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Cultivated Reef

Two Cats and a Reef


thecoralbeauty

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thecoralbeauty

im considering adding automation to this thing (foreseeing the school year and it's craziness...) but need to do some more research. while i start reading and poking around, i figured i'd open it up for discussion here, as well. I've done everything by hand, always, for all the years I've kept a reef, so this is totally new to me.

 

i'm thinking of auto top off and dosers (my remaining livestock wishlist isn't something I'm ready for at the moment until prices come down or frags get bigger!)

 

my auto top off choices seem to hover around the tunze osmolator nano. any suggestions?

 

Doser- Alk and Calcium. Potentially magnesium, but thats not a pressing concern. i am the type that likes to buy overkill equipment though so if/when i upgrade my tank i don't have to buy all new gadgets either. however,have no knowledge of dosers.

 

off to go read up!

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HarryPotter

Hey Morgan- the Tunze Osmulator is a great ATO. To me it was a game changer- just put the pump in a 5g bucket and forget about it for a week:

 

I really like my Jebao DP4 foster. You can get four heads for $65 or so, with a built in controller. Just set how many ml for each dose and the time you want it- and done. Very accurate on my experience and idiot-proof (perfect for me!). Plus it has a battery so it always saves the time and settings- even when I unplugged it for three days!

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thecoralbeauty

so, bad news. flasher wrasse went carpet surfing. no idea how or when. must have been when i had the top off feeding this morning - but i didn't see him, and neither did the cats, who were with me. i walked in again just now to check on the tank. I fed around 8 and i suppose now that its 11 he would have had 3 hours to reach jerky-status... but he was seriously dried out. then again i doubt it was last night because i didn't open the top when i got home last night.

 

hm. well, i guess I'm opening the floor for fish replacement suggestions. I could always try out the midas blenny, i suppose...

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so, bad news. flasher wrasse went carpet surfing. no idea how or when. must have been when i had the top off feeding this morning - but i didn't see him, and neither did the cats, who were with me. i walked in again just now to check on the tank. I fed around 8 and i suppose now that its 11 he would have had 3 hours to reach jerky-status... but he was seriously dried out. then again i doubt it was last night because i didn't open the top when i got home last night.

 

hm. well, i guess I'm opening the floor for fish replacement suggestions. I could always try out the midas blenny, i suppose...

Sorry :(. Check your fish cam if you can rewind? You might see what happened.
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so, bad news. flasher wrasse went carpet surfing. no idea how or when. must have been when i had the top off feeding this morning - but i didn't see him, and neither did the cats, who were with me. i walked in again just now to check on the tank. I fed around 8 and i suppose now that its 11 he would have had 3 hours to reach jerky-status... but he was seriously dried out. then again i doubt it was last night because i didn't open the top when i got home last night.

 

hm. well, i guess I'm opening the floor for fish replacement suggestions. I could always try out the midas blenny, i suppose...

So sorry about your wrasse. :( I hate it when things die or a coral or fish doesnt make it. Truly sorry.

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Oh damn. He/she was such a pretty bright wrasse. But maybe like Gena said you can find out what happened.

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thecoralbeauty

I've reviewed all the footage of me feeding, and i don't see that he jumped. Even stranger, if he had jumped the day before (while i was out all day)- why didn't the cats eat him?

 

I doubt he jumped yesterday morning. he was completely dried out.

 

I'm pretty upset about it, but either I'll try another type of wrasse or a midas blenny.

 

orrr... i could go back to the pair of fish I had in college, a bangaii cardinal and a royal gramma. but i kind of like trying new fish.

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I've reviewed all the footage of me feeding, and i don't see that he jumped. Even stranger, if he had jumped the day before (while i was out all day)- why didn't the cats eat him?

Maybe he didn't smell good enough to eat. I know some fish are really stinky when they are out of water. The firefish comes to mind.

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so, bad news. flasher wrasse went carpet surfing. no idea how or when. must have been when i had the top off feeding this morning - but i didn't see him, and neither did the cats, who were with me. i walked in again just now to check on the tank. I fed around 8 and i suppose now that its 11 he would have had 3 hours to reach jerky-status... but he was seriously dried out. then again i doubt it was last night because i didn't open the top when i got home last night.

