MyMonkey's 58 gallon reef as a first tank.

[MyMonkey]

Well, I've decided to startup my own little thread about my tank. It's a 58 Gallon oceanic with an Emperor 400, AquaC Remora Skimmer, cheap heater, MJ 900, 60 plus pounds of LR, 2 inch sand bed. I picked up the whole setup used, rock and sand along with the 4 Huge Hermit crabs. They have been in there from day one.

Day one: 7-10-2005
Heres a pic of the tank on the first day: Sorry it's so huge.




8/1/2005
The tank progressed well. Cycled and helped it along with some Bio SPira. Then came the Yellowtail Damse, then eventually a pair of percula clowns.


Link to a pic of the clowns sleeping.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMG_2934.jpg

As you can see I managed a farm of hair algae. I invested in a Sea Hare. This thing mowed down all the hair algae it could.

[MyMonkey]

8-10-2005
I added some cleanup crew in order to clear up the glass and stir up the sand. In came 50 Nassarius Snails (ilyanassa obsoleta)

The next thing you know, I fould someone with a good deal up for grabs. I know there are risks to this type of deal but I jumped in head first. Member of the local club was selling all her livestock and corals:
FISH:

Sailfin Tang
Kole Tang
2 Clown Gobies
Mandarin
4 False Percs
Watchman Goby (I think)
3 Chromis

Corals/Inverts:
Open Brain
Green Star Polyps
Colt Coral
Featherdusters
Several Snails
At least two hermits: Red Legged.
One Huge Turbo Snail'
Cleaner Shrimp

8-29-05
I kept only the Kole Tang, Chromis, Wathman or diamond goby, Mandarin, and the 2 clown gobies and all the inverts n stuff.

9-3-2005
The Gobies both have some sort of odd leasions or parasites. I posted pics in the Ill fish forum and there are a few things it may be. I have watched all the fish for Ich. No signs yeat. Though a few tiny bubbles scared me to death.


9-7-05
The Gobies have been moved to their own hospital tank/QT tank for all future intakes. A 10 Gallon. I will post some pics later.

I am thinking of going with a Refugium. Not sure what to do just yet. I lide the HOB Aquafuges but I don't have much room on the back at this point. I got a lot of hair algae with the rocks from the local person selling her stuff. It's ok, I will get rid of it I am sure.

9-8-2005
I had my first Loss today. My Sea Hare died. Last night he was just laying on the sand and not moving. This morning he was in the same place. I picked him up and placed him on the rocks. He moved a bit, then just fell over. He did not move again. I left him for a bit to make sure but he passed away. Sad moment, as he was like a lawnmower for Hair Algae.

[s3aL]

Looks like you can use more flow. Get some more powerheads so you can get good watermovement on the lower left and middle areas.

[MyMonkey]

Thanks. Forgot to mention that I added a MJ 600 in there as well. In the oposite corner. I will add an updated pic later. By the way. I am in no way offended by constructive critisism. If you think my setup needs something, please tell me. If you think I am retarded and should have a chromosome removed, please tell me. Thanks agian.

[MyMonkey]

Ok. Current pic of the tank. Just taken. I must break out the Tripod. I feel ashamed to post these alongside some of the great shots on this forum. Here she is as she stands today. Notice the MJ 600 on the other side. I thought it might be too much flow with a 900 but I will likely pick up a 900 later and swap them out.

Anyone think I should switch to the Black Background? Or maybe another?


Also, I was able to get a good shot of my Kole Tang. Eating from the rocks as usuall. The Tang is very picky in eating what I feed. It does like the Brine Shrimp with SPirulina. Wont eat the seaweed I clip on the glass though. Odd...



As of today: Parameters are:
Amonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: Less than 5ppm
SG: 1.020 (low, I know, lowered it to 1.017 in fear of ICH- false alarm I think)

Temp: lower 78's. The tank has been dipping into the 76's at night. I will need to pick up a better Heater. The one I have seems to need many adjustments. I will likely order a Jebo as I hear good things about them. Thanks everyone.

[mmd]

nice

[Mrs.kbmdale]

Does your mandarin eat prepared foods? or just pods? Either way, you NEED a refugium if your gonna keep it. Keep an eye on her/him. Other than that, looks good so far!

Brianna

[Mrs.kbmdale]

Oh, meant to ask.....is that cand cane coral pink? It looks HUGE, really pretty though. I have one with 3 heads (gonna hopefully be 4 before too long) Its purple and blue though. I love them.

