Thanks Bleedingthought.
Fraid its just bad news atm, I was not here over the Christmas break and my tenants closed up my place and let the water temp spike up to 31deg C. I have lost all 3 elegances and the other corals are in poor shape. I am in the process of dropping the water back to 'normal' temps slowly atm. I am not sure if the elegance mortality was not also due to the documented problems with collection and transportation.......but I'm surer the heat issues didnt help....all very very sad.....
Updates to follow.....
Fraid its just bad news atm, I was not here over the Christmas break and my tenants closed up my place and let the water temp spike up to 31deg C. I have lost all 3 elegances and the other corals are in poor shape. I am in the process of dropping the water back to 'normal' temps slowly atm. I am not sure if the elegance mortality was not also due to the documented problems with collection and transportation.......but I'm surer the heat issues didnt help....all very very sad.....
Updates to follow.....Thanks for the concern all! I have had a monster aircon unit fitted (39000BTU) and now have a constant 25-25.5C temp range. Most of what was looking weak has bounced back although my one hammer is doing poorly with recission evident. Apart from that the fish are all happy again, and the bulk of my corals appear well. I did also lose one of my two dendras, but the other one has bounced back and is stronger than ever. 8)
Updated pics as soon as I have got on top of a minor derbesia problem. I went and caught 100-odd small hermits the other day and they are starting to make a dent. The derbesia appears to be a consequence of using flake food (now using homemade frozen) and was probably also encouraged by the heat problem. My T5s are also suspect, having run now for nearly a year. I have ordered new tubes, but they will only get here in 3-4 weeks.
Updated pics as soon as I have got on top of a minor derbesia problem. I went and caught 100-odd small hermits the other day and they are starting to make a dent. The derbesia appears to be a consequence of using flake food (now using homemade frozen) and was probably also encouraged by the heat problem. My T5s are also suspect, having run now for nearly a year. I have ordered new tubes, but they will only get here in 3-4 weeks.
Update time:
Well, after the mini-crash over the festive season, caused mainly by overheating, I spent 8 hours on a ladder with a scrubbing brush and removed the derbesia manually. After complete change of all globes- T5s and MH and a switch to 14000K MH's, agressive carbon and phosphate remover application and careful water parameter monitoring, I have managed to keep the system hair algae and fatality free for the last 4 months.
As a reward, I have decided to add some more livestock, starting with some elegance corals. I had a complete luck the other day when I popped my head into the LFS and found an enormous, fully expanded and healthy looking elegance that had been reserved for a display tank at a local casino. As they were late in collecting it- it had been in the LFS tank for 10 days, I begged to be allowed to take it... and won!
Attached below are some pics of it in its temperary positioning. I still want to place it deeper on the substrate in the next day of so. The pics do not do its size justice, it must be a foot in diameter- probably close to the size of a football!
Well, after the mini-crash over the festive season, caused mainly by overheating, I spent 8 hours on a ladder with a scrubbing brush and removed the derbesia manually. After complete change of all globes- T5s and MH and a switch to 14000K MH's, agressive carbon and phosphate remover application and careful water parameter monitoring, I have managed to keep the system hair algae and fatality free for the last 4 months.
As a reward, I have decided to add some more livestock, starting with some elegance corals. I had a complete luck the other day when I popped my head into the LFS and found an enormous, fully expanded and healthy looking elegance that had been reserved for a display tank at a local casino. As they were late in collecting it- it had been in the LFS tank for 10 days, I begged to be allowed to take it... and won!
Attached below are some pics of it in its temperary positioning. I still want to place it deeper on the substrate in the next day of so. The pics do not do its size justice, it must be a foot in diameter- probably close to the size of a football!
Attachments
Hi Tom, the huge elegance didnt make it sadly, and its my last attempt at keeping them, I think that the transportation strain that is often refered to is too much for them. On the brighter side, in the last pic above you can see a sea pen. Thats still growing well and is healthy and happy. I also have managed to keep a dendra going for over 2 months now, by feeding plankton netted in the ocean and 'Plankto', an aquamedic product that seems to suit both the sea pen and the dendra. I have my perenial derbesia outbreak underway at the moment, which i am trying to control- its because I run a bit more nutrients than most here in order to feed the fussy eaters.
My second tank is just waiting for a spare 8 hours to be plumbed and filled- never seem to be able to find the time....
My second tank is just waiting for a spare 8 hours to be plumbed and filled- never seem to be able to find the time....
Hi Craig
Thanks! Tank is doing fine- am battling a bit with my usual summer hair algae outbreak, but I have upped the PH, increased the circulation, and collected around 400 hermits and dropped them in. I am also storming the tank as often as I can remember. I added a pile more LR late last year and my second tank is also running now. When I get on top of the algae problem and get some time to do anything more than just preventative maintenance, I will clean them both up and post some pics.
Thanks! Tank is doing fine- am battling a bit with my usual summer hair algae outbreak, but I have upped the PH, increased the circulation, and collected around 400 hermits and dropped them in. I am also storming the tank as often as I can remember. I added a pile more LR late last year and my second tank is also running now. When I get on top of the algae problem and get some time to do anything more than just preventative maintenance, I will clean them both up and post some pics.
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