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Ocean_dreamer89

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Ocean_dreamer89
On 9/26/2019 at 5:57 AM, Jackal227 said:

I haven't had a turbo snail but as long as it is still moving it is alive and may adjust.  I've read that extremely high amounts of magnesium can cause snails to be lethargic.  However that wouldn't be common without dosing it.

 

My Scarlett Hermits are out some days and hiding in their shells other days so I don't find it uncommon to not see them during the day.  They do move around a lot at night though.  Also when they are molting they will hide in their shell and not move for a couple of days.  They park themselves in funny positions like ontop of my GSP or sitting in the middle of my digitata colony, but a couple days later they'll be gone.  If I feed the tank some reef roids they become very active though because it's buffet time.

 

 

Yeah I would agree that that type of behavior would be normal.  I would imagine they move around more at night than I believe, but I don’t find them in much different position.  I’ve in fact, picked up my hermit a few times just to make sure it’s alive because it hasn’t moved in days. I was hoping maybe meal time would become more intriguing to them since I’ve added more and more coral but so far, .....nothing.  

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Ocean_dreamer89
On 9/26/2019 at 11:44 PM, billygoat said:

Have to say, I've never acclimated snails at all before, or at least nothing more than floating the bag in the tank to match temperature. That particular part is pretty important though I think. :ninja:

 

I hope yours ends up pulling through! Snails are definitely an important and often-overlooked part of any aquarium. I'd be lost without them! 😁

Yeah I’m learning of all things, temperature is probably the most important and after that the more you can acclimate and the slower the adjustments, the better.  They’ve started to move around a little more since I posted, but nothing compared to the new ones that I’ve added. They zip around like no one’s business!

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Ocean_dreamer89

Week 10

 

I had a great 30th birthday this past week and my husband surprised me with a trip to the Tennessee State Aquarium in Chattanooga.  We live in Nashville so it wasn’t a bad drive at all and we had a blast.  On the way back we, of course had to stop, at a LFS I had not been to yet but have been wanting to check out.  Per usual, we walked away with two more corals 😂.   Got a little blastomussa frag and gsp.  Both corals have been doing great since adding them in.  After acclimating them for a bit, I glued the gsp to a small rock by itself.  The blasts has just been in the sand but I moved it up to the rock after the water change today.  I’ll see how it likes that spot before gluing it down, but so far so good.  All the corals are doing really well! .....except for the Duncan.  I don’t know what it”s deal is, but it stays partially closed up most the time.  It’ll open up after it eat for a bit, but then just go back to being temperamental.  Sometimes it opens up randomly, but then closes again.  Right now I plan on waiting it out and see if it maybe adjusts.  I’ll post my most current parameters at the bottom of the post.  Only changes I did to the tank this week, was add Kalkwasser to my ATO water, with the main goal of slowing raising pH, with the added benefits of alk and calcium.  I also added some black tape to parts of my grow light that were not directly in front of the Chaeto.  Goal for this is to reduce algae growth within the filter media.  As far as other nuisance algae, most has been mainly under control.  Every other day, I have to clean the glass of diatoms, but I assume with what I’ve read, it’ll go away with time, so I’m not overly concerned.

 

ACC21ACA-94DC-4AC0-A2D8-2F3960C56A80.thumb.jpeg.543447fb5e1e669709f962597eae6989.jpeg

 

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Here’ how the Duncan looks most of the time

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Only other issue, or really just major change this week, were the clownfish.  Once I discovered the nitrite issue and was not able to correct it very fast, it stressed me out that these little juvenile fish were living in that environment.  They looked really healthy overall, so I made the decision to cut the quarantine short and added them to the main tank.  They have really adapted well and are getting along with my Royal Gramma just fine.  It was definitely a risk to James to add them in, but in time we’ll see if it pays off.  I just couldn’t keep them in water with nitrites.

 

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Last notes for tonight are for opinions and input.  What do y’all recommend for a feeding schedule for three fish.  Right now I feed about 1/8 to 1/4 a cube of frozen food a day, sometimes supplement with additional flakes because the clowns like those for a meal later in the day.  I spot feed all the corals reef roids twice a week.  I use the method when I mix the reef roids thick enough that when I feed the coral with a syringe it falls directly onto the corals, as opposed to broadcasting through the whole water column.