 

hm. well, i guess I'm opening the floor for fish replacement suggestions. I could always try out the midas blenny, i suppose...

awww. I'm sorry, Morgan :(

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thecoralbeauty

Do you not have some sort of top?

yep... thats why i was checking during my feeding when i had the lid lifted

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thecoralbeauty

 

So that happened.

 

Birdsnest is totally demolished but other than that, no losses.

 

will need to come up with a better solution to keep them off. ideas? My first is to move the tank to the other wall so they can't jump on it so well in the first place. and then try to keep them out of the room in general.

 

 

sorry haven't been on or very active. I've got a horrible cold.

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OH NO! What about putting something like a mouse trap (the kind that are small enough NOT to snap on their paws, but will close with movement) or a scat mat on top to scare them away from sitting right on the top and then putting some sort of viewing pedestal to the side so they can peer into the tank but are discouraged from sitting on top.


Holy cow!!! That sucks!!!...on the bright side, you got a hilarious video out of it!

HA! I agree. Daisy's reaction was pretty funny, especially how she kept checking it out very cautiously after it happened.

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jedimasterben

Double sided tape on the tank rim and top for a short time. They'll figure out really quickly that it's not cool.

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Omg, i was just talking to kimberbee and merithyn about that when they were over, that i am scared if i get a cat, it would perch on top of the tank because it's comfy and warm from the light. So sorry that happened to you.

 

I wonder if you have a mesh top, the cat won't try to sit on it because they will quickly see the mesh wont support her

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thecoralbeauty

OH NO! What about putting something like a mouse trap (the kind that are small enough NOT to snap on their paws, but will close with movement) or a scat mat on top to scare them away from sitting right on the top and then putting some sort of viewing pedestal to the side so they can peer into the tank but are discouraged from sitting on top.

HA! I agree. Daisy's reaction was pretty funny, especially how she kept checking it out very cautiously after it happened.

what on earth is a scat mat...??

yea. funny for sure, and I'm happy only one coral got hurt. unfortunately though, it was the pink birds nest and it's in a million pieces. it had grown so much, too. at least it's not a pricy or hard to replace item.

Double sided tape on the tank rim and top for a short time. They'll figure out really quickly that it's not cool.

my best friend mentioned doing that to her cat to keep her off the TV. it's worth a shot.

 

Omg, i was just talking to kimberbee and merithyn about that when they were over, that i am scared if i get a cat, it would perch on top of the tank because it's comfy and warm from the light. So sorry that happened to you.

 

I wonder if you have a mesh top, the cat won't try to sit on it because they will quickly see the mesh wont support her

i have to go get a new top asap today (currently working with saran wrap) to keep the remaining wrasse from carpet surfing. i'll look into mesh options too...

I guess this is why they call things "CAT-astrophies"

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what on earth is a scat mat...??

yea. funny for sure, and I'm happy only one coral got hurt. unfortunately though, it was the pink birds nest and it's in a million pieces. it had grown so much, too. at least it's not a pricy or hard to replace item.

my best friend mentioned doing that to her cat to keep her off the TV. it's worth a shot.

 

i have to go get a new top asap today (currently working with saran wrap) to keep the remaining wrasse from carpet surfing. i'll look into mesh options too...

I guess this is why they call things "CAT-astrophies"

http://www.safepetproducts.com/scat-mat-for-cats-and-dogs.html?gclid=CIKCoOCB28YCFdCRHwodG_8M-g#.VaU1BM4-CT8

 

They work with a 9 volt battery - and send out static, so I'm not sure if it would impact the tank at all. We used these on our counter when Franklin's WORST counter-surfing days.

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jedimasterben

http://www.safepetproducts.com/scat-mat-for-cats-and-dogs.html?gclid=CIKCoOCB28YCFdCRHwodG_8M-g#.VaU1BM4-CT8

 

They work with a 9 volt battery - and send out static, so I'm not sure if it would impact the tank at all. We used these on our counter when Franklin's WORST counter-surfing days.

Sends a harmless shock of static? Psh. I'd just hook it directly to a 120 line. They will learn the FIRST time they touch it. :P

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Shit, is she okay? She didn't cut herself did she?

 

Well, she's sitting there for the heat. A canopy, even temporarily is probably something that could deter her from getting to the light.

 

On second thought, now you can have a non-glass lid which will help your gas exchange.

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