Zoas domain

[LadyMac]

Latest update. Things look ok in the tank. However, I am getting super high nitrate readings. It's about 16. I've done water changes and everyone is accounted for. Sigh. I've been so stressed with this tank. Between running to the hospital every day or so and dealing with life, I'm afraid a crash will happen before I know it.

One of my zoas split (or maybe the pistol shrimp stole it, I've read they can do so) and now I can't find the part that came off. I made a sock of felt for the outflow of the sump, and have been trying to keep it clean to help nutralize the nitrate. Ive gotten the algae under control I think .fish are doing well, just that dang nitrate.
Update shot for now. I don't remember if I've posted it or not.

 

[LadyMac]

Update:

More hair algae all over. Been dealing with a lot of family issues, as well as health issues. Makes time with the tanks difficult. I figured that I'll just deal with the algae since I've adjusted everything and it's bound to come back regardless. I plan to hunt down some nice macro algaes to add to the display .

On a brighter note, finally my clowns have sexed out for me. I had been feeding mostly frozen foods and never saw much difference between the two. Bought some Omega One Reef pellets and now my females growth has exploded! That makes me so happy.

Still no sign of a goby at the lfs so the shrimp is still without a friend. Updated shot will come later.

 

[cameronh]

Update:

More hair algae all over. Been dealing with a lot of family issues, as well as health issues. Makes time with the tanks difficult. I figured that I'll just deal with the algae since I've adjusted everything and it's bound to come back regardless. I plan to hunt down some nice macro algaes to add to the display .

On a brighter note, finally my clowns have sexed out for me. I had been feeding mostly frozen foods and never saw much difference between the two. Bought some Omega One Reef pellets and now my females growth has exploded! That makes me so happy.

Still no sign of a goby at the lfs so the shrimp is still without a friend. Updated shot will come later.

@LadyMac, are you still around???

 

[cameronh]

Hello?

 

[LadyMac]

@LadyMac, are you still around???

I am, though barely.

I’ve had a lot of things going on. Health issues for myself as well as family, the loss of my dad and the first year anniversary of his passing financial problems, etc.

Enough about me, on to the tank.

I moved from the 40 breeder due to the stand being such a difficult thing to access the sump. I went to my 60 tall. I regret this because with my hand issues and the height I can’t reach the bottom. So once I find a stand I’ll be moving back to the 40.

I’ve still been fighting extremely high nitrates and hair algae. Someone suggested that most likely from when I cycled with tap water the rocks must have soaked up the nasties and that’s why they just won’t go down. Time and water changes are my friend.

So on the equipment side, I destroyed the sump. I was tired of the way it was setup, a detritus trap I couldn’t clean. Plus the skimmer just wasn’t cutting it. A good friend sent me a wet dry filter. In which I pulled the drawer out, and used a longer hose to reach the bottom, and made a new taller baffle for my pump to fit in. It also came with a Venturi skimmer. So it’s now in operation.

On the fish front, I have employed a lawnmower blenny to help with my algae issue. She’s the cutest thing ever. Still have the clowns and the shrimp as well as the hermits and snails. The blenny is the main reason for my hesitation on going back to the breeder. I don’t know if she will appreciate the smaller space.

On the zoa front. Sigh. I’m discouraged. Out of the ones dad bought me, I have a single palythoa and a zoanthid still. The paly is doing... ok. It’s open and seems healthy. But not spreading. The zoa just never opens any more. I did get a few more zoas to hopefully help to pull some of the nitrates. They seem ok. One is another palythoa and then two zoas. I also have a nice clump of macro algae in the sump.

My goals, which seem to be so far away are as follows:

Get out in my building and find an old stand. I know it’ll fit the length of the 40 but I don’t recall on the width. If not a simple piece of wood will help.

Buy an eshoppes medium overflow with the drill bit. That’s not too difficult, I just gotta save up for it. However, I can’t find anyone local to drill and I don’t have the steady hands to do so myself.

Obtain more sand. It’s not a critical issue but it will be useful when I do move back to the 40 just for the shrimp to play.

Still on the hunt for the YWG. It’s like they are never around when I want one.

Egg crate for the bottom of the 40. Again not a necessity but it’ll make me feel a little better.


An auto top off would be a plus. Not a necessity but would make things a little easier I think.

Here are some pics taken today as well as a couple of the blenny.

