A new reefer... a new tank. What could go wrong?
- Thread starter SereneAquatic
- Start date
SereneAquatic
New member
Let the revival commence. I've started a DAILY water change regimen on the display tank to prep the fish for their tank transfer series. It's only about 20-25 gallons of the 120 system so rather small, but we'll do it each day for about 3-4 days. That should lower the copper level a good bit and get their pH and water content similar to what they'll be in during the transfer series.
We'll be using long, dark rubbermaid totes that claim to hold 55 gallons but of course we'll only be filling it about 2/3 of the way. Their length should allow the tang and lemonpeel to be happy enough swimming back and forth during this escapade.
Our display tank has fairly strong flow for being a FOWLR tank, and I theorize that it helps keep aggression levels down because they are more tired... or perhaps entertained. I see them playing in the current from time to time, riding it all the way across the tank. At any rate, air bubblers won't cut it for them in this process so we'll be using new powerheads to move the water for them and break the surface tension in the totes. There will be enough PVC for them all to have a sleeping spot and hopefully they will do OK.
The bad thing that I realized recently is that even though we have a rubbermaid trash can that holds most of the original display rocks and sand... there is a small possibility that it is still contaminated with illness because of where it sits. Our plan was to remove the fish from the display and then COMPLETELY empty it and the sump, remove everything and dry it entirely for two weeks before filling it again and putting the original rock and sand in... but if that bucket is contaminated it will all have been for naught. I dont think we can risk it... which means the only dang option we have is to buy NEW sand and rock, which isn't cheap for a tank this size. I could get some dry rock today and start it in a bucket with some shrimp and Dr Tims to try to give it time to establish some beneficial bacteria... but this is definitely NOT how I wanted to go. We have some really awesome and LARGE texas holy rock that I want back in the display tank but that appears to be a couple of months away now.
As we plan all of this and I consider all of the things we have to do and be careful of, I kick myself once again for being stupid enough to dump old water from the nano tank water change back into the display. 3 scoops was all it took.
I guess the only thing I can be glad of is that I didn't wait and hope that nothing had been passed along in the water exchange. If we'd waited, the fish probably would have died fairly quickly, but we moved fast and did what we could to stop it.
I thought we were being cautious before when we bought the other tank for permanent quarantine... but our level of paranoia will be epic after all this.
:frog:
We'll be using long, dark rubbermaid totes that claim to hold 55 gallons but of course we'll only be filling it about 2/3 of the way. Their length should allow the tang and lemonpeel to be happy enough swimming back and forth during this escapade.
Our display tank has fairly strong flow for being a FOWLR tank, and I theorize that it helps keep aggression levels down because they are more tired... or perhaps entertained. I see them playing in the current from time to time, riding it all the way across the tank. At any rate, air bubblers won't cut it for them in this process so we'll be using new powerheads to move the water for them and break the surface tension in the totes. There will be enough PVC for them all to have a sleeping spot and hopefully they will do OK.
The bad thing that I realized recently is that even though we have a rubbermaid trash can that holds most of the original display rocks and sand... there is a small possibility that it is still contaminated with illness because of where it sits. Our plan was to remove the fish from the display and then COMPLETELY empty it and the sump, remove everything and dry it entirely for two weeks before filling it again and putting the original rock and sand in... but if that bucket is contaminated it will all have been for naught. I dont think we can risk it... which means the only dang option we have is to buy NEW sand and rock, which isn't cheap for a tank this size. I could get some dry rock today and start it in a bucket with some shrimp and Dr Tims to try to give it time to establish some beneficial bacteria... but this is definitely NOT how I wanted to go. We have some really awesome and LARGE texas holy rock that I want back in the display tank but that appears to be a couple of months away now.
As we plan all of this and I consider all of the things we have to do and be careful of, I kick myself once again for being stupid enough to dump old water from the nano tank water change back into the display. 3 scoops was all it took.
I guess the only thing I can be glad of is that I didn't wait and hope that nothing had been passed along in the water exchange. If we'd waited, the fish probably would have died fairly quickly, but we moved fast and did what we could to stop it.
I thought we were being cautious before when we bought the other tank for permanent quarantine... but our level of paranoia will be epic after all this.
:frog:
SereneAquatic
New member
The night before last I saw something that's probably quite rare. My anemone crab had decided to change shells, and wanted to take his anemone with him. The lights had gone out in the tank but there was still light on in the room when I noticed him making small jerking motions with his claws. It was really unusual, so I watched as he worked to 'roll up' his anemone to remove it from his shell. He was shy with an audience so we had to leave him alone, but in the morning he had fully massaged his anemone off the old shell and placed it in the same exact spot on his new shell. It was pretty cool. 
Schmidty76
New member
That's too bad about the flame angel, it's one of my favorite fish. When I started in the saltwater hobby (life/moneypit :lolspin: ) 24 years ago I was given some advice to always ask to see a fish eat before you buy it. If it won't eat in the LFS tanks it won't eat in yours... Of course it's a bit different if you order online.
