Anthrax & Gangs! 50G SCA

[thecoralbeauty]

 

gonis are still pissed, everything else is happy- no Dino’s! 

[righttirefire]

How's your royal gramma temperment?

[thecoralbeauty]

5 minutes ago, righttirefire said:

How's your royal gramma temperment?

he's great! really resilient little guy! the springers damsel went after him when he first got in the tank- chewed his whole tail off. Royal gramma grew the tail back, stood his ground- and actually spends a ton of time out in the open- i know a lot of people say they tend to hide in holes (they do)- but he seems to find it fun to swim in and out of them more than just hide.

 

He's probably my favorite fish. 🙂 

[righttirefire]

7 minutes ago, mwhitelock said:

he's great! really resilient little guy! the springers damsel went after him when he first got in the tank- chewed his whole tail off. Royal gramma grew the tail back, stood his ground- and actually spends a ton of time out in the open- i know a lot of people say they tend to hide in holes (they do)- but he seems to find it fun to swim in and out of them more than just hide.

 

He's probably my favorite fish. 🙂 

I was thinking that'll be the last fish i add to the upcoming tank... but maybe not the last fish.

[vlangel]

I am very happy to hear that the dinos are gone Morgan.  So what do you think fixed it?  Mine are also gone.  I think it was getting my macro algaes growing again by raising nutrients a little.  Once they started to take off they out competed the dinos.

[thecoralbeauty]

11 hours ago, vlangel said:

I am very happy to hear that the dinos are gone Morgan.  So what do you think fixed it?  Mine are also gone.  I think it was getting my macro algaes growing again by raising nutrients a little.  Once they started to take off they out competed the dinos.

good to hear!!!!

 

There are still tiny bits of them here and there but barely even noticeable anymore. it's hard to say what exactly knocked them out- i think making conditions unfavorable for them through a number of approaches really did the trick though-

1. I moved my lighting spectrum a little dimmer and bluer,

2. switched to RO/DI for water changes and top off,

3. boosted my Mg levels,

4. increased my biodiversity with different live sand and bacteria.

5. I  pulled the macroalgaes out of my sump. so- funny that boosting yours did the trick. 

6. started running filter socks- tried to blow the dinos off the rocks and sand and into the water column to be collected when pulled into the overflow and then into the sock

7. re-seeded my tank with pods and phytoplankton- and I am continuing to dose phyto and see pods all over now- this seems to have REALLY helped.

[ReefGoat]

24 minutes ago, mwhitelock said:

good to hear!!!!

 

There are still tiny bits of them here and there but barely even noticeable anymore. it's hard to say what exactly knocked them out- i think making conditions unfavorable for them through a number of approaches really did the trick though-

1. I moved my lighting spectrum a little dimmer and bluer,

2. switched to RO/DI for water changes and top off,

3. boosted my Mg levels,

4. increased my biodiversity with different live sand and bacteria.

5. I  pulled the macroalgaes out of my sump. so- funny that boosting yours did the trick. 

6. started running filter socks- tried to blow the dinos off the rocks and sand and into the water column to be collected when pulled into the overflow and then into the sock

7. re-seeded my tank with pods and phytoplankton- and I am continuing to dose phyto and see pods all over now- this seems to have REALLY helped.

CONGRATS!

[ninjamyst]

I bet the key was the new biodiversity with live sand and pods!

[thecoralbeauty]

1 minute ago, ninjamyst said:

I bet the key was the new biodiversity with live sand and pods!

Yes!!

 

I got my Nitrate and Phosphate readings back up as well, not sure if that was directly related, but certainly a sign of better balance- which i think is key.

 

I think perhaps most tanks have dinoflagellates, the key is to keep things in balance so they don't get the upper hand and grow out of control!

[thecoralbeauty]

everything is very happy this morning after a 5 g water change. Skimmer cranking away, params holding steady.

 

Red goni is still angry. why?! 

 

In other musings, I feel that this tank has really undergone a rebirth in the last few months with the new scape and gear upgrades, etc etc. Perhaps a new name is in order? I don't have any anthias. It's more a wrasse-and-tang tank than an anthias-and-tangs tank (autocorrect is responsible for the current name) 

 

Overall, I go for movement. That's kind of the theme of my coral picks. 

[patback]

I always wondered where the name came from!

[thecoralbeauty]

 

 

 

[thecoralbeauty]

interesting development.

