Leaellynasaura
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Do you live somewhere warm or is it still possible to order fish in the winter? I have wondered how coral/fish survive the temperature changes.
TF's 50G Triton Cube Build
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TechnicalFisher
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Yeah, this is my first time ordering online but I understand that they are packed in heavy styrofoam w/ heat packs. Also, Diver's Den is shipping out of Wisconsin so I am assuming they are good at dealing with the cold. I'll post some picks of how everything's packaged.
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TechnicalFisher
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Received the order from LA/Divers Den today and so far everything is in great shape. I got a McCoskers wrasse and a Yellowfin Wrasse, both of which came from the WI Divers Den facility and a scarlet cleaner shrimp and a few assorted snails and hermits that came in from California. I've read a bunch recently about how folks tend to overestimate the amount of CUC needed so I've decided to start small and see what I need from there.
Both boxes contained heavy duty styrofoam coolers filled with packing peanuts and heat packs. The livestock bags were quadruple-bagged and the water in all was still warm when they arrived, despite the very cold weather. In all, I was very impressed with the packaging.
The wrasses went into the QT for float acclimation and the snails/hermits/shrimp went into a bucket for drip.
Acclimation went smoothly with one exception, with the clean up crew. I didn't think at all about temp in the drip bucket and by the time the hour of acclimation was up the water in the bucket felt pretty cold. This was my first time using the drip method, on my last tank I'm pretty sure I just threw the snails and hermits right in. I quickly got the animals transferred into the tank and they are all doing well, but I was a little freaked out when felt the water, just hadn't thought about the temp dropping.
The wrasses were both in amazing shape right out of the bags. I gave them 4 hrs in the dark and then turned on the lights in the QT. They immediately came out and started swimming and both ate tonight. In had underestimated how beautiful these fish are, their colors and the way they light up are really amazing. Tried to shoot some pics of them flashing but they move so fast it was tough to avoid a blur.
Debating whether I'm going to give them a course of Prazipro during quarantine. I know that DD medicates the fish during their quarantine and don't want to give unnecessary medication but also don't want to take any chances, so need to figure that out.
Both boxes contained heavy duty styrofoam coolers filled with packing peanuts and heat packs. The livestock bags were quadruple-bagged and the water in all was still warm when they arrived, despite the very cold weather. In all, I was very impressed with the packaging.
The wrasses went into the QT for float acclimation and the snails/hermits/shrimp went into a bucket for drip.
Acclimation went smoothly with one exception, with the clean up crew. I didn't think at all about temp in the drip bucket and by the time the hour of acclimation was up the water in the bucket felt pretty cold. This was my first time using the drip method, on my last tank I'm pretty sure I just threw the snails and hermits right in. I quickly got the animals transferred into the tank and they are all doing well, but I was a little freaked out when felt the water, just hadn't thought about the temp dropping.
The wrasses were both in amazing shape right out of the bags. I gave them 4 hrs in the dark and then turned on the lights in the QT. They immediately came out and started swimming and both ate tonight. In had underestimated how beautiful these fish are, their colors and the way they light up are really amazing. Tried to shoot some pics of them flashing but they move so fast it was tough to avoid a blur.
Debating whether I'm going to give them a course of Prazipro during quarantine. I know that DD medicates the fish during their quarantine and don't want to give unnecessary medication but also don't want to take any chances, so need to figure that out.
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TechnicalFisher
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Finally getting around to an update and some photos. Things have been progressing pretty well with the tank. In terms of livestock, the fish are all healthy and doing well, very glad I decided to run a QT setup this time, takes so much of the worry out of it. Unfortunately, at the moment, only one of the flashers remains in the display tank. The yellowfin continually picked on the McCoskers to the point that, finally, I jumped out of the tank. We found him on the carpeting one time and got him back in the DT only to have him jump again later that night. No idea how he pulled it off as I've got a mesh top with only a very small area at the back exposed, but he had it dialed in. After that I wasn't taking any chances and put the McCoskers in the QT where he's doing fine. I think I'll probably end up finding him a new home, don't want to risk putting him back in the DT.
