IM EXT 50

[TheWB]

I ordered the wondermud and live sand activator from IPSF to start this tank. I may do another order in a few months after I see how things go with the TBS stuff. I still have most of the hermits and snails that I got from IPSF. The amphipods are also doing very well. I have not seen any of the white mini brittles that I ordered, however. I think that was a dud. I did end up getting a bunch of micro brittles from a local though, so I have them now. They are one of my favorite parts of a CUC.

I miss micro brittles. I had quite a few in the old tank but I'm not sure any made it over to the new one during the transfer. I don't recall ever seeing any. Most of the rock from the old tank went with the 17 RTBA clones I traded in when I shut that tank down so that's where the brittle's went. Never again with anemones unless it's a dedicated tank.

 

[Arkayology]

I miss micro brittles. I had quite a few in the old tank but I'm not sure any made it over to the new one during the transfer. I don't recall ever seeing any. Most of the rock from the old tank went with the 17 RTBA clones I traded in when I shut that tank down so that's where the brittle's went. Never again with anemones unless it's a dedicated tank.

I've always liked microbrittles. Their little arms start waving around the moment food hits the water. They (and pods) also get into the really small holes to eat detritus that the hermits can't get.

I just got a couple of RBTAs from a local friend. I've had several BTAs in the past and never had a BTA split on me in the past. Maybe this time will be different?

 

[TheWB]

I've always liked microbrittles. Their little arms start waving around the moment food hits the water. They (and pods) also get into the really small holes to eat detritus that the hermits can't get.

I just got a couple of RBTAs from a local friend. I've had several BTAs in the past and never had a BTA split on me in the past. Maybe this time will be different?

It's a blessing that soon becomes a curse if you get a prolific splitter. My tank was just overrun. IM Lagoon 50 with 17 of these.

 

[Arkayology]

It's a blessing that soon becomes a curse if you get a prolific splitter. My tank was just overrun. IM Lagoon 50 with 17 of these.

Yeah... that would be too much for me as well haha. I don't blame you for getting rid of them.

Maybe there are some locals that have some microbrittles that you can add back into the system?

 

[TheWB]

I've always liked microbrittles. Their little arms start waving around the moment food hits the water. They (and pods) also get into the really small holes to eat detritus that the hermits can't get.

I just got a couple of RBTAs from a local friend. I've had several BTAs in the past and never had a BTA split on me in the past. Maybe this time will be different?

Plus, sometimes they have an attitude problem.

 

[X-37B]

It's a blessing that soon becomes a curse if you get a prolific splitter. My tank was just overrun. IM Lagoon 50 with 17 of these.

I had 5 nems then 9 from splitting.
Seems the bubble tip are prolific splitters.
I removed a few, all bubbles,and am left with 2 long tentacle nems. One is a host for a pair of naked clowns.

 

[Arkayology]

Plus, sometimes they have an attitude problem.

 

[Arkayology]

One is a host for a pair of naked clowns.

I appreciate that you note that the BTA host the clowns, not the other way around. So many are incorrect in their use of the word.

 

[Arkayology]

As of this morning
N03 - 8ppm
P04 - .2ppm
DkH - 7.7

The P04 really has stabilized since the weekend. The tank is looking good.

 

[Arkayology]

My TBS sand and rox box will ship earlier than expected. It will be here on Thursday.

The tank is doing OK so far. The P. parvum came back. After a conversation with some others who have had PP in their tanks, I did a 2-day blackout, moved the UV to the DT, dosed Waste Away and will start doing 2-3 weekly DIY coral snow. So far, things are looking good. My P04 has shot through the roof to .5, N03 is 12. Corals are doing OK and growing.

 

[Arkayology]

The TBS sand and rox box was delivered on Thursday without any issues. The box says it comes with 3lbs of premium rock and 7lbs of sand. I think the rock was closer to the 5lb mark, which is great! I got 6 pieces of rock of various sizes, but most in the 3-4'' range. I requested cool sponges and no hitchhikers that could be seen, like crabs or mantis. TBS delivered! The sand was the biggest concern of mine as I really like the aesthetic of the Tropic Marin sand that I have always used. The TBS sand isn't that bad though. There were some large pieces of shell, but there is also a lot of small grained pieces as well. It's a little brown, but that's to be expected. Overall, I think it will be fine. I look forward to looking at it under the microscope when I get to my lab on Monday.

Some iPhone shots of the tank - sorry, I didn't have the time to grab the DSLR for some decent shots.

This rock is fully covered in red sponge with a orange ball sponge on one end. We will see what happens to the macro, but I will leave it for now.

There is a cool clam (unknown sp.) on this rock along with some sponge.

Garbage iphone shot of the tank this AM. Things are recovering from the nutrient swings alright. The green slimer and purple bonsai acros are showing great PE while the rest are showing some. All SPS are showing growth at the base and some are branching.

