Achilles Tang dies...
 

My Achilles Tang died. In a last attempt to save him, I took him to a LFS so they could put him into a medicated tank. Achilles tangs don't take well to new environments and it is likely that this final move was too much for him in his weakened condition.

In keeping this fish for over three years, I suppose I did better than many. However, in the end I'm disappointed that I've lost two Acanthuras tangs in my time. I don't think I'll be rushing out to get another Acanthuras tang of any type soon.

I'm really sorry to hear that

:cry: That really sucks, I had hoped he'd pull through and be ok :sad:

So sorry to hear this Brad. :cry: Corals, shrimps etc. come and go but it really sucks to lose a fish.

Its too bad he died Brad. You did your best.

You did amazingly well with that one man. Still, sorry to hear this it's really hard when that happens.

Sorry to hear, I was hoping he would pull through :neutral:

Very sorry to hear that brad. He was beautiful.

Hi Brad

I feel your pain.

It is always very troubling when we loose any of our favorites.

Tom R

You did do better than most, I'm sorry for your loss.

aw that sucks Brad!.......sorry to hear:sad:

took me 2 days to read your thread, and all i have to say is wow...

Your tank is an inspiration and i hope that someday i can have something in my house close to what you have done.

hope to see more from your tank soon!

i was planning on going with a 400 long for my next tank build but after this i'm going with the deep footprint you tank is insane man

Camera off line...
 

Not much of an update...but I accidently stepped on the power cord of the aquarium camera, knocking the camera into the sump. While it is currently drying out, I expect it did not survive and there will be no on-line camera for a while....

Ouch that is brutal! I'd dunk it again but in ro/di and then let that dry out.

Trouble is it fell in while turned on I guess...too bad man. I've viewed that quite a few times over the last couple years.

Photo update
 

I'm not thrilled with my latest photos...but this should give you a good idea of how the tank is doing these days.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/100_0879.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/100_0882.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/100_0881.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/100_0880.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/100_0883.jpg

Looks great to me .

Ditto! :mrgreen:

Love those big tangs and the gorgonians look awesome :biggrin:

I love it
You are an inspiration
Must work on mine!

I am now addicted to build threads because of this one...lol. Nice build and VERY nice tank. How did those sponges do for ya? Any problems with them?

Some of the sponges are still doing well (yellow ball sponges)...others didn't make it (large orange/red branching sponges)...and others have appeared from the live rock. In general, it is important to place them somewhere where they don't get any light.

If you are able to leave your rockwork and flow alone for an extended period of time, sponges tend to find the places where conditions are good for them.

I have a yellow sponge that just appeared one day and has takin over my tank. I dont mind it cause it stays hidden in behind the rocks and it actually glues them together...lol

As far as leaving the rockwork alone...I dont think I have two pictures where the rockwork is the same...lol

Anemone spawning...again
 

This is the 2nd time this has happened in the 13+ years that I've owned this green carpet 'nem. There was a full moon last night....coincidence? Probably.

The carpet changes its shape into a cup. This seems to limit the water flow in over the mouth and concentrates the sperm in this area. If not for the actions of the host clown, this would have pooled in the bowl formed by the anemone.

If you have ever dosed coral snow into your tank...that is what the tank looked like after an hour or so!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/101_0016.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/101_0019.jpg

It's also equinox and that might not be so coincidental. For what it's worth, all the anemone spawnings I've had in my tanks over the years, with the exception of maybe once, they have all been inside a small threshold value of equinox or solstice (as in, if not the actual day of, within a couple days of it). I wish I kept better notes so I could say more authoritatively but I didn't, but I can say that it occured often enough that I'm pretty sure it's not so coincidental anymore.

FWIW it was the H. maginifica would spawn (quite regularly in fact) around solstice and the others (S.haddoni carpet, who was male and green.. just like yours) and BTA's would seem to spawn near equinoxes. The S.gigantea I currently have, have not spawned for me ever, which makes me wonder, could they be females and internal brooders, or could the trigger to spawn for that species be something else entirely, that's simply missing in captivity.

