Filter Clog

Been having an algae issue again and have cut the feeding down to about once a month to get it down but it never did. I also lost a snail; I'm thinking the hermit killed and ate him because of the tank food cut.

But I just discovered the filter tube was completely clogged with hair algae; water wasn't even moving through it. It looked like it was working because the filter still had water movement and was spilling back into the tank but it's flow had diminished. I cleaned out all the algae from the tube and the filter is working back to full efficiency. I just hope this does not cause a mini tank cycle...

Guess we'll see what the future holds...

Pom Pom Crab is still alive!!!

So excited! I happened to notice crab shells on the sand and thought the Pom Pom Crab may have officially died but I wasn't able to tell if it was a molt or not. I decided to do a small feeding of the tank to see if I could coax her out if she were alive. I didn't have high hopes.

But lo and behold I happened to catch her by random luck! So glad she's still alive :)

Pom Pom Crab feeding (w/ flash)

Pom Pom Crab feeding (no flash)

I also noticed a bivalve shell in the Zoas that was not there before. I've occasionally seen a couple of these guys show up in the tank but this is the biggest one I've seen so far. Unfortunately, I think they guys was a meal for the hermit crab that you can see right next to the open shell.

Hermit crab next to Bivalve shell 

And lastly, the Green Hammer is exploding! My last post has a picture of the Hammer from 1 month ago and it's crazy to see its growth; 2 more of the heads are splitting! No idea why the hammer grows so much and so efficiently while the other corals are a little slower or angry. Irony is for a few months after getting the hammer it stayed closed with its skeleton exposed and I thought it wasn't going to make it. Haha, this tank is still proving to be quite the adventure.

Hammer Coral is growing like crazy!

Until next time!

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

Tank is stable and recovering

After weeks of stability issues, the tank seems to be stable again and the Coral are starting to open up more. The Candy Cane Coral is really the only one that is still a bit closed up. However, all the coral fed fine on Thursday so things seem to be looking up. 

I believe I lost the Pom Pom crab as there was a huge algae bloom during the stability issues and I didn't see her when I fed the tank. Sad day :(

Also, one of the Hammer Coral heads is beginning to split again so I should soon have 5 fully grown and working heads in the next couple weeks. The body buds on some of the other coral still continue to grow.

Hammer Coral

The Plate Coral continues to astound me with its beauty. The tentacles are getting really long and I love watching them sway in the current. These pictures do not due it justice.

Plate coral tentacles are getting long

Until next time,

~ Keep on Swimming! ~

Tank is still a bit upset.

Salinity levels have been stable for the last two days, finally; for some reason they had been spiking to 1.030 every day. I won't be performing a water change today as usual to give the tank a full week to stabilize. The SPS coral seems to be doing ok and has it's tentacles out. The other LPS corals are still pretty upset and closed but not fully as they have been. I did lose the Tree coral, however.

Hoping things continue to improve.

~ Keep on Swimming ~

Salinity levels are unstable.

I'm not sure why but the Salinity levels of the tank keep rising way above what they should be. Today, the salinity was at 1.035; well above what it should be. No idea what it is doing this. I may stop the Nano daily micro dosing for a few days, maybe it is causing the influx. Wouldn't know why though as I've been using using for for over a year now. Very strange indeed.

Hopefully things settle out soon or I may lose the entire tank :(

Tank isn't doing too hot...

The tank isn't doing too well. The algae bloom is still going strong and the Corals have been closed all week. Performing the water change today I checked the salinity of the tank water as always and discovered it was sitting at 1.030. Not good. I also haven't seen the Pom Pom crab for awhile and trying to coax her out with food didn't bring her out. She may have expired during the salinity spike :(

Also, the circulation pump kind of just stop circulating water. I was thinking this could have been an issue for a little while now but just though I was just overthinking things. I bought a new one when I replaced the Purigen filter and noticed that the old one was indeed not circulating water properly. This also probably attributed to the algae bloom as well as the last SPS to die. Dammit.

I'll be performing some water tests today to see how things are looking before the weekend hits.

Hoping things begin to turn around soon.

Tank is upset

I'm not quite sure what is going on but the tank has been upset for a little over a week now. The corals don't open all the way and one of them pretty much went half white/dead overnight :( I think dosing the Carbonate Hardness buffer a couple weeks ago is what did it; I think my tank likes a slightly lower CH. Couple of water changes since then haven't really rectified the situation. Hopefully things get back to normal soon.

:(

Also, a slight worry of a Federal Furlough coming up in December which would prevent me from entering the building as long as the furlough is in place. That could bet a month+ which would not be good.

But here's to a good outcome!

~ Keep on Swimming! ~