 

[TheWB]

The TBS sand and rox box was delivered on Thursday without any issues. The box says it comes with 3lbs of premium rock and 7lbs of sand. I think the rock was closer to the 5lb mark, which is great! I got 6 pieces of rock of various sizes, but most in the 3-4'' range. I requested cool sponges and no hitchhikers that could be seen, like crabs or mantis. TBS delivered! The sand was the biggest concern of mine as I really like the aesthetic of the Tropic Marin sand that I have always used. The TBS sand isn't that bad though. There were some large pieces of shell, but there is also a lot of small grained pieces as well. It's a little brown, but that's to be expected. Overall, I think it will be fine. I look forward to looking at it under the microscope when I get to my lab on Monday.

Some iPhone shots of the tank - sorry, I didn't have the time to grab the DSLR for some decent shots.

This rock is fully covered in red sponge with a orange ball sponge on one end. We will see what happens to the macro, but I will leave it for now.

There is a cool clam (unknown sp.) on this rock along with some sponge.

Garbage iphone shot of the tank this AM. Things are recovering from the nutrient swings alright. The green slimer and purple bonsai acros are showing great PE while the rest are showing some. All SPS are showing growth at the base and some are branching.

Those look great. Once you mix in the sand you won't even know it's there.
Is the clam still alive? I got one that wasn't but it's got two kinds of coral growing on the shell, Occulina Robusta and I think two or three cup corals but I might be misidentifying those.
I need to order another one of these boxes with the premium nano pieces.

 

[Arkayology]

Those look great. Once you mix in the sand you won't even know it's there.

I'm hoping I get used to it. So far, it seems worth the change.

Is the clam still alive? I got one that wasn't but it's got two kinds of coral growing on the shell, Occulina Robusta and I think two or

Yup! It has opened up a little more in the last two days. I can't really see the inside really, but it does respond to light. We will see if it lives.

three cup corals but I might be misidentifying those.
I need to order another one of these boxes with the premium nano pieces.

I got two of those cup corals on a rock with a bunch of yellow boring sponge. If/when I get a new tank I will definitely order from them. This is really nice stuff.

 

[TheWB]

I'm hoping I get used to it. So far, it seems worth the change.

Yup! It has opened up a little more in the last two days. I can't really see the inside really, but it does respond to light. We will see if it lives.

I got two of those cup corals on a rock with a bunch of yellow boring sponge. If/when I get a new tank I will definitely order from them. This is really nice stuff.

In hindsight, I think my biggest mistake with it was that I added it to my tank early before the lights were in use. I got some nice macro and sponges but most of it died off. The second batch I ordered was after the hurricanes and all of the rock was stripped of macro so I didn’t get much life. I didn’t give myself much of a chance to keep all the good stuff alive just due to circumstances. It seems like what they are currently harvesting is exactly what I’m looking for. I sort of blew my budget on the angels recently but I might just have to make an order.

 

[Arkayology]

In hindsight, I think my biggest mistake with it was that I added it to my tank early before the lights were in use. I got some nice macro and sponges but most of it died off. The second batch I ordered was after the hurricanes and all of the rock was stripped of macro so I didn’t get much life. I didn’t give myself much of a chance to keep all the good stuff alive just due to circumstances. It seems like what they are currently harvesting is exactly what I’m looking for. I sort of blew my budget on the angels recently but I might just have to make an order.

It might be time then? I feel like the few rocks I got to add a bit of biodiversity were teeming with life. It is definitely expensive though, but I now see what the hype is about.

 

[DPountney]

It might be time then? I feel like the few rocks I got to add a bit of biodiversity were teeming with life. It is definitely expensive though, but I now see what the hype is about.

Hi. Can I ask how things are going with your prynesium parvum now? I’ve been battling this for around 4 months now and it’s still persisting. I’ve tried everything apart from a blackout. I’ve got so much money invested in acro frags that I really don’t want to restart the tank. I’ve been reading your comments and I also went down the route of removing the sand bed which after a month I added new only to have prynesium parvum bloom a few days later. This has got to be one of the hardest things to beat in a reef tank and there is such little information out there on it in reef tanks.

 

[Arkayology]

Hi. Can I ask how things are going with your prynesium parvum now? I’ve been battling this for around 4 months now and it’s still persisting. I’ve tried everything apart from a blackout. I’ve got so much money invested in acro frags that I really don’t want to restart the tank. I’ve been reading your comments and I also went down the route of removing the sand bed which after a month I added new only to have prynesium parvum bloom a few days later. This has got to be one of the hardest things to beat in a reef tank and there is such little information out there on it in reef tanks.

