Alright then
It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I have something indoors to do :wink:

Thanks

I've been keeping this as a backup, but thanks for the reminder :smile:
It had slipped my memory to try it

Lots of updates ...

So, the wifey surprised me with a brand new Tunze ATO for the QT
I had no idea she was doing this when I bought Rich's used one
I sold his yesterday

Thanks Donna :mrgreen:

Tues night I decided to start raising my Mg
I will start off by stating there is a possibility that my testing methods were off ....
Also, I should have waited a day after the WC before adding the Mg liquid

The end of a bucket of IO salt ....
NSW
11.5 Alk
520 + Ca ( I should have tossed the water at this point )
1250 Mg

DT
7 Alk
450 Ca
1250 Mg

I then did a 15+% WC and waited a couple hours
Next, I re-tested the DT
7.5 Alk
440 Ca ( ??? )
1250 Mg

As you can see, there is already a discrepancy in the Ca
NSW test must have been off, or minerals were interacting during testing as I tested the Ca 2 more times, and still read 440ppm

Next, I added enough liquid Mg to raise it by 100ppm
3 hours later, and I tested 1350 Mg

Now, here's where I deviated from advice and added another dose of liquid Mg
An hour later I tested the DT
6.5 Alk
500 Ca
1400 Mg

Again an hour and another retest
7.5 Alk
460 Ca
1400 Mg

Obviously at this point the Mg, Ca and Alk are trying to balance each other

Then, 2 days later ...
8.0 Alk
520 Ca
1350 Mg

pH and Sg have been stable the whole time
The only effects I have seen so far is one Turbo acting a bit lazy, and the Frogspawn has been remaining closed a bit longer than normal

I have just mixed 20g of NSW from a new bucket ( free T-shirt :smile: ) and will be doing a 15% WC soon as I feel the Ca is too high

I've also been doing WCs from the DT to the QT as ( I've mentioned before ) I am ready to start adding fishies to the DT

The Turbos and Strawberrys have been doing an OK job of keeping some sections of rock clean, but nothing huge

The Peppermints cleared out all but 1 or 2 Aiptasia
The timing is good as they will be getting leftover fish food very soon

Guess that's it for now

The DT now has it's first fishies
They are quite small so I'm not worried about adding all 4 to 110g of water
They are mostly feeling a bit lost in the space they have, but there's no signs of stress per se ... just some grouping with the cardinals
The clown is actually the most inquisitive of the bunch
Now I have to find some more critters for the QT :smile:

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01299.jpg
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01300.jpg

Today I bought a pair of cleaner shrimp from J&L for the DT and they are happily sharing a station already

I also bought, from J&L, a Hector's Goby and Starry Blenny
Both are less than 1.5"
And from Island Pets I picked up a One Spot Foxface who is about 3 or 3-1/2". It was apparently there for weeks and eats mysis. I spotted what may be MI ( one spot ) so it's currently acclimating in a drip bucket with a small amount of ParaGuard. It's peed at me, but is still swimming around, so all looks good so far

The blenny, goby and fox are going in the 20g QT for probably 6 weeks
The LR I have in there right now is overgrown with fuzzy and long, hairy, dark green algae so I figured now is a good time to add some grazers
I've added a tray with some sand that I will inject with tigger pods for the goby, plus I am populating the tank with tigger pods. I just have to read up on how to add this bottle of phytoplankton to the pod bottle :wink:
I may get a small batch of chaeto to float in the QT for some pods too .. not sure yet. I'll make sure the little dude doesn't starve as it's too small for mysis ( apparently ), but we'll see

If the Hector doesn't stay fat, I'll either post him or take him back
The Starry will have a field day in the QT
The Fox, well, won't be terribly happy in a 20g for up to 6 weeks, but the fact it eats mysis will help

Pics to follow over the next day or 2, after everyone has some color back

Gooduck with the starry and make sure you post updates. I would eventually want to add a dragonet in my 75 but it looks like the whole project is being pushed for a while as I have to drain the tank (save as much water as possible) and level it as right now it is not leveled (should have measured instead of assumin the floors were even)...

I'm more concerned about the Hector goby rather than the Starry blenny
Dragonettes are another issue I won't try right now - good luck with yours if you ever do ...

Oh I wont be adding any pod eating fish for at least 7-9 months or when I can make a fudge that can sustain enough pods for them.

I'm in the process of also making a custom refugium which would be connected from the sump return, however I need a very odd size tank and I was quoted $125 for a custom acrylic sump approx ~ 12long, 20high, 10wide... so now I'm contemplating if i should just scrap my old style sump and put a new one in there with a refugium and switch the external pump for a submersible.

Well, the cleaner shrimps didn't make it. One died about 16 hours in, and the other about 20. Just dropped to the sand upside down and that was it
I tested everything and nothing is off. Also no copper shows on test
I use Elos and Seachem kits
It's been 3 days since the tank saw any stress guard, so that is long gone
They were only in the bag for an hour on the way home, a half hour temp acclimating, and 45 mins of dripping in a bucket with an air stone
I doubled their water about 3 times then placed them in the DT with my hand
I'll have J&L test my water tomorrow, but I don't think they'll find anything as the peppermint shrimp are doing fine
Guess it's just one of those things

So, on the happy side, all the new QT fish are eating well
The hector is on tigger pods and seems interested in mysis
The starry and fox are eating mysis and pellets

Hector likes the sand bed

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01307.jpg
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01302.jpg

Look dead center to find the blenny ( under the hector )

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01303.jpg

Fox's spot is pale, and was in the store as well

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...d/DSC01309.jpg

That's a cute pic of the hector and blenny! Sorry bout the shrimp, that sucks! I've had my cleaners for about 6 months now and my fire shrimp for a year! Hope your water tests ok, but I think sometimes these things happen.