WV Reefer Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Nursecop818 said: Tanks two month birthday/anniversary today!!! Today was a tank therapy day, watching my tank, reading a horrible textbook, watching my tank... I did take a break to add two new zoas, a gorg, and a baby sun coral. The zoas and gorg are all already opening and seem to be acclimating happily. The sun coral doesnt look overly UNhappy, just not open and extended yet. Changed out the carbon bags today to get them on an even schedule and because my nitrates have been reading a bit higher for some reason the last two times I’ve tested. I’m not sure I trust the results because all the corals are open and happy and beautiful in the day and the monti especially is starting to extend polyps like it’s super happy. The acro? Well it’s still moody and impossible to please, but not dead, so I’m still working on it. I added the TINIEST amount of kalk to my ATO water to help get the pH up, which was sliding a bit. I think I put in 1/16th of a tsp in 2.5 gallons, and have since diluted it a bit more since the level in the tank dropped. But the pH came up nicely back to 8 so I was happy. Will now have to watch it very carefully! Overall I've reached a pretty happy stasis point on the tank where I’m doing once a week water changes. I would like to push those out but I doubt that will happen, especially with the addition of the NPSs to the tank. The fish, coral and crabs all seem happy and everyone has stopped bickering and fin picking at the moment. My husband has even decided he likes the tank enough to consider allowing me to feed my addiction further with a second tank soon! So, more to come with that in the future. New sun coral New zoa- candy apple I believe New zoa- fire an ice (of course! GOT is coming back!!) Fire and Ice zoa without yellow filter New gorgonian New gorgonian FTS- tank two month birthday today!!! Candy apple zoa Happy Birthday little tank!!! 😃 and yay for a possible new tank!! 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 22, 2019 Author Share Posted March 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: Happy Birthday little tank!!! 😃 and yay for a possible new tank!! Maybe in May for my birthday. Gotta work a few more shifts before he will feel a little more comfortable shelling out the moolah for the tank/stand, heater, back up battery/surge protector, rock, sand, fish, and a couple of filter media I won't have enough of. Bill was gonna run me a fair chunk so will need to actually work a couple of full pay periods to facilitate it (I'm not actually full time anymore so I don't usually pull full time hours). At any rate, I'm REALLY excited about the prospects of adding to my addiction!! 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Today was water change day and RODI/SW making day. Seemed to take ALL DAY LONG. I need to start actually writing down how much salt I actually use when I make a bucket because having to dilute it then make more RODI and even more SW is a drag. But now I have plenty of both. Wah Wah. The tank looks super happy today and I noticed that the favia, grape euphyllia and original zoa (Dragon Eye) have grown!! So happy to see proof that I'm doing something right with the feeding and chemistry, lights and temp. However, I did make a not so great discovery tonight, which I couldn't see until I pulled the tank away from the wall a little more than it had been so I could get behind it. The ugly paly I introduced originally is dying because I glued the new arch structure on top of it (no loss), but it for some reason is causing a GHA bloom. A small and very localized one at the moment. And possibly the increased nitrates I keep seeing? I plucked as much of the GHA out as I could tonight and some of the dead paly, and I may dose with peroxide tomorrow. Kind of glad the ugly thing is croaking though. I never found it very pretty. HEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!! I seeeeeee you...... New growth on the favia, to the far left. The Red Baron Maybe I like this shell better??? 3 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 5 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said: Today was water change day and RODI/SW making day. Seemed to take ALL DAY LONG. I need to start actually writing down how much salt I actually use when I make a bucket because having to dilute it then make more RODI and even more SW is a drag. But now I have plenty of both. Wah Wah. The tank looks super happy today and I noticed that the favia, grape euphyllia and original zoa (Dragon Eye) have grown!! So happy to see proof that I'm doing something right with the feeding and chemistry, lights and temp. However, I did make a not so great discovery tonight, which I couldn't see until I pulled the tank away from the wall a little more than it had been so I could get behind it. The ugly paly I introduced originally is dying because I glued the new arch structure on top of it (no loss), but it for some reason is causing a GHA bloom. A small and very localized one at the moment. And possibly the increased nitrates I keep seeing? I plucked as much of the GHA out as I could tonight and some of the dead paly, and I may dose with peroxide tomorrow. Kind of glad the ugly thing is croaking though. I never found it very pretty. HEEEEELLLLLPPPPP!!!! I seeeeeee you...... New growth on the favia, to the far left. The Red Baron Maybe I like this shell better??? Looking good in there. 😀 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 Haven't figured out the right light spectrum for the gorgonian or the sun coral yet. I'm running a Current Orbit LED system. Anybody have any settings that work well with gorgs and sun corals I could try out? Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 Thanks to @WV Reefer's bad example and leading me down the dark path of addiction, 😂😂🤦🏽♀️, I added 4 new little corals. Like teeny weeny. Hopefully they grow well and brighten up the place because they're sure pretty. Learned a good thing today when I did my water test-- the purigen bag didn't last anywhere near 6 weeks or 6 months or however long they promise on the bag. Not with how much I've been feeding the tank, and with how much is in there. So that bag has was introduced on February 22, and I changed it on March 25. It lasted exactly 1 month before exhausting. It also didn't uniformly change to some obvious color to tell me it was done either--just those nagging nitrate levels of 20 for several days made me wonder if I should swap it with the new bag. Sure enough, when I pulled it out of the chamber, it was DARK in some patches, but not in handily visible spots. So, if you have an unexplainable nitrate bloom, check your purigen bag. Now I'm regenerating the old one and holy god IT STINKS. Smells like an old rotten hobo foot. They also don't tell you that on the bag. Be warned, all! Long story short, nitrates back down to 5 where I like them, and the tank seems perfectly happy again. Pinwheel Zoa on the left and Rasta Zoa on the right Rasta Zoa Yoda Zoas Nebula Palys FTS Busy corner view 😊 2 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 On 3/25/2019 at 12:26 AM, Dirté Sanchez said: Haven't figured out the right light spectrum for the gorgonian or the sun coral yet. I'm running a Current Orbit LED system. Anybody have any settings that work well with gorgs and sun corals I could try out? Those two don’t need a lot of light. Sun corals can live upside down in caves. 1 Quote Link to comment
StinkyBunny Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Actually those 2 corals don't need any light, they're NPS, they need to be target fed every other day. Your Yellow Watchman goby needs a pistol shrimp too. 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 7 hours ago, StinkyBunny said: Actually those 2 corals don't need any light, they're NPS, they need to be target fed every other day. Your Yellow Watchman goby needs a pistol shrimp too. He has one, named Snappy. We hear him in there every day but haven’t seen him in a month. He’s made some nice tunnels though, and I guess between himself and J Edgar Hoover the goby they’ve made a nice fish sized tunnel for J Edgar to hide from the pseudochromis. He’s a red banded pistol. Was tiny when we put him and J Edgar in there, and i have no idea what size he is now. I saw he molted a couple weeks back so I imagine he’s grown. 2 Quote Link to comment
StinkyBunny Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 That's a Randall's pistol, nice little critters. I have a pair of them in one of the runs deep sand bed with a pair of Antenna gobies. If I could only keep 2 things in a small tank it would be a pistol shrimp and their gobies. 2 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 27 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said: That's a Randall's pistol, nice little critters. I have a pair of them in one of the runs deep sand bed with a pair of Antenna gobies. If I could only keep 2 things in a small tank it would be a pistol shrimp and their gobies. He'd be a lot more interesting if I ever saw him. As it is, I only ever know he's alive because I hear him. But I guess he's doing his thing in there... 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 Got a new friend today to help me work on the growing star fish problem. I let them populate on purpose, because at first they were some of the only life we had in the tank, but now there's about 20 of them. And, since I was told it's a female, and because everybody names them "Harly Quinn", I will go another direction and name it Dangly Bells. My kids love Night at the Museum 😊 2 1 Quote Link to comment
asting Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 On 3/27/2019 at 5:19 PM, Dirté Sanchez said: He'd be a lot more interesting if I ever saw him. As it is, I only ever know he's alive because I hear him. But I guess he's doing his thing in there... Over the last decade i've had both randall's and tiger pistol shrimp, and the tiger i have now i see way more often. he is huge though (2.5-3"). 2 Quote Link to comment
StinkyBunny Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 33 minutes ago, asting said: Over the last decade i've had both randall's and tiger pistol shrimp, and the tiger i have now i see way more often. he is huge though (2.5-3"). Everything pairs with Tiger pistol shrimp, even the tiny Antenna gobies. My pair of Randall's comes out quite a bit, but the Tiger is out all the time. Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 11 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said: Everything pairs with Tiger pistol shrimp, even the tiny Antenna gobies. My pair of Randall's comes out quite a bit, but the Tiger is out all the time. Every once in a blue moon I'll see him pass by the opening to his tunnels right at the front of the tank. Other than that, we just hear snaps. I saw him yesterday or the day before and he hadn't put on much weight. But I'm sure he gets plenty of food- that rock has plenty of current around it to pull in stuff. 2 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 Today was supposed to be water change day, but the tank parameters are so good I decided to wait. The nitrates are at 0, which wasn't exactly what I wanted, but not terrible either. I feed everyone well enough that there should be ample nutrients. Using the API test kits is so frustrating at times, and I'd love to have a Hanna checker for phosphates just fall into my lap, but I know that's dreaming. My API results always show my phos levels at somewhere in between 0 and 0.25, so I usually just call the difference at 0.125. That being said, they showed a more firm 0.25 color last night, so I went ahead and replaced my Phosbond out to pull the phos out for a while. Will have to watch my calcium levels though so they don't skyrocket. I haven't had to dose any calcium or even the Reef Fusion 1 bottle in forever, because the Ca levels have been holding so steady lately. The KH levels had dropped a tiny bit to 10/179, so I did end up dosing