Blopple's (first ever) IM 40L AIO Build

[Blopple]

Just a bit of a photo dump today. Took some close-up shots with a bit more blue. And finally got a picture with all 5 fish in it! The pistol shrimp lives as well. I've heard some snaps, and caught a glimpse of it in the middle of the night with a red light. Pretty cool to look back at the old pictures and see the coral growth. Growth feels slow, but I have a few that have doubled in size or more. The tank is still only about 4-5 months old anyhow.

Also swapped out one of the standard return nozzles for a movable one to hopefully prevent some of the detritus that settles under the gyre.

Because there are more pictures than usual I won't add thumbnails of them, but you can find them below.

Here's the fish tax though

 

[Blopple]

Small update, but it helps me keep track of what's going on.

Equipment/Chemistry

Got the dosing pump setup finally. Ended up going with the ReefDose 2. Only using the one head for now with All-for-reef, but would be interested in adding something to the second head. Phyto maybe? I think they make stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated. Suggestions on what, if anything, to put on the second head?

Setup was super easy and at least for the initial phase the app seemed to work great. Feels really polished compared to the NooPsyche interface. Cabinet is a little messy, but still totally manageable. I don't feel the need to do an overhaul yet.


Just dosing 5mL a day of AFR. Will probably have to adjust up since I've needed to manually dose 10mL instead of 5mL a few days before the pump was setup. I've noticed I'm able to keep a tighter range on my alk since swapping from 2 part. I feel that it has something to do with the Ca++. I was really bad about testing/dosing it with the 2 part because the test is a pain, and I feel like it's less accurate. Will run a Ca++ later this week to make sure it's not spiking from the AFR. Alk is sitting happy 7.7-8.3, usually 8.1. With the 2 part I was maintaining a range almost twice as wide and was rarely able to keep it over 7.7 consistently.

Also did a nice 10g water change today. My sand bed is pretty icky when I accidentally disturb it. More nassarius snails? More hermits? Not really sure what to do about it.

Coral
Have managed to bleach 2 corals lately somehow. My lights are still set very low. I don't have the settings on hand, but the blues max out at 40%, white and violet at ~5%, and the photoperiod is from 08-21, but with super minimal 5-10% blues only for a few hours at each end. I need to do some research on a better schedule and potentially borrow a par meter. Really not sure how I'm bleaching stuff out in the middle/bottom of the tank. Only the pink goni/bernard and the orange ricordea (the rhodactis that bleached months ago actually seems to be recovering well). Also slightly worried that the miami hurricane chalice is starting to get a bit light, so I'll keep an eye on it.

Ended up grabbing a few jawbreakers from a guy on a local discord. Got 1 half dollar sized, a quarter sized, and a baby for 120. LFS's around here would have run me ~150 for a single shroom smaller than a quarter. They are BRIGHT! Love the streaks of red.

And I legitimately had forgotten these zoas were in the tank hiding in the back corner. I moved them because they didn't really match the rest of the tank. They've grown out so spherically, very pleasant. Super sad goni/bernard in the foreground.


Fish
The blenny has definitely adjusted himself to the tank. And is a bit of a bully. A bummer since my last guy was so chill. He took a reasonable chunk out of the dorsal fin of the basslet (already mostly healed), and a chunk out of the anal fin of the b/w ocellaris. Nobody seems too stressed about, and I think he's mellowing out a bit.


The clowns are still trying to figure out who is wearing the pants. B/w ocellaris acts like the dominant one and will charge at the blackstorm, but I still catch the larger b/w ocellaris doing the subby shake at the blackstorm. Got a -tiiiiny- bit of it on video which is neat, but having trouble sharing the video here, and it's poor quality anyhow.

 

[JoJosReef]

Small update, but it helps me keep track of what's going on.

Equipment/Chemistry

Got the dosing pump setup finally. Ended up going with the ReefDose 2. Only using the one head for now with All-for-reef, but would be interested in adding something to the second head. Phyto maybe? I think they make stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated. Suggestions on what, if anything, to put on the second head?

Setup was super easy and at least for the initial phase the app seemed to work great. Feels really polished compared to the NooPsyche interface. Cabinet is a little messy, but still totally manageable. I don't feel the need to do an overhaul yet.


