Hannah’s tank journal

[This guy is extra salty]

23 hours ago, Hannahhhh said:

Lol could you actually send it to me? I can’t get the link he sent to work. Thank you! 😊 If possible could you just send a picture of your schedule? I think that would be easier for me to work with!

Email me

thisguyisextrasalty@gmail.com

[A.m.P]

On 5/21/2019 at 9:52 AM, Hannahhhh said:

Has anyone had any success transplanting a mushroom off of a frag plug? I don’t like the way the frag plug looks, but a also don’t want to kill my mushroom. 

From my understanding allot of mushrooms aren't technically on their plugs to begin with as they're not truly sessile, they can actually move around if they don't like where they're at and most come with the gravel they attached to glued down to the plug. You could always try taking some wire-cutters to the frag and slowly chip-it away to nothing, but I'd be more concerned doing so with a mushroom than most other corals, that said some have success fragging mushrooms by literally just cutting them with an exacto knife, so they're not known to be particularly fragile either.

Also @DSFIRSTSLTWATER

That is one crazy-low intensity setting, it's amazing how adaptable these animals are, I'm growing euphyllia using BRS' settings (roughly 5% less intense violet and UV and around 15% higher RY & 10% higher B). Even at that most of my corals probably are in well-under 150-180 PAR, yours must be relaxing in around 80 XD
Maybe I should get mine some sunglasses. That said the gent I bought them from was blasting them with more light than I am and they're indo instead of aussie too...

[billygoat]

On 5/21/2019 at 6:52 AM, Hannahhhh said:

Has anyone had any success transplanting a mushroom off of a frag plug? I don’t like the way the frag plug looks, but a also don’t want to kill my mushroom. 

I once peeled a mushroom off a rock by slowly wedging a credit card bit by bit underneath of its foot, but I had one hell of a time getting it to reattach to anything. It took me more than a month and a half to get it to finally reattach, and when it did it wasn't even where I originally wanted it to be. So I don't recommend that you do that unless it is absolutely necessary! 😅

[pricewayne]

Could try just breaking the plug up! If you have bone clippers or even something like wire clips, can just crumble//cut away at the plug itself to where it’s unseen when your mushroom opens up. Did this to my fuzzy mushroom plug and was super easy - the plugs are usually porous and easy to break away at.

[Hannahhhh]

Thanks for the mushroom advice! I decided to cut the plug down to a much smaller size. It’s still a bit bigger than I would like, but I don’t want to risk cutting the mushroom. I’m hoping it might just “walk” off the plug and onto my live rock. Fingers crossed! 

 

I emailed aqua sd this week about the RFA that I received. I agree with a bunch of you, it doesn’t look like the same WYSIWYG one that I ordered. I haven’t heard back from them yet, but I will let you guys know when I do. 

 

I’m loving the ai prime hd so far. I’m using a modified version of the David settings. I also have it on acclimation mode. My only concern is my green birdsnest coral. It has one little white tip that I’m keeping an eye on. Also the polyps lower down on the coral seem kind of discolored and a bit brownish.  I’m wondering if that may be related to algae growth- I recently placed it on a nanorox and the only downside to that is my cleanup crew can’t hop up there to eat leftover food waste and algae.  

 

[Hannahhhh]

Lastly I just wanted to say thank you so much to all the wonderful people who have taken the time to respond to my questions and cheer me on with my first tank. I’m so blown away by how wonderful this community is! I was never expecting that when I signed up! I always look forward to logging on and seeing what you guys have to say! 

[Ratvan]

7 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

Lastly I just wanted to say thank you so much to all the wonderful people who have taken the time to respond to my questions and cheer me on with my first tank. I’m so blown away by how wonderful this community is! I was never expecting that when I signed up! I always look forward to logging on and seeing what you guys have to say! 

This is your first tank? Wow

[A.m.P]

I would just make sure the acro has good flow, browning could just be from it getting settled in or the typical new-coral stress, but it could also be that your setup is giving it less light than it was accustomed to. I've heard some attribute browning and discoloration of certain acros and montis to running too low R+G channels on their Prime's too lol (then again everyone runs these lights differently). I'd give it a bit to settle in, if it's in good flow and fairly high up the water column it should perk up, but there's probably someone lurking here with more experience who can give better advice than I can anyway XD

 

Good luck with the email, hopefully they try to make things right.

[Hannahhhh]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

This is your first tank? Wow

It is my first tank but I’ve spent years lurking on forums and wanting to start a tank! I’m only a few months in, but lol I already want to get a bigger tank or a second one!

[Hannahhhh]

1 hour ago, Amphrites said:

I would just make sure the acro has good flow, browning could just be from it getting settled in or the typical new-coral stress, but it could also be that your setup is giving it less light than it was accustomed to. I've heard some attribute browning and discoloration of certain acros and montis to running too low R+G channels on their Prime's too lol (then again everyone runs these lights differently). I'd give it a bit to settle in, if it's in good flow and fairly high up the water column it should perk up, but there's probably someone lurking here with more experience who can give better advice than I can anyway XD

 

Good luck with the email, hopefully they try to make things right.

