Reef Pilot's Undersea Oasis

[Reef Pilot]

Well, it sure didn’t start this way, haha…, but yes, this is the story of my quest to create my own little reef oasis. I know…, a little late…, so please bear with me as I first go back in time a bit. Feel free to comment anytime, and all critique is welcome.

Like so many, I started with fresh water aquariums when I was young, and thoroughly enjoyed keeping many different fish and plant species. Then life got busy with family and career, and I had to put the hobby on hold. However, I always enjoyed visiting a public aquarium and going snorkeling whenever we did a tropical vacation. I really liked the colour and variety of a tropical reef, and often thought I would like to try a salt water tank.

Well, the opportunity finally came in 2010, when we bought a house that already had a built-in salt water tank…, in the kitchen, of all places. At first, my wife was not overly thrilled with the idea of an aquarium there. But we had a large island counter, and it became the obvious gathering place whenever we had guests over. The tank was a focal point of interest for adults and kids alike.

At the time, I really didn’t know much about salt water tanks, and the former owner only gave me a very brief introduction on what to do, with water changes, cleaning, and sump maintenance. So I visited a few SW aquarium shops, and my education was soon underway. Luckily, I discovered Canreef early on, and the great wealth of knowledge and experience here helped get me up to speed quickly on what to do with my new tank. Needless to say, I made a few mistakes, but managed to avoid a tank crash despite my extreme lack of SW knowledge at the beginning.

[Reef Pilot]

It is a 100 gallon acrylic tank (72” X 18” X 19”) with a 3 sided overflow at one end draining down to a basement sump. Here are some early pics. This was about 6 months after we moved in. The tank had been running for about 10 years.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/Mytank1_zps65fa8138.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/Mytank1_zps65fa8138.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/Mytank2_zps1e5ed5e7.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/Mytank2_zps1e5ed5e7.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/Mytank3_zps223f374c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/Mytank3_zps223f374c.jpg.html)

As you can see, the tank was pretty full with softies and some LPS. I fragged the large toadstool and still have a smaller version of it in my downstairs tank, which was set up about a year later. And that bubble coral and frogspawn have been fragged many times as well. Same with the colt coral and sinularia. Might not be visible in these pics, but also have green mushrooms and green palys, which I keep selling or give away.

I still have some of the original fish including the Yellow Tang (10+ years old), Dwarf Flame Angel, Flame Hawkfish and Cinnamon Clownfish. I sold the Green Bird Wrasse. I added a couple Pearlscale Butterfly fish, and a Lawnmower Blenny just before these pics. The tank was also full of Aiptasia, but the Pearlscales completely decimated them…, although took about 4 or 5 months. I still have them as well, one in each of my tanks. And they don’t bother my corals either.

I had T5’s for lighting. Water flow was handled by a couple Koralias and a closed loop system (no longer used). The tank was also a big chore to clean, as it was full of algae and detritus on the rocks and sand. Nitrates were as high as 100 ppm! I wasn’t measuring phosphates at that time, but I know they were high, too. Probably a classic example of old tank syndrome. Fish didn’t seem to mind, though, and the softies and LPS were doing OK as well.

Next, I will describe my sump. But feel free to comment anytime if you wish.

[Slyguy00]

Wow walter what a transformation! It looks nothing like it did then. You really stepped it up from what it was!

[Reef Pilot]

Wow walter what a transformation! It looks nothing like it did then. You really stepped it up from what it was!
Thanks, Nick. It didn't transform overnight, that's for sure, and lots of lessons learned along the way. Before I start showing my current tank, I will try to step through the changes, and some of my challenges.

[Slyguy00]

Awesome, I'm sure there will be a lot to learn in this thread!

[Delphinus]

Do your pearlscales eat pellet or flake?

[Reef Pilot]

They eat everything, pellet, flake, frozen, just like all the other fish. Having said that, I did have to train them in the QT, first frozen mysis, then freeze dried and finally pellets. But they are much easier to keep and hardier than a Copperband which I also had. And you can keep more than one in the same tank (unlike Copperbands). However, over time they did quarrel more and more, and finally separated them when I set up a 2nd tank downstairs.

[Reef Pilot]

It is a 30g acrylic sump, in the basement under the stairwell, just below the upstairs tank.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/007_zps2494d6f5.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/007_zps2494d6f5.jpg.html)

The drain goes into an input chamber with a couple baffles that holds a sponge filter and flows into the main chamber with the skimmer. The top does lift up, and I tried using a filter sock, but it was pita to clean all the time, and was much easier just to remove and squeeze out the sponge every few days. If the sponge plugs (as when away on vacation), it just lifts between the baffles and the water flows by.

The return pump was a Mag 18, and had to push water up about 12 feet or so, into the display tank upstairs. Needless to say, flow was considerably less than 1800 gph. I did measure it at the top once, and I think it was less than 200 gph at that point.

Initially there was no ATO, and had to manually top off the sump on a daily basis with RO water from a bucket. There was a line coming down from the RO (no DI) system upstairs under the kitchen sink, which was used to fill the top off bucket and the water change barrel. Needless to say, I did not like the constant attention this required, so I obtained a double float control from Canadian Springs (who maintained the RO system at the time) and connected it directly to the RO line to serve as my ATO. Worked pretty good and kept the water level constant for the skimmer. I honestly don’t know how the previous owner put up with the manual system for 10 years.

[Reef Pilot]

I could never find out exactly what brand name or model skimmer this was. No ID plate and could not find a good match with internet searches. Might have been partially DIY.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/006_zps2455d21b.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/006_zps2455d21b.jpg.html)


It was a dual beckett skimmer, with a gate valve outlet and a fine mesh cheese type cloth to catch the micro bubbles. The pump was a Sedra 7000 (700gph), hardly enough power to drive the two becketts. But it did produce some skimmate, and I had to occasionally empty the collection jug. What I discovered afterwards, when I took apart the pump for some cleaning, is that it had a pinwheel impeller with an air intake at the input. I guess between the pinwheel and the becketts, it did work, to some degree. Definitely not something you would ever buy off the shelf, though.

[Reef Pilot]

This is my tank overflow. Definitely no bean animal, herbie or durso... Just one drain at the bottom flowing down to the sump in the basement. No noise, though, but the flow is not that high. And the top of the overflow has a styrofoam cover and is inside a closed canopy. I clean the teeth at the top with a toothbrush every few months, to prevent any algae build-up. It's been this way for 13 years, and never a problem.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/006_zps799c2e00.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/006_zps799c2e00.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

Right beside the sump, on the right, is a 1/3 hp chiller. It was driven by a Mag 5 (500 gph) in the sump. With the T5's and all the pumps, never needed a heater initially. But the chiller ran a lot.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/010_zps9e1ef031.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/010_zps9e1ef031.jpg.html)

Also in this pic, on the right, is my DIY carbon/gfo reactor which I added later. It is just an old Ro canister set that I converted by enlarging the ports to 3/8 lines to increase flow. The first canister is just a pre-filter, the 2nd for carbon, and the 3rd has GFO.

[Reef Pilot]

To the left is a 2nd sump that I was using for a 2nd tank that I set up downstairs. But initially, it was my QT for new fish, as well a refugium with caulerpa and chaeto.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/013_zps345203f8.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/013_zps345203f8.jpg.html)

I had it connected to the sump using this DIY overflow. It had an airline connected to the intake side of a pump in the sump which made it basically foolproof. It prevented the syphon from ever breaking, and would self prime if the power went off.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/002_zps14f72c2f.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/002_zps14f72c2f.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

And oh, almost forgot about this giant MDM Sequence (not sure about the model name) 3600 gph pump which was used to to drive a closed loop system in my upstairs tank. I decommissioned it after adding some in-tank wavemaker powerheads. Anybody looking for a powerful but cheap return pump?...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/016_zpse83bd77c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/016_zpse83bd77c.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

I mentioned at the beginning that I had really high nitrates (up to 100ppm) in my 10+ year old tank. After reading on Canreef and elsewhere about refugiums and macro algae, I decided to give that a try. As you can see, caulerpa and chaeto thrived in there.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/013_zps22e0d52f.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/013_zps22e0d52f.jpg.html)

But it didn't make a dent with my nitrates. I also did big water changes, and the nitrates would drop a bit then, but be right back up there in a few days. Seems that I just couldn't get them to stay below 40 ppm for any length of time.

[Reef Pilot]

I also bought a new skimmer (Vertex In-280), and while it definitely pulled more skimmate, still wasn't making much of a difference with my nitrate problem.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/010_zps363efbea.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/010_zps363efbea.jpg.html)

Then I read about bio pellet reactors, so went out and bought a Vertex UF20 (just to the left of the skimmer). I also used MB7 to prevent cyano. I started out slowly with the bio pellets (as recommended), and initially didn't get much results, even after a few months. But gradually I increased the bio pellets and was able to fill the entire reactor with bio pellets (1000 ml). Then finally, my nitrates started to come down. It took another 6 months or so, but eventually they came down right to zero. I had to top up the reactor every few months. But no question in my mind, bio pellets do work, if you have a serious nitrate problem. Again, want to emphasize the importance of MB7 to out compete the cyano.

I still run the bio pellet reactor today, and my nitrates stay at zero. But interestingly, the bio pellet consumption has all but stopped, and have not had to replenish the reactor for almost a year now. I am even considering stopping it, just to see what would happen to my nitrates.

Once the nitrates were under control, I also added GFO to bring down my phosphates. That was with my 3 canister DIY reactor as shown earlier in this thread. It took another 6 months or so for the phosphates to come down (were over 1.0) to zero. But finally had my tank down to zero phosphates and nitrates.

And it really showed in the tank, with the detritus and algae pretty well gone completely. Of course, all along the way, I was scrubbing the rocks and vacuuming the sand. But eventually it all paid off.

[Reef Pilot]

When we bought the house and inherited the SW tank system, it came with an RO (no DI) system under the kitchen sink. It also had a pressure storage tank, which meant you always had a a few gallons of ready made RO water, and a faucet upstairs for household use. And a line ran downstairs to the sump room for the SW tank use.

However, the RO system was not owned, and we had to pay $30+ a month to Canadian Springs to maintain it (change filters, etc). Well, after being on Canreef and searching around on the internet, I soon discovered there was a better way, ie. install and maintain your own.

I bought this used RO/DI from a local Canreefer, and turns out, it is a pretty good system.
http://www.airwaterice.com/product/1TYPHOONIII/TYPHOON-III-AQUARIUM-RODI-75-GPD-or-100-GPD.html

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/002_zpsee7f4c46.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/002_zpsee7f4c46.jpg.html)

It is 75 gpd, has an Auto Shut Off valve and I have an inline dual TDS meter giving after RO and after DI readings. It also has a pressure gauge. I retained the pressure storage tank and separate RO only feed for upstairs use and drinking water. Here is a pic of the RO faucet on the kitchen sink.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/003_zps9d6d15cf.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/003_zps9d6d15cf.jpg.html)

So I am pretty happy with my RO/DI system.

[lastlight]

Curious to see how the tank is incorporated into the kitchen. Can you post a shot of the whole tank? Nice work on rejuvenating a 10 year old nutrient sink.

[Reef Pilot]

Sure, here is a pic of that part of the kitchen.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/004_zpsf98d9798.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/004_zpsf98d9798.jpg.html)

[lastlight]

there's the money shot! why the heck were you holding out? looks awesome.

[Reef Pilot]

Haha, it was coming.... Was trying to catch up on history first.... More to come, and eventually more FTS and in-tank coral shots.

[Reef Pilot]

I replaced a bunch of T5 bulbs shortly after we moved in, and a year later was facing another $3 -350 to do it again. At that time, LEDs were really being hyped, especially the Radions. I didn't like the cost, but they sounded good with all the control, and success people were having with growing corals. So when J&L put them on sale on Boxing Day (2011), I jumped on the bandwagon and bought 3 of them for my tank.

But how do I fit them into my enclosed tank canopy, with only 9 inches of room between the ceiling and the top of the tank? I didn't like any of the hanging options that were for sale and wasn't getting a lot of good ideas with my internet searches. What I really wanted was some kind of sliding rail attachment. Then I found this at Home Depot. It was almost too perfect, and cheap, too. And in the electrical dept, of all places.
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/wire-channel-metal-ivory/911637

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/005_zps9ff2d358.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/005_zps9ff2d358.jpg.html)

I cut them to size, drilled holes and mounted the rail sliders to the Radion fixtures (using the supplied eye bolts), and the channels to my canopy ceiling.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/010_zps9659d041.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/010_zps9659d041.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/008_zps1ee8ac4c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/008_zps1ee8ac4c.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/013_zps1c4e5b9c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/013_zps1c4e5b9c.jpg.html)

With the channel and railings, the fixtures can be adjusted fore and aft for lighting preference, and can be easily removed for cleaning.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/011_zpsdbb7cd22.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/011_zpsdbb7cd22.jpg.html)

So, that took care of that. I later added another tank downstairs and used the same lights and mounting system.

