Snow's 60G Secret Predatory Sanctum 🐲🐉 - Shutting Down

[Snow_Phoenix]

Mornin' from the little dragons 🐲🐉 of the reef: 🤗

 

Poseidon:

 

 

Bella: 

 

 

 

Illaron: 

 

 

Orion:

 

 

Hammer looking a bit off, though. Starting to think I suck at keeping corals in *this tank:

 

 

😕

 

I think it's going to take some time before everything heals back up. 🤔

[Snow_Phoenix]

Poseidon has actually gained in size - not just girth. I didn't quite notice it until I had a closer look at him. He's around ~3.5" now. I think he might be pushing for 4" by the end of this year, and 5" by the end of next year. 🤔

 

 

 

Hunting for pods with Bella: 

 

 

Bella & Illaron have both hit 3" now. And they're quite thick too - she's more rounded than him though, but I think female scooters in general tend to look chunkier (?)

 

Here she is, having this evening's meals of pellets:

 

My gobies are now braver with less fish in the tank. Can see them wide in the open, and they're no longer skittish either:

 

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Just wanted to update - I did a parameter check this afternoon, and the levels turned out to be fairly normal for this system, although the kH is a little low:

 

NO3 = 50 ppm

PO4 = 0.25 ppm

Calcium = 470 ppm

Magnesium = 1140 ppm ---> on the low side, daily doses ups this to ~1300 ppm by evening

dKH = 7.2 ---> A bit low as well

 

Parameter-wise, I was honestly expecting something to be totally out-of-whack, but it actually isn't. The high nitrates & phosphates are normal for the fish load that I have. Magnesium is low, because my current salt mix is a bit old and low on Mg, so I dose daily to increase Mg levels. I also dose kH buffer to increase the kH to at least ~8.0, although this gets depleted quite quickly by the LPS.

 

Speaking of the LPS, most of them are still very unhealthy. Tbh, I'm not confident any of them will make it. 😞

 

I'm hoping my cup coral will pull through, but it doesn't look too good with the bitten edges. It's almost like my tank is re-setting itself, on its own. I can't stop it, but I can only slow it down. So I'll be patient and wait this one out. 

 

The mushrooms are the only things that are truly doing well though, so I think adding mushrooms in the future should be okay. But I'll wait on adding any large LPS colonies - it's back to basics. I'll start with adding the easy, beginner-level-corals, and slowly work my way up over the next 6 to 12 months. This will definitely take some time - I can't rush the reef, or its healing, because it took a lot of damage this year from various causes. 

 

So I'm going to approach this with a 'hands-off' approach, and try to focus on keeping my fish, and fattening up a certain skinny ruby dragonet. 

[debbeach13]

So sorry you are having these problems. That is a very solid plan.

[Snow_Phoenix]

7 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

So sorry you are having these problems. That is a very solid plan.

Reefing is always full of ups and downs. This would be the 'down' moment, I guess, but I'm still soldiering on and not giving up on the tank or its inhabitants. 

 

I think I might shut down a few tanks at home though, or combine some into a larger tank so that I can keep track of them better. I currently have 5 FW tanks & 3 SW tanks. Thinking of retiring the 10G SW nanotank because it's pretty much in limbo. And maybe retiring two of my smaller FW set ups as well. 😕

[debbeach13]

Some times we do get carried away with multiple tanks. It is so easy to do. Oh this fish needs it's own tank or I have always wanted to try this certain plant. Maybe I will just set up a simple little pico and boom you have 8 tanks going. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

16 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Some times we do get carried away with multiple tanks. It is so easy to do. Oh this fish needs it's own tank or I have always wanted to try this certain plant. Maybe I will just set up a simple little pico and boom you have 8 tanks going. 