 

Also, for my ATO I use distilled water (gasp!).  I know RODI is the ideal solution, but my question would be is it worth the investment and installation for a nano.  The answer would be obvious if it were a bigger tank or if I mixed my own water.  However, I currently buy my water from the LFS and used distilled in a jug for fresh.  I’m just wondering if anyone has seen absolute benefits from RODI vs distilled.

 

As promised parameters as follows:

Temp: 78-79

Salinity: 1.026

Nitrate: 5.       0 ammonia.    0 nitrite

pH: 7.8

Calcium: 430

dKh: 7.8

Mag: 1410

Phosphate: 0.017

BCCF3AA6-9D77-4353-B843-DE2BD2A70F79.jpeg

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Once a day is probably good for feeding these. Wild fish would be snacking all day, picking whatever they find off the rocks, so daily (or even more often, though that's not necessary) is good. Especially with growing animals. If nitrates go too high or food goes uneaten, feed less at a time, not less often. 

 

Tank looks great! If the gramma and clowns clash (which they might), try adding more rock and cover. It changes the 'territory' around and gives everyone a chance to reestablish territory, and provides, of course, more cover.

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9 hours ago, Ocean_dreamer89 said:

Week 10

 

I had a great 30th birthday this past week and my husband surprised me with a trip to the Tennessee State Aquarium in Chattanooga.  We live in Nashville so it wasn’t a bad drive at all and we had a blast.  On the way back we, of course had to stop, at a LFS I had not been to yet but have been wanting to check out.  Per usual, we walked away with two more corals 😂.   Got a little blastomussa frag and gsp.  Both corals have been doing great since adding them in.  After acclimating them for a bit, I glued the gsp to a small rock by itself.  The blasts has just been in the sand but I moved it up to the rock after the water change today.  I’ll see how it likes that spot before gluing it down, but so far so good.  All the corals are doing really well! .....except for the Duncan.  I don’t know what it”s deal is, but it stays partially closed up most the time.  It’ll open up after it eat for a bit, but then just go back to being temperamental.  Sometimes it opens up randomly, but then closes again.  Right now I plan on waiting it out and see if it maybe adjusts.  I’ll post my most current parameters at the bottom of the post.  Only changes I did to the tank this week, was add Kalkwasser to my ATO water, with the main goal of slowing raising pH, with the added benefits of alk and calcium.  I also added some black tape to parts of my grow light that were not directly in front of the Chaeto.  Goal for this is to reduce algae growth within the filter media.  As far as other nuisance algae, most has been mainly under control.  Every other day, I have to clean the glass of diatoms, but I assume with what I’ve read, it’ll go away with time, so I’m not overly concerned.

 

ACC21ACA-94DC-4AC0-A2D8-2F3960C56A80.thumb.jpeg.543447fb5e1e669709f962597eae6989.jpeg

 

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Here’ how the Duncan looks most of the time

ECA3B1A0-8E3E-4DCE-98F8-7A10405CFBFC.thumb.jpeg.d294cb65eeae6d03679862b6aedfd390.jpeg


Only other issue, or really just major change this week, were the clownfish.  Once I discovered the nitrite issue and was not able to correct it very fast, it stressed me out that these little juvenile fish were living in that environment.  They looked really healthy overall, so I made the decision to cut the quarantine short and added them to the main tank.  They have really adapted well and are getting along with my Royal Gramma just fine.  It was definitely a risk to James to add them in, but in time we’ll see if it pays off.  I just couldn’t keep them in water with nitrites.

 

0546AF1E-993C-4447-A9F1-510E65A27A27.thumb.jpeg.86dd68a23e5f8547459e9b5dd8e3f9de.jpeg

 

B084C199-A7DE-4DF4-BCBB-9F59B4C2F876.thumb.jpeg.63b173f9b2f0c7bcdd353f1cd4d85091.jpeg
 

Last notes for tonight are for opinions and input.  What do y’all recommend for a feeding schedule for three fish.  Right now I feed about 1/8 to 1/4 a cube of frozen food a day, sometimes supplement with additional flakes because the clowns like those for a meal later in the day.  I spot feed all the corals reef roids twice a week.  I use the method when I mix the reef roids thick enough that when I feed the coral with a syringe it falls directly onto the corals, as opposed to broadcasting through the whole water column.

