Kimber's Old Tank Thread

[DaveFason]

Make sure you are connecting to the new network. Update PW and all. 

-Dave

[kimberbee]

31 minutes ago, DaveFason said:

Make sure you are connecting to the new network. Update PW and all. 

-Dave

Network stayed the same. Everything else... cells, laptops, and the tide connected right away. New address but same modem/router/user/password. 

 

Bluefish blinks like its connected, but light doesn't come on. Nick thinks something happened with the light or maybe the connection box every thing plugs into. Can you send over the sheet showing what the blinks mean so I can be sure?

 

Might need to send out to you for repair/upgrade!

[DaveFason]

https://aquarium-led-controller.com/support/

 

Make sure you have the Bluefish connected correctly. 

-Dave

[Christopher Marks]

On 4/24/2018 at 5:10 AM, kimberbee said:

Soooo...

 

I moved the lagoon Sunday and the 10 gallon yesterday. I thought Sunday went well until I brought everything from the 10 gallon home yesterday afternoon. 

 

Things had cleared up in the lagoon and are not looking great. One frag of setosa dead, the other half-dead, undata half-dead, purple monti is mostly dead, seasons greetings monti dead, blueberry gorgonian dead, yellow sun coral very shrunken, black sun coral losing flesh and I can't tell if it's going to make it because... 

 

My duo won't turn on. I set it up yesterday morning hoping it would turn on as normal at 1pm, so I knew something was off when I walked in at 3pm and nada. So the tank was at that point 2 days with no light. 

 

The tide for the 10 gallon turned on right away so it's over the lagoon for now, and the bulb from the pico contest tank is over the 10 gallon. Thank god i have that extra bulb... 

 

I'm super pissed things didn't go as well this time. But at least my fish, shrimps, and crab are all ok so far. 

 

Trying to look on the bright side because I did discover a baby RFA this morning and it looks like an ultra. I hope it doesnt move so I can get a better look this afternoon. 

One month in, how are the two tanks doing post-move Kimberbee? Hopefully things are more settled and sorted!

 

Hope you're well!

[kimberbee]

On 5/25/2018 at 11:05 AM, Christopher Marks said:

One month in, how are the two tanks doing post-move Kimberbee? Hopefully things are more settled and sorted!

 

Hope you're well!

Hiiiii!!

 

We've been super busy getting settled into the house, I've been doing some temp work here and there, and my belly is starting to show!! The tanks are doing well, 10 gallon has two baby rfas and the lagoon hasn't suffered any more losses. 🤞

 

Hope to be back with a proper update soon!!

[Christopher Marks]

Glad to hear!!! ☺️

[Sancho]

This seems appropriate 

[teenyreef]

3 hours ago, Sancho said:

This seems appropriate 

It's an alien!

 

Or a new frag 🙂

[Pinner Reef]

I see a p'roper disregard'

 

Anyone else!?!

[kimberbee]

On 5/29/2018 at 8:28 PM, Sancho said:

This seems appropriate 

Yep! Started feeling movement about a week ago. It's really weird. 

On 5/29/2018 at 11:49 PM, teenyreef said:

It's an alien!

 

Or a new frag 🙂

Ahem... I refer to it as a parasite TYVM... 😉

On 5/30/2018 at 2:29 AM, Pinner Reef said:

I see a p'roper disregard'

 

Anyone else!?!

A what?

[kimberbee]

Hello? Is anybody there?

 

Looks like we're quite overdue for a tank thread update...

 

I'm pretty ready for 2018 to be over with. It's been a busy and stressful year - let's recap:

 

Things started off great in January/February, with finding out I was pregnant and all. March and April were busy with packing, moving, and then cleaning up the old house for sale - I never really finished unpacking and still have a few piles of boxes around the house. Paying two mortgages for most of the Spring was pretty stressful. I was also making the hour drive to the old house waaaaay too frequently to make sure it was still standing. A huge weight was lifted off our shoulders once it sold (suckers...).

