Steph's 90 Gallon Rescue Tank

[~reefchik~]

So we "rescued" this tank from the neighbor, whom I've been mentoring slightly over the years to keep the thing going.  It used to look pretty good, was FO for a while, then I talked him into better filtration and some LR, and lent him some of my books and gave him a few free frags of softies a couple of times. 

Well, a couple months ago we were hanging out in the backyard with some beers, and they tell us they have had it with the tank and do we want it.  Free. 

      Why sure, sez me.

They took us inside to look at the tank and OMG...what a mess.  The water level was down by at least 40% and the glass was crusted with black gunk...only 6 chromis and an engineer goby survived.  No corals.  The LR looked dead and blackened.  Ewwwww......

Long story short, here's a pictoral of the "Day We Rescued The 90":

















  << the new foster child reflecting on day's events.

In case this board doesn't like too many photos in one post, I'll continue below.

[~reefchik~]

In case you're wondering, I'd ordered a big pack of macro algaes and reef CUC, and they arrived the morning we set up the tank, so in they went and I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

I replaced all the sand with Aragamax for a DSB, seeded it with a few cups of live sand out of my old tank, and used his rock, since I tested his water the day of the move, and it actually wasn't bad.  I guess if you don't feed a tank for a while, your nitrates will eventually go back to zero.    Poor fish.

It came with a Fluval 405, which I've never used.  Pretty beefy filter though, I must admit. I would have liked a sump, but you take what you can get when the men say it's time to move the tank, KWIM?  (I just bossed them all around and did the cleaning part and detailed setup).  

So now it's been about 2 weeks since setup, all tests are looking good, and we do a partial water change.  On the 17th I put all the critters from my 20 gal tank into the big tank.  Then we leave for a week's vacation and I'm still holding my breath and wondering if all this hurry will backfire.

So far so good.  These pix were taken this week:







I think my corals are ecstatic to have new water and breathing space, not to mention even more water motion.  Some of the small frags of colt that was overgrowing my small tank have doubled in size since the 17th, and so has the small toadstool leather that Reefcleaners sent as a "gift".  

I know now why engineer gobies are called that.  I'm not delighted with him rearranging everything under the rock all the time.   If he doesn't chill, I may eventually re-home him, but I'm trying to work with his Extreme Makeover habits for now.

[jeremyt]

nice caves. looks a lot better now.

[lazylivin]

Hey ~reefchik~, great thread and I appreciate all the pictures. Love the rock work....looks like you put a good amount of time and thought in the layout.

[jd]

Looks sharp. Well done!

[~reefchik~]

Thanks, everyone!

[pontiac2002gtp]

Looks nice.  Hopefully you put the rock in first so the goby won't make it sink and possibly fall over. 

[~reefchik~]

Yes, the base rocks are all sitting on the glass and shored up by sand.  He still managed to collapse a few surrounding rocks, two of which had a clam and an oyster growing on them which was fun to watch. 

[Blown76mav]

Looks Good.

[Secondgen]

Really nice looking tank. What a great turn around. Nice job.

[~reefchik~]

Thanks.  It was one of those deals where once we got started, it was all out til it was done.  Because I wanted to save the fish, we had to gitterdone all in one day.  But so far it's worked out ok.  The only casualty was one chromis got sucked into my new Maxijet PH - oops.

[Reefd Up]

Very nice rescue!  (And welcome to the club!)

[~reefchik~]

Thanks for the welcome, Reef'd Up!  It's nice to get to know local folks with the same obsessi......errrrrmmmm.....hobby 

[~reefchik~]

Instead of continuing my Equipment thread ad nauseam, I'll bring the rest of the tank photos here.

The Reef Master sump/fuge is in.  All is going well so far.

Just puttering with the camera and seeing the difference between using flash and no flash - big difference!  Top is no flash, second one used flash:





Now for the obligatory coral shots (these I got from Justin last week - all doing well)







And the FTS:

[TechGuy]

Need to get that Stylophora some more light!

[~reefchik~]

I think all three are pocillopora. 
You mean the one on the bottom? 

I have new bulbs coming tomorrow.

[~reefchik~]

Now I'm going to embarrass myself.  Justin, what is the coral in the center on the sand?  Someone was over this morning and asked, and I can't for the life of me....

