Hello, update on my tank (longish)

[hdtran]

Just wanted to give everyone an update on my tank. It's been about 1.5 years since I received my TBS 'package' (November 2003). I've had a new job since Summer 04, which has been keeping me pretty busy, so I haven't visited much...

Details on the tank: It's a 120g tank (60 w x 26 h x 18 d). I put in a plenum; I also use a 5g hang-on-back refugium (CPR Aquafuge). No sump; my skimmer is the AquaC Remora Pro with the pump upgrade and the pre-skimmer box. Circulation is via powerheads; titanium heater; lighting is 5 VHO lamps (5 ft lamps; 140 W each) on two timers. The lighting started out as 3 VHO's; after 6 months, I added two more. I undersized the 'package', and added a premium rock.

My inhabitants started out as all the package critters + hitchhikers (good & bad), along with my smaller tank fish (don't ask what I did with the smaller tank ), which were two clowns & 1 yellow-tailed blue damsel. I then added a fusi goby, a red sea sailfin tang, a coral beauty angel, a purple pseudochromis, and just now, a mandarin (check out my gallery). I've also added green star polyps (Briareum or Pachyclavularia; I'm not sure) and button polyps (Palythoa). The button polyps are doing ok, but not great. The GSP are doing absolutely great. I also added some Halimeda algae (not sure of the spelling). Before the tang went in, I put some of the original algae on the rocks (Caulerpa racemosa var. peltata, I'm pretty sure) into the HOB refugium. Good thing too, as the tang promptly ate all the algae he could find.

I feed fairly lightly (1 frozen cube daily + half a sheet of Nori; sometimes, pellet/flake is given instead of the frozen cube). Maintenance consists of adding between 1/2 & 1 gallon of tap water daily for evaporation; cleaning the skimmer whenever it gets scuzzy (about weekly), and an occassional dose of calcium or carbonate supplement. I also occassionally harvest the algae from the HOB to either throw away, or to feed the Tang. I use the cheap supplement as described in Randy Holmes-Farley's article in Advanced Reefkeeping Online. I started out doing small water changes every two weeks; the frequency has dropped to every 2-3 months. The tank chemistry is now very stable.

About 6 months ago, I finally caught the last Mantis. My wife promptly threw it out (another story ), along with a small stone crab which had grown sizable.

My peppermint shrimp died a few months ago, I think of old age. A couple of the hitchhiking clams on the rocks have also decided to expire, along with a large tunicate, which finally starved. The DT's I was feeding was not enough for the tunicate. Otherwise, the rocks and the tank has been doing very well. A number of the package's cleanup crew (hermits & snails) got eaten by the stone crab before I caught it after dark, so I had to replace them from the LFS. I also tried replacing the peppermint shrimp at the time, but I think I had a bad acclimation. (That's when I caught the stone crab...)

Lots of pods; hitchhiking microstars have grown larger; some snails have reproduced; lots of worms.

Major problem is actually the skimmer! The Mag-3 is a large pump, and I don't have very strong fingers. one day, the Mag-3 decided to fall down. That led to a pretty severe white-out, until I came home from work...

All in all, though, I am very happy with how rewarding it's been to watch the fish and critters, and I've been happy at how easy maintenance has been.

Here's a tank shot:

Yes, TBS rocks do work well after 1.5 years!

 

[krajacich]

Re: Hello, update on my tank (longish)

Major problem is actually the skimmer! The Mag-3 is a large pump, and I don't have very strong fingers. one day, the Mag-3 decided to fall down. That led to a pretty severe white-out, until I came home from work...

Yes, TBS rocks do work well after 1.5 years!

I have the same problem occasionally with my Remora & Mag-3. Let me know if you come up with a good solution. Some people have suggested gluing the pump onto the tubing but I like to be able to take it off for cleaning.

Glad to hear the rock still looks good after 1 1/2 years. I've only got part one right now but I'm really happy with it. Hopefully TBS will get some actual summer weather soon...I know there's lots of people anxiously watching their phones hoping for "the call"

 

[hdtran]

If you think Part I is good, wait 'til Part II. Your eyes will pop out of their sockets

What my approach is (you have to understand that I'm an engineer ) is to use a bigger wrench... I used a pair of slip-joint pliers to really squeeze that &*()$#&*() plastic hose clamp on the Mag-3.

