dsoz Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 chapter 7-the QT wait :(- and lights! Well I was able to get some ick cure from Wegotjs the same time he gave me some sand . This club is AWESOME! There are so many people that want to help each other out. I wonder when I'll be able to give back rather than just take. There are some times that I feel like such a mooch. Anyway, the clowns are in the dark under my tank in a QT, and they are being medicated. I figure I'll keep them there until June while the ick clears itself from my display. Would it be better to take the fish back to a store after a couple of weeks, then get new ones in June? Or should I keep the clowns in a bare bottom tank with no lights that is under my tank in the stand until then? My daughter would probably freak out if I returned them, but keeping them in the dark seems cruel. Maybe with my next paycheck (2 weeks) I'll get a small PC light to put under there so they can at least have a day/night cycle. I should also get a small power filter for better flow. I have a powerhead with a filter bag tied to the bottom of it. Maybe it will have enough bacteria for the bioload. I should test the water on the QT. It would suck to have the fish die from an ammonia spike. I am so excited J&Jr is getting me lights for the display. a 6 bulb TEK T5 setup. He only was able to get 4 bulbs for it, but that is perfect because there are two swithches, one for the middle 4 bulbs, and the other for the outermost 2 bulbs. I can run it as a 4 bulb fixture until I get the last 2 bulbs. I got such a great deal from him on that fixture! He got the fixture Friday, and I will have my wife pick it up from him on Monday when she gets off work. I saw that same fixture on J&Jr's 75g tank. IT WAS AWESOME! He has everything that I want to have in my tank to start with sitting in his tank, and it is all doing great. The only thing that I may want later that he does not have is a clam. I am not woried, I'm sure that they will do just fine under 6 T5 bulbs (I think that works out to more than 7 watts per gallon on a 45g tank.). I'll have to post pics when I get it. Again, I feel fortunate for all the people that I have met through this club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Yes you will be able to keep anything under that light, even a clam. Mine does great under that same light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefhut Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I would drop your salinity to 1.017 in your quarinteen tank. The parisites( bad speller ) can't live in low salinity. Fish don't need high tech lighting. Anything will work for them. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 17, 2007 Author Share Posted April 17, 2007 chapter 8 (I think)- They light up my life Well, J&Jr came through with the lights for me. It was a great deal on some awesome lights. I only have 4 of 6 bulbs in place (two more next month... the story of my life.) Even with only 4 bulbs, the tank just SHINES! Here are some pics. Before- a two bulb fluorescent shop light (80w of light) With the TEK T5HO, only 4 bulbs (216w of light with reflectors) xenia (I think pulsing) also from J&Jr (what a great guy!) GSP that are not happy (also from J&Jr) A couple of blue/purple mushrooms (from... guess who...) and some brown star polyps. Not from J&Jr, but from another bio teacher at my work. But that is another story. I don't want to get started about how she got the shaft from Carolina Biological Supply Company (sells stuff to schools for science). She spend too much for a "set up" and got a bunch of garbage.(flame) If anyone wants BROWN star polyps (for variety) just ask. As these grow out, I bet I'll have a lot of frags to give away! Update on the clowns. Bubble and Wave are living in a QT. I already did lower the salinity of the water that they are in. (thanks anyway reefhut ) I tested the water yesterday, and ammonia was above 0.5 ppm! And nitrite was at 0.5 ppm. I did an almost 100% water change. I used tank water (diluted to a lower salinity). Then added more copper to the QT. I am cutting back the food to once every third day, and will monitor the water quality more. I can't wait (yes I can... I have will power)to get those clowns back in my display. I am hoping that they will start hosting that xenia. Or maybe once I get a FS, torch, or galaxy coral they will host in that. That has got to be one of my most favorite parts of keeping clowns... Maybe someday I'll try an anemone again. But only if I know that it is tank raised. I don't want to take any more of them out of the wild. That's all for now. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Thats a ton better! That should help out with any algae issued you were having as well. those yellow 4500k bulbs just invite algae to grow. Keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidalsculpin Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Yeah, Carolina is not so hot. We go through Frey Sci these days. A better deal. We NEVER buy there for fish or coral!!!! Protozoa and Preserved Frogs are about it. The lights look great. What kind of light cycle have you set up? How are your water parameters. Your rock has been in there 5 weeks now, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 17, 2007 Author Share Posted April 17, 2007 Rock was put in tank on March 10. So it is just about 5 weeks old. Diatoms have come and mostly gone. Green algae has sprouted a couple of hairs, but the snails took care of it quickly. I only got the lights last night. THey were on from 6pm to 10pm. My "normal" light schedule will be from when I get up (before 6am) to when I go to bed (10 pm). Unless I start getting "bad" algae problems. I have never had lights this intense before. I am going to need to experiment I keep telling my wife that snails are a good thing. I am probably going to need to buy many more snails before my tank becomes stable. As to tank parameters. Ammonia and nitrite are both 0. Nitrate between 5 and 10 (I know this will = algae), and pH is 8.2. I don't have any other test kits. I should probably take some water into a fish store to get it tested, but since I'm not planning on buying anything in the near future (April 30 is payday) I don't want to waste their time. I believe that the rest are OK. I have changed almost 50 gal. of water in the last 2 months. Just to keep the nitrates down. Now is the time my chaeto should be useful. It is just floating around the tank. People on nano-reef.com use a small soapdish as an in-tank refugium. Maybe I'll do that soon. I'm not sure if that will look too tacky. I think I will just end with the statement that I'll just be patient and wait, and wait, and wait. Baby-steps are what I can afford, and I am good with what I have for now. Next payday will be another story. A skimmer, and a sump and pump will be my next "big purchases" We will see. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 Thats a very long photo period. I think you might run into some problems with it on that long. On my tank with that same light I have the 2 outside bulbs as actincs, and they come on at 12pm. The 4 other bulbs come on at 1pm. At 8pm the 4 bulbs go off, and at 8:30pm the actinics go off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 I know it is a long photoperiod, and I'll get a lot of algae. I plan on slimming the time down as I get it going. Today I came home from work and there are bubbles everywhere. I am assuming that the algae that I not abundant is doing photosynthesis overload and making a lot of oxygen (I could be wrong, but who knows). The tank is really warm (88 degrees F). I think I'll turn the lights off for the night when I come home from work so the tank can cool a little. Even the xenia are pulsing faster today then they did yesterday. Maybe the frequency of the pulses have something to do with temperature (like cricket chirps...). Somedays I wonder what it would be like if I didn't think like a scientist... Nah, that would be booring. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J & Jr Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 I think the pulsing has more to do with the lights. when I was running the PC's they hardly moved at all but when I switched to the t5's they showed more movement as time went by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 I think the pulsing has more to do with the lights. when I was running the PC's they hardly moved at all but when I switched to the t5's they showed more movement as time went by. Another theory shot down... :( Someday I'll have a theory that makes me rich and famous. Oh wait, I teach... nothing will make me rich, and my fame will only be in the students that I work with. That will have to be enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I would guess they are pulsing indirectly due to the temperature, more to do with oxygen. Higher temps, lower Oxygen. I have found my xenia rarly pulse, as long as I have lots of flow I usually dont get any pulse, but the second I turn off the water flow they pulse like MAD. No one really knows what makes them pulse, but I think they pulse to gain more oxygen. Dennis the tank is looking like its coming along nicely. You'll need to get those lights raised up a bit to let the heat dissipate rather than collect between the light and the tank. Just slide a couple 2x4's under them for now, until you can work something more long term out. Maybe a fan on the side to blow the air out from under the lights as well. T5's will expire much quicker if they run hot as well. How come the sand is all piled up on the left? Dont forget its ok to manually remove the diatoms from the tank walls. Even with algae all over the rock, the tank will look MUCH better if the glass is wiped down. maybe think about picking up a magnet cleaner to help. A skimmer will make a huge difference, but thats where the whole talk about sump or no sump comes in. I wouldnt buy a HOB skimmer unless it can easily be used in a sump later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share Posted April 25, 2007 Joel- thanks for the compliment coming from an "expert" it makes me think I may be doing something right. The lights are up on 2x4's until I can get back over to J&Jr's place. He offered to help me make some plastic brackets to hold the lights up. He is such a great guy! Once I put the 2x4's the tall way (and turned down my heater to 76 rather than 80) the heat problem went away. Good advice though. The "sand" that is piled up on the left is actually CC from J&Jr's old tank. It has all sorts of neat things crawling in it. I have found amphipods, micro brittle stars, the other small stars that always look like they are missing one or two legs (I forgot their name), small snails that have white and black tiger stripes, strawberry anemones, and stomatella. That is only what I have seen. I am sure that there is much more. I will start taking it out slowly as I get more sand (only have 10 lbs right now). If anyone else wants some of this CC to put in their tank, just let me know. I'll probably keep it until summer, then I will either give it to a new person, smash it up to make sand, or maybe someone needs it for a Ca reactor. I'll probably keep a small bucket to use when I start fragging mushrooms. Diatoms are gone. They have been replaced with green algae. I do scrape the glass when I want to see in, but I am trying to allow the algae to grow and suck up some of the nutrient load. When I scrape the glass, I then syphon off all the algae-sheets that come off. A magnet cleaner is on my list of things to get. There are more important items on my list. I want to get the big ticket items while I am still doing extra work, and bringing home an extra paycheck. The small things (less than $30) I can get once I am back on a "normal" budget this summer. Again, thank you all for the nice comments. An update on my tank situation. The clowns are still in QT. It has been 14 days since they started having ick. I