FarmerTy

If Thai pulls out, got 2nd dibs.

Yeah, most will accept it.

Looks like grape caulerpa to me but I'm no macro expert. I think you might have mistyped but the worry is when it goes sexual and releases gametes into the water.

That's interesting that your alk has increased with water changes. I'm not sure how aggressive you have been with them to lower your nitrates, but maybe your salt brand is to blame? Are you using one of the fancy brands of salt? Like Red Sea Coral Pro or something else with elevated Ca and Alk levels for their salt mix? I would not even bother testing phosphate and nitrate anymore with those API test kits. The results are rubbish to me, at least the levels they are reading with your kits. Maybe they are expired kits? I think they were reading those low levels prior to when I tested your water for you the first time. I would work on getting better tests like the Red Sea nitrate test kit or the Hanna Phosphorus meter to truly know if you are making an impact on nutrient levels in your tank. Be happy to test them for you again if you have a moment to swing by with some water. Has turning down the lights according to Reburn's example improved anything in your tank? Is the leather looking better? Sent via Tapatalk

Alright, last update for the night. While away this weekend, my CaRX effluent decided to clog. Still working out the kinks to the new reactor but at least it's holding the alk pretty steady. On that note, when it clogged, my alk dive bombed from 8.2 dKh down to 6.8 dKh in two days. Luckily I caught it before it caused too much issue (I'll give a nod to my Apex for screaming in my ear that something was off). I corrected the low alk over the span of the day and besides some slight alk related STN on two to three frags, by the next day, it had stopped and growth resumed on all the frags again. Crisis averted! The return pump was needing a good overhaul. The vibrations were a little more than I was happy with so I decided to do something about it tonight. How does one fix a loud return pump? Well naturally... go to Bed Bath and Beyond! [emoji15] I picked up one of these that I thought was perfect for the job. 100% silicone and it had trivets that would be perfect for absorbing. vibration. I folded it in half to double up on the silicone for the pump to sit on and then cut two pieces and zip-tied them to the body of the pump to absorb any vibrations if it leaned against anything on the side. Viola, quiet pump... and in some circles, perhaps a little stylish too!

I have a disease! I can't say no to fungia plates! Found this beauty this past weekend in Houston while enjoying some R&R.

Lookout! It's a giant fighting conch! Some corals coloring up nicely!

Haha, hilarious! Sent via Tapatalk

Reanimated! (Queue maniacal mad scientist laughter). [emoji38]

No problem Jim. I say, if the damage is done and everything else is happy and not STN'ing, continue what you're doing and see what comes of your lighting tests with Reburn. I still think attack the nutrient issue... GHA wouldn't be there if there wasn't one. I'm reading zero phosphates too but I've seen an increase in filamentous algae in my tank so I am planning to put my GFO back online. I want to remove the macro algae bias on my phosphate readings so I can manage my levels without their interference. I've never had LEDs but I've honestly never killed any SPS with too much light. I've bleached out a ton while testing them in par values from 400-800 par, but none ever died from it. I just returned them to their preferred par levels and within 2 weeks to a month they started regaining their normal coloration. I've actually left some that were completely bleached in the higher par levels and eventually they adjusted. The mesenterial filaments that SPS reach out during times of stress and feeding I think are still debated regarding their function. I know Jamie Craggs was studying the intentional spawning of acropora colonies and would feed the tanks until they were cloudy... where he witnessed the mesenterial filaments everytime and suggested they were for feeding. I don't particularly find that conclusive as I have seen the same filaments during times of stress. There is a chance that the filaments may be extending during feeding not due to a feeding response but perhaps a stressor from the higher amount of food in the tank (i.e. higher jump in phosphates or some irritant in the food)... but enough of a chance, if however slight, that it could not be a feeding response. I only mention to be thorough. I posted a video myself of when I fed my tank and you can see the mesenterial filaments of an SPS colony I have. They typically have nemotocysts on them and aim to sting... whether its to sting and digest like the hydnophora, to capture prey like perhaps the SPS colony I filmed, or as a stressor response to a condition... I don't really know. Anyways, I'm rambling. I do see more polyp extension at night/day when the lights are out as they typically tend to feed during those times in their natural environment when the zooplankton population is most active. I tend to not feed them during that time though because of a research article I read about the limiting effect on calcification when acroporas feed during the night. I think it had something more to do with the energy expenditure for the acros to open the polyps and actively feed at night taking away from the energy used for the precipitation of calcium and other elements to build their stony skeletons. Basically, it showed that feeding at night took away time/energy it could have used to build its stony skeleton. I digress again.

