jstj0sh's Newbie Nuvo 20 - Tank Move Complete!!

[Christopher Marks]

Welcome back @jstj0sh!

 

It's understandable to have neglected your tank a little, it's not every day a hurricane comes through and floods your entire city. How are things around town?

 

That's a nice looking gorgonian, I'm impressed it's polyps are already out! How cool.

[jstj0sh]

On 9/18/2017 at 9:24 PM, Christopher Marks said:

Welcome back @jstj0sh!

 

It's understandable to have neglected your tank a little, it's not every day a hurricane comes through and floods your entire city. How are things around town?

 

That's a nice looking gorgonian, I'm impressed it's polyps are already out! How cool.

Thank you sir! 

 

The city is doing great. You know a lot of people are still displaced from the storm, lots are still waiting on rental cars or insurance money and stuff, but overall the city is back to normal. Traffic is back in full swing too 

 

Yeah, that little thing is amazing. It looks great when viewing from the long side of my tank, I'll have to snap a picture that way later. 

[haleschristine]

Haha I'll second the comment about the traffic. Jeez Louise I didn't realize traffic was so crazy here! 

[jstj0sh]

So I've been wanting a new light for quite awhile now. The Kessil was great, but the lack of controllability drove me crazy, I only had blues, plus there was no ramp-up or ramp-down with the light. It went from 0 to 100 (real quick) and that just always bothered me. I found a good deal on Amazon for a Orbit Marine LED strip which checked the boxes for everything that I'm looking for right now, so I did what any sensible Reefer would do. I bought it! I took a few pictures, but will add more in the next few days when all the corals are open and looking good. 

 

 

 

 

 

[haleschristine]

That's the light I have and I love it. Works great and completely customizable. 

[xiaoxiy]

7 hours ago, jstj0sh said:

<3

[jstj0sh]

1 hour ago, haleschristine said:

That's the light I have and I love it. Works great and completely customizable. 

Thats awesome! What settings do you run yours on? I am working on tweaking some of the preprogrammed stuff right now and trying to figure out the moonlight and stuff. 

1 hour ago, xiaoxiy said:

<3

It looks great right?  I don't mean to brag, but he's been growing like crazy lately and that has me so stoked. Hopefully this light and a whole new spectrum will help all the corals a little bit. 

[haleschristine]

They run for 10 hours with whites maxing out at 25%, moonlight for 4 hours and 15 sunrise/set. I ran one of the preprogrammed ones for awhile but it made algae grow like there's no tomorrow, but it stopped once I lowered the whites.

 

FYI - The program restarts to the default anytime the light is unplugged or a storm knocks out your power.

[jstj0sh]

On 10/18/2017 at 2:47 PM, haleschristine said:

They run for 10 hours with whites maxing out at 25%, moonlight for 4 hours and 15 sunrise/set. I ran one of the preprogrammed ones for awhile but it made algae grow like there's no tomorrow, but it stopped once I lowered the whites.

 

FYI - The program restarts to the default anytime the light is unplugged or a storm knocks out your power.

Ahhh.. thats good to know. I programmed my own because of when I want the lights to come on and stuff, but I'll be careful with the whites. The Kessil I had was blue. Really really blue all the time, so the addition of whites is a whole new world 

 

SO CLUTCH, thank you for that heads up. 

[jstj0sh]

So it's been a tough week + few days. I noticed my larger clown being relatively agressive towards the Chromis. She would lunge at them and chase them around, but nothing more than that. My smaller clown, on the other hand, really suffered the wrath. The larger clown would nip at him and chase him around, and he would hang out on one side and she would leave him alone for the most part, and then randomly go chase him again. I did some reading and figured the larger clown was changing from a juvenile male to a female, so I left well enough alone. Everyone was still getting to eat and everyone was alright for the most part. Then, 2 days ago I woke up and walked over to my tank and saw a dried up little clownfish laying on the carpet  The little guy jumped, Im assuming because he had no where else to go to escape the bully... 

