Fluval 13.5 on a Husky Cart

[pricewayne]

6 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

We have all been a position of panic/anxiety at some point with our tanks. You're not alone😁

 

 

Dosing is something we all read about when starting out but its definitely not something always necessary and should never be done blindly.

 

A good app for keeping track of everything is Aquarium Note. You can document everything.

 

Hahaha, I actually read a forum post this morning with app reviews and saw your recommendation -- sadly, I don't think it's available for iOS//iphones though.

 

There's one called Aquarimate for $9.99... not sure it's worth that and sounds like you have to keep paying more to get access to most of the features. I'm thinking about setting an Asana or Trello project and just dive into customizing the setup to track maintenance.. lot more time consuming to set it up, but could be nice to lay it out with alerts how I'd like. Siiiigh.

[Clown79]

40 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

Hahaha, I actually read a forum post this morning with app reviews and saw your recommendation -- sadly, I don't think it's available for iOS//iphones though.

 

There's one called Aquarimate for $9.99... not sure it's worth that and sounds like you have to keep paying more to get access to most of the features. I'm thinking about setting an Asana or Trello project and just dive into customizing the setup to track maintenance.. lot more time consuming to set it up, but could be nice to lay it out with alerts how I'd like. Siiiigh.

I'm not sure. I have a Samsung 

 

There are a few apps for free. I'd stick with one of those.

It's really just a diary to keep track. 

[billygoat]

This thread was a great read. I love the detail you put into your posts, and the dedication you show towards the hobby. I feel like all of the research you do will pay big dividends down the road.

 

Beautiful BTA too!

 

And also your Husky cart absolutely blew my mind. Genius!

[pricewayne]

12 hours ago, billygoat said:

This thread was a great read. I love the detail you put into your posts, and the dedication you show towards the hobby. I feel like all of the research you do will pay big dividends down the road.

 

Beautiful BTA too!

 

And also your Husky cart absolutely blew my mind. Genius!

Thank you, so much! I’m having so much fun learning stuff. It’s so damn interesting! I think a misconception I had at first was that you’d set up the tank and then just need to maintain/manage it — think it’s so cool how involved you can be in its growth.

 

Oh boy, the husky cart took me weeks to figure out. I think I scoured all of the affordable furniture shops hunting for a table that could hold the weight and help hide the cords//equipment... then hours of watching YouTube DIY stand videos and just happened to see a tool cart and it clicked. It’s been a fun setup for sure.

[Daniel91]

With your research effort and dedication, I am sure this will be a successful and fun build. Can’t wait to see where it is in a year from now.

 

As a heads-up, please be ready to challenge SoCal summer heat, which can cause temp issues for your tank if not addressed. Unless you run A/C all day, then you might want to look into evaporative cooling or a chiller.

[billygoat]

+1 to SoCal heat troubles. If this year is anything like last year we are likely to be in for a few weeks of Death Valley heat. I also live in the area and am concerned about the heat, as well as the power outages that tend to follow in its wake...

[pricewayne]

54 minutes ago, Daniel91 said:

With your research effort and dedication, I am sure this will be a successful and fun build. Can’t wait to see where it is in a year from now.

 

As a heads-up, please be ready to challenge SoCal summer heat, which can cause temp issues for your tank if not addressed. Unless you run A/C all day, then you might want to look into evaporative cooling or a chiller.

Definitely sweating that fact, already. I’ve got a wall of south facing windows in my living room lol. They’re new and heat resistant (or whatever that’s called), but definitely bracing myself to look into keeping the tank cool. I have AC at least, though!

[pricewayne]

@Clown79 -- mind confirming I'm mixing my salt properly? Here's where I'm at:

 

- RO/DI: received my unit on Wednesday, set it up and ran all of the instructions to flush and get it ready for use and then made 5 gallons worth of RO/DI. Stored at room temp in a sealed 5gallon Home Depot bucket.

- Transfer RO/DI: today I transferred 4 gallons of RO/DI into a separate clean/empty bucket. Aqua Forest Reef salt instructions said I should make a minimum of 4 gallons each time I mix.

