zygote2k
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Posts posted by zygote2k
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I took Marine Biology at NVCC at the Woodbridge campus about 10 years ago. Don't know if it still available.
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I've had my Sony DSC F828 since it came out and I've been learning slowly how to adjust it. Everything that is on a DSLR is here except the interchangeable lenses. It's an 8.1 mp and take much better pix than my Sony DSC N2 which is a 10 mp point and shoot. I use it with a tripod and remote shutter for super still action. I'm still learning about the aperature settings, but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out
Anyway- here's some pictures of my 40 breeder.
If anyone out there has experience with one of these cameras, please e-mail me for suggestions. Thanks.
some more pictures-
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I have a neon sinularia that had some tissue degradation in the base. I blew out all the rotting tissue with a powerhead and sealed the exposed tissue and the base with superglue. It appears to be making a full recovery.
You could try this strategy and see if it works for you.
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pee in it. Or let a fish do it.
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I'd recommend buying a good book- "Reef Invertebrates" by Calfo and Fenner.
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Just wait for someone to sell rock on the forums- no need to get it from the LFS. You'll get a better deal and it'll probably have some corals on it. Probably no need to use a heater either- more than likely you'll be needing a chiller. With pumps and lights, you'll find that your tank will rarely stay around 75.
Good Luck!
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If you really want to test the effectiveness of your refugium and algae scrubber, turn off the protein skimmer. After all, it is just pulling out nutrients that would otherwise be used by the algae.
You should be scraping the algae from the screen every 2 weeks or so, drying it, and feeding it back to the tangs and other herbivores. Have you read "Dynamic Aquaria" by Loveland and Adey? It has all sorts of info on algae scrubbers.
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I just flushed my LTA. It wouldn't eat and it started to wander everywhere- not staying put for longer than a day or 2. It was one of the "white" ones. It came from Marine Scene. They told me it was a natural color, not that the zooxanthellae had bleached. In the last week or so, it had gotten into a cycle of expanding to its' normal size, then slowly turning itself inside out. During the last "cycle", I noticed that it didn't look right, so I examined it and it appeared to be dying, so I flushed it.
The RBTA that I got from Chip is happy and stays put. It also eats anything that I throw at it. The maroon clown loves it too and vigorously defends it whenever I feed it.
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I had a massive outbreak in my 150 maintenance tank. I combatted the cyano with skimming, siphoning off of cyano, reduction of food to the tank and current directed at the sand bed and rock work. In 2 weeks, it was completely gone. I noticed that feeding frozen foods with their associated juices, caused an outbreak.
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For the building of the actual reef, I ordered 100# of South Pacific rock from Phil@ Reef E-scape and cured it in my quarantine system. The rock was very nice and although it shipped relatively dry, it only took about 3 weeks to cure. After introducing it to the display, the tank underwent a huge cyanobacteria bloom. I added 3) Koralia 1200gph pumps for circulation and introduced a Sea Hare.
This critter completely consumed 90% of the associated detritus and nuisance algae that grew from the fresh nutrient supply. After eating everything, it mysteriously vanished. I suspect that the serpent star ate him.
I thought he was cute and named him Bob. RIP, Bob.
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The old existing decorations and substrate were covered in cyanobacteria. Upon removing the rocks and gravel, I guessed that the bottem had never been vaccumed or cleaned. I had found the source of the cyano. I removed all of this and the sediment over the course of a few days. Surprisingly, all of the fish made it through the sediment storm and cloudy water. The existing nitrate level was over 80ppm!
I was able to salvage about 40# of base rock and about 20# of coral gravel fines. I felt if I removed more, it would require another cycling of the tank. I added 75# of Aragamax. Even though I rinsed it several times, it made the tank like milk. After about 3 days, this is what it looked like.
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After unknowingly out-bidding several other local maintenance services, I was awarded the contract.
I would build them a reef with soft corals, better lighting and better filtration.
The existing light system was a single 40w warm white bulb with exposed wiring. I decided to replace it with a Hamilton slim-series 14k 400w mh. This light fit easily into the existing hood. With this much wattage, I also installed a 4" exhaust fan. I placed the fan on a timer to cycle on and off 2 hours before and after lighting the MH.
As for the filtration, I removed the old style wet/dry, external pump, and insufficient skimmer. I replaced them with a simple 20g sump, Rio 2500 return pump, and an ASM G1-X skimmer. Everything is very simple to operate, clean, and maintain.
Thankfully, the previous maintenance company installed 3) GFCI outlets. At least they did that right.
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I recently purchased a big clump of Dragons' Breath red algae. I attached it to a lettuce clip to encourage the fish to eat it- which they and the turbo snails did. I wanted to grow more of it, but the fish shredded it to bits. It also seemed to grow slow in the refugium. A small piece got sucked up by the Koralia and was lodged in the screen at the end. In 2 weeks time, it grew almost 6" long and took the form of long, flowing, red and orange fire.
