430gal., L-shaped display
- Thread starter JohnL
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"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Thanks. Silly cleaner wrasse. Always has to be in the center of everything. I do hope some of the algae takes off. The seahorses have been much more willing to come up to the front of the tank now that they have hitches and cover everywhere. Looks like the male banggai might have just taken his first batch of eggs, too!
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Oops. Sorry, y'all. I was replying to dtech from page 16.
Actually, my average temp has gone down by a couple of degrees! I'm now swinging between 79 and 81 over the day instead of 81-83. I have two fans over the display. One runs 24/7 pulling air into the canopy and blowing it onto the surface of the water. The second runs when the lights are on and pulls air out of the canopy to the outside of the house. I had been running the 24/7 on "1" but turned it up to "2" and that's what slowly dropped me the two degrees.
Actually, my average temp has gone down by a couple of degrees! I'm now swinging between 79 and 81 over the day instead of 81-83. I have two fans over the display. One runs 24/7 pulling air into the canopy and blowing it onto the surface of the water. The second runs when the lights are on and pulls air out of the canopy to the outside of the house. I had been running the 24/7 on "1" but turned it up to "2" and that's what slowly dropped me the two degrees.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Noticed the citrons being bozos on the glass, and--lo and behold--they were up to no good!
Those aren't copepods on the glass.
Here's a millimeter scale shot at the same resolution as the eggs and with an egg superimposed:
Video to follow as soon as YouTube gets done with it.
Those aren't copepods on the glass.
Here's a millimeter scale shot at the same resolution as the eggs and with an egg superimposed:
Video to follow as soon as YouTube gets done with it.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Here's the short version of the movie featuring the female. I have a longer version that's uploading now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa3lD2RVuIY
It looks like the pair ate this nest.
Typical for a first spawn, though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa3lD2RVuIY
It looks like the pair ate this nest.
Typical for a first spawn, though.
melev
Well-known member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15264977#post15264977 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by "Umm, fish?"
And for something completely different, a couple of shots of the feeding frenzy in the main tank tonight:
Andy, do you happen to know what kind of Purple Tang these are? Where they are from? Mine has the same markings, and there seems to be two different kinds.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Marc--I really don't know. I bought these guys off a buddy of mine while we were still in the later stages of the remodel. I don't really see the polka dots day to day. They only seem to come out with the flash.
Jim--Thanks! Well, you guys might berate me, but I feed a _lot_. There's a lot of food that passes by the reefs every day in the wild. A lot. But still, the water quality is good. So, I figure that's my goal: Find ways to feed as much as possible and still maintain good water quality.
Towards that end, I only feed normally small or well-blenderized foods (except for nori sheets) so that any extras can be quickly processed by the micro- and near-micro-fauna. I feed larger animals by giving them the unmelted versions of frozen foods, so that they can chew off what they need. I rely heavily on populations of small animals to clean up waste food, break the food down further for bacterial processing, and also to bind nutrients up into their little bodies. I also rely on large refugiums and making them good places for algae to live so that the display tank will eventually (and it's looking pretty good these days) be fairly clear of algae and so that nutrients can get bound up into algal biomass, too. Plus, big skimmers and easy water changes.
But, I feed the rough equivalent of 40-50 cubes of frozen food per day among all of the tanks, plus algae sheets for grazing. I checked the nitrate last week: 0.
Why is it zero with all of the food input? Because the nutrients move through the various stages of breakdown quickly and any by-products get sucked up very quickly by the algae.
So, that's my story. It's not a method that you'll find advocated by many, but it's what I do. The good side-effect is that the animals have tons of spare energy that they can use for gamete production.
Jim--Thanks! Well, you guys might berate me, but I feed a _lot_. There's a lot of food that passes by the reefs every day in the wild. A lot. But still, the water quality is good. So, I figure that's my goal: Find ways to feed as much as possible and still maintain good water quality.
Towards that end, I only feed normally small or well-blenderized foods (except for nori sheets) so that any extras can be quickly processed by the micro- and near-micro-fauna. I feed larger animals by giving them the unmelted versions of frozen foods, so that they can chew off what they need. I rely heavily on populations of small animals to clean up waste food, break the food down further for bacterial processing, and also to bind nutrients up into their little bodies. I also rely on large refugiums and making them good places for algae to live so that the display tank will eventually (and it's looking pretty good these days) be fairly clear of algae and so that nutrients can get bound up into algal biomass, too. Plus, big skimmers and easy water changes.
