reef junkie. Chapter 1- back off the wagon

[dsoz]

Let's get this meeting started.

 

I'll start. Hi, my name is dsoz, and I am a reef addict.

 

I was clean for about 11 years, then something happened to get me back onto reefing.

 

This is my story.

 

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Bits and pieces of this story have been posted in other sections, and in other people's threads. I just felt like I am getting to a place where I need to put all of this down on (paper?) screen.

 

My parents were fish tank addicts, keeping fish from before the time I was born. I was raised in a home where the entertainment was "let's watch the guppies give birth." This type of show won over television any day. I am not blaming my parents, because there is only one person to blame. Me.

 

I remember the day that I got my "own" first fish tank. I was in high school, with a job (McDonalds... GO RONALD!) and a lot of extra cash in my pocket. I was tired of the communal guppy, molly, and swordtail tanks in the house, and I wanted something different. I went to Cayes Pets on SE Division in Portland (still there by the way) and they became my first dealer. I got a 20 galon hex, with African Ciclids. They were pretty fish, and the first step into my distruction.

 

I took the tank and fish with me to college, Southern Oregon State University (now SOU) in Ashland, Oregon. They lived with me in the dorms for two years. When I got married and moved into an apartment the wife said that if I was going to keep fish, she would like something more attractive... SALTWATER!!!!

 

So we sold the 20 hex, and bought a 45 long from the fish store in Medford (I wish I could remember the name of the store, and whether it is still in business 15 years later.) We had the under-gravel filter, we had the crushed coral, we had the plastic plants. I think the only thing that we did right was to use powerheads instead of air stones for the UGF. For lighting I made a hood out of oak plywood, and had 4 normal output fluorescent bulbs. Three coralife 10,000 k and one actinc.

 

For the next two years I kept putting livestock in my green algae tank of death. Everytime a financial aid (loan) check came in, we would fix the car, buy some fish, and pay for tuition. Usually in that order. I can't even remember how many poor unsuspecting animals died in my care. The tangs, the anemones, the featherduster tubeworms, the snails (even though there was so much algae), the clowns, and even a couple of corals. I am so sorry.(sad)

 

In the meantime I kept learning more, and more. I replaced the crushed coral with sand. Not wanting to get rid of my bio-filter I put the coral in the feet of panty-hose and hung them from the back of the tank, and removed them one a week for a couple of months. Try explaining to someone WHY there are pantyhose hanging in your tank... Ya, right.

 

I added LR slowly (one uncured piece at a time). No wonder I had so many fish suddenly up and died. It seems that the only thing that I could keep alive was green star polyps (still one of my favorites) a couple of mushrooms, and a small toadstool leather.

 

Finally graduated from college, we moved back to Portland area. Once I got my first job, teaching chemistry at a private high school in Portland, I found out about the reality of reefing. IT IS EXPENSIVE! With one child already, and another on the way, and a starting salary that qualified my family for food stamps, I could not afford my hobby any more. Especially since I had to start repaying the student loans! I had to dismantle my tank. It was a sad day. I gave away, sold, threw out almost everything that I had related to fish. I only kept the bare tank and stand. Also a box of stuff that has since disappeared (probably to the dump when I was not watching).

 

From that moment, just about eleven years have gone by. Two different schools later we come to present day. But I'll save that for chapter 2.

[dsoz]

chapter 2- getting the itch (or is it ick?)

 

About 4 years ago I was talking to someone about my old reef tank, and he asked me if I heard about this place in Tualitin called Upscales. He told me to go in and check out their display tank. I resisted for about a month, but as they say in star trek "resistance is futile!"

 

My jaw just about hit the floor when I saw that display. I think I stood there for about 4 hours just staring at it. Ok I exagerate, but I was in that store at least 45 minutes and most of it was looking in that one tank. I talked with one of the workers and decided that I still could not afford to set up my tank again. All was good until January '07.

