Planet 235 Upgrade - The Requiem Reef

[skyrne_isk]

Alright! Good news on the tank front. Both the angels and bicinctus are out of QT and into the display. On the angels, easily the most trouble I have had getting through QT but thankfully it’s all done.

Now I get to enjoy watching the female turn male . No real trouble with any of my current fish with the newcomers, so
that’s a relief.

In other news, I had a baffle come loose in the sump around a month ago and needed to drain and redo the silicone. So took this week off of work and got that done - what chore. I use sheet PVC baffles - I like how they can easily be tooled if you want to really control where the water flows over them or drill holes in them etc. Downside is silicone really doesn’t adhere (like it does to glass) so you’re basically making a gasket. So what I did was add 3/4 angle PVC
https://www.zoro.com/zoro-select-gray-pvc-type-1-angle-stock-3-ft-l-008-in-t-7-200-psi-bulk-pa-pvc-21/i/G1940682/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping+feed&utm_content=free+google+shopping+clicks&gQT=1
to the baffle so I had a much wider bearing edge to sandwich silicone in. Momentive RTV silicone to get it all back together.

Amazon product

And here’s the final product:


It wasn’t all bad news, as the cryptic zone needed some rework - detritus buildup for sure had an anoxic zone going. So a new hole was drilled down low in the cryptic zone baffle to keep a little more flow going through the bottom of it. This bulkhead is new and allows some flow to hopefully pull / flush accumulating detritus out.

I was blown away at how much sponge I had growing.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Finally have percula clowns back in the tank! Who would have thought that getting a wild caught melanistic pair would be such a chore - times have certainly changed. It probably took 3-4 months to find a pair that looked like the old school Solomon Island variety (despite treatment in QTI lost the first pair to brook - just how it goes with wild caught). Now everything is some fancy captive bred variant and usually horribly misshapen

And I didn’t get a clear video of the masked swallowtails who are doing just fine - but no color change yet from the larger female.

 

[ruxsir]

I agree, the wild caught clowns just look so much better.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Last shot of the tank for 2025! And because of a gift I got for Christmas, hopefully the last crappy iPhone shot too. Everyone is happy and healthy, including the new perculas and the masked swallowtails I spent way too much money on.

An update I have been waiting to make for several months (knocking on wood, holding breath, crossing fingers, etc) is that I both caught an infestation of AEFW over the summer and beat it. And I beat it in tank, without tearing everything out, and without massive losses.

Here's what I started with that didn't work:

1. AEFW X

2. KZ Flatworm Stop

Would they have worked if I kept it up? Maybe, but they were super expensive and I didn't have great initial results from dosing as prescribed.


Here's what "worked" but had bad side effects or was troublesome to pull off:

1. Levamisole - very harsh, caused complete brown outs and poor PE, among other issues.

2. KCl Spray - depending on how deep your tank is, how many gallons it is, and where your SPS are in your tank this could be a great solution. Many of my SPS are very low in the tank so would have required me to have on hand 150G of makeup water (or to drain into temporary tanks to pump back into the display once the spraying was complete) so was not practical. But for my higher up colonies it was very effective.

3. LaCl Dosing - dipping in LaCl works very well to kill AEFW but caused RTN 25% of the time IME. I have something of a theory that higher lanthanum levels are toxic to AEFW and so I dosed PO4 and then dropped these levels with LaCl to build up the lanthanum. But over time colonies suffered with either higher levels of lanthanum (a metal) or fluctuating PO4 levels with receding tisues.

The end game that worked, I did all of these:

1. I identified and used "bait" colonies that I repeatedly dipped.

Over time I noticed that a couple colonies were preferred over others - they would brown out and lose PE first and sure enough, they would either have eggs or flatworms. I took a couple of these colonies and relocated them to a common rock and/or put them on a fiberglass rod that could easily let me pull the colony out. These I dipped every other week or so in a 20G tank with KCl. I bought the KCl in a giant 40lb bag from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc for water softener use. This solution was super cheap, super effective, and actually pretty easy to do. KCl has a pretty safe margin of error for dosage.... the hardest part was crushing up the pellets so they would dissolve quick enough!


2. I bought 4-5 camel shrimp.

I don't have proof they did anything, and I read all kinds of horror stories about damage they do to other kinds of corals. Here's what I will say: Some of my colonies I could not remove and DID have AEFW occasionally, so these guys were my insurance policy against an infestation getting kicked off on these. I haven't had a single coral death or problem of any kind from these shrimp. My hunch is they DO eat AEFW before they reach a certain size - they are active at night, and I would catch them crawling all over my SPS eating..... something.


