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300 Gallon Disaster Reboot


Sascha D.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey everyone, 

I hope that you all had a great holiday. Mine was nice and quiet, a little too quiet! I guess I've been busy so long that it doesn't seem normal to have down time. I'll have to admit that Black Friday and Cyber Monday were disappointing this year. I normally wait months for the discounts and I didn't see anything special this time. Where's the grandness of the holidays?  Thanksgiving is all about excess and these companies run 15% off sales routinely. Sadly, I didn't buy anything fancy or exciting. I found a 50% off deal on salt mix and bought a year's supply. I also got some routine items, like RODI filters and Hanna reagent. 

A strange thing happened with my fish over the holidays. I don't know if it's the new lights or the fact that we were home all day, but several fish jumped out of the aquarium. I've had some of these fish for years and it's strange behavior. I ended up losing my prized Dusky Wrasse, a Cleaner Wrasse that ate everything, the new Blonde Naso Tang, and Convict Tang. I guess I'll have to work on covering the back of the canopy after reworking the return and drain lines.  Disappointment doesn't even begin to describe it. 

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23 hours ago, Dominican said:

Really sorry to hear it. So many! Any chance there was electrical leaching with the new setup somehow?

Definitely possible. I haven't added any new equipment, but a pump or something could have shorted out. I don't get shocked when I put my hands in the tank, but I haven't tested it. From what I've read in the past, every piece of equipment touching the water leeches a small current in the aquarium. Any idea how much is too much?

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  • 2 weeks later...
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  • 1 month later...

LiveAquaria is having a 20% off flash sale and, as I was filling my cart with shiny things, it unceremoniously struck me that I don't really need anything. I'm also not willing to take the same risks as I was last year when everything was starting to recover from the flatworm crash.  Now every new addition has a small chance to destroy everything that I've worked towards. The whole premise of this hobby is wanting more than you have; to create something special. Is it ever enough? Do we ever have enough corals or fish to just stop and enjoy the harmony for the short time that it lasts? I'm going to empty my cart and really assess what I need moving forward. At some point you have to stop building and just enjoy the results. 

Fish - I'd like to replace the ones that jumped out over the holiday and finish my stocking list, but I'm really happy with what I have. Still, I wouldn't mind adding some of my favorites.

  • Blonde Naso Tang
  • Melanurus Wrasse
  • Would also consider adding 1-2 Yellow Tangs, Convict Tang, Desjardini Sailfin, Cleaner Wrasse, Dusky Wrasse or an Ornate Wrasse

Corals - I have 5-7 spots to fill before letting everything grow out. At least two of them need to be stags to help fill some of the vertical space that I've left for coral growth. Would also like 1-2 tabling acros or plating montis. My current stock has some of every color, but more green and purple than others. Below are some of the species that I'm considering right now. 

  • Ultra Gold Torch
  • Branching Acros: Cali Tort, Strawberry Shortcake, Desalwii, Pink Milli  (Love this one and wouldn't mind propagating another colony.)
  • Tabling Acros: Ultimate Efflo, PC Superman
  • Stags: Red Robin, Paletta Blue, Paletta Pink Tip, Green Slimer (I already have this coral and I wouldn't mind propagating it to another colony.)
  • Montis: I already have Idaho Grape, Reef Raft Nauti Spiral, Rainbow, Setosa, Jedi Mindtrick, Mystic Sunset, Yellow Lantana and True Undata. Maybe add a Green Apple, Candy Red, Grafted Cap or Chili Pepper?
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A local hobbyist was downsizing and didn't have room for this beautiful wrasse and clownfish pair. They needed a place to live and I was looking for some roommates, so it seemed like a good idea! They're in the observation chamber just to make sure the PBT won't mess with them. So far he hasn't even blinked an eye. If everyone remains chill then I'll let the fish out in a couple of hours. 

 

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FTS from the left side. Still a handful of corals that I'd like to clear from the sand bed and several colonies that need to be cut back. I can tell shading is going to be an issue in a few places.

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Emperor Angelfish has been changing into adult coloration for the last two months. So exciting!

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Regal Angelfish is such a camera hog.