- Add pump: dropped my Maxi-Jet 1200 pump into the 4 gallon filled bucket and turned it on.

- Add salt: per the instructions, I added 1.5 scoops of salt using the purple cup provided into the pumping RO/DI water.

- Circulated for 15 minutes: let the salt mix for 15 minutes.

- Turned pump off: think the water has a small bit of haze still (should I go ahead and pump it more?) -- hard to tell in the bright orange bucket but it is noticeably more clear than when I began.

 

Here's where I'm a bit confused though... I need to store the mixed salt overnight before I do my water change. One, because I need to add a heater to get temp same as my tank. Two, because my refractometer is delivering tomorrow and want to wait to do my water change until I'm able to measure salinity and be sure it's equalized between new salt water and my tank water. I have a hydrometer now, but think I'd rather wait to use my refractometer for more accuracy (made sure to order a marine/reef calibrated refractometer).

 

Questions:

- Keep pump turned off and seal my bucket now that salt is mixed? I've read that over pumping salt mix can remove beneficial nutrients, so just want to be sure I have that right.

- Should I turn pump back on for a few mins tomorrow right before my water change? Or it'll be fine just adding direct to tank once it's heated and salinity is matched?

- I was thinking I'd do about a 20% water change tomorrow, which comes out to approx 2.7 gallons. Is that ok//any red flags? I've seen mixed reviews on whether it should be 10-25% for weekly water changes.

- How best to store the remaining saltwater? Keep the heater in it? I'm sure it's best to seal it, but if I keep heater in my bucket has to stay cracked to let the cord through. Assuming I should also stick to the 5 day shelf life recommended by Aquaforest... would be nice if I could store for 7 days and I'd be able to get two weeks of water changes in one batch of mix.

 

Sorry for the lengthy Friday afternoon questions lol. Want to be absolutely sure I'm doing this right before I make a habit of doing things wrong!

[Clown79]

43 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

@Clown79 -- mind confirming I'm mixing my salt properly? Here's where I'm at:

 

- RO/DI: received my unit on Wednesday, set it up and ran all of the instructions to flush and get it ready for use and then made 5 gallons worth of RO/DI. Stored at room temp in a sealed 5gallon Home Depot bucket.

- Transfer RO/DI: today I transferred 4 gallons of RO/DI into a separate clean/empty bucket. Aqua Forest Reef salt instructions said I should make a minimum of 4 gallons each time I mix.

- Add pump: dropped my Maxi-Jet 1200 pump into the 4 gallon filled bucket and turned it on.

- Add salt: per the instructions, I added 1.5 scoops of salt using the purple cup provided into the pumping RO/DI water.

- Circulated for 15 minutes: let the salt mix for 15 minutes.

- Turned pump off: think the water has a small bit of haze still (should I go ahead and pump it more?) -- hard to tell in the bright orange bucket but it is noticeably more clear than when I began.

 

Here's where I'm a bit confused though... I need to store the mixed salt overnight before I do my water change. One, because I need to add a heater to get temp same as my tank. Two, because my refractometer is delivering tomorrow and want to wait to do my water change until I'm able to measure salinity and be sure it's equalized between new salt water and my tank water. I have a hydrometer now, but think I'd rather wait to use my refractometer for more accuracy (made sure to order a marine/reef calibrated refractometer).

 

Questions:

- Keep pump turned off and seal my bucket now that salt is mixed? I've read that over pumping salt mix can remove beneficial nutrients, so just want to be sure I have that right.

- Should I turn pump back on for a few mins tomorrow right before my water change? Or it'll be fine just adding direct to tank once it's heated and salinity is matched?

- I was thinking I'd do about a 20% water change tomorrow, which comes out to approx 2.7 gallons. Is that ok//any red flags? I've seen mixed reviews on whether it should be 10-25% for weekly water changes.

- How best to store the remaining saltwater? Keep the heater in it? I'm sure it's best to seal it, but if I keep heater in my bucket has to stay cracked to let the cord through. Assuming I should also stick to the 5 day shelf life recommended by Aquaforest... would be nice if I could store for 7 days and I'd be able to get two weeks of water changes in one batch of mix.

