Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15618147#post15618147 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by IridescentLily
:( Aww, i'm sorry your having a time of it lately.
*hugs Melev's little corals*

Thanks. It was a coral I'd had for almost all five years, so losing it along with about 70% of the Pocillopora was disheartening.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15618712#post15618712 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigJay
Hey Marc, let me know if there is anything I can do or bring over today.

Thanks for the offer. Looks like I read it too late. I've been pretty busy anyway lately.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15618717#post15618717 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by StePerth
I have two 1000lt (about 250g) containers at the side of my house. They are filled with NSW. I have them wrapped in insulation to keep the light out and maintain temp.

That sounds like a great idea for a DIY hot tub project. :D

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15619850#post15619850 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crvz
Careful! My bro just moved up to Denton, I'll actually have a justifiable excuse to sneak up there (for some reason, "visiting strangers' fish tanks" hasnt ever worked with the wife).

I meant it. Come up here when you can.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15621130#post15621130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cayenne
All I use is 100 and 200 micron filter socks rotating on top of wet skimming.

Thanks Marc, I have been considering an Eheim Extractor as well... As good as your camera is, it is amazing it doesn't pick anything up. I just bought a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and most of my pictures seem to pick them up.

It could be the difference between how my sump is setup and how yours is set up. I really don't have much stuff in the water for the most part, but it isn't perfect. A friend was over a few months ago and said "oh, you have particulates..." and it almost sounded odd to me. Now when my Wrasse hits the sand for some reason, all bets are off, but I tend to think of my tank as being relatively clear.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15621410#post15621410 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sisterlimonpot
:lol: Marc, are you going to let him in your secret to great pictures?

There's no secret, what I do is listed on my site. However, just to squelch any possible paranoia, the pictures I just posted were taken with all the pumps on. In Photoshop 7, I resized them to 770 x 512, sharpened them .3 x 125%, and adjusted levels slightly. I didn't even bother with the healing brush, which I do use if I want to remove some specks.

Once I'm done, I always save at 52% quality "for web" so the files aren't too big for people to view online. That keeps most images between 60k and 170k in size.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15616090#post15616090 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cayenne
What do you use to keep your water so clear (particulate free)?
Photoshop! :)

--Ed
 
particulates are food for reef animals. i would never use a filter sock.

i am not a diver but every video of the reef i have seen has particulates in the water, much more than our tanks do.

carbon dosing can lead to a change in the holobiont of the coral. maybe carbon dosing has affected your corals you lost.

i just also read an interesting article on negative effects of Lanthanum chloride dosing.

Carl
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15624319#post15624319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's
particulates are food for reef animals. i would never use a filter sock.

i am not a diver but every video of the reef i have seen has particulates in the water, much more than our tanks do.

carbon dosing can lead to a change in the holobiont of the coral. maybe carbon dosing has affected your corals you lost.

i just also read an interesting article on negative effects of Lanthanum chloride dosing.

Carl

Carl,

Interesting, can you share the links to the articles?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15624319#post15624319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's
particulates are food for reef animals. i would never use a filter sock.

You got that right there Reefski. I have really happy filter feeders to prove it (feather dusters, a big sponge, clams).


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15624319#post15624319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's

i just also read an interesting article on negative effects of Lanthanum chloride dosing.

Please post this article, I was just about to switch off the GFO reactor. I am tired of that stuff caking up.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15623354#post15623354 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Thanks for the offer. Looks like I read it too late. I've been pretty busy anyway lately.

What have you been up to Marc?
 
I've read a couple of chapters. I noticed you only mentioned Vitamin C dosing once or twice. Do you still dose that carbon source in addition to vodka?
 
I've read a couple of chapters. I noticed you only mentioned Vitamin C dosing once or twice. Do you still dose that carbon source in addition to vodka?

Did you consider VSV dosing?

-Jon

=============

where'd the double post come from?
 
I didn't even bother with the healing brush, which I do use if I want to remove some specks.

Unfortunately the healing brush doesn't work on the tank :)

If you can get someone to make some slides and inspect your coral slime under a microscope they could at least take pictures even if they have no idea what they are looking for. There are some resources online to identify what you are looking at or you could ask a specialist nicely. I don't even know what end of a microscope to look in, so I can't be of any help there. I have lots of books with pictures for identifying fish pathogens, but I don't think I have any for invertebrates. I'm sure they can be identified in a similar manner (rod shaped, ciliated, or cellular etc.). Looking at a few problematic corals with a magnifying glass might even yield results of a larger parasite.

