Waterbox Mini Peninsula 15 build and impressions

[tharbin]

Some of our tank's inhabitants were complaining that they don't get enough media attention so my wife took photos of three of them the other day. I figured I'd share them to get them to quit complaining:

Our Trochus

Our hermit

and one of our Nassarius (on his way home from checking the feeding cup)

 

[tharbin]

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the tank so here is a progress shot.

The mystic sunset is a little unhappy in the shot as I just did a 2 gallon water change so it spent a few minutes above the water line.

 

[TheWB]

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the tank so here is a progress shot.

The mystic sunset is a little unhappy in the shot as I just did a 2 gallon water change so it spent a few minutes above the water line.

Looking good. I kinda like the side view through the peninsula. Looks deeper than it actually is.

 

[tharbin]

Time for a bit of an update. This is one of those posts that most reefers don't really want to make, first because they'd rather not have the issue but also because who really wants to see an ugly tank?

So rose-colored glasses off.

I am currently dealing with a Bryopsis issue. It is not out of control yet but it easily could become so. I'm ninety-nine-and-a-half percent sure it originated from the Reef Rubble I sourced from Aquabiomics. It originally appeared only on the rubble and still predominates the rubble.

Once I knew it was probably a Bryopsis strain I pulled all of the rubble and scrubbed it and rinsed it in saltwater, only to have it reappear a week or so later. It started to spread to the sand bed, where it is easy to remove by just grabbing it and throwing away the algae along with the mat of sand that comes up with it. I was managing, kind of, the outbreak by a weekly scrubbing of the rubble and tossing affected sand bed.

Then it spread to a nearby 'Life Rock'. Now it is on all of the rocks but mainly in a few tufts here or there. But--it has also started to grow on one of the Beach Bum Monti skeletons that I have been slowly watch regrow. I can't have that so time for more drastic measures.

First, two weeks ago I tossed all but two pieces of the Reef Rubble in the 'sump' where the Bryopsis seems to be doing quite well in the near-darkness. I left two small pieces that have coralline on them as I'm still trying to get the coralline to propagate to my purple-rocks. I have pulled some by hand but that just seems to spread it. I also only remove a small bit at a time since, as much as I don't care for it, the copepods look at it like a 5-star hotel and the hermit has figured out it is a great place to serve as his private diner.

Here is a top-down look at the tank. The vast majority of the algae is now on the 'Life Rock' near the front glass.

But if you look at the rocks you can see tufts here and there, including on the Beach Bum skeleton toward the left. The Beach Bums have slowly been reclaiming the old skeleton so that has prompted more drastic action.

Here is a better shot of the main area. You can clearly see the fern-like structure. You can also see one of the coralline-covered rubble pieces. The Bryopsis does not encroach on it.

And a close up of the algae.

The tank has gone through the diatom stage, a GHA stage and an unexpected cyano stage. None of these required anything other than nutrient control and a monthly half-dose of Microbacter Clean to help populate the baren rock surfaces. Although, the cyano did take a long time to subside.

This challenge I need to be more aggressive with. I do not want to lose the Beach Bum if it is at all possible to save it. I have ordered some Flux Rx and will dose it soon. I have read many of the threads and a fair amount of the scientific basis for the use of Fluconazole against Bryopsis and I am convinced the science is sound. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Chrisv.]

Time for a bit of an update. This is one of those posts that most reefers don't really want to make, first because they'd rather not have the issue but also because who really wants to see an ugly tank?

So rose-colored glasses off.

I am currently dealing with a Bryopsis issue. It is not out of control yet but it easily could become so. I'm ninety-nine-and-a-half percent sure it originated from the Reef Rubble I sourced from Aquabiomics. It originally appeared only on the rubble and still predominates the rubble.

Once I knew it was probably a Bryopsis strain I pulled all of the rubble and scrubbed it and rinsed it in saltwater, only to have it reappear a week or so later. It started to spread to the sand bed, where it is easy to remove by just grabbing it and throwing away the algae along with the mat of sand that comes up with it. I was managing, kind of, the outbreak by a weekly scrubbing of the rubble and tossing affected sand bed.

Then it spread to a nearby 'Life Rock'. Now it is on all of the rocks but mainly in a few tufts here or there. But--it has also started to grow on one of the Beach Bum Monti skeletons that I have been slowly watch regrow. I can't have that so time for more drastic measures.

