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Nic's CadLight 45 Gallon Shallow Reef - New Pictures!


Nic

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Unfortunately, the tank developed a wicked case of dinoflagellates. After a couple of weeks of battling them with a turkey baster only to watch each rock and coral slowly being overtaken by them, I finally took some drastic measures and it quickly paid off. The truly unfortunate part of all this is that I didn't do it soon enough for some of the inhabitants. The dinos won a couple of battles and, I am guessing via the toxins they release when agitated and removed by the turkey baster, killed off two of the three heads of my once beautiful torch coral. The torches died overnight and released all sorts of nastiness into the water which took out one of my Bartlett's Anthias.

 

After searching through the forums, I found a couple of posts from individuals who used Algae Fix Marine and saw great success against a case of suspected dinos. I went to the LFS and looked at the bottle of Algae Fix. It did not mention being effective against dinoflagellates but I took the chance anyway, purchased it and dosed the tank as instructed. Within a day, I could tell that the dinos were beginning to recede and within three days, they were completely gone. I paired this attack along with an increase in ph from 7.8 (dinos usually effect ph and cause it to lower significantly) to 8.3. The only residual issues I am experiencing now is a case of cyanobacteria which I have been fighting for months. I would much prefer the cyano to the dinos. The cyano is completely controllable with a turkey baster, or so I've found.

 

So this is my uninhibited endorsement of Algae Fix Marine for any case of dinos coupled with an increase in ph and magnesium, as well. Did the trick for me!

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Sorry to hear about the torch and anthia. Glad to hear that you are now on the road to a solution though. Now get going with that zeovit!! It will make a big difference. Were you able to frag and save the remaining head of the torch?

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The piece was originally a four headed torch and it was "accidentally" fragged into two, two headed frags when I knocked over the rock it was sitting on. As of right now, I haven't fragged it from the dead piece. It seems to be the only one that came out completely unscathed, however, I'll probably frag it this weekend and mount it somewhere prominently. As the only survivor, it deserves the attention.

 

I'm hoping to get the KZ 1.5L reactor from BRS in the next couple of weeks. The wife put a temporary hold on my spending after she saw the receipt for the MP40 haha I'm really looking forward to getting that crystal clear water and those beautiful colors!

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There just seems to be something lately that pushes us CAD owners in the direction of KZ.....its a beautiful thing.

 

The bill of an MP40 will definitely have that effect....lol!

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There just seems to be something lately that pushes us CAD owners in the direction of KZ.....its a beautiful thing.

 

The bill of an MP40 will definitely have that effect....lol!

I've never thought about that but you're right, it seems just about everyone on here with a CAD artisan tank is running it ZEO.

 

Yeah, she calls the tank her "new diamond ring." I guess she wanted a new ring or something...I dunno. haha

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So, since using the Algae Fix Marine, I've lost two fish, three heads to a four headed torch coral, a hammer coral, a birdsnest SPS. Though it did seem to get rid of the dinos, now I have a thick mat of cyano all over the tank. The funny thing is, all of these corals and a vast majority of the rock were used in my previous tank with absolutely no problems from day one. I added a huge piece of dry rock from the LFS when I set this tank up and I have had endless problems with algae. I'm almost certain that rock is leaching phosphate all into the tank. I don't have a phosphate test kit as I have never had a problem with it before. I'm planning to remove the rocks today, only problem being a have a small Maxima clam attached to it as well as a small Squamosa clam attached to it. Should I just chip around them with a screwdriver and hammer?

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So I removed the two huge pieces of dry rock I suspected were leaching massive amounts of phosphate into the water. The hair algae and cyano are going crazy at this point and I am continuing to have corals and fish die. Can phosphates kill corals? If I remove the source of the phosphates, will the algae clear up in the bearish future?

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Have you tested the phosphates? That would be my first step. A lot of new tanks go through a cyano stage. I wouldn't say the phosphates were killing the coral or fish. Cyano can definitely kill corals. People have also had tank crashes when fighting a big cyano battle. It releases something into the water. I would remove each rock individually and scrub it in tank water. Add it back once you get the bulk of cyano and HA off. Same thing with the sandbed. Vac a little bit at a time. Good luck!

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Have you tested the phosphates? That would be my first step. A lot of new tanks go through a cyano stage. I wouldn't say the phosphates were killing the coral or fish. Cyano can definitely kill corals. People have also had tank crashes when fighting a big cyano battle. It releases something into the water. I would remove each rock individually and scrub it in tank water. Add it back once you get the bulk of cyano and HA off. Same thing with the sandbed. Vac a little bit at a time. Good luck!

