Project 150!!

[Maxx]

09-06-2007

Update

Its been a good news/bad news week for me all over the place...including the tank.

Good news.....aptasia have been disapearing slowly but surely.
Bad news.....the cool carribean long nose butterfly has gone MIA. One of three things happened:

He jumped and landed somewhere I cant find him.
He jumped and one of the dogs found him. They've eaten dead birds and drywall in the past, I'm not putting it past them....
He got eaten by the Ritteri anemone.

If he jumped, thats the second time in a few weeks fish have jumped from my tanks. Its been quite awhile since that happened to me.....I'm definately going to make up some sort of screen or mesh netting to allow air/light through, but keep fish in for the tanks....

Bad news....another smaller, but brightly colored Ritteri anemone I ordered from Phishy Business didnt make it. I had hopes for this since PB is where I got my original Ritteri anemone that I've had for a year and half.

Good news....woke an hour ago, (I'm on midnights), and discovered my clowns spawning. Got excited and took several pics.

I have no intention of trying to raise the fry.....waaaaaaayyyy too much work for my limited free time right now...

I also just got 20 lbs of Gen-X calcium reactor media, and 6 large bottles of Seachem's Magnesium additive. I have a small bryopsis problem in the 58 and want it gone before I transfer it over to the 120. Raising the magnesium levels of the tank to over 1500 for several weeks kills off bryopsis.

So thats it for now.

Nick

 

[brady816]

cool pics congrats man

 

[Maxx]

09-10-07

Good news w/ no bad news for the moment.....
Yesterday I saw a rather large Berghia nudibranch before going to work...it was pale which meant it hadnt eaten for several days, but it was crawling towards an area where the majority of the aptasia are located in the tank....so I expect to start loosing more aptasia here shortly.

This evening, just before coming to work, I found the Caribbean Longnose Butterfly, (hereafter referred to as CLB cause thats annoying to type out all the time). It was in my sump, in the same section as my protein skimmer...happily eating all the mini feather duster worms it could find. I netted him/it out and placed it in the main tank, and put a screen on the top this time. No more jumping out of that tank.

I need to make a screen or cover for the 120.

Nick

 

[logiktest]

Nice spawning pics!

 

[Maxx]

Thanks!
Where in St Louis are you?

Nick

 

[Damsel13]

Kewl thread. I am glad you found your CLB alive.

 

[Maxx]

Yeah, Me too...I've kinda gotten to like the little guy!

Nick

 

[logiktest]

Nick,

Lake Saint Louis

 

[Maxx]

10-23-2007

I moved over the Ritteri Anemone, and the clowns two days ago. Waited until the eggs the clowns had laid hatched. I'm not currently in the mode of trying to raise the young, but that might change later on down the line. Moving the clowns and the anemone was relatively easy....placed a bowl in the tank big enough to hold the anemone and the rock it was on, moved them into the bowl, the clowns followed right along. By moving the anemone this way, I didnt expose it to air, or allow gravity to tear it....its just a bag of water after all...

Also moved over the lava rock the anemone and its rock had been perched on. That didnt go as smoothly. While moving it over the maze brain coral fell off and hit the concrete floor. It didnt frag, but crunched an area....it seems to be doing okay in the 120, but we'll see long term how it goes.

Yesterday, I cleaned up the calcium reactor and filled it with new media. Got it running on the 120 now. I also managed to get the large rock the Royal Gramma called home out of the tank without him, and with only minor difficulties. The ORA blue tort frag which had been encrusted on the rock broke of during the move....but other wise fine.

Approximately 6 months after I started using it, my WavySea quit moving. I contacted them via email, and they asked me to send it in for warranty work. I did, and they replaced the motor free of charge. They ahve a one year warranty from date of purchase. Fortunately I was able to locate my invoice from Premium Aquatics. I was glad to get the WavySea back as I can certainly tell a difference in water movement.

Today I hooked Actinics up again. Need to get a timer on them, so I can run them as Dawn/Dusk lighting. I also ordered two Sure Flow 1600 Maxi Jet Upgrade Kits from Premium Aquatics. Also ordered two MJ 1200's, and magnets to mount them. I want to creat more flow in the back of the tank down low to sweep detritus. I dont think these are controllable with any wavemakers out on the market. I do have a Natural Wave timer that I will try it out on though...so we'll see.

I've discovered that Tunze evidently stopped making the Stream 6000, which is the "smallest" of the full size Streams that is speed controllable. It ran up to 1850 gph...and I have two of them. I'm guessing they werent selling well compared to the 6100's and once they introduced the Nano Streams, they just decided to quit making the 6000's. I plan on eventually buying a pair of 6055 NanoStreams for the 120 as well.
I figure with the 6000's in the front of the tank, and the 6055's in the back of the tank, I can set them to work catty corner of each and get a racetrack/gyre water flow pattern out of them and have that alternate every 30 minutes or so...and with the WavySea as a return and the Maxi-Mods sweeping the back and down low...I should have some pretty good flow.