[Reef Pilot]

A couple of years ago, I bought a Coralife DC5800 Wavemaker pump set with controller. They are 2 pumps at 2900 gph each and all the pulse and wave making options with the controller.

And yes, it is the much hated Coralife brand. But they were less than 1/2 the price of one Ecotech MP40, and came with a lifetime warranty. They did come with suction cups instead of magnets, but interestingly the Koralia magnets fit them perfectly. And I just happened to have a couple from some older defunct Koralias, so that is what I used. Also you can buy the Koralia magnets cheap on the internet.

The Coralife pumps actually worked very well, much quieter than the MP40's, and no external pump and wires hanging outside your tank to get bumped or for kids to fiddle with.

I bought a second set of these Coralife pumps last year when I set up my downstairs tank..., again, because they were the best buy at the time and was happy with the performance of my first ones.

I do have to mention, though, that I had a problem with one of my first pumps, with some bushing wear. So this was going to be a test of their warranty and customer service. I emailed them, and after verifying my purchase info, they promptly sent out a brand new set of pumps right to my home, with no delivery or other cost. I didn't even have to send back the old ones. So I certainly have no problem with their customer service.

Then just this summer, I bought some Jebao WP40 pumps, and added 2 more of these to my upstairs tank. So with the Coralife and Jebao pumps, I now have about 12,000 gph flow using the turbulent modes in my 6 foot 100 gallon tank. I think my SPS really like it, though. The pump controllers all have light sensors, and at night, the flow is dialed down, so the fish and corals can get a rest.

I do like the Jebao pumps better, though, and not just because of the price. Because they are similar to the Tunze design, the flow direction can be more easily adjusted to better suit your rock design and coral placement.

[kien]

whoa, the tank looks awesome there! Great Full Room Shot ! I was waiting for that shot too haha.

[H2o2]

I have seen it in person and it is great and looks like getting greater

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, guys. But yeah, never would have planned to put a tank in a kitchen. And most wives would probably never allow it. However, this one fits in nicely there in front of the island counter. And gets a lot of attention where it is.

[Reef Pilot]

Once I got the upstairs tank nutrient problem under control, it was time to start thinking about SPS corals. I'd been drooling over many of the TOTM and FTS pics here on Canreef and RC for some time, and knew what I wanted. But first I had to rearrange some rocks and make room for new corals.

So I figured the easiest way to do that is set up another tank downstairs and move some of my old corals down there, as well as some of the fish. I also bought another 100 lbs of marco rock, which I let cycle for a couple months first. I spread these around in both tanks, mixing with the old live rock.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/004800x600_zpsae44219c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/004800x600_zpsae44219c.jpg.html)

Home Depot had a clearance sale on a bunch of modular cabinets, and used those to build a stand as well as a little kitchenette with a sink right across from my sump room. Even used their laminate counters, so everything matched. And I have lots of storage space now for all my stuff.

The tank is an old 130 g Hagen that I picked up cheap. I got a couple holes drilled in the back, and built 2 overflows around them. The sump room is right behind the back, so it was easy to plumb it in.

Initially, the tank ran with its own sump and skimmer (my old beckett). I even used the old water from the upstairs tank with water changes, to save on salt costs. But I only had 1 chiller, so in the summer, I plumbed both tanks together using 1 sump, to cool them both. It also simplified maintenance. I did have to deal with higher phosphates for a while with the combined tanks, because previously only the upstairs tank was running with GFO. I still don't have my phosphates down to zero, and did have a bit of an algae outbreak in the upstairs tank. But things are getting under control again now, and corals are all good.

[Rice Reef]

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/004800x600_zpsae44219c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/004800x600_zpsae44219c.jpg.html)


Thank you for sharing! Looking forward to see the sps tank grow out!

[The Guy]

Hey Walter great looking setup , would really like to drop by sometime to see it in person. I'm in Langley as well. cheers Laurie

[Reef Pilot]

Thank you for sharing! Looking forward to see the sps tank grow out!
That's my goal, and thanks for looking.

Hey Walter great looking setup , would really like to drop by sometime to see it in person. I'm in Langley as well. cheers Laurie
Thanks, Laurie, and come by anytime...

[Reef Pilot]

Quarantine for new fish: After a few newbie hard lessons in the beginning, I set up a QT for new fish. Initially, this tank was connected as a refugium to my sump, and then disconnected when in use as a QT. I use the hyposalinity routine, and have had great success with acclimating new fish including some more finicky Butterfly fish such as Copperbands and Pearlscales. The entire QT process usually takes 2 or 3 months for me. Here is a good article on the benefits of hypo.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish

Corals: I dip all new frags in either Revive or RPS. In some cases I also QT them for at least a week or two. This gives me a chance to ensure no eggs are transferred, and do more than one dip. And with RPS, it is necessary to QT with a carbon bag in your tank to absorb any remaining dip from the coral. I also break off the frag from the plug, except in a few cases where that may not be practical. Again, that is where the QT is important in case there are some eggs on the plug or rock/rubble.

Water changes: I do a 20% change every 3 weeks on average. I use Instant Ocean most of the time, but have used more expensive brands in the past. I do have a few buckets of Salinity sitting in my storage room that I may start using soon. I use a DIY ATO connected directly to my RO/DI output to keep my sump level constant.

Dosing: I auto dose Seachem Reef Buffer (for alk) and Seachem Calcium Advantage. I manually dose Magnesium as needed (only had to do it once so far). I manually dose Brightwell MB7 every 2 or 3 days, which prevents cyano outbreaks.

Bio pellets: I run a UF20 Vertex reactor using Vertex pro-bio pellets. That worked great and brought down my nitrates from a high of 100 ppm to zero. Once the nitrates were zero, the consumption of the bio pellets also really slowed, and have not had to add bio pellets for almost a full year now.

GFO and Carbon: I run these in my own DIY reactor as described earlier in this journal. I change GFO about every 2 months, and carbon every 4 months. I do stir them up at least once every month though. My phosphate testing tells me when the GFO has run out.

Testing: I use API for Ca, KH, and nitrates. I use Salifert for Mg, and a digital Hanna Checker for phosphates. Ca and dKH are tested every 2 - 4 days, and I adjust my auto doser (Apex controller) if necessary. Phosphates are tested about once a week, although less often when they are near zero. Tank salinity is tested after every water change with a refractometer.

Additives: Sponge Power. Some Kent products, incl Trace Elements, Phytoplankton, Coral Accent and Coral Vite. And occasionally some Purple Up.

Temperature: I run a chiller and a heater to keep my temps between 77.6 and 78.8.

Cleaning: Tank sides about every 3 or 4 days. I use a toothbrush and turkey baster on my rocks as required. Lately have been doing that about once a week in a few spots on my upstairs tank due to a little algae outbreak.

Skimmer: I have a Vertex In-280 and the neck and container need to be cleaned every 4 or 5 days. I have never cleaned the pump or bottom part of the skimmer (in use for almost 3 years now). It is powered by my Apex controller, which includes a delayed start up of 5 min after a power outage to prevent overflowing because of a high water level in the sump.

Feeding: I feed 3 or 4 times a day, if I am around. Pellets (2 kinds) and freeze dried mysis are the staples, with occasional treats of frozen PE Mysis and Pacifica Plankton. Also some nori sometimes for my Yellow Tang and Foxface. If I am away for a few days (very frequent in the summer), I don't feed my fish. If I am away for a week or more (about 3 or 4 times a year), I will set up my auto feeder to dispense a small amount of pellets in my upstairs tank. The bottom tank fish don't get anything. So far, the fish have all been happy (but hungry) when I returned. I don't trust anyone else to feed them (incl family). The longest stretch so far without food has been 3 weeks, and the fish were all fine. The Butterfly fish were a little thinner, but they soon fattened up again. And the Foxface was a real pig for food for a while.

Remote monitoring: I have my Apex set up on the internet to view and adjust parameters (incl dosing). I also have a Foscam IP camera set up on the internet to keep an eye on my fish when I am gone.

Logging: I keep a manual log of all my tank activities incl testing parameters, changes, and anything to do with the corals and fish.

[wreck]

Nice tank!! And great write up!!

[Reef Pilot]

Nice tank!! And great write up!!
Thanks. It's a fun hobby, with lots of learning, and happy to share.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I've seen Walter's tanks and his corals & they are awesome. Will have to come by next time I visit Laurie to see what's new. Great writeup. I don't think I could go 3 weeks without feeding my fish.:wink:

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, Anthony, and you will have to come by again for a visit, and bring Laurie.

[Reef Pilot]

I have acrylic lids for my upstairs tank, and lexan covers for the downstairs one. Lexan is better because it doesn't warp, and you can use thinner materials (1/16"). Also, it has very good light transmission, which is why they use it in commercial greenhouses.

I know there is some controversy about gas exchange with tank covers. I have no way of measuring this scientifically. I do have lots of flow in my tank and the return lines have flared nozzles at the surface, so lots of water movement at the surface. And of course a skimmer, and open sump. The covers are far from airtight, too, with openings for lines, feeding, etc.

I do have a pH probe with my Apex, but so far haven't hooked it up. I do expect pH to fall at night (as a result of more C02), but that happens in every tank from what I understand. What I should do is install my probe and look at my daily pH graphs (Apex monitor), both with the covers on and off, and see if there is a difference.

My fish and corals are all happy, so can't tell from that. I have used covers in the past in my FW days, and again, fish were not affected. I know of no other adverse effects. Only have to clean them every 2 or 3 months, and no salt creep.

The benefits of covers include fish not jumping out, tanks stay warmer longer if there is a power outage, no splashing of water causing salt creep, and less evaporation causing humidity problems. I have Radion LEDs in my tanks (for a couple years now), and they have worked flawlessly, and it may be in part to being more protected from the salt water.

Also, for your interest, here are a couple pics of a 7" sock hangar I made out of a scrap piece of lexan. I like working with lexan, as it is easy to cut and shape/form similar to a thin sheet of metal, but is incredibly strong. Bend a flange wherever you need rigidity. Works perfectly.
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/507/medium/0041.JPG
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/507/medium/0112.JPG

[gqlmao]

+1 on the lexan. Great stuff for many applications. Light weight, shatter resistant and even good in higher temperatures. You make me want to build a Lexan cover for my sump. But I always hit a road block every time I go to home depot... super expensive especially for larger sheets.

[Reef Pilot]

I was playing around with my new camera (Olympus TG-2) the other day, so thought I would post a few pics of my tank as it looks now. As you can see, I still have a lot to learn about photography, and all critique and tips are welcome. These were all taken outside the tank (camera can shoot underwater) without a tripod, and the pumps were not turned off. I wish I could de-highlight my coralline back glass at bit more, too. And please try to ignore all the algae. I am still fighting to get my phosphates back to zero.

The SPS are all (except the Purple Cross) less than one year old, grown from small frags.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/018800x269_zps03c1651f.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/018800x269_zps03c1651f.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/021800x434_zps20bc20de.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/021800x434_zps20bc20de.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/034800x600_zps04b4b9f3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/034800x600_zps04b4b9f3.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/033800x704_zpsd8f55ad8.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/033800x704_zpsd8f55ad8.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/043800x600_zpsf4b6d897.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/043800x600_zpsf4b6d897.jpg.html)

That's my large Bristle Star saying hi...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/042800x786_zpsa08e7f0b.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/042800x786_zpsa08e7f0b.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/047800x600_zps2b1ac156.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/047800x600_zps2b1ac156.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/040800x407_zps4a45456e.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/040800x407_zps4a45456e.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/048800x600_zps6c6dff60.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/048800x600_zps6c6dff60.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/028800x626_zps0337eebd.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/028800x626_zps0337eebd.jpg.html)

Some serious warfare happening with these guys. But too tight to get in there to prune...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/049800x600_zps6b14e60a.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/049800x600_zps6b14e60a.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/038800x503_zpsfb10fe30.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/038800x503_zpsfb10fe30.jpg.html)



http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/050800x746_zps2c2eb9fb.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/050800x746_zps2c2eb9fb.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/051772x800_zps335ebfe1.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/051772x800_zps335ebfe1.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/054800x600_zpscb7d30ed.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/054800x600_zpscb7d30ed.jpg.html)

I recently sold this little gem.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/005-1_zpsc4e1a391.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/005-1_zpsc4e1a391.jpg.html)

Frag rack in the back corner is a little bare these days, but will be pruning more soon...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/026800x538_zps0fe4363f.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/026800x538_zps0fe4363f.jpg.html)

[Slyguy00]

Tank is lookin awesome walter. What is the yellow one called above bird of paradise? Id love a frag of that when you have one.

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks Nick. That's a Yellow Birdsnest, and it could use a bit of pruning in a couple spots.

[Reef Pilot]

Just wondering if anyone can help ID this coral. Its colour is similar to my Pink Lemonade which is just below it. The base is the same lime green, but the tips are pink, and polyps are not as shaggy. I like the colour though, which contrasts nicely with the adjoining Tenuis, Cali Tort and Purple Cross.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/072800x600_zps00e850fd.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/072800x600_zps00e850fd.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/083800x600_zpsa3e770fc.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/083800x600_zpsa3e770fc.jpg.html)

[kien]

It doesn't look like a pink lemonade to me. Wrong colouration and growth to be a pink Lem.

