bzb's 90 Gallon
- Thread starter bzb
- Start date
I was creeping over 9dkh so I dialed the alk/ca back to about 12mL per day. I have stopped dosing nitrate and phosphate completely. Nitrates are still undetectable, but phosphates routinely stay around 0.10 ppm. I've seen a spike in nuisance algae growth, but I'm not sure how to dial back feeding without impacting coral growth. Fish are fat and happy, and overall the tank is thriving. Gave away the huge xenia rock, so did a little rearranging based on growth patterns and give the fish a little more room to swim.
Unfortunately, had an accident dropping the highest rock and it shattered my purple stylo. But hey, now I have frags.
GSP and pulsing xenia are growing like crazy, and montis show good growth rates. Still slow going on the zoas but they seem happy.
Proud coral papa moment: the red monti frags have closed the gap between them!
Unfortunately, had an accident dropping the highest rock and it shattered my purple stylo. But hey, now I have frags.
GSP and pulsing xenia are growing like crazy, and montis show good growth rates. Still slow going on the zoas but they seem happy.
Proud coral papa moment: the red monti frags have closed the gap between them!
look great!
A month later, finally getting the tuft algae under control. I dosed a little bit of Phosphate-E to try to get the phosphates to drop under 0.1ppm, and I didn't see much success there after a week. I switched to simply dosing nitrates again, and I saw the drop from ~0.15ppm to under 0.8ppm on the Hanna checker in about a week. The tuft algae is fairly thick on the rock with the GSP, but if that slows its growth, great. You can really see it on the Squidward House in the back middle. Otherwise, it's disappearing from the original rocks it was growing on.
Outside of that, changes are pretty minimal other than ramping up my Alk dosing. I'm now running a pretty consistent 8.7 dkH (1:1 ratio of drips with Alk and Ca from BRS). When I first was dosing I was targeting 8.2 but decided to try to raise the Alk to see how it would affect pH.
While I *felt* like this month had been a challenge with COVID lockdown having a lot more CO2 in the house and the pH dropping as low as 7.4, these side-by-side comparisons seem to show the corals are largely unaffected. The monti comparison to 2 months ago is incredible to me.
Coralline algae is all over the tank, and some of the patches are starting to cover each other. The growth rate of the coralline seems to have slowed a bit. Not worried about that, at all... it's probably due to the tuft algae.
I also switched over to a Galaxy S20 instead of the iPhone, so pics are clearer but white balance is still tricky. I need to remember that I take pics at 3PM-ish so I don't have to fiddle with the lights
Once this lockdown is over, I'll definitely have some frags for folks!
April 5th left, Feb 2nd right.
Outside of that, changes are pretty minimal other than ramping up my Alk dosing. I'm now running a pretty consistent 8.7 dkH (1:1 ratio of drips with Alk and Ca from BRS). When I first was dosing I was targeting 8.2 but decided to try to raise the Alk to see how it would affect pH.
While I *felt* like this month had been a challenge with COVID lockdown having a lot more CO2 in the house and the pH dropping as low as 7.4, these side-by-side comparisons seem to show the corals are largely unaffected. The monti comparison to 2 months ago is incredible to me.
Coralline algae is all over the tank, and some of the patches are starting to cover each other. The growth rate of the coralline seems to have slowed a bit. Not worried about that, at all... it's probably due to the tuft algae.
I also switched over to a Galaxy S20 instead of the iPhone, so pics are clearer but white balance is still tricky. I need to remember that I take pics at 3PM-ish so I don't have to fiddle with the lights
Once this lockdown is over, I'll definitely have some frags for folks!
April 5th left, Feb 2nd right.
Tank has stabilized pretty well. Phosphates are staying stable at 0.8-0.12, Alk hangs around 8.7 with current dosing, and getting acceptable growth rates and good color from most corals. Zoa/paly colonies finally seem to be taking off. I've had to rearrange a couple times, and now I've got the largest euphyllia trying to keep the GSP on his own island rock. I've given away a couple dozen frags of the leather, pieces of the stylo and digi, and a handful of mushrooms... but I'm scared to do those palys since I keep reading how nasty they are.
Overall, I'm two months away from the one year mark and I think things are finally getting stable to the point where I really don't have to do much than enjoy the tank and feed the fish 42 times a day since they SO HONGREE.
I really gotta remember my camera settings.
