Lotoftats- That won't be a problem
. I'll be glad to help all I can. I'm no pro, but have finally found what works for my lifestyle/habits. There is a lot of short term memory involved (like when a pitcher gets taken yard and has to pitch again right away
). There are a number of good resources in this area for SPS (well, the TN area, not the ULA area-upper lower Alabama
).
Brian,
I'll start looking at some other Cephastrea species. This guy has small polyps that look a little like a Pocillopora, but there are other things about it that don't at all. It definitely packs a sting (several corals have come up on the wrong end of the stick after flirting with disaster). It's a weird one. It does encrust, though (or seems to be doing so).
The garf PB really stands out once it starts getting color. I had alk and ca issues for a long time (just couldn't seem to dose enough and kept chasing my tail on the DIY two part). I got a kent marine two part to try something different, and things balanced finally. No real explanation why, but it did stabilize. Then I started playing with the Ca Rx I'd had for almost a year without hooking up. After correcting a number of production issues (the cutting tip must have been dull because I could not get a seal until I sanded the ORing grooves). Then the alk went through the roof (~18dKh) and of course, calcium bottomed out at 220 or so. I made a few adjustments to the effluent out (and the CO2 in to keep the effluent pH) and dosed the calcium part of the Kent for a week and everything seemed to fall into place. When the alk spiked, the color of my corals was incredible. I thought I must have gotten something right until I picked one up and the tips crumbled easily (telling me the calcium was probably low). It seems to have balanced out and has been holding steady for several months now. The biggest gains in color and growth have come in the last month, I'd have to say.
I started adding kalk to my top off since my pH drops to 7.8 at night, but my wife says she hasn't seen any pickling lime at the grocery the last few times. Gotta find some... I'm just happy to have somethign I can really enjoy again. It has been a while. Now, I've got to get the LPS/softie tank looking good again. The corals are healthy, but the ca/alk balance isn't right yet and dictoya algae rules the tank. I put in a tuxedo urchin yesterday, so we'll see how long it takes him to clear it up. Freakin rics did this to my tank (Caribbean algae)...
I got some shots of Jenn's tank last night, so I'll get them posted soon. Her fish are impossible... I just got a red scooter yesterday, so I'm trying to get a good shot of it. Her tangaroa goby and pistol have built a caves on the front corner of the tank (I tried to make them stick to that spot and the stars aligned). I'm going to get them sometime, too. The Cinnamon clown female attacks the tangaroa and I thought she was going to eat the scooter when I dropped it in last night. It's still kicking around after a feeding diversion (she was directly over it, less than 2" away for a while and she paid it no mind the rest of the night).
