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Apollo7235

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So guys.. I just wanted to point out (again) that I really am not impatient and I’m not frustrated for no reason...... I have not one, but two very successful quarantine tanks, one housing my corals (10 gallon) and the other housing a whacked out Tiger pistol (5 gallon).

My entire issue is that these tanks are 1/2 and 1/16 the age of my DT and they are successful while my DT remains a coral killer.........

Coral QT right this second. I obviously need to scrape the glass again even though I literally just did it a few days ago. I STARTED THESE TANKS THE EXACT SAME WAY AS MY DT. Okay, I feel better now :)
D13949BA-4DAD-4A4A-93E4-AC33E2A63860.jpeg
 

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Not to nag you but I wouldn't try adding any corals that have skeletons (aka a calcium base) to a tank that isn't growing coralline algae, I'm sorry your going through issues, push for that year mark and things should get easier. Hope you stick around and get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Trust me nothing comes easy in reefing but part of the fun is overcoming these obstacles and having a thriving tank is the reward.
 

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So guys.. I just wanted to point out (again) that I really am not impatient and I’m not frustrated for no reason...... I have not one, but two very successful quarantine tanks, one housing my corals (10 gallon) and the other housing a whacked out Tiger pistol (5 gallon).

My entire issue is that these tanks are 1/2 and 1/16 the age of my DT and they are successful while my DT remains a coral killer.........

Coral QT right this second. I obviously need to scrape the glass again even though I literally just did it a few days ago. I STARTED THESE TANKS THE EXACT SAME WAY AS MY DT. Okay, I feel better now :)
D13949BA-4DAD-4A4A-93E4-AC33E2A63860.jpeg
keep at it! your hard work will start paying off very soon
 

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Is there anyway that your problematic DT has been or is being contaminated? Any chance of metals or aerosols entering the tank? Are these tanks located right next to each other? If they are that possibly rule out something in the environment. We’re these tanks purchased new or used? Any chance they could have been medicated with copper in the past? Let’s think outside the water box
 
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keep at it! your hard work will start paying off very soon
Thank you!
I’m certainly going to keep trying. Hubby told me I’m not allowed to quit, so I guess that settles it, haha.

I am going to get 2 or 3 more fish next weekend, so hopefully that helps to push my display along as well.
 

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So guys.. I just wanted to point out (again) that I really am not impatient and I’m not frustrated for no reason...... I have not one, but two very successful quarantine tanks, one housing my corals (10 gallon) and the other housing a whacked out Tiger pistol (5 gallon).

My entire issue is that these tanks are 1/2 and 1/16 the age of my DT and they are successful while my DT remains a coral killer.........

Coral QT right this second. I obviously need to scrape the glass again even though I literally just did it a few days ago. I STARTED THESE TANKS THE EXACT SAME WAY AS MY DT. Okay, I feel better now :)
D13949BA-4DAD-4A4A-93E4-AC33E2A63860.jpeg
After looking at the pict

this is the qt ?
Would a few pieces of live rock help ?
 
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Is there anyway that your problematic DT has been or is being contaminated? Any chance of metals or aerosols entering the tank? Are these tanks located right next to each other? If they are that possibly rule out something in the environment. We’re these tanks purchased new or used? Any chance they could have been medicated with copper in the past? Let’s think outside the water box
No, no aerosols, paints, perfumes, sprays of any kind near any of my tanks. All three were bought brand new, same with all the equipment.
 
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After looking at the pict

this is the qt ?
Would a few pieces of live rock help ?
Yeah, this is one of my QT’s. It does great, sustains everything I put in it. Currently, it is housing the following corals and all are doing well except for my cloves that I think are just going to be perpetually ticked off if they ever open again:

Dendro
Aussie Fat Head Dendro
Tubastrea Aurea
Tubastrea Micranthus
Platygyra (recovering)
Plate Coral
Duncan
Purple Sea Whip
Candy Cane
 

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Yeah, this is one of my QT’s. It does great, sustains everything I put in it. Currently, it is housing the following corals and all are doing well except for my cloves that I think are just going to be perpetually ticked off if they ever open again:

Dendro
Aussie Fat Head Dendro
Tubastrea Aurea
Tubastrea Micranthus
Platygyra (recovering)
Plate Coral
Duncan
Purple Sea Whip
Candy Cane
That’s amazing that they are doing well .
Hopefully we can all collectively figure out what’s happening in the dt .

thanks for the inspiration .
I started looking for another sun coral .
 
