Ryan S July 11, 2012 Author Share July 11, 2012 Do you ever feel periods of time when you LOVE your tank, and other times you sort of hate it/are bored with it? I am in a "lull" period right now. I may even hire someone to do some monthly maintenance on it until I get back into the "love my tank" phase again. Nothing major, just an hour or two each month. They can manually pull out the aiptasia/BA or toss fish or inverts in to eat it, I don't care which. I don't want to lose my zoas of course, but some CBBs pick at corals too. They could also mount my 30 or so frags around the live rock for me as well. Right now they are all growing out on the frag rack or sand bed and really should get mounted. But I just don't feel like doing any of it right now. Can anyone relate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella July 11, 2012 Share July 11, 2012 Do you ever feel periods of time when you LOVE your tank, and other times you sort of hate it/are bored with it? I am in a "lull" period right now. I may even hire someone to do some monthly maintenance on it until I get back into the "love my tank" phase again. Nothing major, just an hour or two each month. They can manually pull out the aiptasia/BA or toss fish or inverts in to eat it, I don't care which. I don't want to lose my zoas of course, but some CBBs pick at corals too. They could also mount my 30 or so frags around the live rock for me as well. Right now they are all growing out on the frag rack or sand bed and really should get mounted. But I just don't feel like doing any of it right now. Can anyone relate? Sure Ryan, we can all relate to that from time to time. But neglect will only make it worse, which usually leads to leaving the hobby. Why are you so bummed, so disappointed? You have a really nice set up, with TONS of potential. You finally have gotten your tank stable and healthy, you should be happy. Pests are always going to be an issue. Ive been battling aiptasia, and I to cant decide how to manage it. AiptasiaX kinda works, but they seem to keep coming back, although I find it fun killing them. Bubble algae sucks, and I had it become a major issue. I would try and remove as much as you can by hand, but sometimes you just cant get it all. I have 1 emerald crab in my tank, seems that some of the BA has since disappeared, im hoping bc of the crab. There is always going to be a pro and con of all additions for the most part, just be willing to make a sacrifice somewhere. If youre worried about the emerald eating zoas, then put your zoas on a frag rack that it cant get to. I also think you will be happy once you have fish in the tank again. I love corals, but fish really add that excitement to the tank. If im not mistaken your fallow period is about up. I know you had a rough start, but you survived, start loving your tank again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 11, 2012 Share July 11, 2012 I always love my tank, but there are times when I, too, feel overwhelmed or too busy to attend to it as I would like. Most recently, this period lasted over 6 months. Last year's crash in the middle of our relocation was really dispiriting. I can still remember the "smell of the ocean" from and the visage of bleached white coral skeletons through the milky white water of what had been once been a thriving reef tank. Any corals or frags that survived were put in the frag tank. Getting re-engaged was slow. My first priority was not my tank, but building out the basement in the new home. Things were in a "holding pattern" for a year. I'd dawdle, but not really focus. I finally got my rock work in last week, cleaned out a large, dead coral skeleton from what had at one time been a large Bali Green Slimer, and started adding a frag or two from the frag tank. It feels like starting over in some ways for this tank. I even ordered a new CUC yesterday. But, by by cleaning the tank up a little and adding a few frags, I find myself once again peering in, looking for polyp extension and signs of growth. Don't worry, Ryan, it'll come back. It's always hard to start over. Get something in there that you can watch, nurture, and check on. It'll help lift your spirits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan July 11, 2012 Share July 11, 2012 I'm feeling you Ryan, right now with these fish. I can't afford to hire anyone to take over and if I could I don't know that I'd want to. I'm not throwing in the towel because I love the pleasure I get from this hobby when everything is going great. For me the challenges I face of keeping my livestock healthy, thriving and alive add a little spark and pride to it all. The problem I'm facing is I've had too many sparks over the last few months, but I'm not totally spent just yet. I am not feeling it these last few days. It's momentary for me. I have a responsability so I have to keep up with it. I don't see this hobby too different than any other hobby. They all have their kinks..... Take a breather. Stop thinking ahead so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 Hang in there, I thought for sure when to power was out for 16 hrs, everything was a goner, I was ready to throw in the towel. I thought, man I just got this tank back to looking good and this. I'm done!! But, I just kept stirring the tank every half hour, and a friend showed up with a generator and everything pulled thru except a few fish. You have an awesome tank as it sit's right know, can't wait to see if full of fish and corals!