Just dosing 5mL a day of AFR. Will probably have to adjust up since I've needed to manually dose 10mL instead of 5mL a few days before the pump was setup. I've noticed I'm able to keep a tighter range on my alk since swapping from 2 part. I feel that it has something to do with the Ca++. I was really bad about testing/dosing it with the 2 part because the test is a pain, and I feel like it's less accurate. Will run a Ca++ later this week to make sure it's not spiking from the AFR. Alk is sitting happy 7.7-8.3, usually 8.1. With the 2 part I was maintaining a range almost twice as wide and was rarely able to keep it over 7.7 consistently.

Also did a nice 10g water change today. My sand bed is pretty icky when I accidentally disturb it. More nassarius snails? More hermits? Not really sure what to do about it.

Coral
Have managed to bleach 2 corals lately somehow. My lights are still set very low. I don't have the settings on hand, but the blues max out at 40%, white and violet at ~5%, and the photoperiod is from 08-21, but with super minimal 5-10% blues only for a few hours at each end. I need to do some research on a better schedule and potentially borrow a par meter. Really not sure how I'm bleaching stuff out in the middle/bottom of the tank. Only the pink goni/bernard and the orange ricordea (the rhodactis that bleached months ago actually seems to be recovering well). Also slightly worried that the miami hurricane chalice is starting to get a bit light, so I'll keep an eye on it.

Ended up grabbing a few jawbreakers from a guy on a local discord. Got 1 half dollar sized, a quarter sized, and a baby for 120. LFS's around here would have run me ~150 for a single shroom smaller than a quarter. They are BRIGHT! Love the streaks of red.

And I legitimately had forgotten these zoas were in the tank hiding in the back corner. I moved them because they didn't really match the rest of the tank. They've grown out so spherically, very pleasant. Super sad goni/bernard in the foreground.


Fish
The blenny has definitely adjusted himself to the tank. And is a bit of a bully. A bummer since my last guy was so chill. He took a reasonable chunk out of the dorsal fin of the basslet (already mostly healed), and a chunk out of the anal fin of the b/w ocellaris. Nobody seems too stressed about, and I think he's mellowing out a bit.


The clowns are still trying to figure out who is wearing the pants. B/w ocellaris acts like the dominant one and will charge at the blackstorm, but I still catch the larger b/w ocellaris doing the subby shake at the blackstorm. Got a -tiiiiny- bit of it on video which is neat, but having trouble sharing the video here, and it's poor quality anyhow.

Are those Tubbs Blues zoas? Think those are on my list. Jawbreakers are worth it, you think? Good move on the ReefDose 2. I read good things about it and wish I went with the 4-head version. I'm going to try a Simplicity for now to see if I can avoid any disasters like my recent food 10x overdose--had that been my AFR head, I imagine I'd be cleaning up corals.

 

[Blopple]

Are those Tubbs Blues zoas? Think those are on my list. Jawbreakers are worth it, you think? Good move on the ReefDose 2. I read good things about it and wish I went with the 4-head version. I'm going to try a Simplicity for now to see if I can avoid any disasters like my recent food 10x overdose--had that been my AFR head, I imagine I'd be cleaning up corals.

They are tubbs blues. They are great under whites, but they don't fluoresce at all, and I run pretty heavy blue for the most part.

Jawbreakers totally worth it, just so shocked by how bright they are. Brighter than the lepto and the plate coral which were previously the brightest. I was also eyeballing a Neptune bounce like I saw you were.

With all my light issues I almost wanna cut em from where they are and go low light acans/shrooms etc.

 

[Blopple]

Doser is working well. Had actually messed up a bit with daylight savings, but it's all rectified now. Dosing was still appropriate, but it was off by an hour.

Alk is slightly elevated at 8.4, but I'd rather go high, and 8.4 really isn't much off from where I've been. Tested Ca++ to ensure that it wasn't spiking. In fact it was still low at 390. I added some 2 part calcium and will continue dosing the AFR. Hopefully i just have to correct for it once or twice.

Still have never tested pH or Mg on the tank. When will this come back to bite me? Also been slacking on nutrient testing lately. They've been stable, phos a bit high, but everything seems happy and I'm not having algae problems, so not really sure I have much of a need to test it at the moment (famous last words).

 

[Blopple]

Blenny has not mellowed as much as I'd hoped. Will need to go get an acclimation box tomorrow and segregate him for a while.

