GiddyORION Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Bpb I completely agree you probably have years more experience than me in the SPS world. Just offering a possibility. I know the cause of death for SPS can be a headache... Just trying to eliminate all possible causes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 No problem at all. I'm always eager to get advice in all forms. I was quick to dismiss the pest theory but am now willing to accept just about anything. All good though. With time it'll stabilize and look good again. Excited to be doing something a little different in the meantime with montipora and zoas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 Not much new to report. Lots of algae starting to come up. Good and bad. I'm getting coraline growth unlike any I've had before. But the red turf, GHA, and Cladophora are pretty prevalent. Oddly enough not really any cyano or bubble algae anymore. I literally dont see ANY bubble algae and that used to literally cover every surface of every rock. I've dosed KNO3 and KH2PO4 a handful of times and it's actually holding now. I've also slowly increased my alk over the last few weeks as I'm no longer running a carbon dosed ULNS, I can actually enjoy the benefits of a higher alk Tests for today yield: 1.025 salinity 9.1 dKH 400 ppm Ca 1680 ppm Mg 0.5 ppm NO3 0.05 ppm PO4 woohoo! Acros are just about all gone now. The Cali Tort and Hawkins seem to be hanging on the best but have about 0.5" of stn at the bases of each for several weeks now, but doesnt seem to be advancing noticeably. Red planet and Purple Meridiana have about 1" of healthy tissue left. Really stunk watching like 6" of tabled red planet growth slowly die. Montipora are all looking great as well las softies. I want to find some small rock rubble, maybe baseball sized at most but flatter, to start putting my zoas onto. They're forming mats on the sand but I feel like zoas don't grow as fast when they only have sand grains to attatch to. I'd like to have a proper zoa garden. Working my way up to 100% on my BML super actinic. Also considering lowering my halides a couple inches closer and shortening the photoperiod, but I'm apprehensive because all of my chalices and cyphastreas have bleached almost totally white since I've added the LEDs and are slowly but surely regaining their color. I've got encrusting montipora all over the rock work now. I may regret it later, but we will see. Encrusting montipora looks better than bare rock and when it comes down to it I'll just put my acropora directly on top of the montis. Question for you softie keepers. I've got a large toadstool leather. Stalk is about as big around as a baseball bat, and cap is about 10" across. It has a "baby" growing out from the base, but the baby is getting large. The trunk is about 1.5" in diameter. I want to cut it and sell it. Will slicing through that large of a portion of a leather coral cause a massive leather toxin spike and reek havoc? I've fragged it before but only small bits, never such a large piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 If it were Ty having questions about the toadstool, he would just frag it in the name of science and not worry about the consequences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 But here is a more serious answer: Than Thain, from Tidal Gardens, has many YouTube videos on coral propagation. He has one where he cuts a toadstool and although it is much smaller than what you have, his method might be of interest to you. He removes the colony from the aquarium and sets it aside in a different container filled with tank water. He will cut the piece and put it back in this same container and let it sit in the container for while in which the toadstool is releasing its toxins. He also adds a few drops of iodine to the container to aid in the healing process. When he feels the toxin releasing phase is over (which I really dont know of a proven way to test when this is actually over) he will put it back into his display. If I remember correctly, he shows a clip of what the coral looks like the next day and it, along with coral around it, look fine. It is a great channel to subscribe to. Maybe someone else will chime in here as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 I say cut it, take water samples every 6 hrs, and submit it to your toxicology lab at the hospital. Then report back on the results from the lab, including observations of corals and fish in your tank, and inform the community of your findings. Who knows, you may become the leading expert on toadstool leather fragging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 Funny funny. I like your idea manny. I actually have some greenbay packer zoas on the same rock I want to remove so I'll use that as an opportunity to do that as well. Ill pair it with a water change that way I will have a couple 5 gallon buckets to change the coral over to while it voids out all it's fluid. Good thinking indeed. I'll also do a carbon change in the process as well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 The tweaking continues. Haven't really seen the tank much for the past few days. I've been increasing my BML strip intensity 5% per week roughly and was at 80% as of today. Ever since adding the LEDs I've noticed a lot of bleaching of Lps, particularly chalices and cyphastrea and all of my zoas have shrunken to very tiny. The more I increase the LEDs, the worse it gets. I kinda was hoping stuff would come around and acclimate but I gotta bail on it. Due to heavy algae growth, and pale/irritated corals, I've decided to change the one thing I hate changing which is light. Down to 6 hr metal halide photoperiod and altering my led output to a 1 hr ramp up and ramp down, peaking at 50%, and then only running them at 20% while the halides are on. Stuff truely does look awrsome under the LEDs alone, so I wanna keep them going, but as they're deceivingly powerful, and I'm showing signs of light shock, I'll keep them to a primarily dawn dusk effect and not run them very strong while the daylights run. Hopefully this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Been a few weeks since I've posed to this. Things keep moving along. I've kind of reached a happy place that I know each day that passes is another day of maturity and stability which always yields positive results. Good stuff. Because things seem to keep changing regularly I'll try to keep the sad stories of coral death to a minimum. Some stuff has continued to die back, some stuff is gone entirely, and some new stuff (non sps) has struggled randomly. All good. The tangibles are in line. My Sicce Syncra 3.0 has been rattling like no one's business lately, and it's supposedly a silent pump, so after taking it apart I discovered the impeller magnet was completely swollen and cracked. That's 10 months use before it broke. What a joke. Unfortunately since I didn't register it at the time of purchase I'm not sure there's much I can do about getting a replacement. We will see what unfolds. Due to that I'm using the Jebao DC return pump which truely IS dead silent and is plenty powerful enough. I'm happy with it. Downside is...no manifold built for it yet so no carbon running. For the first time in a couple years I'm down to no extra filtration. Just lots of rock, lots of flow, magnetic ballast halides, a skimmer, and a big