Donya's 55-Gallon

[Donya]

The light actually runs so cool that I was able to put my tank covers back on. Haven't had those on since my old 2xT5 fixture bit the dust! I've still got a fan on the tank just to make sure it doesn't stagnate in there (and just because I have it really...ordered the blasted thing just days before the T5 fixture died), but the ability to use covers again sure does open up stocking opens fish-wise, not to mention not having to poor in a half gallon or more of RO every day to keep the sg where it belongs.
 

 
 
Also been reading some stuff on the skimmers and such. It's got more things that concern me now than just the nutrient export options. Here's another red flag I didn't think about:
 
 

Before running to the liquor cabinet, the simple answer is overdosing can cause serious and detrimental effects to the reef system. To help circumvent this potential issue a dosing regimen along with some basic equipment is needed. The absolute must is the requirement for a powerful skimmer. People that have reported beneficial results using this method all have had strong skimmer and report a change in skimmate from a light brown to a strong odiferous black sludge. This makes a good skimmer a key requirement and important for two reasons:
 
1. Gas exchange. The increased bacterial biomass and growth will decrease your dissolved O2 levels in the water column. Too much vodka can result in a drastic decrease of O2 and can cause stress to your reef inhabitants, if not death.
 
2. Exporting bacteria/macromolecule mass. Vodka addition results in lower NO3 and PO4 levels. You will want to export the incorporated nitrogen and phosphates that you are cultivating by organic carbon dosing. Efficient skimming allows such removal.

 
(from http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/ )
 
I'm fully reliant on surface agitation and in-tank O2 production from photosynthesis for O2. I don't know how big a risk the bacterial blooms actually are though. It may be that they're less likely than macro bombs...or maybe they're like macro bombs not even that big of an issue if you have good surface agitation in place already (most ranks don't). Need to read more on that.
 

 

[gregswimm]

O2 has never been an issue for me, then again I have LOTS of surface movement in the DT and sump +  CPU fan running in the sump.  I have dossed as much as 5ml of vinegar with no issues.  I did dose vodka (in addition to the vinegar) for a bit, but my corals began to develop burnt tip so I stopped.  I always dose in the morning at lights on.  I should note that I don't use just vinegar.  I make a solution of vinegar and calcium hydroxide (roughly 5g calcium hydroxide with 1cup 5% vinegar and let it sit uncovered overnight in a glass jar).  Be careful, it will get hot.

 

[Donya]

then again I have LOTS of surface movement in the DT and sump +  CPU fan running in the sump.

If I had a sump I'd be a lot less paranoid about it. The extra surface area and volume just makes everything a lot safer.
 
 
 

 I did dose vodka (in addition to the vinegar) for a bit, but my corals began to develop burnt tip so I stopped.

 
Have you ever read a good explanation for that phenomenon? I've only read of the observation, never a good hypothesis though about why. 

 

[gregswimm]

 

 I did dose vodka (in addition to the vinegar) for a bit, but my corals began to develop burnt tip so I stopped.

 
Have you ever read a good explanation for that phenomenon? I've only read of the observation, never a good hypothesis though about why. 
 

No I haven't.  People say it will go away but I never cared to find out, It was too worrying.  It could be that because the tips contain younger polyps, they could be less resistant to impurities in the water.  I don't think vodka is something naturally encountered in the wild (I am still looking into the elusive northern vodka gyre from Russia lol) 
 

 

then again I have LOTS of surface movement in the DT and sump +  CPU fan running in the sump.

If I had a sump I'd be a lot less paranoid about it. The extra surface area and volume just makes everything a lot safer.
 

I wouldn't worry about it, if your filtration is as cryptic as you say the diatom population shouldn't have an opportunity to get to dangerous levels.

Also what model is that light fixture?

 

[Donya]

Got irregular sea urchins today!!!!!!!!!!! Pics soon.
 
 

 I don't think vodka is something naturally encountered in the wild

 
 
This is a good point

 
 

Also what model is that light fixture?

 
 
It's the 48" marine model of this one:
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25742
 
There are some detailed reviews of it on the web that make it sound like it's really dim compared to T5 fixtures, but I don't see that issue. It's not brighter than 4xT5, but seems comparable to me. It certainly looks better than the older 2xT5 I had. Some of the anemone/coral colors don't "pop" in quite the same way as my 4xT5 did with specialty bulbs, but that's about the only downside: no Tron tanks for neon color fanatics.
 
 

 

[Donya]

Sea tribbles. They help you to identify sea Klingons in disguise.
 

 
Maretia planulata maybe (not sand dollars, which are also irregulars). Photos done while in bucket because they will probably be gone under the sand straight away when they go in. What I have read of these says that they are scavengers and detritivores, sort of a diet like conches I guess. We'll see how accurate that is.

 

[gregswimm]

Those things are so cool.  I have looked all over for them, but never seen any for sale. Where did you find them?