 

I was able to find some temp work and had a nice part time thing for most of May, but then suddenly they stopped calling me back for work. But that was sort of ok, because mid-June my cat started getting sicker and sicker. Having been diagnosed with diabetes in March, I was able to get that under control only for another issue to pop up $1500 later - cancer. I'm glad I was home with him, but it meant I was too scared to leave the house for more than an hour or two. July sucked because I felt like a shut-in trying to get my sick cat to feel better. August sucked because I no longer had my cat to keep me company. 

 

I couldn't be without a furry friend and ended up adopting another cat about a month after Rho passed away. Things were looking a little brighter for a bit but as my pregnancy progressed into the final months, things got a bit difficult. After experiencing a week of back pain, I wound up at the hospital for a day - the baby was on my kidney causing pain and swelling. My 36-week ultrasound showed a bigger than average baby and at my 39-week appointment (a Thursday) we decided to schedule an induction for the next evening (Friday @ 5pm) because the dr. really didn't want him to get better. My water broke that night, and I ended up with a c-section - Liam was born at 3:30pm Friday 10/12 at a whopping 9lbs 15oz. 

 

Now the last 2 months have been spent trying to get back into a "normal" routine. He started smiling a few weeks ago and is SO CLOSE to sleeping through the night. 

 

Oh... and the fish tanks... 

 

Well, they did not tolerate the move well - temperatures got too low and most of my SPS corals were lost. April-May-June was the period of time where I slowly got the tanks back on track after the move. But after that, I was distracted with my cat, and suffering through kidney pains, so the tanks got little to no attention. I think I stopped doing water changes in August because I was unable to lift buckets of water easily. I'm just now starting to get things cleaned up - I have tons of GHA and cyano - but every time I think I have an hour or two for working on the tanks, Liam decides to wake up early from a nap... He's lucky he's so cute!!

[ninjamyst]

#adultingishard

 

Things will only get better in 2019!  

[Rory282]

Yep, know the feeling, except of being pregnant 😁! Great te see you back Kimber! 

[vlangel]

Isn't it awesome when you see your son's 1st smile?  Wowzer, Liam was almost 10lbs! That is crazy.  My biggest was 8.1 lbs.  Congrats!

[lkoechle]

ah parenting. I would say it gets easier but you just figure out how to swim in chaos better.  We are 4 and 2 years in.  No light at the end of the tunnel thus far.  But I am able to keep my head above water.  Your tanks will probably go through neglect slumps from now on. Mine definitely do.  So make sure you give yourself grace.  Kids are hard and a huge adjustment.  They are lucky they are adorable.

[kimberbee]

Shitty looking tank #1: 10 gallon "Flower Garden"

 

Equipment:

IM 10 gallon Nuvo tank, stock pump, rw-4 powerhead, NanoBox light, AutoAqua ATO Micro, inTank media basket w/ chemipure blue and filter floss, NeoTherm heater.

 

Livestock: 

Andromeda the clownfish, Aurora the pompom crab, about 14 RFA's, 3 types of gorgonians, purple plating sponge.

 

Plans:

Algae control, snail re-stock, gorgonian trim, pico skimmer, add anemone shrimp and one more fish, regular testing and dosing, once per month water change.

 

 

[jack1978]

[kimberbee]

Shitty looking tank #2: 25 gallon Lagoon

 

Equipment:

IM 25 gallon Lagoon tank, stock pump, rw-4 powerhead, NanoBox light, AutoAqua Smart ATO, two inTank media baskets w/ chemipure blue and filter floss, Finnex heater.

 

Livestock: 

Lenny and Squiggy the clownfish, mushrooms, hammers, palys, gorgonian, acans, plates, leathers, duncan.

 

Plans:

Algae control, snail re-stock, install skimmer, add 1-2 more fish, regular testing and dosing, once per month water change. Remove a few corals, replacing with more euphyllias, sun corals, and NPS gorgs. 

[spectra]

Nice cyano........did you ask your SS for some chemi clean...........

