You can cut them off if you wish. Stainless steel cutting shears work pretty well:


Otherwise wire (or cable) cutters, or even pruning shears can be used. Make sure that you clean them well before and after use (they can rust quickly). I'd be tempted to break off (at the base) the good heads and place them in a grouping (I think it looks more natural).

Ok so I did a good thing and through my local aquarium board (www.aquariumpros.ca) sold 2 of my big convict blennies.

Slowly reducing the bioload in hopes that the nitrates will fall into place at 0 (they are currently sitting between the 10-20ppm) and then later on ideally be able to add a few fish that are still on the 'wish list'.

I feel like I'm abandoning my babies But they are both going to great big tanks (90 gallons and 125 gallons) so I don't feel as bad!

So last night I went out and bought a new piece of coral for the tank. My LFS had them on sale for $10. They called it an umbrella leather, but I thought it was a toadstool leather...

Is there a difference or are they the same thing with two different names? How can I spot the difference? Or should I post a photo of this too? lol

So this a pic of the new coral, what do we think.. toadstool leather.... or umbrella leather?

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Sorry it's blurry, my camera is having issues. At the moment I have it down in the sand, I'm waiting for it to get comfortable before I start moving it around.

I'm like why is your camera in the sand? But now I get that your coral is in the sand. Yeah, don't move it around too much (the coral not the camera ), it just adds to the stress.

So as my nitrates continue to decline I have gotten a little braver and went out and got some new coral additions this weekend.

I picked up some GSP to contrast with me WSP hahaha. Also picked up huge frogspawn and octobubble pieces. I added some red, green and pink zoos but my stupid neon velvet damsel is eating them!!! Has anyone ever known damsels to do this??

This weekend I am going to have to take apart my tank to try and catch him. He is eating me out of house and home!

Methods used to try and catch a fish:

1. Doing the 'bait and switch'. Putting the food in the net in hopes he would swim in
2. Doing the 'it's just food... honest' approach: This similiar to the above method but instead I put it into a clear plastic bag in hopes he would swim in. Long story short, he did, but then jumped out of the bag into the air and back into the tank (frustration level exceeding 200%)
3. Chasing him around in the dark with two different nets, one as the decoy - no success
4. Hoping to trap him in his rock home - this worked for about 2 hours until he pushed the nets blocking the openings over

Stupid Neon Velvet Damsel 4 - Sara 0

Sigh.

I was planning on doing another hefty water change (about 30 gallons) either tonight or tomorrow. In hopes this will finally reduce my nitrate levels to 0. Since it will be such a hefty change now will be the best time to drain out the water, move around the rocks so that I can catch him once and for all and my corals can go back to living happily ever after.

It just sucks because the new coral I got this weekend has finally just settled in and opened itself up, and now I'm going to be shifting it all around again... sigh...

O the fun of reef keeping...

Hmmm..have you tried the bottle approach to catch him? You basically cut the top off a 20 oz bottle.. invert it.. put some food in and wait. There's a couple threads in here with some pics.

Ok well I finally caught that fish. But I had to tear apart my whole tank to do it. Thats ok I've reaquascaped as a result anyways.

I will have pictures from the last few weeks uploaded sometime this week.

For now I have a question about supplements. I just acquired some top notch salifert test kits and found out that my phosphates are a lil high (which could have been from the huge disturbance of taking apart the tank) and my magnesium is low.

I went out and picked up some chemi-pure elite because that's just good practice. But then I also want to get a supplement to adjust the magnesium (maybe this is why some of my zos aren't open all the way).

Most people seem to recommend Kent M but does anyone have any experience with the SeaChem Reef Advantage Magnesium? It's easier for me to get at the moment.

were you trying to keep the fish live? the best method for a fish that is overly agressive ( my blue-green chromis killed 5 tankmates in a row ) is the hook line and sinker. usually this also does not hurt the fish, but in the case with stupid damsels, they will bite without hesitation. sounds cruel but it isnt bad in the scheme of things.

It's a fine product to use. Test your alkalinity and pH when dosing.

Long story short I brought home a blue tang with ick on it and now it's spread to my yellow tang too. I can't set up a QT tank at the moment but have definitely learned my lesson

Is CLOUT safe for my reef tank?

I'm not aware of any effective, reef safe remedy. I lost a whole tank of fish once to Ich. If possible, you should setup a hospital tank so that you can properly treat them. It doesn't have to be much. A Rubbermaid Brute trash container with a powerhead, heater, and a few pieces of PVC for hiding places can work alright (plus, an internal filter with media from your display should provide some biological filtration). Also, you might have to run your display for 6 to 8 weeks without any fish to totally get rid of it.