I got a shipment from IPSF in early Feb consisting of Wonder Mud, Liquid N-Reducer, Coralline Algae Booster, Copepods and some snails and micro-hermits. I used IPSF on my last tank way back in 2000 and really looked forward to getting some of Gerald's stuff in this tank. Got some good stuff in the Wonder Mud including some of their mama mia worms and baby bristle worms. It's been fun seeing the sand bed and rocks start to come to life, I've already got lots of pods around.
In mid-February, I broke my promise to go super-slow when I started following an @jfox live sale and couldn't help myself
. Picked up a number of pieces including a hotshot chalice, birdsnest, a couple monti caps, superman monti and scroll coral. So far, everything's doing well, already showing some growth and apparently happy. I have to say that I was amazed by how healthy all of Jason's pieces were when they arrived, I was really extremely pleased with the shipment and am looking forward to purchasing more from him in the coming months.
Been messing around with my DSLR trying to get some decent pics. I've finally gotten the white balance figured and have been able to take some better shots. So, some pics...
JF Neon Hammer
JF Green Goddess Birdsnest
JF Cold Fusion Cap
JF Superman Monti
JF Flying Saucer Scroll
Yellowfin Flasher Wrasse
Full Tank Shot
I'm doing weekly 5g water changes using RSCP salt, with my makeup water on the salty side as I work my tank salinity up to 1.026. I started dosing NO3 PO4X about 3 weeks ago and am down to a .5ml/day dose. I'm also dosing Reef Energy A&B at 2ml of each component every other day. I need to get my nitrates back up a little bit as I just came down to 0 using a 1ml daily dose of the NOPOX. Current parameters are:
N03- 0
PO4- .02
Salinity- 1.025
Calcium- 475
Ph- Current range from 7.86-8.14
Alk- 11 dkh
I'm dosing kalk through the Tunze 1074/Osmolator combo, adding 3tbs of BRS Kalk every 5 days- which corresponds to when I have to refill my 5g ATO container. I had a bit of a hiccup with the Osmolator a week or so ago, it wasn't responding right away when the water level got below the eye and then dosing too much top off to make up for it. As a result, I had a couple of crazy PH swings and things were a bit erratic.
I figured out that I had the sensor eye too close to my ATO hose and guess I was getting deposits on the eye. I've moved it to the opposite end of my sump and now I'm seeing very smooth, stable PH progressions. I'm planning on buying a second power bar for my Apex that I can run in the fish room to control the Osmolator and, when I get it, another dosing pump. In the meantime, I now know to add cleaning the eye to my monthly maintenance items as well. Still dialing in exactly how much kalk to add and when but for the moment 3tbs every 5 days seems to be doing the trick.
About 2 weeks into my cycle I had a diatom bloom and have seen no algae or diatoms since then. Since I used BRS reef saver, I've been itching to see some life develop on the rocks. In the last week, I've started seeing tiny feather duster tubes in a bunch of places, but yet to develop coralline growth (which is interesting as my QT, which is only 2 weeks ahead has a bunch).
I'm still getting the Ethereal dialed in. At first I was running it at 100% with one of the stock lighting programs and, though I don't have a PAR meter, I think I was blasting way too much light. My monti caps and birdsnest lost some color and even my hammer that's down on the sand bed looked a little bleached out. My current program runs the lights between 60% and 70% at peak intensity and the corals seem to like it, with colors improving daily.
I'm running a Gyre 150 pump and have recently moved it from a vertical setup in the back corner of my tank (where it was basically hidden, which I liked) to a horizontal setup on the right-side glass. Though this doesn't look as slick, I'm getting much better flow and not blowing sand out of the corners. I'm still messing around with programs on the controller, but overall like the pump a lot. I'm hoping Maxspect puts out a combined app for the Ethereal and Gyre that lets you control everything from your phone- I read that this is coming, but haven't seen anything yet.
I got a shipment from IPSF in early Feb consisting of Wonder Mud, Liquid N-Reducer, Coralline Algae Booster, Copepods and some snails and micro-hermits. I used IPSF on my last tank way back in 2000 and really looked forward to getting some of Gerald's stuff in this tank. Got some good stuff in the Wonder Mud including some of their mama mia worms and baby bristle worms. It's been fun seeing the sand bed and rocks start to come to life, I've already got lots of pods around.
