R_MC Posted November 15, 2016 Author Share Posted November 15, 2016 Thanks Jst, its not all roses right now. I'm having trouble with sick fish. Brought in a tang and a male solarensis wrasse. The tang developed visible signs of ich very quickly. We had been away for a day or two and by the time I caught it it was covered. Stopped eating and dropped a ton of weight. Now its eating again but... I woke up this morning to a sideways wrasse gasping for breath. I feel terrible, but could not see anything physically wrong with the fish this morning. Moved the wrasse to my sump but the fact that I could catch him with my hands has me all but sure he'll be out of the mix by this evening. Quote Link to comment
burtbollinger Posted November 15, 2016 Share Posted November 15, 2016 can you discuss your reasoning for bare bottom? Difficult decision? What did research on the topic reveal for you? How has it been? Pros/Cons? I really want to consider not having sand in my next LPS only build (40g IM Nuvo) 1 Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 15, 2016 Author Share Posted November 15, 2016 Hi Burt, The one liner is that I enjoy the look of sand, but less than I dislike maintaining it. Pros: -Aesthetic: looks "Natural" -It's "Normal" and people expect to see substrate in a fish tank -It can provide for denitrification (if you commit to an undisturbed 6" deep sand bed...nobody does this anymore) -It provides more surface area for bacteria to grow (I use a marine pure block instead) -It can support specific marine life that require sand (certain types of wrasse, nassarius snails, jaw-fish, worms) Cons: -Sand is not always natural and much of the reef grows 10-40 feet above the sand -Sand disallows very high flow across the bottom of the tank -Sand traps any uneaten food. Fish will often ignore food once it hits sand. Not true in a bare bottom tank -Sand is a time bomb for the reasons above -Sand is one more thing to maintain. It has to be syphoned regularly. -Sand can get trapped in your mag cleaner and scrape the glass -Sand is a pain in the ass to deal with when breaking down / setting up a new aquarium -Sand costs $$ Most individuals growing acropora / sps are going for a "reef crest" or fore reef biotope. The reef crest is close to the surface of the water, experiences turbulent, high flow, and is typically pretty high up off the sand. Examples of natural reef formations with no sand in sight: I chose to go without sand because I like to run very high flow across the bottom of the tank. This ensures that anything nasty is eventually going into the overflow and down into my filter sock. Detritus will settle somewhere, and a BB tank with high flow allows you to pick where that is. This high intermittent high flow provides better nutrient exchange for stony coral, higher oxygenation, and powerful water movement (which is just fun to watch). The desire for high flow and easier maintenance are the big reasons I went BB. I really like the look of sand, but couldn't justify it. 4 Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 I've been having a week that makes me want to get out of the hobby... I bought a tang from a LFS that appeared healthy, but was apparently carrying what might be marine velvet. I falsely assumed it was ich. I had what looked like ich show up in my tank 4 years ago (same livestock), but it didn't do much harm. This was much worse. I've been lucky and I haven't had to deal with many/any diseases and I wasn't prepared for this. I don't have a hospital tank set up, don't have the right medications, and don't know where to go from here. So far I've lost 1 Yellow Eyed Kole Tang (Toby) - Had the most visible white spots / film 1 Soarensis Fairy wrasse - no film at all and died very suddenly 4 Blue Chromis - white film 1 Tail Spot Blenny (Keen Andy) who was at least 5 years old. - white film and bloating My 2 clowns are not looking good but are eating very well. They have a flaky powdery film... It's not a good day so I'm choosing to focus on the coral: Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Sorry about the fish. Quote Link to comment
Newstead Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Oh, that is heartbreaking about your fish. I am so sorry, hope the clowns make it. Quote Link to comment
gmanreefer Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 So sorry to hear about the fish. When can you get the clowns into small qt with some meds? Perhaps you could set up a basic 10g and add something for aeration and a few rocks from the sump for short- term treatment Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 Hi Gman, I'm not even sure what this is... I was hoping that the clowns would recover on their own and that I would have time to come up with a long term QT/Fallow strategy to rid the tank of Ich/Velvet (if that's what it was). This isn't the kind of photo I like to share, but here is the male clown: Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Definitely not ich, that is either velvet or brooklynella. Quote Link to comment
gmanreefer Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 It definitely does look like velvet to me also. So sorry to see this happen, especially to such a gorgeous setup. I have had one clown die to velvet and he looked similar to your black occy before he went. It may be too late for these fish but I found this article to be helpful if you are still interested in treatment: http://www.reefedition.com/tank-terror-identifying-and-treating-marine-velvet/ Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 Thanks gman, how long did your clown last with velvet? This guy has had it for 2 weeks or so. The female has it as well although she seems totally fine but a bit dingy. The male has a bit of eye clouding. Both fish are eating as well as ever. I live in a small apartment and am very reluctant to set up a at/hospital tank. Quote Link to comment
