The depression damsel den

[Tmr8188]

Reefing took a back seat for about a year.  Lost some fish to brook and just lost the desire due to work/kids.  A few months ago I got the bug again.  I found a used nuvo 40 for sale and figured it was as good as a time as any to upgrade.  It was slow going but I got the passion back.

 

The corals that survived lost a good deal of color.  The only fish that survived the brook outbreak were a flame hawk and a melanurus wrasse.  I ran the nuvo 40 for a few months with just the two of them.  Last week I decided to take a chance and order somethings I have always wanted to try.  I ordered a dwarf fuzzy lion and a tube anemone.  When they arrived I was shocked to see the fuzzy was a little bigger than I anticipated.  The tube anemone was ghost white as well.

 

I got some pvc and made a makeshift tube for the anemone and set it in the back right corner under a shroom box.  The lion decided to hide in the rock work for a few days.  Fast forward a few days and the lion has taken to hit loaded ghost shrimp very well.  He even tries to eat some lrs reef frenzy.  I think he’s assimilated very well.  I even saw the hawk fish perched on top of the lion!  I wish I had my phone on me to snap a picture!

 

I switched up my lighting from t5’s to metal halide.  The response from the corals has been amazing.  Leathers that were sad perked up instantly.  I don’t have all of the gear on the tank yet.  And I need to find a cord management solution.  I also need to setup the temporary ghost shrimp tank as well.  All and all I’m pretty happy so far.

 

 

The build:

Innovative Marine Nuvo 40 AIO on APS Stand

Rocks are real reef rock branch mostly

maxi jet 1200 return pump

2x floss holders (really looking for a tunze 9004 eventually)

currently running a bag of marine pure spheres for filtration and a single mangrove.

MP10 for flow soon (I have one (two actually), just need to stick it on the tank)

Reef Brite Metal Halide hybrid (150 watt de Phoenix 14000k bulb). I love this light!!!  Only problem is the cords are ugly af.

an ato smart micro to top off (not installed, topping off by hand right now)

All controlled by an apex lite (not installed yet)

 

inhabitants:

Flame Hawkfish

melanurus wrasse

fuzzy dwarf lion fish

halloween hermit crab

orange tube anemone

a few snails (I need to beef up my cuc soon)

The plan for corals is mostly softies and a few lps.  Mostly leathers with some gorgonians and zoas tossed in for color and to take up space.

 

next steps:

grab some real reef rock rubble and build up around my tube anemone’s pvc tube.  Add the rest of my gear and figure out a cord management solution.  Get more coral.

[Tmr8188]

Small update:

I setup a small ghost shrimp tank right next to the nuvo 40.  It’s making it much easier to gutload them.  The lion ate 4 ghost shrimp today.  I have him on 3-4 every other day.

 

Some additions, I received a tunze 9004 in the mail today courtesy of @tdhnry at r2r.  Great person to deal with 👍. It’s currently breaking in.
 

I also added some coral as well. I visited a lfs near me and took home a tiny toadstool and a chalice frag. The chalice looks pretty promising. A friend also gave me some magician palys and rainbow infusions.

 

[Wonderboy]

So glad to hear you've come back to continue the hobby; besides if you're not careful, the right combination of that work thing and those kid things could kill you lol - jumping back in with a 40G? Great choice! I'm excited to see this grow! The lion is awesome! That's so cool that he responds to column feeding - sounds like he'll eat anything - like frozen foods, maybe pellets, too - great grab  :]

How's the tube anemone been doing? Any pics of new stuffs? Even the ghost shrimp setup would be neat to see

[Tmr8188]

small update:
I went to a lfs for over the weekend and bought some snails. Trochus and nassarius. The trochus were active immediately. While the nassarius weren’t moving around. I’m hoping they make it. I love how they stir the sand bed. I also picked up a small blasto frag.

I also ordered one of those reef brite mini magnum leds. I ordered it in the uva spectrum. Really just messing around to see how it works. I also won the 2nd prize in @The Aquatic Arsenal raffle over the weekend on r2r. I have literally never won anything so it really made my weekend.

I am contemplating adding a 4th fish. I’d love a 2nd lionfish or if I can find a large chalk bass. I’m leaning towards the bass.

 

5 minutes ago, Wonderboy said:

So glad to hear you've come back to continue the hobby; besides if you're not careful, the right combination of that work thing and those kid things could kill you lol - jumping back in with a 40G? Great choice! I'm excited to see this grow! The lion is awesome! That's so cool that he responds to column feeding - sounds like he'll eat anything - like frozen foods, maybe pellets, too - great grab  :]

How's the tube anemone been doing? Any pics of new stuffs? Even the ghost shrimp setup would be neat to see

I honestly couldn’t be any happier than where I am in life.  I made the jump back to retail back in March and it was one of the best things I could have done.  My boss is one of my best friends and I work about 10 minutes from home.  I drop the kids off at school and am able to pick them up.  There’s the occasional strain with my significant other about working a weekend once in awhile, but the benefits outweigh that.

 

The lion hasn’t really been munching on anything other than the ghost shrimp.  I’ve been gutloading them with the nls probiotic pellet food.  Figured that the probiotics would get to the lion somehow.

 

The tube anemone is doing great.  It’s tucked away in a corner in his pvc tube and eating frozen every other day.  It’s regaining its color pretty well.

 

I need to setup the rest of my equipment tomorrow (apex, ato, mp10).  I also need to work on some cord management and do a water change that I’ve been putting off for the last week.  Lazy reefer syndrome is a real thing.  I’ll definitely snap some pictures tomorrow.

