Seabass's In-wall 100 Gallon

[Sharbuckle]

51 minutes ago, seabass said:

I'll even take before pics, which will depict its current condition.  Maybe next week.

Looking forward to it 

[seabass]

Here are a few shots of the uncleaned acrylic:

Red grape growing on the pane.

 

More Botryocladia.

 

 

Notice all the bristleworms.

 

[yoshii]

Love all the little critters! The red grape growing on the front panel is awesome. Is that a setosa peaking out from behind that Caulerpa meadow?

 

FTS? 😁

[seabass]

1 hour ago, yoshii said:

Is that a setosa peaking out from behind that Caulerpa meadow?

Good eye.

 

Yep, there are some corals too.  But unfortunately, I had an alkalinity drop which affected most of them.  I've been blindly dosing (based on observations) my top off water to compensate.  I know... everyone please don't follow that example.  However, the survivors seem to be recovering nicely.  I'm going to take alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, and phosphate tests to see where I'm at (and post the results) prior to doing anything.

 

The tank is in a state of neglect (it's been at least a year since it's had a proper water change, or that I've cleaned the walls).  I'm actually a little fearful that I might disrupt the balance of this neglect.   But I promise to get a proper FTS prior to me cleaning it up.  I hope to transform this tank into something a little more attractive, and will try to document the effort.

 

The cardinalfish and clownfish seem to be doing well and have been breeding regularly.  I don't wish to disturb them too much when there are eggs, or the male cardinalfish is holding babies.  Currently, there are clownfish eggs.  And while I don't intend to try to save any this time, I really don't want to test just how aggressively they might try to protect them.

 

I like the Caulerpa prolifera, but it has taken over the sand bed and has even taken hold of some of the rocks.  I really need to get it off the rock.  I'll keep a bunch of it, but the majority will end up being pitched.

[seabass]

Sorry, dirty acrylic means poor picture quality.  The eggs are about to hatch, as you can see their reflective eyes.  While that's exciting, I don't have an active rotifer culture to try to raise them.

 

I still owe you all a FTS.  I'll try to get to that this week.

 

[seabass]

Sorry still no FTS.  But here's a pic of the clownfish's newest clutch of eggs (1st day).  The male cardinalfish also has a clutch in his mouth right now.

[seabass]

We lost power for 6 hours today, as strong winds ripped through our area: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-farms-derecho-idUSKCN2562TS

 

I never heard of a derencho before, but it was sure some storm.  Lost a tree and several large branches; however, all my tanks seem to have weathered the power outage without any issues.

[WV Reefer]

46 minutes ago, seabass said:

We lost power for 6 hours today, as strong winds ripped through our area: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-farms-derecho-idUSKCN2562TS

 

I never heard of a derencho before, but it was sure some storm.  Lost a tree and several large branches; however, all my tanks seem to have weathered the power outage without any issues.

We had one blow through here a few years back and it was wicked...... I had never heard that term before then either. 

[debbeach13]

Glad it did not seem to effect the tanks.

[seabass]

Well, here it is, in all of its neglect.

 

FTS: 08/13/20

 

 

Back wall.  I haven't cleaned the glass in about a year.

 

 

Male clownfish caring for his eggs.

 

 

 

Substrate that hasn't been cleaned in a year or so.

 

MP10 fell down several months ago.

 

40B sump.  Again, not cleaned (besides the skimmer) in ages.

[debbeach13]

It actually doesn't look as bad as it could with out cleaning for a year. 

[seabass]

3 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

It actually doesn't look as bad as it could with out cleaning for a year. 

It hasn't had a proper water change in almost as long.

[seabass]

Another clutch of eggs today:

 

[seabass]

New clutch of clownfish eggs today.  Plus, two more baby cardinalfish in the overflow this afternoon.  I moved the babies to the Cardinalfish Nursery (with the three older juveniles).

[debbeach13]

So cool

[Christopher Marks]

Wow @seabass, the clownfish are really actively breeding now! Every 10 days so far, it seems like?

 

Glad the derecho wasn't too bad at your place. How has your area been doing with restorations?

