Snow's 20G Lazarus Pit - One Last Tribute.

[Snow_Phoenix]

16 minutes ago, DaVinciClown said:

Is the prime on weather mode? I thought mine was also having issues but turned out to be mimicking storms! 

I thought about that too, so I turned off weather mode and it still does it from time to time. Problem is, the flickering even occurs when the schedule is off for the day, but the power supply is plugged in. I woke up at 1am to white lights flashing in my bedroom. Quite frankly, it scared the shit out of me at first until I realized it was the Prime. I turned off the power supply then the flickering stopped. 😕

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just plugged it in and double-checked. Weather mode is indeed off. I'll try it out again tomorrow. If it keeps flickering, well, I just hope AI support gets back to me. 😞 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just a quick update: I'm in contact with both my local vendor who sold me the light as well as AI Support. AI Support guided me on how to reboot the light - there's now a new issue with the red and green LEDs flickering a little bit, but now the white LEDs are working just fine. I'm not sure what exactly is going on - I've triple-checked all my settings, weather mode is off and everything seems to be okay on the app in my phone.

 

But I'll be returning my light back to my local vendor because he promised to help inspect it for me. Once I return the light, I'll re-use my old PAR38. I switched back to my Prime to test it out, but I think my tank would appreciate something more familiar. 

 

Hope the issue gets resolved - I'm anxious as it is thinking about the light. Invested a lot of my personal savings into it, so I hope whatever it is, it gets sorted out with a quick fix or a proper replacement. 

 

 

[debbeach13]

I hope your problem is resolved quickly. Lighting is so expensive it is a real set back to have it not working. It is nice to heard the local store is going to help you troubleshoot the problem. Good luck.

[Snow_Phoenix]

20 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

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I hope your problem is resolved quickly. Lighting is so expensive it is a real set back to have it not working. It is nice to heard the local store is going to help you troubleshoot the problem. Good luck.

 

Thank you, debbeach13. I saved up for ~8 years to get this light, so this was indeed a gut-blow. My local vendor is coordinating with AI directly, if I'm not mistaken. Might take a while to get the light back - especially if it needs to be checked, they *might need to send it to the main AI distributor overseas in Singapore, but I'll be patient and keep using my PAR 38 LEDs until then. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Looking back at the start of this journal thread, I just realized how much the fish stock has changed quite rapidly over a period of 8 months - which isn't exactly a good thing. The tank has definitely had its share of ups and downs, and sometimes I'm too lazy to update and write about every small thing that does go right/wrong in here on a daily basis. But thankfully, the tank overall remains fairly stable - despite suffering through the Ich & flukes outbreak last year, and some corals melting/throwing a tantrum under the new lights this year.

 

I have lost a few coral pieces due to carelessness (or in the case of my hammer - sheer abuse at the fins of my Starry Blenny) but it's manageable and gives me a lot of viewing-pleasure. As difficult as some days are, I have no regrets have a SW tank this size, in my bedroom of all things. 

 

Also, I just finished a major WC and routine weekly maintenance (stretching out to biweekly sometimes) and I've decided to go a little bit ahead of schedule and add my clownfish to the tank today on Valentine's Day. They're no longer tiny, and I think they're large enough to be finally added to the 20G safely. I don't foresee any issues with adding them today since they have been in QT for almost 9 weeks now, and have been Prazi'd and kept on a stable diet of NLS and Hikari Marine S pellets, with the occasional bite of frozen stuff.

 

So in a few short hours, both Nero & Nova will be added to the 20G after a brief acclimation of 15 mins (temp. match, mostly). My only concern is my blenny's reaction. His size alone makes him the boss fish of this tank, and he can be intimidating at times to smaller, unfamiliar fish. But he does have a good rep. with my GCG and actually hangs out with that lil' guy, so I'm relying on the fact that he won't be too territorial with the clowns (or vice versa).

 

Stay tuned! 🙂 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Both Nero and Nova are doing very well in the 20G. I added them late in the evening yesterday after a brief acclimation period. 

 

Here they are, during their first day in the tank:

 

And here are a few shots of them. I noticed Nova has a sort of mocha tone to her as opposed to Nero's strong black coloring. I actually like the difference in tones. I'm not sure if she'll grow completely black in the months to come, but for now, I have some dual-colored, chubby clownfish:

 

 

Thanos was not to keen on having the clowns in his domain at first. It was quite funny, watching him sneak up on them from behind coral frags and LR pieces: 

 

 

But eventually he came to accept them after an hour and is back in boss-fish-mode. 

