Reef to Plants and Back Again

[FiddlersReef]

Glad to see everything is looking up. I did not QT either but managed to escape disaster. I will be setting one up for future additions though for sure. My home office is in my basement specifically because that's where I was allowed to set up the aquarium. I love being down here able to watch it all day, though. That gigantic UV made me chuckle for sure, makes my small 15w hang on look like a chump.

Haha, yeah, I kinda went to war with whatever parasites dared to mess up my baby.

I'm seriously considering moving my office down there. Problem is that it's a little cool in the winter. The tank heater handles it fine, but I'd need a blanket. (Plus I ran the google fiber hardline to my upstairs office and I like that speed!)

 

[FiddlersReef]

02/01/2022

After so many delays due to my own fallow period, and then winter storms, TSM Aquatics finally felt it was safe enough to ship again, and I got a 22 pound box the middle of January. FedEx nearly gave me a heart attack trying to get the delivery made, but in the end everything was alive and happy and healthy.

So now I finally have a full community that seems to be getting along perfectly. Only thing left to add is a pair of clowns, which ironically was the original reason my wife wanted a saltwater tank again in the first place.

I've also added a beautiful bubble coral and a blue-tip torch, purchased at my LFS. I've always liked bubbles, and the last one I tried was a Live Aquaria order and it came badly damaged and never recovered. This one seems to be eating and happy.

My long struggling goniapora frag was starting to collapse again, so I've moved it just right of center on the sand, and it actually seems pretty happy. It is much more extended than it was up on the rocks, so maybe this is a good mix of current at last. Now I just need to either glue it to a small piece of rubble or see if I can attach it about an inch up on a rock there so the conchs stop knocking it over at night.

Here's the front view video and here's the walk-around.

Now that I have a tank full of fish again, including a couple who are elite level poopers, I've notice my phosphates are creeping up. I just decided to try an occasional dose of Brightwell's Phosphat-E to see how it works. I've gone from .03 to .19 over the last month, and I'd like to keep it at about .09. I know that's higher than recommended, but my zoas really opened up when the phosphates got above .03, so I think I want to keep it a little higher than that, just not so high that I get an algae outbreak. The dose is really small to make that reduction, so it's definitely sustainable if it works. One 250 ml bottle will last me at least a year.

 

[FiddlersReef]

Some cool above-the-reef wall art. Seemed pretty fitting to put the ocean waves up there. ;-)

 

[jsker]

Great looking build.

 

[FiddlersReef]

03/01/2022

The biggest change this month was the addition of some artwork above the tank, to finally do something with that blank wall. (See earlier post.) I like the "illusion" that it creates the surface of the ocean up there, with my humble reef just below. Or I just have an over-active imagination.

I think I can safely say that the fallow period and QT was successful. Zero deaths after moving all the fish back to the tank, and adding a fresh shipment from TSM Aquatics. Yay!

We have two black oscellaris in QT right now, just crossing the halfway point of copper treatment. They should be going into the tank in early April, right about when the tank turns one year old. That'll be a good time to finally add the fish the tank was intended for in the first place.

There they are chilling in the QT. They almost never venture out into the open water, preferring to just roll around together on or in a pvc tube stack. Sort of weird, but they're definitely buddies. They do go after any live brine shrimp that get close, or any food that floats right to them, but they're very lazy about it. I guess if they weren't eating they'd be dead by now, so that's a good sign.

Ha. Just noticed the tank looks practically fish-less because everyone decided to hide when I got out the camera. Very anti-paparazzi, these buggers. The video below does a much better job of showing the fish.

Here's the front view video and here's the walk-around.

Thanks to anyone who's following along!

 

[FiddlersReef]

My charizard BTA split three ways this morning. I'd said if that kept happening it was gonna have to go because it always moves somewhere that annoys the corals, and I like the corals more than the anemone. I had badgered it enough to get to a relatively safe spot, but now that's over.

Fortunately it was pretty easy to dislodge the new ones. Upside... more space for coral!

 

[BaghdadBean]

Man, I love these comeback threads. It’s so cool to see people stick it out instead of fold it up. Your tank looks beautiful!

 

[FiddlersReef]

Man, I love these comeback threads. It’s so cool to see people stick it out instead of fold it up. Your tank looks beautiful!