Woke up this morning to the b/w ocellaris with new nipped fins. She seems happy, but both pectoral fins are nipped and there is still the chunk missing from the anal fin. She holds her own and the blenny eventually stops, but the blenny DPS is just too high for her to deal with repeated scuffles like this.

I haven't used an acclimation box before. Will this likely help, or would it be better to remove the blenny entirely? I'm additionally a little concerned about my ability to catch the blenny. Any suggestions or advice on acclimation boxes, aggression, or catching fish would be appreciated!

 

[Blopple]

Blenny, apparently named Hotdog now, is doing hard time for assault and battery. Please shame him in your thoughts. I way overpaid for the acclimation box, and should have gotten a smaller one,. Gonna have to closely watch how the corals underneath the box do. If anything they were probably getting too much light to begin with, but we'll see.


This was also my first attempt at catching a fish in the full tank. Took probably 20 minutes, but I didn't need to remove any rock or equipment. He eventually dove back into a tunnel in the rock and I put a net near his head and gave him a gentle poke with a plastic pipette in the tail and he caught himself.

Finally managed to get a decent picture demonstrating the mutilation of the B/W ocellaris. Have not noticed any changes in her behavior at all and hopefully we'll have a speedy recovery.


I'm aiming for a week or two with the blenny in the slammer unless he does very poorly. If I release him back and he is still a bully he's gonna be excommunicated. The level of aggression was fairly extreme, and I feel like there is a significant risk of recidivism.

Ended up grabbing a small and imperfect frag of raja rampage chalice while I was out. There is a bit of skeleton exposed, but LFS said it was poor fragging, but it hasn't been losing more tissue. Found it in the bargain section with the generic zoas and GSP, so not necessarily high stakes if it dies. Was less than half the price of the 'pretty' frags of the same coral. AND it came with 2 free stomatellae. My first ones, so that's exciting.


Cyphastrea seems happy and has a solid growth edge. Just like my last one did. This one is getting quite a bit less light so I have high hopes. I really, really, really like the dark blue/purple contrast to the polyps which, when happy, extend enough to blow around subtly in the flow.


Ever seen a worse panoramic picture than this one? I don't think I have. It was my first attempt at using that feature though. Hopefully I can get a nice looking one when the sun is down. Also sixline looking real sketchy as usual.

 

[JoJosReef]

Blenny, apparently named Hotdog now, is doing hard time for assault and battery. Please shame him in your thoughts. I way overpaid for the acclimation box, and should have gotten a smaller one,. Gonna have to closely watch how the corals underneath the box do. If anything they were probably getting too much light to begin with, but we'll see.


This was also my first attempt at catching a fish in the full tank. Took probably 20 minutes, but I didn't need to remove any rock or equipment. He eventually dove back into a tunnel in the rock and I put a net near his head and gave him a gentle poke with a plastic pipette in the tail and he caught himself.

Finally managed to get a decent picture demonstrating the mutilation of the B/W ocellaris. Have not noticed any changes in her behavior at all and hopefully we'll have a speedy recovery.


I'm aiming for a week or two with the blenny in the slammer unless he does very poorly. If I release him back and he is still a bully he's gonna be excommunicated. The level of aggression was fairly extreme, and I feel like there is a significant risk of recidivism.

Ended up grabbing a small and imperfect frag of raja rampage chalice while I was out. There is a bit of skeleton exposed, but LFS said it was poor fragging, but it hasn't been losing more tissue. Found it in the bargain section with the generic zoas and GSP, so not necessarily high stakes if it dies. Was less than half the price of the 'pretty' frags of the same coral. AND it came with 2 free stomatellae. My first ones, so that's exciting.


Cyphastrea seems happy and has a solid growth edge. Just like my last one did. This one is getting quite a bit less light so I have high hopes. I really, really, really like the dark blue/purple contrast to the polyps which, when happy, extend enough to blow around subtly in the flow.


Ever seen a worse panoramic picture than this one? I don't think I have. It was my first attempt at using that feature though. Hopefully I can get a nice looking one when the sun is down. Also sixline looking real sketchy as usual.

 

[Blopple]

Small update with a few new additions, some screaming fish, and I could really use a coral ID!