 

Also, for my ATO I use distilled water (gasp!).  I know RODI is the ideal solution, but my question would be is it worth the investment and installation for a nano.  The answer would be obvious if it were a bigger tank or if I mixed my own water.  However, I currently buy my water from the LFS and used distilled in a jug for fresh.  I’m just wondering if anyone has seen absolute benefits from RODI vs distilled.

 

As promised parameters as follows:

Temp: 78-79

Salinity: 1.026

Nitrate: 5.       0 ammonia.    0 nitrite

pH: 7.8

Calcium: 430

dKh: 7.8

Mag: 1410

Phosphate: 0.017

BCCF3AA6-9D77-4353-B843-DE2BD2A70F79.jpeg

The tank looks good!  I really like that Blasto.

 

Typically feeding once a day is good.  If you start having algae issues you can reduce it, some will feed every other day.  I don't feed frozen but when my fish were small like that I would feed them enough so that each would get 3 or 4 pellets.

 

There is nothing wrong with distilled water.  A lot of people use it and the only benefit of going rodi would be the convenience (and cost) of making it at home.

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Ocean_dreamer89
On 9/30/2019 at 10:50 PM, Tired said:

Once a day is probably good for feeding these. Wild fish would be snacking all day, picking whatever they find off the rocks, so daily (or even more often, though that's not necessary) is good. Especially with growing animals. If nitrates go too high or food goes uneaten, feed less at a time, not less often. 

 

Tank looks great! If the gramma and clowns clash (which they might), try adding more rock and cover. It changes the 'territory' around and gives everyone a chance to reestablish territory, and provides, of course, more cover.

Good point! I read your post awhile ago and haven’t got the chance to reply much here. Life happens... but I think that’s a good perspective. I’ve been feeding the little guys a larger meal in the morning and then a little snack in the afternoon before I go to work at 2. Seems to be working well for them and haven’t seen a nitrate spike yet. 

On 10/1/2019 at 7:01 AM, Jackal227 said:

The tank looks good!  I really like that Blasto.

 

Typically feeding once a day is good.  If you start having algae issues you can reduce it, some will feed every other day.  I don't feed frozen but when my fish were small like that I would feed them enough so that each would get 3 or 4 pellets.

 

There is nothing wrong with distilled water.  A lot of people use it and the only benefit of going rodi would be the convenience (and cost) of making it at home.

Thank you! Yes I’m a huge fan of the blastos! I look forward to watch them grow into a bigger colony. As far as feeding I’ve been using the frozen for their main sustenance and supplement with flakes for a snack. I wish mine would eat pellets but I’ve haven’t had any luck with them yet. They grab them and spit them right now. I get worried about the pollution with them spitting them back out since I know they’re nutrient dense. 
 

That’s good to know about distilled. I haven’t had any problems with it yet and it’s pretty cost effective for me. I just see everyone bash on anything but RODI so it makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong. I haven’t been able to find any major differences with the water quality on my research online, but second opinions always are helpful. 

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Ocean_dreamer89

Week 12

 

Life has been busy the past couple weeks so I haven’t been able to post, but all is well and progressing in the biocube. Except for one sad loss I’ll talk about a subsequently update the first post 😔

I’ll start out on a good note and talk about some of the new additions and changes I’m about to make going forward. Last post I talked about adding Kalkwasser to my auto top off. Maybe I’m being impatient but I haven’t been overly happy with it. I think my main goal for it was to help with raising my pH with the addition of calcium and dKH.  The latter two it, I believe it helped with but I haven’t seen any change in the pH.  Considering that Kalkwasser is pretty hard on the pump for the ATO and The little to no change in pH I believe I’m going to just start dosing.  I haven’t made any changes yet but I picked up some ASV aquatics B ionic two part.  In the coming weeks I plan to test more throughout the week to determine exactly the amount I should begin dosing.  If anyone has suggestions, I’m definitely open because this will be the first time I start dosing the tank on a regular basis.  The only other change to report on is the tape on the chaeto grow light.  Last post I talked about adding black tape to the portions of the light not in front of the chaeto. It seems to be working. I noticed a great reduction of brown algae growth on the media basket and no significant change to the chaeto.  I’m hoping that it’s a good light for the chaeto because I don’t notice a huge amount of growth week to week.  It definitely grows, but not a whole lot.  I harvest maybe every other week depending on how thick it looks.  I try to maintain somewhere in between a golf ball size and a little smaller than a baseball. 