 

Now out of spite I want to get rid of her, but its such a beautiful clown. Im in between leaving her in there solo, buying a smaller clown to try to pair with her, or take her back to the store for credit and get a new pair..... Anyone out there have any thoughts/advice on what I should do about my tank bully? 

 

 

[schgr.cube]

Sorry man, that is tough... it's never fun losing a fish, but losing two because you get rid of the second sucks even more. Mine was being very aggressive toward the other I, so I found the smaller clown a home before it was killed. I may try to pair up with another one, but for now mine rides solo.

[jstj0sh]

2 hours ago, schgr.cube said:

Sorry man, that is tough... it's never fun losing a fish, but losing two because you get rid of the second sucks even more. Mine was being very aggressive toward the other I, so I found the smaller clown a home before it was killed. I may try to pair up with another one, but for now mine rides solo.

Thanks man. Yeah, its a weird feeling. He was my favorite fish too so to say I was bummed is an understatement. 

Great point though... it might be good for them to roam alone for a few and then try and introduce a much much smaller partner in crime later down the road. 

[jstj0sh]

Wow. It just seems like its one thing after another right now. In addition to the death of my clown, I'm having some gnarly cyano problems. I keep trying to vacuum it out and clean the affected area, but within a day or two it comes back. Also a few spots of GHA popping up for the first time. 

 

I can't lie, I'm pretty bummed about my tank, but this just means I need to work hard to get it looking right. I plan on doing a 1 - 2 day full tank black out and then a pretty heavy sand vacuuming and water change, but I also was thinking about getting a new CUC from Reef-Cleaners? Some of the packages they sell talk directly about Cyano and GHA. Anybody have experience with CUC from them?

[jesseatam]

Reef Cleaners is excellent, would 100% reccomend them.

[LeoB]

haven't tried reef-cleaners, but tried a whole lot of other stuff for cyano over two months without success; finally used chemiclean - single dose took care of it; don't know how long it will last though; none of the livestock seemed to suffer any ill effects of treatment

[jstj0sh]

2 hours ago, jesseatam said:

Reef Cleaners is excellent, would 100% reccomend them.

Awesome. I placed an order! Should be here Saturday.

2 hours ago, LeoB said:

haven't tried reef-cleaners, but tried a whole lot of other stuff for cyano over two months without success; finally used chemiclean - single dose took care of it; don't know how long it will last though; none of the livestock seemed to suffer any ill effects of treatment

WOW!! Those results are amazing. How long have you been cyano-free now? I don't want to use chemicals, but if it comes down to it, I will. 

[LeoB]

only 1 week so far - i was just super excited to have it go away, at least for now; i would try all the other stuff first and by then we would have a better idea if my tank stays cyano free. there were a lot of pretty striking before/after pics on the internet, but i couldn't find how long it's supposed to last. 

your tank pictures look awesome, btw!

[Cannedfish]

I was reluctant to use Chemiclean or any other chemical fix, however, after weighing my options I decided to go with it, and after two doses have been cyano free for four plus months and counting. I know there are natural ways to fix the problem, and resorting to a quick fix may not be the best answer or address the true problem; but being new to the hobby and not possessing the experience or expertise to tackle the problem correctly, I figured the quick fix was better and more important for the long run than becoming discouraged and disinterested in the hobby itself. I'm glad I did it, and after fixing the issue I have been able to adjust my reef keeping to avoid a relapse of the problem. I would make the same choice over again. 

[jstj0sh]

On 11/1/2017 at 3:21 PM, LeoB said:

only 1 week so far - i was just super excited to have it go away, at least for now; i would try all the other stuff first and by then we would have a better idea if my tank stays cyano free. there were a lot of pretty striking before/after pics on the internet, but i couldn't find how long it's supposed to last. 

your tank pictures look awesome, btw!

Well good luck to you. Hoping everything stays free and clear. Cyano is such an eyesore and just spreads so quick that it gets overwhelming sometimes lol 

And thank you, I appreciate it.

