How not to start a reef tank, my first reef tank build

[living_tribunal]

Just went to me lfs to pick up some frag plugs and salt.

She said to not worry about the diatoms as they are inevitable in a new tank. She did say to get rid of the bryopsis and bubble algae ASAP.

She elaborated that bryopsis can damage the tissue of corals and will take over a tank quick.

So the plan hasn’t changed at all. I’m going to dip the corals (not aimed on eliminating the algae, just anything I missed) and then re-plug them.

I think I might continue the twice weekly feeding, all of the corals responded well to it, especially the weaker acan.

My palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy.

I need to ask my mom for her spaghetti recipe.

 

[Why-Me]

She gave you good advice.
You have a good plan of attack.

 

[living_tribunal]

I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to get the green lepto off of its plug. I’m open to any suggestions.

I’m not even going to try with the pink, it’s encrusted around the whole plug.

 

[Why-Me]

I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to get the green lepto off of its plug. I’m open to any suggestions.

I’m not even going to try with the pink, it’s encrusted around the whole plug.

May need to stay on them.
I have a chalice that I couldn't figure out how to get off the plug.

 

[living_tribunal]

May need to stay on them.
I have a chalice that I couldn't figure out how to get off the plug.

The plug for the green lepto has to go. It has bubble algae and is the source of the bryopsis.

 

[Why-Me]

If you're ever stuck and need help just call the #reefsquad
They're very knowledgeable and helpful as well.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I’ve read and heard everywhere it’s never a bad thing to add a lot more bacteria so I’ll chrck them out. I do think having a smaller weekly feeding session that’s targeted will be best to keeping things in check. I’ll just slowly scale up the feeding as my bacteria scales with it.

I agree with @Why-Me when I seeded my 125g, i used 6 different sources for bacteria.. diversification drives balance in every eco system in the world. Jungles and reefs are the examples.

Balance and stability, the pillars of a healthy thriving reef. Imho

 

[living_tribunal]

If you're ever stuck and need help just call the #reefsquad
They're very knowledgeable and helpful as well.

I think I’m just going to use a razor to cut it around the edges of the frag. Then place it on the new one. I’ll take my chances as I need that frag plug gone.

 

[living_tribunal]

All of the corals look to be doing so well right now, I hate having to remove them like this. Someone console me.

 

[living_tribunal]

I also picked up weird looking Seachem plugs that contain calcium and magnesium.

Should I be cautious about using these for that reason? I don’t want them to increase my params.

 

[Why-Me]

I haven't used those before.
I don't see why they won't work and they shouldn't throw off parameters.

 

[living_tribunal]

I haven't used those before.
I don't see why they won't work and they shouldn't throw off parameters.

It says it contains “calcium and magnesium for rapid growth”.

 

[Why-Me]

Sounds good to me

 

[living_tribunal]

Sounds good to me

Let’s hope it doesn’t leech those nutrients.

First batch of frags in coral rx, going to take a minute to cry.

Since I don’t have a plug large enough for some of these, I may have to order them and complete the job on a later day.

 

[living_tribunal]

So one last batch to go before the guys can take a breather.

(I feel like dookie houser btw right now, and have stolen some of his confidence)

Last question is I managed to get the lepto off with most of the encrusted portions.

Since the seachem plugs are so small, a lot of the frag is hanging off of the plug.

Is this ok?

 

[living_tribunal]

Alright, everyone has been dipped in coral rx, thoroughly scrubbed with a coralline brush, and placed on a new plug.

I never want to do this again. I’m hoping I didn’t lose anyone in the progress.

If they open up, I’ll give them some food tonight. They earned it. I also dimmed the lights to help with the stress.

I’m pretty sure my Duncan is giving me the middle finger right now...

 

[living_tribunal]

So I think I’m just going to suck it up and give aqua illuminatics the rest of my cash for the hms hydra mount.

This is both a fire hazard and hideous.

 

[Why-Me]

Good idea

 

[living_tribunal]

I think I made a very dumb mistake by brushing the polyps of these corals. The chalices are looking like they might not make it.

I have read others scrubbing corals but I think they may have meant just their skeleton.

This was a fine coralline brush, less thick than a tooth brush. I’m hoping they make a come back but right now there isn’t an ounce of color left on them. Just black.

Keeping my fingers crossed. I don’t think I want to brush polyps again. All of these guys are in bad shape.

I’m not sure why I rushed to do something so stupid. In hindsight, I could have just used a syringe to squirt these guys and get off any debris.

 

[aqua_code]

Syringe/Turkey baster only. It's not easy to keep your hands out of the tank, but it's the best thing for it. I'm pretty sure the corals will survive. I mangled up a JF Homewrecker trying to get it off a plug when I first got it. Ended up tearing off some of the tissue on the coral. Dropped it on the ground and it even got some salt on it - It's better now. As long as your parameters are ok then they should recover. You will need to let them heal though without any disturbances.

The last thing you want to do is accelerate a tissue loss event. When you are clearing out detritus you shouldn't overdo it. Constantly stirring up particles to the water can damage the gills on your fish as well.

Adding magnesium can promote coral health when they are struggling.

Also - the hanging kits for AI are really good too.