Kinda's Large Tank Adventure (LTA)

[Jakesaw]

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

What type of dino do you have?

I don't know.  It's brown and mainly sticks on sidewalls will get thick and chunky if I let it go.  When it's really bad, I can see it moving in water column with powerhead flow.  

 

I put Filter floss in HOB filter to pull some excess back out of tank last night. 

 

2 extra fish in the tank was giving me healthy algae growth and putting Dino in reverse.  But the fish didn't last long enough to complete the process. I'm looking for Talbot damsel to add to my tank.  Good hearty fish that will require a net top to be on my tank, but should do well in the tank.

[Kindanewtothis]

26 minutes ago, Jakesaw said:

don't know.  It's brown and mainly sticks on sidewalls will get thick and chunky if I let it go.  When it's really bad, I can see it moving in water column with powerhead flow. 

You should get a microscope for a positive ID, some types of dinos can be fight using a UV when they are in the water column.

[Jakesaw]

33 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

You should get a microscope for a positive ID, some types of dinos can be fight using a UV when they are in the water column.

May be good idea, but i'm not " THAT " into the hobby.  That's what would drive me out of the hobby.  I want my tanks to enjoy looking at, not driving my daily behavior. 

 

I've been contemplating going back to FW tanks to be honest, but still riding this out for now.  I do enjoy the saltwater fish / corals, but not so much the constant attention the tank seems to demand of my time while I learn what I don't know. 

[rough eye]

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Back to clarity.

 

UV is out of the tank, now I have to establish a strategy for the flatworms.

 

do you really want more additives in your tank? i would say DO NOT use flatworm exit. Stop and think: do you have flatworms that are mobbing your corals? if not then they probably don't eat corals, or are a bother to them. Has the flatworm population increased after increasing pod population? Then the flatworms are thriving on eating the excess of pods. When the pod population decreases, so will flatworm population. A balance can be achieved. 

 

My belief is that your goal at this point should be to have a more normal approach to reef keeping, rather than the perfect tank. The tank will mature. Stop trying to force things to mature fast. Ever see a child who was forced to mature fast successfully? Maybe we can rename your tanks Justin Bieber and Britney Spears.

[Clown79]

50 minutes ago, Jakesaw said:

May be good idea, but i'm not " THAT " into the hobby.  That's what would drive me out of the hobby.  I want my tanks to enjoy looking at, not driving my daily behavior. 

 

I've been contemplating going back to FW tanks to be honest, but still riding this out for now.  I do enjoy the saltwater fish / corals, but not so much the constant attention the tank seems to demand of my time while I learn what I don't know. 

I used floss while dosing phyto. It didn't effect the phyto.

 

I dosed phyto at night and with all filtration and water movement off for 15mins.

 

 

To be honest, as much as i loved my tanks one of the main reasons i shut them down was because they took up a lot of my time and way too much money for a hobby. 

 

It was never like my cichlid tanks which i only did water changes every 2 weeks and fed daily.

 

 

 

 

[seabass]

24 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

as much as i loved my tanks one of the main reasons i shut them down was because they took up a lot of my time and way too much money for a hobby

So no more tanks?  I didn't know you shut them all down.  Sorry to hear that.

[rough eye]

there must be something wrong with me. i've been feeding daily, water change every 2 weeks, and checking specific gravity and adding RODI almost daily. oh and i scraped the glass yesterday.

[Kindanewtothis]

1 hour ago, rough eye said:

do you really want more additives in your tank? i would say DO NOT use flatworm exit. Stop and think: do you have flatworms that are mobbing your corals? if not then they probably don't eat corals, or are a bother to them. Has the flatworm population increased after increasing pod population? Then the flatworms are thriving on eating the excess of pods. When the pod population decreases, so will flatworm population. A balance can be achieved. 

 

My belief is that your goal at this point should be to have a more normal approach to reef keeping, rather than the perfect tank. The tank will mature. Stop trying to force things to mature fast. Ever see a child who was forced to mature fast successfully? Maybe we can rename your tanks Justin Bieber and Britney Spears.

