*My broken 40B Mix Reef

[d'Espresso]

Here is what is going on with the tank. Fishless and all that algae taking over. Do you guys / gals think i should get a CUC from reefcleaners. Will it help or i should just follow what Nanotopia said early.

 

The clowns is in the hospital tank along with the others and they are doing a little bit better. Lucky i manage to setup a QT tank or else all the fish would of have passed away. So i will wait til Mid June to see how things are then when the water is fully establish and stable i probably can put them back in.

 

What can i do with this algae in here. Need some advice and help because it is looking awful. I have been neglecting because of my new job i just started so i been gone all day and the only i get a chance is before bedtime.

 

I also talked to Maria from Reefgeek.com and they are sending the new 36" TEK Elite fixture (graphite) today, hopefully it will be here next Tuesday. I can't wait to try out T5. She was very nice and great communication. Well, enough with the talk and here are some awful shot i took. Add some new islands to fill in the space out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picked up some new Lunar Eclipse from Ocean blue in Winter park

 

Manage to save this little piece of idaho grape montipora, it's starting to make a come back!

Rics garden island

 

 

Acans garden island

 

 

 

[Rehype]

Doesnt look too bad D... In all honesty it still looks pretty awesome. I would follow what nanotopia said about the leaving the tank fallow but i would recommend getting a CUC from john at reefcleaners to take care of the algae.

[iadubber]

I think it's not too bad. You should see my 6 month old 40 breeder. I have a CUC from reefcleaners that's coming today to help out. I never had an algae bloom during the cycle. Just all of a sudden two weeks ago boom! Diatoms everywhere on everything. I say just wait it out and grab a CUC from John.

[jedimasterben]

Please read up on marine ich: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-d...yths-facts.html

 

 

Ich infestation will require you to leave your tank fishless for a minimum of 8 weeks, up to 12 weeks in extreme cases. I left my system fishless for 8 weeks and added a few fish back in on Tuesday, and today I noticed that it was not enough time and the fish are infected again, and worse than ever. This time will be 12 weeks, and I would recommend the same for you.

 

You will need to treat the fish with either copper (use Cupramine only, it is the least stressful to the fish) or hyposalinity if you've got the time for it, and needs to be in a QT tank that is large enough for what fish are left to live comfortably for the next 2-3 months. Give the fish a freshwater dip before QT'ing them to help give them a bit of relief from the ich (will kill some of the infection on their gills so they can breathe easier).

 

What fish are remaining? It's always sad to lose fishies.

[metrokat]

sorry to hear about the ick. The corals and everything look amazing, that scape is just awesome too.

[Spirofucci]

I just love seeing pics of this tank!

 

I don't see how you can get away with no CUC. I think you gotta do it.

[NanoTopia]

There's two ways to look at Ich, generally it is present in tanks all the time in smaller numbers. Stressed fish, what ever the cause, make them susceptible to ich. It's like us really, when we are stressed and run down, we tend to get sick, the virus is always out there. Once Ich is allowed to multiply and increase in numbers in a tank (due to being able to feed off weak fish for a while) it takes quite a while to starve the ich out. Rehype is correct, that can be 3 months in some cases, maybe more. Ich go through as many as 8 generations without a host, meaning the parasite could live for a long time in your aquarium. This is why it's important to remove the food source (fish) from the tank for a while. It can also help to run a good UV sterilizer to catch the Ich in their free floating water stage. This will help to speed up the eradication process considerably.

 

Of course, even if you eradicate Ich from your tank (or think you have), all you need do is add new fish that have not been quarantined and you potentially start the process again. It's a vicious cycle for a lot of aquarists.

 

Stressed fish are susceptible to ich, so even if you have a few Ich in your tank at the time you add a fish, they will find a host. I guess where I am going is, and back to the two ways to look at Ich, you can drive yourself crazy and spend a whole lot of money trying to eradicate Ich from your tank or you can introduce healthy disease free fish slowly to your tank and feed them nutritious foods in a stress free environment. Happy healthy fish do not get Ich. Keeping fish stress free includes keeping stock low, keeping compatible fish together (no fighting), offering fish many places to hide and feel safe, feeding a variety good quality food (daily or every second day), to name a few.

