Strider's 55 gallon reef learning exeriance.

[Strider199]

I decided to get back into saltwater after some 25 years.

Here is my learning experiance with pictures.

[Strider199]

27552 The r/o system is set-up and working to fill that tank.

[Strider199]

The live rock arrives home. $9.80 a pound, ouch.

[Strider199]

The live rock in a cooler.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1000.jpg

The sump in progress. A 55 gallon stand makes it tough.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_0999.jpg

I added live sand and found out, it really messes up the tank.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_0998.jpg

The tank is starting to clear up.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1001.jpg

A picture of my overflow box. I can not drill this tank, all tempered glass panels.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1002.jpg

Started my skimmer. The sump is working well. Just need to work on my return flow out-let. If the power goes out I'm sure I'll over flow the sump. Tomorrows project.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1003.jpg

A picture of the tank after the sump was started.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1004.jpg

Another angle.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1005.jpg

One from the end.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1006.jpg

The overflow box in action. It is really quiet. I expected more noise from this set-up.

[Strider199]

Bought my first coral today, Blue Anthelia. It's a small piece (2 inches by 4 inches). I have it in a container inside the tank with an air line to agitate the water in the container. Looking for pests, not seeing anything. Slowly dripping tank water into the container to mix with lfs water.
How do people acclimate coral? Read there is no need to yes it has to be quarantined. Confused!!

[Cliff]

I don't QT corals as I use a good quality coral dip. It will get rid of parasited that you will not be able to see. I will also accilmate them to the tank water just as I would for fish

[Strider199]

Which coral dip do you use Cliff? I wont be able to dip mine today, Super Bowl and beers you know, but it would be an asset in the future.

Thanks in advance.

[Cliff]

Sorry, I forgot to add the link to my last post

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/review/showproduct.php?product=430&title=coral-rx-coral-rx-pro&cat=26

[Strider199]

Thanks Cliff, I'll keep my eye open for Coral Rx. Seems like a comprehensive dip treatment.

[Knightia]

Great looking tank. I look forward to seeing how this one progresses.

[Strider199]

Great looking tank. I look forward to seeing how this one progresses.

Thanks firefly, me too. :) The coral looks a little uncomfortable today. It really isn't out and waving about. I tried three different location between yesterday and today. My salinity is a little down, 1.024. The water from the lfs was 1.025. I think I'll take out some water and add some new mix to raise the salinity.

[Strider199]

Went to the lfs on the way home tonight and bought a skunk cleaner shrimp. After drip acclimating it for 1 1/2 hours(with an air line in the hob container), I released it into the tank. The shrimp is on the large side, almost 2 inches. We will see if I have the set-up right.

[hockeyhead019]

Wow is your cycle done that quick? Seems like a super quick turn around time for a cycle on a 55

[Strider199]

I was testing positive for ammonia almost from the time I put the live rock in. Checked water parameters every three days until 0 ppms of ammonia. I checked for nitrites and nitrates after that for awhile. Added live sand during that time and started the ammonia testing again.

API liquid test kit tonight shows;
0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrite
.25ppm nitrate.

It took around 5 weeks to get to this point hockeyhead.

[Strider199]

Today I noticed that the live sand and live rock are turning a brownish colour. I take it this is from diatoms? I am leaving my light on 10-12 hours lately to try and get some algae growth for my planned stock.
The question; is this the right track to go down or should I cut back on the lighting?
I have green algae growth in a few spots on the live rock and there is, never mind, I'll take a few pictures and post them. A pic is worth a thousand words after-all.

[Cliff]

Did you just use live sand, or a combination of live sand and other marine sand ?

Also, did you use RO water on the intial tank filling or tap water ?

[Strider199]

The live sand went in awhile ago and it is the only substrate in the tank. The live rock was already in there when I was cycling.
The only water in the tank comes from the r/o system I installed in December.

That was fun, it took many trips to the store for all the fittings.

[Cliff]

This is odd then, you should not have any silicates in your water, unless the "live sand" you bought as actually a mixture of normal sand and "live" sand when it was packaged by the company

Try adding a HOB filter with a bag of Chemi-pure. If the brown algae starts to go away in a week or two, your substrate is leaching silicates and is a poor quality. If not, I'm guessing your rock is leaching out silicates

[Strider199]

I did hang my HOB on the tank a week ago with just a polishing pad to clear up the live sand suspended particles. I will get a Chemi-pure bag tomorrow and install it to see what happens.

