Going OK
Posted on Monday, 22 October, 2007 at 8:30 AM by miskairal
Luckily this tank is doing far better than the 5 footer. Both mandarins, Angelina and Whoopi are going great with Angelina being a fat sausage who eats just about anything while Whoopi, the psychedelic, has good condition on her but only eats frozen mysis and brine shrimp. She is also the underdog and often chased by Angelina but it is easy to make sure she gets access to all food with the diner and target feeding.
I now have in this tank my orange Scolymia Australis and green Cynarina. The cynarina is partially bleached and the Scoly is smaller but still a brilliant orange. A few mushies seem to be still alive and I have some caluerpa growing in there now too.
I've pretty much been changing 20% a month during water changes although I've done a couple of extras. Nitrates and Phosphates are still fairly high so I have Rowaphos and Purigen added. Not much else to say.
Edited on: Monday, 22 October, 2007 8:34 AMPosted in Peregian 4 foot (RSS)
Bad to worse
Posted on Monday, 22 October, 2007 at 8:17 AM by miskairal
Hmm, no good news. Virtually all my coral are dead as well as all 4 Trochus snails. I have left my fish, my leather coral, an anemone, a couple of mushies a few snails, some micro hermits and the urchin. Oh and whatever it is that makes the loud clicking/cracking sound. I managed to save my Scolymia, the orange one, by putting it into the 4 foot tank where things seem to be doing a bit better.
It's all so weird and inexplicable. I even setup my ex freshwater 45litre tank one day with lovely clean water and a few pieces of rock, a heater, a good powerhead and a single 150MH light and put the corals that were still alive at that point in there, namely the acans, the duncan, symphillia, cynarina and fungia but they all died dammit! I tested that tank all the time too and the KH was a bit low but everything else was perfect and the caluerpa is still growing (I am going to use the tank as a Q tank for my next fish so it's still running).
I have the nitrates and phosphates under control and I'm running a filter containing carbon in all water used for topups and water changes. I changed the lighting in the refugium and now have caluerpa growing a bit better. Unless I win lotto I won't be replacing the coral so I'm thinking of going FOWLR and getting some more fish. Haven't decided what yet and need to do some research but perhaps a yellow tang and a clown goby.
Posted in Tank in general (RSS)
Water Quality Problems
Posted on Tuesday, 24 July, 2007 at 3:51 PM by miskairal
Well things haven't been going so good. I ended up with high nitrates (60) and phosphates (1.0) which seems to have killed off a few coral and most of the corallimorphs aren't looking too crash hot. They're not dead but are more closed up and not multiplying. The coral I've lost are both galaxeas and both favias that all came as hitch hikers on my original live rock. I've also lost the Gonipora that was the rescue from Kingaroy and my beautiful green cynarina has bleached as have two corallimorphs that were also hitch hikers. My Pavona I got from Alf_D has also been a casualty. I also have 3 hermit crabs missing in action along with the peppermint shrimp.
I'm not sure of the exact cause of the elevated nutrients but it has also caused a mild outbreak of cyanobacteria on the sand and another brownish algae on the rockwork. The other contributing factor was changing the MH bulbs and adding in another MH light making 3 x 150w MH and one actinic fluoro. I mostly did that because I have 2 braces on the tank and didn't want the MH lights sitting right over the braces.
On a good note I have managed to get the nitrates and phosphates under control using purigen and rowaphos. Nitrates are now undetectable and phosphates are 0.25. I am using it in my canister filter that I have attached to my sump again. I have also done some large water changes managing to get through 1000 of water in just 10 weeks. I did 125 litre water changes once a fortnight for most of that time with a larger 175 litre change last time. I've decreased that to 40 litres weekly now though as it's too much stress on ME doing such large changes. It is difficult to get the water warm enough and some of the coral are left high and dry during the process and do not appear to like that at all.
Water testing a few days ago showed Calcium 430 and KH of only 6. Don't know why the KH is so low without the Ca dropping so I've added some Seachem Reef builder I already had here.
I am also sick of the constant disturbance of the sand both by the tunze pumps and the fish so on Pete's advice (100%ReefSafe) I have started overlaying with calgrit, a calcium carbonate product. It may well mix into the beach sand but so far so good. The funny part of this is that the calgrit is made by unimin and there is a lime quarry here on our farm and guess what the address on the bag is? Yep, our road in lil' ol' Murgon. I'm pretty sure they don't actually make it here though as I've not seen it. So over the last 2 days I've been slowly adding this calgrit down a piece of poly pipe directed where I want it. Despite rinsing heaps the tank still gets cloudy for a few hours so I wait until it clears and start again. I noticed that the coral seemed to like the cloudiness so I have just retested the KH and it's up to 8. Yippee!
