Orion January 11, 2014 Author January 11, 2014 (edited) It's been about a week since I started dosing a small amount of kalk through the ATO, and both calcium and alkalinity have remained stable.I have started to see spots of coralline algae starting to grow on the rock. It's neat how this tank is becoming so quickly established since the rock was cycled already. Going to start to add to the CUC soon. Thinking more cerith, dwarf cerith, nassarius, and maybe a few more hermits.I have the following fish on order with Quantum -McCosker's Flasher Wrasse (male)Red Ruby Scooter Dragonet (male)Dwarf Pygmy (Cherub) AngelfishWe'll see if I get an angel that nips or not..Some picsCorallineJawfishPolyp Extension after lights onFTS Edited January 11, 2014 by Orion
YHSublime January 11, 2014 January 11, 2014 Looking great! I'm jealous of your flasher wrasse. In my experience if I go out of my way for something that has a possibility of not being reef safe, it always falls on the not safe side, just my hand I guess. That sps looks happy!
Orion January 11, 2014 Author January 11, 2014 (edited) Looking great! I'm jealous of your flasher wrasse. In my experience if I go out of my way for something that has a possibility of not being reef safe, it always falls on the not safe side, just my hand I guess. That sps looks happy! I want some type of 'open water' swimming fish with a lot of color, and I am hoping the flasher wrasse and pygmy angel fill that role. The clowns tend to stay in one area of the tank, and the rest of the fish are bottom dwellers. It's a roll of the dice with the Cherub, but from extensive reading they seem to be the most 'reef safe' of all the dwarf angels. Edited January 11, 2014 by Orion
smallreef January 11, 2014 January 11, 2014 Yeah.. flasher wrasses, I have a blue line, love to swim out in the open...if you can get a male or supermale with 3 females...would be awesome!
Tracy G January 11, 2014 January 11, 2014 I have a male female pair. Love them Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Orion January 18, 2014 Author January 18, 2014 New fish! Male McCosker's Wrasse Pygmy Angel (Cherub) Male Red Ruby Scooter Dragonet FTS The wrasse is doing great, and definitely the 'open water' swimming fish I was looking for with a lot of color. It's kind of funny the clownfish stopped hosting the corner of the tank, and are now out with the wrasse. Maybe they just needed a friend. The Pygmy Angel is a tiny fish with a Napoleon complex. It likes to push the buttons of the other fish, but so far the angel has backed down every time. No coral or clam nipping - so far. It pecks at the rock all day. Not sure if it is eating algae, pods, or a combination of both. Will eat anything else I throw in the tank for food. The Red Ruby Scooter is the only fish I am concerned about. I placed him in the refugium since he looks extremely thin, and the fuge is full of pods. So far I have offered him Rogger's, Ova, live baby brine w/selcon, and cyclopeeze. Hasn't eaten any of those yet. He barely moves around, but I did see him peck at the rock/sand a couple of times today. I hope he starts to eat more. Once he fattens up I'll place him in the display with the other scooter dragonet.
Orion January 19, 2014 Author January 19, 2014 What pretty new fish! And I LOVE your new dragonet! Me too. Still alive this morning. Will try some ova again later...
Orion January 21, 2014 Author January 21, 2014 Bad news - Red ruby didn't make it. Wouldn't eat..Bummer. Good news - tank water is finally 100% crystal clear. The water has had this haziness to it for a couple of weeks. Went away on its own. New fish are still doing well too. The corals that I moved over from the other tank are now encrusting onto the epoxy / frag disks, and starting to grow again now that they are settled in. Will be getting a few more new pieces at the meeting, and I think that will be it with livestock for awhile.
