4g Zoa Cube !!!

[Reefkid88]

Don't they ?! I couldn't pass them up. Not bad for $20. Its getting there. Hopefully after I am back home as of next week I can take better care of the tank,start using my RS Blue Bucket of salt and get my params in order and get things growing out so I can frag some stuff and make some money to buy better polyps. 

 

 That is crazy,how is that salt compared to say a red sea or similar ? 

[Reefkid88]

So I was scrolling thru my pics,look how much this one Acan has changed:

 

When I first got it:

 

After a few months:

[debbeach13]

Nice growth.

[Reefkid88]

8 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Nice growth.

It has grown 7 new heads,but the color transformation is the best. Its orange with a pink rim under full royals and uv. 

[A.m.P]

What a crazy color shift

[Reefkid88]

3 minutes ago, A.m.P said:

What a crazy color shift

 Right ?! Definitely for the better too. I am going to try and gut load like I used too with LPS Max,copepod and rotifer powders,and maybe some SPS Max. I may try Reef Nutrition foods as well. Colors can always get better.. 

[Reefkid88]

So I went to Sea World yesterday with the family and snagged some pics of the Atlantis reef tank they have and WOW !!! I was pleasantly surprised by the colors and variety of corals. Some of their colonies were massive. 

 

 

[Reefkid88]

So despite the situation that happened with the tank last night,the water is crystal clear,everything is fully open and happy. 

 

 I went to go get some water,I found a huge frag of AOI zoa'and a small little frag of Rainbow Infusions and the best gem of all,I found a super small Eviota goby. So now I have a fish lol. He is about ⅝-¾" long and super cute. I will post pics later. 

[Reefkid88]

Goby is acclimated and in the tank,he ate at the lfs and about an hour after adding him to the tank. 

 

 Here he is hiding,under the overhang of the rock. 

 

 And then the 2 new frags,of course the urchin has to make everything mad lol:

[A.m.P]

On 5/1/2021 at 10:50 AM, Reefkid88 said:

So I went to Sea World yesterday with the family and snagged some pics of the Atlantis reef tank they have and WOW !!! I was pleasantly surprised by the colors and variety of corals. Some of their colonies were massive. 

 

That's a wild branching green cap, I feel like I should know what it is but keep drawing blanks, amazing reefs.

[Reefkid88]

7 hours ago, A.m.P said:

That's a wild branching green cap, I feel like I should know what it is but keep drawing blanks, amazing reefs.

 

 Which one are you talking about ? 

[A.m.P]

4 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

 

 Which one are you talking about ? 

[Reefkid88]

Ohhhhh,being an Acro guy I didn't even pay attention to it lol. 

[mitten_reef]

2 hours ago, A.m.P said:

Montipora Confusa

[Reefkid88]

So the goby was out when I got home,floating around the tank nipping at particles in the water. Fed some mysis and he went craaaazy for it. 

 

 Its way more vibrant today than he was yesterday,which I am happy about. 

 

EDIT: I have officially reached 5ppm nitrates !!! Hopefully I can stabilize and thing will start to grow out for me. 

[A.m.P]

7 hours ago, mitten_reef said:

Montipora Confusa

Everytime I went to google monti spongidodes popped into my head and wouldn't leave, like an ID writers block, thank you sir lol.

 

Also that goby is awesome, hope it starts coming out in the open more.

[Reefkid88]

Oh he was out and about swimming around last night. I fed mysis and he demolished it. I turned my bedroom light on and he was out on the front glass in the corner nipping at pods and floating particulates. 

[Reefkid88]

Little update on the tank. I took 2 tests last night and 1 today for nitrates & phosphates,and they are gone already after dosing SeaChem Nitrogen & Phosphorous,hahaha. Even after feeding the tank literally every day with my insane mixture of food. 

 

 So it looks yo me that I will have to dose this basically every day or every other day to sustain even 5ppm. 

 

 My pod population is exploded in growth,I am seeing sponges growing on my back wall now,a random black Stomella is also cruising the tank that I found earlier. Some hydroids are also on my front glass. 

 

 But this tank has me stumped. Idk if the live rock,in combo with everything I used to cycle the tank (BWA Ammonia,pods,phyto,MB7,SeaChem Seed) the tank is starting to mature or what lol. This is an absolute first for me though. 

 

 Edit: I was scrubbing algae off thr corners of the tank and salt creep off my filter,and found 2 nice size spots of coralline growing in the intake tube. 

[lilmatty5dimes]

I think I’m in the same boat and will have to dose some nitrates to keep it up. 

[Reefkid88]

Did some testing:

 

PO4-0PPM

KH-15.2-15 (SALIFERT) 14.5 (Red Sea)

PH-7.6

AMMONIA-0ppm

NO3-1-2ppm

CAL-490ppm

MAG-1470ppm

 

 So I have NO IDEA how my big 3 are so damn high,I haven't dosed anything in maybe 2 weeks ?! The only thing is I need to take a sample of the pre-mixed IO salt I got from Ocean's Direct.. so I might do that tomorrow and see what the deal is. 

 

 What do you guys think I should do. Some Zoa's are super pissed,my candle apple pinks are melting and most Zoa's are half way open and mad. But my Acan's and Shroom are happy and fluffy and my shroom is the size of a dime,which is huge compared to how small it was a few months ago. 

 

[DevilDuck]

What is your salinity at?

Also what are you using to test PO4, ideally it should not be at 0.

 

 

[Reefkid88]

1.025-1.026. I use Salifert test kits,and 0.03ish is what I am aiming for. 0ppm phosphate is not an ideal level to keep. Contrary to popular belief,corals use phosphates. 

 

 So that whole oh you need 0ppm nitrates and phosphates is a myth. Coral utilize them. @DevilDuck

[DevilDuck]

16 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

1.025-1.026. I use Salifert test kits,and 0.03ish is what I am aiming for. 0ppm phosphate is not an ideal level to keep. Contrary to popular belief,corals use phosphates. 

 

 So that whole oh you need 0ppm nitrates and phosphates is a myth. Coral utilize them. @DevilDuck

Correct, that was the point of my question. The zoa's maybe pissed off due to the low PO4. It's hard to tell because some zoas are just super temperamental. I have a frag of  lazer lemons that will close up for weeks with any fluctuation.

 

At this point I think you should be more concern about slowly lowering your alkalinity and double-checking to see if you have a bad batch of salt. 

[Reefkid88]

I 110% positive its due to my alk being nearly double what it needs to be. I have a family dinner after work,so if I have time once I get home before I leave for dinner I will test my jug of water and see what it comes out at. 

 

 And if that is the problem I will work on slowly lowering alk,and getting things stable again. IO mixes closeish to NSW params so if its crazy off,I'll call the store and tell them to test the batch and take care of it. 

 

 I also cross checked my alk with my Red Sea kit and they were within 1ppm of each other. 

[Reefkid88]

Just got done testing my container of water and nope,alk is at 9.6-9.8. Its crazy because I haven't dosed anything in almost 2 weeks I think. 

 

 So I guess I am going to do a small water change,and then give it a day or so an test again and go from there.