Bit of a long post - want to provide all the info I can.
All of my fish are doing great. Most of my corals seem quite happy - a few do not and I have struggled to figure out why or what to do to help them.
I'm a novice reefer doing all I can to learn from experienced refers via R2R, BRS, my LFS, etc.
Started a 65g JBJ AIO almost 5 months ago with Aquaforest dry rock and sand. Cycled with TurboStart and dosed ammonia. Added first livestock about 4 months ago. For equipment I run:
Light schedule -
Current parameters (test kit used):
I have seeded the tank with several jars of AlgaeBarn EcoPods and 5280 Pods. I now have a visible pod population that is rather large, especially after the lights go out.
For cuc and fish I have:
Here is the challenge I'm looking for guidance, perspective, help on.
Some of my corals seem to be thriving. For instance, I have 4 torches that look stunning and happy. I also have a trachy and welso that seem quite happy as well as 4 blastos that are plump and the two I've had the longest are growing new heads. Two of my torches, which I've had about 2 months, are in the process of splitting from 2 to 3 heads.
As you'll see in the photos below, two of my acan colonies are doing great. The larger one has several baby heads you only see at night when the polyps shrink up a bit. The smaller colony was a transfer from my nano about 4 months ago and has grown a few new heads since.
On the flip side, some of my acans are really struggling and I can't figure out why. I've lost 2 small frags already.
My button scoly is happy as a clam and the hammer right next to it, which I've had for 2 years, started getting cranky about a month ago. Today it started dying. I had a gold hammer that was plump as can be the first 2-3 weeks then suddenly took a turn and died about a month ago.
Thoughts on what I can do to help the few corals that are struggling? Anything I can/should be doing differently?
Goodness if you've made it this far in my post I seriously THANK you!
Photos of my corals:
3 of my 4 torches - puff up and gently sway in the flow all day. Colors are wonderful
This is the newest of my two brains. I've had it almost 2 weeks and it is already coloring up more than when I got it.
This brain has been with me about 3 months and is always plump and colorful, even though the clown loves to hang out in it.
3 of the 4 blastos. The one on the far right was only one head when I got it. The one on the left has a baby you can't see that has grown to be about a half inch across.
Button scoly I've had about 3 months. Happy as can be and opens up fully to feed at night. You can see a bit of my dying hammer to the right. I dipped the hammer in iodine this morning but fully expect it will die within the next 24 hours.
This is my happiest acan colony. Those plump polyps are covering up at least 6 baby heads at the bottom.
This was a 3-polyp colony when I bought it.
My unhappy acans. The one on the left was from my nano. At first it was SUPER happy in this tank. Plumped up and extended feeders like it never did in the nano. Last few weeks it has looked like this.....it does extend feeders at night though. Just never fully plumps up. The one in the middle and the green one on the bottom right also never seem to plump up.
This acan was super happy at first....last 2 weeks has looked like this.
This acan was happy for the first few days but last couple of weeks looks like this.
This acan has been with me about 2 months and has almost always looked like this. Of note, the past few days it has started extending feeders at night.
My whole scape for reference.
All of my fish are doing great. Most of my corals seem quite happy - a few do not and I have struggled to figure out why or what to do to help them.
I'm a novice reefer doing all I can to learn from experienced refers via R2R, BRS, my LFS, etc.
Started a 65g JBJ AIO almost 5 months ago with Aquaforest dry rock and sand. Cycled with TurboStart and dosed ammonia. Added first livestock about 4 months ago. For equipment I run:
- Kessil AP9X (light schedule in photo below)
- Two IceCap Gyre 2k wavemakers
- JBJ stock return pumps that came with tank
- JBJ TrueTemp titanium 300w heater with controller
- Aqua UV hang on 15w UV filter running at about 550 gph for algae control
- Santa Monica Scrubbers DROP 1.4 algae scrubber
- IceCap ATO
Light schedule -
Current parameters (test kit used):
- Temp: 79 (controller cycles it slowly between 77.5 and 79.5 throughout the day)
- Salinity: 1.025 (refractometer)
- Ammonia: 0 (API)
- Nitrite: 0 (Salifert)
- Nitrate: around 3 ppm (Salifert)
- pH: 8.3 (API)
- Alk: 9.3 (Hanna)
- Calcium: 390 (Hanna)
- Magnesium: 1310 (Aquaforest)
- Phosphate: 0 (Hanna, confirmed with Aquaforest)
I have seeded the tank with several jars of AlgaeBarn EcoPods and 5280 Pods. I now have a visible pod population that is rather large, especially after the lights go out.
