InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 I mean, isn't that a perfectly reasonable to MOST of life's issues? 😅😎 You were right about the nassarius snails btw. They were both out and about earlier. 3 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Few random shots from today. Changed some of the rock work about after a turbo snail got itself stuck yesterday. Now the holes are all too small for any of the snails to go into, but large enough for the fish, and I can see into them better. The Gobies are great, shy but curious, eating frozen brine, Daphnia and I see them hunting for pods often. The nassarius snails are still zoa-trampling thugs, and the turbos are lazy and only eating algae on the rocks, not the glass. So I scrubbed off the front panel with a razor blade today. Corals all seem happy but I think I need a light upgrade sooner rather than later for the zoas. I'm thinking the Nicrew Hyper Reef, just not sure whether to get the 30W or 50W. It will mean taking the lid off and cutting acrylic to fit but that's easy. 4 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 There's some GHA I need to pull off. It came in on the mushroom I think but regardless i intend to pull it off the corals. Zoas were partially closed here from rearranging the rocks. Need to check parameters, I haven't for a full two days (I know, I am TERRIBLE lol). But if anything last time my nitrates were a little low anyway. I need a phosphate kit, but I'm waiting till I'm in York because I want an excuse to go to an aquatics shop 😂 4 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 This is mental 🥲🤣 1 3 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 How did the drive go? 2 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 🙂 Weirdly the only thing to not survive the journey has been the suction cups on the pump so everything looks a mess rn. Gsp and one zoa still partly retracted, shroom, other zoa, snails and Gobies seem chill, if a bit irritated that they didn't get fed yesterday. I've pulled every muscle in my shoulders and back carrying this tank across campus and up the stairs 😂 and also ended up having a crash course in how the electrics in my room works because I managed to short everything filling it up. But did sort it out. And the good news is I don't think I'll have to worry about the tank getting too hot anymore because York is ####ING FREEZING!!!!!!! 1 3 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 2 minutes ago, InAtTheDeepEnd said: 🙂 Weirdly the only thing to not survive the journey has been the suction cups on the pump so everything looks a mess rn. Gsp and one zoa still partly retracted, shroom, other zoa, snails and Gobies seem chill, if a bit irritated that they didn't get fed yesterday. I've pulled every muscle in my shoulders and back carrying this tank across campus and up the stairs 😂 and also ended up having a crash course in how the electrics in my room works because I managed to short everything filling it up. But did sort it out. And the good news is I don't think I'll have to worry about the tank getting too hot anymore because York is ####ING FREEZING!!!!!!! Well welcome to Yorkshire!! 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 It didn't take long 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Ratvan said: Well welcome to Yorkshire!! Haha yeah it's not like the deep tropical south.... 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 14 minutes ago, InAtTheDeepEnd said: It didn't take long Trip to Dobbies Garden centre? If you get a chance try out this place, bit pricey from what i remember BUT amazing shop 2 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 They're next on my list of places to visit 🙂 3 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, InAtTheDeepEnd said: They're next on my list of places to visit 🙂 Take a photo of the LPS display tank if its still up please (especially tongue corals if they have them in) Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 Guess I'll go tomorrow or Wednesday. Mental health has gone to the dogs so could do with doing something nice.... Might buy more corals. Needed RO today and gonna do full run of tests tomorrow but I want a phosphate kit still anyway. Hope I don't come home with a snake or anything 😂🤭😍 Keep thinking if I see a nice container on my wanderings round York I might try out for the contest but idk .... I like a project though. 3 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 The crew Did some maintenance just now. Scrubbed off all the algae and topped it off. Accidentally lowered the salinity to 1.024 but only the temperamental gsp is fussing over my error. 