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Tank Log: Month 6 |
General Observations
The tank is now six months. Growth of all specimens continues
at a fast rate, especially the SPS corals. Several of the larger
specimens, such as the birdnest, tenuis, blue and salmon milliporas are starting
to be fragged to keep them in check as they grow together.
Current water parameters:
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Alkalinity - 3.5 meq./l. - I have started to use a little Seachem Reef Builder in the makeup water. |
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Calcium - 460ppm |
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pH - 8.05 Night to 8.35 during the day |
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Temp - 78.5 to 81.5F |
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Salinity - 1.025 |
New Additions
I continue to stock very slowly. I am looking for only exceptional specimens to add at this time.
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Pink Bubble Tip Anemone Tank raised specimen. It is about 6" across when expanded. It has taken up a position up on the live rock where it can hide its base in a cavity. It gets fairly intense lighting and moderate water flow. This is not where I had planned for it to reside, but as long as it is happy, I'm not going to mess with it. |
Deaths/Specimen Problems
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SPS FLEAS!
The light blue SPS frag that was added in month 4 has developed an infestation of red flea like amphipods(?). There has been much discussion lately on the www.ReefCentral.Com message board about these critters and whether they actually cause harm to the coral. Many hobbyists have noticed SPS corals going down-hill shortly after observing the fleas. Whether they caused the decline or are scavenging a dieing coral is unknown. The specimen here has been the picture of health and has doubled in size in the 2 months I have had it, so I do not think it has been adversely affected, at least up to now. |
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Close-up of the fleas. They have a reddish appearance.
To be safe, I have removed this specimen and placed it into a soft coral holding tank while I figure out what to do. I hate to kill the frag, but it may be my only option. I do not see any of these bugs on the other corals fortunately. Conjecture has it that they may only affect blue colored SPS corals. |
Tank problems and opportunities for
improvement.
There really hasn't been any problems over the last month. Growth
of algae on the glass has slowed down somewhat, but I think that is primarily
due to the fact that the calcium reactor CO2 output had decreased a bit without
me realizing it. Now that I have boosted the output back up to the normal
100 bubbles/min, I expect to see the growth increase again.
Maintenance
I continue to do weekly 10 gallon water changes with Kent salt. As noted above, I have also started to add a little Seachem Reef Builder with the makeup water in order to help boost alkalinity levels. I am OK with it at 3.5meq/l, but would prefer to have it up closer to 4.0.
