BioCube 16: Schitt’s Reef

[Gumbies R Us]

I wanted to get in an FTS before Reefapalooza this Sunday!

Major changes since last time:
- Had to remove the red fern macroalgae because of some kind of slime that wouldn't go away no matter what I did, and covered all new growth.
- My big clump of string of pearls was infested with GHA beyond what any CUC could do. I cut it way back to the handful of baby stems that weren't covered with it.



Minor updates:
- AOI, Bambam, and Pink Zippers are all regularly growing new polyps, so I'm confident in their future. Yellow Submarines are bright and vibrant and happy looking, but no growth yet. Mandarin Oranges are in decline due to shading from the Xenia.
- The xenia has begun to invade, with two baby branches popping up where they weren't invited. I will be removing them on my next maintenance.
- GSP is finally making clear advancements onto its rock. The mat has grown probably 2 square centimeters, and one or two new polyps. But it's accelerating.
- I added three more astraea snails, getting a mini-GHA-bloom back under control. Found and killed a pyramid snail and am now praying there aren't any I missed.
- Corraline algae spots are everywhere, growing both in number and size. I'm really proud to have gotten there in only 4 months!

Plans:
- Move the goniapora that's currently on the substrate to somewhere with lower traffic.
- Get more sand sifting snails (smaller ones that can get where the strawberry conch can't)
- Buy max 3 more zoas, I'm hoping I can find blues or yellows. Add either a soft or LPS that is flowy, so I have more movement than just the xenias. Maybe one more encrusting coral.
- Still deciding whether to wait for my sea star population to grow on its own (I have 2 asterina and 2 micro brittle stars), or to buy more. If there are micro brittle stars for sale at reefapalooza I will probably buy a bunch. I love seeing their little arms waving around at feeding time!

When I have more time later, I'll post some progress pics of individual corals!

Best of luck to getting what you want at RAP! I'm curious to see what you end up getting!

 

[BristleWormHater]

I wanted to get in an FTS before Reefapalooza this Sunday!

Major changes since last time:
- Had to remove the red fern macroalgae because of some kind of slime that wouldn't go away no matter what I did, and covered all new growth.
- My big clump of string of pearls was infested with GHA beyond what any CUC could do. I cut it way back to the handful of baby stems that weren't covered with it.



Minor updates:
- AOI, Bambam, and Pink Zippers are all regularly growing new polyps, so I'm confident in their future. Yellow Submarines are bright and vibrant and happy looking, but no growth yet. Mandarin Oranges are in decline due to shading from the Xenia.
- The xenia has begun to invade, with two baby branches popping up where they weren't invited. I will be removing them on my next maintenance.
- GSP is finally making clear advancements onto its rock. The mat has grown probably 2 square centimeters, and one or two new polyps. But it's accelerating.
- I added three more astraea snails, getting a mini-GHA-bloom back under control. Found and killed a pyramid snail and am now praying there aren't any I missed.
- Corraline algae spots are everywhere, growing both in number and size. I'm really proud to have gotten there in only 4 months!

Plans:
- Move the goniapora that's currently on the substrate to somewhere with lower traffic.
- Get more sand sifting snails (smaller ones that can get where the strawberry conch can't)
- Buy max 3 more zoas, I'm hoping I can find blues or yellows. Add either a soft or LPS that is flowy, so I have more movement than just the xenias. Maybe one more encrusting coral.
- Still deciding whether to wait for my sea star population to grow on its own (I have 2 asterina and 2 micro brittle stars), or to buy more. If there are micro brittle stars for sale at reefapalooza I will probably buy a bunch. I love seeing their little arms waving around at feeding time!

When I have more time later, I'll post some progress pics of individual corals!

Nice to see your other gonis are doing well after the cherry blizzard died. Have fun at Reefapalooza! I would love to go, but you couldn't pay me to go to California. Are you going to post pictures of Reefapalooza while you are there?

 

[aztoza]

I wanted to get in an FTS before Reefapalooza this Sunday!

Major changes since last time:
- Had to remove the red fern macroalgae because of some kind of slime that wouldn't go away no matter what I did, and covered all new growth.
- My big clump of string of pearls was infested with GHA beyond what any CUC could do. I cut it way back to the handful of baby stems that weren't covered with it.



