Florida Keys Dive Pics

[Reef_Geek]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Glad you like the photos.

Originally Posted by mrhasan

Ok I won't get into how great those pics are but I just want to know, with so many tours, how do you manage to keep you tank going through?!?!?! Tank sitter? Apex? Luck? WAT WAT?!

Yeah, sorry for the late response. I was still in Florida and didn't want to 'jinx' my method before coming home to see how it went. Happy to report all fish still alive and well, no coral deaths. A few sps frags in my frag tank bleached a bit at the base, but that's from the warmer weather we've had I'm sure. The tanks evaporated between 1 inch to 3 inches. Quite a bit of algae growth on the glass.

Method to my madness:

-feed my fish very well in the month leading up to my vacation. I fed frozen mysis & spirulina enriched (lots of HUFAs) brine shrimp. Hikari frozen. Fed 2 to 4 times a day, or whenever I walked by the tank. This built up fat reserves in the fish.
-unplugged my skimmers to reduce chances of complications
-topped up as much freshwater as possible, salinity closer to the lower end of the tolerance range in preparation for evaporation
-battery powered auto fish feeder loaded with freeze-dried mysis. Fish didn't like it but will have no choice but to ween onto this food. Eat it or die, really. Dispensed food twice a day.
-lights on timers
-I also typically have a very simple system so as to avoid complications. Just Berlin system with lots of live rock, two power heads, heater. No sump (and associated plumbing that could go wrong), no auto top off. Relatively stable sized aquarium (65 gal). That's it. No filter either.
-was gone from May 18 to May 27

Originally Posted by scuba ken

LoL I hear you, I just returned from 5 weeks in the pacific, lined up like this

1 week on the barrier reef
3 weeks cruise through Tahiti and Hawaii
1 week Sitting on the beach in oahu .

Sick of being home already, head out to the uk next week, and then back to Hawaii in July for 2 weeks.

Where iis everyone's favourite divie sites ?

I have only dove: about 100 dives off Halifax, about 60 dives off Florida, 3 or 4 dives off St Thomas, 2 dives off Costa Rica (Pacific).... I think that's it. Some snorkeling in between... Cuba etc. (I only tracked and logged dives for purposes of getting my Divemaster & Instructor certifications, but have since stopped). So in my limited range, I liked Jupiter (Florida) a lot. Drift diving and it's where the gulf stream comes closest to shore in Florida, lots of big animals. There's an annual aggregation of lemon sharks here in mid Feb... some dives it's a dozen, sometimes it's 60+. They sit/hover in the sand resting while water runs over their gills. Some believe they meet here to find mates before going off to courtship. Some think females hang out here until they are ready to give birth to pups who grow up in the mangrove inter-coastal water ways, and males just loiter for courtship opportunities because females are here.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Reef_Geek

Thanks everyone for your comments. Glad you like the photos.
Method to my madness:

-feed my fish very well in the month leading up to my vacation. I fed frozen mysis & spirulina enriched (lots of HUFAs) brine shrimp. Hikari frozen. Fed 2 to 4 times a day, or whenever I walked by the tank. This built up fat reserves in the fish.
-unplugged my skimmers to reduce chances of complications
-topped up as much freshwater as possible, salinity closer to the lower end of the tolerance range in preparation for evaporation
-battery powered auto fish feeder loaded with freeze-dried mysis. Fish didn't like it but will have no choice but to ween onto this food. Eat it or die, really. Dispensed food twice a day.
-lights on timers
-I also typically have a very simple system so as to avoid complications. Just Berlin system with lots of live rock, two power heads, heater. No sump (and associated plumbing that could go wrong), no auto top off. Relatively stable sized aquarium (65 gal). That's it. No filter either.
-was gone from May 18 to May 27

Thanks for the steps But what about water change? You are fairly stocked so aren't you worried about nitrate? Dosing? Etc.?

[Reef_Geek]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

Thanks for the steps But what about water change? You are fairly stocked so aren't you worried about nitrate? Dosing? Etc.?

when I get a chance, I'll test my nitrates. I'm pretty sure my live rock ridiculousness has sufficient denitrifying action. I've not changed water since about May 10th. I'll test my nitrates before I do a water change.

While away, the freeze dried foods are a bit 'cleaner' than the frozen foods, full of juices that the fish can't really eat but are added to the water. So I think it would have been fine.

On a normal forward going basis, I try to do a 20 gallon water change (out of 65gal tank, less live rock volume displacement) each week, if nothing else, just for trace nutrients. I also skip some weeks, just due to life.

My work email and unpacking is on tap in the near future, as well as picking up my dog from the kennel. I'll let you know about the nitrates when I get a chance. I'm guessing my nitrates are within tolerance but phosphates are present, negating the limiting nutrient play

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Reef_Geek

when I get a chance, I'll test my nitrates. I'm pretty sure my live rock ridiculousness has sufficient denitrifying action. I've not changed water since about May 10th. I'll test my nitrates before I do a water change.

While away, the freeze dried foods are a bit 'cleaner' than the frozen foods, full of juices that the fish can't really eat but are added to the water. So I think it would have been fine.

On a normal forward going basis, I try to do a 20 gallon water change (out of 65gal tank, less live rock volume displacement) each week, if nothing else, just for trace nutrients. I also skip some weeks, just due to life.

My work email and unpacking is on tap in the near future, as well as picking up my dog from the kennel. I'll let you know about the nitrates when I get a chance. I'm guessing my nitrates are within tolerance but phosphates are present, negating the limiting nutrient play

Awesome! Thanks for the info Will definitely help when I might have to leave my tanks for weeks.

[Reef_Geek]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

Awesome! Thanks for the info Will definitely help when I might have to leave my tanks for weeks.

Looks like the lowest possible level on my cheapo Hagen FW/SW test kit. I'm surprised too. My last water change was the weekend of May 10th. I meant to do a water change just before leaving on the 17th but ran out of time. I guess that's what happens when you go crazy with the live rock.