Reef Central Online Community

Home Forum Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences View New Posts View Today's Posts

Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Reefkeeping ...an online magazine for marine aquarists Support our sponsors and mention Reef Central

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > General Interest Forums > Reef Discussion

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #101  
Old 01/30/2006, 09:49 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Sorry about the lack of pics. I overran my webserver and I need to keep off of it until next month. I started a thread in my local aquarium club forum addressing my acro that looks sick. Take a look.


http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...76#post6627676
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #102  
Old 02/05/2006, 03:56 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Well here are the long-awaited pics:

A sponge that fell off of my zoo colony.


This coral died. I am still trying to find out the cause of death, but it is gonna take a while.


My Spill Detection System (it really is just two wires that beep when connected by water)






__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #103  
Old 02/05/2006, 09:06 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Any I.D's on the sponge?
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #104  
Old 02/06/2006, 10:56 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Update: my frag of the acro colony just died also
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #105  
Old 02/06/2006, 11:08 PM
tkeracer619 tkeracer619 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Golden, CO
Posts: 3,200
water params?
__________________
______________________________
Colorado is sweet.
I'm always down to go to the MJ
My Turbo Honda -> Click little red house.
Friends don't let friends buy from Front Range Aquatics
  #106  
Old 02/07/2006, 06:05 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Nitrate: 15ppm
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Phosphate: (don't have test kit)
pH: 8.3
Temp: 78-80 degrees
Alkalinity: 15dkh (I don't think the test kit worked, getting it tested again)

I have a link to the thread in the first post on this page. It has many explanations that we have been exploring as to the cause of it's death.
The main reasons are:
Stress - recently taken out of Jose's tank with not too much care
Shock - alkalinity change
Maybe nitrates
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #107  
Old 02/07/2006, 07:16 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
The water parameters should be very good, since I have noticed significant growth in the birdsnest and the small purple/blue acro.
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #108  
Old 02/08/2006, 05:58 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Another update: one of the heads on the tooth coral is starting to regrow after an accident. It seems like it will be back to normal in about 2 weeks.
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #109  
Old 02/09/2006, 07:04 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Quick question: if I place the caulerpa algae behind the RBTA, will the stinging from the anemone kill it, damage it, or do absolutely nothing?
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #110  
Old 02/09/2006, 07:22 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
More Pictures

These few pictures are of me feeding my RBTA. It is very interesting to see it eat, so I thought that I would share:









Rippling Water


Tooth Coral restoring (in back)


My Room Glows Blue at Night


Dead Coral
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #111  
Old 02/11/2006, 03:32 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
New Coral and Chaeto

I just got some free stuff from Naperville Reef. I got a nice patch of xenia and a fistfull of chaeto. The chaeto should bring down my nitrates. Pics will be up soon.
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #112  
Old 02/26/2006, 04:04 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Pictures:
Image hosting by Photobucket
Image hosting by Photobucket
Image hosting by Photobucket
Image hosting by Photobucket
Image hosting by Photobucket
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #113  
Old 02/26/2006, 04:05 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
I have some weird type of algae growing on the back glass that is only visible in pictures, but is very hard to see in person. It is very thin, slimy, and dark green. What is it?
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #114  
Old 02/26/2006, 05:17 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Bump
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #115  
Old 02/26/2006, 05:37 PM
Peabody Peabody is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 2,733
Cause of death on those corals: Poor water quality/excess nutrients. Take it from someone who once had a tank that looked like yours

You need to be carefull...you should not have that much nuscience algae in your tank at all, and the excessive growth of the macro is a sign of excess nutrients as well. The cyano on the sand and the back glass isn't good. IMO and IME you have added way too much to the tank too fast and not tested for all the necessary things. (GOOD quality test kits should be used as well...Salifert being the choice around here it seems). SLow down, get a skimmer, only use RODI, and get all your parameters into check. Even then, I still fear the macro will completely take over your tank in less than a year. It happened to me on a very old tank years back.

I use algae as a sign of health for my tank. I scrape the front glass of my tank every 2-3 weeks and even then it's only a pale green film. The sand is pure white and there's no algea on the rocks. If any of that changes then I have a spike in my nutrients to attend to.
  #116  
Old 02/26/2006, 05:51 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
If you looked at the start date of this thread, you would notice that this tank has been running for 4 months before I added corals. Before that, the tank was used as a fish only tank for nearly a year. I would definately think that I am taking this slowly (maybe too slow )

As for test kits, I have Nitrate, Nitrite, pH, Ammonia, Salinity, Calcium, and Alkalinity. The only important test kit that I don't have is Phosphate. Me and my local reefers found out that it was the shock of the transition that killed the coral, mainly the change in Alkalinity (Mine is high, and I am working to get it down).