Minor updates:
- AOI, Bambam, and Pink Zippers are all regularly growing new polyps, so I'm confident in their future. Yellow Submarines are bright and vibrant and happy looking, but no growth yet. Mandarin Oranges are in decline due to shading from the Xenia.
- The xenia has begun to invade, with two baby branches popping up where they weren't invited. I will be removing them on my next maintenance.
- GSP is finally making clear advancements onto its rock. The mat has grown probably 2 square centimeters, and one or two new polyps. But it's accelerating.
- I added three more astraea snails, getting a mini-GHA-bloom back under control. Found and killed a pyramid snail and am now praying there aren't any I missed.
- Corraline algae spots are everywhere, growing both in number and size. I'm really proud to have gotten there in only 4 months!

Plans:
- Move the goniapora that's currently on the substrate to somewhere with lower traffic.
- Get more sand sifting snails (smaller ones that can get where the strawberry conch can't)
- Buy max 3 more zoas, I'm hoping I can find blues or yellows. Add either a soft or LPS that is flowy, so I have more movement than just the xenias. Maybe one more encrusting coral.
- Still deciding whether to wait for my sea star population to grow on its own (I have 2 asterina and 2 micro brittle stars), or to buy more. If there are micro brittle stars for sale at reefapalooza I will probably buy a bunch. I love seeing their little arms waving around at feeding time!

When I have more time later, I'll post some progress pics of individual corals!

Looks great! Especially like the color of the duncans, nice contrast.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Hope everyone who made it to Reefapalooza had fun! I picked up my last few corals for a while, things are going well and I want to see how things look as they grow out before seeing if I have room for anything else. The FTS:


Will update with a white light shot later, but I’ve been procrastinating so wanted to get something down!

New corals: Cyphastrea, firework cloves, Discosoma, and two kinds of zoas (one unknown and one rasta)

 

[BristleWormHater]

Hope everyone who made it to Reefapalooza had fun! I picked up my last few corals for a while, things are going well and I want to see how things look as they grow out before seeing if I have room for anything else. The FTS:


Will update with a white light shot later, but I’ve been procrastinating so wanted to get something down!

New corals: Cyphastrea, firework cloves, Discosoma, and two kinds of zoas (one unknown and one rasta)

Where did the gorgonian go? Also nice coral selection from rap.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Where did the gorgonian go? Also nice coral selection from rap.

I moved it to the middle of the arch where I thought it might work but I don’t think there’s enough light. I’m annoyed with it because I can’t find a good spot for it that isn’t in something else’s way. It’s on a gigantic acrylic frag that will only work in the substrate. Front and center might work, where the Discosoma currently is— but then where do I put that? (The Rastas still need to be placed in the zoa garden too)

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Where did the gorgonian go? Also nice coral selection from rap.

I just put it back in the light. It hasn’t shown its polyps in weeks, so I’m worried something is wrong with it. We’ll see- rastas have found their home, just gotta get the right spot for the Discosoma now! On the right side of the arch maybe?

 

[CanadaKong]

Wow.. just read the whole blog, what a great journey. I am on the same one about a month behind you. I didn’t name my stuff in case it didn’t make it.. but it all has.. so it’s time !

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Wow.. just read the whole blog, what a great journey. I am on the same one about a month behind you. I didn’t name my stuff in case it didn’t make it.. but it all has.. so it’s time !

I haven’t lost a single named critter (except emerald crab the first)! You totally should.

You should start a tank thread, too!

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Some emerald antics:

 

[CanadaKong]

I haven’t lost a single named critter (except emerald crab the first)! You totally should.

You should start a tank thread, too!

Not a natural story teller

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Bored and up early, so time for a mini progress update!

GSP took a while to get rolling but is now enthusiastically rolling out its own welcome mat:


Bought this blasto with 5 polyps and now it’s up to at least 14 that I can see (the babies are not all visible when the grown ones are fully inflated):


And here is my work in progress area. I’m expecting both gonis to die, so the overcrowding in the design should resolve itself. If they don’t, I’m not sure where I should move them so they don’t sting the firework cloves or pipe organ. I’m also planning to switch the locations of the blasto and gorgonian. The latter has not extended its polyps in weeks now and I’m not sure what if anything to do about it!