I attended the MASQ meeting at Turbo's in Noosa on the 21st of July, 3 days ago, so took the opportunity to buy some more goodies off Pete and Sue who were coming up from Brisbane. Oh what a blast to get home with all this stuff. I got 6 micro hermits, 4 enormous Trochus snails, 1 urchin which I think is of the burrowing variety, 1 lobophyllia, 1 yellow fungia, 1 medium acanthastrea lordhowensis and some lovely zoanthids (orange centre, green outside), and I won a little green mushy.
A couple more things....my bicolour blenny is now in the display and has doubled in size since I got him. The two mandarins are doing great, Angelina looks like a little sausage and Whoopi no longer has any bones showing. Both are taking frozen mysis and brine shrimp and Angelina also eats Formula 1 and 2 pellets.
Edited on: Tuesday, 24 July, 2007 4:59 PMPosted in Tank in general (RSS)
New goodies
Posted on Sunday, 06 May, 2007 at 2:43 PM by miskairal
Back in 2005 I saw a fish in a pet shop that I so fell in love with. It was the Psychedelic Mandarin (Synchiropus Splendidus) and the one I saw was in a nano and putting on a great show for us, checking us out. Well yesterday I finally got my own Psychedelic Mandarin. She is tiny, only about 4cm long and she likes to watch us. I think I will name her Whoopi for her flamboyant dress sense and big lips. I have released Whoopi straight in with Angelina with no quarantine so she has a plentiful supply of pods. Blags had her a few weeks so it is less likely she is carrying white spot. He says she is eating brine shrimp and nori of all things.
I also got a Bicolor Blenny to replace the Midas Blenny I lost last year. I've named him/her Dave after my brother who really liked one of these when I took him to the same petshop back in 2005. Dave is in quarantine in my 120 litre tank but I only have about 80 litres of water in it. There are heaps of hidey holes in there in the form of old bioballs and pvc pipes laying round and some pieces of egg crate. Dave has found a few bioballs to hangout in and poked his head out to watch me. Dave is only about 5cm long.
Two new corals as well, neither of which I can get decent photos of. One is a lovely yellow Alveopora and the other is a Euphyllia Ancora, I think also known as hammer coral. So we shall see how they fare in my tank. I've kind of decided that some things suit and some don't.
Again a big thankyou to Pete and Sue for getting this stock to me via Sue's lovely Dad, Stuart.
Edited on: Sunday, 06 May, 2007 4:51 PMPosted in Corals (RSS), Fish (RSS)
Other Critters
Posted on Thursday, 03 May, 2007 at 1:22 PM by miskairal
Came with Live rock October 2005
1 Cucumber. Died
mid 2006
1 red crab
2 Corallimorphs
3rd Feb 2006
5 Hermit crabs (small). July 2007 I think only 1 left
8th March 2006 with Peregian tank
1 Anemone, bleached (I think a bta)
Purple
corallimorphs
Fluffy Corallimorphs
Red crab, Large
1
Hermit crab, Large Died 22nd July 2007
Majano
Zoanthids
10th August 2006
Zoanthids
23rd August 2006
Green Corallimorphs from Alf_D
16th March 2007
Corallimorphs, green, blue, orange and brown
21st July 2007
6 micro hermits
4 Trochus snails
1 urchin
orange
centred zoanthids
green mushy
Posted in Other Critters (RSS), Stocktake (RSS)
Coral
Posted on Thursday, 03 May, 2007 at 12:57 PM by miskairal
Came with original live rock in October 2005
2
x Favia sp (1 brown, one brown with green centres)
2 x Galaxeas.
All
appear to have died during March-May 2007
6th Dec 2005
1 x Leather Coral Sarcophyton
8th Mar 2006
1 Small Leather Sarcophyton Died about 2 months
later suddenly
1 Duncanopsammia
1 Probably Heliofungia
29th April 2006
Scolymia Australis I believe. Bright orange.
