Fishgirl2393 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Would it be OK to use what little good live rock I have and get rid of the bad? Would it be OK to use base rock (I'm not sure if they have any or not but if they do would it be OK?)? Link to comment
CH2iS Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 OK, so I just called my awesome LFS and they don't have much live rock right now (most of it got sold yesterday) so I'm going to wait on LR until they get some more. Would it be OK for me to move my corals to a 10-gallon setup, remove the bad live rock and keep what good live rock I have and add more when they get some? I'm also going to get a new light hopefully (a 4x24watt T5HO fixture) so that will be better. yes to 10 gallon, yes provided its actual live rock and not the granite *or whatever it is* stuff your using for LR now. Would it be OK to use what little good live rock I have and get rid of the bad? Would it be OK to use base rock (I'm not sure if they have any or not but if they do would it be OK?)? yes, by base rock you mean dry rock? your LFS if a good one should have dry rock along with live rock available. if not then go to another one. he/she shouldnt be the only one in town .. bulkreefsupply sells "reef saver" dry rock that looks amazingly easy to aquascape with. LINK: Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Thanks. I got dry rock from my LFS (which ARE the only one in town but VERY good and like to spend time with each customer and make sure you know what you need to do.) and removed the bad stuff and added the base/dry rock and my good live rock. They usually have live rock in the store (and good live rock) but someone came in and got ALL of it (except a few pieces of really branch like live rock). I ended up stirring up a fair amount of gunk in the tank and removed about 10 gallons (more than half because the tank only had about 13-14 gallons) and replaced it. Still REALLY murky though. I guess it will clear up soon though. I think the stuff I stirred up had been sitting under the rock pile in the tank. Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 There is still a lot of detritus in the tank and when I blow the substrate/rock it is still pretty bad. Should I just keep blowing it off and let it get sucked up or what? Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 The tank looks MUCH better with new rock (I'll get a picture once everything is cleared) and I really like my new scape (more open and way cooler in my opinion)! Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 OK, so corals were added back last night and things look better today. The kenya tree is still not happy but the other stuff looks better. Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Kenya tree, frogspawn, mushrooms, and xenia are ALL happy now and the six-line wrasse and hermit crabs are too! Tank looks much better but I'm getting some browish cyano from stirring up detritus (I guess it is that) that I'm having to let run it's course. :/ Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 Still getting cyano pretty bad but it seems as though it is less than it was. Just got some Kent Marine Croma-Plex to feed the corals with and added it for the first time tonight. Will see if it helps the corals grow faster/look better. Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Tank looks much better now and much less cyano (very little now). I have not added any chemicals to the tank (just have done water changes, and used a protein skimmer) and I have to say it is GREAT to not have to do things like that! I'm feeding the corals 3 times a week with the CromaPlex and they seem brighter/happier. Six-line wrasse is still doing well too! New rock makes the tank so much healthier and looks better now too! Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 I'm about to get new lights for the tank (4x24watt T5HO) and want to know how to acclimate the corals to the new lights. I currently have an Odyssea T5HO (4x18watt) light on the tank but there are only 3 bulbs in it. Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 27, 2012 Author Share Posted April 27, 2012 I just got (for free I might add) a ocellaris clownfish and a peppermint shrimp from my LFS. The reason I got them for free was because a customer is moving and didn't want to take the fish with him (didn't want to "stress them out") and the store didn't want to have to put them in their system because they try really hard to keep it not crowded and they had a fair amount of fish in it. I'm waiting a few days to put them in my main tank (they're in quarantine right now) because of disease risk. Can someone tell me how to acclimate the corals to the new light fixture that I'm getting (a 4x24 watt T5HO Odyssea fixture). My fixture right now is a 72watt (but I only have 54watts on right now because I have one bulb that broke) T5HO Odyssea fixture. Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 Added the clown and peppermint shrimp today and all seems to be good. Ordering new light fixture tomorrow. I still need advice on acclimating the corals to the new fixture since I don't want to shock them. Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 There's a bunch of ways you can do it. You can use layers of mesh sheets and take 1 sheet off a day until there is no more, or you can just leave the new lights on for a little less time and gradually increase until you're at tour normal listing schedule. You MIT not even need to photo acclimate, my corals didn't stress at all when I switched lighting fixtures. So good luck. (I'd go with the mesh sheets if you're that. Worried about it, just layer 10-15 sheets on top of the aquarium in between the tank and the light, and take a sheet off each day) Have fun:) Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 New light came in on Friday and I installed it over the tank. New lights are a LOT brighter. I Decided to go with cutting the time the fixture is on by a few hours and will gradually add time back. The corals look good (not stressed or anything). I need to do a bit of maintenance on the tank soon but have been kinda busy (will find time soon). The clownfish is doing well and I assume the peppermint shrimp is too since it is quite big so I don't think my wrasse has eaten it but I haven't seen it a whole lot (it went and hid in the rocks in the tank where I assume it is still hiding). Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 Well, I may have to add more flow to the tank (watching it very closely) because I've had cyano (or at least, I think it is cyano) growing ON THE SURFACE of my water at the top! It's also growing on the substrate, and glass (to a very small extent) and my nutrients are low (I'm running a phosphate remover and run a skimmer and do water changes weekly) so it has GOT to be flow. I have my lights on for about 8 hours is all. Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 Still thinking I need to add flow (may try to do so in a day or two) to the tank. I did some maintenance on the tank tonight (removed algae, scrubbed the glass, cleaned the filters, etc) since I feel it disrupts the corals/fish/inverts less if done at night (with the moonlights on). I'll probably do a water change tomorrow night. Oh, and I have a VERY mean/territorial clownfish (bites at my hand when I move my hand into his/her territory) but I still love the little guy (it's the same one I added a while back but he/she has gotten territorial now)! Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Added a Koralia 425 pump to the tank and wow! I really did need more flow because things are moving much more now! Very happy with it so far (the 10 minutes I've had it on the tank!)! Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I think the issues were just due to the fact that several of your water quality parameters were out of whack for some reason but I guess you have adjusted them by now and things should be back under control. Are they? If not you may want to repost your test result levels Since i may be replying to an older message you may have everything back under control ... Albert Thanks JoelRHale! I'll get the pics thing taken care of soon.Anyone have any ideas as to what is likely causing my candy-cane coral to do poorly? I had my water tested fully and the results are below. I had run a few tests on my own but I had my LFS (they are an absolutely great LFS and know what they are doing) do a FULL water test about a week ago. The results were... Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate 1ppm (it was barely showing up on the chart but was there) Calcium: 500ppm (I use Oceanic salt) pH: was 7.8 but now is 8.2 (as of yesterday) a week later because I've been adding the Superbuffer dHK Total hardness/carbonate hardness: Was 3 degrees of hardness a week ago but is higher now (I'll find out exactly how much higher when I get my water tested today) Phosphates are low to non-existent. Now, I am thinking (and so was the LFS) that the hardness of the water is the reason my candy-cane coral was receding. Is that likely the case? Also, how long should I expect to wait before seeing it start to recover? It went from being nice and inflated over the skeleton to showing the spiky "crown" of the coral around the polyp (like the polyp shrunk). It seems to be stable now (not getting worse) but it is not better either. Any suggestions? Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Good for you ... and yes often lots of water flow solves a lot of problems but IME the flow should not be directed at the corals directly but should be a rapid and strong flow through the tank in general if explaining it that way makes sense ... Glad to read things are doing better ... Albert Added a Koralia 425 pump to the tank and wow! I really did need more flow because things are moving much more now! Very happy with it so far (the 10 minutes I've had it on the tank!)! Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Thanks. Yep, I've gotten most everything under control (still seeing a little bit of bad algae but it's getting better so it's just not going to go away overnight!). I added a phosphate remover (which likely solved a LOT of problems) and a skimmer and now, more flow (which is not directed at the corals but there is a strong flow in the tank just like you said!). The new lights helped the corals out and the new flow hopefully will too! Things are much better though... Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 The corals seem to like the extra flow in the tank from the powerhead. I have noticed a decreased amount of cyano in the tank and will be pruning the hateful caulerpa algae/hair algae today if possible. May also do a water change. Link to comment
21093r53 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 The corals seem to like the extra flow in the tank from the powerhead. I have noticed a decreased amount of cyano in the tank and will be pruning the hateful caulerpa algae/hair algae today if possible. May also do a water change. thats what happens when you add flow Link to comment
Fishgirl2393 Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 Still finding the BEST spot for the powerhead but I think I've about gotten it right. The corals seem happy and the tank is getting good flow throughout. I weeded out the caulerpa today but didn't get it all because my clownfish was attacking me (and it can bite HARD) but I got a fair amount of algae out. I'm still getting cyano, but it is not as bad as it was (and I think with the increased flow, it'll go away). I'll be doing a water change in the next few days. Link to comment
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