 

Sorry for the lengthy Friday afternoon questions lol. Want to be absolutely sure I'm doing this right before I make a habit of doing things wrong!

What AF salt are you using? The reef or Probiotic?

 

Probiotic can be stored for 5 days only the reef longer.

 

You can store the salt water with a sealed bucket and the next day heat it and add pump again. The water should be clear when used.

 

With no heater or long enough mixing, that may be why it was still cloudy. The salt was not fully dissolved.

You also want to check salinity at correct temps before use.

 

I always mixed mine for 30mins with heater and pump before use. It was always clear by the time I needed it added to the tank.

 

I never really follow the amount they tell you to use. I add the salt, stir with my reef spatula, check salinity. I continue adding and check until it's at the correct SG.

 

 

As for storing, you don't need to keep it heated but when you go to use it, definitely add pump and heater.

 

I normally only make enough at one time but I often have some left over and I just keep it in a sealed bucket. 

 

The amount of waterchange depends on the system. I normally do 15% but it changes with the tanks needs.

[pricewayne]

3 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

What AF salt are you using? The reef or Probiotic?

 

Probiotic can be stored for 5 days only the reef longer.

 

You can store the salt water with a sealed bucket and the next day heat it and add pump again. The water should be clear when used.

 

With no heater or long enough mixing, that may be why it was still cloudy. The salt was not fully dissolved.

You also want to check salinity at correct temps before use.

 

I always mixed mine for 30mins with heater and pump before use. It was always clear by the time I needed it added to the tank.

 

I never really follow the amount they tell you to use. I add the salt, stir with my reef spatula, check salinity. I continue adding and check until it's at the correct SG.

 

 

As for storing, you don't need to keep it heated but when you go to use it, definitely add pump and heater.

 

I normally only make enough at one time but I often have some left over and I just keep it in a sealed bucket. 

 

The amount of waterchange depends on the system. I normally do 15% but it changes with the tanks needs.

Ok sweet. I have the Reef (didn’t want to deal with the probiotic stuff).

 

I was thinking it would take hours to heat the gallons up with my heater in? I’ll definitely use a thermometer to verify, but it only takes 30mins to warm up? Would be sweet. I’ll be using a penn plex 75W to heat up.

[Clown79]

21 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

Ok sweet. I have the Reef (didn’t want to deal with the probiotic stuff).

 

I was thinking it would take hours to heat the gallons up with my heater in? I’ll definitely use a thermometer to verify, but it only takes 30mins to warm up? Would be sweet. I’ll be using a penn plex 75W to heat up.

What I do is start mixing my water with heater and pump about an hr before I start waterchange, by the time I'm done the water change and need the water it's fine.

[pricewayne]

2 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

What I do is start mixing my water with heater and pump about an hr before I start waterchange, by the time I'm done the water change and need the water it's fine.

Awesome, I'll do same. Thank you, again! 🙂

[Clown79]

20 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

Awesome, I'll do same. Thank you, again! 🙂

Yw😁

[pricewayne]

Not the happiest of updates, but I think there's hope....*sigh*

 

So. I think anyone that spends half an effort on researching BTA's (or any anemones) is aware of how to prevent this tragedy. We all know BTA's have some suicidal tendencies & yep, we all know where this is going! Per last week's entry, I ordered panty hose to block my powerhead's intake to prevent my BTA from getting shredded. Before I received the hose, I'd been limiting my powerhead's use to only when I was in the room -- tank's pretty much in the center of my living room so I can see my anemone and the power head from pretty much anywhere I sit (plus she'd been in the same place since day 2 -- with her foot literally weaving and planted through my back rock).

 

Here's our timeline:

- Thursday: I decided to name my BTA. Her name is Gwen, as she's bubble pop electric.

- Friday: panty hose delivered, woo! Gwen gained protection, I lost my panic and powerhead lost... well, power. Powerhead running on even the highest power was spitting out drool. Wouldn't even call it spit. Left it over night hoping that perhaps there was trapped oxygen? Maybe if I let it run, the water will push through more easily and build the power back.

