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GlassMunky

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On another topic: The Coral/Invert QT tank
So of course with the big tank going pretty smoothly, a few weeks ago i decided that it was time to order some SPS so that they could start the 76 day process of Coral QT, so i decided to order a BattleBox from @Battlecorals.
I was also Talking to another guy out in Cali at the same time (Dank Barrier Reef) about doing a glass for Coral trade and was initially trying to have them both show up around the same day to go through the DIP and QT process together to save me a little effort but the trade got pushed back a little bit timewise (still waiting because of this stupid Virus) so i decided to just have the BattleBox shipped since i'm not sure when we will be able to do the trade now.
Anyway, In the meantime of waiting in all this, somehow the Coral QT tank got OVERRUN with Planaria Flatworms, i mean absolutely everywhere on the glass and rocks. ;Vamp :mad:
Now i had been dealing with them for a little while in there and they weren't causing too much of an issue as i was dosing FWE in the tankabout 2x a week to try and rid them, (only would see 1 or 2 in a week) but i think i accidentally created a strain of Flatworms thats resistant/immune to FWE, as even doing a 5-10X dose in the tank was having little to no effect. and being a fishless CORAL QT i couldn't use a wrasse or anything to get the last stragglers.
And of course i realized this all a couple days before the new SPS were supposed to arrive. :(
SOOO, i made the decision to go full on Scorched Earth and try and finally get rid of them once and for all by pulling ALL corals out of the tank and having them go through a THOROUGH DIP procedure using 6Hrs of Dr G's Coral Dip (interceptor) then followed by Bayer, followed by a 25-30X dose of FWE, followed by Revive. We also took out every single crab and snail and put them through the 25-30X FWE dip and scrubbed every single shell with a toothbrush to try and physically remove any that way as well.
During the time the corals and inverts were being dipped/cleaned we fully drained the tank and sump and refilled it with 55-60* Chlorinated Tap water that we adjusted the PH down to 3.5 and let the system run for about 5-6 hours to try and clean out any of the plumbing where some flatworms may be hiding.;Drowning
Then set the tank back up with freshly made SW and added a little bit of established LR from the display along with some Fritz TurboStart900. and started monitoring all the parameters. That was on Saturday.

The new SPS showed up first thing monday morning around 10am.

Now i know that this isn't the best thing for sensitive SPS (Acros) but kind of felt like i had no other option as i didn't want to have the new corals go into an infested tank, cause then that could cause other issues later, so i'm just gonna monitor the QT Params closely (2x a day) and hope for the best.
Ive kept successful SPS tanks before, so im hoping ill be able to give them a decent enough home in the QT that they survive their time there and can make it to the DT.
SO far they seem to be doing ok

QT Tank Params
SG-1.026
CA-450
Alk-10
(basically straight Tropic Marine Salt Params)


NOW.... With all that said,
This order of Corals was REALLY nice! I went with a $500 8 piece BattleBox with a mix of stags and tables and i was really happy with what i recieved. I ended up getting 10 frags, instead of the 8 i paid for, and most of them are pretty darn chunky!
Im also really impressed with how everything was packaged. Each coral came individually packed in these awesome little bags with the names and info about the corals, like light and flow and even how long he's had the coral i captivity, pretty cool! Each Coral also came attached to a medicine cup, which i've never seen before but is pretty ingenious since its a great and cheap way to make sure the corals don't get damaged in shipping (none had any broken tips).

A List of the Corals in our BattleBox
Bonfire Table
BC Flamethrower Table
Foist Fire Table
Ultimate Soli
Aquatic Man Table (my standout fav of the group)
CC Voodoo Magic
BC Blue Lemon
Tinkro-Belle
AcroBerry
Copps Cali Cali

Heres some pics cause thats what everyone wants lol
BattleBags.JPG

BattleCoralsFragCup1.jpg

BattleBox fresh in the QT tank looking awesome!
 
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GlassMunky

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Random forum question for anyone who sees this....
How do i get the youtube videos to embed in the post rather than as a link?
 
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So since I've been checking the QT tank and DT for ALK/CA 2x a day to figure out consumption rates, I decided to pull out the old Hanna ALK Checker i had laying around. I put in new batteries and ordered new reagents for it since i hadn't used it in years.
Now the reason i hadn't used it in years was that when i decided to put it away i was "having issues" with it giving me very different results than the salifert tests i had been using as well as using red sea to "double check". And at the time it always frustrated me that i couldn't find out why, or who to trust so i went back to what i had always been doing for stability sake.
Well fast forward to today and i get the new reagents in the mail and decide to check and see what the hanna says compared to what i had just tested with my salifert, and low and behold it was a consistent 1dkh lower than the salifert/red sea. Hmmmm;Bored
So i decided to pull up R2R search feature (Its kind of great, try it out) and came across This Thread Here. ;Bookwormafter reading through, it seems as though i've been measuring my ALK wrong for years and always going past the end point color to a more pink that was shown in photos/instructions. Probably the second to last one
Salifert Alkalinity Endpoint.jpg
IMG_8140.jpg

