Growing Pains from a First Reef Build - 55g

[Blutspitze]

Phyto culturing is something I've always wanted to try. Good luck with the pj's!

I noticed u have quite a lot of vermitid across your live rock in that photo of the new coral. Softies and LPS are very vulnerable to the sweepers. Might want to try bumblebee snails. They helped me with mine.

Or manual removal / gluing the hole shut.

Once I got the issues of phyto ironed out it hasn't been much of a problem since. Very simple and consistent.

Unfortunately, since my last post, the pod culture is dead (possibly due to high salinity of ~1.03) and one of the PJ's died, as well . Tested the water and saw an ammonia spike, likely due to how long I ended up taking with getting the tank set up. It sat for awhile and I only used old tank water for needed salt, no fresh-made. I did a 50% change and it seems the other one is still doing well, at least. Still VERY frustrating that I lost so much, though .

The vermatids have been bugging the crap out of me essentially since I started the tank. Since I began the tank with live rock from the store and basically raw seawater, I imagine they've been in my tank since day 0. At least somehow. I've tried gluing, breaking, and a few other techniques, but they keep coming. Maybe the bumblebees can help. Same for aiptasia that keeps popping up from the rocks. Need some helpful slugs. Maybe at some point.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Once I got the issues of phyto ironed out it hasn't been much of a problem since. Very simple and consistent.

Unfortunately, since my last post, the pod culture is dead (possibly due to high salinity of ~1.03) and one of the PJ's died, as well . Tested the water and saw an ammonia spike, likely due to how long I ended up taking with getting the tank set up. It sat for awhile and I only used old tank water for needed salt, no fresh-made. I did a 50% change and it seems the other one is still doing well, at least. Still VERY frustrating that I lost so much, though .

The vermatids have been bugging the crap out of me essentially since I started the tank. Since I began the tank with live rock from the store and basically raw seawater, I imagine they've been in my tank since day 0. At least somehow. I've tried gluing, breaking, and a few other techniques, but they keep coming. Maybe the bumblebees can help. Same for aiptasia that keeps popping up from the rocks. Need some helpful slugs. Maybe at some point.

Berghia nudibranch for the aips. Give the bumblebees a try for the vermetids.

 

[Blutspitze]

Berghia nudibranch for the aips. Give the bumblebees a try for the vermetids.

I've been having a tough time tracking down a Berghia locally, so will likely need to head online. Even then, it seems like they're tough to find. Bumblebees I'll have to give a look around to see what I can get, as well. Here's hoping!

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I've been having a tough time tracking down a Berghia locally, so will likely need to head online. Even then, it seems like they're tough to find. Bumblebees I'll have to give a look around to see what I can get, as well. Here's hoping!

Reefcleaners for the bumblebees. Saltyunderground for the berghias. Tell him i sent u.

 

[Blutspitze]

Reefcleaners for the bumblebees. Saltyunderground for the berghias. Tell him i sent u.

Thanks very much! I'll look at them in the next week or two.

 

[Blutspitze]

Sea star explores too much and acclimating new fish

I swear that I saw it coming! I saw the sea star, already a bit broken up, hanging out on top of one of the WAV pumps. Unfortunately, I was working to finish my water change and get to work, so I didn't take it off. Later in the weekend, we see the aftermath:

Well, we can at least hope it was a valuable lesson, if nothing else. Plus, with the middle still intact, it's still alive and will eventually grow back all the arms.

On a better note, the remaining pajama is hanging out in the acclimation box inside the DT now. Eating well and seems to be OK. I'll be releasing it from the box tomorrow evening most likely, after lights-out.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Starfish:

Dont bite of your arms despite your face?

 

[Blutspitze]

Starfish:

Dont bite of your arms despite your face?

I mean.... do they have faces? If so, I'm sure it feels slighted by this. Nothing like being able to say my starfish is a quintuple amputee.

ALSO - I got in touch with the vendors you mentioned. Heard from one (no longer carry the bumblebees ) and waiting for the other. Hopefully by today or tomorrow I'll hear something.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I mean.... do they have faces? If so, I'm sure it feels slighted by this. Nothing like being able to say my starfish is a quintuple amputee.

ALSO - I got in touch with the vendors you mentioned. Heard from one (no longer carry the bumblebees ) and waiting for the other. Hopefully by today or tomorrow I'll hear something.

There are manual methods to deal with the vermitid. Depends on how out of control they have gotten and your will to individually deal with them.

I.e. bone cutters and snip them as flush to the rock as possible and then cover with a glob of glue/putty.

 

[Blutspitze]

There are manual methods to deal with the vermitid. Depends on how out of control they have gotten and your will to individually deal with them.

I.e. bone cutters and snip them as flush to the rock as possible and then cover with a glob of glue/putty.