My usb port isn't working for some reason at this time so I couldn't d/l any pictures. Still working on that.

The water is clear, the brown is only on the sand and rock. I bought the most expensive live sand Big Als had so I thought I was safe from diatoms.

[Cliff]

Please google pics of Dinoflangellates and compaire that to what is in your tank

They can be commonly mistaken for diatoms. This might be the case here as you should not have any silicates in your tank unless you have poor quality substrate or rock

[Strider199]

The water is clear, there is nothing floating in the water. The brownish growth is only on top of the live sand and on some of the live rock. It is not a slimy growth like dinoflangellates look like. If I stir the live sand a bit there is no brown cloud.

Now I did use a coral supplement a few days ago called fuel for reefs by aquavitro. This liquid is the same colour as the growth I have.
I'm not sure if they are related but thats all I can come up with.

On a bright note, I bought my first fish today, a fire dart-fish.

I found a small (owned by 2 guys) store in Burlington that specializes in salt water reef species. I bought 3 frags from them yesterday and today I went back for my fish.
These guys treat the store tanks like most of us treat our home tanks. The place is spotless. I was able to see my fish feed before purchasing it. Nice to know it eats flake food. Big Als is not the only game in town any more.

[hockeyhead019]

It took around 5 weeks to get to this point hockeyhead.

Gotcha, sorry I assumed you started the tank when you started the journal haha

[Strider199]

No problem Hockeyhead. thumbs2:

[Strider199]

I tried feeding my new stock today. It's always tough waiting for the new arrivals to get hungry enough to actually eat what you give them. I waited a day because in past experience I've found that new fish are too we'll say shy, to get out there and actually eat what you present before it hits the substrate and rots away.
I'm glad to report that the firefish ate every flake in his sight. To my surprise the yellow tailed Damsel took longer to engage with the food. The Skunk cleaner shrimp was priceless. Talk about a busy body. That shrimp was every where in the tank grabbing all it could.
It's a relief to see every one eating. This reminds me of the days trying to feed wild caught discus. You hover too close to the tank or move and they hide. The food hits the bottom and wastes away.

Speaking of waste, tomorrow I'll be going back to that Burlington reef store and getting a dozen blue leg hermit crabs and a few Nerite snails.
If there is a better choice of scavenger/algae control please let me know. I'm early into my research and appreciate the experience of those that have been where I'm at.
Thanks in advance.

[Cliff]

Halloween hermit crabs are a lot less aggressive than blue leg hermits, at least in my experiance they are.

I would suggest starting off with less hermits. Just to give you a idea of how much these guys can handle, I have 4 of them in my 120 gallon with about 12 snails and two emerald crabs and they keep the tank clean. I actually started feeding the crabs pellets as I was concerned they were not getting enough to eat. Unless you got a lot of algae, you might want to start off a little slower.

Don forget to place extra shells in the tank so they have shells to grow into without killing each other for them.

[Strider199]

I haven't found any Halloween hermits in my area yet Cliff.

Ok instead of 1 hermit per gallon I will start with 4 and see where that goes. The algae is starting to grow on the live rock but most of it is green/brown at this point. It's not slimy nor does it look like it has air bubbles in it. I have read about extra empty shells of various sizes which this store carries.
Question comes to mind; do the empty shells need to be cured or just rinse in r/o water and add?

Thanks for the speedy reply and consumption rate of my proposed scavengers.

[Cliff]

Ok instead of 1 hermit per gallon I will start with 4 and see where that goes.

That 1 hermit per gallon rule is just about as accurate as 1 inch of fish per gallon rule.

It's a lot better to base you clean up crew one what you have to clean up along with the amount you have to clean up. On the last two tanks I set-up from scratch, I actually added my clean-up last because it took a while before I felt I had enough algae in the tank for them to get enough to eat.

I only soaked the shells in RO water for a few days and carefully checked to make sure there was no coatings on them before adding them to the tank.

[Strider199]

Thanks Cliff. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

[glarior]

Looking good.

Where did you get the LR from?

