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Fishy888
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Perseverance Reef
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Fishy888
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I promise this is the last entry for today. I took some pictures after I got the new rock in the DT. I'm thinking about doing a 33% water change give or take tomorrow. The water has cleared up a bit but it is still yellow.
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Fishy888
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I decided to put the grow light I had on the DT back on the sump. It seemed like nothing changed as far as the corals were concerned. The color was red enough to make the tank look horrible. I would have stuck with them anyway but it didn't seem to help anything.
In the sump the lights are helping quite nicely. That same red light does wonders for algae. The chaeto is growing nicely.
I didn't get my water change in yet. That's coming tomorrow hopefully. The water is yellow for sure. It'll be about 50% of the DT worth that I changed.
I watched a large amphipod scuttling in the chaeto when I turned it over. When the pods bloom again there'll be plenty of green algae on the glass of the sump for them to eat. I hope to get a mandarin dragonette and/or a scooter blenny. As the chaeto and pod population grow I'll feed the tank more. I want the whole sump (which admittedly is basically a 30 gallon refugium) to be full of chaeto so I won't be harvesting much chaeto.
In the sump the lights are helping quite nicely. That same red light does wonders for algae. The chaeto is growing nicely.
I didn't get my water change in yet. That's coming tomorrow hopefully. The water is yellow for sure. It'll be about 50% of the DT worth that I changed.
I watched a large amphipod scuttling in the chaeto when I turned it over. When the pods bloom again there'll be plenty of green algae on the glass of the sump for them to eat. I hope to get a mandarin dragonette and/or a scooter blenny. As the chaeto and pod population grow I'll feed the tank more. I want the whole sump (which admittedly is basically a 30 gallon refugium) to be full of chaeto so I won't be harvesting much chaeto.
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Fishy888
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I did a 33% water change Tuesday and added the loc line. Yesterday I added about a half gallon of sand. I put it in the area where the return flow blew sand to the front of the tank. I added a small amount on top of the old sand as well. I want to get the sand depth to be around an inch. Doing that will help a lot.
I raised the flow rate a bit because as @tbrown3589 pointed out the dual U-tubes tend to accumulate air and before you know it there's more water on the floor than in the DT. I have not turned it all the way up but close. I can hear the gurgling again but nowhere near as loud as it was before adding the ball valve to the return line.
My mushrooms are the most open I've seen them since I got them. The duncan is doing quite well. The smallest polyp is almost the size the larger one was when I got it. The larger polyp is nickel sized if not a bit larger. The xenia, anthelia, and cabbage leather corals are doing well. The GSP refuses to open. Hopefully they don't melt on me. The candy cane coral has several polyps that are opening but the rest are closed and it looks to me like they might die back a bit. Fortunately they all still have mouths and most of their flesh so I won't write them off just yet.
I am done buying corals for now. It's time to get the test kits I need. I still want the Hanna ULR checker for phosphates and the LR nitrate checker as well. For now I'll get the Salifert tests for nitrates and phosphates.
My next livestock purchases will be some yellow tail blue damsels.
I raised the flow rate a bit because as @tbrown3589 pointed out the dual U-tubes tend to accumulate air and before you know it there's more water on the floor than in the DT. I have not turned it all the way up but close. I can hear the gurgling again but nowhere near as loud as it was before adding the ball valve to the return line.
My mushrooms are the most open I've seen them since I got them. The duncan is doing quite well. The smallest polyp is almost the size the larger one was when I got it. The larger polyp is nickel sized if not a bit larger. The xenia, anthelia, and cabbage leather corals are doing well. The GSP refuses to open. Hopefully they don't melt on me. The candy cane coral has several polyps that are opening but the rest are closed and it looks to me like they might die back a bit. Fortunately they all still have mouths and most of their flesh so I won't write them off just yet.
I am done buying corals for now. It's time to get the test kits I need. I still want the Hanna ULR checker for phosphates and the LR nitrate checker as well. For now I'll get the Salifert tests for nitrates and phosphates.