 

I had to take my son to one of his friend's house in Sherwood, and since I was on Christmas vacation, I had some time to kill. So I stopped in Upscales again. Again I spend an extraordinary amount of time looking at the big displays (they must have undergone binary fission because I remember only one.) But this time I also made it around most of the shop and LOOKED at what there was. I started to understand that I could buy frags of corals instead of full grown corals. Read the last sentence as I could still get coral and not spend all of the inheritance money that I don't have.

 

I also noticed the nano tank that is right by the register. How convenient. Hey, they have corals in there... I thought corals needed huge monster lights... Do you switch them out and replace them often? How do you keep them like that? The questions just started and I am glad that the person that I talked to gave me the time even though I was not buying anything that day.

 

New lighting technology... Nano aquariums... Aquapod... 70w MH... Could keep anything in the store under this light... Including the SPS and clams... OH YAH!!! Saltwater itch was back in full swing.

 

I waited a full week until I mentioned it to my wife... Honey, I think I want to set up a saltwater tank again... Do you think that we could find some money in our budget to let me get a tank... I don't know the exact pricetag, but I can do some research and find out.

 

It just so happens that I am doing some extra duty activities at work that they are paying extra for. I mentor two new teachers an hour each every week, and I just signed up to work with our group of lowest students for two hours a week after school. This gives me some money above our normal budget. My wife agreed that since I was doing the extra work, I would get the extra money. FISH TANK HERE WE COME!!!!

[dsoz]

chapter 3- The waiting game

 

So I bring my old 45 gal tank from school. The last thing that was in it was salmon eggs that my classes were observing grow and hatch (Thanks to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife). It sat there in my house empty for two weeks before payday came so I could get some stuff.

 

Three weeks ago I got a bucket of salt, 5 lbs of dry sand, and a clump of chaeto from Waves. It went into the tank along with 2 pieces of raw squid (from a package of seafood medley). My thought was that the Chaeto would add a starter culture of bacteria, as well as take up SOME of the nutrients as the cycle progressed. This may prevent the ammonia from spiking too high. I don't know, maybe my theory is flawed.

 

I got tired of watching dead squid float around so I got about 2.25 lbs live sand that I bought from the pet store in Oregon City (at $4/lb) Rip off, but it came with at least 7 small feather duster worms that are still living, and 10 micro-hermits from same pet store. The hermits crawled around, ate the squid, and entertained me.

 

Last weekend I got about 50 lbs live rock from SeanF. It turned my water a lovely shade of Mt. Dew. But it came with at least two amphipods as hitch hikers. Hopefully they survive and there is a boy and a girl... Baby 'pods would be cool. I haven't seen much else, but what do you expect from a system filled with toxic ammonia?

 

And I got at least 2-3 lbs live sand from Austin today at the meeting (Saltwater Fanta-Seas). This came with one nassarius snail and at least three micro-stars. I have not seen a lot more, but the night is still young, and I am going to spend the next two hours watching my tank.

 

Thus ends the history. From now on it is the future in the making.

[Nyles]

Lets see some pics...

 

Nice story by the way! Welcome back to the hobby... nothing like returning to old addictions, I have a few. he he he

[180Brandy]

Can you tell me more about your tank set up? Some pictures could help too:D !

[andy]

Excellent, welcome back.

[dsoz]

first attempt at pics from photobucket

 

As of tonight here is my tank.

Full tank shot. Yes I know it needs a little more water. Why fill the tank when it will just get poluted with waste off the rock.

 

Yes, that is a 4' shoplight with normal fluorescent bulbs.

 

another closer.

 

one of my micro-hermits

 

my featherdusters

 

that awesome nassarius snail that I scored from SW F-S

 

and the rules that I am living by (or at least trying to)

If you can't read them. They are from Borneman's Myth in the reef tank series #3.

