Griff's "let's see if I have learned anything" upgrade

[griff500]

The Femininus seems to show up late each day but the Twistii is relentlessly chasing her. She has a rest on the top of the powerhead brackets until the Twistii finds her and off they go again.

I dropped some Hikari S pellets on top of the powerhead bracket while she was there and she was eating them, along with some frozen, so that's something positive. Every time she tries to swim around the Twistii is after her - utterly bizarre as the Twistii has never paid any attention to any fish before, including the two previous Fems...

I am considering trapping the Twistii and giving it a time-out. I've put a mirror up but it doesn't distract the Twistii sufficiently to give the Fem much of a rest. This is the fourth day of this so she must be fairly strong to have kept going and she still comes out and tries to have a swim around.

Cyano has not gone but it's not getting worse - possibly a little bit better.

The Alveopora is fully out again now - it seems to be a reasonable indicator of water quality.

I should haver the results of an ICP test back soon and I'll be interested to see what it shows.

 

[griff500]

It's been several days since I last saw the Femininus, so unless I get lucky it looks like the Twistii was successful in it's bullying of the Femininus. I was really surprised as the Twistii had never even looked sideways at any other fish, including the last two Femininus I had.

Corals are doing well except for a couple of the blue/purple corals, including the Rainbow Montipora, which had sudden white patches on them. I have a feeling it might be the Rowaphos that the Alveopora reacted to and that I took offline. Alkalinity consumption completed stalled for a day or two but has now gone back to what it was before. I think things are improving now but I'll be keeping a close eye on them.

Some of the other corals are showing some very nice colour and growth. The switch to Triton seems to be going ok so far.

My latest ICP shows Phosphate at 0.58 when I measured around 0.1 or so (not less). My previous ICP showed 0.48 when I was measuring 0.08. That's close to the accuracy expected from hobby kits and I'm inclined to believe the Triton results, which would mean all is fine. Cyano is a little less each day - only a little but slow changes are fine with me.

All fish are doing well (apart from the missing Femininus of course). The Naso is very chilled and all fish seem to get along ok, although the Diamond Tail is a bit stroppy and very keen to show all the other Wrasse that he's in charge.

Some more corals to add tomorrow!

 

[griff500]

Still no Femininus so it looks like the Twistii won. :mad: I've had Wrasse disappear for two or three weeks before and suddenly show up but I don't think that will happen with the Femininus.

I added a captive-bred Scribbled Angelfish today - such a lovely fish and it's really nice to have a fish that wasn't taken from the wild. The Achilles decided to show it who's boss but that only lasted ten minutes or so and it's now front and centre and eating really well.

I also added a Moyers Wrasse which has gone into the sand but had done well in the shop for quite some time. A deceptively pretty fish on closer inspection.

Lastly, some corals that I got today. The photographs are from my iPhone, cropped and with the standard automatic adjustment except for the last one, so they are fairly representative of the colours I see but could be better.

 

[griff500]

On Tuesday I added three gorgeous Goniopora to the tank and then popped down to see Ed as he had a Scribbled Angelfish that I was interested in seeing as I had never seen one before. Needless to say I came away with one but I was also persuaded to get a Moyers Wrasse, which I am absolutely in love with. The more I look at it the more I see and it is a gorgeous fish.

The next day I was silly enough to go to AAC and came away with a Femininus and Lennardi. The last Femininus got bullied by my Twistii and so it never stood a chance. It didn't feel as much like a failure as the first two. I had a feeling that it was because the Fem was quite small and the one at AAC was quite a big fish. This has proven to be correct as the Twistii took one look at it and decided against bullying it - you could almost see it considering whether or not to give it a go... The Lennardi is simply stunning. I'll try to get some decent photographs at some point but it's almost turquoise and exquisite. If I cannot get these to stick then that will be the end of it as I can't keep putting the fish or myself through it. They are both out and about and have eaten frozen. The Femininus is actively foraging whereas the Lennardi is spending more time swimming around so far.