One of my first corals was a frag of clove polyps. Them (and the cyphastrea) remain the only corals I have had actually die on me so far. However I really like the colors on the clove polyps, so decided to give them another shot. They're living in significantly lower light this time, so fingers crossed that they do well this time! They don't have a great front and center spot in the tank, but I don't have a ton of room left.


I also really wanted a red chalice. This was billed as a chalice, but upon getting home I'm not so sure. Maybe Oxypora? Would really love a species ID on this guy. Or a trade ID for that matter. Ended up getting glued to the zoa rock. It'll be a good while before the zoas take over so I figured this guy could hang out here until then so I can watch it's progress. The speckles look rather more yellow in person as opposed to green.


My Blackcap Basslet has really decided that she doesn't like the sixline. I've never seen them actually make contact, but when the sixline gets too close to her cave, or comes face to face with her she loves to flare up and 'scream' at him. Her mouth gets massive. It happens relatively often, but I've always struggled to get a picture. Today is no exception because it's pretty blurry, but at least visitors (and you all) won't think I'm just making crap up!


Was creepin' around watching the tank in the middle of the night with a red light and discovered that the Raja Rampage is definitely the most aggressive coral in my tank. The sweepers are significant and I wanted to grab a pic. Also feat. one of my stomatella. Saw the other one towards the morning cruising around inside the blenny prison. Glad to see they are alive and well!


Aside from that I did a nice water change. Salinity 1.026, Alk 8.7, Nitrates 17, Phos 0.01 (gonna have to test them more, don't want a bottom out). Finally removed some of the green polyps I hid away in the corner as they had started to mat and get a bit too close to the primary rockwork.

 

[CasperOe]

Looks like you're doing very well so far! Some lovely frags you have in there..

 

[Blopple]

In the mood to word vomit about the tank a little bit. Would also love some opinions on potentially adding a halloween hermit, fire shrimp, or coral banded shrimp.

Blenny has been released from prison. He was in there a bit over a week, but he was starting to hide and not eat quite as well so I elected to let him out. No scuffles yet, but he still doesn't really like anybody near him. This fish is just very flighty compared to the previous one. He doesn't even swim as smoothly. Hopefully he adjusts, but man I never had this much trouble with my last dude.


Tested the water. Salinity 1.026, Nitrate 19.5, Phos 0.08, Alk 8.5, Ca++ 420. Still not testing pH or Mg++, but unless somebody convince me otherwise I really don't feel it's necessary at the moment. My nitrate has always run a little high, and I think it's due to slowing down a bit on water changes. I'd like to bring it down to around 10. I'll either need to figure a way to make water changes easier, or possibly add in some macro? Algae still not a huge problem. There is one small 'nest' of 5 or so valonia near the leather, and a bit of dark green algae cropping up on top of the left rock structure near the torch.

I'm starting to doubt the strength of my CUC. I think another 2 or 3 hermits might be a good idea. Would love to add a 'character' invert or two. Maybe a cool hermit crab of some kind, or a fire or coral banded shrimp? I have done very little research on them, however. Unsure if there would be compatibility issues with the cleaner shrimp. Good idea? Bad?

A bit of a dry post, but I'll add some 'progress pics' of the large jawbreaker. I think it has finally settled in. I did notice is popped off a small baby, but unfortunately on to the same rock. It took a solid week or so for the foot to stretch, and the little 'thread' to thin and finally break. First pic the day I got it, second about a week later, and last picture is now. I think it is actually larger than my plate coral, hahaha.

 

[Blopple]

Had to leave the tank for the first time this weekend (2 nights) for my best friend's wedding. The wedding was beautiful, and everything was absolutely fine with the tank when I got back.

One major update is I have decided to evict the midas blenny from the tank. He's a piece of garbage. Still nipping fins, still chasing people around. Except he has become wise and I haven't been able to catch him. I tore apart a good portion of the scape, but he always manages to evade me. He's so skittish that I am positive he wouldn't go anywhere near a trap either. I think my best bet is gonna be to get him in the middle of the night when he's asleep in the top right tower.

Once out what do I replace him with? I'm leaning heavily towards a tailspot blenny. I think I probably have space for another fish as well and paying for shipping on a single fish is a tough pill to swallow. Would a tailspot and a longnose hawk work together? There is also a part of me that would love to do a small white tail bristletooth. I realize the tank isn't large enough forever, but I am still planning to upgrade within a year, and I wouldn't have an issue taking him out if he got too big. Thoughts on this?

