aaron1987 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 Well the move is (mostly) complete! Sorry for the lack of updates but life has kept me busy. The move utterly destroyed my perfectly assembled aquascape and I'm too busy with work to do much else with it. I'll be buying a ton of epoxy and going to town on it over the next couple evenings, but due to the need to keep the rock wet, it will be hurried. Not quite sure what I'm going to end up with but I'm shooting for something similar to what I had before. I've continued to push back my order so now the ETA is Friday. Vivid has been nothing but understanding and they get a huge thumbs up for customer support! and Patrick -- this the 7th tank move for this aquarium! I've got it down to a science but man do I hate it! It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the #@$^) aquascape. It's a nightmare in columns! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 First off, apologies for sucking at updates. Work has been hell and I've had some medical fun here lately as well... good times. Anyway, I've got good news to report! I have fish and coral in the tank! I'll give a spoiler for the Vivid order and will reserve the ton of coral I just got back from the LFS with for the next update with pictures (out of town or I'd have some with this update - I know, I know, worthless without pics). My order from Vivid arrived in excellent shape as always. I picked up a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse, BSJ, Yellow Candy Hogfish, and an absolutely gorgeous large head of Dendrophyllia. All have acclimated marvelously and are eating like pigs! This evening I swung by a (relatively) new store in the North Iowa area - Anemone's Clowns & Corals. I must say I was nothing but impressed made sure to throw a little business their way. By which I mean I was almost struggling to carry the styro out the door it weighs so much! Their whole operation is hobbyists and they've got a pretty nice selection with some oddballs. One regret, an incredible blasto that they insisted was not for sale... this is the closest I can come to an equivalent example: The good news is I was promised a frag from the first cutting. I told them to be sure to feed it daily. The bad news... I'm not sure I want to know how much I'll be paying for my head when they finally cut it up Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 Thanks metrokat! Quickly on its way to being better than before Took some time to do a full parameter check as I was acclimating my new corals just to make sure there were no surprises (livin' on the edge... I know). As expected, Seachem Reef Salt delivers. Alk: 7.7 Ca: 430 Mg: 1350 Ph: 8.1 Temp: 78.5 Everything is done with its acclimation and after a 10 minute dip, into the tank! I've got pretty good PE within the half hour of finishing up but I'll give everything a little while to settle in before I start snapping pics! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted October 20, 2011 Author Share Posted October 20, 2011 damn. No fooling. I had to have them identify it for me because i was certain it was some strange acan or something . I had no idea blastos could look like that. I should've offered them $500 on the spot for it but with as young as my tank is I wasn't sure if I could keep it alive. Still, a cutting or two and I could have made up my initial investment I'm sure! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Took a break from work today and snapped a couple pictures.. and they are SWEET if I do say so myself. But I don't know when I'll have time to upload them. Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 The reboot is struggling. Lost the BSJF this week out the blue, a reminder that they're delicate shippers. The McCosker's Flasher has ich as well. Tut tut, shame on me for not QT'ing. Vexing, though. With as common as it is I guess it's a small miracle that as long as I've been in this hobby this is the first time I've had first-hand experience with it. I'll be spending a bit of time tomorrow/Sat attempting to catch everybody and toss them into a tank for treatment. Bummer that my tank will be fish-less for 6 weeks. Wish me luck. On a positive note, the corals are looking great! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Pretty certain I've got a positive ID on bryopsis courtesy of the LFS. Not terribly happy but jacking my Mg levels up to 1600+ should take care of it. For such a virulent nuisance algae, it's a relief that the treatment is so painfree. I learned that one of the guys I gave frags to as my tank melted managed to save some and they have grown considerably so I'm hoping to have a few of my old corals back soon! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Quick update: Flasher wrasse and hogfish were both casualties of the freshwater dip. I'm not terribly surprised as they were looking rather rough and gasping when I caught them which usually means they're done anyway. My perc who has survived against all odds since before the melt continues to chug along despite visibly frayed gills and a freshwater bath. He is now hanging out in hyposalinity where he will stay for the next 6-8 weeks. I've brought my aquarium up to 84 degrees and will leave it there unless I see ill effects to the coral to speed up the life cycle of the ich. The tank will remain fallow through the first of the year to make sure I'm ich-free. In the mean time, I'm going to have to satisfy my need for movemant with some inverts... I'm thinking sexy shrimp or perhaps some harlequins if I feel like sacrificing the odd chocolate chip starfish. Any other fun ideas? I've typically been a fish and coral kind of guy so inverts that don't serve a 'purpose' are a bit new to me. Link to comment
TheNordCelt Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Quick update: Flasher wrasse and hogfish were both casualties of the freshwater dip. I'm not terribly surprised as they were looking rather rough and gasping when I caught them which usually means they're done anyway. My perc who has survived against all odds since before the melt continues to chug along despite visibly frayed gills and a freshwater bath. He is now hanging out in hyposalinity where he will stay for the next 6-8 weeks. I've brought my aquarium up to 84 degrees and will leave it there unless I see ill effects to the coral to speed up the life cycle of the ich. The tank will remain fallow through the first of the year to make sure I'm ich-free. In the mean time, I'm going to have to satisfy my need for movemant with some inverts... I'm thinking sexy shrimp or perhaps some harlequins if I feel like sacrificing the odd chocolate chip starfish. Any other fun ideas? I've typically been a fish and coral kind of guy so inverts that don't serve a 'purpose' are a bit new to me. Pom Pom crab. Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 I like it. Good thought. Any experience with Acropora Crabs? Edit: Some happy news: my dendro which arrived as 1 head has sprouted 3 more! Grow baby grow! Link to comment
TheNordCelt Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 I like it. Good thought. Any experience with Acropora Crabs? Edit: Some happy news: my dendro which arrived as 1 head has sprouted 3 more! Grow baby grow! No experience with them, but I really want some! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Maybe I should create a new thread for the reboot - lotta people thinking my rocks look incredible lately. I mean, I like my aquascape as well but a lot has happened between page 1 and now Link to comment
Trick Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 Maybe I should create a new thread for the reboot - lotta people thinking my rocks look incredible lately. I mean, I like my aquascape as well but a lot has happened between page 1 and now +1 Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 My Mg is now over 1600 and holy crap I forgot how much it takes to bring 40-odd gallons up that high! No response from the Bryopsis yet, but I just crested my threshold last night. I may continue to elevate it to 1700 if I don't see satisfactory death in the devil-weed. A bit of exciting news on the coral front. I've tracked down a guy in MN that has some rather nice pieces and I'm in the process of placing an order. I should have something worth taking a picture of pretty soon! A teaser or two (or three!)... Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 Wow! Just read the whole thing. Great thread!!! I am a big fan of aquascaping instead of the plain rock pile. Love both sculptures you've done! I just made one myself, it was easy. -mark Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 Wow! Just read the whole thing. Great thread!!! I am a big fan of aquascaping instead of the plain rock pile. Love both sculptures you've done! I just made one myself, it was easy. -mark Mark, it's nice to hear that people read through the progression/tribulations, hopefully you got something out of it or at least enjoyed the pics! I was actually just poking around earlier today and saw your thread. That scape you built out is going to have a TON of potential - fantastic job I wish I my experience with building mine was that it were easy... I generally regard it as a royal PITA but I suppose it's a labor of love hah! Link to comment
saltwatercoral Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 I just finished browsing through your thread and this thing is incredible! The colors and variety ofcorals you have and the scape is really phenomenal! I am def taking notes of this setup for my tank setup! Really a nice job! I saved some of your pics and am using them as pointers for my 120! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 10, 2011 Author Share Posted November 10, 2011 I just finished browsing through your thread and this thing is incredible! The colors and variety ofcorals you have and the scape is really phenomenal! I am def taking notes of this setup for my tank setup! Really a nice job! I saved some of your pics and am using them as pointers for my 120! I'm flattered. Everything I've learned in this hobby has come from someone else in one way or another so I'm thrilled that others are getting benefit and ideas out of my experience in return! Link to comment
chrishayes Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Blah blah blah but still no pictures. I am officially abandoning this thread. K im back. Miss me? So sorry to hear about the losses and the byropsis. I know what a pain both of those are. Just make sure your using kent tech m as Im sure you know but its the only one that worked for my plauges in the past. Keep your chin up, itll all work out. If not you could set a record of the most tanks in one tank thread! Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 Blah blah blah but still no pictures. I am officially abandoning this thread. K im back. Miss me? So sorry to hear about the losses and the byropsis. I know what a pain both of those are. Just make sure your using kent tech m as Im sure you know but its the only one that worked for my plauges in the past. Keep your chin up, itll all work out. If not you could set a record of the most tanks in one tank thread! Haha I wondered how long it would be until someone called me out for not posting pics. I'm out of town till Tuesday and then I promise I'll get some up! The bryopsis bothers me more than the ich - it's the holidays and the ich gets better with neglect, so to speak. I figure I'll just kind of hang out, add some coral and let them grow in over the next two months! I wasn't aware that it was only Tech M that worked on it but heard the same thing from some guys at the LFS last night so I picked up a bottle and will start hitting it hard when I'm back in town. And I DEFINITELY hope to not be setting a record for number of tanks in one thread Link to comment
chrishayes Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 yup, use tech m or youll get no where fast except elevated mg. I tried using brs to get mg up since it was cheaper but it did nothing. THen I switched to kent and rose the level up to 1800 or there about and the byropsis melted away along with lights out for a week and no lights in the main tank at all. This was during cycle so there was nothing to harm except the macros in my fuge. I lit the fuge after the weeks lights out and I havent seen any since. One problem is that my mg has only fallen to 1500 after months of no dosing and using regular IO salt. So itll take some time to get back to a normal level. Cant say that hurts anything but its not stable so thats no good. Good luck man, theres nothing wrong with watching coral grow and the occasional shrimp and crab scurry about. I also reccomend pom poms. They are cool but not the most active. Harlequins are cool as well. Hell even the old emerald is a fun guy around lights out and will help you with any vegetation control. Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Between a shared onslaught of Tech M and emerald crabs who have devoured the remainder, I'm mostly algae free! I picked up a mated pair of harlequin shrimp this past weekend and desperately wanted to pull the trigger on a flame angel, but I'm worried about nipping on polyps because I'm placing an order in the next few days for some rather nice pieces Link to comment
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