 

 

All four fish are doing well today morning. They're up for a feeding in about 30 mins, so hopefully everyone - including Nero & Nova, would eat. Fish in a new environment often take some time to 'settle in' before munching on something. 

 

 

 

 

 

[WV Reefer]

9 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Both Nero and Nova are doing very well in the 20G. I added them late in the evening yesterday after a brief acclimation period. 

 

Here they are, during their first day in the tank:

 

And here are a few shots of them. I noticed Nova has a sort of mocha tone to her as opposed to Nero's strong black coloring. I actually like the difference in tones. I'm not sure if she'll grow completely black in the months to come, but for now, I have some dual-colored, chubby clownfish:

 

 

Thanos was not to keen on having the clowns in his domain at first. It was quite funny, watching him sneak up on them from behind coral frags and LR pieces: 

 

 

But eventually he came to accept them after an hour and is back in boss-fish-mode. 

 

 

All four fish are doing well today morning. They're up for a feeding in about 30 mins, so hopefully everyone - including Nero & Nova, would eat. Fish in a new environment often take some time to 'settle in' before munching on something. 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m glad they are doing well.

 

Thanos is such a magnificent beast!  😄

[Snow_Phoenix]

7 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

I’m glad they are doing well.

 

Thanos is such a magnificent beast!  😄

Thanks! I'm happy they are too. And yes, he is lol. One of the clowns attempted to take shelter in his 'cave' last night but he wasn't having any of it. 😛 

[WV Reefer]

24 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Thanks! I'm happy they are too. And yes, he is lol. One of the clowns attempted to take shelter in his 'cave' last night but he wasn't having any of it. 😛 

I could just picture him picking them up and spitting them out like the hammer. 😂

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just now, WV Reefer said:

I could just picture him picking them up and spitting them out like the hammer. 😂

Them clownfish be rollin' LOL. 

 

(Thankfully that didn't happen - the fish was able to zoom away and learnt very quickly the 'Lair of the Giant Purple Beast' is not to be touched. :P )

[Tamberav]

The fish look great! Thanos his a handsome fella 🙂

[Snow_Phoenix]

17 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

The fish look great! Thanos his a handsome fella 🙂

Thanks! They haven't eaten yet but they did hover up to check out the food when I turned the pumps off. I think it'll take a few more days for them to adjust properly to the tank. :) 

[Snow_Phoenix]

FTS today:

 

All four fish are doing fine:

 

 

 

 

Other random tank shots:

 

 

 

Overall, tank is healthy and doing well. I had some hiccups with other RL issues going on, but whenever the stress peaks, I just take some time off and spend time with either one of my aquariums. Helps a lot. 

 

I still haven't received my AI Prime HD back yet. Just waiting patiently for my light to be assessed and either fixed or replaced. The corals are doing very well under my PAR 38 though, so no issues there. My favia is now officially the fastest-growing coral in my tank. My yumas are spreading out wider/larger too. My zoas seemed to have hit a standstill though - some frags popped out a lot of new heads, others are still restricted to 2 to 4 polyps. 

 

I just purchased some new acans quite recently. 

 

Thanos has developed a habit of dragging the red one into his lair every night. So every morning, I have to re-drag the coral back out to make sure it gets some light. Shrimp are all accounted for, but I'm rehoming my white spotted nem shrimp since she has developed a habit of eating the polyps of my nem. She's been kept isolate in an in-tank breeder box for 2 to 3 weeks now. 

 

Also might need to beef up my CUC and pick up a few new hermits. My tuxedo and rock urchin do a good job of cleaning up any film algae that pops up though, but it's very minor so I usually just ignore it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

I've actually debated the merits of revealing this for a while, but I just wanted to say: I use tap water. I use it for my WCs, my top-offs, cleaning off my equipment etc. I used it sparingly in the beginning for this tank, but after I saw how using my tap water didn't give me any outstanding problems with my 10G for a year, I converted to using tap water fully for my 20G reef. I've been doing it for over two months, going on three now. 

 

The reason for this conversion is because I did hit a very rough patch financially (chronic illness + unsteady employment), and they doubled the price of RO and DI water in my local grocery store. My LFS doesn't use RODI either - they use their tap as well and have been for years. I moved houses around 1+ year ago, and the new house has a major DI unit plugged into the porch (as in, it's a 5' foot tall steel monstrosity just standing there). 

