thecoralbeauty Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 So far, Jeff is the man. I was really partial to Aquatic Arts but Jeff has been great going through all this like giving me free food to try and save my mandy. Plus he has stuff he can get that I guess Aqustic Arts cant. I dont know why aquatic arts couldnt get them... But Aquatic Arts still beats them when it comes to corals. When did you get him? I saw one a few weeks ago, but we want a trio. So that little guy stayed lol Not going to lie, its kind of weird thinking that we might never meet, but we cery seriously could see each other's fish! Next time you're in if you see a NFS with flashers, a flame angel, a kole tang and some gobies, those are probably mine! Lol it is odd. i went to reef ed last saturday for a few hours, i was wondering if i would see you there. chances are, we have seen each other in passing for all we know! haha its nice to have local friends in the hobby though- you never know how you might be able to help each other! I got my wrasse about a month ago, maybe a little longer. super happy- he's super cute! Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Sandman was dead this morning. So I am down to three survivors of my origibal crew. Sandman had this weird pimple like bump on the side of his body that I think might have been involved in his death. All parameters were good. So I think maybe that and not eating enough. Nothing else makes sense. Or copper sensitivity, but thanks to doing the water change yesterday. That was dropped to .3 from .5. Very frustrating. I am so close to just saying screw it and putting everyone back in the display. But that would undo all the work and make all the deaths in vain... UGH! Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Yay! My new fish are at the LFS. So even if the rest of the fish die, I will have someone to put in the tank in a month... Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 So I got stung by my BTA this morning. Turns out, I'm allergic! Luckily, the reaction was mild: warm hand, a little chest heaviness, cotton mouth, and a headache. But all symptoms went away in about 3 hours. I'm buying a pair of gloves now for working in the tank. Probably best for everyone anyways. My three remaining fish seem fine. Thankfully, praise be to God, my three fish left are the three I would be the most broken about losing. Especially my silly rabbit. Usagi is my heart fish. I think every aquarist has that one they are the most fond of, and she's it. I really hope my beautiful Usako finishes the rest of the QT fine. I added more Cupramine yesterday, I'm letting them take 24 hours to adjust, I'll test, and then add the "rest" tomorrow (I say the rest to get to the reccomended .5, but I might be close enough as it is) Usagi is being her normal self, a little more skittish then normal, but then again, these have been a harrowing few weeks for her. For a "skittish" fish, I think she's doing great. The LFS got our fish in and I went to see them. They haven't been moved to their own tank yet so no, not all those fish are mine. lol I was taking photos of the prices to see what the damage will be (around $320 not including the QT... but this will finish the list, except for a partner for the mandy and if I want a smaller fish, but we're pretty much stocked out) and noticed my husband's Flame Angel was photo bombing. But I think he's a stunning speciman. From photo comparisons, I'm fairly certain he is a Hawaiian Flame angel and not Marshall Islands. I really hope he isn't a coral nipper. But if he is, maybe I can use that as my excuse to put up anoth tank. Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Oh, and the LFS owner said in his experience, he's foundDiamond Gobies to be a little more sensitive to copper then other fish, so that might be what happened. AND I get the APEX DOS on TUESDAY! Woot! Then the tank will be 95% automated. Just their 1 frozen feeding, amino acids, refilling ATO jugs and water changes is all I have to do. Which I'm fine with, I'd like to get the water changes and ATO jugs automated at some point, but feeding and amino acids I don't mind and I believe some things need to be kept manual so you're forced to look at the tank. lol Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I love the dimensions on this reef. Good luck with the DOS system! Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Im considering dropping my aqua mart today or this weekend sometime. If i do, i'll say hi to your fish! Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Im considering dropping my aqua mart today or this weekend sometime. If i do, i'll say hi to your fish! So are we. Have show hubs the fish I love the dimensions on this reef.Good luck with the DOS system! Thanks! We love it too and so did the previous tank owner. He just had it re done in rimless starfire. Super sexy tanks. Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 well, you know what i look like if i run into you! Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 well, you know what i look like if i run into you! I will be the short one chasing after a toddler. Lol. Link to comment
