A's 56g —> 186g mixed reef

[Adauqua]

It took several *weeks* of heavy, heavy lanthanum dosing to get my phosphate down from .65-.70. One day, all of a sudden, I had to cut my lanthanum dose down to about 5% of what it was. I can only attribute this to the rocks or substrate “leeching” so there may be truth to that but it takes some time to catch up and then stabilize at a much lower level of dosing (or none). Like longer than a few days - not saying I recommend doing this, just pointing it out.

I feed an embarrassing amount of food (frozen, nori, and pellets) and still am maintaining the very low level of lanthanum to keep po4 around .15-.2. I suspect your po4 is not being stubborn due to feedings but rather this leeching phenomenon.

Thanks for your input.
I will try lanthanum again + macro algae in sump to get 0.1 phosphate - still debating ammonia vs. nitrate dosing for 2-5 ppm nitrate

 

[Adauqua]

My Xmas wrasse has its belly getting bigger/fatter than usual (almost double) - is it ok? It’s still active, swimming and eating normally

 

[Adauqua]

Vacation nightmare 2024

The ugly:
Euphylia bacteria infection - for the last 5 weeks, I have lost a torch every few days for a total of 5 torches and a hammer colonies. It sicks me to my stomach. I am on family summer vacation and praying - will consider cipro treatment a whole tank when I am back

The bad:
Hitting zeros phosphate & nitrate and early sign of dinos before leaving - so I turn off skimmer, increase auto feeder and … pray twice as hard. Will dose bicarbonate ammonia after vacation.

The good:
SPS, elegances + other LPS, softies, fish are doing great on new tank. A few iPhone snapshots dump to remember the good before the bad and the ugly take their turn

 

[Adauqua]

 

[Don.Julio91]

Sorry to hear about your torches, I think your the second Tank Journal that’s going through a bacterial infection right now on torches.
Otherwise I super jealous of those rock flower anemones! They are super bright/ colorful. Your elegance also is super nice and puffed up.

 

[Adauqua]

Red tumbling “reactor” - I inherited an awesome sump from @Turkeysammich - thanks Will!

 

[MarcosDelgado0]

Curious what ended up happening with your bacterial infection and Dino’s?

 

[Adauqua]

Curious what ended up happening with your bacterial infection and Dino’s?

Dino were gone when I was back from vacation (extra feeding and turning off skimmer) - phosphate was up from 0.03 to 0.3, nitrate from 0 to 10

For bacteria infection, I did the following OUTSIDE of the tank - luckily it stopped:
- used high concentrate iodine and dropped it directly to infected head(s) - made sure that the iodine or water from infected head MUST NOT touch healthy heads
- then cut the infected head off and threw away
- dipped the rest of the colony to dilute iodine for 5 mins, rinsed and put back

 

[MarcosDelgado0]

Dino were gone when I was back from vacation (extra feeding and turning off skimmer) - phosphate was up from 0.03 to 0.3, nitrate from 0 to 10

For bacteria infection, I did the following OUTSIDE of the tank - luckily it stopped:
- used high concentrate iodine and dropped it directly to infected head(s) - made sure that the iodine or water from infected head MUST NOT touch healthy heads
- then cut the infected head off and threw away
- dipped the rest of the colony to dilute iodine for 5 mins, rinsed and put back

Wow that’s awesome you were able to clear both up

 

[Adauqua]

Just after 6-7 months in with this "last dance" 190g tank, I'm pushing the limit and boundary again with the beautiful orange spot rabbitfish from @Srt4eric & @DaddyHook

Iphone 12 video + epic music to mask the noisy skimmer

 

[Darkxerox]

Has the longnose butterfly been a good reef citizen?

 

[Adauqua]

Has the longnose butterfly been a good reef citizen?

Yes, a very modest reef citizen, eating well and picking "stuffs" from rock crevices

 

[MichaelB]

Looking great, that fish is the size fisherman hope for

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Those rabbitfish are known to eat zoanthids
And, has your stripey eaten any LPS or anything it wasn’t supposed to?

 

[Adauqua]

Those rabbitfish are known to eat zoanthids

So far no problem. He's well fed with a lot of chopped-up Sprung's burning bush from the sump, nori, and other meaty foods. I also tie a Sprung's burning bush to rock for him to nip.
And the CBB is strictly eating only frozen brine shrimp and spitting out everything else. He has not touched any corals.

 

[Darkxerox]

So far no problem. He's well fed with a lot of chopped-up Sprung's burning bush from the sump, nori, and other meaty foods. I also tie a Sprung's burning bush to rock for him to nip.

Recycling!

 

[Adauqua]

Recycling!

Yeah. But consuming rate is much faster than producing rate, he eats a lot.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

@Ayman
The Stripey, has it need a model citizen?

 

[Ayman]

@Ayman
The Stripey, has it need a model citizen?

Yes it has been. Hopefully it stays that way.