Once you have identified what the likely source of the problem is, you can come up with a game plan for eradicating it. This isn't a unilateral disease that is going to end after it kills a few specific species of corals. You have a broad spectrum of losses/damage/stress. Typically hobbyists lose a few leathers, or a clam, or a few heads of a Euphylia or brain or some SPS, but rarely do they see mushrooms, clams, LPS and SPS affected all at once. I doubt it is a nudibranch, snail, worm or missing element in the water. Too much of an element is more likely. Too much of anything becomes toxic. BTW I thought K value was ketamine :)

If it's a contaminant, no matter how unlikely, such as a pesticide from bananas, or impurity from the vodka, then you can control this by suspending its addition and removing it with ion exchange resins such as Polyfilters, Toxic Metal Sponge, activated carbon and Chemipure. These will also remove secondary metabolites (allelopathic agents) that may be the culprit. If this doesn't open your clam and stop the RTN in the other corals, then it isn't likely to be a chemical issue. Have you noticed any new outbreaks of nuisance algae? This would confirm a nutrient or heavy metal surplus.

If you want to explore a more far fetched possibility, you could be generating nitrite with your denitrifying bacteria as they convert some of the nitrate that they consume back into more toxic forms of nitrogen like nitrite and even ammonia. It's unlikely that these nutrients could reach significant levels, but I've seen how vodka changes things :) A simple nitrite test will answer that question.

Since you are experiencing the same problem in two tanks, it is less likely to be a larger parasite, but still possibly a chemical issue as you probably have the same practices for both tanks. If I was a betting man I would say you have a bacterial or protozoan infection that has spread to both of your tanks. If you can in any way confirm this, then the next step would be to use the smaller tank (angled tank?) as the guinea pig for treatments (That's how they do it on House anyway). The hard part is finding a medication that will kill the pathogen without killing the coral. If you can establish that your test group (which could even be placed in a hospital tank to at least test drug tolerance) is getting healthier then you can implement the treatment on the main display tank.

There isn't much out there on medicating corals, so you'll have to go slowly and try to isolate the treatment at first. I don't think a freshwater dip will get you anywhere and it's impossible to do with the whole tank anyway. A dip in an oxidizer like potassium permanganate may help, but I think antibiotic treatment is the way to go IF the problem persists. We know that metronidazole (flagyl) is seemingly reef safe as it is a widely used protozoan medication for cryptocaryon. Note* I have seen coral polyps retract with metronidazole treatment, but I have not seen any long term issues or mortality. Other antibiotics that are not particularly harmful to inverts are chloramphenicol, noemycin, Kanacyn, and erithromycin to name a few. None of these will colour the water or cause noticeable loss of beneficial nitrifying or denitrifying bacteria. The effective dose would be 250mg/ 10 gallons added every second day for a total of three treatments. If it works, it will work in the first week. If you don't see an improvement when the week is up, then move on to another treatment. Neomycin and chloramphenicol can be used together and will offer the best results. Quinacrine hydrochloride (quinine) is a protozoacide, but it is only safe for some invertebrates (echinoderms are not safe with it). Of course, antibiotics kill the bacteria that are the source of the problem, but they do not regenerate tissue so an improvement may be hard to spot at first.

Now here's the disclaimer part where I tell you not to try anything I just suggested as I don't want to be known as the guy who told you how to potentially wipe out your whole tank :)
 
Marc, if you're losing more. We need to look big picture. Buying new salt, higher electrical current in the tank than norm, etc. How is the disease progression on corals? Is it from the top down or randomly in places? Possible that you have HS- releasing from some pocket somewhere in your tank? It's odd that its 2 euphylias, two sps, and one clam. Using new food preps?
 
just a stab - you mentioned lately that you have tweaked your BPM/ALK and isn't there a caution about vodka dosing and high alk - corals going white - so you are sure where you alk has been these past 2 weeks?

you just started back to your old water change schedule - is there something about that which could play a role, new salt?, sprayed the house lately, paint fumes,

are your heaters coming on at night? (if your like me and turn the ac down, sometimes in the summer my heaters come on
aquacontroller log....

running new carbon..

just trying to trigger a thought of solution

Nick
 
I forgot you live in Texas and likely get good use out of your air conditioner. If you use your AC all summer and keep the windows closed, you will get a higher buildup of Co2 and subsequent PH drop. Even having a lot of people over at your house will reflect a measurable PH drop. SPS in particular are sensitive to lower PH values.

You should test your day and especially nightly PH drop. I don't know if you have a refugium running on a reverse photoperiod to balance night PH. If you do, make sure you don't over-harvest your macro-algae or you will lose your evening PH buffering capacity.

When these things happen, you have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. I hope my suggestions don't come across as over-reactive.
 
Marc, I finally changed out my VHO bulbs. Wow, it's like having a completely brand new tank!

Hw often doo you recommend changing VHO actinic supplementation? Mine went over two and a half years and you could barely see the light coming out of them. Now the tank glows and the colors on the coral look amazing.
 
