Our Tbs

[drk70]

Originally posted by phil519
I use a mini-jet for my phosban reactor. I also need to cut back on the valve otherwise it blasts the phosban right into the sump. It's weird watching it - almost like a lava lap - sorta soothing watching the little pebbles bounce up and down....(alright I'm officially weird).

Dennis - I forgot to mention...I'm very jealous of all the corals you've been getting at dr. macs!

I guess that makes two of us! (officially weird people)

Don't be jealous, the last few corals I got I'm not entirely happy with. My frogspawn still hasn't opened all the way yet and it's color is not too great. The candy cane doesn't look like it did there and some of the heads look like they are dying.

[H2OLUVSME]

Dave, i dont think the dying clam is a contributing factor. if its releasing ammonia into your tank im sure your bacteria is converting it to trites and trates faster than you can detect it. in turn your algae is feeding off the trates again faster than your kit can detect it. removing the clam is going to help, but IMO, you should pull a couple of large water changes to help out.

every one with algae problems should always remember that algae is faster than a test kit. if the nutrients are there to be used, algae is going to use it. it wont let some hang around so you can see it on your test kist, it just uses it as its available.


Sally, i wouldnt run carbon longer than 3-4 days. i have read that the saturation point for carbon is like 5-7 days. a few days after that it will begin leaching back into the water column.

[patsan]

Need to get this guy out of the tank:




On the coral shipping problem I had yesterday, UPS rescheduled the delivery for Monday. No good!
The guy I bought it from said to just refuse delivery. He has issued me a full credit of what I paid him with a sincere apology.

[krajacich]

Originally posted by patsan
On the coral shipping problem I had yesterday, UPS rescheduled the delivery for Monday. No good!
The guy I bought it from said to just refuse delivery. He has issued me a full credit of what I paid him with a sincere apology.

That's too bad Pat. Nice that the seller is being good about the whole deal. Hope you can catch your gorilla with "the claw"

I just fished another little gorilla crab out of my tank. I have at least 3 more in there that I know about.

Originally posted by Phil519
Pat/Bob...headed out to your neck of the woods tomorrow. Visiting family in Melville. Hopefully I can stop by some stores on the way back and pull a Danielle or Dennis...(you know...pick up some corals).

Real nice Phil! Just for that I won't show you any more pictures of my corals j/k

Ok so here's what happened...our garage door broke and we had to get it replaced. So I had to take the day off of work to wait for the garage door people...so I HAD to get some corals...I already had the day off

These are all from Extreme Corals. I ordered a diploastrea, a red lobo, and a zoa rock with blue polyps with red skirts and some green polyps on them. But when I got the package it had 5 bags in it. I unpacked the first two and didn't recognize them at all...I started thinking I'd gotten someone else's order. But I got a call from Extreme Corals saying that another coral had fallen on the diploastrea and broken part of the side so they sent me an additional moon coral as a freebie & the zoa rock I had ordered had developed some hair algae so they sent me 2 rocks with the the same color combo (although either they look REALLY different under my lights or they aren't the same color combo). Anyway here's some pictures:

Diploastrea


Lobo


Zoa (It's opened up more since this pic...I'll have to take some photos this afternoon)


Freebie:

[krajacich]

Here's a picture of the same zoa rock but the polyps have opened up a lot more. The other rock they gave me has the same colored polyps.

[BrianPlankis]

Originally posted by phil519
So...I hear all this stuff about IPSF yet see no pics!

alright I'm officially weird

Phil, you were officially weird a LONG time ago Of course we all are a little weird I might be a bit more than everyone?

Yeah, where are the IPSF critters??...my picture of my cleanup crew didn't get anyone else to post!

Pat that crab doesn't look good, time to pull it out.

Nudis: 2 more egg masses, no visible babies yet. I just got my QT tank back today and I'm testing the repair overnight, I should be able to setup a better hatching system tomorrow or early next week.

Brian

[lossman]

Originally posted by garagebrian
Of course we all are a little weird

Brett thinks I am just a tad weirder than some. We were sitting on the sofa watching the Football Preseason show....well, Brett was, I was watching the tank. Our cucumber was in the front of the tank and one of those starfish that lives under the rocks and sands...the black and white striped ones...wrapped a couple of arms out around the cuke. I was laughing at that and all of a sudden I saw the cuke poop!! I said "Honey!! Our cucumber just did poopies!! Look at that!!" He said.......you're weird!!!! LOL

[dwculp]

I was at school at 10am this morning. We had a lock in at a place called Group Dynamics in Dallas for our GT kids. It is a team building company with a ropes course, climbing wall etc. It lasted from 8pm to 8am. I am sooooooooo fried. I got home and passed out!!

