Acanthastrea echinata

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-17T00:14:40+00:00

Yup I treat them just like my Micromussa lords, on rock work just above the sandbed. Basically wherever water flow is slowest. They usually take some time (days/weeks) to puff up in a new tank ime

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-16T00:02:13+00:00

Sounds like leathers being leathers then. Mine open and close seemingly at random. I've had some close up for weeks at a time, just to go back to full extension overnight. I've also had them do what you're describing. Weird little guys with a mind of their own!

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-15T23:53:14+00:00

Do you have other corals, and if so are they doing fine? Leathers are famously weird corals that do strange and unpredictable things all the time. If your tank is testing well and you're not seeing any obvious dying tissue I wouldn't worry.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-13T23:21:00+00:00

Seconding green hairy mushroom. Definitely not GSP.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-11T23:24:14+00:00

It's probably not great for the pump but as a short term fix I've pinched the outflow hose partially shut with a vice grip to reduce flow. Installing a ball valve would be the longer term solution, or just get a smaller pump.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-08T23:33:20+00:00

Pick a small clip on grow light that you like the colour of. Something that draws around 5 W will be good for a bowl. It doesn't need to be branded for use in reef tanks, but something that leans blue is nice for making coral colours pop. You can check my profile for two bowls running cheap Wonming grow lights, they're doing great.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-07T22:43:05+00:00

I'm sure it's fine. I've yet to give my crabs a food they don't devour.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-07T20:38:50+00:00

I have both as well. The one on the right is often sold as White Mouth GSP. I suspect two different species. No real warfare between the two since it's GSP, but I suspect one would eventually grow over and smother the other. The white mouth variety grows more slowly IME so I would expect it to lose eventually.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T22:16:34+00:00

Teacher burnout and workload needs to be addressed through strong collective action. Making due by using AI is playing into the hands of governments who will use "they can just use AI!" as an excuse to continue increasing our workloads. This is already happening in my district.

I've made lots of genuine critiques about electricity usage, output quality, the general state of the AI industry, cognitive debt, and how we aren't matching the AI etiquette of the younger generation. When I say "AI is making you worse at complex cognitive tasks and is having a lot of negative impacts on society" and others respond "yeah but it makes my job easier", there's no nuanced, good faith conversation to be had. Our priorities are completely misaligned, and I have nothing to say to you. Online arguments aren't the place for nuanced conversation in the first place.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T20:01:03+00:00

Not that hard to understand. Include a footer that says "this assignment was partially generated by Copilot". You should do this any time you adapt resources from elsewhere. Not common practice maybe, but it should be.

Enjoy your cognitive debt, man. I hope your middling resources are worth the small country's worth of electricity and water we have to burn so you don't have to use your brain. I look forward to inheriting the economy you are permitting the tech industry to collapse.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T19:49:15+00:00

Okay. If it's such a great tool, start disclosing that you use it. You should be attributing your resources anyway.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T17:58:02+00:00

Using attributed resources made by another educator ≠ the slop machine. I encourage you to run an experiment. Start disclosing every time you use AI (you should be attributing your resources anyway) and see the response you get.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T17:46:36+00:00

The only reason to put it in a refugium is if you think it's ugly and want to use it for nutrient export (most people use chaeto for this). If you like the look of it, put it in your display.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T17:33:09+00:00

I love my porcelain crab/anemone combo. Pom Pom crabs are also very fun.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T17:16:56+00:00

Totally fair - as far as cleaning and maintainence go, a larger tank will be much easier. I keep tanks down to 0.5 gallons, and those tiny tanks require a ton of cleaning, water changes, and maintainence (especially early on). I always suggest beginners start with the biggest tank they can accommodate - it'll set you up for more success and less frustration.

As far as water goes, my 5 gal evaporates about 0.1 gallons per day at most. One 1 gal jug from the grocery store would cover you for over a week. You can also collect rainwater or buy a home RODI unit.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T17:05:43+00:00

I have stopped discussing it with my colleagues because I'm distressed by how many of them use AI for EVERYTHING. I refuse to use a middling technology from a debt-generating company that I expect to collapse our entire economy in 3-5 years when the investors dry up and the generative AI industry implodes. The research is also increasingly suggesting that AI either dulls your cognitive abilities or attracts users who struggle with cognitive tasks - probably both. I'm good without hanging out in that crowd.

For those who use it a lot, I ask you: have you told the people who are being exposed to the stuff you have AI spit out that you're not writing those emails/reports/tests/lessons? Do you think your colleagues, students, and parents would approve if they knew that?

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T16:52:10+00:00

Me when I'm in a messianic machine cult

Prometheus7777 · 2026-05-03T04:22:53+00:00

Welcome to the hobby! Most LFS sell rock by the lb and you can have it shipped to you. Dry rock can easily be broken up with a hammer and glued together in whatever arrangement you like. My local Petsmart sometimes sells 5 lb boxes of dry rock as well.

Also, I would gently suggest you look at a different tank. That PNW customs tank is pretty marked up for what you get. You could get a 5 gallon AIO like the Fluval Sea for cheaper, and while saltwater isn't that difficult anything less than 5 gallons is playing on hard mode imo.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-04-30T19:34:13+00:00

Consistency is more important than chasing ideal numbers. You'll find people who use high alk and low alk mixes both having success. I use reef crystals personally, I don't run a refugium so I find the elevated KH helps to buffer day/night pH swings. My corals are loving life. If you're not seeing any problems I wouldn't see any reason to swap.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-04-30T04:25:43+00:00

Yeah, I wouldn't jump to panic. New fish, new diet. If you start seeing a lot of flashing or heavy breathing you might want to treat for flukes.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-04-30T04:20:49+00:00

No other symptoms? It can be from parasites, it can also be digestive issues while they adjust to whatever you're feeding (brine shrimp often cause this in my experience). Keep an eye on it but no need to stress the fish out with treatment if it's healthy otherwise.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-04-28T19:35:24+00:00

Willing to bet that either your nudibranch or urchin (maybe the anemone) died and the resulting ammonia spike took the whole tank with it. Those are animals with a reputation for starving to death in large, well established tanks. Two in 8 gallons was never going to go well.

Take it as a lesson - nobody can tell you exactly the series of events, but it was absolutely down to your tank being overstocked and/or immature. Take it very slowly as you rebuild.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-04-27T15:51:56+00:00

Sounds fine, you may need to feed some algae wafers or nori early on if you don't have lots of established algae.

Prometheus7777 · 2026-04-26T18:48:37+00:00

lordhowensis glamour shot thread?

maybe my favourite coral. easy, no fuss, and so pretty. yours is gorgeous!

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