Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[rishma]

Chemistry Update

Nitrate 3.0 ppm (added 10 ppm to system after test; reduced refugium lighting to 8 h per night, and I’m leaving off one of the led bulbs that has been on the magnifica in its hospital tank)

Alk 8.6 dKH
pH 7.9

Added:

0.06 ppm iodide
Extra iron and manganese

Made a new batch of AFR but kept the dose unchanged

Why are you choosing to dose nitrate instead of ammonia? Just interested in your thought process.

That is also what I am currently doing. I have a very low but consistent daily dose of ammonia but it’s not enough to keep my nitrate from falling. I am correcting nitrate periodically by dosing nitrate because I want to test this ammonia dose for a couple of months before I raise it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Why are you choosing to dose nitrate instead of ammonia? Just interested in your thought process.

That is also what I am currently doing. I have a very low but consistent daily dose of ammonia but it’s not enough to keep my nitrate from falling. I am correcting nitrate periodically by dosing nitrate because I want to test this ammonia dose for a couple of months before I raise it.

I would prefer to have a setup for daily dosing of ammonia if it’s needed, but there are two reasons I’ve been most recently using nitrate:

1. It seems the only reason I need any N is that the refugia are overpowered, and I expect the best correction may be to get the refugia scaled down. The only caveat to that is if phosphate needs to come down when N does not, which could be dealt with by continuous N dosing and high refugium export.

2. I have not really been home for long enough stretches to get ammonia dosing appropriately dialed in. I can make a quick correction with nitrate, whereas I’d want to monitor the slower dosing of ammonia for a longer period of time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That mag healed up beautifully! Where did you purchase your red tree sponge ?

I’ll post my updated stock info later today, but I got all my sponges and macroalgae from Gulf Coast Ecosystems.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Updated Stocking List

Stocking List
Organism	Date Added	Source	Date Lost
Live Rock	4/16 and 5/15/2025	TBS*
Live Sand	4/16/2025	TBS*
Fish
Yellow Tang (tank raised)	5/21/2025	Dr Reef*
Green Chromis (5)	5/21/2025	Dr Reef*
Mandarin Pair (tank raised)	5/21/2025	Dr Reef*	one disappeared 5/2025
One spot foxface	6/27/2025	Dr Reef*
Coral
Cali Tort	5/20/2025	dwest*	DOA
Green leather	5/20/2025	dwest*	disappeared 6/2025
Aussie Elegance	5/20/2025	dwest*
Fiji Yellow Leather	5/20/2025	DIYreefer*
Large milka stylophora	6/3/2025	CNDReef
Digitata (bubblegum or forest fire)	6/3/2025	CNDReef*
WWC slimeball anacopora	6/3/2025	CNDReef*
Koji Wada Nephthea (2)	6/11/2025	Thunderstrick34
weeping willow leather	6/11/2025	Thunderstrick34*
ORA Cherry Red Goniopora	6/11/2025	Top Shelf
Oregon Blue Tort	6/11/2025	Top Shelf
Red Setosa Montipora	6/11/2025	Top Shelf
Blood simple leptoseris	6/11/2025	Top Shelf
Duncan	6/27/2025	Jellis912
Bali Green slimer	7/10/2025	Acrogarden*
PC rainbow	7/10/2025	Acrogarden*
Anemones
LTA	6/11/2025	Petco
Magnifica	7/15/2025	Pacific East
Other Inverts
Astrea snails	5/15/2025	TBS*
Florida hermits	5/15/2025	TBS*
sea cucumbers (2)	5/15/2025	TBS*
peppermint shrimp (2)	5/15/2025	TBS*
Brittle stars (2)	5/15/2025	TBS*
Trochus snails (7)	6/11/2025	Top Shelf
Yellow Ball Sponges (2)	6/11/2025	Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Red Tree Sponge (2)	6/11/2025	Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Purple Sea Fan	6/11/2025	Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Laurencia iridescens macroalgae	6/11/2025	Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Botryocladia macroalgae	6/11/2025	Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Ulva macroalgae	6/11/2025	Gulf Coast Ecosystems
gracilaria macroalgae	6/11/2025	Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Trochus snails (5)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
turbo snails (5)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
Florida cerith snails (32)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
nassarius vibex snails (19)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
astraea snails (7)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
nerite snails (7)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
assorted hermits (7)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
dwarf cerith snails (72)	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
emerald crabs (2) to sumps	6/13/2025	Reef Cleaners
* donated or purchased at reduced price

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Green Chromis Issue

I’ve had three green chromis for a bit over two months and they seem to be doing very well. There is a small one, a medium one, and a very large one. They seem to get along fine.