[TechGuy]

http://hunnybuns.eaph3.com/share/90Reef/pocillopora1.jpg

This picture, bottom left. Certain its a Stylo...

[Aquatic Specialists]

Steph that is a rhodactis mushroom. That is no problem forgetting there are just so many. 

[~reefchik~]

http://hunnybuns.eaph3.com/share/90Reef/pocillopora1.jpg

This picture, bottom left. Certain its a Stylo...

Could be - I can hardly tell Stylos from pocillos, anyway.  Justin might remember, he really liked that green and pink one together on the rock, and I did too.  I would have sworn he said they were pocillopora, but then again I don't hardly swear to anything anymore because I still seem to have a degree of *chemo brain*.  (wish it would go away already)

[~reefchik~]

Thanks, Justin!

[Aquatic Specialists]

Yeah it is a pink and green pocillopora.

[~reefchik~]

Despite all the woes of the cyano and hair algae, the tank is still improving in other ways.



Things are growing like crazy, and coloring up really well.  You can see the comparison to this shot taken about 6 weeks ago:


Here are some coral and fish shots:

  Pink and green pocilliporas

  Loving this fish!

  the monster sarc.

On another thread I'll post something I bet you've never seen:  a seahair eating cyano.

[lazylivin]

Looking really nice. Thanks for sharing some pictures.

[~reefchik~]

FTS:



End view:



Pink & green pocilloporas and orange monti:



Rhodactis:


Red grape algae or ??  Anybody know what these are?  They are growing all over my tank especially in the powerhead and the overflow:
 

They are becoming a nuisance.

Tang:


I'd like to start swapping out some of that colt and anthias for some more SPS but I'm not in a big hurry.  I'd also like to add maybe one or two more fish.  Our clown disappeared while we were on vacation         Any suggestions?

[~reefchik~]

Ok, as of tonight (didn't clean the tank or the glass--sorry!) with the PCs on plus the LED strips:





This is basically the left side of my tank.  All the SPS are clustered there under the LEDs for now.


The green and pink pocillopora I got from Justin, which were turning brown under just the PCs


New chalice frag from Gerbers


Another pocillopora or maybe stylophora?


Duncanopsammia (whiskers) and the Candy Apple Acan frag that my Klein's chewed up, but it might be recovering.

[~reefchik~]

More:

These are the new (well, within the past 2-3 wks) zoas that won't open  :'(  The second one is Red Hornets, too!




and my VILE refugium:


And my green open brain that I thought was dying for sure, seems to be recovering as well:


I know it looks like crap now, but it was almost nothing but skeleton just a week ago.

[~reefchik~]

Just a comparison of that green/pink pocillopora - a month ago (before LEDs)


and tonight:


Even with the fish in the way you can see how much browner they both were. 

Is Cyphastrea supposed to look like this?


You never see polyps from it.  It's like having a colored golf ball in your tank.

[jd]

That's strange about the Zoas, Steph. Might take them a little bit to get used to the flow and lighting. Check the for white spots (zoa pox) and 'melting'

This: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1252294&page=1

has apparently helped alot with zoas, but I haven't tried it myself.

[~reefchik~]

Thanks for that.  I was thinking about checking it out over there but sometimes it's darned hard to find a particular topic! 
I added a bit of Vit C and we'll see what happens.  I'm glad I have the good expensive buffered stuff 

[HUNGER]

sometime u mite need to move them and help them find a place in the tank they like and will open up

[lazylivin]

Looks like your hard corals are responding well to the extra light. The zoa's may just be acclimating still, some can be really finicky but they look healthy, no irregular form, shiny and plump. Looks like you might have some dinoflagellates in the sump which can be irritating to softies if left un-checked also see a bit of cynao bacteria that may be affecting them as well. Wish I could be more help, keep us posted.

[rayviv]

That's strange about the Zoas, Steph. Might take them a little bit to get used to the flow and lighting. Check the for white spots (zoa pox) and 'melting'

This: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1252294&page=1

has apparently helped alot with zoas, but I haven't tried it myself.

The thread that rc is referring to is no longer there. Anyone have it?

[jd]

The thread that rc is referring to is no longer there. Anyone have it?

I don't know where the article she was referring to is, but the thread has some good info.