Still no dinos. but nitrates were close to 50

red goni still not expanding. its been over a month now. 

so out of curiosity i stuck some chemipure elite back in the sump. lo and behold, its expanding a bit more now. hopefully this trend continues

 

everything else is growing and lush and expansive, and i don't even remember the last time my tank looked this good! 🙂 

 

will try to update with photos again in the next week.

[Christopher Marks]

Wonderful news @mwhitelock! Do you still feel like it was adding the macro algae that set the low nutrient situation motion and brought on the dinoflagellate outbreak?

[thecoralbeauty]

2 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said:

Wonderful news @mwhitelock! Do you still feel like it was adding the macro algae that set the low nutrient situation motion and brought on the dinoflagellate outbreak?

Thank you! I definitely do. 

My tank tended to always run low nitrates, probably because I have 5 clams ( There needs to be a clam lovers anonymous... I need to be cut off, I caught myself browsing other clams this morning too). I think adding the macros somehow caused an imbalance that let the Dino's get a strong enough foothold to take over. 

 

I really panicked, too. Many a better hobbyist than myself has been taken down by Dinos... so I was happily surprised when I followed @vlangel's advice to increase biodiversity through different bacteria and pods, and increase nitrates and phosphates.

 

The only thing that isn't fully returned (and happier than before) is that ORA red goni- which had been the happiest coral in my tank over the last two years overall. Hopefully I am now seeing it return as well! 

 

Personal update- I am currently still working as a counselor, but I got into Colorado School of Mines and will be studying Petroleum Engineering next fall, using the last three years of my GI bill. In preparation for this I've been taking calculus and physics courses at the community college in the afternoons and online. The tank is in my office where I do most of my studying, and I can say that this probably is also causing the turnaround in my tank's health- I'm around much more often and can do small tweaks in passing or between integrals. 

 

My shoulder is all back to health after the accident and my strength has increased from lifting, so I'll likely spend more time this season out at the archery range again over the summer- but calc classes will continue until school officially starts, so hopefully that will keep me around enough to continue to care for the tank this much as well. 🙂

 

[vlangel]

55 minutes ago, mwhitelock said:

Thank you! I definitely do. 

My tank tended to always run low nitrates, probably because I have 5 clams ( There needs to be a clam lovers anonymous... I need to be cut off, I caught myself browsing other clams this morning too). I think adding the macros somehow caused an imbalance that let the Dino's get a strong enough foothold to take over. 

 

I really panicked, too. Many a better hobbyist than myself has been taken down by Dinos... so I was happily surprised when I followed @vlangel's advice to increase biodiversity through different bacteria and pods, and increase nitrates and phosphates.

 

The only thing that isn't fully returned (and happier than before) is that ORA red goni- which had been the happiest coral in my tank over the last two years overall. Hopefully I am now seeing it return as well! 

 

Personal update- I am currently still working as a counselor, but I got into Colorado School of Mines and will be studying Petroleum Engineering next fall, using the last three years of my GI bill. In preparation for this I've been taking calculus and physics courses at the community college in the afternoons and online. The tank is in my office where I do most of my studying, and I can say that this probably is also causing the turnaround in my tank's health- I'm around much more often and can do small tweaks in passing or between integrals. 

 

My shoulder is all back to health after the accident and my strength has increased from lifting, so I'll likely spend more time this season out at the archery range again over the summer- but calc classes will continue until school officially starts, so hopefully that will keep me around enough to continue to care for the tank this much as well. 🙂

 

Bravo!  It sounds like all good news for you!

[thecoralbeauty]

Goni is extending a little more each day after I've added the chemipure elite. Not sure what it's hesitant about but since we are on the right track, I'm not complaining!

 

I saw some orange torches with purple tips- but they're so darn expensive I decided to wait and if im going to spend that kind of money I'd rather it be on a christmas tree worm rock or something.

 

No dinos, everything is still chugging away! Continuing to sporadically dose phytoplankton but i'm not sure how helpful it really is. it doesn't seem to be hurting though!

 

Also have started mixing some kalk in my ATO water. so far it's kept the pH up but too soon to see if it's leading to faster growth on anything yet. 

 

Here are some photos:

Happy sweepers:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtwqktEncON/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[billygoat]

Oh @TatorTaco @lizzyann, this is the thread I was thinking of that beat the dinos! Thank you @mwhitelock for meticulously documenting your struggle with these awful protists, for the benefit of reefers everywhere 😄 You are a real-life saltwater champion.