Thanks for the tips, I’m thinking I’ll give it a bit longer, but if it starts getting worse I will try upping my R and G channels. 

[A.m.P]

No problem, R+G are known to grow algae and IIRC Saxby's uses high whites and R+G already, if it doesn't color back up you may see more benefit from bumping up your blues and UV+V a touch ^^

[pricewayne]

2 hours ago, Hannahhhh said:

It is my first tank but I’ve spent years lurking on forums and wanting to start a tank! I’m only a few months in, but lol I already want to get a bigger tank or a second one!

Hahahaha, same!!! I've spent a sickening amount of time last couple weeks looking at upgrade options... right now I'm considering the IM 50g Lagoon. I think most of the Innovative Marine tanks are 25% off on Marine Depot for memorial weekend. I'd prob be buying the tank and just keeping it in its box while I figure out a stand and the sump/plumbing (which is hell trying figure out, omg).

 

Any thoughts yet on what you'd want to add as a second tank or upgrade?

[Hannahhhh]

4 hours ago, pricewayne said:

Hahahaha, same!!! I've spent a sickening amount of time last couple weeks looking at upgrade options... right now I'm considering the IM 50g Lagoon. I think most of the Innovative Marine tanks are 25% off on Marine Depot for memorial weekend. I'd prob be buying the tank and just keeping it in its box while I figure out a stand and the sump/plumbing (which is hell trying figure out, omg).

 

Any thoughts yet on what you'd want to add as a second tank or upgrade?

25% off is a really nice deal! I say go for it! 

I haven’t gotten serious about upgrading yet. Honestly I don’t really have the money to upgrade since I keep pouring all my money into this current tank. In terms of coral I’m happy with this size tank (at least for now) it’s just that I would love to get a tang and a bunch more fish, but that’s not feasible in my current setup. 

[pricewayne]

3 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

25% off is a really nice deal! I say go for it! 

I haven’t gotten serious about upgrading yet. Honestly I don’t really have the money to upgrade since I keep pouring all my money into this current tank. In terms of coral I’m happy with this size tank (at least for now) it’s just that I would love to get a tang and a bunch more fish, but that’s not feasible in my current setup. 

Lol, same. I’ll need to piece the build together or I’ll rip through my savings real quick. Still can’t decide if I’ll end up keeping my fluval tank running or not. If I do, I think I’ll simplify the setup as much as I can to be low maintenance.

[Hannahhhh]

https://cornbredcorals.com/products/cornbreds-snitch-zoas

 

Has anyone ever seen zoas similar to these? If so, what were they called? These are stunning and I would kill for some, but there’s no way I would ever spend $150 on a single zoa polyp. 

[A.m.P]

CornBred is another one of those using... aggressively-different camera profiles and "select lenses", at least from what I can gather from that lovely blue pastel frag plug he spent all that time on and their ebay store, not to knock the guy as his products do have a reputation for being pretty great. But I have never been one to trust an image like that alone, IMO white frag-plug, white eggcrate or you have no idea what you're buying (If they're not willing to produce a 16k picture with a neutral looking background it speaks for itself). As far as the zoas, yeah there's probably a dozen different varieties with different names which look similar or near-identical, just gotta' find em.
TBH they just look like superman zoa's, $20-40.

[Hannahhhh]

 

3 hours ago, Amphrites said:

CornBred is another one of those using... aggressively-different camera profiles and "select lenses", at least from what I can gather from that lovely blue pastel frag plug he spent all that time on and their ebay store, not to knock the guy as his products do have a reputation for being pretty great. But I have never been one to trust an image like that alone, IMO white frag-plug, white eggcrate or you have no idea what you're buying (If they're not willing to produce a 16k picture with a neutral looking background it speaks for itself). As far as the zoas, yeah there's probably a dozen different varieties with different names which look similar or near-identical, just gotta' find em.
TBH they just look like superman zoa's, $20-40.

Thanks so much for suggesting Superman zoas, I googled them and love the way they look. I’ll ask my LFS to keep an eye out for them.

And I agree, I’ve learned my lesson on edited pics, I’m unlikely to spend a lot on an online order again (except for live aquaria since everything I’ve ordered from them has been spot on).  

[A.m.P]

Tidal Gardens and World Wide corals are pretty straight-shooters too best I can tell, I get to cheat a little because I have experience with digital photography and image-editing/graphic design (doesn't show at all in my own pictures though *audible eyeroll*). Just exercise caution around those trying to turn the hobby into a rich-kids club imo. The impact of the "moral" marketplace on reefkeeping is pretty frustrating as it can make the hobby an almost-unapproachable hotbed of near-scams and poor-investments easily-capable of sucking all the joy out of the experience and otherwise killing any enthusiasm or interest newcomers might have. Sadly, to some extent, the commercial side of the hobby has always been that way, that's why there are so many DIY and "cheapskate" hobbyist channels, books, and enthusiasts out there.