Yeah, and I get carried away really quickly. Not going to be easy shutting down the nano though because I do have 2 clowns, 1 blenny & 1 crab in there, and I'm fond of all four of them. 😞

[Snow_Phoenix]

I miss my angel and chromis very badly for some reason tonight. I keep telling myself that I made the right decision to rehome them, but I still feel...empty/hollow on the inside. It's silly, worrying over two fish. But the Chromis has been with me for a while, and the angel actually swam up to the glass to greet me every single morning. So bold and beautiful too. 😞

 

Hope they're doing okay at the store. 

[debbeach13]

1 hour ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Yeah, and I get carried away really quickly. Not going to be easy shutting down the nano though because I do have 2 clowns, 1 blenny & 1 crab in there, and I'm fond of all four of them. 😞

Well you do not have to rush or even shut it down. Wait and see how you feel in a couple weeks.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Fishies: 🤗

 

 

 

 

 

Hope this can recover: 😓

 

 

Still no full PE, and the edges will need to regrow. All in good time, I guess. 

 

Aiptasia: 😕

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Tic is slowly becoming bold again after I reduced the no. of fish in the DT:

 

 

 

 

He's still skittish at times, and skates above the sandbed during feeding sessions, but I did catch him swim up to the mid-column of the tank just now:

 

I also spotted him trying to move back into his old burrow, which is now currently occupied by the steinitz goby pair. I truly hope he decides in settling back in, because I do miss watching him peek out from under the rock, at the front of the tank. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

The base of the elegance coral is full of hitchikers like sponges, tiny duster worms & tunicates. 

 

 

 

Poseidon was quite curious over all of it today:

 

 

 

Perhaps he was looking for some microfauna under there to snack on? 🤔

 

Spotted Casper peeking out of his burrow:

 

 

And just a random shroom shot: 😊

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Thanos keeping a tight watch over the reef: 

 

 

Also, I watched & heard Tic jump up & plonk himself against my lid. Luckily, he wasn't injured:

 

 

And was back to swimming normally within a minute: 👍

 

I'm not even sure why he jumped. None of my other fish were even anywhere near him when he did it. I'm just glad he didn't make it past the lid(s). 

 

Poseidon was exploring the rocks for more food when I turned the pumps back on:

 

All the animals are okay. Corals are still so-so, but they'll need time to regrow & heal. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Good morning! View from the bed: 🤗

 

Bo photobombing: 😅

 

 

Elegance coral - only 2/3rds of it is left now: 😕

 

 

Bella looking for pods near mushroom mountain: 🤗

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

My hammer coral:

 

 

 

The only LPS that is doing well atm. 😕

[Snow_Phoenix]

Orion is still very bony, but active. He was all over the rocks today, looking for pods to munch on:

 

 

Illaron has gained a bit more weight - I'll try to drag up an old pic of him to do a side-by-side comparison, so that his progress can be seen: 🤗

 

 

 

Bella is larger than him though. Not sure if it is a female thing, but I noticed she eats more than him. 👍

[Murphs_Reef]

3 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Orion is still very bony, but active. He was all over the rocks today, looking for pods to munch on:

 

 

Illaron has gained a bit more weight - I'll try to drag up an old pic of him to do a side-by-side comparison, so that his progress can be seen: 🤗

 

 

 

Bella is larger than him though. Not sure if it is a female thing, but I noticed she eats more than him. 👍

Really need to see an updated FTS 👍🏼

[Snow_Phoenix]

15 minutes ago, Grimes said:

Really need to see an updated FTS 👍🏼

It's really bad, Grimes. I'm heartbroken just looking at it. That's why I didn't do any FTSes in a while. The only colony that's doing okay is the hammer coral & *maybe the cynarina. All the other LPS is half-eaten, half-melted and looks very shrunken/retracted. 😞

 

Coral-wise, the tank took a lot of damage from the worm & BJD, but fish-wise, I'm tentatively still doing okay. So my apologies for no FTSes - I'm just deeply embarrassed & too upset to post one. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

This aiptasia has been in the tank for a full year. It's...different than the other aiptasia I've had. Color is mostly transparent-pinkish and it has bright blue specks (not seen clearly in pic) around the mouth:

 

 

The rainbow yuma has changed position slightly and now faces the glass:

 

 

Orion foraging the rockword for live pods:

 

Hammer coral fully extended (pic taken after the pumps were turned off for 1+ hour) :

 

 

My LFS will be delivering 25kg of salt tomorrow. The price of Fritz has hiked up and the availability is nil (only leftover boxes from an old US shipment around ~2 years ago) so I had to look into different options. 

