My First Tank

[Carl]

I like what you did with the lights...T5 and VHO!

 

I have the exact same project coming up in about a month. I have a 75 gallon, and an IC 660 ballast sitting in the closet. The ballast was running 4 VHO's but I'd like to do the same conversion you did!

 

Where did you get the T5 parts? local? web? and can I borrow your wiring diagram?

 

-Carl

[Vader]

How many gallons is your sump? I'm also building a 75g.

[lletellier]

tank looks great! nice work both of you

[jason the filter freak]

How many gallons is your sump? I'm also building a 75g.

 

It's roughly 30 gallons filled up about halfway when the tank is runn it makes it up to about 2/3's when the power is cut

[mexicanjavafish]

So I'm taking a break from a research paper I'm working on and I decided to give my tank a little more TLC for the day when I noticed 2 things:

 

-My clownfish loves me, no joke. It normally stays in the right hand side of the tank, however when I walk up to the tank to examine it, no matter where my face is, it comes right up to it and watches me, usually right at my eye level. So when I noticed that tonight I wanted to see if it would follow me wherever I went around the tank, and it did. Everytime I moved, it followed. Everytime I stick my hand in the tank it swims right up to it, poking at my fingers. I know that's means it's probably looking for food, and yes i can hand feed it, but for some reason....I'm a huge dork for discovering this....but I can kind of...pet it...

 

Is anyone else as big of a dork as me??

 

-The second thing I noticed is that the larger of my two damsels is slightly losing the bright blue color in it's face and down on it's belly....is that normal? I don't see any little white spots anywhere, on any of my fish for that matter, and I'm not seeing any other signs of ich....actually I don't think loss of color is a symptom of ich so...what could it be?

 

I've tried looking it up to find an answer but I can't seem to find anything....no other fish is bothering it, that's actually the damsel that's picking on everyone else! But, as mean as this little fish is, I'm still worried.. :(

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? Help?

 

 

Thanks in advance

[Vader]

Nice tank.......I like the cave in the rock

[mexicanjavafish]

Quick pic update!

 

...a better update will be coming soon, this is just for right now..

 

 

 

(poor hippo tang has ich :(.....any ideas on how i can treat it?)

 

[mexicanjavafish]

So I am faced with a new problem now.

My damsels are seriously harassing my hippo tang! The ich it had after I first added it had disappeared, but now it's back almost as bad as it was before and I think thats because my damsels are stressing it out.

 

Everytime it goes to eat the nori I've put in the tank, the bigger of the two damsels comes out of his hole and starts like...nipping? at the tang! It's even left a mark on the tang's right side near the tail fin. The smaller of the two damsels hasn't done this but he helps the big one chase the tang back into it's 'corner.'

 

So I've tried to catch them but these little fish are smart! Everytime I even open the hood to my tank, even just an inch, they dart back into their hiding spots, and of course, their spots are places i can't get to without taking all my rock work apart! I've tried the soda bottle trap thing twice weeks ago, but it didn't work either time. I'm thinking that I gave up a little too easily but I'm not so sure....I picked up the trap again today because I was going to give it another try and no joke, I swear the damsels looked at me like "...are you serious...?"

 

I'm tempted to take the clownfish and the tang and put them into a bucket while I borrow Jason's lionfish for about 10 minutes, that's all he'll need to eat both of the damsels. Haha, kidding but I really wish I could--I can't catch them!

 

Also I think my tang may have developed something other than ich as well. There's like a white ring around it's right eye, and the eye looks kind of glossed-over. I have no idea what this is or if it's got anything to do with the ich or not, and I am clueless as to how to treat it.

 

I would have taken pics but I didn't have my phone with me and I don't own a camera so I'll have to post pics another time, but for now, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do about my mean damsels and my sick tang? :(

 

 

help/advice/suggestions are all greatly appreciated!

[Rascal]

I would try the bottle trap idea again but give it more time. It helps if you skip feeding for a day or two to make sure they are really hungry, then put a big glob of their favorite food in the trap.

 

If that doesn't work you might try the hook 'n line method. I've never tried it personally (well, in a fish tank anyway) but it is a tried and true proven method for removing fish from water.

