A Whole New Dimension

[returnofsid]

So, I have a few different projects going on, but took some time away from them, well, included in them, to take a few photos today. As some of you have seen, I've had a large mass of UGLY zoanthids climbing up the front glass, for quite awhile. Well, I finally decided to do something about it. Last week, I took a razor blade, a net, and a step stool and got rid of them!! Razor blade to scrape them off the glass front and glass bottom, step stool to be able to reach the bottom...lol. The net was to catch stray polyps, as they tried to escape, where they would plant themselves and start a new mass of ugliness!

Unfortunately, this ticked off a lot of corals. I ended up losing a small colony of M. undata, a couple frags of M. setosa, my Rainbow Monti and a couple other encrusting Montis are still showing a lot of stress. A couple Echinos are still showing signs of stress, of course, the nice ones! All other corals have completely recovered and are doing well. LPS were ticked off for a few hours but bounced right back. Acropora were not at all effected.

Well, removing this mass of ugliness allowed me to take pics of corals I've not been able to photograph, since the ugly zoanthids were in the way! While photographing them, I decided to shoot some other photos too. So, without further ado, here we go...

I still need to scrape coralline, so these ones were a little obscured.

Sunny Ds.

Chong Bongs

One of several frags of Armor of Gods, and the easiest to photograph, due to it's location.

A nuisance mushroom, but at least a purdy nuisance.

One of my Cyphastrea japonica frags

Green Millipora

ORA Miami Orchid (a little ticked because I moved the colony, right before taking this picture)

 

[returnofsid]

The AMAZING Majano devouring Matted Filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)

Original Oregon Tort

Watch for updates, on the 40 breeder thread and watch for a new thread, on another lil' pet project I have going on!

 

[returnofsid]

Has it really been so long since I've posted an update? WOW!

Here's a FTS I just took.

 

[returnofsid]

Merry Christmas everyone! Madison's opened her gifts and is now back to sleep, Angie's at work, so I figured I'd post some photos I took recently.

I rarely take "fish pictures," so figured that's what I'd post.

Male Flame Wrasse that I just got from WetPetsHawaii, the other day! He's still a lil' shy, so stays in areas that are difficult to photograph.

Birds of Paradise

 

[returnofsid]

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated this thread!! Well, with a big project going on, I figured now was as good a time as any, to update.

Over the past year, some really nasty, ugly and extremely toxic Palys have taken over a lot of the rockwork and about half of the bottom! Also, some mushrooms have sprouted up here and there and in some areas are really taking over. Time to rid the tank of these PESTS!

Here's my plan, for the next few days.

I've moved a stock tank into the house. I also have a stock tank outside, about half full of saltwater. I also have a 75 gallon set up, outside, full of saltwater.

I will be completely emptying out the 200. Good corals and live rock will go into the inside stock tank. Rock covered with nasty Palys and/or Mushrooms will go into the stock tank outside. Fish will go into the 75, along with some good live rock for them to hide in.

Inside stock tank will be lit and a pump will be added for flow.

200 will be completely drained.

Nasty Palys will be scraped from the bottom glass.

Tank will be reaquascaped with pest free rocks as well as some dry rock that I have.

Good corals will then be placed into the tank, along with all fish!

I have the ability to light the inside stock tank so I can take as much time as needed, to do this right!

Once done, I will be posting before and after photos

WISH ME LUCK!!

 

[EricSIny]

Nice build, just read it all.

Good luck with the paly problem, way to stay positive.

I subscribed so be sure to come back with pics :thumbsup:

 

[returnofsid]

Nice build, just read it all.

Good luck with the paly problem, way to stay positive.

I subscribed so be sure to come back with pics :thumbsup:

Thank you Eric! It's been quite a journey.

 

[returnofsid]

Well the project is almost done. Unfortunately, I've suffered some losses...GRRR. I have some livestock outside, in a 100 gallon stock tank, without a heater, since the temperatures have been so high during the day and not cooling down much at night. Unfortunately, Sunday night, it cooled down A LOT. I awoke, Monday morning, to an air temperature of 49 degrees! The water in the stock tank was 58 degrees!! Unfortunately, I lost a few fish and corals, which really bummed me out. Temperatures have been in the 90s during the day and dropping to the mid 70s at night. I've been keeping the stock tank cooled down, during the day with a fan but hadn't even considered the need for a heater.