They're fairly rampant on all my rocks, so not good. I've cut them in the past and tried to glob them with glue, but didn't work. At this point I'd nearly have to cover the entirety of all the rocks, so it's not ideal with either glue or putty.

 

[PanchoG]

Sea star explores too much and acclimating new fish

I swear that I saw it coming! I saw the sea star, already a bit broken up, hanging out on top of one of the WAV pumps. Unfortunately, I was working to finish my water change and get to work, so I didn't take it off. Later in the weekend, we see the aftermath:

Well, we can at least hope it was a valuable lesson, if nothing else. Plus, with the middle still intact, it's still alive and will eventually grow back all the arms.

On a better note, the remaining pajama is hanging out in the acclimation box inside the DT now. Eating well and seems to be OK. I'll be releasing it from the box tomorrow evening most likely, after lights-out.

I am sorry for the star fish, at least she made it. Is it a she? I don’t know, eh, it is good she is alive.

In the other hand, that acclimation box is very nice!

 

[Blutspitze]

I am sorry for the star fish, at least she made it. Is it a she? I don’t know, eh, it is good she is alive.

In the other hand, that acclimation box is very nice!

Haha, thanks; it's been awhile since I've seen what remains of the star - hoping that s/he will still be alright. Wouldn't surprise me if some of the crabs got it, though.

I'm a fan of the little box - it's worked nicely for the chromis and now the PJ. it has a platform for frag plugs, as well, but I haven't used it. Works really well - gets great flow, still easy to get food in, etc. The only gripe I have is that it's pretty tiny. I have the medium of the series, but it seems really small.

 

[Blutspitze]

Post Holiday Posting!

First off, very Happy Holidays to everyone, and hope that all is well. Not much has been happening for my tank lately, mostly maintaining status quo still. I had to throw out what was left of my chaeo - once again it got overgrown. I'll probably try some kind of encasement next time.

The PJ has been doing great and is getting along well with everyone else, and they're all plugging along, and always excited for feeding time

Yum yum yum

I'm also very excited to mention that I got an LFS gift card as a gift this year! I'll be able to expand my little world just a bit more. Most likely I'll probably try for the stupid pods again . I still really want a mandarin.....

I also got in touch with the sites that @RichtheReefer21 mentioned to help take care of some of the tank nasties. No responses thus far , so I'll probably try to reach out again in the next few days.

 

[Another Newbie Reefer]

I stumbled on your thread today...man, have you been through it! I definitely admire your perseverance.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Post Holiday Posting!

First off, very Happy Holidays to everyone, and hope that all is well. Not much has been happening for my tank lately, mostly maintaining status quo still. I had to throw out what was left of my chaeo - once again it got overgrown. I'll probably try some kind of encasement next time.

The PJ has been doing great and is getting along well with everyone else, and they're all plugging along, and always excited for feeding time

Yum yum yum

I'm also very excited to mention that I got an LFS gift card as a gift this year! I'll be able to expand my little world just a bit more. Most likely I'll probably try for the stupid pods again . I still really want a mandarin.....

I also got in touch with the sites that @RichtheReefer21 mentioned to help take care of some of the tank nasties. No responses thus far , so I'll probably try to reach out again in the next few days.

Grats on the gift card!

It's the holidays... may be a bit of a lag in response time from most. face book search "Ryan Heathman" saltyunderground owner.

He is awesome once u reach him. It's just him and his wife running it from home.

I have never dealt directly with reef cleaners, but have heard great stuff about them. Hang tight if u can.

 

[count krunk]

Yeah it's the day after Christmas most shops in this hobby are 2-6 people operations.

I can attest that reefcleaners is an awesome vendor.

 

[PanchoG]

The

Post Holiday Posting!

First off, very Happy Holidays to everyone, and hope that all is well. Not much has been happening for my tank lately, mostly maintaining status quo still. I had to throw out what was left of my chaeo - once again it got overgrown. I'll probably try some kind of encasement next time.

The PJ has been doing great and is getting along well with everyone else, and they're all plugging along, and always excited for feeding time

Yum yum yum

I'm also very excited to mention that I got an LFS gift card as a gift this year! I'll be able to expand my little world just a bit more. Most likely I'll probably try for the stupid pods again . I still really want a mandarin.....

I also got in touch with the sites that @RichtheReefer21 mentioned to help take care of some of the tank nasties. No responses thus far , so I'll probably try to reach out again in the next few days.

I hope you had a good Christmas Eve with your family and friends. The tank is looking good my friend, nice coraline growth. We all have tank nasties, it is part of any reefer’s life.

 

[Blutspitze]

I stumbled on your thread today...man, have you been through it! I definitely admire your perseverance.

Thanks very much; it's definitely been an adventure. Tougher than some but easier than others. Glad to have you regardless

Grats on the gift card!