 

I tested the source of my ordinary tap - tap water is chlorinated in Malaysia, and mine has 0.03 ppm PO4 and 25 ppm NO3 but remains ammonia free. I find that relatively agreeable, and with some trial-and-error, my tank either maintains this exact same number or reduces both the PO4 and NO3 to zero (too clean = pissed-off corals usually, so I have to keep topping off with more tap). 

I tried this, and this works for my system. I'm not saying it'll work for any of you (it might, or it might not, depending on your water source + location). But I haven't incurred any major algae outbreaks with using tap water from my home, so I'll keep using it. 

 

And before you ask, no, I'm not getting a RODI unit, simply because this is my parents' home and installing something like a RODI unit is considered a 'major' plumbing affair, and it goes against their wishes. I will not disrespect them or their wishes. It took a lot just to convince them to allow me to have a 4' ft long FW aquarium - and even then we agreed to put it outside the house, in the side porch, and not inside. Rules are rules, I guess.

 

Also, I didn't bother measuring TDS and I dechlorinate my water before use using Nutrafin Dechlorinator and Seachem Prime. As long as my animals are healthy, and my system is balanced (which it is now), I'm happy with the outcome. I'll keep reporting in about my levels from time-to-time so that anyone who's interested may observe the differences in my system and compare it to theirs/yours. It's up to you. 

 

So, yeah, I 'cheat'. 😉 

[WV Reefer]

35 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I've actually debated the merits of revealing this for a while, but I just wanted to say: I use tap water. I use it for my WCs, my top-offs, cleaning off my equipment etc. I used it sparingly in the beginning for this tank, but after I saw how using my tap water didn't give me any outstanding problems with my 10G for a year, I converted to using tap water fully for my 20G reef. I've been doing it for over two months, going on three now. 

 

The reason for this conversion is because I did hit a very rough patch financially (chronic illness + unsteady employment), and they doubled the price of RO and DI water in my local grocery store. My LFS doesn't use RODI either - they use their tap as well and have been for years. I moved houses around 1+ year ago, and the new house has a major DI unit plugged into the porch (as in, it's a 5' foot tall steel monstrosity just standing there). 

 

I tested the source of my ordinary tap - tap water is chlorinated in Malaysia, and mine has 0.03 ppm PO4 and 25 ppm NO3 but remains ammonia free. I find that relatively agreeable, and with some trial-and-error, my tank either maintains this exact same number or reduces both the PO4 and NO3 to zero (too clean = pissed-off corals usually, so I have to keep topping off with more tap). 

I tried this, and this works for my system. I'm not saying it'll work for any of you (it might, or it might not, depending on your water source + location). But I haven't incurred any major algae outbreaks with using tap water from my home, so I'll keep using it. 

 

And before you ask, no, I'm not getting a RODI unit, simply because this is my parents' home and installing something like a RODI unit is considered a 'major' plumbing affair, and it goes against their wishes. I will not disrespect them or their wishes. It took a lot just to convince them to allow me to have a 4' ft long FW aquarium - and even then we agreed to put it outside the house, in the side porch, and not inside. Rules are rules, I guess.

 

Also, I didn't bother measuring TDS and I dechlorinate my water before use using Nutrafin Dechlorinator and Seachem Prime. As long as my animals are healthy, and my system is balanced (which it is now), I'm happy with the outcome. I'll keep reporting in about my levels from time-to-time so that anyone who's interested may observe the differences in my system and compare it to theirs/yours. It's up to you. 

 

So, yeah, I 'cheat'. 😉 

 

**gasps**

 

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

 

Thanks for sharing. 😃

 

 

[Christopher Marks]

1 hour ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

So, yeah, I 'cheat'. 😉 

Wow that is pretty cool to be able to use tap water! I wish I could but our source is terrible and changes seasonally. Some places really do have pretty darn good water though!

[Tamberav]

 

 

Jk, tank looks great! 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

7 hours ago, Christopher Marks said:

Wow that is pretty cool to be able to use tap water! I wish I could but our source is terrible and changes seasonally. Some places really do have pretty darn good water though!

Yes. I think the water source is the key - some of my local fishkeeping friends can't use their tap either because of heavy metal contamination. I got lucky. My new housing area has a decent source. My older one, not so much. 

5 hours ago, Tamberav said:

 

 

Jk, tank looks great! 

 

 

Thank you. 😊

[Snow_Phoenix]

Target-fed some of my corals chopped shrimp today. They loved it. 

 

 

Also watched my blenny pitch a Nass snail halfway across my tank for attempting to steal a chunk of shrimp I left in front of his lair. All I can say is that Thanos is a badass. 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Good news! My vendor just contacted me and they've replaced my light. Turns out the other one was indeed defective. I should be able to pick it up from my LFS either today or tomorrow. 🙂

[WV Reefer]

11 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Good news! My vendor just contacted me and they've replaced my light. Turns out the other one was indeed defective. I should be able to pick it up from my LFS either today or tomorrow. 🙂

Yay!!! 😃

[Snow_Phoenix]

Swung by my LFS in the morning and traded in my nem-eating nem shrimp for a porcelain crab:

 

The crab is currently in a breeder box in my 20G. I'll try to pair it up with my new neon RBTA I purchased yesterday from a different LFS yesterday:

 

 

The RBTA was originally meant to go into my 10G, as a gift of sorts for my crazy 2+-year-old Clarkii clownfish. Problem is I just took a nitrate reading of that tank and it's too high for my liking. The two fish and one lone crab I have in there seem unaffected, but I'm sure a nem or corals wouldn't be comfortable. Until I do a deep-scrub and rehaul of the 10G, I temporarily placed the RBTA on the smaller island-LR piece in my 20G. It's quite small - only around 2.5" across or so. 

 

But the main point of this post is about my LFS visit today. I swung by my regular LFS, and here are some of the interesting things I saw today:

 

1. Strawberry sea slug (named by LFS, not me):

 

 

2. A pancake with two eyes/flounder:

 

3. Tiny 2" fu manchu lionfish (wish I still had my predator setup - this guy was gorgeous!):

 

4. Ghost ribbon eel/white ribbon eel: 

 

5. Strawberry dottyback:

 

6. And finally, a garden eel with the ultimate 'F U' to anyone who tries to buy it:

 

 

Got a call in the late evening and my light is finally ready - I'll be picking it up tomorrow. I also ordered some NLS gel food from the same vendor, but he told me he checked the bottle and it expired on Jan 2019. So he's giving me a full refund as well, and left the money at the store - I'll be picking them up some time tomorrow. 

Also, tank is doing well, I have full PE on all corals but I will need to top up my CUC. I've been toying with the idea of getting either a Fire or Cleaner Shrimp for a while now, but we'll see. Will also need to do a WC in a few days. 

 

[WV Reefer]

50 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Swung by my LFS in the morning and traded in my nem-eating nem shrimp for a porcelain crab:

 

The crab is currently in a breeder box in my 20G. I'll try to pair it up with my new neon RBTA I purchased yesterday from a different LFS yesterday:

 

 

The RBTA was originally meant to go into my 10G, as a gift of sorts for my crazy 2+-year-old Clarkii clownfish. Problem is I just took a nitrate reading of that tank and it's too high for my liking. The two fish and one lone crab I have in there seem unaffected, but I'm sure a nem or corals wouldn't be comfortable. Until I do a deep-scrub and rehaul of the 10G, I temporarily placed the RBTA on the smaller island-LR piece in my 20G. It's quite small - only around 2.5" across or so. 

 

But the main point of this post is about my LFS visit today. I swung by my regular LFS, and here are some of the interesting things I saw today:

 

1. Strawberry sea slug (named by LFS, not me):

 

 

2. A pancake with two eyes/flounder:

 

3. Tiny 2" fu manchu lionfish (wish I still had my predator setup - this guy was gorgeous!):

 

4. Ghost ribbon eel/white ribbon eel: 

 

5. Strawberry dottyback:

 

6. And finally, a garden eel with the ultimate 'F U' to anyone who tries to buy it:

 

 

Got a call in the late evening and my light is finally ready - I'll be picking it up tomorrow. I also ordered some NLS gel food from the same vendor, but he told me he checked the bottle and it expired on Jan 2019. So he's giving me a full refund as well, and left the money at the store - I'll be picking them up some time tomorrow. 

Also, tank is doing well, I have full PE on all corals but I will need to top up my CUC. I've been toying with the idea of getting either a Fire or Cleaner Shrimp for a while now, but we'll see. Will also need to do a WC in a few days. 

 

 

your LFS has the coolest stuff!! 

 

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

9 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

 

your LFS has the coolest stuff!! 

 

 

 

 

Yah. There was once where my manager just randomly began ordering all sorts of exotic and weird things like bright purple weedy scorpionfish, shark eggs, colorful seahorses - those kind of stuff. Surprisingly, there are buyers for them. People from out of state sometimes order them in because they keep species tanks or specialized environment tanks for a particular critter. It's amazing what comes in. I always walk in and often see things I've never dreamed of seeing before. The flounder and strawberry slugs today were new to me. 🤐