My next livestock purchases will be some yellow tail blue damsels.
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Fishy888
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As I was looking at the GSP this morning it hit me. Since I did the water change more or less the GSP has actually been open. Not all the polyps are out yet but I think they will with time.
So how could I not have known until today? Well the polyps have white centers. Because of the fact they were closed so long the polyps digested their tentacles leaving just the white centers. The centers are the same color as the sand almost. That's why I didn't notice the GSP being open.
All the corals are at least partially open now. I just fed the tank some flake food. Tonight the tank will get my DIY frozen mix. There are pods for the fish and corals as well.
This afternoon I am going to add more sand to the reef. It is nice not having sand blowing everywhere. It looks better since I added the first round of sand.
I discovered that there's some aiptasia on one small rock. The 1 that is open is bleached. The other 2 are closed. As much as I hate the thought I'll have to nuke that particular rock. That rock has feather duster worms on it but I have to do what I have to do. Thankfully it is a very small rock, probably less than half of a pound.
The system went through the diatom phase pretty quickly. Green algae is forming on the rocks and glass. It's growing in the sump too. There is one type of algae that is the color of healthy chaeto. It looks almost neon. I have to find out what algae it is.
Speaking of chaeto, the chaeto in the sump is growing nicely. Hopefully pods will start blooming soon. I intend to keep the bloom alive since I intend to get a scooter blenny and a dragonette. Pods are also great CUC members. The more the merrier, at least to a point.
So how could I not have known until today? Well the polyps have white centers. Because of the fact they were closed so long the polyps digested their tentacles leaving just the white centers. The centers are the same color as the sand almost. That's why I didn't notice the GSP being open.
All the corals are at least partially open now. I just fed the tank some flake food. Tonight the tank will get my DIY frozen mix. There are pods for the fish and corals as well.
This afternoon I am going to add more sand to the reef. It is nice not having sand blowing everywhere. It looks better since I added the first round of sand.
I discovered that there's some aiptasia on one small rock. The 1 that is open is bleached. The other 2 are closed. As much as I hate the thought I'll have to nuke that particular rock. That rock has feather duster worms on it but I have to do what I have to do. Thankfully it is a very small rock, probably less than half of a pound.
The system went through the diatom phase pretty quickly. Green algae is forming on the rocks and glass. It's growing in the sump too. There is one type of algae that is the color of healthy chaeto. It looks almost neon. I have to find out what algae it is.
Speaking of chaeto, the chaeto in the sump is growing nicely. Hopefully pods will start blooming soon. I intend to keep the bloom alive since I intend to get a scooter blenny and a dragonette. Pods are also great CUC members. The more the merrier, at least to a point.
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Fishy888
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My candy cane coral is on the mend. I thought that several polyps were dying off. They didn't fluoresce like the polyps that were open. Today I saw areas of fluorescence on said polyps.
Finally all the corals have opened at least partially. I know I said that in the last post but I am excited. Thankfully we won't have to move again so things should stabilize soon. Of course I need more rock (and sand since I didn't get it added today). I also have coral, fish, shrimp, etc to get over time. That might hamper my attempts to get the system rock solid stable. I almost forgot that by November I'll be getting new lights over the DT. That too might cause a bit of instability. These things will be added over time though so it might not be so bad stability wise.
Finally all the corals have opened at least partially. I know I said that in the last post but I am excited. Thankfully we won't have to move again so things should stabilize soon. Of course I need more rock (and sand since I didn't get it added today). I also have coral, fish, shrimp, etc to get over time. That might hamper my attempts to get the system rock solid stable. I almost forgot that by November I'll be getting new lights over the DT. That too might cause a bit of instability. These things will be added over time though so it might not be so bad stability wise.
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Fishy888
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A new fish swam into Perseverance Reef this afternoon. There are now 3 yellow tail blue damsels. The first 2 have been semi aggressive. They haven't tried to bite the new guy (gal more than likely) yet. They spooked him or her into hiding but not before the newcomer ate a bit. It probably doesn't help that the new fish is smaller than the other 2.