Brianna

[MyMonkey]

Yes, the Mandarin eats some prepared foods. Also, I am getting/setting up a fuge. Thanks for that. Also, I'm not sure what the cand cane is? In the middle? That is what I thought was a Colt Coral of some sort. Hmmm..
This one? If you know what it is, please advise. Thanks again.

[Mrs.kbmdale]

Originally posted by MyMonkey
Ok. Current pic of the tank. Just taken....

Right below the blurry fish, the 2 headed pink thing, thats a candy cane coral. Here it is at liveaquaria.com:
Candy Cane Coral

I also have a trumpet coral, I love it too Just think they are the neatest thing. Here it is at liveaquaria.com:
Trumpet Coral

HTH,
Brianna

[Mrs.kbmdale]

Originally posted by MyMonkey

That I beleive might be a Kenya Tree Coral, don't quote me on that though, looks like mine only yours is red, mine is pink.

Brianna

[Mrs.kbmdale]

Oh, what kind of lighting do you have?

[Mrs.kbmdale]

Disregard what I said about you having a candy cane coral..... I shoulda put my darn glasses on and read a little better. That is your open brain...... Im sorry. *hangs head and logs off for the night*

Brianna

Here is the Brain I think you have at liveaquaria.com

[MyMonkey]

Ahh yes. I thought that was an open brain. Thanks though. I thought that one was a Kenya Tree as well, but another told me it was a Colt. Not certain to be honest. Lights are in need of better ones I am sure. I use the 192 watt Coralife PC fixture with Moon lights. I am thinking of upgrading to T5's.

[EdKruzel]

Kenya Tree, Colt, Open Brain... all common names and as you will learn are poor identifiers.
Many common names are used to describe numerous unrelated corals.

Invest in a good coral book such as Eric Borneman's book.

You may wish to rethink your aquascaping; I'd remove some of the rock and create more of a slope or overhang giving an off balance appearance (front to back depth perception).

This will allow more circulation throughout the rock work and alleviate detritus build up.
You may also wish to remove the Kole Tang now before it becomes a real chore down the road as that fish will outgrow its container and begin to cause problems.
The open brain, Trachyphyllia sp. is not a big light lover and appears a little bleached in the photo (may just be the photo?). It is best to move it to the bottom on the sand and feed it small chunks of food several times a week. It will color up very nice.

For your first tank it's doing pretty good.
There is quite a learning curve in this hobby and nobody knows it all, but it sure is nicer to learn from others mistakes than paying for your own.

Good Luck,
Ed

[MyMonkey]

Thanks for in thput Ed. By more of a slope, do you mean stacking the rocks higher up? I'm not sure what you mean by that one. I have thought of several different ways to place the rock. I actually did remove a bunch of it. Maybe if you can post/send a pic as an example? I am always looking for inspiration. LOL

Regarding the book, I will certainy pick that one up. The Brain looks much better than it did when I got it. I placed it high because I thought my lights were not good enough to put it near the bottom. I will move him down and try that out. It will be easier anyway. I currently spot feed it Cyclopeeze. By that I mean I squirt it at it in a little turkey baster. Is that the right approach. And, is there something better for him and the other corals?

Re: Kole Tang. I passed up a Sailfin tang because they get too big. I really want a Tang in there. Is there another that will be better suited? Yellow Tang maybe? I read different guidelines for each fish in each site that sells them. Any suggestions there?

Thanks for any info from anyone in the know. Untill another day.

[thardy]

looking good!

[EdKruzel]

The Kole can survive in that tank for quite some time, however being one of the smallest species currently available to the hobby it will still grow to about 7''s.

I prefer an Algae Blenny, Dwarf Angel and a variety of inverts like a Queen Conch to help control algae growth in smaller systems.

Nothing is less natural than a wall of rocks merely sitting upon one another.
Try looking at dive photos on the net and get a feel for natural reefs and how they sit.

The brain corals need larger food than Cyclopeeze, try cutting small chunks (proportioned to the mouth size) of shrimp, larger mysid shrimp or pieces of fish flesh such as a fillet from the local deli (whatever is on sale).

Eric's book has a wealth of information on corals and their requirements.

Take care,
Ed

[MyMonkey]

Dive pics. Great idea. Also, the dwarf angel is a good idea as well. Thanks.

