illumnae's SPS shallow reef

[illumnae]

Hello everyone!

I set up my SPS reef tank in early 2016, but have been plagued with problems since its inception - if it could go wrong, it went wrong some time during the past 18 months! I've had to reboot the tank several times due to problems as unthinkable as a friend's hands being "acidic" enough to drop my tank pH to 7.3 for hours simply by helping me to glue SPS colonies (it happened twice - whenever he stuck his hands into my tank, the pH dropped to 7.3 for several hours), and as mundane as being overrun by dinoflagellates.

This is how my tank looked like after my friend helped to rescape the tank and glue the corals (picture was taken sometime around Christmas 2016):

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4428/35510619794_ed80833bbd_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/W6Xd6q)2017-08-03_03-51-10 (https://flic.kr/p/W6Xd6q) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Soon after that picture was taken, I lost all my SPS (suspected due to the pH dips) and the resulting reboot ended up in a dinoflagellate infestation, which resulted in yet another reboot sometime in April 2017.

Finally, it seems that things are settling in (knock on wood!) and my SPS kind of look happy. This is what my tank looked like at the end of June 2017:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4345/35537775453_92fe9b7bcc_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/W9mowr)2017-08-03_03-50-36 (https://flic.kr/p/W9mowr) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

I'm hoping that now that things are progressing well, I'll be able to finally progress in my journey with this tank :) This thread will hopefully document this journey moving forward.

Some details about the system:

Tank dimensions: 72" x 28" x 20"
Lighting: 5x Radion XR30 Pro G4
Return: Abyzz A200
Flow: 2x Maxspect Gyre 150 with new controller
Skimmer: Nyos 220
Calcium Reactor: Skimz CM152
Controller: Apex 2016

I'm currently using Fauna Marin salt for my weekly 10% water changes, and dosing the Tropic Marin Bio-Activ system (Elements A- and K+, NP Bacto Balance, Reef Activ and Reef Mud Vital). Bulent aka DiscusHeckel has been very very helpful in answering my many queries about this system.

[illumnae]

Here's a photo dump of some top down shots I took last night:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/35936917080_dbb196c496_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WKC6qC)SPS 1 (https://flic.kr/p/WKC6qC) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4378/36333441575_54ff3838f4_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XmEokR)SPS 2 (https://flic.kr/p/XmEokR) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4392/36196948391_07af01d467_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9APF6)SPS 3 (https://flic.kr/p/X9APF6) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/36196948011_24d60a9e68_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9APyx)SPS 4 (https://flic.kr/p/X9APyx) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/36196947761_fcbbc1218e_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9APue)SPS 5 (https://flic.kr/p/X9APue) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/36196945661_80efc40c3b_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9ANS2)SPS 6 (https://flic.kr/p/X9ANS2) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4406/35936915130_aa4dafb535_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WKC5R1)SPS 7 (https://flic.kr/p/WKC5R1) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/36196948171_1336dece52_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9APBi)SPS 8 (https://flic.kr/p/X9APBi) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4435/36196947391_b2d572f17d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9APnR)SPS 9 (https://flic.kr/p/X9APnR) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4374/36164706462_ed2e840ab0_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X6KzgL)SPS 10 (https://flic.kr/p/X6KzgL) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[illumnae]

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4375/36196946821_6e9ce8b11c_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9APd2)SPS 11 (https://flic.kr/p/X9APd2) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4398/36164706302_e46434c87d_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X6Kze1)SPS 12 (https://flic.kr/p/X6Kze1) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4355/36196946181_3e9781fbc0_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X9AP1Z)SPS 13 (https://flic.kr/p/X9AP1Z) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4338/35936912740_e8f5909158_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WKC58N)SPS 14 (https://flic.kr/p/WKC58N) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4346/36164706052_7c797d9a8a_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X6Kz9G)SPS 15 (https://flic.kr/p/X6Kz9G) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4318/36164705622_1e961928f5_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/X6Kz2h)SPS 16 (https://flic.kr/p/X6Kz2h) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[DiscusHeckel]

The macro shots look very impressive. I have subscribed.

Good luck with your journey.

Bulent

[reefmutt]

Wow! Beautiful photos and gorgeous scape.
Your corals seem to be appreciating your new direction. They look extremely happy.
From now on, don't let that acidic friend of yours in the house!!!
He may be a mutant!!
Looking forward to seeing your system develop.

[gromero]

Very nice indeed

[Bulldog88]

You may need to give your friend a nice gift of long rubber gloves! Lol

[illumnae]

The macro shots look very impressive. I have subscribed.

Good luck with your journey.

Bulent

Thank you very much Bulent! The tank took a very noticeable turn for the better once I implemented the TM supplements as advised by you. I will keep persevering :)

Wow! Beautiful photos and gorgeous scape.
Your corals seem to be appreciating your new direction. They look extremely happy.
From now on, don't let that acidic friend of yours in the house!!!
He may be a mutant!!
Looking forward to seeing your system develop.

Haha, thanks Matt! Your tank, as well as Bulent's have been an inspiration for me on this journey. After much tinkering over the past 18 months, I have learnt the hard way that the corals appreciate less tinkering. It is a daily challenge to keep my hands away from the tank, but it's paying off.

I have told my acidic friend to stick to freshwater tanks, where acidity is appreciated moreso than marine tanks :lol2: He is a very talented freshwater scaper - he ranked very highly in last year's IAPLC competition.

Very nice indeed

Thank you :)

You may need to give your friend a nice gift of long rubber gloves! Lol

Haha, maybe I do!

[illumnae]

I apologise in advance for the shaky footage, some out of focus footage and inaccurate colour. This is my first time shooting and editing video, so I'm still learning how to use my camera for video taking. I also have no idea how to correct white balance like i do in Photoshop. For more accurate colouration please see my photos above. If there's interest in my tank, I'll definitely try to do better and make more videos :)

CeseQJ8SHgk

[reefmutt]

looking fantastic! such good pe.
Where are you keeping your nutrient levels?

[illumnae]

Hi Matt, thank you... your tank is one of my inspirations :)

My nutrients settled at 0.2 nitrate and 0.02-0.04 phosphate. I dose TM Bacto Balance daily, and I can't seem to keep nitrates high without regular dosing. I dose 1ppm and within 2 days its back to 0.2. I've noticed though that no matter what system I run on my tank, I always trend towards low nitrates to high phosphate ratio. No idea why.

[DiscusHeckel]

I would increase fish population gradually and feed them moderately.

[illumnae]

Thanks Bulent! I recently lost a number of fisb due to misplaced trust in an lfs. Previously my bioload was very high (5 tangs, 2 swallowtail angels, 3 large anthias, hogfish, wrasse). I would find increasing feeding increased phosphate at a highdr rate than nitrate. Before I started Bacto Balance I was actually dosing 5 to 10 ppm of nitrate weekly to maintain detectable nitrates at 1 to 2.

However since starting Bacto Balance, nitrates settled at 0.2 without dosing and sps colours are not paling noticeably.

