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mseepman 04-25-2013 04:39 AM

Well, not sure this is a nice camera but it's been a great point and shoot up til now.

Sadly, you can't really see my coral in this picture. Will have to see what I can do again this weekend.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...psed272f0f.jpg

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps992a2e08.jpg

Also, got someone exciting to add to the tank tonight. It was a deal that I could not pass up and assuming my yellow tang doesn't beat him to death...He's tough to get a picture of.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...psf2285002.jpg

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps66b51ddd.jpg

Ginu 04-25-2013 08:13 AM

Love the Kole tang and hopefully the YT doesn't beat him to death. I have one in my 75g and contemplating if I should try a small YT, such awesome show fish due to its color.

The display looks amazing, great job so far, and how is the fish/desk room looking like nowadays?

michika 04-25-2013 02:37 PM

Cute little sohal you've got there!

Your tank looks so clear and sharp. Are you running/dosing anything other then the bio capsules you mentioned before?

mseepman 04-25-2013 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michika (Post 814241)
Cute little sohal you've got there!

Your tank looks so clear and sharp. Are you running/dosing anything other then the bio capsules you mentioned before?

Thanks.

I only run prodibio...plus a little carbon. I have always thought it could look sharper...haha.

mseepman 04-25-2013 03:31 PM

I broke my cardinal rule and put the Sohal in directly. I was not planning on buying any new fish and so my QT was not up to snuff ready. He had been in the store for several months (at $250) and was terrorizing everyone else in the tank. The store put him in a 15g partition. He is fat, eats well and has no spots or anything. The owner just needed to be able to use that tank for more so he offered to sell him to me for $99 "take it or leave it" and that was a deal I couldn't pass up.
Sadly, this morning my clown is covered in ICK...my wrasse has one or two spots as well.
My Yellow Tang is still beating the crap out of the Sohal and I'm not sure how to stop it either.

Ah...the pleasant joys of keeping saltwater.

The Codfather 04-25-2013 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman (Post 814263)
He is fat, eats well and has no spots or anything.My Yellow Tang is still beating the crap out of the Sohal and I'm not sure how to stop it either.

Im sure it wont be long before the tide turns, Ive never had a sohal that wasnt king of the tank after a month or two. The one I have now is the smallest in the bunch, but wow, does he have attitude. Give him a couple days, im sure he'll be holding his own, and he'll set that yellow straight.

H2o2 04-25-2013 03:56 PM

Maybe try the mirror on the outside of the tank and maybe just the stress of the new fish brought it on but tank is looking great

andestang 04-25-2013 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Codfather (Post 814264)
Im sure it wont be long before the tide turns, Ive never had a sohal that wasnt king of the tank after a month or two. The one I have now is the smallest in the bunch, but wow, does he have attitude. Give him a couple days, im sure he'll be holding his own, and he'll set that yellow straight.

Yes the yellow better enjoy it while he can because it will turn the other way. The mirror sometimes is effective and will usually distract things a little. You could also put a egg crate panel to seperate for awhile, won't look nice but would maybe help break things in. Things are looking really good since the last time I seen your build !

mseepman 04-25-2013 06:30 PM

Thanks everyone. I will see about doing something with a mirror. I'll let you know how the ick turns out too.

mseepman 04-26-2013 04:42 AM

Sadly, after moving it to quarantine, my black and white clown died this afternoon. Now I see that my flame angel has quite a few spots on it and it has stopped responding to food...its just hiding among the rocks. Not a good sign so hopefully I can get it out of there with some enticing food tomorrow.

H2o2 04-26-2013 04:51 AM

So sorry Mark

Myka 04-26-2013 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman (Post 814263)
I broke my cardinal rule and put the Sohal in directly. [...] Sadly, this morning my clown is covered in ICK...my wrasse has one or two spots as well.

My Yellow Tang is still beating the crap out of the Sohal and I'm not sure how to stop it either.

Ah...the pleasant joys of keeping saltwater.


Oh no Mark! At least you learned the lesson early on instead of when the tank is full of fish.

The mirror trick should work for the Tang issue. YTs can be real a-holes.

Good luck!!!

mseepman 04-26-2013 03:34 PM

I continue to reap the rewards of my mistake and this morning the flame Angel i'vehad for 7 years was dead in the display.

Myka 04-26-2013 03:35 PM

Ohhh noooo! Sorry to hear Mark. :cry:

Ginu 04-26-2013 03:38 PM

Sorry to hear that Mark.

andestang 04-26-2013 04:51 PM

Ok this is sad, sorry man !:sad:

lastlight 04-26-2013 05:36 PM

Sorry to hear man. :sad:

Chowder 04-26-2013 05:45 PM

Sorry to here that Mark.

