Brand New 8 gallon bio cube

Magellan

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They don’t like sand being kicked up (like most big brains), I’d be careful.

The big mouths on these guys makes them a little susceptible to stuff
Cheapest scoly it is then! I’ve seen in EAT SLEEP REEFs tank on YouTube that his scolys always seem to have sand on them from his goby and they don’t seem to care, fat and happy every time he makes a vid. Weirdly, my GSP seems most bothered by the sand out of anything.
 

living_tribunal

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Cheapest scoly it is then! I’ve seen in EAT SLEEP REEFs tank on YouTube that his scolys always seem to have sand on them from his goby and they don’t seem to care, fat and happy every time he makes a vid. Weirdly, my GSP seems most bothered by the sand out of anything.

They’re not hard to take care of from what I’ve read but just watching my trachys, lobos, and new Symphyllia wilsoni + what I’ve heard from others, you just need to take it easy because they are one giant polyp.

Every coral has its weird requirement you know?

I’ve seen his scolys and I’m sure I’m overstating it. My trachy can take a beating and remain happy. The lobo and Wilso, not so much.
 

Magellan

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They’re not hard to take care of from what I’ve read but just watching my trachys, lobos, and new Symphyllia wilsoni + what I’ve heard from others, you just need to take it easy because they are one giant polyp.

Every coral has its weird requirement you know?

I’ve seen his scolys and I’m sure I’m overstating it. My trachy can take a beating and remain happy. The lobo and Wilso, not so much.
My backup plan is to mount it vertically on a rock. The light bounces off the front of the tank, no idea what the par is in the indirect places but it’s enough to grow huge mushrooms!


I’m still trying to figure out the wilso, it’s a bizarre coral. Been watching it like a hawk and can’t put my finger on what makes it happy.

if you just got it, then it’s still acclimating. I assume your flow and params are not identical to its previous home, once it adjusts to the new normal it should take off I would think. That primordial ooze you call a tank seems like an ideal place for all life to thrive! ;););)
 

sfin52

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In that case...beginning of November my Aunt passed away from brain cancer that she had kept from the family until she collapsed in her home and spent 3 days on her kitchen floor. My cousin found her...can’t begin to imagine how that must have been. A couple weeks later my grandmother passed (her mom). I spoke at the funeral. Hardest thing I’ve ever done and it was the second funeral in as many weeks.

this forum and everyone in it has been great, I love you people.
Me too. They both had suffered for a long time, my grandmother had Alzheimer’s.
My grandmother has dementia sucks.

Thanks for sharing @Magellan. I'm sorry that your holiday season started out that way. All I can say I'll pray for you and your family. Time helps.
 

Magellan

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My grandmother has dementia sucks.

Thanks for sharing @Magellan. I'm sorry that your holiday season started out that way. All I can say I'll pray for you and your family. Time helps.
What’s the like button for “I really appreciate that, also there is nothing worse that can happen to someone and their family...”. The person you love and remember fades away like a battery that can never recharge....
 

living_tribunal

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My backup plan is to mount it vertically on a rock. The light bounces off the front of the tank, no idea what the par is in the indirect places but it’s enough to grow huge mushrooms!




if you just got it, then it’s still acclimating. I assume your flow and params are not identical to its previous home, once it adjusts to the new normal it should take off I would think. That primordial ooze you call a tank seems like an ideal place for all life to thrive! ;););)


I really would not mount the scoly vertically,that I can almost guarantee won’t work out well.

Scolys tissue are very very sensitive unlike a lobos which is pretty thick. It’s similar to a trachy. When you pick it up, you’ll be really surprised by how flimsy and tissue like it is.

Scolys work fine with up to maybe 100 par, they aren’t averse to light like how an acan is. The main concern is giving them space to grow outwards where nothing will irritate their tissue. You’ll notice dimples when something irritates their tissue, happened to my trachy.
 

living_tribunal

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My backup plan is to mount it vertically on a rock. The light bounces off the front of the tank, no idea what the par is in the indirect places but it’s enough to grow huge mushrooms!




if you just got it, then it’s still acclimating. I assume your flow and params are not identical to its previous home, once it adjusts to the new normal it should take off I would think. That primordial ooze you call a tank seems like an ideal place for all life to thrive! ;););)

He’s doing fine, looking better than before but I just don’t know him yet like my other frags.

You know when you can just look at your Duncan or birds nest and go I need to raise my phosphates or my trachy wants mysis, the coral sixth sense.

He wants something I just don’t know what. He also behaves nothing like any other brain coral. All of his behaviors are radically different, and very very slow.
 

Why-Me

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Been watching it like a hawk and can’t put my finger on what makes it happy.
He wants something I just don’t know what. He also behaves nothing like any other brain coral. All of his behaviors are radically different, and very very slow.
Well...stop putting your finger on it, it'll be fine ;Smuggrin
 

Magellan

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I really would not mount the scoly vertically,that I can almost guarantee won’t work out well.