But, I feed the rough equivalent of 40-50 cubes of frozen food per day among all of the tanks, plus algae sheets for grazing. I checked the nitrate last week: 0.
Why is it zero with all of the food input? Because the nutrients move through the various stages of breakdown quickly and any by-products get sucked up very quickly by the algae.
So, that's my story. It's not a method that you'll find advocated by many, but it's what I do. The good side-effect is that the animals have tons of spare energy that they can use for gamete production.
melev
Well-known member
Even the body of the Purple Tang is different from most. Mine and yours have that solid dark purple, where I've seen another kind with stripes. That's why I asked, in case you knew.
Just for the heck of it, have you tried a different NO3 kit yet? 0 with all that food is beyond impressive. We had a test kit party a couple of years ago, and tested 6 different systems (water from each owner's tank) with all of our kits. One guy's Nitrate kit read zero for every water sample he tested - MAN did I want that kit. :lol:
Instead, I resorted to vodka.
Just for the heck of it, have you tried a different NO3 kit yet? 0 with all that food is beyond impressive. We had a test kit party a couple of years ago, and tested 6 different systems (water from each owner's tank) with all of our kits. One guy's Nitrate kit read zero for every water sample he tested - MAN did I want that kit. :lol:
Instead, I resorted to vodka.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Yeah, I do need to get another test kit just to double-check. But _something_ is nutrient-limiting for the algae because it's really dying out the last few weeks. Even the turf algae that was replacing the nasty stuff in high-light areas is fading away. If this keeps up I may have to stare at concrete again soon.
I'm perfectly willing to believe that the tank'll look better when I'm drunk, but I'm just not sure that it'll really help the tank.
I don't seem to have any lack of microscopic life, though. Maybe fish food can be a carbon source?
I'm perfectly willing to believe that the tank'll look better when I'm drunk, but I'm just not sure that it'll really help the tank.
I don't seem to have any lack of microscopic life, though. Maybe fish food can be a carbon source?
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Well, they are happy at the moment--'cause I just fed 'em--but they were mad at me a minute ago. I was messing with the water flow and that always makes 'em grumpy.
But when you think about it, if it's 40 cubes a day it come out to ~1 cube/35 gals./day. That seems like I'm underfeeding them to me.
Cute seahorse photo warning:
But when you think about it, if it's 40 cubes a day it come out to ~1 cube/35 gals./day. That seems like I'm underfeeding them to me.
Cute seahorse photo warning:
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Well, it's a mess over there. I hope things work themselves out. That's what you need to keep yourself busy, though, right? A little broodstock nano tank. Then you'll just need a tiny thing for the larvae. Well, there are more larvae, so you need a growout tank. Oh and wouldn't it be cool to try a different species? Join the darkside with me, Jonathan.
rEd86
Premium Member
Well Andy, I voted for you over on MOFIB to be on the BOD, but I just got an email saying there was a technical glitch and I need to vote again. I have to wait since the poll is messed up and says it's closed.
Good luck - you deserve it. I just hope the new BOD can turn things around, given everything that's been going on lately.
--Ed
Good luck - you deserve it. I just hope the new BOD can turn things around, given everything that's been going on lately.
--Ed
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Thanks, Ed. Lots of frustration and lots of extra work: Just what I need.
I hope things can turn around, too. I'm caught between moments of optimism and pessimism, but I certainly think that I should do something to try to help. It's hardly fair of me to criticize from the sidelines and then turn down the chance to try to work on the problems. We'll see....
I hope things can turn around, too. I'm caught between moments of optimism and pessimism, but I certainly think that I should do something to try to help. It's hardly fair of me to criticize from the sidelines and then turn down the chance to try to work on the problems. We'll see....
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
yeah no kidding it's a mess over there. fresh blood is what's needed
driftin
New member
You got one of my four votes too Andy. I'm very optimistic for the future at this point.
Ed, be sure to contact Rook if you haven't received the updated election email!
edit - that first sentence I wrote would look funny to someone not familiar with the election process over there! As we say in Chicago, "vote early, vote often!"
Ed, be sure to contact Rook if you haven't received the updated election email!
edit - that first sentence I wrote would look funny to someone not familiar with the election process over there! As we say in Chicago, "vote early, vote often!"
