The Life of Blue Spots Tank 1800L
- Thread starter Blue spot
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Blue spot
Member
So update , nothing major this week. Everything just ticking along.
Fish , all good, I had a clown problem but she's now starting to fatten up again.
Blue spot. Still doing well, he's had a new challenge this week in the form of an engineer goby invasion, but he's holding his own, Not sure what to say with regard to engineer gobys. I like them but they do tend to move around the tank and kick out any fish that Is in the way, that being said I never see aggression , just pure Bulshyness !
Corals all seam to be ok - I've had a pearly bubble start to recede a little and a couple of things get dislodged and fall on to other corals which has caused a little damage to a couple , but apart from that looking good. Spa seams to be doing very well , growing nicely. I am a little worried about the colour of one it may be browning out , worry white when I had it now bright green with the blues on , but more brown with daylights , not sure if it's recovering or getting worse. Never kept spas before so no real point of reference.
Equipment - had a radion fail, second time for this light , no problems with the others just the one but radion are replacing it for me , very good service. I have also championed the rollomat , I do love this..... But .. Over time I am not sure of its robustness for salt water. Electrical contacts corroded. Motor intermittent on the float switch, motor no longer powerful enough to drive a full mat, and very difficult to clean and service. All that being said it does strip out the larger waste particles , keeps water clean and no filter socks to change ( I change the mat about one every three months). So good product but needs tweaking .
Dosing - I'm now doing calcium and magnesium . No real difference in the tank or corals I am just doing it because I think I should be. I am having a mystery with my alk. It's always around the 9 to 10 mark, but I never buffer it ? Originally I was a using calk , but I have stopped using this and it's still high. Anyone got any ideas why ? The only negative effect of dropping the calk is my ph was 8.1 to 8 it's now running 8.02 to 7.95.
Pest . Aptasia and bubble algae, I may have a small improvement on the bubble algae, but I've now had an aptasia explosion. Think I'm going to try and get the slug that eats them and see what happens , tried aptasia X but they just come back in the same place only larger.
Going coral shopping this weekend , Aussie shipment in . Hoorah !
Fish , all good, I had a clown problem but she's now starting to fatten up again.
Blue spot. Still doing well, he's had a new challenge this week in the form of an engineer goby invasion, but he's holding his own, Not sure what to say with regard to engineer gobys. I like them but they do tend to move around the tank and kick out any fish that Is in the way, that being said I never see aggression , just pure Bulshyness !
Corals all seam to be ok - I've had a pearly bubble start to recede a little and a couple of things get dislodged and fall on to other corals which has caused a little damage to a couple , but apart from that looking good. Spa seams to be doing very well , growing nicely. I am a little worried about the colour of one it may be browning out , worry white when I had it now bright green with the blues on , but more brown with daylights , not sure if it's recovering or getting worse. Never kept spas before so no real point of reference.
Equipment - had a radion fail, second time for this light , no problems with the others just the one but radion are replacing it for me , very good service. I have also championed the rollomat , I do love this..... But .. Over time I am not sure of its robustness for salt water. Electrical contacts corroded. Motor intermittent on the float switch, motor no longer powerful enough to drive a full mat, and very difficult to clean and service. All that being said it does strip out the larger waste particles , keeps water clean and no filter socks to change ( I change the mat about one every three months). So good product but needs tweaking .
Dosing - I'm now doing calcium and magnesium . No real difference in the tank or corals I am just doing it because I think I should be. I am having a mystery with my alk. It's always around the 9 to 10 mark, but I never buffer it ? Originally I was a using calk , but I have stopped using this and it's still high. Anyone got any ideas why ? The only negative effect of dropping the calk is my ph was 8.1 to 8 it's now running 8.02 to 7.95.
Pest . Aptasia and bubble algae, I may have a small improvement on the bubble algae, but I've now had an aptasia explosion. Think I'm going to try and get the slug that eats them and see what happens , tried aptasia X but they just come back in the same place only larger.
Going coral shopping this weekend , Aussie shipment in . Hoorah !
Blue spot
Member
Testing everything at the moment cause I'm new to doseing. Cal I'm adding 50ml a day of the fauna Marin light baling solution to keep calcium at 420 magnesium I only started Saturday and dosing 5ml . I know I must be doing something as its not normal. I just can't figure out what ?
