tibbsy07 5.5 pico reef

[Polarcollision]

Yep. Those are the amphipods I have. I have copepods and stuff on my glass but those are fine.

 

I know zoas like dirtier water, I'm trying to balance just how dirty so the other corals don't suffer either

 

I tried stabbing them with toothpicks and other sharp things. Didn't solve the problem, but it made me feel less helpless while they chewed up expensive zoas. Everything I see in your tank is equivalent to what I'm growing, so it seems like if they'll do well in my dirty water they should do well in your dirty water, right? My money is on the amphipods reducing your zoas.

 

P.S. second bet for declining zoas is on iodine levels. I don't know your numbers - are you good there?

[tibbsy07]

I tried stabbing them with toothpicks and other sharp things. Didn't solve the problem, but it made me feel less helpless while they chewed up expensive zoas. Everything I see in your tank is equivalent to what I'm growing, so it seems like if they'll do well in my dirty water they should do well in your dirty water, right? My money is on the amphipods reducing your zoas.

 

P.S. second bet for declining zoas is on iodine levels. I don't know your numbers - are you good there?

Gotcha. Yeah, I am looking at getting a damsel when my fallow period ends because I hear they eat the amphipods.

 

I don't test for iodine nor do I dose it. I pretty much steer clear of trace element dosing in tiny tanks. Just regular water changes.

[metrokat]

Current protocol: No feeding, regular water changes, regular testing for Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Oh no! I'm sorry I didn't realize you had ammonia also, what caused it, Barry #1 croaking? You know at 6 months the tank could have handled even a fish death given how much water you change out, if you are seeing ammonia then the tank for whatever reason might be cycling.

[tibbsy07]

 

Oh no! I'm sorry I didn't realize you had ammonia also, what caused it, Barry #1 croaking? You know at 6 months the tank could have handled even a fish death given how much water you change out, if you are seeing ammonia then the tank for whatever reason might be cycling.

No ammonia currently, just nitrites and nitrates. Testing just in case as it's a bad thing to have but easy to test for.

[Kijho]

Love the Ricordia's! Tank looks awesome!

[tibbsy07]

 

Love the Ricordia's! Tank looks awesome!

Thanks. It's hit a bit of a bump in the road but it'll work out. Trying to exercise patience on my end. K.I.S.S., Tibbs

[tibbsy07]

Snapped some pictures this morning before coming in to work (was here until 3:15 last night!!)

 

Fts with the sun and light on. You can see everything here now. Doesn't look too bad today.

 

Right side looking ok

 

Left side looks good. The new ric has REALLY expanded and puffed up. I think it's happy there.

 

Here is what the angry green-bay-packeresque-zoas look like 100% of the time now:

Might be time to dump them

[metrokat]

No ammonia currently, just nitrites and nitrates. Testing just in case as it's a bad thing to have but easy to test for.

Realistically though, unless you see a problem or have had death or decay, there is no reason to test for ammonia routinely or for nitrite. In the scheme of things testing for calcium and magnesium is far more important when you've been up and running for 6+ months. Just because you have a test kit doesn't mean it is a test that needs to be performed.

[markalot]

Don't dump anything. Stick them in an out of the way corner and if they die, so be it. I have some green bay packets, I think. Greenish with orange centers? I've had them for over a year and just now I noticed a nice colony has formed just behind where I placed the polyps I bought from Kat. Magic sauce I tell ya. I have plenty of fish to eat the pods but if they want to be pissed they'll be pissed.

 

Don't fret, just look at it as an opportunity to BUY MORE CORALS.

[tibbsy07]

Realistically though, unless you see a problem or have had death or decay, there is no reason to test for ammonia routinely or for nitrite. In the scheme of things testing for calcium and magnesium is far more important when you've been up and running for 6+ months. Just because you have a test kit doesn't mean it is a test that needs to be performed.

While I would agree that Ca and Mg are normally important in my testing, and I do them normally along with phosphates and dKH - I would argue that they aren't that critical to test here right now. I wanted a quick and dirty water quality check and, given that ammonia and nitrate are often the first two indicators of a problem, the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate tests were in order. Given the results, and that I do regular 20-40% water changes as well as adding the marine stabilizer 2x a month, I think the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate problem is a larger issue at this exact moment.

 

Given the fact that I have seen a nitrite and nitrate spike indicates that I had ammonia at some point. If it was there, it's possible it should be there again, especially with the increased bioload. I disagree with you and Ben that 70 snails being added to a 5g tank adds no bioload. It has to - their microbiome alone could be considered a shift in the bioload. Let alone their waste production. I also fed the phyto/marine cuisine combo, which was probably too much for the tank. There is probably still a lot of junk in the sand from that that needs to be cleaned up, too.

 

In the standard testing regime I do nitrate, phosphate, pH, temp, salinity, mag and cal - I'll continue to do them, too.

[tibbsy07]

Also I should mention - I'm not trying to be argumentative, simply processing information via the forum

[metrokat]

While I would agree that Ca and Mg are normally important in my testing, and I do them normally along with phosphates and dKH - I would argue that they aren't that critical to test here right now. I wanted a quick and dirty water quality check and, given that ammonia and nitrate are often the first two indicators of a problem, the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate tests were in order. Given the results, and that I do regular 20-40% water changes as well as adding the marine stabilizer 2x a month, I think the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate problem is a larger issue at this exact moment.