Thank you very much, I appreciate it!

 

[FiddlersReef]

Exciting milestone... the initial purchase from Waterbox (tank/stand & lights) is paid off!
Happy dance... happy dance... ;Happy;Happy

I told the fish but they didn't really seem that impressed.

 

[FiddlersReef]

04/01/2022

My little rescued goniapora (on the sand center-right) has almost doubled in size over the last month. It definitely likes that spot. I glued it's rock onto a 2" round frag rock so it is solid and stable there (i.e., the conchs won't keep knocking it over).

I also added a blue-tipped torch to the euphilia garden, so I'm pretty happy with all those and they seem to be in a perfect flow spot. A couple of rock flower anemones have replaced the big charizard BTA, though they're hard to spot in the videos. One is behind the bubble coral, and the other is sort of in the cave below the candy cane. They haven't moved in a couple weeks though, so maybe they're happy.

The clowns in QT are finally on their last (3rd) prazi pro dose and then will have completed quarantine. So this Saturday they will finally get to join the display.

Here's the monthly front view video and here's the walk-around.

 

[FiddlersReef]

5/1/2022

Wow, I took my pics and video and then totally forgot to post them. I know you all were devastated -- thank you for hanging in there until I remembered to get this done.

Our clowns are finally in the tank and nothing is in the QT anymore. It has been thoroughly cleaned out and is sitting, waiting for the day I need it again. The tank is pretty much set for fish now, so unless something goes wrong, I don't have any need to add more fish.

The newbie clowns like to hang out in the back left. I think it's probably the calmest part of the tank, though I do need to do something about that because that sand is also where the most algae tries to grow.

We now have three rock-flower anemones in the tank, only one of which is sociable enough to be out in front. The other two (the prettiest of course) promptly moved to the back of the rock where you can only see them by looking straight down in the back with the cover off. Very annoying.

I did get what I thought was a cool-ish photo across the top of the bubble coral:

And another one showing some of the zoas and stylos:

I've heard that the odds of rolling blackouts this summer in KC are higher than normal, so I'm hoping that's all that happens and it doesn't turn into a week without power. Actually talked to a Generac installer today, but they're booked out until November, installing 5 units a day. Apparently Covid really messed up the assembly line in Wisconsin, or something like that.

Obligatory monthly front view and walkaround videos.

 

[FiddlersReef]

06/01/2022

One of my two anti-social rock flower anemones finally decided to come out where I can see it. Yay! (It's on the right in the photo below, just behind the angel.)

Nothing special to report this month. I did switch my MP40 covers back from the "wide" versions I've used for the last few months, to the standard covers. The biggest bonus for me is that now the mag cleaner can sweep right around the pump to clean the glass. Couldn't do that on the other covers because of the way the bulged out. So now I don't have the annoying algae film that takes special effort to keep clean around the covers.

For the coral though, these do allow a lot more powerful flow out of the pumps, though I'm still only running them at about 40%. I switched in hopes that they might help wake up one torch that seems to have receeded a bit after it sprouted a new head a few weeks ago. Maybe that's normal, I'm not sure. These are my first torches and I hadn't seen one form a new head before.

It is getting to the point where I'm going to have to do something about the GSP that I stupidly put on a rock that is part of the base on the left. Either it needs to become its own island like its neighbor, or I'll have to try to rip some of it off. I'm hoping to get lucky and it won't climb upward because it has to grow into the dark in order to reach the rock above. (I doubt I'll get that lucky.)

Here's the monthly front view video and here's the walk-around.

 

[FiddlersReef]

My bubble coral is giving me troubles. In this photo you can see that I moved it into the "cove", but it still seems to be annoyed and not opening as much as it was. So shortly after this I moved it to the back left corner which should be even softer. I really hope I don't lose it.

My little tiny one stalk goniapora continues to grow though! This makes me super happy to watch. My little pound-puppy rescue coral.

Here's the monthly front view video and here's the walk around.

 

[FiddlersReef]

9/1/2022

Well, I skipped a photo for August because I was frustrated with my dying bubble coral. I couldn't bring myself to immortalize it in a picture. And now, it's gone. I have no idea what it didn't like but I just couldn't seem to make it happy.

Here's the monthly front view video and here's the walk around.