SkiCat's WaterBox 10 aka “Storm's Rainbow Anemone Haven”

[SkiCatTX]

Also decided to go ahead and dose the Dino X in both tanks.

 

First I did a thorough cleaning by running a tube into a bucket with a 14" sock. Once the bucket was full I poured the water back into the tank and repeated several times until the sock was nearly clogged.

 

I also as per the instructions changed the light cycle to be full on just 5 hours a day in the afternoon, removed the Chemipure Blue, and put the macro algae in a bucket near the tank under the light and unplugged the fuge light.

 

Not a significant change after 5 days, but it is definitely less. Could just be less light per day. The GHA on the snails has gone clear and just blows off, so that's something, and while it's definitely still on the sand, there is much less on the corals and rocks. Here's hoping...

[lizzyann]

It seems our tanks are really going through similar things. After I mostly cleared out dinos with the UV I took it off and now have a return of brown slime, but a little different, more matted like you mentioned. There's definitely a little fluffy algae in there, as well as cyanobacteria, diatoms, and plenty of dinos still. I looked at it under a microscope to confirm all this. I also have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates. 

On 4/14/2019 at 11:01 AM, flypenfly said:

I would definitely stop dosing any kind of nutrients beyond normal feeding, you’re just making it worse, you have 0 phosphate because nuisance algae is using it up.

Everything I've read recommends not letting your phosphate and nitrate bottom out, that it will just increase dinoflagellates. Dosing nitrate and phosphate is a common method to help treat dinos. Maybe it's a little different in these situations since it's obvious there's nutrients in the water if algae and cyano are growing (and the advice to fight those is totally different), but it sounds like maybe there's a problem with there being dissolved organic nitrogen that the normal nitrate test doesn't account for. It still seems like dosing is a solid idea if you test at 0 nutrients. I read a lot about it on this thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-caused-by-an-abundance-of-untestable-organic-nutrients-in-our-tanks.573704/ I may be interpreting it incorrectly but it seems like overfeeding to get nitrates up might be a bad idea, especially because excess amino acids might have a huge impact on dino blooms, but dosing pure nitrate sources is ok and may be helpful. I also got a lot of info from this thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/ but it sounds like you already have a lot of their advice, SkiCatTX.

 

I put my UV filter back on and it's at least gotten rid of some of the brown and gotten some of my corals to open up a little more. I also put carbon in my media rack because some corals have been looking bad and snails have been dying, so I'm thinking the toxins from the ostreopsis are finally taking a toll. I've got to get my alk (this especially is low, very similar to yours), calcium, and mag stable and at the right levels then was thinking about dosing phosphate and nitrate, but hard to decide to just go for it!

 

 

[SkiCatTX]

11 hours ago, lizzyann said:

It seems our tanks are really going through similar things. After I mostly cleared out dinos with the UV I took it off and now have a return of brown slime, but a little different, more matted like you mentioned. There's definitely a little fluffy algae in there, as well as cyanobacteria, diatoms, and plenty of dinos still. I looked at it under a microscope to confirm all this. I also have 0 nitrates and 0 phosphates. 

Everything I've read recommends not letting your phosphate and nitrate bottom out, that it will just increase dinoflagellates. Dosing nitrate and phosphate is a common method to help treat dinos. Maybe it's a little different in these situations since it's obvious there's nutrients in the water if algae and cyano are growing (and the advice to fight those is totally different), but it sounds like maybe there's a problem with there being dissolved organic nitrogen that the normal nitrate test doesn't account for. It still seems like dosing is a solid idea if you test at 0 nutrients. I read a lot about it on this thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-caused-by-an-abundance-of-untestable-organic-nutrients-in-our-tanks.573704/ I may be interpreting it incorrectly but it seems like overfeeding to get nitrates up might be a bad idea, especially because excess amino acids might have a huge impact on dino blooms, but dosing pure nitrate sources is ok and may be helpful. I also got a lot of info from this thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-–-are-you-tired-of-battling-altogether.293318/ but it sounds like you already have a lot of their advice, SkiCatTX.

 

I put my UV filter back on and it's at least gotten rid of some of the brown and gotten some of my corals to open up a little more. I also put carbon in my media rack because some corals have been looking bad and snails have been dying, so I'm thinking the toxins from the ostreopsis are finally taking a toll. I've got to get my alk (this especially is low, very similar to yours), calcium, and mag stable and at the right levels then was thinking about dosing phosphate and nitrate, but hard to decide to just go for it!

 

 

Great info.

 

Yeah, I have read everything I could find on the subject. My Nitrates are at about 10 and Phosphates have been near 0 for the last couple weeks. I have tried increasing feeding and increasing mono potassium phosphate, but no matter how much I put in it's gone within a few hours. There is so much brown matter covering everything I suspect it's just using it up...maybe feeding it don't know for sure.

 

Certainly with the Dino X and shorter light period it has lessened a bit. I stopped all other dosing except Alk and feeding as well. I probably should put the UV back on, but it's so huge in such a small tank it's annoying...though I suppose less so than brown carpet and stressed corals...

 

 

[SkiCatTX]

Just tested Alk and found that it's way high on both my tanks at 9.6 up from 8.5 or so a few days ago. I guess the combination of less light and fewer dinos has lowered usage. I need to cut way back on alk/cal dosing during this time.

 

Something to watch out for when you make any drastic change that you don't over dose something... 

[SkiCatTX]

Alk is back at 8.5 today. Also tested Phosphate, and then Magnesium for the first time in forever. Good thing too, as PO4 is at .15 and Mg is at 1160.

 

Since I haven't been dosing for a while, it must be the combination of extra feedings, removal of the Fuge, and dying off of most of the dinos for PO4. I might put the Phosguard back in, or maybe just put the macro algae back in and turn on the fuge. I had removed it since I was dosing Dino X. Which, BTW, is actually working as most of the dinos are gone and are slowly being replaced by cyano, which is an improvement, at least that is something I can deal with normally.

 

For Mg, I just dosed a bit of Triton #1 Mg since I had that on hand and will monitor it for the next few days. I understand lower Mg also helps the dinos while being less ideal for corals so good to get it back up.

[SkiCatTX]

After about 10 days on Dino-X the dinos are about gone, being replaced by cyano, though that is something I can deal with. Sucked out most of it and changed about 30% water, then added back two Chemi-Pure Blue Nano packets. Looking pretty good for change. Still a bit of dying algae covering a few things, some GHA, and a bit of color loss here and there, likely more due to the high phosphates and Alk then anything I suspect.

 

Figured it's about time for an updated FTS:

 

And side view:

 

 

[SkiCatTX]

And some close ups with my phone.

 

A few tiny dark green Stylo pieces left over from fragging. I decided to try a some in this tank:

 

 

Frog Spawn is happy. They are much more purple than the image, I couldn't quite capture that in the photo editor:

 

Getting difficult to tell which is the original head on the Duncan. A bit of green as well:

 

Green Mushrooms are looking a bit pale. They'll probably color up quickly if I can keep things stable and get back to normally feeding:

[SkiCatTX]

Got a few pieces in QT from the frag swap last weekend. Unfortunately, my Kessil A80 died this morning, so most of the daylight pics I tried to take didn't come out very well. Here are a couple decent ones:

 

Fungia:

 

4 tiny Rock Flower Anemomes:

 

Green Torch:

 

 

[SkiCatTX]

Dragon's Breath...The New Cheato?

 

I didn't have much luck with Chaeto in the mini Fuge in the WB10, it has all withered and died off. However, I put some Dragon's Breath in there a couple weeks ago and that has taken off! It about doubles in size each week, when I looked in to check on it this morning it was pressed up against the top and completely full. I had to drag on it a few times to even get it out!

 

It's a bit difficult to see the scale here, but that's about a softball sized pile from just a few branches that I started with, taken from the tank. There is also a bit of Grape Calurpa, though that hasn't died, it's still about the same size as when I put it in.

 

 

 

[SkiCatTX]

I have some sad news to report. Pinky, the namesake purple stripe pseudochromis has passed away. 🐠

 

Determined to find a specific cause, I did extensive water tests, but found no clear out of range values, with the possible exception of PO4, which was around 0.2. That's high, but not majorly so, and none of the corals seemed bothered. It had only been elevated for a short time since I removed that large amount of Dragon's Breath. One other possibility was the dinos that have been a problem since I started the tank. I have heard they can release toxins, but again, there have been way more of them previously, and I haven't been trying to actively get rid of them for at least a few weeks. There have been plenty of water changes.

 

After doing a bit more research, I am just going to blame it on old age. Estimates for the lifespan of various dottybacks range from 3 to 7 years, with many species living closer to 3-5 years. I have personally had Pinky in my tanks for about 5 years, and I have no idea how old he was when I got him. However, I believe he was full grown, as he was the same size last week as the day I got him.

 

I will leave this tank as is for now, and just leave it fallow for a while. I don't have room in another tank to move the rock and corals anyway.

 

I will also continue to watch the other tanks for any sign of a problem, but as of now everyone seems fine...

 

[SkiCatTX]

Some updated tank shots. I sucked out the top half of the sand along with a turf of dinos and cyano, then added some rock. I also cut the brown and green turbinaria I think it is and put the 3 spots onto two plugs, along with a mushroom that came off the rocks during cleaning. The coverage of algae has aggravated it, so I'm going to try moving it into the JBJ28, which is mostly free of trouble algae.

 

 

 

Big mushroom hill is looking good though:

 

 

Duncan and babies are looking happy:

 

 

[SkiCatTX]

Candy Cane are looking fairly healthy, except for the one head that I lost to a coverage of GHA:

 

 

The little tiny pieces of green stylo are looking quick turquoise, this is the actual color they appear in the tank:

 

And of course the green pavona, which will live through anything:

 

 

 

[SkiCatTX]

Ordered this before we lost Pinky, but got a cool ClearView Lid for the WB10!