That is very interesting. I've made notes this time, so maybe we'll learn something more next time. Checking my notes I also confirmed that I've had this anemone for over 13 years now.

Here's some fun. Everyday I drain the skimmer cup...and everyday I get two cups worth. Today...10 cups.

Micro bubbles
 

Lately, the water has not looked very clear. It was very difficult to tell if it was filled with small particles or small air bubbles. I decided that I might have a small plumbing leak in one of the closed loops, so I pulled the pump out to have a look.

The impeller was FULL of snail shells (14 in all). After cleaning those out, I pulled the other CL pump and it had another 8 shells in it. My snails must be breeding somehow, as I can't remember even having added that many snails in the first place!

Removing the shells solved the water clarity problem. The shells in the pump were pulverizing the water so much that they were causing cavitation to occur right around the impellers. So...mind your pumps!

Now that the water was clear again, good time for some more photos. These include a few of fish that I rarely get a clear photo of...

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1723.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1722.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1720.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1712.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1711.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1717.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1715.jpg

Great pics! Everything looks healthy and happy.

Tank looks great Brad! Nice pics too.

Wow man things sure did turn around it's nice seeing so many nice big colonies and they look great too. What's the orange covering across that one big round boulder? Is it some sort of encrusting coral or what?

Wow looks great :biggrin:

I've seen this tank in person and the pictures do not do it justice.

Brad's fish are GIGANTIC! Very healthy and active... loved seeing it up close.

There are two orange encrusting corals on that front rock. The top is some sort of monti(?) that flouresces beautifully. The sides are a fire coral that is native to Florida where the LD came from.

The fire coral is spreading rapidly around the entire tank...even up the back wall. Fortunately, it has no defense against any acro that wants space, so the rest of the coral holds it at bay.

Unfortunately, the gorgonians do not have any defense against the fire coral and one of my gorgs became completely overgrown by it. This seems like the natural behaviour of the fire coral as both the gorg and the fire coral come from the same ecosystem.

The orange encrusting monti is actually doing a service by surrounding that patch of gorgs, preventing the fire coral from reaching them. If not for that good fortune, I would have lost all those gorgonians to the fire coral long ago. The monti is also trying to grow up the gorgonians, but is doing so at a MUCH slower rate. The fire coral can fully encrust a 6" gorgonian in less than one week. It looks like it will take the monti years to accomplish that.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...IMG_1712-1.jpg

If you aren't a diver, I will add that fire coral is so named because you don't want to touch it! It has zapped me a few times, but it is only mildly painful.

Things are looking great. Nice to see things turned around for you.:biggrin:

Beautiful!
:smile:

Mitch

While I was looking at the tank today, I thought..."there still seems to be some microbubbles floating around...." Not nearly as many as a few days ago, but still some.

So I decided to take apart my return pump, even though it had been completely cleaned out only 2 months ago.

Here is what I found. I believe I have located the final source of microbubbles in the tank. The intake strainer in my sump had become detached and I didn't think it would matter. I guess it does.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/101_0884.jpg

WOW! Hahah! Im surprised it didnt sound like there was a handful of rocks in the pump. Crazy.

What kind of snail is that in the pump?
Tank looking great!

Love the tank!
but i was wondering how u like the g-6 protien skimmer?

I don't know. I can say that this kind of snail is ALWAYS the kind of shell that I find in my pumps, although they are usually 1/4 the size of this particular one. I believe they are a carnivorous type because they are always first on the scene of another snail's death.

G6 has long been replaced. My current skimmer is double the volume of the G6 and nearly 2 feet taller. You can read about that install. It started on pg 84!
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...=28436&page=84

Tank is looking great Brad!! I can't believe how much stuff your pumps are collecting without any damage to them :eek: