Johnny Max Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 I put river sand in my 20 tall reef tank, because I thought it would look good and I had plenty. I figured I would just add calcium. I was going to add crushed oyster shell I had for my chickens, but did not for some reason... Here is the problem! I put a damsel fish in the tank to help cycle it. The fish hides all the time, which is ok I guess, but the stupid fish digs holes everywhere. It digs holes around rocks, under rocks and piles the sand up. The fish is so small I was impressed to see it moving so much substrate. I though I would just deal with it, after all, the damsel lives in the tank, not me. That was until the "Damn-Sel" started piling sand up and covering ALL of my coral frags! Uhhhhh!!!! So, yesterday I took a red solo cup and scooped out all the sand I could. I moved rocks around and got most of it out. I washed the crushed oyster shell and added it. It is so course the fish can not suck it up and spit it out into piles. I hope? All is good... Right? Well even though I wash the oyster shell as much as I could. One cup at a time through a strainer, it still clouded the water! I went to bed with the tank looking like milk.... I was too embarrassed to take a picture... But wait! It get better (I mean worse)!!!! I had a plastic lid I was setting the frags on (six frags, my first, my babies) sitting on top of the tank and light. Well, somehow as I was dealing with adding the oyster shell the lid fell off.... It gets even worse!!! The tank is sitting on a wooded dresser and the lid fell between the dresser and the wall. I finally find a working flashlight and I can see some of the frags laying in the dust on the floor. They all detached from the frag tiles too... Well, I braced myself and picked up and twisted the dresser and moved it enough to reach the frags. I hurt my back in the process. It is still hurting me! I take water from the tank in a bowl and put the soft coral frags in the water. I cleaned the dust off of them as best I could. I rubber band them to the frag tiles "again" and put them back in the milky tank... I sat there and stared at the tank. I could not see the coral, but the damsel would bump into the glass every now and then as it darted around. I walked out of my Fish Cave with my head hung low... I may take a picture and post it on this thread this evening... Normally I am very careful and everything goes perfect... I really had to swallow my pride to make this post... 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Johnny Max Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 I know, what can you say to a post like this! I have a bunch of new rock to add, so I will add and rearrange the tank this evening and post some pictures. I hope it clears up and everything, or at least some things survive. Quote Link to comment
mcarroll Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 11 hours ago, Johnny Max said: I sat there and stared at the tank. I could not see the coral, but the damsel would bump into the glass every now and then as it darted around. I was already laughing (with you!!!) but this made me LOL. Dust = detritus....so I imagine for your corals this was something like having a mouthful of saltines and finding your mug empty. Good save! I hope your back feels better!! 1 Quote Link to comment
Lebowski_ Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 Oh boy lol sounds hectic! 1 Quote Link to comment
Johnny Max Posted May 4, 2023 Author Share Posted May 4, 2023 The water was crystal clear when I got home. I added rocks and did some arranging, so it clouded up a little. I think the coral may be okay. Time will tell. They were opened up, but closed up some as I moved stuff around. I should have taken a picture of the corals before. Anyway. Here it is. I need to just leave it alone for a while. Just feed, test and adjust the water. 2 1 Quote Link to comment
lefnui Posted May 31, 2023 Share Posted May 31, 2023 Sounds like quite a day!! Would love to see an update on how it's doing now 2 Quote Link to comment
Johnny Max Posted June 1, 2023 Author Share Posted June 1, 2023 About the same, but the coral is growing. The rocks are covered with green, but I am starting to see spots of coralline. My grand kids love the clowns. I had to name them Nemo & Coral of course. 2 Quote Link to comment
lefnui Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 9 minutes ago, Johnny Max said: My grand kids love the clowns. I had to name them Nemo & Coral of course. Of course, thats never optional lol Funny enough I heard the exact same story from a family friend earlier today On 5/3/2023 at 8:48 AM, Johnny Max said: The tank is sitting on a wooded dresser and the lid fell between the dresser and the wall. I finally find a working flashlight and I can see some of the frags laying in the dust on the floor. They all detached from the frag tiles too... I must say though, I'm only a month or two into my first tank (luckily no fish lol) and have to secure my zoa frag tomorrow I'm terrified of bothering it while handling out of water because that's my only 2 polyps ever right there - but that^ made me feel a lot better about the margin of error Tank looks gorgeous!! 😁 2 1 Quote Link to comment
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