Thank for the comments Melev. You're right, PO4 is 1ppm, not 10ppm. Still quite high. I added the Alk buffer on Thu. I measured Ca, Mg and Alk again. today morning, Alk looking better: Alk: 8 dKH Ca: 325ppm Mg: 850ppm So now I'm going to add some Ca supplement to start bringing Ca up, and maybe at night I'll add some Mg supplement too. I have an 'old' Seachem Aquacitro Ca supplement bottle almost full, and an 'old' Eco magnesium bottle half full. Might as well use them up before buying anything else.
Your PO4 level is concerning - was that a typo of their number of 10ppm (1.0 ppm?) vs your measurement of 0? The worst I ever had was 3.0ppm and it took a long time to get it down to 0, and a lot of product. Buffering up Alkalinity to 8dKH would be good. Target range is 8 - 11 dKH. Calcium and Magnesium are balanced right now, 3x Calcium = Magnesium, but both need to be brought up quite a bit. It's great to have a LFS near you, and having them do spring cleaning so you don't have to isn't a bad idea at all.
Great news.
A comment: these eat green and red, and since mid March 2013 there are no green nor red bubble algae in the tank. They've stripped it clean. I hope they survive in the long term.
Thx guys! Makes me feel more confident everything is normal. It is looking normal now. I'll try feeding it tomorrow with a much smaller piece.
Agreed. You can cut your shrimp into four or five equal sized pieces, and offer just one piece per session. Years ago I fed my anemone every three days a piece of shrimp the size of a lima bean. However, about a year later I pretty much stopped feeding them ever. I've had that same anemone since 2003 and it has done very well without target feeding. I'm not saying don't feed yours, but you may find at one point it is no longer necessary. Right now it is small and could use some nutrients, but once or twice a week with a tiny bit of meaty food.
you're right the piece was probably too large. just try feeding it a smaller piece, about 1/4 of the shrimp.
Looks nice - I hope it does well for you. Be sure to update us as it may change color as it settles in over time.
I need that eats green as well. That's pretty awesome though!
Nice random thoughts. Glad to hear the tank is balanced for the time being. It wouldn't hurt to add a few more emeralds and shrimp now, proactively.
I need one that eats green bubbles.
keep an eye on it, my galaxea doesn't like high flow or strong direct light. I have had it growing in the sand before and now it is almost on the bottom behind a big rock kind of shaded and it loves it there.
cool man, looks like the shrimp was there to inspect
Yep, they're all fine. I think the one that died was just old. I got some closeup pictures of it when it was swimming near the corners to see if I could spot parasites or signs of disease, because I was worried with the strange behavior, and I saw nothing at all...it was the largest so I guess it was also the oldest.
sorry for your loss, are all of your other chromis doing well?
Originally Posted by Midnight I bet the flow is rockin in that cube now. Its great that you are of the mindset that any set backs are simply learning experiences. Flow is great with the MP10s!!! These pumps are expensive but they are worth every penny.
yeah i agree with the cyano and and midnight. that's kinda the way i think about my aquariums as well. when i have i problem its almost exciting to find an answer. and i enjoy the overall learning experience and boy have i learned alot in the past year of reef keeping and i still have plenty to learn.
Looking good and I have to agree with Midnight about your mindset, thats what all hobbyists need to realize to be successful. I do have one more additional comment regarding feeding. If I am not mistaken I think it was Melev that had brought up an article or study regarding feeding. In a nutshell there is more food in the wild for the fish then there is in our home systems but marine fish have stomachs and know when they are full so they just grab food out of the water column when they need it. Now obviously in out systems that isn't possible to replicate our all our water would foul very quickly. The next best thing is to feed more often (2-4 times a day depending on stock) instead of feeding a lot once a day. When you do feed observe your fishes feeding and if they don't finish it all in a 5 minute period then feed them less next time until you get a good balance.
I bet the flow is rockin in that cube now. Its great that you are of the mindset that any set backs are simply learning experiences.
Originally Posted by Paul B Mine smells like lotus blossoms in the wind, even after 15 years of not cleaning it. You guys must be doing something wrong. You don't throw table scraps or cat food in there do you? No cat food Paul (LOL), but maybe too much food for too long a time . Of course, I don't have a water flow through it like you do with your reverse undergravel filter . One of my conclusions is that I need to "under feed" my fish, because I normally give too much food....