So I jumped in headfirst.....125 build

[dugthefish]

Well, my BB LEDs are 6 months old, I've got a 3k gyre and 2 jaebo 40s along with 1000gph from return pump, and my nutrients are not far out of line. Would you start dosing PO4 to get up to a detectable level?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Well, my BB LEDs are 6 months old, I've got a 3k gyre and 2 jaebo 40s along with 1000gph from return pump, and my nutrients are not far out of line. Would you start dosing PO4 to get up to a detectable level?

Where's you N03 at?

Seachem's flourish phosphorus is a good P04 source.

 

[dugthefish]

Where's you N03 at?

Seachem's flourish phosphorus is a good P04 source.

NO3 has been in the teens, today was around 10 (salifert)
PO4 hovers between .03 and 0 (salifert)

 

[dugthefish]

Nuked the cyano (Chemiclean), 25g water change complete, and it finally looks nice again. Hopefully I can keep it from coming back.

Think I may be about maxed out on fish now. Current occupants:

Mag rabbitfish
Convict tang
Tomini tang
Redlip blennie
Azure damsel
4 green chromis
Black neon dotty
Flame angel
2 Zebra dartfish
Sharknose cleaner goby
Spotted mandarin

Wanted a pair of clownfish and a Dracula goby, but idk if I should stock anymore. Definitely will give it several months and reevaluate.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Way to go !!!

 

[Auto-pilot]

Nuked the cyano (Chemiclean), 25g water change complete, and it finally looks nice again. Hopefully I can keep it from coming back.

Think I may be about maxed out on fish now. Current occupants:

Mag rabbitfish
Convict tang
Tomini tang
Redlip blennie
Azure damsel
4 green chromis
Black neon dotty
Flame angel
2 Zebra dartfish
Sharknose cleaner goby
Spotted mandarin

Wanted a pair of clownfish and a Dracula goby, but idk if I should stock anymore. Definitely will give it several months and reevaluate.

Sweet it's looking really good!

 

[dugthefish]

So demoralized....woke up this morning to find several fish covered in white spots. Guess disease is what happens when I don't do full QT....

 

[vetteguy53081]

Oh No !!1 Looks like velvet and Oodinum. Transfer to QT if it is running, and treat. NO fish in tank for 80 days to be safe to starve out any parasites and their offspring.

 

[dugthefish]

Don't think it was velvet, probably just garden variety ich. Lost the flame angel and the cleaner goby, along with a couple chromis (1 dead for sure, 1 missing and presumed in the overflow, and one currently living in the sump after riding the pipe all the way down). I've had a separate thread dealing with that, seems to be improving though.

Dinos have reappeared, different strain this time. Nutrients have been dropping, but this time I've had micro and macro algae growing in the fuge so I didn't sweat it. Will be raising nitrates gradually from 5 up to 10, and double up on the phosphates which I still can barely get a reading on. Need to get a Hanna checker one of these days.

Got the new sump put together. Used 40L, resealed, and a baffle kit from Exotic, will possible get online this weekend if I have time. Also picked up a BRS doser for Alk; I'll continue to manually dose Ca and Mg since it seems not as critical to have those very stable.

Gotta go, stil have to change filter socks. Can't wait for the new sump to be installed!

 

[dugthefish]

Rain day today, so actually had some time to work on the tank. New sump installed, along with two new Finnex heaters (Jagers were too long for new sump), and a BRS 1.1ml doser for Alk.

Everything seems to be up and running correctly, will spend the next couple days getting everything dialed in. Should make maintenance quite a bit easier, as everything isn't crammed in quite as bad. Yet lol.

Found most of the Mandarin today. Crabs got enough of him that I cantc tell what killed him, but probably the ich. He had a few spots the last week but was otherwise acting normally. So sad, he was one of my favorites.

 

[Goose91]

Sweet build brother, youve almost got the first year blues under your belt, hopefully everything starts leveling out for you here in the future!

 

[dugthefish]

Sweet build brother, youve almost got the first year blues under your belt, hopefully everything starts leveling out for you here in the future!

Ya, it would be nice to maintain and just relax a bit. Seems like I've been putting out one fire after another since I started!

 

[Dubs83]

Ya, it would be nice to maintain and just relax a bit. Seems like I've been putting out one fire after another since I started!

Agh. Sorry about the illnesses! I too went through this learning curve and the best thing I did was use a solid QT protocol. I’d invest a little bit of money in two 40bs, some inexpensive life support and start treating the ich. It’ll give you an opportunity to take a look at a fallow tank and perhaps perform some changes. It’s a good lesson in slowing down too. It sucks going fallow and QTing this many fish is no fun but you’ll be better for it in the end.

Good luck mate!

 

[dugthefish]

No spots today. All remaining fish are disease free to the naked eye. Final death toll was 6, although 3 chromis showed no signs and likely could have just killed each other as they are wont to do.

Maybe this fresh/whole foods idea is the real deal.

Got Alk set up on a doser now. 4 min every hour from 11am to 9pm. Corals have never looked better, stabilizing all is amazing. Still manually dosing Ca, Mg, NO3, and PO4, but I dont believe it's a big deal if those fluctuate a little if I miss a day.

 

[dugthefish]

Been a busy summer, haven't updated this in a while. Not a lot new to speak of, kinda stopped stocking after losing several fish and LPS a few months back. Added a few new frags this last month, all seem to be doing well.

Currently battling bubble algae, which has reached epidemic proportions. Ordered some Vibrant to deal with it, hopefully works as advertised.

 

[Auto-pilot]

It's looking great! Is that Duncan that frag I gave you? Looks like you've had good coral growth

 

[dugthefish]

It's looking great! Is that Duncan that frag I gave you? Looks like you've had good coral growth

Lost the chalice but everything else is doing good.