 

I'm grabbing a phosphate test kit on Friday as well as ordering a 45 gallon CUC from Reef Cleaners. I managed to pry the clams off the new rock and place them on my live rock. Took the big pieces of new dry rock out of the tank, did a thorough vacuum of detritus in both the tank and the sump. Woke up this morning to a tank that was 100% cyano free. The hair algae went from a lovely shade of green to a brownish, greyish color and very straggly looking. Clams were open wider than I've seen them open in the past several weeks. I'm crossing my fingers that I may have hit the nail on the head as far as the dry rock being the culprit, however, I don't want to say I've solved it conclusively until I get home from work. Typically, I wake up to a substantial amount of cyano on the rocks and clinging to the corals but its when I return home from a complete workday that I see the literal "mat" of cyano all over everything. If it looks relatively clear this afternoon then I'll declare the dry rock the source of the problem. Here's to hoping.

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Great tank. I will be following :)

 

I appreciate it. Were you in the Corps?

 

 

Good luck Nic....fingers crossed and hoping for no cyano when you get home!!

 

I hope so too! Everything looked great this morning. I was surprised by my wife even getting upset at the loss of so many fish and corals. She took a particular interest in the Yellow Tang, who she named "John Lemon." Everything looked the best it has in weeks this morning so hopefully its the same this evening.

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I'm glad to hear the cyano's died down thus far, my guess would have been that new chunk o' dry rock... hoping you get home to no CB mats ::fingers crossed:: but I'm very sorry to hear about your losses! Other than the slew of micro-pests, your setup looks great! :) will be following.

 

EDIT: Also, IIRC, silicates can aid dino blooms (in addition to diatomaceous ones). Silicates are readily found in many construction materials (like concrete and mortars) and, to that point, I've seen a strong correlation between new tanks w/ dry/base rock and dino outbreaks. It might be worth noting that a lot of diatom blooms are mis-ID'd as dino blooms.

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Leatherneck3755

Yes sir. 2001-2005. Spent some time in North Carolina. Closest to Virgina I ever came. Besides vacations. But mostly stationed in 29 Palms and Pendleton. Came from SoCal and stayed in SoCal.

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Other than the slew of micro-pests, your setup looks great! :) will be following.

 

I appreciate the compliment!

 

So my wife just called to let me know that other than a couple of patches of cyano here and there, there is almost none of it left. Still got a lot of hair algae but the absence of the dry rock has taken away whatever the cyano was using for food. The plan is to give it a little bit of time to make sure everything's good and stable; during that time I'm going to add the 45 gallon CUC since my fellas from the 14 gallon seem to be slacking. Also hoping to get the KZ Reactor and the starter kit of blue bottles. Hopefully I can do all of this within two to three weeks and THEN I'll start considering coral and fish additions. This little dino-cyano mishap was an expensive lesson. <_<

 

I'll try to get up some half decent pics this evening. iPhone, don't fail me now!

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Yes sir. 2001-2005. Spent some time in North Carolina. Closest to Virgina I ever came. Besides vacations. But mostly stationed in 29 Palms and Pendleton. Came from SoCal and stayed in SoCal.

 

Glad to see there is a small community of veterans on NR. I noticed ReefCentral had their own "Veterans Board" which seemed a bit overboard but sure enough, there was an active community of posters on there.

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Sounds like great news! IMO a quick blast of H2O2 in a turkey baster or syringe targeted at your hair algae tufts should resolve the issue quickly ;) but I like the 'give it a little bit of time to make sure everything's good and stable' technique. BTW, thank you (and Leatherneck3755) for your commitment to our freedoms. My brother's a devil dog, and I fully respect what you guys do for our country!

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HAHA Thats the best name ever!

 

She's a special one.

 

Sounds like great news! IMO a quick blast of H2O2 in a turkey baster or syringe targeted at your hair algae tufts should resolve the issue quickly ;) but I like the 'give it a little bit of time to make sure everything's good and stable' technique. BTW, thank you (and Leatherneck3755) for your commitment to our freedoms. My brother's a devil dog, and I fully respect what you guys do for our country!

 

I certainly appreciate it. Is Apex, NC in the Raleigh-Durham area? I might take a little H2O2 to the hair algae but I'll give it a few more days since I've already got Algae Fix Marine in the system. Maybe I won't have to? If I do, what is the standard solution? 1 part H2O2 to 3 parts water?

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Yes, Apex is essentially between Raleigh and Durham... but good call, I'd wait. I forgot that you had dosed the algae fix.

 

But to answer your question, I personally like to use pure (3% OTC) peroxide for targeting GHA (in-tank) but I've also done 1:1 (H202:DI) dips for frags and small pieces of liverock that may have algae (even kills bubble algae well). If you target blast the pure, un-diluted, H202 into your system I would try to keep it under 5mL per 10 gallons of system volume, or you may start stressing things out...

 

One last thing: I personally have not used this technique on any stony corals... only softies.

