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

[ReeferReefer]

Great build so far!

 

[count krunk]

how are you acclimating your fish? 2/5 dead on acclimation so far.. Has my eyebrows raised

 

[dugthefish]

how are you acclimating your fish? 2/5 dead on acclimation so far.. Has my eyebrows raised

The first one was totally my fault, I tried to incorporate a medicated dip and I killed one due to ammonia poisoning.

The rabbitfish, however, I attempted to acclimate more as instructed by the owner of LFS (his stock, his warranty, his procedure), which was:

Float for 10 min
Empty fish and 1/2 water into bucket
Drip or cup tank water into bucket until volume is doubled (10 min)
Pour off half of water
Repeat
Release into tank, 30-40 min total time

 

[count krunk]

well, that sounds pretty normal.

Not sure how that would result in the death of a foxface. #reefsquad ???

 

[rkpetersen]

Sorry about your rabbitfish!

If there was a large difference in salinity between the water the fish came in and the water you were putting it in, especially if your tank is of higher salinity which is likely the case since LFSs generally run hyposaline water, that acclimation protocol would have been rather fast and could have resulted in death by osmotic shock. Always a good idea to check the salinity of the incoming water (don't take their word for it), and that of your own water, and acclimate accordingly.

If you're going to acclimate at all, the drip method is probably better than interval water additions; smoother, less stress. You can use a piece of airline tubing with a knot tied in it as many LFSs do, or you can buy drippers that are more precise and look like medical IV infusion sets.

Best method imo is to have a quarantine tank ready to go, match its salinity exactly to that of the incoming water when you get home, float the bag briefly to match temp, and then just release the fish into the tank. (Plus or minus a brief freshwater dip.)

 

[dugthefish]

I guess I should add that I also bought a purple Firefish, acclimated the exact same way, and he was eating a few hours later.

Seems like everyone has a *slightly* different take on proper acclimation, but I think the way I did it is generally acceptable. I've never dripped because I've never had airline lying around lol.

 

[dugthefish]

Hmm, seems I'm not very good at keeping fish alive. Lost another damsel last night. Kinda think the other one had him so bullied and kowtowed that he would rarely emerge from his hidey hole, even for feeding. No disease or injuries on him, but he definitely wasn't eating much.

On the other hand, corals seem to be doing well. Able to see real growth in mu first ever SPS, others seem to be healthy. Recieved my first online coral purchase from Cherry Corals online sale last week.

 

[dugthefish]

Battling dinos now. Hopefully caught them early, trying to raise nutrients and increase oxygen to drive them back. Dosing a small amount of hydrogen peroxide as well. I think maybe once I get more fish, and increase feedings, I can keep NO3 around 5, PO4 around .1, and see how that goes.

In other news, successfully moved my purple firefish into DT, added a brittle star and banded coral shrimp for detritus removal, and have most of my newest frags in their final positions. Still trying to find the right spots for two sticks, which have both been battling with the dinos. Did H202 dips on both today, will see if that helps.

 

[dugthefish]

Also found a cool ap called "Aquarium Assistant", which has been very helpful in tracking parameters and tasks. Much better than the notebook I was using!

 

[dugthefish]

Few more pics since the lights came up...

View attachment 20190122_132718.jpg

 

[dugthefish]

Newest inhabitant, meet Frank. Added last night after lights out, and he already seems to love his new home.

The cat is also interested in the newcomer....

View attachment 20190202_131500.jpg

 

[dugthefish]

Haven't had much to report lately. Purple firefish died last week, not sure what killed him but he was acting squirrelly for a few days. Continuing the battle with dinos, regular cleaning has been keeping them somewhat at bay. My two LPS are doing quite poorly, my Duncan is close to death and now my Favia is starting to turn white. All the SPS and zoas seem to be well, so idk.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Tank looks good!

Sorry to hear about the LPS.

What numbers do you try to maintain?

 

[dugthefish]

Tank looks good!

Sorry to hear about the LPS.