Today. There is less algae than previously. Pic below shows how bad it was once.

New zoa. It had a snail climbing across so partially closed.

Paly. You can see the fuzzy snails close by. Rude.

Last living zoa from dad. They never open anymore.

Zoa.

Palythoa from dad. Always open and always looks great. Just not spreading.

Older shot of the tank.

It’s soo cute!

Sump. My camera makes it seem so dim. It’s not. That’s an aquatic life full spectrum light. Hope the chaeto grows for me. You can also see my skimmer.

 

[cameronh]

I am, though barely.

I’ve had a lot of things going on. Health issues for myself as well as family, the loss of my dad and the first year anniversary of his passing financial problems, etc.

Enough about me, on to the tank.

I moved from the 40 breeder due to the stand being such a difficult thing to access the sump. I went to my 60 tall. I regret this because with my hand issues and the height I can’t reach the bottom. So once I find a stand I’ll be moving back to the 40.

I’ve still been fighting extremely high nitrates and hair algae. Someone suggested that most likely from when I cycled with tap water the rocks must have soaked up the nasties and that’s why they just won’t go down. Time and water changes are my friend.

So on the equipment side, I destroyed the sump. I was tired of the way it was setup, a detritus trap I couldn’t clean. Plus the skimmer just wasn’t cutting it. A good friend sent me a wet dry filter. In which I pulled the drawer out, and used a longer hose to reach the bottom, and made a new taller baffle for my pump to fit in. It also came with a Venturi skimmer. So it’s now in operation.

On the fish front, I have employed a lawnmower blenny to help with my algae issue. She’s the cutest thing ever. Still have the clowns and the shrimp as well as the hermits and snails. The blenny is the main reason for my hesitation on going back to the breeder. I don’t know if she will appreciate the smaller space.

On the zoa front. Sigh. I’m discouraged. Out of the ones dad bought me, I have a single palythoa and a zoanthid still. The paly is doing... ok. It’s open and seems healthy. But not spreading. The zoa just never opens any more. I did get a few more zoas to hopefully help to pull some of the nitrates. They seem ok. One is another palythoa and then two zoas. I also have a nice clump of macro algae in the sump.

My goals, which seem to be so far away are as follows:

Get out in my building and find an old stand. I know it’ll fit the length of the 40 but I don’t recall on the width. If not a simple piece of wood will help.

Buy an eshoppes medium overflow with the drill bit. That’s not too difficult, I just gotta save up for it. However, I can’t find anyone local to drill and I don’t have the steady hands to do so myself.

Obtain more sand. It’s not a critical issue but it will be useful when I do move back to the 40 just for the shrimp to play.

Still on the hunt for the YWG. It’s like they are never around when I want one.

Egg crate for the bottom of the 40. Again not a necessity but it’ll make me feel a little better.


An auto top off would be a plus. Not a necessity but would make things a little easier I think.

Here are some pics taken today as well as a couple of the blenny.

Today. There is less algae than previously. Pic below shows how bad it was once.

New zoa. It had a snail climbing across so partially closed.

Paly. You can see the fuzzy snails close by. Rude.

Last living zoa from dad. They never open anymore.

Zoa.

Palythoa from dad. Always open and always looks great. Just not spreading.

Older shot of the tank.

It’s soo cute!

Sump. My camera makes it seem so dim. It’s not. That’s an aquatic life full spectrum light. Hope the chaeto grows for me. You can also see my skimmer.

Honestly.....the tank doesnt look bad at all!
Keep it running and get it established.
As far as the depth goes just get a pair of "grabbers" to get to the bottom.
What water do you do to do water changes with when you do them?

 

[LadyMac]

Honestly.....the tank doesnt look bad at all!
Keep it running and get it established.
As far as the depth goes just get a pair of "grabbers" to get to the bottom.
What water do you do to do water changes with when you do them?

I have an RO buddie system. I use it. I’ve tested it frequently and all is well with it. Almost time for a new membrane though.

 

[LadyMac]

Just a morning update.

So I’ve noticed the algae is going away. I wasn’t happy with how the skimmer was in the same spot as the return pump. Seems like a lot of water can just bypass the skimmer. I get good amounts of skimmate but just feel it could do better. So I cut a piece of styrofoam to use as another baffle. Added some piping to the skimmer to make it a little quieter and easier to direct over the side of the styro. Foam is under that to catch micro bubbles. Not the best solution but it seems to be working. Added it today so will see if it improves or not. My nitrates are still sky high.