3. I periodically took a powerhead and blew off colonies I could not relocate and dip.

This was an infrequent task, mostly to let me see if I had an infestation going on.


4. I keep plenty of wrasses (leopards, Halichoerus) and angels.

They periodically pick at my SPS (to the detriment of PE) and I am not sure what they see that I cannot, but it wouldn't surprise me if AEFW and pods are what they are after.


The whole process probably took 3 months to "solve" but I haven't needed to dip a colony for several months now. I probably lost two large (6-8" colonies) and had several colonies recede from their bases during the ordeal but that's about it. Wasn't nearly as horrific as what I had imagined it would be - and if nothing else I can't overstate how effective KCl is as a treatment.

 

[skey44]

Last shot of the tank for 2025! And because of a gift I got for Christmas, hopefully the last crappy iPhone shot too. Everyone is happy and healthy, including the new perculas and the masked swallowtails I spent way too much money on.

An update I have been waiting to make for several months (knocking on wood, holding breath, crossing fingers, etc) is that I both caught an infestation of AEFW over the summer and beat it. And I beat it in tank, without tearing everything out, and without massive losses.

Here's what I started with that didn't work:

1. AEFW X

2. KZ Flatworm Stop

Would they have worked if I kept it up? Maybe, but they were super expensive and I didn't have great initial results from dosing as prescribed.


Here's what "worked" but had bad side effects or was troublesome to pull off:

1. Levamisole - very harsh, caused complete brown outs and poor PE, among other issues.

2. KCl Spray - depending on how deep your tank is, how many gallons it is, and where your SPS are in your tank this could be a great solution. Many of my SPS are very low in the tank so would have required me to have on hand 150G of makeup water (or to drain into temporary tanks to pump back into the display once the spraying was complete) so was not practical. But for my higher up colonies it was very effective.

3. LaCl Dosing - dipping in LaCl works very well to kill AEFW but caused RTN 25% of the time IME. I have something of a theory that higher lanthanum levels are toxic to AEFW and so I dosed PO4 and then dropped these levels with LaCl to build up the lanthanum. But over time colonies suffered with either higher levels of lanthanum (a metal) or fluctuating PO4 levels with receding tisues.

The end game that worked, I did all of these:

1. I identified and used "bait" colonies that I repeatedly dipped.

Over time I noticed that a couple colonies were preferred over others - they would brown out and lose PE first and sure enough, they would either have eggs or flatworms. I took a couple of these colonies and relocated them to a common rock and/or put them on a fiberglass rod that could easily let me pull the colony out. These I dipped every other week or so in a 20G tank with KCl. I bought the KCl in a giant 40lb bag from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc for water softener use. This solution was super cheap, super effective, and actually pretty easy to do. KCl has a pretty safe margin of error for dosage.... the hardest part was crushing up the pellets so they would dissolve quick enough!


2. I bought 4-5 camel shrimp.

I don't have proof they did anything, and I read all kinds of horror stories about damage they do to other kinds of corals. Here's what I will say: Some of my colonies I could not remove and DID have AEFW occasionally, so these guys were my insurance policy against an infestation getting kicked off on these. I haven't had a single coral death or problem of any kind from these shrimp. My hunch is they DO eat AEFW before they reach a certain size - they are active at night, and I would catch them crawling all over my SPS eating..... something.


3. I periodically took a powerhead and blew off colonies I could not relocate and dip.

This was an infrequent task, mostly to let me see if I had an infestation going on.


4. I keep plenty of wrasses (leopards, Halichoerus) and angels.

They periodically pick at my SPS (to the detriment of PE) and I am not sure what they see that I cannot, but it wouldn't surprise me if AEFW and pods are what they are after.


The whole process probably took 3 months to "solve" but I haven't needed to dip a colony for several months now. I probably lost two large (6-8" colonies) and had several colonies recede from their bases during the ordeal but that's about it. Wasn't nearly as horrific as what I had imagined it would be - and if nothing else I can't overstate how effective KCl is as a treatment.