[Reef Pilot]

It doesn't look like a pink lemonade to me. Wrong colouration and growth to be a pink Lem.
No, I didn't think it was either, that is why I am asking. The only similar part is the lime stalks. But what is it?

[kien]

But what is it?

I'm pretty certain that it's an acropora sp.

[Reef Pilot]

I'm pretty certain that it's an acropora sp.
I think that may be it. Thanks. Or at least I found another pic on the internet that is a pretty good match.
http://urbansage.com/images/Acropora_sp03.jpg

Never heard of it before, though. Guess it is not a designer acro,...LOL.

[kien]

I think that may be it. Thanks. Or at least I found another pic on the internet that is a pretty good match.
http://urbansage.com/images/Acropora_sp03.jpg

Never heard of it before, though. Guess it is not a designer acro,...LOL.

It can be. Do you want me to give it a name?

[Reef Pilot]

I can be. Do you want me to give it a name?
Haha, no,... am afraid what that would be...

[hillegom]

lol

[Reef Pilot]

I think that may be it. Thanks. Or at least I found another pic on the internet that is a pretty good match.
http://urbansage.com/images/Acropora_sp03.jpg

Never heard of it before, though. Guess it is not a designer acro,...LOL.
Doing more research on the internet, it seems there are a lot of corals called Acropora Sp, and many don't at all resemble my coral, or the link above. So is this just a generic catch-all name? Haha, maybe I should give it a name..., before the kien does...

[lastlight]

There are a lot of species under the acropora genus. It's just a very specific way of describing a coral if you're like me and generally don't know what type it is.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropora

[asylumdown]

first, wow. Your tank is gorgeous.

second, 'sp' is common biological shorthand for 'species'. Acropora is the genus that a good number of our SPS fall in to, the other major genus represented in SPS tanks is Montipora.

For example, 'Bonsai' generally refers to Acropora valida, 'millies' are all various colour morphs of Acropora millepora, Oregon tort is Acropora tortuosa, and I think 'Pink Lemonade' is Acropora nasuta (but don't quote me)

On the other hand, a 'Monti cap' is Montipora capricornis, and all 'digies' (green digi, red digi, etc.) are Montipora digitata

If someone doesn't know the exact species (and this is true in pretty much the entire world of biology), they'll state the genus followed by 'sp.', so 'Acropora sp.' potentially refers to all 149 described species of Acropora, which is why you got such varied results when you searched that term.

In your photos, the overwhelming majority of species are in the Acropora genus, likely several being different colour morphs of the same species, though you've got at least one from the Seriatophora genus (birds nest), a couple Montiporas, and what might be a Stylophora or a Pocillopora, then your LPS.

I do a lot of work out in the grasslands doing vegetation assessments, the entire family of blue grasses (genus Poa), of which Kentucky blue grass (the main component of most Canadian lawns) are incredibly difficult to identify to the species level because there's so bloody many of them and vegetatively they all look the same. The reports we produce almost always list the Poas we find as 'Poa sp.' because we just can't tell what it is with any more specificity than that.

Finally, the common names that you know, like 'Pink lemonade' or 'Strawberry shortcake' are pretty meaningless from a biological point of view. Within a single coral species, colour morphs are HIGHLY variable. The original 'Pink lemonade' coral that everyone is so hot and bothered over and in so many people's tanks are all clonal descendants from a single wild colony that very well may have been completely unique in its coloration for its species. That species likely has dozens (perhaps hundreds) of other colour morphs in people's aquariums, and perhaps thousands or hundreds of thousands of other possible colour morphs still out in the ocean. That one morph from that one colony only has a 'common' name because it happened to be particularly beautiful, and someone at the original coral farm where it turned up had good marketing sense. This is true for all 'named' corals.

That's why I think Kien was only half joking when he suggested you name it. All the famous named corals (red planet, Oregon tort, pink lemonade, etc. etc.) were just random wild caught specimens until someone gave them a name and started selling them, which means that the overwhelming majority of corals you buy or see in people's tanks don't really have 'names' beyond their genus & species (which tell you very little about how pretty a coral will be). If yours is not a direct frag of some mother colony that is already named and out there in circulation (and most corals aren't), and it developed in to a particularly beautiful and desirable specimen, you could name it whatever you want and start selling it.

Who knows, maybe in 10 years people could be coveting 100 dollar frags of 'Reef Pilot's Green Popsicle'.

[asylumdown]

ugh that was long, I mean - to clarify

What makes 'pink lemonade' different from all other Acropora nasuta (if that's the right species), is that true 'pink lemonades' are direct frags, however many steps removed, off the mother colony that was originally given that name. Theoretically, there could be other A. nasuta colonies out there in people's tanks that look EXACTLY the same in terms of coloration as 'true' pink lemonade, but if they weren't grown from frags off that one specific colony that was originally named 'Pink lemonade', it's technically not.

Pink Lemonade has an interesting history in captivity, it started out as just some random wild acro from Reeffarmers (owned by Steve Tyree, hence 'Tyree's Pink Lemonade). It got passed around a small community of reefers for a while, had a couple of different names, and now, 15 years later is a staple in the hobby. Your pink lemonade is a clone (aka, frag) of that original coral. You could have three other A. nasuta in your tank, even looking very similar, and they wouldn't be 'pink lemonade' because they're not clones of that one original colony, which itself is a clone of probably a single wild specimen. It's why there's more corals than common names, not many morphs get branded like that

[Reef Pilot]

ugh that was long, I mean - to clarify

Thanks, and kind of confirmed what I was learning about that sp suffix. It is interesting that i did indeed find one pic on the internet that looks exactly like mine (at least to my eyes), but also just has the sp designation. So maybe I should name it.... haha.

And thanks for looking. My tank is still a very early work in progress, and just starting with the SPS. I am learning lots, though, which is a big part of the fun.

[asylumdown]

haha if that's just starting you're going to need to clear some shelf space for your tank of the month awards.

[Reef Pilot]

haha if that's just starting you're going to need to clear some shelf space for your tank of the month awards.
Shhh, you're not helping....

But honestly, my tank is still almost bare on one side, and I have too much SPS on top where it is shading the lower spots. So, it will take some time and shifting around some rocks, before it looks decent. Coral and rock placement is just another part of the learning, I guess.

[MitchM]

Regarding identification, a coral's environment can dictate it's morphology, which makes identification even more challenging.

[wreck]

man ur tank is turning out awesome!! nice work

[Reef Pilot]

man ur tank is turning out awesome!! nice work
Thanks. It's slow progress, but very happy with how my SPS is turning out. I've had to do quite a bit of pruning with some of them, and now am thinking might have to move some rocks around to change the placements. And I have some serious warfare happening in a couple spots.

[wreck]

Thanks. It's slow progress, but very happy with how my SPS is turning out. I've had to do quite a bit of pruning with some of them, and now am thinking might have to move some rocks around to change the placements. And I have some serious warfare happening in a couple spots.


dude i cant wait till i have sps that need pruning lol

[Reef Pilot]

dude i cant wait till i have sps that need pruning lol
Oh it will happen,... you just need the right lights and water conditions. And some patience.

[kien]

..very happy with how my SPS is turning out. I've had to do quite a bit of pruning with some of them.

hey, didn't nobody tell you that you can't have nice healthy, growing SPS with LEDs ???? Apparently your tank missed that memo.

[Reef Pilot]

hey, didn't nobody tell you that you can't have nice healthy, growing SPS with LEDs ???? Apparently your tank missed that memo.
Haha, yeah, sure seems so. And maybe some people need their eyes checked, too...

[Reef Pilot]

Just got back from Mexico after 9 days, and the fish and corals (except 1 frag) are all good. Parameters all stayed stable, and my dosing did not need adjusting. Glass needed a good cleaning. Only the upstairs tank had an auto feeder going, so the fish were all hungry and happy to see me.

Only casualty (maybe) is a Hawkins Echinata frag (yeah, had to be that one) that got knocked down and buried in the sand. I hadn't epoxied that one down because I was planning to move it later. I suspect one of my hermit crabs is to blame. Then my goby proceeded to bury it. I moved it to my frag rack for now and will see if it comes back to life. Looks a little green now, and no sign of polyp extension.

I have a Foscam camera and my Apex controller set up so I could watch things remotely. Was always good to see some fish swimming around. I did get a little anxious when I saw the weather reports last week with that strong Arctic Outflow. Doesn't take much to get a power outage in my area of Langley. But happily it didn't happen.

But sure is cold coming back home, after laying around the beach there, snorkeling, etc....

[Reef Pilot]

This is what my Hawkins Echinata looks like now, after being buried in the sand while I was gone (not sure how long). Is it still alive, and will it recover? Looks a little green, and maybe some RTN at the base. No sign of any polyp extensions.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/027800x600_zpsc1435a89.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/027800x600_zpsc1435a89.jpg.html)

[mrhasan]

This is what my Hawkins Echinata looks like now, after being buried in the sand while I was gone (not sure how long). Is it still alive, and will it recover? Looks a little green, and maybe some RTN at the base. No sign of any polyp extensions.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/027800x600_zpsc1435a89.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/027800x600_zpsc1435a89.jpg.html)

It has tissue so I would say its very much alive. Maybe it just need some time to come out from the shock it received for being buried alive :P Previously, whenever I would see corals are a bit ****ed (less polyp extension and things like that), I would put few drops of amino to cheer them up. I use coral vitalizer now. Atleast, that's my experience.:smile:

[Reef Pilot]

It has tissue so I would say its very much alive. Maybe it just need some time to come out from the shock it received for being buried alive :P Previously, whenever I would see corals are a bit ****ed (less polyp extension and things like that), I would put few drops of amino to cheer them up. I use coral vitalizer now. Atleast, that's my experience.:smile:

Yeah, it looks more alive in the pic. Can't see the flesh detail when looking at it in the tank on the frag rack. Just looks green. It was more blue and light colored before.

Would more or less light be good for it at this point in time? Right now, I have it near the back of the frag rack, so it is not getting too much light.

[mrhasan]

Yeah, it looks more alive in the pic. Can't see the flesh detail when looking at it in the tank on the frag rack. Just looks green. It was more blue and light colored before.

Would more or less light be good for it at this point in time? Right now, I have it near the back of the frag rack, so it is not getting too much light.

Can't comment on that with confidence but generally, corals recover better under low-moderate light with lesser than recommended flow instead of. Since it was buried inside sand, I would start it low and then move up a bit every couple of days to the regular position.

Take those with grain of salt since I am talking in terms of regular coral and have heard echinatas can be a bit tricky and they are deep water I believe?

[Reef Pilot]

Well, my Hawkins Echinata is still alive. Thought it was going to RTN after being buried in the sand for several days. But looks like that has completely stopped, and not even STN. I think I see some polyps even trying to come out... So pretty happy with that so far.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/071800x600_zps9374045d.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/071800x600_zps9374045d.jpg.html)

Traded for a Strawberry Shortcake frag yesterday. Barely a quarter inch sticking out of the plug, and probably the smallest frag I have ever had. But seems to be alive, and even some polyps showing.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/006800x600_zps10b635f3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/006800x600_zps10b635f3.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

Another mystery coral. Anyone know what this is (besides acropora sp.)? Got this frag a few months ago and now branching out in all directions.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg.html)

[apexifd]

Another mystery coral. Anyone know what this is (besides acropora sp.)? Got this frag a few months ago and now branching out in all directions.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg.html)

Who did you get it from? Looks like the purple polyp that I had it in Bblinks tank befor

[Reef Pilot]

Who did you get it from? Looks like the purple polyp that I had it in Bblinks tank befor
Nope, got it from Kelly (007), but at the time, couldn't tell what it was.

[mrhasan]

Another mystery coral. Anyone know what this is (besides acropora sp.)? Got this frag a few months ago and now branching out in all directions.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg.html)

That's a hell of a nice piece over there :mrgreen: Just put a fancy name on it :D

Looks like you are a vivid collection of smooth skin acros :smile:

[spit.fire]

Purple turtle splatter

[apexifd]

Nope, got it from Kelly (007), but at the time, couldn't tell what it was.

hmm.. kelly did get a frag from me as well.

I lost my mother colony, so, I am trying to track down a frag of it from somebody.

[Reef Pilot]

hmm.. kelly did get a frag from me as well.

I lost my mother colony, so, I am trying to track down a frag of it from somebody.

I'm sure I can get you a frag, Peter. But it is still pretty small, and would like to grow it out a bit more. It's really taking off now, though, so shouldn't be too long.

Do you know what it is called? It's definitely a nice piece alright.

[Reef Pilot]

Purple turtle splatter
Haha, yeah, that is a good description of it alright...

