WarDog's Tank Thread : Episodic Trial And Error

[WarDog]

Minor disappointing update I'm afraid...

Lost the Kole and a Flame Angel, within 12 hours apart, to what appears to be Ich. Ruled out Velvet, based on where the Flame came from. He was re-homed to my tank last week. Too much stress in too short a time I figure. Clowns and Damsel are showing symptoms, so I am hoping for the best. Plans to add fish at this time are completely on hold. I am starting to reconsider a QT.

Nitrates continue to be around 5 ppm. With the help of a few other members at large, we've pretty much narrowed it down to the dry rock, and the time it takes to build up the beneficial bacteria. Just a waiting game at this point.

Corals were browning out, due possibly to the fact that I was only running the Kessils at 60%. Slowly been ramping them up to 100% with a longer photo period, and the corals seem to be responding, with colours returning.

On a positive note all the inverts are doing well, including the Bubble Tip, which has quadrupled in size. The Trochus Snails continue to keep all hair algae in check, and coralline is starting to take hold on the rocks finally.

At this point I am thinking of a coral and invert only tank, lol.

Finally picked up some pods today in hopes of building a grand army!

[Ram3500]

I think your corals are browning because you are using LEDs

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by Ram3500

I think your corals are browning because you are using LEDs

Oh yeah? Want to buy a used pair, cheap? You could have 5 over your tank... perfect for your brown corals!

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

c'mon, all Greg's weekend posts are "induced" - lol

Not this weekend

Wow, sorry to hear about your fish losses.
Have you considered using Stability or MB7 ? Since your rock is kinda lacking in bacteria ... are you using an Ammo Alert badge and testing ? May have no bearing but doesn't hurt to check/keep an eye on these kinds of things.
NH3, and NO2 and 3 testing is one of my chores whenever I add new fish.
Since you don't currently QT, you have more going on than me with fish additions. Possible infections and feeding are a couple that come to mind.

The Tigger pods, IME, are a one-time addition - add, eaten, gone.
I've not used the Doc's eggs yet ..

You've got a lot on your plate ..
Dead rock, new tank, zeo-vit system, new frags, new lights, new fish ....

Deep breath ...

[Wretch]

Sucks to lose fish. I lost a new wrasse last week. It made it one day, next morning I found it half eaten. After that decided my tank has enough fish.

What happened to taking a break on new things for a while and letting your system settle a bit? Hope everything comes together for you.

[daplatapus]

Sucks to hear, man. Never nice to lose fish. I have to agree with the thoughts already expressed. When I started my first tank (the 77 gal I'm running now and upgrading) I was quick to try and fix things that I perceived were going wrong. And I'm still paying for those actions 3 years later. I'm now in the don't do or add anything into a tank other than new salt water and top up water for at least a year. If corals are not growing... At least they're not dying, lol. Regular water changes will give them all the nutrients they need to stay alive. Keep in mind this is my thinking for people new to the hobby. Until people fully understand the effects of adding agent "a" they really shouldn't be doing it. I thought I new why I added a something as innocuous as an algae turf scrubber.... Still paying for it. I thought I new why I started vodka dosing... Now I believe I'm still paying for it.
I believe the only way to get over my mistakes over the last 3 years is to start over, completely re-starting with almost nothing from my old tank going into the new. It sucks. It's humbling. But, like I've heard before, education is never free.
Resist the temptation to try and fix something unless it's imminently going to kill fish. Work on tweeking colors and corals after a couple years and you can intuitively know how they are reacting when you dose stuff.

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Not this weekend

Wow, sorry to hear about your fish losses.
Have you considered using Stability or MB7 ? Since your rock is kinda lacking in bacteria ... are you using an Ammo Alert badge and testing ? May have no bearing but doesn't hurt to check/keep an eye on these kinds of things.
NH3, and NO2 and 3 testing is one of my chores whenever I add new fish.
Since you don't currently QT, you have more going on than me with fish additions. Possible infections and feeding are a couple that come to mind.

The Tigger pods, IME, are a one-time addition - add, eaten, gone.
I've not used the Doc's eggs yet ..

You've got a lot on your plate ..
Dead rock, new tank, zeo-vit system, new frags, new lights, new fish ....

Deep breath ...

I have a bottle of MB7 I am using for the 20 gal, but I have resisted using it in my 65 only because I'm using Zeo. I test for NH3, NO3, PO4, Ca, Alk, and Mag twice a week. Salinity once a week with a refractometer, and monitor pH, temp and salinity (apex probe) daily.

Originally Posted by Wretch

Sucks to lose fish. I lost a new wrasse last week. It made it one day, next morning I found it half eaten. After that decided my tank has enough fish.

What happened to taking a break on new things for a while and letting your system settle a bit? Hope everything comes together for you.

Other than adding the Flame, I am taking a break on adding things... until I find more room for frags! Lol. But yeah, that's it for fish for a while. Please, no one offer me any more free fish, lol!

Originally Posted by daplatapus

Sucks to hear, man. Never nice to lose fish. I have to agree with the thoughts already expressed. When I started my first tank (the 77 gal I'm running now and upgrading) I was quick to try and fix things that I perceived were going wrong. And I'm still paying for those actions 3 years later. I'm now in the don't do or add anything into a tank other than new salt water and top up water for at least a year. If corals are not growing... At least they're not dying, lol. Regular water changes will give them all the nutrients they need to stay alive. Keep in mind this is my thinking for people new to the hobby. Until people fully understand the effects of adding agent "a" they really shouldn't be doing it. I thought I new why I added a something as innocuous as an algae turf scrubber.... Still paying for it. I thought I new why I started vodka dosing... Now I believe I'm still paying for it.
I believe the only way to get over my mistakes over the last 3 years is to start over, completely re-starting with almost nothing from my old tank going into the new. It sucks. It's humbling. But, like I've heard before, education is never free.
Resist the temptation to try and fix something unless it's imminently going to kill fish. Work on tweeking colors and corals after a couple years and you can intuitively know how they are reacting when you dose stuff.

I haven't really tried to change anything. I chose ZeoVit for this tank and I'm going to stick with it, hence why I'm not adding MB7. Sure I changed brands of skimmers, but that change should have no effect. My problem is, I went against the grain by using dry rock, knowing full well that it wasn't recommended by ZeoVit. I just have to live with that decision and wait it out. I thought the corals were browning because I wasn't using any specialized amino acids or that sort, but it appears to be the intensity of the Kessils were too low. Like I said, the corals are responding better now that I've increased the intensity and photo period. Ian has been very helpful in sharing his lighting schedule with me and he has no problem getting SPS growth and colours from his Kessils, so I know the lights work just fine.

In the end, this is my first salt tank. Mistakes are bound to be made, hopefully I can learn from them. When I do decide to upgrade, I should have a better understanding of just how things work. Just like you are doing with your upgrade Dom!

[daplatapus]

I hope my first post didn't come of snobbish. I have loved and hated my first tank. But I also wouldn't have chosen to do it any differently. The lessons I've learned, I probably wouldn't have learned any other way. It has brought me many hours of enjoyment and inspired me to try again
I believe I now know what things I've done wrong, but I bet in 5 years, I'll realize I still hadn't a clue, lol.
Good on ya for sticking with your decisions and getting help from those experienced with what you're trying to do.
I'll continue to learn vicariously from those who try things different from me