I still plan to add 4 more of them over time. I want them to be small enough to not turn male. That said I might rearrange the rocks a bit to see if that helps any. I hope I won't have to but I probably will.
The GSP has more polyps open than closed now. I have pictures of it and the other corals. They're all doing much better now than they ever have.
I still plan to add 4 more of them over time. I want them to be small enough to not turn male. That said I might rearrange the rocks a bit to see if that helps any. I hope I won't have to but I probably will.
The GSP has more polyps open than closed now. I have pictures of it and the other corals. They're all doing much better now than they ever have.
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Last night I decided to switch some rock around. I shut the lights off right after. Not only is the rock more stable but there are more crevices now. Hopefully that will make them accept the newcomer.
Despite my rearranging the rockwork I kept all the corals within an inch or 2 of where they were. I swapped out rock that had no corals attached. The footprint of the rockwork is a bit smaller. The crevices are also smaller. That should help any fishes hiding in those crevices to feel more secure.
The new yellow tailed blue damsel is now up top in the front right corner of the tank. It was hiding in the rock before I rearranged it. I might try bagging all 3 damsels up together for a while if the original 2 keep picking on the new one. Then they might get along. If that doesn't do it they might find themselves in the sump temporarily. As small as they are they might wipe out my pod population so that will be a last resort.
Despite my rearranging the rockwork I kept all the corals within an inch or 2 of where they were. I swapped out rock that had no corals attached. The footprint of the rockwork is a bit smaller. The crevices are also smaller. That should help any fishes hiding in those crevices to feel more secure.
The new yellow tailed blue damsel is now up top in the front right corner of the tank. It was hiding in the rock before I rearranged it. I might try bagging all 3 damsels up together for a while if the original 2 keep picking on the new one. Then they might get along. If that doesn't do it they might find themselves in the sump temporarily. As small as they are they might wipe out my pod population so that will be a last resort.
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Fishy888
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The new fish was still hiding today so I caught all 3 fish and put them in a bag with water from my reef. They seemed to get along. I rearranged things again and then I noticed that the new fish was swimming on its side. It died about an hour later. The other 2 damsels are doing fine.
The new fish did get bullied a bit but even before it ever came home the person who netted the fish for me had it jump from the net and onto the floor. I think that had something to do with such an early demise. The problem I face now is getting an exchange. The LFS in question doesn't guarantee saltwater fish. They might in this case but I doubt it. It may be my last transaction with this LFS.
Now I need to rearrange things to be like they were. I'll wait until I know whether or not I can do an exchange. Here's to hoping.
The GSP has several polyps that are growing their tentacles back fairly quickly. The other corals are doing well also.
There is an outside chance I can get a 4 lamp T5 fixture. We'll see how that goes. I still intend to get the Viparspectra black boxes however so it's not a bad thing if I can't get the T5's.
The new fish did get bullied a bit but even before it ever came home the person who netted the fish for me had it jump from the net and onto the floor. I think that had something to do with such an early demise. The problem I face now is getting an exchange. The LFS in question doesn't guarantee saltwater fish. They might in this case but I doubt it. It may be my last transaction with this LFS.
Now I need to rearrange things to be like they were. I'll wait until I know whether or not I can do an exchange. Here's to hoping.
The GSP has several polyps that are growing their tentacles back fairly quickly. The other corals are doing well also.
There is an outside chance I can get a 4 lamp T5 fixture. We'll see how that goes. I still intend to get the Viparspectra black boxes however so it's not a bad thing if I can't get the T5's.
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Fishy888
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I didn't rearrange anything today. That's because all the corals are doing even better in their new spots except for the waving hands anthelia which is trying to get used to the flow. I took pictures of the corals this evening. I love what I see, especially compared to 6 months ago.
