gws3

The first thing I would look at is PO4. PO4 is not constant during a 24 hour period, I believe photosynthetic coral release phosphate during photoperiod and absorb at night. I could have this backwards, it's been a long time since I had low PO4 and the issues it caused. I recommend measuring your PO4 with a Hanna ULR PO4 meter at a few different times during the day and night. If it's hitting 0.00 it's surely an issue. PO4 starvation will cause large old colonies to STN from the inside out in my experience. Iodine at 0 is a concern. It is required for biological processes. The test kits kinda suck as far as trying to dial in NSW levels of .06 PPM. But I would dose some seachem iodide to at least get it to register as non-zero on a test kit. Does enough to bump it to .03. I don't think you risk anything by doing this. I add I, K and Sr to my two part to try to maintain NSW levels. My system on Ca Rx maintains better levels without supplementation. The other thing I would think about is CO2 levels. It's been super hot lately so people have their AC cranking and houses sealed up. This leads to CO2 accumulator and/or fluctuations. High CO2 depresses pH. Varying CO2 causes pH swings. pH swings (not talking about within 24 hrs, but from day to day) causes varying alkalinity consumption. Varying alkalinity consumption of course causes varying alkalinity levels when dosing is constant and of course varying alkalinity causes coral issues. How do your daily peak pH values compare day to day? Are they constant? Is your pH overall running lower than usual? To start I would: 1) measure and observe PO4 values several times throughout a 24 hr period to make sure it's not hitting 0. 2) Add some iodide to get it to 0.03 PPM. 3) observe pH fluctuation day-to-day. compare to historical values. 4) consider buying a cheap CO2 meter off Amazon. make sure your CO2 levels aren't too high (>1000 PPM). This plan only changes one thing, iodine (best to change 1 thing at a time on observe). But will keep an eye on some other important things that you may need to address. I wouldn't worry too much about the other trace elements and all the stuff they want you to dose. I don't see any red flags there. At least not until you look into the four items above.

alternative reef tiles are the best in the hobby in my experience.

They make both types, but I believe you'd want the type with the 5.5mm dc plug.

Before I invested in a generator the next best option was a sealed agm deep cycle battery, trickle charger and inverter. You can wire up a relay to make it switch automatically when power goes out. When I was in a condo we had an outage for a few days and I ran an inverter style 2kw generator the whole time on the balcony with the exhaust pointed out. There's probably some legal or health issue to poke at there, but I put my tanks first.

Yeah if you were really worried. In the strip itself there's barely anything that's flammable. Mostly metal. FWIW I have about a dozen reefbrites and no issues with the power supplies.

I mean the power supply.

IMO all those chinese DC power supplies are about the same. I wouldn't worry about the reefbrite ones having any more of an issue than any of the others. If you wanted a better quality one grab a meanwell.

I'd avoid a dark color, walls behind my tank always get covered in salt splash.

Don't fix it if it isn't broken is a good proverb for this hobby IMO. But if you do decide to upgrade the firmware definitely plug in the hardwire. The last thing you want is a bricked head unit. I recently upgraded to the latest firmware, and it improved an issue I was having with the unit resetting when internet connection was lost FWIW.

Looks great... but you gotta add names!

Yes, the 1 oz cup is good for standard size frags in bags where you fit a lot compactly into the box. The upside down styrofoam is the best choice for larger pieces and LPS. And at that point it is sometimes good idea to use a solid container with a lid that seals.

Typically I would use a heat pack, unless you are talking about 90F + in Florida. From here to Florida it's going to go through Memphis. For a standard transit it will leave BWI around 8, get to Memphis around midnight, Leave Memphis around 4 AM and be in Florida around 6 AM. So if it has delivery commitment of 1030 AM it'll only be exposed to the Florida heat for four and a half hours, and it will probably not be that hot in the morning anyway. Heat packs don't produce THAT much heat, so the water will cool down some, and it'll have some warming up to do just to get back to reef tank temps. And the heat pack will be starting to expire and produce less heat.