What numbers do you try to maintain?

Been trying to get PO4 up to .1 and nitrate upwards of 5, mostly due to dino battle. Not really sure, but perhaps my water is just too clean for LPS. But I do find it odd that the favia did awesome the first month, growing out over the plug despite very low nutrients.

 

[dugthefish]

Haven't updated in a while, so here goes:

Battle with dinos appears to be over for the moment; haven't seen any in over a week and they've been fading for nearly 3 weeks now. Final tally is 2 lost frags, my Duncan and a Frogskin tort. Everything else seems to be doing well, although I'm not sure how fast I should be seeing growth. But everything is open and colorful, so Imma take it as a win.


Added two new fish the other day, a tiny Tomini tang and a medium Convict tang. Was some initial aggression from the blenny, but the rabbitfish seems to have take the newcomers under his wing and all seem to be getting along now.

 

[dugthefish]

Busy season underway at work, so not much time for playing with the reef, and less for updating this thread.

Things continue to go pretty well. I've been adding fish and frags every month, and am up to 12-14 fish (chromis keep getting sucked into overflow and currently 2 MIA) and 25ish different species of coral. Most are showing good color and polyp extension, many showing decent growth, and a couple going the wrong way. I assume there will always be losses here or there, so I'm not sweating those and trying to adjust positions as possible.

Also fighting a pretty good cyano bloom, much of my sand is covered with small patches on rocks in low flow spots. Responding by increasing rate of flow, reducing feeding, and manual removal. The latter of which seems to have little effect, as the mats appear too heavy to suck up with my siphon hose.

Purchased a used 50 gal long to be my new sump/fuge, ordered a baffle kit from EMS which should be here next week. The goal here is to tidy up the sump area, which is becoming messy due to a poor beginning design which didnt take future expansion into account.

All in all, I'm pleased with where this tank has/is going. Probably not the fastest, with plenty of mistakes and setbacks, but steadily making progress.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Progress!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Busy season underway at work, so not much time for playing with the reef, and less for updating this thread.

Things continue to go pretty well. I've been adding fish and frags every month, and am up to 12-14 fish (chromis keep getting sucked into overflow and currently 2 MIA) and 25ish different species of coral. Most are showing good color and polyp extension, many showing decent growth, and a couple going the wrong way. I assume there will always be losses here or there, so I'm not sweating those and trying to adjust positions as possible.

Also fighting a pretty good cyano bloom, much of my sand is covered with small patches on rocks in low flow spots. Responding by increasing rate of flow, reducing feeding, and manual removal. The latter of which seems to have little effect, as the mats appear too heavy to suck up with my siphon hose.

Purchased a used 50 gal long to be my new sump/fuge, ordered a baffle kit from EMS which should be here next week. The goal here is to tidy up the sump area, which is becoming messy due to a poor beginning design which didnt take future expansion into account.

All in all, I'm pleased with where this tank has/is going. Probably not the fastest, with plenty of mistakes and setbacks, but steadily making progress.

Looks like huge improvement and glad to see. Yes there will be a loss here and there but we know the challenges. Way to go

 

[dugthefish]

Cyano really taking over now. Nitrates are down around 10, phosphate is zero. Have increased flow as much as possible, reduced feedings and dimmed lights. Fighting the dinos was easier lol. Decided to go with the chemical option, so I ordered some Chemiclean. By all accounts it seems to both work and be reef safe. We shall see. I cant stand this ugliness any longer, and it's starting to affect corals.

 

[vetteguy53081]

CHEMICLEAN WORKS WELL. jUST USE ACCORDING TO USEABLE VOLUME GALLONS, NOT TANK SIZE.
A company called Blue Line also has a good product called Red Cyano RX
Cause is a spike in of phosphate and nitrate waste, poor water circulation, and even old light bulbs. To prevent the growth in the first place, be sure to test your tanks phosphate and nitrate levels. Maintain an adequate phosphate level at 0.05 ppm while keeping nitrate below 10 ppm.