Blog Comments

Check with Jessy, as she has/had some. It sounds like you have plenty of blue already, with 20,000K MHs and Actinic T5s. Maybe you need to ramp up carbon (GAC) usage and water changes to get more vibrant corals.

When it comes to feeding, what I do for my 40 gal. is I only feed one quarter of a cube a day. I think its better to feed them less without overfeeding the tank (unless you want nuisance algae). Less is better than too much.
As for the Kenya trees, they work well in my tank though I have to prune it back a lot.

Not that I'm specifically aware of. There are general rules, but this one particular species mentioned above is definitely one to think about before adding it to an SPS system.

I know one guy that loved his Sinularia so he put it in the sump's return section so he could enjoy it. Still losing corals, he didn't realize for a while that the sinularia's 'flavor' was being pumped directly into his reef 24 hours a day. Whoops.

Is there a coral compatibility list flaring around anywhere?

Sinularia (at least specific to that species) are toxic to SPS and some Acropora sp. may die while others refuse to grow. It's a big no-no in a reef tank. Even without direct contact, the chemical warfare (alleopathy) in the water is enough to affect another coral elsewhere.

I have a few App ideas actually, but was thinking for the iPhone instead of the iPad. But ideas don't program themselves.

Thanks for the responses.

@Blown-My skimmer is a big in sump reef octopus which I like. With college student funding I have the cheapest testing kit at my LFS. (API I think, which doesn't even test phosphates) All parameters are seem good, but that's going off of a color chart :/ Got about 40-50 scarlet reef and blue leg crabs. 1 fighting conch. 1 serpent sea star. About 40-50 snails (big turbos, Nassarius, cerith, astrea). I do skim heavy, but I cannot do a water change every day since I am a few states away at college and I can't ask that of my mother.

@hockey kid, @matt- love the Sinularia suggestion if I can find one that looks like the picture. My choices are limited where I live right now.

@melev-why are sinularias and acroporas a bad mix? I did like that colt coral in your 29g. A monthly water change doesn't seem too bad. I knew 4 years ago when I got into the hobby I'd have to do them to have a good lookin tank, but to be honest, it's my least favorite thing to do since I don't have a top-off system or a good saltwater mixing station. I'll take ur advice and go with 2 cubes and veggie clip every other day. It doesn't seem like much but I've heard their stomachs are only about as big as their eye so....we'll see. I was half-serious about the app question. Just throwing that out there. If anybody could make it happen, I think that'd be you.

A colt coral is another pretty coral that doesn't drop babies. I had one that grew massive in my 29g. Sinularias and acroporas are a bad mix.

For feeding, two cubes a day is plenty. If you like to feed twice daily, make it one cube per session so the fish get to eat more often instead of only once a day (5 minutes out of 1440 is kind of rude, to me anyway).

Half a sheet of nori every other day will keep the tangs happy, and your other fish will eat any bits of nori that floats off. Don't worry about the inverts or anemones. They don't need it.

A monthly water change would be wise. 25% monthly is best.

Apps?! It's one of those "I'd love to...", but I need someone that wants to do it. I don't know how personally, nor do I have the time.

Double the sinularia suggestion. I was going to suggest the same thing. As far as feeding goes, it depends on your tank. If never trust any advise given on that subject until someone knows your equipment and system very well.

If you are running a small hob skimmer you obviously would have to feed less than if you are running a huge skimmer and bio pellets...

For the coral, go with sinularia. I personally love the neon green version, but it can be a bit tricky to find. Here's a picture off the web of it

It doesnt drop branches like kenya tree

I'm sure your gonna get a lot of different answers on here as well, I think we need a little more info on the tank itself before we can give ya a somewhat close answer. How big of a skimmer do you have? Clean-up crew? Do the fish eat all four cube or is there a lot left over floating around in the water column? What are you getting for readings on your test kits? (you are testing aren't you?)

My thought are if ya feed heavy, then you need to skim heavy. I personally skim heavy, and do a 3 gallon a day water change. Started this 90 days ago and the corals all look better, Nitrates are at 0, P04 is 0 as well. I feed heavy with my own homemade food.

How do I post a picture on here to see what this stuff is growing off my rock

thanks for the input!

I never feed my anemones. I feed the tank, and they open their mouths to inhale the particulates pretty quickly.

If you want to feed yours, get some raw shrimp from the deli. You can buy three for about $1. Freeze them, and then cut one shrimp into 5 equal-sized chunks. Feed it one peeled chunk every three days. It doesn't need food bigger than a lima bean. If you see an anemone expel waste (like a big blob of food), you overfed it.

I've always been a fan of feeding anemones formula one cubes. Frequency however, once a week? Every two weeks as size increases depending on the goals? Formula one however, makes for great anemone food, as long as it will be accepted by the anemone.

I have a pair and one of them shows the same coloring. Mine are only about 3 months in the tank.
A.

All the Percs I see come in have coloration like this. I think it might just be "maturing."

It can be a chemical reaction to the toadstool leather... Or perhaps you are feeding a better quality food to your fish?

My clown sometimes does the same with my toadstool, but my clown has never shown any color change. I dont think yours is being stung by your toadstool, the color change must be something else.

looks like a common coloring morph to me. If the toad stool was sting it it wouldnt host it

yeah I've only cut arms off to feed my Harlequins. I think cutting the core body might kill the starfish.