Shadow's 16G Disaster. Fumigation Poisoned the Tank and Crashed It.

[FlowerMama]

that is massive growth alright.

[Snow_Phoenix]

that is massive growth alright.

 

You should see my Ornate. He's 1.5x bigger than before.

 

Healthy diet + good environment + clean up-to-date water/filter = healthy, happy, well-fed fishies.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Picked up a 1" baby Galaxy Clarkii clown today. I really, really need to control myself with impulse purchases - it's not going to end well. On a lighter note, this was the last fish in the store at 50% off, and has been there for months. They didn't know what to do with him since no one was interested in cast-offs, so I decided to bring him back home. I'll be trying a little experiment though - the last time I checked, aquacultured clown babies get along despite the difference in species, until they hit a certain point of maturity or size. So I'll be pushing my luck a little with this round. Hence why I've decided to invest in a nano-sized skimmer soon.

 

 

 

 

Check out my Anthias photobombing lol. I certainly love Cherry - she gets bolder day by day and actually greets me when I walk up to the glass.

[Snow_Phoenix]

One of my dusters shed its crown after my dad sprayed the room with insecticide due to a cockroach.

 

 

 

Did a whooping 50% WC on the marine tank, a 75% WC on the FW tank(s) and a 100% WC on the terrapin tank to remove all contaminants. Luckily nothing else seemed to be adversely affected. Will the duster grow his crown back? I saw the worm still alive in his tube. How do I target feed him without his crown now?

 

Also, here's the latest FTS of my tank:

 

 

 

Sorry about the algae and diatoms. I'm cutting down my photoperiod to 6 hours a day to reduce it. And investing in a good phosphate absorbant media.

[FlowerMama]

It would've been beneficial if your dad could have warned you, maybe you could've put some plexiglass or something to cover the tanks before he did that. Good thing about the water changes.

[Snow_Phoenix]

It would've been beneficial if your dad could have warned you, maybe you could've put some plexiglass or something to cover the tanks before he did that. Good thing about the water changes.

 

Forgot to mention that the cloudiness is due to dosing. It usually clears up within the hour. Apparently this point didn't come across in another local forum I partake in, and I was cyber-bullied for three long hours online from three self-dubbed pro idiots. I had to endure racist comments and remarks like 'bit*h, dog, loser, fool' etc. All because I posted a blurry snapshot of a tank that I didn't scrub the glass free of diatoms and had just finished dosing. Gee. Didn't think I'd seen the worst of humanity up until that point.

 

In the meantime, the duster that lost his crown is still in his tube and occasionally 'rolls' around in there. I gently blew some phyto-zoo mix at his mouth, but I'm more concerned if he'll be able to 'catch' it without his crown. How long does it take for the duster to regrow its crown usually?

[Tamberav]

Starting to think your local forums suck

[Snow_Phoenix]

 

 

Apparently peroxide dipping and GHA is an unheard of concept on there. Gotta admit, it's amusing. They haven't even heard of Salifert's PO4 sensitivity testing - hence how you draw a figure of 0.015ppm.

 

 

 

Typical trolls, nothing to see here.

[FlowerMama]

yeah, i certainly wouldn't miss anything on those forums.

[1.0reef]

Mann. All this freshwater talk is making me want to set one up. But i am a complete newb with FW. And i want a planted lol.

The best part is they're so easy! I haven't touched my little 20 gallon Betta/frog tank for around a month, plants look great, no algae, no complaints here lol.

Tanks look great Shadow! I especially love the anthias.

[Snow_Phoenix]

yeah, i certainly wouldn't miss anything on those forums.

 

Pity. The other members are still great, which is why I stick around. I try to help other newbies, and somewhere along the lines I've been accused of keeping a 'terrible/bad' tank and trying to claim to be a 'pro', which I never have and never will. I believe reefing is a continuously learning experience, and we all make mistakes. It's only human of us to make them, and then we do our best to correct them and learn from them.

 

The best part is they're so easy! I haven't touched my little 20 gallon Betta/frog tank for around a month, plants look great, no algae, no complaints here lol.

Tanks look great Shadow! I especially love the anthias.

 

Thank you. It's suffering from a nasty GHA invasion though - it could have looked better, but I'm doing toothbrush scrubs every day, and dosing LaCl3 everyday as well. I'm picking up some extra PhosBan later though.

[Snow_Phoenix]

 

I'm just curious. If an individual consistently does this, is there a legal way to press charges, or can we make a police report for harassment in Malaysia? I know we don't have strong laws when it comes to Mass Communication, but this is ridiculous. I'm not even saying anything, and they're still harassing me repeatedly. It's almost like they're obsessed with me.

 

What about in US? Do you guys have protective laws against this sort of thing?

[Tamberav]

Eh, there are things you can do but not things like restraining orders or such unless they were seriously threatening your life. You can try and scare them by sending a "cease and desist".