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

A new asterina has hitchhiked its way in! Very different coloration from my other two.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Relieved to announce that shortly after returning the sea whip gorgonian to its original home, after a month of polyps being retracted, tiny new ones have begun to poke out.


In other tank news:
All three goniaporas are goners. The encrusting LPS I got with them also appears to be failing, as well as the SPS Cyphastrea I bought at reefapalooza. Weird that two of my LPS are doing great but all the others failed, but my tank is barely completing its fourth month post-cycling, so I may have gotten overconfident based on my beginners luck.

The biggest error I know I’ve made is that I went three or maybe four weeks (I have a one year old, I can’t remember) without a water change. Nutrients are fine (14.7 nitrates, I don’t have a phosphorous test), but calcium got down to 380. Not terribly low, and a slow rate of decrease based on how few stony corals I have, but definitely not ideal. I need to test the big three together today now that I did a 25% change, see how things stand.

My husband thinks we should dose the tank instead of doing as many water changes since we don’t have a nutrient or algae issue. Seems crazy to dose a 16 gallon tank, but it could be a stopgap to keep params in place when the kiddo is wearing me out too hard to keep on top of water changes for a few weeks. What say y’all?

 

[aztoza]

Relieved to announce that shortly after returning the sea whip gorgonian to its original home, after a month of polyps being retracted, tiny new ones have begun to poke out.


In other tank news:
All three goniaporas are goners. The encrusting LPS I got with them also appears to be failing, as well as the SPS Cyphastrea I bought at reefapalooza. Weird that two of my LPS are doing great but all the others failed, but my tank is barely completing its fourth month post-cycling, so I may have gotten overconfident based on my beginners luck.

The biggest error I know I’ve made is that I went three or maybe four weeks (I have a one year old, I can’t remember) without a water change. Nutrients are fine (14.7 nitrates, I don’t have a phosphorous test), but calcium got down to 380. Not terribly low, and a slow rate of decrease based on how few stony corals I have, but definitely not ideal. I need to test the big three together today now that I did a 25% change, see how things stand.

My husband thinks we should dose the tank instead of doing as many water changes since we don’t have a nutrient or algae issue. Seems crazy to dose a 16 gallon tank, but it could be a stopgap to keep params in place when the kiddo is wearing me out too hard to keep on top of water changes for a few weeks. What say y’all?

Seems that dosing is the only way to keep that LPS and SPS happy at least at first, which is why I’ve been dragging my feet to add those lol.

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Seems that dosing is the only way to keep that LPS and SPS happy at least at first, which is why I’ve been dragging my feet to add those lol.

I mean, my usage seems to be like 5ppm/week, can’t be THAT hard to dose it up! FWIW if you’re interested in LPS I’m very happy with my Duncan and my blasto—really rewarding and easy LPS!

 

[aztoza]

I mean, my usage seems to be like 5ppm/week, can’t be THAT hard to dose it up! FWIW if you’re interested in LPS I’m very happy with my Duncan and my blasto—really rewarding and easy LPS!

Thanks! Know what, I think I’ll wait and copy you once you figure out the dosing thing haha! homeschooling is cutting into my reefing time lately XD

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Pros: Keep your hands out of your tank!
Me: I think I’ll change my aquascape for the tenth time.



I observed that the firework clove polyps were growing REALLY fast, and a little research confirmed that they need to be isolated to prevent takeover. We rejiggered that part of the tank, and actually, I think I really like it! The rock work has a much more complicated maze of small tunnels and cracks for both Stevie the emerald crab and David the YWG to enjoy. It also frees up some flow for the Duncan.

Upcoming changes:
1) breaking the gigantic frag plates my pink zipper zoas and the red Discosoma are on so I can place them where I want them to be.
2) more sand sifting snails- nassarius probably?
3) another sexy shrimp went missing. I really enjoy them, but I’ve already lost two. Would it be unethical to buy more when I’m clearly running some kind of shrimp death trap? But how bad could it actually be when one of the females spawned in the tank last week?

 

[Fishy Guy]

Just read through your entire journal. Love your tank and excited to follow along!

 

[ZzyzxRiver]

Just read through your entire journal. Love your tank and excited to follow along!

Thanks! This is my main creative outlet (the tank and my tank thread haha) since becoming a dad. I’m excited for this tank to grow out so I can start agitating for a bigger one. Maybe by the time my son is two he can help with water changes? LOL.