Wow! Thanks for sharing your experience. I have white bugs and am planning to treat my whole tank with interceptor. Currently working on moving my shrimp and crabs to my frag tank.
I’ve never had aefw but know it’s possible unless I come up with a good QT procedure that will likely involve a holding period in my frag tank.
It’s nice to hear about someone having success with AEFW because not everyone shares or if they do they often don’t have success.
Happy New Year!

 

[skyrne_isk]

Wow! Thanks for sharing your experience. I have white bugs and am planning to treat my whole tank with interceptor.

I have used interceptor for red bugs years ago without issue. There are anecdotal reports that interceptor kills off micro fauna that later allows AEFW to take hold - should they get introduced. Not sure if this is causal or not, but do you have a plan to replenish pods?

 

[skyrne_isk]

Newest addition to the tank! Have been without a fairy since the pintail went carpet surfing - despite the screen somehow

 

[skey44]

I have used interceptor for red bugs years ago without issue. There are anecdotal reports that interceptor kills off micro fauna that later allows AEFW to take hold - should they get introduced. Not sure if this is causal or not, but do you have a plan to replenish pods?

I’ve thought of a few things. For one my LFS is actively culturing pods for sale. I also considered to take my chaeto ball out during treatment and grow it in a 5 gallon bucket and then add back in. Not sure how much risk this would carry to reintroduce he white bugs. I’m making the assumption they can’t survive without acropora but that culture be very wrong for all I know. I’d also hate to kill all micro my brittle stars. My LFS also sells relatively clean chaeto, but I have no way to QT it.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Any calcium reactor experts around? I am considering how to tweak my setup to mitigate CO2 dropping. I tried to run just a Kalk Rx for alkalinity but it just couldn’t keep up and I brought the CaRx back online.

I am trying to decide if shutting of the CO2 at night (when the ATO and Kalk Rx are running and supplying alk anyway) is the play or if I just need to turn the effluent rate down and let it run 24/7.

What I don’t know is how inefficient is it to let the pH float up and down in the CaRx. I think the way to describe it is: how long does it take for the pH to be at the low setpoint in the CaRx to start dissolving the media? If it’s relatively instant then I am good, if it’s not then I am probably just running a really inefficient reactor.

Here’s what the pH is doing in the tank and CaRx. pH is the tank, pH2 is the CaRx.

 

[skyrne_isk]

A bummer from over the weekend: I found one my perculas perched in an SPS colony dead. Was perfectly fine the night before. So odd.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Here’s the update on my pH experiment:

Running the CO2 except for 4 hours in the night:

 

[skyrne_isk]

And here’s what’s in QT now - got two more wild perculas and some others in there now:

I’ve added a UV to the QT to keep any bacterial issues at bay, a Turbo Twist of some size (rated for 125G so probably overkill). Seems to be helping keep water clarity up in there.

 

[skyrne_isk]

And I don’t take nearly enough photos of the tank (even though I now have a fancy camera as a Christmas present I need to figure out). The INDMAS frag swap was a couple weeks ago, here was my contribution that was sold by a local reef store here in Indy for me.

 

[skey44]

Wow nice corals!

 

[skey44]

Is this a stock size? Seems perfect dimensions to me.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Is this a stock size? Seems perfect dimensions to me.

Thank you! The tank is 72 x 36 x 21. Not a stock size but the ratios are familiar

 

[skyrne_isk]

So a bit of a battle must have occurred last night or this morning Wondering how bad this actually is….

 

[skyrne_isk]

Yeah, it’s definitely an aggression problem with somebody in there. Haven’t seen the Goldflake out in 2 days. So he’s either licking his wounds (and that head damage is indeed bad) or somebody’s being grouchy in there.

In other news….




Any guesses?

 

[skyrne_isk]

So yeah that fight was as bad as I thought:

I have my money on the Maculiceps turning into a murder bot for some reason - but just to the goldflake. I caught him flashing and swiping at the goldflake who just hid for the last week until I was able to pull him out last night.

So ironically enough, looks like this build thread is going to end the way it started - with the death of a goldflake

But there is some cause for optimism - you’ll have to figure out what the pictures in my last post mean

 

[skyrne_isk]

He’s my favorite, but now in time out.



I took this opportunity (since the acclimation box had been in use) to let the blue line and pink margin (who is being shy) free.



The three perculas are back in the display (after bringing the two new ones through QT with the one I have had a bit).

So now I will have the Maculiceps cool his heels a bit and decide if I release after a time out or trade him in for a juvenile. Decisions, decisions.