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That’s amazing that they are doing well .
Hopefully we can all collectively figure out what’s happening in the dt .

thanks for the inspiration .
I started looking for another sun coral .
I absolutely love my NPS. They are my pride a joy.

My orange sun coral is absolutely beautiful when it’s fully extended; bright pink base with rich yellow polyps that have a vibrant red center. I am soooo thrilled that it is coming back from all of the stress. The last few heads are finally remaking an appearance. I am expecting to see them pop back out within the next day or two.

Good luck! I had a very hard time finding mine, but @Shirak helped me out and sold them to me! I found my black sun corals at an LFS, and they are stunning in their own right.
 

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I absolutely love my NPS. They are my pride a joy.

My orange sun coral is absolutely beautiful when it’s fully extended; bright pink base with rich yellow polyps that have a vibrant red center. I am soooo thrilled that it is coming back from all of the stress. The last few heads are finally remaking an appearance. I am expecting to see them pop back out within the next day or two.

Good luck! I had a very hard time finding mine, but @Shirak helped me out and sold them to me! I found my black sun corals at an LFS, and they are stunning in their own right.
I had a yellow one years ago .
did well and ended up selling that complete setup .
Started another and haven’t been able to find them since .
I don’t really like The black sun corals as much
 

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So guys.. I just wanted to point out (again) that I really am not impatient and I’m not frustrated for no reason...... I have not one, but two very successful quarantine tanks, one housing my corals (10 gallon) and the other housing a whacked out Tiger pistol (5 gallon).

My entire issue is that these tanks are 1/2 and 1/16 the age of my DT and they are successful while my DT remains a coral killer.........

Coral QT right this second. I obviously need to scrape the glass again even though I literally just did it a few days ago. I STARTED THESE TANKS THE EXACT SAME WAY AS MY DT. Okay, I feel better now :)
D13949BA-4DAD-4A4A-93E4-AC33E2A63860.jpeg
Every few days sounds just about right for glass cleaning.

I read the whole thread.. yes frustrating the DT is taking longer to mature, but think about the amount, and variety of animals, and the feeding level you have done in qt for the size of the system compared to the dt. It is no surprise the dt is taking longer.

Regarding the lights. The Saxby program is fine. But the AI prime is at most around 50watts with all channels turned up. You are running two at round 70% max and then had them starting at 15% of the 70%. Which equates to about 5.5watts per light. Or roughly 11 watts on a pretty big tank. Not enough power for photosynthetic organisms we are trying to establish in the tank...and I’m not talking about coral. I’m talking about algae, phytoplankton etc that are the basis for the food chain and other micro organisms which help to further increase biodiversity which then help to feed larger organisms such as corals. I want to point out I have essentially 3X the amount of light on my 60g dt (2 hydra 26, 1 hydra32) and 2 are cranked through the roof and give me about 150-200 par on the sand. the other is turned down for really low light on the end of the tank.

Good advice on adding some more fish. Keep the lights up. Get ready to add more snails! And just be more patient with the dt. It will come around in its own time.

I would recommend around 8 dkh target. Will help with stony corals and keeping pH a little more stable.
 

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I skipped most of the posts but if it hasn't been mentioned have you checked with a voltmeter for electricity? Any chance rock or sand is leaching copper?
 
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I had a yellow one years ago .
did well and ended up selling that complete setup .
Started another and haven’t been able to find them since .
I don’t really like The black sun corals as much
I thought the same exact thing until I actually saw them in person. They are absolutely gorgeous. The photos I've seen online make them look almost dingy, with the green tint to the black. The ones I have are pitch black with a bright white base. They are truly mesmerizing.

Once I get all the heads fully extended and my glass scraped again, I will post a video of them so you can see what they mean.