 

Adding several un-quarantined fish to a new tank is a sure fire way to fuel ich. I would still wait, as long as you can hold out, not putting more fish in your tank (30 days minimum). And when you do, only put one QT'ed fish at a time. Go slow. Everything will be just fine. Oh and just a note, I read somewhere, ich can live on inverts as well (I will look for the source of that information). QT all inverts entering your tank as well.

[NanoTopia]

Maybe not the most reliable source but here's one article:

 

"Saltwater invertebrates are suspected of being carriers of ich, and since most effective ich treatments also kill invertebrates (their cell structures are quite similar), they cannot be guaranteed ich-free when purchased." -- http://bestfish.com/saltich.html

 

 

I don't think Ich affects inverts but believe they can be a carrier.

 

Check out this on one of my skunk cleaner shrimp several months ago, not Cryptocaryon irritans but some parasite, possibly Uronema marinum which was affecting one of my chromis at the time. Chromis died but the shrimp moulted and the area was clear again.

 

[neuwave]

 

Dude your lucky. I forgot the name but the most common term I've heard is the "the black spot". Normally deadly unless the shrimp molts. Usually if you add extra iodine and Ca to help push the molting process. But the black spot you see has nothing to do with ich. It's an infection that affects the shrimp not the fish.

 

David sorry to hear about the fish. That's sucks. But everything else looks good. Nice palys from ocean blue. How are the surviving fish doing?

[d'Espresso]

Doesnt look too bad D... In all honesty it still looks pretty awesome. I would follow what nanotopia said about the leaving the tank fallow but i would recommend getting a CUC from john at reefcleaners to take care of the algae.

What is the best CUC to get rid of this GHA covering the entire rock with patches here and there? The reason i didn't get a CUC in the first place is because my last previous tank i took out all the rock and notice there are thousand of snail eggs all over the rocks and it just look disturbing to the viewer eyes. So i decided not to full with them anymore.

 

i also read somewhere possible that a sea urchin can take care the algae right?

 

What do you all recommend from reefcleaners helper that can clean this mess up?

i can clean the tank glasses and bottom surface but i mostly would like to focus on the algae and don't know what type of CUC to fit this job.

 

 

Please read up on marine ich: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-d...yths-facts.html

 

 

Ich infestation will require you to leave your tank fishless for a minimum of 8 weeks, up to 12 weeks in extreme cases. I left my system fishless for 8 weeks and added a few fish back in on Tuesday, and today I noticed that it was not enough time and the fish are infected again, and worse than ever. This time will be 12 weeks, and I would recommend the same for you.

 

You will need to treat the fish with either copper (use Cupramine only, it is the least stressful to the fish) or hyposalinity if you've got the time for it, and needs to be in a QT tank that is large enough for what fish are left to live comfortably for the next 2-3 months. Give the fish a freshwater dip before QT'ing them to help give them a bit of relief from the ich (will kill some of the infection on their gills so they can breathe easier).

 

What fish are remaining? It's always sad to lose fishies.

Thanks for the link, it is very helpful!

 

The only remaining fish are 2 S'more clowns, 3 blue streak, 1 cardinal, pompom crab, and cleaner shrimp

 

sorry to hear about the ick. The corals and everything look amazing, that scape is just awesome too.

Yeah, i was really bum out to come back from my california trip and all this happen so fast. But thankyou for the comment! Thanks for joining my build thread!

 

I just love seeing pics of this tank!

 

I don't see how you can get away with no CUC. I think you gotta do it.

i guess i might have to but what would be a good size of CUC. i really don't want to get that much like last time i order, John from reefcleaner was so generous and gave me more then enough. lol

 

 

There's two ways to look at Ich, generally it is present in tanks all the time in smaller numbers. Stressed fish, what ever the cause, make them susceptible to ich. It's like us really, when we are stressed and run down, we tend to get sick, the virus is always out there. Once Ich is allowed to multiply and increase in numbers in a tank (due to being able to feed off weak fish for a while) it takes quite a while to starve the ich out. Rehype is correct, that can be 3 months in some cases, maybe more. Ich go through as many as 8 generations without a host, meaning the parasite could live for a long time in your aquarium. This is why it's important to remove the food source (fish) from the tank for a while. It can also help to run a good UV sterilizer to catch the Ich in their free floating water stage. This will help to speed up the eradication process considerably.

