Blaxsun's Abyss: Red Sea 750XXL

blaxsun · Mar 26, 2023

Mar 26. The 3 Muskateers

I went down to my local LFS for fish food and ended up with 3 more mouths to feed, naturally. I've decided to call this trio the "3 Muskateers", the "3 Amigos" or possibly "6-6-6" depending on how well they get along with everyone (I have 4 other damselfish, so this should be interesting, @Susan Edwards). These aren't the actual images of the fish as they're about half to a third of adult size and you can't make out much straining at the image I took of them in their acclimation pail.

I snagged a 3 stripe damselfish, 3 spot or domino damselfish and a 2 stripe damselfish.

Look at these guys - happier than three peas in a pod...

blaxsun · Mar 26, 2023

Mar 27. Triggered
Check out the mug on this guy (and that pair of orange fangs). He and another half dozen fish were at my LFS on consignment due to a customer shutting down his tang. Apparently he does bite and will go after fingers, hands, etc. and has to be a good 8-9" in length (apologies in advance for the crappy phone photo)

jsker · Mar 26, 2023

blaxsun said:
Mar 27. Triggered
Check out the mug on this guy (and that pair of orange fangs). He and another half dozen fish were at my LFS on consignment due to a customer shutting down his tang. Apparently he does bite and will go after fingers, hands, etc. and has to be a good 8-9" in length (apologies in advance for the crappy phone photo)

Niger trigger right?

blaxsun · Mar 26, 2023

jsker said:
Niger trigger right?

I think so, yes. They had another one at my LFS that drew blood from everyone that worked there and even attacked the glass one day when I ventured too close.

jsker · Mar 26, 2023

blaxsun said:
I think so, yes. They had another one at my LFS that drew blood from everyone that worked there and even attacked the glass one day when I ventured too close.

The one I have is pretty passive, She even comes to the top of the tank when I feed. I think I can get her trained to eat out of a spoon. I would say that she is about 5 inches.

I have a maroon that goes after my hand every time when I am doing maintenance in the tank.

blaxsun · Mar 26, 2023

jsker said:
The one I have is pretty passive, She even comes to the top of the tank when I feed. I think I can get her trained to eat out of a spoon. I would say that she is about 5 inches.

I have a maroon that goes after my hand every time when I am doing maintenance in the tank.

Sounds like an awesome fish! I have a parrotfish like that that occasionally lets me pet him. If you do get her eating off of a spoon take a video!

jsker · Mar 26, 2023

blaxsun said:
Sounds like an awesome fish! I have a parrotfish like that that occasionally lets me pet him. If you do get her eating off of a spoon take a video!

Here she is

Not a good picture either, she like to hide. Unless it is feeding time.

I will certainly take a video when she get me trained

blaxsun · Mar 27, 2023

Mar 28. The Wonderful World of Water
Today I thought I'd briefly touch base on my RODI setup. As it turned out today was also "salt day", where I mix up a new 5-gallon pail of Tropic Marin Pro-Reef salt for topping up the tank. It lasts 3-4 months and is used primarily to offset drip acclimation with a side of splashing fish. After upgrading the flow in my sump I relegated the Sicce Nano Voyager 2000 to "fluid mixing" - as it has a fairly powerful magnet that adheres firmly to curved surfaces. I've been using this the past week to mix my alkalinity (and now salt). Work smart not hard!
..........

I use an Aquatic Life Twist-In 4-stage RODI system (sediment, carbon, membrane and DI resin) in our laundry room sink. It's rated for up to 100GPD but I don't come anywhere even close to that. It's been augmented with the following upgrades (all of which can be found on Amazon Prime).

• Aquatic Life float valve/auto-shutoff kit
• TankRO 6-gallon pressurized system
• HM Digital DM-1 in-line Dual TDS monitor
• Malida 1/4" membrane flush bypass system
• Ezrodi 1/4" inline straight ball valves

The last three items are (I presume) Chinese knockoffs, but I couldn't find genuine Aquatic Life components for anything remotely approaching reasonable prices (and everything is most likely made in China anyway, just to different standards of quality control). The flush bypass utilizes the Aquatic Life flow restrictor which is the only mission critical component anyway.

