Tank is looking much happier

To my relief, the tank is looking much happier today! The Duncan and the Hammer were open much more than they have been and the Birdsnest that I've been worried about looks 'slightly' better. Still keeping my fingers crossed on that guy.

I also discovered that the Feather Duster I got is actually alive! During feeding today, he put out his crown. I'm glad I didn't remove him from the tank! I'll have to put him in a better spot now.

He's alive!

The Plate coral is getting large and looks gorgeous and the Big Polyp Blast is looks really neat. The Asterospicularia is cool to watch as it actually 'grows' and branches out towards the light like a sunflower. If it gets bumped around by a snail or whatever it'll change to compensate. It's relatively quick too. I was able to get a picture of the Candy Cane Coral polyps as well which was pretty cool to see. I was able to see the Favia coral extend its' polyps as well but my camera wasn't able to pick them up :( I really should get a better camera for this and clean up the side walls of the tank...

Candy Cane Coral Polyps extended

And last but not least, I got another fish for the tank to help with the SPS nutrients. It's a small one and I was really nervous as I'm already pushing the limits with the Clown. He seems to have adapted well and made his home in the tank with his tank mates. Say hello to Gilbert: the blue neon goby! I picked him up from Petco last Wednesday, I believe. I had to pry myself away from a really cool Galaxea Coral they had in stock. I really wanted it; they're some of my favorite looking coral! I have to make sure my current coral are going to be happy where I finally set them before I get it because it needs to be far away from anything else. They extend long sweeper corals and I'd be sad if it killed anyone :(

Gilbert!

That's it for now!

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

So much reading. Starting to see why SPS are more difficult to care for.

Man, the learning never stops...

I discovered that SPS corals want 'dirtier' water than LPS corals, ie they want some Nitrates and Phosphates in their environment. I also discovered that coral, particularly SPS, can change drastically in color depending on minerals and water chemistry. Mind. Blown. This could explain why the Leptasrea went from greens to red. Not quite sure if it is dead or not so I moved it to a different location to see if it has any affect. It could also very well be starving due to lack of nutrient. You'd think places that sell SPS would say they like some Nitrate and Phosphate...

Also, since the SPS want dirtier water, I may have to add another, very small, fish to increase the bioload and up the nutrients in the water. I'm going to skip this weeks water change and slightly increase the feeding of the tank to see if this affects anything. I turned the filter down to a low setting from a high setting. I don't want to do too much and overload the system.

The bleaching of SPS is not only due to too intense of light but lack of nutrients. I'm beginning to see why people say caring for SPS is more difficult that caring for LPS... I may have to get a much more sensitive Nitrate and Phosphate test kit so I can monitor these parameters at a much finer level. 

Sheesh, all this information is overwhelming but I'm loving the learning. Kind of worried about the health and life of the new SPS though and hope I can make the system happy for them and the LPS before they begin to die. 

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

Some pictures before moving the Corals

I decided to take some quick pictures of the happily acclimated corals before I disturb them all and move them. It's crazy how different some of them look from when I first got them! 

Livestock first received (for reference)

Orange Birdsnest Coral acclimated	Asterospicularia Coral acclimated
Taylor's Purple Tree Coral acclimated	Purple Hammer Coral Acclimated
Acclimated Coral

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

[Insert expletive's here]

So this long weekend seemed to not go so well with the reef. I came in this morning and a bunch of water had evaporated; the floating rock in the back fell off the tank and onto the Favia coral, the Green Birdsnest coral may be on the brink of death, the Duncan and Green hammer are closed up and the Stylophora doesn't look too happy. But the weird part is, the other coral and exploding. The Tree, Blastomusta's, Candy Cane, Plate and Asterospicularia Corals are all expanded and happy. The Specific Gravity in my tank is about 1.026 right now just after replacing the missing water with fresh water.

I may have to figure something out to account for evaporation for long weekends like this. I had overfilled the tank on Friday to try and compensate but it didn't really seem to make a difference...

Trying to stay optimistic about the issues but we'll see what happens. I'll get some pictures later; I'm gonna try and place the coral into homes later today.

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

3-day weekend ahead...