I already thought it might be the testing (I'm partially colour blind so not my strongest point) but I'm doing alk on hanna, cal red sea , mag red sea. Also got my Lfs to check readings and they got the same. Have I discovered a new form of science laws ?? Could I be up for a Nobel prize ?
I already thought it might be the testing (I'm partially colour blind so not my strongest point) but I'm doing alk on hanna, cal red sea , mag red sea. Also got my Lfs to check readings and they got the same. Have I discovered a new form of science laws ?? Could I be up for a Nobel prize ?
Blue spot
Member
Found it, and I am going to admit this even though it makes me look like a right plonker. I was adding a tiny amount of ph buffer just maybe once a week. It reads that it stabilises kh but lifts ph , I went add some today as I my ph was dropping a little then I thought this could be what is raising my alk. On closer inspection I was mixing 100 times the concentration I was supposed to. Chemistry you win again ! I'll see if this explains the mystery . Lol
Blue spot
Member
Well dosing is coming along nicely now and I'm getting better results. I'm still not dosing alk but I am using the ph buffer and alk stabiliser but only at night and this has helped keep my ph a more respetible 8.1 to 8.07 so not getting much of a swing now.
Fish wise , blue spots under attack this week. Someone has excavated into his home and kicked him out , it's one of 2 things , an engineer goby , or a pistol and white cap goby pairing , they are both encroaching on him so not sure which one at the moment , I've ordered an emergency aquaroche jawfish home so I'll try and set him up a new territory as quickly as possible. One thing I have learned about these fish is they do not like stress . Of any kind , so I need to get him a place and quick ! Apart from the all good this week had a big maintenance weekend , water change , substrate Hoover etc took about 6 hours but I love doing it. Nice and relaxing.
Fish wise , blue spots under attack this week. Someone has excavated into his home and kicked him out , it's one of 2 things , an engineer goby , or a pistol and white cap goby pairing , they are both encroaching on him so not sure which one at the moment , I've ordered an emergency aquaroche jawfish home so I'll try and set him up a new territory as quickly as possible. One thing I have learned about these fish is they do not like stress . Of any kind , so I need to get him a place and quick ! Apart from the all good this week had a big maintenance weekend , water change , substrate Hoover etc took about 6 hours but I love doing it. Nice and relaxing.
Blue spot
Member
Bad news people. Berts awol ! So I mentioned previously Bert had his burrow broken into , the culprit.... White cap and pistol shrimp . Bert had made a new home over the other side of the tank, but again kicked out of this , in the mean time the new jawfish home turned up so I moved a few rocks , ushers Bert into the new home to try and set him up a new territory all seamed fine, but again today missing completely, I know this is not a good sign as I can normally find him if he's been kicked out. I'll keep a watch out but hope he turns up somewhere.
I've also decided I am going to re-aquascape the one end of the tank. Although I like the look of it the rock work comes out very close to the front and now some of the fish are getting bigger , I want to try and give them a little more swimming room without being pressed on the front glass, maybe I will find Bert at the same time. Fingers crossed.
I've also decided I am going to re-aquascape the one end of the tank. Although I like the look of it the rock work comes out very close to the front and now some of the fish are getting bigger , I want to try and give them a little more swimming room without being pressed on the front glass, maybe I will find Bert at the same time. Fingers crossed.
Blue spot
Member
Well Bert is now living like a king ! Took a bit of persuading though. In the end I buried his jawfish home, caught him and put him inside the actual hole in the house. Buried the extra holes in the house as he didn't seam to like these potential attack routes , netted his shells and trinkets from his old home and scattered hem round his new pad and gave him a thorough talking to about how "this was the perfect set up for a jawfish, now stay in hole ! " It's done the trick , happy as a pig in the proverbial .
Blue spot
Member
Well tomorrow is new tank layout day. I am slightly excited and slightly nervous at the same time . Only nervousness in case I can't put it all back together in a way I find appealing. I did this with my Red Sea max quite a lot, so hopefully I am well practiced, but I did have a couple of times where I thought , this just doesn't look right . In the new layout I am hoping to take the rock work back at the one end of the tank, but I do not want to lose coral placement areas . I am actually hoping to increase the area I can put corals yet give some of the now larger fish a littl more swimming space , particularly the moorish , she just looks a little squashed in somehow and spends time pinned to the front of the glass when she wants a big swim. I'll get some pictures of the old and new.