Sounds like you're doing everything the right way, enjoy your tank!
SereneAquatic
New member
Thanks for visiting! I'm starting to adhere to that more and more myself. I still can't bring myself to try another Flame Angel. They were the one fish I REALLY wanted when I started, but I'm still sad about the first one and can't buy another one without feeling bad hehehe. It's dumb, I know.
SereneAquatic
New member
It turns out that this statement, written just as I was beginning to contemplate this, became a decision point for me.
"The bad thing that I realized recently is that even though we have a rubbermaid trash can that holds most of the original display rocks and sand... there is a small possibility that it is still contaminated with illness because of where it sits. Our plan was to remove the fish from the display and then COMPLETELY empty it and the sump, remove everything and dry it entirely for two weeks before filling it again and putting the original rock and sand in... but if that bucket is contaminated it will all have been for naught. I dont think we can risk it... which means the only dang option we have is to buy NEW sand and rock, which isn't cheap for a tank this size. I could get some dry rock today and start it in a bucket with some shrimp and Dr Tims to try to give it time to establish some beneficial bacteria... but this is definitely NOT how I wanted to go. We have some really awesome and LARGE texas holy rock that I want back in the display tank but that appears to be a couple of months away now."
I cannot justify buying that much rock and more sand to put back in the display when I have rocks that I love sitting RIGHT HERE just waiting to be fallow long enough to matter. It's location is abysmal and they need to be moved so I can truly start the clock and not worry that I'm accidentally cross contaminating them... but that bucket is HEAVY! The only option is to start the clock when the nano tank, which is right next to it and still probably has ick, is devoid of fish. That day is coming soon.
Since we need the rock, this also changes the timeline for the TTM we need to do for the big fish in the display. I need their TTM to happen and still have a place for them to go at the end of it that isn't the display.
Annnnddd.... so we did the unthinkable and bought another tank (in my head I hear vulgar cuss words here). This tank is 55 gal, nothing special... no lights, just a true holding pen after TTM finishes for everyone as we go through this. It's the craziest logistics planning I've ever done. :hmm5: I do know that we're committed to running every new fish through TTM and every non-fish critter through a fallow period before it makes it into the Main Display or the Nano.
I know, I know, the nano tank was supposed to be that quarantine tank, but I didn't implement it correctly, and it also has an issue in that it isn't BIG enough to quarantine many of the fish we want. (A harlequin tusk is on the radar in the future, and it needs to be big enough to hang with the big kids). I still can't have a quarantine tank that is not cycled due to our hectic schedules, so this was the solution.
I'd like to say that I'm horrified that we now have 3 tanks that are all visible from the front door when you walk in the house... but honestly I think it was always destined to happen. :lolspin: Compatibility concerns irritate me (pretty sure I've mentioned that before). I want EVERYTHING... but they can't all live together. At the end of the day, I need a peaceful tank, a reef tank, and a tank with "fish I love that can't be trusted around corals" (like Flash). Some day there could be a super aggro tank: Sharks, lionfish, puffers...
Why didn't anyone warn me that my life and all my spare change would be consumed by this hobby!? (yeah, yeah... I heard the warnings, I thought you were kidding)
Did you know that we finally bought our first corals today? Nothing crazy... a fairly well established hammer coral, and some green star polyps. I may go back next week and get the Moseleya coral I had them hold for me... still researching and debating. We're almost exactly a year old with our journey, having started on Black Friday last year. We waited a LONG time.
I should also confess (just so I can look back later at how ridiculous I am) that the day we bought the 55 gallon, we also bought a Black Storm clownfish and started him through TTM. He made it through happy as a panda, and is now the first resident of the 55. The goal is to try to create a bonded pair with him and Penelope, the oscelaris clown that we have. If it works out, they will be placed into the post-fallow treatment nano tank together, along with the aiptasia eating file fish we got and a coral beauty angel. Hoping that the third time is the charm for the CBA. He has signs of ick but eats well so TTM it is. Once we're sure he's good, he'll join the Black Storm in the 55.
Currently the snowflakes occupy the nano with the file fish, but as soon as the CBA finishes his tank transfers and is healthy, Penelope and the file fish will go next while the snowflakes migrate back to the main display. That will be day 1 of the nano/bucket o' rocks fallow period. That will also be the day that new clean up crew members are added to the tank... but it really doesn't seem to need them very much. The bristle worms and pods in that tank keep it squeaky clean.
Once complete, the Black Storm and Oscelaris will go into the nano, along with the CBA and the file fish. That should wrap up that tank.
Once the 55 is empty again, the TTM will begin on the big guys using the giant rubbermaid totes. Into the 55 they will go while the display is cleared of copper and run fallow.