Scolys tissue are very very sensitive unlike a lobos which is pretty thick. It’s similar to a trachy. When you pick it up, you’ll be really surprised by how flimsy and tissue like it is.

Scolys work fine with up to maybe 100 par, they aren’t averse to light like how an acan is. The main concern is giving them space to grow outwards where nothing will irritate their tissue. You’ll notice dimples when something irritates their tissue, happened to my trachy.
Hmmmm. I’ve seen a “scoly rock mountain” before, not sure how they were mounted but definitely growing all over the side of their own rock. I always just assumed it would be no big deal to mount, and that they look great on a sandbed so that’s where most end up. Maybe the backup plan needs a backup plan?
He’s doing fine, looking better than before but I just don’t know him yet like my other frags.

You know when you can just look at your Duncan or birds nest and go I need to raise my phosphates or my trachy wants mysis, the coral sixth sense.

He wants something I just don’t know what. He also behaves nothing like any other brain coral. All of his behaviors are radically different, and very very slow.

I love this! It took a few months of staring at the tank, but I kinda have it down at this point. I can look at my mini acan and my Goni and know just about everything I need to know. eye test doesn’t need a refill...for example: when my acan wasn’t 100% fat and happy at the end of today, after phyto feast and oyster feast, I knew it was water change time. Goni wasn’t fully extended either. Didn’t test the water, because no need.. Just changed it, and they will both be loving life again tomorrow :). Everything else is less sensitive than those two, they are like my early warning detectors lol

what’s crazy is i got the feeling like 3-4 days ago that I was pushing it on the WC, but ignored it because everything was looking so good.
 

Why-Me

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Hmmmm. I’ve seen a “scoly rock mountain” before, not sure how they were mounted but definitely growing all over the side of their own rock
I wanna do a zoa garden like that
I've seen some cool ones here on R2R, like star wars ones or cool skulls etc.
 

sfin52

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What’s the like button for “I really appreciate that, also there is nothing worse that can happen to someone and their family...”. The person you love and remember fades away like a battery that can never recharge....
as long as you remeber they are not forgotten. They left a legacy. One generation effects and leaves a mark on the other.
 

living_tribunal

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Hmmmm. I’ve seen a “scoly rock mountain” before, not sure how they were mounted but definitely growing all over the side of their own rock. I always just assumed it would be no big deal to mount, and that they look great on a sandbed so that’s where most end up. Maybe the backup plan needs a backup plan?


I love this! It took a few months of staring at the tank, but I kinda have it down at this point. I can look at my mini acan and my Goni and know just about everything I need to know. eye test doesn’t need a refill...for example: when my acan wasn’t 100% fat and happy at the end of today, after phyto feast and oyster feast, I knew it was water change time. Goni wasn’t fully extended either. Didn’t test the water, because no need.. Just changed it, and they will both be loving life again tomorrow :). Everything else is less sensitive than those two, they are like my early warning detectors lol

what’s crazy is i got the feeling like 3-4 days ago that I was pushing it on the WC, but ignored it because everything was looking so good.

To the first part of your paragraph, keep in mind that I’m a complete and utter noob and none of my opinions nor advice should ever be taken seriously.

When your scoly gets super happy, it will start to look like he’s melting during the day, I built out a rock structure entirely for scolies, and will test to see how they do, but I think after seeing some of my other stuff that growth will best be on the bed.

You nailed the head on the other stuff. It’s crazy to see just how different all of these corals are. They all have that random thing they absolutely love.

I could name dozens but phyto plankton makes my Montiporas grow faster than absolutely everything. However, my monti digitata absolutely love brief yet intense and turbulent flow to flush his wavy polyps while my cap wants steady but medium flow.

My favias only want to eat only reef roids every day of the week (they aren’t interested in anything else), but my acans only want reef roids every 3 days.

Just weird stuff like that lol. With sps it’s always easy to know when your phosphates are too low.
 

living_tribunal

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Hmmmm. I’ve seen a “scoly rock mountain” before, not sure how they were mounted but definitely growing all over the side of their own rock. I always just assumed it would be no big deal to mount, and that they look great on a sandbed so that’s where most end up. Maybe the backup plan needs a backup plan?


I love this! It took a few months of staring at the tank, but I kinda have it down at this point. I can look at my mini acan and my Goni and know just about everything I need to know. eye test doesn’t need a refill...for example: when my acan wasn’t 100% fat and happy at the end of today, after phyto feast and oyster feast, I knew it was water change time. Goni wasn’t fully extended either. Didn’t test the water, because no need.. Just changed it, and they will both be loving life again tomorrow :). Everything else is less sensitive than those two, they are like my early warning detectors lol

what’s crazy is i got the feeling like 3-4 days ago that I was pushing it on the WC, but ignored it because everything was looking so good.