Have you considered a dendro until you can find the sun coral? I love mine and they're both very easy to keep. My regular dendro will eat a million times a day, but I only feed it once every day or two because I've read they're a bit more prone to gut rot. My little Aussie Fat Head, though... That little monster eats every day. My sun corals both eat twice a day.

Anyway, here is my dendro before I gave it a good peroxide scrub to remove all that algae:



Annnnd here is my orange sun coral colony (Sorry for the triple post of this video):

 
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Every few days sounds just about right for glass cleaning.

I read the whole thread.. yes frustrating the DT is taking longer to mature, but think about the amount, and variety of animals, and the feeding level you have done in qt for the size of the system compared to the dt. It is no surprise the dt is taking longer.

Regarding the lights. The Saxby program is fine. But the AI prime is at most around 50watts with all channels turned up. You are running two at round 70% max and then had them starting at 15% of the 70%. Which equates to about 5.5watts per light. Or roughly 11 watts on a pretty big tank. Not enough power for photosynthetic organisms we are trying to establish in the tank...and I’m not talking about coral. I’m talking about algae, phytoplankton etc that are the basis for the food chain and other micro organisms which help to further increase biodiversity which then help to feed larger organisms such as corals. I want to point out I have essentially 3X the amount of light on my 60g dt (2 hydra 26, 1 hydra32) and 2 are cranked through the roof and give me about 150-200 par on the sand. the other is turned down for really low light on the end of the tank.

Good advice on adding some more fish. Keep the lights up. Get ready to add more snails! And just be more patient with the dt. It will come around in its own time.

I would recommend around 8 dkh target. Will help with stony corals and keeping pH a little more stable.
Good Lord, you read all 9 pages? Haha you're a trooper!

I only had the lights turned down for the couple of days I had the corals in there, but I've had them turned all the way on otherwise.

Thank you for the advice! And thank you again for the beautiful sun corals!

I will certainly pick up some more snails when I run to grab the new fish. I DID have 4 spiny astraea, but I just discovered last night that my Bullseye has made a nice meal of those...... What do you recommend? I have 3 or 4 little nassarius snails in there now.

I do have a huge Mexican Turbo in my coral QT, but that little dude has his hands full. I think I might need to grab him a buddy because he and his little red-legged hermit friend are struggling trying to clean up that tank.

Always nice hearing from you :)
 
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I skipped most of the posts but if it hasn't been mentioned have you checked with a voltmeter for electricity? Any chance rock or sand is leaching copper?
If that was the case, wouldn't it have negatively affected my fish and/or pistol shrimp?

I can't imagine so..... All of my equipment is brand new, the rock is MarcoRocks Reef Saver Dry Rock, and the sand is the CaribSea Special Grade Aragonite.
 

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Good Lord, you read all 9 pages? Haha you're a trooper!

I only had the lights turned down for the couple of days I had the corals in there, but I've had them turned all the way on otherwise.

Thank you for the advice! And thank you again for the beautiful sun corals!

I will certainly pick up some more snails when I run to grab the new fish. I DID have 4 spiny astraea, but I just discovered last night that my Bullseye has made a nice meal of those...... What do you recommend? I have 3 or 4 little nassarius snails in there now.

I do have a huge Mexican Turbo in my coral QT, but that little dude has his hands full. I think I might need to grab him a buddy because he and his little red-legged hermit friend are struggling trying to clean up that tank.

Always nice hearing from you :)
Larger size turbos maybe? Try target feeding some mysis over where he is living? Might be less inclined to go hunting down the snails.
 
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Larger size turbos maybe? Try target feeding some mysis over where he is living? Might be less inclined to go hunting down the snails.
I actually target feed everyone twice a day to try and keep nutrients down, but he has been hardly interested in the food lately, so I’ve been worried about him.

Not anymore!! There has been 4 Spiny Astraeas perched on the rock he likes to hang out in and they hadn’t moved in a few days so I got suspicious. 2 of the 4 were picked clean and the other 2 were half eaten. Nice $20 snack for a $40 shrimp! Poor little snails. They just happened to be unfortunate enough to end up too close to the shrimp’s sneak attack holes. Hubby says the empty shells give the tank more character, haha. I guess he’s right.
 

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