I lost my pair of Bengai Cardinals and my Tomini Tang

I lost several Echinophyllia, my encrusting Superman and Rainbow Montipora and my Birds of Paradise colony, my huge Orange Monti cap and my huge Idaho Grape Monti.

Oh and I also got the HECK shocked out of me by a fairly new MJ1200!! GRRR

The 200 is back up and running with rock, corals and fish all doing well. I'll probably add a little more rock in the next few days and the corals still need to be placed in their final locations.

 

[rainmkr07]

Looking forward to the new pics! What lighting did you end up with? 10 T5 bulbs? Are you happy with it?

 

[returnofsid]

The tank has been lit with 10 T5HO bulbs for several years. Yes, I'm very happy with it.

I'll try to get the before/after photos posted soon.

 

[rainmkr07]

The tank has been lit with 10 T5HO bulbs for several years. Yes, I'm very happy with it.

Thank you.

I have a 150g Marineland DD, the 36" little brother to your tank. I was considering going with 2 - 6 T5HO bulb ati fixtures. I figure if your tank looks that good with 10, then 12 should be plenty. I wasn't sure if 12 would get the job done with the width (coverage-wise) and depth (penetration-wise) of our DD tanks. Do you think there is any reason not to get 12? Or go ahead and take the plunge?

 

[iced98lx]

I"m sure you'll have a fast recovery. Think of it this way: some of the old will give way and you can try something new.

Your tank is beautiful, good work!

 

[returnofsid]

As promised, Before/During/After photos.

As I mentioned, this was about a 4 day project. During the project, I utilized 2 100 gallon stock tanks and an empty 75. 1 of the stock tanks and the 75 were outside, with the other stock tank inside. Outside temperatures had been in the high 80s for several weeks, dipping down to the high 70s at night. I didn't even think to utilize a heater and only used fans to keep the temperature down. Unfortunately, one night of this project got very cold, down to about 42 at night. Most livestock that was outside perished...

Before

You can see the offending Zoanthids/Palys all over the bottom of the tank, on the front glass and covering a lot of rocks. You can also see the offending Mushrooms. You may also be able to see some of the damage done, to the SPS corals, by the offensive buggers. Not only were SPS being damaged, I would become physically ill, very ill, after spending even short amounts of time with my arms in the tank.

If you look closely, you can see the the entire bottom is covered in the pests.

Stay tuned for more...

 

[returnofsid]

Here's some photos taken, during the process.

All livestock and rock removed, tank drained about half way

Holding facilities

Rocks that had the offensive beasts on them were allowed to dry out. In fact, they're still dry...

This pile increased in size, throughout the project

Next up, the finished project...

 

[returnofsid]

It looks nothing like it did! I may yet add a lil' more rock, towards the back.

Fish list:

4 Lined Wrasse
Small Scribbled Rabbitfish
Potters Angelfish
Mandarin Dragonette
Starry Blenny
Swiss Guard Basselet

 

[returnofsid]

After many hours of heart wrenching deliberation, I think it's time to take a break from the hobby. Angie and I are both going to school, which keeps us both very busy. Madison is in competitive dance and we also have other interests that take up much of our time. Unfortunately, this leaves us very little time to enjoy our tanks. I know that eventually, we will return to this wonderful hobby that we both once loved. It's just that, right now, neither of us feel the "addiction," and haven't for awhile. With a sad heart, I come to say that the 200 Deep Dimension will be coming down...

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Man that is sad to hear. Wishing you and your family the best in hopes that you come back to the large tank builds at least to post.

 

[biecacka]

Man this is sad to hear but I do understand. We will wish you the best of luck and do hope to see you back soon. Don't be a stranger though, there are plenty of threads on here that can use your insight!
Like mine :lol:

Corey