[hockeyhead019]

If you're getting crabs such as emeralds make sure you don't get a ton but if you do try and have 1 male to a lot of females... the reason I said don't get a ton is they'll fight, at least mine did like cats and dogs lol I'm not sure if it was a lack of food issue or what but just something to keep an eye on

[Strider199]

glarior; my LR came from BigAls down the road in Hamilton Ontario. It was advertised as Bali rock, very porous. They keep it soaked with some major water circulation which I'm sure is why it didn't stink up the living room.

I didn't buy any emeralds Hockeyhead. I bought 4 blue leg hermit crabs and two snails. The snails are huge but until I look them up I cant name them. Went on the lfs owners preference. After acclimating them, I released the hoard and seconds after they hit the live sand I could tell the difference. Man are these critters hungry.

Thanks for the heads up on the emerald crabs Hockeyhead. If I do find some around here I will stick with 1 in this tank. I dont need the stress. lol

[Strider199]

I just finished feeding my hoard some mysis shrimp. Holy Cow!!!!

After thawing, rinsing in r/o water in a brine net, I added a small pinch. The two fish went at the shrimp like they haven't fed in days. My skunk cleaner shrimp got his share, he took the larger pieces from the damsel and firegoby.
I used some of the thawed cube in my sons freshwater tank and the Harlequins tore through the shrimp like a school of piranha. The Cardinals got their share as well.
These little mysis shrimp seem to be very tasty.

[Cliff]

I do almost the same thing as you strider. When I feed froozen foods, all tanks (marine and fresh water) get some

The mysis also seasm to be one of the favorites for all of my guys, and brine shrimp comes in at a close second

[Strider199]

The thing that I haven't figured out yet is, do corals and zoanthids like mysis? I picked up a Sea Squirt which extends to 35 inches because my turkey baster will not reach to the bottom of my 55 gallon without me sticking my arm in.
If I get some mysis into the device will the soft corals and zoa's get anything from the shrimp or do they get enough food from the light?

[Cliff]

With the correct amount of light, they will do fine without any feeding. There are liquid foods that you can add to the tank for them which really excellerate grow and enhanse coloring, but you have to be carful using them as they can also lead to algae as well.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/review/showproduct.php?product=441&title=korallen-zucht-nano-power-package&cat=32

Corals with larger mouths can be fed mysis. I used to feed that to my brain corals all the time and they did well on them. Coral pellets work well and are a little easier to feed as they sink faster

http://www.reefaquarium.com/2012/feeding-corals/

Can`t comment on the sea squirt, I have never kept those before

Sounds like we need a up-dated tank pic strider ***hint,... hint*** :11:

[Strider199]

Thanks Cliff. I do use a liquid coral food named Fuel which I dose once a week. I add it to the return pump compartment of my sump.

I finally figured out what was wrong with my usb port where I uploaded pictures to. I'll get a few pictures later today and post them.

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1021.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1019.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1018.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1016.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1015.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1026.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1027.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1028.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1024.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1025.jpg

[Strider199]

I hope the above works. I hate huge pictures.

[Strider199]

My new dartfish, a fire goby hybrid. My son says it looks like the evil version of the fire goby we have in the tank. They seem to be schooling fish as both are hanging out together. I asked and researched before adding a second fire goby to my tank. They do get along well. Judging by the height of the dorsal fins I would say the original is a male and the purple version is a female but I'm not 100% sure of that. I like the two versions and thats what counts.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1040.jpg

[Strider199]

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1040.jpg

In case the other link doesn't work.

[Strider199]

I went out today and bought a SICCE wave surfer. This programmable wave maker is awesome. I also bought a smaller Koralia 425gph wave pump. I have the 425 aimed at my green star polyp coral and the 750gph at the opposite end of the tank, aimed at the live rock. The other 750gph Koralia is aimed at the surface and is always on.
The SICCE alternates the current from the right to left to right side of the tank making the soft coral dance in the tank. I am still making slight adjustments as to where the flow is going. Man is this fun.

[Strider199]

Bonus received from work today, time to shop for a nice light for the 48 inch tank.

That wave maker is awesome. I just can't get enough of it.

Question; should one turn it off during the night or leave it in full action?

[Strider199]

Received my bonus at work today so it's time to shop for a 48 inch light for this tank.thumbs2:

That wave maker is awesome, can't get enough of it.
Question; should one turn off the wave feature at night or is it normal practise to leave it running as it does during the day? I ask that question because the unit has an evening feature on it which turns if off for a period of time. I only turn it off during feeding time right now. It's on a 5 minute timer for that.

