cabj1970's old 55G is my new 55G

[sur4die]

when i set up my 12g acrylic tank i sprayed the back with black krylon fusion. i think it looks great.

there were more than a few things that i wish i had the time to do to this tank when i set it up, but i was a little rushed to move it in the middle of December (snowing) and get everything back up to temperature. i did manage to clean out all the power heads and pumps in a vinegar bath, but i wish i had the time to strip the stand and re-polyurethane. i also wish that i had scooped out all the sand and installed an egg crate on the bottom.


i decided to add the remaining rocks from the sump and re-scape allowing the rocks to lean on the back glass in a few choice places. i have SO much more room now in the front of the tank and i think it looks much better. i was able to get 2 bridges set up nice and stable. also, the light from the T5 still reaches EVERYWHERE, even under the wider bridge. i still wish i had some nicer; larger rocks though.

 

[sur4die]

my tank has developed a stringy green-ish brown-ish slime and it is starting to encroach on some of my smaller low flow corals (zoas).

what perplexes me is that my water quality has been great.

API test kit
no nitrates
no phosphates (that i can tell anyway, the test is hard to read)

maybe i should cut back on my light cycle? something must be feeding this goo though.

 

[sur4die]

i realized earlier today that i have had my RO/DI filter for about 9 months now and i haven't changed any of the filters yet...

probably time for some new canister cartridges, huh?

 

[sur4die]

some more research has me now believing that i have a pretty serious dinoflagellates problem on my hands.

so far i have reduced my photoperiod from 8/10 to 7/10. i'll probably reduce it a little more when i get home (maybe 6/8). i have also given my skimmer an over haul to ensure maximum operation.

i have ordered replacement canister filters for my RODI unit. i'm going to refrain performing any water changes until they arrive.

i have had an issue with high PH. i'm going to stop fighting with that (occasional vinegar dose) since high PH supposedly helps fight the dino.

that bulkreefsupply.com group buy can't come soon enough. http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=16921.0 sign up people! i guess i'll have to pick up a 2 canister reactor, some carbon, GFO, and a MJ-1200. too bad i missed the monthly group buy...

 

[Hawkeye]

maybe try increasing the flow in that area?

what do you have in your cleanup crew?

Also - might want to cut down on feeding. Most of the fish in our tanks dies from obesity - never starvation.

 

[sur4die]

flow doesn't really seem to be an issue. i have 2 k2 and a k4 in a 55g and besides that the dino is growing on the powerheads...

for a CUC i have 2 emerald crabs, 12 blue leg hermits, 6 red leg hermits, 10 turbos, 15 or so nerite, 6 large nessarius, and i did have 10 or so ceriths but they all seem to be dieing from eating the dino. the stuff is toxic after all.

i have cut feeding to once a week and have reduced the lights to 6/8 cycle.

i'm dosing kalk to keep the ph high and i'm still waiting for that group buy to go through at bulkreefsupply so i can get some GAC and GFO flowing.

 

[sur4die]

well, i finally kicked that dino problem. i kept the lights on a short cycle, fed once a week or less, didn't change the water except to vacuum out the dino, and added some biodigest every 2 weeks. i think i had a nitrate problem even though the tests said i was clean. i think that the dino in the tank was eating the nitrates (i did have some before the dino showed up) keeping the test readings artificially depressed.

then ran into another problem... but this was a lot easier to fix although i did lose some livestock.
i had a heater fail on me in the ON position. came home to a 90+ tank. my fire shrimp was gone, the leather coral melted away, the kenya tree just kinda let go, and i had a hard coral (looks like a cap) basically just bleach out.

most of the kenya tree pieces survived, so now i have like 8 small ones (great). the cap and the leather coral look like they might have some remaining pieces growing too.

oh, one more exciting piece of news. i caught the mantis that has been terrorizing my 12g upstairs! i saw him in a removable rock while i was feeding so i grabbed it and threw it into a freshwater bucket and out he ran! that sucka is fertilizing my lawn now! he ate my bicolor blenny!

 

[SirFragalot]

Nice work getting that mantis out. How big was it?

 

[sur4die]

2+ inches.

been in the tank for about a year now. i had always suspected he was in there, but never saw him until about 2 months ago.

 

[SirFragalot]

I saw some at Hidden Reef not long ago that were 6+ inches! I think they lasted a week there.

 

[sur4die]

Hi all.

Haven't posted status in a while. So how about some pics!

I've been getting the hang of calcium/magnesium dosing and it has really made the Bird's Nest take off!

I also had the opportunity to witness the lobo eating a mushroom that was a little too close.

 

[sur4die]

So whats new...

I moved my 12G nano inhabitants into the 55G and shut down the 12G. So now i have a TON of rock in the 55, but i think it looks really good this full.

I lost a damsel to what i have to imagine was some territorial dispute shortly after the move. So now I've got the BTA and clown, 2 blue damsels, a purple pseudo, a pink spot goby, and a 6 line wrasse.

I've also started the bulk reef supply 2 part system. So far so good.

 

[sur4die]

I picked up some green stylo and a juvenile ocellaris last night.

the existing ocellaris won't let the juvenile near the BTA, but they haven't fought yet.

I'll see if i can snap some pics later.

 

[JRWOHLER]

Looking back from Jan to the previous post it looks like you are doing something right. Don't know if it is the added rock that has helped your biological filtration or if you have upped your maintance...in any case good job.
;D

 

[sur4die]

I recently switched to the BRS 2 part due to high pH from using kalk. i'm sure that everything enjoys both the lower pH and the higher Ca/KH.

other than that I'm getting better at keeping the skimmer tuned and in the last 4 months I have started and am just now getting the hang of the amounts and schedule for my carbon/GFO reactor.

I have always had tons of rock in the system, but in earlier incarnations of the tank a lot of rock was in the sump and fuge. i decided that i like the chock-full-o-rock look more than having some exposed sand bed. in a 55 you kinda have to give up on islands of rock and exposed sand bed.


oh, and my new clown is already sharing the BTA with the bigger incumbent clown. i have phenomenal luck with my BTA and clowns. took my first clown 24 hours to hop into the BTA too.