I’m so confused

[AlanM]

One of the benefits to waiting a while before putting in livestock is that you can develop your routines that let you maintain the tank in a stable fashion so you can avoid needing to react to emergency situations.  Let the algae grow and get ugly before you start putting stuff you pay for in there.  Then you'll have all of the buckets and hoses and scrapers and stuff you need to run the thing.

 

If you can just keep an empty tank full of water and lights for a couple of months while maintaining a stable salinity, temperature, and nutrient level (nitrate, phosphate, alk, Ca) you'll be ahead when you start adding stuff that's going to be pooping in that water and kicking the chemistry in the "bad" direction.

[Joshifer]

I agree with both of you guys. I didn’t add anything. just curious and did experiments I haven’t even done a water change. The hermits came in with the rock died and I was curious what killed them because their weren’t any readable specs in what I could check. My lights coming in today I’m gonna let that run and grow whatever. Hopefully not green water lol I’m gonna starve whatever diseases may be in there so I won’t add anything til around this time October.

 

 

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[Joshifer]

I found my problem. Their was a yellow clown goby also in that rock fouling up my water. The head was floating around at the top of my tank this morning. I guess the bristle worms ate it and dislodged the head or pushed it out of the hole. Lesson learned don’t buy Craigslist live rock

 

Should I do a 90% water change? Theirs no animals in there.

 

 

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[ImGoingCoastal]

Not to be rude but I don't think that's THE issue. It may be AN issue but you're cycling.... That your issue.

My recommendation... Don't put anything in the tank. Continue top offs, or get an ATO (highly recommend an ATO on a 5 gal) and stop testing.....

Switch to a weekly or bi-weekly test vice daily.... and wait.

Let it do things on its own timeline. Naturally. Good, bad, and ugly....


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[Joshifer]

Oh your not being rude. And also when I make suggestions their hypothetical. I don’t really do anything like when I said water change I didn’t do it lol. 

 

the only thing I did when my nitrates went missing was dose liquid amonia to see what happens. It ate it in 6 hours. And nitrates showed up. 

 

Now next hypothetical question since I got my light. If I were to run a let’s say 8 hour light cycle. Algae blooms right? The algae will compete with nutrients the bacteria feed off if I remember correctly. 

 

And yes I want a ATO I’m looking around. If you have any suggestions like with the aqua knight LED (which is awesome) please let me know. I was reading reviews on some nano atos their not very positive. 

 

This is light is so pretty it makes me want a bigger tank already. it has a really nice spread. And it’s uniform color. 

Edited September 16, 2019 by Joshifer

[Joshifer]

I’m keeping up with my top offs I made a little marker. It seems to move after 3 days and it’s barely a cup of fresh water. I work evenings so I’m home to monitor evap. Plus AC been on non stop once it gets cooler evap will lessen. 

[Origami]

Unless you have something both desirable and photosynthetic in your tank, you can complete your cycle without the light. You'll get better (and more complete) bacterial development without the light as the nitrates will encourage anaerobic bacteria to grow.

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[AlanM]

Here is what happens when you run full light cycle while cycling.  I kind of just wanted to see what would happen.

 

I had a 180 gallon tank and I started the cycle going by peeing into it.  A lot.  Plus I had cruddy old dead rock that I'd bleached and acid washed, but it was still full of nutrient.  

 

Lots of fun.  It was like this for a few months.  Then it all went away.

 

 

[ImGoingCoastal]

That is too awesome. Hahaha

[Joshifer]

Alan that is gross and hilarious ?

 

Tom. I had coralline algae on my LR and it’s been dark it turned light pink I don’t wanna loose it. So I was wondering about the light. 

 

But after Alan’s pissy hair algae I’m good I’ll just seed it later lol

[Joshifer]

So little update. Things seem to be stable today is 3 weeks running. I do want to test out my theory out about how the tight lid and no surface agitation caused carbon dioxide poisoning/suffocation in the hitch hiker hermits and pods. But I don’t wanna kill a hermit doing a test. 

 

My pods repopulated their everywhere so Maybe that’s the result of removing the lid and adding surface agitation? I never had any ammonia or nitrite spikes. Even that first 10 days. 

 

as in stable. Temp. salinity. Ammonia. trite.  trate. No spikes or anything. So far so good. Water is crystal clear today no more bact bloom. What was velvet fallow again 4 weeks? I’ll go 6 and try itty bitty clownfish. 

 

Reef escape actually If you prepay they’ll med and QT a fish for you in the QT tanks and put a hold sticker on it til your ready. I may do that. 

[AlanM]

52 minutes ago, Joshifer said:

Reef escape actually If you prepay they’ll med and QT a fish for you in the QT tanks and put a hold sticker on it til your ready. I may do that. 

 

That's great.  I'd do that for sure.  Do you know what they do if the fish doesn't make it? 

 

That's always a possibility and would have to be priced in to the QT service if they're offering it.

[Joshifer]

 
That's great.  I'd do that for sure.  Do you know what they do if the fish doesn't make it? 
 
That's always a possibility and would have to be priced in to the QT service if they're offering it.

Make it in the qt or once I get it in my tank? They have signs no guarantee on live fish I’m not sure about their QTing. I assume if it dies on they’re watch they are responsible. Just an assumption.