 

Hell you need a back pack for liam and do some tank maintenance..........maybe the crazy neighbor can come over 

 

To be honest it looks pretty good for everything its been through

[jedimasterben]

What protein skimmer options does that tank have? Maybe investing in one isn't a bad idea since you may not have a ton of time for maintenance.  Still doesn't look bad, just natural 🙂

[vlangel]

The tanks do not look as bad as you say.  Cyano can hit any of us with sand and can be tough to get rid of.  I am having a problem in my big tank with cyano right now.  The main thing is the coral look healthy.

[kimberbee]

16 hours ago, spectra said:

Hell you need a back pack for liam and do some tank maintenance..........maybe the crazy neighbor can come over 

Yes!! Actually, my mom wants to watch him once or twice a month, so that'll be maintenance time!!

12 hours ago, jedimasterben said:

What protein skimmer options does that tank have? Maybe investing in one isn't a bad idea since you may not have a ton of time for maintenance.  Still doesn't look bad, just natural 🙂

The eshopps nano skimmmer should fit, and I have one that I used in my first tank for a year or so.

3 hours ago, vlangel said:

The tanks do not look as bad as you say.  Cyano can hit any of us with sand and can be tough to get rid of.  I am having a problem in my big tank with cyano right now.  The main thing is the coral look healthy.

When I took the above picture, I hadn't touched the tank in a few weeks. So the amount of cyano could be much worse. I also think there's only one or two snails alive, so I have basically no clean up crew - I don't really count the numerous tiny asterinas. 

[kimberbee]

Step One - Get rid of the nasty algae!! 

 

The smaller tank really only has a hair algae issue. The tank has almost always had problems with hair algae, but usually manual removal is good enough to keep it at bay. Unfortunately, it's starting to take over everything, including the sand bed. I started removal today, taking about 5 minutes to start tooth-brushing it off the rocks and back wall. I got about 1/3 the way down the back wall and a majority of the left side of the rock work cleaned off. I plan to let everything circulate out and change the filter floss a bit later this afternoon. In another day or two, I'll take 5 minutes to tackle another section.

 

I did the same thing in the lagoon tank, which has both cyano and GHA. The cyano is primarily on the sandbed, and the GHA is on the back wall and rocks. I cleaned up the left side rock and wall. The back left corner looks so much better already! 

 

 

 

[vlangel]

15 hours ago, kimberbee said:

Step One - Get rid of the nasty algae!! 

 

The smaller tank really only has a hair algae issue. The tank has almost always had problems with hair algae, but usually manual removal is good enough to keep it at bay. Unfortunately, it's starting to take over everything, including the sand bed. I started removal today, taking about 5 minutes to start tooth-brushing it off the rocks and back wall. I got about 1/3 the way down the back wall and a majority of the left side of the rock work cleaned off. I plan to let everything circulate out and change the filter floss a bit later this afternoon. In another day or two, I'll take 5 minutes to tackle another section.

 

I did the same thing in the lagoon tank, which has both cyano and GHA. The cyano is primarily on the sandbed, and the GHA is on the back wall and rocks. I cleaned up the left side rock and wall. The back left corner looks so much better already! 

 

 

 

I am always amazed at what some elbow grease and a toothbrush can do.  I bet you get those tanks whipped into shape in no time.

 

You may find it easier at some point to go down to just 1 tank.  Juggling multiple tanks and family can be a challenge.

[kimberbee]

On 12/22/2018 at 6:28 AM, vlangel said:

I am always amazed at what some elbow grease and a toothbrush can do.  I bet you get those tanks whipped into shape in no time.

 

You may find it easier at some point to go down to just 1 tank.  Juggling multiple tanks and family can be a challenge.

Hah!! Funny you say that just as I'm getting ready to set up a tiny tank!! 

 

My mom has asked to watch Liam one or two weekends each month. I'll get to use that time for deep cleaning the tanks. She watched him Christmas Eve Eve and is going to take him again for New Year's Eve. 

 

Below is the before and after I posted on Instagram from when she watched him last week.

 

The algae is slowly getting under control - the cyano is still coming back, but it doesn't look half as bad as it did before the water change. 

 

Stopped by my old LFS for salt, and they were selling nassarius nails for $3 each... ouch!! No thanks... I'll make due until I can get an order placed with Reef Cleaners - I'll either wait till spring or figure out how to have my package held at a facility...