Reef Fusion 2. I got a digital pH reader because I was sick -again- of the color charts from API; those numbers have been holding steady at 7.5-7.9. I'd like more of an 8-8.3 so I put a minuscule amount of kalk in the ATO water to help boost those numbers a bit. On the whole, everybody is looking fairly good except for my Fire and Ice zoas, which got pretty beat up by the crabs, snails and husband when they kept knocking them off their ledge and then he tried gluing them in place. I hope they'll recover and start looking better. The teeny weeny Pinwheel zoa is so small-it came to me as a single head and I'm not sure if it's in a great place for flow considering it's tiny size. The Rasta next to it is happy as it can be, so I just figure the little Pinwheel is annoyed because it's so small and exposed. I'm afraid Dangly Bells has already cleaned up all the star fish in the tank, so I guess tomorrow I'll be heading to the LFS to see if they have any to replenish stock. May see about picking up some live rock while there for the pico tank I'm wanting to start... Bumble bee snail- he and his brother are solid little workers- I love them! HI. One of my Halloween hermits I love these colorful workers Mostly happy gorgonian Nebula palys Dangly Bells hiding out Dangly Bells likes this little hidy hole. Sun corals opening up for dinner. Coming soon....... 3 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 2 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said: Today was supposed to be water change day, but the tank parameters are so good I decided to wait. The nitrates are at 0, which wasn't exactly what I wanted, but not terrible either. I feed everyone well enough that there should be ample nutrients. Using the API test kits is so frustrating at times, and I'd love to have a Hanna checker for phosphates just fall into my lap, but I know that's dreaming. My API results always show my phos levels at somewhere in between 0 and 0.25, so I usually just call the difference at 0.125. That being said, they showed a more firm 0.25 color last night, so I went ahead and replaced my Phosbond out to pull the phos out for a while. Will have to watch my calcium levels though so they don't skyrocket. I haven't had to dose any calcium or even the Reef Fusion 1 bottle in forever, because the Ca levels have been holding so steady lately. The KH levels had dropped a tiny bit to 10/179, so I did end up dosing Reef Fusion 2. I got a digital pH reader because I was sick -again- of the color charts from API; those numbers have been holding steady at 7.5-7.9. I'd like more of an 8-8.3 so I put a minuscule amount of kalk in the ATO water to help boost those numbers a bit. On the whole, everybody is looking fairly good except for my Fire and Ice zoas, which got pretty beat up by the crabs, snails and husband when they kept knocking them off their ledge and then he tried gluing them in place. I hope they'll recover and start looking better. The teeny weeny Pinwheel zoa is so small-it came to me as a single head and I'm not sure if it's in a great place for flow considering it's tiny size. The Rasta next to it is happy as it can be, so I just figure the little Pinwheel is annoyed because it's so small and exposed. I'm afraid Dangly Bells has already cleaned up all the star fish in the tank, so I guess tomorrow I'll be heading to the LFS to see if they have any to replenish stock. May see about picking up some live rock while there for the pico tank I'm wanting to start... Things are looking good in there. 😃 1 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 1 minute ago, WV Reefer said: Things are looking good in there. 😃 I even have some fine coralline algae starting to grow on the back glass-- my tank baby sitter will be happy! I remember how freaked out she was that I had none in my tank and tried to insist that my tank had therefore not cycled at all..... with all that coral growing and happy.... The clean up crew does a fantastic job so I'm very happy with them. Only guys I've lost, or misplaced, are the nassarius snails. They're either dead or buried and I haven't seen them in ages, but the snails I do have are doing great. So not missing the nassarius snails too much. 2 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 4 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said: I even have some fine coralline algae starting to grow on the back glass-- my tank baby sitter will be happy! I remember how freaked out she was that I had none in my tank and tried to insist that my tank had therefore not cycled at all..... with all that coral growing and happy.... The clean up crew does a fantastic job so I'm very happy with them. Only guys I've lost, or misplaced, are the nassarius snails. They're either dead or buried and I haven't seen them in ages, but the snails I do have are doing great. So not missing the nassarius snails too much. They are probably still around in there somewhere. 1 Quote Link to comment
jbb Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 Had trouble finding your tank, maybe add some tags up top 🙄 2 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 1 minute ago, jbb_00 said: Had trouble finding your tank, maybe add some tags up top 🙄 Richard. 😄 3 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 2 minutes ago, jbb_00 said: Had trouble finding your tank, maybe add some tags up top 🙄 Well you know, when you're bored, and you're thinking about Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon's "hashtag" spoof, it adds up.... 1 Quote Link to comment
jbb Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 4 minutes ago, WV Reefer said: Richard. 😄 🥀 2 Quote Link to comment
ECLS Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 1 minute ago, jbb_00 said: 🥀 Richard is kind of wilt-y 2 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 Just now, Dirté Sanchez said: Richard is kind of wilt-y I went to school with a guy named Dick Wilt. 😄 poor dude. 4 Quote Link to comment
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