Step-by-step account of my first reef (with lots of pics)

[Dudester]

Bax - Don't worry bra, I'll keep you informed.

melev - Glad to hear you stopped pruning. I think I'll have to prune at least one more time, as there's quite a bit of the bryopsis currently. I'm now wishing I had gotten 10 nudis instead of 3. Once again, however, I saw my LMB eat the bryopsis. I already love this fish!


Regarding the PraziPro to kill flatworms. Last night I was going to begin the treatment, but after reading the instructions carefully it mentioned that the carbon should be removed and protein skimmers should be turned off. The treatment is listed as lasting 5-7 days, and although I felt OK about removing my carbon, I was worried about having my skimmer off for that long. I sent Hikari (the mfg of PraziPro) an e-mail to clarify if the skimmer had to be off for the entire duration or just the beginning, and this is their response.

"For the most effective treatment please follow the instuctions exactly."

So now I'm a little leary of using it, unless the experts out there feel like it would be OK to go a week without protein skimming. I guess I'd have to remove my Purigen pad as well.

Last night my pH was up to 8.45, and this morning it was at a low of 8.15. I'm thinking of turning off my refugium bulb during the lights on period (beginning a "reverse photoperiod") to see if this will reduce my pH any. I'm not sure if the oxygenation that's occuring in my fuge is significant or not, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try as an experiment. The only downside I can see is that there are a few strands of grape caulerpa in my fuge and they might go sexual on me. Of course I could just toss what I can see.

Any thoughts folks?

 

[KingfishJohn]

Ok, regarding the Prazi-pro treatment, yes I would take out your carbon and Purigen, and unfortunately you can't skim with it in the tank. It makes your skimmer go nuts regardless and we need to keep it in the water column. Nothing will be hurt too bad with no skimming for a week but be careful of overfeeding while the filter media and skimmer is out of operation.

On the grape caulerpa I'd just start the on/off cycle of your light and watch it. If it starts to turn white, rip it out.

Glad to hear everyone is doing well. I'll be hooking up a calcium reactor to my 30 gallon this weekend so it might be interesting.

John

 

[Dudester]

John - You gotta get your user name changed, bro! I can't wait to see how your system looks with that calcium reactor plumbed in. Hope you have the space for it! Yeah, everyone's doing just fine. My sixline (in the QT) didn't eat last night, but this evening it ate like a little pig. My LMB continues to eat algae, including the bryopsis. I've also seen it eat the slime algae off of the glass, so I'll have to be more diligent about using my magnet cleaner. I want him eating off of the rocks, not the glass. I've seen all 3 lettuce nudis sitting atop piles of bryopsis. Hopefully they're doing more than just perching on the soft, feathery plumes! I think I actually saw the mouth on one of them, and it appeared to be eating, but I wasn't certain.

I haven't yet gathered the courage to use the PraziPro, mostly because I fear turning the skimmer off. When I consider the volume of nasty skimmate that I remove over a week's time, it gives me pause when I think about leaving that s#!^ in the tank. On the other hand, I do despise those flatworms. All right, tomorrow I'll go for it. Can I just rinse out the Purigen pad and return it to the tank after the treatment's over? Here's an idea ... I could put it in my QT!

Here's another newbie question for anyone who knows. People are always discussing their concerns about microbubbles. I guess this is because it looks ugly, and I presume the bubbles could harm sponges and similar organisms. At any rate, every time my closed loop pump turns back on (after being dormant during "feed mode"), I get a huge amount of bubbles that are dispersed throughout my tank. They dissipate and disappear pretty quickly (within 30 seconds or so), but I wonder if this should cause any concern?

 

[melev]

Many people run their tanks skimmerless. Yours will be fine for the one week period, but plan on a water change. My skimmer has been off for the past day or so as I'm dosing ChemiClean, but I'll turn on again tomorrow night.

30 seconds for the microbubbles isn't a big deal. I don't turn off the flow in the tank when I feed, but I do turn off the return pump. This keeps the food circulating but doesn't send any of it down into the sump.

 

[Dudester]

OK, skimmer off today, carbon and Purigen out, PraziPro here I come. Think I should throw out the water that will reside in the skimmer once it's shut down, or can I leave it there stagnant for a week? Too bad I already cleaned out the skimmer and its MJ pump with muriatic acid - this would have been a good opportunity.

Fuge light set to reverse photoperiod with timer.

The main reason I turn off my CL during feeding is because I spot feed my LPS corals and blastos. Having the pump off gives them time to "swallow" the morsels of food without the current pullling it away. This works as long as the peppermint shrimp don't steal the food from their mouths.

