Jenene
07-25-2017, 04:14 PM
I am really surprised my reef guy doesn't exit out the back door when he sees me pull in the parking lot. Seriously every week for at least the past three I was in there having him help me figure out what the heck was wrong this week or that week. He is very patient. Thank goodness....
Two weeks ago when things were looking really bad by Thursday when the shop was finally open I was desperate. He took one look at the jar of water in my hand and whipped out all of his test kits without saying a word. Everything tested fine. I was shocked. Either I was testing wrong or the water changes corrected the water quality issues.
I explained the problem of the closed coral and the weird algae and boom! He knew the issue was dinoflagellates. The telltale sign was tiny air bubbles on the ends of the strands. He said they most likely came in on one or more of the corals I brought home from the expo. Coral dip does not get them all apparently. That was when the bottom dropped out- just about that time. He said I could fix it but I would not like the solution. I had to black out the tank for 3 days. No peaking, no light on the sump either. I even taped over the lights on the controllers. How hard was that to live for 3 days and not have a clue what was going on in there? Really, really hard. I did it though and after 3 days off came the covers. I was amazed. It was completely gone. The tank was pristine. Everything looked wonderful and healthy with the exception of my Candy Cane Coral which was odd because it was supposed to be one of the hardiest corals in the tank. It was also sad because it was my very first one. My watermelon Chalice was in pretty bad shape as well but I hear if it even has one tiny mouth left on it, it can come back. Little by little it is. One of the tanks he cares for at a children's museum here had a similar issue and they would not allow him to shut the exhibit down. By the next week he explained if they didn't let him do it they would lose everything. They finally allowed it, he fixed it.
I did end up throwing in some Copepods that feed off some of that bad stuff. They need to be fed as well though so now I have a green bottle of phytoplankton in my fridge that I have to gently stir everyday. One more thing to take care of. I just hope no one tries to use it as a cocktail mixer. :p Things can get pretty weird with reef.
Another issue...I ended up with 5 Green Chromis and they were out competing my clowns for food. I thought a little school of five would look nice... They looked great but at the expense of the two more timid fish in the tank. So I took two back. Balance has been achieved. At least for now. Casey you were right. They are "poop factories."
So my lesson here... yes Pat, slow waaayyyy down. Also just like discus, know your source. My guy may be more expensive but he is local, I trust him- he has earned it- many times over. I may go to another expo some day but I will just go to browse and leave my money at home. If I see something I have to have I will just have my guy order it for me at his convenience. I must say many of the things I bought there are doing really well. They are gorgeous and were affordable but the emotional price I paid in the long run was too much. Losing anything is a hard lesson. I have been told it will happen and happen a lot in a reef but it doesn't make it any easier. Especially when you lose things due to your own negligence.
Another aspect I had not done well was proper lighting and feeding of the corals. My lighting schedule was not very regular. I was always messing with it. Some of my settings were too low. Another thing the reef guy helped me with for the third time. See what I mean about him being a patient man?
Also I was feeding the fish and the corals that could be spot fed with shrimp were getting fed but I was not putting in the really fine food for the rest of them. I now have some Coral Frenzy that is a powder. A tiny amount 2x a week is all they need but wow, what a difference. I can see them reaching for it. Pretty darn cool...
Ending on a positive note. The tank is clean and the corals are finally showing some good growth going into month five. Knowing what I know now would I have jumped into this hobby? Of course I would, but learning from a new, very dear friend here-I would not jump but tip toe in. Slowly and methodically.
Here are a few new pics until next time.
111301
111302
111303
Two weeks ago when things were looking really bad by Thursday when the shop was finally open I was desperate. He took one look at the jar of water in my hand and whipped out all of his test kits without saying a word. Everything tested fine. I was shocked. Either I was testing wrong or the water changes corrected the water quality issues.
I explained the problem of the closed coral and the weird algae and boom! He knew the issue was dinoflagellates. The telltale sign was tiny air bubbles on the ends of the strands. He said they most likely came in on one or more of the corals I brought home from the expo. Coral dip does not get them all apparently. That was when the bottom dropped out- just about that time. He said I could fix it but I would not like the solution. I had to black out the tank for 3 days. No peaking, no light on the sump either. I even taped over the lights on the controllers. How hard was that to live for 3 days and not have a clue what was going on in there? Really, really hard. I did it though and after 3 days off came the covers. I was amazed. It was completely gone. The tank was pristine. Everything looked wonderful and healthy with the exception of my Candy Cane Coral which was odd because it was supposed to be one of the hardiest corals in the tank. It was also sad because it was my very first one. My watermelon Chalice was in pretty bad shape as well but I hear if it even has one tiny mouth left on it, it can come back. Little by little it is. One of the tanks he cares for at a children's museum here had a similar issue and they would not allow him to shut the exhibit down. By the next week he explained if they didn't let him do it they would lose everything. They finally allowed it, he fixed it.
I did end up throwing in some Copepods that feed off some of that bad stuff. They need to be fed as well though so now I have a green bottle of phytoplankton in my fridge that I have to gently stir everyday. One more thing to take care of. I just hope no one tries to use it as a cocktail mixer. :p Things can get pretty weird with reef.
Another issue...I ended up with 5 Green Chromis and they were out competing my clowns for food. I thought a little school of five would look nice... They looked great but at the expense of the two more timid fish in the tank. So I took two back. Balance has been achieved. At least for now. Casey you were right. They are "poop factories."
So my lesson here... yes Pat, slow waaayyyy down. Also just like discus, know your source. My guy may be more expensive but he is local, I trust him- he has earned it- many times over. I may go to another expo some day but I will just go to browse and leave my money at home. If I see something I have to have I will just have my guy order it for me at his convenience. I must say many of the things I bought there are doing really well. They are gorgeous and were affordable but the emotional price I paid in the long run was too much. Losing anything is a hard lesson. I have been told it will happen and happen a lot in a reef but it doesn't make it any easier. Especially when you lose things due to your own negligence.
Another aspect I had not done well was proper lighting and feeding of the corals. My lighting schedule was not very regular. I was always messing with it. Some of my settings were too low. Another thing the reef guy helped me with for the third time. See what I mean about him being a patient man?
Also I was feeding the fish and the corals that could be spot fed with shrimp were getting fed but I was not putting in the really fine food for the rest of them. I now have some Coral Frenzy that is a powder. A tiny amount 2x a week is all they need but wow, what a difference. I can see them reaching for it. Pretty darn cool...
Ending on a positive note. The tank is clean and the corals are finally showing some good growth going into month five. Knowing what I know now would I have jumped into this hobby? Of course I would, but learning from a new, very dear friend here-I would not jump but tip toe in. Slowly and methodically.
Here are a few new pics until next time.
111301
111302
111303