xAyanex Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Just read through this whole thread. Kinda reminded me of when someone says a whole bunch of words and fluff without really saying anything at all, at first. But once the tank was wet, I learned a lot. And that's what I love about reading through threads. I love that you take such a scientist approach to this hobby. (Of course I do-I'm a certified scientist, that's what I do for a living). But seriously, it's really fun entertaining different hypotheses and trying to figure out what is happening and why. I really enjoy how much time you've spent on the details. Thank you for sharing so much information. I've tried to be transparent on my thread, but I wasn't nearly as transparent as you are. I think I will be better about it on my next build thread. My current one was my first ever tank, and saltwater at that, so I wanted people to realize I had done lots of research and kind of knew a little bit of what I was doing. Looking back, I ask some stupid questions, but I've learned from all of it. I love learning. And I can't wait to see what the future holds for your tanks. I always find your posts to be informative throughout N-R. So glad I finally stumbled on this thread. 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted October 30, 2016 Author Share Posted October 30, 2016 Thanks xAyanex! Kinda reminded me of when someone says a whole bunch of words and fluff without really saying anything at all... Sounds about right. I can't believe I started this thread in 2012. I've seen threads make this much progress in a couple of weeks. Thanks for stopping by; I'm glad people might be getting something out of it. 2 Quote Link to comment
xAyanex Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Thanks xAyanex! Sounds about right. I can't believe I started this thread in 2012. I've seen threads make this much progress in a couple of weeks. Thanks for stopping by; I'm glad people might be getting something out of it. Haha. I'm glad you took that lightly. I'm a very dry humor person, and we all know that doesn't usually go well over the internet. Yeah, your thread makes me feel like I'm going too fast, but most of the threads I've read through make me feel like I'm going too slow. My goal was really to go too slow because I felt that most of the problems a lot of people encountered with their new tanks at the time, or most of the questions they had, were resolved/answered over time. It's driving my family nuts, because reef tanks are totally new to them and they want it to be further along, and don't understand why I can't just have this and that because it looks like it fits, or it can't be that hard, or blah blah blah... 2 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Haha. I'm glad you took that lightly. I'm a very dry humor person, and we all know that doesn't usually go well over the internet. Yeah, your thread makes me feel like I'm going too fast, but most of the threads I've read through make me feel like I'm going too slow. My goal was really to go too slow because I felt that most of the problems a lot of people encountered with their new tanks at the time, or most of the questions they had, were resolved/answered over time. It's driving my family nuts, because reef tanks are totally new to them and they want it to be further along, and don't understand why I can't just have this and that because it looks like it fits, or it can't be that hard, or blah blah blah... Yeah, you're doing it right, good not to succumb to family wishes as they don't have the knowledge you do. 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 So I finally did it. I broke it down (so I can clean it and start it up again): Fish are temporarily in a 20L: Bleached the rocks overnight: Added 3 gallons of bleach to the sump (left the skimmer on for a couple of minutes): Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 oh dear 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 OK the bleach was a nightmare. Fumes galore, and irritated hands. I finally had to wear aquagloves to finish emptying the tank. I wouldn't recommend anybody following suit. But I'm pretty sure I wiped out any nasties. If I were to do it again, I'd just empty and clean the tank, then wipe it down with a bleach solution. Besides my fish, I saved some palythoa, three mini carpet anemones (whose hardiness seems to know no bounds), a BTA (that has shrunk to the size of a dime), and four snails. Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 I missed something, what happened that you had to start over? 1 Quote Link to comment
Justind823 Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 Well that should do it! 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted November 23, 2016 Author Share Posted November 23, 2016 I missed something, what happened that you had to start over?Dinos. I'd make a dent in them and then they would return. It was frustrating, and took a lot of time. Plus, the tank didn't have much for livestock, so it seemed like a reasonable option. I'm almost done cleaning everything up. I should have some time tomorrow to work on it. Maybe I'll even be able to add water. Well that should do it! 1 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Dinos. I'd make a dent in them and then they would return. It was frustrating, and took a lot of time. Plus, the tank didn't have much for livestock, so it seemed like a reasonable option. I'm almost done cleaning everything up. I should have some time tomorrow to work on it. Maybe I'll even be able to add water. Yeah, that 60g shallow I had got it really bad, it was no win situation w/ cyano and dino. Helping remove cyano fueled the dino. 3 mos I battled & said forget it, I'm done. Cleaned it, sold the 60g shallow and now I'm really happy w/ my 40. Extremely frustrating, almost wanted to give up. 