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Dawn's pony garden.


vlangel

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1 hour ago, WV Reefer said:

 

Fingers crossed everyone will get well soon!! ??

Thanks WV.  I am very optimistic about their prognosis since I caught it quickly and they are eating great.

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52 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

So sad to read this I hope your plan works out. I enjoy your ponies so much. 

Yes, I am sad that I kept pushing the boundaries because I knew adding sand and fish was a risk.  I am glad that I have not had any loss of life and that I have an option to remedy their situation however. Live and learn!

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15 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Sorry to hear about the ponies 😞 Hope they make a fast recovery. Exciting changes though! 

Thanks Tamberav, I think they should be fine.  I am excited about running a high nutrient system.

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14 hours ago, JBM said:

You sure are fast with catching problems with these fellas. Im glad your working things out, and have a solid plan for them

With seahorses, you have to check their skin every day. That is just part of keeping them.

 

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5 hours ago, yoshii said:

Get well soon ponies! Good thing you have a vigilant eye Dawn!

 

Change can be exciting too, looking forward to see what you'll do with a different setup

When I am feeding the ponies I always look them over good for any spots or irregularities on their skin.

 

I have been a bit frustrated with the limited coral and macro algae I could grow in the seahorse tank.  Having 2 tanks will help relieve some of that.  The work shouldn't be too much more, I hope 🤔.

5 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Hope the ponies make a quick recovery. :flower:

Thank you Snow!

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The seahorses have all been moved out of the 56 gallon column tank and the shrimp chalet coral, shrimp, blennies and inverts have all moved in.  I guess this tank is now Dawn's blenny garden, LOL.  At the moment it is still hooked up to the sump but I am not running a protein skimmer.  When I have the 30 gallon XH tank ready for the seahorses then I will unhook it from the sump and hook up the 30 gallon.

 

I epoxied some dry coral together to be an aquascape focal point in the seahorse tank.  I will adorn it with macro algae so that the seahorses will be a primarily marine  macro algae tank.

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Macro tanks are awesome!! Can't wait to see it!

 

I remember you had a captive bred pipefish before from OR. I was wondering your experiences? Do you think one could be happy in a reef tank with peaceful fish? I was considering adding one to the 25g sometime down the road. I don't want to add one if it can't live happily with coral and flower nem's though. Also I wasn't sure if they are prone to infections on the same level seahorses are? I do have sand. I guess my other question is if the captive bred ones had a good feeding response, enough to eat alongside the other fish?

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4 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Macro tanks are awesome!! Can't wait to see it!

 

I remember you had a captive bred pipefish before from OR. I was wondering your experiences? Do you think one could be happy in a reef tank with peaceful fish? I was considering adding one to the 25g sometime down the road. I don't want to add one if it can't live happily with coral and flower nem's though. Also I wasn't sure if they are prone to infections on the same level seahorses are? I do have sand. I guess my other question is if the captive bred ones had a good feeding response, enough to eat alongside the other fish?

I do think a CB pipefish could be happy in a reef tank with peaceful fish.  They come trained to eat frozen mysis and if you use a turkey baster and squirt mysis near them they should be fine.  Pipefish are like seahorses in that they are vulnerble to infections, (although I don't think they are quite as bad) and they don't have scales so stinging coral can injure them.  A flower nem would probably be ok because they stay on the ground and the pipefish tend to stay up in the water column.  

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I am happy to report that all the ponies are eating voraciously and doing well in HT.  Samson's mark on his pouch is no longer visible. Delilah's has yet to change but she may have been infected longer.

 

While the ponies are being treated I am preparing the 30 gallon.  I painted the bottom like I had done with the 56 gallon.  I also spray painted the back similiar to the 56 gallon minus the seahorse.  (I will probably remove the seahorse mural from the 56 gallon at some point).

The 30 gallon has oak colored trim and stand so to at least tie it in decor' wise I painted part of the stand the same color as the 56s stand.  I am also cycling a rock/coral structure that will be the main focal point of the aquascape.  This seahorse display will primarily be macro algae dominant.  It will hopefully be a simpler but elegant display.

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Both tanks are in place in the livingroom.  The 56g is now an AIO with a smallish HOB filter.  The rock, sand and macro algaes are the main filters in this tank.

 

The 30g is hooked to the sump.  The rock formation I made is now in the tank cycling which should be fast.  I think it will be ready when the ponies come out of HT.

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Wow so much is going on! I’m excited to see everything once you have it all done. You will have some extra room in the 56.... any new fish thoughts?

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9 hours ago, tanacharison said:

Wow so much is going on! I’m excited to see everything once you have it all done. You will have some extra room in the 56.... any new fish thoughts?

Yes, I am excited too Alonzo.  Now that the seahorses will have their own home in the 30g, I can do a lot more in the 56g. I have so many possibilities!

 

Fish wise, I would like to get a Midas blenny, a pair of jawfish and some gobies.  I am thinking a pair of firefish gobies, a green clown goby or rusty gobies depending on what is available.  It might be nice to have a goby/snapping shrimp pair. 