I’ve had a lot of questions recently from other members on how to ship frags. A number of people have told me they’ve always wanted to ship corals, but have always been too intimidated to try. I’ve also been told I am pretty kick-butt at packing/shipping corals, even better than some vendors. So, for the benefit of the community I have attempted to compile everything I know about shipping frags. I know there are a number of existing threads that cover this topic, but I have not found any that cover the level of detail and tips and tricks I have picked up along the way. So I decided to create my own. I’ll treat this as a living document, as I’m sure there will be updates and additions. Fedex vs UPS This is a debated topic, and I am not going to recommend you use one over the other. I use Fedex myself. The benefit with Fedex is they typically deliver in a climate controlled van. UPS typically delivers in their brown delivery van, where the cargo area is not climate controlled. The benefit of UPS, in my opinion, is a more recent feature they offer called “Follow My Delivery”. Once your package is on the truck for delivery they provide a map of the driver’s location via GPS once you sign up for a UPS account. This is useful for the recipient, so that they can monitor the location and try to avoid a missed delivery if they live in an area where UPS will not leave packages unattended. Also, in inclement weather I have used this to track down the truck and take delivery when UPS was unwilling to ascend my snow covered driveway. As far as which company is more reliable I cannot say, I have had plenty of issues with both over the years due primarily to weather events. I always use priority overnight which delivers by either 10:30 AM or 12:00 PM the next day to most locations in the continental US. Priority overnight is very expensive, especially if you are shipping across the country. If you sign up for a Fedex or UPS account they will give you a small discount. There are a number of third party services out there that use a large account with the best rates to provide a more substantial discount. Shipnex is a well-known one. I have always been very hesitant to use these services because they lack customer support and are not tailored towards our hobby specifically. I have recently started using a service like this that is run by a friend and fellow reef hobbyist. He’s incredibly reliable and even lets me know when there are delays at the Fedex hubs. His customers are vendors and reef hobbyists, so he understands their needs much better than any other similar service. He has saved me a lot of money on shipping recently, and even more importantly, has helped me avoid shipping when there were delays that most likely would have caused the loss of entire frag packs. If anyone wants to utilize his services just shoot me a PM and I can point you in his direction. Weather Events / Holidays It is very important to consider the forecasted weather at both the shipper’s and recipient’s locations. The package will spend the majority of the evening at the shipper’s location and the majority of the morning at the recipient’s location. Extreme temperatures and snow should be avoided at either location. It is also very important to consider the weather at the main shipping hub the package will be travelling through. Holidays, extreme temperatures, wind, snow, rain, ice, etc. can all result in delayed flights at these hubs. Significantly delayed flights often result in an overnight shipment becoming a 2 day shipment and dead corals. I don’t have much experience with UPS hubs, so perhaps another member can offer their wisdom. I can provide some information on Fedex hubs. The main hub for Fedex is in Memphis, TN. The second largest is in Indianapolis, IN. There are also hubs in Ft Worth, Newark, Oakland and Los Angeles. When you generate a Fedex label, there is a code below the tracking number in large letters. The first letter of this code corresponds to the hub the package is planned to travel through. A package can be rerouted during transit for a variety of reasons, but in most cases it will travel through the designated hub. So, it is possible to anticipate which hub a package will