 

Does the forum have a ignore function? That is usually the best thing to do. It really annoys bully's.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Eh, there are things you can do but not things like restraining orders or such unless they were seriously threatening your life. You can try and scare them by sending a "cease and desist".

 

Does the forum have a ignore function? That is usually the best thing to do. It really annoys bully's.

 

Well, one of them threatened to break my neck. Can't believe the whole thing spiralled out of control. Unfortunately this forum has no ignore function since it's linked to FB. I can block them, but the admins insisted I don't for the moment because they want continuous screenshots of all the comments. From inflammatory to derogatory remarks, to insults and open flames, I guess it's nothing really new. Most people in my past have thrown words like that at me before.

[1.0reef]

Send them towards me or some of the lounge rats, we'd wipe the floor with their fat asses

[Snow_Phoenix]

Send them towards me or some of the lounge rats, we'd wipe the floor with their fat asses

 

And you, my friend, just cheered me up.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Gah, I just realized I now have Cyano as well! This is a catastrophe - eep. Is there any way besides manual removal and Chemiclean to get rid of it? Will cutting down the photoperiod or doing a 3 day blackout help?

[Snow_Phoenix]

I'm just curious. Can I bait a troll with this meme?

 

[1.0reef]

I'm just curious. Can I bait a troll with this meme?

 

Trolls are opportunistic feeders, they will often take whatever they can find. Memes included.

[Tamberav]

Trolls are opportunistic feeders, they will often take whatever they can find. Memes included.

 

lol!

 

 

Gah, I just realized I now have Cyano as well! This is a catastrophe - eep. Is there any way besides manual removal and Chemiclean to get rid of it? Will cutting down the photoperiod or doing a 3 day blackout help?

 

Phosphate remover and don't add any more fish until your tank is under control.

 

Nutrients in must equal nutrients out, otherwise they will build up. - jedimasterben

[Snow_Phoenix]

lol!

 

 

 

Phosphate remover and don't add any more fish until your tank is under control.

 

Nutrients in must equal nutrients out, otherwise they will build up. - jedimasterben

 

Will do - not planning to add any new fish for quite a while anyways. Phosphate remover, here I come.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Well, I did a nice little peroxide dip for most of my LR pieces and a lot of toothbrush-scrubbing. Did a bit of rescaping as well. Got a mini bacterial bloom, which I expected from the repeated dips and dosing I've been doing for the past few days. Nevertheless, here's my first video of the 15G:

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

And here's the current fate of the 30G. Planted setup with overstocked Cichlids (you have to overstock to lessen aggression with these guys or they go bonkers), bichirs (4 adorable babies - Ornate, Albino, Regular Senegal and Endlecheri), 4 random Gouramis. I keep the pH fairly neutral (lowest alkanity and highest acidicity) and managed to find a comfortable balance with the tank. Parameters are in check, and I have zero algae issues whatsoever.

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Swung by my LFS and picked up a nice ball of Chaeto and some PhosBan.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some random snapshots of the tank:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FTS on 9/7/2014.

 

 

 

There's still a mild cloudiness hanging about the tank - so I've stopped all dosing and am waiting for the water to clear up on its own. Also, I found my smallest Crocea flipped over on the sandbed last morning - was consulting Zeph on how to save it. Right now it's a waiting game, but I hope the little guy makes it through. I still don't know who was the culprit involved in the clam-flipping incident. With a 1" long P. Ciliata mantis, a baby Galaxy Clarkii clown, some hermits and a tuxedo urchin, it could be anyone. Hmph.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Well, my little Crocea didn't make it. Found his flesh completely separated from the shell and being devoured by a bristleworm - pulled both the shell and flesh out and threw it in the bin. Sigh.

 

According to Zeph, the LaCl3 dosing wouldn't affect clams, so the prime cause of its death was most likely the fact that its foot was ripped off and it flopped upside down on the sandbed.

 

I was thinking of picking up another clam - but the only ones left at my LFS are these muddy yellow ones which are around 5" long. Plus I need to wait for the tank to stabilize further.

 

So far the nuisance algae outbreak has lessened considerably. I've stopped dosing LaCl3 and am allowing the GFO and added macro clumps to kick in.

 

Btw, I've decided to convert this whole tank into a macro tank with maybe a few odd softies. Any good recommendations? I don't want anymore LPS or SPS or zoas if possible.

 

Also, is it advisable that I pick up a female spotted Mandarin at the end of this year/beginning of next year to pair up with my male? I'll train it onto frozen, of course. But I was debating between the female spotted and a scooter blenny or even a ruby red (if I could afford it). Tank is crawling with pods thanks to the pod hotel and amount of macro I have in there. I purposely didn't feed my Mandarin any wet food this past week (due to the nutrient imbalance and algae issue) and he's actually gained weight.