Thomas' 29G TruVu

[Darkxerox]

So it all started in Jan 2006. 29G TruVu tank from when they had a warehouse in the East Bay with a handmade sump made out of a 10G glass sump. Tank originally had a 250w metal halide. First rock and live sand went in fast (Tonga branch) and two tank bred perculas from Mobert in Los Gatos.

I was very hands on for the first few years until I finished grad school. But everything kept growing and I continued to gather what were considered a lot of Tyree "LE" corals that the old timers here like me will recognize:

Early 2007:

Late 2007:

mid 2008:

top down:

A lot of the big colonies I sold off and fragged over the years.

Early 2010:

Then once I started getting really busy at work in 2011, things went downhill and most if not all of the SPS died off:

I kept the tank as pretty much an anemone only tank (one coral survived, Jason Fox Pink Boobies chalice). It became a cyano mess with tons of algae due to neglect and my interest in other hobbies like Magic Cards.

2020:

 

[Darkxerox]

Then beginning this year I finally adjusted my LEDs to a correct spectrum (AI Hydra 26 HD), cranked up my Kessil H80 refugium light, fixed my MP10's, got all my RO water fixed, new skimmer (Deltec 400i), and things stabilized:

Traded in a bunch of anemones too for some frags as well:

So now I'm monitoring tank parameters again and dosing kalkwasser in the top off along with baking soda as needed for Alk.

Phosphate is definitely out of control, but next I'm going to throw GFO into a reactor to get out everything that's build up for the better part of 15+ years.

Clowns are over 16 years old now, the tang 12 (don't kill me Tang police, it was injured at the store and I never got the bigger tank I wanted). Here's hoping to the rest of 2022 being a return to the glory days!

 

[Darkxerox]

So I've seen some anemones called "black widows" when they have this white striping. I've had this one for over 16 years, but I wonder if it's from the same tank bred lineage? Second photo is under more daylight color.

 

[RandyC]

There was never a specific lineage for the Black Widow BTAs. It pretty much had the coloring of a Sherman rose BTA with the white webbing on the oral disk.

Here’s a black widow BTA I had years ago under all blues.

 

[Darkxerox]

Looks identical to mine if I took a better photo. Thanks for the info @RandyC ! Maybe I'll post it up on DBTC in case anyone wants one.

 

[dochou]

Good to see you revive the tank!

 

[Darkxerox]

So I spent some time yesterday buffing out scratches on my tank and I didn't realize how bad it had gotten. Here's a before and after, it's absolutely clear now:

I also got my 3D printed shroud and a mounting bracket from the newer AI hanging arm to turn my light horizonal and I think it's a lot better now for light spill, glare, and spread to the edges of the tank:

 

[dochou]

Nice. How did you buff out the tank with water in it?

 

[Darkxerox]

Nice. How did you buff out the tank with water in it?

Did it with the tank running with this kit and kept the pumps on with a filter sock and did a water change after. Worked pretty well on the really deep scratches on the other parts too.

 

[dochou]

Did it with the tank running with this kit and kept the pumps on with a filter sock and did a water change after. Worked pretty well on the really deep scratches on the other parts too.

Thanks. Where did you get this? I've never seen it before. Since I have an acrylic tank, I think it'd be nice for me to keep this on hand.

 

[Darkxerox]

Thanks. Where did you get this? I've never seen it before. Since I have an acrylic tank, I think it'd be nice for me to keep this on hand.

Looks like they're still in business, got it like 10 years ago: https://micro-surface.com/product/acrylic-aquarium-restoration-kit/

 

[Darkxerox]

Trochus thief! Caught my tuxedo urchin with an unsuspecting snail on its tube feet:

 

[Darkxerox]

Ok so initial PAR tests with these light settings on my 8 year old AI Hydra 26 (non HD):

Seems like my right puck might be losing strength compared to the left. I could potentially boost the white channels to get higher, but it seems pretty good for how old the light is. Note that I tried adjusting color, but there's still lots of purple in the photo vs. real life.

Edit: I forgot to apply the 1.08 correction factor. So these are all slightly lower.

 

[Darkxerox]

Picked up this awesome Todd's torch from High Tide on Sunday. It looks absolutely toxic green under all lighting colors!

 

[Darkxerox]

Post frag swap goodies:

Tequila sunrise rhodactis from @MolaMola
Orange ricordea yuma from @starfish222
Miyagi Tort and Green Goblin Anacropora from @Finnaddict
Grafted Montipora from bthenanoreefer
Branching gold hammer and forest fire digitata from @IOnceWasLegend
Ponape birdsnest from @Scott Sweet
Red dragon acropora from @Apon
Purple Stylo from @JVU
Blue tip staghorn from @wfong
Green and purple stylo from (I think Max?)
A green hydnophora from Oscar
And a DBTC spicy favia from @Alexx

We'll see if I can keep the SPS happy! Had a bit of recession from the glue I think and from sitting in containers a long time, but everything else looks great!

