Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 That makes no sense though I have had the tank running for 3 months at least and have been adding pellets dose ammonia. Also the CUC had been in the tank for a month or more and they have been doing fine. I expected there could be an ammonia spike from adding fish if the bacteria wasn't up to handling that kind of load yet. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 That makes no sense though I have had the tank running for 3 months at least and have been adding pellets dose ammonia. Also the CUC had been in the tank for a month or more and they have been doing fine. I expected there could be an ammonia spike from adding fish if the bacteria wasn't up to handling that kind of load yet. Now I'm confused. Didn't you just set this tank up 5 days ago? This is the Spec V we're talking about right? Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Yes but all the contents including live rock was transferred from a 5.5g aga that had been cycling all summer so when I moved the tank to school I just put everything in the new tank. Water, sand and rock. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Yes but all the contents including live rock was transferred from a 5.5g aga that had been cycling all summer so when I moved the tank to school I just put everything in the new tank. Water, sand and rock. There is a possibility you had some die off on the rock during the move and the tank needed to do a mini cycle. Those test results sure look like cycle to me. If the fish start acting at all strange be ready to move them... Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Share Posted August 24, 2015 Alright thanks for all the help I will continue to check water quality and monitor fish its on my desk so I can easily keep an eye on things Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Quick question for everyone. My clown has been staying mostly in the left end of my tank opposite the return. I have seen him swim out into the open water a few times but never really passing the mid point in the tank. I read all over this is very normal behavior but today when feeding I cut the return pump, and almost instantly he swims clear across the tank. While the pump was off he swam out in the open much more then I have ever seen before. So is there anyway I could have to much flow, or it be aimed poorly? I'm using a hydor pico and its rated at 100gph which doesn't seem like a lot at all but I figured I'd ask anyway. Thanks everyone Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Quick question for everyone. My clown has been staying mostly in the left end of my tank opposite the return. I have seen him swim out into the open water a few times but never really passing the mid point in the tank. I read all over this is very normal behavior but today when feeding I cut the return pump, and almost instantly he swims clear across the tank. While the pump was off he swam out in the open much more then I have ever seen before. So is there anyway I could have to much flow, or it be aimed poorly? I'm using a hydor pico and its rated at 100gph which doesn't seem like a lot at all but I figured I'd ask anyway. Thanks everyone It might just be that he needs to build up the swim strength. When I first transferred my citron goby to a bigger tank with more folow he struggled for a few days. Now he swims all over the thing like a champ. In your case, he might just be trying to stay away from the ammonia shower blasting out of your return though... Link to comment
Varano14 Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Well its seems he choose today to settle in. I came back from class to find him swimming all over ammonia blasting or not. Hopefully in the next day or two he will start eating. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Today I retirnes from class to find my clown dead. I tested the water right away and found ammonia to be pretty high probably around .75 ppm. Two day ago I added a skunk cleaner that was going to e flushed if I didn't take it as the person was moving. Before adding the ammonia level held steady at zero or very nearly zero. My non colorblind roommate said the bails color was maybe one Sade darker then the zero indicator but definitly way more yellow then green. So could the cleaner have caused that big of a spike in less then 48 hours or could it have been from the clown potentially being dead most of the day as I have been gone since 7am. Either way I will be performing a large water change to get levels down. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Hi everyone thought I would post a quick update. Since the death of the clown things seem to have been going fine, I have been testing water almost daily as well as changing water often to make sure ammonia doesn't spike too high. Both the cleaner shrimp and the scooter blenny have been acting very normal and both eat vigorously at feeding time. So I am hoping this is a sign that they are doing fine. Yesterday the cleaner molted for the first time which I found to be very fascinating. I knew obviously that they did this, but it was still a surprise to see the shell sitting on the rock. Since the last time I posted I have also added a hidor pico mag powerhead (180gph) to the opposite side of the tank to keep things stirred up a bit better. My first impressions of it are very positive, it is easily adjusted and also so far runs dead silent. I am posting a picture of the water test from today to get your opinions, as I still have a hard time telling what color the solution actually is. Looking at it in person it appears that it may be reading a small amount of ammonia but the other two seem fine. But looking at the picture the ammonia looks more green then it does to me. However, being color blind I have come to always assume I am wrong. Also a full tank shot where you can see the hydor in action, I am still messing with the strength and where to aim it. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 So exciting news I have payed for my first pieces of coral. MrReefers sale on the nano frags included two I really liked, so I bought small frags of both Pulsing Xenia and GSP. Now I know these will grow fast, but that is fine. I probably won't add a ton more corals since the college budget is, as always a bit tight. The picture below shows where I intend to place them, I think these are alright placements, but comments are always welcome. Also should I place the GSP on the sand bed initially to acclimated it to my light? Finally they won't be arriving untill later next week as I wanted to give alittle extra time to unsure my parameters are good, but I think now with the reduced bioload as well as more careful feeding I am in good shape. Link to comment