Today, for the first time, the medium one has a discolored (light) area along the top of its back. Not on its sides or anywhere else picture below.

Any advice?

I also posted this discussion in the fish forum.

.

Green chromis issue?

I’ve had three green chromis for a bit over two months and they seem to be doing very well. There is a small one, a medium one, and a very large one. They seem to get along fine. Today, for the first time, the medium one has a discolored (light) area along the top of its back. Not on its...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Magnifica Update

Folks may be tired of routine updates on this anemone, so I’ll limit posts on it unless anything interesting or unexpected happens, but I am finally starting to breathe easy about it. It still looks fine this morning, two days after getting some solid food (which I’ve read can sometimes tip the balance in the wrong direction) and 3 days after coming out of the hospital tank, where it stayed for a total of 11 days, during which time it seemed fine except when first moved in.

Assuming it is still fine after a few more days, I’m going to initiate an order with Dr Reef for three tank raised clowns from the same batch in the hopes they will set up as a trio in the magnifica. It may take a few weeks to get them, but there’s no rush. I still need to make a final decision between wild type, da Vinci, and gladiator forms of ocellaris clowns.

 

[twentyleagues]

Magnifica Update

Folks may be tired of routine updates on this anemone, so I’ll limit posts on it unless anything interesting or unexpected happens, but I am finally starting to breathe easy about it. It still looks fine this morning, two days after getting some solid food (which I’ve read can sometimes tip the balance in the wrong direction) and 3 days after coming out of the hospital tank, where it stayed for a total of 11 days, during which time it seemed fine except when first moved in.

Assuming it is still fine after a few more days, I’m going to initiate an order with Dr Reef for three tank raised clowns from the same batch in the hopes they will set up as a trio in the magnifica. It may take a few weeks to get them, but there’s no rush. I still need to make a final decision between wild type, da Vinci, and gladiator forms of ocellaris clowns.

IDK people like coral pics and FTS so as long as the update includes those, at least one of those I'm sure no one would complain.
I'm not high profile like you but if I post just words on my thread I get less attention than if I post a pic with it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Red Tree Sponge Update

I think that I can report that the red tree sponge is actually growing. Not a lot of growth, but clearly some. Many folks, myself included in my old tank, just see them whither away. I’m happily surprised, and perhaps it’s due to the nightly dose of phyto.

Here’s one of them today, and below it, the same one from June 11 (about a month and a half ago). Note the left hand arm, for example.

 

[twentyleagues]

Red Tree Sponge Update

I think that I can report that the red tree sponge is actually growing. Not a lot of growth, but clearly some. Many folks, myself included in my old tank, just see them whither away. I’m happily surprised, and perhaps it’s due to the nightly dose of phyto.

Here’s one of them today, and below it, the same one from June 11 (about a month and a half ago). Note the left hand arm, for example.

Definitely has growth on all branches. Looks great! I have a red ball sponge that started as a ping pong ball size or smaller and is now slightly larger than a golf ball and has attached to the rocks its sitting on. I think I got it in april this year. I have not really dosed phyto since about that time. Mine is directly after the fuge so I guess its possible its taking in DOC...?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Definitely has growth on all branches. Looks great! I have a red ball sponge that started as a ping pong ball size or smaller and is now slightly larger than a golf ball and has attached to the rocks its sitting on. I think I got it in april this year. I have not really dosed phyto since about that time. Mine is directly after the fuge so I guess its possible its taking in DOC...?

They do consume both doc and POC, so that may be enough. I also cannot prove mine is consuming the phyto. I only got small sponges to thrive in my old tank when dosing vinegar and silicate.

I haven’t added any silicate since the dino scare, so I may add some today.