I'm working on restoring the livestock population, but it takes time as I collect rare fish

[illumnae]

So I've been dosing Reef Actif for a month, and Bacto Balance for slightly longer than that. My nutrients ratio is definitely not normal. I read that 100 no3 to 1 po4 is a healthy ratio to have, but my tank is settling itself at about 2-4 no3 to 1 po4. Even with dosing up to 10ppm of nitrate a week, I'm unable to raise my nitrates beyond 0.2 for any significant period of time. It drops back down to 0.2 within 3 days maximum. On the other hand, my phosphate bounces up and down between 0.05 to 0.1 - I see it drop and stay at about 0.05 for a couple of days, then without any change in routine it goes up to 0.1, then starts dropping again. If I increase feeding, nitrate stays the same and po4 goes up instead. I'm not sure how to adjust my ratio and maintain it at the desirable 100:1

[illumnae]

I did a fish spotlight video on one of the inhabitants of my tank :) It's a 5 stripe hogfish from Australia, and one of the most outgoing fish I have.

AmUexWpol2A

[reefmutt]

Very nice collection of fish!
Hard to watch the bodianus with the gem tang and angels zooming around, though!
If I were you, I wouldn't try too hard to alter your nutrients (with n additions) while using a fixed amount of bacto balance..
It's designed to hold things steady..
Also, if your system is doing well and corals are happy- which they certainly seem to be- don't get too fixated on specific numbers. Your tank is doing well as is..
I think your only option for raising n while using the bacto balance is to use less of it.. and then maybe use some gfo on p.. or maybe using less bacto balance will only raise n and p may stay the same... not 100% sure about that.

[illumnae]

Thanks Matt! I've cut back on dosing N and instead mix a little Ultraphos in my carbon. I change the carbon weekly, so I can fine tune the amount of Ultraphos to what is needed.

Oh, and the angels got killed by the hyper aggressive zebra tang :(

[reefmutt]

Ouch!!! :(

[illumnae]

Please join me in welcoming the latest inhabitant into my tank, Bodianus*sanguineus!* I've been wanting one of these since my Bodianus bennetti (previously Bodianus sp "Kimura"?) passed on, and thankfully Iwarna Aquafarm managed to source one for me from Blue Harbor Osaka recently.* Really good timing in light of the potential ban on collection of ornamental fish looming in Hawaii!* Sorry for the many dust spots in the picture, the fish just stirred up the sand!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4507/37454621691_a7f9ab15fc_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Z4JJ8v)Hog 1 (https://flic.kr/p/Z4JJ8v) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/37454621401_cd48c7f7bb_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Z4JJ3v)Hog 2 (https://flic.kr/p/Z4JJ3v) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr



Here's a recent FTS too to end off. Colours and stability in the tank are improving week by week. I'm really very impressed with the Tropic Marin Bio-Actif system. It's perfect for a newbie reefer like me to get a nice sps system going :spin1:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4506/36745278384_7d240d759c_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XZ4a5u)FTS (https://flic.kr/p/XZ4a5u) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[reefmutt]

Beautiful fish and stunning fts!

[illumnae]

Thank you! He actually has a slightly deformed mouth, but he's eating well!

I actually have 1 more fish but he's being harassed by the eternally agressive polyzona tang. I won't announce him till he's an accepted member of the tank. Wrangy would love him, but I don't think he follows this thread.

My parameters are very stable now except kh for which consumption keeps increasing. I'm slightly over double the consumption of 2 months ago.

I'm still experimenting with the amount of FM Ultra Phos I'm refreshing weekly to maintain stable Po4 levels - it's currently 0.01 when Ultraphos is refreshed on wc day but rises to 0.05 and stays there by mid week. I don't necessarily want to maintain it so low but I want to achieve stability first.

Corals are not paling out despite nitrate being rock solid at 0.2.

No3: 0.2 (daily)
Po4: 0.01 - 0.05 (daily)
KH: 6.3 - 6.7 (daily)
Calcium: 440 (weekly)
Mg: 1410 (weekly)
K: 400 (weekly)

[illumnae]

Did up a video showcasing the equipment I use on my tank

SLcM2DNHT5k

[illumnae]

Seems like there's not really much interest in my tank :(

Oh well, things are trucking along pretty well. Acros are continuing to encrust, grow and colour up; fish are doing well. Over the past couple of weeks I've added a mitratus butterfly, 2 marginalis butterflies and 9 randall anthias. I trapped out the polyzona tang and he's in isolation for the next few months while I round up my fish list. I'm sourcing for a pair of Hawaii yellow anthias, a joculator angel, a tigerpyge angel and a white tail bristletooth tang. Maybe a couple of Liopoproma basslet like eukrines, africanum or fasciatus, and a pair of candy basslet.

I've also dosed fluconazole for bryopsis and hair algae. I'm pretty sure it was part of the uglies stage of my tank, but I was really getting tired of spending an hour before each water change plucking the algae out. I've been doing it for a month and it wasn't getting any better. It's day 10 since dosing the fluconazole and the algae is dying off. There's cyano feeding off the dead algae but it doesn't seem to be spreading.

My camera is out for repair - turns out my blurred photos and video weren't wholly due to my lack of skill - so no photos or videos till I get it back.

[reefmutt]

I recently finished a fluconazole treatment. Worked like a dream! Although cyano followed pretty quickly.
I found it had some long lasting effects.. film algea was dramatically reduced for many weeks after treatment and I also had a die off of cheato. Not complete but significant.
That fluconazole certainly has some underlying effects on the system that aren’t fully understood.. but in general it’s pretty positive..
Did it affect nutrient levels in your tank?

[insaneDynamix]

Hey man ... that's a real cool tank. :wavehand::thumbsup:

I'm unable to view videos ... unsure why. But I would sure appreciate more fish pics.

Can you elaborate more on your nutrient export and NO3 dosing ?

[illumnae]

I recently finished a fluconazole treatment. Worked like a dream! Although cyano followed pretty quickly.
I found it had some long lasting effects.. film algea was dramatically reduced for many weeks after treatment and I also had a die off of cheato. Not complete but significant.
That fluconazole certainly has some underlying effects on the system that aren’t fully understood.. but in general it’s pretty positive..
Did it affect nutrient levels in your tank?

The fluconazole no doubt works well. I noticed cyano in my tank too but it's restricted only to growing on the dead strands if bryopsis and hair algae. I think it's feeding off the nutrients being released by the dead algae. No outbreak of it (knock on wood!)

My chaeto was entirely out competed by caulerpa and hair algae in my refugium. The fluconazole killed off all my caulerpa too. I'll need to repopulate the refugium after treatment is over. I did notice nto needing to clean the glass too!

Nutrients wise I noticed phosphate rise from 0.03 on day 1 to 0.08 on day 3. I continued dosing carbon via TM Bacto Balance and nitrate actually zeroed out, probably due to the increase in phosphate. I dosed calcium nitrate and installed an ultraphos reactor and nutrients are now back to normal.

Corals aren't visibly affected but growth seems to have slowed abit based on slowly rising kh levels.

