The Goby and Gorgonian Grotto ... Algae, algae everywhere!

[Lynaea]

Finally got PhotoBucket to upload one of the videos, but first a new FTS and more pics!!:

 

(Some of the stuff is closed up because I turned the lights back on to get this, bad me!)

 

Left side

 

Right side

 

My brave new Tangaroa watching me from the back of the tank

 

New Tiger goby, I'm really liking this guy, he's out a lot now that he's comfortable and it's pretty funny watching him chase the food around

 

And a close up of one of the anemone crabs feeding

 

And........ Hopefully the video!

 

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid1378.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fah119%2Flynaea1234%2FMobile%2520Uploads%2F2014-08%2F7DC9B936-0732-4921-AFF1-454A93328BE4_zps72a1g7j4.mp4">

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/7DC9B936-0732-4921-AFF1-454A93328BE4_zps72a1g7j4.mp4.html

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/7DC9B936-0732-4921-AFF1-454A93328BE4_zps72a1g7j4.mp4.html

 

Haha, I've tried all the options, idk

[ssteven1]

Awesome tank! Are you still using the current LED. How do you like that light.

[Lynaea]

Yup, I upgraded to the 36 inch to get better lighting at the edges. I like it but I don't have a lot to compare it too either. My FW planted has the Fluval LED for planted tanks, it's better than that

[vlangel]

Wow, your tank just keeps getting more beautiful all the time. Well done!

[Lynaea]

Thanks for the compliments everybody! This is definitely the tank I like the most. My FW planted ones are kind of boring compared to all this color and life.

[Kalanianaole]

Great set up, love the tank.

 

I'm putting in an order from KPA today for rusty gobies, a spotted anemone shrimp, and the orange gorg and curious how all your livestock from them is holding up.

[Lynaea]

It's been awhile since I've been here, guess I better update.

 

I don't remember the exact progression but at some point two of the caulerpa varieties that had been barely hanging on suddenly took off and practically took over the tank. I was working on pulling that out weekly to try to get it under control when my landlord calls ...... My plumbing has to be completely redone so I must move to another unit between Thanksgiving and Christmas (yay!???

 

So the move was rushed and I lost some stuff and then the caulerpa took over again because I've been busy putting my other stuff back where it goes, etc. Finally the last week or so I yanked a BUNCH of caulerpa, did several massive water changes, bought some new fish and corals and feel like my tank is starting to look presentable again.

 

I was pretty bummed about the whole thing, the only reason I started this tank after years of considering trying SW was because I had ABSOLUTELY NO PLAN TO MOVE FOR 3-5 YEARS, haha, I guess the universe had other plans for me

 

Anyway, I'm actually liking my new apartment better than the old one and am starting to feel okay with my life again. I'll try to post pics when I get stuff arranged better. I did get a tuxedo urchin too and it appears that he is eating the caulerpa???? I hope so, I might get 1-2 more if he keeps at it. Anyone else had this experience? The caulerpa is feathery fern-like and a thicker fern frond type, it's probably in some of my pics above.

 

I still have both Tangaroa's, the Rusty, one masked goby, the anemone crabs and the peppermint shrimp. At some point the anemone shrimp all disappeared, I'm not even sure if they were there before the move because the tank ( and my life) was such a mess.

 

Besides the urchin I got a bicolor blenny who I love, he is constantly out and keeps coming over to see what I'm doing when I rearrange stuff. I also got a yellow clown goby who I've spotted out a few times, two big leathers (idk kind, purple with frilly fingers and pinkish with knobby fingers, lol), a green shroom rock, some other frags....... I went a little crazy actually, I was just sick of it looking like a swamp. Pics when I can.

 

C-ya

[dpoltsdsu]

I really like this tank, it looks great. The gorgonians are beautiful

[Lynaea]

Okay ..... Update!

 

I decided over the last month or so that I wanted a larger tank. I decided to wait until Petco had a $ per gallon sale and then they did .... Like the next week . So after a few weeks of gathering supplies and deciding my plan of attack I finally set it up. Apparently all my pics are too big but I got these two to work:

 

 

 

I now have three tuxedo urchins nomming on the darn caulerpa, they have made a definite dent, all the bare rock you see was previously COVERED in caulerpa, as in could not see the rock.

