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Thanks! All the best for your neighbor's wife (and neighbor).
Mixed Red Sea Reefer 525XL
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Amoo
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Thank you mate, my neighbor is really having a rough time of it as his wife is about 15 years his elder and we never thought it would be this way. Either way, drinks have happened and what not, so I'm not going to comment any further tonight, but I very much thank you for your well wishes. All the best man, your tank looks great either way I'll comment more tomorrow, tonight I should refrain from words 
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10/08/2017 - Day 530 - So stable I have little to say...
It's been 60 days since my last update. 60 DAYS! It's felt more like just a few weeks, but I guess that's what happens when you have kids - time just slips on by...
Not much to update, really. I've recently taken out my Gyre pumps to clean them and have been slow in getting them back into the tank. The one that's there is turned off (rather defeats the purpose of putting it back in...). I'm starting to notice some undesirables in the back corner of the tank, however, so it's likely time to put them back in and get them up and running again. I was hoping I could hold off for a bit more time and add in two IceCaps to get everything controlled by the Apex, but I don't think that'll happen any time soon (~$500 price tag is prohibitive right now). Instead, I guess I'll have to dig into the MaxSpec user manual to find an alternating gyre pattern that doesn't cause my overflow to gurgle when the pumps go above 50%. I've tried to set their max flow at 40%, but it doesn't seem to work with the profile I'm running - they still run at 100% at times (albeit for short bursts). Something to tinker with...
FTS:
Some new-ish stuff in there; most notably being the clam in the middle of the tank. Also a RBTA (below the hammers and duncans), two feather dusters and a few more zoa varieties - nothing Earth shattering; just some more fun softies. The one surviving SPS (top of left arch) is... surviving. I'm pretty sure that I need to tweak my lights if I'm going to make it happy. I can measure PAR with the SenEye, but I just haven't had the time. Or when I have the time, there's other things that are more urgent (water changes, sump cleaning, sand rinsing, etc.). I'm in no rush to spend time sorting out the lighting for more SPS as I have no plans to buy more coral at this time.
We did visit the "local" shop today while getting out of the house. Picked up a bucket of salt, but didn't get any new fishes. The wife did spot one she liked - a Lunare Wrasse that was in their frag tank (not for sale, in other words). I have approval to order one as this time of year we stay home long enough to QT it properly. I just need to figure out if it's compatible with current stock. Biggest concern would be the cleaner shrimp that's in there. Of the two, I'd choose the wrasse, but would need to decide whether to chance the shrimp, remove it to the sump to help clean that, or re-home it...
And since I'll (most likely) be going through a month+ of QT anyways, I may as well look for 1-2 others as well. There are several on my "want" list, but I'm not sure which is appropriate. Blue Jaw Trigger is up there (I'd love a Humu, but like my corals better). Another wrasse variety (xmas or leopard, most like). A school (3) of Pyramid Butterflys...
Not sure; open to suggestions (either for/against any of the above - or anything else)...?
It's been 60 days since my last update. 60 DAYS! It's felt more like just a few weeks, but I guess that's what happens when you have kids - time just slips on by...
Not much to update, really. I've recently taken out my Gyre pumps to clean them and have been slow in getting them back into the tank. The one that's there is turned off (rather defeats the purpose of putting it back in...). I'm starting to notice some undesirables in the back corner of the tank, however, so it's likely time to put them back in and get them up and running again. I was hoping I could hold off for a bit more time and add in two IceCaps to get everything controlled by the Apex, but I don't think that'll happen any time soon (~$500 price tag is prohibitive right now). Instead, I guess I'll have to dig into the MaxSpec user manual to find an alternating gyre pattern that doesn't cause my overflow to gurgle when the pumps go above 50%. I've tried to set their max flow at 40%, but it doesn't seem to work with the profile I'm running - they still run at 100% at times (albeit for short bursts). Something to tinker with...
FTS:
Some new-ish stuff in there; most notably being the clam in the middle of the tank. Also a RBTA (below the hammers and duncans), two feather dusters and a few more zoa varieties - nothing Earth shattering; just some more fun softies. The one surviving SPS (top of left arch) is... surviving. I'm pretty sure that I need to tweak my lights if I'm going to make it happy. I can measure PAR with the SenEye, but I just haven't had the time. Or when I have the time, there's other things that are more urgent (water changes, sump cleaning, sand rinsing, etc.). I'm in no rush to spend time sorting out the lighting for more SPS as I have no plans to buy more coral at this time.