Hey, I see you're in Montana. Our children want to go up to Glacier again next summer so they can pig out on huckleberries!

 

[krajacich]

If you think Part I is good, wait 'til Part II. Your eyes will pop out of their sockets

What my approach is (you have to understand that I'm an engineer ) is to use a bigger wrench... I used a pair of slip-joint pliers to really squeeze that &*()$#&*() plastic hose clamp on the Mag-3.

Hey, I see you're in Montana. Our children want to go up to Glacier again next summer so they can pig out on huckleberries!

Currently my approach is DON'T TOUCH THE PUMP It stays on but if I bump it too much when I clean the back I get a snowstorm. I still have 2 urchins in my tank and I saw one climbing around on the pump today and was sure I'd have a white-out but so far so good

Glacier is beautiful but I prefer Yellowstone...I'm a sucker for geysers & bison

 

[hdtran]

Yellowstone--way too crowded when we passed back thru in August... Should have navigated to the East entrance, rather than the West entrance. Now, Tetons

The urchins are definitely very clumsy. I'm trying to remove one (without puncturing myself) to give to our tank-sitter (when we go on vacation). The urchins are one of the best film algae eaters. Mine also, umm, perform, umm, 'acts' in public which feed the tank. I can't tell the gender of the urchins, so I don't know if I will get urchin larvae...

If you don't have the pre-skimmer box for your pump, you might just try propping some rocks under the pump. That way, the pump weight is supported both on top by the hose, and underneath by the rocks. (Of course, when you do maintenance, it's a pain to move the rocks...)

 

[krajacich]

I got a ton of urchins with part one but just left two of the shorter spined pink ones...right now they're almost the only things in my tank to try to tackle all the algae

I don't have the pre-skimmer box. I might think about the rock support when I get part 2 and have more rock. I'm planning to eventually set-up a sump so that would solve a lot of the problem.

Yellowstone is hugely crowded in August but usually clears out a lot in September which is when I tend to go...of course then the weather is just a tad unpredictable- only a small understatement

 

[docklink]

Greetings Hy! Nice to hear the update on your tank. It's looking nice. Also glad you and the family are doing well.

 

[hdtran]

Greetings Hy! Nice to hear the update on your tank. It's looking nice. Also glad you and the family are doing well.

Hi, Jeff, thanks for the nice comments!

Yes, just some patience and the tank is doing great. Just replaced some of the VHO's. Wow, you can really see the difference with new bulbs!

I can't wait for school to end so we can take the kids (and ourselves ) on vacation! We've got my regular tank-sitter lined up (he's also a convert to TBS ) to come in and give the Tang his (her?) dose of Nori on a regular basis.

 

[Fountainhead]

Thanks for the update Hy. Hope you don't mind if I use your thread to share my experience too, since it seems very similar to yours. I started mine (100 gallon package) in April 2004, so I'm a few months behind...just at 1 year. I lost my peppermint shrimp (very quickly, probably my fault) which I eventually replaced with a pair of cleaner shrimp, most of the sponges are gone, a couple of those turkey wing things expired in dramatic (and smelly) fashion, and most interestingly, all of my button polyps have recently started looking...bad. All at the same time, too. Not sure what to make of that. The two urchins fell victim (I think) to either the gorilla crabs or mantis. One day I saw a pile of spikes on the sand, and the urchins had vanished.

Like you, my blue leg/snail population is diminished, but I've not felt a need to replenish. My 4 serpent stars are still there. I still have a huge population of porcelain crabs...though I lost a really big red mithrix crab awhile back. I still don't know what happend to it. One day he's grabbing food right from my tongs, the next day he's gone...never to be seen again. My mantis and gorilla crabs are long gone (I hope). I passed off the cukes to someone else, so they were never in my tank. The condy didn't make it.

I've not had any algae problems during the year (green or red), and I've got great coraline growth. Other than my initial clown pair that I lost to Brook, I've had no fish deaths, and currently have a clown pair, a yellow tang, a diamond goby, and a flame angel. All in all, I'd say that I'm very pleased with my TBS experience at one year. I've added things slowly, and it has provided a very stable tank, with very few issues.