 

I would like to get more coral too.  It would be nice to have a rock flower nem or ricordia garden and a birds nest.  I love birds nest but have never had one.

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I so much enjoy your post and the good will that you project.  I was especially rewarded on another thread when you discribed how you choose your handle because of a passion for motorcycles.  I was encouraged by your Faith as you & husband traveled thru cancer.  I applaud your giving credit to Jesus Christ, who is my Lord & Savior also.    

 

Your joy is evident in your life style evangelism of the Creator by the beauty that you show in your tanks.  You share your knowledge with abundant generosity that comes from a spirit of giving back.  

 

Also, you make me laugh:  define “multiple tank syndrome” for us “addicted reefers”.

 

[The long answer is I love motorcycles.  I have been riding motorcycles since 1975 and not many girls rode back then.  I sold that bike in college. I however missed it so bad that in 2000 I convinced my hubby that I could ride a motorcycle to work and our son who was home from college and had a part-time job could drive the car.  Motorcycle insurance is cheap if you only carry liability so this was the cheapest option.  Dave, who did not like motorcycles relented and I bought a '82 Suzuki 550 cc.  About a year and a half later he decided that he would learn to ride if I found a bike he could fit, (he is 6ft 6in tall).  I was networked and had him a '76 Honda 750 in a matter of months.  I rode his bike to the school parking lot and taught him to ride.  We were really enjoying our new hobby, (taking long trips) when he got cancer.  My old bike was burning oil and he was afraid we might not be able to take many more trips and he wanted me to have my dream bike.  It was a beautiful teal and silver Suzuki Volusia VL800.  I put over 70k miles on that bike on roadtrips across the country with Dave!  He had a left leg amputation but never had a recurrence of cancer for which we give praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.  We have rode from our house to or through all the lower 48 states and its been amazing.  I will see if I can find a photo of that bike.  Anyway my username is a reference to that bike.]

 

Show the bike picture, if you still have it.  Thank you for being who you are.

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3 hours ago, Orangutran said:

Get a neon green birds nest! easy to care for, and grows fast!! It is fine in high nutrients too. 

 

Glad to see everyone recovering. 🙂

Thanks for the tip.  I will look for one of those.

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6 hours ago, Subsea said:

I so much enjoy your post and the good will that you project.  I was especially rewarded on another thread when you discribed how you choose your handle because of a passion for motorcycles.  I was encouraged by your Faith as you & husband traveled thru cancer.  I applaud your giving credit to Jesus Christ, who is my Lord & Savior also.    

 

Your joy is evident in your life style evangelism of the Creator by the beauty that you show in your tanks.  You share your knowledge with abundant generosity that comes from a spirit of giving back.  

 

Also, you make me laugh:  define “multiple tank syndrome” for us “addicted reefers”.

 

[The long answer is I love motorcycles.  I have been riding motorcycles since 1975 and not many girls rode back then.  I sold that bike in college. I however missed it so bad that in 2000 I convinced my hubby that I could ride a motorcycle to work and our son who was home from college and had a part-time job could drive the car.  Motorcycle insurance is cheap if you only carry liability so this was the cheapest option.  Dave, who did not like motorcycles relented and I bought a '82 Suzuki 550 cc.  About a year and a half later he decided that he would learn to ride if I found a bike he could fit, (he is 6ft 6in tall).  I was networked and had him a '76 Honda 750 in a matter of months.  I rode his bike to the school parking lot and taught him to ride.  We were really enjoying our new hobby, (taking long trips) when he got cancer.  My old bike was burning oil and he was afraid we might not be able to take many more trips and he wanted me to have my dream bike.  It was a beautiful teal and silver Suzuki Volusia VL800.  I put over 70k miles on that bike on roadtrips across the country with Dave!  He had a left leg amputation but never had a recurrence of cancer for which we give praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.  We have rode from our house to or through all the lower 48 states and its been amazing.  I will see if I can find a photo of that bike.  Anyway my username is a reference to that bike.]

 

Show the bike picture, if you still have it.  Thank you for being who you are.

Here is the bike pic.

2003 Suzuki VL800

For an old gal she was still pretty sharp

looking when I sold her.

 

You are very kind Patrick.  I feel the same about your sharing of your knowledge and experience with folks.  You seem to have a more academic understanding of what happens chemically and biologically than most of us and I appreciate and have learned from you.

 

Romans 8:28 says "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose".  I can say that even includes cancer.  It was a scary time and full of uncertainty but I learned to trust the Lord deeper as a result.  When I heard that Dave had cancer I wrestled in my heart for a couple of weeks with the Lord.  I told Him all the reasons that He couldn't take Dave.  Finally a passage in 2 Chronicles 20:15 and 17 spoke to my heart and I chose to trust God regardless of what happened.  Immediately I felt a sense of peace wash over me.  I did not know then that Dave would be a cancer survivor but I knew the Lord was with us every step of the way.  We now live life to the fullest and also sold out for Christ.  After all, when we stand before the Lord, what else matters?  Not how much $ we made, not where we lived, not what job we held...the only thing that will matter is what we did in the name of Christ.

