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I would agree that you are definitely one of the most methodical reefers I know. Looking forward seeing more! :-)
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DON'T says that about dog throw up, he's been on a roll lately, even did so in front of the sump a few weeks ago....GROSS Congrats on the new job!!!! Wobbly pops are awesome, not so good for forum posting....lol Quote:
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Thanks for the support Quote:
If only I could come up with a new break-through, like the equivalent of a skimmer ! We'd be out of this house so fast and into one where I'd build a rediculous tank and work on it all day This is the one hobby I wouldn't tire of as long as I had enough time |
OK, all the names are in :smile:
Here's to hoping all the QT guys make it to the DT ... I hope to get better pics one day but for now here we go Asrai - Lubbock's Fairy Name comes from something I found on the web about a purple fairy http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps664b009f.jpg Benny - Starry Blenny Name partly comes from the obvious, but also 'cause he looks like a bushy-eyed old man, and I though of Benny Hill http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...pse312eaad.jpg Blu - Neon Goby Donna picked the name based on color and I'm OK with it due to it's spelling http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psd6c3746b.jpg Boo - Bangaii Cardinal I can't politely explain the origin of this name http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1942e36d.jpg Cherry - Redhead Goby Another of the Wife's picks due to color, but I'm OK with it http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psdf4c2ff7.jpg Chloe - Purple Firefish No idea how Donna came up with this one. I remember her wanting some more girly names http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psb54f3798.jpg Floyd - Solar Fairy Psychedelia and Pink Floyd. Coulda been worse. Coulda been named White Rabbit :wink: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps1ab8d8c4.jpg Ginger - Whipfin Fairy Name out of thin air ... http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psefaaf7a9.jpg Goober - False Perc Aptly named little retard http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps9df55c83.jpg Gumby & Pokey - Pajama Cardinals Originally named P & J. Names just came to us one night as they tend to bump and poke each other from time to time http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psd10a03c0.jpg Hector - Hector's Goby Yup, we're all about originality http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps34b791bc.jpg Hunter - Melanurus Wrasse Dark hunter green and a real seeker of food stuffs http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...pse32bbc2e.jpg Junior - Yellow Coris Wrasse Was the tiniest little guy in QT and has grown at an amazing rate. Almost was named Levi, but I nixed it then as I liked my name more :lol: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps29e08752.jpg Levi - Filamented Flasher Had to let something be named Levi - to keep the peace :wink: I was thinking more like Chevy Guess I'll have to get another fish http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps68b6b1e1.jpg |
The new addition and all the other fish you have picked is a good community. Post more pics if your tank and coral!
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Corals
Looks great Greg ! I am glad to see those lakers haven't melted away :biggrin:
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Hey, Greg, that's some pretty nice stuff in there... Tank is coming along great. I like your selection of corals,... and fish.
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I'm glad too, and they're spreading to boot ! Quote:
I hope it takes off soon and looks like some of your guys' tanks :wink: |
Maybe the following is the reason why my corals are stalled ...
I've been using Elos kits for the 'Big 3' since Feb 2012 I've always tried my best to keep my tests as; Alk 7.5-8.5 Ca 4-420 Mag 1350-1450 Because J&L is moving away from Elos and going with Salifert, I bought some kits to see what's up with my water Tonight I tested a new bucket of IO from KE Most of the tests are good; New Saltwater Alk Elos 11 Alk Sa 10.9 Ca Elos 410 Ca Sa 410 Mag Elos 1400 No Sa kit for mag yet Here's where things get screwey I tested my DT tonight with both kits, and re-tested only to get the same results Alk Elos 8 Alk Sa 7.3 Ca Elos 400 (ya I know it's a bit low) Ca Sa 400 How can the Elos kit read so close to the Salifert test on my New Salt Water (>.1), yet be so far off on my DT test ? I tested both 2 times with the same results ... Back when I started out, I tested my procedures against the J&L staff for my Elos stuff And when I bought the new Salifert kits I used the bottle in the KH kit to confirm I'm using the product correctly So, looks like I need to bump up my Alk some and maybe this will help my SPS ... After all this time, and after e-mails with Elos about how to use their product, it looks like I still have low Alk :twised: Dammed Elos I tested my tank last week and Elos told my 8.5, but Salifert told me 7.7 I think I'm going to trust the Salifert tests from now on as they are more incremented I was told by some experts, when I started this hobby, to use Elos :sad: |
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I am going to bump up my Alk using the Salifert test and see what happens I'm sure my SPS will be happier as I now feel the Elos kits are giving me false readings Only time will tell |
I would trust salifert's reading. Despite having junk hardward (the syringe reading with fade away with use), I love how consistent they are with all the test. I never got any surprises till now from salifert (other than the quality of the 1ml syringe).