thecoralbeauty Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 didn't end up at aquamart- went to aquatic art instead. Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 The only thing new to report is I have the dos! Yay! All things that swim are doing great and my mccoskers will be at the lfs next week. Here is a photo of the sexy dos. The containers fit perfectly next to the ato reservoirs. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Nice! Excellent addition to the equipment ? Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 Nice! Excellent addition to the equipment Hey, I have a gallon of AA's calcium that I am not going to use. (I am pretty pleased with reef fusiom atm), you can have it if you want... or for a frag of something PM if you're interested. I dont have anywhere to store it now since the Dos containers are occupying its spot Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 I am loving the DOS. Had some hiccups the first day, but I think the kinks are worked out now. Now I feel so "naked" when taking care of the tank. Kind of like leaving the house without your phone or wallet. I feel so vulnerable without having to dose. lol Bad thing is my QT is having a nitrite spike. This is what killed my fish last time. I think I caught it in timme though, there were no outward signs of stress. I did a 25% water change this morning and will do another 25% change this evening. That should take care of it. One more week of cupramine (for three weeks total) and then I can throw in some carbon and purigen and have some peace of mind that I can use Prime if I have to. That's the most nervewrecking part of this: my usual QT fallbacks (prime and purigen) would cause the cupramine to turn toxic and relying on waterchanges alone is stressing me out. My RO/DI is slower than molasses in January so it takes forever to make water. I always keep some ready made and heated, but still, its stressful to keep on top of things while chasing down a toddler. In other news: I checked on the fishies at the LFS and took some photos! My McCoskers should be in on Tuesday (Memorial day threw off ordering schedules... poo) but everyone is doing great! The LFS ordered an African Cleaner Wrasse instead of the Cleaner Goby I wanted by mistake. I wasn't going to take him at first because everything I read gave about the same verdict as mandarins: They don't last long if you can't get them to eat prepared. But they have a really long life (on par with clowns instead of mandarins) if you can. Anyways, I was talking with one of the employees and I asked him if he would choose the wrasse or the goby. He said if I ever wanted to try a cleaner wrasse, to get this specific guy because he was eating mysis already. I had him feed the wrasse in front of me, and now he will be my fishie! Note: every fish in the photos is mine. How exciting! Yellow eye Kole Tang, Hawaiian Flame Angel, and African Cleaner Wrasse Yellow Clown Goby, I wanted a juvenile but oh well, I hope they have decent life expectancies. He seems very social! Female Target Mandy, I was too broken up to do greens again. She seems to be doing well and has been in QT for about two weeks now, so she's eating something... I'm still trying to not get too excited until I see her body condition after the whole 3 to 4 weeks Replacement diamond goby. I'm still pretty mad at myself for losing my first one. But now I know that I should dose cupramine more slowly then the bottle reccommends. I'm still just angry that I had to figure itouw the hard way Thats everybody! I've been ghost feeding the display heavily to prepare for this since everyone is getting added in a two to three week time frame. The originals (my clowns and rabbitfish) will go in about two weeks before everyone else. Luckily, my rabbitfish makes a lot of poop, so she should help boost the biofilter. lol But thats it for now. Can't wait to see my teeny wrasses on Wednesday! Link to comment
Addinali Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 The only thing new to report is I have the dos! Yay! All things that swim are doing great and my mccoskers will be at the lfs next week. Here is a photo of the sexy dos. The containers fit perfectly next to the ato reservoirs. Sweet looking setup, do you not keep your Fuel refrigerated? Or is this before you opened it? Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Sweet looking setup, do you not keep your Fuel refrigerated? Or is this before ypu opened it? Thanks! The fuel isn't opened yet. Link to comment
Addinali Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Just makin sure I do crap like that all the time. Link to comment
braaap Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 How are those adjustable feet working out for you? I was planning on picking 4 up tomorrow for my tank stand. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I know your LFS has the fish separated from normal sale section, but are they medicating them properly? Link to comment
