40 Gallons with a few Soft Corals

EricR · Jan 17, 2023

vlangel said:
That would seem to indicate a healthy tank environment. Everything looks real good!

Didn't try to save any of the sponge mass so we'll see if I notice any parameter shifts now.

Things have been on auto-pilot for quite a while so, this year, I'll start dealing with Ca/Mg for the first time (((always low the few times I've tested))) and finally start adding some more corals since what I have is pretty "sparse" so far.

EricR · Feb 11, 2023

Just found my first chiton ever, stuck to the front glass.
Super tiny, maybe 2-3 mm length MAX.

Seems weird as last corals added were 7/2022 and I doubt there's any way the couple of fish I added a few months ago could've brought it in.

Best picture I could get with my iPhone:

In other news, my switch from 2 to 1 (larger) HOB has caused some calamity.
Zoas have been all closed for 3 weeks now.

I'm assuming lack of HOB disruption on the side of the tank over the zoas along with the overall change in flow throughout the tank is the most likely culprit but some have mentioned some other ideas as well.

Started a thread on that topic here:
Messed up my Flow

EricR · Mar 18, 2023

Just a couple status updates...

I've seen the little chiton a couple more times over the last month.
Has maybe about doubled in size but still pretty tiny.

My zoas are still doing poorly since my switch from 2 small to 1 larger HOB.
Recently moved my 1 HOB to other side of tank above zoas just to see what happens.
*ricordea are still doing fine but have wandered a bit due to me switching up flow periodically trying to make the zoas happy

EricR · Mar 18, 2023

Rented an Apogee MQ-510 for $20 from local reefer last weekend.
Tested my current settings (40% of BRS) along with some higher intensity percentages as well as a couple of other user presets downloaded from AI website. (Logged on paper for reference in case I decide to switch things up in the future)
*think I'm good with my current settings for now

PAR levels with my current settings:

Here's my peak intensity settings on my 2x AI Prime 16 HD LEDs:

EricR · May 21, 2023

Current FTS featuring:
- Three new leather corals (if you count tiny $5 toadstool rubber banded to rubble on rack in front)
- Zoas in 4 month long downward spiral but barely hanging on
- Cheapie (temporary) 9W UV for slight dinos that popped up when I started feeding Coral Aminos

EricR · May 21, 2023

Leather corals since I never had any before and now have 3, technically...

Green leather (whatever type it is) and Sinularia:

Tiny $5 toadstool that was in a container at LFS unmounted -- Day 1 to Day 7:

Also finally grabbed a small frag of GSP:

*really need to work on my imaging skills but too lazy so quick shots with iPhone are the extent of my motivation for now

Gumbies R Us · May 22, 2023

EricR said:
Leather corals since I never had any before and now have 3, technically...

Green leather (whatever type it is) and Sinularia:

Tiny $5 toadstool that was in a container at LFS unmounted -- Day 1 to Day 7:

Also finally grabbed a small frag of GSP:

*really need to work on my imaging skills but too lazy so quick shots with iPhone are the extent of my motivation for now

Nice looking coral!!! Progress on the toadstool is crazy as well!

EricR · May 22, 2023

Gumbies R Us said:
Nice looking coral!!! Progress on the toadstool is crazy as well!

Thanks. I've been cruising along with not many corals for too long so finally decided I should start expanding.

EricR · Jun 18, 2023

Installed Aquatec CDP 8800 booster pump for my BRS 6 stage RODI unit this morning:

My pressure before was 48 PSI and dialed the Aquatec booster down to 75 PSI. (As set from the factory, it maxed out my pressure gauge which only goes to 100 PSI)
*installed pump after last carbon block before RO membrane

So far so good but only ran it for about 15 minutes to make sure no leaks and test the pressure switch shut off. (Brute is pretty full so calling it done for now)

Next up -- will probably buy a 3-way valve to bypass DI during flush and/or startup since I haven't been doing anything about that for the 1 year I've been running the RODI unit.

EricR · Jun 25, 2023

Removed temporary in-tank UV earlier this month since it did it's job.
Rubber-banding tiny toadstool to rubble rock failed but Zip-tie to frag disc (with notches cut) seemed to work.

Micro brittle star was monkeying around in my sinularia:

EricR · Jul 16, 2023

$5 unmounted toadstool that I thought had fully adhered to frag disc kind of went awry when I tried to cut down the disc and mount it -- everything fell apart but think I got the toadstool attached well enough but we'll see:
*mounted between the two larger leathers on my left side rock arch

EricR · Jul 16, 2023

My ricordea seem too cramped but leaving them alone:

*mangled the green one a couple of months ago in an ill-fated attempt to remove frag disc that I thought it had completely wandered off of ... accidentally pulled up the entire, nice, triple ricordea that wasn't fully split and was still apparently barely hanging on to the very edge of the frag disc ... ooops,,, but recorvering nicely and tiny dismembered chunk even growing on it's own (hard to see on upper right but under the rest,,, sideways)

EricR · Jul 23, 2023

Well,,, this is a first for me:
Turbo snail crawled up onto my HOB filter outlet -- algae grows here and I never clean it so I guess it makes sense

EricR · Sep 6, 2023

All my ricordea (florida) have been cupping lately -- have to assume too much flow but I haven't changed that in quite a while. (My speculation is that they've just gotten too big so easier for flow to lift their skirts,,, plus too cramped together).

Did a little repositioning but no positive results:

EricR · Sep 20, 2023

I mentioned back in Feb (post #42) that I found my first chiton -- still no idea where it came from.

I now have quite a few of various sizes and quite often see them on snail shells.

Here's at least 4 of what appears to be 2 different types on my turbo snail:

EricR · Oct 8, 2023

Just some recent info:
- Most zoas still not doing well -- pried off a frag plug after recession made it visible again -- aggressive iodine dip seems to have made it even worse (((rack in front/left)))
- Found a tiny ricordea spinning around in the water column a while back -- got it to attach to frag disc and now mounted (((circled in picture)))
- $5 matt of GSP that LFS ripped off of a plastic container for me (((other circle in picture)))

I have a separate thread on ricordea and GSP stuff here:
Ricordea Mounting Thoughts

Gumbies R Us · Oct 9, 2023

EricR said:
Just some recent info:
- Most zoas still not doing well -- pried off a frag plug after recession made it visible again -- aggressive iodine dip seems to have made it even worse (((rack in front/left)))
- Found a tiny ricordea spinning around in the water column a while back -- got it to attach to frag disc and now mounted (((circled in picture)))
- $5 matt of GSP that LFS ripped off of a plastic container for me (((other circle in picture)))

I have a separate thread on ricordea and GSP stuff here:
Ricordea Mounting Thoughts

Sorry that your zoas aren't doing well!

EricR · Oct 21, 2023

Dang it! I knew this day would come.
RIP Tropic Marin Precision Hydrometer -- but it made it 2+ years so that's pretty good considering how heavy-handed I tend to be:

EricR · Nov 12, 2023

I had added diffusers from 3DReefing to my AI Prime 16 HD LEDs a while back and bumped up my light intensity to compensate so borrowed Apogee MQ-510 PAR meter again to see where I was at.
*looks almost spot on from where I was at before so calling it good

Current PAR and settings: