In Pursuit of a Clownfish Eden

[macon77]

It is not that R2R is in desperate need of another "anemone tank" build thread. It is not that I will be attempting to rear some difficult-to-keep species, that will prove that it is, in fact, possible to successfully raise such a species in captivity. It is not that I will employ some novel methodology, or technology, that will serve to revolutionize our approach to the hobby. It is not that this thread is aimed at divulging my vast knowledge of the reef-keeping hobby to the community. It is not that I expect to impress anyone with my less-than-world-class photography skills. Quite honestly, I am not entirely sure why I decided to create this thread. It just seemed like the thing to do, at the time. So, without further adieu, I present to you my ongoing experience with establishing and maintaining a glass box full of water, which will serve as the residence for a few common bubble-tip anemones and a couple of ordinary clownfish.

My experience in the hobby dates back to the year 2005. I had kept goldfish as a younger man, and really enjoyed having them around. Knowing this, my wonderful wife decided to purchase a 29 gallon aquarium, and presented it to me on my birthday. Shortly after I had introduced freshwater fish into it, my wife advised me that she wanted a saltwater tank. I simply could not understand her fascination, but agreed to look into the matter. And so "it" began. Until the year 2011, I bought, sold, or traded at least 20 different reef aquariums. My obsession led to my having as many as 9 tanks in our little one-bedroom apartment, at one point. Although my poor wife may have regretted ever sparking my interest, I loved every single moment I dedicated to the hobby...except for one.

By 2011, I had acquired what I consider to be a world-class mushroom collection. I cherished every one of them. I would say that I was pretty successful in propagating them, even recuperating a few dollars along the way, by selling their offspring. Then I got careless, and made a catastrophic mistake. I purchased 100 ricordea Florida from a dealer that I had purchased hundreds of mushrooms from, previously. The last batch he sent me happened to be contaminated with a very aggressive and toxic strain of dinoflagellates. Although I had beaten many contaminating species in the past, I was then facing a battle that I would ultimately lose. As a result, I abandoned the hobby.

In the not too distant past, I was freeing up space in the garage by selling equipment that I still had lying around. I picked up a piece of that equipment, and it struck me...I WANT TO DO IT ALL, AGAIN.

 

[macon77]

Given my previous experience with dinoflagellates, I will be approaching things quite differently, as I reenter the hobby. This will involve choices concerning my stocking list, equipment list, as well as the methods I will employ.

My stocking list will be limited, including bubble-tip anemones, a pair of ocellaris clownfish, amphipods, and copepods. I may add micro brittle starfish and stomatella snails, down the road.

My equipment list is dictated, in part, by the methods I will employ. Specifically, I will employ very strict quarantining protocols, this time around. As such, my list includes 3 auxiliary tanks, in addition to my display tank.

DISPLAY TANK:
75g glass reef-ready tank/stand
30g acrylic 3-chamber sump
Hamilton Cebu Sun light fixture: dual 175w metal halide (XM 10k bulbs), quad 54w t5ho (2x Hamilton stock "actinic"/2x ATI Aquablue Special)
Reef Octopus NWB-110SSS
Santa Monica Filtration HOG1/Whisper air pump
Jebao RW-8
Jebao DC-6000
75 lbs. Marco rock
60 lbs. Caribsea sand (what used to be called Seafloor Special Grade)
Analog timer

QUARANTINE:
29g tank/stand
Metal halide retrofitted DIY canopy (Icecap ballast, 10k 175w Hamilton bulb)
Aqueon ACP700
25 lbs. Marco rock

OBSERVATION:
10g tank
MJ404
65w 6500k PC flood light

ANCILLARY:
BRS 4-stage RO/DI
Instant Ocean salt
Hydrometer (calibrated via refractometer)
Mixing pump/tote
Buckets/hoses/sponges/turkey baster/toothbrush/bowls
Test kits
Anemone/fish food
Syringe
Calcium chloride

NEEDED:
Additional 10g tank to carry out TTM
Baking soda/Epsom salt

 

[macon77]

I know...I know. You are thinking, "This thread is useless without pictures." Unfortunately, that will have to wait a week, or so. Fortunately, I purchased a fairly nice DSLR Nikon camera, when I had been involved in the hobby previously. Honestly, I still have no idea how to use it. But, I do have it. I can put it on its tripod, set it to "do-everything-for-me" mode, and push the little silver button. We can get some almost-satisfactory images. I will get to work on that, this weekend. I will then need to "remember" how to upload pictures, etcetera.

Not having pictures is not such a big deal, at this point. This is due to the fact that there is not really much to see, here, at this point. This project is really in its infancy. So in the meantime, we can consider some technical details/issues.

 

[macon77]

There is one issue/concern I am having which involves the cycling of the new systems (display tank and quarantine tank). Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

After cleaning all equipment thoroughly, I added fresh Marco rock to both the display and quarantine tanks, and sand to the display tank. I set the quarantine tank running on 4/3/2015, and the display tank running on 4/4/2015. I used RO/DI water (0 tds) and set the specific gravity to 1.0265 using Instant Ocean salt. Given my obsession with keeping pests and nuisance algae species from entering the tank, I did not add any live rock. I did not add any bacterial supplements. I decided to take a "lights-out" approach (no tank lights turned on, while establishing the initial cycle). The following day, I added deceased shrimps to each of the systems. I removed the shrimps when ammonia reached 1-2ppm in the display tank, and 2ppm in the quarantine tank. It took about two days to reach these levels. Given that I had followed this protocol previously, I suspected/knew that I was in for a long wait. So, I waited.

And, I waited.

And, I waited.

And, I waited.

You get the picture.

I had expected to see nitrites rise at about the two- to three-week mark. No such luck. I did not see nitrites until around the five-week mark. I was concerned that it took a bit longer than expected, but happy to see things progressing. Then began the waiting for nitrites to drop.

I waited.

And, I waited.

And, I waited.

Again, you get the picture.

HOWEVER, I DO NOT!!!

The nitrites did not drop until 6/28/2015 in the display tank.
The nitrites did not drop until 7/18/2015 in the quarantine tank.

I have set systems to cycling in the past, using a similar protocol. I have seen the process take as little as a month, and as long as six weeks. I have never seen it take over three months. This, honestly, has me a bit concerned. The only thing about this process that is novel to me is having used Marco rock. This makes me wonder if there was/is not something on/in the rock that might have slowed this process. I doubt that this would be the case. But, I have no other explanation.

In response, I have done two 80% water changes in the quarantine tank since the nitrites dropped. I have begun ghost feeding.
I am conducting a bit of an "experiment" in the display tank (more on this in my next post), so I have not changed any of its water, to date.

My concern, going forward, is that there is an outside chance that there is a contaminant in the systems which could impact life forms that I will introduce into the systems. I suspect (and hope) that I am just being a bit paranoid. However, this is something I will pay attention to, as I move forward.

 

[deerhunter06]

following along [emoji2]

 

[macon77]

As promised in my last post, the following is a brief description of an "experiment" I am conducting in the display system. (This is not an experiment, in the true sense of the word. Rather, it is a "let's see what happens if" process.)

Ultimately, the concern I will be attempting to address through this process is nutrient reduction. Of course, there are many ways to address this issue. I have employed a number of these, in the past. However, I have never experimented with an actual algae scrubber. In designing this build, I researched them a bit, and wound up making the decision to incorporate one. Somehow, a Santa Monica Filtration HOG1 ended up in my stocking this past Christmas. I decided to drive it using a Whisper air pump.

To my modest understanding, there is a balance between bacterial and algal reduction of nutrients in reef aquaria. I suspect that the balance can be tipped in favor of one, over the other, depending on environmental conditions (i.e., a system can become more algae "driven," than bacteria "driven," or vice versa). To make sure my new system had adequate nitrifying bacteria, at least at the outset, I waited until ammonia and nitrites dropped (presumably as the result of the presence of relevant bacteria) prior to installing the algae scrubber. Since then, the air pump has been running 24/7. By tying a knot in the airline, I have reduced airflow somewhat during the "break-in" period. By using a black cloth (which came with the unit), I have covered one, of the two, leds which provide light to the "scrubber." The light is turned on for approximately 12 hours, each night.

One thing I was not convinced of, is how diatoms and cyanobacteria respond to the red leds, which is the only spectrum leds the unit has. As such, I put three small pieces of rock in my sump, and have put a 6500k spiral PAR38 bulb in a clamp-on fixture over the sump. This light runs for approximately 12 hours, each day (counter to the lights in the algae scrubber).

Note that the lights in the display tank are not being run, at all, at this point. My hope is that some portion of the "uglies" will present in the sump, rather than in the display tank. This will also give any algae in the scrubber a "head start," versus any algae which will grow in the display. (This may be wishful thinking.)

Recall, that I found that nitrites dropped to 0ppm on (or just before) 6/28/2015. I found nitrates to be at 10-20ppm. I have yet to test phosphate levels. The algae scrubber and 6500k lights have been in operation since 7/4/2015. To date, both the rocks in the sump and the algae scrubber surface are blast white (no indication of diatoms, cyano, or algae). I see no evidence of the presence of denitrifying bacteria (nitrogen bubbles in the display tank).

 

[macon77]

As promised, I got the DSLR camera out this afternoon. I took 188 pictures of the display tank, sump, quarantine tank, and observation tank.

I got a total of ZERO pictures that are presentable.

I am in no danger of winning the POTM award, at least for the foreseeable future.

The moral of the story...DO NOT PURCHASE A $700.00 CAMERA AND EXPECT THE "DO-EVERYTHING-FOR-ME" FUNCTION TO MAKE YOU A WORLD-CLASS PHOTOGRAPHER!!!

I knew I should have bought the $1200.00 model. Live, and learn.

 

[Cleo642]

It is not that R2R is in desperate need of another "anemone tank" build thread. It is not that I will be attempting to rear some difficult-to-keep species, that will prove that it is, in fact, possible to successfully raise such a species in captivity. It is not that I will employ some novel methodology, or technology, that will serve to revolutionize our approach to the hobby. It is not that this thread is aimed at divulging my vast knowledge of the reef-keeping hobby to the community. It is not that I expect to impress anyone with my less-than-world-class photography skills. Quite honestly, I am not entirely sure why I decided to create this thread. It just seemed like the thing to do, at the time. So, without further adieu, I present to you my ongoing experience with establishing and maintaining a glass box full of water, which will serve as the residence for a few common bubble-tip anemones and a couple of ordinary clownfish.

My experience in the hobby dates back to the year 2005. I had kept goldfish as a younger man, and really enjoyed having them around. Knowing this, my wonderful wife decided to purchase a 29 gallon aquarium, and presented it to me on my birthday. Shortly after I had introduced freshwater fish into it, my wife advised me that she wanted a saltwater tank. I simply could not understand her fascination, but agreed to look into the matter. And so "it" began. Until the year 2011, I bought, sold, or traded at least 20 different reef aquariums. My obsession led to my having as many as 9 tanks in our little one-bedroom apartment, at one point. Although my poor wife may have regretted ever sparking my interest, I loved every single moment I dedicated to the hobby...except for one.

By 2011, I had acquired what I consider to be a world-class mushroom collection. I cherished every one of them. I would say that I was pretty successful in propagating them, even recuperating a few dollars along the way, by selling their offspring. Then I got careless, and made a catastrophic mistake. I purchased 100 ricordea Florida from a dealer that I had purchased hundreds of mushrooms from, previously. The last batch he sent me happened to be contaminated with a very aggressive and toxic strain of dinoflagellates. Although I had beaten many contaminating species in the past, I was then facing a battle that I would ultimately lose. As a result, I abandoned the hobby.

In the not too distant past, I was freeing up space in the garage by selling equipment that I still had lying around. I picked up a piece of that equipment, and it struck me...I WANT TO DO IT ALL, AGAIN.

Could coral rx helped those corals from the parasites? Dipping them. I a new to this so I was just wondering.

 

[macon77]

following along [emoji2]

Welcome, Sir!

In your honor, I am officially calling the observation tank "The Deerhunter Tank," at least for the time being.

For the rest of the readers, the reason for this will be made clear, at some point this evening.

 

[macon77]

Could coral rx helped those corals from the parasites? Dipping them. I a new to this so I was just wondering.

Hello, and welcome.

There is a member of one of the major reef-keeping sites I visit. I am old and can not, for the life of me, recall his/her screen name, or even where I have seen his/her posts. His/her signature reads, "Dinoflagellates are the kiss of death." I wholeheartedly concur with that statement.

In my experience with dinoflagellates, there was NOTHING that was reef-safe, which could enable me to win the battle I faced. At the time, I had four tanks running, and could treat each in various ways. I could move critters between tanks after treatment, etcetera. I simply could not find a real solution. Eventually, I gave up. Bleach and a dumpster became my solutions.

I do not wish to take anything away from Reef2Reef. However, there is an excellent thread over on Reef Central entitled "Dinoflagellates." It is in "The Reef Chemistry" section of the site. It is currently 57 pages long, and is an excellent source of information. The thoughts of some great minds in the hobby are presented there. Unfortunately, the collective thoughts/experiences have not yielded a universal solution.

My approach, at this point, is to attempt to disallow dinoflagellates from entering my systems. There is one thing that concerns me about this, still. I am not convinced that anyone knows with certainty if dinoflagellates are COMPLETELY UNAVOIDABLE. There is one theory which holds that dinoflagellates are present in EVERY system, but are simply outcompeted for resources, in most cases. (I HATE THIS THEORY!!!) Until more is known, I will simply proceed as cautiously as possible. Good Lord, I hope I am not whistling in the dark!!!

 

[deerhunter06]

well you will be glad to know I've never had them. knock on wood.

 

[macon77]

"The Deerhunter Tank" (formerly known as "OBSERVATION"):

In the stocking list that I posted previously, I failed to mention one species that I am interested in keeping in my display tank. That species would be coralline algae. Given my obsession (Admittedly, it is probably of clinical proportion. I am okay with that.) with keeping pests and nuisance algae species out of my systems, this presents a real challenge. I have been unwilling to purchase live rock, or live rock rubble, and risk introducing such contaminants into my display tank, just to acquire some coralline algae. How, then, can one possibly get coralline algae into their system? How does one acquire a pure strain of coralline algae? The closest thing I have seen made available for purchase are the coralline algae-encrusted plates that IPSF sells. One question I have about their product is the method they use to perform water changes. That is, they apparently use natural sea water when performing such changes. This opens up the possibility of introducing contaminants into their systems. I am not exactly comfortable with this. I could contact them, to inquire about this, but I have yet to do so. For the time being, I am addressing this in a different way.

I recently posted a thread in the "Wanted to Buy" forum here on Reef2Reef. I posted that I was interested in acquiring unadulterated coralline algae spores. I figured that I had nothing to lose by doing so. A few interesting aspects of the topic were discussed, and some approaches to the matter were reviewed.

Lo and behold, our very own deerhunter06 advised me that he had some coralline-encrusted shells that he would be willing to send me. I requested that he forward his Paypal address, so that I could compensate him. He was unwilling to accept any financial compensation, and sent a few shells on his own dime. This sort of generosity is just not seen everyday. I am still blown away.

I received the shells on Friday, and placed them in the observation tank. (As a side note, I can say that deerhunter06 takes very good care of his system.) The shells sat in the observation tank overnight, until my OCD kicked in. Something that @chefjpaul brought up in the "Wanted to Buy" thread kept running through my head. His suggestion was to take a coralline-encrusted rock (or shell), and scrape only coralline algae from the rock and into the tank. To be as certain as possible that I propagate coralline algae, and nothing else, I did exactly that. I moved the shells to a bowl, drained and sterilized the observation tank/equipment, made up fresh water/added a piece of rock from my display tank, and scraped what I suspect was only coralline algae from the shells into the tank.

Now, we wait to see what becomes of this "experiment." Given deerhunter06's excellent husbandry and coralline algae, chefjpaul's suggestion, and my psychiatric tendencies, I suspect we are headed in the right direction.

 

[macon77]

well you will be glad to know I've never had them. knock on wood.

Indeed, I could tell immediately that you absolutely have not had a toxic dinoflagellate outbreak, recently. In observing the shells you sent, I noticed two VERY TINY stomatella snails (Yes, I observe everything with a high-powered magnifying glass). Those snails would not have survived a toxic dinoflagellate outbreak (Do not even ask me how I know this.).

Sadly, the two snails that hitchhiked on the shells you sent were sacrificed. I was afraid that they might have eaten a bit of nuisance algae in the past, and might later excrete some spores into my tank. Yes, my OCD has reached epic proportions. I should seek professional help.

 

[macon77]

This post is only a test. I am attempting to determine if I can successfully post a picture, here. I determined that I still have a Photobucket account, and that there are still pictures stored there, from when I was involved in the hobby before. If this works, we should see one of my "babies." This colony was lost to "The Kiss of Death."

 

[macon77]

Going forward, this is the only form of "hitchhiking" that shall be deemed acceptable.

 

[macon77]

Signs of Life...

 

[macon77]

I thought this was an interesting photo of a bacterial mass and some diatoms.

 

[deerhunter06]

any coralline macon?

 

[macon77]

any coralline macon?

Sorry, Sir. I did not see this, previously.

I will be posting a number of updates this evening.

 

[macon77]

There is not much to report concerning the display tank, per se. I believe I have gotten the aquascape completed, and it is just a continued waiting game, at this point. Hopefully, I can get a reasonable photo of the tank this evening.

There is an interesting bit of information that I have about the "experiment" going on in the sump/algae scrubber. Recall that the 6500k spiral bulb over the sump has been turned on for 12 hour per day (in the daytime) since 7/4/2015. There is about 10 pounds of rock in the sump. Since 7/4/2015, the algae scrubber has also been running for 12 hours per day (at night). About a week, or so, ago, a diatom bloom began. The diatoms are doing EQUALLY as well in the sump and inside the algae scrubber. Aside from surface area, then, I do not see an advantage to either approach.