PDA

View Full Version : The trials of a nano reefer............


Agu
01/11/2006, 11:21 PM
One of my tanks isn't looking so good. Corals (mainly LPS) are fine but the live rock sucks. One rock is infested with hydroids, two kinds of valonia, and a weird growth that looks like fungus on a three week old pbj sandwich. The adjacent rock is worse, it's covered with zoanthids. To pull out the rock I have to remove 5 branching LPS, that's half my corals in that tank. Going to have to set up a tank just to hold the corals. Once the rock is removed the zoa one is going to the LFS and the other one is getting severely cleaned. Since it's 50% of the rock it'll be fun doing water changes.

not asking for advice, just complaining,

:D

rogerwells
01/11/2006, 11:29 PM
you dont like the zoa's or something?

Agu
01/12/2006, 09:08 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6480093#post6480093 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rogerwells
you dont like the zoa's or something?

Have 5 different colors of zoas in my other tank. It's just that the ones I'm removing are very fast growing and aggressive. In the other tank they grew over and just about smothered a montipora digitata. It's about 5" tall and only the top inch still has life, the rest is covered with zoas.

Besides I need the store credit to get some more live rock :D

Sugar Magnolia
01/12/2006, 02:20 PM
Bummer Agu. I had to toss a few pound of LR in my 2.5 that had become infested by hydroids and the vermetid snails were getting out of control too. It's a PITA for sure having to redo a tank. Been there, done that many times. Good luck to ya! Perhaps getting verklempt before you tackle the job will help. :lol:

Carl_in_Florida
01/12/2006, 03:15 PM
< hijack > Will cooking the rock kill hydroids? I may have to do this if I want to use my rock in any upgrades. I got a small lps frag that had some on it. I thought, "those look pretty cool . . . " You know how that goes. < /hijack >

Wow Agu, that's something.

Carl

Agu
01/12/2006, 04:03 PM
From what I've read you can kill them with kalk paste via syringe if they're out. Just in case, I'll also chisel off their tubes after I think they've been eliminated.

The valonia worries me more............

Agu
01/12/2006, 10:37 PM
Carl,

You're not going to find out about the hydroids vs kalk from me :( . Pulled the rock and it's not worth saving. The valonia is too thick, it'll turn into base rock after a freshwater soak.

Good news is that I stopped in at the LFS and worked a swap, frags for rock. They have some nice Figi so that'll work out fine :D .

Carl_in_Florida
01/12/2006, 10:41 PM
you mean bubble algae right? Speak american! ;)

After contaminating my tank with every conceivable solution to kill aptasia to no avail, I doubt I will every try a syringe on anyting again.

Agu
01/12/2006, 10:59 PM
Yeah bubble algae, two types even. The usual green stuff and this

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/2DSCN0836.jpg

For size reference the hydroids are lower right.

Carl_in_Florida
01/12/2006, 11:24 PM
You got all three in that picture. Yikes thats nasty.

What do you call a freshwater dip? Baptism, maybe mikvah?

CArl

Agu
01/12/2006, 11:27 PM
Weird part is that it's pretty much on one rock. The rest of the rock is pretty clean.

steelhealr
01/13/2006, 12:23 AM
Agu...don't feel bad. I've had tubipora musica, organ pipe in my tank now for quite some time. Always open, beautiful...flowing. Closed up the other day and looks worrisome for losing the entire frag. All my corals otherwise are open...including my Yellow Fiji leather which closes shop at the first hint of problems. "Params" are normal. Go figure. It's tough game this nano stuff sometimes. SH

steelhealr
01/13/2006, 12:25 AM
PS...I have had bubble algae..it's not as bad as you think. Very slow growing and is pluckible outable or eaten my emeralds. SH

Agu
01/13/2006, 09:21 AM
Can't keep an emerald crab alive in spite of the tasty morsels available :confused: .

Tanks cleared up this morning and I'm liking the look of less rock. This is the tank with a skimmer and sump refugium so I may be able to get away with less rock in the tank.

My red starfish doesn't like it though, it's at the top of the tank hiding behind a powerhead :rolleyes: .

kokob007
01/13/2006, 02:35 PM
I also use to have bad bubble algea. after the cheato and couple of emeralds its all gone now. Though i know its the Cheato that did it more than the emerald.

I dont know why but i really like the picture you have. alot of life on the rocks. Thats just me.

Sugar Magnolia
01/13/2006, 03:03 PM
I don't have much luck keeping emeralds alive either Agu. I'd have to say, that is one nasty looking rock. I can see why you'd just ditch it - I wouldn't have too.

Carl_in_Florida
01/13/2006, 04:04 PM
My emralds never stay alive. I think they live long enough to "nip" every bubble algee in the tank enough for it to spread then die to give it some nutrients to live off of.


Carl

Agu
01/13/2006, 08:52 PM
Worked the swap at the store today. For a baseball sized colony of zoas (broke the rock in half and kept the other zoa free half) and a double xenia I got 4.5 pounds of new rock. One very porous piece that looks liks a dead sps skeleton, and one flat piece of Tonga rock. It's in my rubble bucket curing.

Also decided to use the overflow for my bakpak that never got installed. Cut it down by almost 2" so it wouldn't look so huge in a ten gallon tank.

Tomorrow I frag a euphyllia that is too big for the tank. Also have an acan with over a 100 heads thats gotten too big. Never fragged one before so I'm a bit nervous about doing that.

Before doing the freshwater dip of the old rock I decided to see what life I could save. Put a water bottle with a big chunk of shrimp in the bucket with the old rock. So far I've caught a few pods and a 6" bristle worm. They're now happily residing in the refugium :D .

I'm taking pics so there will be a before and after thread with plenty of pics.

Sugar Magnolia
01/13/2006, 09:28 PM
Excellent!

Now about that acan...

:D

You've inspired me to give up my lazy reefer ways and pay attention to my neglected cube. Major coraline scraping/sucking cyano/ripping out hair algae tomorrow along with a hefty water change.

Agu
01/13/2006, 09:39 PM
You go girl :lol:

Funny thing is that I also have another 10 gallon, no sump, no fuge, no skimmer. It's been completely trouble free for three years. All it has is an AC 300, powerhead, and DSB........

Sugar Magnolia
01/13/2006, 10:00 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6495250#post6495250 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Agu

Funny thing is that I also have another 10 gallon, no sump, no fuge, no skimmer. It's been completely trouble free for three years. All it has is an AC 300, powerhead, and DSB........
THANK YOU!!! I never had a single problem with this cube until I decided I needed to add a sump/fuge rig to it. Nothing but problems ever since. I've since taken all that out and have gone back to simplicity. I just need to clean up the aftermath of the problems that stemmed from that. Simplicity is a beautiful thing.

Agu
01/14/2006, 11:31 AM
aarrggghhhh

The frogspawn that I was planning to frag today fell over last night on my fungia :( . Both are injured but it doesn't look terminal. Needless to say the frog got fragged and both pieces are mounted to larger rocks. With all that epoxy in the tank the skimmer is going crazy.

Think I might just let the tank sit for a couple of days for things to stabilize.