 

Last week while at one of my LFS’s, I saw a sweet frogspawn and had to get it. I’ve also been wanting to add a candy cane coral so I found one of those as well. I had also been looking for a snail to really turn up the sand bed, so I bought two Nasarrius snails. Those thing are super cool though I hardly ever see the whole snail. I love looking for their little tubes stinking up from the sand bed.

 

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My little Duncan seems to be doing better since I last posted. The only change that I can think of is trying to spot fed into a bit more. I still only use reef roids twice a week, one mid week and one on water change day.  But every other day or so, when I’m feeding the fish, I slip it a mysis or a pellet.  It’s gobbles both up and opens right up afterwards. Maybe it becoming more and more acclimated to its spot or maybe it’s the feeding, but it seems to be working.  One thing that threw me through a loop is that if it overeats, it pukes! Since I saw that I haven’t gave it that much reef roids since but it was definitely very interesting to see. 
 

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In an attempt to stay in chronological order, I guess it’s time to talk about my loss before moving on to what I picked up today.  I’m very sad to say my blood Fire shrimp died last week.  It happened about a week after it’s first molt while I had it.  Before it’s first molt, I noticed that it’s exoskeleton appeared to have tiny white spots on it.  I thought it was just tank debris until one day I woke up to this..

 

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I quickly realized it had molted but didn’t know much else.  I removed it and life went on.  About a week and a half to two weeks later I noticed the white spots again and thought it was getting ready to molt.  You can kinda see the white spots I’m talking about in the picture above. On the night before water change, I found the shrimp on its side furiously kicking it’s legs like it was trying to right itself.  Thinking it was weird,  I helped it right itself and it somewhat went back to normal.  Later that same night, I took a peek at him before going to bed and thought it was still acting “off” but didn’t know what to do. I went to bed with a bad feeling and woke up that next morning finding him in the same spot dead.  I removed the body and went to testing the water.  All the parameters were very close to what I posted before.  I’m thinking maybe this was either another newbie acclimating foul or a molting issue.  I temp acclimated this guy and then drip acclimated, letting the water double three times.  I’ve read sometimes they can have an issue with molting where the exoskeleton doesn’t crack and they die trying to get out of it.  Since I was seeing the white spots again, I’m thinking this is the most likely cause.  Since this happened I’ve read about dosing iodine after molting to help them. Does anyone have suggestions with this? I need to read on it more. Regardless I’m sad the little guy died.  I really enjoyed what he brought to the tank.

 

All that brings this thread back up to present day.  I only have one day off this weekend so I decided to try to cheer myself up after a very stressful week with a trip to a LFS a little further away.  I picked up an emerald crab, skunk cleaner shrimp, and a plating Montipora. This is my first SPS officially dubbing this tank as a mixed reef.  I’m a little nervous about it because it broke a little on the way home and dipping.  I glued the pieces back to the plug in hopes it’ll recover.  Live and learn I guess.  I chose the montipora because of the SPS I’ve read it’s beginner friendly.  I guess I’m taking that to the extreme 😂. I’m loving how it looks in the tank right now and am really hoping it’ll be ok.  
 

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2 hours ago, Ocean_dreamer89 said:

That’s good to know about distilled. I haven’t had any problems with it yet and it’s pretty cost effective for me. I just see everyone bash on anything but RODI so it makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong. I haven’t been able to find any major differences with the water quality on my research online, but second opinions always are helpful. 

I use Arrowhead distilled and I like it, aside from having to use all the plastic containers... I’m actually planning on starting up delivery service from them this week, so I can use refillable 5 gallon containers.

 

I tried a home water distiller and a home RODI filter, both resulted in loss of crabs/shrimp, and injury to corals and sponges... not sure what evil is lurking in my tap water that’s not getting distilled/filtered out, but using the store bought distilled water seems to work well for my tanks.