am going to slowly start increasing the salinity of the QT. I think I'll keep the copper level at treatment levels for another week or so, then start to lower the amount of copper to zero. I still have a month to wait for the main tank to clear out. Maybe investing in some RubyReef ick cure would be a good idea. That way I can treat the tank, and get the clowns out of prison, I mean QT. Lately my xenia has not been looking too good. It seems to be "wilting" and the hands tend to ball up and deflate for longer and longer times. I don't know. Maybe I need to get some more actinic bulbs in my light fixture. I have tried moving it around, but it still seems to not be doing like it was when it was in J&Jr's tank. Today it is out and pulsing, but it does not seem to have the "energy" that it had before. On a good note, the brown star polyps have been doing well. They have been extending fully, and even have places where I can tell that there is new growth. The GSP is also starting to extend polyps. Yesterday there was ONE for the first time since I got them. Today I just counted four! Pretty soon there should be so many that the thing will take over my tank and I will be begging people to come get some... I can only hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Have anymore updated pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 26, 2007 Author Share Posted April 26, 2007 Have anymore updated pictures? No updated pictures because nothing has changed. The only excitement in the tank is watching the algae grow, and the snails eat it down. I am even getting sorry for the hermit crabs. Since the clowns are in QT, there is no left overs for them to scavange. I think they are starting to turn on each other. I saw two of them fighting over what looked to be a half eaten carcas of a third hermit. As long as they leave my snails alone, I am ok with them eating each other. Every now and then I will throw in a piece of Seafood Medley (clam, shrimp, squid...). I will cut it up into small bits and let it float around the tank. When it settles it is a race between the hermits and the nassarius. Once I even watched a nassarius chase a micro-hermit away from a piece. LOL! Payday is less than a week away. There should be some changes then. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Can't wait to read the next chapter! Our calcium is finally coming down. It's at 450 now. High 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 Chapter 9- lots of new stuff. Most of it free Well it is a new month, which usually means new stuff. But this month the expenses of the household exceded the income of the wage earners, so the choices are to charge the extra or take from the fish tank budget. Sigh, I guess the fish tank budget is where it will come from. (sad) There was only some MAJOR whining and crying on my part. But we gotta send the kids to camp this summer, deposits on major school trips must be made, and DMV wants to suck some of the blood out of my wallet. Oh and I almost forgot about my car getting hit by a hit-and-run while it was parked on my street one night. THe whole driver's side was crushed in. The insurance deductable is only $250, but it is $250 of MY FISH TANK MONEY!!!! That sucks big time! I did get some new stuff. First updates of existing material. Brown star polyps Green star polyps that are finally starting to open up Xenia that I moved to a new rock so I can gove the old rock back to J&Jr (thanks for the loan) Now for some new items: fuzzy mushrooms. Brown and green from SWFS $10 frag tank. The Purple one is one that I had from J&Jr. Some zoas, also from SWFS $10 frag tank Another fuzzy mushroom from wegotjs I think this is an acropora (not sure- help me out here) also from wegotjs An awesome frag of orange eagle eyes from wegotjs Thanks man! And my new pride and joy! FROGSPAWN! Also from wegotjs. Really cool, it has 3 heads now, and is splitting into 4 heads. I hope my clowns will find something that they want to host when they get back out of jail. Only one more month to go. I also am borrowing a Coralife SuperSkimmer from J&Jr. It is working OK, and is better than what I had (NOTHING!). It makes some skimate that is olive colored. I was kinda expecting darker, but anything is better than nothing. I still am working on getting a sump and refugium set up. That is all for now. Chapter 10 will probably be about the move from the attic (my bedroom) to the basement. The goal is to get it moved BEFORE June 1. Temperatures will soon be too high for the tank to stay in the attic much longer. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBear Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 I love this thread man! Your love for the hobby is apparent and your excitement is contagious. Thanks for sharing all this with us Dennis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 5, 2007 Author Share Posted May 5, 2007 sugarbear- Just wait. When you get your tank up and running, you will be just as excited! Even baby steps can be a big deal! The best part is the people that are here that are friendly and encouraging. I am starting to make some good friends that have a common interest. Best of all is the fact that almost everyone is willing to share advice, and even go out of their way to help out newbies (or recycled newbies like you and me). dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 Pretty cool pictures! I like your xena. Love the frogspawn!!! That sucks that someone hit your car. The good news is no one was hurt!!!! We have green algae!!! So we hired a lawnmower blenny. He is the coolest fish. Hes doing a great job keeping the algae down. can't wait until chapter 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 5, 2007 Author Share Posted May 5, 2007 Pretty cool pictures! I like your xena. Love the frogspawn!!! That sucks that someone hit your car. The good news is no one was hurt!!!! We have green algae!!! So we hired a lawnmower blenny. He is the coolest fish. Hes doing a great job keeping