[mexicanjavafish]

I haven't caught the damsels yet but my tang's case of ich and..whatever the eye problem was...has cleared up (again)! I just hope it doesn't come back...at least for a while this time.

 

I tried the bottle trap yet again today and, once again, nothing happened.

 

Rawrrrrrr! I'm frustrated!

 

I may just have to wait until I move the tank to catch them, I hope they don't do too much damage to the tang in the meantime :( ...

[reefmontalvo]

Well Damsels are nice a sweet at first when placed in the tank. But they soon become territorial after a few weeks. I think you should just pull the rocks out and get them if your truely worried about the Tang. I had a pair of clowns act the same way when I was transfering everything into my new tank. The best I can saw is you need to place the trap in the tank and let the fish feel comfortable with the trap. Since they have no clue it's a trap just leave in in the tank for a day or two with food inside. I'm sure they will eventually just go in and not come out.

[dschflier]

I have a nice acrylic trap that has worked well for me in the past. I added a tube that goes to the main area so I leave the trap in the tank with the door open and whenever I feed the fish I feed them through the tube which puts the food in the trap. It has never taken me more then a couple of days to catch any fish and ussually I get them within the first day

 

you are welcome to borrow it if you would like. If you or Jason are in the area you are welcome to come pick it up.

[jason the filter freak]

we might have to take you up on it the damsels suck

[gmubeach]

My clownfish bites me:) shes hard butt:)

[jason the filter freak]

Ok so with the addition of a fan rack over the sump the day temps have been brought down from 90's being the day high to 83 being the day high. Still not in the zone but closer to where it needs to be. I'm hoping to add an evap cooler to bring it down more.

 

QUESTION!: There are no lights currently running during the day, the tank is in a room that gets no direct sunlight but does get light during the day... would it bad to run the lights for about 4-6 hours a day from 6-10 or 6-12 after the tank has been indirectly lit during the day?

[davelin315]

Wow, if the temperatures are getting into the 90s (or were) that's really not a good thing. The ich problem won't go away until you fix that, at least in my opinion, because it's stressing out your fish. One reason that the ich is coming and going is most likely because the ich is going through its life cycle.

 

As far as lights, I would recommend not running them during the day at all. If you keep the blinds or shades closed during the day, it should darken the room enough (and reduce the ambient temperature) to simulate a very bright night. Have you thought about a couple of ice probes, by the way? They don't reduce the temperature a whole lot, but anything can make a difference with the temperatures you are experiencing, plus, if you don't buy a controller it won't be as bad. You can even modify one on your own so that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for a controller, plus they don't produce the heat of a chiller.

 

As far as the damsels, the bigger one is probably getting discolored due to age (most will get a dull coloration as adults). If you want to catch them, try putting a pipe with an elbow into the tank. When you feed, feed directly into the tube and when the fish get used to the pipe (may take a few days) then they'll start retreating into the pipe or at least they will go into it when food is presented. You can then put a net into the tank so that they fully retreat into it and lift it out. I did this with a blenny after all other attempts to remove it failed.

 

With the evaporative cooler you are working on, I would think that if you run water over a window screen (I'm thinking you're probably trying to fashion this like a humidifier) you'll get a ton of salt being removed from your system as well and create some new problems, but post up about your results.

[dhogan]

With the evaporative cooler you are working on, I would think that if you run water over a window screen (I'm thinking you're probably trying to fashion this like a humidifier) you'll get a ton of salt being removed from your system as well and create some new problems, but post up about your results.

I don't see how the salt would leave, since water will go onto the screen and carry any salt back into the system. Only the H20 evaporates, and even though it may leave salt crystals behind in that instant, they will be immediately washed back into the system by nonevaporated water. I would still monitor salinty for the next couple days to be sure.

 

Also, check out this cool setup as an idea: http://www.cvreefers.org/showthread.php?t=7169

[ctenophore]

dhogan is correct, the salt won't leave. The only drawback to this system is the humidity that results (and the increased topoff water needed). FWIW, I am planning to build a giant 4'x4'x4' "cooling tower" for my greenhouse system that does exactly the same thing, except located outside.