The miami hurricane chalice was getting a bit pale, so I moved it far to the back corner of the tank. The spot it was in seems to be very high light. I have had plenty of different corals in that spot and I've had to move them all. So I figured I would try some SPS. Ended up grabbing a birdsnest and a small piece of setosa. They both seem to be doing okay for now. The chunk of beach bum monti I got way back when hasn't done much, but is still very much alive at least. We'll see how this goes.



I also made a big purchase yesterday. My LFS got in an acanthophyllia, and it was GORGEOUS. I couldn't resist and the price was reasonable for the colors and pattern. It is relatively small for an acantho, but It'll grow. Still trying to find the perfect spot for it. It's sitting in a small ring of PVC pipe, but the skeleton makes it seem to want to angle forward. Need to figure out a way to get it sitting upright appropriately. The picture unfortunately doesn't do it justice (especially the light blues and deep purples). #meatcoral


Would love some input on the fish situation or any suggestions on how to get the acantho situated appropriately.

 

[JoJosReef]

Wowsers, that's a full on showpiece acantho! When that thing gets big...

Sorry about the midas. Bad luck, really. Tailspot blennies have awesome personalities. I love mine, but I feel like it was a better fit for the 10g right next to my monitor, because the 40g with all the fish kind of dwarfs it. That said, the TSB is definitely the boss of the tank--not in aggression so much as a line manager, watching ever other fish and interacting with each one, even the pair of clowns. TSB COULD also get picked on by your sixline or black cap.

Longnose hawkfish is beautiful, but I understand a huge risk to any peppermint or sexy shrimp you think about adding. Larger cleaner shrimp are a maybe. I personally have grown more attracted to the flame hawkfish because everyone posts such funny photos of them staring at you outside of the tank.

If I were planning an upgrade within a year, I'd probably go for a small kole tang or white tail bristetooth ($$$). I'd love a 6 foot tank with a bristetooth, a zebrasoma and a whole bunch of wrasses.
P.s., give the birdsnest some space. 4 months ago, this green one in the back was just a twig with two branches that I glued down out of pity, thinking it was on its way out:

 

[Blopple]

Wowsers, that's a full on showpiece acantho! When that thing gets big...

Sorry about the midas. Bad luck, really. Tailspot blennies have awesome personalities. I love mine, but I feel like it was a better fit for the 10g right next to my monitor, because the 40g with all the fish kind of dwarfs it. That said, the TSB is definitely the boss of the tank--not in aggression so much as a line manager, watching ever other fish and interacting with each one, even the pair of clowns. TSB COULD also get picked on by your sixline or black cap.

Longnose hawkfish is beautiful, but I understand a huge risk to any peppermint or sexy shrimp you think about adding. Larger cleaner shrimp are a maybe. I personally have grown more attracted to the flame hawkfish because everyone posts such funny photos of them staring at you outside of the tank.

If I were planning an upgrade within a year, I'd probably go for a small kole tang or white tail bristetooth ($$$). I'd love a 6 foot tank with a bristetooth, a zebrasoma and a whole bunch of wrasses.
P.s., give the birdsnest some space. 4 months ago, this green one in the back was just a twig with two branches that I glued down out of pity, thinking it was on its way out:

Yea, I'm really excited about the acantho. I had been looking for a nice centerpiece for the sand, and I almost pulled the trigger on a cool trachy I saw a week or so ago, but I'm glad I held off. This is much nicer than the trachy was haha.

I still love Midas blennies, but it just feels like it's not in the cards for this tank unfortunately. I'm not willing to go through three specimens of the same species, it just feels wrong. I think you're right on the hawk. I'm trying to maintain a relatively invert friendly system (despite only really having the cleaner shrimp at the moment), so probably a pass there. Gonna focus on getting the menace out of there for now. Dr. Reef shipments are slow anyhow, but a TSB and small whitetail is where I think I'm gonna end up. The basslet seems to only bother the sixline, has never even looked at the clowns as far as I know.

I love my sixline, but it is a shame I'm essentially maxed out on wrasses otherwise I'd be looking at another flasher (hopefully not a DOA one).

4 MONTHS to grow that colony? That's wild! I may move the setosa out of the way. I didn't realize the growth potential was quite -that- crazy.

