45 Galllon Cube. My dream tank...only smaller!

[chrishayes]

hiya Chris.....
Oops on the dead shrimp...gosh 70$ for the skunt is pretty steep!
That dead crab looks damn ugly....its one of them bad typres right?

The "peach fuss" does look like bacterial bloom...maybe cut down on the MB7. Are the fishes picking on it?
TRy basting it...maybe the corals will chomp on it
If ur corals are looking happy now its a clear sign that the RBs are toast

Do the water changes and and connect that fuge to ur system... so the tank can be repopulated with pods and all the critters.

I had mentioned the carbon dosing can be bit detrimental to the fuge..but i think your feeding regimen will make up for it and sustain it.
PO4 can raise as a result of some die off...but since you were carbon dosing which was again a good idea...the Po4 is gonna remain in check.
Going aggressive on GFO changes might not be a good idea....but changing the GAC till the tank is cleared of all the meds will be good IMHO

Hm the iPhone camera does a great job of taking videos and OK close up pics....but somehow the FTS looks bit bluish in my case,,,,maybe its coz of my LEDs.
Whatever the case you are getting an amazing gadget in your hands...its gonna make u an Apple fan!!

Thanks noob, and as to the crab see below. My tank looks incredible. Last night PE was near falling out level! Its great to see it so healthy this fast after medicating it with beef boulon! Yeah the shrimp was priced a bit steep youre right but I had to use the giftcard and I didnt trust fish or coral from there...oh well, sorry mr pepe. Although my plate coral sure appreciated the meal. Im working on a timelapse video of it spitting out an antennae!

Noob,

That is an emerald crab and is a reef safe good algae eating crab.

Not a cymo, its a run of the mill emerald, youre right. Sad all the same, this guys been with me a LONGtime. He was in my original bc8 that I first setup in this new home and first reef since 2001! He was a survivor thats for sure! Ill miss him even though he never even looked at a bubble in the forest that was my old tank...poor guy. I hate losing any living thing.

 

[chrishayes]

SO the dead shrimp ended up being a dinner and a movie!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wpZzQPTj8Fs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[REEF SMAC]

I hate losing any living thing.

Unless it's RBs.

Any parasite that makes it into your system is always sadly a life loosing situation. If the parasite itself doesn't kill your animals, too often the treatment to rid your system of them will.

Your plate got a good meal is about the best positive spin you can make of it.

 

[chrishayes]

Unless it's RBs.

Any parasite that makes it into your system is always sadly a life loosing situation. If the parasite itself doesn't kill your animals, too often the treatment to rid your system of them will.

Your plate got a good meal is about the best positive spin you can make of it.

I guess youre right. But I dont count those life sucking beasts!

 

[chrishayes]

Well things aren't looking so great these past few days. The casualties of rb war have fouled my tank for sure. I did a larger wc than usual but im still getting brownish green hair algae on the rocks and. Brown slime on the sandbed. Thanks for the heads up on this happening because I'd have had no idea and maybe/probably panicked a bit. I guess I'm just in for a bit of an extra export ride. Corals still look really good so not a horrible thing and better yet No sign of rb's!

 

[chrishayes]

Oh and the new iPhone doesn't take great tank pics. I got an app that allows for aperature and wb adjustments so I'll try again tomorrow but as of now the pics are too blue like noob said.

 

[jbanks]

She'll come around for sure.. Algae that you're seeing will be temporary... Cheers to no RBs. Bummer on the iPhone 4s pics!

 

[Reef_Noob]

Yup did tell ya about a nutrient spike. Carbon dosing will help if thats the case. And do cut down on water change so the helpful bacteria can get a hold.
Otherwise you can reconnect the refugium and continue or discontinue the dosing. Why the option of discontinuing the carbon dosing is coz it might be bad for the fuge. It's a chance. But I guess if ur not planning to dose then reconnect the fuge to the DT. On the otherhand if ya gonna continue dosing then wait longer before u hook back the fuge to the DT.
What ya think?
RBs are gone wooo hooo that's great!!
Yup the 4S pics do get blued out. Try switching off the actinics/LEDs and try with just halides on. How's the app working out?