On to the pics.

It’s coming along I believe.

Hoping this helps with bypass.

Also, what are these? They are everywhere. I don’t ever see anything coming out of them but they are all over the rocks.

 

[LadyMac]

Oh I also switched the light with a finnex 24/7 planted plus. Reading up chaeto likes blues and reds. I can’t stop the whites but the greens don’t work in this fixture so I thought it would be perfect. It’s oversized but it seems to do a lot better. It’s on the 24/7 cycle so there is always light, in reds and blues and whites. Will see if the chaeto approves.

 

[LadyMac]

It seems the chaeto has grown some. I switched the light on the sump. I feel the other was just too much. I put my other orbit marine on there and it looks a lot more pleasant. FTS

Oh to have a sump under the tank and hidden away. Perhaps one day. At least this wet dry is working out much better than the tank I was using. A little at a time

The algae does seem to be going away. I discovered those red things are verminted snails. Not sure if they need to be removed or what.

For now, I’m off to paint!

 

[LadyMac]

So, yesterday my rigged up return hose kinda.... came apart lol. I knew it was on borrowed time. So now the sump is not working. I have to figure out what to do with the chaeto as I know it’s not ok to just leave it sit. I have to figure something out with a giant budget of zero. Sigh. I was lucky to have caught it before it flooded the dogs crates lol.

 

[cameronh]

It seems the chaeto has grown some. I switched the light on the sump. I feel the other was just too much. I put my other orbit marine on there and it looks a lot more pleasant. FTS

Oh to have a sump under the tank and hidden away. Perhaps one day. At least this wet dry is working out much better than the tank I was using. A little at a time

The algae does seem to be going away. I discovered those red things are verminted snails. Not sure if they need to be removed or what.

For now, I’m off to paint!

Hey, it's looking really good! Keep it up, I hope all is well.

 

[LadyMac]

Hey, it's looking really good! Keep it up, I hope all is well.

Thank you! It’s... going lol. I’m hoping it’ll keep improving.

 

[LadyMac]

Seems I’ve been working on this forever. I have this in the same room with the tank. So when I reach a spot I can’t get right all I have to do is turn in my chair and there’s my fish, swimming about

 

[LadyMac]

I’m close to tearing this tank apart.

Constant algae. Constantly dealing with sub par equipment. No local source to purchase from without me begging for a ride. No funds for an actual working system. Then to top it off I flooded my office. Ruined some canvas probably the floors as well. Just, ugh.

I have to drain the 60 and move it. Hopefully I can find the other stand for the 40 for the time being. That or just toss it all out.

 

[LadyMac]

Today’s update:

I will be moving everyone into a 29 it’ll be a little cramped but for the time being it’s that, or give them away. I only have the clowns, blenny and the shrimp so should be ok. At least until I can figure out something permanent.

I’m happy to be keeping them because they all are special. The clowns were a Mother’s day gift from my husband and some of the coral the last thing my dad ever bought me. And the little pistol shrimp mom bought me.

Just hoping I can figure out something better, soon.

 

[LadyMac]

More changes to report.

So as you all know, I had a catastrophic failure in myself as a fish keeper. I’ve had struggles, not gonna lie.

So the other day I flooded the office. It was my fault but let me explain how it happened and what had to be done about such an ordeal.

I have fibromyalgia. This makes certain tasks difficult if not near impossible. My tank was a 60 tall. I chose it because I’ve had it for a bit, and it was empty at the time. It was chosen for the size, to hopefully give the couple fish a better life. I struggled with the 40 breeder before so thought it may make things better. It did not. I couldn’t reach the bottom for maintenance.

Anyhow, I suffered with it and did the best I could. I tried a sump. My 15 gallon sump design was horrible. Massive areas of filth. I was given a wet dry filter so thought that would do better. Well honestly it did not. The overflow I was using is a CPR hang in back. This is a decent HOB overflow, if you have an aqualifter. I do not. So on the 40, with this overflow, I would start a siphon with a hose and just leave this in the water checking daily that it was ok. With the skimmer (which is a dang good one) in the wet dry and no bubble trap I’d get micro bubbles in the HOB overflow, causing the loss of the siphon. So after two to three times a day of having to reprise that, and it being a very bad day health wise I was fed up. So I unplugged the pump on the sump.