Hey man ... that's a real cool tank. :wavehand::thumbsup:

I'm unable to view videos ... unsure why. But I would sure appreciate more fish pics.

Can you elaborate more on your nutrient export and NO3 dosing ?

Thank you! Camera is still not back from repairs. I'll try to get more pictures when it's back.

Not taking into account the abovementioned temporary measures due to the fluconazole treatment, my nutrient control is just 2ml daily dose of Tropic Marin Bacto Balance. It has been keeping my nutrients stable at 0.2 nitrate and 0.03-0.05 phosphate. I used to dose nitrate whenever it hit 0, but after awhile nutrient ratio balanced out and I didn't need to do it anymore

[insaneDynamix]

Thanks for that info. I love the new scape btw. It looks totally gorgeous.

[illumnae]

Thanks for that info. I love the new scape btw. It looks totally gorgeous.

Thank you!

[reefinder]

Man I love the mexhanical light bar idea, everyone I see one I get so jealous. You have a beautiful tank my friend.

[illumnae]

Thank you for your kind comments.

[illumnae]

So the camera came back from repairs and I was looking at the tank top down to decide which corals to photograph. Noticed a couple of the corals didn't look so hot so I plucked one out and flipped it over... guess what I saw? Yup... bite marks. Removed all the unhappy corals for a dip and yup... the dreaded aefw fell off. Into the bin they went. The other corals in the tank look happy, coloured up and with great polyp extension but I'm not taking anything for granted. My tank is infected.

Absolutely no idea how they got into my tank. Every wild colony was dipped and inspected and every frag came from a clean trusted source. I only have one maricultured piece and that piece was cut well away from the cement base, and also dipped and inspected. No new colonies have gone into the tank for over 2 months.

There's no way I am going to be able to do the 5 week dip routine. I have well over 50 wild colonies and 20 frags, all well encrusted on the rocks. Ripping them out to dip will likely kill them anyway. I plan to just stock up on natural predators of the flatworm and keep them in check using KZ flatworm stop and coral booster. Will not share any frags from trims - they go straight into the bin. Hopefully the tank will do well with the pests under control for a couple of years till its time for an upgrade... next planned upgrade is in maybe 3 years. Will restart from scratch and just transfer the fish over at that time.

Feeling totally deflated at the moment... Things were going so well and the tank was just starting to look good.

[Reefstar075]

Awesome SPS tank! Thanks for sharing!

[illumnae]

These beauties and a few others are coming into my tank very soon! I've been waiting for nice Tigerpyges since January when my last one ate dinos and got poisoned. It's a beautiful Christmas :rollface::rollface::rollface:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4685/24166944587_e1ea9e219b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CPxUEp)IMG-20171213-WA0007 (https://flic.kr/p/CPxUEp) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4521/38994483592_e471e7c515_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22pNVqC)IMG-20171213-WA0013 (https://flic.kr/p/22pNVqC) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4525/38994483602_e55b8b02c1_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22pNVqN)IMG-20171213-WA0009 (https://flic.kr/p/22pNVqN) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Photo credit to @LemonLemon, who snapped these lovely pictures when the fish just arrived at Iwarna Aquafarm.

[acesq]

First, sorry to hear about your flatworms. Flatworm Stop and frequent basting to blow them into the water column to be eaten by fish can work if you keep at it.

Second, love the tygerpye! You have a very nice collection of fish.

[illumnae]

Merry Christmas everyone!

NRI7aOVQffw

[DiscusHeckel]

Very nice video. Thanks for sharing.

[illumnae]

Thanks Bulent! It's hard to find motivation to update my tank online. Noone seems interested, so when I post I feel like I'm talking to myself. Good to know that you still drop in :)

[DiscusHeckel]

Thanks Bulent! It's hard to find motivation to update my tank online. Noone seems interested, so when I post I feel like I'm talking to myself. Good to know that you still drop in :)

I understand what you are saying and your feeling. My observation is that less and less people post on reef forums compared to past. People say that Facebook is to blame.

I will follow your tank thread more closely from now on.

[illumnae]

First, sorry to hear about your flatworms. Flatworm Stop and frequent basting to blow them into the water column to be eaten by fish can work if you keep at it.

Second, love the tygerpye! You have a very nice collection of fish.

Thank you, flatworm problems are still present but much slowed down. I just threw away another 2 colonies that had bite marks and eggs, but it's been a month since the last time I had to throw anything away. I know it's wishful thinking for it to be gone without any painful action on my part, but I hope it slows down to manageable levels so that I can enjoy my tank with minimal disruption for the next 1-2 years before it's time for another upgrade.

I started off being a "fish person" before I started on any corals, so I'm staying true to my roots - I enjoy collecting nice fish still.

I understand what you are saying and your feeling. My observation is that less and less people post on reef forums compared to past. People say that Facebook is to blame.

I will follow your tank thread more closely from now on.

Thanks Bulent, I appreciate that :) I just get the feeling that my tank seems inferior to others' tanks, as I see other threads with so much traffic but mine gets ignored :sad2:

[illumnae]

Photo dump time! Took these pictures before Christmas, but got caught up with work and preparing the Christmas video, so got delayed in posting them.

Pictures are a little on the blue side this round - still learning my new camera. Will tweak the white balance next time.

First up, here's an updated FTS:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4681/39169561912_ce117edf5b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22Fhf7m)FTS (https://flic.kr/p/22Fhf7m) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

I have quite a number of coral top down shots, so I'll try to categorize them according to source.

1. Sulawesi wild colonies

I got this one as a "Indo SSC", but it has morphed from pink and green with red polyps to purple with red polyps
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4590/39196946211_85c16b8d6d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAvr)SPS 23 (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAvr) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

This piece was totally browned out when I got it, but it's since turned into quite a beauty
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4647/27421023639_8e0efa2fb9_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HM6UZD)SPS 17 (https://flic.kr/p/HM6UZD) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Acropora selago? It has a very pretty golden sheen under actinics
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4633/38489642874_8b1447ee05_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21DctSj)SPS 14 (https://flic.kr/p/21DctSj) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Recent acquisition - looks like it will turn into either a Watermelon millie or a Sunset millie
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4684/39196948081_becf91033e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22HGB4F)SPS 12 (https://flic.kr/p/22HGB4F) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Another "Indo SSC" variant - this one retained the green, but the polyps morphed into a very interesting shade of dark pink, not the usual red
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4692/27421030129_2114ac7c71_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HM6WVx)SPS 11 (https://flic.kr/p/HM6WVx) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Is this a Paletta Pink Tip? When I first got it, the corallites glowed yellow/orange under actinics, but it seems to have lost that colouration. It paled off recently but is starting to darken up again - hopefully the glowy corallites come back too
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4729/38489639734_0c8a409c72_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21DcsWb)SPS 7 (https://flic.kr/p/21DcsWb) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[illumnae]

