Eienna's Treasure Chest Mark II (165g)

[Eienna]

My pair of peppermint shrimp are MIA...I suspect the eel nommed them.

 

[Eienna]

I just had a really good idea...I hate the "drip tray" mechanical filtration setup on my sump, but my filter sock tray doesn't fit, so I'm hatching a plan...photos if it works!! I'd just cut a hole in the drip tray to set the sock in, but I don't have the proper tools.

 

[Eienna]

I have just decided that skimmers TOTALLY rock. When I look at the stinky junk it's pulling out - stuff my prior mechanical filtration never removed -oh, yuck, I'm glad to have it out of my tank!

 

[Eienna]

OK...tested the water today...I'm beginning to think it's unlikely to be ready for Reef-A-Palooza. I think the best I can hope for is MAX in April.
I got the phosphate down to 0 on the API kit (which doesn't have anything between .25 and 0) but my nitrates are at a ridiculous 40. Poop. I'd love to do a 50% water change, but...well, I wish I'd calculated how much water and salt that would take before I opted for such a huge tank >.<. I'll be looking into other options for nitrate removal, at least to keep it under control until the system matures. Purigen is one option; I've used it before in a freshwater tank and I like it quite a bit. I want to get some of Dr. Tim's Waste-Away, regardless of what else I do...I'm convinced that it significantly sped up the process of accumulating denitrifying bacteria in my old 50g (before I moved and messed it up.) I have a small amount of gracilaria starting to grow, and I'm rigging up a way to use my filter sock for far better mechanical filtration, but does anyone have any other ideas as well? I blow out my rocks regularly and the sand bed doesn't appear to be accumulating anything.

 

[Eienna]

After some thought, it occurs to me that too many methods at the same time may be dangerous. I'm thinking I'll go with the Waste-Away and VERY careful vinegar dosing. Any thoughts on that, negative or positive?

 

[Eienna]

Just got ahold of some distilled white vinegar...since nobody's replied, I started using it today.

 

[Texas Reefer]

Lol, good luck! I'm listening, just busy, and don't really have any insight for you .

 

[NanaReefer]

Why are you dosing vinegar in a newly set up tank? Even small WC's are better then none. Your going to wind up causing more issues...again <sigh>

 

[Eienna]

Lol, good luck! I'm listening, just busy, and don't really have any insight for you .

Okey day

Why are you dosing vinegar in a newly set up tank? Even small WC's are better then none. Your going to wind up causing more issues...again <sigh>

I simply cannot keep up with the volume required to keep this under control. It's up to 40 and I can't fix it with water changes. I'll still be doing my water changes...that's just not enough. I also and read up on it first. I am dosing per this article: Reefkeeping Magazine - Vinegar Dosing Methodology for the Marine Aquarium

I honestly don't think it's going to hurt anything. I will be watching closely for any adverse effects.

 

[Eienna]

I specifically chose vinegar because it has fewer potential side effects than vodka (and because the vodka might disappear if the other household members found it...LOL!) I just have to watch the pH and how my tank reacts to it. I watch my tank rather obsessively anyway, so that's no different than status quo.

 

[Eienna]

I have also been advised by a very successful longterm reefkeeper that vinegar is a viable option for my tank, as long as I am careful.

 

[Eienna]

Third day of dosing 5ml 5% distilled white vinegar...pH holding steady at its usual 7.8 (for some reason, that's always been what IO salt has done for me - fresh mix 8.5, 7.8 in tank.) We are go for next phase.

 

[Mike in CT]

I also think it is way to early to be dosing. I think you need to let your tank settle down. If you are 6 months in and your nitrates are still high, then I would consider carbon dosing. 40 is not that high for a new tank.

 

[Eienna]

I also think it is way to early to be dosing. I think you need to let your tank settle down. If you are 6 months in and your nitrates are still high, then I would consider carbon dosing. 40 is not that high for a new tank.

What I feel is that I haven't even had this tank up a month, and I've been doing regular water changes. At the rate it's climbing, I fear it will cause health issues with the animals before the tank matures on its own. The dosing should give the beneficial bacteria that will mature the tank a boost. My other concern is that the next color up from 40 on my kit is 80; I do NOT want it getting that high. However, I am truly interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. Exactly what problems do you expect dosing at this point to cause? I legitimately want to make the right choice for this aquarium. What do you suggest I do instead? I have a major bioload issue for such a young tank...my hope was that putting my current stock into the bigger tank fairly slowly would allow it to mature properly, but we ended up with an eel coming with the tank that was a good foot long, and I got slammed with the sudden requirement that I only have two tanks in the house, ending my quarantine of the other fish I was going to add slowly. It kind of screwed up the "let it mature normally" plan. I need something to keep this volatile situation at least under control until the natural process takes over, and my question from the beginning was how best to do that. I didn't get a reply, so I did what I felt was best, but I'm still open to suggestions...though I will be researching and coming to my own conclusion about the suggestions rather than blindly accepting it, which I feel to be due diligence in any situation.

I also discovered with some perturbation that the larger pieces of detritus were not making it into the overflow, so I had to tweak the flow yet again. I feel I'm going to need a degree in hydrodynamics before I get this right XD It IS better, though.

 

[Mike in CT]

Sometimes I think paying too close attention to a tank is worse then not paying enough. I went away for 2 weeks in the winter with someone stoping by every few days to have a lookie. My tanked actually looked the best it ever had when I got back from vacation. In those 2 weeks everything was stable. Lights on timer , auto fish feeder, ATO and no hands in the tank messing with anything. I think when we are constantly poking around the tank it never has time to settle into a groove.

 

[Mike in CT]

For the most part, nitrates that high will not harm your fish in the short run. Corals will feel the effect but if I remember correctly you only have one coral in there as of now. Unless you are very aggressive with your dosing, it can take months before it starts really working. I just think you need to let the tank mature a few months while doing what water changes you can and then see where things are , and then come up with a plan. My 75 took almost a year for everything to settle down and for everything to start looking happy. I had nitrates well over 80 for months, the fish never missed a beat. Now they are around 5 or 10 once everything kicked in.

 

[Eienna]

Makes sense. I will take that into consideration. Anyone else wanna chime in with your thoughts on the matter?

 

[Eienna]

RIP Shock T-T
Not sure what happened, but my favorite fish is dead. Our top suspect for the anthias' death is the snowflake eel, but I've been gone for three days and what's left of the fish smelled BAD, so there's a possibility that nassarius snails were to blame for most of the body being gone and what was left being ragged. He seemed perfectly fine when I left...but what I suspect is that his very light pink belly (not sure he ever fully made the change to male) may have been mistaken for a chunk of shrimp one night and snapped at before questions were asked. I've seen this eel chase fish but only for a very short time, and you could practically see the light come on that it wasn't food. I don't think it was intentional if he did kill the anthias. Either way, he gets another strike before he's out - and lucky to have it, given how upset I am over Shock's demise.

 

[Mike in CT]

That's a bummer Hopefully just a isolated incident.

 

[Eienna]

That's a bummer Hopefully just a isolated incident.

I hope so.