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[AlanM]

Yeah, I meant if you buy the fish and then they keep it there to treat it for you for some period of time.  Plenty of fish don't make it through treatment despite receiving quality care.  Some meds are harsher on fish than others and things happen. 

 

If I was running a store and offering to QT fish for a price I'd have to price in the possibility that I'm going to have to replace some percentage of the fish that don't make it. So you'd pay me for the fish, the meds, the space they're taking up in my store, the extra labor to see them through the process, and also a bit of a premium for the chance that bad things would happen.  And then I'd increase the price so I make a little bit of profit for rent and salaries.

 

TL;DR version: I'd probably only do it for fish that could be marked up enough to make it worth my while if I wasn't already doing it for everything in the store as a matter of practice, and the markup would be 200-300% over regular retail.  No idea what their pricing is, but that's what would make sense to me.

[Joshifer]

I get what your saying. I’m not sure next time I pass by I’ll go in and ask. I don’t think they’d want much for a $20 clown.


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[Reef eScape]

Hello,  Daya here from Reef Escape.    I noticed the conversation and thought I'd clarify on our QT process.   We don't really have a service where you can pay to have us QT your fish.   What we can do is give store credit for a seemingly healthy fish equal to wholesale value of that fish then you can buy it back if it makes it through QT for retail price.   That means you could also put the fish on hold while it is in QT for a 50% deposit.   That deposit is refundable if the fish dies or you can apply to another store purchase.   If the fish that you bring in is in bad shape we may not give any credit for it because chances are good it won't make it through QT if its already dying.   If its very sick we may also not allow a deposit until its looking better, because we wont sell sick fish.   Of course that means no one else is buying it while its sick either.   

 

So yes it sort of is like paying a fee for QT service but that isn't exactly what it is.   

[Joshifer]

I didn’t mean bringing in my fish I meant new fish you get in store under QT you can prepay til it’s done sorry for the confusion.


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[AlanM]

Nice so they will QT it and sell it to you for normal retail price and all you have to do is put a 50% deposit on it to kind of reserve it while it's in QT, sounds like.  Not a bad deal, and better than I'd do if I was running a store.  Guess that's why I'm not.

[Joshifer]

Nice so they will QT it and sell it to you for normal retail price and all you have to do is put a 50% deposit on it to kind of reserve it while it's in QT, sounds like.  Not a bad deal, and better than I'd do if I was running a store.  Guess that's why I'm not.

Yeah it’s really nice. I’ll go put half down on a da Vinci or something and wait out my fallow and get a healthy fish.


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[Joshifer]

So tomorrow the clowns at reef escape should be done getting their medicine QT’s and should be ready to Go. My tank has been running 32 days now. Every time I did a ammonia test it processed within hours. 
 

I’m not sure during the medicating qt if their also in hypo. I’ve read online doing long Acclimation drips does permanent damage to the fish’s gills and organs and stresses them out bad.  I’m not sure how to go about acclimating from hypo to 1.025-ish. What is everyone’s thoughts on going from hypo to 1.025 on a juvi clown?

 

that’s if they hypo I have to ask when I go tomorrow. Or maybe it’s just copper and normal salinity. I know they run their tanks at 1.025 because I buy their water. It’s cheaper and easier on me. 

[AlanM]

long acclimation does damage if the clowns were shipped to you and have a bunch of ammonia in the bag with them.  If you're just picking them up from the shop and carrying them home they won't have that.  They are fine in the bag with the ammonia because the pH is low with the bag being sealed.  Once you open the bag and start adding tank water the pH rises and the ammonia becomes toxic.  

 

If they're in treatment make sure not to put any of that water with meds in your tank.  After acclimation you should net them or pick them up with your hand and transfer into the tank.

[Joshifer]

Okay so I got my clowns today. That hypo thing I was worried about they actually raise the salinity as they come to the end of the qt/med/hypo period . Saved me the hassle and worry.  
 

so their swimming around exploring. I noticed under white light alone it can’t be seen but When I turn on the blue light. one of them the very edge of his fin. I don’t remember the name the ones in the middle. Anyway that transparent edge part their seems to be a white speck. It can’t be Ich they were just in copper and hypo and I got them directly from QT before they were placed with the other fish in display. Plus they only been in my tank for 2 hours it won’t show up that fast if I have ich i pray I don’t. 
 

 Lymphocystis?  don’t think it’s sand he’s been swimming around even hit the power head stream a few times. 
 

now their just swimming around looking for somewhere to Host. I hope it isn’t anything serious. 
 

the lady did they this pair was fighting with the others and only seem to tolerate each other and had to be separated. So I got them since they tolerate each other. 

maybe it’s a healing fin from a fight? I’m trying to get a pic but their all over the place   Once they settle down I’ll get a pic. 

[Joshifer]

Actually I managed to get some pics.


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[Joshifer]

Also before I get yelled at 2 clowns in a 5 I’m in the Process of looking for a bigger tank. They’ll only be in here a few months at most. 
 

I kinda want something huge because I have the space for it finally. Like furniture grade. but at the same time I don’t wanna deal with the big water changes I’m used to nanos. A gallon a week and everything’s happy lol 

Edited October 3, 2019 by Joshifer