2. Australia wild colonies

A very very interesting deepwater colony. When I first got it, it was red with neon green highlights. It is now purple, but has retained the highlights.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4693/38320622745_c87bfbba15_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21ogd5a)SPS 13 (https://flic.kr/p/21ogd5a) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Very nice colony - Acropora nasuta? It has a mint green body with purple corallites and blue polyps. I have another similar colony under high light that has the same mint green body with purple corallites, but the polys are purple too instead of blue
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4683/25331345398_71db6eb7a3_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EArLss)SPS 9 (https://flic.kr/p/EArLss) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Classic SSC. It turned entirely red for awhile, and is now starting to get the green back. I was told that I'm keeping it under too high lights and too low nutrients, hence the loss in green and predominance of red
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4681/39169560432_e759b8f47a_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22FheEQ)SPS 6 (https://flic.kr/p/22FheEQ) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Not sure what this is, but it reminds me of snowflakes! Very Christmassy look
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4634/27421034049_c3087a74e4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HM6Y68)SPS 5 (https://flic.kr/p/HM6Y68) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

I call this my "Aussie Pikachu" - bright yellow with red polyps
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4728/39169560652_dbc4acefd5_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22FheJC)SPS 4 (https://flic.kr/p/22FheJC) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

A "Rainbow" millie from Australia. When I got this colony some tips were showing blue in addition to the orange/red body and green polyps. You can't see it from the picture, but the corallites are now turning gold
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4636/39169560982_6ec5aa3a51_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22FheQj)SPS 3 (https://flic.kr/p/22FheQj) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr


3. Tonga wild colonies

Recent acquisition from a long awaited Tonga shipment. Bought it as a "Rainbow Nasuta"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4680/39169561022_a762fddf8b_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22FheR1)SPS 2 (https://flic.kr/p/22FheR1) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

From the same recent shipment, a different colour variant of the above colony - this one is pink with blue tips and red polyps. This piece is still not very stable, so I'm closely observing it
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4684/39169561532_cbb000a1c8_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22FheZN)SPS 1 (https://flic.kr/p/22FheZN) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[DiscusHeckel]

Acropora selago? It has a very pretty golden sheen under actinics
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4633/38489642874_8b1447ee05_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21DctSj)SPS 14 (https://flic.kr/p/21DctSj) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr


Nice pictures. Yes, I agree that the above coral is likely to be A. selago. It should exhibit much deeper green pigments though.

I used to have a frag a long time ago, but lost it.

Have you ever considered getting frags and growing them to colonies? I find this more satisfying than creating an instant reef.

[illumnae]

4. Sabah wild colonies

Sabah wild SPS are notoriously difficult to keep alive, so I'm glad that I managed to keep a couple of colonies.

This one was another totally browned out colony I took a chance on - it stayed brown for months, then finally recently coloured up
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4639/38320620985_da098610c8_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21ogcxP)SPS 18 (https://flic.kr/p/21ogcxP) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

This tort/echinata/bottlebrush was neon yellow when I got it. It's now neon green, but has regained some yellow at the tips. Hoping to be able to get it back to its original yellow glory
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4735/27421036349_a4f8aacfd7_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HM6YLM)SPS 10 (https://flic.kr/p/HM6YLM) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr


5. Frags from local frag seller - Fantasy Corals

These are frags purchased from a local frag seller, so they are all labelled with his trade names ("FC" stands for Fantasy Corals)

FC "CRT Rainbow"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4688/39196945301_a2206848b8_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAeK)SPS 25 (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAeK) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

FC "Superman Acro"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4738/38320616325_c216d0feeb_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21ogbat)SPS 24 (https://flic.kr/p/21ogbat) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

FC "Rainbow Shabert"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4633/38320619755_c69ba4535d_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21ogcbB)SPS 21 (https://flic.kr/p/21ogcbB) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

FC "Jubilee"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4591/38489640554_bb2b4e90cd_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21Dctbj)SPS 20 (https://flic.kr/p/21Dctbj) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

FC "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4680/39196946541_62215f34cf_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAB8)SPS 19 (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAB8) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

FC "Sweetie Pie"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4731/39196947281_a60bb38592_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAPT)SPS 15 (https://flic.kr/p/22HGAPT) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

FC "Ultra Walt Disney"
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4683/27421032929_d73d0075b4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HM6XKP)SPS 8 (https://flic.kr/p/HM6XKP) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[illumnae]

Nice pictures. Yes, I agree that the above coral is likely to be A. selago. It should exhibit much deeper green pigments though.

I used to have a frag a long time ago, but lost it.

Have you ever considered getting frags and growing them to colonies? I find this more satisfying than creating an instant reef.

Wow I really like yours! It has rainbow hues and blue polyps :inlove:

Here in Singapore we get wild colonies in abundance - primarily from Indonesia (Bali mostly and sometimes Sulawesi) and Australia, but also from Fiji, Tonga and Sabah. Frags tend to come from these same shipments I have access to, and cost almost as much as a colony (or with some frag sellers even more than a colony) so it usually doesn't really make sense to get frags over colonies.

We also get maricultured mini-colonies/large frags, but I tend to prefer the wild stuff over mariculture, partly due to fear of pests and partly due to hating the hassle of chopping off the cement bases.

There is 1 frag seller that has beautiful frags and he is the exception to the above. I do get frags from him too (they're featured in the post below yours), but the main source here in Singapore is wild colonies.

[DiscusHeckel]

Is there any update?

[illumnae]

Is there any update?

The SPS are still doing well despite the aefw, but introduction of an Achilles Tang caused a white spot outbreak that decimated many of my fish population :(

I'm now seriously considering going ahead with aefw eradication while running the tank fallow and treating the remaining fish in copper to get rid of the problems in this otherwise flourishing tank.

The plan is to break off all the encrusted frags and colonies from the rockwork and remove the rockwork (to prevent aefw from hiding in the leftover encrusted bits). The fish will all be removed from the tank into a hospital tank to treat with cupramine. I will then use eggcrate to create shelves in the tank to hold the frags and colonies at the light levels that they are used to, and take them out to dip weekly for the next 6 weeks. I'll then reintroduce rockwork and glue the corals back and leave the tank fishless for the corals to take hold, as well as to complete the fallow period to eradicate ich from the tank before reintroducing the fish.

In addition to getting rid of both pests, this also gives me the chance to redo the rockwork - due to the shallow nature of this tank, I find the current rockwork slightly too high to be able to get good photos and videos for updates.

Any reason I shouldn't go ahead with this plan?

[DiscusHeckel]

The SPS are still doing well despite the aefw, but introduction of an Achilles Tang caused a white spot outbreak that decimated many of my fish population :(

I'm now seriously considering going ahead with aefw eradication while running the tank fallow and treating the remaining fish in copper to get rid of the problems in this otherwise flourishing tank.

The plan is to break off all the encrusted frags and colonies from the rockwork and remove the rockwork (to prevent aefw from hiding in the leftover encrusted bits). The fish will all be removed from the tank into a hospital tank to treat with cupramine. I will then use eggcrate to create shelves in the tank to hold the frags and colonies at the light levels that they are used to, and take them out to dip weekly for the next 6 weeks. I'll then reintroduce rockwork and glue the corals back and leave the tank fishless for the corals to take hold, as well as to complete the fallow period to eradicate ich from the tank before reintroducing the fish.