[Tmr8188]

Small update:

tank is just humming along. I have some aiptasia going on. I ordered some f aiptasia so we will see how that works out. I added my mp10’s for some much needed flow as well. Nothing really new coral wise. I’ll be making a few purchases after Christmas. I got a few pictures this morning after my water change.
 

 

[Tmr8188]

2 weeks ago I went to an lfs to grab some ghost shrimp. I’ve noticed that this lfs like pretty much all the ones in my area are getting to be extremely expensive and the livestock isn’t really anything to write home about. While I was there I noticed they had frags of elegance corals. It has been years since I tried an elegance. I figured if they were still alive and looked good I’d buy one on my next visit. Yesterday was the day. While other lps were bleaching the elegance were doing great. I figured what the heck and picked one up.
 

[Tmr8188]

 was unsure whether to post this but this is the state the tank is in. I am going through an ongoing bout of major depression and the anhedonia associated with it. I let the tank go pretty much completely. I currently am in pretty intensive therapy and one of the things that I am working on is self care.

So I decided to bring this tank back from the brink. First order of business was to get the tunze 9004 back up. It pretty much broke in immediately. Next was to get an actual media basket. In it I placed a new bag of chemipure elite. I am going to let it run as is for a few days before I go with a water change maybe this weekend. I will be manually pulling algae in the meantime.

[debbeach13]

Hope you and the tank recover. Sorry you went through some tough times. It sounds like your taking good steps forward.

[Tmr8188]

11 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Hope you and the tank recover. Sorry you went through some tough times. It sounds like your taking good steps forward.

Thank you for your kind words. I feel 1000% better compared to the despair I was feeling. I know it’s going to be a daily battle but I feel prepared now.

[debbeach13]

That is great. I saw a news report last night that there is a 30% increase in depression from the covid-19. They think the biggest contributing factors after the 1) will I or someone I love get it, 2) becoming unemployed, 3) is the changes in not having a routine or schedule anymore. I am not saying this is you and you are getting real help which is much better than a silly news report. The report made me notice that has happened to me. I found it interesting because even though I am retired my routine is gone. I used to watch the grandkids now Mom and Dad are home. I am wishing you continued success with moving forward. 

[Snow_Phoenix]

14 hours ago, Tmr8188 said:

 was unsure whether to post this but this is the state the tank is in. I am going through an ongoing bout of major depression and the anhedonia associated with it. I let the tank go pretty much completely. I currently am in pretty intensive therapy and one of the things that I am working on is self care.

So I decided to bring this tank back from the brink. First order of business was to get the tunze 9004 back up. It pretty much broke in immediately. Next was to get an actual media basket. In it I placed a new bag of chemipure elite. I am going to let it run as is for a few days before I go with a water change maybe this weekend. I will be manually pulling algae in the meantime.

I'm sorry to hear this. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone - I'm going through the exact same thing and let *some of my tanks/animal upkeep go haywire in the last few months. But therapy & meds work - it just takes time. If it helps, just focus on doing one thing at a time - like you said, you're going to manually remove the algae, so do that only first. WC later. The tank doesn't need to look pretty while you recover - just take care of yourself & your needs first. 👍

[Ratvan]

15 hours ago, Tmr8188 said:

 was unsure whether to post this but this is the state the tank is in. I am going through an ongoing bout of major depression and the anhedonia associated with it. I let the tank go pretty much completely. I currently am in pretty intensive therapy and one of the things that I am working on is self care.

So I decided to bring this tank back from the brink. First order of business was to get the tunze 9004 back up. It pretty much broke in immediately. Next was to get an actual media basket. In it I placed a new bag of chemipure elite. I am going to let it run as is for a few days before I go with a water change maybe this weekend. I will be manually pulling algae in the meantime.

I hope you are doing better today, if you need a chat drop me a PM going through similar issues myself

[Tmr8188]

40 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

That is great. I saw a news report last night that there is a 30% increase in depression from the covid-19. They think the biggest contributing factors after the 1) will I or someone I love get it, 2) becoming unemployed, 3) is the changes in not having a routine or schedule anymore. I am not saying this is you and you are getting real help which is much better than a silly news report. The report made me notice that has happened to me. I found it interesting because even though I am retired my routine is gone. I used to watch the grandkids now Mom and Dad are home. I am wishing you continued success with moving forward. 

It has increased so much, trying to get a therapist appointment through Kaiser is basically impossible. I was deemed an “essential” employee so I worked through all of the pandemic. Basically major marriage problems met work issues and I pretty much collapsed. I can’t stress it enough, seek out help if you don’t feel right. It sneaks up on you and before you know it you’re stuck in the quicksand.

[Tmr8188]

43 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

I'm sorry to hear this. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone - I'm going through the exact same thing and let *some of my tanks/animal upkeep go haywire in the last few months. But therapy & meds work - it just takes time. If it helps, just focus on doing one thing at a time - like you said, you're going to manually remove the algae, so do that only first. WC later. The tank doesn't need to look pretty while you recover - just take care of yourself & your needs first. 👍

Thank you for your kind words! I am doing much better than I was a few weeks ago.

20 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

I hope you are doing better today, if you need a chat drop me a PM going through similar issues myself

Thank you! I am feeling pretty good today.

[Tmr8188]

Quick update. I changed the bag of purigen. I’m seeing a slight reduction of algae. Admittedly I haven’t pulled any manually. There’s just not enough time in the day.