About to Quit

[Rmckoy]

Random thought....

I wonder if aiptasia would live In my tank?

Try Kenya tree , Xenia or gsp .
they are all pests.
once added you will have a hard time controlling them from spreading

 

[Apollo7235]

Try Kenya tree , Xenia or gsp .
they are all pests.
once added you will have a hard time controlling them from spreading

I think I’d rather deal with the aiptasia since there are so many means of removing them, haha

 

[Rmckoy]

I think I’d rather deal with the aiptasia since there are so many means of removing them, haha

Or
Wait for the icp results ?

 

[Apollo7235]

Or
Wait for the icp results ?

Hahaha that’s the plan!

 

[bnord]

am very late to the thread party, but allow me to join the chorus in trying to give you a little moral support to keep up the efforts and be open to suggestions, but to suggest that your tank will be yours, and not a reproduction of anyone else's and will grow for you just like that darlin' little baby in the pictures.
I took a 32 year hiatus from the hobby and started up again in may of 2020 as a covid break and have grown to 4 tanks and each one was different and way better because of the input from groups like this and my LFS and from the determination.
My first, a 40 cube, no sump went through 2 coral crashes as I pushed it too fast. it has now past its anniversary and is "thriving on neglect" and am using it to cut out zoas, a variety of GSP and PPX to swap at my LFS.
as others might have suggested, add these fast growers to a stand alone rock iskland to keep them where you want them -
For one, I would not try corals other than trumpets, Xenia, or zoas in a first tank for 6 months, and would add a few more poop machines into your tank while you ride it out. Grammas, clowns, any captive bred blennies from Biota et al., that are active and eat a lot.

Also agree that the lights could be turned up and... much of the rest others have suggested.

ICP will be interesting and may (MAY) disclose a smoking gun, but it will not be the whole story, as the biome of the tank will get you through a bunch of other challenges, and that will not "just take time".

 

[jgirardnrg]

Honestly, I think I would rather play hide and seek with a gorilla crab in a successful tank than deal with my situation.. but at least this is good experience right?......right??

After you tackle this you'll be ready for anything.

 

[Uncle99]

They are mostly nps corals I believe

I gave up on these.
Need a dirty tank and that makes others, so unhappy

 

[Rmckoy]

I gave up on these.
Need a dirty tank and that makes others, so unhappy

The only nps I’ve ever tried was a sun coral .
that was also 15 years ago .......
I prefer cleaner water where everything else is happy .

 

[BoneDoc]

I just have a hard time getting on board with the lighting being a problem considering my NPS also began to die on me in my display despite being underneath an overhead...

Probably, but when you’re struggling with different variables, the best way to isolate your problem is to remove one variable at a time. If you try to make 3 changes, it’s going to be hard to figure out which of the 3 was the effective solution.

 

[Apollo7235]

SO GUYS.

This happened today:

COULD IT BE?! Could it REALLY be?? Coralline??

I scraped at it with my Sea Squirt and nothing came off........ so, again, I ask, COULD IT BE?!

I also noticed quite a bit of new algae growth, both really dark, almost black sprinklings and what looks to be GHA.

 

[DoomervilleG]

Could very well be. I have green coralline(Won't come off with toothbrush) on my rocks and its about 4 months old, often comes in as a hitch hiker on snails or frags from vendors. Once it starts establishing, it is **usually here to stay, or so I've read. Comes in green, pink, purple, and yellow and blue, etc. I'm new to this hobby too, so someone with more knowledge may correct me!

edit: My tank for comparison. Forgive the bubbles, new return pump is still breaking in.

 

[Rmckoy]

SO GUYS.

This happened today:

COULD IT BE?! Could it REALLY be?? Coralline??

I scraped at it with my Sea Squirt and nothing came off........ so, again, I ask, COULD IT BE?!

I also noticed quite a bit of new algae growth, both really dark, almost black sprinklings and what looks to be GHA.

I believe it’s possible ....

I thought other pictures your system looked a little older , more mature .
This looks almost too new

 

[Apollo7235]

I believe it’s possible ....

I thought other pictures your system looked a little older , more mature .
This looks almost too new

Yep, that’s been the problem. No algae growth, no nothing for months.

 

[Rmckoy]

Yep, that’s been the problem. No algae growth, no nothing for months.

It’s started .
whether it’s coralline or any algae it’s so far a improvement .

 

[Rmckoy]

If it was algae that you wanted , why didn’t you say so .

I’m sure many of us could donate our share

 

[DoomervilleG]

If it was algae that you wanted , why didn’t you say so .

I’m sure many of us could donate our share

I can certainly donate buckets, totally free.

 

[Uncle99]

Any small purple dots on the pumps or glass?

 

[Rmckoy]

Any small purple dots on the pumps or glass?

I remember reading something awhile ago about some algae always showing up on black plastic objects first and can’t remember if it was coralline or something else .

 

[Uncle99]

Loves power heads, big constant flow, usually higher up to lights....

I remember reading something awhile ago about some algae always showing up on black plastic objects first and can’t remember if it was coralline or something else .

I always see it first on the glass, just because it stands out and I can chip off those little purple dots.
Over time they just become bigger.

 

[ReefCheef]

It’s hard to see in the picture, but I have some kind of super dark colored algae and a green algae growing on the shelf rock, maybe coralline and hair? I don’t know. I have quite a bit of coralline in my QT and I moved over some media that had it on it a few days ago.


I will post parameters once I have an opportunity to take them again. These Hanna Checkers seriously take forever.

Honestly, in my experience, very few tanks look decent the first year. VERY few. What other people have said is accurate, just be patient. It will get better. When you get to about the 1 year mark everything will get MUCH easier for reasons beyond the scope of this thread. Just have faith, stick in there, and youll succeed.