Time to door crash! Awesome as usual Walter! lol

Thanks Nick and Mylon. And both you guys are overdue for a visit.

Very nice colours and great pictures.

Time for a little update:
 

Summer is usually a tough time for my display tank (was last year), but so far no problems and all inhabitants seem to be happy. Parameters are all staying consistent, coral growth and color is as good as ever. No algae now (had a problem last fall), no cyano (haven't had that for 4+ years), and sand is clean and white (thanks to my goby). Only problem is no room, and corals are crowding each other out. Mushrooms have turned into real pests, and overgrowing some of my SPS. Have not figured out yet how to control them (Aiptasia X doesn't work).

And my DIY chiller has worked great, as my big 1/3 HP Artica has not had to come on once through this latest heat spell. So am very happy with that. I think I will put it up for sale, and gain a little more space in my sump room.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psr6muqeno.jpg

FTS, though hard to get a good one this time of year, with all the daylight.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...pscmejcdug.jpg

Some of my fav corals.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psrhbi64tw.jpg

Red Planet getting too large. Might have to chop off a large colony piece.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...pssy9afotr.jpg
Close up.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psa3yyeqb7.jpg

Pink Lemonade stub after I sold off the colony is coming back nicely.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psp4iofjby.jpg

More favs.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psvrnrakyg.jpg

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...pswf3ovfgf.jpg

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3q78dkpx.jpg

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psaz3gqc8a.jpg

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psgs84iqnd.jpg

http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...psf6qd3kku.jpg

And my poor bonsai losing the battle to the bad, bad, mushrooms.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/...pscti2el4n.jpg

Have you tried injecting the mushrooms with vinegar?

Otherwise looking great!

No, never heard of that. Does it work? I have a lot mushrooms... Not sure how much vinegar a tank can take. I know people dose it for nitrate control, but I believe just very small amounts. Don't want to screw up my tank parameters...

I've done it lots, with no ill effects. Works on aiptasia as well. Key is to make sure the needle pierces the flesh and just squirt a little bit. Something to try on a few to see if it works for you. If not, looks like all elbow grease to manually remove. They can be a pain.

I tried the elbow grease method, but could not eradicate them. Problem is they shrink back into tiny cracks in the rocks, and no way to cut, pick or otherwise get out every bit of the shroom. Then a few days later, or a week they appear again and start growing. Same thing with Aiptasia X. At first looked like it worked, and they would disappear, but a week or so later, they were back in the same spot.

These things are worse than aiptasia. At least my Pearlscales eat them, but won't touch the shrooms.

How much vinegar can be used, in ml per day for say a 100g tank?

Oh wow that sounds pretty crazy. May be pretty tuff to get rid of them all. Maybe concentrate your efforts on the ones near your nice colonies.

I used a shot glass (1oz) or roughly 29mL per day with no ill effects on about 250 gallons of water volume including sumps.

Oh, and if you do decide to try the vinegar method, buy a small needle. It helps control the flow of vinegar. I found the ones that come with aiptasia X are too big. 3 shrooms and the whole thing emptied.

destroying mushrooms
 

Hi,

I have used two-part epoxy on mushrooms. First I poke the mushroom until it has shrunk and then I cover it with the epoxy and smooth the stuff firmly over the rock so there is no space for the mushroom to escape.

AquaAddict

How much vinegar your system can take depends on how low you want your nitrate to go

I have a bio pellet reactor, so my nitrates are always zero. I am just worried about screwing up the balance. Right now, everything is just about perfect, and I know how a little change can upset things,... and take many months to get back in balance. Been there, done that...

I might take out a rock with shrooms and try it in my QT tank.

Tank is looking great Walter. Nice work

Thanks Dunc. Always learning, and patience is key.

:yo: Lots of great pictures there Walter, summer months have not slowed down your corals there beautiful. Green mushrooms were a real problem in my 90G and since downsizing to my RSM 250 have managed to be free of them at last.

Beautiful colonies Walter!

Yes , again, very nice . That is what I'm striving for !!!
Mark

Thanks. You are all too kind. Immediate priority is to make it through the summer without any problems this year. But after that, really need to figure out how to get rid of those mushrooms. Might have to do a little reset again, and remove the mushroom infested rock and reposition some of the SPS. Should make for lots of accidental frags then...

Looking great Walter!

Thanks, Rich. Some of my nicest colonies started from your famous hoarding frag tank. The red planet was one, and was just a skin flap barely covering a frag plug, if you remember that one. But it sure turned out to have great genes, with its bright color and strong growth. So thanks also for helping me get started with SPS.

How can I forget buddy. You have done exceptionally well in the sps game. I will have to come out one day and see it in person my friend.

Hey, Rich, when you are in Langley sometime, let me know, and come by. Would love to get some more tips and ideas from the "master".

just saw your pics.. and WOW! Your tank is looking amazballs Walter !

Thanks, kien, but don't think amazballs is quite the correct description... lol.