[Strider199]

Some pictures of my new LED r420r 160w 16k 3 panel light. This puppy has three programmable modes. Manual, pre-set (2 modes), and advanced. There are 6 time points to set your lighting to during the day and night. Ramping it up slowly in the morning to running it fully (or less if desired) during the day, and ramping her down in the evening. I am still learning what my reef wants.
Here is a picture of the led's. 3 panels and 2 cooling fans on this 36 inch fixture.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1067.jpg

[Strider199]

Here is a picture of the power supply. It runs really cool even with the lights on 100% all day.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1068.jpg

[Strider199]

A shot of the light on top of the tank. Light is 36 inches, tank is 48 inches. The light covers the bottom corners.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1070.jpg

[Strider199]

A quick picture of my latest resident.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1073.jpg

[Cliff]

The light looks pretty good

Based on how it spreads, you can have a pretty good mix of corals through the tank.

[Strider199]

Thanks Cliff. I have moved the soft corals down lower and toward the ends of the tank. I have mixed results with the zoa's. One is in centre mid tank level and is doing great, one is on the bottom right and is doing great, the third was on the bottom centre and didn't look too well. I moved it to the left bottom of the tank (mirror the one on the right side) and it is looking better but not as well as the other two. I hope it come around since I've moved it away from the centre of the tank.

[Strider199]

Last Sunday I purchased a button coral. It's approx. 1 1/2" in diameter and some funky tie-dye colours.
Yesterday I tried to feed it some pellets that I bought from the lfs as the coral was fed the same there.
I turned off my power heads and fed the fish and shrimp. When I was pretty sure all were full, I used a turkey baster and gently lowered a pellet unto the button. The skunk cleaner came over immediately so using the baster I persuaded him to hang back. I was watching the button move the pellet in-wards when a hermit came out of no where from the opposite side. I persuaded the hermit to change course gently. It took around 4 minutes for that pellet to disappear. Finally I could remove the baster and pick up my beer. The shrimp and hermit went right to the button to investigate. Those little pellets must be very aromatic. Shortly two more hermits showed up out of no where.
How do you keep the cleaning crew away from your LPS at feeding time?

[Cliff]

That is why I have a simple rule of thumb, I keep nothing with pointy feet in the same tank as corals that I will feed.

I found it to be a PITA. I had to use the below. It did the job, but it only works with corals sitting on flat surfaces

http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad226/Cliff_Erhardt/Cliff%20fish%20tank%20pics/feedingcorals5.jpg

[Strider199]

I read that rule but I thought "reef safe" meant everything would co-exist peacefully. Yes I am a newbie. :help:

Thats a great solution Cliff. Much appreciated. I will try it as my button is on a flat surface, in the sand that is. I read that it may be aggravated by sand creeping things but I haven't found another place in my rocks yet. The new batch of live rock is still in quarantine.

[Cliff]

They are reef safe in the sense that they will not eat corals. Steeling food is a whole other story :hmm3grin2orange:

[Strider199]

Using the top quarter of a water bottle to feed my button coral works really well. Great solution for keeping the food on the coral and the shrimp and hermits at bay without having to fend them away with a tool.

Has anyone taken a magnifying lens to their saltwater set-up in the evening?

Man there is alot going on in there. I found myself researching the life I saw into the wee hours of the night yesterday.
I have some kind of pod which moves on the live rock like micro silverfish. I have found three things which look like sponges on the side of my waving hand coral rock.
I found a neat looking feather duster growing along side my leather coral which is still quit small, about 3/16 of an inch in diameter.
The little white dots on the glass seem to have 4 arms but I still haven't I.D. them 100% yet. The glass magnetic scrubbing tool works great to remove them from the front glass. I'm still not happy with the way my leather corals look but I have alot of places on the live rock which I haven't tried yet. Maybe I'm moving them too much and should just let them be for more then a day.

[Strider199]

Yesterday I went and bought an orange bubble tipped anemone and a Tomato Clown which seemed to be interacting with that anemone in the coral tank at the lfs.
Just waiting for the two to settle down and I'll post a few pictures.
The anemone is still roving around the live rock this morning looking for a suitable home I guess.