 

Maybe I love aquaria so much because it reflects the beauty, creativity and diversity of the Lord.  I merely attempt to imitate some of that in my tanks.  No body does it like God though!

 

Thanks again Patrick for the encouraging words.

 

 

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Your words are beautiful and have great meaning for me. My husband was diagnosed with a rare aggressive form of cancer this year, that is why my tanks got neglected for awhile. He had to have his thyroid removed and radioactive iodine treatment after. I was so scared and stressed. He is only 30 years old so at first I thought how could this happen, how unlucky. He was young, and a male (usually woman have thyroid cancer) and it was a rare aggressive form. But I realized how lucky we were because we caught it very very early... they were scanning a benign completely unrelated lump and saw something suspicious on the scan that was too small to biopsy. Six months later they did a new scan and it was big enough to biopsy at that time and found out it was cancer. In that 6 months it had even metastasized into the surrounding lymph nodes. 

 

If that large benign bump had not been there, then this aggressive cancer would not have been caught. I definitely felt like someone was looking out for us. 

 

They did not find any traces of cancer left but he will have a blood test every year for the rest of his life to check for it (since it is thyroid tissue, thyroid hormones would mean it has returned). 

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Your words are beautiful and have great meaning for me. My husband was diagnosed with a rare aggressive form of cancer this year, that is why my tanks got neglected for awhile. He had to have his thyroid removed and radioactive iodine treatment after. I was so scared and stressed. He is only 30 years old so at first I thought how could this happen, how unlucky. He was young, and a male (usually woman have thyroid cancer) and it was a rare aggressive form. But I realized how lucky we were because we caught it very very early... they were scanning a benign completely unrelated lump and saw something suspicious on the scan that was too small to biopsy. Six months later they did a new scan and it was big enough to biopsy at that time and found out it was cancer. In that 6 months it had even metastasized into the surrounding lymph nodes. 

 

If that large benign bump had not been there, then this aggressive cancer would not have been caught. I definitely felt like someone was looking out for us. 

 

They did not find any traces of cancer left but he will have a blood test every year for the rest of his life to check for it (since it is thyroid tissue, thyroid hormones would mean it has returned). 

 

 

 

 

O Tamberav, I will be praying for you and your husband.  I remember how it felt and my heart goes out to you and your husband.

Dave developed a lump on the back of his calf.  It grew from the size of a pea the the size of a meatball so we decided to have it removed.  We did not have a surgeon so our family Dr just chose one.  It was outpatient surgery with just local anaesthetic because we all thought it was a cyst.  Anyway it turned out to be a tumor growing out of the nerve, a synovial sarcoma and our surgeon had specialized in sarcomas during his residency.  He recognised it and had pathology do a quick freeze.  They said it was benign but he had it sent to a specialized hospital to be analyzed and it came back malignant.  We are grateful that God chose that surgeon to be Dave's Dr just as I am sure that you are grateful for the large benign bump. What is your hubby's first name?

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30600881717_5ec5b5d595.jpgBoth tanks together by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr

So here is what I have so far.  The bulbs need changed in both tanks so I will buy those to match.  They fit nicely in the space where they are at, (I used to have a 90 gallon there) and I am overall pretty happy with them.

FTS of new seahorses tank

Do you think the seahorse ornament detracts from the overall effect?  I kind of like it but its not very natural but then neither is the bb.  I was going for a greek garden statuesque look but maybe I ended up with just plain tacky, LOL.  What do you think?

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You should paint it blue and call it Smurf Hill.  Somewhat surreal.  It is your world.  I look for something more elegant, but that is just me.  Perhaps a Greek temple sunk  in the Agean Sea with mermaids as ponies adjourning it.

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4 hours ago, vlangel said:

O Tamberav, I will be praying for you and your husband.  I remember how it felt and my heart goes out to you and your husband.

Dave developed a lump on the back of his calf.  It grew from the size of a pea the the size of a meatball so we decided to have it removed.  We did not have a surgeon so our family Dr just chose one.  It was outpatient surgery with just local anaesthetic because we all thought it was a cyst.  Anyway it turned out to be a tumor growing out of the nerve, a synovial sarcoma and our surgeon had specialized in sarcomas during his residency.  He recognised it and had pathology do a quick freeze.  They said it was benign but he had it sent to a specialized hospital to be analyzed and it came back malignant.  We are grateful that God chose that surgeon to be Dave's Dr just as I am sure that you are grateful for the large benign bump. What is your hubby's first name?

Thank you and his name is Shahz. 

 

3 hours ago, vlangel said:

30600881717_5ec5b5d595.jpgBoth tanks together by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr

So here is what I have so far.  The bulbs need changed in both tanks so I will buy those to match.  They fit nicely in the space where they are at, (I used to have a 90 gallon there) and I am overall pretty happy with them.

FTS of new seahorses tank

Do you think the seahorse ornament detracts from the overall effect?  I kind of like it but its not very natural but then neither is the bb.  I was going for a greek garden statuesque look but maybe I ended up with just plain tacky, LOL.  What do you think?

I like the seahorse and its little shell ears... but maybe I like tacky? Lol! Your tanks are magical and I don't expect the normal black backgrounds and rock piles.

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