I now attach it to the eductor and place it at the surface directly under the halide. It seems to thrive under these conditions.
Here's a pic:
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I never thought to look at the ph of the incoming water. I will test it.
The tank is on its' own dedicated circuit and runs 24/7 continuously.
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This is my 150 maintenance tank that I started back in April. This is also the tank that has the "mysterious fish death" problems in another WAMAS topic.
The following pictures show the tank in the condition that the previous maintenance company left it in.
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Just a really wild thought- and I'm NOT an expert in reefing- BUT who cleans off the fingerprints on the tank and what do they use to clean them off? Is it done at night by a cleaning crew???
No cleaning crew. Office staff has been instructed to clean outside of tank with paper towels and water only.
A/c runs 24/7. Office usually kept at 72-75. Tank runs about 4 deg warmer during the day. When I did maintenance today, temp was at 75 at 8am.
I'm guessing that the problem lies in something that the grazers are eating. Maybe the nori on the clip goes bad after being not consumed for a few hours, then when it does, it causes gastric problems killing the fish...
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Thanks for the info. BTW, I just rescued a starving Mandarin from a friends' tank. Maybe he'll find this one and eat it.
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I noticed this thing crawling on the glass one day. It's about 1/4" long and growing.
Anyone know what it is?
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The water source is from "o2 pure" or something like that. Their website says it is RO/DI water with added oxygen. The only water in the office is that bottled water. The receptionist is the one person that feeds, doses, and empties the skimmer cup on a daily basis. The last Nori that we were feeding was "Julian Sprungs' reef veggies" (purple nori). We found that the tangs wouldn't eat the green nori, but would eat the red and purple. They apparently love Dragon's Breath red algae too. If you want Dragon's Breath to grow rapidly, attach it to the outflow of a pump or eductor and place it in a well lit area- grows rapidly, turns orange, and makes the traditional flame shape.
I don't have a chiller on the tank. The room is usually around 74-76. There are 2 thermometers in the tank- both read consistently around 76-78 at any given time that I am there. I have seen it as high as 79, but only once. The MH is in a large fan cooled hood. It is an unconventional setup with only one end of the 150 lit by the MH. I like to think that the whole tank doesn't need intense lighting. There is a large clump of Anthelia and a large Condylactis that do well at the dimmer end of the tank. A chiller would be an absolute must if another halide were added.
The deaths have occurred at night. The MH shuts off about 6:30 and the fan shuts off around 7. The office is usually empty by 6:30 or 7:30. I have absolutely no information as to what happens at night.
The address of the tank is 11790 Baron Cameron Ave. Suite J Reston,Va 20190.
Just be professional and courteous- you can say you are there to look at the tank. You won't be able to look at it from the back side as it is in one of the treatment rooms. The lobby side is where I do all of the maintenance from.
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The fish seem to be dying at about 1 month.
I don't believe water chemistry is an issue. I almost suspect that it's something that they ate. Maybe they are grazing on something that is toxic. Since the damsels and chromis don't graze, they seem to be doing well. I completely eliminated feeding frozen food because of sudden outbreaks of nuisance algae and cyanobacteria.
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I introduced a Fiji Devil with the CB and he has been rather docile. He's somewhat smaller then the Chromis.
The latest YT came with one of the serpent stars and a YT blue damsel. The Chromis seem to be the dominant fish in the tank.
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The tank is fed flake food and pellets daily. Once a week there is some ESV phytoplankton added. When the tangs/foxface/CB were living, they were fed purple, red, or green nori and any of the gracilaria and dragon's breath algae that is growing freely. There is even a large clump of Chaeto for the breeding of copepods and feeding of the fish. I found the 1st YT and the Foxface one morning stacked up in the corner. Both looked like they had just stopped breathing. Gill plates weren't flared, but dorsal spines were extended. The eyes weren't even glossed over. Both of these fish were existing fish and had survived through an excessive cyano bloom following a complete teardown and rebuild of the tank.
The newest YT was purchased from a WAMAS member and was one of the nicest, fattest, and healthiest that I've seen in quite awhile. The day before I left on vacation, he was observed eating purple nori and gracilaria. The next day I was informed that upon opening the office, he was found being eaten by the cleaner shrimps. They said the eyes and tissue around the nose and mouth had been consumed, but the body of the fish seemed in otherwise good condition with no visible signs of ick or other illness.
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that's how I grow my own live rock.
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10% of main tank or bigger is a good rule of thumb for refugiums. On the biggest HOB 'fuge, you can only grow a small amount of plant life and subsequent micro life- not enough for a 150. For the money that you'll spend on the HOB 'fuge, you can build, light, and plumb a 20g into your system.
As far as the pistol goes, it's not going to stir up so much sediment to cause a decrease in overall water clarity. Nothing wrong with a critter that occasionally creates a dust storm or moves fines and particulates. The sand bed will benefit from the activity.
how to save starving plate coral
in General Discussion
frisbee anyone?