 

Of course, even if you eradicate Ich from your tank (or think you have), all you need do is add new fish that have not been quarantined and you potentially start the process again. It's a vicious cycle for a lot of aquarists.

 

Stressed fish are susceptible to ich, so even if you have a few Ich in your tank at the time you add a fish, they will find a host. I guess where I am going is, and back to the two ways to look at Ich, you can drive yourself crazy and spend a whole lot of money trying to eradicate Ich from your tank or you can introduce healthy disease free fish slowly to your tank and feed them nutritious foods in a stress free environment. Happy healthy fish do not get Ich. Keeping fish stress free includes keeping stock low, keeping compatible fish together (no fighting), offering fish many places to hide and feel safe, feeding a variety good quality food (daily or every second day), to name a few.

 

Adding several un-quarantined fish to a new tank is a sure fire way to fuel ich. I would still wait, as long as you can hold out, not putting more fish in your tank (30 days minimum). And when you do, only put one QT'ed fish at a time. Go slow. Everything will be just fine. Oh and just a note, I read somewhere, ich can live on inverts as well (I will look for the source of that information). QT all inverts entering your tank as well.

I feel so educated now after reading your advice and how to care for the ick problem i have. I will probably go fishless for a while but i will do 2% WC every 3 days for the hospital tank with the members in there. Thanks buddy!

 

Maybe not the most reliable source but here's one article:

 

"Saltwater invertebrates are suspected of being carriers of ich, and since most effective ich treatments also kill invertebrates (their cell structures are quite similar), they cannot be guaranteed ich-free when purchased." -- http://bestfish.com/saltich.html

 

 

I don't think Ich affects inverts but believe they can be a carrier.

 

Check out this on one of my skunk cleaner shrimp several months ago, not Cryptocaryon irritans but some parasite, possibly Uronema marinum which was affecting one of my chromis at the time. Chromis died but the shrimp moulted and the area was clear again.

 

i do have a Cleaner shrimp and it is also in there with those other fish. I better go take a good look on that shrimp. Maybe he was the problem but not so sure!

 

Dude your lucky. I forgot the name but the most common term I've heard is the "the black spot". Normally deadly unless the shrimp molts. Usually if you add extra iodine and Ca to help push the molting process. But the black spot you see has nothing to do with ich. It's an infection that affects the shrimp not the fish.

 

David sorry to hear about the fish. That's sucks. But everything else looks good. Nice palys from ocean blue. How are the surviving fish doing?

Fish doing okay just little white spot not so big. i am just worrying about my S'more clowns that i got last year. Yes i finally went down there again but it was the other sister store that i went near by the university.

[Rehype]

What is the best CUC to get rid of this GHA covering the entire rock with patches here and there? The reason i didn't get a CUC in the first place is because my last previous tank i took out all the rock and notice there are thousand of snail eggs all over the rocks and it just look disturbing to the viewer eyes. So i decided not to full with them anymore.

 

i also read somewhere possible that a sea urchin can take care the algae right?

 

What do you all recommend from reefcleaners helper that can clean this mess up?

i can clean the tank glasses and bottom surface but i mostly would like to focus on the algae and don't know what type of CUC to fit this job.

 

Ive had success with this 1,2,3 punch.

[ccapasso]

From reefcleaners you could try what Rehype has suggested. I had good luck with snails and an emerald crab.

 

If you want, you can email John @ reefcleaners and tell him what you are looking to accomplish and he can help you decide on what to get.

 

I also found that going without light for a few days helped a lot too.

[MGDMIRAGE]

Tuxedo urchins do a great job with GHA but you will have to feed it nori eventually since they will exhaust the GHA fast. Also you will need to make sure you have all your frags anchored or they will carry them around the tank. Tank still looks great and sorry about your losses. I would let the tank sit fallow for no less then 6 weeks and probably closer to 8 weeks to be sure.

 

Can't wait to see your new fixture in action

[d'Espresso]

I will try to get intouch with John from reefcleaners to see if he can suggest something for the GHA problem. Planning to do 10g WC on monday when i am off.

