Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build

[SPR1968]

Nice looking tank Shaun! Sorry to hear about your fish dying. Not sure what's causing it, maybe an infectious disease as mentioned already, but probably not the BTA. I think it probably grabbed the chevron when it was already moribund and floated into it. If you touch the BTA, you'll notice that it isn't all that sticky to your finger. Well, same for fish. Touch the surface of a healthy haddoni carpet nem, on the other hand, and it will latch on with every tentacle that touches you and be disinclined to let go. That's why haddonis are called fish eaters. My Foxface had a near miss about a month ago (the scars have healed up nicely though.)

Thanks for stopping by Randy, and I think I agree the anemone is wrongly accused! Lol

They have one of those Haddoni anemones at the LFS, not the LFS I won’t be using again but my other main one. The guy has a scare all down his arm were the haddoni had grabbed his arm in a customers tank while doing maintenance. It wasn’t pretty or healed that’s for sure! At that point I decided it wasn’t for me!

It’s very strange how these things affect fish, and which ones, but it’s exactly what @Brew12 said, spot on.

 

[SPR1968]

Here’s a picture of my smaller white anemone. He’s moved a little from were I placed him.......

 

[SPR1968]

I’ll do a bit more of an update on the few casualties I had recently, but all is now well and once I’ve gathered my thoughts i can document what I think and what I’ve learned. I stopped dosing Medic after just a few days as I don’t believe it was necessary.

As you may recall, I had a Triton ICP test and despite my Red Sea Magnesium test kits always showing very high levels, the ICP test said is was low at around 1224ppm and not 14-1500+. I then discovered the accuracy of my kit (+/- 100ppm!) which they now show on at least part of their web site (they never used to) although it now looks like newer versions are out. Mine is still in date but clearly absolute rubbish.

Today I did a Red Sea calcium test with there kit which I’ve always used, last one 460, first one today 270, second one today 280ppm! Still in date. So I was thinking maybe the buckets of magnesium powder I’ve been adding have depleted the calcium, because I appreciate they are linked. So I was about to do a big Calcium top up, having done 2 tests from my trusty kit, when I thought NO Shaun. On this very day the new NYOS Calcium and Magnesium test kits arrived along with my Aqua Medic fish trap/acclimatisation box.

So I tested Calcium again and the NYOS came out at 460 which is in line with we’re it should be, not 270!
Result - Red Sea Calcium test kit in the bin

So then I thought I’d try the NYOS Magnesium.
So due to low magnesium levels discovered from the Triton I calculated (see previous posts) that I would need around 335g of Foundation C (Magnesium) to bring the levels back to around 1310ppm. Over the last week I’ve been bringing the level up and have added around 240g so far. When I tested magnesium it came out today at 1290ppm and that means I need to add around another 100g of magnesium powder to get to 1310 which is pretty much spot on with the results and calculations from the Triton ICP test results working back.
Result - Red Sea Magnesium test kit in the bin (well it already was!!lol)

If you haven’t tried NYOS then I would, because they are in my view just better, they are. The syringes, vials just feel more accurate, the tests are easier to see the results. And the error margins +/- are much much smaller. Just my view and you can clearly see I’ve fallen out of love with the Red Sea kits, the magnesium of which could have/did cause my system serious issues.

I was looking at lack of growth from corals, which I have never had, and was putting it down to ‘coral warfare’ and their chemicals etc but it’s very likely to be a lack of magnesium and some are starting to look much better already

Have you read war and piece............ I’ll stop now! Lol

 

[fabutahoun]

Almost the same experience here, I never liked the red sea test kits, however the I like the titrator and the color wheel !! My favorite is Salifert, except for NO3 and PO4. I am using NYOS NO3 and PO4 and I like them. I also Used Nyos Mg in the past.

 

[najer]

Nice fts, I hope it turns around for you soon.

A current list of my kits -
- Salifert Kh.
The end!

 

[najer]

Nice fts, I hope it turns around for you soon.

A current list of my kits -
- Salifert Kh.
The end!

Actually I forgot that I bought the Potassium Salifert kit but that is for a dip experiment!

 

[rkpetersen]

Test kits can really be frustrating. I have tried so many over the last couple of years. Every major hobbyist brand and some semi-pro ones as well. Compared them to each other, and then compared my top choices to ICP-OES testing. Here's what I'm using right now.

Alkalinity - Hanna dKH Checker. Backup - Giesemann.
Calcium - Hanna Checker.
Magnesium - Salifert.
Potassium - Salifert.
Phosphate - Hanna ULR Phosphorus Checker.
Nitrate - Nyos. Plan on testing, and will probably adopt, @Rick Mathew's nitrate test (Red Sea Nitrate Pro reagents + Hanna Nitrite Checker) as soon as I get the nitrite checker.
QT Ammonia - SeaChem Ammonia Badge. Backup - Red Sea.

 

[SPR1968]

An interesting thing that I’ve realised, is that I have a lot of fish that I’ve had since I started out, like the Yellow and Regal Tangs, Blue Throat Triggers, Chromis, Damsels, Dougy my Blenny, and many more and these are all unaffected by any possible issues that arose, if there were infact any, in the tank. So all of my core marine friends, thankfully, are alive and well and thriving with no signs of any illness.