[~reefchik~]

The thread that rc is referring to is no longer there. Anyone have it?

Ray try this link:  http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1252294
and if that doesn't work, search Vitamin C - threads.  Because the search function works again over there 

[rayviv]

Ray try this link:  http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1252294
and if that doesn't work, search Vitamin C - threads.  Because the search function works again over there 

OK I'll try it.

[~reefchik~]

Looks like your hard corals are responding well to the extra light. The zoa's may just be acclimating still, some can be really finicky but they look healthy, no irregular form, shiny and plump. Looks like you might have some dinoflagellates in the sump which can be irritating to softies if left un-checked also see a bit of cynao bacteria that may be affecting them as well. Wish I could be more help, keep us posted.

What is it that makes you think dinoflagellates?  I don't guess I know what that would look like!

[lazylivin]

What is it that makes you think dinoflagellates?  I don't guess I know what that would look like!

These area's here look like dinoflagellates

[~reefchik~]

Well, let me expound on those and see if you still think it's dinoflagellates. 

What you see is strings of skinny caulerpa, with red fuzzy stuff growing off of it and lots of bubbles trapped in it.  It really looks like dark pink wool, and I've never seen anything like this before.  There's a lot of it, it's in the chaeto as well.  Weird stuff.  Plus there's a lot of cyano on the overflow to the pump/skimmer area and on the back wall.  I scraped it off today and sucked out all I could. 

If that sounds like dinoflagellates, what is the cure?

On a positive note, I bought Cyberwollf's T5 lights today, and they are SO much brighter than the PCs.  Along with the LEDs I now have super lighting and lots of glitter lines without the heat and expense of halides.  Hope my corals will be as happy as I am 

[rayviv]

OK I'll try it.

Here is the article on dosing w/vitamin C :
 
  http://www.athiel.com/lib2/pguide/vitami1.html


I'll post this in proper place.

[~reefchik~]

Thanks, Ray.  Also there's a ton of threads at RC on vitamin C.  I'm using it now too.  On day 3. 

[ghurlag]

Well, let me expound on those and see if you still think it's dinoflagellates. 

What you see is strings of skinny caulerpa, with red fuzzy stuff growing off of it and lots of bubbles trapped in it.  It really looks like dark pink wool, and I've never seen anything like this before.  There's a lot of it, it's in the chaeto as well.  Weird stuff.  Plus there's a lot of cyano on the overflow to the pump/skimmer area and on the back wall.  I scraped it off today and sucked out all I could. 

If that sounds like dinoflagellates, what is the cure?

On a positive note, I bought Cyberwollf's T5 lights today, and they are SO much brighter than the PCs.  Along with the LEDs I now have super lighting and lots of glitter lines without the heat and expense of halides.  Hope my corals will be as happy as I am 

Awesome!  I highly advocate that fixture if you are looking to stay way from halides.  You should be happy with it

[~reefchik~]

Yeah, Brian, I'm really liking it!  I ordered all new tubes for it, so it will get even better soon. 

[ghurlag]

What bulbs did you get? 

[~reefchik~]

2 SlimPaq T-5 High Output (HO) Fluorescent 10000°K and 2 Actinics (420nm)
 

[cyberwollf]

2 SlimPaq T-5 High Output (HO) Fluorescent 10000°K and 2 Actinics (420nm)
 

It'll be intresting to see what color you end up with.  I had aquablue+ as the other 2 tubes.

[lazylivin]

Well, let me expound on those and see if you still think it's dinoflagellates.  

What you see is strings of skinny caulerpa, with red fuzzy stuff growing off of it and lots of bubbles trapped in it.  It really looks like dark pink wool, and I've never seen anything like this before.  There's a lot of it, it's in the chaeto as well.  Weird stuff.  Plus there's a lot of cyano on the overflow to the pump/skimmer area and on the back wall.  I scraped it off today and sucked out all I could.  

If that sounds like dinoflagellates, what is the cure?

Possibly dinoflagellates although it takes on many forms. It excretes a snotty consistency which commonly captures bubbles, often Red, Black, Green and Brown. What you see is actually the secretion not the dinoflagellates itself. Here are some pictures of the more common forms and more extreme cases.

[HUNGER]

that looks yummy

[~reefchik~]

As depressing and disgusting as those photos are, they are a fairly good representation of my fuge.

