Almost Completed!!

[susan ingram]

So I figured that I would just start out by saying what is going now and then go into what the plan is.
Currently I have a 75 FOWLR with a HOB Tidal 115 & heater. The lighting is a fluval led with the wireless programmable feature. I am a grad student so $$ is tight. I have been buying used equipment so I have a collection of used back up stuff as well. I may end up selling that so I can support this habit!

So, here's the plan: The 185 will be housed in the garage (future fish room) so that the equipment is not visible in the living room. I will be reframing part of the wall to allow for viewing in the living room, making sure there's plenty of access from the back. The plan is to have all the equipment in place by June 15th and then start to cycle. All the rock and livestock will then be moved in from the 75.

I'll attach more pictures asap.

 

[IamJoHo]

I have also thought about setting up in my garage. Not sure where you are located but consider how hot or cold the garage gets throughout the year. If you can insulate the garage door as much as possible. I am in Ohio and I just don't think I could keep the tank stable with out a serious chiller and a whole lot of heaters.

 

[susan ingram]

I have also thought about setting up in my garage. Not sure where you are located but consider how hot or cold the garage gets throughout the year. If you can insulate the garage door as much as possible. I am in Ohio and I just don't think I could keep the tank stable with out a serious chiller and a whole lot of heaters.

I have them inside now. I will be putting the tank in a garage but plan on putting up foam insulation panels prior to the install. Great suggestions!! I am in the East SF Bay Area, so it does get warm. I picked up a used chiller from the local shop & just dropped it off to be refurbished/checked.

Working on enlarging the turtle tank which needs to be done prior to the tank setting up. I need to take out a 4x2 section of drywall out so I don’t want to start the tank prior to the remodel.

If this all works out, I’m hoping for a ****** tank!!!

 

[susan ingram]

New additions:
Green & Rainbow bubble tip anemones

 

[Sleeping Giant]

New additions:
Green & Rainbow bubble tip anemones

Looks cloudy in there

 

[susan ingram]

Yeah that happened... lost a clownfish on day 2, the other on day three and on day 5 the puffer literally bailed out of the tank. I thought the cloudiness was due to placing the anemones. So depressed/anxious/afraid of losing the tang and fox face. They now have brown spots & the tang has a white small thin worm. Did a freshwater dip and now they are brown.
Have been doing 25% water changes & charcoal in the HOB. Ammonia was at .25 & nitrates were high.... iggggh feel like I let them down... hopefully I can get this under control STAT!

 

[susan ingram]

Well I am so sad/bummed/mad at myself. We have lost all the fish in the tank. I think it was an internal parasite infection... it all happened so fast. DEVASTATING

So my new plan. Still going to go with the 185, I have a 40 g tank that I will set up as a QT tank. So a few questions:
Do I need to cycle the QT tank? I have the equipment to get it up & running soon.
What is the best way to sanitize the tank and the equipment in it?

Man... I am really feeling this.. it hurts really bad and I feel like I let them all down. Don't think I will forgive myself for this one. I do want to try again though, hopefully with better success next time.

Any thoughts are welcome.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Sorry to hear

 

[T-J]

Well I am so sad/bummed/mad at myself. We have lost all the fish in the tank. I think it was an internal parasite infection... it all happened so fast. DEVASTATING

So my new plan. Still going to go with the 185, I have a 40 g tank that I will set up as a QT tank. So a few questions:
Do I need to cycle the QT tank? I have the equipment to get it up & running soon.
What is the best way to sanitize the tank and the equipment in it?

Man... I am really feeling this.. it hurts really bad and I feel like I let them all down. Don't think I will forgive myself for this one. I do want to try again though, hopefully with better success next time.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Did this all happen in your 75 gallon tank?

 

[susan ingram]

Did this all happen in your 75 gallon tank?

Yes. Right after I added the anemones.

 

[T-J]

Yes. Right after I added the anemones.

OK, so you said your ammonia was at .25, which is VERY high. Randy Holmes-Farley states " Values in excess of 0.25 ppm total ammonia may require immediate treatment, preferably involving removal of all delicate (ammonia sensitive) organisms from the water containing the ammonia. "
How old is your 75 gallon tank?

