Brew's 187g slice of the ocean

RichtheReefer21 · Nov 15, 2019

Also are on my bucket list. Stunning terrain. That's pretty near u got to be a part of something so discreet that u had to sign an NDA form. I would take that as a compliment personally.

I am awaiting the start of a new job at a factory that's in my city, CRRC, building the new fleet for Boston's railway overhaul.

Interesting stuff. Safe travels on ur return sir.

Squidward · Nov 15, 2019

Nice tank and aquascape. I've had the worst luck with convict tangs. Tried 3 so far and all have never lived pass quarantine.

Brew12 · Nov 17, 2019

I'm back from Europe and was pleased to see how well the tank did while I was gone. My wife refilled the ATO and did some feeding, otherwise it was on auto pilot.

Going to do some maintenance today. Already changed the filter socks. Need to do some testing, harvest chaeto, clean the skimmer, clean the screens on the GFO reactor and refill the GAC reactor. Oh... and clean the glass.

I'll probably try and get some pictures taken when that is done.

Brew12 · Nov 17, 2019

How about a few more pics from Switzerland, then I’ll start working on the tank

Brew12 · Nov 18, 2019

I know... no excuses about the lack of pictures. I was lazy. So here is morning at my reef.

Sallstrom · Nov 18, 2019

Brew12 said:
I know... no excuses about the lack of pictures. I was lazy. So here is morning at my reef.

Tank looks okey. Where are the numbers?

Brew12 · Nov 18, 2019

Sallstrom said:
Tank looks okey. Where are the numbers?

That is an excellent question….. My tank did have some issues while I was gone so my chemistry numbers changed. So... as of yesterday.....

Salinity: 1.026sg
Temp: 78.2F
Alk: 9.7dkh
Calc: 440ppm
pH: 8.3
NO3: 15ppm
PO4. 0.18ppm
Mg: 1200ppm

So four issues, all related to nutrients. Talking about the perfect storm, I'm just lucky that I don't fear nutrients! So what happened? #honestyinreefing

Problem 1: Autofeeder overfed. I used a piece of tape over part of the dispenser opening to limit how much food was fed. The tape fell off at some point while I was gone. It wasn't a massive overfeed but probably about 30% more than intended for 8 days.

Problem 2: Skimmer suction clogged. The new overflow is fantastic and I have no regrets, but it has had one downside. My peppermint shrimp take the ride down into the sump and are very unlikely to survive. One of them got caught in my skimmer intake and effectively made it stop collecting.

Problem 3: I didn't harvest enough before I left and it packed in... tight. I'm sure it self shaded and stopped growing toward the end of the trip. I have a fairly small refugium and I pulled 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket out yesterday.

Problem 4: My flow through the GFO reactor was much lower than I had intended, hence the high PO4 reading. I didn't get around to cleaning it out and determining the cause yet but it is on the agenda for today.

I am calling this a very successful trip. If these are the biggest problems I encounter while gone for 8 days I consider that a big win.

User · Nov 18, 2019

I recently went on vacation for 15 days (our first with the tank) and my tank sitter called me up on day 5 saying he ran out of food... I’d portioned our enough frozen and pellets to do a good sized feed every 3 days, and preloaded some nori clips so he just had to drop them in the tank.

He ended up being told by his wife, that my wife told her that feeding was every day... I came back to a massive cyano outbreak and a resurgence in some of the Chrysophytes, that I’m still knocking back 3 months later. I was about to chemiclean the tank but noticed a tuft of turf algae that has exploded all over my rocks. So I’m currently dosing fluxRX for 14 days, then hit it with 2 days of chemiclean then a 30% WC to get everything cleanish again

Congrats on the tank. That’s a great feeling knowing that you have it dialed in so well that 8 days away isn’t an issue

Brew12 · Nov 18, 2019

neilp2006 said:
I recently went on vacation for 15 days (our first with the tank) and my tank sitter called me up on day 5 saying he ran out of food... I’d portioned our enough frozen and pellets to do a good sized feed every 3 days, and preloaded some nori clips so he just had to drop them in the tank.

He ended up being told by his wife, that my wife told her that feeding was every day... I came back to a massive cyano outbreak and a resurgence in some of the Chrysophytes, that I’m still knocking back 3 months later. I was about to chemiclean the tank but noticed a tuft of turf algae that has exploded all over my rocks. So I’m currently dosing fluxRX for 14 days, then hit it with 2 days of chemiclean then a 30% WC to get everything cleanish again

Congrats on the tank. That’s a great feeling knowing that you have it dialed in so well that 8 days away isn’t an issue

Wow!

Since I have wrasses and have tried anthias I feed 4 times per day. I normally do PE Mysis in the morning and LRS Fish Frenzy in the evening with 2 pellet feedings by the autofeeder in between. For this trip, since my wife was home, I set up 3 pellet feedings per day with my wife feeding an LRS/PE Mysis blend at night.
No matter who watches my tank, I portion the frozen feedings into snack size ziplock bags. Has worked well for me.

Brew12 · Nov 21, 2019

I just noticed I am missing a fish. Only 3 of my yellow tailed damsels are out swimming around and the 4th didn't show up for feeding time.

Not too surprising. No idea how old they were when I got them and I've had them for 3 years. I'd call that a good run.

Brew12 · Nov 22, 2019

I couldn't help myself..... more fish are on the way.

Carpenter's flasher wrasse
Exquisite fairy wrasse
Longfin fairy wrasse
Yellow wrasse
Green Mandarin
Yellow Prawn Goby

Just too good of a deal to pass up.

Brew12 · Nov 23, 2019

It's going to be a busy day on the aquarium. I have some shading issues going on with one of my stags that needs cutting back. I have quite a bit of monti that needs breaking off to keep it from smothering other corals, and I may break off a piece of a faster growing coral and relocate it so it is in 2 locations. It's blocking some better looking coral where it is and I want to open up the view. I'd like to have all of this done before the new fish get here today.

Brew12 · Nov 23, 2019

Well I was in for a surprise. I decided not to use an acclimation box for the H. Chrysus because it needs sand. Seems like every one I'm familiar with has dove directly into the sand and hid for a few days on introduction. Not the little guy I got. He's happily swimming around and exploring the tank. Not at all what I expected.

I also didn't expect the fish to show up until closer to 10am but they came around 8am. Didn't have time to break off the coral I was planning on. Not sure I want to add that much stress to the tank. Maybe I'll do it later.