LanksTank January 21, 2014 January 21, 2014 (edited) Bad news - Red ruby didn't make it. Wouldn't eat..Bummer. Sorry to hear about your dragonet Orion... It was a beautiful fish. Edited January 21, 2014 by LanksTank
Orion January 24, 2014 Author January 24, 2014 Finally got my kalk dosing dialed in. Calcium has now been stable at 450 and Alk at 8.4 for the last 5 days. 1.5tsp per gal is the magic number so far. Graphs using AquaplannerPro on my iPhone. Alkalinity Calcium The Hawkins Echinata was starting to lose tissue the last couple of days. I'm suspecting it's because the coral was in an area of very constant high flow. I moved it to a different area, and also moved the MP40. Getting 4 different SPS frags at the meeting tomorrow. Will post pics once they settle in. Fish all doing well, and eating like pigs. Reefcleaners order comes in today.
Orion January 27, 2014 Author January 27, 2014 I had calcium and alkalinity holding perfectly until I added 6 new SPS frags from the meeting. Calcium fell only slightly to 440, but Alkalinity took a bit of a drop to 7.8 from 8.4. Im getting a BRS 2-part kit this evening from a group buy, and I think I am going to start 2-part in addition to kalkwasser since the demand is starting to get high. My pH is low to begin with due to excess CO2 buildup in the house with the windows being shut, and kalk keeps it around the 8.15-8.25 range instead of around 7.8.
Orion January 27, 2014 Author January 27, 2014 Pictures of the new frags ORA Red Planet from gws3 ORA Frogskin from gws3 (Won in raffle) Jason Fox Purple Polyp Monti from Scott711 Pink Orchid Acropora from gws3 I also have a Mystic Sunset frag from gws3, and a Rainbow Nasuta. Both have yet to color up though.
Orion January 28, 2014 Author January 28, 2014 The tank is looking amazing! I love the aquascaping. Thanks! This tank would not have been possible if I didn't have the help of a few members on here.
YHSublime January 28, 2014 January 28, 2014 Thanks! This tank would not have been possible if I didn't have the help of a few members on here. My entire tank is the same way. FWIW, my Rainbow Nasuta took about 4-5 weeks to come around, but it was well worth the wait.
Orion January 30, 2014 Author January 30, 2014 The Hawkins RTN'd on me, and I had to throw it out. The other frags look really good though, and I can start to see some color now on the rainbow nasuta. I stopped kalkwasser dosing completely, and I am using 2-part exclusively now. It appears my pH is fine without it after all, and it stays between 8.05 and 8.15 during a 24hr period. There is some algae forming on the substrate and rock. Sometimes it appears long and stringy, and I think it may be a little cyanobacteria. I was feeding the tank a lot last week, and I am guessing that has something to do with it. Going to try and siphon out as much as I can tonight when I do a water change, and really cut back on feeding.
Orion February 3, 2014 Author February 3, 2014 I have can other thread going (re: ich outbreak), but will start posting back in this one. So I can keep track of things easier. Yesterday all the fish were removed from the display, and placed into a 20 gallon quarantine tank. The fish will be treated with Cupramine for 21 days. Biggest concerns right now are keeping them fed, and keeping a close eye on ammonia levels. The display will remain fallow for a 60 day period to allow the parasite to die with no host. So far the 2 clowns and Pygmy angelfish seem fine in QT. The Jawfish and wrasse are very stressed, and sitting in a corner behind some PVC. The goby hasn't eaten in a few days, and looked a little rough before I put him in QT. Not sure if he will make it. Going to try and feed some frozen later today, and then do a 5g water change to siphon out any uneaten food and detritus.
tomtom2245 February 3, 2014 February 3, 2014 Sorry to hear about the problems. Add some garlic juice to the frozen food.
Orion February 3, 2014 Author February 3, 2014 I thought the two clowns were doing well until I turned on the light earlier today. Completely covered in ich. Looked like someone took table salt and put it all over them. Came back down an hour later, one was dead, and the other was barely alive. Had those two clowns since they were babies a year and a half ago. I knew there would be bumps in the road with this new build, but didn't think it would be like this.
Orion February 3, 2014 Author February 3, 2014 Some good news - Jawfish, Wrasse, and Angel are eating PE Mysis soaked in selcon. They are also starting to venture out when the light is on.
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