We did visit the "local" shop today while getting out of the house. Picked up a bucket of salt, but didn't get any new fishes. The wife did spot one she liked - a Lunare Wrasse that was in their frag tank (not for sale, in other words). I have approval to order one as this time of year we stay home long enough to QT it properly. I just need to figure out if it's compatible with current stock. Biggest concern would be the cleaner shrimp that's in there. Of the two, I'd choose the wrasse, but would need to decide whether to chance the shrimp, remove it to the sump to help clean that, or re-home it...
And since I'll (most likely) be going through a month+ of QT anyways, I may as well look for 1-2 others as well. There are several on my "want" list, but I'm not sure which is appropriate. Blue Jaw Trigger is up there (I'd love a Humu, but like my corals better). Another wrasse variety (xmas or leopard, most like). A school (3) of Pyramid Butterflys...
Not sure; open to suggestions (either for/against any of the above - or anything else)...?
Tank is looking good - I've been settling into a routine as well, and so its easy to get complacent
Thalassoma wrasses can strip your tank of a cleaning crew pretty quickly - but the same can be said for other varieties of wrasse as well. My leopards terrorize my snails all the time. Assuming you are ok with that, the wrasses will be fine in your tank with your corals - though they may flip any corals that arent secured - I had my smaller leopard break an acro off of the rockwork going after a stomatella snail the other day. I keep a skunk cleaner and a blood shrimp in my tank, and they are large enough that the wrasses leave them alone. As for the others - Im 100% on board with the pyramids - great fish, they look awesome, and I wish I had them in my tank Ive not kept a blue jaw trigger, but Ive heard that they can get dull and lose color if they arent kept in pairs. I think that any of those fish would be awesome looking in your tank
OP
OP
Yeah; I've been looking into the Lunare a bit more and don't think we'll be getting it. :-( I get that any wrasse will be a risk insofar as the CUC, but that seems like a particularly risky type. May look into some of the more "tame" varieties, but need to check with the wife. I'll likely try and show her some dottybacks in order to get her a splash of purple in the tank...
If purple and low key is what you are looking for, my vote would be for a black capped basslet. Mellow temperment and striking coloration. A bit more expensive than a dottyback, but I've never had one that was a jerk like dottybacks have a tendency to be.
OP
OP
Couldn't find a black capped basslet available. But the wife preferred the (much cheaper) look of the Royal Gramma anyways, so that worked out. Went ahead and ordered 5 more fish:
The new fishes should arrive tomorrow. I'm mixing the 12gal of saltwater I'll need for QT kick-off (10gal tank + 2gal for drip time) and will post in-progress pics as we go along. Fun!
- Flame Angel (qty:1) - This has been on my "want list" for some time. I'm not sure how it'll work out with all the other tank members (fishes and corals), but I've got a good sized acclimation box that'll be in-use for sure. Hoping for the best as I just love the look of this fish.
- McCosker's Flasher Wrasse (Male; qty:1) - As I've said before (way back somewhere in this thread), my wife likes wrasses. We decided not to get the Lunare, so this is the one she picked out instead. We've got a lid on the tank this time, so I don't expect to loose this one to a jump...
- Royal Gramma (qty:3) - Also a substitute for the Lunare, the goal is to add some purple into the tank. I decided on a trio of these as I really like the interaction that our Anthias trio have. I'm hoping that these three hang out in the water column a bit more, but expect it'll take time for them to settle into the lights and such (my expectation is that they'll spend most of their time under the arch - where the light is lower and there are plenty of caves).
- Two ocellaris clowns - Merida and Marvin
- Lawnmower Blenny - Peek-a-go
- 3x Bartlett's Anthias - Moe, Moe, and Flo
- 2x Banggai Cardinal - (both still to be named... how lazy are we?!?)
- Flame Hawkfish - Statler
- Coral Beauty - Hamachi
- Bluestreak Wrasse - Scrat
- Yellow Eye Kole - Bandit
- Yellow Tang - Lemon
- Blue Tang - Vinnie
- Coral-banded shrimp - (no name...)
The new fishes should arrive tomorrow. I'm mixing the 12gal of saltwater I'll need for QT kick-off (10gal tank + 2gal for drip time) and will post in-progress pics as we go along. Fun!
OP
OP
Yes; that is the appropriate response, I'm sure. :-| (Darn my impulsive nature!)
OP
OP
10/18/2017 - Day 540 - TTM Again
Whelp; I'm back at it doing some TTM work. Sadly it's while watching the Cubs loose 3 straight to the Dodgers, but the series isn't over yet - we'll get 'em tomorrow. Meanwhile; TTM is everything I remember it being: hard work, but not complicated.
"Old" tank on the right draining into the sink just before it's vinegar bath; sparkly clean new tank on the left. Kids paraphernalia all about (oh - and the plant that we just can't seem to kill, despite ignoring it for... what year is it?).
Sadly, I must report that the wrasse did not survive. :-(
Here he was upon arrival (during drip acclimation, following temp matching):
All throughout, he was pretty lethargic. At one point, I thought that the vertical lines was possibly flukes, so I had performed a brief (2min) FW dip and then (a bit later) a bath in Formalin-MS (as per directions on the bottle). The FW dip seemed to revive him some once he was back in the QT, but I saw no sign of any flukes. I went ahead with the Formalin-MS dip following that, but it didn't really help him that I could see.
I finally just let him be; which seemed to do the trick for a time. During the rest of the day, he seemed to be improving every time I checked in on the tank. He ate when I fed the tank (both pellet and frozen) and I didn't see any sign of aggression (either on his part or from others in QT - 3 small Royal Grammas and a small Flame Angel).
The next day, I woke to find him struggling on his side at the bottom of the tank. I could not see anything obvious and the tank params were all looking good. The other fishes were all acting normal. Thinking he may just be a heavy sleeper that hadn't woken up yet (couldn't blame him - I'm the same way...), I left him alone. He stirred and ate some breakfast, but otherwise did very little. By noon, he had died and I removed him from the tank. :-(
This one is a mystery to me. Aside from the lethargy I initially noticed - and that was within the boundaries of normal behavior for a fish that had been shipped - I can't think of any other signs or signals that deserved action. I considered another FW dip in the AM, but didn't want to cause him and the others in the tank yet more stress. In light of the result, perhaps I should have?
I feel bad for not knowing enough to save this guy - but I've still got other fish to care for:
I also made sure to give my DT some love (wouldn't want it thinking I was just using it for QT water!). Tonight, that took the form of dismantling the skimmer into all it's fiddley bitz and cleaning everything good and proper. It was due; there was a fair amount of slime build-up all throughout. Once it was scrubbed down, dried off, and re-assembled, the noise level was noticeably reduced - which I also assume means that the energy consumption and resulting heat bleed was also reduced. All good things - perhaps it'll keep the chiller from kicking on so often... :-\
And - of course - I also did a <10gal "water change" as I pulled out QT water and replaced it with new. I've switched over to the RedSea Pro salt because I failed to order my ex-normal salt from BRS in time for this QT run. Before I switched over, I pulled a Triton test. So it'll be interesting to see where the tank was (likely still is) at... The vials have reached the lab, so I should have an update in a few days...
Oh - fun note: The urchin I recently got likes to pick things up and carry them about the tank. I presume this is normal. The latest pick-up is a bit odd, however... It's managed to pick up a few zoa polyps! 8-| They seem to be doing okay, so I'm just letting it all sort itself out. I'll try and get a picture to go along with the next update...
Whelp; I'm back at it doing some TTM work. Sadly it's while watching the Cubs loose 3 straight to the Dodgers, but the series isn't over yet - we'll get 'em tomorrow. Meanwhile; TTM is everything I remember it being: hard work, but not complicated.
"Old" tank on the right draining into the sink just before it's vinegar bath; sparkly clean new tank on the left. Kids paraphernalia all about (oh - and the plant that we just can't seem to kill, despite ignoring it for... what year is it?).
Sadly, I must report that the wrasse did not survive. :-(
Here he was upon arrival (during drip acclimation, following temp matching):
All throughout, he was pretty lethargic. At one point, I thought that the vertical lines was possibly flukes, so I had performed a brief (2min) FW dip and then (a bit later) a bath in Formalin-MS (as per directions on the bottle). The FW dip seemed to revive him some once he was back in the QT, but I saw no sign of any flukes. I went ahead with the Formalin-MS dip following that, but it didn't really help him that I could see.
I finally just let him be; which seemed to do the trick for a time. During the rest of the day, he seemed to be improving every time I checked in on the tank. He ate when I fed the tank (both pellet and frozen) and I didn't see any sign of aggression (either on his part or from others in QT - 3 small Royal Grammas and a small Flame Angel).