[Strider199]

Last night I was witness to my Blood shrimp shedding his exo skeleton.
As I looked his way he seemed to have a claw stuck over one of his feelers. All of a sudden his head ripped through the top of his armour is an instant. When about 2/3rds of his front was free of the old armour, he paused for about 2 seconds holding still. Then out he popped from his old covering in a flash and went under some live rock.

That was a neat sight. I wish I had filmed it.

On another note I see I am missing a piece of zoanthid I had sitting on some flat live rock. The colony has been sitting there for a few months now but I guess on of my turbo snails must have passed over it and knocked it into the rock work. I'll have to do some searching tomorrow and maybe this time I'll glue the colony in place. I have some 2 part epoxy I purchased a month ago but haven't used yet.

[Strider199]

Yesterday I bought a colony of candy cane coral, neon green and today I bought a 5 headed colony of hammer coral, also green.
The tank is shaping up.
I also managed to locate that piece of zooanthid which was knocked from it's place and set it back into place on the live rock.
Man do I need to take a few more pictures.

[Cliff]

Man do I need to take a few more pictures.

Yup, you took the words right out of my mouth :ssuprised:

[Strider199]

Last Monday I picked up some Kenya tree coral. There are two pieces attached to a nice small piece of rock. I've put it mid-way off to the right of the tank which has a gentle flow. The coral is tall and spread and neat looking even if it doesn't have any real colours to it.
So many empty places left on the live rock, so many different corals to choose from.

[fishmommie]

It sounds like you're having way too much fun!
we must see more photos :o)

[Strider199]

Ok you asked for it.

I turned off my blue LED's and up'd the whites.

My leather corals.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1156.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1156.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

My Button coral. He's getting large.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1157.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1157.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

My favorite. Even if it has some hitch hikers living in it that coral rx didn't remove.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1158.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1158.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

My Hammer coral.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1159.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1159.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

This waving hand coral is spreading through out the live sand. And a type of feather duster is multipling really fast on and around it.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1160.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1160.jpg.html)

[steeler58]

Great pictures Strider.

[Strider199]

Some Zoa's.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1161.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1161.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

More Zoa's and my Blood Shrimp.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1162.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1162.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

Another Zoa with my dart fish.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1167.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1167.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

Another Zoa with a different Dart fish.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1168.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1168.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

My new Kenya tree coral.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1166.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1166.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

Tomato Clown with orange bubble tip.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1163.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1163.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

The real workers in this tank.

They do a great job keeping the glass and rock algae free.

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/Strider199/SAM_1170.jpg (http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Strider199/media/SAM_1170.jpg.html)

[Strider199]

There you go fishmommie, I'm all burned out now. Hehehe

[glarior]

Wow looking great!

[Cliff]

Your tank is looking very good Strider.

How is your anemone doing lately ?

[Knightia]

Great detail shots. I've enjoyed looking at these. Any chance of an updated full tank shot?

[fishmommie]

There you go fishmommie, I'm all burned out now. Hehehe

Wow~ Thanks so much. The photos are gorgeous as are the corals and the fish. Excellent job. I'm so impressed.

[Strider199]

Thank you all very much. I'm still trying to find the perfect spots for some of those corals. This morning for example, those turbo snails knocked my Kenya coral from it's rock to the sand bottom. It landed right side up (thank you up there), so no damage was done. I do have epoxy which I have not used yet. Reason; still playing set-up.
The anemone is doing ok but still not completely separated. Just when I think it's going to split, it closes, opens back up as one with a split almost complete.
How long does this process usually take?

I have tried a few full tank shots firefly but I'm still not there yet. I'll keep trying different photo and light setting and when I think it's presentable, I'll post it here.

[Strider199]

A few days ago I found my first aiptasia anemone beside my button polyp coral. After researching this hitch hiker I've come to the conclusion to get rid of it. After consulting Cliff I think it's best to nip it in the butt while there is only one. They are asexual and can regenerate if damaged so I bought a dose of aiptasia-x by Red Sea. I will use the applicator with the formula tomorrow and see what happens. I do have the orange bubble tip anemone in the tank which may be affected by the treatment so I'll have to shut down all pumps to keep the water from circulating in the tank during treatment.
On a side note; I picked up another 10 pounds of live rock to add to my sump and tank after it's done in the quarantine tank. They had it on sale for $4.00 per pound today. Happy day!

[Cliff]

$4/lb is a good deal in the great white north.

