My Acro Nursery

[maoiwowie]

Mark... does it heal itself with no corrective actions? In my case since my alk was on the low side, i took the obvious route of raising it back to an acceptable range. If my parameters were all fine, i probably wouldnt have done a thing.

 

[markalot]

Mark... does it heal itself with no corrective actions? In my case since my alk was on the low side, i took the obvious route of raising it back to an acceptable range. If my parameters were all fine, i probably wouldnt have done a thing.

So far the only permanent loss on my big slimer has been STN at the base when I had an ALk spike, and then it stopped once it got to about the level of the rocks in front of it, making me thing it might have been flow related. It's an odd coral. Obviously rugged since I've had mine for 2 years and it's easily the largest Acro in my tank, but it will also show various issues from time to time that scare the hell out of me but never amount to much.

 

[markalot]

This is what mine is doing on a few branches, some in partial shade, some on top under 400+ PAR.

Overall it's healthy, there's just so much of it. My ALK is running around 8 with a recent slow rise and fall to 9 a few weeks ago.

This pic gives an idea of the size of the beast. Trust me, if I can keep it alive it's rugged.

 

[maoiwowie]

I havent experienced any underside bleaching yet. That would make me nervous too, but yours looks like a minor problem considering the other corals in your tank. But im sure you have seen tanks with thick branching and absolutely no bleaching anywhere.

Although many reefers use the terms loosely me included, there is a distinction between stn and bleaching; and should be approached differently. Bleaching can lead to "stn" (slow tissue necrosis), which is the actual dying of tissue but that can also be a symptom of many different things.

 

[maoiwowie]

More progression pics...
Jrpdriver Purpletip

 

[Reefflapper]

Some very nice pieces in there bud, seems like we all face adversity at some point with our tanks. It is very nice to see when perseverance yields positive results, as it did in your case. Very beautiful SPS.

 

[maoiwowie]

Thank you. In the beginning there was only death; bones piling up in the boneyard... Been there. Most of the help threads in the SPS forum described my tank in the past, until i got honest and left the mickey mouse club. But thats not to say that the grim reaper wont visit from time to time.

 

[Reefvet]

I have a couple of these areas on my slimer as well. Not sure what causes them and they never seem to spread. A macro of one of my spots reveals the skin is still there, just extremely pale.

I've seen this happen many times. I currently have an ORA Green Planet that's under about 600 PAR and it's growing fast but with little color between the corallites. It's encrusting at the same time, but with full color there. It didn't have this issue with the same parameters but lower light, about 450 PAR. I tried to break it off yesterday to move it. I couldn't for the life of me break it. It's gone from a thin frag on one of those stupid ORA plugs to well over an inch in diameter as it encrusted the plug. So it's healthy as can be, just not as fully colored as it would be under less light, IMO.

I don't your Slimer has STN maoiwowie. It was growing quickly and your parameters changed.

If there's any coral that'll let you know it's not happy that's it. It's called a Slimer because it slims if you just bump it.

 

[Reefvet]

.. until i got honest and left the mickey mouse club. But thats not to say that the grim reaper wont visit from time to time.

Mickey and the reaper are partners in crime. They just choose different days to sit on your shoulder and poke at you when your reef tank crashes for no apparent reason or it's sailing along smoothly. They'll both be back if you stay in this hobby long enough. Trust me.

 

[Jay_R]

Subscribing to this thread..

I'm at Day 1 of my SPS nursery.. I currently have an orange Monti Foliosa, Green Slimmer and a Seriatopora Guttatus. Going to take it steady and see if I can keep these alive - if I have half your success i'll be happy.

Love the dedication, algae philosophy and commitment. Thanks for sharing.. this is an inspirational thread. Good Job, Well done!

 

[maoiwowie]

Reefvet - whatever it was, its completely gone. My biggest challenge right now is keeping up with Alk. The demand is so high that my drip rate from my reactors is almost continuous. This is unchartered territory for me as i never pushed my dual reactors this much. Also the first reactor had algae growing inside that prevented me from seeing the coral rubble level inside. It looked fine, but when i decided to clean it, it was almost empty. Its now recharged. And i do agree... The Grim Reaper is waiting for me to go on vacation or move the tank; perhaps have a power outage when im away or a crisis that will take my attention away. Its a matter of time...

Jay - Being these tanks are in my office at work, i treat them as such. The daily tasks has become part of the procedures i do for my job. The tasks are calendered next to my meetings and appointments. I have never before been so consistent with the upkeep. Instead of getting paid in $$$ for my work, i get paid with happy corals. Although the look on people's eyes when they enter my office is priceless.

 

[Jay_R]

Here's a shot of mine. Not nearly what I used to have! Not yet anyways. .

I quite like the open look.. people go a long way to conceal their sumps / equipment etc.. but I like to see the workings under the display

Nice set-up!

 

[CoralReefBoffin]

"Its the courage to continue that counts" ...

 

[maoiwowie]

And an understanding significant other... The upfront costs can be expensive; but once you stop replacing your dying corals because of your own doing, it becomes quite manageable. I stopped buying pieces late last year so now its only food, salt, supplements, and bulbs. My corals are pest free. I did finally replace those Amazon cheap MH bulbs yesterday with an XM 15k. To be honest those $15 bulbs on Amazon perform fine but I guess im trying to go "next level" with the colors like I see with Lunar's Reef. The XM15k is very blue.

 

[Reefvet]

The XM15k is very blue.

I've used XM15Ks to great success. An excellent light and I bet you'll see improved color in some frags.

 

[NeverlosT]

fantastic thread, as a longtime reefer and lover of SPS, I enjoyed it quite a bit. We all share the trials and tribulations, and dedication and patience are the only way to get ahead. Your tanks are beautiful.

I had a question, what is the coral in this picture?

I'd like to track down a frag of that sucker. I am just coming away from a bad event in the tank, but SPS are now recovering, mine started with some bad media, and then went downhill from there, but now there is PE once more and color returning. What a crazy hobby we have!

I wish you the best of continued luck!

 

[maoiwowie]

Thank you! That particular piece i purchased for $10 as a tester frag. It doesnt have a name. As my tank went through changes the frag did as well. The colors have shifted many times. It started pretty much brown. And today it looks different from the feb pic as well. Here is the sequence...
March 2014

April 2014, May 2014

July 2014

Feb 2015

 

[maoiwowie]

Completed some over due scraping on the 90 today...

 

[maoiwowie]

Reefvet - You are right. Im starting to really like this bulb. I have been feeding more and adding more supplements; and the XM15K is really bringing out some nice colours. I have a radium over my 40 gal and comparing the two, i cant decide which one i like more.

 

[NeverlosT]

I ran the XM for a while, and some Phoenix 15K and Ushio 14K. Never got to try radiums though I have heard nothing but positive things. I did get great growth with the Ushio, but I think better color with the phoenix 15K bulbs.

Looks like some solid re-scaping and that coral you got as a no-name is a beauty! Great find.