 

[Blopple]

More pictures? Sure why not. Got two kinda neat top downs where you can actually see the RFA garden reasonably well.



Cyphastrea doing well, encrusting onto a chunk of the rock now, and a few new polyps on the bottom right of the frag in the picture. Also got this 'rainbow' war coral a week or so back and never shared.

Acanthophyllia goes nom nom.

 

[Blopple]

Inspired by a cool $4 thermometer/hygrometer/barometer I found at goodwill I figured I would share the tank with it's surroundings. Ahhh, the glory of living alone. This is where I am 'supposed' to put a dining table.

Attached some closer shots of all the crap on the shelves below in case anyone wanted to see.

 

[Blopple]

Update time. Nutrient woes, fish removed, new fish.


It's been about 3 weeks since my last post, and a bit longer than that since my last actual update. A lot has happened, and almost nothing at the same time.


Phosphate issues. I realized a while back that I had been making a testing error with my phosphates. I was testing after feeding or doing maintenance which led to artificially high readings. I started noticing reduced polyp extension, slowed growth, and dying algae. Tested phos properly for a bit and realized it was very low 0.00-0.01. Unfortunately I took a trip down to San Diego to visit some friends and by the time I got back it was a clean 0.00. Torch was barely extended, half the zoas were closed, clove polyps were melting. Ended up starting some phosphate dosing.


I'm dosing about 3mL of the solution per day. One dose -should- be enough to bring my levels to about .1. Not the case. The levels are usually detectable, but still running low .01 - .05. The corals are fairly well perked back up. Zoas are mostly open again, clove polyps are opening again. The torch still has reduced polyp extension, and the acanthophyllia isn't fully open, but both seem to be improving. This is likely also partially related to a 3 day blackout because I thought I saw some very fine strings on the sand and I'm paranoid about dinos. No more strings, but I probably overreacted. It very well could have just been normal algae. I'm still not sure where all the phos is even going?

Just noticed this morning that the phos is making my euphyllia act funny. Like they've been starved for so long and now need light or have decided to split or something. Hopefully not bailing? Gonna slow down on the phos dosing and see if they improve. Any ideas here?





Phos dosing, increased feeding, decreased water changes, no skimmer, microbacter dosing and hopefully we'll be okay. This leads nicely into the fish issues, and my trying to increase bioload a bit.


Fish. I had some serious trouble catching the Midas blenny. He got wise after being caught for the acclimation box. Managed to catch him finally after tearing a good chunk of the tank apart. Back to the LFS he went. Good riddance. The fins on the blackcap and the B/W ocellaris are mostly healed up and they seem back to their normal selves. The basslet has gotten really into digging new burrows lately which is annoying because she spits sand all over the place. I had to dig out my plate coral the other day.


Not sure if it was coincidence, but it seemed the phos issues got a lot worse right after I removed the blenny. Time to add more fish. Current inhabitants are only the two clowns, the sixline, and the basslet. I waffled a lot on what fish to add, even made a separate post here. Had decided on a tailspot blenny (thanks @JoJosReef), and a yellow watchman goby. Not very exciting, but seemed like a safe choice.


Went to the LFS and of course they had a whitetail bristletooth for $89. Yep, you read that correct. So obviously my fish plans went out the window. It ended up being mismarked from $189 (still a steal in my book), but my LFS is awesome and honored the posted price. I'll head back in in another week or so and spend the $100 price difference + on some coral to assuage my guilt over the crazy deal. I'm also aware some people may look down on the tang in a tank this size. Still planning the upgrade, and if I run into issues I can always rehome. It is what it is.


I had learned my lesson a few months back about unquarantined fish. Set up a cheap aqueon, HOB filter, heater, PVC elbows. Had some seeded media from the main tank, grabbed some copper power and a hanna checker and off we go. Added the whitetail bristletooth and a tailspot blenny from the LFS yesterdat afternoon. If all goes well these should be the final two fish in the tank. Gonna give them a day or two before starting the copper. Skittish, but happy for now.




This will be my first time doing my own QT, so wish me luck! (Note: those two spots are not on the fish)

 

[JoJosReef]

Update time. Nutrient woes, fish removed, new fish.


It's been about 3 weeks since my last post, and a bit longer than that since my last actual update. A lot has happened, and almost nothing at the same time.