As for water quality; Yes, it could be better. The nitrates are high, and I added some chaeto to my sump to help. If you know of any other way to get rid of them, please chime in. . I am using RODI water, and I am planning on getting a skimmer, but I need some cash. Right now I am using RODI water from my grocery store, but I am planning on buying a machine soon.
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #117  
Old 02/26/2006, 05:54 PM
Peabody Peabody is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 2,733
Yes, I looked at the start date of the thread. But if there are nutrient problems, and there are, one should not add any livestock more livestock. If can lead to more nutrients and more problems! Take it from a guy who made those mistakes on my first tank

Do you use RODI? Do you run a skimmer?
  #118  
Old 02/26/2006, 05:56 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
I just edited the post above to answer those, sorry. Yes and No. I would run a skimmer if I had the cash.
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #119  
Old 02/26/2006, 05:58 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Would you recommend more water changes? A guide online told me to avoid excessive water changes to get my alkality down, while dosing calcium. What is more important. Maintaining alkalinity or nitrates?
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #120  
Old 02/26/2006, 05:59 PM
Peabody Peabody is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 2,733
My friendly advise: Save every penny you have and get a good quality skimmer before you buy anything else livstock or not. Look at the smallest EuroReef or ASM. For $200 it would do wonders for your reef. Also consider a phosban reactor. (most phosphate kits don't read accurately enough)

Another piece of advise. Beware commercial RO/DI water. Unless you have tested it with a TDS unit, I wouldn't trust it. I remember a guy on here who tested the "RO/DI" water from his local healthfood store and it was like 170ppm! Some places do notmaintain their units.
  #121  
Old 02/26/2006, 06:01 PM
Peabody Peabody is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 2,733
I personally do 15% weekly. But more frequently is possible as well. If you have high or low anything that needs fixed, water changes are wonderful. Anthony Calfo says "The solution to pollution is dilution" and I agree with him.

Choise of ALK or nitrates? I don't understand. A water change could help lower both! What is your CA level? (And what brand test kits are you using)
  #122  
Old 02/26/2006, 11:45 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
$200 for a skimmer is way too much for me. I am just a high school student with a minimum wage job. I want a good skimmer for ~$100. Is there such a thing?

Naperville Reef gave me this link, http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm , and it seemed very informative on alkalinity issues. My alkalinity is 6.25 meq/L or about 17.5 dkh with the test kit I bought, and only a little lower with Naperville Reef's Salifert test kit. Because my calcium is 400ppm and my alkalinity is way high, that would place me in section 3 (shown below).



The advice that it has is "I would advise correcting this problem by adding a calcium chloride supplement until you have moved into the target zone" and "move into zone 1, and then just let it drop on its own". I am still doing regular water changes, but he never said that extra changes would help.
BTW- thanks for helping me out with all of this[IMG]
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
  #123  
Old 02/27/2006, 12:12 AM
gfk gfk is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Benicia, CA
Posts: 1,489
buy an aqua C remora then you can get one for like 120

you need a skimmer for those sps and the anenome, they need prestine water condition.

listen to the advice you get, theyre not trying to get you to waste youre money, theyre trying to save you from spending money on corals and having them die.

go back and read your posts. youre asking why stuff is dying and why there is algae... people are telling you how to fix the problems and youre dodging their answers and wanting to add additives.

just what i noticed anyways, wasnt trying to flame you
  #124  
Old 02/27/2006, 10:30 AM
Peabody Peabody is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 2,733
Exactly. I 100% agree with gfk.

And adding calcium is a redicuous way to get the ALK down. It's been weeks and weeks and it hasn't gone down. In fact, 17.5 is deadly high. Sounds like the store is giving you poor advice!

If $200 is too much for a good skimmer for you, then you chose the wrong hobby. If you're not able or willing to spend what is necessary for the health and wellbeing of your animals then you're just asking for trouble. I'm willing to bet you have spend WAY more than that on rock and livestock alone already. There is no such thing as a good $100 skimmer. You can get a used Aqua C for around $125, but a $200 ER is 5 times better.
  #125  
Old 02/27/2006, 04:20 PM
TheCoralReef731 TheCoralReef731 is offline
The Clown of the Fish
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 909
Did you read the article? Alkalinity and calcium are related in many ways, and often when you deal with one, you may also affect the other. 17.5 DKH is the reading that my test kit read, but ~16 DKH is the reading Naperville Reef (a member on this board, not a store) gave me with his salifert test kit. I trust him (since he gave me free chaeto and xenia ), and he doesn't seem like a LFS manager. FYI, I don't trust ANY lfs around me. I mainly trust people on this board.

I will attempt to get a used EuroReef or ASM skimmer from someone in my club. I have been very wise with my money so far, and have gotten good deals on great stuff, so hopefully my tactics with work with the skimmer as well.

I tested my Nitrates last night, and I got around 7ppm, so my thoughts are that the chaeto helped.

gfk + Peabody - I am taking your advice. Sorry if I sound very disagreeable, but it is hard to tell with just words.
__________________
GO BEARS!!! GO CUBS!!!

"Sometimes if you do the job badly enough, you won't get asked to do it again" - Calvin and Hobbes
 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:05 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef Central™ Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2009