Late summer update:
We had a bad storm and power outage last week. Because we normally don't get these until late fall and winter, my back up power packs were still at our lake cabin (used with our solar system there), and was not able to provide sufficient water circulation during the power outage. As a result, four of my fish died due to O2 deprivation. My corals seem to be all OK, so thankfully they were not affected.

I lost my Orange Flame Angel and Red Flame Hawkfish, both over 10 years old. Also lost both of my Pearlscale Butterfly fish, just over 5 years old. While any loss is sad, will really miss the Pearlscales. They did a wonderful job of keeping my tanks aiptasia free, while not bothering any of my corals. There are still some aiptasia in my system as I see them sometimes in my overflow and sump. So my fear now, is they will make their way back into my display tanks.

Another complication is that I just had shoulder surgery (rotator cuff) two weeks ago, and any major tank maintenance right now is out of the question, with just able to only use my left hand. I am overdue for a water change at this time, but hope to get that done next week. So, for the next couple months, will try to keep status quo, and hopefully not have any further major issues.

Sorry to hear your loss Walter. I know how it feels, coming from 2 heart surgeries in the past 12 months. And I lost all my sps this summer due to that heat wave, but that's another story.

Those pearl scales will be surely missed.

Get well my friend. Our health comes first before our hobbies.

Thanks, Mylon. And wow, 2 heart surgeries. Glad you're still with us!! My shoulder surgery is pretty minor compared to that, just more of an inconvenience now with my right arm in a sling. I'll be all good in a couple months. And sorry about your SPS loss. Hopefully, your recovery goes well and you'll be able to fully enjoy the hobby again as well.

Hey Walter if you need any help with those water changes just give me a call or pm me :)

Thanks for the offer, Janet. I can still do quite a bit on my own, and of course, my wife helps me out as necessary. I'm probably getting more sympathy than I deserve,... haha.

Great thread Reef Pilot, you have some incredible SPS. Nothing is more disheartening than an alk swing and losing full colonies that you grew out from frags, I really feel for you, but im glad you pushed on and stuck with it! And I hope your shoulder recovers quickly! We're eagerly awaiting another FTS!

Thanks, Elliot, for the kind words. My tank, fish and corals are all fine now. But have to say, though, that due to recent events, have lost some enthusiasm for this hobby.

Never thought I would feel this bad over losing four fish, but how it happened, I guess, is what really hurts. I have always had very healthy fish and felt good with my QT/tank husbandry practices. So to lose them (O2 deprivation) because I wasn't prepared for a power outage is inexcusable.

My shoulder is coming along well, but will still be a while before I can do much with the tank. As a result, coralline is slowly building up on my acrylic tank walls (needs to be seriously scraped every 2 months), so would be hard to get a good FTS right now (with my auto focus cams). I know I have had lots of offers to help (and I appreciate that), but this is something I need to be able to do myself. Hopefully in a few months (I start physio next week) will be able to get back at it.

I may be able to hold my cam in the water (underwater Olympus cam), so might take a few in tank shots when I get a chance.

glad to hear your starting to feel better Walter. Hopefully your enthusiasm comes back soon, your tank is awesome :biggrin:

Hope you recover quickly Walter
Sorry to hear about the losses of you 'fave kids :sad:
Chin up ... now you can buy new ones :mrgreen:

Oh, I'll be OK... But thanks for your thoughts. I just get frustrated and impatient with not being able to do stuff as before (and not just talking about my reef tanks). Haven't flown for over a month now either, which I also really miss. And not sure when I will be able to get back to that, hopefully in a month or two. Am driving now though, (not a standard), so at least I am mobile.

As for my tanks, did some major pruning just before the surgery, so it is still OK (except for the coralline build-up). Water changes are easy enough. But will wait another couple months before I buy any more fish. At least my current inhabitants are all happy for now. And if we do have another wind storm, am prepared now. Brought back a power pack and a generator from the cabin, so all ready if another power outage does happen.

I still want to do a major reset of my upstairs tank, and get rid of all those pesky mushrooms. Maybe later this winter. But the longer I wait, the less clean rock I will have left, as they are taking over everything, and continuing to crowd out my SPS. And to think I once thought they looked pretty....:cry:

Fish and Shoulder
 

Hi Walter,

Hang in there with your shoulder. Mine is 85% healed after lots of physio. I should go back but I am tired of "hanging-in-there. Just do as I say not as I do.

Sooooo sorry to hear about your fish. I just lost my 11 year old Watchman Goby and I am missing him as well.

AquaAddict

I was already dead for 35 mins and was sent back as they said they haven't built my tank up there yet. :lol: I'm fully recovered now and been back working again.

By the way I spotted some Pear Scales at King Ed, I actually got one for myself so that my Copperband has company. I think there is 3 more left in there just in case you want a replacement for your Pearl Scales. :twised:

Wow, indeed!!... Well, really good to hear that your recovery is going well! And good luck with your tank, too.

Yeah, I have seen the Pearlscales in King Ed from time to time, so will likely go there when I am ready. For now, still holding off until I am a little more mobile with my arm and able to do more stuff with my tanks. Probably in a couple months will be ready to buy more fish.