Who needs a garage? - 210g "game room" build

[SereneAquatic]

 

[SereneAquatic]

I am happy to report that Penelope’s eye swelling is going down. She is eating and has begun swishing her tail through the acclimation box at the coral beauty who is nosey. A few more days and maybe she can be released again.

I don’t want to wait too long because it can actually cause a new war if she isn’t part of the hierarchy for too long. She will need to be back in good shape to be able to reclaim her spot. I wonder if putting the other little clown into the box with her for a minute would help in the long term for reintroduction. They are usually inseparable and maybe if they both go back into society together they will work together to claim their rock, as well as diffuse aggro from the rest because there are two of them...

 

[SereneAquatic]

There we go. Got Poe after lights out. Two peas in a pod, and very happy to see each other by the looks of it!

 

[SereneAquatic]

Thank God for quarantine. I have to say I am really, really disappointed. This is the second order in a row from Divers Den where the fish were sick. The last order with the coral beauty and baby harlequin tusk came with both fish having flukes. We treated with Prazipro and got them back into shape. For a few months they stayed under observation in the QT.

It has been 12 days since the two tangs arrived and were put into our permanent QT tanks. I have a video from YESTERDAY where the bristletooth tang looks perfectly healthy, and today he is absolutely covered in either inch or velvet. The snowflake clowns also show spots, though not as many.

It took about an hour to get them out of the tank and into treatment. We do TTM any time we buy from the LFS, and we found that 5 gallon buckets work best. The fish seem to feel more secure (not scared by everything moving past the tank) and its much easier to clean them.

This time we are also going to treat each transfer with coppersafe because I am not sure if we are seeing inch or velvet. The salinity is also a little bit lower than they were in to try to help them out.

The only time I ever saw a fish look that bad that quickly was a maroon lightning clown we had in QT. He died about 3 days later. We didn’t move fast enough... so I know that if we wait, these guys surely won’t make it. There may not be any hope for them, but we will do as much as possible and hope they make it. The risk I worry about now is cross contamination. We made that mistake once and paid for it for months.

I still can’t believe fish from DD have been sick twice now. Have they changed something, or does that Petco name just instantly contaminate things? [emoji102] I will say that the fish acclimate well, and were (are, so far) eating well. We do as much as we can to reduce stress, but a sick fish is a sick fish. What am I paying extra for exactly?

 

[SereneAquatic]

Man that stuff moves fast. Apparently velvet, not ich, the tang went from appearing healthy and active to deceased in the span of about 18 hours. It's hard to believe or even wrap the head around. The snowflake clowns are still hanging in there, but I don't have any acriflavin or formalin on hand. I will try a fresh water dip and try to locate the meds this morning... But as fast as it took the tang down I don't hold out a lot of hope for them.

What an insane disease.

Once more... Thank God for the QT.

 

[SereneAquatic]

Photos taken less than 24 hours apart.

 

[Jon Fishman]

What type of game-room? Just asking because pool/billiards balls don’t always stay on the table (and not just from goofing around) and I have personally broken a window with a foosball from a Tornado table.......

 

[SereneAquatic]

What type of game-room? Just asking because pool/billiards balls don’t always stay on the table (and not just from goofing around) and I have personally broken a window with a foosball from a Tornado table.......

Funny you should mention that. My husband has a similar concern. There will be a pool table, but I believe we agreed to have a netting/backstop between it and the tank hehe. Could you imagine a pool ball going through the glass?! Yikes...

 

[Jon Fishman]

Funny you should mention that. My husband has a similar concern. There will be a pool table, but I believe we agreed to have a netting/backstop between it and the tank hehe. Could you imagine a pool ball going through the glass?! Yikes...

I would think something that could be leaned up against the tank etc would be better aesthetically than having a netting all the time...... but of course the first time someone is too lazy to set it up, disaster will strike...... Murphy’s law and whatnot

Maybe a heavy-duty curtain on a track in the ceiling that you can pull across that side of the room?

Think hospital-room-divider/privacy curtain, but more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[SereneAquatic]

I would think something that could be leaned up against the tank etc would be better aesthetically than having a netting all the time...... but of course the first time someone is too lazy to set it up, disaster will strike...... Murphy’s law and whatnot

Maybe a heavy-duty curtain on a track in the ceiling that you can pull across that side of the room?

Think hospital-room-divider/privacy curtain, but more aesthetically pleasing.

Not a bad idea... I will see what we can come up with. Maybe even one of those foldable “dressing wall” kind of things, though the ball could go over the top...

So much to think about... lol

 

[SereneAquatic]

Update time! Penelope’s swollen eye has recovered. Her and Poe remain in the acclimation box though, for their safety. These two are not supposed to be going into the 210 at the end of all this, but rather into the 30g. I suppose it’s best to keep them healthy and safe until then rather than risk another injury. Only 8 weeks until the new tank arrives if everything goes well.

The snowflakes, who ARE supposed to go in the 210, were the ones in the QT with the tang that had velvet. I did find the medication needed and followed every step in the post from Humblefish... so far they have survived. Their appetite is a bit diminished, but I am surprised and thankful that they are still hanging in there. The idea of putting them in a tank with everyone else if they recover is kind of scary. What if they still carried it but had a temporary immunity? What if the copper keeps it at bay, but doesn’t eradicate it? Would you trust it if they appear to recover?

The other option would be to put these two into the nano and Poe and Penelope into the 210... but they are much smaller than Hide and Seek (the snowflakes). Not to mention the fact that Poe cost more than both of them combined. It would be nice to have him in a display where he can be front and center... he is adorable. Black storms still aren’t cheap, though the price is slowly coming down.

In other good news... taking the fish out of the 55 has let the pod population explode a bit. That tank should be good and populated by the time we migrate everything.

