Ellylove's 46 Gallon Bow Front (VERY Pic Heavy!)

[Myteemouse]

cool glad to hear it and thanks for the update..

 

[Ellylove]

cool glad to hear it and thanks for the update..

Thanks!! I am getting pics up right now. I'm just waiting for them to load on my comp. Btw, I have some rics for Crystal and some zoas for you when I have enough to frag. Thanks so much for helping me get started! I'd still love some encrusting montis (especially that amazing sunset) from you when I have the money. And a frag of the setosa. I keep dreaming. You have first dibs on anything from my tank that you would like a frag of.

 

[Ellylove]

For only being a little over 3 months old, I'm VERY happy with my tank!

He's kinda hard to see, but here's Herbie!!

See how skinny he is? I hope he gets nice and plump in my tank.

 

[Ellylove]

Here's a very happy and healthy (albeit skinny) Herbie! He was eating frozen brine and mysis and picking at pods today so hopefully he plumps up pretty fast.

I'm really glad he doesn't just hide all the time. He's actually been out every time I've looked at the tank. My lfs is getting live pods on Thursday so I'll be picking him up some. I'll put 3/4 in the fuge and 1/4 in the tank so he can snack and they can reproduce.

 

[Ellylove]

It makes me so happy to look at those pics of Herbie and see the difference between now and then. He's still thin, but no where near as skinny as when I first got him. He's VERY happy in my tank. I got him some tiger pods last week and he's been picking at the rocks like crazy as well as enjoying frozen mysis. If I could find my camera cord, I'd post a video of him chowing down on frozen food. My lfs was shocked to see him eat frozen.
I've been having a little gha problem lately after a huge cyano outbreak. I used chemi clean and all the cyano is long gone. The gha is now being taken care of by a few new snails. I think that the hermits killing some of my old snails and them landing on their backs and dying gave the gha a chance to grow. My zoas are starting to grow and several have babies. I haven't seen my cleaner shrimp in a few days because of that meanie pseudochromis. I'll be so glad when he's gone (more on that in a sec). My clowns have an outbreak of either velvet or brooksynella. Either way, I've dipped them a couple times in (I can't remember what it's called... Starts with an F and is really helping). The mandarin and pseudo have absolutely no sign of it. Sadly, I was using some Joe's Juice and it clumped up into tiny pieces and my anemone grabbed a bunch of it. He was REALLY unhappy/melting for a few days. He seemed like he was getting a lot better and then one day, he was gone. Just "poof". I think the peppermints got to him overnight and ate him (I'd seen them picking at his melting parts a little before). Other than the clowns needing to getting better and the gha, everything is great. : )

Now, for the plans... My sweetheart gets leave from Iraq sometime next month. We are planning to get married in September and move into an apartment. When he gets out of the Army in about 2 years from now, we will be moving to NC so he can go to school. What does this have to do with the tank? Well, I think a 46 gallon might be too hard and a PITA to move and too big for an apartment. My lfs is willing to do a pretty much straight across trade for a 29 gallon HQI tank. I'd sell the extra lr (keep your eye out for an add. One piece I paid $80 on sale at Barrier and it is REALLY cool looking, but too big for a nano). I plan on keeping the mandarin (of course) my shrimps, snails, hermits, zoas, gsp, sand, and clowns. My friend is friends with a seahorse breeder and I'm going to set the tank up with them in mind (they eat frozen food [I've seen it] and are breed and raised at a higher temp so they will do fine with every one else). Sorry there aren't any pics. Thanks for following!

 

[Ellylove]

Updates! It's been a while...
I got rid of the pseudochromis, got a lawnmower blenny that mysteriously died, tried another and it didn't do well either, got a pearly jawfish that lasted a month and then went carpet surfing. Now I have a 6 line wrasse to help with the tiny amount of rust colored flatworms that showed up on one rock but I've only had him a day so I don't know if he's eating them yet or not. Herbie is getting nice and plump and is having a blast picking at the rocks all day. I lost both of my cleaner shrimp due to a mysterious blackening of their gills. The peppermints weren't effected and the 2 new cleaners I have are REALLY REALLY active and have no problems (they are both egg laden).
I switched my lighting with one my lfs had on one of their tanks and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! No more light shadow!! Yay!! It has plugs for 3 lights but the middle one doesn't work (probably due to a blown ballast) and I need to get it replaced. I also had a friend come over and help me arrange my liverock and it looks way better. There are little caves all over and it looks so cool! All my zoas are taking off like crazy and I've added a few more. I've decided that I'm definitely overfeeding my tank as is evident by the sudden appearance of flatworms and the very happy bristle worms in my tank as well as some increased algae growth. I'm cutting back starting today.

As for the actual tank:
I've decided that moving a 46 gallon into an apartment is kinda crazy and having that big of a tank with just some zoas, 3 fish and 5 shrimp is kinda crazy so I'm pulling the trigger on switching to a 29 gallon biocube. I think it will be much easier to manage and I'll enjoy it more. If anyone wants to buy my current system, check out the for sale threads.

Now, where I need your help/advice:
Since I have a couple flat worms on one piece of rock and a few sprigs of GHA on some rock, I think I'd like to dip my rock before I transfer it over to the biocube. Is this a wise thing to do or will it kill all the good stuff too? I will definitely scrub at it with a tooth brush before putting it in the new tank regardless if I dip or not, but should I go ahead and dip? Can I dip my sand? I have some unused, dry sand and 2 smaller pieces of dry liverock I'd like to use too, but I don't want to have to wait for the tank to cycle. If I add the sand to my current tank and the 2 LR pieces, will it cycle them and make it ok for the new tank? I'm just gonna transfer over the rock, water, and some sand I have, but I'd like to use the new sand and 2 pieces of dry LR too.

Here are some pics of the changes:

The new light

The new rockscape

The algae is pretty bad in this pic, but it's cleaned up a lot.

Quick question. I got a frag from someone and it had some bryopsis on it. The frag is the only place in the tank that it grows and I'm not sure how to remove it since the zoas and it are kinda growing over each other. Ideas?

 

[FreakinReefin]

Updates! It's been a while...
I got rid of the pseudochromis, got a lawnmower blenny that mysteriously died, tried another and it didn't do well either, got a pearly jawfish that lasted a month and then went carpet surfing. Now I have a 6 line wrasse to help with the tiny amount of rust colored flatworms that showed up on one rock but I've only had him a day so I don't know if he's eating them yet or not. Herbie is getting nice and plump and is having a blast picking at the rocks all day. I lost both of my cleaner shrimp due to a mysterious blackening of their gills. The peppermints weren't effected and the 2 new cleaners I have are REALLY REALLY active and have no problems (they are both egg laden).
I switched my lighting with one my lfs had on one of their tanks and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! No more light shadow!! Yay!! It has plugs for 3 lights but the middle one doesn't work (probably due to a blown ballast) and I need to get it replaced. I also had a friend come over and help me arrange my liverock and it looks way better. There are little caves all over and it looks so cool! All my zoas are taking off like crazy and I've added a few more. I've decided that I'm definitely overfeeding my tank as is evident by the sudden appearance of flatworms and the very happy bristle worms in my tank as well as some increased algae growth. I'm cutting back starting today.

As for the actual tank:
I've decided that moving a 46 gallon into an apartment is kinda crazy and having that big of a tank with just some zoas, 3 fish and 5 shrimp is kinda crazy so I'm pulling the trigger on switching to a 29 gallon biocube. I think it will be much easier to manage and I'll enjoy it more. If anyone wants to buy my current system, check out the for sale threads.

Now, where I need your help/advice:
Since I have a couple flat worms on one piece of rock and a few sprigs of GHA on some rock, I think I'd like to dip my rock before I transfer it over to the biocube. Is this a wise thing to do or will it kill all the good stuff too? I will definitely scrub at it with a tooth brush before putting it in the new tank regardless if I dip or not, but should I go ahead and dip? Can I dip my sand? I have some unused, dry sand and 2 smaller pieces of dry liverock I'd like to use too, but I don't want to have to wait for the tank to cycle. If I add the sand to my current tank and the 2 LR pieces, will it cycle them and make it ok for the new tank? I'm just gonna transfer over the rock, water, and some sand I have, but I'd like to use the new sand and 2 pieces of dry LR too.

Here are some pics of the changes:

The new light

The new rockscape

The algae is pretty bad in this pic, but it's cleaned up a lot.

Quick question. I got a frag from someone and it had some bryopsis on it. The frag is the only place in the tank that it grows and I'm not sure how to remove it since the zoas and it are kinda growing over each other. Ideas?

Solution: NEVER put any frag from Aquarium Paradise or Indoor Reef in your tank before doing a FlatWorm Exit dip. I learned that the really really hard way. What I do is take every frag and put it into a old cool whip container (since it measures out to one half gallon) and I add 3 drops of flatworm exit in and swish it around with all of my frags in the water and WA-LA! Dead flatworms are floating EVERYWHERE. This is consistent on every frag I have ever got from either of those stores. Before you transfer your should definitely do a treatment before taking everything out of your tank. Although you should take the fish out and put them in QT. Then take Flat Worm Exit and fill at least one full cap full on the solution and dump it into the tank. Turn off your skimmer and any reactor and put extra flow in the DT part. Since you are changing tanks I would do this at least 3-4 times. to make sure to get rid of them all. TRUST ME, if you see even one or two in your tank...there are hundreds that you don't see.

 

[Workaholic]

ok first off a cap full of flatworm exit is WAY too much. If you have flatworms simply treat for them based on the directions. its a drop per gallon of total water volume. you can do a stronger dose and go for 2 drops per gallon. Either concentration you do make sure you do a water change no more than 8 hours afterward because toxins will build up in the water and build up fast. you dont need to remove your fish just make sure you do a 20% water change after treating.

Also a much cheaper and even more effective solution to use as a dip for any incoming frags (I do this with EVERYTHING that goes into my tank) is dip them in a very strong solution of melafix. Melafix will not only kill flatworms but zoa eating nudis, red bugs (if soaked for 45mins+) and many other nasty little pests.

As for the bryopsis I would advise that you get it off to someone that is up to the task of dealing with bryopsis before it spreads. It can be a pain as i'm having to deal with it now all though lettuce nudi's do eat it and do a pretty good job at eating it.

Tom

 

[Ellylove]

ok first off a cap full of flatworm exit is WAY too much. If you have flatworms simply treat for them based on the directions. its a drop per gallon of total water volume. you can do a stronger dose and go for 2 drops per gallon. Either concentration you do make sure you do a water change no more than 8 hours afterward because toxins will build up in the water and build up fast. you dont need to remove your fish just make sure you do a 20% water change after treating.

Also a much cheaper and even more effective solution to use as a dip for any incoming frags (I do this with EVERYTHING that goes into my tank) is dip them in a very strong solution of melafix. Melafix will not only kill flatworms but zoa eating nudis, red bugs (if soaked for 45mins+) and many other nasty little pests.

As for the bryopsis I would advise that you get it off to someone that is up to the task of dealing with bryopsis before it spreads. It can be a pain as i'm having to deal with it now all though lettuce nudi's do eat it and do a pretty good job at eating it.

Tom

Good to know about the lettuce Nudi... I like those and I really prefer to try to find a natural way to treat "problems" when they pop up like using the six-line to get rid of the flatworms and cutting back on feeding. The flatworms are only on 2 little spots in the tank and their aren't that many. Non on the glass, non on the sand, only on 2 small pieces of liverock and not even completely covering a 50¢ piece size space. I only have a tiny bit of byropsis so a lettuce nudi should be able to mow it down no problem. I just didn't know anything ate it. I would like to dip everything before I put it into the new tank. Is that safe or will it kill the good stuff too?

 

[Workaholic]

Good to know about the lettuce Nudi... I like those and I really prefer to try to find a natural way to treat "problems" when they pop up like using the six-line to get rid of the flatworms and cutting back on feeding. The flatworms are only on 2 little spots in the tank and their aren't that many. Non on the glass, non on the sand, only on 2 small pieces of liverock and not even completely covering a 50¢ piece size space. I only have a tiny bit of byropsis so a lettuce nudi should be able to mow it down no problem. I just didn't know anything ate it. I would like to dip everything before I put it into the new tank. Is that safe or will it kill the good stuff too?

You may loose some copepods and amphipods but dipping shouldn't harm anything of real concern when done correctly. As for the flatworms you may not have been overfeeding. they are very opportunistic and it doesn't necessarily mean you fed too much as i've had them in the past and haven't see any in many months. dipping everything when you put it into the new tank should be fine. thats what I did when I moved all my corals from my frag tank to my display is I made 5 gallon buckets and put in 10-15 gallons worth of melafix and let them soak for about an hour while putting water from my display in to acclimate them. you will most likely have to get your hands on some more copepods if you dip you LR as well but small price to pay for getting rid of the flat worms.

Tom

 

[Ellylove]

You may loose some copepods and amphipods but dipping shouldn't harm anything of real concern when done correctly. As for the flatworms you may not have been overfeeding. they are very opportunistic and it doesn't necessarily mean you fed too much as i've had them in the past and haven't see any in many months. dipping everything when you put it into the new tank should be fine. thats what I did when I moved all my corals from my frag tank to my display is I made 5 gallon buckets and put in 10-15 gallons worth of melafix and let them soak for about an hour while putting water from my display in to acclimate them. you will most likely have to get your hands on some more copepods if you dip you LR as well but small price to pay for getting rid of the flat worms.

Tom

I was definitely overfeeding. I have 3 fish and I was feeding about a cube of mysis a day and the occasional pinch of flake food. There were left over mysis shrimp on the sand that the mandarin would pick up, but he didn't get ALL of them. I need to feed only about half a cube at a time. I have some good chaeto in my sump and no flatworms as far as I've seen so I plan to let the chaeto sit in the display of the biocube for a little while to let the good buggies in it make their way into the rocks. Now I just have to figure out how to dip the sand.....

 

[FreakinReefin]

ok first off a cap full of flatworm exit is WAY too much. If you have flatworms simply treat for them based on the directions. its a drop per gallon of total water volume. you can do a stronger dose and go for 2 drops per gallon. Either concentration you do make sure you do a water change no more than 8 hours afterward because toxins will build up in the water and build up fast. you dont need to remove your fish just make sure you do a 20% water change after treating.

Also a much cheaper and even more effective solution to use as a dip for any incoming frags (I do this with EVERYTHING that goes into my tank) is dip them in a very strong solution of melafix. Melafix will not only kill flatworms but zoa eating nudis, red bugs (if soaked for 45mins+) and many other nasty little pests.

As for the bryopsis I would advise that you get it off to someone that is up to the task of dealing with bryopsis before it spreads. It can be a pain as i'm having to deal with it now all though lettuce nudi's do eat it and do a pretty good job at eating it.

Tom

Actually this is quite incorrect. A cap full is rated for 80 gallons and considering her sump this is 1.5 dose which, according to MANY MANY other people, is actually never enough. If you read other posts regarding FWE then nearly all of them report that even twice the dose didn't kill all of them. I have dosed twice the recommended amount plenty of times and still have some left.

 

[Ellylove]

Actually this is quite incorrect. A cap full is rated for 80 gallons and considering her sump this is 1.5 dose which, according to MANY MANY other people, is actually never enough. If you read other posts regarding FWE then nearly all of them report that even twice the dose didn't kill all of them. I have dosed twice the recommended amount plenty of times and still have some left.

I have a 46 gallon and a 10 gallon sump but I also have about 40-50 lbs of liverock so with displacement I only have about 35-40 gallons. I still think I'll try the natural methods first. : )

 

[FreakinReefin]

I have a 46 gallon and a 10 gallon sump but I also have about 40-50 lbs of liverock so with displacement I only have about 35-40 gallons. I still think I'll try the natural methods first. : )

There is almost no effective natural method to kill flat works. Flat worms gather in areas of low flow so that means all inside your rockwork they are in there eating and enjoying life. I have two sixlines in my 100g cube and there are plenty of flatworms. Leopard wrasses are supposed to be great but again they still won't be able to eat them all. Plus if you are switching tanks anyways, just nuke 'em all with that stuff and everything else will be just fine. This is a message passed from experience. Either way good luck!

 

[NC2WA]

IIRC, 6 line wrasses can be used to control flatworms.

 

[Ellylove]

There is almost no effective natural method to kill flat works. Flat worms gather in areas of low flow so that means all inside your rockwork they are in there eating and enjoying life. I have two sixlines in my 100g cube and there are plenty of flatworms. Leopard wrasses are supposed to be great but again they still won't be able to eat them all. Plus if you are switching tanks anyways, just nuke 'em all with that stuff and everything else will be just fine. This is a message passed from experience. Either way good luck!

Will Melafix zap them? That's what I'm planning to dip with. I'm gonna have a dip bucket, a scrub bucket, and a rinse bucket. I only have 2 pieces of rock with zoas attached so everything else will be getting a really good cleaning.

BTW, I love your puppy! Is it a doxie? I have 2. : )

 

[Ellylove]

IIRC, 6 line wrasses can be used to control flatworms.

I've heard it's hit and miss as to whether or not they'll eat flatworms. I'm hoping I got lucky and found one that does.

 

[FreakinReefin]

Will Melafix zap them? That's what I'm planning to dip with. I'm gonna have a dip bucket, a scrub bucket, and a rinse bucket. I only have 2 pieces of rock with zoas attached so everything else will be getting a really good cleaning.

BTW, I love your puppy! Is it a doxie? I have 2. : )

Melafix is a bacterial and fungal fish treatment so I don't think it will have any effect on flatworms, although I'm not 100% sure on this.

She is a Chiweenie haha. Chihuahua and dox mix, although I could swear she has some sort of terrier in her as well. Wire hair dox for sure. Her name is Bug haha.

 

[Ellylove]

So, the change is done. I now am the (very) proud owner of a 29 gallon biocube.
I dipped everything before the transfer and so far, it looks like all the flatworms are completely gone. There is still a little hair algae, but I planned on getting a lettuce nudibranch anyway, so I'm not too concerned about it. There is also some cyano or diatomes but I'm hoping it is just the change. I've taken measures to lower phosphates and now that i have a more manageable sized tank, I'll be doing more frequent water changes so it should go away. If not, I have chemi clean and can do a run with that. I have a media basket from SteveT and a Tunze 9002 (with modified cup by SteveT) in the back for filtration and part of the media basket is acting as a fuge. I haven't got the Tunze in yet because I was having some trouble getting it to fit right, but after some emails to Steve, I'll be putting it in tomorrow. Overall, I'm VERY happy that I made the change to this tank and in the long run I think it's going to work out way better. Here are some pics so you can see why I like it so much:

Left Side

Right Side

 

[Ellylove]

Both of my cleaner shrimp are preggo and one peppermint is as well

I love this pic. "Mirror Mirror on the wall" I guess the 6 line didn't like what he saw...