My Aqualtic Life RODI setup, in all its boring splendor... You can never have too many spare cartridges!

The Twist-In system is awesome for anyone who hates finicking around with changing cartridges, as all you basically do is turn the water off, throw a small towel under the cartridges, twist and remove. The Twist-In system also includes two flush caps for flushing new sediment and carbon cartridges (preserving and extending the life of your membrane and DI resin cartridges).

The TD-1 dual TDS monitor is battery operated but has an auto-shutoff feature. You simply flip the switch between "In" and "Out" to get the respective readings (I average around 240 TDS in and 0 TDS out). It comes with velcro strips and I just stuck it to the side of the tank.

The TankRO pressure tank is a must-have for any RO setup where you have limited space and/or lack a large storage receptacle. It holds ~4 gallons of water with the other ~2 gallons of space being the compressed air component (and after a year and a half, still hasn't needed to be repressurized).

Basically the RO system remains on all the time with the pressure tank turned on (you can switch a valve to bypass). Once it's filled the auto-shutoff switch cuts the flow of water to the RO system so it's not constantly running. Easy peasy - lemon squeezy...

When we need to fill a 5-gallon jug we simply place it in the sink above, take the white hose (upper right) and insert it, turn the ball valve to on and set a timer for 10 minutes. In short order we get nearly 5 gallons of water, turn it off and make a mental note to fill one of the adjacent (empty) jugs the next time we're downstairs doing something. Our laundry room is on the opposite side of the house as the tank, so we just lug a few jugs across once a week to fill up the RO reservoirs.

I have enough ceiling access to potentially run a RO line all the way directly to the reservoir, but in addition to being inherently lazy - I'm somewhat reluctant just because my TDS spiked last week ahead of a sediment/carbon cartridge change and right now if there's a failure anywhere in the system it goes down the drain (no risk of flooding). Mostly I'm lazy.

Budman93 · Mar 27, 2023

Wow very nice setup! Setting up a tank now and have to convince my gf to let me use the under the sink area in our apmt lol.

blaxsun · Mar 27, 2023

Budman93 said:
Wow very nice setup! Setting up a tank now and have to convince my gf to let me use the under the sink area in our apmt lol.

I didn't necessarily make the best utilization of space since it wasn't a premium (you could probably condense it somewhat). Beats lugging RO back and forth between your LFS...

Projects with Sam · Mar 27, 2023

blaxsun said:
Mar 28. The Wonderful World of Water
Today I thought I'd briefly touch base on my RODI setup. As it turned out today was also "salt day", where I mix up a new 5-gallon pail of Tropic Marin Pro-Reef salt for topping up the tank. It lasts 3-4 months and is used primarily to offset drip acclimation with a side of splashing fish. After upgrading the flow in my sump I relegated the Sicce Nano Voyager 2000 to "fluid mixing" - as it has a fairly powerful magnet that adheres firmly to curved surfaces. I've been using this the past week to mix my alkalinity (and now salt). Work smart not hard!
..........

I use an Aquatic Life Twist-In 4-stage RODI system (sediment, carbon, membrane and DI resin) in our laundry room sink. It's rated for up to 100GPD but I don't come anywhere even close to that. It's been augmented with the following upgrades (all of which can be found on Amazon Prime).

• Aquatic Life float valve/auto-shutoff kit
• TankRO 6-gallon pressurized system
• HM Digital DM-1 in-line Dual TDS monitor
• Malida 1/4" membrane flush bypass system
• Ezrodi 1/4" inline straight ball valves

The last three items are (I presume) Chinese knockoffs, but I couldn't find genuine Aquatic Life components for anything remotely approaching reasonable prices (and everything is most likely made in China anyway, just to different standards of quality control). The flush bypass utilizes the Aquatic Life flow restrictor which is the only mission critical component anyway.

My Aqualtic Life RODI setup, in all its boring splendor... You can never have too many spare cartridges!

