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Nemesis Pico 1.5 Gallon DIY - Tankcastrophy - sprung a leaker.


Sunstar

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Thanks. I just had the dremel out and cut a branch of fmy black sun coral in my 10 gallon. I was having issues feeding it due to its size. So smaller branch is in my nano. Hopefully it is not too cross with me that it won't take a little food tonight.

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So as for feeding, now that I added audrey the black sun. I will take out a bowl of water, and then turn off the filters. Make sure the water doesn't wick over the back of the refugium like it likes to do when it is above my tape line. (false rim) I will add some juice from the food and return in about 20 minutes. This usually convinces the sun coral that I am going to feed it and it starts to poke out some tentacles (Which sting me and make me itch like mad).

 

Once I get a few polys out and befin to feed by dropping food into teh awaiting maws, the other ones also say ohai! you hazza food! I can has? to which I reply by feeding the greedy little beggers. what hits the floor my cuc takes in with alacrtity. After about 10 or 15 minutes they all look hungry again I might carefully give them a second helping.

 

food is a mix of golden pearls, frozen cyclopeese, frozen brine shrimp, frozen shrimp chunks or scallops if I happen to be cooking sea food that day. I try to give them variety and seems do the black sun well. I drop in a pellet from time to time to the bigger nems or a bit of what I feed the sun coral to teh mini minis and candy cane. the juices from the food (after adding some fine stuff) will feed the gogorian once the filters are on and stuff gets stirred about.

 

Oh crud, the hermits knocked a coral over...

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Great looking pico!

 

Summer is still a LONG ways away unfortunately but a small fan will keep your tank cool, you will of course need a faster ATO, the AC might be better since you can enjoy the cooling too.

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*sigh*

 

Murder case one:

 

Victim:

Nassarius snail

Suspect:

blue legged hermit.

 

Suspect's statement: I couldn't resist a little escargot. Pretty shell for you. Can has more?

 

Sentance. A hefty sigh and a few shrimp pellets. They might be hungry.

 

Could it not have been a periwinkle? those cost me 30 cents for two and it could have worn the shell!

 

What can you do?

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just thought I would add that the little ATO I devised seems to be working well enough to keep the waterlevel stable. sometimes evap is more and less, but the waterlevel rarely needs manual top up. I top the bottle up and let itdo its thing.

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And yet another post but...

 

I added a frag of my 10 gallon's sun coral. it was peeking at me at feeding time.

 

Not sure I can get a pic of it with the sun coral out. I need to move my candy cane I think because I am pretty sure it's getting a sweeper strike from the chalice. Chalice has not done much but is starting to encrust.

 

IMG_7913.jpg

 

boy is she pretty:

IMG_7918.jpg

getting pinker by the day.

 

Edit:

IMG_7919.jpg

Brighter and black suncoral is perkier.

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Not sure how to describe it... but that instinct that something is not right rang loud today when I checked my nano after returning from teh market. Apparently I am in the middle of a crash, so please excuse me while I merrily panic and take care of things. chalice has some rtn not sure if I an reverse this, but several waterchanges and paramater checks (Not looking very wonderful)

 

I am on the case now.

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Have not done tests yet, but I checked the tank visually. Chalice's RTN appears to be holding. I am being optimistic but not unrealistic. I will be doing a waterchange in a couple hours. the water has had at least 12 hours to stir and come to the correct temperature. I am now out of my ready to go jug.

 

Just to remind everyone. If your instincts say "Something's not right" and you get that ugly feeling.... then something IS NOT right. Instincts are almost never wrong, doesn't hurt to check.

 

Paramaters then I got the ugly feeling. I forget the time exactly. They are embarassingly bad. Please don't rip me to shreds, I am bringing the paramaters down. Two factors went into their cause, I believe. One is the death of the Nassarius snail. Hermit was eating it. The second is missed food from feeding the sun coral. Could be both-likely the latter. Need to be more careful, yes I do.

 

Ammonia: 2

Nitrite: 1.6

Nitrate: 110

PH: 8.1

KH: 12dkh

Phos: 1

Calcium: 520

Magnesium: 1380

Salinity: 1.024

 

I could lower salinity I think. maybe to 1.023

 

Ammonia: 2 <--- OW needs to go down!

