Anyone see an anemone look like this?

GlassMunky

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While I won't disagree with you, you could have been a little more tact in your response.

...And they give you the hospitality award?
It’s rare that someone rubs this wrong but when people are willfully ignorant to advice givin to them to help a living creature and blame others it really strikes a cord with me.
 

homer1475

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It’s rare that someone rubs this wrong but when people are willfully ignorant to advice givin to them to help a living creature and blame others it really strikes a cord with me.
I had the exact same thought when I first read the thread, and dang near posted something very similiar and certainly not as nice(probably would have gotten an infraction),but instead of piling on and coming off like a dbag, I decided to try and help out.
 
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ds38

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FWIW, on your clams......

I have never had luck with any clam under 1" and I have several that are thriving.

In the end, all that matters is stability rather then an exact number as long as that number is somewhere within normal range.

Good to know both you and I have no success with small clams.

The big one must be able to close and keep crabs away, while the small ones can get pried open.
 

GlassMunky

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I had the exact same thought when I first read the thread, and dang near posted something very similiar and certainly not as nice(probably would have gotten an infraction),but instead of piling on and coming off like a dbag, I decided to try and help out.
You’re a better man that I....
On another note, man I'm getting censored all over today. Guess I need to calm down my tone. lol
We’re on the same morning it seems lol
 

homer1475

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Your crabs were just preying on a free meal. They were already dying and the stench of death is what brought them to the clam. They were just doing their job and why we put them in the tank.

They clean up dead, dying, decaying matter. no matter what that matter is. They don't care of its your prized clam, prized coral, etc. If it's dying and smells of death, crabs will be the first ones to the scene.
 
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ds38

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No my guess was why you have to block off the weir teeth to raise the water level, nothing to do with filtration.

The teeth on the overflow box sink into the water level that I needed it at, for there to be no gap between water level and the canopy.... Definitely rather remove the plastic squares blocking the teeth to filter the water out more efficiently.

I'll do water changes, feed less, and try the Hanna phosphate and see if it lowers. If not, I need to do what your saying about piping/open the teeth
 

homer1475

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if you can by any chance get a pic of the internal box from the top down, I would be able to help you more.

Your water level should be about half way up the weir teeth, if it is not, then something is wrong with the setup, or it needs to be adjusted.
 
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ds38

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Your crabs were just preying on a free meal. They were already dying and the stench of death is what brought them to the clam. They were just doing their job and why we put them in the tank.

They clean up dead, dying, decaying matter. no matter what that matter is. They don't care of its your prized clam, prized coral, etc. If it's dying and smells of death, crabs will be the first ones to the scene.

What do you mean they were already dying?
I did suspect they were bad clams.... I sent algaebarn this 5min video...


They said they would reship 2more but I said I don't know about that, if small clams just get eaten in a aquarium with a clean up crew.

But checkout that video, I have a few natural clams I didn't put in, 1 snaps shut while I filmed. Those have survived from the crabs....

Took screenshots of it too, open and then snapping closed while I filmed. It's so cool they just appeared one day. Never put them in.

Screenshot_20200328-055340.png Screenshot_20200328-055346.png
 

homer1475

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What do you mean they were already dying?
I mean they were probably on their way out when you put them in your tank. Crabs usually will not eat healthy living clams. If the clam did not snap shut when you waved your hand over it, it was not healthy to begin with.
 
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ds38

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if you can by any chance get a pic of the internal box from the top down, I would be able to help you more.

Your water level should be about half way up the weir teeth, if it is not, then something is wrong with the setup, or it needs to be adjusted.

Yes, that was how it originally was. The water level would go through the bottom half of the teeth and top half of the teeth were just air.. Not anymore. Blocked off 2 sides of the teeth on this overflow box, so now water only goes through the last 2 teeth in the corner, and also in between the lid of the overflow box, completely above the teeth that were blocked off.

It's the b.s. I have to accept with this incorrectly made aquarium. Unless you have a piping solution, but raising the pipe won't raise water level if I remove the blocks on the teeth? Or it raises the water level, putting the teeth underwater all the way??? The overflow box is completely underwater now, water escapes in between the lid of the overflow box and the last 2 teeth in the corner that are only blocked on bottom half.

Anyways. I appreciate all the help, and sorry for the attitude the other day about the dead anemone.
 

homer1475

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the piping in the overflow dictates how high your water level is. It has nothing to do with the weir teeth. Yes by blocking 90% of them off you effectively raised the water level, but it is not how it's supposed to be done, and your sacrificing turn over into the sump, which in turns sacrificing filtration.

The emergency(assuming you have a herbie setup) is what sets the displays water height.

And again, without a pic of the overflow setup and subsequent plumbing, I cannot help you further with that issue.
 
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ds38

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the piping in the overflow dictates how high your water level is. It has nothing to do with the weir teeth. Yes by blocking 90% of them off you effectively raised the water level, but it is not how it's supposed to be done, and your sacrificing turn over into the sump, which in turns sacrificing filtration.

The emergency(assuming you have a herbie setup) is what sets the displays water height.