[davelin315]

Not saying the salt will leave, per se, but if it's like my humidifier "wick" then the water won't be on the entire thing and the salt will creep and get left behind by the water. I am making an assumption here, but in order for it to work as an evaporative cooler, you'd need to have the amount of water passing over it be very small. In short time, dissolved solids (and organics) will start to build up on the screen, especially given the small size of the holes and the need for a very small amount of water to pass over it. As it does this, things will come out of solution. The more that comes out of solution, the more that will build up and create an attraction for more. It's just like salt creep on any tank, it develops where there is a smaller amount of water that is evaporated. In order for it to evaporate, the dissolved solids will have to come out of solution and will get left behind. I'm not saying that all of it will come out, but if these screens are going to serve as some sort of wick and have air pass through them, then they will need to have enough holes where water is not always present which will provide a perfect surface for precipitation as the water evaporates.

 

If you're still not clear on what I'm saying, take a look at a humidifier wick some time and look at the amount of stuff that builds up on it from tap water. Since we add a whole heck of a lot more to our aquarium water than tap water has, I'd say it's a safe bet that this evaporative cooler will build up an awful lot of precipitate.

 

Jason, I will make a suggestion to the DIY/Chop-It-Up Guru. Instead of using window screening (and I may be totally misunderstanding what you're trying to do), try a trickle filter instead. If you remove the bio-balls and then cut a hole in the side to introduce air from a small fan and give it a place to exit as well, then you should accomplish the cooling you're after. Basically, take a trickle filter chamber, cut a large hole in it to accomodate some large diameter PVC fittings, then put either a 45 or an elbow on the end to prevent water and moisture from reaching your fan, and then stick a fan head in there to blow through the trickle chamber. It's like running a fan through a shower then, it's bound to evaporate and cool the water.

 

Justin, can you give some details on how you're doing this?

[Rascal]

What is the air temp in this room? What are you running as far a pumps and powerheads and UV and all that?

[jason the filter freak]

I haven't yet figured out the air temp the pumps are 4 modded MJ's and an ehiem 1260 as a return thats all

[dmward99]

MexicanJavefish if at all possible try to spot feed the tang with Garlic soaked food.It will help build its immune system to fight the Ick and other diseases.

[jason the filter freak]

Nori soaked in garlic is all she's been getting for the for the past few weeks.

[mexicanjavafish]

Sooo...it has been a long while since my last update. Mostly because I would like to add pictures and I have no camera to do that with.. :(

so I'll give a brief update until I can get ahold of a camera:

 

I have moved from one columbia location to another, I'm right across the street from the columbia mall. The tank move was quick and successful, and I gave my damsel's to Jae, the most recent of Jason's insane tank builds

 

Since moving the tank in August I have added a few fish, possibly too close to eachother but everyone seems to be doing great. I now have the flame angel I wanted (thank you Jason ), my hippo tang is alive and well, two very tiny neon cleaner gobies who do their job fairly well, and just the other day two new clowns I missed my other clown a lot :( but I'm very excited about this new pair that I have, they are doing amazingly well in their new home

 

The heat issue is finally under control, my lights are running on a steady cycle, my sump is finally in perfect working condition, we have added an ATO that runs very smoothly, and basically things could not be better at the moment

 

I'm having an issue with this hideous hair algae however, but I have been told that my tank is re-cycling and that it will go away soon. I hope that's true, I can't wait to add more corals and such to my tank

 

Like I said, pictures will be posted as soon as I get a decent camera to take said pictures with.

And for anyone who is willing to let me borrow their camera for a few days (I won't break it I promise, and it doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a working digital) I would forever be in your debt!

 

I use a lot of smileys.....

[mexicanjavafish]

So my hippo tang has ich again, which wasn't too big of a surprise. I suspected I might have been adding things too close together..like time-wise. But anyway, this time I'm kind of worried. It looks like all the little ich spots have fallen off but now whats left are faded white rings around where the spots used to be. It looks pretty bad, even though she's swimming around and eating just fine.

 

I've started with the Ich-Attack again, and she's still eating nori, but I'm out of the garlic I used to soak it in.

Hopefully it will go away like it did last time, it just looks a lot worse.

 

Has anyone else seen these kinds of marks before? Is it ich or something else? Jason and I are also looking for a good UV sterilizer, and we are open to any suggestions.