Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

[Hop]

That may be the longest double post (14 minutes) ever

[Micki]

Marc, is that last picture a bubble coral? If it is then Johathan why don't you think you could keep one alive?

[melev]

Yes it is. Maybe he's concerned about too much flow for a LPS.

[bohlke]

I found a lower flow area of my tank for my bubble and its doing fine. Its still probably more flow than it would like but it seems to be healthy. The sweepers are the biggest challenge as they can get rather long (about 6") and depending on the current direction they can sting some other corals. I didnt see much growth with this coral until I started target feeding it (I give it a little bit of the food I give the sun coral) a while back. It has really responded well to that.

[Micki]

Originally posted by melev
Yes it is. Maybe he's concerned about too much flow for a LPS.

Ahhh, never thought about that. I had a bubble once and loved it. However, my coral beauty seemed to love picking at it as well. I gave it to a friend. I wish I still had it.

[jnarowe]

First, Chuck, my local Walgreens didn't have it. And I am getting sick of the question, "What are you going to use it for?"...like how do I explain that? I tried and just got a blank stare.

And Micki, I have too much light. I really cannot keep most LPS alive for long-term. Can't keep ricordia either. They just melt away.

[Micki]

Ahhh, I see. Maybe if that coraline were off the glass some of the light would shine out of the tank instead of being stuck in there and you could do LPS.

[jnarowe]

ouch. Well, I figured it would finally get to the point that Mother-of-the-Year would be dissing me and now we are there. I am in the middle of building a pre-filter box guys!

[Enderrea]

IT's about time , Jonathan needs a beating every now and then, just to keep him in line

[Micki]

Originally posted by jnarowe
ouch. Well, I figured it would finally get to the point that Mother-of-the-Year would be dissing me and now we are there. I am in the middle of building a pre-filter box guys!

LOL Mother of the year? If you are referring to me you are wayyyy wrong! Just giving you a hard time! I'm sure you will get around to doing what needs done soon. What will the pre filter box do?

[jnarowe]

Pre-filter will collect water from the overflow before getting to the sump. It is only for mechanical (floss) filtration, but I am getting tired of all the detritus building up in my system so it has to be done. I may get it installed today. What I am going to do is install a temporary filter box to test out how it works. If it goes well, then I will build a more permanent one. Stayed tuned...

[Micki]

Cool, look forward to the results!

[bmwaaron]

Originally posted by jnarowe
First, Chuck, my local Walgreens didn't have it. And I am getting sick of the question, "What are you going to use it for?"...like how do I explain that? I tried and just got a blank stare

Thats Hilarious... I had the same problem at Walgreens tonight.

[poppin_fresh]

Originally posted by bmwaaron
Thats Hilarious... I had the same problem at Walgreens tonight.

I felt funnier the time I asked the Pharmacist for a syringe (for nuking aiptasia). He really didn't care, but I was more embarrassed than the first time I purchased a pack of condoms.

[zibba]

Originally posted by melev

I'm not sure what those black spots are, but I'm reasonably sure I've seen them before.

Any idea what those black spots are? I've noticed them on my Pocillopora as well.

[melev]

No, I don't have any idea and the only way for me to be sure is to pull out the coral. I'd prefer not to.

[zibba]

How long have you had those two poccilloporas? They are beautiful and showing some fantastic tabling.

Mine is only about 2.5" grown from about a .5" frag a few months ago.


I've noticed those black spots on my Poccilopora, Seriatopora guttatus and Seriatopora hystrix only. My other corals show no signs. I'm wondering if it could be some sort of flat worm. Certainly doesn't seem to be bothering them too much though.

[melev]

I've had both for some time now. The green one is older. The pink one is from MACNA Washington DC (2005), I think.

[jnarowe]

I just picked up a yellow one.

[zibba]

Well...they look great. I was just taking a look at some of your growth shots on your web page and needless to say...I continue to be impressed. The growth out of that purple mille is amazing. It's fun to see progression over a few year period.

[melev]

I posted these in Chuck's thread: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...3#post11226133

[huge1day]

Marc

How much should the 50 lb Mag Flake bags cost? I found them for $18 plus $37 shipping.

Bart

[kau_cinta_ku]

we can buy mag flake around here for 20.00 for 50lbs.

[melev]

That seems a bit high Bart, but then again we probably ordered a pallet which saves on shipping. I'd have to guess I paid under $50 including shipping.

FYI, Mag Flake has a warning that it doesn't contain the same stuff it used to and there is a chance it may cause harm in our tanks. It would be nice if someone could test this out with the current batch and make that official one way or another.

[melev]

This is what I got today:

Ammonia (NH3-4) 0.019 Good
Nitrite (NO2) 0.007 Good
Nitrate (NO3) 2.0 Good
Phosphate (PO4) 0.23 Good
Silica (SiO2-3) 0.9 High
Potassium (K) 292 Low
Calcium (Ca) 410 Good
Boron (B) 1.2 Low
Molybdenum (Mo) 0.3 High
Strontium (Sr) 7.9 Good
Magnesium (Mg) 1079 Low
Iodine (I¯) 0.04 Good
Copper (Cu++) 0.03 Good
Alkalinity (meq/L) 3.40 Good

I'll test my tank today to see if the numbers are close to theirs. These numbers are from a water sample taken on Monday. I doubt they got Magnesium correct, and I'd really like to see what my PO4 level is by comparison.