Max’s 30 gal

[max_nano]

I was taking pics of some coral and managed to be photobombed by my female clown and it came out in focus. Probably the best pic I have of her now. I never noticed the orange spot on her fin until seeing this picture. It gives me a new appreciation to the fish that makes sure to always bite me when I move things.

 

[BleepBloopMunchMunch]

The orange dot is cool!

 

[max_nano]

I built a little structure to mount the torch on instead of the frag disk it’s been on for a few months. I also fragged off an almost 2 head piece.

 

[max_nano]

I got a pretty good pic of the male clown in the red goni. I thought that after the goni started hosting him that it would become the go to spot if he gets spooked, but that hasn’t been happening. So it makes it hard to get a pic since he swims away if I walk near the tank. But I got this pic from the other side

 

[Patio]

Very cool. I bet the Goni will like the extra food that comes with the hosting.

 

[max_nano]

Alk: 7.3
NO3: <.2
PO4: .05

I’m working on raising alk and NO3 slowly by increasing their dosage. I’ll work to keep the PO4 up with the pellets in the auto feeder, I recently switched to the reef nutrient pellets since the clowns got stringy poop and I believe the ocean nutrient pellets could be the cause.

Tank is looking great, I started feeding a tiny amount of frozen mixed with Red Sea AB+. Maintenance has been pretty minimal, I’m going to do a small water change just to keep in routine but minimize the nutrient export since they’re already quite low.

 

[max_nano]

I have about 2 weeks of b-ionic 2 part left. I’m going to switch to Ati 2 part for a few reasons, and am wonder how to approach that.

I’ve found calculators online and have a rough estimate that I will need to dose about 3x as much 2 part if I’m using the Ati stuff. My plan is to take the b-ionic off the doser and set up the Ati and set a conservative schedule, then use the khg testing to monitor and adjust the dosage until I’m on track and stable with the new stuff.

Is there a better way or other suggestions on how I should approach this? If I had additional dosing heads I would probably do something over complicated to slowly transition, but without that option I think the switch over plus manual dosing at first will be a good approach.

 

[max_nano]

The bubblegum was getting close to an acro so I fragged a branch. I wanted to try out the horizontal mounting to promote encrusting so we’ll see what happens. I mostly want it to cover the glue, I did my best to use a small amount for the new piece and I glued it to the other ones glue blob

 

[ghermes]

here’s some shots with the polyp lab macro lens:
View attachment 18073

View attachment 18074View attachment 18075View attachment 18076View attachment 18077View attachment 18078View attachment 18079

@max_nano, do you know what the coral is in the photo directly above this reply. It's the last photo in the set. I have this coral, but don't know what it is.
Thanks, GH

 

[max_nano]

@max_nano, do you know what the coral is in the photo directly above this reply. It's the last photo in the set. I have this coral, but don't know what it is.
Thanks, GH

This one? Japanese Green Nepthea

 

[ghermes]

View attachment 23606
This one? Japanese Green Nepthea

That's it. Thanks for the info.

 

[Meshmez]

This one? Japanese Green Nepthea

What flow/lighting do you have yours in? I haven't been getting much PE lately...

 

[ghermes]

What flow/lighting do you have yours in? I haven't been getting much PE lately...

I would say it is in moderate flow and a little above mid tank which is at the top of my rock work. I have a Red Sea Max S-500 with 3 RS LED 90's for light. I'm only in the hobby for a little over a year. I'm really not very knowledgeable about coral, placement, flow, etc., as you can tell since I ask what kind of coral it is. I do think it's looking pretty good. I can shoot a short vid tomorrow and post a copy for you.

 

[max_nano]

What flow/lighting do you have yours in? I haven't been getting much PE lately...

High flow medium light. It’s directly in the path of one of the neros and is near the middle point of the radion but at the edge of the tank so probably 150-200

 

[max_nano]

Goni is now hosting both clowns. I’m seeing the male sucking on the end of the polyps so I believe that’s how they adjust to any stinging from the coral. The male doesn’t leave much, the female will go between the goni and swimming under a torch. It is so cool to see the clowns interact with the coral after primarily swimming in corners for the past year

 

[max_nano]

I cleaned the gunk out of the gyre and neros today. I didn’t spend too long cleaning so I only got some of the coralline off, but I cleaned the insides to remove the slimy build up.
After making a mess doing that I cleaned the glass and took some pics

The BC Shag Priority has been encrusting quickly recently.

the thicker acro in the left is developing a cool bright edge around the tips, it was from Unique corals with no name. The gold tort is starting to encrust and I can’t see much of the glue anymore

reverse Rastas have been growing so fast! And the blasto near the top of the pic is looking amazing after coming close to dying during the move last summer

I put this gsp in a spot with a lot of flow right in front of a powerhead. I think it has not been growing as quickly but it’s hard to tell. It’s bright!

Chong bong island. These grow quickly so I’m looking forward to watch it fill in

Kermit song granny is chugging along. I think it will show some growth in the near future. Hopefully. Haha

 

[max_nano]

PO4: .09
NO3: near 0
alk: 7.7

I increased nitrate dosage and will continue feeding the same

 

[max_nano]

The acrylic on the long sides of this tank is starting to bow outwards. It should be 20” wide but is closer to 20.5”. I have been advised by multiple people that as long as the seams are in tact it is not a problem. However I have some issues with the tank and this may be the straw to break the camels back.

I’m looking into replacing it with an AIO glass tank and am looking for one that’s 25-30g so I don’t have to worry too much about eventually moving the tank. I’ll go big when I know I’d have time for the tank to fill in.

I found the bowing when the lid I ordered on 9/26/20 arrived this week and did not fit in the center but was perfect in the corners. I’m not even sure what to do about this not fitting since it was my issue and not the manufacture. Oh well, maybe I can do something to brace the tank before setting it up again and then the lid won’t be a waste.

 

[max_nano]

I put my phone into the tank. Couldn’t use the filter so I tried to adjust the lights till it looked right, a little white but pretty close.

 

[max_nano]

1/31/21
PO4: .09
NO3: near 0
alk: 7.7

2/7/21
PO4: .11
NO3: near 0 clear salifert from side view
Alk: 8.4

I’m going to increase nitrate dosage and continue feeding the same way. I want to get nitrates higher than 0 but I don’t want to make too many changes too fast. I may increase the aminos dosage but I know that is not suppose to be a big impact on nutrients

I have put some new rock in recently so I wonder if that is taking in the nutrients. I don’t fully understand how that works but I believe adding new rock can lower nutrients temporarily?