The Twist-In system is awesome for anyone who hates finicking around with changing cartridges, as all you basically do is turn the water off, throw a small towel under the cartridges, twist and remove. The Twist-In system also includes two flush caps for flushing new sediment and carbon cartridges (preserving and extending the life of your membrane and DI resin cartridges).

The TD-1 dual TDS monitor is battery operated but has an auto-shutoff feature. You simply flip the switch between "In" and "Out" to get the respective readings (I average around 240 TDS in and 0 TDS out). It comes with velcro strips and I just stuck it to the side of the tank.

The TankRO pressure tank is a must-have for any RO setup where you have limited space and/or lack a large storage receptacle. It holds ~4 gallons of water with the other ~2 gallons of space being the compressed air component (and after a year and a half, still hasn't needed to be repressurized).

Basically the RO system remains on all the time with the pressure tank turned on (you can switch a valve to bypass). Once it's filled the auto-shutoff switch cuts the flow of water to the RO system so it's not constantly running. Easy peasy - lemon squeezy...

When we need to fill a 5-gallon jug we simply place it in the sink above, take the white hose (upper right) and insert it, turn the ball valve to on and set a timer for 10 minutes. In short order we get nearly 5 gallons of water, turn it off and make a mental note to fill one of the adjacent (empty) jugs the next time we're downstairs doing something. Our laundry room is on the opposite side of the house as the tank, so we just lug a few jugs across once a week to fill up the RO reservoirs.

I have enough ceiling access to potentially run a RO line all the way directly to the reservoir, but in addition to being inherently lazy - I'm somewhat reluctant just because my TDS spiked last week ahead of a sediment/carbon cartridge change and right now if there's a failure anywhere in the system it goes down the drain (no risk of flooding). Mostly I'm lazy.

I highly recommend connecting directly to your ATO reservoir. Its so nice not even thinking about it. Get a TDS alarm though. I was feeding 5ppm water for awhile and my algae went nuts.

blaxsun · Mar 29, 2023

Mar 29. "Oh... yeah..."

Meet the latest addition to our tank: "Rocket" the raccoon butterflyfish. Boy can this guy *motor*. He's been chilling for over a month now and eating mysis and brine (so that means he's a keeper!)

I tried uploading a video taken at my LFS. Let me know if you can't view it... His "tank mate" is one of the lyretail chromis I added not that long ago (really neat fish, highly recommended).

And yes, I do know he's a potential "nipper" - but then again so are another half dozen potential suspects in my tank as well. Supposedly foxface and raccoons get along (fingers crossed).

Petcrazyson · Mar 29, 2023

blaxsun said:
Mar 29. "Oh... yeah..."

Meet the latest addition to our tank: "Rocket" the raccoon butterflyfish. Boy can this guy *motor*. He's been chilling for over a month now and eating mysis and brine (so that means he's a keeper!)

I tried uploading a video taken at my LFS. Let me know if you can't view it... His "tank mate" is one of the lyretail chromis I added not that long ago (really neat fish, highly recommended).

And yes, I do know he's a potential "nipper" - but then again so are another half dozen potential suspects in my tank as well. Supposedly foxface and raccoons get along (fingers crossed).

One of my fav butterflies!

Can’t see it lol

blaxsun · Mar 29, 2023

Petcrazyson said:
One of my fav butterflies!
Can’t see it lol

Figures... (re-uploaded it as an MP4 file; cross fingers it works now). Right now I'm dealing with an a**hole powder brown tang that won't leave the poor little guy alone and is freaking many of the other fish out with his antics. I had to resort to a makeshift "scarecrow" to keep him away. So the butterflyfish is hanging out in the upper left corner and I placed a large red net over the side to ward off the tang (who apparently absolutely, positively hates nets). It's kind of funny because "Rocket" is venturing further and further away from the net but that powder brown tang will not go within a foot of the thing.

