Finally Upgraded-Pics Included!!!

[NHMarine]

Leviathan

I just read your whole thread. Great enthusiasm!!!

Looks like your tank is doing quite well now. Great job on the aquascaping!

There is something modern looking about you tank (I know, weird huh?) I think it's the bare bottom / black background combo that does it for me, great job.

SurfinJK92 Why would you want to upgrade a 75 to a 90?It's not that much bigger?I upgraded my 55 to a 110.If you want to upgrade go as big as you can..

True you should always go the largest you can. But.....there are lot of other things at play too that are part of the deciding factor. Like I would love to upgrade from my 75 Non RR to a 120RR but then I would have to ditch my stand and custom canopy. I could always go for the 110H but then I would need a 4' step stool, lighting too is a concern.

I too will upgrade to a 90RR soon. My current 75 AGA is 15 years old, and I can not wait!!!....for $225 it's not the money, it's doing the swap

 

[Leviathan]

Why would you want to upgrade a 75 to a 90?It's not that much bigger?I upgraded my 55 to a 110.If you want to upgrade go as big as you can..

Going from a 75 gallon ( non-RR ) system to a 90 gallon RR AGA, is much more of an upgrade than just size IMO.

Plus I started completely over, ALL new rock and equipment so it was a total upgrade in equipment and setup.


Thanks everyone for all the kind words.

I will get some updated pics ASAP.

 

[Leviathan]

Ok its either laugh or start using it as target practice!

Ok its either laugh or start using it as target practice!

I just can NOT keep montis alive.

They do GREAT for 2-3 weeks growing/encrusting great polyp extension, then suddenly over the course of a few days loose all polyp extension from the bottom side up ( not always from the base, but underside of the branches instead ) and bleach out.

I have inspected them very closely and cant find the nudis others are having problems with. And all my acros are doing GREAT.

I think I may have the beginnings of a red bug infestation but they dont affect montis do they?

I am not 100% positive that I even have the bugs yet. I just noticed some VERY tiny golden flecks on the body of a frag, not on any others but one.


Anyhow,
I am still going to replace the Maxijets with 2 Seio 1100's next week I found a great deal on them instead of the 820's.

I will keep you posted as to what conclusion I come to on if I have red bugs or not, I dont want to jump the gun just yet.

And will post some pics of my newest frags in a day or so.

 

[maxxII]

I share your frustration....
For some unknown reason another beautiful ocean aquacultured coral of mine has RTN'd. This is different than the others though..they looked like the the tissue was bubbling off in chunks, and through aggressive fragging, I was able to save several frags. With this one, the tissue just melted off VERY rapidly, and I'm now down to 4 small frags from the parent colony....

Nick

 

[Leviathan]

Couple Shots from tonight!

Couple Shots from tonight!

Got a couple decent shots tonight before the storms hit ( then I was outside taking pictures of lightning ) Anyhow, here is one of my new pieces, its the Monti I was having problems with. I decided to move it from the upper portion of the tank to the bottom, and it made a huge difference. It looks 100 times better now, so I believe it was getting burned where it was. I will be keeping it in its present location now, as it seems to enjoy the lower light.

 

[Leviathan]

Here is another new Acro frag, I am unsure of what it is, but in person it has a nice Teal coloration to it ( something I am having trouble capturing with the camera ) This is also the ONLY frag that I have seen what I believe to be bugs on it, yet its already encrusting on the back side, and SO FAR has very nice polyp extension during lights out.

 

[Leviathan]

Thinsg FINALLY shaping up!

Thinsg FINALLY shaping up!

Well here is yet another full shot ( taken tonight ) I am finally seeing the start of what I had intended for this tank from the beginning. I will try to get a few shots of the other two frags I got a couple weeks ago, and will also post pics with the new Seio 1100's in place once I get them next week 9 something I can hardly wait for )

Thanks everyone for paying attention.
Chris

 

[melev]

Is this what you are seeing?

http://melevsreef.com/id/redbugs.html

Be sure to click on the "superior image" link.

Smooth acros like the one you think may be infested are the kind that get red bugs.

 

[maxxII]

Chris, I've said it before.... but I LOVE YOUR AQUASCAPING!!!!

Nick

 

[Leviathan]

Is this what you are seeing?

http://melevsreef.com/id/redbugs.html

Be sure to click on the "superior image" link.

Smooth acros like the one you think may be infested are the kind that get red bugs.

Yep,
Thats the picture I saw posted a couple days ago that got me concerned. Another look last night and I am pretty certain I have them.

I got Dustin's formula the other day for the interceptor treatment, I guess the next step is to find a Vet who will understand the situation and give me some tablets. I want to take care of this before I start to have problems with it. It seems like a pretty easy treatment, and with no crabs/shrimp in the system, I can go ahead and treat the whole system without a problem.

Good thing I have 8 bags of IO in the closet!!

Chris, I've said it before.... but I LOVE YOUR AQUASCAPING!!!!

And again, I think you!