As I figured there was no guarantee on the dead damsel. I know that when the fish jumped onto the floor I should have made them get me another. Lastly I can't honestly say the bullying from the other damsels didn't at least contribute to damsel's death. They have done good by me so far and I know they care but things happen sometimes too. The next time I get more I'll be getting 5 because I ultimately want 7. There will also be a lot less bullying I would think.
As I figured there was no guarantee on the dead damsel. I know that when the fish jumped onto the floor I should have made them get me another. Lastly I can't honestly say the bullying from the other damsels didn't at least contribute to damsel's death. They have done good by me so far and I know they care but things happen sometimes too. The next time I get more I'll be getting 5 because I ultimately want 7. There will also be a lot less bullying I would think.
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Fishy888
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Sooo... Out with the old (Beamswork light that had many LEDs out due to accidentally falling into water) and in with the new (to me 6 lamp T5 light). It reminds me of 150W metal halides. 1 lamp is out and 1 is on its way out. It's nice to have the whole tank lit finally. There are moonlight LEDs in there as well.
The light needs a good cleaning. It's also missing 2 mounting brackets so I'll take the remaining 2 off and make a canopy for the DT. I'll mount the light in the canopy once it's finished.
The light is in great shape except for the mounting brackets that are missing. I only paid $50 for the T5 light. I will need to replace the 2 lamps that are out and on the way out. It's been a while since I looked up T5 lamps so I'll look closely to see what's still out there.
My corals seem to be loving life now. I can't believe the difference between just a few days ago even and today. This was even before the new lights. The new lights just made things even better still.
The light needs a good cleaning. It's also missing 2 mounting brackets so I'll take the remaining 2 off and make a canopy for the DT. I'll mount the light in the canopy once it's finished.
The light is in great shape except for the mounting brackets that are missing. I only paid $50 for the T5 light. I will need to replace the 2 lamps that are out and on the way out. It's been a while since I looked up T5 lamps so I'll look closely to see what's still out there.
My corals seem to be loving life now. I can't believe the difference between just a few days ago even and today. This was even before the new lights. The new lights just made things even better still.
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I built part of the framework for the canopy last night into the wee hours of this morning. Afterwards I took the leg that was still attached to the light off and I removed the plastic sheet that protects the lamps. After cleaning it I replaced it. Then I placed the framework on the tank and placed the light on top of the supports. The sides of the framework that sits on top of the aquarium are also supporting the light. When I finish building the canopy there will be pieces that will clamp down on the light so that it stays in place.
Now that the light has had its protective plastic sheet cleaned there seems to be a slight increase in brightness. To the corals however it may be enough of an increase that it overwhelms them. On the other hand they might welcome the increase considering it is far less than the increase from the Beamswork light to the T5's.
After I cleaned the plastic sheet I cleaned the moon lights. I turned them on once I put the light on top of the supports. My candy cane coral has it's issues but it has more fluorescence than I expected. The rest of my corals are doing well too. Almost all the green star polyps are out now. Most of the polyps have tentacles again but they are still short. The cabbage leather is wide open. The duncan is awesome. All the rest are doing quite well.
Now that the light has had its protective plastic sheet cleaned there seems to be a slight increase in brightness. To the corals however it may be enough of an increase that it overwhelms them. On the other hand they might welcome the increase considering it is far less than the increase from the Beamswork light to the T5's.
After I cleaned the plastic sheet I cleaned the moon lights. I turned them on once I put the light on top of the supports. My candy cane coral has it's issues but it has more fluorescence than I expected. The rest of my corals are doing well too. Almost all the green star polyps are out now. Most of the polyps have tentacles again but they are still short. The cabbage leather is wide open. The duncan is awesome. All the rest are doing quite well.
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Fishy888
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I fed my duncans for the first time since I've had them tonight. They got some frozen food. I took pictures of them. The last pics I took were about 2 hours after they finished eating so the lights were out. At first they closed over the food but it looked like they weren't eating it. I turned away for a minute or so and when I looked back at them they were almost done eating. All that was visible was the tail end. I am going to get pellets for them as soon as I can. I also want to feed frozen mysis. I might even try to culture some mysis but we'll see. I would rather get them frozen if I can at this point.