Edit ohhh and to clarify, that frag plug isn't actually blue lol, it's definitely the same cheap-ceramic white you see all the time, and that's precisely why you can't really take that image at face-value.

Edit, Edit: To clarify I'm not hating on those who are trading in the rare and ultra-high-end corals, they have as legitimate a business as anyone else in the hobby trying to source and propagate hyper-specific strains. But the simple reality is that, while his are supermans with a pink-center, that doesn't mean they're worth "what people are willing to pay" unless they-themselves paid something approaching that for them to begin with, full-disclosure they may have lol. But you prefaced your statement with the central theme that they weren't worth that to you, and now I'm rambling to avoid steppin' on toes or getting misinterpreted, my kingdom for a single succinct bone in this body...

[pricewayne]

I don’t know for sure from experience, but anything that’s certified as a frag from ORA *seems* to be quality or reliable at least to know what you’re getting. I wish they sold direct to hobbyists and love that they’re all aquacultured.

[A.m.P]

Just now, pricewayne said:

I don’t know for sure from experience, but anything that’s certified as a frag from ORA *seems* to be quality or reliable at least to know what you’re getting. I wish they sold direct to hobbyists and love that they’re all aquacultured.

I want some of their clownfish and that darn stellar stylo lol... ORA gets a little heat because they are so deep into the designer-clown market and people don't want to see the genepool go the way of goldfish, but koi and arrowwanna show you can do as such responsibly so I don't much get the fuss myself. Plus they're successfully breeding and sourcing a ton of other fish, nobody here gets shipments from them though sigh*.

[pricewayne]

2 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

I want some of their clownfish and that darn stellar stylo lol... ORA gets a little heat because they are so deep into the designer-clown market and people don't want to see the genepool go the way of goldfish, but koi and arrowwanna show you can do as such responsibly so I don't much get the fuss myself. Plus they're successfully breeding and sourcing a ton of other fish, nobody here gets shipments from them though sigh*.

Interesting — hadn’t heard about that on the designer clown front. I pretty much drool over absolutely every one of their SPS colonies. Once I feel more confident about maintaining SPS... I may have to splurge on a Hawkins blue echinata acro frag bc jeebus they is WILD cool. 

[A.m.P]

I'm sure you already know this, and I don't want to hijack the thread, but exercise extreme caution with echinata, they are absurdly aggressive and capable of liquefying and consuming corals an impressive handful of inches away from themselves.

@ Down below, that's how I got all my corals, a couple hobbyists gettin' rid of indo-euphyllia frags on the cheap XD

Edit: OH and JasonFox actually has quite a few normal-priced or good-buy corals alongside the high-end stuff, shoot there's probably dozens of honest and great online stores run by small hobby folks and the like out there, I found some which supposedly had bubblegum digitata for like $20! when I was tearing up the web for a frag. Part of the reason those proprietary names really bug me, no way to look up a mother colony and see what you're actually getting.

[pricewayne]

Oh! One more thought — there are also lots of hobbyists that sell frags of their colonies, too. I’ve started writing down any I find — @battlecorals on Instagram is one I absolutely want to buy from once I upgrade systems. It’s nice because it’s pretty easy to find pictures of their frags in other peoples tank by searching Instagram for their hashtag or looking at their tagged pics.

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

On 5/22/2019 at 11:02 AM, Amphrites said:

From my understanding allot of mushrooms aren't technically on their plugs to begin with as they're not truly sessile, they can actually move around if they don't like where they're at and most come with the gravel they attached to glued down to the plug. You could always try taking some wire-cutters to the frag and slowly chip-it away to nothing, but I'd be more concerned doing so with a mushroom than most other corals, that said some have success fragging mushrooms by literally just cutting them with an exacto knife, so they're not known to be particularly fragile either.

Also @DSFIRSTSLTWATER

That is one crazy-low intensity setting, it's amazing how adaptable these animals are, I'm growing euphyllia using BRS' settings (roughly 5% less intense violet and UV and around 15% higher RY & 10% higher B). Even at that most of my corals probably are in well-under 150-180 PAR, yours must be relaxing in around 80 XD
Maybe I should get mine some sunglasses. That said the gent I bought them from was blasting them with more light than I am and they're indo instead of aussie too...

Shit i just saw this lol. Yeah I had them up way higher, but I've been dealing with some tank stuff lately. A couple of my corals are transparent....still good color just more see through. Like I said had some stuff going on with it. So while I was getting it sorted out I dropped the intensity. I was testing a lighting wonder I had. I'll be bumping it back up in a month or so.

[A.m.P]

Humm, mine are actually fairly translucent as well, though some indo are known for that when they extend more-fully, always thought bleaching tentacles involved them turning white and losing pigment, not just becoming more see-through.