charnelhouse Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 That last test you posted looks like you still have an ammonia problem. You might want to get a second test, Salifert Ammonia or something, to see if it corroborates your API test. It will give you a more precise result also, as the Salifert tests tend to be better. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 I have been thinking about doing that since I feel if I really had an ammonia issue for this long everything would be dead but they look/behave and eat totally fine. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 So today while on my way home form grocery shopping I decided to take a swing through Petco to check out the saltwater section as I often do. I was looking at the corals and chatting with the shop keeper and noticed they had a section of assorted zoas for $5.99 so I decided what the heck might as well give one a go since I will be getting more corals next week. After acclimating I put them in and set the lights to coral acclimation and with in minutes they started to open up. They are currently half way open I would say, less then a half hour after putting them in. I am taking this as a sign my water is in okay shape. Once they open all the way I will try to snap a decent picture and maybe someone could ID them. Also there is a small cave under the actual zoas and I definitely saw something moving under there so I may have some sort of hitch hiker. More updates to follow! Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 All opened up! Probably not one of the designers ones like most of you guys but none the less it looks a lot more neon under my lights then it did in the store. Also this was one of the clearest photos I have been able to take so far, maybe there is still hope with an iphone camera Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Quick update yesterday I decided to return the scooter, I noticed he seemed to be getting thinner despite always eating a good amount when I fed him mysis. Definitely a neat fish and one I will consider getting again when I have a bigger more established tank. In other news the zoa frag hasn't really opened since the first day. I was alittle puzzled as initially it opened fully and stayed that way until the lights went off. Yesterday, however it only opened about half way. So I guess I'll just keep an eye on it. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 So since the first day the zoa has refused to open at all. I am not sure what might be the cause, I have a feeling it is either my water quality, or poor placement. So today I tested everything and I will post everything below and your opinions would be great. In the pictures the ph looks lighter then it does in person, I'm not sure if this could be because I had a light shining on it to try and make it easier to see. In person it looked like 8.2 but in the picture it looks, to me atleast it looks like it is less then 8 which would from my understanding be low. I also did the test for dKH which was 11 and tested calcium which was between 400-425. From what I have read this is with in the acceptable range. Any thoughts on what might be pissing the zoas of and what I should do about it would be great. If it is because of ammonia, all the fish are gone and it is only the skunk cleaner so the tank should be able to handle that bio-load. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 So since the first day the zoa has refused to open at all. I am not sure what might be the cause, I have a feeling it is either my water quality, or poor placement. So today I tested everything and I will post everything below and your opinions would be great. In the pictures the ph looks lighter then it does in person, I'm not sure if this could be because I had a light shining on it to try and make it easier to see. In person it looked like 8.2 but in the picture it looks, to me atleast it looks like it is less then 8 which would from my understanding be low. I also did the test for dKH which was 11 and tested calcium which was between 400-425. From what I have read this is with in the acceptable range. Any thoughts on what might be pissing the zoas of and what I should do about it would be great. If it is because of ammonia, all the fish are gone and it is only the skunk cleaner so the tank should be able to handle that bio-load. Im assuming you DIDNT dip the zoas before adding them to the tank? You really should, to avoid introducing pests into the tank. Especially from Petco! Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Yah I didn't which I now realize was a rookie mistake I have been reading up for future additions. Have I completely screwed myself? Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Yah I didn't which I now realize was a rookie mistake I have been reading up for future additions. Have I completely screwed myself? You might be fine. But I don't like the look of the algae holding onto bubbles. Got a closer picture? You should take a few and put it in the ident thread.... Its NOT diatoms. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Alright I will, the algea/ bubbles has been there for awhile. could this be causing the coral to remain closed? Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Alright I will, the algea/ bubbles has been there for awhile. could this be causing the coral to remain closed? Depending on the algae, yes. Might want to do a preventative dip using bayer or CoralRX anyway if theres a pest Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Alright I will order some coralRX today since I have seen other mentions of that. Anything I should do until it arrives? Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Alright I will order some coralRX today since I have seen other mentions of that. Anything I should do until it arrives? Get some close-ups of the algae and post them. Do a nice clean of the tank? Scrub rocks with a toothbrush and mix up the sand, then a water change. Link to comment
Varano14 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Alright I will get on that thanks for the speedy advice. Link to comment
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