 

I'm loving the added width and the fish are certainly enjoying the extra space, it's amazing what a difference that 6 inches made!

[vlangel]

Nice to have you back. I am sorry about your prior trials though. It's seems to be part of the human condition from time to time.

Your tank looks great and you will like the extra room and the stability that brings.

[gena]

Oh...I love the upgrade!!!! The caulerpa looks so natural. I'm glad to hear the urchins are helping you keep it under control .

[Lynaea]

Thanks vlangel and Gena,

 

The extra room is great, I loved aquascaping it, so much easier than trying to cram everything in a narrow row

 

I am enjoying the caulerpa again now that it's not so out of control, it really had taken over the tank and swallowed up all the rocks and most of the corals attached to them. I'm hoping the urchins will just keep it in check without completely eradicating it, luckily the rocks are very irregular so there are places the urchins can't reach. I can also say that the urchins have not bothered my 'fancy' macros (codium, halimeda and a purple one that's similar to halimeda), they only eat the caulerpa.

 

I think if I just keep up with maintenance and water changes I will be good to go now, it will be nice to see the corals growing rather than shrinking from the evil caulerpa onslaught. Haha

 

Ooh, and now I want some swimmy fish (yeah, it's a word ), I'm considering a pink streaked wrasse, a Pygmy / possum wrasse or an ORA white spot filefish, maybe two of the above. The wrasses seem to be out of stock everywhere right now though and the filefish is over $70 with shipping so we'll see. Anybody have other suggestions? I want a fish that will be calmish but not hide all the time and I really like the way the small wrasses hang in the water and move their eyes all around looking for food. Super cute !!

[Nano sapiens]

First time I've seen this tank, but it has a bit of 'Old School Dutch Reef' vibe with all the caulerpa and macros...which I like

 

The extra width is very welcome. I used to have a 55g 'show' with narrow width and I just couldn't get a reef-realistic aquascape.

[gena]

Thanks vlangel and Gena,

 

The extra room is great, I loved aquascaping it, so much easier than trying to cram everything in a narrow row

 

I am enjoying the caulerpa again now that it's not so out of control, it really had taken over the tank and swallowed up all the rocks and most of the corals attached to them. I'm hoping the urchins will just keep it in check without completely eradicating it, luckily the rocks are very irregular so there are places the urchins can't reach. I can also say that the urchins have not bothered my 'fancy' macros (codium, halimeda and a purple one that's similar to halimeda), they only eat the caulerpa.

 

I think if I just keep up with maintenance and water changes I will be good to go now, it will be nice to see the corals growing rather than shrinking from the evil caulerpa onslaught. Haha

 

Ooh, and now I want some swimmy fish (yeah, it's a word ), I'm considering a pink streaked wrasse, a Pygmy / possum wrasse or an ORA white spot filefish, maybe two of the above. The wrasses seem to be out of stock everywhere right now though and the filefish is over $70 with shipping so we'll see. Anybody have other suggestions? I want a fish that will be calmish but not hide all the time and I really like the way the small wrasses hang in the water and move their eyes all around looking for food. Super cute !!

Go for the pink streaked wrasse. Best fish ever .

[Lynaea]

Wow, it’s been a really long time since I updated so here’s the quickie version ?

 

Hurricane Matthew took out my power for 3 days and I stupidly did not have battery air pumps or backups so I lost all the fish and most of the larger inverts/corals.

I then got hair algae of course and have spent the last 2ish years trying to get rid of it with varying degrees of success. 

I was smarter with Irma and had both battery air pumps and a battery back up for the gyre so everything survived even though my power was out even longer after she tried to take out the entire frickin State. 

 

I know it shouldn't have taken 2+ years to start getting the tank back in line but as a lot of you unfortunately know, losing nearly the whole tank of livestock is hard to take and for a long time even looking at it was depressing. So mostly my revitalization efforts have been sporadic and somewhat halfhearted. 

 

I have managed to get things mostly back in line though and will try to post a few pics, it sounds like I can link them directly now so I’ll see how that goes. 

I have rearranged the aquascape twice since my last update so the biggest difference is going to be the Tonga rock I added about a year ago(?)