First, two weeks ago I tossed all but two pieces of the Reef Rubble in the 'sump' where the Bryopsis seems to be doing quite well in the near-darkness. I left two small pieces that have coralline on them as I'm still trying to get the coralline to propagate to my purple-rocks. I have pulled some by hand but that just seems to spread it. I also only remove a small bit at a time since, as much as I don't care for it, the copepods look at it like a 5-star hotel and the hermit has figured out it is a great place to serve as his private diner.

Here is a top-down look at the tank. The vast majority of the algae is now on the 'Life Rock' near the front glass.

But if you look at the rocks you can see tufts here and there, including on the Beach Bum skeleton toward the left. The Beach Bums have slowly been reclaiming the old skeleton so that has prompted more drastic action.

Here is a better shot of the main area. You can clearly see the fern-like structure. You can also see one of the coralline-covered rubble pieces. The Bryopsis does not encroach on it.

And a close up of the algae.

The tank has gone through the diatom stage, a GHA stage and an unexpected cyano stage. None of these required anything other than nutrient control and a monthly half-dose of Microbacter Clean to help populate the baren rock surfaces. Although, the cyano did take a long time to subside.

This challenge I need to be more aggressive with. I do not want to lose the Beach Bum if it is at all possible to save it. I have ordered some Flux Rx and will dose it soon. I have read many of the threads and a fair amount of the scientific basis for the use of Fluconazole against Bryopsis and I am convinced the science is sound. I will let you know how it goes.

gah.. so frustrating! I haven't really taken the time to do a deep dive into flux rx due to having avoided bryopsis so far. What are the negative consequences associated with dosing it? Does it tend to upset corals? Nuke the tank's microbiome? What price might you pay for going this route? I am totally down for "by whatever means works" but I was just wondering what the downsides are.

 

[tharbin]

gah.. so frustrating! I haven't really taken the time to do a deep dive into flux rx due to having avoided bryopsis so far. What are the negative consequences associated with dosing it? Does it tend to upset corals? Nuke the tank's microbiome? What price might you pay for going this route? I am totally down for "by whatever means works" but I was just wondering what the downsides are.

There have been a number of threads on it going back to around the 2013 time frame on several forums. It seems the original correlation thread of Fluconazole treatment of Bryopsis may go back to a Brazilian reef club thread.

Here is a really good thread on it but there are many more:

Bryopsis Cure: My Battle With Bryopsis Using Fluconazole

The Poll In This Thread is For Bryopsis Only not GHA,Turf,Bubble Algae or any other Algae The 2 week treatment is for Bryopsis algae. For GHA,turf algae and bubble algae it may take as long as 4-6 weeks to kill. GHA,turf algae,bubble algae are different than Bryopsis algae. Bryopsis algae will...

www.reef2reef.com

There have been very few cases of reported problems with other life in our tanks, except GHA which also seems to be stressed by it. The prevailing theory on the crash events seems to be that some other, probably fungal, occupant of the tank is stressed or dies releasing toxins. Since mine is a small tank with very little life in it, I view the risk as minimal.

Theoretically, the only causalities should be fungi and Bryopsis but GHA is usually significantly stressed so there may be other, unstudied, potential victims. The most troubling crash events I have read about are with Acropora so I might hesitate to use it in an Acropora-heavy tank.

 

[tharbin]

I dosed some Flux Rx to the tank yesterday to see if it will handle the Bryopsis. I expect it will. There are actually at least three different strains of algae in the tank currently. A feathery Bryopsis-like strain, a dark green thick turf-type algae and a short bunch-grass-like algae that I've never seen before. It pulls easily, comes out all as one clump and doesn't seem to spread from removal.

I also had some macro algae that looked like a caulerpa racemosa or similar but it got out-competed.

Anyway, today I put on my Optivisor to take a good look at everything and see if the Flux Rx was causing any visible stain. In was not. But--I found a new reef inhabitant. I looked and looked but only found the one, so far. Hard to say how or when it came in as the last livestock or rock added was on April 15. Since then, just food and phyto. Here it is:

Not sure yet exactly how I will dispose of it since it is only about an inch from the orange monti cap (the pinkish blob to the right in the photo) and a little hard to get to.