Other thing on the horizon, my Lfs had a big Aussie shipment in yesterday, popped in today before all the good stuff goes , reserved a yellow acro, a tiny purple trachy (this was my favourite thing so pleased about that) and a very dark green hammer , historically I do struggle with hammers , no idea why. I love them but they always seam to fade away (not the brown jelly, I had this in the old tank), out of the three I've had in the tank I have one left so I've been staying away. Now my tanks more established I am hoping I might do better.
Camera wise I have orders some orange filters so hopefully I might be able to get some better coral shots with the blues on, never tried it so we will have to wait and see on that one.
Other thing on the horizon, my Lfs had a big Aussie shipment in yesterday, popped in today before all the good stuff goes , reserved a yellow acro, a tiny purple trachy (this was my favourite thing so pleased about that) and a very dark green hammer , historically I do struggle with hammers , no idea why. I love them but they always seam to fade away (not the brown jelly, I had this in the old tank), out of the three I've had in the tank I have one left so I've been staying away. Now my tanks more established I am hoping I might do better.
Camera wise I have orders some orange filters so hopefully I might be able to get some better coral shots with the blues on, never tried it so we will have to wait and see on that one.
Blue spot
Member
It took 13 hours, I now have a hand the size of a balloon (touched a bristle worm and an urchin). But it's re-scaped . Hooray ! Loved every minute of it. I just need to get some pictures now but things are looking good, moved a lot of the rockworke back and created a sort of cove on the one end. The fish are swimming much better and they all tend to gather together now in the cove. I have more space for corals and I thought a lot about easy coral placement ( I struggle with the glues available, still not found a good one yet). And I used the branching rock to create a sort of second shelf where I am going to add some more sps. In all pretty good result. I may have one casualty in the move , diamond watchman goby , This was one of my first ever fish, so again quite attached to him, but not seen him since the move , hope he's not been trapped burying under the moved rocks. Next time pictures , m just waiting for these orange filters to turn up .
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Blue spot
Member
You're not going to believe this. Last week I wrote about how blue spot had gone missing , I clicked post looked at my tank and their he was. I've just written about the diamond watchman goby, he's been missing for 2 days (very unusual, so thought he might be dead). Clicked post and ....... Their he is. So theirs a tip for you, if you're fish is missing , just Wright about it and it turns up. Lol
Forgot to mention got some nice corals in the Ozzie shipment got a bright green torch, a lovely pink lobo, some red acans and a mystery piece , we couldn't decide if it's a trachy or a lobo or what it is, it's pretty small at the moment so I'll get a picture of this aswell. I've also had a couple of tiny fish , ( I know , I know , no more fish ) but they are tiny , 2 yellow clown gobys and a red lined deapwater hogfish, this fish really floats my boat, cream , red yellow then a pink top, to me a stunning looking fish and as a bonus very piecefull and curious, traveling all over the tank . Again I'll get pictures
Forgot to mention got some nice corals in the Ozzie shipment got a bright green torch, a lovely pink lobo, some red acans and a mystery piece , we couldn't decide if it's a trachy or a lobo or what it is, it's pretty small at the moment so I'll get a picture of this aswell. I've also had a couple of tiny fish , ( I know , I know , no more fish ) but they are tiny , 2 yellow clown gobys and a red lined deapwater hogfish, this fish really floats my boat, cream , red yellow then a pink top, to me a stunning looking fish and as a bonus very piecefull and curious, traveling all over the tank . Again I'll get pictures
Blue spot
Member
Things once again have gone too well recently so...... My rockworke collapsed ! Planned moving rocks , lots of fun... Unplanned Nightmare. For now I've just stuck everything back in a fairly presentable way , but not as nice as I had it. Didn't even get a picture of the last one for reference. Gutted.
Blue spot
Member
Need a little apex help if anyone is willing. I am trying to programme my skimmer to follow my main return pump but with a slight delay so
If main_return = off the skim off
This works fine
If main return = on then skim 010 on
This inputs but does not turn the skimmer on , After turning the main return on. Any ideas anyone
If main_return = off the skim off
This works fine
If main return = on then skim 010 on
This inputs but does not turn the skimmer on , After turning the main return on. Any ideas anyone