Alongside, I don't think 400ppm and 7.7dkh is problematic. That's the exact parameters of my tank. But I am starting zeovit so that's justified. I think its more about the balance of ca-co3 than the magnitude itself; as long as they are within the acceptable range. Balanced Calcium and Alkalinity: (as per Randy Holmes-Farley) 360 ppm to 0 dKH 370 ppm to 1.4 dKH 380 ppm to 2.8 dKH 390 ppm to 4.2 dKH 400 ppm to 5.6 dKH 410 ppm to 7 dKH (natural seawater) 420 ppm to 8.4 dKH 430 ppm to 9.8 dKH 440 ppm to 11.2 dKH 450 ppm to 12.6 dKH 460 ppm to 14 dKH When I used to run non-ULNS, I concentrated on keeping my parameters in the correct ratio (11.2dkh and 440ppm was my preference). HTH :D |
Don't fiddle Greg. Your parameters are fine and your corals look great.
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Thanks for the advice guys
I'll just carry on as I have been then |
Good thinking
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After an internal tug-of-war about when to add the new fish from QT, I transferred them from the QT to the DT last Sunday
They were all eating everything I wanted them to, and nobody had any signs of issues, so into the DT they went For the record, I only QT'd them for 2 weeks, instead of my previous 6 week regimen I don't recommend 2 weeks for anyone, and encourage all of you to QT your new critters for at least 6 weeks to monitor for anything that may 'pop up' All the fishies we added looked really good, except for the filamented flasher It was being picked on by the lubbock's and we were pretty sure it wouldn't make the night We were right and I found the flasher in the morning with a hermit picking on it RIP Levi :sad: Beyond that, all has been good I've had no NH3 readings, nor any NO2 or NO3 for that matter I'm very surprised as I've doubled my fish load The only thing I've noticed is some thicker nog and I've tweaked the adjuster on my skimmer to try and get some more goo After a week, my skimmer is producing more crap relative to the amount of new fish and not overflowing, so all is good I've brought my PO4 down from 0.24 before the new fishies, to 0.02 after the new additions, so all is under control there All I did was go back to using the recommended amount of GFO and within 2 weeks it was back to normal After 1 week of the new fish my PO4 is still only 0.02 - ish so all is good All the new fish are getting along and have found their night-time locations Guess I'll have to add some pics soon :wink: |
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But I say this, because as you may or may not know QTing new fish is my personal soapbox. A year and half ago, I decided to play Russian Roulette just this one time, and I lost. What happened is that I bought a couple fish from "our favorite LFS". I put them in my QT, but because I also bought a couple shrimp, was not able to do my usual hypo routine (2+ months for me). So I observed them for a couple weeks, and got them feeding. Everything looked good, so I added them to my display tank. Well, just my luck (not), a couple weeks later, I see a few of my fish scratching. And sure enough, I got another Ich attack. It took about 3 months, losing several fish, before that finally subsided. Ironically, none of my new fish (orange spot sleeper gobies) got the Ich or showed any symptoms. But they obviously were carriers. |
Walter, I was thinking about a few things when I decided to cut the QT time short
I've lost fish in QT before and wanted to avoid it for their benefits Why risk healthy fish due to paranoia ? Top of my list was a bunch of wrasses that may not do well in a small tank with no LR etc. I use a tray of sand, but only 2 of the 7 fish were using it, so the rest were 'hiding' behind stuff at night. I felt they could be happier Next thought was they look good, are eating very well and if they had MI, now it's in the QT so I'll get them out before it hatches and jumps back on them. And if they had MI at the time, they would have shown signs, which they weren't. No flashing, rapid breathing etc. And by 2 weeks, if there were any other nasty diseases it (hopefully) would have shown by then. As I stated, they were all perfectly healthy with no marks, worms etc Third thought was I couldn't feed them as much as I wanted to without doing more than one WC per week as the AC50 couldn't keep up and I wasn't about to lose another wrasse due to high NO3. I wanted to ensure they stayed fat without risking their health And as I also stated, they were eating everything I threw at them, so they had to be in good shape :rolleyes: There was no point in hypo, and waiting 6 weeks was going to be a risk of their lives That's about it |