10th August 2006
1 Scolymia I believe. Bright darkish green
1
Cynarina I believe. Opaque brown with inside "lights"
1
Elegance Catalaphyllia Jardinei
1 combo brain with 2 extending
probable sea fans
23rd August 2006
1 Pavona from Alf_D (posted
in the mail from Sydney) Died during July 2007
12th Oct 2006 (Kingaroy rescue)
1 Sinularia Died
July 2007
1 Gonipora Died June 2007
16th March 2007
1 Blastomussa Merletti
1 Symphyllia
1
acanthastrea lordhowensis
5th May 2007
1 Alveopora
1 Euphyllia
Ancora, a sick piece that was given to me Died July 2007
21st July 2007
1 medium acanthastrea lordhowensis
1 yellow fungia
1
green lobophyllia
Zoanthids, green with orange centre
green
corallimorph
Posted in Corals (RSS), Stocktake (RSS)
Fish
Posted on Tuesday, 01 May, 2007 at 4:53 PM by miskairal
8th Nov 2005 2 x Ocellaris clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris (Mork and Mindy)
6th Dec 2005 1 x Coral Beauty Centropyge bispinosus (Beauty)
8th March 2006 1 x Sailfin Tang zebrasoma veliferum (Tangy)
19th Oct 2006 1 x Decorated Goby Istigobius decoratus (Gollum)
16th Mar 2007 1 x Spotted Mandarin Synchiropus picturatus Female (Angelina 2)
5th May 2007 1 x Psychedelic Mandarin Synchiropus splendidus Female
5th May 2007 1 x Bicolor Blenny ecsenius bicolor (Dave)
6th Dec 2005 2 x Pyjama Cardinals Sphaeramia
nematoptera
died following tank break 8th Dec 2006
25th July 2006 1 Spotted Mandarin Synchiropus
picturatus Female (Angelina 1)
died from white spot 24th Sep 2006
25th July 2006 1 x Midas Blenny Ecsenius midas
(Nugget)
died 3rd Aug 2006 after weir/bioball accident
22nd Aug 2006 1 x Goatfish Parupeneus
barberinoides
died from white spot 23rd Sep 2006
Posted in Fish (RSS), Stocktake (RSS)
Tanks
Posted on Tuesday, 01 May, 2007 at 4:06 PM by miskairal
Peregian Tank
121 x 35 x 40cm holds approx 170 litres
Sump
46 x 31 x 16.5cm holds approx 23 litres
Total 192 litres
3 x 4ft
NO fluoros
1 Powerhead
1 x 200W heater
Tank 2
5 x 2 x 2. Approx 450 litres to fill it with rock and
sand already in there
Sump holds approx 75 litres
Total 525litres
3
x 150W MH lights (14,000k)
1 x Actinic 4 ft fluoro tubes
2 x Tunze
Turbelle 6000 streams
Tunze 7095 multicontroller
Tunze in tank
skimmer (I think 3130)
2 x 300W heaters
Quarantine Tank (Not active at present)
Approx. 120 litres,
nearly 4 foot long and about 12 inches wide,
this is an ex freshwater
tank and is ideal for quarantine
No sump
Eheim canister filter
2215 with sponges only
Powerhead
bioballs and ceramic pieces
scattered around
PVC pipe of varying widths
Heater (I think it's
100W) My 30 year old fluor desk light
Tank 1 (no longer with us)
6 x 2 x 2.5. Approx
680 litres
Sump holds approx 75 litres
Total 750 litres
2 x
150W MH lights (14,000k)
4 x NO 4 ft fluoro tubes
2 x Tunze
Turbelle 6000 streams
Tunze 7095 multicontroller
Tunze in tank
skimmer (I think 3130)
2 x 300W heaters
Peregian Tank
Posted on Tuesday, 01 May, 2007 at 3:51 PM by miskairal
I bought a tank 2nd hand from a guy at Peregian Beach on the Sunshine Coast of Qld in March 2006. It measures 121 x 35 x 40cm and has a central rear weir with a sump that measures 46 x 31 x 16.5cm. Unfortunately the centre brace runs right over the top of the weir making access to the weir next to impossible. It came with a small sand bed in both the sump and the tank, maybe 5cm deep which appears to consist of coarse coral pieces. The sump contained bio balls which I finally removed after I lost my Midas Blenny to them. The tank contained a fair amount of barren looking live rock with little or no coralline algae. It has a Queen skimmer which I have never used, in part because the tank has had so little stock in it most of the time, but also because of the cost of running yet another pump which I don't think is necessary on this tank. Lighting consisted of 2 x 150W Metal halides with new bulbs (14000k DE) and 2 spare unused bulbs but I took the lighting to use on my main tank as they have proper covers encasing them. The tank is now lit only by 3 x NO fluoro tubes that are 4 feet long. 2 are actinic and one is white. Water movement was only done with 2 small powerheads and the return. I bought it to use as a seahorse tank as my husband, Tony, really likes seahorses. I do too but after more reading I found that they are prone to health problems that I don't think I should tackle until I have had more experience.
Stock consisted of a Sailfin tang (Tangy) , a bleached anemone and
some bleached fluffy mushrooms and a duncanopsammia and what I'm pretty
sure is a heliofungia which I also moved to my main tank. I have left a
snail and a large hermit crab in there along with one group of fluffy
mushrooms. I have had a few things grow in there - an unknown coral,
mojano and a little group of 3 zoanthids that are brown with a green
centre. I have added the cowrie that came from the friend's tank. I have
also added a 3 of the corallimorphs I got from blags in March. This tank
is loaded with copepods and amphipods as well as bristle worms and
spaghetti worms. There is also a large red crab that I have seen at
night only.
On the 16th March 2007 I bought a second Mandarin, again a spotted
mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus) and female. I've named her
Angelina 2 in remembrance of that great little Angelina 1. A2 eats
frozen brine shrimp and I've seen her eat Granumarin granules and spit
them out. I have also seen her enter her "diner" which I am teaching
her to do so that if ever I have to move her she will know where her
food comes from OR if I should have to put competitive fish in with
her.
Posted in Peregian 4 foot (RSS)
Mandarin Diner
Posted on Monday, 30 April, 2007 at 7:51 AM by miskairal