travel through and avoid shipping if a weather event is expected for that region. The codes are as follows: X = Memphis, TN N = Indianapolis, IN A = Ft Worth, TX E = Newark, NJ W = Oakland, CA Q = Los Angeles, CA ANY NUMBER = Package will stay within the state Shipping during Thanksgiving week and Christmas week, as well as other major holidays and other periods of high E-commerce (Black Friday) should be avoided as delays are rampant. Also, once a label is generated for a certain shipping and delivery date it can be used without an issue on another date. For instance, if a label for a specific date is generated but the shipper needs to hold off on shipping due to a weather event, that label can still be used on another date. You do not need to cancel shipment and generate a new label. Boxes During the winter and summer months I recommend using solid, molded Styrofoam shipping boxes. The two biggest factors for insulation are thermal resistance and air intrusion. Since we are talking about only Styrofoam boxes the thermal resistance is equivalent to the thickness of the Styrofoam. So, the thicker the better. Air intrusion is equally important and often overlooked. The insulations effect is greatly impaired if gaps in the insulation allow exchange with ambient air. So, for extreme temperatures, solid, molded Styrofoam shipping boxes are much more effective. I purchase mine from Uline, which delivers to me the next business day. This is very convenient if I am running low on boxes and fail to plan well ahead. They have a delivery time estimator on their website where you can put your zip code in and see how long delivery will take: https://www.uline.com/Corporate/About_Locations There are two box sizes I primarily use. The model numbers are S-7887 and S-9903. S-7887 is the smaller and has outside dimensions of 8”x6”x5”. S-9903 is the larger and has outside dimensions of 11”x9”x7”. The smaller has 1” thick walls and the larger has 1.5” thick walls. I often reference these as 2 lb and 5 lb boxes because that is their dimensional weight when shipping with Fedex. Fedex will charge you based on whichever is greater, the dimensional weight of the box or the actual weight of the box. The link below provides an easy to use calculator: http://www.fedex.com/in/tools/dimweight.html I ship primarily via Fedex, but UPS offers a similar calculator: https://www.ups.com/us/en/help-cent...etermine-billable-weight.page#contentBlock-12 If your package weighs more than you anticipated, or more than is indicated on the label, it is not a problem. Fedex will simply bill you for the actual weight (rounded up to the nearest lb). During more temperate weather I sometimes use insulated reptile shipping containers. These boxes require assembly but are much cheaper. Rather than a molded Styrofoam bottom, they are provided collapsed with 6 styrofoam sheets. The styrofoam is thinner and assembly can leave gaps at the edges. So for extreme temperatures they are not ideal in my opinion, but perfectly adequate for mild conditions. The Uline insulated shipping containers come pre-assembled, so they may be a better choice if you value your time more highly than saving a few dollars assembling insulated shipping boxes. Here is one place to purchase these containers: https://shipyourreptiles.com/shop/insulated_shipping_boxes/product Heat/Cool Packs Heat packs are essential for shipping during the winter months. Considering you’ll most likely be dropping off to Fedex/UPS around 5 PM and the package will be delivered before 12 PM the following day, a 20 hour heat pack is ideal. I use UniHeat 20 hour heat packs. There is even a tropical fish on the label, so it must be right! I typically use one per box, however, if overnight temps are below 40 F I will use two with the larger boxes. Personally I try to avoid shipping coral when the overnight lows are less than the high 20’s. It can certainly be done, but at increased risk. One very important consideration for the heat packs is that they require oxygen to work. When you first take them out of the wrapper, shake them to get them started. When using solid, molded Styrofoam shipping containers one or two small holes are needed in the lid to let the heat pack