 

Basically it sais to WAIT FOREVER before getting anything. I guess it is to enable the wallet to fill back up in between trips to the LFS. (whistle)

[andy]

Heh, love the sign. If you can stick to it you are a better man than I

[180Brandy]

Interesting rock pieces! Your skimmer must be working over time. What are you planning on using for more light?

[dsoz]

Andy- I am already not sticking to the plan. I bought 10 crabs BEFORE I got the rock, and the LS I got had featherduster worms in it (I have found 7 so far and made a little "forest" of them in the front of the tank). And the LS I got from SW F-S had a nassarius snail and some micro-stars.

 

 

Brandy- The rock is thanks to SeanF at C&S. He made the trip to So.Cal and picked me up a box of rock while he was there. He only charged me the price he paid, no markup. He was able to get Walt Smith Premium for the same price as normal. I think that it had been sitting around a while and they were clearing it out. It was rather dead looking (and smelling), but there are some nice shapes. I know that I can add stuff that I want later. I have done no aquascaping yet, I just threw it in the tank to get it cycled. Then I'll wory about making it pretty.

 

My skimmer would be working overtime IF I HAD ONE. I was planning on buying one this month, but the water heater broke, and let water all over my basement. All of this month's tank money, and some of next two month's tank money went to help pay for that problem.

 

The only filtration that I have are the two powerheads that you can see in the pictures. That's it. One of them has a bag from an old WHISPER HOB filter (still had the pads and carbon, but the filter went the way of the dump years ago) with activated carbon in it to help with the mechanical filtration and the yellow color that is getting better.

 

My plans for the future include getting an all-in-one like the Aquapod or bio-cube. I would like at least the 150w HQI hood, but after listening to the light guy yesterday I don't know if I want to buy lighting that is becoming obsolete... I have at least another month to make up my mind. Keep repeating cycle rock first, save money, buy with cash, NO CREDIT CARD, cycle rock first, save money...

 

I should have made you wait to read chapter 4- my plans for the future. LOL (laugh)

[180Brandy]

Hey I need something to read while I wait for my tank to cycle.

[Palani]

Man Dennis, you make it sound like this is a disease. The way I look at it is that this is my treatment for DAILY LIFE.

[dsoz]

not a disease. Maybe an obsession. Most likely an addiction. Just like some people use alcohol/drugs to "get away" from normal life.

 

dsoz

[andy]

Oh man, I can just see the headline... "Local Man Dies While Freebasing Reef Crystals"

[dsoz]

Oh man' date=' I can just see the headline... "Local Man Dies While Freebasing Reef Crystals"[/quote']

 

I am laughing so hard I almost fell out of my chair.... I am going to laugh all week over that one. rofl

 

"Honest officer, it was only instant ocean..."

 

You made my day.

 

dsoz (laugh)

[andy]

Heh, that's crossed my mind.. driving home with a ziplock back of Mag Flake on the passenger seat... Having to explain that it's just magnesium chloride, then having to explain that magnesium chloride isn't used to make a) meth, or b) bombs. Ouch.

[dsoz]

chapter 4-planinng the new tank

 

I figure that I have at least a few more weeks to go before I get anything else. It helps that next week is going to be spring break, and I will be in so.cal. paying homage to the big mouse for two days, and then in Indio at a resort for another four days (this is when it is nice to be a teacher...) (naughty) The rest of the year is when I go (nutty) hanging arround teenagers all day.

 

I figure I'll clean the filter bag on the powerhead, add some water to make the salinity lower than normal (help with evaporation), leave the lights on, and come back to a tank that is a complete algae monster. YAY! Think of all those nitrates that the algae will eat up for me.

 

When I get back I just may have the answer to my tank delema. What to spend my money on for my tank. I have two ideas that I am weighing, and I don't know which to choose.

 

#1 spend about $500 on lighting for my 45g tank. Then I would need to get an overflow (or drill some holes) and a sump (probably another $2-300). Then I would be out of cash (my extra work will end with the start of summer, and the extra pay will stop.)