gmanreefer Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 My clown lasted about 2-3 weeks since I first noticed the velvet. About 1.5 weeks in , she stopped eating would only swim into the powerhead current all day. .I wish you the best of luck Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 Ugh, that's scary gman - regardless of what this is, I've made some time today to set up a hospital tank. Worried that I won't be able to catch the fish without a big messy dismantle. I think the male will be easy enough. Planning on doing a hypo / h202 30M dip, then running a relatively low salinity tank @80 degrees with copper. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Ugh, that's scary gman - regardless of what this is, I've made some time today to set up a hospital tank. Worried that I won't be able to catch the fish without a big messy dismantle. I think the male will be easy enough. Planning on doing a hypo / h202 30M dip, then running a relatively low salinity tank @80 degrees with copper. Salinity when running copper needs to be as close to seawater as possible. Copper becomes increasingly toxic at lower salinities. If you're going with a quarantine tank, then I would get chloroquine phosphate to treat with instead of copper. 1 Quote Link to comment
flatlandreefer Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 I typically don't like bare bottom tanks but yours is awesome!!! Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 Thanks for the tip Jedi & thanks flatlander. Here's a top down photo naturally lit by morning sunlight: 4 Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 Bonnie & Clyde are in QT with 84 degree water, 1.15 salinity and the recommended dose of copper. The tank is very small (7g) and I am dosing Seachem Prime to prevent dangerous spikes in ammonia. I have a small rock in there to get the bacteria going (3"x3"x4" or so). I've read that the rock may absorb the copper and bring concentrations below the effective threshold - hope not, but let me know your thoughts. Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 I gave both fish a H202 dip (75ppm for 30 minutes) prior to introducing them to this tank. Next morning, both fish are still eating, but look much the same. Want to avoid any risks here - I've replaced the rock with a diy sponge filter. Amazing what a few minutes of dremel action can purchase. The sponge was taken from the main tank (for better or worse). The filter drops the water from a couple inches which helps aeration and for recirculating the surface scum. Bonnie, looking the better of the two. Still pretty scary... Is there anything I can add to the water to help with skin irritation? I'm using API stress coat + and Seachem Prime. Clyde's skin looks terrible, but he is otherwise behaving normally. Eats with enthusiasm and seems to have plenty of energy. Can anyone help confirm the diagnosis of marine velvet? Just want to be sure I am following the right treatment. I've also ordered potassium permanganate - if only to use when introducing new fish. Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 A quick demo of the gyre 250 stirring up gunk. The 250 can be programmed to use different flow patterns throughout the day. This mid day setting (100% forward 4s, 100% backward 2s) does a great job at keeping detritus suspended. In this demo one side of the gyre is pointed across the top of the tank while the other arm points down along the rear glass. I run this mode for 5 hours mid day before switching to a calmer evening setting (reverse 70% 5m, forward 100% 10s) and eventually a very calm night setting (forward 20% 10m, reverse 50% 5m). Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 This was a very sad day for me. Both of the clowns died overnight...so sad that they went out together and I don't want to think about it too much. But I do want to say that they were my first saltwater fish. They saw 3 different cities and 4 different tanks. They put up with a lot and were really entertaining and lovely pets. I will truly miss Bonnie and Clyde and I hope that they enjoyed their spoiled life, even if it was cut tragically short. Bonnie & Clyde: 2012-2016 rest in peace 1 Quote Link to comment
Newstead Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Oh, so sorry about Bonnie and Clyde Quote Link to comment
gmanreefer Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 sorry to hear Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 25, 2016 Author Share Posted November 25, 2016 Life goes on: 5 Quote Link to comment
R_MC Posted November 29, 2016 Author Share Posted November 29, 2016 So, I have to admit something... I've bought into the Vibrant Liquid Aquarium cleaner hype train on R2R. Ordered a bottle 1 week ago and have noticed some promising results. First - let's admit it... we all have algae. Sometimes we can live with it, sometimes we decide it's eviction time. I've always struggled with your run of the mill hair algae. I've had other types come and go, but this hair algae has been in my system for 4 years (carried from tank to tank). Its lived through H202, crabs, snails, ULN environments (vodka, sugar, vinegar), GFO etc.I want it gone, or at least - I want to feel like I'm in control. That I hold its life in my grasp.http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/vib...thread.271428/Vibrant promises to eliminate all nuisance algae... like... all of it... Even algae like stuff (dino / cyano). They say that it includes a special blend of bacteria that both eliminate nitrates and consume algae itself. This second bit is the part I'm interested in. We have tons of bacteria in our tanks. Dosing carbon increases bacteria counts, but of which types? Introducing specific bacteria to the aquarium regularly can help shift the population in favor of the most desirable strains. I've tried this before using prodibio bio digest, and it worked towards rapidly reducing nitrates - but did not consume the algae itself.I dosed the recommended amount ~1 week ago and after 3 days I noticed a reduction of algae in my sump (low flow area). The algae had grown a clear bacterial film on it, turned white, and then melted... Amazing... I didn't notice any impact on inverts (shrimp, crabs, snails) or fish.Now, in high flow areas I haven't seen the same miraculous changes. Possibly because the colonizing bacteria is blown off the algae before it can work its magic. However, I have seen almost all algae in the tank browning slightly, and have noticed that my filter sock is pretty full of the stuff.I'm on my way towards conversion 2 Quote Link to comment
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