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 Yeah, that 60g shallow I had got it really bad, it was no win situation w/ cyano and dino. Helping remove cyano fueled the dino. 3 mos I battled & said forget it, I'm done. Cleaned it, sold the 60g shallow and now I'm really happy w/ my 40. Extremely frustrating, almost wanted to give up. That pretty much sums it up. Between my 40B (which was overrun by algae) and this tank (which I couldn't shake the dinos and cyano), I was constantly dealing with problems. It didn't help that I had a breeding pair of clownfish in it that I didn't want to disturb. I also believed Ben in that it would be next to impossible to rid this tank of dinos. My livestock wasn't doing very well, and it was time to cut my losses. I almost pitched everything but the fish (just because I didn't want to go through this again). However, I put the remaining coral, anemones, and snails in a 5 gallon bucket, with an air stone. I plan to QT them in the 20L after I move the fish back. So currently, I have a 20L with 13 rock flower anemones, another 20L with a breeding pair of clownfish and a bicolor blenny, and a 5 gallon bucket with: some palythoas, 3 mini carpet anemones, a struggling BTA, and 4 snails. A humble re-beginning to say the least. Hopefully this has taught me to quarantine everything; and that the logic of "let it take its course" can sometimes be a recipe for failure (as things can take a foothold, making them difficult to get rid of). 1 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 A humble re-beginning to say the least. Hopefully this has taught me to quarantine everything; and that the logic of "let it take its course" can sometimes be a recipe for failure (as things can take a foothold, making them difficult to get rid of). YEP, that right there. I never QTd anything but I did dip some corals in Corals Rx before. Just lucky before. I never had to deal w/ ich or fish illness before. Now this is 2x going into QT. I guess the ich wasn't gone last time after 8 wks, put new fish in the tank and bam! Royal Gramma overnight covered in white. Angel? nada, not the one I thought that would make it, I thought why didn't it get it? Last time THAT fish was the one that brought ich into my tank. 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 I've been getting a ton of salt creep around my sump. So I added a 4" 45° wye to reduce the bubbles/salt creep: I added a top just to help further reduce the salt creep. Yes, the pump is on and it's running. 2 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 While the wye performs perfectly with freshwater, it does release microbubbles when saltwater is used: The picture makes it look a little worse than it actually is. My fish are back in this tank: Welcome home! Quote Link to comment
yoshii Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Sucks that you had to start over Hopefully this time around things will go more in your favor! Are the clowns the only fish you have now? 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Are the clowns the only fish you have now? There's also a bicolor blenny perched in the center rock. I've been thinking about what other fish I want, but I don't want to disturb the breeding pair of clownfish. However, I'm in no rush. Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Got this girl yesterday: Watanabei Angelfish: They called her a medium, but she was a bit larger than I thought she was going to be. So far, so good. 2 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Thanks Weetie, I think so too. She's still hasn't eaten anything. I know it's only been a day, but I'll feel better when she starts eating prepared food. However, I think I might hatch some baby brine shrimp overnight so I can try to feed her tomorrow. For anybody interested, here's how I do that. First I decapsulate the brine shrimp eggs by: putting them in 2 ounces of freshwater for just over an hour add 1 ounce of chlorine bleach, stirring for 5 to 10 minutes (until the cysts turn white and then orange) rinse the cysts with freshwater (using a plankton sieve) and dechlorinate with Seachem Prime Then I put them in a hatchery overnight (in saltwater with a specific gravity of about 1.016) to hatch. They need light and aeration. Baby brine shrimp might be too small for her to eat (and won't be enough food by itself). But she is a planktivore, so maybe it will entice her to feed. Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 5 hours ago, seabass said: Got this girl yesterday: Watanabei Angelfish: They called her a medium, but she was a bit larger than I thought she was going to be. So far, so good. Pretty lady 1 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 So I put the shrimp eggs in the hatchery, and then tried feeding the tank again. Well... she decided it was dinner time and started chowing down. I'll add the baby brine shrimp tomorrow, but it looks like she won't be a picky eater. Another milestone completed. 4 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Crap, looks like she has Ich. I thought a saw a spec on her fin earlier, but was hoping for the best. Now it looks like I'm going to have to treat all the fish. Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 So the hyposalinity treatment appears to have worked. Now I'm slowly raising the specific gravity so I can return my snails and crabs. Also, last week, I was filling a Brute container with RO/DI from my 200 gallon storage container. Can you see where I'm going here? Anyways, I got distracted, went upstairs, and forgot about it. Then all of the sudden, it hit me. I ran downstairs, followed by my dog. We both ran into a nice pool of water. I quickly shut off the valve, and with GFCI circuits tripping, I started to squeegee to water into the drain. I filled the Shop-Vac several times too. That was enough excitement for me anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment
slowngreen Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Man I forgot all about this thread! Glad to see you did it finally 1 Quote Link to comment
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