So all of the long terms inhabitants are fine, but some of the fish I’ve added in the last 6-12 months are the ones that seem to have suffered, not necessary recently, and this leads me to think that although they were ‘allowed’ to live in the reef, they may well have been doing so under a cloud and threat from the other fish, and as such didn’t completely fit in or fully accepted. To this end many have, over a period of time, succumbed for whatever reason, starvation, reduced immunity due to stress etc. There have been a few, and it’s only when I think we’re is that wrasse, or whatever you realise that they’ve gone!

Adding the sea anemone may have brought some bacterial issue, but probably not. At the time the Chevron Tang passed, I had forgotten that he had had a small round batch on his side, that had been there for 6 months, and I often wondered what it was and possibly that was what killed him finally.

I think we forget that when we’re adding new fish to our tanks, were interfering with the homes and territories of the existing occupants who have their boundaries and don’t want us messing with them, and I can now understand why new fish are often harassed to death when I happily drop them in expecting them all to get on like long lost friends. They basically don’t.

Anyway, all is well so let’s get back on track with a picture one of my marine friends......

 

[Janci]

Very true.
We humans also do not always get well together in a closed environment.
Especially when it is not the natural environment.

Lovely picture

 

[SPR1968]

Very true.
We humans also do not always get well together in a closed environment.
Especially when it is not the natural environment.

Lovely picture

Thanks Janci and exactly true yes.

If somebody dropped 2 or more strangers at my door, sat them down at my dinner table and they ate my favourite steak, then got in my bed, what would I do!

 

[Fudsey]

Sounds like something that actually makes sense....

Nice pic ! !

 

[SPR1968]

This little fellow came out to play today, I haven’t seen him for ages....

 

[najer]

This little fellow came out to play today, I haven’t seen him for ages....

With ones I have had in the past they all appeared once they started to get hungry, just a thought, I love them!

 

[SPR1968]

With ones I have had in the past they all appeared once they started to get hungry, just a thought, I love them!

Thanks for reminding me of that Simon because most of the asterina starfish have gone, so I best keep an eye on him and take him back to the LFS if I can catch him

 

[najer]

I have traded a few back in!

 

[Fudsey]

Drop a chocolate chip star in there. It'll keep him going for a while...

 

[rkpetersen]

With ones I have had in the past they all appeared once they started to get hungry, just a thought, I love them!

This, 100%. If I feed my pair a chocolate chip star arm, I won't see either one of them again at all for 3 or 4 days. Then they come back out and about, hunting asterinas. I never see any asterinas on the glass or rocks, despite having put well over 100 in the tank in batches over the last 6 months or so. The Harlequins are very efficient.

 

[PanchoG]

With ones I have had in the past they all appeared once they started to get hungry, just a thought, I love them!

Hi!!!

 

[mta_morrow]

An interesting thing that I’ve realised, is that I have a lot of fish that I’ve had since I started out, like the Yellow and Regal Tangs, Blue Throat Triggers, Chromis, Damsels, Dougy my Blenny, and many more and these are all unaffected by any possible issues that arose, if there were infact any, in the tank. So all of my core marine friends, thankfully, are alive and well and thriving with no signs of any illness.

So all of the long terms inhabitants are fine, but some of the fish I’ve added in the last 6-12 months are the ones that seem to have suffered, not necessary recently, and this leads me to think that although they were ‘allowed’ to live in the reef, they may well have been doing so under a cloud and threat from the other fish, and as such didn’t completely fit in or fully accepted. To this end many have, over a period of time, succumbed for whatever reason, starvation, reduced immunity due to stress etc. There have been a few, and it’s only when I think we’re is that wrasse, or whatever you realise that they’ve gone!

Adding the sea anemone may have brought some bacterial issue, but probably not. At the time the Chevron Tang passed, I had forgotten that he had had a small round batch on his side, that had been there for 6 months, and I often wondered what it was and possibly that was what killed him finally.

I think we forget that when we’re adding new fish to our tanks, were interfering with the homes and territories of the existing occupants who have their boundaries and don’t want us messing with them, and I can now understand why new fish are often harassed to death when I happily drop them in expecting them all to get on like long lost friends. They basically don’t.

Anyway, all is well so let’s get back on track with a picture one of my marine friends......

I really enjoyed this post Shaun.

I’m sorry you lost some fish. That’s always tough.

I value my fish far more than any coral. For me the coral is a by product of having a fish tank.

I have been very selective and researched a lot to find fish that I can keep in groups and will get along well and live in different areas of the tank.

With the exception of rehoming a yellow tang due to aggression issues with my foxface, I feel I have accomplished that.

Thanks for putting a very important aspect of fish keeping into perspective.

Mike

 

[SPR1968]

I really enjoyed this post Shaun.

I’m sorry you lost some fish. That’s always tough.

I value my fish far more than any coral. For me the coral is a by product of having a fish tank.

I have been very selective and researched a lot to find fish that I can keep in groups and will get along well and live in different areas of the tank.

With the exception of rehoming a yellow tang due to aggression issues with my foxface, I feel I have accomplished that.

Thanks for putting a very important aspect of fish keeping into perspective.

Mike

Thanks Mike

I was trying to think of a way to explain what I was thinking at the time.

I found the following article quite interesting for anyone who hasn’t read it.

https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/6/fish