[Reef Pilot]

Red Planet still growing like crazy.... And can't get any redder than this.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/034800x719_zpsa5f8c303.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/034800x719_zpsa5f8c303.jpg.html)

And this is what it looked like just 11 months ago when I got the frag.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/0252_zpsb8ae2235.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/0252_zpsb8ae2235.jpg.html)

[Slyguy00]

Thats less than a years growth?? Wow that red planet grows fast!

[Reef Pilot]

Thats less than a years growth?? Wow that red planet grows fast!
Well, actually, it was slow to start. Here it is from last Apr, just barely covering the plug.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/004_zps4e404d36.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/004_zps4e404d36.jpg.html)

And this is from Oct, barely 2 months ago.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/009-2_zps932c66af.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/009-2_zps932c66af.jpg.html)

As you can see, it has pretty well doubled in size in just the last 2 months. And the color is much better now. So it definitely likes something in my tank.

[Slyguy00]

That is impressive. I can't believe how fast that has grown. Mine has just started to grow noticeably faster. I hope it takes off like yours :mrgreen:

[Reef Pilot]

What happens when a Setosa meets a Red Planet?
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/040677x800_zps5b7f985c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/040677x800_zps5b7f985c.jpg.html)

Who wins? I am OK if they just put up a border between them, but if one starts killing the other, then I will have to do something. I had to lay down an epoxy strip to stop my Sunset Monti from killing a neighbor SPS. Is that necessary again in this case, too?

[Slyguy00]

Well with my experience the red planet usually wins. Just this week one of my montis grew to close to the red planet and it killed about a 1/4" circle of my monti.

[Doug]

Wow, thats a beautiful red. And some growth.

[Reef Pilot]

Wow, thats a beautiful red. And some growth.
Thanks, Doug. Am happy with the growth, but not so much with where I placed some of my corals.

[spit.fire]

Haha, yeah, that is a good description of it alright...
unfortunately i was informed that it is called a miyagi tort and not purple turtle splatter

[Reef Pilot]

unfortunately i was informed that it is called a miyagi tort and not purple turtle splatter
Well, I just looked that one up, and while there are some resemblances, not sure about that. The tips on mine are pink, not purple, and it has a very green base. Also the growth pattern is different. Mine seems to be spreading out equally in all directions. But it is still pretty small, so that could change.

But then again, not sure how authentic the internet pics I've seen are either.

Thanks for the lead, though.

[apexifd]

I'm sure I can get you a frag, Peter. But it is still pretty small, and would like to grow it out a bit more. It's really taking off now, though, so shouldn't be too long.

Do you know what it is called? It's definitely a nice piece alright.

Heavenly Lavender Field. LOL

let me know when you have a frag ready.

[Reef Pilot]

Heavenly Lavender Field. LOL

let me know when you have a frag ready.

Haha,... Heavenly Lavender Tort....

Will let you know when ready to frag a piece (but remind me in case I forget).

[KPG007]

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/012800x600_zps04360f53.jpg.html)

Beautiful tanks Walter! I need to do a road trip soon and pay you a visit.

I got that coral from Chris (Chowder). It was a unspectacular green rock when I got it. After a couple months it coloured up and started to look like yours. I made a few frags, then, after my frag rack kept falling because of the weight, I sold the majority of it to Paul at Oceanic. I still have a piece, but it's still quite small.

[Reef Pilot]

Beautiful tanks Walter! I need to do a road trip soon and pay you a visit.

I got that coral from Chris (Chowder). It was a unspectacular green rock when I got it. After a couple months it coloured up and started to look like yours. I made a few frags, then, after my frag rack kept falling because of the weight, I sold the majority of it to Paul at Oceanic. I still have a piece, but it's still quite small.
Thanks, Kelly, and for sure drop by some time. Look forward to picking your brain again on a bunch of things.

Yeah, that little frag I got from you turned into a really nice little gem. Do you know the name of it?

[Reef Pilot]

My Setosa and Red Planet were about to go to war, so I laid down an epoxy border (was more concerned about the Setosa). Just below is a Purple Cross (another aggressive coral) that will soon meet up with the Red Planet. So will see what happens there. The frag at the top left can be moved so am not worried about it.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/010600x800_zpsd73d48f3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/010600x800_zpsd73d48f3.jpg.html)

And mounted this little Red Planet frag just yesterday. It was an accidental casualty when I was laying down the epoxy. But today, I see all the polyps are out. It is less than 1/2 an inch, but obviously a tough coral.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/022800x548_zps107c49f3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/022800x548_zps107c49f3.jpg.html)

A few days ago, I removed (and sold) my original Purple Cross mother colony. The stalk was more than an inch in diameter, and needed a hammer and small wooden mallet (am not joking) to do the job.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/004800x600_zps79fea849.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/004800x600_zps79fea849.jpg.html)
But it came out pretty cleanly, leaving only some growth around the bottom which I will leave in place. It was just too big for that location, and kept beating up on its neighbors, so it had to go. I have another one growing lower down (can see it at the bottom of the 1st pic), and is again growing rapidly. The Purple Cross is my original SPS (bought a good sized frag just over a year ago) and probably my most prolific coral.

[Reef Pilot]

Yesterday, I moved my Kole Tang from my downstairs tank to my upstairs tank, along with a small Purple Tang and a Melanurus Wrasse that just completed their QT. I have a very bully, large Yellow Tang upstairs (has caused great havoc with other new fish in the past) and was hoping adding multiple new fish would divide his attention.

It took me a week or so to finally catch the Kole. I have a fish trap that I set up near where I feed, and kept putting some food inside. Eventually, he would go in, and I let the trap door go down and caught him. Almost didn't get him, though, as he escaped once when the door came down too slowly. But he was dumb enough to go in again, and the next time I got him.

But to my surprise and relief, the move went pretty well. The Kole was not bothered at all. The small Purple Tang, though, had a bit of a rough introduction. But not from the Yellow Tang. Instead my Dwarf Flame Angel went after him. The Purple seemed to hang around one spot, and didn't try to hide. Instead he fought back with his tail slapping. If he would have just gone somewhere else, the Angel probably would have left him alone. The Yellow did come by a few times with a few tail threats. But again the Purple would fight right back (even though he is about 1/4 the size), and the Yellow would go away. The Melanurus, of course, had no problems, and made himself at home almost right away.

By the evening all was at peace in the tank. Both the Kole and Purple were picking away at algae, like they've been there all along. And the Melanurus was in pod heaven...

Maybe the Yellow Tang is getting mellow in his old age. Or being together with the Pearlscale for a few years wore out his aggression. That little Purple one is a real toughie, though. Wonder what he will be like when he gets bigger...

Now I have to buy another Bristletooth for my downstairs tank. My big Foxface there might get lonely now with his buddy gone. I am thinking of a Chevron. Not sure if J&L or King Ed's ever get those ones in.

[H2o2]

You need to buy some more stuff off Nick so I can deliver and have another look at those beautiful tank and I can get some frags this time :-)

[Reef Pilot]

You need to buy some more stuff off Nick so I can deliver and have another look at those beautiful tank and I can get some frags this time :-)
Hey, Harry, drop by any time... I'm keeping an eye on Nick's site, and sooner or later will get something again.

[Reef Pilot]

Can't believe what an algae eating machine my Kole Tang is!... He has only been in the upstairs tank now for 2 days, and almost totally cleaned the whole back glass (acrylic, actually) of all algae, leaving only the coralline. Here is a pic of part of it from before.

You can see how green it was (upper right). I had to regularly clean it with a scraper...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/039600x800_zps6b69ce62.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/039600x800_zps6b69ce62.jpg.html)

And this is today. You can see a bit of a pattern to his cleaning...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/002600x800_zps7f77dd64.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/002600x800_zps7f77dd64.jpg.html)

No wonder my downstairs tank (same sump and water as upstairs tank) was always so clean of algae... For sure now, am going to have to get another bristletooth tang for it, or it will likely soon get algae again.

[wreck]

hot damn that thing is a cleaning machine!!!.

do u have any pics of him and your melanarus wrasse?

i have a juvi melanarus and colors are bleek. cant wait for it to grow

[Reef Pilot]

hot damn that thing is a cleaning machine!!!.

do u have any pics of him and your melanarus wrasse?

i have a juvi melanarus and colors are bleek. cant wait for it to grow

Not yet. Although color wise, no different than most pics on the internet. Haven't had the time and patience yet to try and get pics of my fish, except a few chance ones. They don't sit still,... like corals...:smile: But I will have to try,... one of these days...

I do most of my pics underwater, so the fish tend to hide when they see the camera. From outside the tank, I have a lot of trouble getting a good focus, because this camera only has auto focus, no manual capability, and often will focus on the glass, not the tank inhabitants. That's the only thing I don't like about this camera (Olympus TG-2).

[mrhasan]

Kole tangs are just awesome :mrgreen:

[Madreefer]

Kole tangs are just awesome :mrgreen:

Mine hates any kind of blenny and chases harasses them. Killed a tail spot and hates my lawn mower blenny. They kind of have similar mouths so I think he's protecting his precious algae. :lol:

[mrhasan]

Mine hates any kind of blenny and chases harasses them. Killed a tail spot and hates my lawn mower blenny. They kind of have similar mouths so I think he's protecting his precious algae. :lol:

:lol: Must be defending its "turf" ;)

[Reef Pilot]

Mine hates any kind of blenny and chases harasses them. Killed a tail spot and hates my lawn mower blenny. They kind of have similar mouths so I think he's protecting his precious algae. :lol:
Strange,... my Kole is totally peaceful, with everyone. I have a lawnmower blenny in there, too, but they totally ignore each other. Same with my yellow and purple tangs, which was my big concern. I had a lawnmower blenny in the downstairs tank, too, so maybe he was already used to them.

[Reef Pilot]

My Tri-Color Nana Acro is growing into my Pink Lemonade. Will need to get the clippers out again. Hate to chop into such a nice coral, but have no choice.

It is similar to my Purple Valida, but has a green base with purple tips, and thinner branches. It is also a much slower grower. But like most of the rest of my SPS, it was just a small frag a year ago.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024800x600_zps77fa854d.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024800x600_zps77fa854d.jpg.html)

And here is an earlier pic from a couple months ago.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/048800x600_zps6c6dff60.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/048800x600_zps6c6dff60.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

My Setosa and Red Planet were about to go to war, so I laid down an epoxy border (was more concerned about the Setosa). Just below is a Purple Cross (another aggressive coral) that will soon meet up with the Red Planet. So will see what happens there. The frag at the top left can be moved so am not worried about it.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/010600x800_zpsd73d48f3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/010600x800_zpsd73d48f3.jpg.html)


The above pics were from Dec 24. The below ones are from today, Jan 30. Seems my epoxy border didn't completely do the job. Some Red Planet snuck through underneath somehow, and it is indeed killing the Setosa. Will have to get in there tomorrow, and see if I can separate them again. May have some more Setosa and Red Planet frags soon...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/013600x800_zps88d50544.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/013600x800_zps88d50544.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/011600x800_zpsedc4d971.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/011600x800_zpsedc4d971.jpg.html)

While it may not exactly look like it (with the bright green base), this is a sliver of Red Planet tissue that I salvaged last month, and is now growing into a frag. Incidentally, this is about the size of the original Red Planet frag that I got about a year ago, that turned into this beautiful and large colony. It started with just a bit of tissue and a few polyps. Sure is one very aggressive coral, though.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/026800x600_zpsb9f0768b.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/026800x600_zpsb9f0768b.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

Today, after 3.5 years running, I decided to disconnect my Vertex UF20 bio pellet reactor. It certainly did its job at the beginning, bringing my nitrates from a high of 100 ppm down to zero. But have been running at zero for 2+ years now, and my bio pellet consumption has slowed to almost nothing.

The last time I had to add any bio pellets was about a year and half ago, and finally now they were pretty well spent, with only about 3 inches left on the bottom still tumbling nicely. I never cleaned or serviced my reactor in all that time either. Needless to say, it was well encrusted inside with calcium and other growth deposits. Had a hard time just getting it apart. Will let it sit in fresh water for a few days before trying to clean it. Hard to believe the water was still able to circulate and the pellets tumbling properly.

I will be testing my nitrates more frequently now, to see if there is any change. But I think my tanks (live rock and sand) were doing a good enough job of natural denitrification, and will watch to see if that continues.

Now what am I going to do with 2 large unopened 1000 ml bags of Vertex bio pellets that I bought on boxing day a couple years ago??...

[Reef Pilot]

After removing my bio pellet reactor, my nitrates have gone up to about 5 ppm now, where before they were always zero. Will continue as is for awhile, but if they creep up to about 10 or so, will have to reinstall the bio pellet reactor.

[Reef Pilot]

Had my camera out today, and took a few more shots of some of my corals. Tank is getting a little crowded, and can't keep up with the pruning anymore. So am just letting them fight it out amongst themselves.

I plan to do a major reset next fall and rearrange all the live rock and corals. But first have to make it through the summer, with minimal maintenance.