In mid-February, I broke my promise to go super-slow when I started following an @jfox live sale and couldn't help myself
. Picked up a number of pieces including a hotshot chalice, birdsnest, a couple monti caps, superman monti and scroll coral. So far, everything's doing well, already showing some growth and apparently happy. I have to say that I was amazed by how healthy all of Jason's pieces were when they arrived, I was really extremely pleased with the shipment and am looking forward to purchasing more from him in the coming months.Been messing around with my DSLR trying to get some decent pics. I've finally gotten the white balance figured and have been able to take some better shots. So, some pics...
JF Neon Hammer
JF Green Goddess Birdsnest
JF Cold Fusion Cap
JF Superman Monti
JF Flying Saucer Scroll
Yellowfin Flasher Wrasse
Full Tank Shot
I'm doing weekly 5g water changes using RSCP salt, with my makeup water on the salty side as I work my tank salinity up to 1.026. I started dosing NO3 PO4X about 3 weeks ago and am down to a .5ml/day dose. I'm also dosing Reef Energy A&B at 2ml of each component every other day. I need to get my nitrates back up a little bit as I just came down to 0 using a 1ml daily dose of the NOPOX. Current parameters are:
N03- 0
PO4- .02
Salinity- 1.025
Calcium- 475
Ph- Current range from 7.86-8.14
Alk- 11 dkh
I'm dosing kalk through the Tunze 1074/Osmolator combo, adding 3tbs of BRS Kalk every 5 days- which corresponds to when I have to refill my 5g ATO container. I had a bit of a hiccup with the Osmolator a week or so ago, it wasn't responding right away when the water level got below the eye and then dosing too much top off to make up for it. As a result, I had a couple of crazy PH swings and things were a bit erratic.
I figured out that I had the sensor eye too close to my ATO hose and guess I was getting deposits on the eye. I've moved it to the opposite end of my sump and now I'm seeing very smooth, stable PH progressions. I'm planning on buying a second power bar for my Apex that I can run in the fish room to control the Osmolator and, when I get it, another dosing pump. In the meantime, I now know to add cleaning the eye to my monthly maintenance items as well. Still dialing in exactly how much kalk to add and when but for the moment 3tbs every 5 days seems to be doing the trick.
About 2 weeks into my cycle I had a diatom bloom and have seen no algae or diatoms since then. Since I used BRS reef saver, I've been itching to see some life develop on the rocks. In the last week, I've started seeing tiny feather duster tubes in a bunch of places, but yet to develop coralline growth (which is interesting as my QT, which is only 2 weeks ahead has a bunch).
I'm still getting the Ethereal dialed in. At first I was running it at 100% with one of the stock lighting programs and, though I don't have a PAR meter, I think I was blasting way too much light. My monti caps and birdsnest lost some color and even my hammer that's down on the sand bed looked a little bleached out. My current program runs the lights between 60% and 70% at peak intensity and the corals seem to like it, with colors improving daily.
I'm running a Gyre 150 pump and have recently moved it from a vertical setup in the back corner of my tank (where it was basically hidden, which I liked) to a horizontal setup on the right-side glass. Though this doesn't look as slick, I'm getting much better flow and not blowing sand out of the corners. I'm still messing around with programs on the controller, but overall like the pump a lot. I'm hoping Maxspect puts out a combined app for the Ethereal and Gyre that lets you control everything from your phone- I read that this is coming, but haven't seen anything yet.
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TechnicalFisher
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A copule more pics...
JF HotShot
JF Green Eggs and Ham
I'm going to start feeding the chalice with some BRS Reef Chili to see if I can get some good growth. It's under an overhang right now and seems to be doing pretty well, but I'll consider moving it into a little bit more light if I don't start seeing growth.
The Green Eggs, like the Cold Fusion cap is a little bit faded (they were both incredibly bright when I received them), which I this is a result of my high setting on the Ethereal at first. Since lowering the light intensity I've seen them color back up by probably 30% or so and hopefully that trend will continue.