 

[Chrisv.]

I dosed some Flux Rx to the tank yesterday to see if it will handle the Bryopsis. I expect it will. There are actually at least three different strains of algae in the tank currently. A feathery Bryopsis-like strain, a dark green thick turf-type algae and a short bunch-grass-like algae that I've never seen before. It pulls easily, comes out all as one clump and doesn't seem to spread from removal.

I also had some macro algae that looked like a caulerpa racemosa or similar but it got out-competed.

Anyway, today I put on my Optivisor to take a good look at everything and see if the Flux Rx was causing any visible stain. In was not. But--I found a new reef inhabitant. I looked and looked but only found the one, so far. Hard to say how or when it came in as the last livestock or rock added was on April 15. Since then, just food and phyto. Here it is:

Not sure yet exactly how I will dispose of it since it is only about an inch from the orange monti cap (the pinkish blob to the right in the photo) and a little hard to get to.

With unrelenting vengeance. Dispose of the aiptasia with unrelenting vengeance.

Maybe kill the flow an smother it with kalk paste. But don't wait. It will be 30.

 

[tharbin]

With unrelenting vengeance. Dispose of the aiptasia with unrelenting vengeance.

Maybe kill the flow an smother it with kalk paste. But don't wait. It will be 30.

I used to use kalk paste but I haven't used kalk in years. Since I can see one, it is probably thirty already but I agree with the sentiment. Can't get rid of them too soon or too aggressively.

 

[TheWB]

I used to use kalk paste but I haven't used kalk in years. Since I can see one, it is probably thirty already but I agree with the sentiment. Can't get rid of them too soon or too aggressively.

I still have a few in my tank but the filefish keeps them under control. It won’t touch the big ones that I can tell but it loves the little ones. My sandbed was overrun with the little ones and the three peppermint shrimp I had didn’t help at all. One week with the aiptasia eating filefish from Biota and the little ones were all gone.

 

[tharbin]

I still have a few in my tank but the filefish keeps them under control. It won’t touch the big ones that I can tell but it loves the little ones. My sandbed was overrun with the little ones and the three peppermint shrimp I had didn’t help at all. One week with the aiptasia eating filefish from Biota and the little ones were all gone.

I've been looking but so far I only see the one. Not enough to invest in a nudi or filefish, yet... How is the filefish with everything else? I've never owned one.

I used to use kalkwasser paste but I haven't used it in years. I'll look into what people are doing today, maybe there are some fresh ideas or maybe one of the chemicals really works. I prefer natural though. I have glued over them with epoxy way back when if I couldn't get to it any other way. Maybe some CA Gel? I haven't had time to really start looking into it yet.

On a related note, I added a slightly weak dose of Flux Rx Saturday afternoon as part of a 2 gallon water change. This morning I see some stress indictors on about 25% of the algae. Tips are turning white and it seems to be affecting all three species, although the feathery, probably Bryopsis, the most. Not bad for 1.5 days. It is encouraging.

 

[TheWB]

I've been looking but so far I only see the one. Not enough to invest in a nudi or filefish, yet... How is the filefish with everything else? I've never owned one.

I used to use kalkwasser paste but I haven't used it in years. I'll look into what people are doing today, maybe there are some fresh ideas or maybe one of the chemicals really works. I prefer natural though. I have glued over them with epoxy way back when if I couldn't get to it any other way. Maybe some CA Gel? I haven't had time to really start looking into it yet.

On a related note, I added a slightly weak dose of Flux Rx Saturday afternoon as part of a 2 gallon water change. This morning I see some stress indictors on about 25% of the algae. Tips are turning white and it seems to be affecting all three species, although the feathery, probably Bryopsis, the most. Not bad for 1.5 days. It is encouraging.

The filefish has been an excellent tank mate. It bothers nothing and just generally cruises around doing its own thing. I don’t think I’ll ever be without one again, it performs it’s roll and is interesting to observe.

Im not surprised about your Flux RX experience. It worked well for me.

 

[tharbin]

It has been five and a half days since I dosed the Flux Rx so I thought it was time for another update.

