Saltn00b's Multi-Phase Upgrade Diary!

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
AZ - im not 100% sure of what you mean by washed out. i think you are saying everything is whiter, well that is really a function of the camera quality / settings and the bulbs being un obstructed , affecting the white balance. your own reef is supposed to look like what feels good for you. meaning how blue or white or yellow even the light is in general, as long as the Kelvins are the right spectrum for the corals. and generally, as long as those things are watched, the brighter, the better. so far, very happy with the colors and in person it is not 'washed out' IMO. when i have some time i will playt with the camera and see if i can get better, more realistic pics. hope that answers your Q's ?
Yes, you answered my question, thanks!

 

[saltn00b]

the tank is heating up!
yesterday it got up to 84.5 , i need some fans to blow onto my fuge, all my old fans are on the old canopy, and require the ballast to run.
does anyone have any suggestions for clip on and plug in (non battery) fans???
and where to get em?

 

[wangotango]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
does anyone have any suggestions for clip on and plug in (non battery) fans???
and where to get em?
id put maybe one in the canopy and one over the sump. you could probably get them at walmart or target.
-Justin

 

[saltn00b]

there is no canopy yet, but when it is built i will pop probably two in there.
you have a picture of a good one to use over the sump?

 

[theappe]

damn that is a crazy light set up!!

 

[saltn00b]

thanks!

 

[azaintcold]

Looking good

 

[saltn00b]

a live stock problem: The Anthias' Last Laugh
well the damn damn DAMNED Pink Square anthias that has --- changed on me, and become the not as pretty, not what i purchased female, that has killed me oldest fish by chasing him out of the tank, my old yellow coris wrasse. This fish that killed 2 purple firefish by chasing it into hiding so it wouldnt come out to eat, this fish that is supposed to be a great community reef tank fish that tries to scare all but 2 of my other fish into hiding. And has now taken so much interest in my new 70 dollar Exquisite wrasse that chases her at any moment, and has her swimming at the surface.
IS CAUGHT. I have had enough.

but alas, the cursed devil fish has caused so much stress into the new addition that 24 hours later, the true harm that was done becomes evident.
The Anthias' Last Laugh was aparent as the Exquisite Wrasse has manifested Ick last night.

I am partly to blame for this, i know. i did not Hypo a fish that from my experience had such a great immune system that i believed cases of ick were very unlikely to occur. The misjudgement is clear now. And the lesson learned that is that there are so many types of wrasse, and if Coris have great immune systems, that doesnt mean that fairy wrasses are equally as strong.
anyway, it has been about 36 hours without the stress-causing fish in the DT. She resides in a covered 5g bucket with a PH as my CBBF is still in the QT, coming OUT of HYPO TODAY!!!! ><
i think i will let this ride and see if the wrasse can heal herself from this situation with no stress except the occasional 'chase out of anenome range' of the GSM. everything is so much calmer in the tank now and comes out more. they ALL wanted her gone and i KNOW it. BITCH from day one. The wrasse only has about 5 visible trophonts. yes this is only the first wave, but maybe she will clear it before succumbing to successive attack waves.
If it gets worse i dont really know what i can do. The wrasse was easiest caught in my little trap, but i have a few problems:
a) ICK is now in my system.
b) i will never catch the Coral beauty and black cap basslet. maybe over weeks, but by then it would be too late for the wrasse. does diamond gobies and neon blue gobies count with Ick? they are not catchable , period.
c)my CBBF is just out of Hypo and has been cooped up in the QT (29Tall) for 4 weeks already.
D)if by some magical way i was able to catch all my fish, i dont think the situation would be better keeping a CBBF, CB angel, BC basslet, Exquisite wrasse, 2 blue neon gobies, diamond goby, and one MEAN GSM clown in a 29 T tank for 6 weeks.
E) even tho i am trying to trade the PS anthias, it still is in a 5g bucket!
however, i do have a super large rubbermaid bucket that was used to transport the fish. this might work.

 

[kayak385]

what was the trap that you used? just a regular fish trap or home design?