breath. Otherwise it will stop producing heat after a few hours. A screwdriver can be used to poke a few holes in the lid, however, this can be a bit inconsistent and messy. I prefer to use an old soldering iron which produces very clean, controlled holes in the lid. When packing everything up be sure to put the heat pack right under the holes. Also, the heat pack should never touch the bags the corals are in. It should be taped to the lid to prevent this from happening. The same goes for cold packs. I use Styrofoam packing peanuts to take up the extra space in the box and provide a barrier between the heat/cold pack and the bags the corals are in. I try to recycle packing peanuts from dry goods shipments I receive. I was using biodegradable packing peanuts made from corn starch, unfortunately when exposed to water or humidity they will shrink to almost nothing which can cause issues. For cold packs in the summer months one can purchase gel ice packs from Uline or equivalent. Personally, I just put some ice cubes in a sealed bag. This also lets me fine tune how much of a cold pack I want. Bags / Sealers / Cups My go to bags for shipping frags are 3” x 10” bags from Uline, model number S-10939. I also use 4” x 10” bags for larger frags, model number S-5378. https://www.uline.com/BL_114/Uline-3-Mil-Industrial-Poly-Bags Thickness is a user preference. I prefer the 3 mil bags as I find these work well with my impulse sealer. I use an 8 inch impulse sealer on the “2” setting for consistent success. These can be purchased from Uline or can be found cheaper on eBay. I’m not sure why more hobbyists and vendors don’t use impulse sealers. There is no leakage and it is much neater than tying a knot, rubber bands, or metal clips. Also, if you time it correctly, once the impulse sealer clicks indicating it is done heating, you can cleanly tear away the excess bag length. This is very convenient, as I always double bag, and it is much easier to do this without the excess bag length of the first bag. For really sharp, pointy coral like birdsnest, triple or quadruple bagging is recommended. Recently I have also started using 1 oz ketchup cups to protect the frags. Delicate, thin branching frags can get really beat up just from rolling around the bag. The solution for this is to take a 1 oz ketchup cup and cut and “X” in the bottom. Frag plugs can be inserted into this “X” before being bagged. This prevents the frag from rolling around and rubbing against the bag. When sealing bags try to get as much air out as possible. Frags are not like fish, they do not need a significant amount of air in the bag for respiration. Air will only create issues, if a large pocket of air gets trapped around the frag for a long period of time the coral will not be happy. I also highly recommend labeling all the bags with the recipient’s names and the name of each frag in advance of the ship date. This helps make sure you don’t miss anything, and also lets the recipient know which are which. Final Packing / Drop Off Once all the frags are in their cups and bagged up it is time to close everything up. I typically put the frags at the bottom of the box, cover them with packing peanuts, then put the heat or cold pack at the top directly under the lid. Again, care should be taken so that the heat or cold pack does not directly touch any of the bags with the corals in them. Then, the lid is placed on and taped in place. The cardboard box is then taped shut and the label is applied to the outside. I typically cover the shipping label entirely with tape. This is especially important if you print your labels with an inkjet printer. The last thing you want is a package lost in transit due to a wet, illegible shipping label. Finally, the box is dropped off at UPS or Fedex. I do not recommend using drop boxes as drivers often pick up earlier than the advertised drop off time. It is much safer to drop off at a staffed location. It is important to drop it off prior to the last pickup time for your shipping service. Both Fedex and UPS publish these times for the locations on their websites. Getting your package there at least 15 minutes in advance is always a good idea in case the driver is a few minutes early.