And again, without a pic of the overflow setup and subsequent plumbing, I cannot help you further with that issue.

When lights on, maybe I'll take everything off the lid and open the overflow box and show. Maybe I can buy pipe at home depot per instructions and modify myself!

And the info you provided is going into the lawsuit against this manufacturer. He's the one that did all this. Crystal Dynamic Aquarium in Oceanside, CA did a horrible job, sells used defective equipment, and steals budgets you give for coral.

I'll reply with overflow box inside if I can. Thanks
 

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I see you mentioned phosphate again and unless someone commented already it’s not terrible.
There’s many ways to lower, when you find that you’re positive when the number is you could try something along the lines of Brightwells PhosphateE. And slowly bring it down, but .25 is on the night end but ain’t that bad
 

i_declare_bankruptcy

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Yes, that was how it originally was. The water level would go through the bottom half of the teeth and top half of the teeth were just air.. Not anymore. Blocked off 2 sides of the teeth on this overflow box, so now water only goes through the last 2 teeth in the corner, and also in between the lid of the overflow box, completely above the teeth that were blocked off.

It's the b.s. I have to accept with this incorrectly made aquarium. Unless you have a piping solution, but raising the pipe won't raise water level if I remove the blocks on the teeth? Or it raises the water level, putting the teeth underwater all the way??? The overflow box is completely underwater now, water escapes in between the lid of the overflow box and the last 2 teeth in the corner that are only blocked on bottom half.

Anyways. I appreciate all the help, and sorry for the attitude the other day about the dead anemone.

Im going to say this one more time (in addition to what multiple people have told you): don’t block the weir. Gradually remove the blocks and monitor the water level in tank and sump. You are asking for a flood or a burned out return pump if the remaining teeth are clogged. The aquarium doesn’t have the water level you want — that doesn’t mean it wasn’t designed correctly (unless there are actual issues with the drain config per @homer1475). Overflow weirs are designed to have some amount of extra room for water movement, blockages by algae or animals, etc.

I’d like to circle back to the beginning of this thread. Have you taken any of the steps I suggested? (specifically measuring your lights). You arbitrarily set your powerheads to 90% — not what I suggested. The ICP test is a good start as discussed, but not a complete answer to your problems.

At this point I’m going to bow out. It takes a lot of time for someone to try to understand the context of your position and provide actionable advice to get things on track. I‘d suggest providing the same level of respect and desire to learn in return.

The people on this site who take the time to write detailed responses such as mine or @homer1475’s tend to know what they’re talking about. A lot of us research reefs in our free time because it’s our passion.
 
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ds38

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I see you mentioned phosphate again and unless someone commented already it’s not terrible.
There’s many ways to lower, when you find that you’re positive when the number is you could try something along the lines of Brightwells PhosphateE. And slowly bring it down, but .25 is on the night end but ain’t that bad

That test kit is junk, homer said.

My phosphates is a lot worse than what that test skit showed. It's 0.40+ mg , I posted the link to my triton lab results higher up in this thread, page 2 or 3..... Homer was saying to throw out the test kits because they aren't accurate. It kept showing 0.25ppm or less which is wrong. I don't know what that translates to in mg but triton shows high phosphates for my water.
 
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ds38

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I'm put for the day, but I'm following the thread so if you respond I'll see it. good luck!

Hey Homer, I opened up my overflow box.
See attached, if there are any options to raising water level, so I can remove the blocks on the teeth to increase filtration, please let me know.

Also, you mentioned GFO before I think - I do have rowaphos next to my skimmer! Also showed a pic. The media reactor just sits there neglected mostly. It was changed out once, I think in February. Before that, last time it was touched was Oct/Nov. I just cleaned it and put new rowaphos in it today, first time. Scared me at first, turned brown inside and aquarium got cloudy for awhile. Only put maybe 1/3 full of rowa, water shrunk it down more. Don't know when to change it next, maybe in a month?

Also, got the python tube to take water out easy, and it's funny the instructions sheet specifically said don't take more than 1/3 of the water out of your aquarium ha. You did mention some don't agree with the 50% level removal.

IMG_20200328_1926436.jpg IMG_20200328_1926449.jpg IMG_20200328_1916109.jpg IMG_20200328_1917143.jpg IMG_20200328_1926544.jpg IMG_20200328_1927418.jpg IMG_20200328_1926505.jpg IMG_20200328_1926523.jpg IMG_20200328_1005081.jpg
 
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ds38

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Im going to say this one more time (in addition to what multiple people have told you): don’t block the weir. Gradually remove the blocks and monitor the water level in tank and sump. You are asking for a flood or a burned out return pump if the remaining teeth are clogged. The aquarium doesn’t have the water level you want — that doesn’t mean it wasn’t designed correctly (unless there are actual issues with the drain config per @homer1475). Overflow weirs are designed to have some amount of extra room for water movement, blockages by algae or animals, etc.

I’d like to circle back to the beginning of this thread. Have you taken any of the steps I suggested? (specifically measuring your lights). You arbitrarily set your powerheads to 90% — not what I suggested. The ICP test is a good start as discussed, but not a complete answer to your problems.