 

[saltn00b]

clear 2L bottle. cut off the top and cut the spout off the top with a whole about the size of the fish you want to catch. Invert and place in tank. I put the mag float in there and suspended it near the fish's favorite spot. the mag float kept the bottle in place, and allowed me to rotate it if that was needed, and bring the bottle to the surface if something was caught in it. only food in the tank goes in the bottle. small fish may enter it first and usually find there way out. bigger fish have tougher times trying to get out.

 

[kayak385]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
clear 2L bottle. cut off the top and cut the spout off the top with a whole about the size of the fish you want to catch. Invert and place in tank. I put the mag float in there and suspended it near the fish's favorite spot. the mag float kept the bottle in place, and allowed me to rotate it if that was needed, and bring the bottle to the surface if something was caught in it. only food in the tank goes in the bottle. small fish may enter it first and usually find there way out. bigger fish have tougher times trying to get out.
that's brilliant! :joy:

 

[saltn00b]

i dont want to speak too soon, but it seems as tho the ick scare has passed. i guess i caught that fish in the Nick of time.
The CBBF should be going in the tank tommorrow!

 

[isistius]

phew!!

 

[kevin34]

Have you finished your new canopy yet for your constellation fixture? I am in desperate need of a canopy idea. I realized my other idea will not work because the lights will be too high off the water.

 

[isistius]

we gonna be working on the canopy this weekend. hopefully saltnoob will at least have some preliminary sketches done.

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
i dont want to speak too soon, but it seems as tho the ick scare has passed. i guess i caught that fish in the Nick of time.
The CBBF should be going in the tank tommorrow!
I have not had experience with ich in saltwater, but I have in my freshwater tank.

If you no longer see spots it's ONLY because the ich parasite is in it's swimming stage and will rear it's ugly head again. The life cycle of ich is around 3 weeks, so that would be the time I would breath a sigh of relief. But even then, ich could still be in your tank and they are notorius for being in the fishes gills, so you can't see them. This is why I QT for at least 3 weeks before adding anything to my DT. And here I was thinking maybe I'm over reacting. Thanks for shaking me back into reality. Good luck, I hope it all works out. And congrats on catching that anthias.

 

[wangotango]

Originally Posted by Kevin34
Have you finished your new canopy yet for your constellation fixture? I am in desperate need of a canopy idea. I realized my other idea will not work because the lights will be too high off the water.
kevin: the doors on my canopy are right level with my lighting fixture, and i just slide the lights back when i need to work in the tank. mine still needs one more coat of stain, and i need to trim one of the stained glass panels and then it'll be done. hopefully by this weekend.
its coming along good saltn00b

.
-Justin

 

[saltn00b]

thanks guys, yea we are scheduled to meet a cabinet guy tomorrow. we are gonna show him the sketches from the bottom of page 3 i believe is where they are located.
Az - thanks for the input. i have had ick twice before in my DT about 2 years ago, that never came back again, even tho i never ran fishless. still no signs of ich after 1.5 days, so im beginning to think that it was not ich, and maybe just sand or other particles. if it was ich, it was only the wrasse because of the stress it was enduring, and that stessor has been removed for 3 days now. everything is looking good now.
btw SW ick is a totally different ballgame then FW. I understand i am taking a risk here, but it is one i am willing to take for now.

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
btw SW ick is a totally different ballgame then FW. I understand i am taking a risk here, but it is one i am willing to take for now.
Well, like you said you don't have many options since catching all your fish is near impossible. And you are right, my freshwater tank is real easy to treat, though it takes a while to get rid of it (and last time not without casualties

), but I would completely freak if I saw ick in my saltwater tank. :scared: I just pray I never run into that.
So did you find a home for your Anthias. I don't want it, but was just curious where the little devil went.

 

[saltn00b]

lol thanks for the interest, and yes you dont want to see it in your SW tank, but the time may come, hopefully not tho especially with your good practices. it is not the end of the world.
a local guy might be trading me some Mint Green GSP and some Cabbage Leathers for it. i guess its better than nothing. tonight, the CBBF transfers to the DT, and the Anthias Transfers out of the 5g bucket to the QT tank.