kevantheman35 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 This tank has gotten awesome! good work man 1 Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 This tank has gotten awesome! good work man I agree. Link to comment
RollaJase Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 The sump cut out was a very nice idea, looks fantastic. Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Music to my ears re: the mandarin. They do love nutramar ova, mine too. My fish wasn't sold to me as an ORA but of the 3 or 4 at the store that I was looking at, my guy is the only one that ate the Ova they squirted in. More pics of her whenever you get a chance please. Oh, since you have the fuge, consider throwing in 2 bags of reef cleaner pods and a bag of TISBE pods which mandarins enjoy. Tigger pods are tasty also, but they do not hide making them easy target to predation, especially with your six line around. 1 Link to comment
SDartifex Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 This tank has gotten awesome! good work man I agree. The sump cut out was a very nice idea, looks fantastic. Thanks guys Music to my ears re: the mandarin. They do love nutramar ova, mine too. My fish wasn't sold to me as an ORA but of the 3 or 4 at the store that I was looking at, my guy is the only one that ate the Ova they squirted in. More pics of her whenever you get a chance please. Oh, since you have the fuge, consider throwing in 2 bags of reef cleaner pods and a bag of TISBE pods which mandarins enjoy. Tigger pods are tasty also, but they do not hide making them easy target to predation, especially with your six line around. Thanks for the help, I did notice the first time I used tigger pods the six line made short work of them. Since then I've been careful to feed everyone else before giving the mandarin his special snacks. Usually I end up just feeding my LPS and NPS which leaves enough leftover mysis/etc floating around to feed the bellies of the engineer and the six line quite well. Once they've settled down I'll pipette some pods or hold some frozen ova out to the mandarin. It's been working really well, but I am noticing that I'm having trouble with my sand bed getting nasty from the leftovers the mandarin misses or floats away. So I'm looking for something a little less reclusive as the cleaner for daytime clean up, but I'm not sure what since I know I don't want any hermits hunting my snails. I'll try hard this week to get some good shots of the mandarin for ya Kat. Also keep up the great work on your RSM! I don't usually post anything on your thread since its real fast-paced over there and I figure it would just get lost in the confusion, but I do check in and always love what I see Link to comment
Belac Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 You could get a larger conch for clean up. I don't know how big your crabs are but I think they would leave something much bigger then them alone. You might have issues with the conch bulldoseing so it may not be the best idea. Link to comment
metrokat Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Thanks for the kind words, don't let my thread party stop you from posting, I get all the posts. Mandarins are very slow eaters which is why you see left overs. You can try to make a mandarin diner. Paul B has a dish covered in netting with a funnel through which he feeds live BBS. I made a similar dish but without the netting for the ova, just a place for it to allow the Mandy to peck and eat from one spot. I've seen a diner you can make from an acrylic box or bottle which allows the mandarin to enter and dine easily and allows it some time away from the fast fish. Link to comment
SDartifex Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Thanks for the suggestion guys, I think I'll try that diner idea. Link to comment
SDartifex Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 So I walked into my LFS a couple days ago to grab a test kit when I saw this trio in one of the stock tanks.. I couldn't resist of course 5 Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Yo, this calls for an update. 1 Link to comment
SDartifex Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 The tank is in a lot of turmoil at the moment with a bryopsis outbreak.. I have been spot treating with peroxide as well as dipping corals with the stuff on them so everything's pretty tore up right now. I seem to be beating it back at the moment though so hopefully soon I'll have everything in order for a full update. I will let ya know I got a replacement part for my mame so it's not ghetto rigged anymore! Most of the corals have been settling in well; and my little mandarin has fattened up quite quite a bit to my delight 1 Link to comment
JR! Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 So I walked into my LFS a couple days ago to grab a test kit when I saw this trio in one of the stock tanks.. I couldn't resist of course i need have have some 1 Link to comment
Belac Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I always liked those fish. Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Haven't seen this for a while. Love all the progress!!!!! 1 Link to comment
NanoTopia Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Lots of interesting stuff going on here, bryopsis has to be one of the most frustrating pest alga we encounter, I despise it so. I killed mine back by lowering nutrients to an unsafe level (not recommended), the bryopsis faded away, but so did the tissue on some of my corals. Picking it out with tweezers is your best bet. Tweezers help you get more or all of the root as well, this is key when trying to make headway with this stuff. Tank looks great! Christine 1 Link to comment