- Saturday: Nope, still no power. Remove panty hose to get my waves flowing and monitor as I had been all week. Read into alternate solutions to protect the powerhead intake and find out about using strawberry baskets or plastic planter cups to place over the powerhead -- great, blocks the path but keeps the water flowing so I order some to try it out -- will deliver on Monday (today). Go to bed Saturday night & turn off my powerhead.

- Sunday: wake up. Turn powerhead on. All is good -- day goes by -- research pico setups//ideas for the new contest (I'm pumped). Order dinner and rent a movie on iTunes (Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is INCREDIBLE). Roll the credits -- time for bed -- peek at my tank -- and it's a white cloud. Gwen went for a walk.

 

Agony, devastation & panic -- but I *think* I held my wits.

 

What I've done so far:

- Immediately unplugged powerhead.

- I'd already read a few forums on "what to do" if this happens. What I wasn't prepped or read up on was, "what to do if the anemone is STUCK in the powerhead". Do I remove? Cut it out? Disassemble the powerhead? Read numerous posts/forums/youtube vids and answer is NO -- try to give them time to untangle themselves out of it. I looked more closely at Gwen and was so relieved to see her entire foot is completely outside the powerhead and not at all damaged. Carefully rest her & the powerhead on my rock by setting her foot directly on the rock, knowing it will help her to grip and untangle.

- BLESS you reefers for striking the fear, shame and wisdom to invest in an at home RO/DI. I would have been in deep trouble if I didn't have mine already setup. I already had 4 gallons of RO/DI on hand. Added heater. Added pump. Added salt. We were ready for a water change.

 

- As the salt mixed, I turned my back chamber pump off -- swapped my poly fill -- swapped my chemi pure bag for a fresh one. In the 30-45mins time it took to prep for water change, Gwen managed to completely untangle herself. There was some zooxanthellae residue around the intake, but not any noticeable "chunks" of her inside the powerhead or anywhere in the tank, besides the water being cloudy.

 

- Did a 4 gallon water change. Removed powerhead from tank and dropped it into a cup of fresh RO/DI water to soak over night.

 

- Gwen gathered her strength and started crawling. I moved all of my other frags to the sand bed since I knew she was likely to crawl over them. Then I tried to get some sleep.

 

- She's absolutely been injured, but she looks so much better this morning. The damage looks to be primarily on one of her rounded edges and to the outer rim tips. Her mouth has not opened, gaped or leaked. Here she is early this morning:

 

- Here she is around noon (about 5 hours ago):

 

- Since then, she moved lower to the base of that rock and has partially closed up:

 

Next steps -- welcome all advice:

- Powerhead is still off. Until I know she's secured AND I'm able to add the plastic cover I'm going to hold off on turning back on.

- I have frozen silverside fish, but I've read that fresh raw shrimp may be easier for them to digest//more preferred diet and that supplemental food while healing is critical (assuming she will take to it) -- planning to run to grocery store in couple hours to have these on hand next time she opens up.

- The water is still slightly cloudy. I have mixed saltwater heated, but am hesitant to do another water change so soon. My corals have reopened and seem fine (not as perky, but seems that's more due to lack of water flow without my powerhead on). Think I'd rather hold off on another water change for a day or two -- really appreciate any expertise//input here.. if I should do another water change, I'm ready to...

- I know I need to closely monitor her healing -- consensus seems to be that if she looks like she's melting, then she's prob not going to make it and I'll remove her.

- My female clown is still trying to host her. She isn't being rough or too intrusive it seems, but should I try to block clown fish access while my BTA is healing? Only thing I can think to do is get a tupperware bowl, drill holes to keep water flowing through it and lay it over my BTA to keep clowns from getting onto her. I'm sure the clown will be fine, but want to be sure she isn't bothering the anemone, causing more stress?

 

I'm so so upset with myself. Really thought I was taking the right precautions and that I'd for sure notice her moving if I was in the room. Staying hopeful she'll pull through it. Any bits of wisdom/advice is welcome.

[Daniel91]

Sorry about Gwen. You are doing an amazing job and hopefully it will recover.

