Snow's 60G Secret Predatory Sanctum 🐲🐉 - Shutting Down

[seabass]

41 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Most of it has stopped pulsing, unfortunately. But the coral is healthy otherwise

I don't know for sure why this can sometimes happen.  A few possibilities:

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/why-did-pulse-corals-stop-pulsing-xenia-heteroxenia-2621/

(light, iodine, current, pH).

[Snow_Phoenix]

14 minutes ago, seabass said:

I don't know for sure why this can sometimes happen.  A few possibilities:

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/why-did-pulse-corals-stop-pulsing-xenia-heteroxenia-2621/

(light, iodine, current, pH).

I am actually due for an iodine dose, actually. But I have a small hunch that flow might be the issue as well. The rock crevice I've slotted my xenia in is behind my elegance, but the flow is quite strong in this area. The coral cannot open up fully when my wavemaker is on, but it opens up normally when the wavemaker is off, and it pulses once in a while. In all my years of reefkeeping, I've never actually bothered to check on pH. I believe my pH kit is also expired (will have to check) because I hardly use it. 🤔

 

Since it's quite new to my reef, it's hasn't grown, but it hasn't deteriorated either. I think it *might have began attaching itself to my LR, however. I don't want to poke it or stress it further. Shall I just leave it be? It's still beautiful and healthy to me, pulsing or not. 

 

Thank you so much for the article, btw. It was very informative. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

My new shrooms opened up a little bit more today  :

 

 

 

But unfortunately, I noticed my new yuma has started to sag very badly on my LR - it was barely hanging on to the tiny piece of frag rock underneath it:

 

So, in order to save it - I made something. I basically put large pieces of coral stone in a breeder box like this:

 

Slipped the yuma inside, slipped the lid over the box and slipped two rubber bands over the entire unit (to make sure the lid won't get blown off by my flow):

 

I placed the breeder box midway in my tank, where it is partially blocked by one of my large shelf rocks that hosts my yuma and zoa gardens. This way, there is flow going through the box but it's minimal, so the shroom isn't blown about inside the box itself. Hopefully it'll attach to one of the coral stone pieces in weeks to come (might take 3+ weeks or more). Once the shroom has attached to a stone, I'll glue the stone to my LR and next to one of my existing yumas. The remaining stones will be added to one of my bags full of coral stones in the sump. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ratvan]

3 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

My new shrooms opened up a little bit more today  :

 

 

 

But unfortunately, I noticed my new yuma has started to sag very badly on my LR - it was barely hanging on to the tiny piece of frag rock underneath it:

 

So, in order to save it - I made something. I basically put large pieces of coral stone in a breeder box like this:

 

Slipped the yuma inside, slipped the lid over the box and slipped two rubber bands over the entire unit (to make sure the lid won't get blown off by my flow):

 

I placed the breeder box midway in my tank, where it is partially blocked by one of my large shelf rocks that hosts my yuma and zoa gardens. This way, there is flow going through the box but it's minimal, so the shroom isn't blown about inside the box itself. Hopefully it'll attach to one of the coral stone pieces in weeks to come (might take 3+ weeks or more). Once the shroom has attached to a stone, I'll glue the stone to my LR and next to one of my existing yumas. The remaining stones will be added to one of my bags full of coral stones in the sump. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yay mushroom propagation bucket!

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

Yay mushroom propagation bucket!

 

More like shroom rescue bucket lol. 

 

Can't wait to bring my acans and frogspawn home. 😊

[Ratvan]

9 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

More like shroom rescue bucket lol. 

 

Can't wait to bring my acans and frogspawn home. 😊

From the bargain bin?

[Snow_Phoenix]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

From the bargain bin?

Yep. 😊👍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Dosed some iodine today (3 drops per week). Am expecting the shrimp to molt soon. Especially the cleaner's. 

 

 

I moved my favia - the one that wasn't doing too well, and re-glued it along side of the rock, facing the center of the tank. Thinking of using that new empty space to place my rainbow acans - will most likely pick them up this week. The frogspawn will probably only come end of this month or the next - still need to save up more money for it. I've already overstretched with last month's coral shopping spree. 

 

Currently avoiding getting any new fish, although I do have my QT on standby. Just extremely tired of losing them in QT, and financially - fish-money is literally burning a hole through my pocket. Might as well scour the discount racks and find some nice coral pieces instead. 

 

They have so many interesting things on the discount rack - slightly bleached green/red cynarinas, some plates (including an oddly shaped rainbow plate that no one wants because it's not circular, and therefore 'ugly'), a lot of bicolored golden hammers, various shrooms (discosomas and yumas), a few odd blastos and acans, and an elegance (or two). 