On 11/1/2017 at 3:55 PM, Cannedfish said:

I was reluctant to use Chemiclean or any other chemical fix, however, after weighing my options I decided to go with it, and after two doses have been cyano free for four plus months and counting. I know there are natural ways to fix the problem, and resorting to a quick fix may not be the best answer or address the true problem; but being new to the hobby and not possessing the experience or expertise to tackle the problem correctly, I figured the quick fix was better and more important for the long run than becoming discouraged and disinterested in the hobby itself. I'm glad I did it, and after fixing the issue I have been able to adjust my reef keeping to avoid a relapse of the problem. I would make the same choice over again. 

Well I'm glad it worked out well for you and who knows.. maybe my CUC wont do exactly what Im hoping for and at least now I know people have had some great results. Thanks for the feedback. 

[jstj0sh]

A lot has happened lately. 

• Reef Cleaners CUC came in. After a few days I already saw a huge improvement on the current state of algae on my sand bed. The only thing is my snails were disappearing left and right which I am attributing to the introduction of hermits to my tank. Regardless, the nuisance algae almost completely gone.
• My female (and only remaining) clownfish was terrorizing the tank and all the inhabitants still, so I talked to my good buddy at the FTS and took her back for some store credit and got two new clowns. I picked up a massive Flurry Frostbite clown and a Extreme Misbar Black clown. Excited to watch these two pair together and bond (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!). They both came from huge group tanks so neither should have an established sex yet. Both are very docile and sweet. Also picked up a healthy sized Cleaner Shrimp while at the FTS.
• A coworker walked into work today with a 5 gallon bucket with a MASSIVE colony of Green Slimer that he got for helping out a friend today. He broke me off a nice chunk so I put it in my tank today. Hoping it doesn't die. SPS still scares me  That same coworker also gave me a piece of Forest Fire Digitata.

Enjoy the pics everyone. Also, my FTS was taken after the pumps were off for a feeding (torch is pissed) and the lights were already about to go off for the night (zoas are reaching) and it's a little dirty.. but oh well 

 

 

 

 

[jstj0sh]

I got an itch and decided to switch up my scape just a little bit.. Would love to hear what y'all think about the change! 

 

[Jimmeh Lee]

The new scape looks great! I like the negative space it adds at the end of the tank. Makes it appear bigger.

[jstj0sh]

3 hours ago, Jimmeh Lee said:

The new scape looks great! I like the negative space it adds at the end of the tank. Makes it appear bigger.

Great point, I didn't even think about it like that! I really appreciate the feedback  

[jstj0sh]

Nothing crazy has happened lately. The algae on my sand-bed is almost completely gone (knock on wood). The corals love the new scape though! I feel like everything has opened up a bit more and adjusted really well. 

 

So here's a couple majestic pics of the Frostbite with my iPhone and lens filter: 

 

 

[jstj0sh]

Wow, it's literally been months since I last posted an update on the reef, it feels good to be back though. Seeing the progress on everyone else's tanks is so exciting! 

 

Everyone and everything in mine is doing really well. Coraline and corals are growing like crazy, the fish are fat and happy, and yet I am so unhappy with my aquascape...... So, the fiancé and I close on a house in 4 days and I just ordered a brand new IM APS stand for the new place so why not get a new scape ready as well? What I'm thinking right now is to get some dry rock (fiji or pukani) and some new substrate and throw that all in a big 25 gallon plastic tub with a powerhead. Then I'll add water from a water change into the tub and do that for a few weeks and let the new stuff cycle in there. When we move into the house in April I can put the fish in the tub with the rock and substrate, put the corals in bags or a egg-crate rack, and transport that to the house. I can take some time to do a DEEP clean on the tank and all the equipment and get it looking good-as-new and transport it to the house with nothing in it. This all sounds good and fool-proof in my head, but hopefully someone with some experience doing just this can help me out! 

 

Also, thinking about doing some macroalgaes in the new tank as well as getting a Jebao or Ice Cap powerhead! More info to come!