 

I would see if I can quarantine or keep the clown away - it might be too much for the anemone in current state and while it recovers.

 

Edit; it seems as if the foot was not damaged - this is a really good thing.

 

Also, my suggestion is to do 1gal changes every day for the next few days - you did the bigger one but still want to get rid of all the nasty stuff and one gallon changes may do it for you without stressing the system and parameters too much.

[billygoat]

I have to say you have so far handled this situation amazingly well. I would have expected that anemone to be 100% lost, but in the photos it really seems to be hanging in there. Great job not panicking and doing your homework on how to save it!

 

+1 to trying to keep the clown out of it for the time being though. The anemone needs to be as stable and unmolested as possible during the recovery period imo. Try not to alter your lighting or flow regimens at all while it regains its strength.

[pricewayne]

36 minutes ago, Daniel91 said:

Sorry about Gwen. You are doing an amazing job and hopefully it will recover.

 

I would see if I can quarantine or keep the clown away - it might be too much for the anemone in current state and while it recovers.

 

Edit; it seems as if the foot was not damaged - this is a really good thing.

 

Also, my suggestion is to do 1gal changes every day for the next few days - you did the bigger one but still want to get rid of all the nasty stuff and one gallon changes may do it for you without stressing the system and parameters too much.

Thanks... I’m so mad at myself for taking, even a calculated risk, with something I knew to be problematic!! Want to go back in time and slap my thinking lol.

 

Great advice on 1g water changes. I’ll do one now and keep up with it next few days at around same time of night.

 

20 minutes ago, billygoat said:

I have to say you have so far handled this situation amazingly well. I would have expected that anemone to be 100% lost, but in the photos it really seems to be hanging in there. Great job not panicking and doing your homework on how to save it!

 

+1 to trying to keep the clown out of it for the time being though. The anemone needs to be as stable and unmolested as possible during the recovery period imo. Try not to alter your lighting or flow regimens at all while it regains its strength.

I can’t tell you the relief I had waking up to her filled back up and seemingly starting on the road to recovery! I was dumbfounded by how quick she unraveled from the powerhead last night. It really doesn’t look like it in the pic, but just a corner of one of her edges was the only part actually stuck. Do think she had a fair amount of damage around her entire “rim” of tips though.

 

@billygoat & @Daniel91

all for restricting//QTing clown access.. so Gwen is back on the move right now. Do y’all think I should actually place her INSIDE a container, with holes, and keep it in the tank, perhaps? Or wait for her to find a new spot to stick on and then find a way to cover her from clowns (may be more difficult)? I wish I had a QT tank — I just don’t have one currently, so removing her or the clowns from the tank itself is a bit challenging without spitting out a few hundred bucks on a setup for tank+light+filtration.

[billygoat]

In my humble and admittedly not-particularly-experienced opinion (I keep neither anemones nor clowns), the best option would be to remove the clown from the tank temporarily while the anemone recovers. However, if QT is not an option and the anemone continues to move around, I would probably not worry too much about the clown irritating it for the time being. As long as the animal is looking better and appears to be on the road to recovery, the best course of action is to change as little as possible. If it was me, I think I would simply continue to monitor the situation, and only intervene if the clown appears to be definitively making things worse. Otherwise, just let the 'nem do her thing, and hopefully she'll be back on track in no time 🙂

 

Hang in there, and don't beat yourself up too much over it! I think things will end up working out just fine.

[Dally]

Just came across your tank & I'm enjoying it! Looking forward to following along.

 

I especially like the Husky cart idea. Also, glad Gwen made it!! Hope she fully recovers soon.

[pricewayne]

54 minutes ago, billygoat said:

In my humble and admittedly not-particularly-experienced opinion (I keep neither anemones nor clowns), the best option would be to remove the clown from the tank temporarily while the anemone recovers. However, if QT is not an option and the anemone continues to move around, I would probably not worry too much about the clown irritating it for the time being. As long as the animal is looking better and appears to be on the road to recovery, the best course of action is to change as little as possible. If it was me, I think I would simply continue to monitor the situation, and only intervene if the clown appears to be definitively making things worse. Otherwise, just let the 'nem do her thing, and hopefully she'll be back on track in no time 🙂

 

Hang in there, and don't beat yourself up too much over it! I think things will end up working out just fine.

