Buffy's 1st Ever SW Build - Reef Tank

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Something on my Elegance?

There's something on the shell of my Elegance. Along with it, is something red to the right too. The red thing, can't tell what it is, doesn't move (this a part of the Elegance's anatomy?), but the other has "tentacles that sway with current". It's a pretty much perfect circle and I can't tell if it's coming out of a "tube" to the left of it or not. Looks like it has a white eye too.
 
I'm thinking maybe flatworm? Have you goggled that to see if the desricption matches? You don';t dip your corals yet do you? Some of the dips can get rid of some nasty hitchhikers on corals though I;m not sure about flatworms.
 
I did dip them. Doesn't look like a flatworm that I recall. I'm afraid of aiptasia because that's what the tentacles remind me of. I'm gonna try to get a closer picture in a bit. I'm research a pulley system. I think when I first put my lights on with these that I put them on too long. Right now I have the 2 bulb on (1 white, 1 blue), I'm gonna switch bulbs around once I install a pulley system (gonna go diy :)).

My Elegance is full open now, so I'd have to turn lights off for it to close and try to get a better picture. Did you see the gap on the right side? Looks like it was chipped off? I cause that gap, when I was "pushing" him into the substrate, I felt it snap. I didn't think I'd feel so bad when it came to livestock for a fish tank but dang I felt HORRIBLE. So did I injure him too bad, will that grow back?



@Carey - If you could take a few minutes and shoot me a pm. My funds are extremely limited and I'd like help on figuring out what I NEED to get everything under control and happy and healthy. If you don't mind pm'ing back and forth for a little bit. If you can just shoot me a "list" and when I get back I'll let you know what I have and don't have then we can fine tune, is that okay with you? (My most favorite SW mommie in the whole wide world :) lmao)

Gonna get to hardware store now that I got my ladder back and get to the pulley system so I can have that problem taken care of.

I'll be back in a few hours, hopefully with the supplies I need for my pulley.
 
from what i can see it looks like a common fan worm. i don't think it's aptasia. i do see what looks to be a calcium based tube. the beauty is, if it's aptasia, you can just take the elegance out of the tank and scrape the aptasia off and put it back in. no problem. when doing that, i would want to take a little tiny bit of the skeleton with it. scrape a little deep, without going through.

as far as getting a picture, why not just touch it, and then it will retract?
 
Thanks Mr. X.

All the tentacles on it would retract? Does it sting? I'm going to try to get a better picture today too. But I have to turn my lights off for a long time to get his tentacles to shrink enough to get a picture. He has "expanded" like an old fashioned dress with a bustle out around his skeleton which to me is what he is supposed to do. (Hope that makes sense lol).

How can you tell the difference between aptasia and common fan worms. I've read and read, and compared the two types of aptasia and compared fan worms and I'll be danged if I can not figure out which is which except for the Majano which to me is "fatter".
 
What should I do with the Polyfill from the Emperor? Do I put it in the Fluval somewhere?
 
Aiptaisia
Can't really sting you, but pretty toxic to other corals.

Thanks, I've seen that picture, it's just that I've seen so many pictures and with the variety I've seen of Aiptasia I wasn't sure. I did more research and it resembles fan worms more.

Did water testing before water change (about 10%).

Results:
Temp 76.8 (not shabby - set for 77)
Salinity 1.025
TDS of RO/DI output .3
Ammonia 0---woohoo
pH 8.6----too high
Nitrite 0---woohoo
Nitrate 40ppm---too high
Calcium 440ppm
KH 5.6 dKH ---ugg still low
Alk 2.04 meg/l ---ugg still low

Still don't understand that pH ---today ro/di water was 6.8 before salt and 8.6 after salt. The other day it was 7.5 before salt and 8.7 after salt.

I don't like that I may have to start dosing with only 3 corals, some clean up crew and no fish yet.

Any suggestions guys??
 
Buffy said:
Thanks, I've seen that picture, it's just that I've seen so many pictures and with the variety I've seen of Aiptasia I wasn't sure. I did more research and it resembles fan worms more.

Did water testing before water change (about 10%).

Results:
Temp 76.8 (not shabby - set for 77)
Salinity 1.025
TDS of RO/DI output .3
Ammonia 0---woohoo
pH 8.6----too high
Nitrite 0---woohoo
Nitrate 40ppm---too high
Calcium 440ppm
KH 5.6 dKH ---ugg still low
Alk 2.04 meg/l ---ugg still low

Still don't understand that pH ---today ro/di water was 6.8 before salt and 8.6 after salt. The other day it was 7.5 before salt and 8.7 after salt.

I don't like that I may have to start dosing with only 3 corals, some clean up crew and no fish yet.

Any suggestions guys??

Fan worms usually have feathery tentacles, where aiptaisia being an anemone doesn't have feathers on their tentacles.
 
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals
then you don't have a calcium level of 440. last study i saw put reef crystals calcium numbers in the high 300s, and kh of 12. surely a container could be off due to settling, but that's the norm. do you have a local reefer near by who will test your water and you can compare results?
 
mr_X said:
then you don't have a calcium level of 440. last study i saw put reef crystals calcium numbers in the high 300s, and kh of 12. surely a container could be off due to settling, but that's the norm. do you have a local reefer near by who will test your water and you can compare results?

What salt do you recommend mr_x?
 
coffeetwitch said:
And then you would dose what you need to get to the ppm you want?

I have to use a dosing pump and have B-Ionic running 24/7, then use Kalkwasser at night to raise calcium even more and stabilize Ph. The two part compounds are useful for maintaining calcium/Kh daily, but you need something like Kalkwasser or calcium reactor to get the calcium and Kh levels up to where you want them for SPS corals. B-Ionic won't cut it by itself in my opinion. Kalkwasser is easy to set up and I have used it for many years.
 
i miss my emerald crabby. mr. crabs. he passed when my tank was CRASHING TOUUUGH, so i rushed and put all my livestock in a 1 week old 40 breeder. i lost mr. crabs and my pulsing anthilia (sp?) but everything else lived somehow. nitrates and nitrites WAY outta control, and errythin lived!
 
Fan worms usually have feathery tentacles, where aiptaisia being an anemone doesn't have feathers on their tentacles.

Thanks, that's what I thought I saw but this doesn't have feathery. I'll just wait and see what happens.

then you don't have a calcium level of 440. last study i saw put reef crystals calcium numbers in the high 300s, and kh of 12. surely a container could be off due to settling, but that's the norm. do you have a local reefer near by who will test your water and you can compare results?

I used the Salifert Calcium Test, and did the "1/2" test so I multiplied by 2. I got close the the same results last time too. Both with Calcium and Alkalinity.

No I don't have a local reefer near me to test :-(

I have to use a dosing pump and have B-Ionic running 24/7, then use Kalkwasser at night to raise calcium even more and stabilize Ph. The two part compounds are useful for maintaining calcium/Kh daily, but you need something like Kalkwasser or calcium reactor to get the calcium and Kh levels up to where you want them for SPS corals. B-Ionic won't cut it by itself in my opinion. Kalkwasser is easy to set up and I have used it for many years.

I was going to be doing more research on the reactors and dosing but hadn't gotten that far because I only have 3 corals. I shouldn't have to be dosing or anything like that yet. At least I don't think I should anyway.

I mean I'm not adding ANYTHING to my tank water other than when I mix my salt water for the change. The saltwater is made prior to doing water change. I mix it, heat it to the right temp, then let it mix about an hour after temp so I can make sure I have the right salinity. Then I change out the water. (I am only changing out about 7.5 gallons a week right now).
 
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