Hello!
I've been up and running now for 65 days. It's bare bottom with BRS "Reef Saver" rock. The current stock is:
2 Clowns (about 1") added day 53
2 Small GSP (about .5") added day 64
1 Tiny orange rhodactis mushroom added day 64
1 Spring of pom pom added day 64
Edit:
Salinity: 1.025
Temps: 78
Flow: 200gph (return, no power head)
BJ and The Bear are voracious eaters and immediately head up to the feeding zone to beg whenever I approach the tank. This photo is similar to the current state.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: .25 (API test)
Nitrates: under 5 (API test)
PH: ~7.9
Ak: ~50
Phosphates: .03 (Salifert)
Calcium: ~200 (Salifert)
I think the calcium test may be off as I found the Salifert test a bit confusing.
Question 1: Do my numbers look okay? I think nitrites are actually zero. As many threads indicate, the result seems to always be off in this manner. The API ammonia test is similarly off, whereas my other tests and Seachem alert all read zero.
Question 2: Does the little mushroom below look alright? It's just over 1/4" and had some algae on it, so it received some rather aggressive dipping before it went into the display. After 24 hours it doesn't seem to have started shrinking, but it also isn't displaying any signs of life. It arrived as pictured, stuck to red rock which is glued to a small plug. The plug is just kind of resting in this "island". In the background the GSP (as expected) is already flourishing. I removed two polyps and relocated to another island and tied them down with a rubber band. They're also flourishing. I can't wait to regret this GSP decision later.
Try to ignore the superfluous glue.
Question 3: For the first time today I noticed a few brown spots showing up near the tops of the rocks, always in direct and the brightest lights. Is this the start of diatoms? It seems kind of late in the process to have them appear at all. Should I ignore this, try to brush it off and let it filter, or pop some GFO in the stack? It will be a few days before I can do another large water change (I did 90% when the fish went in, and about 20% before the corals went in) because of the weather.
Question 4: This is my 15 year old doggo. Isn't she cute? Do those of you with dogs/cats who can approach your display(s), do you worry about disinfecting the floor around the tank? This little girl spends a long time smelling anywhere a drop of display water might have touched the floor.
Question 5: Feeding the clowns.... I have seen recommendations all over the place, even in single threads here on r2r. I commonly see to feed them all they'll eat in 2-3 minutes. I swear that would kill these guys. They generally go through about 6-10 pellets each in about 5 seconds. I have two types of pellets and will start mixing in frozen when I'm confident in my stability and get a CUC in. Just looking at this picture, this this about the right amount of food for a 1" clown each day? Am I way off?
Thanks in advance!
Michael
I've been up and running now for 65 days. It's bare bottom with BRS "Reef Saver" rock. The current stock is:
2 Clowns (about 1") added day 53
2 Small GSP (about .5") added day 64
1 Tiny orange rhodactis mushroom added day 64
1 Spring of pom pom added day 64
Edit:
Salinity: 1.025
Temps: 78
Flow: 200gph (return, no power head)
BJ and The Bear are voracious eaters and immediately head up to the feeding zone to beg whenever I approach the tank. This photo is similar to the current state.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: .25 (API test)
Nitrates: under 5 (API test)
PH: ~7.9
Ak: ~50
Phosphates: .03 (Salifert)
Calcium: ~200 (Salifert)
I think the calcium test may be off as I found the Salifert test a bit confusing.
Question 1: Do my numbers look okay? I think nitrites are actually zero. As many threads indicate, the result seems to always be off in this manner. The API ammonia test is similarly off, whereas my other tests and Seachem alert all read zero.
Question 2: Does the little mushroom below look alright? It's just over 1/4" and had some algae on it, so it received some rather aggressive dipping before it went into the display. After 24 hours it doesn't seem to have started shrinking, but it also isn't displaying any signs of life. It arrived as pictured, stuck to red rock which is glued to a small plug. The plug is just kind of resting in this "island". In the background the GSP (as expected) is already flourishing. I removed two polyps and relocated to another island and tied them down with a rubber band. They're also flourishing. I can't wait to regret this GSP decision later.
Try to ignore the superfluous glue.
Question 3: For the first time today I noticed a few brown spots showing up near the tops of the rocks, always in direct and the brightest lights. Is this the start of diatoms? It seems kind of late in the process to have them appear at all. Should I ignore this, try to brush it off and let it filter, or pop some GFO in the stack? It will be a few days before I can do another large water change (I did 90% when the fish went in, and about 20% before the corals went in) because of the weather.
Question 4: This is my 15 year old doggo. Isn't she cute? Do those of you with dogs/cats who can approach your display(s), do you worry about disinfecting the floor around the tank? This little girl spends a long time smelling anywhere a drop of display water might have touched the floor.
Question 5: Feeding the clowns.... I have seen recommendations all over the place, even in single threads here on r2r. I commonly see to feed them all they'll eat in 2-3 minutes. I swear that would kill these guys. They generally go through about 6-10 pellets each in about 5 seconds. I have two types of pellets and will start mixing in frozen when I'm confident in my stability and get a CUC in. Just looking at this picture, this this about the right amount of food for a 1" clown each day? Am I way off?
Thanks in advance!
Michael