No I don't want to add more chemicals to my tank, I'd say 98% of the flatworms have vanished. Only have a single frag in that tank and it's worm free. I was just thinking it might be better to so the treatement now while they are not a problem and that their numbers is reduced (so less toxin when they die). 

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, seabass said:

So no more tanks?  I didn't know you shut them all down.  Sorry to hear that.

Ya no more tanks. I had too much going on and had to make the decision. As much as i miss them it was a good decision.

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

No I don't want to add more chemicals to my tank, I'd say 98% of the flatworms have vanished. Only have a single frag in that tank and it's worm free. I was just thinking it might be better to so the treatement now while they are not a problem and that their numbers is reduced (so less toxin when they die). 

Not all flatworms are bad.

 

I had little brown ones in my 10g which had a bad algae issue due to the black sand i used and when i upgraded 2 yrs later and used all new sand, they were gone.

 

They never harmed anything.

[Kindanewtothis]

First pod harvest. One 250ml bottle for now.

 

apocyclops panamensis and tisbes mix

 

 

 

 

[Kindanewtothis]

Glass were full of flatworms again in the 10g.

 

Currently using flatworms exit.

 

Removed all I saw before dosing using an airline with a regid tube to siphon them out

 

When they started to die, I added carbon in the hob.

 

I have water ready for a water change

[Kindanewtothis]

A lot of flatworms died but there are still some. I suppose I'll get them with the next treatment because yes, @rough eye, there will be a next time.

 

Nothing in the tank, except the flatworms, seemed to care about flatworms exit

[Kindanewtothis]

Feels good to have the tank back. Thought I'd post some pics.

 

An anemone is going back in that tank. BTA split too much and my clown liked the LTA so it seems like the better option. Any other suggestions ?

 

Got coraline all over the rocks but still some cyano. Sand is mostly white. I clean a lot less and let the CUC work. I don't scrape the walls often.

[seabass]

Give the tank some more time before you start adding more livestock.

 

I wouldn't worry about the cyano at this point.  Let your tank mature a bit and don't fuss with it for awhile.

[Kindanewtothis]

17 hours ago, seabass said:

Give the tank some more time before you start adding more livestock.

 

I wouldn't worry about the cyano at this point.  Let your tank mature a bit and don't fuss with it for awhile.

For the moment I added pods last night and will add more tonight (havested more). I'm dosing phyto every night and that's it.

 

Will be gone 3 days, no one will come to feed or do stuff. I fed more today (leaving early tomorrow) Will top off before I leave.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2021 by Kindanewtothis
Spelling

[Kindanewtothis]

Came back home to a 10g of cloudy water again...

 

I don't know what the source is.

[Kindanewtothis]

48 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Came back home to a 10g of cloudy water again...

 

I don't know what the source is.

This makes me want to close this tank. 2 tanks is a lot of work. There is always something...

[M. Tournesol]

Maybe just let it be (without looking at it) for 1, 2 weeks without (or with) the UV sterilizer.
Your tank seems to have a biological equilibrium problem. 
I would just take a small rock from your 50 and put it in your 10g. Dinoflagellate is better than cloudy water (and will anyway be introduced in your tank from frags).

[Kindanewtothis]

3 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

Maybe just let it be (without looking at it) for 1, 2 weeks without (or with) the UV sterilizer.
Your tank seems to have a biological equilibrium problem. 
I would just take a small rock from your 50 and put it in your 10g. Dinoflagellate is better than cloudy water (and will anyway be introduced in your tank from frags).

The UV is going back in. I could certainly put some rocks from the 50g in the 10g.

 

Current livestock in the 10g:

 

1 YWG

1 neon goby 

1 tiger pistol shrimp 

1 mexican turbo 

1 cerith snail

1 trochu snail

1 nassarius snail

1 scarlet hermit

1 halloween hermit

 

What I'm starting to consider is to take the YWG and pistol shrimp plus the CUC and transfer them permanently in the 50g and sell the 10g.

