DBurr's betterlatethannever build thread

[Dburr1014]

Lost my yellow wrasse. She was all red spots Sunday night. Looked like uronema but I can't be sure so I started melafix baths and metro/copper on the tri-color she was housed with. This was sudden and very strange.
Also started copper on the melanurus, just incase. I've been debating doing copper or not, I might as well do it not to infect the rest of my tank. All these fish is becoming quite a collection and I don't want to spoil it.

 

[Dburr1014]

Last night I removed the refuge. Wasn't growing, have no no3. Let's see what happens. I did see some hair growing in the sump. The light from the refuge is now unplugged but still have some coral frags growing that need the other light.

This morning the melanurus was up which I thought was weird with no lights on. She is always sleeping in the morning. Then she started piping, Hmmm. Tossed in an air stone and started a heater on a couple gallons. Got ready for work and syphone off a couple gallons(managed to wet my pants and basement floor) and added copper to the new water and dump it in. A quick 25% water change before heading to work. Hoping the fresh water and air will help, we'll see when I get home. She's been doing great up till today. I'm sure it's nothing but being safe. Maybe it's the copper but she is still eating. She is up to 3/4 dose. I was going to try and push it this morning and tonight to full, but I'm going to hold off. I'll do 1/8 tonight if she looks okay and go to full dose tomorrow. Then start the 2 week clock.

The tri-color did okay with 2 rounds of melafix baths and I'm not doing the 3rd. I don't think she needs it. I don't see anything that points to uronema or don't see any soars. Funny but I didn't see any aggression at all when the yellow was in with her. Maybe there was and I didn't see it? I also did 2 rounds of Metro in the QT and the 3rd will be tonight. Just trying to keep uronema out of the display if she does have it. She is handling the copper very well. She is in 3/4 of full dose. Adding another 1/8th tonight and tomorrow will be full and start the 2 week clock.

 

[Dburr1014]

Copper going well. Everyone eating.

Poking around the tank and a saw an aptaisia. Just one, but that's all it takes. Tried my lemon juice trick but it's in an odd area. Didn't work. Going to mix up some kalk. So then I poked around the sump. I cannot believe how many I saw. Well, not many, but I was hoping for zero. I thought I had a handle on them. I guess once you have them, they are there to stay. I totally thinking of bleaching the sump when the QT is empty. Couple weeks.

I took some to down pics.

 

[paragrouper]

Your tank looks great.

I used to have an Aiptasia problem, but I beat them with a combo of manual eradication (is use lemon juice) and three peppermint shrimp that worked out well. I keep the shrimp, as I can easily find Aiptasia in my AIO chamber and my refugium.

 

[Dburr1014]

The wrasses are going in the display tonight. I'm leaving in two days for a week so 6 day observation post copper will have to do. No spots, eating 2x a day, all looks good.

Front corner sand in the display shows signs of brown stringy stuff. Reminds me of dinos. I've been watching it few a few days and it has not progressed. I did dose some ammonia last night to the sump. I think I'm going to rearrange my flow again(sigh). Changed the auto feeder to pellets from reef jerky also.

Pulled the frags out of the sump and made a semi-dedicated frag tank. It will only be temporary for up coming shows and broken down after. I really don't want to support 2 tanks full time. Corals of Fall show in 5 weeks. Newtown, CT. I probably have 30 frags if they all grow out.

 

[Dburr1014]

Home from Santa Marta. Tank is fine and the 2 new wrasse are out and about swimming with the fishes.
My small frag tank looks too be doing well even with the make-shift top off bottle I put on it. Which just occurred to me, I didn't take any pictures of the tank. Stay tuned for that.

Last night my 2nd coral+ T5 stb.
Fiddle around and the other lights light up on that ballast so it's not that. Pulled out an old workhorse wh5 ballast and I did get it to fire up on that. Looks like I'll need to change it the ballast. Weird that the ballast works but the light don't like it. I only have one of those ballast.

I think I'm going to have to do something about my lights soon. I'm looking hard at the noopsyche k7. I think 4 will do.
T5 are acting funny and the Reefbreeders is 8+ years old. Ugg.

 

[Dburr1014]

As promised, some pics of the janky temporary coral frag farm.
I set this up for sticky frags getting ready for club shows and coral QT.
It will be broken down in between the uses.



Nevermind the old rusted tool box. It was my dad's who died at the young age of 51. Never had the courage to throw it away.

The bottle ato was a last minute add on before I went on my week vacation. It works. It's good for about 3 days with the cover off. Probably twice that if I cover the tank with lower light because of condensation.

Here are some of the frags in getting ready.



I've been feeding it every few days when I'm home some ammonia and phosphorus and doing some water changes with display water. I have not checked any parameters at all but things are going well so far.

 

[Dburr1014]

Welp, frag tank is not doing so well.
I'm slowly losing frags so it's got to go back in the sump.
I've got skin peeling off the stylophoras and this morning a red planet.
Pretty sure because there is no skimmer or other means to get the protein out of the system. Kinda looks like a strain of dinos is in there with brown strings. They go away during the dark and come back in the light. It's not horrible, just a few strings.
That will be tonight's project.

Tank is chugging along. Wrasse are out all day, everyone gets along.
The coraline is getting all over the glass and is such a pita to get off. I used a credit card to scrape front and side panels as I'm afraid to use a razor and scratch the glass.
I might have to use one on the back panel though.

 

[Dburr1014]

Broke down the frag tank.

Threw away the dying coral and remounted some other ones.

They seem to be healing up.
Show is in two weeks, fingers crossed.

 

[Dburr1014]

A club member is getting out of the hobby. I went to help clean out yesterday.
Ug, everything is dying, coral, clams, cuc.
I tried to save some frags but the smell this morning is overwhelming. After work, it's all getting trashed. He waited to long to call someone. Very sad day.

 

[Dburr1014]

I got a bimaculatus anthias from the members broken down tank.
It went in QT but not eating for over a week.
Dang thing still not eating on Tuesday so I did the inevitable.
Took him out of qt and in the display. I figured,
1) came from a healthy tank(was)
2) older, aged in the tank
3) zero signs of any problems other than not eating.

And wouldn't you know, my whole tank got ich the next day.














Kidding, ha!

It was out and eating the next day. Fit right in with the rest of the crew.
I'm always worried about my purple tang not excepting new comers but she has not rejected anyone. I'm quite amazed really. I've had her for 8 years now.

I forgot to take pics, forgive me.

 

[Dburr1014]

Forgot to mention the corals of fall show this past Sunday.
More people came though the show but I feel sale were down across the board.

I found an OG Oregon Tort! I put it front and center in the tank.

 

[Dburr1014]

Well, sad news again. I lost my clam I've had 5.5 years.

I'm thinking it's the Ivermectin dip I did when moving to the new tank. It has a 200+ half life. It may have just been the long exposure from what may have been deep in the rock.