Current stock:

- Yellow Tang.
- Powder Blue Tang.
- Achilles Tang.
- Naso Tang (lituratus).
- Chelmon Marginalis.
- Royal Gramma.
- Watchman Goby (and friend).
- Yellow Tail Tamarin Wrasse.
- Lineatus Wrasse.
- Diamond Tail Wrasse.
- Twistii Wrasse.
- Black Leopard Wrasse.
- Moyers Wrasse.
- Femininus Wrasse.
- Lennardi Wrasse.
- Spotted Mandarin.
- Pair of Picasso Clownfish.
- Goldflake Angelfish.
- Regal Angelfish.
- Scribbled Angelfish.

The tank is now heavily stocked but I'm seeing less aggression with a busy tank than I was seeing when there were fewer fish. The Tangs, for example, very rarely chase each other and it's only half-hearted when they do. Perhaps with more competition they are too busy eating, which is what they spend nearly all their time doing. My Diamond Tail was getting quite dominant and aggressive and this has lessened with the addition of a few more Wrasse as he doesn't really seem to be able to decide who to bully and ends up bullying none of them.

It could all change in a heartbeat but so far so very good. All fish are looking exceptionally healthy with great colour.

They will need plenty of feeding and so far the tank seems to be handling the bioload. I suspect I will need to perhaps Carbon dose at some point but certainly not before the Cyano is under control (it's gradually diminishing).

I am absolutely in love with my tank at the moment, even with the Cyano.

 

[griff500]

I spotted some good sponge growth in the rocks today and that's a good sign of water quality and system maturity in my opinion.

This is only the third day with the new Femininus and Lennardi but they are eating very well and both were up before the tank lights came on (there is some daylight visible to the tank). It's good that they have woken with the other fish and so far it's going well but it's very early days. Both seem nicely settled and are constantly foraging through the day. Absolutely gorgeous fish.

I am using a variety of foods but feeding a little bit of frozen every 1.5 to 2 hours to get them settled and I've also added some frozen codepods with the mysis - small mouths / small foods theory, although my Yellow Tail is tiny and is doing well. I'm also adding live codepods from time to time - probably averaging once per week but more over the last week.

Nutrients levels were slowly climbing, which is not a surprise, and I wanted to dose Carbon but I was concerned about the Cyano. Some corals are not happy and I think it's the high nutrient levels doing it.

Perhaps it was Dinos after all, but I started with some light Carbon dosing using DSR EZ-Carbon, which also has some Iron for extra help with Phosphate, and within 1.5 days the Cyano/Dinos are diminishing at a greater rate. I had researched a lot about the potential impact of dosing Carbon while having Cyano or Dinos and was hopeful that this might happen and so far it is looking better. Codepod additions might be helping or it might have died off anyway but it's a bit of a coincidence. I had maintained a nightly dose of Microbacter7. DSR EZ-Carbon uses vinegar and sugar. So it's looking better and it could be because of some or all of the above or despite some or all of the above...

Nutrient levels dropped just slightly over 24 hours and a slow change is exactly what I am after.

A Triton N-DOC test showed a slightly higher level of Carbon in the tank than their set points but it was still low in relation to Nitrate and Phosphate. I was previously using ATI Essentials Pro and I have been told that this can introduce higher levels of Carbon for some reason.

Hopefully it will all balance out and the few corals affected can recover. I'll get nutrients where I want them and then get an N-DOC and ICP Test done together and see where we are. My most recent ICP was quite good - slightly low Calcium, which has been addressed, and that was about it for things to be concerned about.

 

[griff500]

Latest, and these should be the final, additions - Cirrhilabrus cf. lunatus and a lovely Pintail. I'll hopefully get some better pictures in due course. They are already eating pellet and getting on well with the other fish.