I'm getting a used IceCap moonlight that I'm going to mount onto my light rack, or potentially onto the side of my MH fixture. I'll probably set it to turn on just before the MH turn off, and I'll leave it on for about 4 hours. I'm excited to observe the tank under night conditions ("in a whole new light") without a flashlight in my hand.

 

[melev]

I have a feeling the water inside your skimmer will be okay, as it won't hold that much (only whatever the sump water level is, right?). If you are wanting to play it safe, pull the skimmer out.

That is understandable about turning off the flow during LPS feedings. I do the same, in a few minutes in fact.

Let us know how you like your moonlights. I never use the ones I have.

 

[Dudester]

melev - I'll definitely keep y'all up to date regarding the moonlight. I don't have it yet but it's on hold for me.

Well, it seems like my timing is always 1 week too late. I planned on removing my light rack this coming weekend so that I could clean out my sump pump, clean out my SCWD, and mount the fan and moonlight onto the light rack. This morning while dosing B-Ionic I noticed that it only disbursed in the tank in one direction. I placed my hand over the CL loclines and only one of them was returning water. One side of the SCWD must have become occluded with deposits overnight. The instructions mention to remove the SCWD every 6 months for cleaning (it's now 6 months and 1/2 week), and it lists vinegar as the solution of choice. I doubt I'll have time to clean it tonight, so I'll probably put the MJ1200 back in the tank until I get time to perform the above tasks.

I am considering using muriatic acid to clean out the SCWD instead of vinegar since it works so well on the pumps. I've e-mailed the manufacturers of the SCWD to see if this is OK but haven't heard from them yet. Anyone use muriatic acid an a SCWD in the past?

 

[Dudester]

I've been running a reverse photoperiod on my refugium light for 4 days now. Last night my pH was 8.3, so I increased the kalk addition from 1 tsp to 2 tsp, with the goal of raising my alkalinity. Tonight my pH was 8.4 so I don't think I'll be able to add any more kalk to my reactor.

I began seeing new flatworms on the glass 2 days after treating with PraziPro. Tonight I redosed the medication and again cleaned the glass so I can monitor for new worms. If I see more living worms by the end of this weekend, I'll do a big water change then treat with FWE again and repeat the cycle.

My small frogspawn that I moved down to the lower level (onto the substrate) has again retracted significantly into its skeleton. The externalized portion looks OK but it's not fully expanded. I don't want to keep moving it but it doesn't appear happy and I'm a little worried about it.

The bryopsis has become too much for my tolerance, and I'm going to prune it back in the next day or two. I don't think those 3 lettuce nudis could possibly get it under control without some pruning. Besides, they have a short life span and I'd rather have them accomplish the fine tuning as opposed to mowing down the big stuff.

I'm going to check my Mg level soon. Perhaps my magnesium level is too low and this may be causing my calcium to precipitate and my alkalinity to fall. This might explain why 3 of my pumps (MaxiJet for skimmer, Mag12 and SCWD) have failed in the last 2 weeks? I know, the SCWD isn't a pump, but you get the idea.

 

[Bax]

I'd stick with vinigar on the SCWD, put it in a container of vinigar with a PH running through it and it'll clean upon about 1/2 an hour

I was hoping those lettus nudis would do better for you.

My Frog Spawn retracted a few weeks ago at two heads. They are now seven heads. Maybe it is splitting?

 

[bobothewizard]

Nice pics man.

 

[Dudester]

Bax - I haven't heard back from the people at 3iq Ventures, and I plan to do the cleaning this weekend, so I'll just stick with vinegar to play it safe. I'd hate for the acid to erode the seal between the 2 halves of the device and ruin the SCWD entirely.

I was hoping those lettus nudis would do better for you.

Me too, but I don't think it was a fair fight. Those nudis are only about the size of a quarter, and there's enough bryopsis in my tank to stuff a half dozen burritos. I haven't given up on them. I often see them on the glass or on my clam's shell, and this is frustrating since they're certainly not eating bryopsis there.

That would be awesome if my frogspawn is splitting! I guess I'll just leave it alone and see what it does.


bobothewizard - Thanks, more to come very soon!


I've had the sixline in quarantine for 1 week now. I hadn't checked any water parameters in that tank or done a water change since it was established. I do have an ammonia badge, and it's been reading yellow ("safe") continually. Last night I finally did an ammonia test (Salifert) and it was <0.25. I think I'm getting away with this for several reasons:
1. sheer volume (it's a 20g tank and only 1 small fish)
2. judicious feedings (I don't over do it)
3. I'm running Purigen in the filter. This is basically a skimmer in a bag, and since most of us don't run skimmers on our QT's (except for Bax, if I recall correctly), I think these are great to use for quarantine tanks.