Manufacturer claims fish can't see the red netting... right, lol.

blaxsun · Apr 3, 2023

April 1. Roofing: Not an April Fool's Joke
This weekend all of my YouTube subscriptions seemed to be populated with their version of an April Fool's joke. Some examples:

• "The Sinking of the SS Poseidon" (Fascinating Horror)
• "Majestic Horse" Lego Set (Austrian Brick Fan)
• "Soviet Nuclear Submarine Defects to the US" (Operations Room)

But this is not an April Fool's joke. My LFS got in some Shingle urchins, which have to be some of the coolest (next to fire urchin) looking urchins I've seen yet. I unfortunately didn't make it in before they were all sold/spoken for, but I do have a special order in for next time. Until then, feast your eyes...

Early bird apparently does get the worm, or in this case, urchin...

blaxsun · Apr 4, 2023

Apr 4: Critters!
Anyone else remember how awesome the 80's were?

As it turned out, my LFS did have one of the Single urchins left hiding in a corner. So I just had to have him (and figured I'd top up on snails right away as well).

Here you can see "Dillo" (we're naming him short for armadillo) checking out the snails. Ring cowries always crack me up...

They also had these really neat sand dollars that I'm mulling around (kind of like a floating urchin for your sand bed).

Anyone get the sense that he's lit the Bat Signal?

Or perhaps it's a roving rorschach test?

Projects with Sam · Apr 4, 2023

blaxsun said:
Apr 4: Critters!
Anyone else remember how awesome the 80's were?

As it turned out, my LFS did have one of the Single urchins left hiding in a corner. So I just had to have him (and figured I'd top up on snails right away as well).

Here you can see "Dillo" (we're naming him short for armadillo) checking out the snails. Ring cowries always crack me up...

They also had these really neat sand dollars that I'm mulling around (kind of like a floating urchin for your sand bed).

Anyone get the sense that he's lit the Bat Signal?

Or perhaps it's a roving rorschach test?

flock of crows!

blaxsun · Apr 5, 2023

Apr 5. got algae?
So my auto-feeders have been working overtime and the fish have basically been overfed for the past week or so (strangely, they're not complaining though...) The downside other than going through 6 weeks of food in less than a quarter of the time is this:

This image truly does not do it justice (but I couldn't make out details in the tank looking through the left side). One single swipe accumulated a thick green "goo" that actually accumulated on the blade and left little algae trails behind. The "goo" was instantly popular with all the fish - especially the parrotfish and foxface.

blaxsun · Apr 12, 2023

Apr 11. They Call Me Bruce
Meet "Bruce" (the leading choice) - the latest addition to the Abyss reef. The markings on this particular specimen were quite unique, so I had to add it to our collection of unusual inverts. I found out a few things about Bruce. First, unlike most sand dollars - these ones don't seem to burrow (instead preferring to remain on the sand bed). Second, they like mysis and all sorts of meaty foods. Third, they do sting (so I'm assuming venomous in some capacity; this was an unintended discovery on the part of my LFS, so Bruce came with a "don't let him brush up against any exposed skin").

Addendum: Placing this exact specimen is proving to be difficult. According to everything I've read, sand dollars aren't venomous - but this one definitely is. And the markings match that of a sand dollar (radial symmetry, 5 point-pattern). And the anus is at the back (not the top). The closest I can place it is echinocyamus pusillus (but I don't think this is it).

Addendum II: This little sucker is fast! When I first introduced him to the tank he landed on a rock and quickly darted off into the sand (he's in the process of burrowing, which is weird - as they didn't do this at my LFS; I guess it is a sand dollar).

The Bat Signal or a Nightmare Before Christmas?

Our new sand dollar in all his spiny, venomous glory...

We're also thinking "Oogie Boogie" or "Oogie" might be another good name.

blaxsun · Apr 12, 2023

Apr 12. Words Escape Me...
I honestly don't even know how to begin this one... As far as I can tell, everyone is present and accounted for. The first thing my wife said was "A crime scene?" (which was also my first though), but I couldn't find any victims (fish or otherwise). The only thing that came to mind is the marine equivalent of monkeys flinging poop.