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Fish can be carriers, and have some MI that will not be visible, as I described with my experience. If a fish dies in QT, then either your QT was inadequate, or the fish was sick and would have likely died anyway (good that it happened in QT and not your DT). I have a very, very mature QT, using DT water for W/C's. It is running all the time with a canister filter and some live rock. I also use it to house some frags from time to time. Water quality stays high in QT, first because of frequent initial changes to get the salinity down, and then later more changes with DT water to bring it up. I actually extended that time even further, and the fish looked even stronger and healthier as time went on. The extended time allowed the fish to get feeding with the foods they will be receiving in the DT. Your wrasses may have been OK early with this, but some fish need a lot more time to adjust to the new food. And with wrasses, you can put in some sand (maybe use a container), but not sure if that is even necessary. Here is a good article about all the benefits of a hypo routine. Not sure if you have read this one. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish What it comes down to, I think, is patience. And that, I think, is the hardest thing. But it my case, I add fish so infrequently now, it is definitely worth the while, considering what may happen if I don't. From a risk standpoint (cost of risk = probability or frequency X cost of bad outcome), the cost of mitigation is very small compared to the cost of risk. Like I said, I gambled once, and lost... And not to mention my early hard lessons learned when I didn't QT. Greg, you have taken a very methodical and cover all bases approach with much of your tank and sump design. And IIRC, you got burned in the past with not QTing. So that is why I was surprised when you took this shortcut. Anyway. your tank and inhabitants are looking very good. So I do wish you continued success, and look forward to more great pics. |
Ultimately, you know your system, routines and practices best, so your decision on when to move fish.
No qt debate here, I don't and understand the risks. But stuff can get introduced to your tank by other means as well, qt-ing just reduces the risk. Everyone looks great and the tank has matured very nicely!!! Sorry about losing Levi!!! |
Thanks for the nice thoughts Sheena :wink:
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Not sure who you're thinking of, but I've never added any fish to my system that weren't first put through QT, and this is the only time I've cut it to 2 weeks My kole was in qt for 10 ! I've read that article, and many others, about hypo and understand the benefits. But thanks for the link. Maybe someone else hasn't read it yet Sometime soon we're looking at getting some more fish, not too many more, but a couple. And some more mini gobies I'm keeping the QT running with DT WCs and the odd bit of ghost feeding Plus I've put sponges in the sump again just for giggles I never know what I'll find at J&L :smile: so best to be prepared |
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And I guess I had been reading so many Ich threads lately, didn't want others getting the wrong idea about not having to QT new fish. Again, glad it worked out for you, and want to see more pics! |
More new guys in the QT. Good thing I kept it running
I went to J&L today to buy a couple reactors, and came home with fish too :biggrin: Tonight they ate mysis, fortified brine and some frenzy stuff Filamented Flasher - Levi http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps42ea7497.jpg Yellow Fin Flasher - Chevy http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps65e8503e.jpg Scooter Blenny - Chico http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps990eb17f.jpg Chico has a great appetite and a nice fat belly. He'll do well in the DT And, currently in the QT there are piles of copepods crawling around due to me putting the 'for sale frags' in there, so He's having a field day :wink: |
I'll be posting once I get my new pair of Aqua FX single media reactors setup, so stay tuned ... I just need to figure out where to mount them so they are not only out of the way, but also over the sump in case of leaks