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Ocean_dreamer89
8 minutes ago, banasophia said:

I use Arrowhead distilled and I like it, aside from having to use all the plastic containers... I’m actually planning on starting up delivery service from them this week, so I can use refillable 5 gallon containers.

 

I tried a home water distiller and a home RODI filter, both resulted in loss of crabs/shrimp, and injury to corals and sponges... not sure what evil is lurking in my tap water that’s not getting distilled/filtered out, but using the store bought distilled water seems to work well for my tanks.

I agree! The containers definitely bug me and have been a huge factor in considering getting an RODI system at home.  I’ll have to check into if there is somewhere I can refill around here.  I have a home distiller marked on amazon just haven’t bought it yet. That’s good to know you weren’t getting the same quality. 

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I would say an RODI system is worth the investment. I wouldn’t get a distiller they tend to be more expensive, have slower water production, require electricity, need more frequent cleaning and produce lower quality water. 

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5 hours ago, Ocean_dreamer89 said:

I agree! The containers definitely bug me and have been a huge factor in considering getting an RODI system at home.  I’ll have to check into if there is somewhere I can refill around here.  I have a home distiller marked on amazon just haven’t bought it yet. That’s good to know you weren’t getting the same quality. 

Yeah, water distillation used to involve copper pipes, so there’s often pushback on using store bought distilled, but these days I don’t think copper pipes are used. 

 

Not sure about the home distillers though. I would advise against getting one as my tanks rapidly declined within three water changes with the homemade distilled. I lost all of my beloved emeralds and my cleaner shrimp which I’d had for nearly a year. Corals and a rock flower nem were seriously injured, and I also lost my firefish at that time, though I didn’t think it was related. 

 

I liked using the distiller... if the water had been pure I would’ve been very happy with it. 

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I use distilled water on my opae ula tank, to set it up and to top it off. They're a tiny brackish water shrimp that hate being disturbed, so they don't get water changes, just chaeto export. I've had them for well over a year now. If there were copper in distilled water, these shrimp would be very much dead. As you can see by my avatar, they aren't. That's commercially made stuff, though. 

 

TBPH, I'm using distilled in my meant-to-be-a-quarantine tank that now has corals. Zoas and palys, so nothing too fussy, but they seem happy enough. They're open, they're growing- a bit slowly because of a subpar temporary light, but they're growing. It may depend on the source and how much care they take to keep things clean.

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Ocean_dreamer89
On 10/14/2019 at 9:40 PM, Gravity said:

I would say an RODI system is worth the investment. I wouldn’t get a distiller they tend to be more expensive, have slower water production, require electricity, need more frequent cleaning and produce lower quality water. 

Yes. I think after some research and opinions on here a home distilled is definitely a bad solution. I would like an RODI solution but I’m not that handy and need to research more before I install one.....and talk to pay husband who I would inevitably pass off the plumbing to 😂😂 I saw someone had hook on up to the cold water on their water heater. That may be a solution. Or I have a sink in my basement I might be able to park out. What do you use?

On 10/15/2019 at 9:52 AM, Tired said:

I use distilled water on my opae ula tank, to set it up and to top it off. They're a tiny brackish water shrimp that hate being disturbed, so they don't get water changes, just chaeto export. I've had them for well over a year now. If there were copper in distilled water, these shrimp would be very much dead. As you can see by my avatar, they aren't. That's commercially made stuff, though. 

 

TBPH, I'm using distilled in my meant-to-be-a-quarantine tank that now has corals. Zoas and palys, so nothing too fussy, but they seem happy enough. They're open, they're growing- a bit slowly because of a subpar temporary light, but they're growing. It may depend on the source and how much care they take to keep things clean.

I’m glad to hear that!! I haven’t had any kind of issues using Kroger distilled water for my top off. The only problem I’ve run into lately is my shrimp. I had one die and I added a new one that I’m not so sure about right now and it really has me feeling guilty. I don’t think the top off water is the issue about at this point, I’d consider anything. 

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20 hours ago, Ocean_dreamer89 said:

Yes. I think after some research and opinions on here a home distilled is definitely a bad solution. I would like an RODI solution but I’m not that handy and need to research more before I install one.....and talk to pay husband who I would inevitably pass off the plumbing to 😂😂 I saw someone had hook on up to the cold water on their water heater. That may be a solution. Or I have a sink in my basement I might be able to park out. What do you use?