 

#2 get an all-in-one like the 24g Aquapod with the 150w light. This would get me a small, easy to mannage, system that I can keep up and it won't eat up the wallet to do a water change. The filters are all inclusive, no sump, no plumbing, no hastles. The light is "top quality" and I could keep anything I want all the way up to SPS and clams. The downside is that it is less water volume, and less stable. I was raised with the notion that large tank = stable tank. But I was also started with the idea that a saltwater tank needed to be 55 gal MINIMUM. The other downside is the pricetag. I have asked most of the LFS in the area, and none that I have asked have the 150w in stock. They can order it, but it will cost between $400-$500. I also talked with one owner, and he said the AP's were no-good (he used a different word here that would make this thread not PG rated). He suggested another brand, and had a list of things that I should look into, but in the end I would still pay about $400.

 

I really want to support the stores in this area, but I heard that there were some stores in So.Cal. that are selling the 24g AP with the 150w HQI for $320. Since I am going on vacation, and will be less than 20 minutes from at least three of these stores, I am considering picking one up while I am there (we are driving, and our suitcases won't fill the van... We got room for a fishtank back there).

 

That leaves only the sand, and the animals that I have left to buy. Since I'll get about $600 more before summer hits, there is lots of money for all the corals, I can immagine the ultimate CUC, some zoas, and a couple LPS. I don't think that I'll get into the SPS for this tank.

 

The benefit of doing the smaller tank is that when I do get the urge to upgrade to a larger tank, I'll have a ready to go quarantine/hospital/frag tank.

 

Tune in to chapter 5. It will either be the tank that I have decided on, or hypothetical stocking lists.

 

Happy reading

dsoz

[tidalsculpin]

Are you still doing the pantyhose trick??? lol

Nice start. I got rock in that same shipment. It was premium fiji not marshall like you seem to have. Did you rinse it? I have flushed it three times now with my powerhead and changed the water twice. I finally have the silt under control.

My 2 cents:

Don't worry about the skimmer for a while but buy some more salt if you can and do big water changes instead.

You know that tank at Sean's shop, the 58 g? It has no skimmer, just rock, light, corals and algae baby.

Oh yeah and, the ROCK is your real filter, it's just not done curing yet.

You CAN do it.

Go teaching reefers!!!

[dsoz]

I got diatoms

 

I took a sample of my brown slime that is growing all over my tank. I took it to work and used the microscope there to look at it. Long needle-like-cells. I have a microscope camera, and a projector so I can show the students stuff under the 'scope. So I took some digital pictures. The quality is not great because it is going through first a (student quality) microscope with a 10x ocular and a 10x objective (the 40x are garbage). Through a flexcam, then through an projection device. Then I used my OLD, cheepo, digicam. Here they are in all their glory.

 

normal

 

stained with methylene blue

 

stained with iodine

 

not a lot of difference when they are projected. There is some more detail with the m.blue stain when using just the 'scope. The iodine does not show any extra detail.

 

cheers

[dsoz]

Well a week in S.CAl. was nice, but the algae monster I came home to was not. In addition to diatoms, I now have cyano (no, I'm not going to look at this one under the microscope... at least not now.

 

 

A FTS- AFTER an almost 50% water change

 

It looks like it is time for a CUC! I'm thinking about $50 worth of snails and such should be a good start.

 

My chaeto came in two different colors and flavors. Red and Green!

 

Even under only 80w of normal fluorescent light, it is growing great. I'll take the dark green color as a response to the low light levels, but it is still growing.

 

[Sixty-five]

Awesome thread!