Spamming here but do you trust what your corals say first and then test second?

With how I am with my corals now, I tend to really only go off of how they act and test when I can’t figure out what’s wrong.
 

Magellan

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To the first part of your paragraph, keep in mind that I’m a complete and utter noob and none of my opinions nor advice should ever be taken seriously.

When your scoly gets super happy, it will start to look like he’s melting during the day, I built out a rock structure entirely for scolies, and will test to see how they do, but I think after seeing some of my other stuff that growth will best be on the bed.

You nailed the head on the other stuff. It’s crazy to see just how different all of these corals are. They all have that random thing they absolutely love.

I could name dozens but phyto plankton makes my Montiporas grow faster than absolutely everything. However, my monti digitata absolutely love brief yet intense and turbulent flow to flush his wavy polyps while my cap wants steady but medium flow.

My favias only want to eat only reef roids every day of the week (they aren’t interested in anything else), but my acans only want reef roids every 3 days.

Just weird stuff like that lol. With sps it’s always easy to know when your phosphates are too low.
Oh yea, “complete and utter noob” is exactly my thought after reading your complex opinions on corals I haven’t even kept yet!

I just broadcast feed the phytos, oyster feast, and reef roids. If they want it, it’s in the water! Keeps my hand out of the tank, and keeps my corals from getting lazy ;) I have definitely cut back on reef roids though. Film algae every time to one degree or another, I can tell within a few hours if I over did it or not by how thick it gets. Always give a big feeding right before a wc since I’ll be cleaning the tank anyway!

(random thought: since the phytos are possibly helping keep phosphates down, should I perhaps dose them after the reef roids on reef roids days? My normal feeding schedule is phytos, oyster feast, RR)
 

living_tribunal

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Oh yea, “complete and utter noob” is exactly my thought after reading your complex opinions on corals I haven’t even kept yet!

I just broadcast feed the phytos, oyster feast, and reef roids. If they want it, it’s in the water! Keeps my hand out of the tank, and keeps my corals from getting lazy ;) I have definitely cut back on reef roids though. Film algae every time to one degree or another, I can tell within a few hours if I over did it or not by how thick it gets. Always give a big feeding right before a wc since I’ll be cleaning the tank anyway!

(random thought: since the phytos are possibly helping keep phosphates down, should I perhaps dose them after the reef roids on reef roids days? My normal feeding schedule is phytos, oyster feast, RR)


I’ve noticed the EXACT same thing and have a few opinions on it.

I used to think all my frags loved roids but after trying an empty baster placebo many would exhibit the same behavior I perceived as a “healthy response”.

I think it might have been you who taught me how to feed my goni and have since implemented it on all questionable frags (everything that isn’t a blasto, favia, favites, or acan) only come to learn that they don’t like roids!

I’ve also noticed cyano outbreaks despite very low phosphate and nitrate levels after feeding roids which leads me to believe that the cyano can digest the super fine particles of roids immediately as they break down to phosphate. This is why I’ve noticed cyano and film algae heavily concentrated around plugs of frags I thought “loved roids”.

Roids now only feed my hungry lps that are for sure eating them and won’t leave many particles (Duncan, acan, favias, etc).

Everything else gets broadcast fed with oyster feast, phyto, and aminos.

Phyto appears best and easiest consumed with flow, with oyster feast I keep on flow but all the way down, just enough for tentacles to hold onto the eggs.

If you get a scoly, you’re going to have to get used to target feeding mysis every other to max 3 days (if you want them to stay healthy). For my lobos, trachy, and wilsoni, I target feed mysis every other day and give my lobo a solid 30 minutes of no flow to fully consume it. (The wilsoni especially needs no flow to eat because they don’t have tentacles).

Scolys and trachys eat faster so they only need about 10-15 minutes but they 100% need pellets or mysis, roids won’t suffice and will only tick them off.
 

Magellan

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Spamming here but do you trust what your corals say first and then test second?

With how I am with my corals now, I tend to really only go off of how they act and test when I can’t figure out what’s wrong.
Yes absolutely. if you look around this forum, it’s not hard to see that people have success with an incredibly wide range of parameters...meaning if the corals are happy and stay happy, things are where they should be, because your tank has found its balance. Obviously numbers like salinity and ammonia need to be pretty exact, but if they are off or have a swing, trust me you will know with a glance! Even something as important as alk can be all over the place as long as it’s reasonably constant. I watched so much YouTube early on in this hobby, and saw experienced reefers say over and over “don’t chase numbers”. So I don’t. Not even sure what they all are. But every time I have my LFS test just to be safe, I always get these looks like “why the heck are you making me do this”.

whatever you are doing, do the same things over and over. Your tank will find a sweet spot based on that repetition and your corals will love you for it. Every time I’ve changed or added something, my tank took a while to balance out again, and I would think those peaks and valleys would be even more pronounced in a smaller tank!
 

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