Fireman's 80 gallon restart.

Firemanreefkeeper · Oct 26, 2019

It's been a while so I'll post an update. I added 3 acans from my frag tank 2 months ago and they are doing well in their new home. I've changed my flow from the gyre pumps to the built in lunar cycle program and they responded well. They puff up now and extend their feeder tenticals so I know they are happy. Acros from the frag tank go in next month since I bought a bristle tooth tang and put him in the frag tank. I'm waiting and watching him to make sure he is ok before I take anything from the frag tank out and put it into my display. If Sunny the yellow tang can behave I'll consider adding the bristle tooth tang to the display too.
Coraline algae is growing at a steady pace all over the place so I know the tank is ready. I took the skimmer offline and am using water changes and the cheato to control nutrients in the tank (they test 2ppm nitrates and 5ppb phosphates on average) having no sand is a new experience and I'm glad I went without since I've had no issues with high nitrates or phosphates.
The pics of my clowns are them trying to guard their 4th set of eggs they have laid. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or energy to attempt to raise the fry so for now it gives them something to do and my house guests something to talk about when they come over.

Firemanreefkeeper · Dec 4, 2019

Last Monday, November 25th, my return pump in my frag tank took a dump on me so I was forced move all my livestalk to my 80 gallon tank. The parameters were very similar as far as salinity, alk and calcium. The lights are the same T5 configuration, the 80 has 4 feet the frag had 3 foot long lights. The flow is a little different but both are strong. The only difference is the age. My frag tank had rocks in it that were almost 2 years old, my display rocks are only 9 months old.
I'm watching about $2,000 worth of coral STN. I'm trimming off the dead parts trying to save it but I've got a feeling it's not going to do me any good. By the time this is all said and done I'm probably going to have a $19 birdsnest and a $25 green slimmer as the only surviving SPS in my tank.
To kick a guy while he's down.... Sicce is giving me the run around now. I've registered all my products, have my account info written down in my book of knowledge and have made warranty claims in the past but I cannot sign onto my account. I've requested an email to reset my password but I never get the email link sent to me. I've tried emailing them through the web and I get a response telling me to log in or create a new account. I can tell the person I'm dealing with is from Italy as the responses are worded funny as if they are being translated. If I create a new account I'd have to show proof that I bought the pump and that paperwork is long gone.
All I want is to get the pump fixed so can have it as a backup in case my abyzz pump should fail. Is that so much to ask?

count krunk · Dec 5, 2019

Any way you bought with a credit or debit card? You should still be able to pull up that statement. I believe they have to stick around for at least 5 years

Firemanreefkeeper · Dec 6, 2019

count krunk said:
Any way you bought with a credit or debit card? You should still be able to pull up that statement. I believe they have to stick around for at least 5 years

I probably did but I can't remember which one. I did buy from BRS and after a few minutes of looking at past orders I found my invoice. I've started the warranty claim now but still have heard nothing yet.

Firemanreefkeeper · Feb 26, 2020

Well.....as the old magic 8 ball would say, outlook not so good. All my SPS coral has bleached, tissue necrosis and is gone. My acans are slowly following the same path with tissue loss and I suspect they will be the next to go. Even my zoes are dying. Parts of them close and never reopen before they just vanish. It looks like the heads are being pinched off before they die. I'm at a loss. I started another thread to try and get some help but got a single response.
The only thing I can think of is the starboard is leaching something into the water since it's the only thing different from the frag tank they came out of and did so well in. Even that doesn't make sense as the coraline algae growth on it has it almost covered. I guess I have a fish only tank now with some overly expensive lights and crazy flow. Maybe I'll break it down and turn it into a nice turtle tank for my son.

JJ440 · Feb 26, 2020

Firemanreefkeeper said:
Well.....as the old magic 8 ball would say, outlook not so good. All my SPS coral has bleached, tissue necrosis and is gone. My acans are slowly following the same path with tissue loss and I suspect they will be the next to go. Even my zoes are dying. Parts of them close and never reopen before they just vanish. It looks like the heads are being pinched off before they die. I'm at a loss. I started another thread to try and get some help but got a single response.
The only thing I can think of is the starboard is leaching something into the water since it's the only thing different from the frag tank they came out of and did so well in. Even that doesn't make sense as the coraline algae growth on it has it almost covered. I guess I have a fish only tank now with some overly expensive lights and crazy flow. Maybe I'll break it down and turn it into a nice turtle tank for my son.

I'm sorry to hear your having trouble with your set up. I'd love to offer ideas but I feel I'm still learning myself. I'm not 100% sure but I think there is a way to use the #reefsquade to get help from experienced reefers. I did have a similar experience with my tank and decided to change salts. I'm not sure if that helped or just letting it mature a little more as it is only 6 months old. Man I hope someone can help! Hoping for the best!

count krunk · Feb 27, 2020

it's #reefsquad and let's not jump straight to breaking it down yet! Besides zoas do you have any soft coral in the tank? Could you post pictures and provide some testing history? RO/DI is in use correct?

GoVols · Feb 27, 2020

Firemanreefkeeper said:
Well.....as the old magic 8 ball would say, outlook not so good. All my SPS coral has bleached, tissue necrosis and is gone. My acans are slowly following the same path with tissue loss and I suspect they will be the next to go. Even my zoes are dying. Parts of them close and never reopen before they just vanish. It looks like the heads are being pinched off before they die. I'm at a loss. I started another thread to try and get some help but got a single response.
The only thing I can think of is the starboard is leaching something into the water since it's the only thing different from the frag tank they came out of and did so well in. Even that doesn't make sense as the coraline algae growth on it has it almost covered. I guess I have a fish only tank now with some overly expensive lights and crazy flow. Maybe I'll break it down and turn it into a nice turtle tank for my son.

How fast did you lose your corals?

If it went down in like 48 hours and you have certain types of plays, then certain play toxins can take down a reef real fast.

I've seen two reefs go down, when certain plays have kicked in.

Just tossing it out there as one thing to consider.

Firemanreefkeeper · May 14, 2020

The heads on the acans just pop off and float around the tank. All that's left behind is the white skeleton of where they were. I have zero acros left just the cheap zoes I had kept as bottom dwelling space fillers.
I think once this covid crap is over so is this tank. The only thing stopping me from shutting it down is I have no place to take the fish and remaining corals. The fish store is closed still. I'm not a cruel person so I'll wait until they open so they don't have to be flushed.☹
It just makes me sad that all the planning and hard work and it turned out this way. I put zero thought into my old tank and it grew stuff like weeds.

Firemanreefkeeper · May 24, 2020

Today was the end. My fish store took my fish in and gave me a little money for them. The water was drained, rocks were tossed, equipment cleaned, everything moved to my storage unit. I'm out. It was fun while it lasted.