Sascha D. Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Week 50 Update: The first anniversary is coming up! I can't believe it's been that long already. I almost feel like I've had three different tanks instead of just the one. It's definitely been a wild ride, but I think I have everything in order now. The CaRx has been working wonders on the coral growth. I've been raising the parameters slowly over the last two months and I hope to reach my targets by August 1st. May 18 - dkh starting value 111 - Added 3 tsp kalk. May 21 - dkh 118, pH 8.0 May 25 - dkh 123, pH 8.0 - Added 3 tsp kalk. June 1 - dkh 135 June 8 - dkh 135 June 15 - dkh 134 June 22 - dkh 130 - Increased CO2, kept effluent the same, Added 3 tsp kalk. Updated Fish List: Sad news in the fish department. My Powder Blue Tang turned on the Foxface one day and forced him into the upper corner. I thought it would settle down. The next morning I found him on the floor. I sealed up the back of the tank with eggcrate. Sad day. The Flame Angel didn't make it. Poor little guy never made it past the quarantine. He just didn't eat. I tried every food that I could find. He picked at the mysis the most, but just didn't take to being in a tank I guess. I bet he missed his girl back home. That happened to me once. Powder Blue Tang Blue Chromis - 9 Oscellaris Clownfish - 2 Leopard Wrasse - 2 Melanarius Wrasse Coral Beauty Angel Updated Invertebrate List: So the snowstorm of white chunks was definitely my Tigertail Sea Cucumber. I haven't seen him since that day. I guess I should consider myself lucky it didn't crash the tank! It was a pretty cool critter but they travel a lot. Cleaner Shrimp Blood Shrimp Emerald Crab Tiger Pistol Shrimp Dwarf Cerith Snails - 50ish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Week 52 Update: Oh how they grow up so fast! It seems like only yesterday that I was pumping it full of tap water. A lot of life has happened in the last year. It's only fitting that I look back and reflect on how everything went down. July 2013. Let there be water! It took me two hours to do this aquascape. I was so poud! Little did I know how much heartache it would give me later. Yes those are Mollies! I let someone influence me and the next thing I knew I was at Petsmart. So what do I think of Mollies now? In a word: Naive. October 2013. Like every teenager, there was a Hippie phase. Notice the lush green fields of Prolifera, the afro mound of Hayi and chorus of Cottencandy sprouting from the powerheads. Before I set this tank up I had been reading all of these posts on ARC about how everyone was going skimmerless. The powers of macroalgae are limitless! It seemed like everyone was doing it. Despite my previous experienceI thought to myself that maybe the next generation of reef keeping had arrived. Perhaps I didn't give it enough time, but I wasn't happy waiting and ended up going back to my roots. November 2013. Ahh the cyano! It eventually covered everything, including the entire sand bed. I remember being embarassed when Mike, Ty and Dave came over to pick up items from a group buy. The cyano was so bad that air bubbles would get caught under it and huge patches of cyano would launch towards the surface, spraying all sorts of sand up with it. Cyanostorms! It took about a week for my skimmer to destroy every shred of cyano. God bless technology. February 2014. Armed with a drill and a tarp, structure and stability had come at long last. I wish it were this easy in life. I was 24 before I found this luxury. After this? Well you could say I shed some light on the situation. Things definitely got more complicated in the latter months. Up until this point I had only tested my water a handful of times. Today I test every week to make sure the alk is behaving. July 2014. There were some minor adjustments and some major corrections along the way, but I daresay that I'm happy with the first year. I saw the blossom of life, felt the pang of jealousy, endured the hardships to come, and resisted throwing money at the problem. Isn't that what reefkeeping is all about? I don't know what is going to come next, but right now I'm happy just watching it grow out. Who knows, maybe one day I'll host a reef club meeting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 So... I spent 4 days on Padre Island relaxing. I come home and half of my corals are 50% bleached or more and cyano is covering one completely. . Something made the skimmer go crazy and everything was overflowing. Phosphates are through the roof. On the bright side; I had a great time at the beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Yikes! Sorry to hear bud! I wonder if something died in your tank and your skimmer went nuts and overflowed. If you got anything from me that died, be happy to replace it once everything is right with your tank again. Sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 crazy how far things can come in a year! the July picture looks amazing. sorry to hear about the current situation -_- im sure time, and aggressive skimming will help the phosphates drop haha. I'm actually pretty terrified to leave my house for more than a week now after having tanks... we should start a support group on arc; reef induced agoraphobics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 My Apex helps me sleep at night for that very same reason... the fear of the tank crashing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 When I get home I think I'll change out 10g, add a temporary filter sock and wet skim for the next few days. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Get home! I'd taken the day off for my corals! Emergency day off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 Two days of skimming. Oh my peas, it smells awful! Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Looks like coca-cola! Sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 I had to frag my favorite acro last night to try and save a piece for future growth. It was very difficult and probably won't make any difference. Feeling pretty deflated right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 The sorrows of reef keeping. I bet it'll work out and one day you'll grow out a full colony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Once everything is stable again, you'll just have a good excuse to go frag shopping! I know it sucks but try to save what you can now and just know there are better times ahead! Sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 I guess those magnets really weren't strong enough for this glass Ty. Lol! I guess I need to sell some frags... Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Ease up on your frag making sir! Sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 I almost never make a frag on purpose. I just have a habit of saving every piece that the fish break. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 I need to write this down somewhere. Haven't decided if I'll sell them or take to the fish store. Devil's Hand - 2 Forest Fire - 4 Tyree Strawberry - 3 Tyree Flower Petal - 2 Jedi Mind Trick - 3 Hollywood Stunner - 4 Green Stars -3 Halemedia macos - 5 Chaeto G. Hayi Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesnest71405 Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I'm sure someone on here will buy it lol depending on price I might even be intersted in a few Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Yeah I always have the same debate with myself. I normally sell frags for $5 but the lfs is easier and faster lol. Only the Jedi will be a little bit more than that. I have a firm belief that people will take care of what they pay for better than what they get for free. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 What week is it again? Week 64, geez time sure does fly! I sort of let everything get out of control recently. I went on vacation and I came home to a cyano mess. The most sensitive corals were bleaching. I blamed the automatic feeder, did a water change and thought the problem was over. I didn't know my skimmer had decided to stop working. Two weeks later I realized that I hadn't changed the collection cup in a while. The already bleaching acros were fully white now. Next was the calcium reactor. The pump went out and then I ended up with a clogged line. I ended up losing nearly all of my Acropora including the Purple Meridana, and the Green Slimer. Surprisingly none of the Montipora were affected. I also still have my Rainbow Nasuta and both Stylophora. Too many things went wrong all at once and I suffered for it. A lot of the tank has overgrown and I have the task of trimming everything back. I suppose it's time for a sale. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Why is it that when things decide to go wrong its always while we are away from our home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Why is it that when things decide to go wrong its always while we are away from our home? Funny right? Truthfully, most of us wouldn't notice on day 1 or even day 3. It's not until the problem has manifested itself into something like cyano, cloudy water or coral decay that would make us notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted October 5, 2014 Author Share Posted October 5, 2014 Okay it's time to get serious! I need to trim a few corals in the tank, which means I need to post some for sale. Hopefully I will get them up today or tomorrow. Ordered an aqualifter and some Alk reagent from Amazon today. That should solve the CaRx problem. Next on my list is the skimmer, which hasn't been producing any skim lately. After that I should see about an ATO and possibly re-configuring my sump. My little helper. It's never too early to get salty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 I guess I had better start cleaning up the mess that I made. First things first, I need to see where I am before I can move forward. SG - 1.026 Ammonia - 0 pH - 8.2 Nitrites - 0 Nitrates - 0 DKH - 141 The tests done with API were okay. They're consistent with readings I got before the phosphate issue. DKH was done with Hanna and it's slightly low but good. SG was read using a refractometer. The fact that it came out at 1.026 is amazing to say the least. My SG is always off. The next order of business is to clear the frag racks and remove any corals that either didn't make it or won't recover. After that I can rebuild the empire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted November 3, 2014 Author Share Posted November 3, 2014 Here's a FTS picture 11-1-14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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