Haley's IM 10 Nuvo Black - 10/17 FTS

[haleschristine]

[fishfreak0114]

Nice zoas!  They really pop under the blues.

[haleschristine]

40 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Nice zoas!  They really pop under the blues.

 

Thanks! I have so much trouble taking pictures under the blues. For those, I cut an old prescription bottle in half so that the whole picture wasn't bright purple! Lol

[fishfreak0114]

Lol I've never thought of that.  I should give that a try.  I always just take pictures under fairly white light because I don't have gel filters.  How effective was it?

[Clown79]

Nice tank. I like the rockwork.

 

How are things going with the algae bloom? Did it calm down.

 

 

[haleschristine]

12 hours ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Lol I've never thought of that.  I should give that a try.  I always just take pictures under fairly white light because I don't have gel filters.  How effective was it?

 

It worked and really showed the colors that I actually see in person but wasn't the best due to the curve of the bottle. I've heard of a clip that goes over your iPhone lense - thinking about checking that out. Wanting to really nail down how to take good pictures on my iPhone. 

 

11 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Nice tank. I like the rockwork.

 

How are things going with the algae bloom? Did it calm down.

 

 

 

Thanks! I got tired of the rocks all looking stacked up so I put them all in a garbage bag and hammered them - Which was actually pretty stress relieving lol!

 

After breaking them up, glued them into a setup I liked. Figured this would also help me out with the move, much easier to put one big rock in a 5 gal bucket and easier to set back up at the new place.  Without taking hours to try to rescape everything.

 

The algae bloom is pretty much gone - at least the bright neon green stuff is gone. Mostly just a lot of detritus build up now, my gravel vac doesn't seem to get it off the sand - it is just too fine. I am thinking of switching to a thicker grain when I move in September. I stir it up each week when I change the water but it still pretty much always stays dirty looking. 

 

Also having issues with my powerhead... It is constantly blowing sand around and creating big dips in the sand. Thinking about switching to the Hydor Koralia 240 or even the nano version Hydor has... But the larger grain sand may also help with this. Still playing around with placement of the powerhead. 

 

I am also picking up some new corals at Texas Coral Fest this weekend - can't wait 

 

[Clown79]

31 minutes ago, haleschristine said:

 

It worked and really showed the colors that I actually see in person but wasn't the best due to the curve of the bottle. I've heard of a clip that goes over your iPhone lense - thinking about checking that out. Wanting to really nail down how to take good pictures on my iPhone. 

 

 

Thanks! I got tired of the rocks all looking stacked up so I put them all in a garbage bag and hammered them - Which was actually pretty stress relieving lol!

 

After breaking them up, glued them into a setup I liked. Figured this would also help me out with the move, much easier to put one big rock in a 5 gal bucket and easier to set back up at the new place.  Without taking hours to try to rescape everything.

 

The algae bloom is pretty much gone - at least the bright neon green stuff is gone. Mostly just a lot of detritus build up now, my gravel vac doesn't seem to get it off the sand - it is just too fine. I am thinking of switching to a thicker grain when I move in September. I stir it up each week when I change the water but it still pretty much always stays dirty looking. 

 

Also having issues with my powerhead... It is constantly blowing sand around and creating big dips in the sand. Thinking about switching to the Hydor Koralia 240 or even the nano version Hydor has... But the larger grain sand may also help with this. Still playing around with placement of the powerhead. 

 

I am also picking up some new corals at Texas Coral Fest this weekend - can't wait 

 

That's good to hear. I had an algae blooms where the water look green and it literally went away after a few water changes.

 

Ya moving one rock is easier and nothing worse  rescaping afterwords when you finally have her you like.

 

I have 2 tanks. One has finer sand than the other. The one with the fine sand is harder getting the flow just right without sand storms. Total pain. I stir the sand to get the detritus into the water column and vacuum it that way or just hover the vacuum over the sand to suck it up.

