A Saga: Nikki's 120 gallon

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I meant to add to the above post that I've been doing some searching on feedback about www.vividaquariums.com , and I cant find a single negative comment about them.....On RC no less! One person stated:
"I just picked up several fish and an anemone from Vivid and everything came through in excellent condition. I would just about go so far as to say I'd not buy fish anywhere else.
I've purchased from every major online fish retailer out there and these were far and away superior to anything I can find either online or locally.
Fat, happy, and eating the first day. I'm maybe three weeks in with them and haven't lost a thing."
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=487414

The person who posted this is also pretty sharp. I've read several of his posts and he knows his stuff and is someone I would listen to for reef knowledge...not trying to make this an advertisement for Vivid, I just know you were looking at buying something from them.....now I am too.

Nick
 
I shop at vivid too. I cant say enough about how well I am treated and the quality of livestock I recieve. Dave is just a great guy. Steve
 
Nikki, for some time now I've been fighting a similar issue with algae, of a different type but similar conditions. This green stuff would grow on the LR and isn't easily harvested (thin layered & covered the LR like it was well attached). It slowly came about since removal of my DSB, the DSB had it's own algae's. I've cooked most of my LR and reduced the amount of LR so I could get more continuous cross flow. The rocks I've cooked basically have little life on them as compared to when I first scrubbed & dumped them in a tub almost 2.5 months ago. I'm slowly introducing the rocks back into the tank, in about a month I'll add the next batch. The LR I left in the main tank has cleared up after several weeks of heavy rock blowing, vacuuming, & water changes. For the first time in a while the tank is starting to look better but for now. I won't add any extra bio-load until the tank stabilizes, maybe in 3 or 4 months depending how the New Cooked rocks cover with coralline. I think part of the problem occurred because all of this LR was in a DSB & getting loaded with build-up & the algae problems was because of the LR catching up with itself after the DSB removal. Guess we will see, it surely a learning process, even after following all the rules of husbandry I still had problems. I really think this time around it will be better, I may even one day have the reef back up LOL!
 
Looks like a reef tank that is begging form some life in it Nikki. Let stock that baby up and give the algae some competition.

Mike
 
I would highly recommend a sea hare. We but 2 in the LFS 180 and in a few weeks a bad HA problem was almost completely gone. It turned out that our RO membrane was bad. Fixed that and all is well now.
Just be sure to remove any power heads...
Ah that may be a problem for you. If the closed loop pump is a monster it will suck the hares up.
I love my foxface and kole tang. The fox cleans the rocks and the kole is a window washer :) My tuxedo urchin helps to but does knock frags over.
Hope it clears up soon for ya
 
hair algae

hi nikki,
i think you and i set up our tanks around the same time last summer. i am also having a hair algae problem that is a little baffling. i don't have a tds meter but when i test my ro water for phosphates it is always 0.
I will try to condense 6 months of trial and error into 1 paragraph. when the hair first appeared i had just increased the lighting period and i thought that was the cause so i reduced my lighting drastically(10 hours vho 4 hours mh). didn't help. my aquarium water always tests between .5 and1.0 mg per liter phosphate even after a 50 gallon(1/3) water change.
I have a mantis that i am in the process of trying to catch, as soon as i do i will restock with some more hermits. I have controlled the algae lately with manual extraction, tang infestation(1 sailfin,1 Pacific surgeonfish(that is what my lfs calls it) and a Kole tang), I turned the uv sterilizer on about 4 weeks ago and i have kept it on .
i change 50 gallons every 2 weeks, I keep the feeding down to every other day and i cyclopeeze once a week . i clean the pre filters in the overflows every other day and clean the skimmer cup every day. now the algae is finally, slowly disappearing.
I am not suggesting that you need to do anything different . you know much more about this stuff than i do. i figure if some one else with a hair algae problem reads this maybe something will click and it might help them.