Welcome to the awful club! Mine were toxic when I didn't know I had them and nutrients bottomed out. Once I started dosing neophos, my snails stopped dying and the corals improved. The nutrient yo-yo'ing was not helping my SPS though. I get having $$ invested into the sticks and not wanting to tear the tank down. So far, after all I have done, I haven't seen P. parvum under the microscope in about 2 weeks. I doubt it is truly gone though. I will only drop the banner and declare victory if I stop seeing it in the tank for many months. Things are doing OK in my tank though. The sps are growing and PE is getting better sort of for most acros. I am hoping that the lack of full-blown PE on most sps is due to the frags getting used to the params.

Removing the sandbed dropped the P. parvum numbers temporarily for me. It wasn't a quick fix, but it made it easier to deal with. My advice is no sand, keep P04 and N03 elevated, try blackouts every one in awhile, and plumb a good size UV directly into the display. Keeping my UV in the sump didn't do anything to the P.p. numbers. I will say that the UV wand did help when I had sand, but is also not a cure.

Something that I read in a research paper on P.p. is that ammonium chloride or ammonium sulfate will help reduce their numbers - this is what hatcheries say works. Since ammonia dosing is all the rage right now, I figured I would use ammonium chloride. I haven't been dosing it very long or enough to really see a difference. I also started adding a DIY coral snow to the tank after stiring up detritus

Do you have any pics of your tank?

 

[DPountney]

Welcome to the awful club! Mine were toxic when I didn't know I had them and nutrients bottomed out. Once I started dosing neophos, my snails stopped dying and the corals improved. The nutrient yo-yo'ing was not helping my SPS though. I get having $$ invested into the sticks and not wanting to tear the tank down. So far, after all I have done, I haven't seen P. parvum under the microscope in about 2 weeks. I doubt it is truly gone though. I will only drop the banner and declare victory if I stop seeing it in the tank for many months. Things are doing OK in my tank though. The sps are growing and PE is getting better sort of for most acros. I am hoping that the lack of full-blown PE on most sps is due to the frags getting used to the params.

Removing the sandbed dropped the P. parvum numbers temporarily for me. It wasn't a quick fix, but it made it easier to deal with. My advice is no sand, keep P04 and N03 elevated, try blackouts every one in awhile, and plumb a good size UV directly into the display. Keeping my UV in the sump didn't do anything to the P.p. numbers. I will say that the UV wand did help when I had sand, but is also not a cure.

Something that I read in a research paper on P.p. is that ammonium chloride or ammonium sulfate will help reduce their numbers - this is what hatcheries say works. Since ammonia dosing is all the rage right now, I figured I would use ammonium chloride. I haven't been dosing it very long or enough to really see a difference. I also started adding a DIY coral snow to the tank after stiring up detritus

Do you have any pics of your tank?

Thank you for your reply. I haven’t really had any bad negative effects for a while now since constantly fighting against the PP. corals colourful with good PE and all fish and snails seem fine. I’ve managed to keep my nutrients consistent aswell but it was only when I let it build up then done a clean everything sulked for a while. I currently have a 48 watt uv plumbed into the display and clean glass everyday even if it hasn’t got any PP build up followed by stirring the sand and using seachem clarity. I’ve found doing this is the only way for me to keep them from blooming but if I leave doing any sort of cleaning for more than 2 days it comes back. I’ve tried Hydrogen peroxide dosing, Ozone, aqua forest life source dosing, uv sweeping which although works to some extent I find it really tedious having to do that everyday. I may try a blackout just concerned about the instability it may cause. Interesting about dosing ammonium chloride. Do you have any negative effects with your fish and what is your dosage for that? May be worth trying that before a blackout. I will attach photos this evening. I’m in the UK so currently at work.

 

[Arkayology]

P04 = .17
N03 = 9
dkh = 7.5

Things are looking good! I am noticing that I need to increase all-for-reef dosing to 20ml/day to maintain dkh. My P04 and N03 are also fairly stable. I think the TBS sand and rock is doing the trick! No P. parvum to be seen under the microscope either. PE is also better! Here's hoping things are improving!

 

[Arkayology]

FTS 09/13/25

PC Superman is encrusting nicely and PE is getting better. The green is starting to turn blueish - very slowly

Tyree Pink Lemonade is also encrusting and coloring up to a yellowish green.

This sponge has noticeably grown since I got it a week ago. So far, all sponges from TBS rock are growing and looking good.

Pearlberry is encrusting up the rockwork and is showing better PE too. I hope I can more more of the purple-blue colors out of it with continued stability.

This POTO Sidechick frag was hard hit with all of the nutrient imbalances in this tank.. It was very brown for awhile, but the green is starting to come back. PE has been better too. Last week the polyps were white. Now they are turning greenish.

PC Rainbow is encrusting and showing some better color. The red was almost gone a month ago, but it is starting to come back. PE is better as well.

This tort is continuing to do it's thing and is noticeably encrusting. I look forward to some vertical growth out of it. I did more it lower but more central in the tank for more light.