SeahorseKeeper's 75 gallon rebuild

SeahorseKeeper · Jun 29, 2015

I should have started this thread sooner. On June 10, I upgraded my 55 gallon to a 75. The transfer went well and everything was doing great. The only issue I was having was some pesky diatoms which came from the new sand.

Fast forward to last Tuesday, a nasty storm that was called a macroburst rolled through South Jersey. The area sustained winds of 85 mph for about 5-20 minutes. I was extremely lucky. There was no damage to the house. I did lose power. I had no power from 6 PM on Tuesday until 12:30 PM on Saturday. Unfortunately, I did not have a generator. I used an inverter periodically to get some water flowing in the tank.

Luckily, there is some good news. My tank was not a total loss. As soon as the power came on, I did a nice water change and got some fresh carbon in the system. Then, I surveyed the damage. I was shocked that some of my zoas, mushrooms, and even my RBTA made it. The fish also pulled through fine. Now, my LPS and SPS did not make it.

saltyphish · Jun 29, 2015

At least you were able to save some. Not sure if I would be more upset on loosing my zoas or my lps though. Sorry for your losses.

redfishbluefish · Jun 29, 2015

Krista, I'm going to repeat what I said before....if you're in the area, please stop by and I'll set you up with whatever I have (or you want.) Some of this stuff I'm throwing away.

Glad to hear and see it wasn't a total loss.

Aquaph8 · Jun 29, 2015

Following along Krista. Happy to hear some stuff is doing OK.

kschweer · Jun 29, 2015

Congrats on the upgrade Krista! Really sorry to hear about the sps and lps loss. I know how it feels. Best of luck with the new tank!

SeahorseKeeper · Jun 30, 2015

I guess I should have included a livestock list:

Fish:
Pygmy angel
Mystery Wrasse
3 Clowns: One occelaris, one black and white, and a white clown (forgot the name)

As far as corals, I have a few zoas: rastas, gobstoppers and a few more that I have no clue as to what the names are. I have never really been into the name game. If I like the look of it and the price is what I feel is appropriate, I will buy it. I also have a toadstool, which has never opened in my tank and some mushrooms.

Inverts:
RBTA
Various CUC members

I have been thinking about the direction that I want to take the tank in. I am thinking of doing an anemone dominant tank or LPS dominant. I look back at some old pics of my 55 and I loved how my h. crispa was the center of the tank.

mike007 · Jun 30, 2015

Glad you are up and running. I agree with you on the lps. I have had nothing but problems with my sps. Out of all of them I have bought only a handful are doing good. Plus I like the wavy stuff myself makes tank more active and they usually do really well. Good luck on your new build.

Gopi · Jun 30, 2015

Glad to hear things made it through the storm! Your story inspired me to pick up battery powered pumps for my tanks, just in case. Good luck! Pictures soon?

hybridazn · Jul 1, 2015

Glad you had a good outcome! Looking forward to this build!

SeahorseKeeper · Jul 6, 2015

Gopi said:
Glad to hear things made it through the storm! Your story inspired me to pick up battery powered pumps for my tanks, just in case. Good luck! Pictures soon?

Yes, pics will be coming soon! Right now, I am dealing with some lovely diatoms. One weird thing that I have noticed since the power outage is that the mystery wrasse has been acting weird. Each night at about 6 PM, it starts going nuts and tries to jump out of the left, back corner of the tank. All of the other fish are fine and acting normal.

Gopi · Jul 7, 2015

Did the storm hit around 6pm? Maybe the wrasse can tell time?

redfishbluefish · Jul 7, 2015

SeahorseKeeper said:
Yes, pics will be coming soon! Right now, I am dealing with some lovely diatoms. One weird thing that I have noticed since the power outage is that the mystery wrasse has been acting weird. Each night at about 6 PM, it starts going nuts and tries to jump out of the left, back corner of the tank. All of the other fish are fine and acting normal.

This might be out there is left field, but does anything turn ON at around 6pm.......what I'm saying is check for voltage leaks.

SeahorseKeeper · Jul 7, 2015

Nothing turns on at 6, but come to think of it my gyre and heater is in that corner.

SeahorseKeeper · Jul 7, 2015

Nothing turns on at 6, but come to think of it my gyre and heater is in that corner.

redfishbluefish · Jul 7, 2015

How old is the Gyre....the early versions had cable that easily and readily cracked. Inspect the cable were it enters the motor.

SeahorseKeeper · Jul 7, 2015

It's the 130 version so it's not supposed to have the issue.

luxauterna · Jul 7, 2015

Sorry for the troubles Krista! Have you tested your stray voltage in the tank? I went through a problem with that in my old tank and picked up one of these, http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewi...ntent=TA1111&gclid=CJeS1KyNycYCFQqSaQodWOgL8g.

I had zero problems since, and I have it in my new build as well.

luxauterna · Jul 7, 2015

Otherwise , maybe your mystery wrasse is just living up to it's name

SeahorseKeeper · Jul 7, 2015

luxauterna said:
Sorry for the troubles Krista! Have you tested your stray voltage in the tank? I went through a problem with that in my old tank and picked up one of these, http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewi...ntent=TA1111&gclid=CJeS1KyNycYCFQqSaQodWOgL8g.

I had zero problems since, and I have it in my new build as well.

Thanks for the info!

The mystery has been solved. I figured out what the wrasse was going crazy over. There was fish food getting caught where my skimmer hangs on the tank.