TeenyReef's 10g Fusion - ATO Disaster

[teenyreef]

On 3/10/2017 at 11:59 PM, J-Ranko said:

 

Nice pic of the puffer. I really like the variety of patterns on this guy.  The blue and yellow stripes on his face are pretty cool.

 

On 3/11/2017 at 0:08 AM, ninjamyst said:

that's an awesome pic of Doug 2!!!!

Thanks! He's a great fish, I love watching him and he always has a smile on his face 

 

Unfortunately, this has been a bit of a depressing day. The bacterial film, or whatever it is, isn't going away. Here's a picture of it. It's not the algae-looking stuff in the middle, it's the white/blue stuff on the right of the crevice between the rocks in the middle. You see more of it on the edge of the rock on the upper left.

 

Then, I noticed I've got aiptasia again 

 

And to top it all off, when I fed the tank tonight, I realized that Fitzgerald, the pink streaked wrasse, hasn't come out for a couple of days. I've had him a long time, so it wouldn't surprise me if he's just gotten too old. RIP little buddy 

 

Between all of these factors, I'm more inclined than ever to just completely reboot this tank with new live rock and a new scape. Now that the frag tank seems like a viable environment, I could move all the fish over there as well as the corals, and restart this tank from scratch.

[gone_PHiSHin]

sorry to hear of the continued woes with this tank teenyreef

 

this tank was a big inspiration for me and influenced my choice to go with the IM10/Nanobox Tide combo for my return to the hobby.  if you decide to put in the work and rebuild it from scratch I'm sure the new reboot will be incredible as well.

 

[teenyreef]

Thanks! I'd love to keep things going as is, but I've already had it in recovery mode for about three months. If I had just gotten it over with and rebooted it for real, it would be in great shape by now.

 

I think the main reason I've kept trying is that I'd like to know how to fix what's wrong, so that if it ever happens again, I'll know how to handle it.

[jack1978]

13 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

Thanks! I'd love to keep things going as is, but I've already had it in recovery mode for about three months. If I had just gotten it over with and rebooted it for real, it would be in great shape by now.

 

I think the main reason I've kept trying is that I'd like to know how to fix what's wrong, so that if it ever happens again, I'll know how to handle it.

Rip that thing apart and rebuild it Teeny.....you'll feel better!

 

Good luck on Fitz!  

[HOTWATER]

Sorry to hear about bummer time you've been having. A reboot sounds fun though! 

I'm sure your frag tank will be a great temporary home for your fish and corals. The fish may not want to go back lol! You 

[ninjamyst]

Reboot and do a theme tank!

[Bowen1022]

Do a rebuild so I can build with you again lol

[Weetabix7]

15 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Thanks! I'd love to keep things going as is, but I've already had it in recovery mode for about three months. If I had just gotten it over with and rebooted it for real, it would be in great shape by now.

 

I think the main reason I've kept trying is that I'd like to know how to fix what's wrong, so that if it ever happens again, I'll know how to handle it.

 

See, I'm kinda with you on that last sentence there. 

I hate the thought of a restart without ever figuring out the original source of the problem. 

I've had to do it though, so I understand. 

 

Have you seen Fitzy today?

He's such a cool fish, I hope he's just been feeling shy and shows up.

[Moolelo]

While I can't give you any assurances, this looks like a bacterial growth from infected freshwater or chemical additive? I can't remember exactly what you are dosing, but something may be infected and feeding this (maybe limit what you dose or change small amounts of water daily for a week instead to see?). Also do a good rinse or get a new RO/DI top off container and tubing! Tubing weirdly enough is a huge cause of bacteria issues because it is so hard to clean properly. Increase flow and water changes (I am not sure about any chemical methods except antibiotics will work on something like this, most bacterial additives are not for fighting other bacteria).

But all of this could risk livestock, so restarting this tank is a good choice also.

[Weetabix7]

You know, bacterial problems as a result of unclean tubing totally makes sense to me. 