"The bad thing that I realized recently is that even though we have a rubbermaid trash can that holds most of the original display rocks and sand... there is a small possibility that it is still contaminated with illness because of where it sits. Our plan was to remove the fish from the display and then COMPLETELY empty it and the sump, remove everything and dry it entirely for two weeks before filling it again and putting the original rock and sand in... but if that bucket is contaminated it will all have been for naught. I dont think we can risk it... which means the only dang option we have is to buy NEW sand and rock, which isn't cheap for a tank this size. I could get some dry rock today and start it in a bucket with some shrimp and Dr Tims to try to give it time to establish some beneficial bacteria... but this is definitely NOT how I wanted to go. We have some really awesome and LARGE texas holy rock that I want back in the display tank but that appears to be a couple of months away now."
I cannot justify buying that much rock and more sand to put back in the display when I have rocks that I love sitting RIGHT HERE just waiting to be fallow long enough to matter. It's location is abysmal and they need to be moved so I can truly start the clock and not worry that I'm accidentally cross contaminating them... but that bucket is HEAVY! The only option is to start the clock when the nano tank, which is right next to it and still probably has ick, is devoid of fish. That day is coming soon.
Since we need the rock, this also changes the timeline for the TTM we need to do for the big fish in the display. I need their TTM to happen and still have a place for them to go at the end of it that isn't the display.
Annnnddd.... so we did the unthinkable and bought another tank (in my head I hear vulgar cuss words here). This tank is 55 gal, nothing special... no lights, just a true holding pen after TTM finishes for everyone as we go through this. It's the craziest logistics planning I've ever done. :hmm5: I do know that we're committed to running every new fish through TTM and every non-fish critter through a fallow period before it makes it into the Main Display or the Nano.
I know, I know, the nano tank was supposed to be that quarantine tank, but I didn't implement it correctly, and it also has an issue in that it isn't BIG enough to quarantine many of the fish we want. (A harlequin tusk is on the radar in the future, and it needs to be big enough to hang with the big kids). I still can't have a quarantine tank that is not cycled due to our hectic schedules, so this was the solution.
I'd like to say that I'm horrified that we now have 3 tanks that are all visible from the front door when you walk in the house... but honestly I think it was always destined to happen. :lolspin: Compatibility concerns irritate me (pretty sure I've mentioned that before). I want EVERYTHING... but they can't all live together. At the end of the day, I need a peaceful tank, a reef tank, and a tank with "fish I love that can't be trusted around corals" (like Flash). Some day there could be a super aggro tank: Sharks, lionfish, puffers...
Why didn't anyone warn me that my life and all my spare change would be consumed by this hobby!? (yeah, yeah... I heard the warnings, I thought you were kidding)
Did you know that we finally bought our first corals today? Nothing crazy... a fairly well established hammer coral, and some green star polyps. I may go back next week and get the Moseleya coral I had them hold for me... still researching and debating. We're almost exactly a year old with our journey, having started on Black Friday last year. We waited a LONG time.
I should also confess (just so I can look back later at how ridiculous I am) that the day we bought the 55 gallon, we also bought a Black Storm clownfish and started him through TTM. He made it through happy as a panda, and is now the first resident of the 55. The goal is to try to create a bonded pair with him and Penelope, the oscelaris clown that we have. If it works out, they will be placed into the post-fallow treatment nano tank together, along with the aiptasia eating file fish we got and a coral beauty angel. Hoping that the third time is the charm for the CBA. He has signs of ick but eats well so TTM it is. Once we're sure he's good, he'll join the Black Storm in the 55.
Currently the snowflakes occupy the nano with the file fish, but as soon as the CBA finishes his tank transfers and is healthy, Penelope and the file fish will go next while the snowflakes migrate back to the main display. That will be day 1 of the nano/bucket o' rocks fallow period. That will also be the day that new clean up crew members are added to the tank... but it really doesn't seem to need them very much. The bristle worms and pods in that tank keep it squeaky clean.
Once complete, the Black Storm and Oscelaris will go into the nano, along with the CBA and the file fish. That should wrap up that tank.
Once the 55 is empty again, the TTM will begin on the big guys using the giant rubbermaid totes. Into the 55 they will go while the display is cleared of copper and run fallow.
Thanks for sharing! Things can get complicated. You're doing great, learning so much, so quickly. Keep it up and you'll get right where you want to be!
SereneAquatic
New member
Figured I'd better submit my prior post before I do something stupid and delete it all accidentally. That's irritating LOL.
You know, one thing we have discovered in our TTM is something I don't recall many people mentioning. 5 gallon buckets are WAY EASIER to clean and handle with each transfer than any glass tank ever will be. Everyone's videos and posts always talks about moving from 'tank to tank'... but honestly, the fish seem happier and less stressed in the 5 gallon buckets. They aren't easily startled by every thing that moves around them... so much less stressed in fact that even other family members noticed. I think this should be mentioned more for new reefers. They clean better, they don't risk breaking, they stack when you aren't using them, they dry faster, water doesn't evaporate from them as quickly... it's a LOT easier.