You must be up to around 70 lbs of rock by now

[hockeyhead019]

Strider the tank looks fantastic! Would love to see a fts

[Strider199]

$4/lb is a good deal in the great white north.

You must be up to around 70 lbs of rock by now
72 pounds I think Cliff. Darn your math is good.:22:
They are down to apple sized pieces of man made rock and are cleaning out their stock so the price went down $2.00 a pound. Best deal I've come across so far. I just may have to go back for some more before it's all gone.

Thanks HockeyHead. I'll try and get a fts as soon as I get a good one. Me and the camera are still learning.

[Strider199]

OK I just finished playing mad scientist with my reef test kit.
Readings are;

Nitrates = 0.0ppm
Phosphates = 0.0 to 0.25ppm, tough call.
Calcium = 440ppm
KH = 143.2ppm

These all look good. The reason I tested tonight was because my Blue Anthelia coral which I've had since Feb 2013 isn't really looking all that good again. It has a few open "hands" waving in the current but most are closed up tight. I have moved it to a new spot (higher with more current), hoping to see some results but after a day it looks the same. Adding Fuel two nights ago didn't make a change either.
I have read that Blue Anthelia requires a trace amount of iodine which I was hoping came from the reef crystal salt mix I use when doing water changes. I changed out 25% of the tank water 4 days ago.
There are about a dozen new Blue Anthelia polyps growing in the live sand down current which are doing great. They just kind of showed up in the past few months.
The rest of my corals are looking well (the green star polyps vary daily), so I'm not sure if this particular colony is just at it's end. I used an eye dropper to gently wash away any surface debris built up on the rock 2 days ago and only 1 polyp came loose to float down current.
What am I missing or is this normal for waving hand coral?

[Cliff]

I would think with those parameters and a large water change that all your trace elements should be in line. Are you currently dosing any supplements ?

I have also ready about waving anthelia to die off in a tank pretty quick and the owner never really being able to determine why it happened. I've never kept that coral before so I'm afraid I can't be very much help here. Perhaps your water is too clean for them ?

[Strider199]

At this stage in the game I am not dosing any supplements.

I think we read the same "die off" posts and the only thing I got out of them was iodine. I may research this a little further.
There is no bad smell to the rock or the water like some have reported. I'm not seeing dead polyps floating around or laying nearby.
Thanks for the reply Cliff.

[Strider199]

I've been busy this week checking out all the reef stores within an hours drive from me.
I've picked up a large feather duster (looks like a Hawaiian but has a soft tail section), some very dark green candy coral, and some sunburst coral polyps.
After acclimating them this afternoon and using coral Rx on the corals, I've placed them into the tank at what I read was the correct lighting and water flow.
We'll see in the next few days how it all works out.
Question; the sunburst coral I was told needs to have every polyp fed as the food isn't divided between them. Is this correct? If it is then thanks in advance Cliff for that plastic bottle top trick. It will keep the cleaner shrimp at bay while I do the feeding.

[Cliff]

I do believe each head on your sun coral needs some food every week or so. At least that was what I have been told by people who keep them and what I have read

[Strider199]

Thats what I've told as well Cliff. Thanks for the conformation.

[Strider199]

This is so weird. Today I was staring into my tank at about 1:30pm and noticed what looked to be a 1cm long nudibranch of some sort. It looked to be eating the algae on the front glass. I called my son up to have a look at it to confirm what I thought. We both watched this white little creature grazing on the front glass about half way up. I was indecisive about leaving it in or taking it out. I couldn't really see any colours on this creature except white but the body had the nudi shape. As I was getting ready to get the turkey baster out, my Tomato Clown made my decision for me. She came up to the glass and inhaled the white worm like creature, chewed it up and it was gone. Mother Nature at work!.

Now that doesn't resolve the issue I am having with my 4 different colonies of zoanthid's. They have mainly stayed closed up now for 3 days. Since I added the large feather duster (some white worm like things came out of it's mouth opening after adding it into the tank 3 days ago), there doesn't seem to be alot of zoa activity. I am getting ready to dose my zoa's again with Coral Rx to see what fall out.
Salinity, water parameters, and lighting all seem stable so I'm thinking it must be a pest of sorts.
Any one had a large feather duster expel little white worm looking things before? They didn't seem alive when they hit the rock and the fish didn't pay them any attention. I thought it was just feather duster waste at the time.