I'm going to move the rest of my SPS over to the 120 today. Then I have to go to work.

Thats it for now...pics will follow, I promise.

Nick

 

[Maxx]

10-26-2007

Pics as promised....

Full tank shot

Left side

Right side

Wish this one was perfectly focused...but she kept moving and I need to go with a shallow depth of field to catch her at all...

Ritteri and clowns

Full light shots....

Left Side

Right Side

Quick panning shot of the Regal in motion

Ritteri and clowns again...right below the male, (smaller one) is where they laid the eggs...

Overall I'm liking the lay out of the aquascaping...but still needs some adjustment to fine tune it the way I want.

The Maxijet SureFlow 1600 upgrade kits are working well...I'm kinda liking them the way they are. I dont think I'll be putting them on a wave timer.

Hope you like the pics...

Nick

 

[Scooterman]

Was wondering about them MJ kits, that looks cool, your tank is looking great!

 

[Krish]

Tanks is looking great Nick! I'm diggin' the rock layout

 

[cheeks69]

The tank looks great !
I'm also glad to see the Regal doesn't touch the Clam mantles, it's a beautiful fish :exclaim:

 

[Maxx]

Thanks for the compliments guys! I appreciate it.

Scott,
The Sureflow Kits are pretty good IMO. There has been alot of talk about them on the net. Some people like them, others complain about noise, but that seems to be related to a wavetimer....so I dont know. yes it would be very cool to be able to set them up to the same interval as the Tunze's, but I dont think thats going to happen. There are upgrade kits in the works for them to make them even more powerful, up to 2000 gph....but I dont think I'll be needing that. I may eventually replace the Sureflow 1600's with Tunze NanoStream 6055's, but there is no urgent need for that. If anything, I'd like a pair of the 6055's for the top to complete the racetrack flow pattern if that makes sense.

Krish,
Thanks, I kinda dig it too. Its not what I initially expected, but its not half bad IMO. Unfortunately, the PVC rockrack is actually too tall for my taste....it sits so high up that any acros placed on it, would hit the waters surface relatively quickly. I'm going to try and keep the coral size to a minimum, and avoid any of the stags and plate type corals...beyond the Monti cap I already have. I'd rather have some bushy, thick kind of corals that will allow me to have some open space for the fish to swim still...

Robert,
Thanks, I really love the Regal as well....between her and the Ritteri, I've been pretty lucky for beautiful delicate critters....now if I could only get a healthy Elegence!

One of the next things on the agenda is to get a 20 gallon tank I have lying around drilled out for a bulkhead, and get that plumbed into the system. I have a 10 gallon tank with a Purple LTA, a Purple H.crispa anemone, the Dwarf Moray, and a clownfish in it that I want to get all into a bigger tank. Besides, having it in a bigger system would help keep things more stable so I would only have to take care of one thing as opposed to 3-4. Before that I need to get the top of situation squared away. Currently the LiterMeter3 is still hooked up to the 58 gallon...which doesnt really need it anymore...

Nick

 

[Maxx]

11-07-07

The fish were removed from the 58, leaving only aptasia, pods, and misc small critters.
The 58 was drained of saltwater, and then filled w/ tap water to kill the leftover critters I couldnt get out, or didnt want in the first place, (IE aptasia).

Tomorrow, I will try to get the 58 completely cleaned out, which will mean removing the overflow, and the cuttingboard on the bottom. I want the tank completely cleaned out so I can use it as a QT for a smallish Powder Blue Tang. The fish is being held until the 13th, in a system being treated with copper. Its eating well, but scratching, so its got ich....but then again, I have yet to see a Powder Blue Tang or any other Acantharus tang that doesnt come down with ich after being shipped....so no shock there.

I did lots of reading regarding the best methods to QT and treat this fish....from what I've been able to determine, running a QT with hyposalinity (1.009) for several weeks seems to be the safest way for the fish, but the most labor intensive for me...

ATJ's Hyposalinity Treatment

Marine Ich, a discussion of the parasite and treatment options available, by Steve Pro

Marine Ich - Myths and Facts

A Hyposalinity Treatment Process

Copper - Treatment, Use, Problems

I've got about a week to get things together for the PBT, but I dont want to wait until the last minute....

I also took the 20 gallon High tank to get drilled out today. I'm having holes for two 1 inch bulkheads drilled in the back of the tank. One will be a drain, the other will be the inlet for water to enter the tank.

I plan on buying a HOB overflow, (most likely a CPR), and pulling water from the 120 down to the 20. It will drain from the 20 down to the sump of the 120, so its all part of one system. This means greater stability and less work for me in that I'll only be playing with one set of parameters as opposed to two different tanks...

It should be back from the glass shop by Saturday.

