TeenyReef's 10g Fusion - ATO Disaster

[Reefkid88]

When I first looked at that picture,I didn't even see the goby lol... It may be because I'm partially blind hahaha. Acan's look amazing as usual though man !!!

 

Oh,and new page should call for more Acan pictures

[tibbsy07]

It was an unimitgated pain in the pattooty. But I think if I had a new one I would be able to break it in much faster now that I know what to do. Here's what I did - one or all of these steps seemed to do the trick:

- Vinegar bath (did it twice over a month). During the first month, I didn't get much skimmate and I had lots of microbubbles.

- A day or two after the second vinegar bath, I opened the air venturi all the way, with the cup as high as possible. This immediately eliminated the microbubbles and it started skimming nicely the next day. I read about this setting online. This setting was pretty loud and the skimmate wasn't super dark.

- Somebody else posted instructions they got from IM. Basically, it was to adjust top of the white part of the skimmer so it was 1 1/2" above the water, turn the air venturi down until there are no more bubbles, then open it 1/4 to 1/2 turn after the point where bubbles start to form. Lower the cup as low as it can go. let it run for a day and then raise the cup as needed for the quality of skimmate you need.

Wow. I think I'll skip it. One would think that it would work relatively painlessly and easily pretty soon after the vinegar bath, especially given that the tanks are designed to be used with them. Stephen (VP of IM) told me that the water line is important and if you keep the water line at that point, it'll just work. That doesn't seem to be the case.

 

While I was busy taking care of my wife, I got a new cell phone (Galaxy S6). The camera on it is much better than the old S4 I used to have. I took a quick picture of Midnight (the black clown goby) hanging out on the acans, just to see how it would do. The white balance in this picture is untouched. It's a little purple, but quite acceptable.

Picture is great! I like that little black clown goby

[teenyreef]

When I first looked at that picture,I didn't even see the goby lol... It may be because I'm partially blind hahaha. Acan's look amazing as usual though man !!!

 

Oh,and new page should call for more Acan pictures

Thanks! I'll see what I can do

 

In the meantime, I noticed a little bivalve or scallop critter attached to the rocks. He's alive - he closes up if I touch him. Oh yeah, and there's a green banded goby there too

GBG and Bivalve by TeenyReef, on Flickr

Wow. I think I'll skip it. One would think that it would work relatively painlessly and easily pretty soon after the vinegar bath, especially given that the tanks are designed to be used with them. Stephen (VP of IM) told me that the water line is important and if you keep the water line at that point, it'll just work. That doesn't seem to be the case.

 

Picture is great! I like that little black clown goby

Thanks! He has a lot of personality, and does much better in this bigger tank than he did in the 4g tank. He's always moving around and changing perches, which he never did in the old tank.

 

I don't blame you for skipping the skimmer. Unless you really need one it's probably not worth the bother anyway. Besides, Hypostatic made a great point about the benefits of not using one in his TOTM thread

 

Do you posses extraordinary patience or is spot feeding a zen experience for you?

 

I kind of wish there was an emoji with it's eye's closed in meditation...

You know, I never thought about it that way, but I really do enjoy spot feeding corals. I guess it is kind of a zen experience That's the closest I can come to a zen emoji

[FlowerMama]

I just spot fed each nem in my 60 last night. Haven't been fed in 2 mos and they were hungry! I enjoy it tremendously. I'm only using the skimmer to add oxygen.

[owenj]

Nice pics with your new phone! Glad you're back, Teeny, and that your wife's recovery is going well.

[tibbsy07]

Love the green banded. May get one myself

[teenyreef]

I just spot fed each nem in my 60 last night. Haven't been fed in 2 mos and they were hungry! I enjoy it tremendously. I'm only using the skimmer to add oxygen.

That's a lot of spot feeding But I really do enjoy it when corals are responsive. I guess it's just like feeding a baby

Nice pics with your new phone! Glad you're back, Teeny, and that your wife's recovery is going well.

Thanks!

Love the green banded. May get one myself

They really are a great nano/pico fish. They don't eat corals or bother other fish, they don't hide all the time, and they're pretty.