JF HotShot
JF Green Eggs and Ham
I'm going to start feeding the chalice with some BRS Reef Chili to see if I can get some good growth. It's under an overhang right now and seems to be doing pretty well, but I'll consider moving it into a little bit more light if I don't start seeing growth.
The Green Eggs, like the Cold Fusion cap is a little bit faded (they were both incredibly bright when I received them), which I this is a result of my high setting on the Ethereal at first. Since lowering the light intensity I've seen them color back up by probably 30% or so and hopefully that trend will continue.
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TechnicalFisher
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Thanks! Yeah, can't wait to see the HotShot grow out a bit.
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Quick update- it's amazing the little things that you can get excited about in this hobby. After 2 1/2 months of bare rock, last night I spotted the first specks of pink (and some green) coralline algae on my BRS reef saver. Never have started with dry rock so really looking forward to watching it come to life. My wife was understandably mystified by my excitement about the specks on my rocks...
Also shot just a little bit of video of the full tank.
Also shot just a little bit of video of the full tank.
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TechnicalFisher
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Still slowly moving the tank along. Have struggled a bit with low nutrients since starting NOPOX so recently stopped it and am looking to get my nitrates up between 2 and 5 to help with growth and color. Otherwise, things are pretty stable. Recently added a few new frags (2 acros and some zoas) and was messing around over the weekend taking some pics.
New order coming from LiveAquaria tomorrow to finish out my fish stocking.
New order coming from LiveAquaria tomorrow to finish out my fish stocking.
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TechnicalFisher
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TechnicalFisher
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Time for a long-overdue update on the thank. Over the last 5-6 months I struggled with a lengthy outbreak of chrysophtes (cured with the help of @mcarroll @reeferfoxx and others) that took me a few months to get straight. Short story on that is I learned the hard way that using dry rock and running an ULNS is a recipe for strange algae outbreaks. A couple months of nutrient dosing and the tank got back to looking good.
Subsequently, around July, I lost a number of my early frags to a couple of big ALK swings that smoked my JF chalice and a couple of acros and my birdsnest. I was running my ATO with kalk and I think that the variability in evaporation might have been part of the issue. In an effort to get things more stable, in September, I switched the tank over to Triton system, modded the sump to accommodate a fuge and, since that time, have gotten on the road to stability. After about 9 months, I finally started seeing heavy growth of corraline alage and many organisms and my once-dead dry rock is really starting to look like the real deal.
Last month, I put in a Battlebox order with Adam at @Battlecorals to jump start my acro collection and the tank is finally starting to come along. My experience with BC was amazing, from the very generous selection of corals I got from Adam, to his incredible follow-up and customer service helping me make sure that everything acclimated well. Within just a week, many of my new frags were already starting to encrust and doing great. I can't recommend enough choosing BC for coral purchases.
Just when things were starting to look good, had a brief hiccup two weeks ago when my house sump failed and flooded my basement. Had to do a 100% tank breakdown and rebuild in a single day to move it so that the flooring could go in. I was bummed to say the least, particularly since it came so soon on the heels of me adding all of my new BC corals. Miraculously, not only did all of my corals do OK, I actually found 2 fish that I thought were goners- a yellow assessor that's taken to living inside a piece of rock and my leopard wrasse, who apparently has become nocturnal.
So, that brings us up to date. Here are a few update photos of the full tank and a few of my new additions. Hoping to do better with updates now that the tank is starting to settle in. For the first time I'm really starting to see daily growth on many of my frags so I'm hoping things are getting ready to roll!
FTS
BC Pink Milli
BC Forest Fire Digi and JF Superman Monti
BC Forest Fire Digi Overhead
BC Shades of Fall
BC Dale's Purple
JF Purple Hammer
Beginnings of my Zoa Island
Zoa Island Overhead
Zoas Close Up
Subsequently, around July, I lost a number of my early frags to a couple of big ALK swings that smoked my JF chalice and a couple of acros and my birdsnest. I was running my ATO with kalk and I think that the variability in evaporation might have been part of the issue. In an effort to get things more stable, in September, I switched the tank over to Triton system, modded the sump to accommodate a fuge and, since that time, have gotten on the road to stability. After about 9 months, I finally started seeing heavy growth of corraline alage and many organisms and my once-dead dry rock is really starting to look like the real deal.
