lizzyann Posted May 12, 2019 Author Share Posted May 12, 2019 Good news! Put the brown stuff under the microscope and it's mostly diatoms! There were one or two round things that looked dino-like but different than the previous ones, more oblong. There's one in the very center of this photo: So once again, wish me luck! 2 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 On 5/11/2019 at 9:01 PM, billygoat said: I've heard that Florida fighting conchs are a good biological control for slime on the sandbed, and it looks like your tank has enough sand to keep one happy. If the bulk of your problem is cyanobacteria then that could be an answer, but if you've got some of the bad kind of dinos mixed in there I imagine the conch would just get poisoned and die. 😢 I've seen pics of these and wanted one for a little while, they're so cute! Didn't realize how good they were at keeping the sand clean! Strongly considering one now that it looks like most of the dinos are gone. I'll probably wait a few days to make sure there's not a resurgence though. 1 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 16 minutes ago, lizzyann said: I've seen pics of these and wanted one for a little while, they're so cute! Didn't realize how good they were at keeping the sand clean! Strongly considering one now that it looks like most of the dinos are gone. I'll probably wait a few days to make sure there's not a resurgence though. Personally I think those conchs are super cool. My current tank probably does not have enough open sand to keep one happy, otherwise I'd get one for sure just to look at it! You can bet that I'll get one when I inevitably upgrade to an IM 25 lagoon with a huge sandbed and tons of rooted algae... ten pounds of rock, forty pounds of sand, algae for days; I can see it all in my head now! Anyway I was worried about this tank for awhile but I have decided that I am no longer worried. Diatoms! Those we know and understand; those we can beat. It is only a matter of time. 2 Quote Link to comment
Melfy77 Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I have a fighting conch and it's awesome!!! My previous tank I had a BAD case of dinos. Took a long time To get rid of them. Nasty little thing!!! Here's what I remember: - stop waterchanges. Top off and that's it! -peroxide!! Google to check the dose -blackout. At least 3-4 days -feeding generously -keeping the tank a little dirty! Dinos are very good at surviving (and thriving!!) in low nutrient tanks where no other algae is able to grow. As weird as it may sound you want other algae to grow (diatoms are ugly but non toxic and snails will it them). I feel your pain. It's a real PITA!!!! Oh and BTW I just set up an IM 25g😁 1 Quote Link to comment
LeoB Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 I wouldn't shy away from chemiclean for cyano. Worked great for me a few times in the past. Then the tank got more mature and didn't have to repeat it anymore. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 Thanks for the advice, y'all! So now that I only have one fish I've been rethinking my stocking plans. I am thinking back on the moral guidelines I wanted for this tank and have already strayed pretty far from only having captive bred and aqua-cultured fish and corals. Why does this always happen when I try to draw moral lines for myself 😂 😈!?! Self-control. Absolute 0 self-control is the answer. But PRETTY THINGS! And FUN! I know 4 fish should probably be the limit for this tank, and really I feel like it should stay at 2 or 3. I definitely want to get another shrimp goby, preferably one that will actually pair with a candy cane pistol this time. Going back to the yasha idea since I'm throwing morals to the wind. I would settle for another watchman if it was actually yellow, and younger though. I wouldn't hate a regular ol' high-fin if I want to stick to captive bred but do something different and smaller. So in addition to the shrimp goby and my possum wrasse, what fish should I add? It would be nice to actually have something that's swimming around in the open water. I do love the idea of a clown and anemone, but I'd feel guilty only having one clown since they are so social and live in family groups. I already was thinking about changing the rockscape around a little to make more room in the middle, where a single, tall rock might be perfect for an anemone. If I got a pair of clowns that would be a FULLY stocked tank though, right? Would clowns push it into possibly too dirty and crowded? If I go in a different direction, I had my eyes on a Randall's Assessor. They seem like really funny, friendly, and unique (I especially like unique) little fish that would work well in this tank. ORA breeds them. Really pretty blue/turquoise color and sometimes they like to swim upside down! The only problem is I haven't seen them for sale anywhere. Anyone seen these recently? If I did that I would have three, then if I had space and wanted one more I was also thinking about a little citron or yellow clown goby. Just cause they seem cute as a button and I'd love having some bright yellow if I go with a non-yellow shrimp goby. What do y'all think? And here's a fun pic as a thank you for helping me decide: I feel like instead of being in the dog house for being in trouble with our partners we could just be like "in the fish tank" or maybe just "swimming with the fishes" since that would already be an applicable threat for some of you working on your 5th tank in the house! Regardless, though the picture is deceiving, mine is in fact not swimming with the fishes and has been pretty damn supportive of my mood swings directly correlating to the state of this reef tank and me spending all my time battling pests and doing water tests. 1 Quote Link to comment
pricewayne Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 26 minutes ago, lizzyann said: Thanks for the advice, y'all! So now that I only have one fish I've been rethinking my stocking plans. I am thinking back on the moral guidelines I wanted for this tank and have already strayed pretty far from only having captive bred and aqua-cultured fish and corals. Why does this always happen when I try to draw moral lines for myself 😂 😈!?! Self-control. Absolute 0 self-control is the answer. But PRETTY THINGS! And FUN! I know 4 fish should probably be the limit for this tank, and really I feel like it should stay at 2 or 3. I definitely want to get another shrimp goby, preferably one that will actually pair with a candy cane pistol this time. Going back to the yasha idea since I'm throwing morals to the wind. I would settle for another watchman if it was actually yellow, and younger though. I wouldn't hate a regular ol' high-fin if I want to stick to captive bred but do something different and smaller. So in addition to the shrimp goby and my possum wrasse, what fish should I add? It would be nice to actually have something that's swimming around in the open water. I do love the idea of a clown and anemone, but I'd feel guilty only having one clown since they are so social and live in family groups. I already was thinking about changing the rockscape around a little to make more room in the middle, where a single, tall rock might be perfect for an anemone. If I got a pair of clowns that would be a FULLY stocked tank though, right? Would clowns push it into possibly too dirty and crowded? If I go in a different direction, I had my eyes on a Randall's Assessor. They seem like really funny, friendly, and unique (I especially like unique) little fish that would work well in this tank. ORA breeds them. Really pretty blue/turquoise color and sometimes they like to swim upside down! The only problem is I haven't seen them for sale anywhere. Anyone seen these recently? If I did that I would have three, then if I had space and wanted one more I was also thinking about a little citron or yellow clown goby. Just cause they seem cute as a button and I'd love having some bright yellow if I go with a non-yellow shrimp goby. What do y'all think? And here's a fun pic as a thank you for helping me decide: I feel like instead of being in the dog house for being in trouble with our partners we could just be like "in the fish tank" or maybe just "swimming with the fishes" since that would already be an applicable threat for some of you working on your 5th tank in the house! Regardless, though the picture is deceiving, mine is in fact not swimming with the fishes and has been pretty damn supportive of my mood swings directly correlating to the state of this reef tank and me spending all my time battling pests and doing water tests. Love how well you’re planning livestock. I have two Darwin clowns in my 13.5g and while they’re great personalities and I love them, I do wish I’d taken more time to learn about other interesting options. Loooove the possum wrasses. Think they’re really cool. May try to search for an already paired shrimp goby — a few of my LFS sell them in already bonded pairs and I know liveaquaria sells them in the divers den, as well. Could always go for an interesting invert + anemone for that symbiotic intrigue 🙂 sexy shrimp, anemone (or porcelain? I think...) crabs also host anemones and they’re awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted May 28, 2019 Author Share Posted May 28, 2019 Welp y'all, cross your fingers, I think I might be in the clear! The tank has been looking clean for about a week and a half. I added some macro algae annnnnd: ta da, the cutest snail I've ever seen! It's name is Monty. It seems to be doing a good job of keeping the sand clean. I've only seen the tiniest amount of cyano here and there, and no brown at all. There's also nuisance algae still growing, but I'm just not that worried about it right now. Our local coral expo was two weekends ago and I picked up some exciting things. A speckled bowerbanki I've been wanting a bower for a while and there's some colors that I miiight like more than this one but it was the first I've seen locally and I couldn't resist! Finally found a goniopora that I really like I also picked up these three acros to see which one I end up liking best once they color up. I probably only have room for one or two more (at least for the look I'm going for). From left to right we have the mad raver milli, flaming unicorn acro, and a pink spath (acropora spathulata) All the corals have been looking good. The duncan especially has been absolutely luxurious and has a new group of babies peaking out around the edges Lily also seems to be doing well, but I hope to get a new fish friend for her soon! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
colinadam Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 Great looking tank! I actually had a blue assessor about a decade ago. I cant speak for all of them but mine was navy blue, almost black. Tough to see and movement wise he didn't do much, just chilled in the water column, not a lot of action. I've never seen a yellow one in person but if you want a fish with color and movement the blue is not a good choice, from my experience. 1 Quote Link to comment
pricewayne Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 I love Monty!! And all the other additions — those acros look especially fantastic. 2 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Oh my gosh you got a conch! That's the most adorable snail I have ever seen. Everything is looking so wonderful now! I'm happy that things turned around. 😊 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Nice new additions! And congrats on beating dinos. I just got the IM 20g peninsula last week myself, so going to study your thread closely. :) Actually just ordered the Aqamai KPS as well for mine. Has 1 been sufficient in your tank? Debating whether to buy a second. I have one in my volcano pico (dialed way down) and really like that tiny pump. I'm pretty much going to end up with a similar equipment list since I also ordered the same heater and will probably be ordering the same ATO. 1 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted June 1, 2019 Author Share Posted June 1, 2019 On 5/29/2019 at 6:26 PM, Tigahboy said: Nice new additions! And congrats on beating dinos. I just got the IM 20g peninsula last week myself, so going to study your thread closely. 