 

[susan ingram]

Yes. Right after I added the anemones.

There are also long white worms on the flowerpot the large anemone lives in. The previous owner said to leave it in the pot, it would do better that way. Was it wrong to put it in? I’m starting to think it may be the culprit.

 

[susan ingram]

OK, so you said your ammonia was at .25, which is VERY high. Randy Holmes-Farley states " Values in excess of 0.25 ppm total ammonia may require immediate treatment, preferably involving removal of all delicate (ammonia sensitive) organisms from the water containing the ammonia. "
How old is your 75 gallon tank?

6 months

 

[susan ingram]

WOW!!! The blennie and fox face are hanging in. Both have Popeye now.

 

[T-J]

WOW!!! The blennie and fox face are hanging in. Both have Popeye now.

It's not the flower pot...its the ammonia! You need to figure out why you have an ammonia spike. .25 ammonia is NOT GOOD! It's probably causing the popeye as well. You need to do a waterchange and figure out what is decaying and causing the ammonia spike.
What are your other parameters?

 

[susan ingram]

So I did a 50% water change. Here are the parameters:
Ph 7.8
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80 ppm
Ammonia .25
dKH 7
Ppm GM/KH 125.3
Temp 78.8
Salinity 1.020 w refractometer

I removed 1/2 the sand bed, the larger rocks & cleaned the filter. This is the first time I made the water using RO at home. I also added a cup of carbon in mesh into the HOB. One thing I realized is that I took out the wave makers as they were blowing sand & fish all over the place. I re positioned the smaller one on the opposite side of the filter. I know I need to get the pH up. I tried using Kent's Superbuffer dKH and followed their directions. It has had no effect on the pH, so I stopped using it, I was afraid of overdosing. I am thinking maybe start that regime again. I also use Seachem Prime & Stability every water change. I decided to max out the rec dosage of Prime.

While I am super bummed I want this to be a learning experience. Lessons learned so far:
- Good Circulation is essential when relying only on an HOB filter for getting the nasties out.
- Monitor parameters daily... I dropped off to a weekly regimen after the initial spike. NO BUENO!!!
- Have a QT at the ready and make sure it is ready to go before buying fish.

I know there is more and I may post them up as they come up. Thank you TJ for your help. I hope I can do the same for someone someday. I will keep everyone posted.
Thank you so much!!

 

[susan ingram]

Did this all happen in your 75 gallon tank?

Yes

 

[Sleeping Giant]

There are also long white worms on the flowerpot the large anemone lives in. The previous owner said to leave it in the pot, it would do better that way. Was it wrong to put it in? I’m starting to think it may be the culprit.

So you don't know what was in the base of the pot? Other than the anemone, also the pot looks like taracotta, not sure that's safe for any aquarium

 

[susan ingram]

Thats kinda what I was thinking.. any safe way to remove the anemone? He really likes it, but it is clay.
UPDATE: I took it out (poor guy is not happy) and there was all kinds of gunk in there. I tried to collect it all, hopefully it will help.

 

[Gablami]

I’m not sure you’re learning the lesson that TJ is trying to help you with. Or perhaps it’s just not coming across in your posts. Sorry if I come across as harsh. Ammonia is very toxic at low doses. You should not have any ammonia in a healthy reef tank. It should be zero. The fact that you have 0.25 ammonia after a 50% change is still significant cause for concern. Your remaining fish may die. If there are animals that have died in your tank, as they decay, they will break down into ammonia. Your relatively new tank biofilter might not be able to handle it, so your ammonia becomes detectable. If I had ammonia in my tank it would be a huge deal.

While some sort of infection may have started this (who knows) your immediate problem is the ammonia.

It’s really hard to give advice in this situation. It seems strange to be thinking about the flow or the nem or the flower pot with ammonia present in the tank. If there is anything dead in the tank, try to find it and remove it. Stop any feeding of the tank for now. You can dose prime into the main display. You can catch the fish and take them out of the tank into a QT situation with a heater and bubbler and maybe some live rock.