Hey guys
I am usually just a stalker, although lately i've been more active on the auctions which has been fun. This is a little lengthy, apologies. I'm a little anxious over here and need some reassurance and/or advice.
Reason for my post:
My RBTA split last night. I know this is either good (she's happy and is reproducing) or it is bad (parameters are not good and she is struggling to survive). I am looking for advice, reassurance and even constructive criticism. I THINK she is happy and split because she has been well fed (a little too well because of the hubby) but I need a more experienced option to rest my mind, we have had some tank blunders over the past month.
Background:
Tank DOB January 2018, 90 gal mixed reef with 20 gal sump. I would consider moderately stocked. A few small/med LPS, zoas spreading well, mushrooms, leather, 2 sps are the latest addition. All corals except the sps have been in there for 6+ months and doing well. We have only lost 1 coral (over a year ago) everything else has looked pretty good. We haven't seen much growth in the LPS's so I have been looking into what needs to happen which has lead me to adjusting some parameters. Color is great, just no noticeable growth. More on this below.
My anemone was added August 2019, she was tiny about 1" diameter (the fleshy base part not the foot, foot could fit on a penny). Up until last night, she was a good size! Grew a ton over the last year, about 8" diameter if I were guessing, maybe 4" foot. She does host a devil clown that attacks me when I get to that side of the aquarium, she also lets me know if I put a coral too close. She promptly removes it for me. Little turd!
Lighting: 2 Radion XR15 pro. 2 hour ramp up begins at 915a. 2 hour ramp down ends at 830p. They are set on AB+ 50%. We also have 4 T5 ATI bulbs that run 1230-430p. 2 coral plus, 1 blue plus, 1 purple. Just replaced in September.
My business went in the toilet (thank you COVID) and I had to get a job working for the man, so in May I lost my mind and told the husband I couldn't take care of the tank anymore. It was just too much stress at that time. He took over and I bit my tongue as long as I could... until July. I took it back. He was doing it ALL wrong
Not really but he would only work on it once every 2 weeks and I didn't like it.
Because I am finally into a new routine and I have been better with the husbandry. I feel like the tank is finally starting to mature and turn a corner. Algae isn't a constant battle anymore. We haven't had cyno outbreak since April (most of the reason i had a melt down). We added 2 sps just to see how they would do, and both seem to be stable for now (it's been 3 weeks so still to early to tell). SO, the tank is maturing and I feel like I can actually get a hold of it and grow it. I've been working on the parameters and getting them stable. They were "stable" for the last 2 years but not at ideal levels and I think they were just stable because of water changes, we really weren't doing anything else. TBH, my husband didn't test when he took over so I don't have a clue what was going on. Since I regained control, Alkalinity was too low I think. So we have been slowly raising it, which threw off the magnesium and now the calcium is down a bit. It is all a delicate balancing act and we are slowly working to get everything inline.
Bringing me to my question, do you think my anemone split because she is happy or mad? My husband feeds her once every 10'ish days a piece of clam and then we feed the fish a block of frozen food daily so I am sure she gets some of that, the clown takes good care of her home. I always tell him the clam piece is too big, but stubborn man doesn't listen and the anemone has always looked great so I pick my battles.
I am concerned because this past week the temp in the tank has gone up, during the day it is getting about 81-82, almost 83. Which is way too hot I know and we are working to fix that. We are in Texas, too hot for the heater in the house, too cold for a/c and the tank is in a corner with not much air flow. Hubby is making adjustments daily to the ventilation. It normally stays about 78-79 when the heater and a/c run. So I worry the temp might have made her split. Also, we have been messing with the alkalinity, trying to get it up. So the numbers have been swinging a bit. ranging in the past 2 weeks from 7.4 - 8.3. We are trying to raise it slowly...
ALSO - dang it, I had a blunder last week. I change 5% water every 5'ish days. We got water from our LFS and they put regular RO in the salt container. I didn't catch it until most of the bucket was already in the sump so everything got blasted with a dose of freshwater. It didn't really effect the overall salinity but everything was really annoyed with me for a few hours.
Do you think those issues could cause unhappiness, enough to split? If so, any suggestions or advice. I love my nem, she's been a star in my tank and I don't want to take any chances.
On a side note, the anemone has been acting a little off the last few days, I was thinking maybe due to the water temp. Going straight up with her base, normally she is all laid out and showing off, you can't see her underside at all. I happen to take a tank pic just the other day when she was doing this. This behavior started last saturday. I'll try to attach the pic. I will also attach a pic of her splitting this morning. Now, 5 hours later, both equal halves have moved to the back side of the rock. Sorry for the blue in the pic, wasn't expecting to send them to anyone. The lights were ramping up as she was finishing the split. I assume that is why she is going into hiding now? A little stressed maybe?
Parameters as of 11/9, I will test again later today:
Salinity 1.025
PH 8.0 - steady but we are getting a CO2 scrubber to see if we can raise it
Ammonia - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 0
PO4 - 0
Alk - 8.0 (11/7 it was 7.7, 11/5 it was 8.3)
Ca - 420
Mag - 1230
I am usually just a stalker, although lately i've been more active on the auctions which has been fun. This is a little lengthy, apologies. I'm a little anxious over here and need some reassurance and/or advice.