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Superman Rhodactus getting their color back. I was going to remove this coral, but I'm starting to like it!

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This Gold tip hammer has been getting randomly relocated by my fish and I finally attached it to rock near my other Euphyllia. It must be happy because I've never seen it so open.  

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President's Day is coming! What once honored George Washington's birthday, now honors incumbent and past presidents. Depressing right? Luckily, greedy corporate moguls have found a way to commercialize every day of the year! Yes, I know that I'm falling right into their trap, but it's okay if "the man" thinks they got me because I haven't bought anything since Black Friday! Someone give me a mic so I can drop it.

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It's crazy how much fish can eat! It turns out my last yearly supply of frozen food was just enough to last...a year. I had to go all the way back to page 4 to find the post :D.  LiveAquaria is having a 20% off sale on food and supplies today, which seems like a perfect time to get an order in. Selcon and Vitachem have become a staple part of my feeding regiment and I'll be adding some Garlic Guard this year to help boost the immunity of my Powder Blue Tang and Blonde Naso Tang. I normally use San Francisco Bay and Ocean Nutrient products, but I'll be trying Hikari this year. The Hikari products have ingredients that are more tailored towards the natural fare of angelfish in the wild, including: sponge, sea algae, sea urchin, sea worms, plankton, krill, shrimp, clam, mussel, squid,  spirulina and vitamins for health and color.  The idea is that these foods coupled with the vitamins and additives will help the angelfish develop as they change into the adult coloration. I'm also increasing the amount of plankton to help the anthias maintain weight. 

I know what you're thinking, why don't you buy fish food locally? The truth is that I would prefer to buy it locally even though the price online is at a 35% discount. Buying online means that you have to buy in bulk and that comes with it's own set of risks. What if the fish don't like the food or power failure causes it to spoil? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to rely on local fish stores having the products I need and often have to drive to multiple locations just to spend $12 a month. In addition to food, I also need frag plugs and a new magnet scraper. I think that I've decided on the Flipper Max because of the large surface area and larger magnet. They're not on sale right now, but I'll keep an eye out for them. 

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I like that magnet. I have 1” thick glass and it’s strong enough to go through it. I saw a post from Rory about doing a frozen food bulk buy and getting free (or splitting) shipping. I’m not sure of the details tho. He may have already done it.


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20 minutes ago, Christyef said:

I like that magnet. I have 1” thick glass and it’s strong enough to go through it. I saw a post from Rory about doing a frozen food bulk buy and getting free (or splitting) shipping. I’m not sure of the details tho. He may have already done it.

I'm not aware of any vendors doing free shipping on frozen food. Let me know if you find one! LiveAquaria and Drs. Foster and Smith have a flat shipping rate of $19.99. This is my second year ordering an annual supply and both orders were 20 packages. Last year the box was big enough for 60-100 packages, so you could definitely do a group order. Each package had a final cost of $3.89 after shipping, tax, and the 20% off discount. That's a 35% off discount compared to $5.99 in the store. Again, I would order online even if it were the same price. Last year I had to go to three stores just to get mysis! Any store selling live fish should have mysis, at a minimum, without a doubt, even if every shelf is empty. 

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These pictures are from 2-10-19. I was on the fence about using biopellets and let the media go down a little too much as I was mulling over removing the reactor. Adding the new media made the skimmer go crazy for a week and a little cyano sprouted while I was trying to get it under control. Who would have thought 1/4 cup in 300 gallons would be so disruptive? I've decided to sell the green wall hammer and Glitter Favia to free up some room in the sand. I'll add them to my existing sale post to cut down on the spam! The Tyree Pastel Favia has been on the decline since I added the Radion fixtures and I'll give that one away to the next person that buys corals from me. 

Left front view

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Center front view

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Right front view

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19 minutes ago, Christyef said:

I just lost my wall hammer to bjd. I’d like it. Where’s the sale thread?

Oh man, sorry to hear that. I love Euphyllias, they're my favorite! The problem is that I also love wrasses and they bury corals on the sand. Here's the ARC sales thread if you're interested. I have one person coming by today and whatever is left will get posted to Facebook later. I need to fix a toilet and the refrigerator today, so we'll see if I have time. :lol:

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