[dsoz]

Chapter 5. The search for snails

 

Well, I guess I don't have as much will power as I thought. My plan was to wait for at least two or three months before adding any more life. I was supposed to be saving for good lights, a skimmer, more sand, a powerfilter, and all the other life support hardware. However, coming back from vacation to the "algae monster" was too much for my wife. So off to the fish store I went to get some snails and sand. What? You sold all of your sand this week? You'll have more later. OK, I'll wait. WHAT? Out of SNAILS??? My wife is gonna kill me. I need snails NOW! (My wife demands a CLEAN tank.(wife) If it does not stay algae-free it will not be allowed to stay in "her" house.) Do you have any? I'll take whatever you got. Leaving a store with only 8 snails (3 nassarius, 1 cerenth, 1 turbo, 1 astera, and 1 pyramid) and a sand-bed clam is not very satisfying. Especially when I was planning on spending up to $60 for snails. So I broke my second "rule" that I was trying to follow. NO FISH for at least 5 or 6 months. I got not one, but two Amphiprion ocelleris (clownfish). They seem to have started making a pair in the tank at the store already, and it would have been a shame to break them up. This was a week ago, and they are still healthy and thriving in my tank. So I introduce to the world "WAVE" (larger) and "BUBBLE" (smaller) (named by my 12 year old daughter)

 

 

So I needed to get some fish food. So I went to the local "pet store" that also has a couple of tanks of SW. (However, there are so many mojano and apstasia that I would never get any rock or coral from their tanks.) I picked up the can of cyclops-eese ($5), and went into the fish room to see if there was anything interesting in there. I really like all the little feather duster tube-worms that they have living in the sand. I have 6 or 7 of them from when I bought some live sand when I first started my tank (a month ago). I planned on getting some more after my tank cycled, and was fairly stable. They normally sell for 2 for $1. The normal SW guy does not work weekends, so I talked to the teenager that was working in there. "how much for the featherdusters?" (about 5 seconds of thought) and he offers "how about 6 for a buck?" (SCORE!) "I'll take $5 worth. Can you do that?" His reply "sure, even if you took every single one of them today, in about two weeks, there will be twice as many as there are now. They are breeding in the tanks."

 

So this kid just keeps reaching in and grabbing tubes. I don't think he was even counting. After a long time I told him that it was enough, and we would just call that amount $5 worth. So he stopped, and closed the bag, and out I walked (after paying for the fish food and worms). When I got home and was aclimating them, I counted closer to 40 individual tubes. I don't know if they all have worms in them (some came from a tank that had a CB butterfly, and they were closed up, maybe empty.) NICE SCORE for $5. I have not taken any pics yet, but I'll be sure to post pictures after I arrange them into a "featherduster forest". I am still looking to get some more snails, even after the 3 or 4 turbos that I got from J&JR (thanks man, I owe you one). It is still not enough. But these are stories for another day...

[dsoz]

Chapter 6: Ick-y tank

 

Well I knew that I was doing things wrong. I should have had more will power. Tonight I came home and Wave (the larger clown) has little white spots all over it, and Bubble is not acting "normal." He is lethargic, and moving rather stiffly. I knew it. I should have waited! Now I am hurting two more poor creatures. They will have to wait until after work tomorow for me to get to the pet store to get some ick cure. I was able to catch them out of my tank, and put them in a 10g that I have under the tank. If they survive until I get home from work, they will get treatment then. They will need to live in my QT for 6 weeks.

 

I gotta give that stupid parasite time to die off from the sand bed. :( Now I have a reason to follow the rules that I started with. No new life for 2 more months. Then up the CUC to full capacity. Then corals, then fish.

 

That is the plan. Now I gotta stick to it.

[impur]

Hey it happens to the best of us. The clowns should be fine until you get the treatment. I've read lots of success using garlic with the food you feed them. When you are done treating them in the QT, the cysts in the display will be dead.

[180Brandy]

Yep, I have had to learn that lesson the hard way myself. Its that darn instant gratification thing. I have to play the wait game too. Its not fun. Our tank is doing pretty good so far. Still having high calcium problems. Chin up! Your tank will improve in time.