[haleschristine]

9 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

That's good to hear. I had an algae blooms where the water look green and it literally went away after a few water changes.

 

Ya moving one rock is easier and nothing worse  rescaping afterwords when you finally have her you like.

 

I have 2 tanks. One has finer sand than the other. The one with the fine sand is harder getting the flow just right without sand storms. Total pain. I stir the sand to get the detritus into the water column and vacuum it that way or just hover the vacuum over the sand to suck it up.

 

Yeah, I would do a water change and have a greenish tint to the water-definitely not ideal lol. I read a post on here that someone posted about their move and that they spent many additional hours or so rescaping. Did not want to have to go through that! Especially after the stress of actually moving. 

 

I read your recent tank thread while I was at work yesterday - it is gorgeous!! So jelly 

[Clown79]

2 minutes ago, haleschristine said:

 

Yeah, I would do a water change and have a greenish tint to the water-definitely not ideal lol. I read a post on here that someone posted about their move and that they spent many additional hours or so rescaping. Did not want to have to go through that! Especially after the stress of actually moving. 

 

I read your recent tank thread while I was at work yesterday - it is gorgeous!! So jelly 

Oh I hear that.

I moved a large cichlid tank 1 he away and that was stressful enough-i can only imagine sw.

 

Moving is a pain. I've done it a lot and its sooooo stressful 

 

It's a great idea to try to make the set up as stress free as possible.

Using new sand will help with that as well.

 

Thank you so much.

I was never happy with it's look. We are so critical of our own tanks.

[haleschristine]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Oh I hear that.

I moved a large cichlid tank 1 he away and that was stressful enough-i can only imagine sw.

 

Moving is a pain. I've done it a lot and its sooooo stressful 

 

It's a great idea to try to make the set up as stress free as possible.

Using new sand will help with that as well.

 

Thank you so much.

I was never happy with it's look. We are so critical of our own tanks.

 

That we are! I look at all these gorgeous tanks on here and have to talk myself down! lol

 

The move is about 4-5 hours away - so lots of buckets, extra water and prayers! 

 

[samnaz]

Still having troubles with brown or green film algae? Algae blooms in new tanks are inevitable and expected. But judging by the pic you posted earlier of the very green water, something other than just new tank syndrome must have caused such a massive bloom. 

 

Running the white channel at 100% is probably one of the factors that helped cause the algae to grow so incredibly fast. If you're still experiencing algae growth or if you do in the future, lowering the white channel could help. Even if the algae has subsided, I still recommend lowering the whites. I had the same light and the whites never went over 40%. Now I have the pro version and the whites max out at 25%! It's low enough to not encourage algae growth, yet it's enough to grow corals. The blue spectrum won't fuel algae growth and it is the most important for coral so I run the blue channel at 100%.

[haleschristine]

22 hours ago, samnaz said:

Still having troubles with brown or green film algae? Algae blooms in new tanks are inevitable and expected. But judging by the pic you posted earlier of the very green water, something other than just new tank syndrome must have caused such a massive bloom. 

 

Running the white channel at 100% is probably one of the factors that helped cause the algae to grow so incredibly fast. If you're still experiencing algae growth or if you do in the future, lowering the white channel could help. Even if the algae has subsided, I still recommend lowering the whites. I had the same light and the whites never went over 40%. Now I have the pro version and the whites max out at 25%! It's low enough to not encourage algae growth, yet it's enough to grow corals. The blue spectrum won't fuel algae growth and it is the most important for coral so I run the blue channel at 100%.

 

I believe over feeding and over lighting were major contributions to the algae issue. Since then I have lowered the feeding considerably and raised the lights a bit further from the tank. Not sure why I didn't think to adjust the lighting settings. I will look into manually programming the lights this weekend to lower the whites.

