Origami

Reef Nutrition phyto feast and oyster feast may be good choices. I saw some at Rick's in Frederick the other day. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Hi Paul. I've not pulled my DE filter out for years and, each time I do, it's only at your doing/inspiration. I hope that you and yours are doing well. Post a picture of that granddaughter of yours. She's had to have grown a bit since the last time we saw a picture of her.

I see algae on a few rocks (quite probably GHA - green hair algae - but possibly some other variety). There's also a slight browing on the substrate that could be detritus, algae or maybe diatoms if the tank is pretty new. I don't see evidence yet of dinoflagellates, though.

You've done a great job here. Thank you for documenting and sharing it. I can definitely see signs of coloration in this most recent photo. It's exciting to see the changes!

My recommendation, too. But, if the tank only has a single, small occupant, dial the amount fed back accordingly. I've always liked my Eheim every day auto feeder. I used it with a feeding ring (so non-sinking food didn't head straight for the overflow). If you do wind up in a situation where you've got somebody coming in, lay out a few small "Dixie" cups and portion out the amount of food that your friend will feed. Label the cups, too. This helps to manage the situation so they're not overfeeding. This is what I did years ago when I left on business trips and left my wife and youngest daughter home and left the younger one in charge of feeding (she loved it).

If that's what you can get, support-wise, feeding every 3 or 4 days should be fine. Just feed heavy (e.g., several times a day) for a week or so before your trip. I'd be willing to serve as backup, but I'm heading out myself for a couple of weeks.

If your vacation is still a few weeks off, I'd suggest at least planning on getting an autofeeder set up in case you're unable to find somebody to hold the fish (e.g., in quarantine) for you.

Next weekend is fine. Good luck!

Have you thought about having somebody come by to check on the fish a few times a week? Moving a tank into somebody's home seems a bit extreme and disruptive. And asking to move a fish into somebody else's tank seems even more so. Do you have an autofeeder? An auto-topoff with a reservoir of sufficient capacity? These can help ease over even fairly prolonged absences - a couple of weeks easily and more in many cases. But you just can't cut over and run out. You have to ensure that the setup is running smoothly and reliably. I understand that power outages are a risk and that's just something you'll have to gauge as you seek a solution. Having somebody (you trust) nearby who can check on your tank (at your home) once or twice a week, and who can contact you if there's something amiss is also good. Then, line up somebody with more experience to serve as backup in the event that something does go wrong.

All clownfish are born males. The dominant male in a group will become female in the absence of another female. This sex change is called sequential hermaphroditism and the change is irreversible. (That is, a female clownfish cannot transition back to being a male.) The female clownfish is generally the larger of the two in established pairs and the pair can become very territorial (as many damselfish are prone to be). In the absence of a female, a solo clownfish will tend to become a female. Thus, it's possible that the one remaining in your tank may be transitioning or has already transitioned. While it's possible that it's still male, you can't really tell. So the safe bet is to buy another, younger and smaller with the assumption that you're buying a male. It can take time for pairing to happen, but I've never had two that have not eventually paired up. Then again, I've only had a couple of clownfish pairs in the last 15 years since they can be pretty long-lived under the right conditions. So all this probably will haunt you the next time you're watching Finding Nemo. You see, when Marlin's mate, Coral, is eaten, Marlin (by all rights) should have transitioned to female and Nemo, his (her?) son, would have quite probably become Marlin's mate. But, that would have required more parent engagement with their kids than Disney would have wanted....

Well, I can't say that I've spent much time in the Monterey Bay area, but welcome! (Much of my youth was spent up and down the state, hence my curiosity.) Anyway, winter's coming. Be prepared and stay warm.

It's looking good!

Clownfish are very territorial. As juveniles, you can have multiple in a 125 gallon tank, but as they mature that tends to be difficult. My advice would be to pick another, smaller one of the same species and let nature take its course. And, sorry for your loss. I'm sure that a lot of us have come home to find that we've lost a jumper. I've had a few over the years. In one case, I actually got home in time to find one still alive and was able to get it back in the tank where it stayed for the rest of its days. BTW, I haven't had glass tops on my tanks in over 15 years now because I don't like the condensate and salt build up that cause light loss. If worried that way, I'm sure that you can probably find a mesh top that would keep jumpers in and still let light and moisture pass.

Welcome, Jon. From where in the Golden State are you coming from? Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Cool. I've heard about Reef Notes but never picked up a copy. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Here. Picked up yet another book (autographed, of course) and checking the store out. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Released by BRS just today! Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

I'm planning on going. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

I've got a few books by Julian that I've accumulated over the years. Care to share what you have?

Also, keep in mind that many of those "desirables" are measured (above) in parts-per-billion and are a fraction of what you would like to see in your reef. For example, 705 ppb Magnesium is the same as 0.7 ppm out of the target zone around 1300 ppm in a reef aquarium. These additional components are largely not controlled by your local water authority (unless some start to exceed some water quality standard), so their concentration may vary over time. The purpose of using RO/DI in mixing your water is to start with a somewhat known baseline to which you can add your mix in order to maintain some consistency in the water that you use in your tank.

Thanks for donating. I did the same. And, yes, Windsor (his wife) is 2 months pregnant. It adds an added layer od sadness to his death. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Sorry. John's taking a pass. The species grows large and may be too aggressive for his situation. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

Copps (John Coppolino) is WAMAS's speaker coordinator and highly regarded Marine Angel Fish expert. He's got several thousand gallons at home. Not sure about John's interest, but I'm tagging him as a potential party in the best interest of this specimen. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

@copps Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk

No details except what's been written about: Jake was on a flight itinerary to Bali and apparently died in flight. The last I read (yesterday), his remains were in Taiwan awaiting return. Sent from my SM-N976V using Tapatalk