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[NoLimit]

I aplogize for not updating sooner, but I was waiting for my new test kits to arrive.

I've got test results

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0.01ppm
pH 8.2
Calcium 370ppm
Phosphate 0.0ppm

OK, so my pH and Calcium are starting to look better. I've been using B-Ionic to slowly bring both up in anticipation of adding some coral.

I'll hopefully be adding a couple Zoa frags over the next week or so, and maybe a sprig of some beautiful Xenia (at least I think it was Xenia) from a (not so local) LFS.

I do have my two Ricordia polyps, which completely lost their bluish pigment during their month in their in-between home. They do still retain the orange pigment (which glows under the actinics). The really interesting part is that one of them is splitting! They both had two mouths when I pulled everything from the old tank, but were completely round. Now the smaller one, which hasn't yet opened up fully is shaped more like an "8", with one mouth in the middle of each lobe. I don't quite get why, after being stressed to the point of losing their main coloration, one of them would be splitting... Anyone have any ideas?

I'll try to get a good picture of the splitting polyp when I get home tomorrow.

[NoLimit]

Here are the Ricordia I mentioned above.

The one on the right is splitting. You can't see it the shot, but the bottom lobe also has a green mouth in the center.

[NoLimit]

I bought a beautiful zoanthid colony! It in the tank now, but my camera is elsewhere. I'll post a picture tomorrow.

[NoLimit]

Here are two shots of the zoanthind colony I picked up yesterday. I' also got some Red Sea pulsing Xenia today -- I'll post some pics when it opens up tomorrow.

Two shots, one with flash, one without, so you can get some idea of the colors.

[NoLimit]

Got some more pictures for all of you.

Here are couple of the Xenia, which is pulsing away as I type!

[NoLimit]

My algae cycle seems to be winding down. I've been through brown diatoms (been and gone), green diatoms, which gave way to brown, then green hairy stuff, which is also receding. Should (hopefully) be cleared up completely in a few weeks.

Xenia and Zoos are doing great -- think it took a few days for the Xenia to settle in, but its looking really good now. I don't get to see the tank during the day, so don't have any idea what its daily cycle looks like. The polyps had been closed the last two days when I got hom e from work, about 6-ish. They would then open up about 15 minutes before the halide goes off and stay open all night, into the morning. Since Xenia is photosynthetic, I thought I'd see almost the opposite, but today its been open all day, and lookintg from the side, seems to be splitting! I'm not sure, 'cause I've never had Xenia before, but it seems to be separating roughly down the middle of the stalk, starting from the top. Is a split what I'm seeing? If that's the case, I'm sure it was already started at the store, pretty sure 5 days isn't enough for that to have started in the tank.

I'm going to move from where it is now. I read several differing suggestions for Xenia placement. Some said high, some said low. I'm going with low-middle. Hopefully, it will spread to cover a section of the front-right of the tank. I'm also contemplating using it as a backdrop, providing it spreads well for me. I'll frag it, and put a couple behind the rocks (behind which I intentionally left some space), against the glass, and let it spread away. I've also got half a mind to do it with zoos instead.

That tank the xenia came out of at the LFS was established in 1999, and has one of the sides and the entore back covered in zoos and it looks really cool. This is like a 90G tank -- that's a LOT of zoos.

[NoLimit]

Well, no sooner had I finished typing that last post, and I looked over and the Xenia was completely closed... It now back open. I was able to see that there are not two, but three separate sections of polyps on top of the stalk. Does that mean I'll soon have three stalks?

[NoLimit]

Just a quick update. Everything is looking good! About 4 weeks in, and I've got coraline starting on the plastic Lockline fittings (that's a very exciting sign).

Today's Tests:

Calcium 410
Alk 6.5 dKh
pH 8.2

[NoLimit]

Well, its been a while since my last update, but there really hasn't been much to report. I've moved the xenia to the place I wanted to take up residence. The single stalk I bought has started splitting in three, which are now attaching themselves to the rock I put them on.

The zoas are starting to spread their mat onto the nearby rock.

On a negative side, I'm dealing with a rather lot of hair algae, and am not making a gret deal of progress in beating it.

So far, I can't locate a source of phosphate -- my RO tests 0, its still 0 after mixing in the salt, and of course, there's none measurable in the tank itself. So far, I've been simply removing as much of it as is possible, and think I've beaten two sites, but there are still a few more spots. I've been doing weekly water changes of 10% -- if it doesn't get better, I'll step those up to twice weekly.

I'm hoping that by removing as much of the growth as is possible, I'll be pulling out the phosphate, too. Maybe the source will exhaust itself, and I'll eventually remove all of it.

I'll get some pics of the tank up hopefully tommorrow.

[NoLimit]

Well, I'm getting into the rhythm of weekly water changes, but I'm not seeing the effect in terms of lower hair algae growth.

So I've moved into a more agressive phase to keep the green stuff in check. Started using Phosphate Sponge (changed every two days -- man I'm gonna go through the stuff fast...), and carbon (changed every other phosohate sponge change). I've placed them on top of a piece of eggcrate, right behind the tank's overflow teeth, so as to minimize the water's ability to flow around the media.

To help the chemical filtration, I'm removing by hand as much of the hair aglae as I can. I might be making it out to be worse than it actually is -- there're really only two rocks on which the stuff is growing, and I've got to pull some off the sand bed each time, too.

On the good news front, my zenia has almost completely separated into three individual stalks, and the zoo's seem to be spreading onto their neighboring rocks.

I'm dying to add some SPS and maybe a hammer or anchor, but I'm attempting patience while I wait out the hair algae.

[NoLimit]

I think I've finally gotten ahead of the hair algae -- most of the sites have shut down, and the last two have slowed way down.


SO....

I picked up a new addition -- I believe its a calustrea of some sort. The guy at the LFS said "its just a little frag" -- exactly what I'm looking for. The whole piece is about 3/4" X 1". There are ( i think) 7 polyps.

Also, I've been noticing lots of new thingies growing in the tank. Some xenia just sprung up in another part of the tank -- it started on a small rock, and I'm hoping its takes hold, so that I can give it to a buddy at work.

I'm asttaching a couple pics of something I can't identify. The nearest thing I can think of is that its a sponge. I just don't feel quilified to ID a sponge, since I've only seen a few...

There are several clusters of them in the tank, always in the shade. They look like lots of small "tubes" grouped together, translucent, and they look very soft.

If its a sponge, I don't quite get how I could have ahd all of this rock for a year before they would start to grow...

Any ideas? Please post in my thread in the nanos forum.