Sounds like a plan to me — so far, my clown’s been incredibly gentle. Think she knows the anemone was hurt 😕 she’s batted away hermits and my fire shrimp from getting any where near it lol.

 

40 minutes ago, Dally said:

Just came across your tank & I'm enjoying it! Looking forward to following along.

 

I especially like the Husky cart idea. Also, glad Gwen made it!! Hope she fully recovers soon.

Thank you!! It’s been a lot of fun so far (minus the latest trauma).

[Daniel91]

I agree with Mr. Goat - if it’s too much of a hassle to separate clown and anemone, just keep monitoring and do not take action unless you see decrease in health.

[pricewayne]

5 minutes ago, Daniel91 said:

I agree with Mr. Goat - if it’s too much of a hassle to separate clown and anemone, just keep monitoring and do not take action unless you see decrease in health.

Sweet. She’s looking better this morning and opened back up — moved onto the glass wall overnight.

[pricewayne]

Quick update -- was able to get my powerhead covered using the plastic planter cup and have it back up and running. Everything is cheering up!

 

Gwen still seems to be progressing -- she's been on the glass since this morning.

Here she is with the powerhead back on -- she hasn't closed up so far today and seems to be doing as best she can given the circumstance:

 

Here's what the planter cup looks like -- I got the 3" cups:

 

Here's what the modded powerhead looks like now -- I'll get better pics of how I attached during my next cleaning, but what I did was placed the powerhead in the basket and used two zip ties looped through the middle basket slits going through the powerhead intake slits to keep it from blowing off. Placed a stocking over the magnet on my powerhead, rolled it to near the brim of the basket and rubber banded the edge in place.

 

Think in long-term, I'll likely get a different powerhead and replace this one. One that manufactures an appropriate sponge cover that fits the head (to be researched, welcome any recommendations). While my current fix certainly seems efficient, there are some downfalls:

- I've lost the ability to tilt my powerhead to an angle, so the flow has to point directly forward (no up/down or side/side tilt). Frustrating.

- Since I can't angle, I had to attach to my back chamber wall. I actually used my magnet algae scrubber piece to magnet it in place (wasn't sure if the exterior powerhead magnet was safe to put in the water and I'm not about to take another risk). It works great, but now I'm down an algae scrubber.

- Bought the IM desktop powerhead specifically bc it has a small in-tank footprint.. now it looks like I have a mega wave maker built to shake sharks up lol

 

More updates to come -- feeling hopeful!

[billygoat]

After seeing that most recent pic I am convinced that this anemone is going to be just fine. The fact that it climbed up onto your glass definitively proves that the pedal disc was not damaged, which is a super good sign. How's the flow on it up there? 'Nems often move up the glass when they are in need of a more oxygenated spot with higher water motion.

 

Clever work with the temporary anemone screen! Your powerhead looks like it belongs on the business end of a fighter jet, but at least it won't be shredding poor Gwen again anytime soon ^^

[pricewayne]

5 minutes ago, billygoat said:

After seeing that most recent pic I am convinced that this anemone is going to be just fine. The fact that it climbed up onto your glass definitively proves that the pedal disc was not damaged, which is a super good sign. How's the flow on it up there? 'Nems often move up the glass when they are in need of a more oxygenated spot with higher water motion.

 

Clever work with the temporary anemone screen! Your powerhead looks like it belongs on the business end of a fighter jet, but at least it won't be shredding poor Gwen again anytime soon ^^

Phew!! I wasn't sure what to think of her moving to the glass lol. She has much better water flow now that the powerheads back in action. She did move to the glass when it was still off overnight, but hasn't decided to make any moves since powerhead's been back on (but definitely getting nice movement on the tips she has puffed out).

 

&& yep, lol. Once I got it on, stepped back and look at it I just busted out laughing. It's SERIOUS hahaha.