SPS experts, need some clarification....

[rovster]

I actually dipped twice. First time I used the recommended 2 cups of water to 0.5ml of Bayer, and dipped for 12 minutes while swirling the water with a spoon regularly. I did see bugs come off, as well as some pods that were on the base. When I put the frag in the tank, I did spot a couple of cucarachas crawling around, so the next day I did 1ml of Bayer, and left them in for 15 min while stirring them water and also basting the frags gently. Now I see no bugs. Frags did not slime at all, just had polyps retracted for a few days. They are starting to peek through now. I did rinse/dip in fresh tank water after the Bayer dip. At those concentrations I didn't think the water was milky at all.

El Porko says he measures in squirts, but I like to be a little more scientific, LOL! Thanks again. Updates to follow. I will be out of town all of next week, so I'm a bit concerned about the tank. I'm also excited to see the tank after a week, and see how these corals are doing. Ponape is still growing like mad, but the green is also busting a move. BOP is by far the slowest grower of the bunch.

 

[Joshporksandwic]

I add till the water is milky and after i rinse with tab water. So far i havent killed anything. When something dies ill probably start measuring.

 

[rovster]

I add till the water is milky and after i rinse with tab water. So far i havent killed anything. When something dies ill probably start measuring.

Yeah, there were a couple of accounts on that thread where people used 6 times the concentration recommended and were fine. Said their coral was ****ed off, but it still lived. I figured I could always add more and re-dip if necessary. At the concentration I used, the water was very slightly milky, more like cloudy:facepalm: Anyway, it seems to have worked. Time will tell if the cucarachas come back. If they do, I'll go for skim milk consistency, LOL!:hmm6:

 

[Joshporksandwic]

Yeah, there were a couple of accounts on that thread where people used 6 times the concentration recommended and were fine. Said their coral was ****ed off, but it still lived. I figured I could always add more and re-dip if necessary. At the concentration I used, the water was very slightly milky, more like cloudy:facepalm: Anyway, it seems to have worked. Time will tell if the cucarachas come back. If they do, I'll go for skim milk consistency, LOL!:hmm6:

you shouldn't listen to anything i say or do since i have no idea what im doing lol. I've been lucky but really have only been doing this for 10 months and don't know the longterm effects of my stupidity and lack of consistency lol.

 

[Joshporksandwic]

If Marvin told you to do it a certain way listen to him!!!!!!!!!

 

[rovster]

If Marvin told you to do it a certain way listen to him!!!!!!!!!

No, nothing specific from Marvin, he just pointed me in the direction of the 20 page thread on Bayer, LOL! Based on the thread, the recommended dosage is 0.5ml to 2 cups of H20.

Oh, and you obviously know what you are doing. You have some insane corals that apprear pretty friggin' happy. I can't wait to get my cucaracha-infected mitts all over them:uhoh2:

Please save me a bonsai....PLEASE!:eek1:

 

[rovster]

Thought I'd update this thread. When I came back from vacation, I had a pretty big suprise and found out just how much Cal and Alk my tank consumes. As you guys know, I was gone for a week on a cruise. During that time, my brother in law took care of the tank. He came to my house nearly every day, and dosed A+B once/day, I usually dose twice, but I figured it would be fine. Boy was I wrong!

First thing I did when I came back was check Alk. Normally its been stable at 8.5ish. It was 3.8! I couldn't believe it. I checked again. Same thing. I pulled out my back-up Alk kit, brand new, and same thing! Holy crap. I checked my cal and it was like 340 down from 430. Thats in a friggin week, with SOME supplementation.

So for those that say all nanos need are water changes, uh...no, LOL!

Anyway, everything seemed to be just fine, and other than some polyp retraction and my zoos being a bit deflated, there was not appartent harm done. I slowly brought my numbers up and cal is back in to 430-440 and Alk is almost 9.

OK, on to the updates. Here are some growth pics. As a reminder, here is where I started....

Here is 2 months of growth almost to the day....

Ponape....fast grower....on the bottom of the tank, so not a TON of light....

Green birdsnest, getting more light, really branching....

BOP, still the slowest grower, but has made some progress....

I have not seen a single redbug since I dipped. Acro polyps are retracted in the picture, but they do come out during the regular light period. They are also encrusting on the base. All the glue and some of the base is starting to encrust. Definitely the slowest grower...but it is growing nontheless...

And here is a non-SPS that snuck into the back of my tank, where no one can see it, LOL!

I added a bit of Vignette in PS but it does not do it justice. Much brighter in person.....thanks a lot el porko:headwally:

Is pretty standard growth for these birdsnest? Slow? Fast? Thanks, I have no idea what I'm doing, LOL!:eek2:

 

[rovster]

Was bored today, so thought I'd update on some SPS progression.

Love tracking my birdsnest, since it grows so damn fast (at least I think it does). Not as fast as my POS pocci, but fast enough.

Here's where I started.

Below is 6 months growth (got the frags from Marv in July)....

Ponape. Beastly growth, its still on that same plug if you can find it:eek1:

Green. Sorry bad pic:hmm5:

Bird of Paradise. This one took a while to get going, but now its starting to take off. Looks beautiful under actinics....

Here is my first acro I got as an experiment. Its been through redbugs, lots of dips, and some coral warfare with another acro that I had to separate it from. Here is where I started....

It had fully encrusted the plug it was on, so I had to mount on a larger rock. Its on my Ghetto frag rack. Polyps are retracted because I had to turn it to get the pic. Normally polyps are out. I made a putty base for it to transition to the rock, and in a few weeks its encrusting that as well.

Last one here is a frag I got from El Porko. A bonsai. It fully encrusted the plug it was on and was growing on the frag rack, so I mounted on a larger tile with a putty base, and again in a few weeks, the putty is almost completely encrusted and is almost to the base. Wondering when this one will shoot off a branch. Its thickening in a few areas, but no vert yet...

 

[rovster]

Oh, and here is a non-blue FTS. I recently moved some stuff around and totally trashed my pocci and monti. Got a few of my zoos mounted as well.

Not doing much different. Maintaining Alk between 7-9. I test 1-3 times per week depending. Phos ranges from .04 to .07. I test that 1-2 times per month.

I have another echinata acro tucked back in a corner that you cant see that has been alive for a month with no signs of growth or dying, LOL! Love to get my hands on some more colorful stuff, but I'll have to wait until I have more room!

 

[gatoralum69]

Nice!

 

[nivram]

Excellent growth!

 

[Hyperion1337]

nice!
When are you gonna get started on the large tank?

 

[rovster]

nice!
When are you gonna get started on the large tank?

Soon. My wife is about to pop out #2 (Due date was today actually). As soon as the carnage from that settles, I'm bringing the tank in the house:bounce2:

Everything is ready. Just need to glue the bulkheads. Everything else is DONE!