I am gradually increasing the Carbon dosing and hopefully I'll see levels move down a little bit. I've had some browning out and polyps retracting along with some patches of bleaching but at the same time there's some good growth. Hopefully it will settle down and recover and they look like they are starting to head in the right direction, or at least not getting worse.

Today marks two weeks in the tank for the Femininus and Lennardi. The Femininus is very enthusiastic with frozen but hasn't tried pellet or Masstick yet. The Lennardi had it's first taste of Masstick yesterday and then picked it up and swam off with it! There was some Hikari S in there so hopefully he'll start getting a taste for it.

All other fish are doing well. It's a busy tank now but there's not really any particular aggression and I think less than when there were fewer fish.

 

[griff500]

Clearly I haven't learned a thing...

Phosphate was measuring around 0.12 (Red Sea Pro test kit) but that didn't seem too bad and can be lowered without worrying too much.

Nitrate appeared to be around 20 to 30 (Red Sea and Salifert). Again, not the end of the world and that can be sorted.

Corals were a bit browned out and there had been a serious loss of polyp extension but they were still growing, so I though I'd do a little bit of Carbon dosing to take the edge off the nutrient levels and ease them down a bit. Nothing really seemed to be happening to the levels despite getting to the maximum recommended dose (DSR EZ-Carbon).

Corals were getting worse with some serious browning out and very little polyp extension...

I had an ICP test done and Phosphate came back as 0.7... That's not a typo. They are running the tests again to verify.

I have been feeding heavily for the Lennardi and Femininus but I didn't think it was excessive.

I had originally planned to run media to stop Phosphate getting bound up in the rock from the beginning but for some reason I changed my mind and I then managed to miss the point at which it was becoming a problem.

I knew the Phosphate had become an issue due to the browning out but I'm now starting to see some losses and some that look like they could easily die.

I am using some LaCl to gradually try to get the Phosphate out. I used some Rowaphos before but my Alveopora reacted badly to it. It is possible that I used too much but I can be precise with the LaCl so I'm going that way.

I should have been ahead of this and I'm really annoyed that I let it get like this. I'll have loads of Phosphate bound up in the rock as well. Maybe some water changes might help but I think it's a case of gradually sucking the nutrients out and hoping the corals pull through.

On the plus side, the fish are doing well and there is not really any aggression to speak of. The only exception is that my PBT seems to have scratched his eye - it looks more like that than parasitic. I'm tempted to get a Trop Tronic though just to be sure as I have a lot of fish in the tank and getting the best UV I can feels like a good idea.

There are some good things happening the tank but it feels like it's teetering on the edge of disaster and I need to gently nurse it back into the sweet spot.

 

[griff500]

I've changed the dosing containers to the larger 2.5L TMC ones to enable me to combine Triton 3A and 3B and diluted 1 and 2 so they can be dosed at the same rate. I've also changed to clear tubing as the Calcium (2) level in the container was far higher than the others but calibration was spot on. That would explain the horribly low Calcium reading on the ICP test and that won't have helped the corals either (I am dosing extra Triton Calcium to bring that back up).

This has freed up a doser head and I've set that up to drip small amounts of LaCl into my roller filter. I'm considering getting an X Filter if they get stock in for the lower micron fleece that's available, plus I'm keen not to have any D-D equipment where it's at all possible. I have the skimmer immediately after the roller filter and sponge on the return. and I'm not seeing any cloudiness in the display.

I'm also considering upgrading to a Trop Tronic UV. There's a possible move to the Czech Republic coming up and I'd like to be able to take all of my fish with me, so already having a decent UV will be a good idea.

I lost a coral due to the Phosphate issue and polyp extension is still non-existent but I think it's heading in the right direction now and hopefully most of the corals will hold in there until water conditions are back to normal.

All fish are doing well.

 

[griff500]

I'm not seeing the measured level of Phosphate coming down - maybe a fraction but nothing significant and that's fine as I don't want it to plummet and I don't want to strip available Phosphate from the water column. I'm sure there's plenty to come out of the rock.