SDartifex Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 i need have have some Haha well when I wasputting the tabk together I had tryssogobius colini in mind, but since this worked out so well I decided to give apogon parvulus a try to see how well I could keep up with their intesive feeding needs. I always liked those fish. Me too, I hope that I can have better success than others with these cute little guys Haven't seen this for a while. Love all the progress!!!!! Thanks! I need to spend some time and see how your Rio Grand and the new build are coming along. Lots of interesting stuff going on here, bryopsis has to be one of the most frustrating pest alga we encounter, I despise it so. I killed mine back by lowering nutrients to an unsafe level (not recommended), the bryopsis faded away, but so did the tissue on some of my corals. Picking it out with tweezers is your best bet. Tweezers help you get more or all of the root as well, this is key when trying to make headway with this stuff. Tank looks great! Christine Thanks for the tips, I am deftly afraid of its rooting capabilitys. I have noticed my fungia showing signs of distress in loss of color as a result of my low nutrients.. I will give the tweezers a try and see how it does. Link to comment
SDartifex Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Soo these red spots eat a lot.. and its not making my algae issue any better when I have to feed at least 5 times a day Honestly nitrates are no issue, My bio filtration seems to be awesome in that regard and. Phosphates on the other hand are driving me insane, I cant seem to get them to drop below ~0.1 ppm. I have about 2 cups of fresh GFO in the highest flow area I have in the sump and it seems to be no match. I'm considering a gfo reactor, but dont think it would be enough with how much food is going in the system. Ive started freezing water bottles with about 1-2 cubes worth of food and hang them to drip into the display throughout the day. I have been doing water changes once a week to try and keep high levels of tech-m in the water to fight the bryopsis (which isn't thriving, but still growing ). I think today I am going to take out the sand bed and re-arrange things to allow for more flow and start a 100% waterchange per week routine (4, 25% changes a week). I just worry that I will end up with another outbreak of bryopsis once whatever is in that Tech-m gets washed out.. Lanthanum chloride is another option I have been researching, but there isn't much data out there on the stuff. Uhuru's amazing 120-P shows that it can be quite effective though, so there is some hope in that route I suppose if things dont turn around soon. Anyways since I've been feeding this system like it was full of NPS I decided to grab a gorg at the LFS yesterday. It is supposed to be photosynthetic, but I'm not convinced since Ive never seen one with these colors and structure before. Regardless its still breathtaking in color, and very fun to watch eat the cyclopeeze and pappone floating by. Link to comment
metrokat Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I am noticing that I'm having trouble with my sand bed getting nasty from the leftovers the mandarin misses or floats away. So I'm looking for something a little less reclusive as the cleaner for daytime clean up, but I'm not sure what since I know I don't want any hermits hunting my snails. Try Nass Vibex or Tongan Nass from reef cleaners. Phosphates on the other hand are driving me insane, I cant seem to get them to drop below ~0.1 ppm. I have about 2 cups of fresh GFO in the highest flow area I have in the sump and it seems to be no match. I'm considering a gfo reactor, but dont think it would be enough with how much food is going in the system. Ive started freezing water bottles with about 1-2 cubes worth of food and hang them to drip into the display throughout the day. GFO works great, give it a go. Beautiful gorgonians! Link to comment
SDartifex Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Yea, I have some sort of nassarius at the moment but they don't seem to be as hubgry or willing to come out during the day. Not sure what species the ones I have now are, but I know in the past my nassarius snails would rise from the grave every time I would feed my tanks. Perhaps I will put in an order with reef cleaners once I decide to reinstate the sandbed in my display. As for the GFO I already have some in a media bag in my sump, but I think I need to give it more flow to be effective. Honestly though I'm starting to fear that any reasonable amount of GFO wont be able to keep up with my feeding schedule, but we will see. Link to comment
metrokat Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Ramp up the GFO now before it turns into a problem that you have to fight later. Offense better than defense. Link to comment
SDartifex Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 I totally agree, ya gotta keep me on the ropes to win. I immediatly went from 1 to 2 cups of GFO, but with little effect. Then I remembered that you can't launch an effective offensive until you know the fight your jumping into. So in my reconnaissance I found fault in my first line of defence, my RO system.. Seems the cartridges have gone out and were putting out 23ppm! After a quick PO4 test I found a 95% congruency with my RODI and the wayer in tank. I have changed the particulate filter, both carbons, and the DI resin. After a quick flush I'm getting 0.3ppm TDS Next week I will roll myself a new membrane at work and probably get that down to undetectable levels, even with the high precision meters we use to test membranes at the shop. For now though I have 5 gallons brewing, to be changed in the wee hours before work tomorrow. Link to comment
SDartifex Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share Posted February 21, 2013 I'll see what I can do, 11hour work days and part time school is killing me right now. Thankfully the first round of papers and tests are over now, so I should have a minute for a couple shots of the ugly mess my tank is right now Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Man, that gorg is incredible. Link to comment
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