Pink Lemonade
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/039800x600_zpse7d7feaa.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/039800x600_zpse7d7feaa.jpg.html)

Do you like green?
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/033800x729_zps314c11ea.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/033800x729_zps314c11ea.jpg.html)

My Setosa not winning this war
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/034596x800_zpsf6e8a27b.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/034596x800_zpsf6e8a27b.jpg.html)

Pink Jade
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/028800x697_zps9133dec6.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/028800x697_zps9133dec6.jpg.html)

Glimpse of the jungle
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/032800x600_zpsc7e9481c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/032800x600_zpsc7e9481c.jpg.html)

Bonsai being invaded by my green mushrooms
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/026630x800_zpsc105d2b6.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/026630x800_zpsc105d2b6.jpg.html)

Cali tort
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024800x403_zpsa67ed4fb.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024800x403_zpsa67ed4fb.jpg.html)

Yellow Birdsnest
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/031458x800_zps4c8c0d08.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/031458x800_zps4c8c0d08.jpg.html)

One of my several Orange Digi colonies. Grows like a weed in my tank.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/029800x580_zpse6c254eb.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/029800x580_zpse6c254eb.jpg.html)

One of my favs
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/023800x774_zpsab662ad2.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/023800x774_zpsab662ad2.jpg.html)

Hawkins Echinata, has been buried a couple times in the sand, but still survives.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/025554x800_zpsd3117067.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/025554x800_zpsd3117067.jpg.html)

Another fav
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/020800x781_zpsbfab5635.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/020800x781_zpsbfab5635.jpg.html)

Guess what this one is... haha. Might have to give it a new designer name.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/010800x600_zpsfa0bee4a.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/010800x600_zpsfa0bee4a.jpg.html)

More jungle
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/018800x600_zps5e546eaa.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/018800x600_zps5e546eaa.jpg.html)

Pearleberry
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/021619x800_zps1850e4f8.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/021619x800_zps1850e4f8.jpg.html)

Pink milli
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/017800x600_zps0289f2e2.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/017800x600_zps0289f2e2.jpg.html)

Milli fighting it out with my Sunset Monti and a Valida
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/019600x800_zps223b640d.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/019600x800_zps223b640d.jpg.html)

More jungle
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/014800x600_zps75af3de9.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/014800x600_zps75af3de9.jpg.html)

Purple Valida
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/013800x600_zps398a7960.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/013800x600_zps398a7960.jpg.html)

And more jungle
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/016800x600_zps0bcf1d85.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/016800x600_zps0bcf1d85.jpg.html)

Purple Stylo
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/040800x788_zps3473e77b.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/040800x788_zps3473e77b.jpg.html)

Purple Cross
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/035738x800_zps0ca995f3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/035738x800_zps0ca995f3.jpg.html)

[Slyguy00]

awesome pics walter! Your sps is looking great!

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, Nick. Tank is pretty well status quo, just getting more crowded. And becoming a real PITA to clean.

[H2o2]

That's just coral tips poking u in the a-- , Looks awesome

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks Harry, and PMed you.

[JDigital]

Very nice SPS collection.

[Reef Pilot]

Very nice SPS collection.
Thanks, working on it... Some grow fast, some grow really slow...

[kien]

Wow. Gorgeous !

I have a mailing address that you can send those unwanted pellets to. I garantee that your pellets will be disposed of in a Eco friendly, zero carbon footprint manner.

[NIVLEM09]

I'll gladly take some of the trimmings:) beautiful collection of SPS.

[Reef Pilot]

Wow. Gorgeous !

I have a mailing address that you can send those unwanted pellets to. I garantee that your pellets will be disposed of in a Eco friendly, zero carbon footprint manner.

Thanks,... haha. I was foolish enough to load up on a boxing day a couple years ago, so still have a couple of unopened 1000 ml bags. But, not sure yet if I can go without redeploying the bio pellet reactor. Nitrates have crept up to about 5 pmm, and if they hit 10, it's going back in. I still remember well my battles of a few years ago, when I had very high nitrates.

I'll gladly take some of the trimmings:) beautiful collection of SPS.

Thanks, always have a few frags for sale, and can do fresh clippings.

[Reef Pilot]

Well, I bit the bullet and just reimplemented by bio-pellet reactor. I had disconnected it thinking that I didn't need it anymore. But looks like that is not the case. My nitrates gradually climbed, and up to 15 ppm now. So it was time to take action.

Previously, I did not have to add any bio pellets for about a year and a half, and it looked like my bio pellet consumption had slowed to almost nothing. But I guess the reactor was still doing its job and keeping the nitrates at zero even though there were only about 3 inches left tumbling. So I was quite surprised to see how quickly they rose again once the reactor was disconnected.

[Bugger]

Can you do a full tank shot. I use biopellets too.

[Reef Pilot]

I am reluctant to even do a full tank shot now, as hard to get a good pic with the long days and daylight reflections from the windows. Also, while my camera does good underwater pics, it is not good through the glass with its auto focus.

But here is one from a few months ago,... best I've got for now...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/015800x600_zps4e45bff3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/015800x600_zps4e45bff3.jpg.html)

[Bugger]

What are your feeling towards adding sand and scrapping the back glass?

[Slyguy00]

Why? I think it looks great walter!

[hillegom]

I only scrape the front and sides.

[Reef Pilot]

What are your feeling towards adding sand and scrapping the back glass?
It's an acrylic tank, and very hard to keep clean. Only do the front and sides. Need to get a plastic scraper out every couple months (or sooner) to clean off the coralline. Plus it is getting very tight in there with my SPS. I have a small amount of sand, which tends to be blown bare in the middle by the pumps.

My downstairs tank is glass, and very easy to clean.

[Reef Pilot]

Why? I think it looks great walter!
Thanks, you are very kind. Just trying to make it through the summer without too much change or effort. Then in the fall, plan to rescape it, and relocate a lot of the corals.

[Reef Pilot]

Well, I knew it was going to be tough summer for my tanks, with my being gone from home (flying and at our lake cabin) a lot. But it was a lot worse than I had bargained for.

I also had a bad start going into the summer, struggling to get my phosphates down, and a jump in my nitrates when I foolishly disconnected my bio pellet reactor a few months earlier. SPS growth and colour were already suffering.

Then with my being gone so much, my KH got out of hand. I usually keep it pretty steady around 8. I would get home occasionally for a day or two, and I noticed that it was dropping to 7 and lower. So, as I've done many times before, I just dialed up the doser, and thought it would be OK. Not so, came home a week later, and it was below 6. That sure didn't make a lot of sense. Meanwhile my Ca jumped up to about 480 and had to reduce that doser. I finally had time to have a closer look, and to my chagrin, I found the KH doser line plugged at the water end. I guess I had not cleaned it for some time...

Shortly after I also changed my doser KH container with a new mix of bicarbonate. I set the doser to what I thought would bring the KH back up to what it should be, and had to leave again for a few days. When I came home again, the KH was over 9, in just 3 days. I knew that wasn't good, and have been making more doser adjustments ever since until I now have it back to about 8, where I want it.

But the damage is done. Many of my SPS are not looking very good, and lost a few of my prize colonies. What's bad, too, is that my Pearlscale Butterfly fish decided to add SPS to his diet. Up to now (for the last 4 years), he only ate aiptasia and left my other corals alone. But I guess with my being gone a lot (fish don't get fed in my absence) he got hungry and would nip (more like fleece) any SPS that was suffering. He seems to leave the healthy ones alone, or at least I hope he is. In any case, many of my SPS have taken a real beating, with some full casualties. I just hope all is not lost and most will recover now as I get my water parameters back under control.

The Good:
Orange Digi frags and colonies none the worse for wear.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/011800x600_zps23131c8f.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/011800x600_zps23131c8f.jpg.html)

Hawkins Echinta has been through a lot, but still alive.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/019766x800_zps71561e3d.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/019766x800_zps71561e3d.jpg.html)

Strawberry Shortcake not growing much but still hanging on.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/023800x724_zpsa3b8d013.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/023800x724_zpsa3b8d013.jpg.html)

Birdnest seem to be able survive anything.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024600x800_zps653b7198.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024600x800_zps653b7198.jpg.html)

Pearlberry OK, although not doing great.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/049666x800_zps86d6dbcc.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/049666x800_zps86d6dbcc.jpg.html)

Some of my Valida is OK.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/036800x600_zpsbe696b37.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/036800x600_zpsbe696b37.jpg.html)


Green Bali is OK.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/039800x600_zps75996a99.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/039800x600_zps75996a99.jpg.html)

Red Planet lost some color, but is OK.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/043800x600_zps6a227242.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/043800x600_zps6a227242.jpg.html)

Setosa hanging in there.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/044600x800_zps17c931a0.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/044600x800_zps17c931a0.jpg.html)

Bonsai Valida fighting with mushrooms.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/061800x600_zps97e464f6.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/061800x600_zps97e464f6.jpg.html)

Also have a bunch of softies and LPS (no pics) that seemed to not have been affected at all. Mushrooms, frogspawn, leathers, bubble corals, and palys still growing like weeds.

The Bad:

Lost a beautiful Cali Tort.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/016600x800_zpsed6342e3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/016600x800_zpsed6342e3.jpg.html)

This one went early on. It was a rare Icefields Tenius. Also lost my Blue Tipped Tenuis (that used to grow like a weed). These were once very beautiful corals.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/025800x600_zpsc1224dc7.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/025800x600_zpsc1224dc7.jpg.html)

Another favorite barely hanging on.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/050786x800_zps100ca542.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/050786x800_zps100ca542.jpg.html)

I think this one could be toast. It was a very nice Tri-color Nana.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/041800x600_zpseba4d683.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/041800x600_zpseba4d683.jpg.html)

Burnt tips on this Purple Valida.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/040800x600_zps7d0e6a79.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/040800x600_zps7d0e6a79.jpg.html)

There is more I could show, but it is getting a little depressing...

The Ugly:

Wasn't able to clean the front of my acrylic tank often enough...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/007800x600_zpsa3623638.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/007800x600_zpsa3623638.jpg.html)

No shortage of algae.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/060800x600_zps49387911.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/060800x600_zps49387911.jpg.html)

Pumps need a cleaning really bad.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/054800x600_zps0c15e9b2.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/054800x600_zps0c15e9b2.jpg.html)

So there you have it. This is definitely the worst my tank has been in a couple years. It is amazing how quickly it went downhill. My intention was to redo my aquascape this fall, and still want to do it. But my first priority will be to get my tank healthy again, and the SPS growing again. That will probably take a couple months. After that, will try do a rescape.

I can sure see why people quit this hobby. Having said that, am a long way from considering that. But it definitely is a major set-back for me. Hopefully, I can get it looking good again. I think I learned a few more lessons, too. Biggest one is, don't let your KH get out of hand.

[MitchM]

With your reef keeping skills, Reef Pilot, you should have the tank looking great again.

Do you not have any remote access to your your tank while you're gone?
(webcam, controller access?)

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, I hope I can get it back, and will work hard at it. Won't be away as much now, so will have more time to put into it.

I do have internet access to both my Apex and a webcam. Problem is I was often in the boonies, with no internet access. And at our lake cabin (Harrison) reception is marginal, so I wasn't looking at my webcam.

But really can't tell that much from the webcam, just good to see the fish swimming around. Mostly just able to monitor power and temp with my Apex (biggest fear is always a power outage). I did make it home from time to time, but didn't have the time to do any major maintenance.

Good news, is that my fish are as healthy as can be.

[MitchM]

...Mostly just able to monitor power and temp with my Apex (biggest fear is always a power outage). ...

Have you thought of a whole house generator?
Generac makes some dependable units. I put in one that was a pretty straight forward installation.

[Reef Pilot]

Have you thought of a whole house generator?
Generac makes some dependable units. I put in one that was a pretty straight forward installation.
Not really, or at least not an automatic one. We don't really get a lot of outages, mostly just in late fall if we get a big wind storm. If I am home, no problem, as I do have battery back-ups that are good for a day or so. I also do have a diesel generator, but never had to use it.

Not sure I would want an auto generator running at my house when I am not home.

[MitchM]

I thought the same way and wasn't comfortable with it until I was home during a few power outages.
Now I don't give power outages a second thought.
Also, at my location, outages have lasted for a couple of days.

[Reef Pilot]

I thought the same way and wasn't comfortable with it until I was home during a few power outages.
Now I don't give power outages a second thought.
Also, at my location, outages have lasted for a couple of days.
Do you have a fully automatic cut-over to your generator back-up that will function when you are not home (and can't get home for a week)? And how much did all this cost?

[MitchM]

Yes, the generator cuts in about 10 seconds after the main power supply fails and switches off about 30 seconds after the power supply is restored.
The generator switches on every 7 days for a 10 minute period to perform maintenance checks. All automatic.
The size of mine is 13KW on natural gas. (14KW on propane) I have ours directly plumbed to natural gas.

The cost for it hooked up 6 years ago was about $4,000.

[Reef Pilot]

Yes, the generator cuts in about 10 seconds after the main power supply fails and switches off about 30 seconds after the power supply is restored.
The generator switches on every 7 days for a 10 minute period to perform maintenance checks. All automatic.
The size of mine is 13KW on natural gas. (14KW on propane) I have ours directly plumbed to natural gas.

The cost for it hooked up 6 years ago was about $4,000.

That does sound good and cost is reasonable,... if it all works as it should. At our office we had auto UPS and a generator back-up system. But I can tell you also that it didn't always work and usually required some intervention by our IT staff. So pardon me if I am a little skeptical.

I still have a real problem with a generator running in my absence, and not really knowing for sure if everything is working properly. I would still be stressed out about that. Maybe my fears are totally unreasonable, but just saying how I would feel. I guess I just don't trust technology..., maybe because I worked with it all my career...

I have had short (up to a few hours) outages happen in my absence, and no harm occurred. I do have my Apex running all my pumps and skimmer (with 5 min delay on start-up), and it tells me that I had an outage (also know it when I can get through on the internet). So far that has all worked fine.

And my son lives 20 min away, so if a serious prolonged outage happens, I could walk him through setting up my back-up batteries. I have not had to do that yet.

Anyway, like I said, just another thing to worry about with the tanks. At the moment, though, I have other issues with the tank parameters that I have to deal with, and want to get my corals looking good again.

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions.

[MitchM]

Anytime.
We're pretty remote for assistance here, so any potential damage from a power outage would quickly surpass the cost of the generator for us.
If you have resources that are close, that should be be taken into account.

[Reef Pilot]

Quick update: Was not the best summer for my tank. Between my flying and our cabin, was away a lot this summer, and the tank suffered a bit. Biggest problem was my KH dropped to 5 before I realized that my dosing line was plugged. A lot of my acros had burnt tips as a result, and I lost a few of my prized ones.

Hair algae also got out of hand a bit, which was caused primarily (I think) because I had earlier disconnected my bio pellet reactor and allowed the N03 to get up to about 30 ppm.

Anyway, everything is under control again and SPS are recovering well. Still don't have the bright colors I had before, but are definitely coming back.

I want to do a tank reset, to rearrange my SPS, so I can properly clean my glass and rocks again. But will be going to Maui for a couple weeks in Nov, and don't want to make any major changes until then. So maybe after that.

I am a lazy pic taker, but here are a couple I just took today.

My Pearlberry has come a long ways from the tiny frag it was last winter.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/036718x800_zps267726ce.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/036718x800_zps267726ce.jpg.html)

My Orange Digi frags are turning into colonies on my neglected frag rack.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/034800x600_zps69da941a.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/034800x600_zps69da941a.jpg.html)

Not exactly sure, but I think this is some kind of sponge that just appeared on my rocks.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/040800x614_zps7aa3d607.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/040800x614_zps7aa3d607.jpg.html)

[Slyguy00]

Pearl Berry is lookin awesome Walter!

[hillegom]

+1
I sure like that sponge

[Rice Reef]

Glad to hear things are rebounding!

[Reef Pilot]

Pearl Berry is lookin awesome Walter!
Thanks. I was pleased/surprised that it survived so well with my tank problems.
+1
I sure like that sponge
Yeah, it is quite pretty, very bright orange. I wonder if it has a name or can be identified?
Glad to hear things are rebounding!
So am I!! Seemed to be a latent effect. Even after I fixed the parameters and tank conditions, some corals still continued to STN. Tried to save a couple by fragging, but they died too.

Anyway, learned a few lessons,... albeit the hard way.

[crimper]

Oh no!

I Hope everything goes back on what it use to be. I was actually planning to drop by again and get some more frags.

[Reef Pilot]

Oh no!

I Hope everything goes back on what it use to be. I was actually planning to drop by again and get some more frags.
No fear... things are actually looking pretty good right now. And I do have frags and could clip some more again, depending on what you are looking for.

I was just busy and away a lot during the last few months, so wasn't advertising. But back home now mostly, and can sell frags again if anyone is interested.

[WarDog]

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some of that Pearl Berry once I am up and running. Just stunning!

[Reef Pilot]

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some of that Pearl Berry once I am up and running. Just stunning!
Thanks. I was pleased this one survived OK through my tank problems.

[Reef Pilot]

Color and growth coming back now that P04 and N03 are back down to zero.


http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/037800x600_zps3884f728.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/037800x600_zps3884f728.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/055800x600_zpsa2c6b546.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/055800x600_zpsa2c6b546.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/053800x600_zps203e5faf.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/053800x600_zps203e5faf.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/062800x701_zps843f364c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/062800x701_zps843f364c.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/058800x456_zps59665197.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/058800x456_zps59665197.jpg.html)



http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/056600x800_zps0cacfee0.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/056600x800_zps0cacfee0.jpg.html)

[Tn23]

Beautiful photos Walter.
Was this taken with your underwater camera?

What's the name of the 3rd sps? Thanks

[Reef Pilot]

Beautiful photos Walter.
Was this taken with your underwater camera?

What's the name of the 3rd sps? Thanks
Yes, with my Olympus TG-2 (TG-3 is out now). If I have enough patience (rarely), can take some really sharp macro pics with it.

Haha, yeah, everyone asks about that one... Can only call it Acropora.sp for now. It is a very nice piece, though, and really deserves a designer name...

[Tn23]

Very nice. I have the same camera TG3 but have yet to try taking reef photos with it yet.

I believe that sps is called purple plasma. However I could be wrong. I have a peice as well and looks next to identical under lower nutrients.

[Reef Pilot]

Very nice. I have the same camera TG3 but have yet to try taking reef photos with it yet.

I believe that sps is called purple plasma. However I could be wrong. I have a peice as well and looks next to identical under lower nutrients.
Yeah, nice thing with that camera, too, is that you can set your white balance by just pointing it at the sand, and save it.

I have sold a few accidental frags of it to people (maybe even you, Thomas, haha), but have never had a name. Gets more color as it matures and grows larger. It's multi colored, actually, only tips are purple. It has lime green and beige, too.

[Tn23]

Yeah, nice thing with that camera, too, is that you can set your white balance by just pointing it at the sand, and save it.

I have sold a few accidental frags of it to people (maybe even you, Thomas, haha), but have never had a name. Gets more color as it matures and grows larger. It's multi colored, actually, only tips are purple. It has lime green and beige, too.


Wow good to know about the camera, maybe I'll try it out this week and can show you a photo of that purple plasma acro. Its similar however the tips might be slightly different. I picked it up as a Purple plasma acropora, but we will see what I get a good photo like yours. Too bad you can't make it to the frag swap.

[Reef Pilot]

Wow good to know about the camera, maybe I'll try it out this week and can show you a photo of that purple plasma acro. Its similar however the tips might be slightly different. I picked it up as a Purple plasma acropora, but we will see what I get a good photo like yours. Too bad you can't make it to the frag swap.
Yeah, bummer,.. I missed it last time, too, when it was out there,... can't remember, but was gone somewhere again. But I was at Dave's, the last one here in Langley, and was a great turn out.

That camera has a lot of capabilities with the different scene settings and super macro mode. Also, can play with flash and exposure, too. And that manual white balance setting is great to get rid of that blue or purple hue that you get with the lights. But it takes time and patience to experiment with it, and find what works best for you. Sure is nice to just put it in the water, though. I think the TG-3 is still rated as the best camera of its type when you read the reviews.

[Tn23]

Snapped a quick shot earlier tonight, not with the TG3 but with my cell phone instead haha.

Looks similiar?

http://i1017.photobucket.com/albums/af299/ngthomas23/Corals/20141102_231218_zpsyj4gf1na.jpg (http://s1017.photobucket.com/user/ngthomas23/media/Corals/20141102_231218_zpsyj4gf1na.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

Yeah, definitely similar in color. Your branches look thicker, though, but with smaller tips. But could be just differences in lighting and nutrients as I know acros can really vary by tank. I will have to do some searches and see if I can get more images of the purple plasma and compare.

[duncangweller]

Ooooh....I would like a piece of that

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Reef Pilot]

Yeah, definitely similar in color. Your branches look thicker, though, but with smaller tips. But could be just differences in lighting and nutrients as I know acros can really vary by tank. I will have to do some searches and see if I can get more images of the purple plasma and compare.
After looking at ORA and other sites, don't think it is a purple plasma. Coloring and polyps are different. Having said that, I did find some called that may be similar, but with no credible pedigree.

Here is another pic of my coral from a year ago. It is a lot bigger now of course.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/072800x600_zps00e850fd.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/072800x600_zps00e850fd.jpg.html)

[seabreeze]

Great thread! Been reading with interest. Beautiful tank and pics!

I know what you mean about being away, and not even trusting other people with feeding LOL. I get nervous months before leaving! It's always the thing that 'never' happens when you're home that WILL happen when you are away!

Had the drop in ALK happen to me too. Power went out for a few hours... and I assumed autodoser had memory. A few days later corals didn't look quite right. Checked parameters and ALK was around 5. Autodoser had not resumed! All settings were at zero. No ALK or CA had gone into tank for about 4 days.

Anyway, I am another Langleyite... and if you ever want me to check parameters or feed when you are away would be happy to :biggrin: Anything to help alleviate any worries.

Love to see your tank one day :wink:

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, and anytime you want to drop by, let me know.

[straightrazorguy]

Great tank and great shots Walter. Very inspiring. Your coral looks so healthy!

What kind of butrterfly fish is the one in yesterday's full tank shot? Sorry if this was adressed earlier in the thread.

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks. That's a Pearlscale Butterfly. I have one in each of my tanks. Had them for almost 4 years now, and they keep my tanks clear of aiptasia. If you go back early in my journal, I describe my initial tank conditions and all the aiptasia I used to have. The Pearlscales totally decimated the aiptasia and have kept my tanks clear ever since. And contrary to popular opinion, they don't bother my corals (have all types incl softies, LPS and SPS). Plus they make nice peaceful tank mates and eat all kinds of foods.

Having said all that, you can't just buy them and plunk them into your display tank. They likely won't survive, and if they do, will probably go after your corals. But there is a way...

[kien]

Gorgeous! Clearly someone around here knows what they're doing :)

[Reef Pilot]

Yeah, like EZ PZ,... haha, I can only wish... But thanks for the comments.

[kien]

Yeah, like EZ PZ,... haha, I can only wish... But thanks for the comments.

I never suggested that it was easy. Just that you seemed to know what you're doing. :biggrin: reefing is far from easy! If it were easy everyone would be doing it :-)

[Reef Pilot]

No, for sure it's not easy and I have had my share of challenges this past summer again. For me the key has been trying to understand what went wrong, and then correcting it. And lots of patience. Tanks can go bad fast, but they sure don't turn around for the good fast.

[kien]

Word. Your right. The only thing that happens fast in this hobby is BAD. :-)

[Reef Pilot]

Just got back from Maui after 2 weeks, and tank and inhabitants all looking good. Parameters all near perfect, with dKh at 8, Ca at 400, and P04 and N03 both at zero. Did not feed the fish for the 2 weeks, yet they all look good and healthy. They are eating vigorously today, though. Corals all good. Glass needed a good cleaning and skimmer was pretty dirty, as expected.

Here are a few pics from today.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/036800x600_zpsbac76ae3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/036800x600_zpsbac76ae3.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/034800x600_zps2e567bdf.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/034800x600_zps2e567bdf.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/042800x550_zps57415852.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/042800x550_zps57415852.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/023800x658_zps7f2b56b3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/023800x658_zps7f2b56b3.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/032800x600_zpse5872c80.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/032800x600_zpse5872c80.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/007639x800_zps403b9ebf.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/007639x800_zps403b9ebf.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/040800x779_zps045751eb.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/040800x779_zps045751eb.jpg.html)

And my frags aren't getting any smaller. Really need to unload more of these orange digis.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/020800x737_zps340a89a6.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/020800x737_zps340a89a6.jpg.html)

And a couple pics from Maui snorkeling, right outside our hotel condo.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/026800x600_zpsa31a4f82.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/026800x600_zpsa31a4f82.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/025800x600_zpsfdd53df3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/025800x600_zpsfdd53df3.jpg.html)

[duncangweller]

Looks great, very nice colouration

[hillegom]

Did you have a flash when taking pics of the reef when snorkeling?
All my videos seem to have a lot less colour

[Reef Pilot]

Looks great, very nice colouration
Thanks, I have an Olympus TG-2 and is great for underwater pics.
Did you have a flash when taking pics of the reef when snorkeling?
All my videos seem to have a lot less colour
Did not use flash. My TG-2 has several underwater settings for different exposure and shutter speeds, as well as for white balance which gives you correct color for under water. I had it on telescoping stick so was easy to use while snorkeling. The TG-3 is out now, and has wi-fi, so even better.

I did some vids as well, but haven't gone thru and edited them yet.