The next day, I woke to find him struggling on his side at the bottom of the tank. I could not see anything obvious and the tank params were all looking good. The other fishes were all acting normal. Thinking he may just be a heavy sleeper that hadn't woken up yet (couldn't blame him - I'm the same way...), I left him alone. He stirred and ate some breakfast, but otherwise did very little. By noon, he had died and I removed him from the tank. :-(
This one is a mystery to me. Aside from the lethargy I initially noticed - and that was within the boundaries of normal behavior for a fish that had been shipped - I can't think of any other signs or signals that deserved action. I considered another FW dip in the AM, but didn't want to cause him and the others in the tank yet more stress. In light of the result, perhaps I should have?
I feel bad for not knowing enough to save this guy - but I've still got other fish to care for:
I also made sure to give my DT some love (wouldn't want it thinking I was just using it for QT water!). Tonight, that took the form of dismantling the skimmer into all it's fiddley bitz and cleaning everything good and proper. It was due; there was a fair amount of slime build-up all throughout. Once it was scrubbed down, dried off, and re-assembled, the noise level was noticeably reduced - which I also assume means that the energy consumption and resulting heat bleed was also reduced. All good things - perhaps it'll keep the chiller from kicking on so often... :-\
And - of course - I also did a <10gal "water change" as I pulled out QT water and replaced it with new. I've switched over to the RedSea Pro salt because I failed to order my ex-normal salt from BRS in time for this QT run. Before I switched over, I pulled a Triton test. So it'll be interesting to see where the tank was (likely still is) at... The vials have reached the lab, so I should have an update in a few days...
Oh - fun note: The urchin I recently got likes to pick things up and carry them about the tank. I presume this is normal. The latest pick-up is a bit odd, however... It's managed to pick up a few zoa polyps! 8-| They seem to be doing okay, so I'm just letting it all sort itself out. I'll try and get a picture to go along with the next update...
sorry about the wrasse. I have one coming tomorrow and I hope I fair better. ;Wideyed
I love the urchins for carrying everything. Sometimes snails or hermits upside down. I'm pretty sure mine would cut off polyps. I had about 10 radioactive dragons eye zoa on him for over 6 months. They even grew a new polyp there!
You tank looks great. following!
OP
OP
10/23/2017 - Day 545 - Another loss, and some numbers
Just finished another transfer. I had forgotten how much cleaning is involved! Ah well; healthy fish (or a healthier DT, at least) are worth it.
Lost one of the Grammas. From the look of things, the smallest of the three got beat up a bunch by the other two (or perhaps just the biggest?) to the point of exhaustion. I'd seen some "pushing and shoving", but it hadn't looked overly intense when I observed it, so I chalked it up to just establishing the pecking order. Then - again overnight - I awoke to find the smallest dead on the bottom with it's fins all torn up. Removed it, of course. The other two seem to be getting along fine now. **sigh** I was really hoping that a trio would work out...
Urchin shot! Mobile camera was all I could get it on. It's since deposited them... somewhere. :-?
Meanwhile, the Triton test came in. Can't say I'm totally happy with the result, but not surprised (nor upset) either:
The aluminum and lead, I suspect, are from some screws in the sump that were supposed to be stainless, but are not. The levels have been this way since my last test, however, so it could also be the salt mix I was using (HW). I'll try and detox the tank and see if the problem goes away now that I'm using the Red Sea Coral Pro salt...
The elevated P/PO4 are almost certainly due to a combination of over-feeding the tank (I've been feeding 3 cubes instead of 2 as a small bit goes into the QT) and the flow reduction that's resulted from me being lazy and not getting the Gyres back up and running. So; get the pumps back online. Go back to 2 cubes and perhaps an extra sheet or two of nori. Also; go back to dosing in NO3-PO4-X (for the short-term, at least) once the detox is done.
Just finished another transfer. I had forgotten how much cleaning is involved! Ah well; healthy fish (or a healthier DT, at least) are worth it.
Lost one of the Grammas. From the look of things, the smallest of the three got beat up a bunch by the other two (or perhaps just the biggest?) to the point of exhaustion. I'd seen some "pushing and shoving", but it hadn't looked overly intense when I observed it, so I chalked it up to just establishing the pecking order. Then - again overnight - I awoke to find the smallest dead on the bottom with it's fins all torn up. Removed it, of course. The other two seem to be getting along fine now. **sigh** I was really hoping that a trio would work out...
Urchin shot! Mobile camera was all I could get it on. It's since deposited them... somewhere. :-?
Meanwhile, the Triton test came in. Can't say I'm totally happy with the result, but not surprised (nor upset) either:
The aluminum and lead, I suspect, are from some screws in the sump that were supposed to be stainless, but are not. The levels have been this way since my last test, however, so it could also be the salt mix I was using (HW). I'll try and detox the tank and see if the problem goes away now that I'm using the Red Sea Coral Pro salt...