Other than that though, both tanks have been pretty stable in both regards, although i have been doing some very slight dosing of alk to the DT which is the little ups/down in there as i test before/after each dose that i add. And then of course the giant drop at the end is where i switched to the Hanna checker (which i now believe to be more accurate) The calcium anomaly is I believe human (My) error.
Display Tank Parameters:
Screen Shot 2020-03-29 at 4.22.42 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-03-29 at 4.23.01 PM.png


QT Tank Parameters:
Screen Shot 2020-03-29 at 4.23.26 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-03-29 at 4.23.40 PM.png
 

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Looking great! Sorry to hear about your flatworm issue. I'm in the process of getting quotes from Planet for almost the same tank, but 84" long. They also plan on the same Tideline overflow. Were you able to pin down what was different between it and the Exotic Marine overflow that made the Exotic Marine unit so much quieter?
 
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Looking great! Sorry to hear about your flatworm issue. I'm in the process of getting quotes from Planet for almost the same tank, but 84" long. They also plan on the same Tideline overflow. Were you able to pin down what was different between it and the Exotic Marine overflow that made the Exotic Marine unit so much quieter?
Yes. The tideline and synergy overflows both have a drop of about 1-1.5” between the internal and external box and that drop is where the noise was coming from.
the exotic marine has both boxes at the same height so no waterfall noise.
 

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I have the EMS 32" overflow on my system and LOVE it!! the best and quietest overflow I have ever used.

GlassMunky, I love your tank and have really enjoyed reading through this thread. Keep the pictures and updates coming!
 
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Figured a little update was in order.
First a FTS from this morning, along with a snapshot of the tanks newest member, our Potters Leopard Wrasse. :D
picked this guy up from @tsm corals , like all of our fish, and within 12 hoursof being released into the tank he’s out and about swimming all around and even ate a little food this morning. i can’t say enough good things about the quality of fish from @tsm corals .
9E6CB7F1-A3CF-4D9F-A5CA-1C7757E04BEB.jpeg
408920A5-CC76-4C36-82B2-2B82EE790BD4.jpeg


we also moved all the @Battlecorals up from the QT and into the DT where they immediately improved condition and have started coloring back up and encrusting their plugs. I think the QT was just still too new, regardless of me checking parameters 2x a day they just didn’t like the QT tank.
So before they moved up to the DT I took them all to the wet saw and cut back the entire plug till only good flesh was left.

Lastly I’ll just leave this little walkthrough video from this morning showing what the tank is like in its current state.
 
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So since the last update a couple days ago I’ve noticed my CC Voodoo Magic has been pulled in and looking a little rough, then this morning noticed the very tips of my Aquatic Man looked a little burnt.

checked all parameters This morning and everything seems in line:
S: 1.026
Alk :141ppm been pretty stable for over a week now as indicated in the apex graph
Ca: 460
Nitrate: 7.5
Phosphate: 0.04
E54351F1-1233-4B30-85BD-1BE8CEAF4B5C.png

anyone have any ideas/suggestions? Or should I just leave things be and just wait?
#reefsquad
 
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Opened up a brand new bottle of Hanna alk reagent just to double check that I wasn’t getting false readings there and it read the same as the first test 141
 
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Anyone have any idea what could be up with the Acros? They are looking worse this morning and I kind of want to cry
 

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shoot man I am so sorry to hear it. go too for ifffy tips would usually be alk but still tough to say. Are thes the first and/or only sps in the system, and how long has it been set up again?
 
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shoot man I am so sorry to hear it. go too for ifffy tips would usually be alk but still tough to say. Are thes the first and/or only sps in the system, and how long has it been set up again?
The tank started cycling beginning of December, and in February I believe we put in our old corals from the previous system which do include some SPS like montis and Porites and Pavona which are all doing well and growing for a a while now along with the LPS. But these are the first Acropora in the tank.
 

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What are you using to measure PO4? Are you confident in that number? I've struggled in the past with low PO4 and it can take a toll on acros.
 
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What are you using to measure PO4? Are you confident in that number? I've struggled in the past with low PO4 and it can take a toll on acros.
its using the Red Sea Pro Test


I'm about to do a water change making sure that all parameters (Alk/PH/SG/Temp) are equal with what the current tank is at, so maybe that will help. Its about all i can think to do at this point.
Everything had made a nice turn around from being kinda brown in the QT to getting color back and even encrusting since moving into the DT for the first week or so, and then in the last 3-4 days started hurting again like this. :(
 
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So after doing a 55G water change last night, things are looking a little better this morning. Might try doing another water change this weekend and see if that helps any more.
 

When to mix up fish meal: When was the last time you tried a different brand of food for your reef?

  • I regularly change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 44 21.6%
  • I occasionally change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 71 34.8%
  • I rarely change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 66 32.4%
  • I never change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 19 9.3%
  • Other.

    Votes: 4 2.0%
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