In addition to getting rid of both pests, this also gives me the chance to redo the rockwork - due to the shallow nature of this tank, I find the current rockwork slightly too high to be able to get good photos and videos for updates.

Any reason I shouldn't go ahead with this plan?

Your plan sounds reasonable. That said, I want to stress that I have no experience with AEFW or whitespot.

[Jfannin]

Beautiful tank, well done!
Absolutely love the pigmy Angle. Hands done my favorite species of fish.
I had several pigmy in my old system and plan a couple in my new one as well. Keep up the good work.

[DesertReefT4r]

My jaw is on the floor. Sweet corals.

[illumnae]

Your plan sounds reasonable. That said, I want to stress that I have no experience with AEFW or whitespot.

Thank you! I currently have some freshwater fish in my QT tank till my office tank is ready - once they complete QT and are moved to my office tank, I will repurpose the QT tank for the marine fish and start this long and tedious process. I hope I don't lose too many colonies/frags in the 6 week dipping process!

Beautiful tank, well done!
Absolutely love the pigmy Angle. Hands done my favorite species of fish.
I had several pigmy in my old system and plan a couple in my new one as well. Keep up the good work.

My jaw is on the floor. Sweet corals.

Thank you very much!

[reefmutt]

Man.. sounds hellish.. I could not do what you are embarking on.. I think I’d just take it down.. I am noticing indications of aefw in my tank as well but I won’t be so drastic, I don’t think. I am going to remove my melanurus wrasse- who ate all of my peppermint shrimp- then, I will reintroduce 25 or so peppermints, and then begin basting corals to dislodge the adult aefw.
The peppermints are extremely effective at controlling the eggs..

[illumnae]

Man.. sounds hellish.. I could not do what you are embarking on.. I think I’d just take it down.. I am noticing indications of aefw in my tank as well but I won’t be so drastic, I don’t think. I am going to remove my melanurus wrasse- who ate all of my peppermint shrimp- then, I will reintroduce 25 or so peppermints, and then begin basting corals to dislodge the adult aefw.
The peppermints are extremely effective at controlling the eggs..

If it was just either the aefw or the ich outbreak I would not be doing this. It's both occurring together plus the fact I find my scape too high that spurred me to this. I'll be very honest... as I wait for the quarantine tank to free up, I'm having second thoughts almost daily.

You can also try Flatworm Stop. After I started it I've found that I stopped having to throw away more colonies. I'm sure the pests are still there, but controlled.

[reefmutt]

I’ve never tried flatworm stop. Always assumed it was a total gimmick..
I guess I have nothing to lose.

[DiscusHeckel]

I have read that some people use flatworm stop even though there is no flatworm presence in their tank. I have never understood the motive.

[illumnae]

Flatworm Stop is supposed to thicken the sps flesh. It's meant to make the flesh unpalatable to aefw thus controlling their numbers. Apparently when used in conjunction with Coral Booster it also has the added effect of boosting coral colouration

[illumnae]

Did a small upgrade to the lights before the big teardown

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4753/28184167839_f0cc2d65a5_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JWxebg)2018-01-29_06-47-57 (https://flic.kr/p/JWxebg) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[reefmutt]

Nice. Which lights?

[illumnae]

Still the same Radions, but I added the new diffusers. The spread is noticeably better and I have to admit, I didn't notice the disco effect until now when I'm noticing the lack of it. My friend who uses t5 says it looks like t5 but with shimmer.

I wanted to get opinions on this: during the 6 weeks of dipping should I continue dosing my TM and KZ supplements?

[reefmutt]

Oh cool! I’ve never seen the diffusers before. They totally change the look of the light. Didn’t realize they were raduons.
Remind again what you are dosing..

[illumnae]

The signature pucks of the radions are no longer visible :)

I'm currently dosing the following:
- TM Bacto Balance (carbon source + additional nitrate and phosphate to keep nutrients reduced but balanced)
- TM A- and K+ Elements (trace elements)
- TM Reef Actif (Biopolymers for corals)
- KZ Flatworm Stop and Coral Balance (ostensibly to keep aefw in check, but supposed to increase coral colouration too)

I'm thinking to increase coral feeding via Reef Roids to make up for the tank being fishless for the 72 day fallow period, and just keep dosing everything as per normal since it's all for coral health - and corals are remaining in the tank. Not sure if that's wise though.

[reefmutt]

I would think that the bacto balance may need to be reduced without the fish- even with reef roid additions..
You’ll probably have to be on top of testing when the fish come out..

[illumnae]

Yup it's back to daily testing :( things are so stable now... it's just the thought of aefw in the tank that gets to me

[Piper27]

Aefw are not that bad when things are stable and you have a controller in the tank, either you with a baster or shrimp or fish or all of the above. Flatworm stop really helps with the damage and amount of them in the tank. I am hoping that a true in tank treatments comes out soon so people who have them and collectors can be relieved because it's not as fun reefing when you have pests. I would keep things going, especially with the new radion lenses thoes things look amazing, and that's saying something coming from me!

[Piper27]

I would keep dosing but cut back the reef actif and other carbon source until you can find a Ballance in nutrients with no fish. I would have some nitrate and phosphate on hand too since you are carbon dosing. And I would use a mixture of oysterfeast reef roids and some very good amino and vitamins supplements, even adding some selcon in the mix will be a good idea. It will help the sps with a feeding response. Hopefully you don't have to cut back on the carbon sources too much, too quickly, would think things might go down hill from there. Good luck! Love the tank.

[DiscusHeckel]

In the absence of fish, your corals will start to look pale due to lack of nitrogen. As suggested above, there is perhaps a good case to stop bacto-balance, but I would continue with Reef Actif, albeit with a reduced dose.

I am personally not convinced that reef roids are digested by acroporids. I would use either KZ Pohl's Coral Vitalizer (or Salifert Coral food) or Salifert Coralline amino acids (or KZ Amino Acids) to provide the much needed nitrogen and phosphorus.

[illumnae]

Aefw are not that bad when things are stable and you have a controller in the tank, either you with a baster or shrimp or fish or all of the above. Flatworm stop really helps with the damage and amount of them in the tank. I am hoping that a true in tank treatments comes out soon so people who have them and collectors can be relieved because it's not as fun reefing when you have pests. I would keep things going, especially with the new radion lenses thoes things look amazing, and that's saying something coming from me!

Thanks for the advice! Things are definitely looking amazing, but even after a few months of Flatworm Stop and adding fish to eat the aefw, I still have to throw away approximately 1-2 colonies every month. There's definitely a reduction in the destructiveness of the pest, but it's still ongoing, just at a slower rate. All my friends who have seen my tank personally find it a pity/waste that I have to tear everything down to dip, but I feel that it's the only long term solution.