 

[twentyleagues]

They do consume both doc and POC, so that may be enough. I also cannot prove mine is consuming the phyto. I only got small sponges to thrive in my old tank when dosing vinegar and silicate.

I haven’t added any silicate since the dino scare, so I may add some today.

I have tried sponges in tank before and failed. I also tried them in my "lps nps" 90g another fail. In the reef I think the major issue was algae clogging them up and probably nutrients, I think nutrients in the 90g as the only light was an actinic t5 so they were not covered in fine algae like the reef. The only thing I can attribute the "success" of this sponge is where its located. I dose nothing for it specifically.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Goniopora Update

The goniopora from TSA is fairly quite poorly and at this point I think it is unlikely to survive long term. It began a long slow decline after being added.

 

[b1llvance]

I know you’re the chemistry guy but I’m going to mention it anyway. I had a Goni that just wouldn’t extend its polyps no matter what. Tried different locations for flow and light. Finally, I bought a bottle of Manganese and added 1 ml to my 125g and it was extended by the end of the day. Could be pure coincidence but now if it looks a little unhappy I add .5 ml and it comes right out.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I know you’re the chemistry guy but I’m going to mention it anyway. I had a Goni that just wouldn’t extend its polyps no matter what. Tried different locations for flow and light. Finally, I bought a bottle of Manganese and added 1 ml to my 125g and it was extended by the end of the day. Could be pure coincidence but now if it looks a little unhappy I add .5 ml and it comes right out.

Thanks. I’ve been adding a substantial amount of iron and manganese once a week, but the ulva could well be sucking it up just as fast. I might try upping the dose. :)

 

[pledosophy]

Are you still happy with your Brute refugium setup? I am thinking of copying you :D

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Are you still happy with your Brute refugium setup? I am thinking of copying you :D

Yes, although I do not have nearly as much rock in it as I did with the last tank so the eggcrate is necessary to keep the algae in the brightest light.

 

[Miami Reef]

Hey Randy,

Mind if I take a swing at determining the cause of the coral issue?

I’d like to know which corals are most affected.

I may or may not have the answer, but I’d be interested in troubleshooting.

There may not be a problem at all. Maybe it’s just that one coral.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hey Randy,

Mind if I take a swing at determining the cause of the coral issue?

What types of corals seem to be struggling the most? I know the Goniopora is one, but what about the leathers? Did they reopen?

Any other corals that struggle?

I consider myself very good with corals. I feel like I could grow them in a toilet at this point, at least that’s how I feel about my clams.

Just to show some of my credentials.






I’d be interested in troubleshooting if you’re down. I may or may not have the answer, but I am curious and like solving a good mystery.

Go for it.

Leathers are struggling badly. The Koji wada are not particularly growing, but seem to be holding steady.

The goniopora seems bad.

The leptoseris seems ok.

The Bali green slimer and the pc rainbow colonies are fairly new but seem fine.

The elegance has been slowly growing I think.

The Oregon blue tort is hanging in there but not obviously growing.

The bubble gum digitata seems to be growing well.

The anacropora seems to be growing well.

The very large milka stylo seems to be doing fine. I’ve not compared pictures carefully to see if it has grown, but there’s no apparent issue. It periodically closes up when crabs climb on it, but reopens quickly.

The somewhat newer Duncan seems fine, though it may not like the increased flow for the magnifica that hits it on one side more than it may like since it’s less
expanded on that side).

I think that’s everything that I can see well enough to gauge health.

 

[Miami Reef]

That’s an overall good sign. Most of the corals are hanging in there or growing. It’s normal if some need more time to take off.

I’ll get back on the leathers in a sec.

How much par is the Goniopora getting? The crabs seem very…interesting. What type of crab is it? How many?

I personally hate crabs, but I’ll remain unbiased for now.

 

[pledosophy]

Yes, although I do not have nearly as much rock in it as I did with the last tank so the eggcrate is necessary to keep the algae in the brightest light.

Is the drop in the amount of rock for a particular reason, or is that just the way it worked out? I do have about 250 lbs of rock in a bucket. I was planning on putting quite a bit of that into the brute, then covering with Ulva, since it is local to me.