the algae down. can't wait until chapter 10. How much does the LM blenny charge an hour? I am starting to get a little algae problem, and snails move as slow as.... well, snails. (laugh) I need to get about 4 or 5 more. But it will need to wait. The story of a reefer on a budget. The car was hit the same night that my son and I went over to help Joel (WAVES) with his computer problems. It was fine when we left Waves, but the next morning... SMASHEROO (flame) ... I guess that teaches me that no good deed goes unpunished. Just kidding. I would like to get ahold of the person that did it and make them pay for the damage. I am not sue happy, but people should be responsible when they make mistakes. I need to finish working down in the basement before chapter 10 can happen. I have a 90 year old house with a basement that leaks water when it rains. Some prior owner painted the concrete. In order to water-proof the concrete, all the paint needs to be removed. Paint-stripper does not work (I tried). So what I found that DOES work is an angle grinder with a masonry wheel. It is slow and dusty work. I have been doing this since Thanksgiving, and I see the light at the end of the tunnel. 95% of the floor is done, and 90% of the walls are done. I figure about two more weekends of work and I'll be done. Then I need to take everything out of the basement Sweep up all the dust that I can, and then hose it all down. Once this is all done I can move the fishtank down to the basement. and set it up in a temporary location down there. Then I need to do some electrical work to reroute two circuits that are not being used anymore so I have power where I want the tank. Then waterproofing can start. When I get the place where the tank will go waterproofed, it can get moved to it's final location. Then the rest of the basement can get done. It will be a lot of work, but I think it will turn out alright in the end. That is why chapter 10 will not be until June. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 Sounds like you have lots of work to to. Have fun with that. And when its all done post pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J & Jr Posted May 7, 2007 Share Posted May 7, 2007 If you need help with the wiring just PM me I have lots of odds & ends left from previous projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 7, 2007 Author Share Posted May 7, 2007 If you need help with the wiring just PM me I have lots of odds & ends left from previous projects. Thanks for the offer John, but I think I have most of what I need. I have several junction boxes, and quite a few outlets. The only thing that I really will need to buy is wire, some switches, and a couple of in-line timers for the lights. I am thinking that if I make a couple of parallel lines off of each circuit, and put in a GFCI for each different line, then I get the protection of GFI, but the whole system does not go down if something trips the circuit. I would also like to have several switches so that I can turn off different components when I need to. A master switch is also a good idea. I have a couple of weeks to think about how I will design this projecet. Help with moving the tank and contents would be accepted. any volunteers? LOL I didn't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 21, 2007 Author Share Posted May 21, 2007 chapter 10- cha-ching at the May meeting! Well, after being let down with the family finances this month, I was unable to buy anything of significance for my tank. But fate has it that I continue to add to my tank anyway. I don't have any pictures right now (my son has misplaced the cable to connect the camera to the computer... GIRRR) so there is just a lot of words in this chapter. First to report, that night that my son helped Joel at Waves and his computer problem paid off. I get to pay my son, and Joel gave me store credit. I was able to get a used overflow, sump and return pump. It doesn't look too good because I have not cleaned it up yet. I was planning on doing the installation when I move the tank next month. Only one more day working in the basement, then it will be ready to at least move the tank down there. Memorial day is coming up. That sounds like a good weekend to grind concrete (lol). The best part is the May meeting today at Saltwater Fanta-Seas. I bought $5 worth of raffle tickets, and won twice!!!! I got the free anemone ($80 value), and a $50 gift certificate. Basically I walked out of the meeting with $125 profit. Since my tank is still young, I don't want to risk an anemone in there just yet. So Patrick and Austin agreed to let me take the goods at a future date. I am thinking maybe more towards the middle/end of summer. Most recomend letting a tank get established for at least 6 months before adding an anemone or a clam. So I will show self control (a rare thing, indeed). Now I just need to plan what to do with the $50. I was thinking of a lawnmower bleney and a 6-line wrasse. Both will be functional for my tank. The lawnmower will eat some of that hair algae that is starting to become a pest. And the 6-line is supposed to eat the brown flatworms that I have started to see. I plan on using flatworm exit on the tank before I move it down to the basement. But I have been told that even that does not kill them all. So a wrasse is on my list of livestock. But even these new fish need to wait until the ick has cleared from my tank. June 1 is the date I am sticking to for re-introduction of my clowns. Once the clowns are out of jail, then I can use the 10g for a QT for new arivals. The anemone will probably sneak past quaranteen, but only because it needs the light. These are the times that I wish I had one of those nano-aquariums like the aquapod. Then I could use it for a QT for anything, even light-loving animals like corals and anemones. I am still excited that I won. I hardly ever win anything! And I scored twice in one meeting! LOL Until next time dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.