Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That sounds like a lot of work. Looks good!

Thanks. And yes it was a massive amount of heavy manual labor. Just about at my limit.

I also managed to get some substantial poison ivy on my arms when I first put in the steps. Fortunately, that was a couple of weeks ago and it has receded.

 

[vlangel]

I love the pond and the natural looking water feature. Very nice and good job!

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

I do love the log sluice/trough. Is it spring fed or runoff?

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

Never mind. I guess it is a low voltage pump after re-reading.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do love the log sluice/trough. Is it spring fed or runoff?

The pond was dug 70 years ago and is spring fed from underneath it. In winter I’ve seen where water coming up churns the sand in a couple of places as it bubbles up. I found that location because occasional rising bubbles can make ice form last there.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Never mind. I guess it is a low voltage pump after re-reading.

Yes, the system has the panel, a charge controller with a usb port, a lithium battery, and the pump attached by a long usb cable. It’s the second pump. The first ones didn’t last a day before failing. I upped to price to a $15 pump and flow is much better. I hope it lasts, but replacing once in a while is no biggie at that cost.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Surprise Demise

I was surprised to see a dead mantis shrimp on the tank bottom this morning. I don’t know if it was the only one or not, nor why it died. I read they only live a few years, so it may have just been old. Or perhaps it fought something in the tank and lost, such as another mantis or a crab.

While I’m sorry for it, the snails and such may have an easier time surviving now. I’ll have to listen closely for a while to see if I still hear a mantis snap or not.

 

[Euphylliaphyle]

Surprise Demise

I was surprised to see a dead mantis shrimp on the tank bottom this morning. I don’t know if it was the only one or not, nor why it died. I read they only live a few years, so it may have just been old. Or perhaps it fought something in the tank and lost, such as another mantis or a crab.

While I’m sorry for it, the snails and such may have an easier time surviving now. I’ll have to listen closely for a while to see if I still hear a mantis snap or not.

Of course I have no clue what happened, but I'm thinking a crab big enough to kill it might have eaten it. I don't know how close you two were but sorry for your loss?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Of course I have no clue what happened, but I'm thinking a crab big enough to kill it might have eaten it. I don't know how close you two were but sorry for your loss?

I'd say we were not close enough to be grieving since it is likely the reason lots of snails have perished over the past year. My daughter with the mantis tank was planning some time to catch it like she did the other one and take it to her tank, but that won't be possible , obviously, unless there are more. I know there is at least one in the sump since I put it there a while back and sometimes hear a snap from it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Heard some snaps after lights out last night, so there likely is another mantis. Might also mean a territory battle was the issue. They reportedly are territorial.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Videos from Today

All is going fine. :)

 

[vlangel]

Videos from Today

All is going fine. :)

Looking good Randy. That's a lot of happy fish!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Looking good Randy. That's a lot of happy fish!

Thanks! :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Chemistry Update

pH at 1 pm in refugium (dark) 8.0

Alk 8.3 dKH perfect and stable

Nitrate 0.4 ppm. Too low. Restarting ammonium bicarbonate dosing at about 0.2 ppm per day total ammonia, spread out in 3 portions of about 23 minutes each, during the daytime.

phosphate 0.27 ppm. Seems fine to me

Curiously, while nearly all of my coralline is pink/purple of a few different shades, I saw this area that does look like green coralline to me. It is in a fairly shaded area. I’ll try to get a better picture in the future when the glass is cleaner.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Macroalgae collection

I collected some macroalgae from the nearby ocean. Several types look interesting, but the internet is fairly negative on using them.

Here’s a picture of the refugium with them added:

The long stringy brown one is chorda filum. It has endless common names, but grows in the shallows attached to a rock under or on the substrate. I collected a lot hoping it would either feed the fish, or grow. Most macro around here are temperate species and supposedly won’t grow in warm water, but the water in the 1” depth today was warmer than my tank. I hope that may mean it will grow some before dying. Supposedly it is too tough for fish, but we will see.

Here is some in my hand, actually attached to a snail shell with a live hermit in it. I pulled it off his shell. lol

.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If I find any the fish like or that seem to grow, I’ll definitely post the info.

Other species collected include codium fragilis (an invasive species here). Those are the get dark green ones above. All that I collected were loose.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Next you will be asking @Paul B where to collect the good asphalt, bottles and railroad spikes.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Next you will be asking @Paul B where to collect the good asphalt, bottles and railroad spikes.

lol

I did nearly manage to fall in. Those seaweed covered rocks are very slippery, and the barnacles just underneath are very sharp. Purell burns like crazy, but my wife said it was better than a getting an infection of flesh eating bacteria. lol

 

[BeanAnimal]

lol

I did nearly manage to fall in. Those seaweed covered rocks are very slippery, and the barnacles just underneath are very sharp. Purell burns like crazy, but my wife said it was better than a getting an infection of flesh eating bacteria. lol

We used to paddle across the inlet at Wrightsville beach to Mansonboro island to catch the break there, a shipping lane and a 1/4 mile paddle through insane current. Anyway, my first trip a friend says "be careful the rocks are really slippery on the Masonboro side."

As I stepped out of the water onto the rip-rap, I thought "what a baby, slippery.. meh?" and then I stepped on the second rock. Long story short, I am lucky I am alive. I am rather sure that I surfed with a concussion that day and I don't remember the paddle back to Wrightsville.

Those rocks are like teflon coated ice.

But better and a much longer story than there is room for here, we had a friends friend come on a surfing trip to Barbado, Short version. He was trying to hang with us surfing breaks he had no business paddling out in. Day 3 of a 2.5 week trip he got absolutely rolled across a shallow reef (knee deep) by 1.5x overhead wave. He stood in shock as if to say "I'm good" and within seconds you could see trickles of blood seeping form hundreds of razor cuts all over his chest, back, arms and shoulders, knees, etc. like he had been tenderized. Then he stepped on several black long spine urchins trying to walk in.

We poured peroxide on him for 2 weeks. He fizzed like mentos in coke every time and screamed like a little kid at the dentist. It was amazing. Yes, I said that out loud, worth the price of admission and then some. One of the greatest things I have ever seen and been part of... in an that odd kind of way.

I am glad you didn't get hurt Randy.