Now for the last piece of news, and on the sad side. My favorite crab, the hairy legged anemone crab, was MURDERED by the thin stripe crab. For no apparent reason. Just yanked him out of his shell and left him there for the bristleworms to eat. That bas-tid is MEAN. After this latest assassination we have placed him up the acclimation box and he isn't super happy about it lol. Into the sump of the display tank he will go after everything is done. I am not ashamed to admit that I flip him the bird every time I walk past him now... but I still feed him treats because he looks at me like he might try to find my bedroom one night while I sleep and take his revenge.
The anemone that was on the shell of my 'peaceful', murdered friend may or may not survive without his crab. They had a very symbiotic relationship I think. Only time will tell. I'm pretty bummed out about it... he was one of my favorite critters to watch.
You know, one thing we have discovered in our TTM is something I don't recall many people mentioning. 5 gallon buckets are WAY EASIER to clean and handle with each transfer than any glass tank ever will be. Everyone's videos and posts always talks about moving from 'tank to tank'... but honestly, the fish seem happier and less stressed in the 5 gallon buckets. They aren't easily startled by every thing that moves around them... so much less stressed in fact that even other family members noticed. I think this should be mentioned more for new reefers. They clean better, they don't risk breaking, they stack when you aren't using them, they dry faster, water doesn't evaporate from them as quickly... it's a LOT easier.
Now for the last piece of news, and on the sad side. My favorite crab, the hairy legged anemone crab, was MURDERED by the thin stripe crab. For no apparent reason. Just yanked him out of his shell and left him there for the bristleworms to eat. That bas-tid is MEAN. After this latest assassination we have placed him up the acclimation box and he isn't super happy about it lol. Into the sump of the display tank he will go after everything is done. I am not ashamed to admit that I flip him the bird every time I walk past him now... but I still feed him treats because he looks at me like he might try to find my bedroom one night while I sleep and take his revenge.
The anemone that was on the shell of my 'peaceful', murdered friend may or may not survive without his crab. They had a very symbiotic relationship I think. Only time will tell. I'm pretty bummed out about it... he was one of my favorite critters to watch.
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SereneAquatic
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Thanks Michael! I've remembered your advice early on about building an ecosystem... it has a big impact on everything we're doing. Every critter in the tank plays a part, from the big to the microscopic. I've found that I enjoy the bristle worms, pods, snails, crabs... all of them, just as much as I love the fish. It's fascinating.
It even made me realize that most tanks that people are building are NOT being built to the needs of the fish, particularly the rock-scapes. It's made for corals and the fish are the afterthought in many cases. It makes me wonder about issues people say they have with aggressive fish. Maybe if their needs were being met, it wouldn't be so bad? It's a hypothesis. I do know that most of my fish prefer a hole of their own to sleep in, and looking at some of the aquascapes out there... this cant possibly be available in a lot of tanks.
Thanks for checking in on me, it's good to know that more experienced eyes are keeping a look out! :beer:
SereneAquatic
New member
Drat, one more thing I wanted to enter in the diary... I posted a thread earlier today and got no responses so I made a decision. I hope I don't regret it some day. I found a weird shrimp in the green star polyps that we bought today. I can't identify it for the life of me. I was going to evict it and had already separated it into its own container... but in the end I caved and dropped him back onto his rock with the corals.
Note to self: If something in the tank is killing things and you dont know what it is... go shrimp hunting? (edit: Someone finally responded... maybe some kind of lobster? This could get even more interesting than I thought... lol)
Note to self: If something in the tank is killing things and you dont know what it is... go shrimp hunting? (edit: Someone finally responded... maybe some kind of lobster? This could get even more interesting than I thought... lol)
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SereneAquatic
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Finally got the Moseleya home... It's even more stunning than in the store lights.
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Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
SereneAquatic
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The hammer and the green star polyps... Brought home last weekend.
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
SereneAquatic
New member
Here's a strange thing... the 55 gallon that we set up about a month ago went through a full cycle, and never had the slightest sign of a diatom bloom. I watched the Ammonia and Nitrite spike and fall and watched diligently for any sign of diatoms and never saw a thing.
The only thing that's different about this tank from the other 2 is that it doesn't have any lights yet. Now I'm curious about what exactly triggers diatom growth.
:reading:
The black storm clown fish is holding down the fort in that tank and he'll be joined by the others from the main display after they go through their TTM routine. I plan to add them one at a time with about 10 days in between each addition so the tank doesn't go through a massive cycle. It's still so new, I dont want to push my luck. I'm already expecting this tank to have a really ugly stage since there is no sump or skimmer. Only the power of water changes and powerheads will stand between success and failure. :hmm3:
It should be an interesting experiment, especially considering how the other two tanks have been so different.
The only thing that's different about this tank from the other 2 is that it doesn't have any lights yet. Now I'm curious about what exactly triggers diatom growth.
:reading:
The black storm clown fish is holding down the fort in that tank and he'll be joined by the others from the main display after they go through their TTM routine. I plan to add them one at a time with about 10 days in between each addition so the tank doesn't go through a massive cycle. It's still so new, I dont want to push my luck. I'm already expecting this tank to have a really ugly stage since there is no sump or skimmer. Only the power of water changes and powerheads will stand between success and failure. :hmm3:
It should be an interesting experiment, especially considering how the other two tanks have been so different.
You called it. Diatoms need light.
When you're adding fish, be sure to add them smallest and most timid, to largest most aggressive, for best results. Cheers!
When you're adding fish, be sure to add them smallest and most timid, to largest most aggressive, for best results. Cheers!
SereneAquatic
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The Australian Moseleya
The Australian Moseleya
Most bizarre thing I've ever seen, seriously lol. Granted, this is one of our first corals ever so I don't have any experience... but I think its an alien.
The Australian Moseleya
Most bizarre thing I've ever seen, seriously lol. Granted, this is one of our first corals ever so I don't have any experience... but I think its an alien.
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SereneAquatic
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*************90 GAL TANK*************
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Happy Anniversary, Tank!
A year ago, right after Christmas, we had our 90 gal. up and running with our snowflake clownfish. The fact that I can remember so many things happening with it in the last year must mean that we moved too fast on some stuff...
December has been exhausting, but we've finally made it back to square one. The fish were all removed and went through 3 weeks of tank transfer. In two days they'll go into their temporary home in the 55 gallon that we started in October, joining the Black Storm clown fish. The Snowflakes and the file fish are in a 10 gallon tank for now, and will have to go through their own TTM soon. It appears that removing them from the Nano early was useless because I cross contaminated it again the other day. *sigh* Reset the clock.
We drained the 90 gallon, washed and dried it thoroughly, pulling every single piece apart that would move. The sump came out and was washed and dried (OMG yuck, we really neglected that thing the past month or so). Extra rinsing and care was taken to try to remove any trace of the Coppersafe that has been in it for the past many months.
Now, the rocks from the bucket along with mostly new sand and water, are back in the tank, along with a bit of Cuprisorb... just in case.
As we removed the texas holy rock from the Brute trash can it's been in for all this time, we had a pleasant surprise. It seems our Fire Shrimp was hanging out in there and made it after all. I thought for sure he was dead because in the tank he was always as high up on the rocks as he could get, even during the day. He was not shy. Never once in all those months did I even get a glimpse of him in the bucket. I hope he hasn't lost his showmanship because he was really fun to watch on the rock work in the tank. I hear that most fire shrimp do much more hiding than ours used to do.
It's nice to look at the tank and not feel that pang of guilt and regret that I've had every day since we had to tear it apart and put the copper in it. This was a hard lesson to learn... "Please, self, don't ever do that again. KEEP YOUR QUARANTINE SEPARATE AND NEVER, EVER CROSS CONTAMINATE AGAIN DAMMIT!" It's so freaking easy to make a mistake!
Changes To The Tank
Newly calibrated
We've ordered new calibration fluids for the apex probes, they should be here soon. The salinity probe was never quite right, always reading about 2 low. It was really annoying when we wanted to lower the salinity just a bit, because it would send the apex alarms off constantly.
Heaters
Two new heaters are on the way... slightly lower wattage but short enough to stick on the side wall of the sump and out of the way. I never liked how the other heaters laid in there. We'll have the enormous one that we bought a few months ago as an emergency backup. It's up in the display right now since it's only temporary.
Skimmer
We decided to change how we raised the skimmer up in the sump. Last year when the tank was cloudy and I needed to start it up for the first time we kind of rigged up a mess of something that would hold it up at the right level"¦ but it was awkward, unstable and really stupid ugly. I hated it, and I hated having the skimmer right in the front of the sump. I also hated trying to get the skimmer cup out of there"¦ those Somatic skimmers really seal on there. Now we have an egg crate base, offset enough so that it can act as a pod hotel. We also drilled a small hole through the separating wall behind the ATO so we can run a hose from the skimmer cup to a collection container outside the sump itself. Thank God. This means we can have the skimmer further back in the sump and out of the way.
Refugium
We REALLY struggled to figure out whether or not to even have a skimmer in the sump because I want a decent refugium and the Red Sea sump just doesn't accommodate it as-is. The one big compartment in the middle doesn't allow for both very easily. Having no real extra space around the tank for an external sump, we had to be creative. I think we finally arrived at a compromise. Now that the skimmer is against the back wall, the idea is to try to use my assassin crab (the jerk) and bristleworms, along with a wee bit of sand for them to live in, to collect any food that makes it down the overflow. You're scavengers"¦ do your thing. We'll use a powerhead to keep the chaeto away from the skimmer as much as possible and not use the socks so food will freely collect on the sand where the crab can find it. At last, crabitat complete. I wish my hairy legged one had survived to see it.