Overall, I'm two months away from the one year mark and I think things are finally getting stable to the point where I really don't have to do much than enjoy the tank and feed the fish 42 times a day since they SO HONGREE.
I really gotta remember my camera settings.
Tank looks great!
Ditto above.
On a side note - what do you feed your kole tang? Mine doesn't really eat anything but nibbles on the rocks. I'm not sure that he's getting enough to eat.
On a side note - what do you feed your kole tang? Mine doesn't really eat anything but nibbles on the rocks. I'm not sure that he's getting enough to eat.
Smaller list of what he doesn't eat. He's a pig, but the biggest pig in the tank is that rabbit fish.
I do the homemade reef chili mix (frozen), feed it at least once a day. I make big batches, then break off chunks and fill a dropper and use that dropper over the next couple days. They eat right from it like babies.
I also offer quarter sheets of nori on a clip every other day. The kole and the rabbit share it, and sometimes the clowns get in on the action.
Every couple days, I also stick half cubes of freeze dried blackworms on the glass mostly for the CBB, but everyone gets in on that action.
When the kids want to feed the fish, I let them do a pinch of pellets or flake, and the kole eats the majority of that... him gets the zoomies.
My quarantine process (for future reference!):
I run a 10 gallon QT with a hang on back filter. A small bag of matrix is in my sump constantly, but even without it, just fresh matrix will do fine with some bottled bacteria.
Ingredients:
10 Gallon Tank
Hang On Back Filter
Bag of Matrix or other Bio Media
Small Thermometer
Small Heater
Bottled Bacteria (Biospira, Dr. Tims, etc)
Ammonia Badge
Bubbler and airline
Large PVC elbow
Eggcrate cut to fit the top
Treatment:
Copper Power
Hanna Copper Checker
Refractometer
Prazi
Metro
Focus
Seachem Prime
Pipette
Optional:
Ruby Reef Rally
API EM
KanaPlex
Tank Setup:
To setup the QT, I do a ~10% water change on my main tank and put 9 gallons of the "dirty tank water" into the QT. Place your bag of Matrix or other media in the HOB. Place your heater, ammonia badge, and PVC hiding spot into the tank. Then, dose a capful of the bacteria. Turn on the heater and pumps and put the airline just under the surface.
Leave this setup for 1 day or until temp is at 78 in emergency situation - only takes a couple hours max even starting with fresh water.
Prophylactic Treatment Process:
Day 1
Dose the QT with CP up to 1.0ppm, using the Hanna checker to verify. For 9 gallons, it's approximately 5mL. Dose 1 scoop of Metro, as well.
Float the bag of your new acquisition. Before adding the fish, check the salinity of both the bag and your tank. If they're close, you can drop the fish right in. If there's a significant swing, slowly start dosing water from the tank into the bag using the pipette. Then, add the fish to the tank.
After allowing the fish to settle in a bit, feel free to try to offer the fish a small amount of food. They may not eat for a few hours (you should ALWAYS verify at the store that the fish are eating). Otherwise, try to leave them alone to minimize stress.
Day 2
Raise copper to ~1.5ppm, dosing 0.5mL at a time in 4 doses. This is now technically therapeutic, but the experts on R2R recommend running up to 2ppm to be on the “safe” side. Use the Hanna Copper checker to verify.
Continue to attempt feedings and check your ammonia badge. Remember to use a flashlight to verify the color of the badge - ambient lighting will NOT be accurate. Also remember that with Copper Power, you will not get a reliable reading on API Ammonia tests. If you see any increase in ammonia, dose a capful of Prime - it is compatible with Copper Power (chelated copper) only. Do NOT use it with cupramine.
In the case you're using cupramine, water changes will be the best way to battle ammonia.
Day 3
Raise copper to 1.75-2.0ppm. Dose one more scoop of Metro into the tank.
If you are concerned about internal issues in the fish, mix metro with focus and let your frozen food soak it up. Generally, this is easiest with a couple drops of tank water or a drop of Selcon.
Day 4
Continue to feed the fish and dose Prime if necessary.
Day 5
Continue to feed. Dose last scoop of Metro into the tank.
Day 6
Feed, dose with Prime if necessary.
Day 7
At the end of the day, prepare for a water change. You'll need an extra bucket to transfer the fish.