[reefernanoman]

I'm glad to hear that your wife is doing better. Tank and new additions are looking awesome.

[teenyreef]

Some of the zoas still aren't quite back to normal. And I had one of the acans recede overnight to almost nothing

So I did another water change last night, and suddenly I realized I haven't cleaned the sand bed in months. I think that may be a big part of the recent downturn I've had. So last night I did part of the sand bed along with a water change, and tonight I did it again with another part. Finger crossed that things will be better now.

 

On the bright side, everything else seems to be at least holding ground, if not showing a lot of growth. The green rock flower anemone continues to wander around the tank but has settled high in the rocks for the last couple days. You can also see the purple gorgonian, the red monti cap, and the blue tort in this picture.

Green RFA by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

I had a hard time getting a decent picture of the blue tort. I think I'll try a top down one later.

Blue Tort by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

I still love this chalice:

Chalice by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

The other monti caps are continuing to grow nicely:

Monti Caps by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Here's a close up of the angel eyes favia, which are spreading all over the plug now. Free photo bomb courtesy of Midnight

Midnight Photobomb by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Finally, at the LFS today I picked up this un-named SPS frag for $20. Anybody recognize it?

New SPS by TeenyReef, on Flickr

[Sk8n Reefer]

Great shots! Chalice's are amazing looking corals. Are you gonna let the caps grow around each other?

[teenyreef]

Thanks! Yes, I'm just letting the caps grow as they like for now.

[reefernanoman]

Some of the zoas still aren't quite back to normal. And I had one of the acans recede overnight to almost nothing

So I did another water change last night, and suddenly I realized I haven't cleaned the sand bed in months. I think that may be a big part of the recent downturn I've had. So last night I did part of the sand bed along with a water change, and tonight I did it again with another part. Finger crossed that things will be better now.

 

On the bright side, everything else seems to be at least holding ground, if not showing a lot of growth. The green rock flower anemone continues to wander around the tank but has settled high in the rocks for the last couple days. You can also see the purple gorgonian, the red monti cap, and the blue tort in this picture.

Green RFA by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

I had a hard time getting a decent picture of the blue tort. I think I'll try a top down one later.

Blue Tort by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

I still love this chalice:

Chalice by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

The other monti caps are continuing to grow nicely:

Monti Caps by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Here's a close up of the angel eyes favia, which are spreading all over the plug now. Free photo bomb courtesy of Midnight

Midnight Photobomb by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Finally, at the LFS today I picked up this un-named SPS frag for $20. Anybody recognize it?

New SPS by TeenyReef, on Flickr

Nice nice nice

[moores38]

Awesome photography!

[kimberbee]

Midnight is adorable!

[markalot]

Nice. I wonder if that acro frag is what some wholesalers call Purple Fuzz?

 

One of my acans in the sandbed receded over the last couple of weeks, and goodness knows my sandbed needs cleaning! I wonder. The ones mounted on the rocks aren't happy, but aren't receding either.

[kimberbee]

I'm having the same acan issue.

 

But I have two on the sand bed and only one is receding. I've been trying to spot feed it more and hope I don't lose it!

[LilCope]

You have shared your husbandry techniques with your QT tank, but how about this one? Media, dosing, etc.? What parameters do you keep?

I'm loving the progression of the tank.

[dorky08]

wow that impressive nano build thread i love it Ive done pico and 7g but broke it ill set it up once again soon

[teenyreef]

Nice. I wonder if that acro frag is what some wholesalers call Purple Fuzz?

 

One of my acans in the sandbed receded over the last couple of weeks, and goodness knows my sandbed needs cleaning! I wonder. The ones mounted on the rocks aren't happy, but aren't receding either.

That's a pretty good guess, Mark. From the pictures I've seen in a quick search it does look similar. I'll have to see how it colors up when I start moving it up off the sand bed into more intense light.

 

The acan pretty much died overnight. I've got the skeleton in the frag tank just in case there's a little bit if tissue left that it can grow back from.