By raising my pH back to normal levels and by reducing the photoperiod in the fuge, I hope my issues will resolve.  I've been keeping the lighting on the sump 24/7.  With a pH of around 7 as it has been for a bit, that explains why the outbreak, according to Randy Holmes Farley.

[HUNGER]

ya u dont want ur light on ur sump on 24 7    like 6 to 8 hours a day like at nite when ur main tank light are off

[~reefchik~]

I really think you're right, Hunger.  And I'm changing it today. 
I read somewhere that people keep that light on all the time;  guess that's why I have been. 

[rayviv]

Some say to do reverse lighting in sump or 24/7. Do not know the reasoning behind the 24/7.

[HUNGER]

ya i dont know y they would keep that light on that long because u will have more problems that way

[rayviv]

Some say to do reverse lighting in sump or 24/7. Do not know the reasoning behind the 24/7.

How about it; can some of you more knowledgeable reefers enlighten us on this info?

What about the 24/7 on the sump?

[harleyrider]

You run reverse lighting so your sump can grow on an opposite schedule for thing like growning your copepods and etc. most of your fish go dormant during lights out, and it gives the sump more time to catch up and keep producing....

[Riderc82]

Some say to do reverse lighting in sump or 24/7. Do not know the reasoning behind the 24/7.

I'm not an expert but I remember reading somewhere that is you have caulerpa algae in your sump it needs to be lit 24/7 to keep it from going sexual and releasing gametes which can foul up your water.  So maybe the people who suggested running light 24/7 are keeping  caulepra.

[HUNGER]

I'm not an expert but I remember reading somewhere that is you have caulerpa algae in your sump it needs to be lit 24/7 to keep it from going sexual and releasing gametes which can foul up your water.  So maybe the people who suggested running light 24/7 are keeping  caulepra.

thats the first time i have heard about that

[jd]

I'm not an expert but I remember reading somewhere that is you have caulerpa algae in your sump it needs to be lit 24/7 to keep it from going sexual and releasing gametes which can foul up your water.  So maybe the people who suggested running light 24/7 are keeping  caulepra.

This is true. Some people say caulerpa exports more nutriants but I read a study that said it and cheato are about the same.

[~reefchik~]

I'm not an expert but I remember reading somewhere that is you have caulerpa algae in your sump it needs to be lit 24/7 to keep it from going sexual and releasing gametes which can foul up your water.  So maybe the people who suggested running light 24/7 are keeping  caulepra.

I think this is what I heard, too.  At first I had mostly caulerpa.  Now that I harvest it out to feed my voracious rabbitfish, it's almost all gone.

[harleyrider]

Possibly, but ive had Cheato in my sump since ive been in the hobby and i run my light in refuge about 8 hours a day on reverse of the tank never had any problem in the least with it...its probly like everything else in this hobby what works for one wont work for another..

[~reefchik~]

I love it when this happens... We're all right    - well, to a degree.

http://www.aquaristsonline.com/blog/aquarium-equipment/how-long-should-you-leave-refugium-lights-on-for/

Different types of algae all have their advantages and drawbacks. The most severe cases are to be found among the various species of Caulerpa. Most of the time these algae do good work helping to maintain water quality, but should they switch into the sexual stage of their life cycle, known as sporulation, at which point they can cause major problems, the most obvious symptom being cloudy water. This generally can be held in check by lighting the algae 24/7 and aggressively pruning them to prevent them from reaching the sexual stage of their life cycle. 

Calupera is the only, I repeat only, algae that should be illuminated 24 hours a day, as this will have detrimental effects on other algae. Instead light them on a reverse photo period or reverse daylight period, frequently abbreviated RDP. In other words, when the lights are on in the display tank, switch the lights off over the refugium, and vice versa. This will balance the pH changes caused by photosynthesis between the two tanks, avoiding dramatic changes that might stress your livestock. Take some time to look into the benefits of the various macroalgae to learn more about the benefits and possible liabilities of each species. If you are curious, I myself use Chaetomorpha. It's cheap, grows like crazy and makes a good home for copepods.

from Conscientious Aquarist Magazine

[~reefchik~]

I also found out that the red fuzzy stuff has a name:  red cotton candy algae.   

[HUNGER]

o wow nice find i would have never thunkit