Origami

(I was thinking of doing the same with the F-Aiptasia. The crust can help ensure the polyps beneath are neutralized.) Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Yeah, the Hollywood Stunner is a fast grower and can get weedy IMHO. I've got a piece that I've cut back several times. It can be hard to get rid of if there's a lot of encrusting on rocks shared with other corals. I've chipped away pieces I don't want and wire brushed the remains, following up with kalk a few days later. Good luck with your clam. Remember what Nikki said this weekend about inspecting closely for pyramid snails. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Nerdy Neal has indeed been busy!

I like it. You've reduced the encroachment and some of the overhang that was shading some of the corals lower down in the tank. What was that growing against the left pane of glass in the first shot (with the reflection, it almost looks like a clam) - looks gone in the "after" shot?

I took just one frag home from FragFest and that was a good-sized chunk of @dipg tabling acro. This was a last-minute donation from Dip and, with the help of @diver we were able to get it over to FragFest on Saturday. Thank you to both @dipg and @diverfor the donation and the transportation.

If, after calibrating, you find that your salinity is high, diluting with RO/DI water is a reasonable course forward. We can help calculate how much you need for this if you're able to tell us your salinity and approximate the net gallons in your system (accounting for rocks and other things that displace water). Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Well, the good news is that your calcium and alkalinity are very nearly balanced (in the range of "balanced"), even though it's very high. What is your salinity and what device do you use to measure it? Is the device calibrated? It could be that you're just mixing your salt up too strong (concentrated)?

Nikki, WAMAS Membership Director and our speaker for this meeting is donating Tropic Marin Test Kits: Ca/Mg Pro (Calcium/Magnesium-Combitest Professional) - 50 tests KH (Alkalinity) - 100 tests Retail value of these two kits is $59. Thanks, Nikki!

Welcome to you, too!

Andrew, when reviewing the meeting notice (linked above), please note the embedded link to the FragFest FAQ.... And welcome to WAMAS.

Heads up: We've received a donation of 20 Sunkist Bounce Mushrooms from AquaHaus for FragFest. These are not part of the raffle, but will be part of the premium frags that we'll be giving out. Thanks, AquaHaus!

We have a 5-7 head (Rasta) torch coral (Aussie Rasta?) from Vibrant that has enough flesh along the branches that we don't want to frag it on Saturday but, instead, will offer it up in the raffle. It's a beautiful, healthy piece and the best that I have is a screenshot from a short video (which, because of motion, is blurry). Estimated value of this piece is $150-$200. Anyway, into the raffle it goes!

That's interesting. I'm on well water and had an ICP-OES test done a few years ago on my source water. It turns out that it's very clean (high in CO2, though) but there are a few metals that I don't want to accumulate, so I just go ahead and run a 2-stage DI with separate anion and cation resin stages. The cation resin attracts and binds to the positively charged metal ions while the anion resin latches onto the negatively charged ones (including dissolved CO2 in the form of bicarbonate and carbonate ions). Since my ICP-OES test indicated few negatively charged ions of concern, I mostly watch my cation resin rather than the anion resin which tends to deplete very fast because of dissolved CO2. At one time, we had a member here that pretty much ran his tank with DC tap water and a dechlorinator. He was a bit of an outlier, but was active here for many years. That's why the poll. I'm curious if anybody else is doing this (or will admit to it). And, if they are, I'd like to hear more about their experience and successes/challenges.

I'm curious what our forum members are using for their top-off water. Namely, what percentage of us use purified water, whether it's RO/DI or distilled. Poll closes at the end of the month. (To answer, you might have to use a web browser. I'm not sure that Tapatalk works with polls.)

Fragfest is just THREE days away! Remember, you need to be a WAMAS member (not a BB Participant and not a Facebook Group Member - You must be a WAMAS member (click to join)) to attend FragFest and to participate in the frag giveaway. Upon check in, members will get a wristband (family members will designate one member to get the wristband). This person is the designated frag-recipient and will get two (family members, three) tickets for the first called rounds of frag distribution. This is different than we've done before and helps ensure that all have equal/random access to "premium" frags that are available. After these called rounds, you'll line up and get frags on a first come, first served basis. Thank you and see you Saturday.

If it's dense foam (like the pink foam board), then it helps even out any imperfections in the stand surface. Way back, when I had a 180 gallon acrylic tank, I used pink foam board and had no issues for the several years that I had the tank setup. Further, the tank belonged to another member before me and he had the same. So, all told, the tank probably had over 10 years on the foam board.

