JJKK

I can see some pink at the tips of the HW when I enlarge the picture. Glad we didn't have to do an intervention to get you to upgrade to a bigger tank. Those corals were cramping in the nano. Look forward to seeing it gets as colorful as the nano.

Not sure if they develop a slime coat. But when you got a insane male Evansi anthias beat on you, a little nem sting may not be as bad? Wish I got a video of one of the Bimacs diving into the nem.

Lots to learn in this hobby. One thing that I didn't know before witnessing my Bimac anthias diving into the CSB is that it is actually a thing. Maybe I got a clown anthias. Here is just a pic of it chilling under the nem with the nem tentacles touching it and it doesn't bother it. Had to trim the Milka Stylo. If anyone wants one for free let me know. Will list in SWAP or Free later this week. Pick up near McLean.

Awesome looking tank. Do you even have space for a Homewrecker?

All this to feed your Copperband while you are away? Looks interesting. Hope you get it working and willing to sell or share how to replicate, as I have a Copperband that only eats frozen.

Even more swollen when the daylight spectrum is on.

So, more consistent feeding is the key for trachys and probably the scolys but I have seen quicker improvements with the trachys. After a couple weeks of isolated target feeding, the trachys are inflated more. You can see the water flow is making one one of the trachy jiggly. Next thing I will do is to find a covering(cut of top of 2L bottle?) that I can just leave the trachys on the sand bed but still allowing to eat in peace, without the Copperband, Blue Star Leopard and other fish from stealing food when they are going through the process of eating.

I hope so too. I got to believe someone else local must still have it.

Been looking to bring back the vintage Purple Monster acro back to the area. They are very slow grower and finding a legit one is very hard. I found a seller on R2R back in fall. He was finally ready to ship. Welp... FedEx delayed the shipment from expecting it Thursday by noon till Friday at 4:30pm. Temperature in the box was 58.8 degrees. I didn't see any cloudiness in the bags so I temp acclimated the corals in the bag. I know that were stressed so I didn't bother dipping them as I've communicated with the seller before hand about dipping. The freebie coral(pictured in front left) was sloughing fiercely so I just took that out. The other looked very pale but the Purple Monster looked alright. Then this morning... I think I lost them all. If you know where I can find a Purple Monster acro locally, please let me know. Seller refunded me but back on 6-8 months wait list.

Another tender loving care session for the trachys and scolys. Hope it is worth the effort and they puff up happy again.

The side tank is in an unfinished basement area and often neglected. I had to move the clams there, otherwise they will be eaten by the Copperband. The trachys in the display are doing okay, not thriving. I am hoping that by spot feeding them in an acclimation box, they will come back meaty and fluffy. Just started that routine this week.

I do ICP tests typically about 5 or 6 months apart. One tip is to get an ICP test when things are going well so you have at least some reference to get back to if/when tank goes to H-E-double hockey sticks.

One of the things I like to do when I get my ICP test result is to compare it to the Trident readings as well as the Hanna Checkers. At the time that I collect the water samples to be sent into ATI, I am also doing testing with the Hanna High Nitrate and Hanna Phosphate checkers. I also do it close to when my Trident have done its scheduled testing. I use a lab grade salinity tester as opposed to relying on the APEX salinity probe. So that checks out along with all the other measurements are probably within acceptable error range for their respective device.

I hear you on the acros. This Walt Disney survived the great Tin Debacle but it has just been encrusting for more than 2 years. I've been waiting for branches to shoot off but have reserve it to be just a new type of encrusting monti like Kung Pao or the Minion. Meanwhile, I have corals that have taken off. The best example is this LRO Rainbow Blossom from @gioNVA that went from this frag: To now: My trachys can be more puffed up. I blame it on the Copperband's occasionally pecking.

Thank you. It's been long enough to have Isaac chop of all the tentacles on the nem and it fully recovered. I checked the exchange texts and it was done in the middle of November. So maybe it still needs to adjust to my parameters before regaining a stronger pink highlight. Here are close-ups of the 2 trachys. I don't know how well they are doing. I notice the Copperband occasionally jab its snout at them. I don't think it is really eating the trachys as opposed to grabbing the pods crawling on them. But he does it with vigor and I have seen chunks of flesh coming off of the trachy. Also, when I do spot feed them, the Copperband and other fish will grab the food right off the mouths of the trachys. This week, I started putting the trachys and scolys in an acclimation box before I spot feed. I then put them back into the sand when they are done eating. Not sure if they like all these extra handling. But I am trying to get food in them.

Huh. Must be the spectrum and that I have more NO3 and PO4 than you.

It is about 350-380 PAR where it is sitting now.

Thank you. Might have to crank up the Radions a bit to get closer to the PAR you were giving the Homewrecker. It is fuzzy as all get out but the pink highlights are not as pronounced as when you kept it in your tank. Before: Now:

ICP Testing for the main tank came back today with a pretty clean bill of health. Addressing the Iodine issue(3 days of .25ml recommended) now. Not sure I am going to get Manganese supplement as it recommends .68ml one time to correct the issue. Here is the report and a Full Tank Shot from tonight:

Thanks! I am quite surprise that they are growing in there as I am using one AI 26HD(don't know what percentage), and 4 24" T5s. The light fixture is 12" above water line and T5s are only on for 3 hours a day. Not sure what ALK and Calc are in this tank as I don't test the water in there. Thanks. At least you clean all panels of your side tank. Mine only gets occasionally scraping in the front view.

So, the main tank is rocking along(knocking on wood). The side tank is just a refuge for the clams from a Copperband that would pick at them and home for the various "weeping willow" toadstool that I have purchased in hope of finding the right one. A couple of other odds and ends in here as well that do not fit the aesthetics of the main tank. Haven't decided if I want to keep a real 2nd tank or just keep this as a mashup side tank. FTS:

650 PAR!? Dang. I was just watching the Homewrecker tonight and thinking that it had much more pink when I picked it up from you. Makes sense now. Wish my CSB bubbles up in my tank. Maybe too much flow? Dunno. Looks great in your tank.

Yes. Trident Calcium can rise or drop based on how much reagent is left. I would think it is the Trident Calc measurement that is off.

Sorry to hear. Reach out next time. Reefers are resourceful. Guessing the Yellow Belly Regal didn't make it either?