4 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 Oh and the Gobies have thankfully devoured the nassarius eggs. I'm very relieved lol 2 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 Turns out having a nano reef on your desk isn't conducive to being productive.... It is so bloody distracting 😂😂 Also my phone camera is a bit sh1t for coral pics but whatever. An << attempt>> was made. Parameters have stabilised again after snail issues. Going to recheck again and probably do a small water change anyway later today or tomorrow. I'm having consistently very low nitrates though. I want 5ppm but keep getting less than that, more like 0. 😕 2 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 For better pix with your phone you can get clip on lens like the one below, it strips the blues out and works pretty well.. https://krakencorals.co.uk/d-d-coral-colour-lens.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwhuCKBhADEiwA1HegOfPSXF4n8j2_skYqRIkW3e9pKmuFQ6GsWO5vy1t2sv9dWtT9ntRHxRoCdXkQAvD_BwE 2 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 Oh bugger. Think there's another aiptasia on the gsp 😩😠 1 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Oh yeah looking that way. I'm dealing with a zoa rock with aips at the moment.. pain in the ass. 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 I thought i got it all 😭😭😭 not sure I can glue it without damaging the coral. Thinking peppermint shrimp. Not sure. Hacked off. Sneaky f.ucker. also bit drunk. Is it technically day drinking if it's dark outside? 1 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 Long overdue update. OMG, where to start. It's been a bit of a rough time. I did post a while back about my trochus(?)/turbo snails dying. Well, they were sold to me as turbos, but I think 2/4 were banded trochus and 2/4 were turbos. Anyway, first of all the 2 banded trochs died. I wasn't sure they were actually dead and left them in the tank 2 days before removal; this led to ammonia rising to 0.25ppm, but no nitrites or nitrates. I did a large (50%) water change and parameters seemed good again....then the next day, 0.25ppm ammonia and 0.25ppm nitrites. Corals and fish did not seem unhappy so I decided to wait it out to be processed by the bacteria. (This was midnight). 8am next morning tank grossly cloudy - like milk. Sand can only be described as littered with corpses. both fish dead and the two turbos. Parameters were 1-2ppm ammonia, 0.5ppm nitrites, no nitrates. It was devastating. My poor beloved little gobies. 😪 Deadstock removed and buried. Large water change (not % but big) performed. Corals all very retracted and it wasn't immediately apparent to me which were still alive and which were not. I left them where they were for the time being and then located both nasarrius snails. I guess my tank wasn't as mature as I thought and the combination of the stress of the move up and stocking too fast led to a bacterial crash. To be brutally honest I am not 100% sure. After that I didn't touch the tank for about 10 days. I didn't want to. I was so tempted to give up. Buuuuuut a fortuitous Animal and Plant Biology lecture on the origins of animal life in the oceans convinced me not to; I still have my nasarrius snails and my soft corals and these are ancient enough animals that they deserve my respect and care. So I have changed my scape round so instead of a bulky scape against the back it's a simpler, central scape consisting of just 3 rocks. This is easier for the snails to navigate so I seem them more often and debris doesn't accumulate as much, enabling me to remove it with a turkey baster. Sadly one of my zoas and my mushroom coral did die, which I'm disappointed about (especially the mushroom - it was so beautiful, particularly under actinics) but the remaining zoa and gsp are doing well. I have bought upgraded lights and will get a new pump before December I think. The snails laid eggs again at the beginning of this week and the gsp seems to like its new position; it's been there 2 days and already there are new polyps moving down onto the rock. Parameters have stablised and I'm being less tentative about getting my hands wet now. Before, I was always reluctant to interfere, which I think may have been the wrong approach with such a youthful system that was nowhere near in an established equilibrium. Will add pics of the changes...... (be nice plz. I KNOW I F.UCKED UP. I AM LEARNING AND TRYING TO DO BETTER.) 2 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 The crash. (Sorry it's quite morbid I know). 1 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 Crash parameters 1 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 After huge WC ..... 1 Quote Link to comment
InAtTheDeepEnd Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 Final resting place of Sunny, Stormy, Elf, Magic, Pixie and Goblin. Tank after huge wc 1 2 Quote Link to comment
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