Bubba's SPS Journey

bubbaque · Apr 23, 2020

tripdad said:
Sorry to hear the rough times are continuing, been down that road before myself. Hang in there! Any chance you can do back ups with someone?

Yes luckily I gave some corals to a couple buddies who can cut me frags when the algae is gone.

Adam_C · Apr 23, 2020

Hey Bubba,

Sorry you're dealing with this Algae issue. I've done fluconozole 2x with an acro dominant tank. First time like you, I had a horrible outcome with most acros dying when using the recommended full dose. About a year later it came back when I messed with some equipment and changed around a few things. I read from a few others that trialing a much lower dose had positive results. So second time I did 1/3 recommended dose spread out over 3-4 days. This time it was much easier on the system, killed all bryopsis within 3 weeks, and didn't lose one acro. I had a couple bigger colonies that kinda paled out by week three but never bleached like the first go around. I'm not sure of it's ability to kill turf algae but I highly recommend if you go this route again, do it with 1/3 or even 1/4 recommended dose spread out over a few days. If the Acros look stressed within a week or so, it's a lot easier to do a water change and remove the lower dose. Best of luck brother I know you'll get through this!

justingraham · Apr 24, 2020

Bubba did u dose fluzona or whatever when u had the trident?

be interesting to see the swing in parameters if u did

but I’m sure ur over the fluzona talk right now

so do you miss having a separate frag tank? I know I find myself looking at the frag tank way more then the main display one might even say if I didn’t have the frag tank I prolly wouldn’t be in the hobby anymore

bubbaque · Apr 24, 2020

justingraham said:
Bubba did u dose fluzona or whatever when u had the trident?

be interesting to see the swing in parameters if u did

but I’m sure ur over the fluzona talk right now

so do you miss having a separate frag tank? I know I find myself looking at the frag tank way more then the main display one might even say if I didn’t have the frag tank I prolly wouldn’t be in the hobby anymore

I did not have the trident the times I dosed it before but I monitored alk daily to watch for any swings. The first time I used it I did have a large po4 swing from .02 to .20. I figured that is what caused the issues my corals had so the second time I monitored alk and nutrients and I added gfo when needed during the second treatment and my po4 never got about .06 but I had the same issues.

As far as just being after look at corals a frag tank is better as you always get to see top down but as a whole I enjoy having my large tank as it feels more like a slice of the reef and seeing the fish act natural is cool.

aquavista99 · Apr 27, 2020

The algae scrubber looks like a game changer for you. Glad things are getting back to normal with your reef.

gig 'em · Apr 29, 2020

Man I know how frustrating this is, I dealt with a year of spiraling health in my last tank. It got to the point where I said enough is enough and acid dipped all my rock before putting it into the new tank. I used a couple piece of seed rocks from my anemone system and dosed a lot of bottled bacteria, mostly Dr. Tims and Aquaforest, so far I couldn't be happier with the results. Hitting the reset button is an extreme step of course, so I'm hopeful you can get things figured out without resulting to that. Best of luck, it's no fun going through tough tank times.

drawman · May 7, 2020

How's the tank and algae battle coming along Bubba?

bubbaque · May 7, 2020

The algae has stopped growing but the tank will be coming down in about a week. We are moving so I have to put the tank in storage until I get settled into the new home. A friend of mine is already holding my corals for me until I get set back up. Hopefully doesn't take too long.

drawman · May 7, 2020

bubbaque said:
The algae has stopped growing but the tank will be coming down in about a week. We are moving so I have to put the tank in storage until I get settled into the new home. A friend of mine is already holding my corals for me until I get set back up. Hopefully doesn't take too long.

Well congrats on the new place! Sucks for all of us too to see the system come down but excited to see it come back up in the future. Good luck!

bubbaque · May 7, 2020

drawman said:
Well congrats on the new place! Sucks for all of us too to see the system come down but excited to see it come back up in the future. Good luck!

Im excited to restart it. I think I’m gonna try some new things but everything depends on available space in the home we buy.

ScottB · May 7, 2020

bubbaque said:
Im excited to restart it. I think I’m gonna try some new things but everything depends on available space in the home we buy.

On behalf of fellow enthusiasts, I'll take a shot at modifying that last sentence just slightly if I may...

"I think I am gonna try some new things so obviously the new home must have the required space for my dream build or else we won't buy it."

There. I fixed it for you.

Wrangy · May 7, 2020

What bittersweet news, no tank and no Bubba pics for a while

BUT YOU GOT A NEW HOUSE

Congrats man that's amazing news!!!

Adam_C · May 7, 2020

Congrats on the new house man! Sorry you've gotta tear the tank down to move and I know first hand how stressful that can be. You've helped me a ton reading through your thread and advice you've given so would like to return the help. I'm down in Port St Lucie so if you need an extra set of hands for the move I could drive up pending on my work schedule. - Adam

tripdad · May 8, 2020

Hope the house hunting goes well and you find a gem!

CCauthers · May 8, 2020

Jeeeez bubba I just went through the whole thread, and dang! what a rollercoaster. I hope everything turns out well and the move goes smooth

bubbaque · May 8, 2020

CCauthers said:
Jeeeez bubba I just went through the whole thread, and dang! what a rollercoaster. I hope everything turns out well and the move goes smooth

Thanks for all the likes and taking the time to read the thread. I’ll be back with a tank hopefully soon.

CCauthers · May 8, 2020

bubbaque said:
Thanks for all the likes and taking the time to read the thread. I’ll be back with a tank hopefully soon.

You definitely deserve them, I showed the pics of your acros to mine and told them one day, if they eat their aminos and stay away from the montis, theyll be like yours. I also went with your flickr, and im pretty sure wow dosen’t sum it up, I think I had to wash the drool out of like 4 different sweatshirts.

Maxx · May 18, 2020

Bubba,
Just finished reading all 253 pages from the start...what a ride.

Look forward to you setting up the tank again and enjoying your previous success.

bubbaque · May 18, 2020

Maxx said:
Bubba,
Just finished reading all 253 pages from the start...what a ride.

Look forward to you setting up the tank again and enjoying your previous success.

Thank you! I’m already itching to have a tank again, lol. I’m hoping my new home has a nice fish room I can put all my equipment. I’m also gonna try some new stuff out on the rebuild.

1stNoel · May 18, 2020

bubbaque said:
Thank you! I’m already itching to have a tank again, lol. I’m hoping my new home has a nice fish room I can put all my equipment. I’m also gonna try some new stuff out on the rebuild.

What's with this "hoping"? You gotta put on the big boy pants and demand a fish room!