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I used to live in Danville, VA an hour or so north of Raleigh. Had a teacher that lived in Apex and drove up everyday for school. My dad went to Chapel Hill so I'm pretty familiar with the area. Yeah, I came back and did another dose of Algae Fix Marine. My wife was right, just a few remnants of cyano, nothing major but I was wrong regarding the hair algae. It was covered in dead cyano, which gave it a brown hue. Once I hit it with the turkey baster it went back to its familiar bright green. Hoping this algae fix does a number on it. It does seem to be a little thinner than earlier in the week. If not, I'll hit it with the H2O2.

 

Work was crazy today, so I didn't get back in time before the lights went out and I'm not about to give the cyano and HA any extra light for pictures. I'll try to get some posted up tomorrow. The Golden Maxima and Crocea Clam looked the best they have in weeks, along with just about everything else in the tank. Funny thing is, it looks like just about all the LPS had a tough time with whatever the dinos and cyano were releasing into the tank but my two frags of Acropora Tort as well as my two frags of Acropora Staghorns look as good as ever. Conversely, my encrusting monti has gone from a deep orange to a near opaque white. Craziness.

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Got a bit of a photo dump here. I wish I had the resources available for a better camera but the ole iPhone 5c will have to do for now. I'm using an excellent app that let's you actively control the exposure as well as edit the photos afterwards and it seems to help quite a bit. For anyone interested it's called Camera+ in the App Store.

 

FTS - Left Side Angle Shot

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FTS

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Premium Picasso Clownfish and Premium Black Ice Clownfish "Squirt" and "Mrs. Bubbles"

image_zps8c691b7f.jpg

 

African Lyretail Anthias (Only one of the 5 Anthias to survive the crash)

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Golden Maxima Clam (Approximately 2")

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Crocea Clam (Approximately 2")

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Overhead Shot - Left Side (Acropra Tortuosa "Oregon Tort," Green Acropora sp., Crocea Clam, Maxima Clam, Misc. Zoas, Encrusting Montipora, Montipoa Capricornus, Feather Duster, Rock Flower Anemone, Hammer Coral)

image_zps24710664.jpg

 

Left Side (Acropra Tortuosa "Oregon Tort," Green Acropora sp., Crocea Clam, Maxima Clam, Misc. Zoas, Encrusting Montipora, Montipoa Capricornus, Feather Duster, Rock Flower Anemone, Hammer Coral)

image_zps43fd5bad.jpg

 

Whole Tank

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Cyano has improved to the point that it's almost nonexistent. Though it's hard to see, the Green Hair Algae is out of control. Everything has improved from its previous state but there was a huge list of casualties from the crash:

 

4 Female African Lyretail Anthias

Yellow Tang

Yellow Watchman Goby (Jumped)

Birdsnest

Strawberry Shortcake Acropora

3/4 heads of a beautiful Torch Coral

Hammer Coral

An unknown encrusting LPS

Most of my Galaxea Coral

Rose Bubble Tipped Anemone

 

What Remains:

 

2 x Clownfish

Dwarf Pygmy Angelfish (Piggy)

African Lyretail Anthias

2 x Acropora Tortuosa (Oregon Tort Frags)

2 x Acropora sp. (Green)

A beautiful Hammer Coral

3 x Acan frags

Misc. Zoanthids

Misc. Palythoa

Tridacna Crocea Clam

Tridacna Maxima Clam

Montipora Capricornus

Encrusting Montipora (Almost completely bleached)

Maxi Mini Carpet Anemone

2 x Rock Flower Anemone

Green Star Polyps

Feather Duster Worm

Galaxea Coral (Slowly dying)

Misc. LPS Coral

 

I am planning to hit up Reef Raft, Unique Corals, and Live Aquaria for some really nice SPS colonies (Live Aquaria) and frags (RR and UC) several new Anthias, and a Dwarf Golden Angelfish in the next few weeks, once everything has settled down, stabilized, and I'm through with the hair algae). I first plan to purchase a KZ ZEOvit Reactor, some blue bottles, a doser (Pacific Sun 5th Kore), a more powerful light for the fuge, begin work on the new 36" x 36" stand, and a couple of reactors for GFO and bio pellets,etc. I also want to pick up either a BlueFish Controller for use as a complete aquarium controller system (Once they add on the new modules and probes) or an Apex controller but that can happen later.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the Haddon's Carpet Anemone or Mertensii Carpet Anemone? Since I have a ton of space open now, I've been considering one in the future for my clowns. They've shown absolutely no interest in a RBTA over the past 8 months.

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Just a heads up, so you don't blow cash on stuff that's not needed. When you run zeovit, you don't use gfo, bio pellets, or anything else. You run the reactor with the zeostones, a good skimmer, and carbon passively. If you were to run zeovit, bio pellets, gfo, and carbon dose, you would have a ton of problems...lol...zeovit is a filtration system to achieve low nutrients. No other stuff needed.

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