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Snow_Phoenix

I had to rescape the tank a little today. Ended up pissing off a lot of corals, and re-gluing some frags that I knocked off the rocks, but I had to do it to accomodate my receding blasto colony which I pulled out of my 60G:

 

IMG_20200611_121424_141.thumb.jpg.86b246f0e9eff462ed608c6c0c7fbafa.jpg

 

IMG_20200611_121424_140.thumb.jpg.5cbf90660b6eaa1370d69a68340ab8ff.jpg

 

It looks pretty bad, and I wish I had done this sooner. 😔

 

This was how the colony used to look like at its best:

 

IMG_20200209_105620_228.thumb.jpg.ea7e3c6063291acfd7a37e83f99c251f.jpg

 

Getting it back to this will take a long time, I think. ☹

 

I shuffled around some coral frags to make room for it in the mid-level of the pico, and transfered my red/blue lobo to the sandbed:

 

IMG_20200611_121645_509.thumb.jpg.330e56c90bb675fd409ceb835a028673.jpg

 

The lobo is regrowing, but slowly. However, it has redeveloped greenish streaks in the red outer rim, so hopefully it'll bounce back in full in the upcoming months. 

 

Some of my grape caulerpa went sexual last night, but thankfully, the pico doesn't seem to be affected too much, and the water isn't cloudy. 

 

I spotted Harvey picking algae off the base of the blasto frag, and he seems content so far:

 

IMG_20200611_121541_199.thumb.jpg.a1b0b4ea033464a2a9bbd55e9676abb3.jpg

 

IMG_20200611_121742_205.thumb.jpg.9623e279c17ad8250f289f7f047dcc41.jpg

 

I also saw Benny, my serpent star, slip between the rocks as I was arranging stuff, so I had to he extra careful not to drop anything on him. 

 

Two of my zoa frags have popped out a new polyp each, so I'm pleased that they are still growing:

 

IMG_20200611_121952_174.thumb.jpg.f640f5d1d2ef7491e4ce9b18045f91db.jpg

 

IMG_20200611_121952_172.thumb.jpg.18819be4ab0995c000aa071549264072.jpg

 

The multimix zoa frag is now fully open and all polyps appear quite healthy:

 

IMG_20200611_121838_343.thumb.jpg.56243ea0074ddbc1e4a04eae9063764c.jpg

 

My orange bam bams have opened up too. 😊👍

 

I asked my LFS if they were willing to frag their Mohawks and Captain America palys. They said sure - so I'll most likely pick up a frag of each, but glue it directly on the pillar rock. (No more space on the sandbed) 

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Snow_Phoenix
31 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

The zoas look super happy! Harvey :wub:

Yeah! You should see the purple death palys - so many new heads now. Took forever to grow in my large reef, but they're really taking off here. I think the large weekly WCs seem to help a lot. 👍

 

And Harvey is awesome. It's a shame we can't keep two in the same tank. All the Sarons at my LFS were very young males. I checked. 

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Snow_Phoenix

Harvey says hello! 😊

 

IMG_20200612_142749_012.thumb.jpg.9db01f7ccff14b6efa93e733e0da3117.jpg

 

Both my leathers were moody today. Not sure if it was because of the new blastos being added, the caulerpa going sexual or one of the red bubbles of the RBA popping (I accidently popped it while moving frags around yesterday). 

 

Either way, I'll be keeping a close eye on the little reef. The glass needs to be scraped, but I *think I better do a full WC tomorrow, just in case. 

 

Also, finally have new lenses for my glasses today, so hopefully this means I will have less headaches in the future! 😊

 

And I found a very nice piece of featured art on Insta:

 

Screenshot_20200612-091733_Instagram.thumb.jpg.6310a70d8f3c3ac5cb7360c792ba1b61.jpg

 

Full credit to jasbutts. I love dragonets - and I like seeing the various types together like this. 😊

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Snow_Phoenix

So today I decided to take pics in a *slightly different way. I took pics of the same corals in *Pro mode in my phone, and then regular mode *with a clip on yellow filter lens. 

 

The results were quite interesting. 

 

Pro-mode:

 

IMG_20200613_130723_806.thumb.jpg.966da6e6ac6a538c8894cc76bef8833f.jpg

 

Yellow filter lens:

 

IMG_20200613_130723_805.thumb.jpg.85ecb0c5cc760a35fafb652763dd07ac.jpg

 

Pro-mode:

 

IMG_20200613_130836_255.thumb.jpg.a97b943a60db06aa0819c018291334fe.jpg

 

Yellow-filter lens:

 

20200613_130906.thumb.jpg.07962dcedc956a983a8a5774514b5d3c.jpg

 

Pro-mode:

 

IMG_20200613_131142_497.thumb.jpg.1ec86739c50ff60bab7cc00da8b840fd.jpg

 

Yellow-filter lens:

 

IMG_20200613_131142_494.thumb.jpg.e145e8910cd82440b98a36db6f738514.jpg

 

IMG_20200613_131142_503.thumb.jpg.35bb23fc39a552e08f287636648fad8e.jpg

 

I find these comparisons a little strange. Pro-mode looks great (like the zoa pics), but it can make the coral colors look a tad cartoonish (like my blasto colony). My phone auto-adjusts the saturation and other settings in pro-mode, so I didn't tinker with anything - just took the pics as it is. 

