August 2007
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08-06-2007 06:10
AM
New "Nano"
Ordered new nano tank from Drs. Foster and Smith... Reef Central Members Only - Nano Cube. for $89.00  Upon arrival and setup, found the pump inop. Called DFS and they sent out a new aquarium for me to scavenge pump from. They paid return shipping. Tank primarily for two found percs in overflow. (see Great Tank Adventures - III) Moved in water, LR, corals from main tank. Let sit for 2 hours, then moved in fish. Took them about two days to fully settle in. (not racing around tank looking for way out.   Tank lighting is barely adequate. One 24 watt bulb (deluxe model has two). Pump has minimal output, so am leaving the hang on filter in place till I find something different. Moved in one yellow watchman goby and fire shrimp to give the fish some company. After two weeks, everything is doing well, except the two anemones will not fully expand. The percs are working them hard however. Overall, I am quite pleased with results.       
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08-05-2007 09:05
AM
"Back From the
Dead"
 This is so strange I am almost embarrassed to post it. Has taken me three days to do so. 
Following my 3 day "lights out" experiment (which was a total bust as far as I am concerned)...took another 3 days for my colts and leathers to fully extend again & I was missing my blue hippo tang. No sign of her about tank, I have a full canopy, so she could not hop out. Hermits were acting normal and spread about tank, not disappearing if there was something dead in tank. Sooo, I thought, maybe she leaped into one of the twin overflows ("All-Glass" 125.) Pulled the canopy off, & holy s#@t I could not believe my eyes... 
There swimming around happily, were two perc clownfish...mature female & a little male. When first moving to my 125 gal 4+ years ago, I went thru a couple different sets of juvenile clowns...a pair of Ocellaris, which beat themselves to death...a pair of percs (which disappeared 
)...and finally a pair of juvenile
maroons, which have matured nicely
over time, regularly laying a clutch
of eggs every 8-10 days.So for 4 plus years the percs have been living in a very dark walled home, getting enough light and food to survive. In my excitement I grabbed a net and "fished" them out and put them in the main tank. They never had a chance. The damsels attacked from the right side and the Maroon clowns from the left. Not even the Coral Beauty could defend them. When I could not stand the sight anymore, I once again netted them (easy, as they were pretty well exhausted from being chased around tank.) And then returned them to the overflow. If they did alright after all that time, they can live there happily ever after. (will check on them when ever I remove canopy - couple of times a year to change bulbs) Here is pic of them being chased about tank....  PS...I put a little food in the overflow now every time I feed. PSS...the tang was in the other overflow
(am going to have to use the fishing
line/hook trick on her...she is
not about to be netted.) |
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08-05-2007 08:38
AM
"Guardian
Angel"
When adding my sixline to tank a few months ago (Mar 2007), my pack of damsels (2 black striped Humbug Dyclus, 2 blue yellow tail) immediately pounced upon it and began chasing it about tank. Whereupon my Coral Beauty, stepped in and fended them off the poor sixline. It would circle the new fish then chase off any of the damsels trying to approach it. The Coral Beauty did this for day or so until the damsels tired of their game. Exactly the same scenario happened again when I added my Flame Wrasse (Apr 2007). The Coral Beauty defended it till the damsels gave up. I did not tell anyone about this observation, thinking others would think I'm crazier then I already am.  But this is God's truth...saw with my own eyes!
But recent poster here, reported same event in his tank. (Guardian Angel?) Got me wondering is this a characteristic of other Angels?...Could this be the reason someone named them "angels" in the first place way back when? I wonder what the innate instinct a fish could have for defending another species? Weird. Scott The Tao of Marine Aquaria Tips for Our Hobby and Life © 1997 Adam H. Whitlock Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00  |
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08-03-2007 07:22
AM
"Cheap" Pond Pump
 I began this great hobby with a 55 gal tank which I successfully managed to keep up and running for about a year - after making the same dumb mistakes that most all beginners make. Then I decided it was time to get bigger, so I went out and got a 125 all-glass tank, built stand & canopy, got good skimmer and allot more LR. When time was right I moved all from the 55 to the 125. Not long after fully stocking the tank with corals and other life, my inverts started to die off, then corals, and eventually my LR all started looking funky. Ammonia and nitrates shot through the roof. Did some back to back major water changes that did little to make things better. LFS said to bring in water sample for him to test, and doing so, found the Cu level to be nearly off the charts. Water should'nt be a problem as I was getting it direct from the Seattle Aquarium... I tried to fight the problem by doing massive water changes, and a fortune in Cu sponges and poly-filters. As soon as I got the Cu down, it would be back to lethal levels in a week or so.??? I pulled tank appart more then once looking for a Cu source somewhere inside. Finally after nearly giving up all, my return pump quit one day. Pulling it appart I discovered it had some brass fittings inside that had corrouded and caused pump to fail. I had cut corners and tried to save myself some money by buying a cheap pond pump. Big mistake. After about 6 mos. I managed to get all the residual Cu out and started all over with new LR, etc. - has been a happy tank since then. The fish made it thru all this just fine. So moral is, trying to save money and going "cheap" in beginning, does not always work out for the best down the road. Scott PS - only benefit from all this, is that I have never had an ICK problem... |
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08-02-2007 08:17
AM
"OmarD"
(Scott
Davis)
Maj,
US Army (RET)
Silverdale, WA 3Reef is my internet/forum home. I love the discussion between responsible and experienced reef keepers. While I frequently visit other forums and occasionally post on them. Nothing compares to 3Reef. About self: Live in Silverdale, Wa - a ferry boat ride away from Seattle. Is town I grew up in. Am a retired US Army aviator. Spent 20+ years flying helicopters in "exotic" places around the world. Currently unemployed. Am married to a beautiful Palestinian which I met at during "Desert Storm." Have two gorgeous daughters, Sarah (15), Mariam (14). My favorite hobbies are Reef Keeping (of course), travel & diving. In last few years my only diving experiences have been in Bali, Indonesia, which I have been back to 4 times. And am ready to return again, at any time, when $ allow it. My tank helps keeping me sane between times of actually being in water. 
AG "125" AquaC EV 180, 30 gal
sump, "SCWD", 80 lbs LR,
CoralSeaLife "Moonlite" Hood,
PFO 250W HQI Mini-Pendant (XM
HQI 10000k bulb), Battery
powered air pump backup,
Generator.
12 Gallon NanoCube
OmarD's Home Reef
"...nothing good ever
happens fast in a reef tank,
only bad things happen fast..."
- MIKE PALLETTA - Contact: Scott Davis 12207 Crossridge NW Silverdale, Wa. 98383 Email: omard1@tscnet.com Home Aquarium Page: http://homepages.tscnet.com/omard1/aquarium.htm
"Om"
 "Reef on" |
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