It's the holidays... may be a bit of a lag in response time from most. face book search "Ryan Heathman" saltyunderground owner.

He is awesome once u reach him. It's just him and his wife running it from home.

I have never dealt directly with reef cleaners, but have heard great stuff about them. Hang tight if u can.

I figured that they were really small operations. I messaged about 2 weeks ago so we'll see. I'll probably follow-up after the new year regardless.

Yeah it's the day after Christmas most shops in this hobby are 2-6 people operations.

I can attest that reefcleaners is an awesome vendor.

Awesome to know! Always good to have more testaments. Hopefully things'll start to get moving in early/mid January.

I hope you had a good Christmas Eve with your family and friends. The tank is looking good my friend, nice coraline growth. We all have tank nasties, it is part of any reefer’s life.

Thanks very much, it was great! Very busy as I was doing most of the holiday cooking, but everything turned out well so I'm happy with it. For the tank I'm mostly glad to have the solid status quo with a regular maintenance schedule. I'm hoping to start making some more money soon that'll allow me to expand more, as well.

 

[New&no clue]

Just checking in, haven't seen an update from you in a while. How is the tank going?

 

[Blutspitze]

Just checking in, haven't seen an update from you in a while. How is the tank going?

Thanks for checking in; it has indeed been a very long time, right? Mostly there's not a whole lot to tell, as it's all status quo for the most part.

The past few months

Forgive me reefers, for I have sinned, it has been... more than 3 months since my last update post. There has been a LOT going on in life lately, so I haven't had a chance to really get new things in or change, so haven't had a huge amount to say. That said, I've made a point to not neglect the tank, keeping up with water changes, testing, cleaning, etc., and things have been growing well, plus everything's healthy.

I've had some major life changes in the last couple months, and coupled with COVID quarantine, the tank hasn't gotten anything new, but everyone's doing great!

Maintenance and Livestock

All the fishies (clown, goby, cardinal, chromis, and wrasse) are doing great and getting along fine. I've been wanting to sink more $$ into getting some more new things, but I did pick up a new mushroom and goni over the last couple months from my holiday gift card.

We'll start off with the obligatory FTS:

Good morning, fishies!!

The mushroom was being weird and moving onto the frag rack, so I'm hoping it'll move over to the rocks now. Not certain where I'll put the goni atm, but its very happy on the rack. Basically these fellas are the result of my holiday gift card.

My leathers, zoas, and hammer are all doing GREAT. My pink leather even fragged itself and is now all over the place!

The main "new" leather branch is right by the OG

A couple other leather branches settled right by the hammer, as well.

I always like seeing the leather's "fuzzies"

Hi Leonard!

Eagle Eyes are doing well, but I accidentally killed off some of the colony when I was injecting some aiptasia.

Still haven't been able to get the GSP to expand at all, but it looks good, at least.

Just this past weekend (3/28), I scrubbed out the fuge. Did the overflow, as well.

The stupid vermatids are still out en force, and I can't find bumblebees for the life of me.

The Personal Stuffs

As with most folks, it's been a crazy few months personally, as well. The biggest change has been that I started a new job back in late January. It's been pretty amazing, an industry job with more money, better people, an easier schedule, the works. I'm settled in reasonably well, but still dealing with the transition wasn't exactly easy. Part of why I haven't been focused much on the tank lately.

Part of having the better schedule with work has meant that I've been able to dedicate time to some of my other hobbies, namely gaming. I'm excited to be starting up with a new group this weekend. I hope it goes well.

We're all stuck in quarantine for COVID, as well. It's scary. Thankfully, my work is designed around remote access and functionality, so that still happens, and I'm still able to make good progress on my projects. Having remote schoolwork for a kiddo isn't ideal, though, and that's been driving EVERYONE in the house up the wall. Not to mention we're all in relatively more vulnerable groups (bad lungs, etc.), so my weekly shopping trips are more stressful than usual. Not to mention we have trouble getting basic supplies, as most people have.

Working on gaming mapping. Fun times

Me over here baking bread like I'm some kind of caveman. Stupid stores with no bread. Fresh bread is delicious and easy, though. Highly recommend.

On a fun/happier note, though, I was set to get married this past Friday, the 27th. Just a courthouse ceremony, but I was going to get to see my family and all that good stuff, not to mention being awesome in general. Sadly, COVID stopped those plans, so we had to cancel. We were luckier than most, as we didn't put down any deposits for venues, flowers, etc., but it was still sad to not see my family. As it happens, though, the proprietor of my LFS happens to be a registered minister, so rather than waste the license, he was happy to sign off for us to get our paperwork through, and we'll be able to have a ceremony when this is all over.

At the very least, we'll definitely have a unique story of how we got hitched

I wore my official fishie shirt for the occasion. Because fishie store.

Be safe everyone, and happy reefing!