 

As much as I'd love to clear out their shroom rack for them, I can't. Really am on a tight budget - not having a stable income throughout this whole year hasn't helped either. Holding on to this hobby by the skin of my teeth, actually. My second LFS is having discount sales on various frags too, but I'm not stepping into the shop, because I'll probably weep blood by the end of it. (Would love some corals, but can't get a coral tsk tsk)

 

Back to the 60G, I think I'll wait out another 2 weeks to do another WC. I'm doing 4- to 6-weeks-once major WCs. Might swap out the floss in between that period twice, but that's about it. Will need to prune my caulerpa - I think I'll toss the excess in my nano as a snack for Derp and Jerk the hermits. Will be awesome if the caulerpa can take root in the nano and grow though - maybe can even convert that into a mini-dragonet tank in the future. (?) 🤔

 

I'm trying my best not to meddle with my tank too much. It can be difficult, because I have snails and urchins bowling over my frags sometimes, so I constantly need to reglue them to the rocks. Otherwise, it's a mostly hands-off approach, with only hands-in for maintenance. Even then, I slack back on maintenance because that fuzz on the walls and rock is a meal for various critters in my tank. 

 

My AI Prime wire leading to the adaptor is a bit loose. Occasionally, I hear this loud crackling/popping noise and have to re-adjust the wire that feeds into the adaptor. It's a loose connection, but I *think the wire might be spoilt (or getting spoilt) - so I'll have to head down to an electronics store one of these days to pick up a replacement wire. Otherwise, I've revved up my blues and UVs by 2% and reduced my whites by 2%. My chalices love the increase - it's only been a week and the edges are already flaring out. My LPS are also 'larger' and puffier - my frogspawn has increased in size and accidently melted most of my clove polyps because the tentacles kept touching them. A few polyps still remain, but I've re-glued the original frag plug with 4 cloves slightly further away from any LPS - hopefully it'll make a comeback because I loved it. 

 

 

 

[Wonderboy]

I would prioritize the cord - sounds like you can hear arcing, or a corona, but both risk causing a fire.

 

I have some questions about your QT - I see you're using a container(s?) - how much water does it hold? Is it food safe? By "on standby", do you mean that you have it running still? Did you sterilize the container and equipment before and between tenants? How do you make sure the cycle is complete? What are you using to track ammonia/nitrite potential spikes after additions and feedings? What are you using as a bio filter? Just want to say, a QT should be completely free of any/all stresses for assured healing, and I feel that your setup may be increasing stress for one reason or another.

[Snow_Phoenix]

10 minutes ago, Wonderboy said:

I would prioritize the cord - sounds like you can hear arcing, or a corona, but both risk causing a fire.

 

I have some questions about your QT - I see you're using a container(s?) - how much water does it hold? Is it food safe? By "on standby", do you mean that you have it running still? Did you sterilize the container and equipment before and between tenants? How do you make sure the cycle is complete? What are you using to track ammonia/nitrite potential spikes after additions and feedings? What are you using as a bio filter? Just want to say, a QT should be completely free of any/all stresses for assured healing, and I feel that your setup may be increasing stress for one reason or another.

The QT is around 12G with 2 plastic caves, 1 PVC pipe and one ceramic ornament as shade for the fish. I do a full 100% WC every three days when there is fish in the QT and siphon out excess food after each meal. Before the QT is set up, all equipment and the QT itself is rinsed with vinegar and soapy water, and left to dry under the hot sun for several days. I usually add Prime during the first few days of the QT (not fish, and add fish few days after the QT is up and running). Then I do a full WC and add PraziGold to the QT at half-dose. 

 

My biofilter is simple floss in the HOB - changed out every time I do a WC (so once every 3 days). Almost all the fish I purchase from the store come home riddled with worms and flukes. Very rarely do I get a truly healthy specimen. I only QT a max. of two small fish at a time. I don't think my setup is bad though, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I've been doing it this way for all my fish - all my fish in my reef right now have been through the same process. 

[Wonderboy]

I just want to help because reading back on all the losses suggests something is off to me. I think that almost nobody nowadays comes across truely healthy specimen. IMO the best thing we can do to help them repair is provide stability. It's no surprise that many people who do not QT frequently have success introducing them into their DTs because they do their best to keep parameters stable - yes they know there are huge risks also, but if they don't have the means to QT properly, it is safer to just not. I have no problem bringing home ill specimen because I feel that what I can provide may be "better" (perspective right?) than where they are currently - that being nothing less than a private, fully cycled QT system, with sufficient live rock and macro algae for cover, biofilter, and nutrient removal - size of QT depends on specie (1 fish at a time unless they're related to keep ammonia in check) - HOB empty, no floss, heater low in tank for WCs - which are performed once weekly when occupied. I also suggest not dosing any medications unless absolutely necessary - aside from known photosynthetic products, macro algaes also exhaust compounds that have both antibacterial and antifungal properties, so mostly you really only need consistency (pH and temp) and time for many common issues. I know I can only theorize what may be going on for you - but my best guess is that you are experiencing small ammonia or nitrite (worse) spikes within the period between your WCs, but I cannot say for sure because I couldn't find or cannot verify test results myself. Also, to me, floss is more of a mechanical method over biological, especially if you're going to dispose of the colony every once in a while (this practice alone can cause ammonia spikes without a backup colony somewhere [live rock]). I also remember reading somewhere about you implementing some tap water in QT - I don't remember very well though - what was that about? Also, if I'm not very on track there, I am still wondering if your container is food safe - plastics that aren't are expected to leech chemicals if left exposed to UV or heat (sun).