I’m glad to hear that!! I haven’t had any kind of issues using Kroger distilled water for my top off. The only problem I’ve run into lately is my shrimp. I had one die and I added a new one that I’m not so sure about right now and it really has me feeling guilty. I don’t think the top off water is the issue about at this point, I’d consider anything. 

It doesn’t necessarily need to be plumbed. I posted some simple setups that I’ve done that should help. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Ocean_dreamer89
On 10/18/2019 at 7:30 PM, Gravity said:

It doesn’t necessarily need to be plumbed. I posted some simple setups that I’ve done that should help. 

 

Awesome! Thank you

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Ocean_dreamer89

Week 17

 

Wow! So I didn’t think it’d be this long since I posted but I guess.... life 😂.  To be honest I’ve been a little discouraged since the lose of the cleaner shrimp and emerald crab. I temp acclimated them and them drip acclimated them and added them to the tank. I believe that was my fault. I’m thinking moving forward it will be best to reverse that and drip then temp acclimate.  Given that I don’t really have a need right now in the tank for shrimp or crabs, I think I’ll just hold off on added any for awhile. I added two Nasarrius snails to help with the sand bed and I’ve been really happy with them.  Love watching them go all over the tank and looking for their tube sticking out of the sand bed. 
 

Now for some updates on the tank.  I ended up stopping the use of Kalkwasser.  I didn’t see any significant change with alkalinity or ph, so for the sake of the lifespan of my auto top off pump I’m not using it anymore. I’ve switched up and no am using B ionic 2 part to dose alk and calcium.  For two weeks I tested the alkalinity levels everyday and determined that about 1 ml of each seemed to be a good starting point.  I’m now maintaining right around 8.3 alk and 420 calcium. I also noticed a slight increase of pH last week. I’ve always had 7.8 pH in the tank and last week it came out to 8.0.  A future test will determine if that was a testing failure or if the pH actually increased.  I’m not sweating it too much because all the corals have been looking really good lately.  My latest coral additions have been a plating Montipora and yesterday I finally added a Scoly! 😃😃 Both are pink and color and really bring a good color variety to the tank. 
 

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The plan for the coming weeks is to just let the tank mature a bit. Everything is looking so good right now, I don’t want to add too much and mess up the balance. I don’t notice any significant nuisance algae growth minus some green hair algae occasionally. It’s easily controlled by removing it.  I believe I also have a small amount of cyano but again, just removing the small amount seems to be working.  My phosphates had a little swing and increased recently but they’re not out of control. My phosguard was due to be replaced anyway so I did that along with replacing the purigen this past water change.  I’ll test again for phosphate this next water change.  Despite my slightly elevated nitrates, my chaeto has not been growing like I would like to see. I’ve been reducing feeding along with replacing the purigen to get those back down. Not too worried because they were only slightly higher than usual but still in an acceptable range.  I increased the time my chaeto grow light was on and I’ll update later with how that works out.  
 

Here’s some pictures of the happy corals 😁

 

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Looks gorgeous! You've got some interesting coraline on the back wall there, and your corals look really happy.

 

For future reference, drip acclimation is also your temp acclimation, you don't need to do both. It's also not advised with shipped animals. Shipped animals are generally best temp acclimated only.

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Great pictures! I am glad to see everything in the tank thriving and doing well. It really does look super right now!

 

Also I'll second @Tired in saying that the coralline algae you've got going on your back wall is very interesting! I bet your Ca and KH dosing is really speeding up its growth. 👍

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Ocean_dreamer89
On 11/6/2019 at 5:39 PM, Tired said:

Looks gorgeous! You've got some interesting coraline on the back wall there, and your corals look really happy.

 

For future reference, drip acclimation is also your temp acclimation, you don't need to do both. It's also not advised with shipped animals. Shipped animals are generally best temp acclimated only.

Thank you!! Yeah that coralline is growing all over the place. I just wish it was the pretty purple type 😂😂 I have some of the purple type growing so hopefully it’ll take over the brown-green one. 
 