[Reef Pilot]

Doing a little reno on this side of the tank. Still need to cut back more my pink lemonade and red planet colonies.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/019800x517_zps3b23ec7b.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/019800x517_zps3b23ec7b.jpg.html)

And some of my newest additions (boxing day).
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/032800x600_zpsdf2f04ae.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/032800x600_zpsdf2f04ae.jpg.html)
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/021703x633_zps8053b301.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/021703x633_zps8053b301.jpg.html)
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/023602x462_zps28e989a5.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/023602x462_zps28e989a5.jpg.html)
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024402x280_zpsc299abf7.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024402x280_zpsc299abf7.jpg.html)
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/022462x316_zpsd61c60f3.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/022462x316_zpsd61c60f3.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

Just some rock encrusting left where my big pink lemonade colony used to be. But it did allow me to place some new frags.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/017600x800_zps6a653adb.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/017600x800_zps6a653adb.jpg.html)

Now I have a couple more space challenges to solve <sigh>...

Green bali acro getting crowded out. Looks like more pruning..., but where do I put it?...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/021800x600_zps45db7b3c.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/021800x600_zps45db7b3c.jpg.html)

And my pink milli is getting eaten by my sunset monti. Will have to frag and move it somewhere,... but again, not sure where.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024800x600_zps81df4d7f.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024800x600_zps81df4d7f.jpg.html)

[crimper]

Just some rock encrusting left where my big pink lemonade colony used to be. But it did allow me to place some new frags.

Now I have a couple more space challenges to solve <sigh>...

Green bali acro getting crowded out. Looks like more pruning..., but where do I put it?...

And my pink milli is getting eaten by my sunset monti. Will have to frag and move it somewhere,... but again, not sure where.

I got tons of space on my Tank Walter :lol:

[Reef Pilot]

Not sure why, but my photobucket pics above got deleted, so am reposting...

Just some rock encrusting left where my big pink lemonade colony used to be. But it did allow me to place some new frags.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/017600x800_zps400fe9bb.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/017600x800_zps400fe9bb.jpg.html)

Now I have a couple more space challenges to solve <sigh>...

Green bali acro getting crowded out. Looks like more pruning..., but where do I put it?...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/021800x600_zps23cd94f4.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/021800x600_zps23cd94f4.jpg.html)

And my pink milli is getting eaten by my sunset monti. Will have to frag and move it somewhere,... but again, not sure where.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024800x600_zps7cb22ac7.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024800x600_zps7cb22ac7.jpg.html)

[Reef Pilot]

I got tons of space on my Tank Walter :lol:
Well, come on over,... my clippers are ready,... and still have frags for sale on plugs, too.

[lastlight]

nice coral. gotta hate our first world reefing problems!

[Bblinks]

Walter, tank is looking great. You have done a great job bringing out the color on those corals. May I ask what your parameters are at?

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, guys, definitely still a work in progress. I need to move a few corals and rocks around more to balance the look a bit better. I have some fast growing corals crowding each other, but also some frags in other areas that are taking forever to take off.

I actually had better color and growth a year ago. But last spring I disconnected my bio pellet reactor. My nitrates had been zero for so long, and didn't seem to be consuming any pellets. That turned out to be a big mistake, as the nitrates started climbing, 5, 10 and to a high of 30 ppm before my re-installation of the bio-pellet reactor gradually brought them down again (took about 3 months)

Then in the summer, I had another big problem where my alk doser line plugged, and before I realized what was going on (I was away a lot, too), my KH had dropped to 6. I brought it back, but the damage was done. I had burned tips on some of my SPS and some were STNing as well. And full RTN on some, losing a few of my nicest pieces. During this time, my P04 also jumped a bit resulting in algae outbreaks, so my tank definitely took a few steps backward. Lost a lot of color, and most SPS basically stopped growing.

By Oct, things were under control again, and color and growth returned. At this time, everything is looking pretty good again, and even some badly damaged corals are starting to grow again. Interestingly, there were some SPS corals that were affected a lot less and bounced back more quickly. These included my pink lemonade and red planet. And of course my orange digi weeds never did miss a beat.

I keep my nitrates at zero all the time now, with my bio pellet reactor. I also try to keep my phosphates at zero or close to (Hanna checker). When they get up to about 0.04, I change my GFO (usually every couple months). I do stir up my GFO in the reactor every 3 weeks or so, which seems to make it last longer. But after stirring it up, and not dropping back down on my Hanna, then I know it is time to change it.

I dose Ca and alk. Ca is usually about 400 -420, and KH 8 - 9. I add Mg when I do water changes and try to keep it around 1400. Temp is around 78F.

[Bblinks]

Thanks for the replay Walter! I am in the mist of getting some all in one pellets and hopefully only run one reactor in the tank. I will let you know how it goes and maybe get you to switch..:biggrin:

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks for the replay Walter! I am in the mist of getting some all in one pellets and hopefully only run one reactor in the tank. I will let you know how it goes and maybe get you to switch..:biggrin:
Yes, have heard of them... And will be very interested to see how they work for you.

[crimper]

I keep my nitrates at zero all the time now, with my bio pellet reactor. I also try to keep my phosphates at zero or close to (Hanna checker). When they get up to about 0.04, I change my GFO (usually every couple months). I do stir up my GFO in the reactor every 3 weeks or so, which seems to make it last longer. But after stirring it up, and not dropping back down on my Hanna, then I know it is time to change it.

It's nice to hear that everything is doing well now.

I think the long wait is over, I will dropped by there soon. I'll shoot you a pm. :lol:

By the way, what GFO do r u using?

[Reef Pilot]

I use the HC GFO, from various sources.

[seabreeze]

Your tank is looking great Walter! :D

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, Janet, everything is healthy and growing good now. But I still need to do some rearranging to get some corals better placed, and maybe make some room for others. I just need to figure out how to do it, without tearing my whole tank apart...

PS: I do want to make it over to your place sometime to see your tank. Your pics were awesome.

[Bugger]

Sorry to hear about your problems keep testing the water. What is that red lavender marron acro you got

[Reef Pilot]

Sorry to hear about your problems keep testing the water. What is that red lavender marron acro you got
Problems were last summer. Water and tank are good now. Coral color and growth have returned.

Are you referring to my red planet?

[Reef Pilot]

Why I like SPS... Got this frag about a month ago, was completely white, now starting to show some interesting colors.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/016%20703x800_zpsa1pfbfrb.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/016%20703x800_zpsa1pfbfrb.jpg.html)

What was left of my Pink Lemonade colony,...encrusting is starting to show branches already. Won't be long before I have another giant colony from this one. It has very good genes...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/005%20800x600_zpsel7eqd94.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/005%20800x600_zpsel7eqd94.jpg.html)

Another recent frag. Looks a lot like my Pink Lemonade encrusting,... but the mother colony was more fuzzy yellow, so will have to wait and see.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/022%20469x440_zpsqgkk2gej.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/022%20469x440_zpsqgkk2gej.jpg.html)

Not sure what this recent frag is either. But seems to be settling in nicely.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/051%20567x548_zpslxfpd99v.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/051%20567x548_zpslxfpd99v.jpg.html)

Some of my old favs.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/042%20800x510_zpsdj9faqce.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/042%20800x510_zpsdj9faqce.jpg.html)
And from another angle.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024%20800x642_zpsj8acby58.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024%20800x642_zpsj8acby58.jpg.html)

This one's been around for a while, but had to move it a couple times due to being crowded out by my plague mushrooms.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/018%20596x800_zpsreuq22eo.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/018%20596x800_zpsreuq22eo.jpg.html)

Red Planet color and growth has returned.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/012%20800x600_zpsvi7uosmn.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/012%20800x600_zpsvi7uosmn.jpg.html)

My poor Setosa still losing the war with the Red Planet. But it is spreading elsewhere...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/014%20800x600_zpsogu3gegf.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/014%20800x600_zpsogu3gegf.jpg.html)

Sunset Monti doesn't lose any wars... Latest victim was my Pink Milli, which I had to frag and move.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/038%20756x800_zpsw6nzn5aw.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/038%20756x800_zpsw6nzn5aw.jpg.html)

Bonzai trying to escape the mushrooms...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/034%20754x800_zpsnjwdlmeh.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/034%20754x800_zpsnjwdlmeh.jpg.html)

Pearlberry(?) doing fine...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/026%20800x735_zps73cupkzt.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/026%20800x735_zps73cupkzt.jpg.html)

Green Bali getting crowded out, too.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/041%20720x800_zpschylitei.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/041%20720x800_zpschylitei.jpg.html)

Nothing can stop this Valida...
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/046%20673x800_zpsfxsipgcc.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/046%20673x800_zpsfxsipgcc.jpg.html)

Miyagi Tort
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/031%20800x538_zpsp5ojr2yq.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/031%20800x538_zpsp5ojr2yq.jpg.html)

[Slyguy00]

Amazing pictures walter. What is the blue sps you have 7 pictures down? Its awesome looking.

[Bblinks]

Looks great Walter! How about a full tank shot buddy?

[Reef Pilot]

Amazing pictures walter. What is the blue sps you have 7 pictures down? Its awesome looking.
Thanks, Nick. It's a blue milli.

Looks great Walter! How about a full tank shot buddy?
Thanks Rich. You know,... for the life of me, I can't take good FTS's. I always have poor focus and/or reflection off the glass (acrylic). Not sure if it is the cameras I have tried or just me. And the color is not right either (WB).

But I did take some not too long ago, so maybe I'll post a couple pics.

[Reef Pilot]

OK, here are the FTS's, from about a month ago. But not a lot has changed since then.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/016%20800x322_zpsmt04tzh7.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/016%20800x322_zpsmt04tzh7.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/009%20800x600_zpsiy0ky6ky.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/009%20800x600_zpsiy0ky6ky.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/010%20800x600_zpsmyjtgngj.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/010%20800x600_zpsmyjtgngj.jpg.html)

[Doug]

Wow. Nice corals & pics. Superb colours.

[WarDog]

I mean, c'mon! You've only been reefing a few years and your tank looks like that?
Did you make a deal with the Devil? Practice underwater voodoo? Sacrifice your first born?
Absolutely incredible! BRAVO!

[The Guy]

Ya Warren it's a beautiful tank for sure, nice setting in the wall of the kitchen beside the center island. Great job Walter.

[Reef Pilot]

Wow. Nice corals & pics. Superb colours.

I mean, c'mon! You've only been reefing a few years and your tank looks like that?
Did you make a deal with the Devil? Practice underwater voodoo? Sacrifice your first born?
Absolutely incredible! BRAVO!

Ya Warren it's a beautiful tank for sure, nice setting in the wall of the kitchen beside the center island. Great job Walter.

You're all way too kind, but thanks. Have had my ups and downs, and lots of lessons learned. And the journey continues,... still wrestling with a few challenges. I guess that's what keeps us in the hobby. If it was easy, it would be boring.

[Reef Pilot]

Had the camera in the tank for a few frag shots, so also did a few colonies for a journal update. Not a lot of change in my tank, just everything getting a little bigger and some pruning needed here and there.

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/027%20800x600_zpsa0etotta.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/027%20800x600_zpsa0etotta.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/017%20800x713_zpsyhbwrwr5.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/017%20800x713_zpsyhbwrwr5.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/020%20800x600_zpsbdhiieby.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/020%20800x600_zpsbdhiieby.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/031%20800x600_zpsdxmxry0f.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/031%20800x600_zpsdxmxry0f.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/032%20800x663_zpsdekbxqag.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/032%20800x663_zpsdekbxqag.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/013%20800x624_zps6hg62wp9.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/013%20800x624_zps6hg62wp9.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/024%20800x770_zpsdic8ajke.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/024%20800x770_zpsdic8ajke.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/021%20800x600_zpsxe14npij.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/021%20800x600_zpsxe14npij.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/030%20800x569_zps6kxmio6k.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/030%20800x569_zps6kxmio6k.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/028%20800x650_zpsa5wv4iit.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/028%20800x650_zpsa5wv4iit.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/023%20800x754_zpsbyfxoa1b.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/023%20800x754_zpsbyfxoa1b.jpg.html)

[hillegom]

lovely corals
Growing quite well

[Dearth]

Awesome shots

[daplatapus]

Nice couloration.

[kien]

WOW.

[NIVLEM09]

Holy hell.......jaw dropping!

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, everyone.

[Snappy]

Lots of great looking stuff, well done!

[Reef Pilot]

Lots of great looking stuff, well done!
Thanks, Greg. And for the inspiration with your beautiful tank and helpful advice to all of us.

[Slyguy00]

Tanks looking awesome Walter!

[crimper]

Time to door crash! Awesome as usual Walter! lol

[Reef Pilot]

Tanks looking awesome Walter!

Time to door crash! Awesome as usual Walter! lol
Thanks Nick and Mylon. And both you guys are overdue for a visit.

[Wretch]

Very nice colours and great pictures.

[Reef Pilot]

Summer is usually a tough time for my display tank (was last year), but so far no problems and all inhabitants seem to be happy. Parameters are all staying consistent, coral growth and color is as good as ever. No algae now (had a problem last fall), no cyano (haven't had that for 4+ years), and sand is clean and white (thanks to my goby). Only problem is no room, and corals are crowding each other out. Mushrooms have turned into real pests, and overgrowing some of my SPS. Have not figured out yet how to control them (Aiptasia X doesn't work).