Nitrite: 0.8

Nitrate: 50

 

I have proceeded to do multiple water changes. I am doing about 1/4 to 1/3 WC each time, though my morning one that is coming up I intend to do at least 1/2. Carbon was freshened last night at first WC. I intend to have a go at my cheato in refugium, rinse it off and remove some--or maybe not. I did add a detoxifying dose of Prime too. .200ml is normal dose for the tank 1.00ml is the detox.

 

After that dose, the waterchanges and carbon my corals acted favourably. Chalice deteriorated some still but has currently held at what it was last night. I tossed in some clearmax. (I sometimes buy pouched media and use it by spoons in situations like this.) Although purigen would be nice... not sure where to buy it locally.

 

I feel I am on the right track.

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Still in the battle here, but corals were moved to my main display until such timeas my paramaters settle down. I haven't lost any coral until this moment, but my chalice did suffer damage to the underside.

 

Since I am sick of s lipper test tubes, I made myself a crappy little stand until I can devise a better more effective stand. (likely with egg crate if I can find some.)

 

Things are doing okay and I've been in contact with a local reefer for advice.

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I did see a cycle prior to this, things went to 0 in ammonia, nitrite and rougly 10 in nitrates. Then I had that snail die around the time I had introduced the sun coral. Think feeding waste (not having enough established critters to nom bits.) was combined frag up. Prior to the addition of the sun, I was not feeding anything aside of a peice of brine shrimp to my candy cane/nems and a part of a pellet to my two hermits.

 

I was going to ask you how did you manage to feed your sun in your pico. I did not fully consider the bioload that could add :/ I knew it would....

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Sunstar, I believe it is on page 8 of my thread. My sun coral is upside down hanging from the fixture into the tank, that way I'm able to slip a cup in there and then feed it.

See what is throwing your tank off balance, and try to balance it. I would believe it has to be more than just the food. Maybe a different maintenance schedule will keep the parameters in check.

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I think the main problem has been resolved. I just have to re-wait to go through the cycle again. lovely.

 

Anywhoooo Rundown enjoys looking either out my windows or into my tanks. Here he is looking into the nano.

 

IMG_8003.jpg

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Good news: the ammonia spike is just about at zero. everything else should soon follow. I am really glass this muff up did not cost me coral life. That I reacted quickly enough and listened carefully to the advice I got from my local fellow reefers.

 

I am considering an alternative way of attaching my branching black suncoral so I can try to feed it in the manner of pj86. Failing that, I might consider taking a smaller frag of the sun coral (I think I saw a small head or two I could cut off) and attaching it so I can have my black sunny goodness without the bio-load. I admit the sucker is a bit awkward at times. I love the Sun coral. I love everything about it.

 

I did find a bit of a remenent of a hermit crab moult behind the rock. I wonder if this contributed to the chaos as well.

 

My new Plans for maintanance is to do waterchange shortly after feeding time. that way I can try to get out any missed food that the sun dropped. I was doing a 10% waterchange every other day. I figure similar to what I am doing at this point, just not as robust a change. 12% WC daily should be about enough. The "waste" water can be cycled into my bucket of rock I am curing.

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well there's your problem - you have a pigeon infestation...

:lol:, how did you come by a city pigeon anyways?

glad your tank is back on track.

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I thank everyone who's been helpful and patient with me this week. Nitrites are almost at zero now.

 

How did I come by Rundown...(pigeon's name)

 

Well I had a pigeon for about 4 years his name was chase. I had retreived a hatchling off my balcony before it was closed off for construction work. the chick might have been killed if it were anyone else. but having a soft spot for life, I elected to feed and raise him. last summer during more construction work on our balcony (window replacement) I found a random egg laying in the middle of it. No nest, no nothing. it wasn't there 30 minutes prior. some poor hen just dropped the egg. I put it in a bowl and left it outside. after 3 days I took it in and showed it to chase. he was suddenly all interested and built a nest then proceeded to incubate the egg for full term. It blew my mind when it hatched. even more surprised when it grew up. I don't know why Chase died, but he took a 180 turn , last september, and died before I could get him to the vet. Rundown is his adopted son. Rundown often spends hours looking either out of the windows or in the tanks--or being a royal pain in the after burner.