 

[chrishayes]

She'll come around for sure.. Algae that you're seeing will be temporary... Cheers to no RBs. Bummer on the iPhone 4s pics!

Yeah, I know but it does stink after having this tank algae free for so long. Its the only tank ive ever had without any real algae bloom...oh well. It is what it is.
Ill try the phone out again today with the new app and post before and after pics for you and noob.

Yup did tell ya about a nutrient spike. Carbon dosing will help if thats the case. And do cut down on water change so the helpful bacteria can get a hold.
Otherwise you can reconnect the refugium and continue or discontinue the dosing. Why the option of discontinuing the carbon dosing is coz it might be bad for the fuge. It's a chance. But I guess if ur not planning to dose then reconnect the fuge to the DT. On the otherhand if ya gonna continue dosing then wait longer before u hook back the fuge to the DT.
What ya think?
RBs are gone wooo hooo that's great!!
Yup the 4S pics do get blued out. Try switching off the actinics/LEDs and try with just halides on. How's the app working out?

I dont want to hook the fuge back up until its been at least 7-9 days off since thats the most agreed upon lifecycle of the rb witout host. I dont want to go through all this just to reinfest my tank again! lol As to dosing, I brought the maintenece dose back to .4ml of 40proof til I can get a handle on the nutrients. I also refreshed the carbon and gfo on Friday. About 2 tbsp of gfo so not a lot really but it did seem to help color so it wasnt too much. I cant wait to hook the fuge back up as it is brimming with life now that its been offline and getting lots of nutrients. This was on purpose! I want my bugs to be happy and healthy which is hard with a low nutrient tank connected...

 

[chrishayes]

Here are the iphone 4s pics. They are real quick just point and shoot full auto just to show the pic quality. The first two are with the factory camera app and the last is with the camera+ app. Overall, too saturated and blue. I didnt turn my actinics off with these just so that they would be accurate to the camera.

It does better on less bright and less blue items.

 

[chrishayes]

So, yeah look what I have to deal with now!

Im crushed. I also have seen more redbugs back on this coral.

 

[chrishayes]

I dont even know where to go with all this. I mean, dinos, really? Why me? I know I can come off as harsh but im really a good guy, I always try to help where I can and I pay more things forward than I get backwards. Whad I do?

Seriously, im contemplating putting the fuge back online but then I see bugs on the coral again. Obviously the nutrient spike that the dieoff from the interceptor is what brought the dinos out. So put the fuge back on to help with that. Errr wrong, gotta treat the tank again. Im 6 days away from vacation then 3 months away from being able to even bend over again. My wife is gonna have enough on her plate without me bossing her around trying to explain what to do when. Just taking care of a weekly waterchange and feeding was gona be enough for her to handle. GOd, this is awful.

Anyone wanna help me out here? WHat would you do?

 

[jr_casteel1999]

check this out http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html

 

[jbanks]

Bro... Take a deep Breathe..... then another... You can't take any better care of this tank then what you are doing based on what you've shared with us here. Many of these things are just cycles that will clear up just by you continuing to do what you're doing. As for the RBs. If you're still seeing them, hit the tank with another treatment prior to the water change that you have coming up for this week. Don't sweat it! things will return to normal soon. look at it this way, your fuge will continue to flourish and give it even more time for any RB that may have been in there to kick the bucket. My guess is that you need a little stronger dose of inteceptor than what you used and maybe some more hours in the thank. Tweaking your dose a bit will cause no harm... How many hours did you treat for this last go-round?