Anyways, I went by the school on my way home. All four of my damsel fish were out. I was a bit worried because when I was cleaning the rock all the damsels hid in the rock. I was a bit afraid that my new aquascaping had trapped the damsels in the rock!!

There was a bit of algae beginning to grow on the right front corner which is exactly where it always starts to grow! It always starts in the right front corner and proceeds leftward. Gonna go check on it tomorrow I think.

I have an order ready to go at Drs. Foster and Smith. Im getting a Phos-Ban reactor, MJ-400 and new reef test kit from Sea Test and a couple of other things including a bottle of Chemi-Clean.

[phil519]

Originally posted by drk70
I guess that makes two of us! (officially weird people)

Don't be jealous, the last few corals I got I'm not entirely happy with. My frogspawn still hasn't opened all the way yet and it's color is not too great. The candy cane doesn't look like it did there and some of the heads look like they are dying.

at least the spawn has heads. I was telling pat that some spawn I picked up just looked like they melted. Long story which I won't post on this thread. The only good thing is that the colony has little tiny pencil eraser nubs growing from the branch...so hopefully in the long run it'll recover. Blasted newbie that I am. Dennis - I love almost everything that I've seen you get at Dr. Macs. To you it may not appear spectacular - but give it time to adjust and I'm sure that minolta of yours will finally be able to capture the brilliance.

For bob/pat:
So my day went like this: Drove out to L.I., tried unsuccessfully for 2 hours to try and get my daughter to take a nap. Exhausted, I crashed and took a nap for 2 hours and woke up at 5. =P By then it was time for dinner and I didn't have a chance to swing by any of the LFS that I was hoping to swing by (in particular, county critters). PW was only 10 minutes south of us! Blasted "old" father that I am.

Brain - is that okay if I just purposely swap the vowels? Just makes it easier for me to sort between you and bkelley02 How are those red trochus snails? Interesting snails - they looked on the "big" side to me...are they or are they cerith snails on the small size that you got? Yes thanks for reinforcing my insecure personality and confirming that I am indeed weird. Lol.

Danielle - I love your pics. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I would love to imitate you and dennis more often. I mean after all, new job = more disposable income, but if I don't use that income - why the heck am I working this new job!!!!

Pat - where did that crab come from? I thought you didn't have any of those critters in the new tank?

Sally - I do the same thing. It's scary, when I'm having my dinner I'll just stare at the tank. There is indeed something therapeutic to see the "result" of all the work you put into the tank. Even if it's just cuke poop. LOL.

I've been trying to manage a weekly 5~10% water change. Is this overkill? Anyone think I should extend it to a monthly 25%~30% water change instead? I was thinking the weekly ones are more managable but obviously not every weekend is conducive to doing so.

dw - as I said before - I like my reactor...if I could set it up so that it were next to the display (rather than inside my cabinet) - I swear my eyes might just linger on those silly pebbles rotating over and over again. I need to get out more.

[bobt2]

phil, you'll have to come out again.! it's not that far a drive. just don't head back on sunday nite.

[bobt2]

ok, now i have my ph4 reactor going for 24 hrs and ph4 is at zero. i also started a kalk drip which i never did. my skimmer hasn't made a bubble since. is this normal?

[Scuba Oz]

Danielle

Great looking pics there. That zoa rock is going to be awesome looking once it opens all the way

[dwculp]

Originally posted by bobt2
ok, now i have my ph4 reactor going for 24 hrs and ph4 is at zero. i also started a kalk drip which i never did. my skimmer hasn't made a bubble since. is this normal?

How high was your PO4 before you started running the reactor?

[dwculp]

Originally posted by H2OLUVSME


every one with algae problems should always remember that algae is faster than a test kit. if the nutrients are there to be used, algae is going to use it. it wont let some hang around so you can see it on your test kist, it just uses it as its available.

Actually, that is my theory with the clam. The clam was rotting, releasing nutrients into the the water. My tank is mature and the bacteria were taking care of the ammonia, but the algae was using the PO4 and nitrate at such a high rate that it wasnt showing on test kits.

[bobt2]

my po4 was as high as .3. like i said my big worry now is my skimmer. went from nice gunk every day to nothing for the last 2 days.

[dwculp]

Mine is right around .25. I was in the LFS I like to go to and the guy that usually works there asks how my tank was and I was telling him my algae problems and all he said was "It is your phosphate, get that under control and you should be fine." I like this store and this guy because he actually keeps reef tanks in his home and their fish dont die on me!!!!

It is Sunday afternoon and the tank is covered in algae once again. I am thinking of just keeping an algae tank from now on. They can be quite pretty and are pretty darn easy to maintain!!!