I would keep dosing but cut back the reef actif and other carbon source until you can find a Ballance in nutrients with no fish. I would have some nitrate and phosphate on hand too since you are carbon dosing. And I would use a mixture of oysterfeast reef roids and some very good amino and vitamins supplements, even adding some selcon in the mix will be a good idea. It will help the sps with a feeding response. Hopefully you don't have to cut back on the carbon sources too much, too quickly, would think things might go down hill from there. Good luck! Love the tank.

In the absence of fish, your corals will start to look pale due to lack of nitrogen. As suggested above, there is perhaps a good case to stop bacto-balance, but I would continue with Reef Actif, albeit with a reduced dose.

I am personally not convinced that reef roids are digested by acroporids. I would use either KZ Pohl's Coral Vitalizer (or Salifert Coral food) or Salifert Coralline amino acids (or KZ Amino Acids) to provide the much needed nitrogen and phosphorus.

I do happen to have a bottle of KZ Coral Vitalizer that my friend gave to me to try out. I haven't opened it yet, but perhaps now's the time! I also have Oyster Feast in the fridge and Selcon in my fish food cabinet that I can dose into the tank even without any fish. Hopefully with these 3 food sources and reduced Bacto Balance dosage, the tank will continue to maintain the same low but not too low nutrient levels. I have Calcium Nitrate crystals that I can dose as well. Worst case scenario, I can ghost feed the tank too.

[DiscusHeckel]

Can you please remind me the name of the Caribsea sand you are using? (the heavier grade one)

[illumnae]

I believe it should be the Caribsea Arag-Alive Natural Reef.

[illumnae]

3 hours of back breaking work last Saturday and everything is torn down and the first dip done. Aside from being exhausted, I was also pretty grossed out at all the dead aefw floating around. A couple of them adhered to my arm as I was swirling corals around in the dipping tub... ugh!

The bad news is one of my favourite colonies has started to stn. I cut a few large frags from it hoping they'll make it. The good news is almost everything else looks salvageable. Most of the colonies are displaying good pe.

This Saturday will be dip #2 plus catching all the fish out to qt.

Quick question: is there a reason for the 6 week treatment instead of 5 or 7 weeks?

[Piper27]

Five works but people like extra dips just to make sure an egg wasn't missed or a worm got through in the beginning. I would do five dips just because I have a lot of experience with them and know how to do the dip process confidently. Good luck!
I have the habit of basting every acro in the tank twice a week or more. It really keeps corals health up with or without flatworms. I would even care to bet that with flatworm stop and basting it's possible to eliminate aefw from a tank. But only if the colonies are smaller and easily reachable.

[illumnae]

Thank you! Reason I asked is because I'm away most of the day on the day of the 6th dip. Was wondering if I needed to still go ahead with the dip at night or if I could end at 5. I'm not as familiar with dipping so I'm not so confident. Maybe on week 6 I'll dip once on Tuesday and once on Sunday to play safe.

Man, if I miss out one after all this and the infestation comes back I think I'm throwing in the towel and going back to keeping discus! Maybe Heckel discus eh, Bulent?

[DiscusHeckel]

Man, if I miss out one after all this and the infestation comes back I think I'm throwing in the towel and going back to keeping discus! Maybe Heckel discus eh, Bulent?

If I were to keep discus again, it would have to be S. discus heckel.

[DiscusHeckel]

I have received a tub of FM Ultra Phos. Instructions clearly say "do not rinse the material". "For a slower adsorption rinse the filled filter bag with osmotic water before use."

On the other hand, Seachem PhosGuard instructions clearly instruct users to rinse and soak the media before use.

I find this confusing. What do you do with your FM Ultra Phos media?

[illumnae]

If I were to keep discus again, it would have to be S. discus heckel.

I used to keep Heckel discus from the Unini and Paunini rivers. They were very blue, much like the famous "blue moon" heckels from Nhamunda.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4617/26407122548_3ba2209650_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gevpwm)2018-02-15_06-53-01 (https://flic.kr/p/Gevpwm) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

I have received a tub of FM Ultra Phos. Instructions clearly say "do not rinse the material". "For a slower adsorption rinse the filled filter bag with osmotic water before use."

On the other hand, Seachem PhosGuard instructions clearly instruct users to rinse and soak the media before use.

I find this confusing. What do you do with your FM Ultra Phos media?

I don't rinse my Ultra Phos. I find it cleaner with less fines than the Seachem media. It also adsorbs alot more phosphate per ml than the Seachem media.

[DiscusHeckel]

I used to keep Heckel discus from the Unini and Paunini rivers. They were very blue, much like the famous "blue moon" heckels from Nhamunda.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4617/26407122548_3ba2209650_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Gevpwm)2018-02-15_06-53-01 (https://flic.kr/p/Gevpwm) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr


Oh man, this is a delightful picture. Thanks for sharing. It has brought back memories. My discus fish looked a little different compared to yours in that they did not have much "blue face". Also, I kept wild-caught Altum angels.


I don't rinse my Ultra Phos. I find it cleaner with less fines than the Seachem media. It also adsorbs alot more phosphate per ml than the Seachem media.

Thanks for your reply. Looking back nine years ago, I must have followed the instructions because I do not remember any rinsing of the media. A 1000-ml tub of Ultra Phios arrived yesterday from Germany. I am going to replace PhosGuard with UltraPhos probably today. It is a real pain to remove all the dust from PhosGuard. It is just as bad Sachem Matrix carbon.

[illumnae]

Oh man, this is a delightful picture. Thanks for sharing. It has brought back memories. My discus fish looked a little different compared to yours in that they did not have much "blue face". Also, I kept wild-caught Altum angels.

I used to be a South American cichlid nut. I also had blue/brown discus from Curuai, Alum angels, Atabapo and Tapajos pike cichlid pairs, panda uarus, various eartheaters and plenty of apistogramma. I really have to say those days were much more smooth sailing than when I switched to reefing!

Thanks for your reply. Looking back nine years ago, I must have followed the instructions because I do not remember any rinsing of the media. A 1000-ml tub of Ultra Phios arrived yesterday from Germany. I am going to replace PhosGuard with UltraPhos probably today. It is a real pain to remove all the dust from PhosGuard. It is just as bad Sachem Matrix carbon.

I use Fauna Marin carbon as well. It does have to be rinsed but a lot less than Seachem.

[DiscusHeckel]

I used to be a South American cichlid nut. I also had blue/brown discus from Curuai, Alum angels, Atabapo and Tapajos pike cichlid pairs, panda uarus, various eartheaters and plenty of apistogramma. I really have to say those days were much more smooth sailing than when I switched to reefing!



I use Fauna Marin carbon as well. It does have to be rinsed but a lot less than Seachem.

I find reefkeeping much more rewarding snd stimulating as I developed a vast knowledge base. In discus keeping, parameters are much more smaller and so are the scope of learning.

I use Vertex Rox 0.8 carbon, which is almost dust free.

[illumnae]

Vertex Rox 0.8 isn't easily available to me unfortunately.

I did my 2nd weekly dip yesterday. Took 1.5 hours including catching all the fish out to qt. I start the clock for fallow tomorrow and will do 12 weeks. There were still aefw flying off the sps this week, but noticeably less and smaller. I also saw what looked like unhatched eggs but will see again next week to be sure.