+1 on the question above. I just installed VHO actinic supplementation this weekend. I have read everything from 6 months to 18 months.
 
I've had an absolutely miserable time reefing today. You ever get the feeling that you should just call it a day early?

First I dumped 10 gallons of salt water on my floor during a water change. That was a mix of stupidity and not paying attention while refilling. Mixing another 10 gallons on short notice was fun, lucky I had the RO/DI made already.

Then I zapped myself replacing my VHO bulbs. Don't adjust the bulbs near the endcaps with wet hands. Duh.

Then the PH probe for my calcium reactor quit. I noticed that my solenoid has been clicking on and off like mad all day, it turns out that the controller probe wouldn't hold a steady PH reading. Lucky for me I had bought a pinpoint probe a few weeks back to hold as a spare. So I've got that back in, and no more clicking. Apparently hoarding spare gear like Marc does pays off.

I'm going to bed.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15656303#post15656303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigJay
I've had an absolutely miserable time reefing today. You ever get the feeling that you should just call it a day early?

First I dumped 10 gallons of salt water on my floor during a water change. That was a mix of stupidity and not paying attention while refilling. Mixing another 10 gallons on short notice was fun, lucky I had the RO/DI made already.

Then I zapped myself replacing my VHO bulbs. Don't adjust the bulbs near the endcaps with wet hands. Duh.

Then the PH probe for my calcium reactor quit. I noticed that my solenoid has been clicking on and off like mad all day, it turns out that the controller probe wouldn't hold a steady PH reading. Lucky for me I had bought a pinpoint probe a few weeks back to hold as a spare. So I've got that back in, and no more clicking. Apparently hoarding spare gear like Marc does pays off.

I'm going to bed.

I think we've all been there. Don't sweat; everything will look better next week:D
 
I know I need to answer a bunch of questions posted lately, and apologize for not having time to play on RC much lately. Work got crazy, and I had to focus on that.

My reef is still plugging along without a lot of change since the last pictures. I did notice my Red Planet in the angled tank STN'd at the base, but the lighting in that tank is probably not good enough. I'm thinking about picking up a ballast and running three T5s over that tank, although the look won't be nearly as sleek. Or maybe I should get a ton of LEDs. ;)

My skimmer hasn't really been doing much lately, so I decided today to make the time to clean the Eheim pumps, which have been in service since February and March respectively. Neither were bad, but had some gunk/film in them. The venturi ball valves had some salt creep in them, which has since been removed. It should be back in top form by tomorrow.

I had a wonderful surprise tonight. A couple of months ago, Scott Fellman was here to speak to our club and during his visit, he came over to see my reef and the suncoral tank. Unfortunately, the latter was in terrible shape because I didn't open the ball valve nearly enough and the tank was pretty much stagnant for some 20+ hours. Working quickly, I pulled all the corals out, siphoned out all the vile water, siphoned the sand a little with the Eheim Sludge Extractor and refilled it with fresh reef water. The corals were put back in, but my little eel was no where to be found. Here's a picture of the elusive guy from a while back.

eel_f5100.jpg


Tonight, as I was feeding the Tubastrea corals, I also fed the two lost chromis in my propagation section as well as a True Percula that TCU_reefer dropped off recently (since his tank crashed). And what do I spy? My little eel swimming along the bottom panel of the sump in the propagation section. I'd not seen it in two months, and here it was out and about!!! I was so excited, you just don't know. I carefully put a net next to him and he swam right in, and I moved him back to the suncoral tank where I can hand feed him each night. :inlove:

I'm going to have to try to get a new picture of him. I'm very happy he's alive and well. The cliché is true: It's the little things that make us happy.

In the meantime, I still need to figure out what is going on in my tank here and there. I'd almost like to blame the latest bottle of vodka. It's a cheap bottle, with a brand I've never heard of. Who knows if there are bad versions... and I am probably stretching by blaming it. I'll have to hook up my laptop to the AC3 to get a graph of the pH level of the tank, but I don't think that has been a problem at all. Unfortunately we had a big storm Thursday night and I know the power went out at least once while I was at work, which means the AC3's memory is wiped of any data prior to that. :(

I've only done one water change recently - it isn't like I'm on a water change schedule quite yet. I used Red Sea Pro Reef salt, just like I have in the past. It wasn't even a new bucket, just more of what I already had, finishing off one bucket and using some of an unopened one to mix up 55g.

I'm still feeding the same foods I always offer. I don't see that being the issue.

This next week will be pretty busy as well, but I think after that I'll have more time to post on RC before it is time to go to MACNA.

EDIT: Regarding VHOs - just change them at 12 months. They are there for your tank's coloration, so don't wait so long that you don't get to enjoy the pop you are desiring.
 
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