 

With my yellow lens filter, it neutralizes most of the blues from the light, but it makes some parts of the corals have an anemic tinge to it, and even makes some of my blastos look bleached in some areas. 

 

But in terms of the most accurate coral colors (in comparison to what I see in RL, I *think the yellow lens filter + 75% light output is the closest I can get to). 

 

So my takeaway from today's 'messing around', *pro-mode can deliver some good pics - probably even better if I toy around with the advanced settings (eg. saturation, shadowing etc.)...but it doesn't reflect the real coral colors in my tank accurately. 

 

I *think my yellow clip-on lens filter + adjustments made to my Aquazonic light's output is better. 

 

Playing around with camera/light settings aside, my blasto colony is actually showing some signs of improvement. There are actually some new tiny baby blastos already trying to pop up around the rim of existing heads, so that was a bit surprising to me. 

 

The receded heads look a little *fuller today too. But I think complete regrowth and re-color will take up to a month or more. 

 

Both my toadstool leathers appear to be moody though - they might be shedding, but I'll observe them to see if there are any signs of growth or deterioration. 

 

I *might move my green galaxea out of the pico - simply because there is no room to accomodate it on the sandbed. It's currently balanced precariously on one of the rocks next to my duncan coral, and can tip over if bumped by one of the snails. 

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Snow_Phoenix

Harvey hitching a ride: 😂

 

IMG_20200613_184627_376.thumb.jpg.d61dc1bff014dcacbf2c42b7a8372734.jpg

 

A little monster lurks nearby: 

 

IMG_20200613_184527_948.thumb.jpg.a11dc103a4a1e5ec115b41bd989cb3b6.jpg

 

Moved the red digi nub up in hopes of getting it to regrow. Might have been a little overzealous with the coral glue - but I just didn't want it to get knocked off the rock:

 

IMG_20200613_184437_371.thumb.jpg.f989fe64eb56fc057a10419c50efb9ee.jpg

 

The polyps are still there, just very retracted. Hope it can heal up - this is the only small micro-fraglet that isn't giving me a break atm. ☹

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Snow_Phoenix

Performed a full WC today morning. Rushed it because as I feared, one of the snails knocked the galaxea over last night, and the coral fell directly into the still-recovering red/blue lobo. :tears:

 

The prolonged contact caused half of the galaxea to melt and the frag was oozing a lot of brown slime:

 

IMG_20200614_133900_070.thumb.jpg.a10a1eece6b9218819c5b3b41e433926.jpg

 

The last thing I wanted was to get BJD in this little reef too, so I removed the frag, cleaned it up, and placed it on the sandbed of the 60G. 

 

As for the lobo, it appears to be stung at two spots. I hope it can recover from this one - it already wasn't too healthy to begin with. :sad:

 

Back to lighter things, here is an ambitious little bristleworm crawling up the back wall after the WC: 

 

IMG_20200614_133149_225.thumb.jpg.b929dfcb0a7c3a8e5fa28d103183a1f3.jpg

 

And here is my little digi nub with fuzzy little PE today: 😊👍

 

IMG_20200614_133234_468.thumb.jpg.9989fedfae733a182ab99958bef2848d.jpg

 

My toadstools are still a bit moody after the WC, but I think they'll be okay after a few days:

 

IMG_20200614_133358_438.thumb.jpg.dd947599bf9e416392308cfed72c4a4a.jpg

 

20200614_133426.thumb.jpg.633cca3cd938c47373eb4e910ef9bef4.jpg

 

The orange leptastrea is growing very well. My LFS encouraged me to build a leptastrea garden - I currently only have 3 varieties and...no more room. 😔

 

IMG_20200614_133549_323.thumb.jpg.ff92fbad2292d26ce6b0bb52e634ce9e.jpg

 

But it is definitely an idea that I would consider for any future reeftanks. 👍

 

Also, I absolutely love the amount of coralline on Coralline Ledge. That purple coloration is awesome:

 

IMG_20200614_133712_195.thumb.jpg.10e7a134e495de7b2e0438c844e72260.jpg

 

I'm also facing a slight issue with some of my macro dying/going sexual. First it was my grape caulerpa, now my peltata. 🤔

 

I think without having a fish, and with the limited feedings, my nutrient levels are simply too low and can't seem to sustain much macro. My red bubble and fern caulerpa are still existing though, but even my dragon's breath is thinning. 

