The new fuge looks great! I love the mangrove idea. How is the boxfish doing in the main tank?
Jacob
Beauty rebuild of the fish load.A thought crossed my mind.If you ever have another wipe out (hopefully never) would you throw in the towel or start again? Just curious because I know someone who had 2 wipeouts and he's done. He'd been at it about 14 years. Thanks
Thanks! I am very pleased with how things have worked out.
That is a VERY interesting question you posed. I don't think I could ever throw the towel in. I've been in the hobby too long and giving up on it would be a lifestyle change that I just don't see myself making. I love the ocean and marine fish and having a piece of the ocean in my home is just a part of life for me. When I bought my home back in 1997, there were 3 criteria. Number one was a place for my tank. Number 2 was a 3 car garage for my cars and number 3 was a great place for my home theater. All 3 are still very important to me and certainly ingrained in my lifestyle.
In my 27 or so years of being in this hobby, I've only had two disasters that resulted in mass casualties. One was an ich outbreak that could have been avoided as it was the result of a large water change with cold water that should have been heated. The other was the most recent bleach incident. Given that both incidents were avoidable I'm certainly not deterred in least and certainly won't make the same mistakes twice. Nor will my son! :thumbsup:
After being in this hobby so long, it's easy to become complacent and take for granted what you have or the success you have. Something like the events that happened with my tank certainly can (in my case) make you appreciate not only the fish you have or had, but also the success and relative stability of your system. If anything, I am more vigilant and enthusiastic than ever and appreciate my tank and it's inhabitants more than I can ever remember. In my case, I have a new found appreciation of my livestock as well as the stability of my system. It's fast recovery really allowed me to reflect on all the things I have done right with the system and my preparedness for the unexpected. As such, I have a level of enthusiasm towards my tank that I have not had in a long time. I find myself looking at it much more frequently and I pay much more attention to my livestock as well. If there were ever any silver linings in my disaster, that would certainly be one of them.
Quick questions (maybe not quick) about mangroves...
1. Why do so many reefers get them? Aesthetics? Nutrient removal? I have read they are not terribly efficient at removing nutrients. Also, their roots can penetrate silicon seal, potentially creating a real problem. They are very beautiful plants though!
2. What do you do with them after a few years? They will eventually grow too large to be supported by nearly all private collectors. Trash them and start over? I really don't have a problem with this, just curious. I assume they grow rather slowly.
I am not making any judgements about those who keep mangroves. I think they are quite a nice addition. Just looking for some input and opinion. I actually am thinking of getting one or two for my sump/refugium but would like more practical information before I proceed.
Hey Slief. I just finished reading your thread. I had seen the videos from Jim all before but I am just recent on reef central. When I read your post just after the [incident with your son] my heart dropped. Things like that....you just don't know how to respond after the initial adrenaline.... I hope you work it out, and he comes to be a trusted part of the family again soon. On the other side you and the tank seem to have bounced back quickly so that's a silver lining. To have that much invested in animals and then have to do it all over again....
Mabee the change in focus turned out to be a good thing. It's always been one of my dreams to have a LARGE tank. My inner reef-junky wants a thousand gallon reef tank with a few other satelite tanks plumbed into one large remote filtration system. Having dream tanks like yours for inspiration is what keeps us going until we finally dive into our own dreams. Thank you...:bounce1:
I like your tank. SPS dominant tanks seem too sterile for my taste. They don't seem healthy to me. Like always on the verge of having a major outbreak from a minor imbalance. I also prefer to have motion in my tank from animals that [go with the flow].
Will you be upgrading the lights anytime soon? I bought a set of radions a few months ago. I have them running at about 120 watts combined and they weigh about 10 pounds total with the hanging kit. They are hugely controllable through the Apex, or just the default program and I really enjoy mine. Glad you got the damsels out of the tank. Some people have nicknamed theirs JAWS:fish2: Whose idea was it to put DAMsels in our fishtanks anyway....:blown: Have you looked into carbon dosing your tank at all. Bet you have since you seem to know all the other tricks of the trade. I suspect some vodka in the tank would have let you keep your sand bed nice and thick:thumbsup: I have about 3-5 inches of pure white sand in mine,and the pistol shrimp especially loves it... Get a nice big school of anthias for us, and don't skimp on the pictures K...I'm pullin' for ya. we're all in this together.
Thanks
Daniel:wildone:
Glad to see your update. We both suffered some losses approximately at the same time except mine was done on stupidity. My tank has recovered and has been stable for over a month now. But its good to see you posting again.
Sounds great! I wonder if the change in seasons contributes to unwanted algae? I noticed that only at the end of winter I have a single battle with cyano then a few weeks later the start of hair algae. Then after adding the additional crew it's gone.
Love the macro btw! Your tank is really looking and doing well since the incidentI hope that equally so are you and yours!