 

I love the enormous diversity of life in this tank, and all the different colors of the clams, fish, and corals. It gives me that same "coral reef!" vibe that I usually only get when I see pictures of the Great Barrier Reef, or of sponge reefs in the Caribbean. This is a truly spectacular aquarium. 👏

[thecoralbeauty]

5 hours ago, billygoat said:

Oh @TatorTaco @lizzyann, this is the thread I was thinking of that beat the dinos! Thank you @mwhitelock for meticulously documenting your struggle with these awful protists, for the benefit of reefers everywhere 😄 You are a real-life saltwater champion.

 

I love the enormous diversity of life in this tank, and all the different colors of the clams, fish, and corals. It gives me that same "coral reef!" vibe that I usually only get when I see pictures of the Great Barrier Reef, or of sponge reefs in the Caribbean. This is a truly spectacular aquarium. 👏

awe, thank you so much, this is the sweetest!! 

dinos are for sure the worst- I don't think i would have had such luck beating them if not for the community here- particularly @vlangel's advice. 

[billygoat]

4 hours ago, mwhitelock said:

awe, thank you so much, this is the sweetest!! 

dinos are for sure the worst- I don't think i would have had such luck beating them if not for the community here- particularly @vlangel's advice. 

I think it's great how we leave these records of our experiences for other people to go back and look at when they are facing similar problems. Making a journal here on N-R is probably the best thing I have done for my tank! I've only been around for a month or so but I have learned so much already. I kind of wish I had started posting sooner! 😄

 

Are those tube anemones that I see living down in the substrate under your rock structure? The orange and purple ones? They are very beautiful. 

[vlangel]

5 hours ago, mwhitelock said:

awe, thank you so much, this is the sweetest!! 

dinos are for sure the worst- I don't think i would have had such luck beating them if not for the community here- particularly @vlangel's advice. 

Ahhh Morgan, thank you and I am really happy that it worked out.

[kimdawg]

I really like your coral placement and all of the bright colors you have used.  It looks like a healthy tank and makes me happy to look at it.

[thecoralbeauty]

11 hours ago, billygoat said:

I think it's great how we leave these records of our experiences for other people to go back and look at when they are facing similar problems. Making a journal here on N-R is probably the best thing I have done for my tank! I've only been around for a month or so but I have learned so much already. I kind of wish I had started posting sooner! 😄

 

Are those tube anemones that I see living down in the substrate under your rock structure? The orange and purple ones? They are very beautiful. 

Yes those are tube anemones - I have two pink with green mouths and a purple with green mouth. I originally only had the one pink... and when i reshaped back in November and added more rock, I accidentally squished him. I was panicking thinking I killed it by decapitating it accidentally, but the head grew a new tail, and the tail grew a new head, and now I have two pink with green mouth tube anemones 🙂 

 

The purple one I had way back in a small NPS tank, about 4+ years ago. When I first switched to this cube, he went for a walk under a rock and I didn't see him for about six months. When I found him, he had really shrunk in size. I placed him where I could consistently feed him and he's grown back to even bigger than before. Apparently, they're resilient little things! 

3 hours ago, kimdawg said:

I really like your coral placement and all of the bright colors you have used.  It looks like a healthy tank and makes me happy to look at it.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate that! 

[joel sandoman]

Nice looking tank! I didn't read through all 45 pages so maybe you already answered this, but did you get the package deal like this one? SCA 50  If so are you happy with the stand and sump quality as well as plumbing? Thanks!

[thecoralbeauty]

1 hour ago, joel sandoman said:

Nice looking tank! I didn't read through all 45 pages so maybe you already answered this, but did you get the package deal like this one? SCA 50  If so are you happy with the stand and sump quality as well as plumbing? Thanks!

Yes I got the package deal.

i had them send me a new stand, as the first one warped really quickly. I caulked and waterproof painted the new stand and it’s still starting to warp again. 

Sump is fine- nothing fancy but didn’t want anything fancy, and plumbing is kinda loud but that’s probably user error because I’m not sure what I’m doing- it might be fixable with some fiddling. 

Overall if I were to do it again at this size, I’d look at other companies. I think I’d also

like something more shallow anyway,

or a Penninsula or drop off. 

 

But; it’s held up fine. Nothing fancy. Nothing horrible either.