Dave's 15g Oceanic

[Dave Harms]

Close up of the blue ones:

 

[Dave Harms]

The wave box, sucking water from the surface:

 

[Dave Harms]

ORA birdnest, started as that tiny frag shown earlier in the thread:

 

[Dave Harms]

Wow, it's been awhile since I updated this thread!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l51M9xiF2bY

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l51M9xiF2bY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here is a recent video of the tank. Please ignore whatever TV show is playing in the background!

Since this video was made the domino passed away. I had him in there for about 14 months. Came home one day and the urchins and snails and hermits were eating him! No spike at all, the tank kept right on rolling, shows what a mature tank can handle!

 

[Dave Harms]

You may notice in my tank info below I am running a Marineland filter now. I tried using the biowheel for a few months... guess what? It IS a nitrate factory like people say.... I had algae and cyano outbreaks like you wouldn't believe. Took it out and almost overnight the cyano died back to almost nothing! So now I just use the "Rite-Size C" cartridges. I still get a little cyano here and there and I have a couple of rocks were some green algae likes to grow, but so far so good!

I am doing twice a week 2 gallon water changes....

I've actually added some blue xenia that isn't in the video... it is spreading well! I'll post some more pictures of the tank soon!

 

[Dave Harms]

Begin image dump!

Flash

No Flash

 

[Dave Harms]

Various Xenia and Polyps...

 

[Dave Harms]

A couple of shots of various zoas and my little yuma...

Started off dime sized... now it's about 2.5 inches and has a baby starting behind it.

 

[Dave Harms]

Can you tell I like the softies?

Lots of variety!

This urchin is about 3 inches tip to tip.

The clown blenny has claimed this leather... he is out a lot more since the domino died, go figure!

 

[Dave Harms]

Love the Superman shrooms, you can see them in a lot of the pics... hell I like ALL shrooms!

Anthelia or Xenia? Not really sure!

 

[Dave Harms]

Between the Vortech, the Wavebox and the Penguin I have a LOT of water movement... I love how all the xenia and star polyps wave.

If you look close you can see the Randall's peeking out... he is totally camera shy, but normally out and about all day... he never has paired with the pistol I have in the tank.

Man, I love me some shrooms! At last count I think I have at least 10 different kinds.

 

[Dave Harms]

Classic Star Polyps... still one of my faves!

My newest zoas are just now beginning to spread... look at the wittle baybeeee!

 

[Dave Harms]

Wow... when it goes slowly over time, you don't realise just how bad it has gotten until you look at older photos...

Here is the tank, looking like crap, a little over a year later.

 

[Dave Harms]

I have recently discovered that my tank is actually 12 gallons, not 15 Like I have been thinking all this time. Probably ten gallons or less of actual water, after rock and sand.

Two weeks ago my skimmer pump died. So now I am contemplating having to buy another sedra pump for it.. about $80. Honestly, since the skimmer died my corals are looking BETTER! I'm very confused right about now...

I haven't been doing anything different, so I am not sure why I am having phosphate problems and slow polyp die off.

 

[Dave Harms]

LOoking back at the pictures of all that beautify blue xenia and all my huge shrooms and zoa gardens I am totally at a loss for words...

A lot of the coral seems to have washed out, color wise.

Any ideas on what I am doing wrong?

 

[Dave Harms]

Today's API test kit results: Ca 420, KH 10, PO4 0 (yeah right), NO3 0.

Dosed 1ml Purple Up and 10ml TechM

 

[deacon hemp]

im goin to go out on a limb here and say change your bulbs,not all at once. your sand bed might need a restart too,but with algea growth like this u wouldnt see phosphates you prob already know that.

 

[Na-H2O]

Nice looking tank man.

 

[Dave Harms]

im goin to go out on a limb here and say change your bulbs,not all at once. your sand bed might need a restart too,but with algea growth like this u wouldnt see phosphates you prob already know that.

Forgot to mention... changed the bulbs already, one a week, back in February... also reduced the lighting cycle so the corals wouldn't get shocked. Slowly brought it back to where it is now... 12 hours actinics and 7 hours all four.

And yes, I know that is why phosphates are showing 0, hence my "yeah right". :spin3:

Here is what I think is happening: I have a lot of current, and while I don't get "dust storms", my sand bed for sure shifts around a lot. Not to mention the pistol shrimp, dunno how much sand he really moves. I think because of the sand bed moving I might be getting lots of "mini-cycles". I say this because I have constant diatom blooms, which normally happens during new tank syndrome.

Next week I am on vacation and I think I am going to pull everything out, take out the sand, and put my cutting board in. I had the cutting board in when I started the tank, but didn't have the flow I have now, so I had a lot of detritus build up. I think now with all the flow I have in there (over 180x turnover, when the vortech cycles all the way up), I should be able to suspend the funk for the filters to get it out a lot better.

 

[Dave Harms]

Nice looking tank man.

Thanks, but I'd say it looks "ehh!" right now. Hopefully I will get it turned around back to it's former glory!!

Stay tuned, LOL.