This weekend will be the first time since the building move where I won't be able to monitor the tank for 3 days. Mondays are usually feeding days and the water seems to evaporate quicker here than it did in the other building. I checked the specific gravity again today as yesterday was pretty low after I performed a water change (1.020). I was able to bring it up to 1.023 but the coral wasn't too happy about that and the Duncan is still closed up today. This morning the gravity was 1.024. I'm hoping that the evaporation won't cause too much of an issue over the weekend and spike the salinity too high. I may just add a bit more fresh water to lower the salinity a bit so it can raise safely over the weekend.

I also checked my water parameters and the Calcium and Carbonate Hardness levels were low. I dosed the tank with Purple Tech to see if I could raise them a bit but I'll need to pick up some actual boosters today. Having much more coral, it'd probably be wise to begin dosing the tank with these elements.

Also, I don't think the Feather Duster made it. I haven't seen it once since putting him in the tank. I'll have to check out his casing to see if he moved or if he's dead in the case. I hope he isn't dead because he would make a neat addition to the reef. If he is alive, maybe he just opens up at night? I may have to set up a live stream for the weekend so I can see if this is what happens.

I got a neat picture of the Hermit crab hanging out with the coral. He's made his rounds to all of them and it's kind of neat to see him interacting with them. I can't wait to get the corals organized in the tank ^.^

Hermit chillin' with the coral

Whelp, that's it for now!

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

Livestock received and getting acclimated

I've received my full shipment from LiveAquaria and ReefCorner and placed them into the tank. They are in the process of getting acclimated and I'll be moving them to their spots throughout the week so as to minimize the shock to the corals that require intense lighting but cannot be immediately placed in such bright light. The ones that I placed in are looking much happier than the ones I placed in a few hours ago, as to be expected. I'm surprised at how small some of them are (namely, the Tree coral and the Asterospicularia Coral). They look SO much bigger in the images on their site. I'm worried that the Tree Coral will end up getting detached from its base and eaten by the filter or the powerhead.

Acclimating new livestock

Acclimating new livestock (front view)

I'm unsure how the Feather Duster is doing; it hasn't moved from it's casing. It has either moved somewhere else and I haven't found it, it's moved somewhere else and has dropped it's crown, is still in it's case and is just not happy coming out yet, is in it's case and dropped its crown or it's dead. I'm going to wait a week or so to see if I can see any changes. If it seems dead, I'll have to contact LA for a replacement.

I've always wondered what that swirly looking thing at the bottom of the Leptastrea was as I did not remember seeing it when I first got it. But since it never moved from there, I figured it was just something I had overlooked. Today, I happened to bump the glass when looking at it and saw a piece of it recoil so I knew it had to be a creature. Doing some digging, I believe it to be a Vermetid Snail as it fits the description perfectly. And, in doing more research, I discovered they are not good for corals. This may explain why the Leptastrea has changed it's color and didn't look as happy as it should. I shall be removing it from the reef shortly by super gluing the entrance hole shut.

So far so good and I'm excited for what the future holds!

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

ReefCorner - First Impressions

Coral packaging from Reef Corner

I just received my shipment from ReefCorner and the Feather Duster from LiveAquaria and I have to say that I am really impressed by ReefCorner's packaging. The coral all came attached to a foam block so they don't have their bodies touching the bottom of the bag (which stresses them out even more). The bags are sealed instead of using zip ties, rubber bands, etc. I also received a bottle of Coral glue so I can glue the new coral to a rock base which is a very simple yet nice touch. They even sent me a pen. Sure, it doesn't retract after the first use, but the gesture is nice :)
It's crazy how much such simple changes can make a such a difference. I currently have the coral in a bucket of water warming up to temperature before transferring them to the tank. So far, I'm extremely happy with my purchases from ReefCorner




While doing all this I happened to snap a picture of the Hermit Crab hitching a ride on one of the snails. He must have been on him for awhile because there is no way the hermit could get on the snail at that height with no climbing surface. I just hope he isn't trying to kill him to steal his shell...

Hermit hitching a ride

Hopefully I'll be setting the coral in the next couple hours and they are happy with their new home ^.^

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

Livestock update

Unfortunately, there was another mix-up with LiveAquaria. I received 2 calls this morning; back-to-to-back. The first stating that my order got shipped to the wrong address and was being re-routed back to LA. This would cause the specimens to be placed on hold once they reached LA again so they could re acclimate to be ready for shipping again. Bummer.

