My 52x28x28" 176 gallon (re) build thread

[Len]

My "Lime in the Sky" stag had grown about 1/2" of beautiful white branch with green coralites (the reason I got this specimen) in the past month. In a moment of carelessness, I wacked all the new growth off (and then some) when scrapping the glass for algae yesterday. Grrrr

Had to vent

 

[cklayko2000]

Len,

Sorry for the ignorance, but can you elaborate on your clam prep you outlined: (FW dip, quick TMPCC, quick Revive, Flatworm Exit, and worked them with a good ol tooth brush and razor blade)

FW dip - fresh water dip... how long do you dip them for?
Quick TMPCC?
Quick Revive?
Flatworm Exit - how do you do this?

Thanks for the info!

Best
Chris

 

[Len]

Len,

Sorry for the ignorance, but can you elaborate on your clam prep you outlined: (FW dip, quick TMPCC, quick Revive, Flatworm Exit, and worked them with a good ol tooth brush and razor blade)

FW dip - fresh water dip... how long do you dip them for?
Quick TMPCC?
Quick Revive?
Flatworm Exit - how do you do this?

Thanks for the info!

Best
Chris

Hey Chris,

I was really timid about TMPCC and Revive. From experience with Lugols, I know clams hate iodine dips. Therefore, I limited my TMPCC and Revive to about 2 minutes each, shaking the clams vigorously to 1) knock off what's on the mantles and 2) to keep the clams shut tight.

FWE was my first step. I added the clams to a saltwater container, then added a strong dose of FWE to the container and mixed thoroughly. The clams didn't seem to have any negative reaction to FWE (unlike snails, which seem to hate FWE).

The freshwater dip was done for about 5 minutes. If I was to do one dip with clams, it'd be FW. They tolerate it very well, and FW dips knocks off a bunch of stuff too.

Just check the mantle for pests you can manually remove. I removed 3 aiptasias and a few unknown snails, then scrubbed it with a toothbrush for good measure.

 

[Len]

No recent pics because I've been battling some cyano and dino lately. I've added more GFO, replaced the GAC, and added a polyfilter ... and I'm winning the battle I'll probably wait a month before my regular water change (based on the theory of starving out dino/cyano trace elements).

 

[Len]

Dino is all but gone, but I still have some (minor) cyano left. All corals and fish are doing fine, though I might have lost a few Nassarius snails to the dinos ... something I was expecting of dino toxicity.

Interesting development is there's a new pecking order in my seven Pseudanthias flavoguttatus. I originally had 2 males, 3 females, and 2 juveniles. Originally, one of my males dominated the other male, nipping off the top streamer of its caudal fin. The lesser male hung out on the other side of the tank for several weeks. Now the biggest female (bigger than the males actually) has decided to rule the group, and the previously dominant male is being chased around like crazy - to the point where I'm afraid it's going to die of stress or starvation (can't come out for food because the second it does, it's aggressively chased away). The lesser male is actually allowed back into the group. Very interesting, although I'm worried for the male.

 

[sdbarton42]

Will they change sexes due to pecking order? I.E. - would the lesser male have become a female if the larger male had not suddenly become less dominant?

 

[Len]

Ya, anthias can revert sexes. In fact, I think the lesser male has changed back to a female already. The previously dominant male is now being accepted back into the school, though there is still a lot of aggression.

 

[Len]

Well, lost that (bullied) anthias today. I thought they were getting along ok again, but I found him dead today.

 

[Ben1]

Sorry to hear the Len, those are some great looking anthias.

 

[Len]

This "death by pecking order" happens with anthias all the time, so I wasn't surprised. But it would've been nice if all of them got along There's still some infighting going on, but it's not as severe as this male got it. It's tough to hold the top spot.

 

[Len]

Short update: SPS are growing nicely, though most are encrusting instead of branching out thus far. The algae on the rocks is all gone, and coralline is sprouting up in spots. My only concern right now is some of my Scolys aren't expanding as much as they used to. I think they're in areas with too high flow, and maybe getting too much light. I'll relocate them and see what happens.

I'll take new pics later this month. New fish and corals are on the way (after a month of adding nothing).

 

[Anonymous]

Don't start with the no pics again. Man up!

 

[Len]

I've added nothing since the last pic... absolutely nothing. You'll just be seeing the tank again, one month later with some (hard to notice since it's mostly encrusting) sps growth. I'm getting some stuff this month tho, so new pics are coming.

 

[Len]

Bah! My Purple Monster just RTN'ed. First coral to die. I blame Rob.

 

[Chemical_Whore]

aww suck, I hope this isnt a trend

 

[jamesw]

Bummer Len! Sorry to hear that.

James

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry Len but it wasn't me. I got my own problems I am working on.

 

[Ben1]

That stinks Len, the purple monster is such a slow grower for me, or Id give ya a frag. Mines still tiny seems so slow..anyhow I just got back from a 10 day trip to the BVI and my tanks temp was 74 F and dKH was only 5....my alk solution ran out and my, heating oil ran out so my tanks been running low all over lol. Everything looks fine tho...

How are the Anthias doing?

 

[Len]

Everything else is doing fine (only other concern is a two scolys aren't expanding as much as a month ago ... i've changed flow recently to see if it helps). The Anthias are great, but they're shy; Of the six I have, only half will be out and about at any given time unless I'm feeding the tank. They do school when they're all out, but most of the time, they're somewhere in the rocks.

I had a Purple Monster colony RTN on me many years ago (after years of solid growth), so I know this specimen is prone to it. I may or may not try another frag.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

Very nice tank. Absolutely beautiful