Phosphate issues. I realized a while back that I had been making a testing error with my phosphates. I was testing after feeding or doing maintenance which led to artificially high readings. I started noticing reduced polyp extension, slowed growth, and dying algae. Tested phos properly for a bit and realized it was very low 0.00-0.01. Unfortunately I took a trip down to San Diego to visit some friends and by the time I got back it was a clean 0.00. Torch was barely extended, half the zoas were closed, clove polyps were melting. Ended up starting some phosphate dosing.


I'm dosing about 3mL of the solution per day. One dose -should- be enough to bring my levels to about .1. Not the case. The levels are usually detectable, but still running low .01 - .05. The corals are fairly well perked back up. Zoas are mostly open again, clove polyps are opening again. The torch still has reduced polyp extension, and the acanthophyllia isn't fully open, but both seem to be improving. This is likely also partially related to a 3 day blackout because I thought I saw some very fine strings on the sand and I'm paranoid about dinos. No more strings, but I probably overreacted. It very well could have just been normal algae. I'm still not sure where all the phos is even going?

Just noticed this morning that the phos is making my euphyllia act funny. Like they've been starved for so long and now need light or have decided to split or something. Hopefully not bailing? Gonna slow down on the phos dosing and see if they improve. Any ideas here?





Phos dosing, increased feeding, decreased water changes, no skimmer, microbacter dosing and hopefully we'll be okay. This leads nicely into the fish issues, and my trying to increase bioload a bit.


Fish. I had some serious trouble catching the Midas blenny. He got wise after being caught for the acclimation box. Managed to catch him finally after tearing a good chunk of the tank apart. Back to the LFS he went. Good riddance. The fins on the blackcap and the B/W ocellaris are mostly healed up and they seem back to their normal selves. The basslet has gotten really into digging new burrows lately which is annoying because she spits sand all over the place. I had to dig out my plate coral the other day.


Not sure if it was coincidence, but it seemed the phos issues got a lot worse right after I removed the blenny. Time to add more fish. Current inhabitants are only the two clowns, the sixline, and the basslet. I waffled a lot on what fish to add, even made a separate post here. Had decided on a tailspot blenny (thanks @JoJosReef), and a yellow watchman goby. Not very exciting, but seemed like a safe choice.


Went to the LFS and of course they had a whitetail bristletooth for $89. Yep, you read that correct. So obviously my fish plans went out the window. It ended up being mismarked from $189 (still a steal in my book), but my LFS is awesome and honored the posted price. I'll head back in in another week or so and spend the $100 price difference + on some coral to assuage my guilt over the crazy deal. I'm also aware some people may look down on the tang in a tank this size. Still planning the upgrade, and if I run into issues I can always rehome. It is what it is.


I had learned my lesson a few months back about unquarantined fish. Set up a cheap aqueon, HOB filter, heater, PVC elbows. Had some seeded media from the main tank, grabbed some copper power and a hanna checker and off we go. Added the whitetail bristletooth and a tailspot blenny from the LFS yesterdat afternoon. If all goes well these should be the final two fish in the tank. Gonna give them a day or two before starting the copper. Skittish, but happy for now.




This will be my first time doing my own QT, so wish me luck! (Note: those two spots are not on the fish)

What a beautiful fish! I wanted a bristletooth (whitetail, specifically) but with no possibility of an upgrade in the near future passed and went wrassy. Nothing like a fat tang in a reef tank!

 

[Blopple]

How about we don't?

 

[Blopple]

Whelp, lost the tailspot. Haven't even added copper to the QT yet, wanted to make sure they were both somewhat settled and eating before I started prophylactically poisoning them. Whitetail is eating like a champ and out and about. Blenny never ate. Sat in a corner since acclimating and never moved except to perch on top of a PVC pipe for like 30 seconds once.

Replaced my car battery and came back in and he was upside down on the bottom of the tank, but the whitetail still happy and out and about.

I thought ammonia for sure. Maybe I didn't have enough cycled media for the tank? Nope, ammonia 0. Sal 1.025, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10 (used half main tank water when filling the qt). Heater malfunction? Nope 78. HOB filter still running, breaking surface tension nicely.

Not discolored, not obviously bloated, no nipped fins. I suppose this is why we quarantine.