I'll leave that to you LED guys to have fun with. Perhaps get a poll from a larger thread of what par readings they run their kessils at for SPS and just run it in line with theirs, with a little acclimation of course. At least that way, you know at what success others are having with the same lights and even though your actual par numbers will be off, they will be in line with others that have run it successfully. Sent via Tapatalk

Well stop reading the other posts Manny and know that the truth lies on ARC as everyone is a coral genius here in Austin! :-)

Interesting. I'm glad you clarified because that does make a difference as to where they started to loose flesh and how fast it happened. With alk-related STN, I've always observed it at the base of the corals if there was a rapid decrease in alk levels. If it was a rapid increase in levels, I'd typically see alk burn on the tips of acros (white tips). In your instance, you alk dropped but to be honest, that isn't much of a drop for me to warrant it killing off so much of your acros and that quickly. As for pH, I've never had an issue with a coral that I can directly point to a rise/drop in pH that caused it. Not that it doesn't happen, but it would have to be a pretty big swing I would imagine. My daily swings are 0.3 for pH and on occasion when I dose alk, it'll jump 0.6-0.8 with ill effect. If your GFO has been steady this whole time and nothing has died, I would honestly rule out your GFO usage as a cause. I would continue your regiment, and honestly, maybe even increase it until you don't see hair algae anymore. While there may be a million theories as to what happened, I honestly think perhaps some of your cleanup crew died off while you were gone and you got an ammonia/nitrite spike. SPS are super sensitive to those spikes and my guess is ammonia spiked high from a couple of snail/crab deaths and it was enough to trigger RTN from your acros. Then the snowball effect happened and when one started to die, it sent of chemical signals that triggered a couple of others to go with it. Sadly, by this time, most of the ammonia and nitrite would have been converted to nitrate so it'll be hard to test and prove that but it might have spiked enough to cause issues before being converted to nitrate. Do you notice more algal growth since you got back? Perhaps the increased nitrate from the ammonia spike may be spurring more algal growth? I can't explain the rise in pH other than like you said, nobody in the house to exhale CO2... but I've honestly never observed that with my system and I used to travel a ton... sometimes for weeks at a time. I do agree with Reburn that perhaps lowering your lights a bit may help the fight against nuisance algae but may also help your SPS recover a bit and to test the theory of being too bright. A par meter would aid greatly in helping diagnose this and rule out the lights as a potential cause.

Jim, just curious about a statement you made. You said that you are STN'ING at the tips of your corals? Or is it mainly at the base? Do you have any pictures of the affected pieces? Sent via Tapatalk

It's easy to keep Manny... a good beginner SPS with a ridiculous growth rate when happy. It generally grows straight up with some branching so anywhere you think it'll look nice towering over the other corals. Sent via Tapatalk

I don't have a ton to add right now but Reburn's assessment seems on point. Sorry for your losses Jim. I would do what you've been doing, cut and try to save what you can. Even if you can rescue a little nub, it might just be enough to not lose the piece entirely. I'll take a more thorough look at the whole picture later and see if anything jumps out at me. Pics of the tank currently might help if you get a chance.

So far, it seems like we'll have about 4 people on the AquaSD order so it'll be $10/person for shipping. The more join, the lower that goes. All of our orders should be placed/won by Sunday evening and the hope is that they ship out Monday or Tuesday with all of our goodies. For those that are ordering, just pay for your items (sans shipping costs) and tell Will you will be shipping with me (Ty Ta) for the Austin Group Buy. I will pay all the shipping and just collect each person's share of it when you pick up from my place. I'll put your bag in my sump until you can pick it up. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks all! -Ty

They mentioned adding some more frag packs this weekend as well.

Is that a maxima clam on the front of that rock? How'd the heck did you get him to stay there? That's awesome!

Aren't they one in the same? [emoji57]

Boo! That's no fun Jim! Let me know when you are ready for a replacement Jedi Mind Trick frag. I'll hook you up too! Sent via Tapatalk

I was going to tell him he looked real good for 41. Sent via Tapatalk

I would do a test run and put soapy water on the connection to make sure there's not a leak. CO2 can cause asphyxiation so I'd be a little cautious here and just give it a test run.

That one is not so much based on bad experiences or any legitimate reason so I wouldn't put too much weight into any rant I have about shrimps.

Actually, my skunk shrimp is a model citizen too... but I still hate him. :-)