Luckily for me, despite using the harsher KCl as my dip of choice, the sps are not reacting badly to it. I've not had to adjust my calcium reactor at all and kh is still maintaining. I had expected consumption to drop during this period. PE is actually better than before the first dip.

I really hope this whole exercise is worth it.

[E.intheC]

Sorry to hear about the AEFW's.. Good luck! Your tank previously looked amazing

[illumnae]

Sorry to hear about the AEFW's.. Good luck! Your tank previously looked amazing

Thank you!

So I just completed my 3rd dip. Is it normal to still be finding aefw eggs at this stage? I found 2 colonies with eggs - one had only a few eggs and what looked like recovering bite marks, while the other had 2 big patches of eggs and many fresh bite marks. I glued over the eggs on the first one and threw away the other one. In the dip tub there were still dead flatworms floating around, but less than weeks 1 and 2.

Is this normal or did I mess up somehow?

[reefmutt]

No, I don’t think it's normal.
The third dip should really be the better safe than sorry dip. You should have really been pretty much aefw free after two dips..
Remind us again what dip you are using?

[illumnae]

I'm using potassium chloride at 2tsp per gallon - it definitely kills aefw as I'm seeing dead bodies fly around the tub after every dip. The number of bodies flying around has dropped after every dip - after the first dip it was crazy alot, second dip about 1/3 the amount, third dip I had to look hard to find a couple.

Someone on the other forum did tell me though that eggs can take 3-4 weeks to hatch - given that first dip is on day 1, the 3rd dip is only day 15, so it's possible that what I saw were leftover eggs from before the first dip that hadn't hatched yet. Baby aefw are supposed to take 21 days to mature enough to lay eggs - so i shouldn't be seeing new eggs. That's supposed to be why 5 weekly dips are required - up to 4 weeks for the eggs to all hatch, then the 5th week to kill the aefw that hatched in the 4th week. Week 6 is to be extra sure to kill any that Week 5 may have missed. So long as they are killed before hitting the 21 day maturity date, the treatment should eradicate them all - so if you get to Week 7 without eradicating them, the cycle starts over because the Week 4 hatchlings would have matured enough to start laying eggs.

Does this sound accurate?

[reefmutt]

Definitely sounds accurate.. seems like you missed some eggs:(
Good luck! It appears to be going in the right direction.

[illumnae]

A short video documenting the tearing down of my tank to start the dipping. Filmed in HD.

JYyETXGlA0M

[DiscusHeckel]

A short video documenting the tearing down of my tank to start the dipping. Filmed in HD.

JYyETXGlA0M

I have felt mentally exhausted after watching your video.

I will be even more careful from now on in order to keep my corals AEFW free. Prevention is better than cure as they say.

I hope your effort pays off eventually.

[watchguy123]

WOW!!! undoubtedly worth the effort but the heartbreak to pull all those acros out

[Ostentum]

I have read that some people use flatworm stop even though there is no flatworm presence in their tank. I have never understood the motive.

Thats because the flatworm stop by KZ doesnt kill flatworms. It does 2 things it causes the corals to increase its ability to heal itself, i have noticed that if the base gets irritated by fish or snails etc that the coral heals itself much much quicker, even after fragging it seems that the corals put on a base and heal much quicker. The other thing it does is change the mucus of the corals. It supposedly makes it less tasty to the bugs. They honestly should rename it to nudi stop. I had some monti nudis show up in my tank and have all but disappeared without me having to dip or introduce a predator to the tank. So either it works or peppermint shrimp eat Monti nudis. Even though I dont have flatworms to me the other noticeable effects make this product worth its weight.

[illumnae]

I have felt mentally exhausted after watching your video.

I will be even more careful from now on in order to keep my corals AEFW free. Prevention is better than cure as they say.

I hope your effort pays off eventually.

WOW!!! undoubtedly worth the effort but the heartbreak to pull all those acros out

Thank you. It was indeed quite an exhausting task. That 30 second sped up section was almost 2 hours of climbing up and down the ladder between the tank and the dipping tub. I was literally shaking after it was all done. Now weekly it takes an hour to transfer all the corals to the dipping tub, dip them and place them back on the egg-crate rack.

That said, it's also not an easy task preventing them from getting into your tank when your local reefing scene favours colonies over frags. It is almost impossible to be 100% thorough with wild colonies. Everything that went into my tank was dipped and inspected before going in, and still I ended up with the pest. The only 100% surefire way is to set up a QT and do the weekly dip for 6 weeks on every piece that you obtain - which also means you can't buy a gem that appears in the importer's place if you're midway through a dip session.

[reefmutt]

A short video documenting the tearing down of my tank to start the dipping. Filmed in HD.

JYyETXGlA0M

Ooooouuuuuuch!!!!
Brutal!!!
I hope this works for you. I just can not imagine doing this!!
Bulent is right, it’s exhausting just watching you..
I did notice that somewhere in that video, you added the new diffusers to your lights. That’s cool.
Look really closely for any bare patches in the body of the colonies where eggs could have been laid without you noticing.

[illumnae]

Thanks! The diffusers were actually added prior to this video being filmed. I really like them - they give a much more even spread of light, allowing me to lower the lights from 16" to 12" above the tank and lowering the intensity of the Radions, resulting in some electricity savings.

In the latest dip I've actually inspected all the corals for any unhatched eggs and glued over everything I could find. If i find any more new ones it likely means that the dip isn't working... so fingers crossed!

[shermanang]

I'm using potassium chloride at 2tsp per gallon - it definitely kills aefw as I'm seeing dead bodies fly around the tub after every dip. The number of bodies flying around has dropped after every dip - after the first dip it was crazy alot, second dip about 1/3 the amount, third dip I had to look hard to find a couple.

Someone on the other forum did tell me though that eggs can take 3-4 weeks to hatch - given that first dip is on day 1, the 3rd dip is only day 15, so it's possible that what I saw were leftover eggs from before the first dip that hadn't hatched yet. Baby aefw are supposed to take 21 days to mature enough to lay eggs - so i shouldn't be seeing new eggs. That's supposed to be why 5 weekly dips are required - up to 4 weeks for the eggs to all hatch, then the 5th week to kill the aefw that hatched in the 4th week. Week 6 is to be extra sure to kill any that Week 5 may have missed. So long as they are killed before hitting the 21 day maturity date, the treatment should eradicate them all - so if you get to Week 7 without eradicating them, the cycle starts over because the Week 4 hatchlings would have matured enough to start laying eggs.

Does this sound accurate?

Where you get Potassium Chloride in Singapore?
Very interesting sharing

Thank You

[illumnae]

You can get smaller quantities up to 1kg from Eco City Hydroponics. 50kg sacks also available at Tues industrial area but I'm not sure exactly where. The sacks are much more economical if you can find a group to share. Lifetime supply of potassium to dose your tank and use as a dip.