Just to test if it's renewed light intensity, do you have any window screening material available that you can use to cut back the light entering the tank? Or can you raise the light some to effect the same change? When I see plants changing color like that, I tend to think it's either a lack of nutrients or light. The OEM spec on the spectrum doesn't change much from the Coral Plus to the Purple Plus lamps. And, unless there was a notable shift in spectrum with the new lamps, you wouldn't think it would be that. Possibilities that I see include: Low nutrients: If your corals are uptaking more because of the increased light availability, maybe your nutrients have decreased and the plant is reacting to that. Or something else is going on that shifted nutrients. Have you seen an increase in any other part of the aquarium (e.g., green algae) that might compete for nutrients? PAR shock: Maybe the plant needs to adapt to the new, brighter light. This is more likely and easy to test by cutting back the light and slowly bringing the brightness up over a couple of weeks. Low PAR: Ruled out with new lamps. Spectrum shift: Unlikely as the spectra are almost identical with these two lamps (according to the OEM).

How is everything else doing? Are there any other changes that might affect nutrient availability in the water? How old were your old lamps? Corals can sometimes bleach when new (fluorescent) lamps are installed because the old lamps dimmed and (they say) had some spectrum shifting. This might be part of it, but it's hard to say if there's a connection between brighter (not lower) lights and macroalgae turning white. (Obviously, I'm not a macroalgae expert. Just probing for discussion.)

Thanks, David!

Just a reminder. We have two (now three) (free) giveaways for (eligible) FragFest attendees and some awesome raffle prizes. Giveaways (limited quantity, while supplies last) include - One bottle of F-Aiptasia (donated by Frank's Tanks) - A free ICP Mass Spec Test (donated by ICP-Analysis) - A free tube of Cyanoacrylate (e.g., Super Glue) Gel (provided by WAMAS) Raffle prizes include - Clarisea SK-5000 automatic roller filter donated by Aquahaus! ($445 value!) - One $100 livestock gift certificate and two $50 livestock gift certificates donated by Blue Ribbon Koi (so three chances to win)! - $150 gift certificate toward any Jellyfish Aquarium Kit at Jellyfishart.com. - $100 gift certificate donated by Reef Nerd Aquatics - 1 Aquabiomics aquarium microbiome test donated by Reef Nerd Aquatics - Maxspect Coral Fragging Kit consisting of one pair of Coral Pruners, one pair of Coral Tweezers, one 60 cm Coral Gripper, and one 120g jar of Coral Putty (epoxy). Kit has a $74 value. Ten chances to win! - Reef Chemical Supplements kit comprising TLF KH Power, Calcium Pronto and pH Balance from SaltwaterAquarium.com ($53 value) - Kolar Labs Carbon & GFO package comprising 1/4 gallon of both GAC and GFO from SaltwaterAquarium.com ($60 value) - 1 set of water quality products donated by Cobalt Aquatics, $147.66 value. - 13.5 ounce jar of Cobalt Aquatics Ultra Marine all-natural fish food, $43.40 value. Three chances to win! - From Boyd/Chemipure: 16-ounces of Vita Chem (vitamin supplement) plus one 2g vial of Chemiclean. $39 value. - From Boyd/Chemipure: Three 5-ounce size Chemi-Pure Blue, treats 35 gallon tanks for up to 1 month (3-month supply). $49.92 value - From Boyd/Chemipure: Three 11-ounce size Chemi-Pure Blue, treats 75-gallon tanks for up to 1 month (3-month supply). $83.31 value - From Boyd/Chemipure: 12 Chemi-Pure Blue nano, treats nano tanks for a 1 month (1 year supply). $45.26 value. Four chances to win!!!

Sorry that we'll miss you. I met Frank at MACNA in Milwaukee. We talked about a few things and that's how I came to get close to 100 boxes of F-Aiptasia (some 2 oz and some 1 oz bottles) to share with the club at FragFest.

If the "foot" looks reasonably happy, don't worry about rubble. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Come to Fragfest and get your free bottle of F-Aiptasia Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Yes. Leathers are not easily glued as they will tend to exude a slime that makes it difficult to glue. There are a variety of techniques that you can use to hold them in close contact with substrate until they attach. Some will wedge the flesh between a couple of rocks as you've done. Others will stick toothpicks or bamboo skewers through the base and tie or rubberband the foot down to a rock. There are other ways, but these are two that I can think of offhand.

Wow! AquaHaus (joined WAMAS today as our newest sponsor) just donated a ClariSea SK-5000 Auto Roller Filter to the raffle. That's a $445 value, folks! Join us next Saturday and play the raffle for your chance to win! And don't forget to check out AquaHaus in the Brookfield Plaza in Springfield.