Last month, I put in a Battlebox order with Adam at @Battlecorals to jump start my acro collection and the tank is finally starting to come along. My experience with BC was amazing, from the very generous selection of corals I got from Adam, to his incredible follow-up and customer service helping me make sure that everything acclimated well. Within just a week, many of my new frags were already starting to encrust and doing great. I can't recommend enough choosing BC for coral purchases.
Just when things were starting to look good, had a brief hiccup two weeks ago when my house sump failed and flooded my basement. Had to do a 100% tank breakdown and rebuild in a single day to move it so that the flooring could go in. I was bummed to say the least, particularly since it came so soon on the heels of me adding all of my new BC corals. Miraculously, not only did all of my corals do OK, I actually found 2 fish that I thought were goners- a yellow assessor that's taken to living inside a piece of rock and my leopard wrasse, who apparently has become nocturnal.
So, that brings us up to date. Here are a few update photos of the full tank and a few of my new additions. Hoping to do better with updates now that the tank is starting to settle in. For the first time I'm really starting to see daily growth on many of my frags so I'm hoping things are getting ready to roll!
FTS
BC Pink Milli
BC Forest Fire Digi and JF Superman Monti
BC Forest Fire Digi Overhead
BC Shades of Fall
BC Dale's Purple
JF Purple Hammer
Beginnings of my Zoa Island
Zoa Island Overhead
Zoas Close Up
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TechnicalFisher
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Thanks @MrMichael!
Definitely like the stability of the doser, though I'm still tweaking to get air bubbles out of my output line...
Definitely like the stability of the doser, though I'm still tweaking to get air bubbles out of my output line...
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TechnicalFisher
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A few more pics...
BC Secale
JF Purple Hammer Overhead
BC Excaliber
Struggling to get a shot that does the Excaliber justice- it's colors are crazy. Sort of a yellow-green with shades or orange that are getting stronger each day. Very cool piece.
FTS
BC Secale
JF Purple Hammer Overhead
BC Excaliber
Struggling to get a shot that does the Excaliber justice- it's colors are crazy. Sort of a yellow-green with shades or orange that are getting stronger each day. Very cool piece.
FTS
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TechnicalFisher
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And a little vid...
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Well, after about a year up and running and about 9 months of waiting, I'm finally getting some GROWTH in my SPS! Some are getting cranked up faster than others, but all are showing signs of growth and some of the BattleCorals that I added last month are really taking off.
BC Dale's Purple
BC Secale
BC Forest Fire Digi
BC Excaliber
The Dale's Purple Unknown, BC Secale and Forest Fire Digi have been growing the fastest and of all of them, the Dale's has really taken off first pic is November 17, second is December 15.
Also picked up a couple things from AcanLord this month, including a nice Rainbow Dreamsicle Acan that's setting in and doing great.
Still working on getting my Triton dosing really dialed in and keeping my ALK stable at 8. Had it creep up a little bit in the last week (.5 or so) but nothing seemed to mind. Also have been dosing AcroPower and the corals all seem very happy.
Also getting ready to add the final stocking of fish- a few PJ and Banggai Cardinals coming in today to go in QT.
BC Dale's Purple
BC Secale
BC Forest Fire Digi
BC Excaliber
The Dale's Purple Unknown, BC Secale and Forest Fire Digi have been growing the fastest and of all of them, the Dale's has really taken off first pic is November 17, second is December 15.
Also picked up a couple things from AcanLord this month, including a nice Rainbow Dreamsicle Acan that's setting in and doing great.
Still working on getting my Triton dosing really dialed in and keeping my ALK stable at 8. Had it creep up a little bit in the last week (.5 or so) but nothing seemed to mind. Also have been dosing AcroPower and the corals all seem very happy.
Also getting ready to add the final stocking of fish- a few PJ and Banggai Cardinals coming in today to go in QT.
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