 

OH I am getting LED's for this tank soon :3 my husband said yes <3

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OMG so cute!!! I see a baby mushroom in the nemesis

 

I was toothbrushing the rock and poking the surface substrate with the toothbrush and syphoning up crap when I caught a rock in the syphon. pulled it out and noticed this bitty mushroom, so tiny, so cute.

 

Paramaters look great.

 

Ammonia: 0

Nitrites: .25 And dropping

Nitrates: 10 - 15 and dropping.

 

I did a 3L waterchange and this evening I plan to sit down and run all my tests that I have tests for and see where I am at.

 

I re-introduced my zoa rock and plan to reintroduce my mushroom rock as well. Put mumma back to be with her baby <3

 

I probably could return the cuc to the tank if I can catch them.

 

My GSP are starting to extend once more and if I can find my superglue, I might try to glue the one back on the glass.

 

so WOOO it's returning to normal-what a week.

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woah that is a crazy story, I'm very surprised that 1. the egg didnt die when it was out in the cold for 3 days and 2. that your bird actually did that for a random egg o_o

miracle indeed.

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Any time a pico reef shows nitrite or ammonia it should be given a full water change, not a partial one.

 

In medicine when someones kidneys are failing, they don't filter 14% of the blood every once in a while, its life support. its total blood filtration, full water changes are good for your pico they do not harm.

 

 

 

If im not mistake there are many fanworm dots all over your glass which indicates great feeding

 

the tank looks sharp though

I have never seen a picture of a pigeon looking at a pico and for that I thank you plus the colors of your reef look amazing in this thread.

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no flatworms in the tank or there are very few, I remove them if I see them. the dots are the small spiral feather dusters. I've been permitting them to grow on the back glass. Flatworms were a problem in my 10 gallon after my "neglect" (a period of time in whcih my hub and I had an accident, my sister in law informed us she was coming with a kid for a month and the month of them staying. ) by the time the 3 months was up, the sad state of my 10 gallon was apparent. I worked hard daily to reduce flatworm population, then hit it with salifert flatworm exit about 4 weeks ago or so. So as for flatworms, I am on epic kill mode. (EDIT: OH FANWORMS....thought you said flatties)

 

As for the waterchange. I will keep that in mind. my Ammonia paramaters are now at zero and all others are following suit. I think i could give myself a pat on the back for actually catching it before I killed the chalice--and potentially everything else. Many valuable lessons were learned in pico keeping. ANother lesson learned is not ot be in panic mode, on a bike, in extremely slippery weather. I bruised my boobs so bad when I fell flat on my face(without the face plant thanks to natural airbags)

 

I had been on the phone to a local reefer for advice in regards to the pending crash. His advice was to get all livestock I could get out, out. A few things remained that were well attached to rocks. All those that were moveable went into my 10 gallon. I am moving a couple things out over the next while, but I am keeping a very close eye on it. I did a 50% change this morning, and if oyu insist, I can do a 100% change tomorrow.

 

I been checking for signs of decay, removing anything that could be rotting away. I found a hermit moult behind a rock, which I felt was contributing.

 

Rundown, the pigeon, Is very pleased he has been admired.

 

My husband has been finally convinced on the value of LED lighting, so I am hoping to get my DIY kit soon and get that going. He's not a handy man. He's good with bikes and computers, but give me the power tools and we start to sing. So the woman of the house wears the pants :P

 

edit:

woah that is a crazy story, I'm very surprised that 1. the egg didnt die when it was out in the cold for 3 days and 2. that your bird actually did that for a random egg o_o

miracle indeed.

 

An egg is more or less in a dormant state until incubated. Since it was not incubated it did not "germinate" for lack of a better term. Chase was prone to incubating computer mouse balls I had for him in the past. I was just surprised he would eagerly adopt the egg.

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