For cuc and fish I have:
- 1 ocellaris clown
- 1 large royal gramma
- 1 pink pygmy wrasse
- 1 medium sand sifting star
- 2 Tongan nessarius snails
- 3 small nessarius snails
- 1 turbo snail
- 2 trochus snails
- Daily: Feed fish and corals twice daily by broadcast feeding mini frozen mysis and Reef Frenzy (about 1/4-1/3 cube's worth total food). Also drop about 20-25 dki Marine mini pellets. Once a day I also broadcast feed Benepets, about 1/8 teaspoon and 15-20 mL of AlageBarn OceanMagik phytoplankton.
- Every 2-3 days: Broadcast feed 8-10 mL of RedSea AB+ after lights go out.
- Weekly: Clean glass of any algae (usually fairly minimal). On Saturdays I do my testing and then do a 10% water change. I also dose one capful of Microbacter7. On Sundays I dose one capful of Dr Tim's Eco-Balance.
Here is the challenge I'm looking for guidance, perspective, help on.
Some of my corals seem to be thriving. For instance, I have 4 torches that look stunning and happy. I also have a trachy and welso that seem quite happy as well as 4 blastos that are plump and the two I've had the longest are growing new heads. Two of my torches, which I've had about 2 months, are in the process of splitting from 2 to 3 heads.
As you'll see in the photos below, two of my acan colonies are doing great. The larger one has several baby heads you only see at night when the polyps shrink up a bit. The smaller colony was a transfer from my nano about 4 months ago and has grown a few new heads since.
On the flip side, some of my acans are really struggling and I can't figure out why. I've lost 2 small frags already.
My button scoly is happy as a clam and the hammer right next to it, which I've had for 2 years, started getting cranky about a month ago. Today it started dying. I had a gold hammer that was plump as can be the first 2-3 weeks then suddenly took a turn and died about a month ago.
Thoughts on what I can do to help the few corals that are struggling? Anything I can/should be doing differently?
Goodness if you've made it this far in my post I seriously THANK you!
Photos of my corals:
3 of my 4 torches - puff up and gently sway in the flow all day. Colors are wonderful
This is the newest of my two brains. I've had it almost 2 weeks and it is already coloring up more than when I got it.
This brain has been with me about 3 months and is always plump and colorful, even though the clown loves to hang out in it.
3 of the 4 blastos. The one on the far right was only one head when I got it. The one on the left has a baby you can't see that has grown to be about a half inch across.
Button scoly I've had about 3 months. Happy as can be and opens up fully to feed at night. You can see a bit of my dying hammer to the right. I dipped the hammer in iodine this morning but fully expect it will die within the next 24 hours.
This is my happiest acan colony. Those plump polyps are covering up at least 6 baby heads at the bottom.
This was a 3-polyp colony when I bought it.
My unhappy acans. The one on the left was from my nano. At first it was SUPER happy in this tank. Plumped up and extended feeders like it never did in the nano. Last few weeks it has looked like this.....it does extend feeders at night though. Just never fully plumps up. The one in the middle and the green one on the bottom right also never seem to plump up.
This acan was super happy at first....last 2 weeks has looked like this.
This acan was happy for the first few days but last couple of weeks looks like this.
This acan has been with me about 2 months and has almost always looked like this. Of note, the past few days it has started extending feeders at night.
My whole scape for reference.