[seabass]

1 minute ago, Christopher Marks said:

the clownfish are really actively breeding now! Every 10 days so far, it seems like

Yep, that's about right.  The old girl has been pretty frisky lately.

 

4 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Glad the derecho wasn't too bad at your place. How has your area been doing with restorations?

My back went out before it hit; so hauling around the fallen tree limbs afterwards wasn't very fun.  We managed to get everything cleaned up, and replaced a downed tree.  The city just hauled away the last of the debris last week and my back has now fully recovered.

 

All in all, it could have been much worse.  We drove up north a bit and the corn fields were blown down flat (such a weird site, like one great big, giant crop circle).

[billygoat]

I knew you had a larger tank, but I just now discovered this thread! Honestly it looks pretty amazing with all that Caulerpa, but I can see how the stuff makes it hard to keep anything else. Have you changed anything since your last FTS?

[MainelyReefer]

On 8/13/2020 at 4:18 PM, seabass said:

MP10 fell down several months ago.

I loved this photo and comment as I’m in the same boat except mine was viciously attacked by a two year old and the dry side was running presumably being knocked around for hours before I noticed.  

[seabass]

58 minutes ago, billygoat said:

I knew you had a larger tank, but I just now discovered this thread! Honestly it looks pretty amazing with all that Caulerpa, but I can see how the stuff makes it hard to keep anything else. Have you changed anything since your last FTS?

Thanks.  Nah, nothing has really changed.  No testing, no cleaning, just fish breeding like rabbits.

 

4 minutes ago, GraniteReefer said:

I loved this photo and comment as I’m in the same boat except mine was viciously attacked by a two year old and the dry side was running presumably being knocked around for hours before I noticed.  

[billygoat]

13 minutes ago, seabass said:

Nah, nothing has really changed.  No testing, no cleaning, just fish breeding like rabbits.

I mean, that's the goal that many aquarists have when they set out, right? I say if it's working, no need to change anything! 😄 I'm curious to see what would happen to the system if you went in and cleaned it up, but at this point maybe it's better to just leave it as is and let it ride.

[seabass]

Yeah, I'd say it is successful in many respects.  Even though it's not really the vision I had of it.  I'm hoping to be able to make it more aesthetically pleasing while not affecting the comfort of the fishes.  Although I realize that the cardinalfish might enjoy the shelter of the caulpera.  Still with only four fish in the tank, there is no aggression or territorial issues.

 

At times, I contemplate keeping another fish, like a sharp-nosed puffer.  However, these guys get along so well, I usually don't entertain the thought very long.  Maybe someday.

[seabass]

I treated my 40 gallon tank with DrTim's Re-Fresh and Waste-Away with pretty good results, so I decided this would be a good first step in cleaning up this tank.

 

 

 

You "turn off" the skimmer for a few hours after dosing DrTim's bacteria.  However, you still want the aeration of your skimmer if possible.  I lowered the discharge tube and removed the skimmer cup.

The foam produced is "stiffer" than normal.

 

Here's the program I'm following:

• Day 1: Wrap tank in black plastic. Turn off lights.  Dose Re-Fresh.
• Day 2: Dose Re-Fresh.
• Day 3: Dose Re-Fresh.
• Day 4: Remove black plastic.  Restart light cycle.  Remove organic material.  Add a 1/4 dose of Waste-Away.
• Day 5: Add a 1/4 dose of Waste-Away.
• Day 6: Add a 1/4 dose (or more) of Waste-Away.
• Day 7: Add a 1/4 dose (or more) of Waste-Away.
• Day 8: Add a 1/4 dose (or more) of Waste-Away.
• Day 9: Partial water change.

 

[debbeach13]

I hope it works as good in here. Seems to have made a big difference in the other tank. 

[seabass]

30 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

I hope it works as good in here. Seems to have made a big difference in the other tank. 

This tank was developing some similar issues - like some surface film in the sump, as well as slime on this wall:

Like you said, based on what it's done for my 40 gallon, I am hopeful that this will be a positive step.