[Snow_Phoenix]

Goblin and his favorite couch:

 

Thanos:

 

Nero has grown much more larger - she turns 1 this Dec.:

 

Leopard discosoma today - opened wider, with more pronounced 'spots':

 

Red spotted yellow discosoma today:

 

Green torch rockin' it:

 

The Acans I salvaged from my pico are slowly making a comeback - from 1 dying head each, to multiple heads each frag:

 

Dual-toned lobo still puffy as ever:

 

Sideshot of elegance in 'full bloom':

 

Macro-shot of frogspawn - it's grown larger, and the wall has split into two branches which are only evident when the coral shrinks in for the night:

 

 

The new metallic GSP frag has already began encrusting quickly on the frag plug and has bopped out new polyps - so excited! 

 

That's it for today. 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

So I hit my first major snag with my reef today. My elegance deteriorated overnight/today morning and seems to be showing symptoms of ECS. 😭

 

 

I've tried an iodine dip but the prognosis is poor. It's a 180° turnaround from yesterday - you can see from my Insta pic last night how big and 'fluffy' it was. 

 

Also had an issue of my purple rhodactis detaching from a frag plug. My dartfish, Tic, actually stole it. I tried retrieving it but couldn't - it was too deep in his burrow.

 

And one of my snails knocked over another bullseye rhodactis last night into my purple yuma - yuma has already partially melted. Such a trying day today. 😓

[Snow_Phoenix]

I think the concentrated iodine dip helped a little yesterday. The elegance is far from its original size, but at least it's open today morning:

 

 

 

Hoping it will recover in time. 

[Hannahhhh]

6 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I think the concentrated iodine dip helped a little yeaterday. The elegance is far from its original size, but at least it's open today morning:

 

 

 

Hoping it will recover in time. 

Beautiful pictures! And I’m glad it’s doing better!

[Snow_Phoenix]

Lots of pics incoming! 

 

PART 1:

 

1. One of my brittle stars being sneaky:

 

2. Dual-toned leopard discosoma up close:

 

 

3. Casper (and a tiny part of Gary) the tangaroa:

 

4. Goblin on the red symphyllia at night:

 

5. Zani hiding in the shadows:

 

6. Saron the Saron, also hiding in the shadows:

 

7. Detached bullseye rhodactis still looks good at the bottom of the shroom mountain:

 

8. Thanos, my Big Boy:

 

9. Mushroom Mountain! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

PART TWO:

 

1. Thanos and Goblin - the largest and littlest fish in my reef:

 

 

2. Teeny tiny Malayan Rainbow Acan frags:

 

 

3. Zoa Garden - a WIP (scroll further for more pics):

 

 

4. Blasto Merlettis - I accidently snapped off a few pieces while gluing down my acans, so I had to reglue the fragments next to the Zoa Garden:

 

 

5. Topshot of mushroom mountain: 

 

 

6. Close up of the red spotted yellow discosoma under heavy blues and no lights:

 

 

7. Monti fusion:

 

 

8. Miu, my pink streaked wrasse. It's hard to get a good pic of her, because she's constantly on the move:

 

 

9. Topshot of elegance coral (recovering) under heavy blues:

 

 

 

10. Topshot of green frogspawn coral under heavy blues:

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

PART THREE:

 

1. Feeding NLS pellets this evening:

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

PART FOUR:

 

1. Rare footage of Prowler, my circus barred goby, feeding on pellets:

 

 

Lastly, my FTS on 14/10/2019:

 

 

 

[kimdawg]

Looking good.  I love the full tank shot.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I brought my frogspawn home today. At the LFS, it was brownish with orange highlights/stripes. Under my lights at home, it actually turned out to be this nice shade of purplish-orange with neon yellow stripes. 😮

 

 

 

 

 

I definitely love it! There was a bit of an accident though. This colony is much more larger and heavier than my green frogspawn. I accidently dropped it on my green frogspawn and it bounced off that piece and plonked on my cynarina. So I have 3 extremely pissed off corals in my tank. 🤦‍♀️

 

The green frogspawn was stressed enough that a few polyps bailed out. As for the cynarina, there is minor damage on one side - but both pieces appear slightly better in the evening. 

 

(Will most likely do an iodine dip on the cynarina though.)

 

Also have some good news - my elegance has made a full recovery. 😊👍

 

 

Shrooms look good today too:

 

 

 

 

Goblin is still enjoying his symphyllia-couch:

 

 

 

Casper is still standing guard outside his burrow:

 

 

And Thanos is still...the big boss of the reef: 

 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, Gary is doing good too:

 

[Ratvan]

That Frogspawn has some crazy branching going on, love it 😍

[Snow_Phoenix]

Add-On:

 

Bonus vids of Goblin & Thanos eating some NLS pellets:

 

 

And Tic, my zebra dart says hello! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

32 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

That Frogspawn has some crazy branching going on, love it 😍

Yep, it does! It's actually in the middle of splitting into 3 branches. It'll be a monster next year. 😮

[A.m.P]

Really glad to hear the elegance recovered, love the frogspawn.