My other corals are doing good too. Even though the candy cane coral is pale it looks like it's gotten a little color back today. That could be wishful thinking but as good as the rest of the corals are doing I believe they are coming back. I might try to feed them tomorrow. I haven't seen feeder tentacles out since they've been in my reef however. I'll see what I can do though. As small as their mouths are they'll obviously need small food. I wish the pods would bloom again sooner rather than later.
I know there are pods in the sump in the chaeto as well as bristle worms. There are probably Asterinas in there too. There are definitely Asterinas in the DT. There are two of them now and they're growing quickly. The only casualties from the move not replenished are my limpets, and my big bloom of pods. There's probably a remnant population of both. Now that there's decent lighting over the DT I am getting cyanobacteria and a green algae growing in the sand and on the rock a bit. The green algae on the rocks is keeping the cyano at bay for the most part.
My other corals are doing good too. Even though the candy cane coral is pale it looks like it's gotten a little color back today. That could be wishful thinking but as good as the rest of the corals are doing I believe they are coming back. I might try to feed them tomorrow. I haven't seen feeder tentacles out since they've been in my reef however. I'll see what I can do though. As small as their mouths are they'll obviously need small food. I wish the pods would bloom again sooner rather than later.
I know there are pods in the sump in the chaeto as well as bristle worms. There are probably Asterinas in there too. There are definitely Asterinas in the DT. There are two of them now and they're growing quickly. The only casualties from the move not replenished are my limpets, and my big bloom of pods. There's probably a remnant population of both. Now that there's decent lighting over the DT I am getting cyanobacteria and a green algae growing in the sand and on the rock a bit. The green algae on the rocks is keeping the cyano at bay for the most part.
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Fishy888
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For anyone reading this tank journal I want to clarify some things. I am a budget reefer you could say. I have decided to own it. After all you don't have to be a millionaire to enjoy reefing but you definitely have to put some work into it. You also have to be patient. Sometimes you have to improvise.
I have been fortunate to have a reefing friend who lives close to me. Just 5 months ago I was battling dinos and having little success. I spent 8 months battling dinos. I had a 75 originally and I had a build thread on that tank too. I downsized to a 45 gallon tank and sold the original 75. Things looked good for a bit since I cleaned the sand and rocks. Then they came back with a vengeance. I had several corals in there that the dinos smothered. Then came the green water. These all nearly killed my clowns and they killed my corals.
At that point I put everything up for sale. There were people interested but I kept getting low-ball offers which I refused. My friend immediately gave me a ton of chaeto full of pods. Then she sold me two good sized pieces of rock that was absolutely teeming with life. Both had xenia on them. One had waving hands anthelia on it. The xenia colonies are a good size. They've grown a bit since I got them. She has given me some sage advice which I am following. Some I already knew but some I certainly didn't. The more I learn, the more I see I have to learn.
I just hope whoever reads this thread learns from it. I hope they learn from my mistakes as well as from my triumphs. I've certainly done some downright foolish things but I've learned from them. I still have a long way to go but buckle up 'cause this journey's just begun.
I have been fortunate to have a reefing friend who lives close to me. Just 5 months ago I was battling dinos and having little success. I spent 8 months battling dinos. I had a 75 originally and I had a build thread on that tank too. I downsized to a 45 gallon tank and sold the original 75. Things looked good for a bit since I cleaned the sand and rocks. Then they came back with a vengeance. I had several corals in there that the dinos smothered. Then came the green water. These all nearly killed my clowns and they killed my corals.
At that point I put everything up for sale. There were people interested but I kept getting low-ball offers which I refused. My friend immediately gave me a ton of chaeto full of pods. Then she sold me two good sized pieces of rock that was absolutely teeming with life. Both had xenia on them. One had waving hands anthelia on it. The xenia colonies are a good size. They've grown a bit since I got them. She has given me some sage advice which I am following. Some I already knew but some I certainly didn't. The more I learn, the more I see I have to learn.