 

Well, hopefully once I get a small nanofish that can poop in there, I can re-add and keep some new macro in the tank. 😊

 

Also, didn't quite realize it until today (or maybe I did, but simply forgot) - but this pico is actually a mixed reef. There's SPS, LPS, softies, shrooms, zoas and macros. The only thing it doesn't have is a nem, but...I do have one tiny aiptasia between my sunflower zoas - so does that count? 😅

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2 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

one of the snails knocked the galaxea over last night, and the coral fell directly into the still-recovering red/blue lobo. :tears:

 

The prolonged contact caused half of the galaxea to melt and the frag was oozing a lot of brown slime:

That looks like it might take awhile to recover.

 

2 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

this pico is actually a mixed reef. There's SPS, LPS, softies, shrooms, zoas and macros.

Show off.LOL

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Snow_Phoenix

Update #1:

 

I picked up a very pale green monticap today from my LFS. I temporarily placed it in the pico to let it heal and color back up, then I'll move it to my 60G, where it has plenty of room to plate out and grow:

 

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IMG_20200615_185003_570.thumb.jpg.139fd9fc842d5e6eef735f01800bb96c.jpg

 

A measure of just *how pale it is compared to my zoas (and yes, I'm aware it's shaped like that talking hat from Harry Potter - quite frankly, I think it's cute 😂 ) :

 

IMG_20200615_185124_366.thumb.jpg.8bbbf2ae9a3ac34a905055fd09fed4c7.jpg

 

My cyphastrea still has regained much color, but (!), it has encrusted further on the frag plug and there are more new orange polyps popping up at the rim: 🤗

 

IMG_20200615_185249_099.thumb.jpg.0dd21e174babe94d2063550731247fcf.jpg

 

Alas, my xenia is no longer a *pulsing xenia but just...a normal xenia: 🙄

 

IMG_20200615_190126_721.thumb.jpg.b6c470e65cab3396e4c958734f94a773.jpg

 

Spotted Harvey crouching by the zoa tower - he was very suspicious of me adding the montihat to the tank: 😂

 

IMG_20200615_190045_786.thumb.jpg.caac1852d61b6068460570ddd4fb2b62.jpg

 

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Snow_Phoenix
10 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Still plenty of space for Frags I see 😂

Looks great, i'm actually starting to come around to Zoas

😂

 

I'm actually still trying to 'make' space by filling up all the nooks and crannies at the back. I'm thinking of picking up more zoas too. That rock pillar is still empty at the sides. 😅

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1 minute ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

😂

 

I'm actually still trying to 'make' space by filling up all the nooks and crannies at the back. I'm thinking of picking up more zoas too. That rock pillar is still empty at the sides. 😅

so going for 75?

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Snow_Phoenix
1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

How do you deal with single Zoas? Just glue them on the rocks?

Well, I don't glue the polyps directly on the rocks. I glue the rocks the polyps are attached to to my LR. I find gluing polyps directly very tricky - I usually accidently squish them or they die on me regardless. Best to glue the frag-rock as it is onto other things in the tank. 🤔

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Snow_Phoenix

Update #1:

 

(Quick warning though - the photos look very different from one another times - mainly because I was experimenting with/without the blue light filter on my phone, and with/without using a clip-on yellow lens filter)

 

I woke up this morning to a strange development in my pico. The cyphastrea has darkened a little bit overnight, and finally regained a subtle bluish tint to it:

 

IMG_20200617_180347_805.thumb.jpg.979a48028afb7a85920b2d0c4b919c74.jpg

 

IMG_20200617_180347_806.thumb.jpg.225eed92829b5a12147315fdd2177f17.jpg

 

The color is especially evident under blue light, without the use of any clip-on filters. Hopefully this is a good thing, and a small step to it regaining its original colors. 🤔

 

The montihat has also developed a *slightly darker shade of green to it, although this isn't exactly evident in the pics yet:

 

IMG_20200617_180454_359.thumb.jpg.3ebc390e5e93eadfd8e004405428625b.jpg

 

IMG_20200617_180454_358.thumb.jpg.0e1c8db8f31063ccf3ebded95734b8fc.jpg

 

The blastos are definitely regrowing - I can see many new 'baby' heads popping up around the larger ones:

 

IMG_20200617_180815_436.thumb.jpg.4e4b60c5cd37e2340f6604e1234ed008.jpg

 

Tiny digi nub is doing better in its new position. It's ~1cm+ only, but has full PE today: 😊

 

IMG_20200617_180930_747.thumb.jpg.fd05dbf47a000cef4589ba8defbeca8b.jpg

 

Remember the melted acans? I have 7 heads now, and the color is also a very nice vibrant shade of green:

 

IMG_20200617_181349_522.thumb.jpg.999307f443149fb8f32765695a9c232c.jpg

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