I then received another call as I was attempting to call them back stating that my order had NOT been shipped but my order got mixed up with another. Another customer had placed an order and cancelled it but he still received the order. My order was apparently set as the "cancelled" order and was still at the facility. Hopefully, none of my items were re-listed for sale and grabbed by another customer >.<

But on a happier note, I received a shipment notification from ReefCorner (and an image!) of the coral I purchased. They look GORGEOUS! I really hope they do well in the nano and look forward to getting them today!

Coral shipment from ReefCorner

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

How to make a Murderer

Was on hold with LiveAquaria for 2 hours and the call got dropped due to some system error on their end. Attempted calling back for ~20 minutes but only got a busy tone. On hold for another hour and call dropped once again. Fury rising by this point.

After the second dropped called I got a call directly from them within a couple minutes. Apparently they were having system issues and when the phone system died again their email system came back up and they were able to respond to my email inquiry. We were able to get the payment issue hashed out. Unfortunately, the order will not ship today because of the time but I should get it on Wednesday.

The lady ended up thanking me for my patience and understanding as I wasn't being an a**hat to her. I can only imagine some of the people they have to deal with in these sort of circumstances. I'm sure if I was to be angry with her or rude I could have gotten a credit or something but it's not their fault. I would hate to be berated by someone when something is out of my control. People needed to remember that these are people as well and just because you are frustrated with their system that it doesn't give you the right to treat them as anything less.

</rant>

Anyway, here's to Wednesday!

~ Keep on Swimming ~

"Lt. Dan, you gots new legs!"

The Pom Pom Crab came out today during feeding and he's gotten a bit bigger. He's also split his anemone so he now has one in each hand! It's neat to see him thriving; especially since I cut back to feeding the tank (aside from Gumball) to once a week. I've decided to name the Crab "Lieutenant Dan" because he's got new legs! He must have grown one back after his molt :) I love watching him move and sway with the current while he's feeding.

He's actually quite pretty

Lt. Dan sporting his new Anemone

I'm currently on hold with LiveAquaria (after 1+hour) because there was apparently an issue with the order (again). It seems that LA doesn't process PayPal orders very well even though it is an option on their site? I don't know but I really hope I get off hold soon so my order gets processed and shipped out today! 

 ~ Keep on Swimming ~

Placing a new Livestock order

So much for waiting a couple weeks to get more livestock after the move...

I've gone ahead and placed an order at LiveAquaria and ReefCorner for some more coral. ReefCorner is all WYSIWYG and their coral is gorgeous. It's going to be my first order from them so I hope it goes well!

I've spent a little more than I wanted to but ReefCorner has a minumim purchase price of $99. Their stock is generally cheaper than LiveAquaria though and you know exactly what you're getting from the photos they provide. LA can be a bit of a gamble outside their Divers Den so I hope I get good stuff. 

I ordered a bunch of SPS Corals and I'm really hoping I am able to sustain them properly. I believe my lighting and water parameters are perfect for them but I'm a little worried. Apparently, the demands of SPS coral are generally harder to meet than LPS coral. Oh well, with no risk there is no reward!

Here is what I ordered (along with corresponding images for WYSIWYG items):

ReefCorner

Maroon and Green Blastomussa wellsi

Red and Green Blastomussa wellsi

 

 

Green Candy Cane Caulastrea furcata

Green Alien War Favia

 

 

Thick Pink Birdsnest Seriatopora caliendrum

Pink and Green Stylophora subseriata

 

 

LiveAquaria

Orange Guttatus Birdsnest Coral

Taylor's Purple Tree Coral

Purple Polyp Green Birdsnest Coral

Asterospicularia Coral (Branching)

Yellow Dwarf Colored Feather Duster

Australian Big Polyp Purple and Green Blastomussa Coral

Hammer Coral

 

 

Kiwi Abyss Acropora Coral

 

 

I should be receiving both shipments on Tuesday. 

~Keep on Swimming!~

Tank is stable

Coming in after the move and it seems the tank is stable. I may have lost the Leptastrea as only the skeleton is visible but it still has color. Everything else seems to be thriving and the water parameters are golden. I'm really happy with how smoothly everything went; it was quite a stressful process to prepare for since I had little-to-no warning as to when I could perform the move.

With the move done and over, I plan to monitor the tank closely for the next couple weeks. Aftwerwards. if everything is good an happy, I wish to begin to add some additional coral :)

~Keep on Swimming~