I’m liking the new scape and have been coming at the algae issue hard with a black-out, fluconazole, hydrogen peroxide, more/better CUC (margaritas, trochus, limpets, urchins, pods and phytoplankton from AlgaeBarn.... the kitchen sink!)

 

Hopefully this will keep the tank on track, will see. 

[Lynaea]

So I’ve also been throwing in random macros to try and outcompete the hairy stuff so they are just kind of everywhere. There’s still some algae on the glass, especially on the sides but I’m not cleaning it right now cause I’d rather sit on the couch and cruise NR ..... so here’s a crappy iPhone pic, enjoy!

Also the big black filter is only temporary to help remove the algae as it dies, working so far = eww, the filters are gross in 2 days!

 

[Halo_003]

That is really cool! It looks wild.

[Lynaea]

Ha, you should have seen it when there was hair algae everywhere, looked like a swamp. 

 

I’m definitely partial to the natural look though, I started with low-tech planted freshwater tanks so I guess I’m more used to this look then the glowy coral wall thing. Although I certainly admire those too. 

[Christopher Marks]

1 hour ago, Lynaea said:

I know it shouldn't have taken 2+ years to start getting the tank back in line but as a lot of you unfortunately know, losing nearly the whole tank of livestock is hard to take and for a long time even looking at it was depressing. So mostly my revitalization efforts have been sporadic and somewhat halfhearted.

Don't beat yourself up, I think many hobbyists can sympathize with that situation, tough on morale. I'm sure you had a lot of other headaches to deal with too, post hurricane. You should be quite proud that you persevered and turned it around, because this tank is really beautiful now! I love all the macro algae, such a natural look. Macros don't get enough love I think!  

 

Keep up the good work!

[Lynaea]

Thanks Chris,

I like the new site, I was reading Harry’s Clickbait thread, I guess I should have posted this there (and I’m not sure how to tag you) but a “how-to-use-the-new-site” thread would be awesome. 

[JBM]

Give yourself more credit. You made all the right decisions. Tank looks pretty dam good. All you need is time, light, and water changes. 

[WV Reefer]

Ask and you shall receive:

 

 

[Lynaea]

Thanks for your support everybody!

 

I feel like I should update the equipment and stocking list since the tank is so different now, so here goes:

 

Equipment:

IceCap Gyre 3K

Grech UV HOB CBG-800

Eheim surface Skimmer

Marineland polishing filter (for intermittent detritus removal)

2 AI Prime HD’s

Reefkeeper lite controller 

AutoAqua Water Changer (AWC)

AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro (currently controlling a solenoid to top up my ATO reservoir)

Finnex 150 watt titanium heater

BRS RO/DI unit (150 gpd)

SmartBuddie booster pump

 

Livestock:

Blackline Blenny (ORA)

Yellow Clown Goby

2 Tangaroa Gobies

2 Banggai Cardinals (not paired, bad idea)

Orange Spotted Blenny

Red Banded Snapping Shrimp

Red Brittle Star

Orange Serpent Star

Tuxedo Urchin

Brown Urchin (KP Aquatics)

Turkey wing clam

other hitchhiker clams

Other CUC: Limpets, margaritas, trochus, nerites, Ceriths, money cowrie, 2 hermit crabs, 2 red Mithrax crabs

 

Corals and stuff:

Gorgonians

sponges

macro algae

leathers

palys

big mushroom

Duncans

Frogspawn

Blastos

Common Rock Flower Nem

 

Filtration:

ChemiPure Blue

Purigen

floss

UV on HOB filter, not sure this makes any difference 

(all of these are pretty recent additions, I was running a CPR Aquafuge refugium but it only grew hair algae and was difficult to clean so it’s off for now)

 

I think that’s it, I’ll try to keep this updated better. 

[vlangel]

Wow, it's great to hear from you Lynaea!  I often thought of your tank and wondered if you were still reefing.  The tank looks great even amidst the trials you've endured.  Welcome back.

[OldManSea]

What a lovely tank!  Macro’s and gorgonians always make a nice tank.  I am too new on the site to have seen your thread from before the hurricanes but it has certainly recovered nicely.