Good to know about the acclimation. I’m just trying to figure out why I haven’t much luck with inverts and that was the only thing I could think of. Everything else I’ve acclimated turn out fine, including a hermit I added in the beginning and snails. 
I usually drip acclimate for 1.5 hours to 2 hours, so I thought maybe a temp difference could occur. I guess the next step would be to throw a thermometer in to be sure. 

23 hours ago, billygoat said:

Great pictures! I am glad to see everything in the tank thriving and doing well. It really does look super right now!

 

Also I'll second @Tired in saying that the coralline algae you've got going on your back wall is very interesting! I bet your Ca and KH dosing is really speeding up its growth. 👍

Thank you so much!! 😁😁 It’s definitely an interesting coralline, not a fan of the color of it though😂 but oh well! A healthy tank is all I can ask for. 

23 hours ago, ReefAdoRe said:

Following along, your tank is a beauty! 😊

Thank you!! Love documenting things and watching how it progresses. As well as reading other people’s experiences 😃

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If you're drip acclimating, you're slowly replacing most of the water in the bag with your tank's water. That equalizes all parameters. It's also very much not necessary in many cases, and for shipped animals is harder on the than not. The ammonia being produced in the bag drops in toxicity as the pH and oxygen levels change during shipping, so it's harmless enough when the fish gets to you. When you open the bag and let more oxygen in, the pH shifts, the ammonia increases in toxicity again, and bam. It's not a problem for animals you've just picked up an hour or so ago, in which case drip acclimation is fine (though overkill for some), but all you really need for a lot of critters is the temp acclimation. Float the CLOSED bag in the aquarium for 15-30 minutes, then open it, net the critter out of the bag, and put it in the tank. Cleanup crews in particular are often creatures used to pretty drastic parameter shifts, since they're found in tidepools and shallow tidal areas, they just can't stand the quick temperature changes.

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Ocean_dreamer89
52 minutes ago, Tired said:

If you're drip acclimating, you're slowly replacing most of the water in the bag with your tank's water. That equalizes all parameters. It's also very much not necessary in many cases, and for shipped animals is harder on the than not. The ammonia being produced in the bag drops in toxicity as the pH and oxygen levels change during shipping, so it's harmless enough when the fish gets to you. When you open the bag and let more oxygen in, the pH shifts, the ammonia increases in toxicity again, and bam. It's not a problem for animals you've just picked up an hour or so ago, in which case drip acclimation is fine (though overkill for some), but all you really need for a lot of critters is the temp acclimation. Float the CLOSED bag in the aquarium for 15-30 minutes, then open it, net the critter out of the bag, and put it in the tank. Cleanup crews in particular are often creatures used to pretty drastic parameter shifts, since they're found in tidepools and shallow tidal areas, they just can't stand the quick temperature changes.

Thank you for the info! I haven’t ordered anything online, but luckily was aware that drip can be deadly in that scenario. I think I’ll take your advice and next time acclimate that way. Definitely won’t hurt anything since clearly my way has been unsuccessful.  Do you recommend also adding tank water to equalize parameters or just float?

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If you go with just a temp acclimation, you go with JUST temp acclimation. Float and dump. You want them to be in an open bag of ammonia-laden shipping water for as little time as possible. It's how my LFS does things, since everything is shipped in, and they sure don't lose a notable amount of stock to it.

 

Personally, when I bring things home from my LFS, I add a bit of tank water every 5ish minutes until there's at least double the original water. For corals, I triple the original water- just dump out the excess first, so they're barely covered. Not drip acclimation, but the same general idea. Good for things that aren't super sensitive (like some starfish are), and don't have any worries of shipping ammonia. 

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I alter the QT water to match the incoming bag water salinity, check that the pH isn't far off (if off by .2 or more - additional step of add QT H2O in quantity of 100% volume of bag H2O), float for 7 - 15 mins (until temp is less than 1 degree off, net, release, dump bag/transfer water in waste. Fast, low stress and very high success rate.

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Ocean_dreamer89
1 hour ago, Wonderboy said:

I alter the QT water to match the incoming bag water salinity, check that the pH isn't far off (if off by .2 or more - additional step of add QT H2O in quantity of 100% volume of bag H2O), float for 7 - 15 mins (until temp is less than 1 degree off, net, release, dump bag/transfer water in waste. Fast, low stress and very high success rate.

Good point about the stress!

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