 

The rest of the acans are doing OK. They haven't really been puffing up and putting out feeding tentacles the way they used to, though. I've been trying to make sure the tank and sand bed stay clean, and I've started feeding them more frequently. Unfortunately, both the red brittle and the harlequin starfish have gotten really big, and they are starting to pick the food out of the acans before they can eat it

 

If anyone with a larger tank is interested in some starfish, let me know. I'm going to put some frags up for sale soon, so maybe I can make a package deal

I'm having the same acan issue.

 

But I have two on the sand bed and only one is receding. I've been trying to spot feed it more and hope I don't lose it!

Oh, I hope it's doing OK. I need to catch up on your thread!

[teenyreef]

You have shared your husbandry techniques with your QT tank, but how about this one? Media, dosing, etc.? What parameters do you keep?

 

I'm loving the progression of the tank.

Thanks! The basics are in the first post of this thread (carbon, gfo, and floss, along with the IM Desktop Ghost skimmer). I manually dose Seachem Reef Fusion daily.

 

Temp: 79.5 (sometimes goes up to 80.5 during the summer)

Salinity: 1.0245

Ph: swings between 7.95 and 8.2 daily based on the lighting cycle

Alk: 8.5

Ca: 420

Mag: 1250

Nitrates: usually about 2-5

 

I also have some chaeto in the media basket. It doesn't really grow very much, which I think is a good indication that the tank is usually fairly clean.

[kimberbee]

Oh, I hope it's doing OK. I need to catch up on your thread!

 

It's not... Just slowly receding and dying. And now my plate is receding on one side too.

 

Today is tank maintenance day, and before I do that everyone gets a good feeding for half an hour, so I'm hoping that helps.

 

Acan will probably be moved over to the fusion, cause, what harm will it do? It's already receded about halfway, maybe moving it will help it survive, and then I can spot feed more easily without hermits to bother it.

[teenyreef]

One of the great things about having two tanks is you can take a coral that's not doing well in one tank, plop it in the other one, and watch it start to thrive for no apparent reason at all I've taken a couple acans that were receding in the 10g tank that bounced right back in the frag tank.

[teenyreef]

Today I noticed that some of the zoas were closed up, acans weren't puffy, and things generally didn't look real great. When I checked the nitrates it was up to about 8 ppm, so I stirred up the sand again and changed about 3 1/2 gallons of water. The tank is due to get the back chambers cleaned at the end of the month so it looks like that will be my weekend project.

 

When I was checking things out, I noticed some bubble algae growing on the back edge of the chalice. I swear there was nothing there two days ago

 

I pulled the chalice out (it just sits on the sand bed) and put it in some tank water in a small container. I used a very small, sharp, flat head screwdriver to get the bubbles off without popping any.

 

Before:

Chalice with Bubble Algae by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

After:

After Bubblectomy by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Hopefully I got it all

[markalot]

I little paint brush treatment with peroxide might work well. I did this to some acans, double rinsed, and returned. This was back when I wasn't so lazy. I would do this if you find bubbles coming back in the same spot.

[ReefWeeds]

I little paint brush treatment with peroxide might work well. I did this to some acans, double rinsed, and returned. This was back when I wasn't so lazy. I would do this if you find bubbles coming back in the same spot.

This is an awesome tip! I never thought of brushing on peroxide in just one spot! I've been nervous to try to dip it, and this makes so much sense.

That's a pretty good guess, Mark. From the pictures I've seen in a quick search it does look similar. I'll have to see how it colors up when I start moving it up off the sand bed into more intense light.

 

The acan pretty much died overnight. I've got the skeleton in the frag tank just in case there's a little bit if tissue left that it can grow back from.

 

 

 

If anyone with a larger tank is interested in some starfish, let me know. I'm going to put some frags up for sale soon, so maybe I can make a package deal

 

I had an Acan that a hermit moved into a yuma and I thought it was totally dead. I couldn't see any flesh. Put it in the frag tank and a couple weeks later, it is totally healed! It's a completely different color than it was which I found interesting.

 

I can't wait to see what frags you're going to put up for sale!