refugium. Very old school. I've got some red turf going on now that is present on most the sunny sides of the rock work, and I pick cladophora out regularly to keep it manageable. Alot of the old school folks are big on letting algae blooms run their course, and lately I tend to agree with them. I'm not stressing at all, just managing it. Without further adieu here are a bunch of pictures. Forgive the grainy over exposed quality. Running this much light plus the leds at 100% for the photos kinda freaks out the iphone. Hope the 6+ takes better pictures than my 4s. Shot of some zoas. The Sunny D's are growing well. Montipora Spongodes continuing to grow, encrusing onto the rocks and overflow well. Newbie snuck in the pic Had this birdsnest for a while. It's real tan/brown and ugly. Any tips? More light? Less Light? It's on the sandbed Screamin' green birdsnest from Manny...From Ty. Thanks alot Ty, you wouldnt frag this for me before when I asked lol. Couldnt mess up that precious football sized colony Montipora Setosa from Victoly. This is easily the brightest thing in the tank when the leds are on alone. Why the heck does it have to grow so slow though More zoa progress. Oddly enough my favorite bright pink unnamed zoas all died real quick over about a week. I keep seeing a bristle worm roaming around in that spot, wonder if he's the culprit There's now a big blank spot in the back Cyphastrea had bleached almost white before when I added the leds. It's now acclimated and regained almost all its color Red turf algae bloom all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 more Ricordea splitting almost complete New kid on the block. He's already been working hard at algae grazing. harder than the stupid tang who keeps bullying him anyway. He's a little rough now but readily eats all forms of food I feed and is gaining his confidence. Been wanting a Foxface for a while. This guy arrives courtesy of Vividaquariums. Happy with the purchase, though I wish I had opted for a bigger one for a few bucks more. Mandarin getting fat Green Montipora Stellata growing well This guy is growing tremendously well. Tripled in size in about 6 weeks. Some bleaching going on on the back side though where the light hits it hardest Cali tort hanging on. Color has morphed alot since I got it back. Was deep blue and now it's more of a lavender purple Hawkins stil not dead Picked up these rainbow acans on a gamble. They were nearly dead when I got them, but have some healthy tissue left. They're clearly rainbow colored and sport everything from blue, to orange, to yellow, to green, to red, so hopefully this will be a nice score Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 more Montipora cap garden Got this from the late Tim as a Miami orchid, but it doesnt look like it. Looks more like cali tort, Used to be a full colony. This bit remains but is very happy and I cant tell if its starting to grow back in Northern lights nasuta STN has slowed to a crawl and growth is out pacing it. I've fragged this colony no less than 10 times since I set this tank up, trying to save it. Red planet colony nearly gone acropora graveyard in the back right corner. Pod haven now with frogspawn likely becoming illegal in the near future I had to pick some up. 8 heads of the bicolor. Seems to be happy where it's at, though I've killed 3 of these in the past. I hate knowing i've contributed to its struggle as a species on earth Stunner chalice has taken off and doing well Miami Hurricane chalice is very pretty, and growing, but this thing moves along slower than christmas. Wish it would speed up That's all for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 OOPS and a FTS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 The recovery is on its way! Looking good man! If you go to the frag swap, you'll see my football sized colony of screaming green birdsnest in the form of a ton of mini colonies. I'm breaking the piggy bank! Sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Thank you sir! This has taught me a new level of patience. I won't be able to make it in town for the swap. If manny goes though I'll send him with a few bucks most likely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bigsby Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Looking pretty nice! You are well on the way to a good recovery. I've got a couple pieces of monti for you to add too when you make it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Ah yessir! I hate developing the reputation of a flake. My timeframes in town are tough to predict. Ty can verify I'm a real person. Not a bot or automaton lol. I'll definitely try to hit you up Bigsby next time I visit town. Trying to line up a trip some time in October so I'll let you know 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Psh...gunna have to send more than a couple bucks...did you see Richards picture?!? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 I can now confirm with my own two eyes that the One Spot Foxface (Siganus unimaculatus) does in fact readily eat cladophora algae. This species has been labeled on RC and other forums as largely inedible and to not count on anything consuming it as a form of control. I've noticed it starting to disappear the past few days in my tank and just now was watching the new foxface very closely biting off bits and strands of it and consuming them (not spitting them back out). Even the several inch long ones, he will start at the end and nibble off about 1/2 cm at a time. Good stuff. Seeing some bald patches on the rock here and there where he has cleaned up red turf algae. This guy is a much harder worker than the tomini tang has been at algae eating. Also have caught (visually) a rogue emerald crab starting to work on my pocillopora colony as well. After being evicted from a birdsnest colony this gal has taken to eating the neighboring pocillopora. Next time the lights are out and remember to, I'll relocate her to the refugium where there is plenty of algae and detritus to munch on. Not worried about her cleaning out the pods because emeralds are slower than Christmas and I think any pods consumed will be entirely by accident Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Good stuff. I bet you feel real happy now about buying it. I know you have been wanting one for a while now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Acans gone unfortunately. Can't nail down what was happening. STN has stopped on Acropora thank goodness. Time to start trying to hunt down a few new pieces before the baby arrives. Won't be doing much coral hunting for a little while when she is born. Acans started rapidly receding and after about 30 heads died I wised up and sold them off to someone more acan savvy. Surrounding Lps all Look fine. Also got a couple new zoos the other day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Ooo...I like the second pic...what is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Pink zippers I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Very pretty...gunna have to trade you something if you can get them going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Pink zippers I believe.Are those my former zoas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Negative. Yours were green starburst PE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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