I am, however, seeing some colour coming back into a couple of the corals that had browned out badly, so I think it's heading in the right direction.

I'm certain that I'm going to lose at least a couple more corals but hopefully the majority can hold on long enough to be able to recover.

I have the LaCl on a doser at a rate of 0.3ml every hour, into my roller filter. I have a 5 micron sock coming that I'll drip into instead of the roller filter just to make sure all precipitate is removed.

Some of the corals are still showing good growth despite this.

Tomorrow will be one month since I added the Femininus and Lennardi and both are doing well, although the Femininus is still only interested in frozen food. The Lennardi goes crazy with Masstick but still hasn't taken to pellet.

 

[griff500]

Things are slowly heading in the right direction. I got a Hanna 744 ULR pocket checker and I'm getting a reading of 0.34. That's horribly high BUT it's half of what I had from ICP.

I believe this test result to be about right as my Sunset Montipora that was completely brown on the base except for the edges is now gradually showing more red in the areas that were completely brown, so it's obviously improving but not there yet. The edges are getting a very nice red colour again.

Hopefully the other corals can hang on in there!

I've changed the UV to an 85W Trop Tronic unit. I still haven't got around to making a manifold (in fairness, the tank has only been set up for just over a year...) and so I'm running this off a Reef Octopus VarioS 2 pump on it's lowest setting. This seems to be giving 900/1000lph. I think that should be a decent contact time considering the power of the unit.

I have the output going into a 5-micron filter sock and I'm dosing LaCl into that sock. I'm having to change it every couple of days. I think I'll get an X Filter if they ever get stock in and run it with their 9-micron fleece so I can direct the LaCl into that as changing socks gets old pretty quick. I don't think the fleece in the Clarisea filter was up to the job.

 

[griff500]

Thing have gradually been improving and I am currently getting Phosphate readings of between 0.09 and 0.12 so it's heading in the right direction. I stopped LaCl once Phosphate got below 0.16 as it didn't seem to be doing much and I'm currently using DSR EZ Carbon as it has some Fe for the Phosphate. Nitrate is still around 50. I'm considering an algae turf scrubber...

All the fish are doing great. The Femininus is eating pellet and the Lennardi is doing well but not overly interested in pellet, although it does get eaten occasionally.

Most of my corals died unfortunately so I'll see what looks like it might come back and then restock once I've got solid nutrient levels again.

Lastly, I removed the Clarisea roller filter and replaced it with an Innovitech X Filter, a very nicely made bit of kit and a definite improvement.

It's been a costly and frustrating period but it's definitely getting there.

 

[griff500]

I decided to install an algae scrubber and this coincided with a UK Company, Reefolution, being in the process of developing one. The heat sink is from billet aluminium (that's 'aluminum' to my grammatically challenged US friends) and after running for 12 hours was only mildly warm to the touch. Quite impressive. The pipe that the screen hangs from has some shielding built in and overall it seems nicely designed and very well made.

It's temporarily installed but hopefully it will have the desired effect. It's been seeded with some Ulva Intestinalis.

 

[griff500]

Strong growth from the Ulva that it was seeded with. I removed a lot of the growth but left a lot on the screen. It looks like most of the screen has some algae starting to grow.

The pH level at night instantly stayed higher.

 

[griff500]

Quite good growth in four days.

 

[griff500]

All fish are doing well but the nutrient levels are nowhere near where they need to be. I've changed around methods too often so I'll let continue to let the scrubber do it's thing and hope that it sorts things out.

 

[sneekapeek]

I like the progress of the tank and I’m sorry to hear of all the fish loss. I see you have some new healthy fish which is a blessing!
I wanted to know if you stopped using Ati nutrition cnp because you were having issues balancing c n p, so you changed to turf scrubber for an easier approach, and found yourself inevitably with higher phosphate and nitrate regardless.