I have a 15 gallon tank that I could set up but I didnt think it would be an appropriate size for a 3" yellow tang and 1" blue tang, especially if the treatments like 5-6 days.

Maybe it's not ich, but they are black/brownish little dots....

Anything else you suspect it could be and perhaps if it is something else the medication you would recommend (again ideally reef safe) but worst case scenario I can set up the 15 gallon).

Doesn't sound like Ich. Sorry, I'm very poor at diagnosing fish illnesses, I recommend posting the description and photos in the Disease & Pest Treatment forum.


Edit:
Here's the link to the thread that Sara started, for those of you following along at home.

I know it's been a really long time, and although I don't want to get into the details, I do have the photos. Since they always say a picture is worth 1000 words!
July 17:
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August 16:
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August 26:
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September 14:

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September 17:

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September 23:

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October 31:

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Oct 31 continued:

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Left side of tank -visible from neighbouring couch:
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October 31 some more:

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And lastly - or at least for now...

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Now, for what it's worth, keep in mind I just bought a rock of blue anthelia, a frag of blue zoos, a nice looking gonipora and a pink cabbage frag that I haven't taken pictures of since I have acquired them.

This will require further updates next week... should there be enough interest!

Oh very nice. Love the rock work.

Which arrangement is best?

stunnahhh lookin good!

The one you like the most.


Looking good Sara.

If I was to acquire the appropriate test kits, what supplement would be recommended for dosing iron?

Kent Marine Iron & Manganese

Thanks SeaBass.

Last night I installed my new set of MP40's... Let me tell you, I'm in love all over again.

(They say the first step to getting over your problem is admitting that you have one)

Important Annoucement: I am officially addicting to reefing.

I'm setting up a frag tank soon with my left over sand, LR rubble and former 15 gallon freshwater tank. It will have the standard stock PC lighting but hopefully an AC50 on the back to work as a fuge/HOB sump lol.

No skimmer and a maxi jet 400 for circulation.

I'm also hoping that with a nice dump of some phyto into the system that this could turn into just a giant refugium that happens to have some frags. Then every week I can take out some of the bountiful pods and feed them into my 120.

If I add phytoplankton into my tank, will it add nitrates?

tank is looking pro, much better then the original pic fer sure.

Thanks bud, but do you know if I add phytoplanton to my tank if I'll be adding in more nitrates? If I added in pods would I be adding more nitrates too?

What kind of phyto? live or like kent phyto. All phyto will produce some nitrates as it is algae. Just following the directions and dose the appro. amount.

That makes zero sense.

If anything, it would reduce your nitrates.

Ok so providing I follow the instructions for my water volume then I can add in the phyto without fear?

It's pretty easy to start a gha farm by overdosing phyto

Thanks rfd515 I'll be sure to watch for that. With that in mind, for some reason I am definitely beating the odds. I've never had an algae break out since I've had my tank. No Diatom bloom, No Cyano, No GHA, No Red Slime - although I almost thought so but turns out I was confused by red coralline on my rocks! - so somehow I've managed to beat the odds.

I'm sure my time is coming soon though...

So a few new photos to tease:
My blue anthelia
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The bleached acan colony I rescued
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Elegance
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Galaxy with flash
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Galaxy without flash
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Leftside
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Middle
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Keep in mind I only have a point and click cheapo camera:

Top Right
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The Peak!
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Top Middle
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Torch and Frogspawn
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Torch
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Looks good.

It might still have a white balance (that's getting common even for a point and shoot). Some even have an aquarium scene mode. Your camera might be better than you think; just a thought.

Thanks SeaBass but sadly there is no aquarium scene mode on my camera, only a beach scene The white balance it might have but how would that help? I took these photos in the dark with my aquarium lights on, it is better to photograph with the room lights on?

The pictures won't be bluish if you adjust the white balance (point it at something white in your tank, like a pvc pipe).

Room lights tend to give off reflections.

I could point it at my sand, but otherwise I have no white in my tank. At the moment, my tank IS my sump so I have no plumbing in my tank...

You could temporarily put a something white in it like a PVC pipe (or fitting), or just use the sand (which isn't true white). Using the sand as a measure of white would clear up the shots, but the colors would still be off a bit. Take some pics and see how you like them. Good luck.