Chris

mseepman 05-03-2013 03:59 AM

The tank has been stable since the loss of my two fish after adding the Sohal. I see today that it has ick but it's eating well and doesn't seem too distressed. Hopefully for all the trouble it's caused, it makes it.

I also got to add two new additions that I've been looking forward to.
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps33b12231.jpg

Great little guys that I hope will have the personality that I know these fish can have.

I've been steadily adding corals as well.
Here's a frag I picked up at the LFS
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps38e170fa.jpg

I'll try to add some more shots in the short future.

Skimmerking 05-03-2013 04:00 PM

Looking great Mark. the tank is well on its way.

mseepman 05-09-2013 05:29 AM

So the tank has gone through some rough times lately...half my fish have ick...at least the ones that haven't died. Still furious with myself for shortcutting quarantine. Anyways...onward and upward.
Here's a shot of the tank tonight. The corals are coming together nicely (if I haven't bleached them half to death).
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...psf4a58d71.jpg

H2o2 05-09-2013 05:48 AM

forward
 
Hind site is a wonderful thing as we get to learn from our mistake ,not taking away from your loss,Hope going forward that the tank turns into the thought that we had in our mines eye that we all have getting into this adventure and responsiblity.

mseepman 05-21-2013 05:49 AM

On the weekend I was in Calgary to pick up my new Frag Tank from the wonderful people at Concepts.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps44b1a36a.jpg

Also did a little frag and fish shopping. Nice Leopard from Big Al's.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps0234ef91.jpg

Calgary has so many amazing goodies that we just don't have here in the Okanagan that I couldn't help myself and bought a few frags as well...here's one in my temp frag tank.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps68d0f0e0.jpg

fishytime 05-21-2013 12:34 PM

It was good to see ya again Mark and good to see the little kitty made the trip home ok

lastlight 05-21-2013 01:40 PM

Nice leopard. I saw probably 5 of them in various lfs in the city this weekend. They all dwarf my meleagris which has grown a lot but is only an inch long.

Is your frag there from Pisces? Looks like one I nearly picked up...

H2o2 05-21-2013 02:17 PM

Looking great Mark and hurry with that frag tank ,there coming

mseepman 05-21-2013 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lastlight (Post 819666)
Nice leopard. I saw probably 5 of them in various lfs in the city this weekend. They all dwarf my meleagris which has grown a lot but is only an inch long.

Is your frag there from Pisces? Looks like one I nearly picked up...

This Frag actually came from Concepts. I only had a chance to visit Big Als and Concepts during my visit to the city. I always stay way SW and so getting up north to all the stores becomes a challenge with all the "family" things I get roped into.

I got two more Chalices from Concepts but haven't pictured them yet.

nrosdal 05-24-2013 02:55 AM

Looking good buddy. Got any other frags lately? or the frag tank running? or a really sweet light on that frag tank? :mrgreen:

mseepman 05-24-2013 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrosdal (Post 820232)
Looking good buddy. Got any other frags lately? or the frag tank running? or a really sweet light on that frag tank? :mrgreen:

Haha...is that my hint to update? Working on some cleanup right now of my "fish junk" as my wife has named it. "Happy wife equals happy life" and so too much junk that doesn't have a home in my fish room directly contradicts this philosophy.

Otherwise the frag tank is up...with frags in it...under a very nice 2040 light fixture from reefsupplycanada.com :biggrin:

Pictures will follow soon.

mseepman 05-25-2013 03:33 AM

I promised a few pics...so here you go....

FTS
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps7ee980c2.jpg

End shot on Peninsula
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps0e50a48b.jpg

Frag tank with a couple frags in it and IT2040 going through it's end of day programming.
http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...psb5118251.jpg

Myka 05-25-2013 02:31 PM

You need more stuff in your frag tank!!! Let me know if you want a donation. ;)

mseepman 06-02-2013 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka (Post 820548)
You need more stuff in your frag tank!!! Let me know if you want a donation. ;)

Mindy, always up for a donationi!!! When will you be delivering that? :biggrin:

As for filling it up...I've got corals arriving from Frag-a-lot on Tuesday and I'll be holding someone else's portion of that order for a bit as well so I'm pretty sure the room will be filling fast.

In regards to the main tank, I've been having some good growth on some corals and not so great on others. This is my first SPS / LPS tank and the learning curve is really something else.

I've been battling an Alk issue since shortly after the tank was started. I just can't get the Alk high enough, even when using crappy old IO salt. Every test I do, I get about a 6 - 6.2 on my Hanna. When I test new IO it measures in between 9.5 and 10 usually. I had one bad bucket of IO which only had an ALk of 4 and that seems to have set off the chain reaction.