Come to think of it, I've never gotten a significant ammonia reading, even when I was setting up my main tank. I think I'll test the kit with some ammonia to ensure that it's not faulty for any reason.

 

[bcoons]

Thanks for the update. That bryopsis must be pretty wicked stuff. You've been battling it now for quite a while.

Since I got my corals, I've noticed I now have some fuzzy red stuff growing in my tank. Little red fuzzballs that scatter around and stick on the heater, sand, ground probe, etc. I tried to take a pic of some the other night and couldn't get autofocus on it thru the glass. I'll try again later. Do you want to venture a guess as to what my red fuzzy stuff may be?

Just as a data point, my ph now swings between about 8.1 early morning to 8.3 just after lights out in the evening. That sound about right?

Bruce

 

[Dudester]

Yes, Bruce, bryopsis is truly problematic. I don't know how it got into my tank in the first place, and I wonder if there's a dip or something that could have prevented it from fluorishing in the first place. I now wish that I would have removed the one rock it was isolated on when I first noticed it. I'd gladly sacrifice one piece of LR for the troubles it has caused over the past several months. Come to think of it, I'd still be happy to remove some rocks that are covered in bryopsis and dip them into something that would kill the bryopsis. I guess fresh water would probably do the trick, but I don't want to kill the other life forms (zoos, corals, pods, etc) that share the rocks with the weeds.

I'm not sure what you mean when you mention that your fuzzballs "scatter around." You mean they're actually mobile? "Fuzzy red stuff" sounds like a simple hair algae species (your tank's the right age for it), but it shouldn't move around your tank. I think we'll need more information to help you.

Your pH swing sounds pretty normal and appropriate. A difference of 0.2 should not be detrimental at all to your inhabitants.

 

[melev]

Bruce might be discussing cotton candy algae.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/nftt/index.htm

Prune all that you can, just like GHA.

 

[bcoons]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7119793#post7119793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Bruce might be discussing cotton candy algae.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/nftt/index.htm

Prune all that you can, just like GHA.

Yep, that looks like it. Little red balls of cotton candy. They detach rather easily from the rock and blow around the tank in the current.

Swell. I guess I'll be on the lookout for some Mexican Turbo Snails.

 

[Dudester]

Marc - Thanks for ID'ing that algae. I thought I might have the same in my tank, but actually mine's a lot shorter and straighter, it doesn't detatch from the rocks easily, and it doesn't look cottony at all. I'm hoping my clean-up crew and LMB work on it, as it's pretty diffuse in my tank as well.

Last night I treated myself to a rare moment of tank gazing while sitting in my living room. As I sat there, the previously occluded limb of my SCWD burped a large bubble into the tank then sprang to life. Alternating flow restored!! I'm still going to clean out the SCWD this weekend, but I'm happy nonetheless.

My new acro frags are really doing well. They've all layed down a very nice base, and the polyps are proudly extended. I guess this is proof that the water quality isn't all that bad. Once I prune back the bryopsis, mount my new fan and get the tank into shape, I'll get some pics for posting ... promise.

 

[Dudester]

I think my tank is beginning to rebel for having the skimmer off for 7 days. My acan lord frag is pretty shriveled, and most notably, my green star polyps have been completely 100% (that's redundant) retracted. They're nothing more than a purple base with no visible polyps whatsoever. I assume, at least, that's why they're not looking so hot. Should I be concerned about something else perhaps? Other corals, like the frogspawns and SPS are looking just fine. I think the little frogspawn may in fact be splitting.

For those interested, I received a call from the makers of the SCWD. I asked about using a dilute muriatic acid solution on it for cleaning and they didn't see any problem with it.

The bryopsis is truly starting to lose the battle. I don't know if it's just old and tired or if my efforts have finally paid off, but the stuff is clearly starting to regress. I pruned for only 1 hour last night and 1 hour this evening, and it's really coming off much easier than in the past. A few patches remain lush and dark green in color, although most have faded to a pale greenish brown. There are still several areas to which I cannot access, and I'll count on the LMB and the lettuce nudis for those spots, but I'm finally feeling like I'm winning the battle. If only that were also true of the flatworms.

I still have flatworms despite many bottles of FWE and 2 doses of PraziPro, and I'll probably go ahead and turn the skimmer back on, treat again with FWE and then do a 20% water change this weekend. Hopefully this will kill off some worms and perk up the corals.

