Coral Hind

I would not try it unless you use an engineered Glulam beam. Can you shift the post(s) over a couple of feet instead of removing completely so that you have a 4' span instead of the larger 6-7'? Is the issue of just setting the sumps in place? If so remove the leg and replace it once the sump is in but before you fill the tank.

Welcome to the area and to WAMAS.

I had a cloudy water issue and running ozone cleared it up quickly. UV would help the same way. It can be bacteria or algae that is causing it. What have you tried already?

Also handy when transporting fish in a bucket for long distances. I have the pump on the bucket lid w/ velcro and run the airline thru a hole in the bucket lid.

The live rock should be enough to handle the tank until the sand becomes seeded. Unless you have a crowded tank and over feed you will be fine. I would save the money and just keep the existing sand and add some new as needed. Since the existing tank is so young you shouldn't have dirty sand. The bacteria is on all surfaces and inside of some things depending on the type it is. Some bacteria likes to be on surfaces where it is higher in O2 while others like to be deep in rocks or deep under the sand where O2 exchange is limited.

Welcome to the club!

Having an air stone in a display tank can cause a lot of salt creep around the tank. As the bubbles pop at the surface a little salt spray is created. This salt spray can rust and ruin lights and other items near the tank. Smart idea. I have a few also.

How long a tank can go without power depends on stocking levels. A lighter stocked tank will be better off than a tank full of fish. Battery back ups are fine for small amp items like air pumps and power heads. Larger items like main pumps and heaters will draw down an UPS quickly. They are great for keeping a tank going with basic circulation and aeration. If it is going to be a long outage, over say eight hours you will want a small generator. Wrapping a blanket around the tank to keep it warm helps and i wouldn't worry about lights as a tank can go days with no lights. There are calculators online that can help you. Add up the wattage of your pumps or the basics of what you need running and the calc will tell you the run time for a certain size unit. http://www.sizemyups.com/ajaxlib.php

Your SG seems high. Is that where you normally keep it?

I'm glad it is all doing good. Not keeping SPS helps a lot. Most SPS are out in the reef areas where temps are more constant while softies and many LPS are located closer to shore in shallower water and are subjected to more variations in water quality.

Welcome back!!

How does the tank look today?

Blut Dot Jawfish. I wouldn't recommend it. Not the best survival rate. Likes cooler water temps. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+2971+748&pcatid=748

I'd recommend a royal gramma. They are cave dwelling fish with great colors, social, and low cost. I have five in my tank. They like to hover in my caves upside down. I also like my black combtooth blenny. He is always out perched on the rocks.

Are they regularly shedding skin like a snake? Toadstools do this about every month and it seems to be a part of them growing. There should be no polyps for a day or two while this layer sloughs off. How long has it been with no noticeable growth? Are you doing regular water changes.

It looks like a Psammocoral.

Wow, 64 is pretty low. This tank must be in an unheated part of the house. My 600g and my 16g are both at 75 in the winter and go to about 82 in the summer. Investing in a temp probe with an alarm or a tank controller might help to prevent this from happening again. Hopefully everything makes it, keep us posted.

Check the tank at night to see if he comes out. Nothing else in the tank picking on it? I've had angels and large tangs develop a nipping for eels. They were fine together for years then started nipping. I agree with Sharkey, he does look fat. Any fish, shrimp, or crabs missing in the tank? Is it too fat that it might be stuck in there? I had one eel go for a solid month without feeding.

I say keep the worms as they are part of a natural clean up crew. I had zero bristle worms in my 600g tank since I started it with dead rock. I did add some pods early on from another tank and the pods seemed to consume the waste fine. It had functioned fine for over two years like that but just recently I've started collecting worms as I see them from my 16g to add them to my 600g to seed it with bristle worms. Besides being part of the clean up crew the wrasses I have feed on worms so it offers a more natural diet to have them in the tank.

I agree with Rob, it does look more like a regular mushroom after looking at it again. Still a really nice specimen.

If they of the same species some SPS can touch but that isn't true for all and some must be of the same lineage. It sounds like it's time to do some trimming. Maybe trade some frags at the next meeting.

Welcome!!

The one you have pictured looks like a R. yuma but it isn't a clear picture.

The R. florida doesn't normally have a strong true red, closest things are dark oranges. There are some R. yuma that I would say are true reds. I think the R. yuma species has more vibrant colors and rainbow varieties but it is not as hardy as the R. florida.

R. florida can be found in the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. R. yuma can be found in the Indo-Pacific area.