Phos-ban reactor should be here around Wed or Thursday. I am also thinking of shutting the lights down in the tank for a couple of days. I do not have a lot in the tank that is photosynthetic, my open brain, hammer, devils hand and anemones.

[lossman]

Dave, I currently have a thread going in the Chemistry Forum asking about a mild brown algae outbreak that Brett and I are having. We have determined that the type of algae we have is diatoms and those are caused by silicates, although our silicates are well under the recommended levels. People kept telling us to lower our phosphates, put in a phosban reactor, use the phosban sponges etc. And yet our tests show our phosphates are zero. I want to run carbon as some say carbon will help. Randy in the Chemistry Forum has been replying to us and helping to guide us in the right direction. Right now I am waiting for him to reply as to our next step. We already tested our top off water, our newly mixed salt water and the water in our tank. No phosphates in any of them and the silicates are barely measurable....well within acceptable limits. Perhaps his ideas could help you with your algae problem. Have you tested for silicates as yet? I'll keep you posted as to his next reply.

Sally

[dwculp]

I have not tested for silicates yet, I have a silicate test kit on order thought. However, silica alone cannot grow algae, they have to feed off of something which is normally phosphate. My phosphate is at 0.25.

I have tested my make up and mixing water which is distilled water and it is 0 for phosphate and nitrates.

My algae is most definatly diatoms. It is a brown dusting over everything that blows off easily, in fact, it cant get a hold in the high flow areas of my tank which is another change I am going to make, I am going to add another power head with a swirly thing to distribute the flow rather than have a liminar straight line flow.

I WILL beat this, algae is NOT smarter than me!!!

[dwculp]

Here are a few pictures of what I got from IPSF. I couldnt take too many as I got them late in the day and was in a hurry!

Acclimation:


Mini stars - I want a couple dozen of these!!!



The Trochus snails







Bristlle and spaghetti worms

[lossman]

Originally posted by dwculp
I WILL beat this, algae is NOT smarter than me!!!

LOL, spoken like a true man!!!!!!

[lossman]

I'd like to offer up a prayer for all those in Katrina's path and give thanks to having missed this one!! May all in her path stay safe and come out of this alive.

[patsan]

Nice pictures Danielle! How would you rate Extreme corals? It seems like they kind of messed up, but tried to make it up to you. Are you happy with the order?

I am all excited because my hammer had a baby. It's really small, and you may have to put glasses on to see it, but it's a new baby hammer head in the dead center of the picture.


Phil, that crab is in the TBS tank. The claw rusted out, so I have nothing to grab it with. It doesn't matter anyway because even if I did have the claw, I wouldn't be able to get to the crab where it is.

[krajacich]

Originally posted by patsan
Nice pictures Danielle! How would you rate Extreme corals? It seems like they kind of messed up, but tried to make it up to you. Are you happy with the order?

Thanks Pat. Overall I'm happy with them. My only problem with the order is the 2 zoa rocks have the same colored polyps on them and the other moon coral isn't one I would have picked out.
I have a limited amount of space in my tank and now I have some corals in there taking up space that I had planned for other corals. I would have appreciated them calling me and asking me what I would like (i.e. refund or the corals they sent me) instead of just sending them. I'm not sure if the LFS takes any trades. I dropped off a bunch of urchins and didn't even get store credit for them so I may end up just keeping them.

[phil519]

do sea urchins travel well? My wife thinks they are interesting to look at and of course I got rid of all of the ones that hitched in on my tbs rock long ago. I was concerned at first about them eating the coralline which of course now I have way too much of (if that is possible). Course now I wish I had one.

Pat - love the baby hammer.

Okay - talk about being a knucklehead. So I've been watching my Ph monitor and kept reading and re-reading RHF's article on Ph/alkalinity. My ph was stuck between 7.8~8.0 When I used the Fasttest alkalinity test I kept coming up with values that were on the "high side". What I didn't do was follow instruction line #4...the part where it says "divide the number of drops by 2". D'OH!

I boosted the alk yesterday and the PH went to 8.1~8.3. Then the frogspawn peeked out more.

So Dennis...verify your Ph is stable and in 'range'. Perhaps that might help perk your frogspawn up more.

DW - thanks for the pics. Those worms look big. I was thinking of getting some for my fug (along with those stars). How do those clams look?

brian (bkelley02) - did you get your IPSF order yet? I was curious how the mysid shrimp held up under the travel. Also ygpm.

[dwculp]

The clams are good. They started burrowing into the sand within minutes of me putting them in the tank. It was pretty amazing actually. Everything started burrowing into the sand within minutes. After about 5 minutes the worms, stars and clams were burrowed into the sand and the snails and hermits had scattered. It looked like I had put nothing into the tank and I had to think "Geez, wheres my $160.00!!!"