Here is what reeflex says about them http/www.reeflex.net/tiere/1957_Maretia_planulata.htm
Get your translator tool ready, lots of German comments

 

[Donya]

Didn't get off to such a great start with these...the longspine attacked one last night. No idea what happened there so I'm moving them to another tank right now. It could be that one of them didn't ship well (they had literally just come in) and the longspine could smell it, or it could be that I stumbled into some predator/prey combo that isn't well-documented. The mauled one is still kicking but will need some rehab. The other one seems fine. 

 

[Donya]

Lost the mauled irregular urchin unfortunately. It was pretty torn up...really kicking myself that when I was deciding between my frag tank for them and this tank, I chose this one on the basis of the deeper sand bed. The mauled one survived long enough after the attack that I think I probably did an accidental predator/prey combo with the longspine. Anyway, the other irregular urchin that was untouched is doing great in my frag tank and eating little pellets that I put on the sand for it. Part of the issue I ran into is I thought they'd bury themselves in the 55gal's DSB and be out of harms way...but they do not! They only dig down about 1/4" and plow around at that depth, leaving their backs completely exposed the whole time. What I'd read on irregular urchins said they are diggers, which I guess they are in some sense, but this species at least only half digs.
 
 
Also, this little fishy has now been moved from the frag tank to the 55gal having established that he's a good eater:
 

 
Now that the tank is closed-top, it's not sufficient really to just have the one fan. It helps to have air going in, but the temperature will still rise very slowly over a few days if left closed up. The temperature control is totally stable though (and pH actually better too) with one fan pumping air in and one fan pulling air out. I rigged up the CPU fan I'd been using on the old T5 fixture to extract air near the HOB fuge. 
 
Air goes in:

 
Air goes out:

 

 

[gregswimm]

Sweet! Fire fish are very neat.  Are you going to get a group of them?

On your cooling system, have you considered have both fans exhaust?  You can move more air that way by creating an area of low pressure under the hood.  Thats how hydroponic rooms/tents are kept cool.

 

[Donya]

I might go for more. The LFS only had the one at the time and I also wanted to make sure that the damsel would behave with it, which it is, so the coast is clear for others. I'm also wondering about zebra dartfish. 
 
I did try it with just the one exhaust and no fan in; didn't work too well though. I can't flip the in-fan since the it would require serious invasive surgery to reverse the flow. I originally got it because I was having trouble getting air movement under the T5 fixture with it open-topped, which is what it's meant for really rather than what I'm using it for right now. If I need more pumping out as the summer ticks on, I'll have to rig up another CPU fan on the other side. 

 

[Donya]

Tried a second firefish. Ummmmm....I thought these were supposed to be timid fish?
1 firefish = more-or-less acts like a cardinal (hangs mid-water and ignores other fish).
2 firefish = instant marauding bullies looking for a fight?? What??
 
The two firefish were insta-buddies as soon as the new one went in and kept herding the damselfish around the tank in a weird passive-aggressive way. I thought maybe they were just looking for a better burrow. Then, after about a half hour (this happened while I was watching), the new firefish zipped over, bit the damsel right on its side, and didn't back down in the ensuing fight. The damsel kept nipping it and running away a few inches, but the firefish actually wouldn't let up on it and kept closing the gap to have another go at it (I was frantically looking for where I'd put the net at that point). Needless to say the new firefish is headed elsewhere for the moment. The original firefish is back to acting like a cardinal. Something does not seem right with this fish drama and does not match anything I've discussed with other reefers or read about firefish. 
 
Also, I think I mis-IDed the damsel if I ever put an ID for it here. As a youngster it was a spitting image of what I'd seen IDed as Amblyglyphidodon aureus, but the shape of the head and fins have both changed dramatically over time. That had me questioning the ID by December/January, but I couldn't find a better match then. For a long time it had a black dot on one side that I thought was just a scar or something. Finally though, a symmetrical black dot has showed up on its other side along with two smaller ones further up on the back, so I think it must be Pomocentrus sp. instead. Either the things I used to ID it to begin with were mis-IDed or the two species are very hard to tell apart at 1" short of perhaps counting fin rays and other stuff that is pretty hard to do on a moving animal. The only thing the fish has in common with its juvenile self is being bright yellow; the profile shape is totally different. 

 

[gregswimm]

Definitely a territorial thing going on.  The first fire fish has claimed territory and fish number 2 comes along and threatens it.  This is why when people stock mbuna/haplochromis tanks all the fish go in at the same time.  A rescape should mitigate the aggression.  That's what I have to do when I add something new to my Tanganyika biotope.  Their aggression may also work itself out with time.

 

[Donya]

The firefish were fine with each other though. They never showed aggression towards each other (perfect schooling actually) and instead decided to cooperatively bully the damsel. I was worried I'd have to remove both firefish after that, but the original one went back to being totally passive as soon as it was by itself. It could be that they wanted the damsel's territory, but it's still seems darned strange. A firefish vs. firefish fight would've made a lot more sense. After a lot of digging though I read a couple similarly bizarre reports of firefish aggression towards very different species of fish (one involved a clown I think), so maybe some individuals are just super aggressive more generally and not just within the species' social heirarchy. 

 

[Paradise3]

Hiya Donya, it's Paradise<3 - I can't log onto that account any more so have ended up creating a new one unfortunately. Cute Firefish