 

Well, i just got home from work awhile ago and notice i lost 1 more blue streak, now down to 2 clowns, 1 cardinal, sharknose goby, pompom crab and 2 sexy shrimp.

[neuwave]

Ha ha I'm glad I'm not the only one reefing at 2 AM in the morning.

[d'Espresso]

You mean 4 am in the morning. Lol I probably check out ocean direct tomorrow for their last sale. Lol

[neuwave]

Lol typo. Partial sleep deprived. Ya I'll probably head over to see what's they got. I talked to George the owner and he's got about 2 weeks more till the new store grand opening. Then he'll have huge shipments come in. Like those palys frags mr coral gets in, George sells the entire plates of palys for around $40 bucks. Pretty sweet deal of you have good timing.

[d'Espresso]

What were those other stores you were talking about and your friend shop that will try to take out wwc?

[d'Espresso]

Took advantage of a LFS near in Longwood FL. called Ocean direct. They are having a Buy one and get the 2nd one half off. Grab some goodies.. Came home with a beautiful acan frag and one of the corals i have been wanting to get in a long time is a Orange plate got both for a steal. Right now it is acclimating and i will take some picture in a couple days.

[JR!]

Took advantage of a LFS near in Longwood FL. called Ocean direct. They are having a Buy one and get the 2nd one half off. Grab some goodies.. Came home with a beautiful acan frag and one of the corals i have been wanting to get in a long time is a Orange plate got both for a steal. Right now it is acclimating and i will take some picture in a couple days.

nice! they have a 3in orange plate at the lfs for 60 that i have been looking at. might have to snag it soon

[neuwave]

Took advantage of a LFS near in Longwood FL. called Ocean direct. They are having a Buy one and get the 2nd one half off. Grab some goodies.. Came home with a beautiful acan frag and one of the corals i have been wanting to get in a long time is a Orange plate got both for a steal. Right now it is acclimating and i will take some picture in a couple days.

 

Sweet grabs from OD. The orange plate you got will definitely grow super fast. Always a sweet to have. My buddies store is called Top Shelf Aquatics. Grand opening is sometime at the end of May / beginning of June. It will take time to build the store to it's true potential but it's looking awesome already. So two store grand openings! So get your tank ready cause I'm sure they will have some crazy sales.

[Smity]

Sorry to hear about the ich issue David and I hope you are able to clear out the GHA, it doesnt seem to look too bad though.

[d'Espresso]

nice! they have a 3in orange plate at the lfs for 60 that i have been looking at. might have to snag it soon

Sweet grabs from OD. The orange plate you got will definitely grow super fast. Always a sweet to have. My buddies store is called Top Shelf Aquatics. Grand opening is sometime at the end of May / beginning of June. It will take time to build the store to it's true potential but it's looking awesome already. So two store grand openings! So get your tank ready cause I'm sure they will have some crazy sales.

Go for it buddy~! i am loving my plate because i really don't have much corals on the bottom surface but this just make it pop when the actinic Light turn on. It's was looking rough but i hope i can get it back to it full tensile color. i took advantage on the deal they have at the shop so i bought the acan for $25.00 and the plate for $19.00 but for the 2nd coral it was half off so i got it for $9.99 instead. i was like a little kid in the candy shop. They also had the green one also but the orange was what i wanted for the longest time.

 

i can't wait for the sale again. I am so loving florida but i need to make some $$$ and save up for those SPS they have in the store. i see it is a really good deals on those colonies in there. i probably wait a few more weeks or month to get the tank more stable and free of algae. Good news: My new fixture is about to come in this week also.

[neuwave]

Heck ya! Always good to take advantage of the sales. OD usually has 3 day weekend sales. Nothing wrong with having multiple plating montis. I got the same oj one you got but I've had it for months and it grows super nice. If you place it closer to flow it will plate thinner with multiple layers. If you give it less flow it will grow thicker with zero to no plates. I have anther plating monti I'm trying to grow out that I got from OD, green with purple rim. It's just starting to take off. They loss the original colony a long time ago due to a chiller malfunction but I was able to get a nice frag for $10 bucks. So no complaints since I've wanted the purple rim one for so long.

 

If you feel like a kid in a candy shop now just wait till both stores have their grand opening, its gonna be nuts.

[MeanGreenEyes]

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