The elevated P/PO4 are almost certainly due to a combination of over-feeding the tank (I've been feeding 3 cubes instead of 2 as a small bit goes into the QT) and the flow reduction that's resulted from me being lazy and not getting the Gyres back up and running. So; get the pumps back online. Go back to 2 cubes and perhaps an extra sheet or two of nori. Also; go back to dosing in NO3-PO4-X (for the short-term, at least) once the detox is done.
Great thread! Any updates?
OP
OP
Oh! I forgot to close this one out. It deserves a final post, doesn't it...
10/13/2018 - Day 900 - So long, and thanks for all the fish
900 days is officially how long my first salt water tank lasted before being taken down. I have grown so much with this tank, it's inhabitants - my friends, and this forum. I truly do not think I would have made it past the first year if not for this place. In those 900 days (+/-), I have progressed from being a total "newbie" who wasn't even aware of QT as a thing, all the way to being honored to be a part of the #RSL. All thanks to this tank.
Sadly, I did not do this tank justice in it's final days (or year, looking at this build thread now...). The tear-down was not because of any failure or desire to stop, but because we moved into a house where I had the opportunity to experience frustration, pain, and an even larger hole in my wallet - I got to upgrade to a larger tank. That build thread is linked below, but the results of all that with this build thread is that I did not devote any attention to getting a final good FTS before the tank was shut down. I do have some shots, however...
This was the panorama I took of the old house after we have moved everything but the tank out:
Everything in this picture brings back memories for me. We've only been out of the house for a few months, and already I'm starting to forget the little details of the old house... I'm not crying; you're crying. Let's move on.
The move of the tank itself was hectic, painful, and not something I hope to ever do again. I'll just leave it at that in this thread since my other thread chronicles that struggle a bit more (as I like to focus more on the rebirth in the new rather than the death of this one). Still; I did manage a FEW pictures...
Everyone/everything loaded into buckets for the ~45min drive to the new place. I don't think I've ever driven so softly before - not even when coming home from the hospital with our new babies. They had seatbelts and straps and all sorts of safety things. The trip went as well as can be hoped, but I spent the entire time expecting buckets to tip and spill... Even thinking back on it now, I am filled with dread.
And - finally - the last shot of the tank when it held water. It ain't pretty - she didn't go out in glitz and glamour. She went out in grime and gunk. But despite that, she was still beautiful to me.
Thank you all for following along on this part of my journey. I invite you to join me in my next chapter (already in progress); Water Lily Reef.
10/13/2018 - Day 900 - So long, and thanks for all the fish
900 days is officially how long my first salt water tank lasted before being taken down. I have grown so much with this tank, it's inhabitants - my friends, and this forum. I truly do not think I would have made it past the first year if not for this place. In those 900 days (+/-), I have progressed from being a total "newbie" who wasn't even aware of QT as a thing, all the way to being honored to be a part of the #RSL. All thanks to this tank.
Sadly, I did not do this tank justice in it's final days (or year, looking at this build thread now...). The tear-down was not because of any failure or desire to stop, but because we moved into a house where I had the opportunity to experience frustration, pain, and an even larger hole in my wallet - I got to upgrade to a larger tank. That build thread is linked below, but the results of all that with this build thread is that I did not devote any attention to getting a final good FTS before the tank was shut down. I do have some shots, however...
This was the panorama I took of the old house after we have moved everything but the tank out:
Everything in this picture brings back memories for me. We've only been out of the house for a few months, and already I'm starting to forget the little details of the old house... I'm not crying; you're crying. Let's move on.
The move of the tank itself was hectic, painful, and not something I hope to ever do again. I'll just leave it at that in this thread since my other thread chronicles that struggle a bit more (as I like to focus more on the rebirth in the new rather than the death of this one). Still; I did manage a FEW pictures...
Everyone/everything loaded into buckets for the ~45min drive to the new place. I don't think I've ever driven so softly before - not even when coming home from the hospital with our new babies. They had seatbelts and straps and all sorts of safety things. The trip went as well as can be hoped, but I spent the entire time expecting buckets to tip and spill... Even thinking back on it now, I am filled with dread.
And - finally - the last shot of the tank when it held water. It ain't pretty - she didn't go out in glitz and glamour. She went out in grime and gunk. But despite that, she was still beautiful to me.
Thank you all for following along on this part of my journey. I invite you to join me in my next chapter (already in progress); Water Lily Reef.
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