 

Initially, I wanted to purchase RS blue bucket, but all shops only had RSCP, and it's extremely expensive. My closest LFS most carries Aquaforest products, so I'm purchasing 25kg of their Aquaforest Reef Salt. All the DTs in the LFS run on that salt, and they have a variety of corals, including brightly-colored SPS. 

 

Their probiotic salt was another option I was looking into, because I figured that might be what *this tank needs right now  but it's an extra RM 100+, and I don't have that much with me atm. So Reef Salt it is. 👍

 

I still have roughly 5kg of Fritz left over with me, so I'll be using that up first. It should finish rather quickly by this Nov/Dec, I think. 🤔

[Murphs_Reef]

Sorry to hear about your issues. I have upgraded to 15 gal and now seem to be starting from scratch. Hair algae outbreaks and high nitrate......

[Snow_Phoenix]

33 minutes ago, Grimes said:

Sorry to hear about your issues. I have upgraded to 15 gal and now seem to be starting from scratch. Hair algae outbreaks and high nitrate......

Algae is pretty normal and a part of any tank's maturation process. My pico has both film algae & GHA because it's still too new. This tank has film algae in the DT, but the urchins and snails usually take care of it. 

[Murphs_Reef]

2 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Algae is pretty normal and a part of any tank's maturation process. My pico has both film algae & GHA because it's still too new. This tank has film algae in the DT, but the urchins and snails usually take care of it. 

Yeah I do need more snails. I only have 3. And totally need to give 2 of the 4 hermits back to the LFS ... 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Poseidon has home! 😊💦

 

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

Morning from Orion & Poseidon! 😊💦

 

 

 

 

 

Chasing his reflection:

 

Orion's belly is still a bit sunken & his lateral lines are still showing. I estimate it might take up to 6 months (or longer) before he becomes chubby & thick like Poseidon. The one thing I've realized about picking up thin or emaciated fish from the store is that they take a long time to recover as opposed to an average-bodied fish. 

 

The problem starts when they become too lethargic to eat or hunt down food. That usually means the fish isn't going to make it. 😓

 

One good thing about Orion is that despite his poor body form, he's still very active and always eating. As long as he keeps it up, he can make a full recovery. It'll just take some time. 👍

 

I also checked my cabinet today and realized I have 2 unopened bags of repackaged Fritz (each bag is 5kg). Oops! 

 

I'll have to finish it off before I can use any of the new salt that's coming in today. 🤔

[Snow_Phoenix]

My LFS Manager dropped off 25kg of Aquaforest Reef salt at my home few hours ago. He was kind enough to actually help me store it in my cabinet too - he'd bagged it up to 5kgs per bag, and actually carried 20kg, while I only hefted 5kg in the original giant packaging. 🙂

 

I was a bit nervous showing him my tanks. He was impressed with the pico and how there was no skimmer involved in the set up, and he thought my 60G looked okay despite all the coral trouble I've been having. And he said, in Bahasa (translated), I quote: 'Your target mandarin is fat.' 

 

Heh. 

 

I took it as a compliment. He appeared genuinely intrigued by Poseidon, and that made me happy somewhat.

 

He also offered to help frag off the dead skeletal areas of my Elegance & Giant Bubble corals at the shop. All I have to do is bring those pieces in. He did ask a lot of questions about both tanks - parameters, set up, dosing, feeding etc. I think with regards to the 60G, he was mostly wondering how I'm managing to run a reef with various fish. And with the pico, he was mostly curious over how I managed to cram so many corals in such a tiny tank and grow them. 

 

All in all, not a bad thing. I guess it is okay to let visitors see the tanks every once in a while.