And my DIY chiller has worked great, as my big 1/3 HP Artica has not had to come on once through this latest heat spell. So am very happy with that. I think I will put it up for sale, and gain a little more space in my sump room.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/012%20800x600_zpsr6muqeno.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/012%20800x600_zpsr6muqeno.jpg.html)

FTS, though hard to get a good one this time of year, with all the daylight.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/005%20800x326_zpscmejcdug.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/005%20800x326_zpscmejcdug.jpg.html)

Some of my fav corals.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/051%20800x798_zpsrhbi64tw.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/051%20800x798_zpsrhbi64tw.jpg.html)

Red Planet getting too large. Might have to chop off a large colony piece.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/042%20800x490_zpssy9afotr.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/042%20800x490_zpssy9afotr.jpg.html)
Close up.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/034%20800x600_zpsa3yyeqb7.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/034%20800x600_zpsa3yyeqb7.jpg.html)

Pink Lemonade stub after I sold off the colony is coming back nicely.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/036%20800x532_zpsp4iofjby.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/036%20800x532_zpsp4iofjby.jpg.html)

More favs.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/046%20800x512_zpsvrnrakyg.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/046%20800x512_zpsvrnrakyg.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/031%20800x724_zpswf3ovfgf.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/031%20800x724_zpswf3ovfgf.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/031%20800x712_zps3q78dkpx.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/031%20800x712_zps3q78dkpx.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/053%20800x600_zpsaz3gqc8a.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/053%20800x600_zpsaz3gqc8a.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/022%20800x749_zpsgs84iqnd.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/022%20800x749_zpsgs84iqnd.jpg.html)

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/057%20800x600_zpsf6qd3kku.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/057%20800x600_zpsf6qd3kku.jpg.html)

And my poor bonsai losing the battle to the bad, bad, mushrooms.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s540/wklatt/015%20800x600_zpscti2el4n.jpg (http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/wklatt/media/015%20800x600_zpscti2el4n.jpg.html)

[FishyFishy!]

Have you tried injecting the mushrooms with vinegar?

Otherwise looking great!

[Reef Pilot]

Have you tried injecting the mushrooms with vinegar?

No, never heard of that. Does it work? I have a lot mushrooms... Not sure how much vinegar a tank can take. I know people dose it for nitrate control, but I believe just very small amounts. Don't want to screw up my tank parameters...

[FishyFishy!]

I've done it lots, with no ill effects. Works on aiptasia as well. Key is to make sure the needle pierces the flesh and just squirt a little bit. Something to try on a few to see if it works for you. If not, looks like all elbow grease to manually remove. They can be a pain.

[Reef Pilot]

I've done it lots, with no ill effects. Works on aiptasia as well. Key is to make sure the needle pierces the flesh and just squirt a little bit. Something to try on a few to see if it works for you. If not, looks like all elbow grease to manually remove. They can be a pain.
I tried the elbow grease method, but could not eradicate them. Problem is they shrink back into tiny cracks in the rocks, and no way to cut, pick or otherwise get out every bit of the shroom. Then a few days later, or a week they appear again and start growing. Same thing with Aiptasia X. At first looked like it worked, and they would disappear, but a week or so later, they were back in the same spot.

These things are worse than aiptasia. At least my Pearlscales eat them, but won't touch the shrooms.

How much vinegar can be used, in ml per day for say a 100g tank?

[FishyFishy!]

Oh wow that sounds pretty crazy. May be pretty tuff to get rid of them all. Maybe concentrate your efforts on the ones near your nice colonies.

I used a shot glass (1oz) or roughly 29mL per day with no ill effects on about 250 gallons of water volume including sumps.

Oh, and if you do decide to try the vinegar method, buy a small needle. It helps control the flow of vinegar. I found the ones that come with aiptasia X are too big. 3 shrooms and the whole thing emptied.

[AquaAddict]

Hi,

I have used two-part epoxy on mushrooms. First I poke the mushroom until it has shrunk and then I cover it with the epoxy and smooth the stuff firmly over the rock so there is no space for the mushroom to escape.

AquaAddict

[Coral Hoarder]

How much vinegar your system can take depends on how low you want your nitrate to go

[Reef Pilot]

How much vinegar your system can take depends on how low you want your nitrate to go
I have a bio pellet reactor, so my nitrates are always zero. I am just worried about screwing up the balance. Right now, everything is just about perfect, and I know how a little change can upset things,... and take many months to get back in balance. Been there, done that...

I might take out a rock with shrooms and try it in my QT tank.

[duncangweller]

Tank is looking great Walter. Nice work

[Reef Pilot]

Tank is looking great Walter. Nice work
Thanks Dunc. Always learning, and patience is key.

[The Guy]

:yo: Lots of great pictures there Walter, summer months have not slowed down your corals there beautiful. Green mushrooms were a real problem in my 90G and since downsizing to my RSM 250 have managed to be free of them at last.

[Myka]

Beautiful colonies Walter!

[maron6977]

Yes , again, very nice . That is what I'm striving for !!!
Mark

[Reef Pilot]

:yo: Lots of great pictures there Walter, summer months have not slowed down your corals there beautiful. Green mushrooms were a real problem in my 90G and since downsizing to my RSM 250 have managed to be free of them at last.

Beautiful colonies Walter!

Yes , again, very nice . That is what I'm striving for !!!
Mark
Thanks. You are all too kind. Immediate priority is to make it through the summer without any problems this year. But after that, really need to figure out how to get rid of those mushrooms. Might have to do a little reset again, and remove the mushroom infested rock and reposition some of the SPS. Should make for lots of accidental frags then...

[Bblinks]

Looking great Walter!

[Reef Pilot]

Looking great Walter!
Thanks, Rich. Some of my nicest colonies started from your famous hoarding frag tank. The red planet was one, and was just a skin flap barely covering a frag plug, if you remember that one. But it sure turned out to have great genes, with its bright color and strong growth. So thanks also for helping me get started with SPS.

[Bblinks]

Thanks, Rich. Some of my nicest colonies started from your famous hoarding frag tank. The red planet was one, and was just a skin flap barely covering a frag plug, if you remember that one. But it sure turned out to have great genes, with its bright color and strong growth. So thanks also for helping me get started with SPS.

How can I forget buddy. You have done exceptionally well in the sps game. I will have to come out one day and see it in person my friend.

[Reef Pilot]

How can I forget buddy. You have done exceptionally well in the sps game. I will have to come out one day and see it in person my friend.
Hey, Rich, when you are in Langley sometime, let me know, and come by. Would love to get some more tips and ideas from the "master".

[kien]

just saw your pics.. and WOW! Your tank is looking amazballs Walter !

[Reef Pilot]

just saw your pics.. and WOW! Your tank is looking amazballs Walter !
Thanks, kien, but don't think amazballs is quite the correct description... lol.

[Reef Pilot]

Late summer update:
We had a bad storm and power outage last week. Because we normally don't get these until late fall and winter, my back up power packs were still at our lake cabin (used with our solar system there), and was not able to provide sufficient water circulation during the power outage. As a result, four of my fish died due to O2 deprivation. My corals seem to be all OK, so thankfully they were not affected.

I lost my Orange Flame Angel and Red Flame Hawkfish, both over 10 years old. Also lost both of my Pearlscale Butterfly fish, just over 5 years old. While any loss is sad, will really miss the Pearlscales. They did a wonderful job of keeping my tanks aiptasia free, while not bothering any of my corals. There are still some aiptasia in my system as I see them sometimes in my overflow and sump. So my fear now, is they will make their way back into my display tanks.

Another complication is that I just had shoulder surgery (rotator cuff) two weeks ago, and any major tank maintenance right now is out of the question, with just able to only use my left hand. I am overdue for a water change at this time, but hope to get that done next week. So, for the next couple months, will try to keep status quo, and hopefully not have any further major issues.

[crimper]

Sorry to hear your loss Walter. I know how it feels, coming from 2 heart surgeries in the past 12 months. And I lost all my sps this summer due to that heat wave, but that's another story.

Those pearl scales will be surely missed.

Get well my friend. Our health comes first before our hobbies.

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, Mylon. And wow, 2 heart surgeries. Glad you're still with us!! My shoulder surgery is pretty minor compared to that, just more of an inconvenience now with my right arm in a sling. I'll be all good in a couple months. And sorry about your SPS loss. Hopefully, your recovery goes well and you'll be able to fully enjoy the hobby again as well.

[seabreeze]

Hey Walter if you need any help with those water changes just give me a call or pm me :)

[Reef Pilot]

Hey Walter if you need any help with those water changes just give me a call or pm me :)
Thanks for the offer, Janet. I can still do quite a bit on my own, and of course, my wife helps me out as necessary. I'm probably getting more sympathy than I deserve,... haha.

[Duckhams]

Great thread Reef Pilot, you have some incredible SPS. Nothing is more disheartening than an alk swing and losing full colonies that you grew out from frags, I really feel for you, but im glad you pushed on and stuck with it! And I hope your shoulder recovers quickly! We're eagerly awaiting another FTS!

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, Elliot, for the kind words. My tank, fish and corals are all fine now. But have to say, though, that due to recent events, have lost some enthusiasm for this hobby.

Never thought I would feel this bad over losing four fish, but how it happened, I guess, is what really hurts. I have always had very healthy fish and felt good with my QT/tank husbandry practices. So to lose them (O2 deprivation) because I wasn't prepared for a power outage is inexcusable.

My shoulder is coming along well, but will still be a while before I can do much with the tank. As a result, coralline is slowly building up on my acrylic tank walls (needs to be seriously scraped every 2 months), so would be hard to get a good FTS right now (with my auto focus cams). I know I have had lots of offers to help (and I appreciate that), but this is something I need to be able to do myself. Hopefully in a few months (I start physio next week) will be able to get back at it.

I may be able to hold my cam in the water (underwater Olympus cam), so might take a few in tank shots when I get a chance.

[Slyguy00]

glad to hear your starting to feel better Walter. Hopefully your enthusiasm comes back soon, your tank is awesome :biggrin:

[gregzz4]

Hope you recover quickly Walter
Sorry to hear about the losses of you 'fave kids :sad:
Chin up ... now you can buy new ones :mrgreen:

[Reef Pilot]

glad to hear your starting to feel better Walter. Hopefully your enthusiasm comes back soon, your tank is awesome :biggrin:

Hope you recover quickly Walter
Sorry to hear about the losses of you 'fave kids :sad:
Chin up ... now you can buy new ones :mrgreen:

Oh, I'll be OK... But thanks for your thoughts. I just get frustrated and impatient with not being able to do stuff as before (and not just talking about my reef tanks). Haven't flown for over a month now either, which I also really miss. And not sure when I will be able to get back to that, hopefully in a month or two. Am driving now though, (not a standard), so at least I am mobile.

As for my tanks, did some major pruning just before the surgery, so it is still OK (except for the coralline build-up). Water changes are easy enough. But will wait another couple months before I buy any more fish. At least my current inhabitants are all happy for now. And if we do have another wind storm, am prepared now. Brought back a power pack and a generator from the cabin, so all ready if another power outage does happen.

I still want to do a major reset of my upstairs tank, and get rid of all those pesky mushrooms. Maybe later this winter. But the longer I wait, the less clean rock I will have left, as they are taking over everything, and continuing to crowd out my SPS. And to think I once thought they looked pretty....:cry:

[AquaAddict]

Hi Walter,

Hang in there with your shoulder. Mine is 85% healed after lots of physio. I should go back but I am tired of "hanging-in-there. Just do as I say not as I do.

Sooooo sorry to hear about your fish. I just lost my 11 year old Watchman Goby and I am missing him as well.

AquaAddict

[crimper]

Thanks, Mylon. And wow, 2 heart surgeries. Glad you're still with us!! My shoulder surgery is pretty minor compared to that, just more of an inconvenience now with my right arm in a sling. I'll be all good in a couple months. And sorry about your SPS loss. Hopefully, your recovery goes well and you'll be able to fully enjoy the hobby again as well.

I was already dead for 35 mins and was sent back as they said they haven't built my tank up there yet. :lol: I'm fully recovered now and been back working again.

By the way I spotted some Pear Scales at King Ed, I actually got one for myself so that my Copperband has company. I think there is 3 more left in there just in case you want a replacement for your Pearl Scales. :twised:

[Reef Pilot]

I was already dead for 35 mins and was sent back as they said they haven't built my tank up there yet. :lol: I'm fully recovered now and been back working again.

By the way I spotted some Pear Scales at King Ed, I actually got one for myself so that my Copperband has company. I think there is 3 more left in there just in case you want a replacement for your Pearl Scales. :twised:
Wow, indeed!!... Well, really good to hear that your recovery is going well! And good luck with your tank, too.

Yeah, I have seen the Pearlscales in King Ed from time to time, so will likely go there when I am ready. For now, still holding off until I am a little more mobile with my arm and able to do more stuff with my tanks. Probably in a couple months will be ready to buy more fish.