 

[chrishayes]

just about 12 maybe 11 1/2 hours. Im assuming though that another dose is gonna do even more harm to the tank. Trust me, I wouldnt be freaking out if it werent for my situation. Ive been in the game long enough to know how to waterchange and wait my way out of trouble but I just dont have the time then the body to do that. Its just that things are about to get neglected with the tank with my durgery and insuing recovery so this isnt exactly the way I wanted the tank to be going into this tough time.

I did a 10 gallon WC on Friday last week and another today after seeing the dinos get worse the past few days. Ive kicked them in the past by dripping kalk and stopping wc's with constant basting and blowing of the rocks while running a hot magnum cannister filter full of floss but I dont have time nor ability to do that again.

 

[chrishayes]

check this out http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html

Thanks JR I read that when I started researching treatment. I followed it to the T. Dont worry, the stuff you got from me was treated 3 times and likely wasnt exposed to the coral that brought the bugs in. If you do see them, and please look hard, I have plenty of interceptor to give you. Ill give you some anyways since youll want to do the 6 hour dips of all new coral coming in in the future for your own protection. Dont be a fool like me, treat EVERYTHING that goes in your new tank. Dips dont cut it. I dip hard and QTed my stuff with constant observation for 2+weeks and im still in this leaky boat. I let one lps in with just a dip and this is what it got me. PLEASE PROTECT YOURSELF! Its not worth it to be lazy.

 

[jbanks]

I hear you Bro.. In this situation you are going to have to allow the vodka and your skimmer get you through this. I went through a horrible bloom of dynos at about the two month mark of my tank and I did absolutely nothing specific to get rid of them and they eventually cycled out. Maybe skimming a bit wetter will help while you're recovering until you can get back to those 10 Gallon WCs... Maybe you could add a little salt to the topoff water to offset the wet skimming.. just a thought..

 

[chrishayes]

Thanks jon. Yeah I already cranked up the skimmer but didnt think to put a little salt in the water. Good idea. Its just a time issue. If I treat now, I wont be able to hook my fuge back up til I get home which is 12 days from now. Ill also have to have my sitter top it off which is more work than id like to have her do on a daily basis. Ill get through it. I always do with my tanks but this is just a few too many issues at once with no time or control over what I do to fix it. Damn this back of mine.

 

[Reef_Noob]

I get ya bro, I feel this will cycle out soon. But time is of factor for ya coz yu need to get the surgery done.
It's definitely due to the nutrient spike. Continue the carbon dosing. It will kill the dinos. Guess now it's not a good idea to hook up the fuge since the RB are still there.
What about the lighting, did u giv a thought of reducing the lighting hours or reducing intensity?
Cut down feeding a wee bit too.
It's just a phase and sure will pass.
But ur health should take first priority if u ask me.
If the RBs are concentrated on one particular coral then remove it and treat in QT. Maybe they wont spread and multiply as much.

 

[chrishayes]

I get ya bro, I feel this will cycle out soon. But time is of factor for ya coz yu need to get the surgery done.
It's definitely due to the nutrient spike. Continue the carbon dosing. It will kill the dinos. Guess now it's not a good idea to hook up the fuge since the RB are still there.
What about the lighting, did u giv a thought of reducing the lighting hours or reducing intensity?
Cut down feeding a wee bit too.
It's just a phase and sure will pass.
But ur health should take first priority if u ask me.
If the RBs are concentrated on one particular coral then remove it and treat in QT. Maybe they wont spread and multiply as much.

THanks buddy, I know its the nutrient spike too but I didnt see this one comming. I though sure a little HA and ill be done with this whole mess. Errrr wrong again. I just hate dinos. They are so unpredictable and take so much work I just dont have it in me ya know? Its also hard when you sink yourself so deep into your tanks then have major setbacks. Ehh it happens to us all eventually I guess. Not wishing this on anyone but its the downs that make the ups so much more fun!

As to the reduced feedings, Ive already done that and reduced the lighting an hour. These are all the normal algae controls one should do when seeing a problem coming up. Even if they dont work for dinos its better to try them first anyways.

Again, thanks.