[teenyreef]

3 hours ago, Moolelo said:

While I can't give you any assurances, this looks like a bacterial growth from infected freshwater or chemical additive? I can't remember exactly what you are dosing, but something may be infected and feeding this (maybe limit what you dose or change small amounts of water daily for a week instead to see?). Also do a good rinse or get a new RO/DI top off container and tubing! Tubing weirdly enough is a huge cause of bacteria issues because it is so hard to clean properly. Increase flow and water changes (I am not sure about any chemical methods except antibiotics will work on something like this, most bacterial additives are not for fighting other bacteria).

But all of this could risk livestock, so restarting this tank is a good choice also.

Those are some really helpful thoughts! I hadn't thought about dosing and top off containers and tubing. 

[kimberbee]

Fitzgerald still MIA?

[teenyreef]

37 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

Fitzgerald still MIA?

Unfortunately, yes

[Weetabix7]

Well poop!! 

[gena]

Awww...not the great Fitzgerald . 

[Tuffryu]

Sorry to hear Teeny. I just had my purple firefish jump, so I feel you. 

It's interesting to hear about the white hazy stuff as I have some as well. I hadn't thought much of it until I read this post LOL. 

 

Never thought of it as a bacteria infection, but will keep this in mind. 

[teenyreef]

On 3/14/2017 at 3:25 PM, Tuffryu said:

Sorry to hear Teeny. I just had my purple firefish jump, so I feel you. 

It's interesting to hear about the white hazy stuff as I have some as well. I hadn't thought much of it until I read this post LOL. 

 

Never thought of it as a bacteria infection, but will keep this in mind. 

Dang, sorry about the firefish! 

 

Still no sign of Fitzgerald, so I think he's definitely gone. He had a long and happy life in this tank and was a really great fish. I highly recommend a pink streaked wrasse for anyone looking for a good fish for a small tank. 

 

So while I was at the lfs getting fish for the 30g, I saw they had a couple tail spot blennies, and this tank needs an algae eater anyway...so...meet Jeremiah 

 

[jack1978]

29 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

Dang, sorry about the firefish! 

 

Still no sign of Fitzgerald, so I think he's definitely gone. He had a long and happy life in this tank and was a really great fish. I highly recommend a pink streaked wrasse for anyone looking for a good fish for a small tank. 

 

So while I was at the lfs getting fish for the 30g, I saw they had a couple tail spot blennies, and this tank needs an algae eater anyway...so...meet Jeremiah 

 

Another one of my favorites!  Awesome personality.

[Kyl]

Noo, not the PSW 

 

Funny, I've stolen most of your stocking ideas Teeny, except the dam greenbanded gobies which are rarer than anything up in the frozen North!

 

Anyone on the fence I'll echo Teeny's stocking choices, the pinkstreaked wrasse and tailspot blenny have both been wonderful additions to my tank with zero issues from either of them.

[beardtamer]

Hey Teeny, I've been following your tank thread for a while. I'm looking at getting a Toby puffer of my own, but I'm curious what you feed Doug/Doug 2? Do you just feed him regular food that the rest of the tank gets? And do you do anything in particular to curb some of his teeth growth?

 

great tank, glad you're algae/Bactria outbreak seems under control now. 

[Weetabix7]

That Blenny looks great, but is it part Unicorn?

[William]

The tubing/top off container might be part of it, I actually know a few people who replace all of their tubing yearly for that exact reason.... I always thought they were nuts....

[StinkyBunny]

On 3/17/2017 at 0:37 AM, teenyreef said:

Dang, sorry about the firefish! 

 

Still no sign of Fitzgerald, so I think he's definitely gone. He had a long and happy life in this tank and was a really great fish. I highly recommend a pink streaked wrasse for anyone looking for a good fish for a small tank. 

 

So while I was at the lfs getting fish for the 30g, I saw they had a couple tail spot blennies, and this tank needs an algae eater anyway...so...meet Jeremiah 

 

 

[vlangel]

I am sorry about Fitzgerald.  I think its even tougher when you never find them.

Jeremiah is as cute as a button however.  I love TSBs.  They are adorable.  I would get one if I were not afraid of it trying to scrape algae off the seahorses.

[xAyanex]

The new blenny is adorable!!