 

[Leviathan]

Ordered my Seio 1100's today from custom aquatics, should be here next thru. I can hardly wait.

Also found a Vet that was willing to sell me 2 interceptor tablets. So things are good.

My only question is,,If you get the 50-100lbs dog dosage, is there more than one kind, any way to ID them? I dont want to dose the wrong kind.

Marc did you have to treat your system? If so any pictures of the tablets, or anything I should pay attention to to make sure I have the right kind? This is something I want to do by the book.

TIA

Chris

 

[melev]

Go check out the SPS forum, you can bet there is a documented thread as a sticky for red bug treatment. I bought the pills, but haven't dosed my tank.

 

[Leviathan]

Go check out the SPS forum, you can bet there is a documented thread as a sticky for red bug treatment. I bought the pills, but haven't dosed my tank.

Good point!

I have been so focused on the bugs themselves I wasnt even thinking.

 

[Leviathan]

Got my interceptor tablet today, I plan on starting the treatment either sun evening or monday afternoon. Still a bit nervous, but the more I read from people who have done it the better I feel.

Still I see only one frag being effected, but thats not to say, if I hold out the problem wont become bigger. I think its best to "nip it in the bud" seeing as how I finally have things growing and doing great now ( with the exception of the bugs )

Anyhow wish me luck!

 

[MiddletonMark]

Love the aquascaping, really great. Now to fill it in

On the red bugs ... Best of luck!

Probably good idea to treat - but future additions get tricky then. [I personally collected frags like a madman once I saw I had them - collected my `fill' of frags + then treated them all ... then didn't add Acros for quite a while].

Didn't want to suggest any `dip' in the SPS forum thread for new additions - as I'm unsure whether my practice is `good', works 100%, or should be recommended. But I'll share it here - so that you can be skeptical and hopefully this won't be quoted as mm's bug dip as I've personally done it twice so can't really speak to great experience.
Unsure whether to post this, but gotta help out a head

The frags I treated might not have had bugs, but as they were at the LFS [ORA didn't send them out with RB ]... I treated as they take frags from many folks and I hate being sorry. For all Acropora except from a couple friends who I know follow similar practices/are `clean' ... I now treat incoming Acropora - so I won't have to treat the tank again, ever.

I use a 5 gal rubbermaid w/ heater, powerhead, eggcrate shelf. I have the `small dog' sized pills [might be medium sized dog], have used half a pill to treat tub [pretty sure I calculated this as quite an OD of Interceptor]. Leave it in there the 6 hours of treatment - I think both I left to about 8 with heater/powerhead keeping things stable. I haven't seen any negative impact on the coral from the high dose - but should note that lack of evidence means I have zero real idea if this is safe or won't kill your precious new coral.

I `rinsed' the coral pretty vigorously before removing from treatment, and then actually put it in a small tupperware of tank-water just to have any little more Interceptor I could `get off' off. Then in the tank.

Don't quote me on it, but that's what I've done [twice now, in 9 months]. Interceptor ain't cheap, I'm wasting a couple bucks per treatment ...

Just a single treatment for frags - Eric B's recent statements suggest that without a larval stage one treatment might be enough. On my tank, I treated 3x and would again, as I can't inspect the large, encrusted corals like I can with a new 2" frag. Also, figure OD `should' work and while I may lose pods on the incoming coral - didn't expect many anyway.

Really it's not much more than a dosage OD on a tub of tank-water that's kept moving/warm for the 6 hour duration of treatment before you would normally waterchange. Probably a more elegant solution - this is mine until I hear of that solution.

If you find such a solution - let me know.

-- Do note: I've been adding bleach [1/4 cup?] to the treatment-tub before discarding the water [long after frag is removed]. Unsure if that will help lessen the impact of interceptor-water going down the drain, but is around the house and didn't think it would `hurt'. Something to consider, lmk if you know a better idea.

 

[Leviathan]

Thanks for all the personal info you gave me MM!

I have decided to start the treatment Sunday evening due to how badly one of my frags is doing ( its the one I first noticed them on ) a closer inspection last night revealed that they have now either spread to two other frags or I am just starting to notice them. The polyps on the other frags are unaffected as of yet, but I dont plan on waiting to see what happens.

I will post my results after the first treatment.

Chris

 

[maxxII]

Mark,
Forgive my ignorance, but why are you concerned with the interceptor treated salt water going down the drain?

Nick

 

[MiddletonMark]

Just seems like a lot of concentrated chemical, and as I live on a wetland in a city surrounded by lakes - I guess I'm fine with making the lakes salty but would rather not dump unknown medications down there. For some reason there seems a difference to me, maybe that's just my own idiosyncracy

 

[Leviathan]

Well I decidecd to NOT wait, and started the treatment at 11pm this evening. I am now 2 1/2 hours into it, and the only noticable thing is the reduction in pod movement. But everything I have read says its usually in the 4-5 hour range that the bugs start to die off.

I will update!

 

[melev]

Look who's suddenly motivated.