A New Tank Tour... Still figuring out the camera....
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Camaflauged Blenny:
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Can we spot the blenny?! hahaha

Tonight is the night.

Packed by the door is a bunch of Caribsea Aragonite Fine Sand (left from my 120g tank) as well as about 30 lbs of crushed coral.

The 15 gallon tank and lid.

All of my LR rubble that I've been collecting.

My maxijet powerhead.

And my test kits for ammonia and nitrite.

The frag tank will start to be set up tomorrow!!!!! (Ofcourse more pictures will follow )

So I don't have pictures of the 15 gallon to offer as of yet.

I do however have updated photos of my good old 120gallon (Taken December 10th)
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Lovin the LPS. Reminds me that I need to get a torch

Thanks buddy, I hum-ed and ha-ed when I saw it in the LFS because it was $40 for it and at the time it was a fresh cut frag. It wasn't open at all so I definitely took my chances, but it seems to have paid off. It now has 3 heads and keeps growing!

It also loves the flow from my MP40's - big shout out to socaltropicalfish.com for hooking me up with them!

Ok so I've had this tank for a year now. Who would've thought?!

So far I've managed to avoid a lot of the standard mistakes (except for having a canister filter with LR rubble in it).

Here's what I've learned in a year:

1) It's always good to have a fan for your fixture, or blowing over your water - there might be some evaporation, but the heat from any fixture would cause evaporation anyways so I think it's a wash

2) NEVER SAY "I HAVE TO DO THAT TOMORROW". If it's something you HAVE to do, then it must be done as soon as you notice it.

3) Test water parameters frequently, this is super important especially if you are dosing... don't wait until things start to look questionable before trying to do something about it.

4) Don't set up a "Frag tank" with the expectation that you will be selling what is in there... you wont.... you'll want to keep it all and end up with just a second smaller tank you love equally as much!

5) Always have RODI water premade... ALWAYS

6) It will always take you longer to do something than you think it will. (Oh I will have this water change done in 20 mins... but then you decide to defrost some food to feed.... and while thats defrosting you want to adjust one little rock, and once you've done that you notice you should clean out your powerheads....while you do that you notice....)

7) Be preparred for the worst, or to put it nicely, be proactive, not reactive. I keep Prime water conditioner on hand in the event that I needed a massive water change immediately that my premade water storage and RODI unit wouldn't be able to handle. I keep Furan 2 on hand incase when I need it the fish store is closed, or won't have it in stock. I keep a back up powerhead on hand incase one decides its going on strike - flow is super important to avoid algae issues.

8) Be preparred for your friends to want to set up a tank. Do not let them until they have asked you an exhaustive amount of questions and have researched for AT LEAST a whole month for 2-3 hours a day. And on this note, never go to the LFS and buy something you hadn't planned on - if you can't identify it. This is super important because coral really only has 3 requirements: Light - low, med, high. Flow - low, med, high, and feeding/space - different corals "open" at different times of the day/night. (if you suspect a coral is stinging a neighbour but have found no evidence, stalk your tank at night... you will see your answer).

9) Join local fish clubs, these are a great resource for knowledge of local LFS as well as great places to trade frags and gain access to knowledgeable speakers. Shout outs to WGMS (West GTA Marine Society!) If you have an emergency with your tank, or if you go on vacation, you now have access to local help. (All reefers are willing to help other reefers)

10) Pay Now, or Pay More Later. You will never be happy with what you have. You can start out inexpensive (but don't be cheap or you will run into problems very early on) but you will always want something better. You will save more money if you just buy the "upgrade" version of what you want in the start, rather than buying middle of the road, and then upgrading (trust me, everybody always wants to upgrade) and then having to sell the older used model. So if you're thinking about a 20gallon vs. a 40 gallon, go 40! If you're thinking about the koralia vs. the mp20's go MP20's! If you think you want t5's but PC's are cheaper, go T5's.

Ok. That's it for this years worth of learning.

Here's hoping someone gets something out of this.

So if you stuck it out this long, here are your rewards:

The Acan colony of 8 heads that I rescued from the LFS for $25....
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The Full Shots of my tank (yes I know, my camera blows, but I tried the different brightness/white adjustments)
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My pagoda that has doubled in size!
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Then the "Frag Tank" (set up at my boyfriends place:
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Lastly the love hate relationship between my recently awakened torch and clown fish:
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Your 10 point thesis should be made a sticky! And lovely tank too! Pictures are a bit blue for my taste, but I enjoy them nevertheless.

Looking good Sara.