Reason for my post:
My RBTA split last night. I know this is either good (she's happy and is reproducing) or it is bad (parameters are not good and she is struggling to survive). I am looking for advice, reassurance and even constructive criticism. I THINK she is happy and split because she has been well fed (a little too well because of the hubby) but I need a more experienced option to rest my mind, we have had some tank blunders over the past month.
Background:
Tank DOB January 2018, 90 gal mixed reef with 20 gal sump. I would consider moderately stocked. A few small/med LPS, zoas spreading well, mushrooms, leather, 2 sps are the latest addition. All corals except the sps have been in there for 6+ months and doing well. We have only lost 1 coral (over a year ago) everything else has looked pretty good. We haven't seen much growth in the LPS's so I have been looking into what needs to happen which has lead me to adjusting some parameters. Color is great, just no noticeable growth. More on this below.
My anemone was added August 2019, she was tiny about 1" diameter (the fleshy base part not the foot, foot could fit on a penny). Up until last night, she was a good size! Grew a ton over the last year, about 8" diameter if I were guessing, maybe 4" foot. She does host a devil clown that attacks me when I get to that side of the aquarium, she also lets me know if I put a coral too close. She promptly removes it for me. Little turd!
Lighting: 2 Radion XR15 pro. 2 hour ramp up begins at 915a. 2 hour ramp down ends at 830p. They are set on AB+ 50%. We also have 4 T5 ATI bulbs that run 1230-430p. 2 coral plus, 1 blue plus, 1 purple. Just replaced in September.
My business went in the toilet (thank you COVID) and I had to get a job working for the man, so in May I lost my mind and told the husband I couldn't take care of the tank anymore. It was just too much stress at that time. He took over and I bit my tongue as long as I could... until July. I took it back. He was doing it ALL wrong
Not really but he would only work on it once every 2 weeks and I didn't like it.Because I am finally into a new routine and I have been better with the husbandry. I feel like the tank is finally starting to mature and turn a corner. Algae isn't a constant battle anymore. We haven't had cyno outbreak since April (most of the reason i had a melt down). We added 2 sps just to see how they would do, and both seem to be stable for now (it's been 3 weeks so still to early to tell). SO, the tank is maturing and I feel like I can actually get a hold of it and grow it. I've been working on the parameters and getting them stable. They were "stable" for the last 2 years but not at ideal levels and I think they were just stable because of water changes, we really weren't doing anything else. TBH, my husband didn't test when he took over so I don't have a clue what was going on. Since I regained control, Alkalinity was too low I think. So we have been slowly raising it, which threw off the magnesium and now the calcium is down a bit. It is all a delicate balancing act and we are slowly working to get everything inline.
Bringing me to my question, do you think my anemone split because she is happy or mad? My husband feeds her once every 10'ish days a piece of clam and then we feed the fish a block of frozen food daily so I am sure she gets some of that, the clown takes good care of her home. I always tell him the clam piece is too big, but stubborn man doesn't listen and the anemone has always looked great so I pick my battles.
I am concerned because this past week the temp in the tank has gone up, during the day it is getting about 81-82, almost 83. Which is way too hot I know and we are working to fix that. We are in Texas, too hot for the heater in the house, too cold for a/c and the tank is in a corner with not much air flow. Hubby is making adjustments daily to the ventilation. It normally stays about 78-79 when the heater and a/c run. So I worry the temp might have made her split. Also, we have been messing with the alkalinity, trying to get it up. So the numbers have been swinging a bit. ranging in the past 2 weeks from 7.4 - 8.3. We are trying to raise it slowly...
ALSO - dang it, I had a blunder last week. I change 5% water every 5'ish days. We got water from our LFS and they put regular RO in the salt container. I didn't catch it until most of the bucket was already in the sump so everything got blasted with a dose of freshwater. It didn't really effect the overall salinity but everything was really annoyed with me for a few hours.
Do you think those issues could cause unhappiness, enough to split? If so, any suggestions or advice. I love my nem, she's been a star in my tank and I don't want to take any chances.
On a side note, the anemone has been acting a little off the last few days, I was thinking maybe due to the water temp. Going straight up with her base, normally she is all laid out and showing off, you can't see her underside at all. I happen to take a tank pic just the other day when she was doing this. This behavior started last saturday. I'll try to attach the pic. I will also attach a pic of her splitting this morning. Now, 5 hours later, both equal halves have moved to the back side of the rock. Sorry for the blue in the pic, wasn't expecting to send them to anyone. The lights were ramping up as she was finishing the split. I assume that is why she is going into hiding now? A little stressed maybe?
Parameters as of 11/9, I will test again later today:
Salinity 1.025
PH 8.0 - steady but we are getting a CO2 scrubber to see if we can raise it
Ammonia - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 0
PO4 - 0
Alk - 8.0 (11/7 it was 7.7, 11/5 it was 8.3)
Ca - 420
Mag - 1230
