Clownfish Chris
New Member
This is my second post to this sight. I have been active on Reef central for about a year and on MARSH a local Houston Forum for closer to six months under the same name.
I began reefing with a 10 gallon nano that I filled with saltwater, a piece of live rock, and a damsel- all on the first day. The damsel managed to live through the cycle and the additions of the other fish that were added. I didn't QT, I didn't use RODI Water, I floated the bag of water with new additions for 15 minutes to "acclimate" them.
It was only a month or two of loosing fish that I realized that my partial biology education did next to nothing for me to keep healthy happy fish. I upgraded to a 29gallon with an Odyssey MH/T5 fixture and a sump with chaeto and a skimmer. I returned the yellow tang I bought, purchased an RODI unit, and surprisingly my fish began surviving and coral began to grow.
I endured a tank crash when I rebuilt my sump using silicone that was not reef safe. That damsel survived. I broke down the tank and moved the inhabitants to a 120 at my office which was just at the end of the cycle. That tank crashed with an Ich infection and the AC going out on a Saturday in august. When I arrived Monday Morning, the temperature in the tank was 91. All that survived was that blue damsel and a couple of cleaner shrimp that were about a year old. I broke down the 120 and put the damsel and shrimp in a 10gal with a piece of live rock. The Damsel went carpet surfing days later.
In September of last year, I purchased a 84x24x24 with a star-fire front panel. I got an appropriate skimmer and LED fixture. I TTM and QT each fish. I use good water. I think about what I am doing and about what I want to do before doing it. I have done a ton of research. The only fish I have lost in the last 6 months was a Ruby red dragonette that I found in my filter sock.
Current inhabitants are:
2 Occ. Clowns
2 Perc. Clownfish
2 Fire Fish
1 Yellow Tang
1 Sailfin Tang
1 Naso Tang
1 Red Mandarin
2 Skunk Cleaners
1 Long-spine Urchin
Hermits and Snails
Picks to follow!
I began reefing with a 10 gallon nano that I filled with saltwater, a piece of live rock, and a damsel- all on the first day. The damsel managed to live through the cycle and the additions of the other fish that were added. I didn't QT, I didn't use RODI Water, I floated the bag of water with new additions for 15 minutes to "acclimate" them.
It was only a month or two of loosing fish that I realized that my partial biology education did next to nothing for me to keep healthy happy fish. I upgraded to a 29gallon with an Odyssey MH/T5 fixture and a sump with chaeto and a skimmer. I returned the yellow tang I bought, purchased an RODI unit, and surprisingly my fish began surviving and coral began to grow.
I endured a tank crash when I rebuilt my sump using silicone that was not reef safe. That damsel survived. I broke down the tank and moved the inhabitants to a 120 at my office which was just at the end of the cycle. That tank crashed with an Ich infection and the AC going out on a Saturday in august. When I arrived Monday Morning, the temperature in the tank was 91. All that survived was that blue damsel and a couple of cleaner shrimp that were about a year old. I broke down the 120 and put the damsel and shrimp in a 10gal with a piece of live rock. The Damsel went carpet surfing days later.
In September of last year, I purchased a 84x24x24 with a star-fire front panel. I got an appropriate skimmer and LED fixture. I TTM and QT each fish. I use good water. I think about what I am doing and about what I want to do before doing it. I have done a ton of research. The only fish I have lost in the last 6 months was a Ruby red dragonette that I found in my filter sock.
Current inhabitants are:
2 Occ. Clowns
2 Perc. Clownfish
2 Fire Fish
1 Yellow Tang
1 Sailfin Tang
1 Naso Tang
1 Red Mandarin
2 Skunk Cleaners
1 Long-spine Urchin
Hermits and Snails
Picks to follow!