Algae Scrubber??
In my husbands enthusiasm for cleaning out the sump, it seems that he tossed out the bubble trap that comes with the Red Sea tanks. It was reaaally gross, we had never, ever removed it to clean it so it was packed with crap. We both thought that we could go buy some more at the LFS (they used to sell it) but now it's gone. Trying to find it online wasn't working"¦ maybe it's called something else? At any rate, just to help trap the bubbles we placed a fitted piece of egg crate in the slot at an angle"¦ and lo and behold"¦ it actually works. Not only that, but it almost looks like it could work as an algae scrubber since the Kessil is beating down on it many hours a day. Who knows? If it works as one I'll laugh.
Rock Scape
As we were planning out the rock scape neither I or my husband could figure out why it felt "˜off'. We were trying to create a platform specifically for a big toadstool coral we have on hold at the LFS"¦ but even after we got the rocks right it still felt wrong. I finally realized it's because nearly all of the pukani rock was victim to the copper and is no longer in the tank. The Texas holy rock, being much heavier, was the primary goal for salvage when we took it all out of the tank. Pukani is much cheaper in comparison. With all the holy rock and no pukani it seriously looks more like a freshwater tank lol. Could be kind of cool? *shrug*
Coral
Our new toadstool/leptoseris rock will be coming home soon, once the tank stabilizes and we are 100% sure there is no residual copper. A small frag of GSP will be our test subject to see if it survives, along with some new snails and our crab/shrimp. If they all do OK and no copper is being absorbed by the cuprisorb, then we'll frag the Hammer and the Moseleya as well and put them in with it. It took us a year to get brave enough to try it. So far I'm relying on water changes to keep the Ca/Alk/Mg in order in the nano"¦ with all the tank transfer and tear down we've been doing I haven't been able to keep up with the checking of parameters in the nano. They look happy though, and I'll keep doing the water changes.
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*************NANO TANK*************
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The nano tank continues to do surprisingly well. Since both of these tanks are essentially going to be on the same timer for fallow period we can still swap things between them. The only problem is that there is aiptasia in the nano that we're working on removing. They are still small, but many. Aiptasia X seems to be doing well and I also removed one rock and put it in with the file fish in the 10 gallon and he has mowed down all of it. It's good to know that he will do the job we bought him for! If not, he was going to be swapped out for another.
There is some risk that aiptasia could already have been in the chaeto in the bucket of rocks"¦ but it is small. There is also risk that the new toadstool/lepto rock we're bringing home soon"¦ I saw it in their tank at LFS. I'm probably going to need to accept the fact that it will end up in the display and we'll work to control/remove it.
Tomorrow we are receiving a crocea clam from divers den and it will go into the nano tank so that Flash doesn't eat it. We'll find out exactly how powerful these AI Hydra lights are! I'll acclimate the tank lights up slowly and try to find a balance for the clam and the corals. I hope it wasn't a mistake to get it.
The water in the nano is crystal clear with the skimmer running. I've struggled for months to get that thing dialed in and may have finally managed it.
====================================
*************55 GAL TANK*************
====================================
Our fish's home away from home"¦ this tank still shows no signs of algae or issues, probably because there is one tiny fish in it, and no lighting except the nearby windows. A couple of water changes and a new nano skimmer on it are keeping it squeaky clean"¦ too clean for a newly established tank. That thing is sterile. As soon as the fallow period is over on the other two tanks it's getting some rock from them.
For Christmas we bought a light fixture for it that will go up soon. It's a 300w VIPARSPECTRA Timer Control LED, which gets good reviews on Amazon. It hangs from the ceiling, which is helpful for the space that it's in. It may be overkill for this tank, but this will ultimately be our coral quarantine tank and house occasional fish for quarantine. Whether things end up in the 90 or the nano from there will depend on whether or not Flash will eat it"¦ lol. Stupid lemonpeel angel, why do I love you so much? If not for him, the clam could go into the 90 gal. Seriously though, that fish is adorable. He has more personality than all the other fish combined.
In a couple more days when we start putting all the fish from their tank transfer bucket into this tank we'll find out if Penelope (Traditional Ocellaris) will try to beat up Poe (Black Storm Ocellaris). Penelope is much bigger than he is, but still a juvenile and we're hoping they may become a bonded pair. If it doesn't work out, then the snowflakes will probably have to be sold or remain in the 55 gallon indefinitely instead of making it into the 90 gallon so the Ocellaris can be split up to the other two tanks. Currently, Poe enjoys hanging out right at the front of the tank to watch us but I'm guessing he'll retreat once the bigger fish are introduced. I'll need to do a test I suppose to find out whether or not the file fish will eat my corals too somewhere in all this.
