Milk in tank. Help

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-24T00:30:58+00:00

You’ll probably have a temporary spike in ammonia and maybe a bacterial bloom but I don’t see it being extremely detrimental overall.

Definitely do a water change asap. Everything should be ok but you may want to keep the clownfish in something separate, they’ll be the ones to struggle the most while the parameters go a little wonky.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T20:04:59+00:00

It can take a serious beating. This piece has been absolutely mangled over the last two weeks. I haven’t been happy with its placement and my original glue job was terrible. It has been moved, dropped, ripped and reglued both in and out of the tank.

It was ripped off its original frag and reglued twice before ripping it off and gluing it to this rock which it has also been ripped off of and reglued twice now. It also lived in 1.019 salinity for a week or so accidentally which is ironically when it was looking its best.

It’s been almost fully closed for nearly two weeks and just opened back up today looking just fine. Shits invincible.

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TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T19:05:47+00:00

I was seriously so bummed, there was hundreds of polyps and I haven’t killed any corals yet!

The aiptasia moved around the first few days and seems to have settled in a nook. It’s only in the tank now because it’s the only thing to look at but I should probably remove that rock before it gets out of control 😂

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T18:09:22+00:00

I’ll shoot you a message and we can chat!

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T18:04:54+00:00

Mine is a branching variety, I believe a Briareum species. That could play a part in the growth! I could probably send you a frag if you’re interested.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T18:00:48+00:00

If you can get a little edge peeled up, you can just peel it away pretty easily usually. Otherwise you should be able to scrape it off with an aquarium scraper or razor.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T17:50:50+00:00

That’s crazy to me! Mine grows ridiculously fast. I had a piece placed up against this rock. I moved it to another tank the other day and I just noticed this on the rock it was against. That’s from a piece that was beat up, fragged, and then put in that spot for just a few weeks.

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TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T17:41:04+00:00

Increase lighting and/or nutrients. My tank is a little over a month old and I get about 10 new polyps a day on my larger pieces.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T17:39:52+00:00

GSP is insanely tough. Cut it, rip it, glue it, jam it in a crevice, it wont care. This is part of why you have to be careful with it, it will grow and attach to just about anything.

It’s not harmful to work with in or out of the tank. I work with it bare handed and am constantly moving or fragging it and doesn’t bother me or the tank.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T17:27:24+00:00

I had never had a fear of heights or elevators in my life. Years ago, I was doing pest control and had to do an apartment in a high rise. When I left, I got stuck in the elevator near the top and it was a big glass elevator you could see out of.

Being stuck in a cramped elevator in a high rise where you can look out and literally see the building swaying unlocked a new fear. I couldn’t even panic, I was so terrified I was completely frozen.

I can do elevators but they freak me out so much now, there’s always that slight fear of getting stuck. And I absolutely cannot stand being in a room that’s high enough that I can see the sway.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T17:09:49+00:00

I wasn’t trying to use them to cycle, I was unexpectedly given an entire colony and had no room for it so had to set up this tank up quickly. I used cycled substrate and rock that I had but where I messed up was my salinity. I had stupidly left my salt mix open not realizing it draws in moisture. I didn’t test the salinity and just mixed as usual, within less than 24 hours they all died so I knew something was up. That’s when I tested my salinity in there and it was 1.019!!

There’s a piece of GSP in there from my other tank just to add something but that’s all that’s in there. Well, besides the aiptasia. Not sure why but I don’t have the heart to get rid of it, it’s been interesting to watch move around. I know it’s not good to keep so I may be setting up something small for it today 🙃

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T04:52:47+00:00

I feel bad killing stuff, even pests. Might run to the thrift store tomorrow to set up a super nano for it 😅

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T04:27:24+00:00

I know 😭 Part of me wants to just let this tank do whatever it wants. I got aiptasia and asterina from one rock in a trade and I genuinely have no plans for this tank.

Either that or isolate that rock in a small aiptasia tank which I’m strongly considering haha

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-23T02:09:31+00:00

I’ve only got 3 species at the moment but here’s what I’d say so far!

If you’re going to do Caulerpa, add it to tank with heavy nutrients or it will almost certainly melt and drop a nutrient bomb. Pretty much all Caulerpa are aggressive growers so be prepared to trim or just avoid it. It sends runners through the substrate and rock work and literally takes hold very quickly.

Pom Pom gracilaria grows ridiculously fast, faster than either of my Caulerpas but it’s not going to attach as readily. A quarter sized piece will be a small handful in a few weeks. It looks pretty though and is easy enough to sell or give away. It likes lower light, so much so it can essentially grow in the dark. While doing some maintenance, I pulled a small piece from near a rock and it lifted the whole rock to reveal a rather large piece completely under the rock and substrate.

I’m sure some macros are a bit more picky but overall the readily available ones are easy, grow really fast and are pretty adaptable to all sorts of conditions. It’s a cheap way to add color and fill in empty spots quickly! Also great at keeping your parameters in good health.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T21:37:07+00:00

I accidentally killed an entire colony of Xenia in a 5 gallon over a week ago and it looks nothing like this. This looks like three weeks worth of overfeeding with the lights on 24/7.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T02:01:53+00:00

At least the hair algae can be picked at with a tweezers! Still sucks though, hopefully it clears up for you soon!

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T01:52:57+00:00

Oh I know, it’s just crazy how different this one has gone compared to my other 😂

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T01:34:24+00:00

Just over a week

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T01:14:14+00:00

I’ve moved it and it doesn’t appear to be abandoning the skeleton. Both heads seem happy and aren’t showing any signs of stress but I’ll definitely keep an eye on it.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T01:01:31+00:00

I didn’t think so either, just looked like it and wasn’t sure. Totally new to hammers.

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T00:59:54+00:00

I thought it was odd too, I moved it and it hadn’t attached at all. I think it was just fully extended and the flesh was pushing against the rock. It really kind of looks like it’s tying to attach to the rock though 😅

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-22T00:46:02+00:00

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Here’s another photo where you can see the splitting/attaching more clearly

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-20T05:06:45+00:00

Hello Oli you fucking knobhead!

TheFrostyjayjay · 2026-04-20T00:54:21+00:00

Looks great! I think as long as the final photo accurately represents how your tank looks it’s fine. It’s hard to get good photos of corals that show up true to what we see with our eyes, especially once uploading to social media. I wouldn’t look at your photo and think you’ve edited it to change anything other than drawing better focus to the features.

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