Cubed & Squared

[biggles]

Thanks for the dosing info Bello, much appreciated mate

Have you done a lights out check of the reef btw, i recently had to let a pod go for sleeping on the job. It's one thing to doze off when you're supposed to be cleaning the reef but using a red shroom for a pillow was the last straw...........

 

[Bello]

hehehe lol, Bello you need to quite smoking so you can spend more money on reefkeeping, besides I can't kick you in the nuts every time you screw up if you leave here before your times up
So buddy its time to try and stop

Believe me, I've been trying......reduced quite a bit since my son was born, but still waayy too much than I'd like......soon....soon......

Thanks for the dosing info Bello, much appreciated mate

Have you done a lights out check of the reef btw, i recently had to let a pod go for sleeping on the job. It's one thing to doze off when you're supposed to be cleaning the reef but using a red shroom for a pillow was the last straw...........

That's supposed to be a pod?? That's HUGE!!! Never seen one as big as that!! You know what they say about scary animals in Aus? May as well add this critter to the list :lol:

 

[Fishy 1]

Believe me, I've been trying......reduced quite a bit since my son was born, but still waayy too much than I'd like......soon....soon......

good stuff and i will be giving you a regular dig in the ribs so you stay on you quitting journey and support of coarse:beer:

That's supposed to be a pod?? That's HUGE!!! Never seen one as big as that!! You know what they say about scary animals in Aus? May as well add this critter to the list :lol:

I agree with bello, that pod is HUGE so what have you been doing that your not telling us biggles to grow nuclear pods. I'm going to have nightmares now thanks to you biggles

 

[biggles]

That's supposed to be a pod?? That's HUGE!!! Never seen one as big as that!! You know what they say about scary animals in Aus? May as well add this critter to the list :lol:

That one was just a baby mate, right after i took that pic one of the really big ones tried to drag me into the sump. I'm going to cut back the crocodile blood dosing to every second night for a while i think.........

 

[Fishy 1]

That one was just a baby mate, right after i took that pic one of the really big ones tried to drag me into the sump. I'm going to cut back the crocodile blood dosing to every second night for a while i think.........

so that's why it's eyes are white - it's terrified by the big boy:lmao:

 

[Fishy 1]

Bello an update is well over do:dance:

 

[glaukos]

bello an update is well over do:dance:

+1

 

[Fishy 1]

+1

He's getting a bit slack with his updates.

 

[jackson6745]

+1

+2 :celeb1:

 

[Fishy 1]

+2 :celeb1:

+3 Lol

 

[glaukos]

He's getting a bit slack with his updates.

Whenever bello slacks,i'm thinking that he is doing something sneaky
Then...all of a sudden,he does update his tank and makes me burst into tears

Fishy buddy,i bet that he will do the same thing with his next update.
Maybe a new fish?A new undiscovered acro?An awesome fts?I really don't know,but i do bet on it

 

[Fishy 1]

Whenever bello slacks,i'm thinking that he is doing something sneaky
Then...all of a sudden,he does update his tank and makes me burst into tears

Fishy buddy,i bet that he will do the same thing with his next update.
Maybe a new fish?A new undiscovered acro?An awesome fts?I really don't know,but i do bet on it

I have to agree with you glaukos:beer:I think there's a big and sneaky update coming for sure:worried:

 

[Bello]

That one was just a baby mate, right after i took that pic one of the really big ones tried to drag me into the sump. I'm going to cut back the crocodile blood dosing to every second night for a while i think.........

Bloody terrifying, Biggles .

Bello an update is well over do

Thanks for following along, Fishy, unfortunately, the story thus far isn't very nice, but I thought I'd share, since perhaps my misadventures might help someone in future.

+2

Thanks Richard, been following your thread closely as usual . I tried sourcing out the Tonga branches to add an effect, similar to your scape, but no luck .

Whenever bello slacks,i'm thinking that he is doing something sneaky.
Then...all of a sudden,he does update his tank and makes me burst into tears.

Fishy buddy,i bet that he will do the same thing with his next update.
Maybe a new fish?A new undiscovered acro?An awesome fts?I really don't know,but i do bet on it

Thanks Mike, this time around though, it's not happy reading . And you're not going to like this, but I sold 2 of my Yellow tangs since they were getting bigger. And I finally GAVE AWAY, my big blue Hippo Tang, that was with me since I purchased it in June 2003. That's more than 11 years. Tough decision. I really didn't wanna do it, but I feel the 100G tank is too small for him. While he was in the best of health, it just didn't feel right. Since another hobbyist enquired, I gave him away for free, under the condition that the best of care must be provided .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, unfortunately, I can't be sneaky this time around. My tank is going through its biggest trial so far.... Here's how...