 

[melev]

Run a lot of carbon when you do. And try feeding those acans.

 

[Dudester]

Lots of carbon coming up. Acans looked a little better today, but no time to feed them ...


Any day I get to work on the tank is a good day, and today was a GOOD day!
My plan for the day was pretty straight forward. Remove the light rack, remove SCWD and sump pump for cleaning, install computer fan onto light rack, then return all components to the tank. This proved to be a half-day project.

I began by placing 2 MaxiJet 1200 powerheads into the tank for flow and oxygenation, since the tank would be without light most of the day and the CL and sump pumps would be off. So far so good. The next step was to remove the light rack, which would provide access to the rear plumbing to remove the SCWD and sump pump. This was extremely challenging since I couldn't slide the tank away from the column behind it. If I wouldn't have had help (my father-in-law is visiting and helped a ton) I would not have been able to remove the light rack. The space was so tight that half-way off I had to disconnect my overflow and move it to the side of the tank so that the rack would slide out between the tank and the column. Despite my use of unions and ball valves there was substantial spillage (points earned with the fam = 0). I next removed the SCWD but forgot to drain the closed loop. I don't think I need to mention what happened when I disconnected the unit from the plumbing, but lets just say my socks should be dry by tomorrow. While removing the Mag5 that powers the sump there was some significant shifting of the aquascape from the return plumbing. No tumbling, fortunately, but definitely significant shifting. Once all of this was disconnected from the tank it was taken outside where the pump, SCWD and locline (from the CL) were soaked in a dilute muriatic acid solution. While the acid did its job I worked on the fan mount to the light rack.

I used a jig saw to cut out a hole, stained the exposed wood, then mounted the fan to the angled piece of wood on the light rack, immediately behind where the MH pendant is suspended. I then re-wired the fan to a power supply, which was quite easy and has been documented many times here on RC. By this time the acid had done its job and I rinsed the acidified parts thoroughly with water.

Before returning the pump to the sump I took advantage of the opportunity to siphon the detritus out of the return chamber that had been collecting around the pump. This was nasty! Next I returned the Mag5 to the sump, but this time I added the plastic filter screen to protect the impeller from snails and the like. The SCWD was plumbed back in and the light rack was re-installed, again with much difficulty. I restarted the sump pump, the closed loop and fired the light back on, along with the new fan. There were no leaks with the plumbing (other than while taking it apart) and everything worked out fine. Best of all, I no longer have that ugly white fan sitting in plain view :celeb2: .

The fan's power supply is much too large to plug into the ReefKeeper, so I made a short extension cord out of heavy gague wire and a male and female plug.

The down side to this fan is that it is substantially louder and moves less air than the previous fan. My tank is already as loud as a System of a Down concert, and this certainly doesn't help the situation. I'm also worried that this weaker fan won't be able to cool the system adequately.

I just tested nitrates and expected them to be elevated since I haven't run my skimmer in a week. Surprisingly they were undetectable!?! I also tested salinity and it was a little high at 1.027. Tomorrow (or should I say "later today") I'm going to do the FWE treatment and I'll get the salinity down with the water change. I'm looking forward to seeing just how much skimmate will be made after having a week of foam fractionation holiday.


Here are some pics that I've mentioned in the past. The first 2 are of the snail that I found in my sump a little while back. This proved to be a stomatella snail.

In this first image you can see the underbelly. In the background is an astrea snail and some bryopsis. The glass was a little dirty with coralline but I didn't have time to clean it first. At the time, this newbie didn't know what kind of snail I was dealing with and I definitely didn't want to miss the photo op.

This next shot shows the same snail crawling on my crocea's shell. Again there's an astrea snail for size comparison.

Here are my lettuce nudibranchs on the day that I received them. Before placing them into the tank I put them into a shallow white container for photographic purposes. This first image shows all 3 of them together. I like this shot because it shows one from the side, one from the belly surface, and one from the back surface.

Here's a better close-up of one of them, and this really illustrates why they're named "lettuce" nudibranchs.

 

[Dudester]

Today I restarted the skimmer, re-treated with FWE (120 drops), then replaced the carbon and did a 10% water change. I got the S.G. down to 1.026. After adding the FWE I observed the few worms closely that were on the glass. They charged directly south toward and into the substrate. Maybe they're protected under the sand from the FWE, and this may be why I'm having difficulty eradicating them? I don't really want to siphon the sand, but I'll do it if that's what it takes. I'm moving my sixline wrasse from the QT to the main tank in 2-3 days, and hopefully it will eat flatworms.

Not too exciting, but here's a picture of the short extension cord I made for my fan.