now there's some epoxy dried on my mystic sunset montipora. Hopefully it'll be okay. 

 

Also found a tiny aptasia on the bottom of one plug which I glued and epoxied over. And there's also this thing in my zoas...aiptasia?

 

[MrObscura]

Damn it. Mounting corals sucks. Just noticed I broke a tiny piece of my birdsnest which is now hanging on by a thread. Should I leave it or break it off? 

[sapling]

Looks like aiptasia,

 

As for the birdnest, it might come off on its own from the current, 

[MrObscura]

I'll get some aiptasia x tomorrow. There's 4 other really tiny ones among the zoas as well. 

 

How about the monti? There's just enough dried epoxy on it to cover a 2-3 polyps. Should it be OK? 

[MrObscura]

Just a little update. Another batch of corals should be coming soon.

 

Everything seems to be doing well. I've knocked out the few aiptasia with aiptasia x and other than what I'm guessing is diatoms(brown powdery looking on rock and crusty on glass) the tanks looking pretty good. And with the lighting the diatoms aren't even noticeable unless you look for them really. So that's nice. 

 

And I may be wrong but I think coraline may be making an appearance.