Seabass's 17.4 Gallon (taken down)

[VannReefer87]

First question, why/how did you do a water change using 5 gal skimmate? lol

 

Second question: Wouldn't this be an awesome little tank for a jawfish, they would love this tank!

[Deleted User 6]

Garden eels.

 

Make it so.

[Wizzy]

Garden eels.

 

Make it so.

 

 

PLEASE! Lol. Always thought these critters were the coolest... and you do have quite a deep sand bed.

 

Just Do It- Wizzy

[seabass]

First question, why/how did you do a water change using 5 gal skimmate? lol Second question: Wouldn't this be an awesome little tank for a jawfish, they would love this tank!

I skimmed out 5 gallons of skimmate, which was replaced by freshly mixed saltwater (essentially performing a 5 gallon water change). I agree about the jawfish; however, I'm not willing to put a top on it (which wouldn't work for a jawfish).

 

Garden eels. Make it so.

Actually looked at the possibility. With like 8 gallons of water, the tank seems a bit small. Also, I'm not sure what they'd do with all the roots in the sand. Finally, my sand bed has matured and I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to pull it off without replacing the bed.

 

 

PLEASE! Lol. Always thought these critters were the coolest... and you do have quite a deep sand bed. Just Do It- Wizzy

It's a neat thought, isn't it?

[Squared]

weren't you going to get more fish?

[seabass]

Yeah, I've been thinking about it. But I'm actually OK with my clownfish for now. Whatever I get has to be relatively safe in an open top tank.

[.Newman.]

needs like 10 sexy shrimp?

 

clown looks good here as THE fish. how old is she and how big?

[seabass]

You know Newman...I'm not sure how long I've had her. I'm thinking she's like four years old. She might be three inches long (and has stpped growing). I've seen ocellaris clownfish significantly larger than her. She used to be paired with a female clownfish for a couple of years (I'm not sure what effect, if any, that might have on her size).

[Arkayology]

Yeah, I've been thinking about it. But I'm actually OK with my clownfish for now. Whatever I get has to be relatively safe in an open top tank.

Decisions, decisions

[.Newman.]

she's a good size i imagine for her age. my female clown is a little over a year and just barely getting over 2.5" Mine seems so small though compared to some of the huge ones i see in city aquariums haha.

[evo_2679]

Seabass - nice tank / really a clean set up and awesome job on the custom stand.

[Justind823]

How's this tank doing?

[seabass]

I just switched out lights last week. The bulbs were around 8 months old, my tank developed a hint of cyano, plus I wanted a whiter spectrum.

 

 

Seabass - nice tank / really a clean set up and awesome job on the custom stand.

Thank you!

 

 

How's this tank doing?

Funny you should ask. The day before yesterday I found my clownfish stationary on the bottom. When she saw me, she perked up; but then returned to the sand bed. That was very unusually for this fish, so I moved her to my holding tank (where she started acting normal after 10 minutes or so).

 

The tank looked alright. The anemones and other inverts seemed OK too. Here's a pic:

 

Still, my fish shouldn't have been acting that way, so I drained the whole thing:

 

Just after refilling (still a little cloudy):

 

I've been wanting a different fish for this tank anyway, so it will remain fishless until I decide on a new one.

[Zer0]

Interesting. I mean the tank looks crazy awesome as usual, but why drain the entire tank out? That won't affect the nitrifying bacteria right?

[seabass]

Interesting. I mean the tank looks crazy awesome as usual, but why drain the entire tank out? That won't affect the nitrifying bacteria right?

Thanks Zer0. The bulk of the bacteria is on surfaces (like the sand and rock). Draining the tank won't affect the nitrogen cycle (accept maybe by lowering nitrate).

 

I'm not exactly sure what was going on. I suppose I should have performed a bunch of tests to identify the issue, but my solution probably would have been the same. Switching out the water should address the most likely problems. I'll be keeping an eye on it for awhile.

[FlCandy]

I like it!

 

Hope the clown is alright.

[seabass]

IME, all you're doing by continual FWE dosings is allowing the flatworms to build up a resistance to the chemicals. It was the same thing I did and I eventually had to switch methods. Check this out (if you aren't banned, lol):

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1379099

 

You can get the stuff here: http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html

 

Ends up being way cheaper than FWE (you get MUCH more for your money), and I found it to be far more effective. Might be worth a shot.

I found more worms, so I'm giving this a shot. Thanks DHaut!

[seabass]

So I siphoned out the worms a couple of days in a row (in advance of yesterday's treatment). Prior to treatment, it looked like I got them all, but I ended up siphoning out more than a hundred after treatment. The impact on the worms was more pronounced than with Flatworm eXit (more worms dieing versus just squirming around). Things look good today.

[SbCaes]

ever thought of a wrasse to eat all the flat worms? worked for me in the past. ( a yellow coris wrasse to be exact /Juvenile only)

[.Newman.]

starting to look more like a wild tank, very nice! can't wait to see this down the line, it will probably be amazing if you stick with it.

[seabass]

ever thought of a wrasse to eat all the flat worms? worked for me in the past. ( a yellow coris wrasse to be exact /Juvenile only)

A wrasse would be cool, but the tank is a little small and will remain with an open top. The pig dewormer appears to be working, so I'm crossing my fingers that this will finally take care of them.

 

 

starting to look more like a wild tank, very nice! can't wait to see this down the line, it will probably be amazing if you stick with it.

Thanks! I'm not sure that I'll see it get much fuller. The sand bed is dense with roots, you can't push your finger through it anymore. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or if it will cause problems down the road.

 

 

I added a half dose of dewormer today. While siphoning out a couple of worms, I decided to clean off the return nozzle and overflow:

 

Back on:

[.Newman.]

I wish you had just regular transparent/tan acoel flatworms like me. that way you dont have to do anything about them. Mine literally dissappeared in my picotope in the past few months. i guess they come and go like different types of pods.

[Squared]

what kind of flatworms do you have seabass?

[seabass]

This kind:

The seem to continue to reproduce (out competing the beneficial fauna in the tank).

[.Newman.]

the annoying yellow kind then