I just hope whoever reads this thread learns from it. I hope they learn from my mistakes as well as from my triumphs. I've certainly done some downright foolish things but I've learned from them. I still have a long way to go but buckle up 'cause this journey's just begun.
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Fishy888
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I noticed something Sunday night that seemed strange. One of the two channels on my T5 was out. It turns out that I had programmed it wrong. They had been like that for a good 4 or 5 days. Yesterday both channels were on. The mushroom shrunk back some and the GSP were not out like they were. This was later in the photoperiod though. I turned channel 2 (whites) off manually about 2 hours early. The corals all closed up except the duncans. I think therefore that the corals had enough light to be done for the day.
Just in case the problem was the light being too bright as well as to keep excessive nuisance algae at bay I cut back the duration of whites from 12 hours to 7. I then increased the duration of blues an hour.
The duncans got another feeding tonight. They just seem extra content after a meal. I need to entice the candy cane coral to send out its sweepers and eat. I have tried but since they almost died off they may be too weak to send out sweepers. They seem to be better each day but I don't think they're entirely out of the woods yet.
Last night I cleaned the intake louvers of the return pump. It had a thick mat of algae growth on one side. I then had to turn the return flow down because the DT water level was getting dangerously high. It took a couple hours of tweaking. I needed to get it to where there was enough current in the U-tubes to keep the siphon going without air accumulating in either one; without having the DT flood the apartment.
Today I am going to do my biweekly water change done. Things look pretty good and I want to keep them that way.
Just in case the problem was the light being too bright as well as to keep excessive nuisance algae at bay I cut back the duration of whites from 12 hours to 7. I then increased the duration of blues an hour.
The duncans got another feeding tonight. They just seem extra content after a meal. I need to entice the candy cane coral to send out its sweepers and eat. I have tried but since they almost died off they may be too weak to send out sweepers. They seem to be better each day but I don't think they're entirely out of the woods yet.
Last night I cleaned the intake louvers of the return pump. It had a thick mat of algae growth on one side. I then had to turn the return flow down because the DT water level was getting dangerously high. It took a couple hours of tweaking. I needed to get it to where there was enough current in the U-tubes to keep the siphon going without air accumulating in either one; without having the DT flood the apartment.
Today I am going to do my biweekly water change done. Things look pretty good and I want to keep them that way.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
My Candy Canes always had a pretty decent feeding response to Amino Acids.
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Fishy888
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Thank you for that idea. I also thought about garlic which I may put into my DIY frozen food mix, but I digress ... I'm just grateful that so far the candy canes are looking better. Evidently the person I got the UC zoas from and the candy canes keeps his ALK between 7 and 8. I wish I realized it at the time.
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Fishy888
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I am finally seeing pods for the first time since the upgrade. They are just visible to the naked eye. There's plenty of algae for them to eat, especially in the sump. By November there should be pods everywhere.
All the corals look great. The mushroom is it's normal size. The GSP, which I thought were going the way of the dodo just a few weeks ago, is out in full force. The cabbage leather is wide open. I think it's safe to say the corals like the new lighting schedule. I may still trim 30 minutes off the sunrise and sunset times since the corals are closing up before all the lights are out.
All the corals look great. The mushroom is it's normal size. The GSP, which I thought were going the way of the dodo just a few weeks ago, is out in full force. The cabbage leather is wide open. I think it's safe to say the corals like the new lighting schedule. I may still trim 30 minutes off the sunrise and sunset times since the corals are closing up before all the lights are out.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
Almost ready for a good pod fish! Any thoughts? Wanting a dragonet?
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Fishy888
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Yes. In fact I'd like 2 mandarins or a mandarin and scooter blenny. That might be pushing it but I have boatloads of chaeto these days. I've intentionally left it to grow since I upgraded to the 75. Loads of pod real estate.
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