Flame Angel: Didn't work out at all. I wasn't observant enough to notice him nipping as much as he did. I believe this caused the initial stress.

Calcium Reactor: My reactor is controlled by a pH probe from the GHL. I noticed that bacterial slime would collect on the probe, resulting in incorrect readings, and consequently, incorrect control. I promptly ordered a new one. Didn't help! Didn't find enough information on the problem as well.

I used to use Rowalith C+ since the beginning. This was a fluidizing media, constantly moving vigorously like bio-pellets in the reactor. Unfortunately I ran out, and since as usual, I couldn't source out another packet, I was forced to switch calcium media. I went with Caribsea Coarse and Extra Coarse. This caused the problem, not because of the quality, but the size instead. These larger pieces reduced the FLOW within the reactor, and allowed the buildup of the slime on the probe. 2 sponge pads are provided in the reactor, which worked fine with the Rowalith. To increase flow in the reactor, I removed these, and things seem to be fine with the probe now :facepalm:. Basically, Alk was all over the damned place!!


As a result of the above stresses, there was a ton of STN, causing me to frag a lot of pieces, followed by reduced demand for alk, followed by more STN. I've been struggling to get things under control for the last month . Hopefully, I'll be able to achieve some stability soon.

Another change, is the addition of All In One Biopellets aka Jellybeans . I'm running a fairly low amount, 300ml, in relation to my system. I haven't got my filtration under control and am unable to feed as much as I like. The Chaeto refugium isn't doing enough for my liking, hence the move to bio-pellets. I'm familiar with carbon dosing, so I'd thought I'd give it a go. If it doesn't work out, I'm probably going to be back on Zeo .

I wanted to add pics on this update, but haven't gotten around to it. Will do so soon. Hopefully, I'll get things under control over the next 3 months, but dunno............

Thanks for following along guys

 

[markalot]

Good to hear from you Bello!

I thought about a calcium reactor but decided to go with 2 part even though a year and a half of two part will easily pay for a reactor. They just make me nervous and I've heard too many bad stories. Hopefully you can get this worked out and enjoy the tanks for a change!

 

[glaukos]

They way you opened your post bello made me fear for the worst!
But as i kept reading i saw that things aren't that bad buddy!

Tbh i'm not sad about the YT's(i think i hate them,lol) but on the other hand,having to give away the blue submarine after all these years must have been sad
BUT....you have my respect for doing the right thing for your buddy(must have been a dear animal after having him for 11 years).
And an even bigger applause for beeing such a good hobbyist since you kept him for sooooo long!:beer:
I hope the guy to whom you gave him for free,willl take good care of him

Regarding the tank,i'm sorry all these unfortunate events happened
BUT i'm sure you will manage to save all of your corals buddy.They will just be a bit smaller.

Good luck with the "jellybeans"(i really like we are are giving nicknames to things buddy ) and i hope you will get under control the reactor issues.
What about balling or 2part?

Also hats of to you,for sharing yous misfortunes and possibly helpings other buddy:beer:

I'd prefer this update was sneaky though....
Pleas,asap you fix things, buy something new to put a smile in your face(and ours)

 

[Fishy 1]

Hey buddy good to hear from you again(as well as on my thread :beer: ), like Mike said I was also expecting it to be much worse. I'm very sorry to hear that you had to give away your family(I think of fish as family, not pets), having had the blue for that long it would have been very hard for you to pass him on, but you have my full respect with being a very responsible reefer and giving the blue to someone that will hopefully enjoy him as much as you have:thumbsup:. I hope that your corals settle down again and start growing soon. Would you mind taking a pic of the Bean machine (I love that name )when you have a chance. Great to hear from you again bello its almost like the good old days with all the sps nuts together again(I hope Sahin is going well).



Fishy

 

[Bello]

I thought about a calcium reactor but decided to go with 2 part even though a year and a half of two part will easily pay for a reactor. They just make me nervous and I've heard too many bad stories. Hopefully you can get this worked out and enjoy the tanks for a change!

I've had tons of apprehensions about using a Calcium Reactor as well . When I was doing my research a few years ago, I ran into many horror stories while using them. I bought a dosing pump and went with 2-part. Unfortunately, with a 300G+ system, it got really expensive really quick. I tried Randy's method then, instead of off the counter preparations. Again, because I have the world's worst luck, I ended up with crazy impurities in my chemicals that resulted in burnt tips on the acro's... That was it... switched to the reactor.. It's been running well all this while, except that I had to switch brands and then deal with this crap.... Bad timing I guess :facepalm:

BUT....you have my respect for doing the right thing for your buddy(must have been a dear animal after having him for 11 years).
And an even bigger applause for beeing such a good hobbyist since you kept him for sooooo long!
I hope the guy to whom you gave him for free,willl take good care of him

Regarding the tank,i'm sorry all these unfortunate events happened
BUT i'm sure you will manage to save all of your corals buddy.They will just be a bit smaller.

