Getting that color??

[allsps40]

Picked up some reef stuff today. Got an Undata and a Warcoral, been wanting these for a while. I will post up pics some, they are acclimating right now. I also needed a new Ca test kit so I got another API test. Also needed more snails so I got 10 margarita snails and an emerald crab to eat algae. I almost got the Vertex Bio Pellets but Im still not totally sure I want to got that route or not. Looked at a few skimmers to. I am still thinking about removing my fuge and running a NWB150??

 

[dzhuo]

You should take a few pictures of the new corals so it's easier for everyone to see how much color change later. Just a suggestion.

 

[allsps40]

Thats the plan.

 

[allsps40]

So about 1-2 hours after the emerald crab was put in my tank I found it sitting nest to my Superman monti. It was chowing down on it!!!!!!!!!! Finally caught the little bastard and tossed him in the fuge for now. Very little damage was done to the Superman luckily.

 

[sahin]

So about 1-2 hours after the emerald crab was put in my tank I found it sitting nest to my Superman monti. It was chowing down on it!!!!!!!!!! Finally caught the little bastard and tossed him in the fuge for now. Very little damage was done to the Superman luckily.

Haha, thats funny the way you call him a bastard.

But seriously, I had one that ate all the algae in my last tank and then started to chow on my zooas, and sponges. I then had to target feed him with shrimp pieces. I got tired of this and got rid of him.

In my new tank I had a few bubble algae appear in a few places so I bought another one. He started to eat the bubble algae within a few hours and has completely rid my tank of bubble algae. I dont know if the bubble algae will return or what.

So try another one.

 

[allsps40]

Naw, I have seen to many eat sps to try it again. Not the first emerald crab I have had that ate corals.

 

[allsps40]

As promised pics of the new Undata and War coral.

And some updated shots on the MB7 vodka method.

FTS

This camera is so much better than the one I had been using, you can see color.

 

[nikesb]

is it just me or does the corals seem like they're nutrient difficient. my sps became like that after only having 1 fish in a 50 gallon volume for the 6+ months. now that ive added fishes, my green birdnest, is green again. it reached to point where the polyps were clear and the base color was already a pale tan to white

 

[allsps40]

I feed a lot and have been slowly increasing the feeding. I also have 5 fish.

 

[allsps40]

Ok so I have made up my mind to remove the fuge. Taking out the LR, sand and removing the light. Cotton Candy Algae has taken over the fuge again and I am sick of it. MB7 and Vodka will take care of the lack of a fuge, chaeto is not growing any more anyways. Going to be looking for a bigger skimmer.

 

[allsps40]

Oh the fuge is not gone and I am running a bare unlit sump for the first time. I took the fuge down on sunday. My skimmers is skimming a very dark skim and has been for the last 2-3 days, water is clear as always. I am going to do water tests today to see if the lack of a fuge did anything to water quality or chemistry.
How much are people feeding when running a ULNS??

 

[Chyendra]

My tank is low nutrient... maybe not ULNS, but I do dose vodka and use GFO.

I feed 1-2 pea size chunks of frozen food (swap between Mysis, Rods, & Cyclopeeze) + some pellets for the anemone and starfish once a day. I also add about a capfull of DT's phytoplankton in the morning when the lights are out. It's a 45 gallon display with about 40 actual gallons of water and 5 sm-med sized fish.

 

[allsps40]

^ Oh yeah I feed a lot more than you are. I feed daily what is about equal to one cube of frozen food, I make my own food and mix with Rod'd Food. I also feed Liquid Life Zooplankton and aminos. I feed this 2 times a day split it in half. Half with lights on half with lights off.
Tested my water after a few days with no fuge
Ca 450
Alk 10
Mag 1200 my tank is using a lot of mag, added liquid mag to raise level
ph 8.0
NO3 0ppm
PO4 0ppm

 

[allsps40]

Update. Still no change in water parameters, same as when I tested then on my last post. Here are some new pics. I have some more new growth.

 

[allsps40]

 

[allsps40]

Can you spot the new growth on some of the corals. I am getting color back in the granulosa slowly. Dosing .1ml vodka daily and 1ml MB7.

 

[allsps40]

Man and isnt this camera so much better than the one I was using.?

 

[allsps40]

Wow I just went over to my friends house to trade some corals with with and wow. I have given him a few sps and they all look awesome. I have given him a Scripps milli that blows my mother colony away and a few others that are looking great colors are very nice and growth is great as well. I am going to spot vodka dosing again I think for good now. As soon as I started again I saw some color loss on my RP. Not fair I try so hard with my tank and he does nothing and get great results. I have been doing this a lot longer than him as well. Im frustrated.

 

[reefkeeps]

I am going to spot vodka dosing again I think for good now. .

Stop Vodka or start?

 

[glennr1978]

Not fair I try so hard with my tank and he does nothing and get great results. I have been doing this a lot longer than him as well. Im frustrated.

I think you will find that the key to keeping sps successfully lies in that statement right there. I've been following your thread for a while and have noticed that you seem to constantly be changing things up while trying to find your tanks "sweet spot". I used to do the same thing but I've since realized that i get much better results when I just kind of let the tank take care of its self..... within reason of course.

IMO you should consider going back to the basics and focus on regular wc's and keeping n and p very low. I would scrap carbon dosing all together at least for a few months (your corals look to be nutrient deprived IMO) and see how that works out.