lkoechle Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 So if you're waffling on the DOS, you should totally get it. I tested my levels for the first time in a week and they are PERFECT. Even though its dosing the same amount I thought I was dosing, clearly human error was in play in my ever so slight fluctuations. Which is to be expected when you are literally eye balling a measurent. What you see today, might not be what you see tomorrow. So, super stoked about the dos and my perfect measurements. And cupramine treatment is done! Woot! So, doing water changes over the next few days to get the copper out and next friday my little fishies will be free from prison! How are those adjustable feet working out for you? I was planning on picking 4 up tomorrow for my tank stand. Still working great. We have a had a ton of movement in our foundation from tons of rain and they have been great to keep the tank level I know your LFS has the fish separated from normal sale section, but are they medicating them properly?Yes. I went over it multiple times with the owner and his employees on the different times I have gone in to check on them to make sure everyone knew what they were doing. Link to comment
lkoechle Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 So, big update. I've been out of touch for a while. Here's what been happening: New fish are in the tank (only mandarin, diamond goby, and the two wrasses made it to the tank) My mom and siblings came to visit and we took a family trip to yellowstone (yay 10 hour drive with a toddler! lol actually he was very good) I'm pregnant We also did some rescaping in the tank. I thought I had pictures, but I don't. I will get some up later. Since installing the Apex DOS, I have had some killer growth going on. Pretty happy about that. We were gone for a week and our neighbor said the tank was stupid easy to take care of. As it should have been since I set it up so all he had to do was change out ATO jugs and clip in a seaweed strip every couple of days. I'm really pleased with the Apex system overall, we were able to do daily fish counts through our security camera at feed time (camera looks at where the food drops) and it was really nice knowing there was very little the sitter could do to mess up the tank. The African Cleaner Wrasse is eating like a freaking boss. No sign of pickiness, if it fits, he eats. He eats mysis, roe, pellets, anything that looks like food. So I think he will be with us for several years to come. The McCosker's is the same way. My diamond goby has been attacking my phantom clownfish, but I don't really blame him. My retarded clownfish tries to host him. That's right, my clown is retarded, he's trying to host a fish. His mate (I say he, but its technically she or he/she at the moment), has lost a good portion of his tail thanks follow her/his lead. They look like they've gone through a meat grinder. I hope they learn. We'll see. My mandarin, Luna-P, is nice and fat and active. In the photo she's a little skinny (taken the day she went in) but she's a little hippo now. I'm very happy with her. I think we're done with tangs. I'm pretty sure we're going with Cirrhilabrus wrasses now for stocking. They're pretty, active, peaceful, and eat anything. So we'll probably pick up a solar wrasse, a scott's fairy wrasse, and a Naoko or Tono's Fairy Wrasse in the future. Here are some photos from our trip, and my adorable Luna-P. Got two pretty cool shots of wildlife (the buffalo and the elk). And a lot of cuteness from my son. I will take more updated shots of the tank today or tomorrow. DSC_0112 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0216 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0221 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0224 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0274 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0292 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0304 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0321 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0332 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0334 by lkoechle, on Flickr DSC_0395 by lkoechle, on Flickr EDIT: I forgot Luna-P! DSC_0226 by lkoechle, on Flickr Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The only thing new to report is I have the dos! Yay! All things that swim are doing great and my mccoskers will be at the lfs next week. Here is a photo of the sexy dos. The containers fit perfectly next to the ato reservoirs. What containers are those? The tall jugs- really like them! Link to comment
lkoechle Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 What containers are those? The tall jugs- really like them! The skinny jugs are BRS space saver jugs (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/space-saver-jug-thin-4-liter-1-05-gallon.html). The fat ones are just regular 5 gallon jugs that my LFS carries. Link to comment
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