Lost in the Wrasses! Rollercoaster of a Reef Build

[tbrown]

@tbrown3589 I put the Duncan where you told me to, but it was getting a little much flow. Moved to the tip of the rock on the other side, and it looks happy. It extended fully, more than it did on the sand bed, and it seems to be liking the low flow and medium light. Glued it on just now, and it looks good!

Mine definitely doesn't enjoy high flow but where I have it gets random bursts which doesn't seem to bother it much. I moved mine off the sand bed yesterday as well....

 

[Petcrazyson]

All corals are glued down(with exception of the OO zoa).

 

[Petcrazyson]

Uh oh………the urchin decided to pick up the Zoas by the heads and run. Don’t seem to be hurt, but the second head of the Zoas hasn’t opened yet

 

[tbrown]

Uh oh………the urchin decided to pick up the Zoas by the heads and run. Don’t seem to be hurt, but the second head of the Zoas hasn’t opened yet

Mine has grabbed Zoas and Gonis.

 

[Petcrazyson]

Things are not good, and I’m very ticked off at myself. The corals are not healthy, and the Acan is now showing skeleton. Apparently, since Friday, none of the corals received any elements, and the pH that I was adding wasn’t enough. Friday, I added only Calcium, and didn’t add anything else :”insert face slap emoji:”, Saturday I was out all day, and forgot to add elements, yesterday I was adding elements according to what I normally add, which, well, wasn’t sufficient as the corals were using up more than what I was adding. So for 3 days the corals have been basically starving. This morning the OO Zoas are completely closed, the Duncan is around 80% closed, the Acan is showing skeleton, and the Pandora Zoas are not fully open. Now I don’t know why the Acan is looking much worse than the others so quickly but I’m guessing that one took the brunt of everything. Tested and Calcium was in the 100’s, Magnesium in the 900’s, Alkalinity 6, and pH 7.9 from the usual Calicum 410’s, Magnesium 1300’s, Alkalinity 10, and pH 8.2 I have just added everything I’ve got, which wasn’t much just a capful of each element because I’m running low, and now need to rush to the LFS for some new elements………… What stupid mistakes……hopefully things get better.

 

[Petcrazyson]

@i cant think you think there is anything in particular that would beneficial of me doing?

 

[tbrown]

@i cant think you think there is anything in particular that would beneficial of me doing?

Just remember not to rush that alkalinity raise. Also, they say give it at least a half hour between adding calcium/magnesium/alkalinity to minimize the possibility of them precipitating out of solution. I'm not sure if that's warranted or just a precaution but it probably doesn't hurt even if it's not necessary.

As your alkalinity rises, the pH can go up as well.

 

[Petcrazyson]

Just remember not to rush that alkalinity raise. Also, they say give it at least a half hour between adding calcium/magnesium/alkalinity to minimize the possibility of them precipitating out of solution. I'm not sure if that's warranted or just a precaution but it probably doesn't hurt even if it's not necessary.

As your alkalinity rises, the pH can go up as well.

I will. Thx for the warning

I always add it around 15 minutes between each one, and that’s worked for me but I’ll keep that in mind.

 

[Petcrazyson]

Ok lessons learned……..not all “trustworthy” test kits are trustworthy. Salifert over here got me freaking out. Turns out everything wasn’t as bad as initially tested. Though things did drop, it wasn’t as drastic as I thought. ICP test sent, and new Hanna checkers bought, and let’s just say I’m never going to use any other test kit other than Hanna or RedSea, and only Salifert if it’s for Magnesium, and maybe pH as a comparing back up. What really caused the corals to precipitate was an Alk drop: dropped point and a third. The pH was fine, Calcium and Magnesium were indeed low but nothing crazy like I tested before.

I took some advice from a good friend not to rush and raise the elements, and things seem to be stabilizing. The Duncan is open completely once again, and the Pandora Zoas are fully open. However, this isn’t to say there are unfortunate consequences. The Acan is showing more and more skeleton daily and the OO Zoas haven’t opened at all since the incident. I don’t want to remove the OO Zoas or the Acan as theres a chance they could come back, but I don’t have any high hopes for them to return to their full and won’t be surprised if they don’t make it. All in all this could’ve been much worse. Hopefully things continue to stabilize and hopeful for things to get better quickly, as Reefapalooza is in 2 days. As of now levels are: Alkalinity 12.4, Calcium 380, Magnesium 1290, pH 8.1, and Salinity 1.026.