 

Given the fact that I have seen a nitrite and nitrate spike indicates that I had ammonia at some point. If it was there, it's possible it should be there again, especially with the increased bioload. I disagree with you and Ben that 70 snails being added to a 5g tank adds no bioload. It has to - their microbiome alone could be considered a shift in the bioload. Let alone their waste production. I also fed the phyto/marine cuisine combo, which was probably too much for the tank. There is probably still a lot of junk in the sand from that that needs to be cleaned up, too.

 

In the standard testing regime I do nitrate, phosphate, pH, temp, salinity, mag and cal - I'll continue to do them, too.

 

The snails do add a bioload, yes, but nothing your tank could not handle at this age Doc.

You make it sound like John shipped you 70 Mexican turbos when in fact the bulk of that shipment is dwarf ceriths. My 3G pico has 5 virgin nerites, 2 stocky florida ceriths, 1 nerite, 1 dwarf cerith. These snails are much bigger than dwarfs. When I had diatoms I also put in a large trocus. Those things produced waste that is still there. No bioload problems. This tank is a month old vs your 6 month old tank.

 

in pico news though, going to have to restart it.

[tibbsy07]

The snails do add a bioload, yes, but nothing your tank could not handle at this age Doc.

You make it sound like John shipped you 70 Mexican turbos when in fact the bulk of that shipment is dwarf ceriths. My 3G pico has 5 virgin nerites, 2 stocky florida ceriths, 1 nerite, 1 dwarf cerith. These snails are much bigger than dwarfs. When I had diatoms I also put in a large trocus. Those things produced waste that is still there. No bioload problems. This tank is a month old vs your 6 month old tank.

 

in pico news though, going to have to restart it.

I think in combination with me overfeeding without a way to clean/remove waste properly was my problem.

 

Why do you have to restart?

[metrokat]

I think in combination with me overfeeding without a way to clean/remove waste properly was my problem.

This I agree with

 

When I went away for a week to Atlanta the tank became cloudy. One of the slugs tore in two, probably inked or slimed the tank. The temporary frags have been moved to the RSM so they're fine, the rest is just water. Throw it all out, rinse, refresh start anew.

[tibbsy07]

This I agree with

 

When I went away for a week to Atlanta the tank became cloudy. One of the slugs tore in two, probably inked or slimed the tank. The temporary frags have been moved to the RSM so they're fine, the rest is just water. Throw it all out, rinse, refresh start anew.

I think either the feeding or the snails would have been fine normally in my tank. But I got too overzealous with the feeding too quickly and then while that stuff broke down and was still being removed, I added a lot on top. A good gravel vac and another water change will set it right. Hopefully this weekend, using spazizz's vac technique. I have to configure a better gravel vac head via a water bottle.

 

 

That's one nice thing about picos - it's not too terribly hard/expensive to restart if you have to. Sorry to hear about this though

[tibbsy07]

Temperature is like 82 all the time now. I've got to get a fan or chiller.

[tibbsy07]

Sitting at the allergist eating sunflower seeds to see if I am allergic or not. So far so good. Thankfully. Jist eating and waiting.

 

Onky thing to do is to think about tanks

[jbb]

I like their thought process .

 

tibbs

"am I allergic to this ? "

 

 

Doc

"I dunno , eat it and find out."

 

 

 

I don't need med school to tell you that .

[tibbsy07]

I like their thought process .

 

tibbs

"am I allergic to this ? "

 

 

Doc

"I dunno , eat it and find out."

 

 

 

 

 

I don't need med school to tell you that .

Lol right?

I had some symptoms a few years back, blood test was negative. This is the only definitive way, but with people who wont let me die on staff

 

So far so good. I think it was a fluke thing way back.

[tibbsy07]

Also random thought: Cree is nearby. I wonder if I could skip the middle man and just go to them and buy LEDs?

[tibbsy07]

Goals for the weekend: 1 or 2 gallon water change, getting a fan for the room to help keep the tank cool, getting some bio-spira from the pet store to help out the bacterial levels a bit. It needs a boost.

[metrokat]

I tried stabbing them with toothpicks and other sharp things. Didn't solve the problem, but it made me feel less helpless while they chewed up expensive zoas.

[Polarcollision]

 

I tried stabbing them with toothpicks and other sharp things. Didn't solve the problem, but it made me feel less helpless while they chewed up expensive zoas.

 

Well that escalated quickly!

[tibbsy07]

So... chaeto does not like the light through the lid on the ac70... all white/grey and dying. Lid is now off. Also put a fan blowing at the tank and the water is back to 78 degrees!

 

Punk rockers, gsp, and everything on the left of the tank looks amazing. Xenia are still recovering and the rest of the zoas are grumpy, including the watermelons. Fed a few mls of phyto to help.

[tibbsy07]

So I can't even keep chaeto wtf? Worst reefer ever, lol. Damn.