 

The green film algae returns sporadically in very small amounts - not nearly as crazy as before. I usually just wipe the glass and do a pwc. It's mainly the brown/rusty colored dust that remains that is driving me crazy. I've increased water changes and lowered feeding and it seems to have helped but not solved the issue.

 

[samnaz]

5 hours ago, haleschristine said:

 

I believe over feeding and over lighting were major contributions to the algae issue. Since then I have lowered the feeding considerably and raised the lights a bit further from the tank. Not sure why I didn't think to adjust the lighting settings. I will look into manually programming the lights this weekend to lower the whites.

 

The green film algae returns sporadically in very small amounts - not nearly as crazy as before. I usually just wipe the glass and do a pwc. It's mainly the brown/rusty colored dust that remains that is driving me crazy. I've increased water changes and lowered feeding and it seems to have helped but not solved the issue.

 

What's a pwc... petite water change?

[haleschristine]

partial water change

[haleschristine]

Soooo, I know I just posted new photos but I was playing around with my iPhone camera tonight..... So, new pictures - yay! 

 

I do feel like my little ever-growing xenia pile needs it own new little home away from my main rock work as it as already branched off and claimed a little rock of mushrooms. Any ideas or advice on where I can move it? My rockwork is pretty center in the tank but I could always angle it a bit... Again advice is definitely needed. I do not want it to start climbing up and spreading over my rocks. 

[haleschristine]

[haleschristine]

On ‎7‎/‎27‎/‎2017 at 2:53 PM, samnaz said:

Still having troubles with brown or green film algae? Algae blooms in new tanks are inevitable and expected. But judging by the pic you posted earlier of the very green water, something other than just new tank syndrome must have caused such a massive bloom. 

 

Running the white channel at 100% is probably one of the factors that helped cause the algae to grow so incredibly fast. If you're still experiencing algae growth or if you do in the future, lowering the white channel could help. Even if the algae has subsided, I still recommend lowering the whites. I had the same light and the whites never went over 40%. Now I have the pro version and the whites max out at 25%! It's low enough to not encourage algae growth, yet it's enough to grow corals. The blue spectrum won't fuel algae growth and it is the most important for coral so I run the blue channel at 100%.

@samnaz You are amazing!! I lowered the white lights to 40% as you suggested and POOF all algae is GONE!

[Mckinney0171]

How do you get your pictures to block out the blue light?  Read something about a px bottle but no idea what you meant by that.

[haleschristine]

17 minutes ago, Mckinney0171 said:

How do you get your pictures to block out the blue light?  Read something about a px bottle but no idea what you meant by that.

I cut a prescription bottle in half and held it in front of my iphone camera. Kinda used it like a lens.  It doesn't look pretty, but it works.

[samnaz]

4 hours ago, haleschristine said:

@samnaz You are amazing!! I lowered the white lights to 40% as you suggested and POOF all algae is GONE!

Glad I could help  

[haleschristine]

The big move to Katy is coming up so quickly! It was originally planned for this weekend (9/2/17) but has unfortunately been pushed back a week due to Hurricane Harvey. I was able to speak to the manager at the new complex and the building is great and had no damage or flooding, but the roads throughout Katy are impassable. So the new official move date is 9/9/17 pending the weather and if the waters have receded enough. But, with the move coming up I realized I did not have an actual plan in place for moving the tanks! (10 gallon SW and 3 gallon FW)  So here it goes, please let me know if I missed anything or something worked better for you in the past. I've been doing A LOT of reading on the forum and online - thank you Stevie T's Guide to Tank Moving! The total drive time from Frisco, TX to Katy, TX should take roughly 4.5-5 hours pending traffic, gas stops and puppy potty breaks.

 

Supplies

• New saltwater – 10 gallons in 5 gallon buckets

• Keep saltwater from tank to transport corals/fish (1-5 gallon bucket with main rock structure)

• 1 Rubbermaid container – This will hold the 3 smaller rocks with zoas. The small xenia rock will also go in this container.

