- Joined
- May 11, 2019
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This tank is giving me anxiety. After having another tank for two years, I thought I was ready to take on the challenge of a larger tank. I thought I had learned a lot and had faced many obstacles to create a stunning piece of the reef in my home. But OMG, are you making it hard. I have three major issues right now.
Issue 1: Coral Loss
Since the start of the tank, I have had unexplained coral loss. I had no luck with several SPS of all different kinds. They all seemed fine when entering the tank, started to encrust the rock, and then very quickly died. I thought I needed to wait longer; possibly, the tank wasn't mature enough yet. But then my euphyllias started to go. Of the six hammers I began with, I am down to 1.5 left. My one frogspawn is gone. My torches seemed to be doing okay; just today, I noticed my dragon soul has polyp bailout of one head, and the other doesn't look good. I have tried treating the tank with Cipro. I don't see BJD, and the heads are not melting away. There is no "jelly" on them. One night they are fine, and the following day the head has bailed. I've done an ICP test and only found lower trace elements and slightly high Aluminum.
Issue 2: Aiptasia spreading
It's a story old as time, I started with one, and before I knew it, there were ten, and now I see them everywhere I look. I wanted to try the natural approach with peppermint shrimp; however, I have had no luck. I have ordered them from three different vendors, and still no go. I want to try berghia nudibranch, but I am afraid my wrasse will eat them before they grow and go after the aiptasia. I have heard horror stories of using the chemical products with the population exploding, and a filefish seems like a 50/50 toss on whether it will work or eat other corals.
Issue 3: Serious DINOS
I have had diatom on my sand for about a month. I didn't concern myself too much with it as I figured it was part of the new tank uglies. However, today while counting aiptasia, I noticed that the brown stuff on the sand didn't look as "dusty" anymore. It was more slimy, stringy, and bubbly. While I have heard of people getting Dinos, I don't know that much about it, so I guess this weekend will be dedicated to research. I do know that I want to get my Nitrates and Phosphates levels up. I think I was overly prepared for high nutrients with feeding so frequently for the Anthias that I did too good a job. Step one is to cut the refugium light down to 4 hours. I am also debating stopping water changes, although I was hoping to raise my trace elements through water changes, so maybe I will have to dose these. My next step is to find a microscope to ID if it is Dinos for sure and what strand.
I want to love you tank, why won't you let me love you.
Issue 1: Coral Loss
Since the start of the tank, I have had unexplained coral loss. I had no luck with several SPS of all different kinds. They all seemed fine when entering the tank, started to encrust the rock, and then very quickly died. I thought I needed to wait longer; possibly, the tank wasn't mature enough yet. But then my euphyllias started to go. Of the six hammers I began with, I am down to 1.5 left. My one frogspawn is gone. My torches seemed to be doing okay; just today, I noticed my dragon soul has polyp bailout of one head, and the other doesn't look good. I have tried treating the tank with Cipro. I don't see BJD, and the heads are not melting away. There is no "jelly" on them. One night they are fine, and the following day the head has bailed. I've done an ICP test and only found lower trace elements and slightly high Aluminum.
Issue 2: Aiptasia spreading
It's a story old as time, I started with one, and before I knew it, there were ten, and now I see them everywhere I look. I wanted to try the natural approach with peppermint shrimp; however, I have had no luck. I have ordered them from three different vendors, and still no go. I want to try berghia nudibranch, but I am afraid my wrasse will eat them before they grow and go after the aiptasia. I have heard horror stories of using the chemical products with the population exploding, and a filefish seems like a 50/50 toss on whether it will work or eat other corals.
Issue 3: Serious DINOS
I have had diatom on my sand for about a month. I didn't concern myself too much with it as I figured it was part of the new tank uglies. However, today while counting aiptasia, I noticed that the brown stuff on the sand didn't look as "dusty" anymore. It was more slimy, stringy, and bubbly. While I have heard of people getting Dinos, I don't know that much about it, so I guess this weekend will be dedicated to research. I do know that I want to get my Nitrates and Phosphates levels up. I think I was overly prepared for high nutrients with feeding so frequently for the Anthias that I did too good a job. Step one is to cut the refugium light down to 4 hours. I am also debating stopping water changes, although I was hoping to raise my trace elements through water changes, so maybe I will have to dose these. My next step is to find a microscope to ID if it is Dinos for sure and what strand.
I want to love you tank, why won't you let me love you.