🙂 Actually just ordered the Aqamai KPS as well for mine. Has 1 been sufficient in your tank? Debating whether to buy a second. I have one in my volcano pico (dialed way down) and really like that tiny pump. I'm pretty much going to end up with a similar equipment list since I also ordered the same heater and will probably be ordering the same ATO. It's all been working well so far. I loooove this tank. I still am curious if more flow would help me as well, but for now the SPS is growing at least a little, extended, and looking colorful so I'm not planning on making changes anytime soon. I tried the spinstream for a couple days to at least get more random flow in more places but it just weakens the output too much I think. I saw that you have a pixel phone as well and had trouble connecting the Aqamai. That was my main complaint. I gave up and just used my boyfriend's phone but I'll have to use your strategy to reconnect it the next time I have a minute. Can't wait to follow your tank! 1 Quote Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 18 minutes ago, lizzyann said: It's all been working well so far. I loooove this tank. I still am curious if more flow would help me as well, but for now the SPS is growing at least a little, extended, and looking colorful so I'm not planning on making changes anytime soon. I tried the spinstream for a couple days to at least get more random flow in more places but it just weakens the output too much I think. I saw that you have a pixel phone as well and had trouble connecting the Aqamai. That was my main complaint. I gave up and just used my boyfriend's phone but I'll have to use your strategy to reconnect it the next time I have a minute. Can't wait to follow your tank! Good to hear! Just got my Aqamai for my 20g yesterday. Will install tonight and see if the trick works again. Haha. Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 @Tigahboy Are you using the stock return pump on the 20? Quote Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 7 minutes ago, lizzyann said: @Tigahboy Are you using the stock return pump on the 20? Yes, the stock return pump is now a MightyJet. I have it set at around 300gph and it's super quiet. 1 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 My SO finally got the fancy macro lens I mentioned a while back! We've been playing with it and I figured I'd give y'all a little taste, though I'm sure there will much more (possibly higher quality) stuff to come! Tank is doing pretty well. I've been out of town a lot in the past 2 or 3 weeks so tank care has been a little inconsistent and I noticed some brown stringy stuff is back here and there. A couple of the corals seem annoyed, but nothing too bad. Nuisance algae has been slowed after my last scrub, though the macros also seem to not be doing great, probably due to a combo of the brown slime and reduced feedings. I've noticed more vermitid snails popping up so I need to get in and scrape those. Just needs some solid attention and testing and such and I think it'll be back on track. Oh and I've sold off almost all my frags that were making a mess of the tank so I'll probably hit ya with a full tank shot soon! P.S. if anyone is interested the camera is a Sony a7 III with a FE 2.8/90 Macro G OSS lens 3 2 Quote Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Oh wow. Those photos are amazing! I really need to learn how to use a real camera one of these days. 2 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 Got the brown stringies under the microscope and it's 100% ostreopsis dinoflagellates back at it 😭😭😭 I do feel like this is an interesting time for them to come back since some very specific things have happened that likely caused their bloom. 1. I waited a few extra days between water changes two weeks in a row 2. On the second water change (between being gone) I scrubbed off all the GHA that was starting to really build up on the rock 3. I was out of town for 6 days and the tank wasn't fed, then fed normally for about 3 days before going out of town for another 4 days where the tank wasn't fed. This makes me think that the dinos definitely take hold when there aren't as much nutrients in the tank and/or when things are off-balance. Maybe some other micro fauna or flora died off with the lack of nutrients and allowed the dinos' numbers to climb back up. The lack of algae to consume nutrients before the dinos could also may have played a part. Now I just hope they'll go away on their own with normal care and I won't have to do another blackout/uv treatment with re-population of phyto, pods, bacteria, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 A shame to hear that the dinos are back, but you beat them before so I have no doubt that you'll beat them again! This time I bet they won't get nearly as much of a foothold. Those pictures with the new camera are amazing! Gosh it's incredible what a difference an actual camera makes. That Pavona in particular is really gorgeous. 1 Quote Link to comment
minimal Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Any updates? Just found this thread and WOW OH WOW I may have missed it, but what return pump were you running on the IM10? I'm in the process of setting up the same tank and would love to keep a Monti or two, but don't want to make the tank a whirpool! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 I swear a real update and more photos than you wanna see are coming soon but for now just some FTSs 2 2 Quote Link to comment
lizzyann Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 On 6/26/2019 at 9:29 PM, minimal said: Any updates? Just found this thread and WOW OH WOW I may have missed it, but what return pump were you running on the IM10? I'm in the process of setting up the same tank and would love to keep a Monti or two, but don't want to make the tank a whirpool! I was using the stock pump. plus the aqamai kps! 1 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 Looks gorgeous! Are the dinos/diatoms completely beaten at this point? 1 Quote Link to comment
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