• Fish bags for corals that are not glued to rockwork. (hammer coral, acan, stray zoas and chalice corals) Each in their own bag.

• 1 Rubbermaid container – the bagged corals will go in this bucket.

• Rubberbands

• Distilled water – 10 gallons (Also for the FW tank)

• Cooler for fish and corals?

• Super glue gel (most corals are glued, but just in case)

• Aquamend putty (again, just in case my rocks decide to fall apart)

• New sand – 10 pounds of Caribsea Fiji Pink

• New filter media

• Prime (just in case)

Take Down

1. Disassemble lights, filter, powerhead, etc. and pack in separate box w/ sand and other items.

2. Thoroughly clean powerhead, heater, and filter.

3. Remove corals that are not attached to the rockwork and put in their own container/bag with tank water. Putting them in all 1 dry rubbermaid container.

4. Remove zoa and xenia rocks and add to their own Rubbermaid container.

5. Add main rock to its own 5 gallon bucket with tank water.

6. Remove fish, shrimp, snails and hermits.

7. Drain water from tank and throw away old sand.

8. Clean tank glass

9. Pack up tanks in my car.

Set Up

1. Unload the stand and tank and set up filter and powerhead.

2. Add sand and water.

3. Add main rockwork and corals.

4. Add heater and light.

Questions

• There are spiroid worms (probably spelled that wrong) all over my heater and powerhead as well as my tank. Should these be scraped off prior to move, or will it cause any issues once the tank is reset up if they are left there?

• Should the 3 zoa rocks be in their own rubbermaids? Or will they be okay in the same container? I am mainly worried of them knocking into each other. Should they be bagged? Or can they chill on their own?

• Best way to bag a coral? Would specimen cups be easier?

• Considering just getting more specimen cups and not using bags at all. Thoughts?

• Best place to keep fish, shrimp, snails and hermits during transfer? Bagged? Thinking about putting the hermits in 1 specimen cup and the snails in another cup... Thoughts?

• Am I missing anything?

 

[mbarton2010]

7 hours ago, haleschristine said:

The big move to Katy is coming up so quickly! It was originally planned for this weekend (9/2/17) but has unfortunately been pushed back a week due to Hurricane Harvey. I was able to speak to the manager at the new complex and the building is great and had no damage or flooding, but the roads throughout Katy are impassable. So the new official move date is 9/9/17 pending the weather and if the waters have receded enough. But, with the move coming up I realized I did not have an actual plan in place for moving the tanks! (10 gallon SW and 3 gallon FW)  So here it goes, please let me know if I missed anything or something worked better for you in the past. I've been doing A LOT of reading on the forum and online - thank you Stevie T's Guide to Tank Moving! The total drive time from Frisco, TX to Katy, TX should take roughly 4.5-5 hours pending traffic, gas stops and puppy potty breaks.

 

Supplies

• New saltwater – 10 gallons in 5 gallon buckets

• Keep saltwater from tank to transport corals/fish (1-5 gallon bucket with main rock structure)

• 1 Rubbermaid container – This will hold the 3 smaller rocks with zoas. The small xenia rock will also go in this container.

• Fish bags for corals that are not glued to rockwork. (hammer coral, acan, stray zoas and chalice corals) Each in their own bag.

• 1 Rubbermaid container – the bagged corals will go in this bucket.

• Rubberbands

• Distilled water – 10 gallons (Also for the FW tank)

• Cooler for fish and corals?

• Super glue gel (most corals are glued, but just in case)

• Aquamend putty (again, just in case my rocks decide to fall apart)

• New sand – 10 pounds of Caribsea Fiji Pink

• New filter media

• Prime (just in case)

Take Down

1. Disassemble lights, filter, powerhead, etc. and pack in separate box w/ sand and other items.

2. Thoroughly clean powerhead, heater, and filter.

3. Remove corals that are not attached to the rockwork and put in their own container/bag with tank water. Putting them in all 1 dry rubbermaid container.