one thing i forgot, i know you have that massive closed loop system so you probably don't have this issue but i notice a couple dead spots in the front corners of my tank. i put in 2 300 gph powerheads to keep the rock clean and where i removed algae, it hasn't come back.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the input everyone! I have a Magnificant Rabbitfish on order. My UV is going to be installed today, so hopefully that will make a dent. When I blasted the rocks off yesterday, I noticed a ton of detritus. I added some large turbos, and they have been chowing like crazy - the areas where the detritus came from are areas that once had algae. Amazingly, my 2 lettuce nudis are still with me. I have seen them blowing around the tank while I'm blasting rocks. If I see one, I'll try and grab it so it doesn't get sucked into the closed loop. I am going to do some more manual extaction today, and a 25 gallon water change tomorrow. I don't feed my tank, so food input isn't there, and the TDS from my RO/DI unit reads 0. I have tested for phosphates (Salifert) from the water column and also from the inside of my live rock. Both readings were 0. However, the algae is feeding off of something. Reefaddict - thanks for posting your algae issue. I think it will help others, especially when figuring out what the source is, and the pathways you can take to eliminate it.

Hope to have some updated pics soon! I'll post shots of the UV and installation.
 
Update 2/1/05

Here is the latest and greatest news from the mini-beast.

My UV is installed and running beautifully. I have it plumbed on the return pump (Mag 12), with flow coming in at ~400 gph. The water now enters the tank on the right hand side.

My order from Vivid Aquariums arrived today. First want to say - very well packed. I ordered a Magnificant Rabbitfish and a 6-line wrasse. After a 2+ hour acclimation, both went into my tank with lights off. I had the closed loop on, but noticed the wrasse just sticking to one spot, so I temporarily turned off the closed loop. The wrasse within a few minutes was cruising the tank and picking at the rock. Awesome specimen! The rabbitfish I added about 20 minutes later. Didn't take too long, before I noticed it hiding under a rock, but picking at algae. Woohoo! About 30 minutes later she was cruising around, getting her colors, looking good, and picking away. I had the lights off all day, and will resume a photoperiod tomorrow. I will also turn the closed loop on, and see how everyone handles the flow (crossing my fingers), and I'm feeling a little nervous about it.

It was hysterical last night watching me try to catch my misbehaved bicolor blenny. I think I had steam coming out of my ears. Hopefully, with the aid of a trap, I'll catch him within the next week. Poor guy - he didn't know what to think when I added these fish - he's had this tank all to himself over several months. I've never seen him out this much. So far, so good, though...he hasn't shown any aggression.

I'll try and get some pics in the next few days.
 
I managed to take a few pics today:

Here is a shot of my 40 watt AquaUV Sterilizer...

450UV.jpg
 
The lights turned on at their normal schedule, and everyone was alive. Whew! The rabbitfish did a small freak out, then was just hanging around the back bottom of the tank. I was concerned about turning on the closed loop, but where she was sitting, the flow wouldn't effect her......so I cut the flow back, and turned it on. She immediately perked up, and began munching on algae near her hiding spot. The six-line was cruising around as if nothing changed, and the blenny was trying to figure out where he needed to perch. I did catch the blenny, once today, go after the six-line's tail, so I hope to trap him by the weekend. I monitored everyone's behavior, and the rabbitfish spent a bit of time hiding, but occasionally would cruise around. She ate a good sized tuft of algae near her hiding spot, and I was glad to see she at least found my algae palatable.

The first picture is right before I started acclimation. The next ones are of the Magnificant Rabbitfish (Siganus magnifica). Even though I have a good camera, these pics are horrible. The first pic she was hiding, and the second was right after one of the MHs turned off, so she's getting ready for bed (I'm embarassed to even post this shot its so horrible, but you can see her coloration a little better).
 
I figured taking pics of a six-line would be difficult, but MAN! More non-photo contest winner shots, to show you that I should never be a professional photographer. This little six-line is my absolute favorite. Great colors, and a great personality. He has been a lot of fun....anytime I approach the tank, he zips over and looks at me. Again....my algae is hopefully on its way out. (since you get a nice close-up)
 
Thanks! Chuck - so far the rabbitfish is doing well. Eating algae like crazy right now....of course its algae you can't see because it is in the back, but at least its eating.

hahahaha! Mike - that ya'll seemed to roll pretty easy off your fingers ;) . Now I'll just wait another 8 months before adding anything else. hehehehe
 
Very Nice Nikki!!!
I'm liking the colors of your Mag Rabbit......hmmmmm...........Mag Rabbit....Magic Rabbit......
Well see how the algae does now.
Nick
 
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