The good

And the bad

Some crappy Clown pics

And an Urchin who has been putting in some good work

Hope everyone is having a good day!

 

[tbrown]

Ok lessons learned……..not all “trustworthy” test kits are trustworthy. Salifert over here got me freaking out. Turns out everything wasn’t as bad as initially tested. Though things did drop, it wasn’t as drastic as I thought. ICP test sent, and new Hanna checkers bought, and let’s just say I’m never going to use any other test kit other than Hanna or RedSea, and only Salifert if it’s for Magnesium, and maybe pH as a comparing back up. What really caused the corals to precipitate was an Alk drop: dropped point and a third. The pH was fine, Calcium and Magnesium were indeed low but nothing crazy like I tested before.

I took some advice from a good friend not to rush and raise the elements, and things seem to be stabilizing. The Duncan is open completely once again, and the Pandora Zoas are fully open. However, this isn’t to say there are unfortunate consequences. The Acan is showing more and more skeleton daily and the OO Zoas haven’t opened at all since the incident. I don’t want to remove the OO Zoas or the Acan as theres a chance they could come back, but I don’t have any high hopes for them to return to their full and won’t be surprised if they don’t make it. All in all this could’ve been much worse. Hopefully things continue to stabilize and hopeful for things to get better quickly, as Reefapalooza is in 2 days. As of now levels are: Alkalinity 12.4, Calcium 380, Magnesium 1290, pH 8.1, and Salinity 1.026.

The good

And the bad

Some crappy Clown pics

And an Urchin who has been putting in some good work

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Where's the ugly??!??!!!?

 

[crusso1993]

Where's the ugly??!??!!!?

Beat me to it.

 

[Petcrazyson]

It’s funny how my fish never stay still or hide for camera shots but if I try to take a picture of a coral they NEED to photobomb it

 

[Tcook]

You need to autodose. Save yourself multiple headaches. Do you use an Apex? If not a few Kamoer pumps to keep things stable. Especially for euphyllia and acans.

 

[Petcrazyson]

You need to autodose. Save yourself multiple headaches. Do you use an Apex? If not a few Kamoer pumps to keep things stable. Especially for euphyllia and acans.

I’ve been looking to purchase some APEX, but I know I don’t need them to be successful. I’ve always liked the idea of auto-dosing, but I’ve also always liked the idea of manual dosing. I’m looking at what my next steps are in terms of gear, and APEX is a variable I’ve been weighing.

 

[Crabby48]

And then there was puppy’s

 

[Tcook]

And then there was puppy’s

Dogs are gardeners at heart. Even with sprinkler systems.

 

[Tcook]

I’ve been looking to purchase some APEX, but I know I don’t need them to be successful. I’ve always liked the idea of auto-dosing, but I’ve also always liked the idea of manual dosing. I’m looking at what my next steps are in terms of gear, and APEX is a variable I’ve been weighing.

You don’t need them to be successful. You need them to take care of the mundane chores so you can enjoy your tank.

 

[Petcrazyson]

You don’t need them to be successful. You need them to take care of the mundane chores so you can enjoy your tank.

I can enjoy the tank!? I can sit back and relax? Oh yea I forgot about that


Tomorrow at ROP I hope to snag a few things maybe some dosing supplies.

 

[MrsBugmaster]

Sorry to of all the trouble. Sometimes an apex is a godsend. Sometimes it’s overwhelming to program if you’re not very tech savvy. I do have an Apex but don’t utilize it to it full capacity. I’m not tech savvy. But Hannah checkers are a good double check. I think both are important in this hobby.

 

[Petcrazyson]

Sorry to of all the trouble. Sometimes an apex is a godsend. Sometimes it’s overwhelming to program if you’re not very tech savvy. I do have an Apex but don’t utilize it to it full capacity. I’m not tech savvy. But Hannah checkers are a good double check. I think both are important in this hobby.

Thank you