Good luck with the "jellybeans"(i really like we are are giving nicknames to things buddy and i hope you will get under control the reactor issues.

Yeah Mike, it was tough to let go... I was thinking about that decision for about 6 months before I decided. I actually considered replacing the cubes with one big tank, just for him....but that really wouldn't work out...

I've made many mistakes with fish, with some dying.... but looking at the tang made me happy, that I could at least give him a good life . The person I gave him to, bought the YT's and the problem Flame angel as well, so he's back with his friends :beer:

Corals have gotten quite a bit smaller unfortunately. I lost a few pieces as well. My precious yellow frag that I grew for over a year, has become a few tiny pieces , but it's hanging on and there's hope .

Can't take credit for the jellybeans idea though, that was all biggles . I dumped them in a cheap Bubble Magus Upflow Reactor. These are fairly big pellets and need quite a bit of flow for tumbling. Here's a pic,
https://flic.kr/p/o1dn2B

I'll be buying a few soft coral pieces soon, no sps for a while, and I'll probably end up rescaping a bit. Was looking for nice branching live rock but can't find, so will have to make do with what I have.

Hey buddy good to hear from you again(as well as on my thread, like Mike said I was also expecting it to be much worse. I'm very sorry to hear that you had to give away your family(I think of fish as family, not pets), having had the blue for that long it would have been very hard for you to pass him on, but you have my full respect with being a very responsible reefer and giving the blue to someone that will hopefully enjoy him as much as you have. I hope that your corals settle down again and start growing soon. Would you mind taking a pic of the Bean machine (I love that name. when you have a chance. Great to hear from you again bello its almost like the good old days with all the sps nuts together again(I hope Sahin is going well).

Hi Fishy, yeah the mess going on with my tank kept me away from RC for a bit... and I'll be infrequent for a bit longer until I sort my mess out.. Hopefully, shouldn't take that long.... I posted a pic of the bean machine above... It's an el cheapo one, that's doing fairly well thus far... though it's still waaaayyyy too early to gauge its effectiveness.

Yeah I did feel bad whilst giving him away, but I'd rather he have a nice big tank... plus with my Minimalistic style of scaping, there aren't too many hiding spots for him, the other tank has plenty of rock so he should be happier :thumbsup:

The irritating part with my corals is, that while those affected by the flame are STN'ing, some of the others are bloody well growing :facepalm:

 

[troubadour11]

Sorry to hear about the down swing in the system. It sounds like you've got things figured out though and are well on the way to recovery. :thumbsup:

Sounds like the gang will be happy and healthy in their new bigger digs. Must have been tough to see them go after so long. But now that they're gone, what are you looking to put in there to fill the void in the tank and in your heart? ... Was that to early to ask after they departed? :facepalm::fun2:

So with the addition of the Jellybeans and thinking about going back to Zeo or carbon dosing; are you headed back towards an ULNS then? For color reasons? For growth reasons? For stability reasons? Just curious for some insight into your longer term design plan and reasons why you are headed that way. Whichever way it is I'm in the process of trying to learn by observation a bit. So was there a thought or observation of your systems that made you head back that towards those methods?

Since you're fiddling with your filtration and not happy with your DT... how 'bout some FSP or fuge pics? (full sump pics). I just re-read a few posts back because I was going to ask for some info on the cheato not doing enough for your liking, and saw you kind of already answered my above questions. I guess let me know if there's more info then that on it. LOL. For now, I've given up on cheato. It hasn't done much but slowly disintegrate now matter how I treat it. Hi flow, low flow, lower powered lights, higher powered lights, hi powered/shadowed lights, etc., etc. etc. :mad2: And I still have some algae (cyano, kind of a green slime, and some whithering GHA spread around). So I know there's nutrients, but I can't figure out why it won't survive. So for now, I'm thinking I'll bulk up the DSB in the fuge for No3 processing instead of cheato for a bit. Maybe my system just isn't mature and settled enough with enough bio load to support the macro algae yet.

Well, despite the issues. At least some of the pieces were able to be saved and you're seeing growth on some that didn't have the Angel Assassin to deal with. Keep your chin up and I'm sure you'll be sneaking some stunning images onto your thread before to long :thumbsup:

 

[Fail_sh3d]

Bello, sorry to hear of the trails and tribulations, mate. Just dropping by to wish you the best.

 

[Scotty freddy]

Very sad to read this Bello but your a man that knows what he's doing so you will bounce back bigger and better than ever my friend