[MyMonkey]

OMG I just came home to notice that I lost my first fish. My Royal Gramma died. I noticed earlier that he was not acting right. He was hiding head first in a hole and his respirations were a bit elevated. All the others look ok. Low and behold my Amonia was up to about .25 AHHHHHHH!!!!! It must have been caused by either the death of the Sea Hare, (he was stinky allready when I pulled him out) or something else. I have done a 10% water change. Other levels are ok other than PH it's at 8.8. I can't seem to find any info on how to lower the PH. Plenty of info on how to raise it though. I certainly hope this is not the start of a long run of bad luck.

[MyMonkey]

I know I have posted a lot today. However, I am in a panick at this point. After the loss of the Sea Hare and the Royal Gramma, I notice that my Kole Tang has a large lesion on his cheek. An open wound looking thing, with some skin hanging off. I posted a pic on the Sick Fish forum. Everyone is breathing faster than normal. The Amonia is now just barely measurable. I don't know what to do now. I'm afraid the Sea Hare leaked out some nasty stuff in to the tank. I run carbon but this seems to fast. Nasty sea hare was leaking purple stuff in to the little baggy I placed him in. Not certain. I read conflicting information regarding the sea hare when I got him. He had started to look different over about the last week. His color changed to a darker green. And, he was much less active. Prior to that, he/she was out every evening eating up all the hair algae. Ahhhhhh

[MyMonkey]

Over this last weekend I lost my nasty Sea Hare, Royal Gramma, Kole Tang, Mandarin, Female Percula Clown, Clown Goby, and one Chromis, then the Male Clown died as well. Left in the tank are Diamond Goby, 2 Chromis that I can't catch. In the hospital 10 gallon are the Yellowtail Damsel, one clown Goby. The male percula died just a bit ago.

I am at my whits end. I truly do not know what to do here. I have posted at length on the Fish Disease thread. At first, Ich was suspected, then Marine Vlevet, then some sort of Toxic bomb from my Sea Hare dying. (he was only in the tank maybe 2 hours after Death but nobody was eating him, unlike all the other deaths. The hermits and snails swarm the fish when they die) I have 2 LFS's that have different opinions. One says the Sea Hare bombed my tank. I added more carbon, Chemi sock, chemi pad of some sort and "hope for the best." The other LFS, from whom I bought the Sea Hare feels it is a Bacterial Infection of some sort and recommended KanaPlex. I gave him some of the fish from the same source and they came down with similar ailments, one of those clowns died as well. The other was treated with Kanaplex and began to get better then is not looking good now.

The fish seemed to have some sort of skin ailment. Like they were producing a lime coat from stress or irritant and the slime coat was trailing off the fins. The fins were a bit tattered as well. I did FW dips, I moved then to a QT tank. I treated with the Kanaplex but it appears as though it was too late for my Clowns. I even took one in to the LFS to have him look at it. I now have the male body. I am looking for any advice here. Water has tested good by both LFS and my home test kit. Currently in main: Amonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates Less than 5ppm. Hospital tank has Amonia less than .25 but not quite 0 from what I can tell. Nitrates0 nitrites0. Temp of both is in the 78 range. The "spke" of Amonia from the death of the sea hare was to .25 PPM. Most of my fish (2 clowns and a Yellowtail damsel) were exposed to a higher level of amonia more than a month ago when something happened to the Denitrifying bacteria was wiped out. ANyway, I am utterly distrought. If anyone would like to see the history behind this disaster you can look here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=663180

Thanks.

[EdKruzel]

You should never use medication without being sure of the disease.

I would vote on the seahare as the culprit; when they stress severly tot he point of death, they will release a toxic into the water.

I would run carbon at the rate of 1lbs for each 100gals.
Change the carbon every three days.
Conduct several large water changes of more than 50% volume each week for the next month.
Make sure you take all filters, powerheads, skimmer out of the tank and thoroughly clean them.

Good Luck,
Ed

[MyMonkey]

Thanks Ed. I have been using the Carbon. I will swap it out tomorrow. It was suggested that I can have an autopsy done on the Percula Clown by some sort of University. I will look into that. I have yet to determine the culprit here. The LFS's are at odds on that one. The pics are inconclusive and the symptoms are multi system problems caused by several things. Ugh! The fish in the QT will finish the antibiotics and then go into Copper. I have no choice really. I must do something.

[allen2625]

very nice!