At this point I’m going to bow out. It takes a lot of time for someone to try to understand the context of your position and provide actionable advice to get things on track. I‘d suggest providing the same level of respect and desire to learn in return.

The people on this site who take the time to write detailed responses such as mine or @homer1475’s tend to know what they’re talking about. A lot of us research reefs in our free time because it’s our passion.

The manufacturer of the aquarium who was also maintenance guy, blocked the teeth 6+ months ago. I'm not removing them unless there is a solution to getting rid of the gap of water level before the canopy, which blocking the teeth solved. Im not going to have blinding light coming through the room at me because the water doesn't block it out when sitting on the couch.

I'm not some traveling business guy that is never here. Any block and I will remove same day. I have apex and a buzzer alerting me of any increased water level in the sump.

Unfortunately if I have to choose between having water level reach canopy so it's not ugly and kessil lights blinding through the room, or better filtration, or some sort of risk of flood somehow, then I choose the look. That is why we all have aquariums - the look. I was screwed over by Trenton Smith of Crystal Dynamic Aquarium, and thank you both for your warnings against blocking the teeth - your posts will go in exhibits in my $20,000+ lawsuit against this criminal company that included theft.

No, I did not get PAR equipment yet. The rental thing seems weird to time and it's not available, I'll just be paying $500+ for one. You told me last week, how would I have got a PAR already? I'm sure 90% of people on here have never had their hands on one, so why you sounding like I "didn't even" do a Par meter yet. Neither maintenance guy I had ever suggested or had a PAR meter, so I'll get to it. Yes I raised the intensity as the night goes on, not to 95% and that's that, and not arbitrarily. it goes from 46% at 6pm, to 100% by 12am, before that it's 80% at 10pm. Obviously just having intensity at 30-50% the entire 10 hours was not enough, corals were dying. So I've bumped the slope up some. Especially based on you or others here even told me I'm not reaching the depths of this 50 inch tank. How was this increase arbitrary? How I previously had it set was arbitrary, but now based on corals not happy and you guys saying depth too deep, I've increased intensity.

Right now I'm laying on the couch and took a picture. See my finger? See that water level? It's still not good enough, but it's as good as it will get. Even now, the kessil lights shine through at me when the water waves go back and forth. Imagine 1 full inch lower water level than this, and lights just shining. Now at least after blocking the teeth 6+ months ago, the water level blocks 95% of the lights from being seen by us. It's a horrible situation. But homer has given me some kind of hope that piping adjustments can raise the water level? But that would just put the overflow box lid underwater and it would float around, so I don't think he understands or I'm not understanding his vision.

Even if an anemone or fish blocks the remaining teeth, then the water would continue to filter out above the blocked teeth / in between the lid of the overflow box (which I put bumpers on the bottom of the lid so the lid is elevated a little bit). Even when return pump is off, the sump/refugium does not overflow.

Sucks my first aquarium experience I went big with 300 gallon, and got scammed big-time by Trent Smith of Crystal Dynamic Aquarium. He literally ran off with my 10K coral budget in January and investigations uncovered they pushed me to give them 10K upfront, while aquarium was being made, so his girlfriend Zoya Popova could pay off her American Express lawsuit that had been filed against her for $19,000+. So disgusted with this entire experience.

I appreciate all your replies, especially bankruptcy and homer. Hoping to find a way to have maximum filtration and visibly appealing, but unless something is suggested, got to stick with visibly appealing, and hope that increasing wave flow so no gamma corners in aquarium or too little flow exist, washing frozen foods, changing rowaphos more often will be 3 things to lower my phosphates as triton lab results shocked me with


That's my results. Shocking to see my phosphates are not the 0.25ppm that maintenance guy kept saying they were. Very hopeful that doing those 3 things + consistent water changes will bring my phosphates down. I'm hoping they are only where they are because of tank crash last May, and never having a water change even until August, and even then 20-30 gallons , and even to to this day probably only about 300 gallons in water changes now. So I've had it with their junk test kits giving wrong results, and charging me $100 for water changes ($200 - $300 maintenance visits), and half the time flaking MIA no shows, so for 2 weeks I've been doing my own maintenance after being ripped off by lazy, so called maintenance professionals like Trenton Smith or his referral, Patrick Maynard. Anyone in so cal, beware of these guys and crystal dynamic aquarium.

Really hope doing those 4 things will prove my filtration is ok despite blocked teeth on overflow box. Will do another test with triton in a month. And ordered the Hanna checkers thanks to homer.

This has been a helpful thread for anyone reading, thanks for all that's contributed. We learned that:

1) test kits are junk, get digital or triton lab results
2) that a maroon clown will probably eventually kill off all the other clowns despite first months behavior otherwise
3) buying small clams is a fail. Get big 5 inch maxima
4) everyone rent a Par meter, few probably ever heard of one but sounds like it will help.
5) do not hire Trenton Smith of Crystal Dynamic Aquarium to make your tank or to do your maintenance. Just Google his name and company.




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