fishfreak2009
Swimming in the School
So I plan on turning my tank into a reef tank. I currently have been running it as a FOWLR, but I am starting a new job in the next couple of weeks and should be able to afford some new lights. I've been picking up some new powerheads (Koralias and the look alike Aqueon version from petsmart), and have been picking up some new fish as well. This was my tank as a FOWLR: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2184721
Recently (i.e. within the last 2 weeks), I had an outbreak of dinoflagellates. Not only did the filefish, bariene tang, and high hat drum (the fish that ate the dino) die, but when cleaning the tank I actually got violently sick (vomiting and headaches almost as bad as a migraine) for a few days afterward. The yellow tangs (which had eaten some of it) had horrible septicemia. I removed them from the tank (along with all the other fish and the inverts) and put them in a 75 gallon tank temporarily. I also set up a 30 gallon quarantine. Within 48 hours of being in the 75 gallon, all the fish acted normally again, and the septicemia was completely gone. My tank has been sitting lightless for a week with the pH at 8.5 to hopefully kill all the dinoflagellates. I have no idea why I got the dino, or how it even got that bad, but it covered everything. My nitrate was 10ppm, no nitrite, no ammonia, perfect magnesium, perfect alkalinity, pH of 8.3, no measurable phosphate.
Anyways, the remaining fish are doing better in the 75 gallon along with my red spined tuxedo urchin, my halloween urchin, and about 50 astraea snails. In the 30 gallon quarantine I have a 3 inch coral beauty and a 4 inch niger trigger.
Hopefully in september I will be tearing out the wall behind the tank and building it into the wall (with an electric fireplace underneath). The sump will be plumbed behind the wall for better ease of maintenance. Thank God my dad is quite the accomplished carpenter (he actually built the stands for my other tanks, as well as finishing our basement, and building our previous house).
Any other suggestions while I turn this tank into a reef?
Recently (i.e. within the last 2 weeks), I had an outbreak of dinoflagellates. Not only did the filefish, bariene tang, and high hat drum (the fish that ate the dino) die, but when cleaning the tank I actually got violently sick (vomiting and headaches almost as bad as a migraine) for a few days afterward. The yellow tangs (which had eaten some of it) had horrible septicemia. I removed them from the tank (along with all the other fish and the inverts) and put them in a 75 gallon tank temporarily. I also set up a 30 gallon quarantine. Within 48 hours of being in the 75 gallon, all the fish acted normally again, and the septicemia was completely gone. My tank has been sitting lightless for a week with the pH at 8.5 to hopefully kill all the dinoflagellates. I have no idea why I got the dino, or how it even got that bad, but it covered everything. My nitrate was 10ppm, no nitrite, no ammonia, perfect magnesium, perfect alkalinity, pH of 8.3, no measurable phosphate.
Anyways, the remaining fish are doing better in the 75 gallon along with my red spined tuxedo urchin, my halloween urchin, and about 50 astraea snails. In the 30 gallon quarantine I have a 3 inch coral beauty and a 4 inch niger trigger.
Hopefully in september I will be tearing out the wall behind the tank and building it into the wall (with an electric fireplace underneath). The sump will be plumbed behind the wall for better ease of maintenance. Thank God my dad is quite the accomplished carpenter (he actually built the stands for my other tanks, as well as finishing our basement, and building our previous house).
Any other suggestions while I turn this tank into a reef?