4. Remove zoa and xenia rocks and add to their own Rubbermaid container.

5. Add main rock to its own 5 gallon bucket with tank water.

6. Remove fish, shrimp, snails and hermits.

7. Drain water from tank and throw away old sand.

8. Clean tank glass

9. Pack up tanks in my car.

Set Up

1. Unload the stand and tank and set up filter and powerhead.

2. Add sand and water.

3. Add main rockwork and corals.

4. Add heater and light.

Questions

• There are spiroid worms (probably spelled that wrong) all over my heater and powerhead as well as my tank. Should these be scraped off prior to move, or will it cause any issues once the tank is reset up if they are left there?

• Should the 3 zoa rocks be in their own rubbermaids? Or will they be okay in the same container? I am mainly worried of them knocking into each other. Should they be bagged? Or can they chill on their own?

• Best way to bag a coral? Would specimen cups be easier?

• Considering just getting more specimen cups and not using bags at all. Thoughts?

• Best place to keep fish, shrimp, snails and hermits during transfer? Bagged? Thinking about putting the hermits in 1 specimen cup and the snails in another cup... Thoughts?

• Am I missing anything?

 

I'd go with specimen cups. How far you you traveling? I live in north Houston and we didn't get it as bad as others. House nearly got water but it stopped at our back door! You'll love living in Katy. 

Oh the reason I'd go for specimen cups is so that you can open them periodically for gas exchange if you don't have some oxygen to pump in the bags

[haleschristine]

11 hours ago, Mkbarton said:

I'd go with specimen cups. How far you you traveling? I live in north Houston and we didn't get it as bad as others. House nearly got water but it stopped at our back door! You'll love living in Katy. 

Oh the reason I'd go for specimen cups is so that you can open them periodically for gas exchange if you don't have some oxygen to pump in the bags

It will be about 5 hours give or take, I'll be coming from Frisco - which is about 45 minutes North of Dallas. The cups seem a lot easier to pack up as well, placing an Amazon order today

 

I'm glad you didn't get any water! My family lives in Conroe on 2854 and the water got pretty high for them as well once they started releasing Lake Conroe - thankfully no major damage!

[gena]

Looks like you've got a great plan in place.  I would just put all the zoa rocks together.  Easier, less space, and they should be just fine, even if they bump a little.  It's only 5 hours so I would do bags or cups.  Coral, fish, and invertebrates ship overnight and do fine for hours and hours in bags.  The choice is up to you as far as if you want cups or bags. 

 

I personally would have a bottle of something like Dr. Tim's bacteria.  I always add it to new tanks.  Since you are replacing the sand, it will be sort of like a new tank.  It doesn't hurt anything to add a few drops.  It always gives me peace of mind.  Another item that gives me peace of mind is an ammonia badge.  Every new tank gets one.  It suction cups to the inside of the glass aquarium and will tell you if any ammonia is detected. 

 

Good luck with the move!!!!!

[haleschristine]

37 minutes ago, gena said:

Looks like you've got a great plan in place.  I would just put all the zoa rocks together.  Easier, less space, and they should be just fine, even if they bump a little.  It's only 5 hours so I would do bags or cups.  Coral, fish, and invertebrates ship overnight and do fine for hours and hours in bags.  The choice is up to you as far as if you want cups or bags. 

 

I personally would have a bottle of something like Dr. Tim's bacteria.  I always add it to new tanks.  Since you are replacing the sand, it will be sort of like a new tank.  It doesn't hurt anything to add a few drops.  It always gives me peace of mind.  Another item that gives me peace of mind is an ammonia badge.  Every new tank gets one.  It suction cups to the inside of the glass aquarium and will tell you if any ammonia is detected. 

 

Good luck with the move!!!!!

 

Thank you! I think I will have to use bags for my fish and shrimp.. They're too big for the cups.