I think you're making the right changes. All at once does seem a bit fast, but regardless long term you'll be better off. People buy into marketing too much with all the products out there to control nutrients amongst other things. Look at the best names in aquaculture and their husbandry... They don't use nopox and other expensive products on their thousands of gallons. It would be uneconomical and is not needed. Balancing nutrients in and out is all that's needed. Much more natural and easier on corals. Also, I'm not sure that's GHA. Could be bryopsis. Bryopsis sometimes looks stringy and not like a fern as sometimes pictured. Try turning off flow and taking a clear pic. If bryopsis, it can grow in practically 0 nutrients. If it's a type of green algae the bluer spectrum will help a lot. And some algae eaters if your clean up crew is weak.

Get rid of the nopox, phos lock, all that unnatural stuff. 0.21 phosphate is not a problem. Just keep it steady by balancing out your water changes and how much you feed. Also, if your first few pics are true to life, turn down the white channels and intensity. You're going to grow more algae than corals with that intense white light.

Beautiful pieces there! thanks for sharing.

Two things made mine work almost all the time vs barely ever working: 1) Change DNS on your router to google. Don't ask me why, but it made a huge difference. 2) I have it on an apex outlet that power cycles it at midnight. So if it disconnects and won't reconnect this usually takes care of it.

Unfortunately I think I lost that piece. Need to look around and see if I managed to save any other frags of it. I believe it was JKR grafted mille.

It's a beautiful piece but honestly I don't think it's anything that unusual. I had a very similar grafted piece a few years ago. I think what commands the $2500 price tag is pegging 100% on the saturation slider and a very conveniently timed article on reefbuilders.

Sorry I missed this earlier. The RFAs came directly from a collector in Florida. I wanted a bunch for my tank, and decided to order a bunch extra to pass on the savings to WAMAS members. There are some pretty interesting articles on RFA reproduction. They do not split off, only reproduce sexually. The females develop them in their stomach and then spit out the babies. And it only happens during the summer and winter solstice supposedly. During the winter solstice I paid close attention to my RFA rock and fed them for two weeks prior to encourage spawning, unfortunately I did not observe any. They may need to be a more mature size. The babies don't necessarily have the coloring of their parents either, it can be seemingly random. Really fascinating creatures. I did learn that peppermint shrimp eat them. I lost almost all the ones I did not sell or place into my display tank. I later realized it was most likely the peppermint shrimp in that tank were eating them. Fortunately the ones in my display have all been doing awesome. They barely move at all and have grown well.

you're very welcome, glad they are doing well for you!

This month is the one year anniversary for this tank, so I’ve cleaned it and taken some pics for the thread. Equipment wise the only update is that I swapped out two of the T5s for two blue Reefbrite XHOs. I like the Radions, but their blue channels don’t have as much pop as the Reefbrites. I also added the diffusers to the Radions, which greatly improves the disco ball effect. The blending is much better. So now the lighting is two gen 4 Radion pros, two 36” blue plus T5s, and two 30” blue Reefbrite XHOs. With the livestock I have given up on dragonets and pipefish. I had been using an automated brine shrimp hatchery I designed that would feed baby brine shrimp via a peristaltic pump every few hours. This sustained the pipefish for a number of months but eventually they declined. I suspect they need a more varied diet that my minimalistic rockwork cannot supply. I also kept receiving a bunch of unhealthy mandarins that looked like they hadn’t been fed in weeks. I may add a mandarin if I come across an established one. I feel bad for all the pipefish and mandarins that perished and don’t want to pursue this if it means more mortalities. I also had challenges with bacterial infections on the lyretails I received. I received a very impressive looking male, but he did not make it through QT. One Anthia remains which is doing well. I’ve also decided to make this a mixed reef tank. The top of the rockwork will be dominated by SPS that will table out into the water column. The left most base of the left rock structure I have dedicated to a zoanthid garden. The left most base of the right rock structure I have dedicated to Rock Flower Anemones. The selection of RFAs in the hobby now is really amazing, and these have become a recent interest of mine. I hope to get them to reproduce. I intend to populate the shaded area under the left rock structure with LPS and such.

I took a controlled whiff of it when I first got it at a distance just to see what I was dealing with. Strong stuff. Breathing in the fumes that are directly over the open bottle would definitely not be enjoyable. I just use a 1ml syringe with a tip. But eventually the bottle will get low enough I'll need to pour it into something else. Will be a bit before I need to figure that out.

I'm probably less careful than Tom. I keep the bottle at an arms length and avoid breathing in, and recap it as often as possible. I always have saline solution on hand to rinse my eyes. One addition to the points Tom made above, use glass/plastic with HCl not stainless steel. It will eat the surface of stainless. I used one of those little glass vials that came with API test kits. It was sufficient for enough HCl to mix two batches of solution at a time.

I think you made the right choice. I have the flipper large for the 300DD and the regular flipper for the 425XL. Being able to switch between blade and scrubber keeps my hands out of the tank more often. Much better than the mag floats and algaefree magnets I have had previously.