====================================
*************SUMMARY*************
====================================
That is a lot of info, but I like having the information to refer back to as time goes on. It has been helpful a number of times to find a time stamp of when we were doing certain things. I'm hugely relieved that the hardest part of this is over. Maybe I'll go buy some more rocks"¦
(Husband jokes that I just like having boxes of rocks with water since"¦ well"¦ there is only 1 actual fish in any of the 3 display tanks right now. Pffft. OoOOOooohh, now that's a nice piece...)
*************90 GAL TANK*************
=====================================
Happy Anniversary, Tank!
A year ago, right after Christmas, we had our 90 gal. up and running with our snowflake clownfish. The fact that I can remember so many things happening with it in the last year must mean that we moved too fast on some stuff...
December has been exhausting, but we've finally made it back to square one. The fish were all removed and went through 3 weeks of tank transfer. In two days they'll go into their temporary home in the 55 gallon that we started in October, joining the Black Storm clown fish. The Snowflakes and the file fish are in a 10 gallon tank for now, and will have to go through their own TTM soon. It appears that removing them from the Nano early was useless because I cross contaminated it again the other day. *sigh* Reset the clock.
We drained the 90 gallon, washed and dried it thoroughly, pulling every single piece apart that would move. The sump came out and was washed and dried (OMG yuck, we really neglected that thing the past month or so). Extra rinsing and care was taken to try to remove any trace of the Coppersafe that has been in it for the past many months.
Now, the rocks from the bucket along with mostly new sand and water, are back in the tank, along with a bit of Cuprisorb... just in case.
As we removed the texas holy rock from the Brute trash can it's been in for all this time, we had a pleasant surprise. It seems our Fire Shrimp was hanging out in there and made it after all. I thought for sure he was dead because in the tank he was always as high up on the rocks as he could get, even during the day. He was not shy. Never once in all those months did I even get a glimpse of him in the bucket. I hope he hasn't lost his showmanship because he was really fun to watch on the rock work in the tank. I hear that most fire shrimp do much more hiding than ours used to do.
It's nice to look at the tank and not feel that pang of guilt and regret that I've had every day since we had to tear it apart and put the copper in it. This was a hard lesson to learn... "Please, self, don't ever do that again. KEEP YOUR QUARANTINE SEPARATE AND NEVER, EVER CROSS CONTAMINATE AGAIN DAMMIT!" It's so freaking easy to make a mistake!
Changes To The Tank
Newly calibrated
We've ordered new calibration fluids for the apex probes, they should be here soon. The salinity probe was never quite right, always reading about 2 low. It was really annoying when we wanted to lower the salinity just a bit, because it would send the apex alarms off constantly.
Heaters
Two new heaters are on the way... slightly lower wattage but short enough to stick on the side wall of the sump and out of the way. I never liked how the other heaters laid in there. We'll have the enormous one that we bought a few months ago as an emergency backup. It's up in the display right now since it's only temporary.
Skimmer
We decided to change how we raised the skimmer up in the sump. Last year when the tank was cloudy and I needed to start it up for the first time we kind of rigged up a mess of something that would hold it up at the right level"¦ but it was awkward, unstable and really stupid ugly. I hated it, and I hated having the skimmer right in the front of the sump. I also hated trying to get the skimmer cup out of there"¦ those Somatic skimmers really seal on there. Now we have an egg crate base, offset enough so that it can act as a pod hotel. We also drilled a small hole through the separating wall behind the ATO so we can run a hose from the skimmer cup to a collection container outside the sump itself. Thank God. This means we can have the skimmer further back in the sump and out of the way.
Refugium
We REALLY struggled to figure out whether or not to even have a skimmer in the sump because I want a decent refugium and the Red Sea sump just doesn't accommodate it as-is. The one big compartment in the middle doesn't allow for both very easily. Having no real extra space around the tank for an external sump, we had to be creative. I think we finally arrived at a compromise. Now that the skimmer is against the back wall, the idea is to try to use my assassin crab (the jerk) and bristleworms, along with a wee bit of sand for them to live in, to collect any food that makes it down the overflow. You're scavengers"¦ do your thing. We'll use a powerhead to keep the chaeto away from the skimmer as much as possible and not use the socks so food will freely collect on the sand where the crab can find it. At last, crabitat complete. I wish my hairy legged one had survived to see it.
Algae Scrubber??
In my husbands enthusiasm for cleaning out the sump, it seems that he tossed out the bubble trap that comes with the Red Sea tanks. It was reaaally gross, we had never, ever removed it to clean it so it was packed with crap. We both thought that we could go buy some more at the LFS (they used to sell it) but now it's gone. Trying to find it online wasn't working"¦ maybe it's called something else? At any rate, just to help trap the bubbles we placed a fitted piece of egg crate in the slot at an angle"¦ and lo and behold"¦ it actually works. Not only that, but it almost looks like it could work as an algae scrubber since the Kessil is beating down on it many hours a day. Who knows? If it works as one I'll laugh.