This is what I bought http://www.jlaquatics.com/images/aqu...actorone_1.jpg |
Here's what our new wrasses could look like
http://www.liveaquaria.com/images/ca...ed-flasher.jpg http://www.liveaquaria.com/images/ca...-Flasher-W.jpg |
Oh I see how this works give u money buy beautiful things never mind how they will look they are beautiful now , nice score . Oh and by the way the torch is beautiful and great meeting u
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Hehe
Nice to meet you to Get some pics up of all your torches !! Have you started a journal ? |
Friday night, after WCs and feedings, I transferred our Scooter (Chico) and Flashers (Levi and Chevy) to the DT while the lights were out
Sat when the noon lights came on everyone woke up and checked out the new guys There were no real problems for hours, but then our Lubbock's (Asrai) started chasing the Flashers, then the Whipfin (Ginger) started in Next thing I know, our False Perc (Goober) is going out of his way to bite the new guys. This is very unusual for Goober as he's never charged at anyone outside the realm of his LR pile Every time they came up off the sand, now Ginger first would take a stab at them with Asrai next, and then Goober would come charging in I had no idea how much damage Goober was doing as the Flashers kept laying on the sand. Man am I peed at myself Within a couple hours, Chevy and Levi are beat to hell and hiding, even with me waving tools around inside the tank to keep them apart I grabbed a Critter Keeper and, as soon as Ginger got near the surface, Bam with a net and into jail she goes After that, Asrai calmed down and stopped chasing the Flashers, but was still 'puffing up' at them which kept them on the sand until lights out And during this, I still had to keep Goober away. The little turd would cover nearly 3 feet of tank just to chase them :twised: Having Ginger in jail has showed a marked improvement today Asrai is no longer chasing them around, but only 'puffing up' whenever nearby The flashers are off the sand and ate pellets for lunch so I'm confident they will be OK I grabbed another keeper and now Goober is up for sale We've always laughed when he kept everyone away from his nems, and his LR pile, but watching him target docile fish laying on the sand was enough for me You're Outta There !! Now the Gobies can roam around the rock all they like without being harassed and hopefully the tank will become a little more peaceful I'll keep Ginger in jail for a couple more days while the flashers settle in and am watching Asrai for any signs of aggression. She still 'puffs up' around them but at least they are swimming and are no longer being chased I have another keeper with Asrai's name on it if she even so much as 'flinches' at them :twised: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps68f795de.jpg |
Damn that sucks. At least you were able to catch before a homocide. My tank coming down soon so I'll finally be able to get my dottyback outta my life. Well kinda, he's going to a customers tank.
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I almost bought a dottyback once - disaster averted
Look at these poor dudes. They were pristine when I put them in last night Did I say I'm peed at myself ? You can't see in the pics but even their pec fins are torn, and they have bite marks all over Lesson learned; Docile fish go in the tank first, but I thought most wrasses got along :twised: http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps0c6b75ee.jpg http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psa361eb20.jpg |
Eeek well they'd be dead by now. I'm sure they'll look like show fish in a week.
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Once they start to heal up, I'll let the Whipfin out of jail and if there are anymore problems, there will be another fish for sale :twised:
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Bill, I take it you're not coming here tonight to pick up a free Clown ? :razz:
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Bring the fish and some beer - we'll make a night of it |
Haha at least you chose beer over wine. Cuz that would have been ackward. :lol:
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That sucks about the flashers, such nice fish hope they recover fast.
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