I forgot to pull the outflow tube out of the tank.

The resulting flood from the Wet dry caused massive damage to the leg of the stand. It was done. There was no way that I would trust this tank to not topple forward at any time. So a hard decision had to be made.

I had thought of going back to the breeder. However if you all remember, that stand was also not going to work. It was not built for a saltwater setup, so the weight of a full 40 gallon with sea water was causing some creaking. I remembered though, I had a stand outside. An old Eheim stand. It... wasn’t big enough. I was so close to just posting my fish up for someone to take them in because of this.

A wonderful local friend saved me. He had a spare 29 gallon. He was very gracious to let me have it, and my payment will be a portrait of his late dog. More than fair if you ask me!

While I’m not happy about the downsize, I am happy to have a reef tank still.

I decided to nix the overflow/ sump due to stand constraints. I still had my Hydor in tank skimmer. It’s perfect, if not a little large. It already has some slim mate forming so that’s a plus. I moved the sand and some of the rock into the tank last night.

As a way to kinda give myself a little boost, I am meeting a local guy and trading the 40 breeder and my five remaining pieces of rock for three heads of frammer coral. I just hope it does well.

Here are some updated pics of the setup thus far:

 

[ReefLab]

Been a bit since I have updated, money has been tight so it’s been hard to go forward. My birthday is just around the corner though so family are helping me with some of the supplies. I am hoping to get to the fish store later today (it’s three towns over and I don’t drive ) to see about a nem. Have the partitions for the sump and a mock up of it. So that is the only really picsni have to share. Also a cat being a cat lol

Our cat christens every tank by sitting in it lol.

 

[cameronh]

More changes to report.

So as you all know, I had a catastrophic failure in myself as a fish keeper. I’ve had struggles, not gonna lie.

So the other day I flooded the office. It was my fault but let me explain how it happened and what had to be done about such an ordeal.

I have fibromyalgia. This makes certain tasks difficult if not near impossible. My tank was a 60 tall. I chose it because I’ve had it for a bit, and it was empty at the time. It was chosen for the size, to hopefully give the couple fish a better life. I struggled with the 40 breeder before so thought it may make things better. It did not. I couldn’t reach the bottom for maintenance.

Anyhow, I suffered with it and did the best I could. I tried a sump. My 15 gallon sump design was horrible. Massive areas of filth. I was given a wet dry filter so thought that would do better. Well honestly it did not. The overflow I was using is a CPR hang in back. This is a decent HOB overflow, if you have an aqualifter. I do not. So on the 40, with this overflow, I would start a siphon with a hose and just leave this in the water checking daily that it was ok. With the skimmer (which is a dang good one) in the wet dry and no bubble trap I’d get micro bubbles in the HOB overflow, causing the loss of the siphon. So after two to three times a day of having to reprise that, and it being a very bad day health wise I was fed up. So I unplugged the pump on the sump.

I forgot to pull the outflow tube out of the tank.

The resulting flood from the Wet dry caused massive damage to the leg of the stand. It was done. There was no way that I would trust this tank to not topple forward at any time. So a hard decision had to be made.

I had thought of going back to the breeder. However if you all remember, that stand was also not going to work. It was not built for a saltwater setup, so the weight of a full 40 gallon with sea water was causing some creaking. I remembered though, I had a stand outside. An old Eheim stand. It... wasn’t big enough. I was so close to just posting my fish up for someone to take them in because of this.

A wonderful local friend saved me. He had a spare 29 gallon. He was very gracious to let me have it, and my payment will be a portrait of his late dog. More than fair if you ask me!

While I’m not happy about the downsize, I am happy to have a reef tank still.

I decided to nix the overflow/ sump due to stand constraints. I still had my Hydor in tank skimmer. It’s perfect, if not a little large. It already has some slim mate forming so that’s a plus. I moved the sand and some of the rock into the tank last night.

As a way to kinda give myself a little boost, I am meeting a local guy and trading the 40 breeder and my five remaining pieces of rock for three heads of frammer coral. I just hope it does well.

Here are some updated pics of the setup thus far:

Hey!
I hope all is well!
PM sent!

 

[LadyMac]

Hey!
I hope all is well!
PM sent!

Hey!
I am not sure if you heard, but I won the Waterbox 70.2 here. I have a new build thread up now, for that since this one failed.