 

[MolaMola]

Post frag swap goodies:

Great variety for a mixed reef!

 

[Darkxerox]

Picked up a neat octospawn at High Tide last week and really like how it looks!

However almost all the SPS I got at the frag swap has died on me. Pretty much all STNed or bleached away which has been frustrating. LPS is doing fine, but haven't had crazy growth or lots of new skeleton deposition.

@under_water_ninja suggested running an ICP test since all of my home testable parameters are within a good range:

Tested	8/17
Nitrate (ppm) Salifert	20
Alk (dKh) Salifert	7.7
Calcium (ppm) Salifert	400
Magnesium (ppm) Salifert	1320
Salinity (ppt) Refractometer	35
Phosphorus (ppb) Hanna	0.06

So I just got my results back (water collected 8/20): https://app.reef-labs.com/share/dfd7ee91-5572-48a6-a12b-37162a79a0d1

I expected to be having some heavy metals show up due to like a cracked magnet or something, but instead I'm showing as deficient in a lot of ions. Plus my salinity is showing low, but given that I created a 35 PPT calibration solution for my refractometer in the lab recently and compared it to an in-lab digital refractometer, I figure my numbers are more accurate since theirs are back-calculated.

Any ideas on what to do besides correct the trace elements and why my SPS luck has been so bad? Have pretty decent flow with 2x MP10s, low but enough PAR to at least keep them brownish!

 

[thephoreefer]

Oh no that’s weird!! Could be swings that kill sps. Or possible temperature swing high 80s.

 

[under_water_ninja]

Picked up a neat octospawn at High Tide last week and really like how it looks!View attachment 41287

However almost all the SPS I got at the frag swap has died on me. Pretty much all STNed or bleached away which has been frustrating. LPS is doing fine, but haven't had crazy growth or lots of new skeleton deposition.

@under_water_ninja suggested running an ICP test since all of my home testable parameters are within a good range:

Tested	8/17
Nitrate (ppm) Salifert	20
Alk (dKh) Salifert	7.7
Calcium (ppm) Salifert	400
Magnesium (ppm) Salifert	1320
Salinity (ppt) Refractometer	35
Phosphorus (ppb) Hanna	0.06

So I just got my results back (water collected 8/20): https://app.reef-labs.com/share/dfd7ee91-5572-48a6-a12b-37162a79a0d1

I expected to be having some heavy metals show up due to like a cracked magnet or something, but instead I'm showing as deficient in a lot of ions. Plus my salinity is showing low, but given that I created a 35 PPT calibration solution for my refractometer in the lab recently and compared it to an in-lab digital refractometer, I figure my numbers are more accurate since theirs are back-calculated.

Any ideas on what to do besides correct the trace elements and why my SPS luck has been so bad? Have pretty decent flow with 2x MP10s, low but enough PAR to at least keep them brownish!

So from the looks of it I like to run my alk a little night about 8.5, but 7.7 is totally fine, any number between 7-9 is fine as long as you keep it steady! They main things that kill sps are swings in parameters. Your nitrates are at 20, I would feed more, maybe add in additional feedings of high phosphorus foods and get your phos up to .20, this would be healthy nutrient levels for your corals to take in and absorb all those nutrients, plus it will put you in a perfect red field ratio. As far as your ICP goes, it is a reef labs test, I carry Captive8 Aquaculture’s Isol8 MT trace elements from there reef blueprint line. Those will correct most of your issues with the minor and trace elements your deficient in.

 

[Darkxerox]

Oh no that’s weird!! Could be swings that kill sps. Or possible temperature swing high 80s.

The alk has been anywhere from 7.3 to 8.3 (on the days I'm testing) but who knows, maybe it is swings or light acclimation? I did notice the tissue facing the light sloughed off fastest, but hey maybe that's a lack of trace elements to aid in proper photosynthesis or when photoinhibition/oxidative stress takes effect. But thanks for the input Danh! I'll try to get it tighter with more consistent kalk input. Temp never exceeds 77 here (house is air conditioned). I do run TMP salt, but maybe I need to feed/dose differently. What do you add to your tank again?

I'll bring some water to @under_water_ninja and test my salinity as well. If my Na Cl ion concentration is truly low and my refractive index is being thrown off by a high amount of unmeasurable things, that could explain some of it. It was reading 36ppt prior to my refractometer recal and 34 after, so I have brought it up slowly.

I'll check out those TEs as well. I can actually make my own custom TE mix based on this ICP test, but the minor elements like potassium, silica, and iodine (I know Randy Holmes Farley says dosing iodine is a waste) I'll need to add too.