[shermanang]

Thank You illumnae for sharing

[illumnae]

So dip #5 is done and the good news is no new eggs found and no visible aefw in the dipping tub. Going to continue with 2 more dips to complete 6 weeks and I really hope this nightmare is over. I've also completed the new scape - will try to do a video of it before the final dip.

[DiscusHeckel]

Keep up the good work.

[reefmutt]

Looking forward to the new scape!

[illumnae]

quick question... do you think I need to pre-cycle my new scape?

My previous scape was made from a local brand of man made rock and of course they cycled with the tank through its infancy. I removed and gave that scape to a friend and my new scape is made from dry Real Reef Rock (the branded man made rock). In my sump I have about 15 litres of siporax and a refugium with chaeto and some Walt Smith rock for pods to hide in. Obviously the siporax is fully cycled as the tank is maintaining the fish and sps with stable parameters. No3 is 0.2 and po4 is 0.02 - identical as before tearing down the tank.

So do you think it's safe for the new scape to go straight in, or should I still cycle it with bottled bacteria in a tub for a couple of weeks first?

[reefmutt]

Assuming it’s not going to leach anything like po4 or other trace metals or something.. and the ph of the stuff is close to natural sea water, I don’t see why you can’t just put it in..
.. Having said that, I don’t know a lot about the man made rock products but I assume they are often made with a cement base.. I think cement has a very high ph..
you may want to verify with the manufacturer if it will affect ph. Or leach anything.. I guess they will probably say no..
I guess the ‘better safe than sorry and it just can’t hurt’ answer is why not soak it for a while..
Maybe in ro water first and then in salt water...

[illumnae]

Thanks Matt! It's supposed to be made if aragonite and soaked for months before sale, but as you've said there's no harm in playing safe. Now to find a big enough tub....

[illumnae]

And here's the new scape! Hope it looks good enough... I've set up 2 tubs and will start cycling the rocks in salt water with Fritz and Prodibio bacteria for 2 weeks. I may also dose some TM Reef Mud Vital into the tubs to hopefully seed some additional micro fauna into the rocks.

GBwZl2AlOyo

[Pife]

I like your new scape.

[reefmutt]

And here's the new scape! Hope it looks good enough... I've set up 2 tubs and will start cycling the rocks in salt water with Fritz and Prodibio bacteria for 2 weeks. I may also dose some TM Reef Mud Vital into the tubs to hopefully seed some additional micro fauna into the rocks.

GBwZl2AlOyo

Very nice scape.
The rock looks very much like real live rock as well.

[illumnae]

Thank you! I really love the Real Reef Rock - I had been looking for it and could not find a way to get it in Singapore until recently. It was one of the "consolations" to me having to tear down my tank - at least I can set it back up with a Real Reef Rock scape!

[illumnae]

The dip process is finally over and I really hope that nightmare is over. Rocks are now in but the tank is a mess as I haven't had the time to glue the corals in yet. It's a lot easier buying a few a week and gluing them in than 70ish colonies and frags at once. The colour coordination gives me a headache!

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/877/40264783775_6f8e3cb5b6_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24m4xpV)20180401_231138 (https://flic.kr/p/24m4xpV) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[reefmutt]

What a marathon! God luck!

[DiscusHeckel]

Good luck, sir. I hope you will not have to repeat this routine.

[illumnae]

Thank you both very much. I really hope so too!

[illumnae]

Treated myself to a nice frag pack to celebrate the end of the dipping nightmare :bounce1:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/803/41234430972_f05a5f9c93_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25PKeK3)2018-04-07_12-10-55 (https://flic.kr/p/25PKeK3) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[reefmutt]

Oh baby that’s nice!!!
What’s the bottom right pink granulosa looking one?

[illumnae]

The seller just called it "golden granulosa"

[reefmutt]

I am in love!!!

[illumnae]

I hope i manage to do it justice by keeping its colour as it grows

[Alex Costa]

Very nice scape!
Looks very natural.

And that frag pack..........................:eek1:

[reefmutt]

Treated myself to a nice frag pack to celebrate the end of the dipping nightmare :bounce1:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/803/41234430972_f05a5f9c93_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25PKeK3)2018-04-07_12-10-55 (https://flic.kr/p/25PKeK3) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

Is this frag pack sold this way?
All the frags glued onto one big disk?

[illumnae]

Very nice scape!
Looks very natural.

And that frag pack..........................:eek1:

Thank you!

Is this frag pack sold this way?
All the frags glued onto one big disk?

I picked the frags and the seller glued them onto the big disk for delivery.

[Pife]

Wow. That frag pack is incredible!

[illumnae]

Here's what the tank looks like now. Long way to go to colour everything up, but it's a start! I'm working on the next video that will hopefully be out soon :)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/848/40806318444_f72d394662_h.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25aV3Ny)FTS (https://flic.kr/p/25aV3Ny) by Yi Xiang Lye (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150810583@N06/), on Flickr

[reefmutt]

Looks pretty darn good from here!!

[Piper27]

What kind of tang is the striped one? Looks like a convict with a stripe on its face?

[Piper27]

Those are some beautiful frags too, where did they come from? Are they wild or tank grown? The colors are amazing.

[illumnae]

Looks pretty darn good from here!!

Thank you! I'm playing around with the lighting now to add more blue hours... hope it improves the colours of the corals!

What kind of tang is the striped one? Looks like a convict with a stripe on its face?

It's a Zebra Tang, Acanthurus polyzona

Those are some beautiful frags too, where did they come from? Are they wild or tank grown? The colors are amazing.
They are tank grown. It's my first time buying from this seller. I have a few more from him that I want, but my tank has no more space!

[illumnae]

Sorry I took so long to put the video together.* The clips in this video were all filmed on 17 April, about a week after I finished the dipping process, and barely a few days after I rescaped and glued the corals in place. I expected the SPS to be super ****ed off from the rough dipping treatment and the new scape, but they seem contented!

Ye5NaLDUqL4

[berlin-riff]

really cool. looks stabil and healthy :) I love the "granulosa"??? on the right sight. The last sps table :)

[ABzReef]

How long did it take your frags to become full colony?

[ABzReef]

How much is the frag disk

[carrico]

Very happy to see your reef again!!!

Best regards!

[illumnae]

really cool. looks stabil and healthy :) I love the "granulosa"??? on the right sight. The last sps table :)

Thank you! I'm not sure what exactly it is, I think it came as a deepwater acro from Sabah. I've only ever seen it twice, and the other piece was taken by my friend and didn't survive. It's quite unique - pink body with bright yellow "eyes". I'll try and get a close up shot for you soon.

How long did it take your frags to become full colony?

Majority of my SPS were bought as wild collected, full grown colonies from Sulawesi, Australia and Sabah. I've had to trim many of them as they grow rather quickly. The myth that wild collected colonies are somehow harder to keep is just a myth, and very untrue.

Very happy to see your reef again!!!

Best regards!

Thank you!

[DiscusHeckel]

Hey,

Is there any update?

Cheers

[Spencer7]

Amazing tank. Great tables. Would love to buy frags.

[drs2140]

Incredible system!! Inspiration for aure