The most aggravating thing to me is that all the corals in the nano and the 55 are doing great. Those tanks have no sump, no skimmer and no real monitoring. I don’t even measure parameters. (I know, I know). How is it that these two “neglected” tanks do better than the one with all the bells and whistles?

I still kind of blame the Kessil H380... though I’m not sure it’s deserved. I think the thing is TOO effective at taking out nitrates. That tank I DO test because it’s always struggling, and the nitrate comes back as clear as RODI water. Go figure.

 

[HunterW]

I’m sorry you guys went through that, it must have been terrible to lose all your fish and deal with the aftermath on top of it. [emoji17]

We actually experienced a really bad house flood a couple years ago (broken pipe, not a broken fish tank) and are probably scarred for life. Putting the 90 in the house was scary... putting a 200+ ... simply not happening. In fact, the sooner we can get them all into the “game room/garage” the better. I will sleep easier!

I have read enough, including your post, in the past 3 days to back out of getting a 185 gal for my apartment. I am curing my tankitis as best I can. I have the space..but heck nah. Going with a rehoming of the 92 bf, a 65 Red Sea, along with my other nanos from back in the day.
Thanks Reef2Reef folks, for being the voices of reason.

 

[SereneAquatic]

Time for another update!

Marine Velvet Sucks

The two snowflake clowns did not survive the Velvet. I posted a video on what I did to try to treat it, but in the end they did not make it. . I'm very sad about losing them... they were the very first fish we ever bought for our aquariums. It has been 8 weeks of fallow period in the 55g quarantine tank and we've lost all that time that would have been used in acclimating new arrivals. Ugh.

The New Tank and Sump

We are about 2 weeks away from having our new tank delivered! Hopefully we'll have a delivery date lined up soon. Before it gets here we do have a couple more prep items to take care of, namely cutting the plywood and sealing it for the sump. I ordered the self leveling mats today from Marine Depot and they should be here in plenty of time. From there, it's a whole new world. Our first tank that had a sump was the all-in-one Red Sea Reefer. All the plumbing and planning was done for us. This time, we will have to figure it all out for ourselves... but it does come with some improvement options.

1. We're going to create a way to drop a tank divider into the display for new arrival acclimation and fish capture purposes. Our rock work will be like a peninsula coming from the left side, and cover about 2/3 of the tank. The other 1/3 will be open sand and swimming space that we can separate with the divider when needed. We believe it will be particularly helpful if we ever need to capture/retrieve a fish (separates them from the rocks where they like to hide) as well as serve as a giant acclimation box for new arrivals to get to know everyone safely. The trick is to do it without the braces for the divider being super obvious or intrusive. There is a plan... so we'll see how it turns out.

2. Instead of buying a frame and screen for one giant aquarium cover, we've decided to divide it up into 3 pieces. 3 separate frames with screens, each one taking up 1/3 of the tank top. To secure them in place, we're going to use magnets on the rim of the glass and on the frames themselves. Doing this should make removing the 'lid' easier for cleaning and feeding because you don't have to remove them all at once, and having the magnets in place should give it a little extra rigidity in case a large fish were to jump up against it.

3. We're buying a gate valve and the necessary plumbing for the water change outlet. This part is going to be tricky, making sure it doesn't leak, but I believe we can make it happen. Having this drain installed will make water changes much faster and we'll build a "hang-on-side" hard piped return line for filling the tank back up with water afterwards. I don't like doing water changes, and a continuous water change system would be best, but it isn't possible in this location so this is our second option.

New Arrivals

We purchased 5 fish at the local store yesterday, and they are keeping them there for us on hold for a minute. I prefer to do this whenever possible because:

1. I can make sure they remain alive and acclimate from the bags they arrived in at the store.
2. I can make sure that fussy fish are eating well.
3. I have time to prep for a significant tank transfer series.

What did we buy?

With the failure of the white-tailed bristletooth tang and his Marine Velvet, we purchased a yellow eye Kole Tang in his place. They are very similar, though the Kole Tang isn't quite as pretty. We also purchased a Sailfin Tang. That will make 4 different types of tangs in the 210, hopefully all different enough to avoid any major aggression (though the Powder Blue is sure to still be a turd).

Acanthurus Leucosternon + Nigricans - Powder Blue Tang
Prionurus Laticlavius - Razor Tang
Ctenochaetus strigosus - Yellow Eye Kole Tang
Zebrasoma velifer - Sailfin Tang

We also purchased another file fish (hoping to see it eat some aiptasia before we bring it home) and two butterfly fish that will backfill some of the smaller tanks after everyone else moves to the 210. I know that the butterflies (and probably even the file fish) will have to be in a tank without corals, so now I have to decide which one. Decisions, decisions.

The only thing we still lack for the 210 was a green bird wrasse, which we wanted very much... but it may not happen in time. We were also tempted to try another dwarf angel, given the success with the other two, but that may have to wait as well.

I'm excited for the tank and sump to arrive... but man is there going to be a lot of work once it arrives. I have no idea how long this is going to take to set up, but we'll continue to document everything we do on our youtube channel. It's always fun to look back and see what we did previously.

 

[Jt475720]

You can pick up the plastic frames pretty cheap, so my recommendation is to replace the frame if it’s cracked through.

Any idea where these frames can be found? I've tried like 13 retailers and shops to replace my cracked frame on my 180g. 72x24. Every single one has said no, I'm at a loss

 

[jsker]

Any idea where these frames can be found? I've tried like 13 retailers and shops to replace my cracked frame on my 180g. 72x24. Every single one has said no, I'm at a loss

I would suggest having someone build one for you. The quality will be much higher and better construction the anything retail