-Positive reactions: As the photos will show, there is significantly less algae in the tank. I can find no trace of the 'feathery' Bryopsis, the thicker green turf algae is significantly less in the brightly lit areas and starting to recede in the darker areas. The small bunch-grass-like algae seems to be slowly turning white but actually increased for a while, I assume from less competition. None of these results surprised me as it largely coincides with what I have read in the major Fluconazole threads.

-Negative reactions: The hammer coral is expanding less and appears to be slightly agitated that may be from the Fluconazole or just from changes to the tank biome. It is not troubling, just something I'm watching. Overall the tank seems to be less diverse. It's hard to put my finger on it but my wife noticed it also. Even though there is still a ton of algae in the tank it just seems a little sterile. I've also noticed the Nassarius snails coming out to hunt for food more often.

Overall I am very pleased with the results so far.

 

[tharbin]

So today marks 14 days since I added the Flux Rx. I'm very pleased with the results. There is still some algae, mainly in low light areas but much less.

Tomorrow I will do a 16% water change.

 

[tharbin]

I also applied my version of F Aiptasia yesterday. I didn't think I could do any of the standard 'cures' without potentially damaging the montis so I made a roll of aquarium epoxy and smeared it over it. So far it looks good but its only been about 24 hours. I'm scanning for more but so far so good.

 

[tharbin]

I realized it has been a very long time since my last tank update. Nothing really new to report. The tank has been in a holding pattern since mid-September as I'm looking to upgrade to a larger tank. I did have a relapse of Bryopsis in November and applied Flux Rx again in early December. It has knocked it back again quite well but last time I noticed that my orange monti cap and the mystic sunset monti were both somewhat stressed by the treatment. This time they were both stressed again more severely. There is a good chance I will lose the mystic sunset but I ended the treatment last week. Did a 16% water change and added 15g of Reef-Spec carbon to the filter. The orange cap is recovering nicely and the mystic sunset has shown a few positive signs but I'll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I rescued this from the sand bed:

I actually first saw it in November. I was careful to not suck it up or disturb it when I found it and it just got big enough (it is now about 1/4" in diameter) to mount. It seems to have around nine polyps so far and seems very healthy. It may be a polyp bailout from the WWC grafted monti but still too small to be sure.

Also our other Nassarius felt slighted so here is his intro:

I haven't been keeping the glass too clean lately. I scratched the left side glass with my Flipper Nano a few weeks ago and I curse myself every time I see the glass, so I just avoid seeing it.

 

[A Young Reefer]

following!

 

[tharbin]

I'm usually not a fan of Hermit Crabs. I like watching them but they just seem to get into trouble. I received one by accident in a shipment from Reef Cleaners in October of 2021 and threw him in the tank. Since them I've watched him carefully to make sure he behaves himself. So, after 16 months, I'm going to declare him reef safe and take him off probation.

What happened? Last night I was watching the tank and one of the Nassarius snails was out looking for food. He had his snoot out in front searching. As he approached the Hermit I saw the Hermit back away. The Nassarius kept coming and the Hermit kept backing up, half way across the tank. Finally the Nassarius' snoot poked the Hermit and the Hermit jumped sideways and ran for the rocks. My kind of Hermit.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

how's your tank doing?

 

[tharbin]

how's your tank doing?

Hi. It's still in a holding pattern. I have a Tenecor 100 gallon lagoon tank that I'm going to commission to replace this tank but I'm in no hurry.

Updates:
-I did not, yet, lose the mystic sunset but it is very small and still not recovering from the last Flux-RX treatment.
-The 'reef safe' hermit crab is now rehomed. He went rogue when I added some Cerith snails.
-I added five Cerith and 5 more Trochus snails. They were from two different LFSs. The Trochus have developed bubble algae on their shells. So far it has not spread to the rest of the tank. I plan to pull them and clean their shells this week.
-The small coral I found in the sand is continuing to grow but has become more yellowish in color. It's probably time to put it in a little higher light area.
-I lost the original Trochus a few days ago. Everything else is fine but he was large enough that he caused a bit of a nutrient spike.
-The Bryopis came back again about a month ago so I am treating yet again with Flux-RX.

The tank is looking very blah from the Flux -RX. The hammer barely opens and all of the orange/red pigmented corals are dull but I'll be ending the treatment again in a few days. I'll try to get a photo in the next few days and post it it.