Rock Scape
As we were planning out the rock scape neither I or my husband could figure out why it felt "˜off'. We were trying to create a platform specifically for a big toadstool coral we have on hold at the LFS"¦ but even after we got the rocks right it still felt wrong. I finally realized it's because nearly all of the pukani rock was victim to the copper and is no longer in the tank. The Texas holy rock, being much heavier, was the primary goal for salvage when we took it all out of the tank. Pukani is much cheaper in comparison. With all the holy rock and no pukani it seriously looks more like a freshwater tank lol. Could be kind of cool? *shrug*
Coral
Our new toadstool/leptoseris rock will be coming home soon, once the tank stabilizes and we are 100% sure there is no residual copper. A small frag of GSP will be our test subject to see if it survives, along with some new snails and our crab/shrimp. If they all do OK and no copper is being absorbed by the cuprisorb, then we'll frag the Hammer and the Moseleya as well and put them in with it. It took us a year to get brave enough to try it. So far I'm relying on water changes to keep the Ca/Alk/Mg in order in the nano"¦ with all the tank transfer and tear down we've been doing I haven't been able to keep up with the checking of parameters in the nano. They look happy though, and I'll keep doing the water changes.
====================================
*************NANO TANK*************
====================================
The nano tank continues to do surprisingly well. Since both of these tanks are essentially going to be on the same timer for fallow period we can still swap things between them. The only problem is that there is aiptasia in the nano that we're working on removing. They are still small, but many. Aiptasia X seems to be doing well and I also removed one rock and put it in with the file fish in the 10 gallon and he has mowed down all of it. It's good to know that he will do the job we bought him for! If not, he was going to be swapped out for another.
There is some risk that aiptasia could already have been in the chaeto in the bucket of rocks"¦ but it is small. There is also risk that the new toadstool/lepto rock we're bringing home soon"¦ I saw it in their tank at LFS. I'm probably going to need to accept the fact that it will end up in the display and we'll work to control/remove it.
Tomorrow we are receiving a crocea clam from divers den and it will go into the nano tank so that Flash doesn't eat it. We'll find out exactly how powerful these AI Hydra lights are! I'll acclimate the tank lights up slowly and try to find a balance for the clam and the corals. I hope it wasn't a mistake to get it.
The water in the nano is crystal clear with the skimmer running. I've struggled for months to get that thing dialed in and may have finally managed it.
====================================
*************55 GAL TANK*************
====================================
Our fish's home away from home"¦ this tank still shows no signs of algae or issues, probably because there is one tiny fish in it, and no lighting except the nearby windows. A couple of water changes and a new nano skimmer on it are keeping it squeaky clean"¦ too clean for a newly established tank. That thing is sterile. As soon as the fallow period is over on the other two tanks it's getting some rock from them.
For Christmas we bought a light fixture for it that will go up soon. It's a 300w VIPARSPECTRA Timer Control LED, which gets good reviews on Amazon. It hangs from the ceiling, which is helpful for the space that it's in. It may be overkill for this tank, but this will ultimately be our coral quarantine tank and house occasional fish for quarantine. Whether things end up in the 90 or the nano from there will depend on whether or not Flash will eat it"¦ lol. Stupid lemonpeel angel, why do I love you so much? If not for him, the clam could go into the 90 gal. Seriously though, that fish is adorable. He has more personality than all the other fish combined.
In a couple more days when we start putting all the fish from their tank transfer bucket into this tank we'll find out if Penelope (Traditional Ocellaris) will try to beat up Poe (Black Storm Ocellaris). Penelope is much bigger than he is, but still a juvenile and we're hoping they may become a bonded pair. If it doesn't work out, then the snowflakes will probably have to be sold or remain in the 55 gallon indefinitely instead of making it into the 90 gallon so the Ocellaris can be split up to the other two tanks. Currently, Poe enjoys hanging out right at the front of the tank to watch us but I'm guessing he'll retreat once the bigger fish are introduced. I'll need to do a test I suppose to find out whether or not the file fish will eat my corals too somewhere in all this.
====================================
*************SUMMARY*************
====================================
That is a lot of info, but I like having the information to refer back to as time goes on. It has been helpful a number of times to find a time stamp of when we were doing certain things. I'm hugely relieved that the hardest part of this is over. Maybe I'll go buy some more rocks"¦
(Husband jokes that I just like having boxes of rocks with water since"¦ well"¦ there is only 1 actual fish in any of the 3 display tanks right now. Pffft. OoOOOooohh, now that's a nice piece...)
SereneAquatic
New member
SereneAquatic
New member
SereneAquatic
New member
SereneAquatic
New member
Well... that didn't take long. About 10 seconds of tail swishing from the Black Storm (Poe) when Penelope was first put into the tank... 20 minutes later they are BFFs and Poe trailed her around for the rest of the day. They even MOVE in sync like my bonded pair do. I think this bodes well for them ultimately becoming a true bonded pair. Fingers crossed... time will tell. They are both still juveniles but Penelope is much bigger so they don't seem to have any issues about who is the boss.