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 I put 1pr of Emerald crabs per tank, 24 peppermint shrimp, pr of Green Tassled Filefish, 300 tiny blue leg hermits. All in a 120. No aiptasia, valonia, nuisance algae or cyano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 12, 2012 Author Share July 12, 2012 I put 1pr of Emerald crabs per tank, 24 peppermint shrimp, pr of Green Tassled Filefish, 300 tiny blue leg hermits. All in a 120. No aiptasia, valonia, nuisance algae or cyano. did you remove them after? what about damage to any corals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 12, 2012 Author Share July 12, 2012 (edited) I'm definitely not quitting, just at a point where I don't want to do any work on the tank. Maybe I am just burnt out from all the work I've had to put into it to get it to this point. (Internal thought: if someone put a complete 40g breeder setup for sale w/ stand and canopy, and the price was right, I would seriously consider downsizing...) I am debating b/w: A) dropping $1000 on the tank to make it "future totm-capable", including approx $500 on 25 nice sps frags and 5 zoanthid frags (listed below): superman mille shades of fall strawberry shortcake pink lemonade jf monster tort Highlighter Stag Echinata Toxic Green Tort Shaggy Green Mille Oregon Blue Tort ORA Ice Tort Deep Blue Tort Cali Tort Metallic Blue Mille ORA Borealis Tulip Mille Lavendar Mille Bubblegum Mille Pink Acro Zoanthid: Mohawk Zoanthid: Sunny D Zoanthid: Raptor's Rainbow Zoanthid: Pinwheels Zoanthid: Magicians I would pay someone $100 to mount them in the tank and to remove the few aiptasia and bubble algae by hand. Then with the 12 week fallow period ending on August 3rd, I would drop another $400 on QTed fish/inverts. Once the coral were mounted and the fish in the tank, I'd let it "grow into a totm". Everything is pretty automated and stable. I'd do the 20% water changes every 2 weeks, but that's it. I let everything grow out. And once sps frags got too crowded, I'd remove the ones I didn't like as much as others, and put them on the frag rack for sale or trade for inverts/fish/zoas, etc. or B) not add any new sps or zoas. pay someone $50 to mount the 25 or so frags i already have. then let the tank be until i gain interest in it again. i'd just do the 20% biweekly water changes. or C) suck it up and mount the dang frags myself, then let the tank be until i gain interest again, just doing the biweekly water changes. I am leaning towards A. If I can find someone to do the work, I would bring the frags home, they can choose where everything should be mounted to look the best, and which fish I should get for colors/movement/must be QTed, etc. And make sure all parameters are good, all equipment is setup correctly, I am dosing correctly, etc. Then I'd let the tank sit on auto pilot and see what it turned into by the end of the year... Edited July 12, 2012 by Ryan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surf&turf July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 Sorry, it won't run on autopilot for a year. Corals grow, Alk needs change, Calcium needs change, fish grow, poop more, if you want TOTM you will have to work for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 (edited) You could go fowlr... There are some really neat fish you would be able to get, and you have to worry much less about parameters. I am likely going to do this on my new tank. EDIT; never add 25 sps frags at once... Edited July 12, 2012 by BowieReefer84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 I feel you too. I have been running a remote tank at a friends house since my tank crashed last year. I have a 120 holding tank that has been through it all. Now of course I am getting ready to move back to the original house and the tank is running beautifully. The red bubble algae has cleared up, the skimmer id perfectly dialed in, etc. But that's because it's now almost 10 months old. It takes a really long time for a new tank to stabilize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 Sorry, it won't run on autopilot for a year. Corals grow, Alk needs change, Calcium needs change, fish grow, poop more, if you want TOTM you will have to work for it. This is very true. You will have to make adjustments as the colonies grow and demand increases. You could go fowlr... There are some really neat fish you would be able to get, and you have to worry much less about parameters. I am likely going to do this on my new tank. EDIT; never add 25 sps frags at once... I also think my next tank will be a huge fowlr, much less stress and equipment. Why would you not add the 25 sps frags at once? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 July 12, 2012 Share July 12, 2012 Why would you not add the 25 sps frags at once? $500 is a lot of money (good prices, but still a lot), and I would want to make sure they do ok. For instance everyones tank runs differently, and even though someone might have great frags their is no guarantee they will do well in another tank... I know Graham and Evan run Radium halides, and Ryan has those "led's"... Just saying I would want to see how a few react rather than adding 25 at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 13, 2012 Share July 13, 2012 only disasters happen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 19, 2012 Author Share July 19, 2012 Test Results Today, 7/18/2012: Salinity = 1.025 (good) pH = 8.20 (good) Nitrate = 0.0 ppm (good) Phosphate = 0.00 ppm (good) Alk = 9.74 dhK (high)* Cal = 360 ppm (low)* Magnesium = 1725 ppm (high)** Last Test Results, 6/25/2012: Salinity = 1.028 (high) pH = 8.22 (good) Nitrate = 0.0 ppm (good) Phosphate = 0.00 ppm (good) Alk = 9.07 dhK (good) Cal = 380 ppm (low) Magnesium = 1950 ppm (high) *Adjusting CAL and ALK dosing amounts. Raising CAL. Lowering ALK. **Did a 15% water change after the tests were taken. MAG is being dropped via water changes back down to 1300 after the bryopsis treatment. After 10 weeks fallow, I added 2 new fish to the DT today. A firefish and a pajama cardinalfish. They spent 6 weeks in QT and look healthy. The next 2 fish to go into the tank, in two weeks, once I observe the firefish and cardinal are both still healthy, will be a pair of clownfish from Quantum Reefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 19, 2012 Share July 19, 2012 Looks like it's getting back on track, Ryan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 19, 2012 Author Share July 19, 2012 It's amazing how just the firefish swimming in the tank brings life to the tank. It's been without fish for so long, I forgot what it was like to have active fish swimming around in the tank. Makes the tank 10 times better. Thinking of tangs for down the road again. I really want a yellow tang, blue hippo tang, sailfin tang, and powder blue tang. Is there anyway to make all or some of them work? If I got them tiny/small (1-2") perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 19, 2012 Share July 19, 2012 I've had a yellow, powder blue, sailfin, and scopas tang in my tank (first the 180 and now the 210) without trouble. I did lose the powder blue in the crash a year ago. All got along fine, even though introduced at different times. The biggest issue was the yellow accommodating the sailfin when it was introduced. That took a couple of weeks since the yellow tang thinks that he's the king of the tank - but then again, he makes that clear to EVERY new fish that I introduce (bully!). That said, with decent rock work that sets up some zones and affords the tangs some visual separation, I think you'll easily be able to accommodate small to medium sized tangs in your tank. My tangs are probably 4-5 inches each or so. I'd love to add a powder blue again. A purple tang would be nice, but I'm a bit concerned about their reputation for aggression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 19, 2012 Author Share July 19, 2012 I wish my 150g was bigger. Like the 300g DD. If so, then I'd like to add a trio of yellows. Maybe 3 of them. I wonder if you have 3 of any given tang (yellow, blue hippo, etc) if that would increase their aggression, or lessen it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella July 19, 2012 Share July 19, 2012 Your tank would fine with 3 smaller tangs. I have 2 tangs in my tank and they do just fine so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 19, 2012 Author Share July 19, 2012 Your tank would fine with 3 smaller tangs. I have 2 tangs in my tank and they do just fine so far. do you mean 3 of the same species? like 3 yellow tangs? or do you mean, 3 total, like 1 yellow, 1 blue tang, 1 sailfin tang? i am thinking that if i get them super small, they wont grow too big for a while, and their aggression level might be less? i swear i read somewhere that 3 yellows are less aggressive than 1 yellow because their "aggression level is spread out". i probably dont have the space for 3 in the 150g, but maybe down the road in the 300g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 July 19, 2012 Share July 19, 2012 I wouldn't want three yellows... I would rather have three DIFFERENT fish. I would do a Kole Yellow Eye, a powder blue, and a scopas. I think that would be nice three different tangs. .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 19, 2012 Author Share July 19, 2012 I wouldn't want three yellows... I would rather have three DIFFERENT fish. I would do a Kole Yellow Eye, a powder blue, and a scopas. I think that would be nice three different tangs. .02 PBT is my favorite fish, but so nervous about getting ich again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella July 20, 2012 Share July 20, 2012 PBT is my favorite fish, but so nervous about getting ich again. There prone to getting it, not much you can do about it. You can QT it, but it still may get ich. Just buy a healthy specimen locally, that you can visually inspect, dont settle for anything less than perfect. Then QT the fish, feed it well and hope for the best. Keeping the fish happy and healthy will always give you the best shot. Are you planning to add them all at once.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S July 20, 2012 Author Share July 20, 2012 There prone to getting it, not much you can do about it. You can QT it, but it still may get ich. Just buy a healthy specimen locally, that you can visually inspect, dont settle for anything less than perfect. Then QT the fish, feed it well and hope for the best. Keeping the fish happy and healthy will always give you the best shot. Are you planning to add them all at once.? I am still researching how to add them. Which order or all at the same time. Would a small PBT be okay in a 10g QT for 1 month? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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