In a bucket of your "dirty" tank water, net transfer the fish from the QT. Try to minimize the amount of copper-infused water you transfer into this bucket. Finish the water change on your DT, and save 9 gallons to place back in the QT.
Break down the QT and clean the tank and all the equipment with vinegar or citric acid solution. Rinse the tank and the equipment very well.
Set the QT back up and transfer the water from the DT water change into the QT.
Finally, dose Prazi into the QT. Your fish may be stressed from all this movement, so try to leave them alone for the night.
Day 8
Feed the fish. At this point, you should be clear of any disease, and if any worms were present, you'll see them at the bottom of the tank from the Prazi treament.
Day 9
Net transfer the fish into the DT.
I run a 10 gallon QT with a hang on back filter. A small bag of matrix is in my sump constantly, but even without it, just fresh matrix will do fine with some bottled bacteria.
Ingredients:
10 Gallon Tank
Hang On Back Filter
Bag of Matrix or other Bio Media
Small Thermometer
Small Heater
Bottled Bacteria (Biospira, Dr. Tims, etc)
Ammonia Badge
Bubbler and airline
Large PVC elbow
Eggcrate cut to fit the top
Treatment:
Copper Power
Hanna Copper Checker
Refractometer
Prazi
Metro
Focus
Seachem Prime
Pipette
Optional:
Ruby Reef Rally
API EM
KanaPlex
Tank Setup:
To setup the QT, I do a ~10% water change on my main tank and put 9 gallons of the "dirty tank water" into the QT. Place your bag of Matrix or other media in the HOB. Place your heater, ammonia badge, and PVC hiding spot into the tank. Then, dose a capful of the bacteria. Turn on the heater and pumps and put the airline just under the surface.
Leave this setup for 1 day or until temp is at 78 in emergency situation - only takes a couple hours max even starting with fresh water.
Prophylactic Treatment Process:
Day 1
Dose the QT with CP up to 1.0ppm, using the Hanna checker to verify. For 9 gallons, it's approximately 5mL. Dose 1 scoop of Metro, as well.
Float the bag of your new acquisition. Before adding the fish, check the salinity of both the bag and your tank. If they're close, you can drop the fish right in. If there's a significant swing, slowly start dosing water from the tank into the bag using the pipette. Then, add the fish to the tank.
After allowing the fish to settle in a bit, feel free to try to offer the fish a small amount of food. They may not eat for a few hours (you should ALWAYS verify at the store that the fish are eating). Otherwise, try to leave them alone to minimize stress.
Day 2
Raise copper to ~1.5ppm, dosing 0.5mL at a time in 4 doses. This is now technically therapeutic, but the experts on R2R recommend running up to 2ppm to be on the “safe” side. Use the Hanna Copper checker to verify.
Continue to attempt feedings and check your ammonia badge. Remember to use a flashlight to verify the color of the badge - ambient lighting will NOT be accurate. Also remember that with Copper Power, you will not get a reliable reading on API Ammonia tests. If you see any increase in ammonia, dose a capful of Prime - it is compatible with Copper Power (chelated copper) only. Do NOT use it with cupramine.
In the case you're using cupramine, water changes will be the best way to battle ammonia.
Day 3
Raise copper to 1.75-2.0ppm. Dose one more scoop of Metro into the tank.
If you are concerned about internal issues in the fish, mix metro with focus and let your frozen food soak it up. Generally, this is easiest with a couple drops of tank water or a drop of Selcon.
Day 4
Continue to feed the fish and dose Prime if necessary.
Day 5
Continue to feed. Dose last scoop of Metro into the tank.
Day 6
Feed, dose with Prime if necessary.
Day 7
At the end of the day, prepare for a water change. You'll need an extra bucket to transfer the fish.
In a bucket of your "dirty" tank water, net transfer the fish from the QT. Try to minimize the amount of copper-infused water you transfer into this bucket. Finish the water change on your DT, and save 9 gallons to place back in the QT.
Break down the QT and clean the tank and all the equipment with vinegar or citric acid solution. Rinse the tank and the equipment very well.
Set the QT back up and transfer the water from the DT water change into the QT.
Finally, dose Prazi into the QT. Your fish may be stressed from all this movement, so try to leave them alone for the night.
Day 8
Feed the fish. At this point, you should be clear of any disease, and if any worms were present, you'll see them at the bottom of the tank from the Prazi treament.
Day 9
Net transfer the fish into the DT.