 

[SkiCatTX]

Got a few new coral pics:

 

New Fungia is doing well:

 

Duncan and babies are quite happy:

[SkiCatTX]

Candy Cane:

 

Frog Spawn:

[SkiCatTX]

About time for an update. Since Pinky passed away, the tank was fallow for a couple months while I decided what to do with it. Turns out, after I put a Naked Clown and Lighting Clown in my JBJ28 with a Rainbow Anemone, they never really got along. The Naked Clown kept chasing the Lighting around and just generally being a pain. So, when I got back from a recent trip and the Anemone had split, I figured it was a perfect time to move both of them over to the WB10. Thus, now this is Storm's private tank, and the saga continues.

 

Meet Storm (My daughter names all the fish, the Nake*d Clown is Pumpkin), He's about 4 months old or so I believe. Just one white second stripe misbar on his left side and white first stripe on both sides, he is otherwise black, with a bit of baby orange that should fade as he gets older on his face.

 

The new baby Rainbow Bubble Tip Anemone is  under a bit of egg crate until I'm sure it's settled down. This seems to work pretty well. They roll around a bit under the egg crate then generally settle. Then tend to stay put for quite a while, at least until there is something that they down like, like nutrient or temperature spike or whatever, then they start wandering. However, sometimes you can catch them and put them back in their spot after whatever event and cover them again, and they'll stay put.

 

[SkiCatTX]

And another month down. The summer has been pretty busy with travel, work, and vacations. I have kept up the tanks, but haven't done too much with them. Everyone's doing well, no major issues, even the dinos and algae haven't been all that bad. Even the Rainbow BTA seems happy, it healed up nicely from the split, and it's bubbles forming up reasonably well. Unfortunately, Storm the lighting clownfish has continued to live in the green mushrooms instead of the anemone, go figure...

 

I don't have any new pictures, I will take a new round soon though, just don't have the time to get everything out and then go through them to clean them up and fix the colors back to visibly correct...I hate super blue, or cartoon edited pics. I have just enough time most weekends to do the regular maintenance and clean the glass on each tank.

 

A few weeks ago I took out the DIY refugium. It just wasn't producing much algae, and I believe it was taking too much of the phosphates and nitrates out. I did keep a small ball of dragon's breath in a rubber band and put that in the tank where it continues to grow. Since I removed the fuge, I have been able to feed a bit less, and not dose phosphates artificially to raise the values. Phosphates have bounced around, as they will do in such a small tank, from near 0 to about 0.1, generally in the 0.08 range much of the time. But that's just with normal feeding of the fish, anemone, and corals eat day. I also dose about 2ml of Polyp Lab's One every day, which keeps the Alk in the mid 8s range.

 

Last night I took out the skimmer and gyre for a soak in bleach water and the nem decided to move. It's been there right in the front since I put him there, but once the flow changed he was off. He's now hanging out right at the top of the rock in the back. I'm hoping that once the pump is back in he'll move again, maybe even let go and I'll put him back in the front under the egg crate until he decides to stay there.

[SkiCatTX]

Decided to grab a batch of pics after cleaning today:

 

Some under blues with my iPhone, no filter:

 

Duncans are open, notice the orange color of the heliofungia. That's the actual color, only much brighter in person. It shows up yellow with the filter on, even if I adjust everything else back to normal.

 

The BTA is still hanging out at the top of the rock, right in the flow. Might need to increase the lighting...?

[SkiCatTX]

Now some with the orange and yellow filter, then cleaned up a bit:

 

Decent one with the Leather opened up

[SkiCatTX]

Fungia posing with the RFAs. Here you can see it shows up yellow, even though the RTAs are normal color:

[SkiCatTX]

The two RFAs on the rock, and a few red mushrooms in the background:

[SkiCatTX]

Several side shots:

 

 

 

 

 

[Oldfishwife]

Nice looking tank! Reading about your Dino issues almost made me question my decision to get back into the hobby. I know it’s mostly Young tank stuff and I went through it before on much larger tanks, so I’m going to stick with the plan. You’re way more high tech than I plan to go, but very awesome looking tank. 

[SkiCatTX]

On 8/18/2019 at 11:11 AM, Oldfishwife said:

Nice looking tank! Reading about your Dino issues almost made me question my decision to get back into the hobby. I know it’s mostly Young tank stuff and I went through it before on much larger tanks, so I’m going to stick with the plan. You’re way more high tech than I plan to go, but very awesome looking tank. 

It was a pain, though it's much better now. There are so many resources online, here, and on YouTube, etc. since so many people deal with them, you should be able to keep them under control. I still see them in the tank, but I believe they are better balanced after a few more months. I think adding various bacteria cultures like Tim's, MicroBacter, and Live Rock Enhance helped quite a bit, as did adding a UV sterilizer. I basically can ignore it now, just need to clean the glass regularly and stir the sand.

 

And for tech, yeah, I'm starting to think simpler would be better on such a small tank... 🙂 

[Christopher Marks]

On 6/12/2019 at 3:26 PM, SkiCatTX said:

Candy Cane:

On 8/17/2019 at 2:39 PM, SkiCatTX said:

 

These are so beautiful, they're growing like crazy too!