 

What about the cleaner shrimp in the 50g, would that be a problem with the pistol shrimp?

 

Also I was told that a conch and an halloween hermit might be a problem? Their sizes are not the same at all.

 

 

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

What about the cleaner shrimp in the 50g, would that be a problem with the pistol shrimp?

If the cleaner shrimp is smaller than the pistol shrimp, that could be an issue.

 

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Also I was told that a conch and an halloween hermit might be a problem?

Crabs are opportunist feeders, especially when hungry.  However, even when well fed, they might steal a snail's shell if it's the right size and type.

 

Dwarf Blue Legs and Scarlet Reef Hermits won't typically bother conch snails.  I'm not sure what type of snail shells that Halloween Hermits like to wear.

[Kindanewtothis]

30 minutes ago, seabass said:

I'm not sure what type of snail shells that Halloween Hermits like to wear.

It looks like the conch shell but much smaller.

31 minutes ago, seabass said:

If the cleaner shrimp is smaller than the pistol shrimp, that could be an issue.

They are about the same size

[Kindanewtothis]

@seabass what about the general idea of transfering the live stock from one tank to another? Would it be too much for the 50g. I also have to see what I would do with the small neon goby.

 

If salinity and temperature are the same can I just transfer the live stock? 

[seabass]

22 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

If salinity and temperature are the same can I just transfer the live stock? 

That should be fine.

 

22 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Would it be too much for the 50g.

It's becoming a lot; but the rock should support the additional livestock.  I'm more concerned about neither tank being stable.  You've battled dinos, bacterial blooms, a phyto bloom, flatworms, and a lost anemone.  You've recently added flatworm eXit, Dino-X, and UV.  Your tanks are far from on auto-pilot.  I don't usually like making more changes unless things are stable.  Four days ago I suggested, "Let your tank mature a bit and don't fuss with it for awhile. "

 

However, if two tanks are too much, then consolidation might be your best option.  It's hard to predict what might happen.  The pistol shrimp will stir the sandbed (maybe good, maybe an initial issue).  Dinos seem to be controlled in the tank's current state, but how will the additions affect that balance?  I don't really know.

 

23 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I also have to see what I would do with the small neon goby.

In theory, it should be fine.  My main concern is territorial compatibility.  Your existing (and more aggressive) fish have had some time to establish their territory.  The new fish, will need to find their own space while dealing with feeding aggression.  The Neon Goby is potentially more timid, so I'd make sure that it's feeding and not getting bullied too much.

[Kindanewtothis]

7 minutes ago, seabass said:

That should be fine.

 

It's becoming a lot; but the rock should support the additional livestock.  I'm more concerned about neither tank being stable.  You've battled dinos, bacterial blooms, a phyto bloom, flatworms, and a lost anemone.  You've recently added flatworm eXit, Dino-X, and UV.  Your tanks are far from on auto-pilot.  I don't usually like making more changes unless things are stable.  Four days ago I suggested, "Let your tank mature a bit and don't fuss with it for awhile. "

 

However, if two tanks are too much, then consolidation might be your best option.  It's hard to predict what might happen.  The pistol shrimp will stir the sandbed (maybe good, maybe an initial issue).  Dinos seem to be controlled in the tank's current state, but how will the additions affect that balance?  I don't really know.

 

In theory, it should be fine.  My main concern is territorial compatibility.  Your existing (and more aggressive) fish have had some time to establish their territory.  The new fish, will need to find their own space while dealing with feeding aggression.  The Neon Goby is potentially more timid, so I'd make sure that it's feeding and not getting bullied too much.

Don't forget the cyano... I know. I'm still thinking about all this. 

 

The pistol shrimp could do its thing with the sand bed, I don't think it would be a problem. I really enjoying the pair. 

 

Regarding the neon goby, I think the best would be to take it back to the lfs.