Nick

 

[Scooterman]

Way to go Nick, that should make a good size QT, I know the Hypo treatment isn't easy but as much reading I've done on it I think it is worth the 6 weeks, never believed in fast cures in this hobby but I know things progress & new methods evolve so I'm sure it will be something that can be treated quicker & effectively one day.
My LFS soaks there old LR in tap like you but add a little bleach to clear the rocks completely, from what they showed me before & after a few months, It can be beneficial IMO If you had no hope for the rock in the first place.

 

[Maxx]

11-09-07

Drained the 58 completely. Cold tapwater does kill aptasia for any who are wondering. The water in the 58 was NASTY. I had not realized how much funk had gotten under the cutting board I used on the bottom of the tank. There was a lot of silt and detritus under it. I'm glad I went ahead and siliconed the cutting board down in the 120.

I had to cut out the overflow in order get to the starboard, but thats okay, cause I'm not going to be using the sump for the QT anyway.

I am a little concerned about the PBT in the 120. The Tomini is full sized at 4.5 inches not counting the tail fin. Yesterday, it was squabbling with the Regal when I placed the broccoli clip on the left side of the tank. Evidently, thats the Tomini's side and it didnt appreciate the intrusion....
There is no squabbling today.

Things might get exciting....

I'm expecting some squaring off intitially, but how long it goes on and how serious it gets will determine whether or not the PBT stays. I've had the Tomini since 02-11-05, the only thing I've had longer in this tank is the Crocea clam....which I got the day before....so I'm going to be keeping the Tomini if the two dont work out.

Dont know what I'll get in place of the PBT if it doesnt work out, cause I dont think another tang will do well if the Tomini doesnt allow the PBT to stay....

The PBT in the store is just about the same size as the Tomini...

The elevated levels of Magnesium are slowly but surely taking care of the small areas of bryopsis I have in the tank.

Water parameters are :

DKh 11.2
Ca 395
Mg 1650
pH 8.1
Salinity 1.028 (refractometer)
Temp 80F

Water tests are as per Salifert kits. Salinity is a little high, but I have not yet hooked up the LiterMeter 3 for top off. I'm also an idiot and just used all my RO water to make a fresh batch of saltwater.....so its going to be a few hours before I have any RO to top off the tanks with...

I noticed a second aptasia in the 120 today. Its on the underside of the rock as well....( in the full tank pic this is the one in the center the clam is one...) due to the location of both of them, I'm going to have to get another pair of Berghia nudibranchs....

I have Joe's Juice, and it does work, but you have to fill the mouth of the anemone with it to be effective. I practiced on the aptasia in the 58 before nuking them all with tap water. The aptasia who got a full mouthful melted away. The ones that were at an angle and the Joes Juice was able to fall out of....survived. I've heard from some others that the aptasia not killed by the Joe's Juice can reproduce.....so I'm just gonna get some more Berghia and be done with it.

That about covers everything for now...

Nick

 

[Curtswearing]

Nick,

The tank is looking awesome!!!

 

[Maxx]

Thanks Curt. Its getting there.....

Got the 20H back from the glass shop on Saturday....had to help the wife paint the house yesterday....

Plan for today is to rinse out the now empty 58 gallon tank, place it back on the stand and fill it with hyposaline saltwater in preparation for the PBT....which I should be getting tomorrow.

I also want to level the stand the 20H will be sitting on, and paint the back of it and get started on the plumbing for it. I also need to purchase the overflow for it...

I'm wanting to get sand in the tank and have it connected to the 120 soon...I have a pair of A.leucokranos clowns in Qt right now, and they are due to get out on Nov 27th.....It would be nice if they had a big new home to go to...

Nick

 

[Maxx]

11-13-07

The overflow I ordered from Premium Aquatics came today...

Bought a CPR CS50 Overflow. Also bought an Aqualifter pump for it as well....

Bought the CS50 because it was the cheapest and fit my space needs the best. Need to buy an adaptor for the 3/4 inch bulkhead it comes with for the plumbing to the 20H. The bulkheads to the 20H are 1 inch.

The 20H has one coat of black paint on the back...need to do the second one tomorrow, and then start playing with the plumbing. This tank will sit on the right side of the 120. The top of the 20H will be just above the bottom of the 120, so hopefully, it wont interfere with viewing that side of the 120 too much.

Finally, I got the 58 set up as a QT...salinity is at 1.009 as per my refractometer.

When I went to pick up the PBT today.....it wasnt looking as good as I would have liked...I saw some lacerations on the side that were small, but looked like they might have trouble. And then I saw a small Purple Tang.....about the size of a silver dollar. Someone had purchased him previously, and then brought him back.....no idea why. I snapped him up. Its in the 58 gallon right now, happily munching on Nori...
It will stay there for about a month, if I dont see any ich or other parasites...hopefully, I'll be able to get it eating broccoli also. Ideally, it will also continue to eat Nori from the clip, and will show my Regal Angel that Nori is okay to eat...thereby getting her onto something else as well....

Pics will come tomorrow.

Nick