This week I was going to set up my Deltec Kalk reactor but the top motor needs changing and due to a lack of time, I just put together a quick old fashioned doser with a premixed bottle for the time being. I'm using Ms. Wages Pickling lime and I've mixed it to 2 TBLspoons for 1 gallon of RODI. I've never used Kalk before but hopefully this helps me get through this problem. It's a 1.1ml per minute doser and I've got it going 9.5 minutes ever hour through the night (9 hours total).

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...pse28f59ec.jpg

In case anyone is wondering what my other numbers are:
Ca 460
MG 1400
PH 8.15
Salinity 1.026
Temp 78.9
NO3 - 0
Phos - 0
Amm - 0


Ideas are welcome. I know my PH needs help, so hopefully the Kalk will help this too.

Myka 06-02-2013 03:01 PM

Hey Mark, saturated limewater is 2 teaspoons per gallon. Anything more will just sit on the bottom. You can add up to 3 tsp per gallon if you add vinegar (up to 45 mL per gallon), but don't forget the implications there. :lol:

I will bring you frags in July! :D

mseepman 06-02-2013 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myka (Post 822581)
Hey Mark, saturated limewater is 2 teaspoons per gallon. Anything more will just sit on the bottom. You can add up to 3 tsp per gallon if you add vinegar (up to 45 mL per gallon), but don't forget the implications there. :lol:

I will bring you frags in July! :D

Oops...that would explain the little bit of sediment. will it dissolve if I add in some more RODI water?

Myka 06-02-2013 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mseepman (Post 822600)
Oops...that would explain the little bit of sediment. will it dissolve if I add in some more RODI water?

Yes, but I wouldn't worry about it much (lime isn't expensive), just make your next batch with the lower amount. Make sure you don't mix up too much at a time and keep it well sealed because it will react with the CO2 in the air.

Check this out, oldie but a goodie: The Degradation of Limewater in Air by Randy Holmes-Farley.

EDIT: RHF mentions his use of a bucket with a bunch of lime in the bottom of the tub and he just adds more RO/DI water to the tub via ATO. When the tub runs out of lime at the bottom he just adds more and mixes it a bit. Sounds like a simplified way to do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
More sophisticated systems can involve a large holding reservoir for limewater (up to 55 gallons or more) coupled to a delivery pump and a float switch in the aquarium or sump that controls the delivery to match the evaporation rate. This is the type of system that I use. I make up limewater in a 44-gallon Rubbermaid Brute trashcan by putting the CaO in the bottom, and pouring in water by 5-gallon buckets. That process takes about 5 minutes once every 2-3 weeks. The trashcan is closed by simply putting on its lid. The pump that sends the water to the sump is a Reef-Filler pump (maximum pumping rate 3 gallons per day), which is controlled to match the evaporation rate using a float switch in my sump. The entire limewater system is located remotely from my aquarium (in my basement), so the size of the reservoir is of no consequence. In my case, I often do not use saturated limewater because my aquarium does not need that much supplementation of calcium and alkalinity. Consequently, I add less CaO than would be required to produce saturated limewater. If an aquarist wants saturated limewater, there is no real reason to try to add a specific amount. Any extra solids just sit on the bottom and wait for the next water refill (these solids also absorb impurities like copper out of the water, but that's the subject of a different article).


This type of limewater system is the type that most often comes under fire for being prone to degradation problems by reaction with atmospheric carbon dioxide. In this type of system, limewater is made up once, and then allowed to sit unstirred for as long as it takes the delivery system to send it to the aquarium. Since this type of reservoir can deliver limewater to the aquarium for several weeks, many aquarists have incorrectly concluded that substantial potency is lost as the limewater degrades, and that such a system will fail. Moreover, this assertion is why many aquarists claim that Nilsen reactors are simpler: because the simple delivery from a large reservoir won't work and that only daily mixing of limewater can be successful. In truth, it takes me five minutes to make up limewater every 2-3 weeks, so the idea that some other system is easier to use is simply unfounded. Later in this article I will show that such simple systems do not lose substantial potency, and hence should be considered by aquarists who have the space for large reservoirs.


mseepman 06-05-2013 06:52 PM

Got a few frags from a recent fragalot order...though I would share.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...psa39102de.jpg

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/r...psd73694a9.jpg

Ginu 06-05-2013 07:03 PM

Looks good, typically I've had some good luck with acans from fragalot, but most zoas are doa and havent ordered much in term of hard corals, so cant comment.

nrosdal 06-05-2013 07:11 PM

Looks great Mark, even better in person. I have had great luck with sps and acans from them as well.

Tank is coming along beautifully really look forward to seeing some of these beauties grow out. Have you given much though to what you are going to add as far as livestock? and what their names will be? :mrgreen:

H2o2 06-05-2013 07:55 PM

I am so looking forward to seeing this tank in person

mseepman 06-05-2013 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H2o2 (Post 823511)
I am so looking forward to seeing this tank in person

Only a few more days and you can Harry...you coming back to the Okanagan on the 9th or 10th?


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