Dracko's 55g Reef

[Dracko]

I like the fact that I no longer worry about dead zones. Although I might if I had not had the algae breakout to begin with. I had tried to leave plenty of open spots for water flow, but was not sure. I could SEE the dead spots after the algae, because it could see it not moving the hairs. After putting in the wavemakers I can see much improved water movement in the way the "grass" waves. I really am glad I got them.

 

[Dracko]

Well, the tank is starting to look better. But my Yellow Tang is not. It is not eating, and just hides in one spot between the rocks. 4 days now. I am taking it out of the display and into the sick tank. I do not see any signs of disease at this time, other than weight loss. Hopefully it is just stress and will resolve itself. Any advice would help.

 

[Dracko]

Tang passed away. Got it into my hospital tank, but could not figure out what to do. Except for the fact that it stopped eating it showed no other signs. I believe it must have been sick for a while without any signs because it just got real skinny and weak, then died within 4 days. But my research on this showed that there are a variety of things it could have been. Anyway, I wont be replacing it until the tank looks really healthy again.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

sorry to hear

 

[rostervandross]

Im sorry to hear about your tang. I'm sure you were fond of him you've had him for a while.

I took home a small yellow tang this past weekend.. It had just been shipped in and had a small sore and i was going to try to save it and lost it overnight. At least I learned a lesson..

 

[Dracko]

I don't think I will chance having fish shipped to me. Shipping always seems to get mistreated around here. I have gotten my CUC that way. We just had a small mom & pop pet store open. Other than that, a small Petco. But the owner said he would order what I need and quarantine it for a while. But I need to clean up this tank first. Sorry to hear of your loss too. Lessons suck!

 

[Oxylebius]

Fish are similar to humans in that they can get all kinds of internal diseases, bacteria and fungus infections. Sometimes it is hard to determine what the issue is, therefore it is hard to treat. We can talk about our ailments therefore we can try to get well. But with fish, sometimes we just don't know.

 

[Pat24601]

How are things going?

 

[Oxylebius]

I like the fact that I no longer worry about dead zones. Although I might if I had not had the algae breakout to begin with. I had tried to leave plenty of open spots for water flow, but was not sure. I could SEE the dead spots after the algae, because it could see it not moving the hairs. After putting in the wavemakers I can see much improved water movement in the way the "grass" waves. I really am glad I got them.

I also love my wavemaker. An excellent additional item to add more random flow for all corals.

 

[Clint24]

Hello Dracko, Just caught up in ur thread here...how's the tank doin? Hopefully it all turned around for you & were able to replace the tang you suddenly lost.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dracko]

Thanks. The problem is that the problem was BAD. I cannot believe it got so bad so fast. The new water system is great, and the tank is clearing....slowly. The bad part is that I lost all my corals too (I really did not have that many, but...). My other fish are doing fine. Monetary problems have made it impossible to do anything but scrapings and water changes, but I am starting to see real progress. The rock is clearing up, and so it is not spreading to the glass as fast or as bad. I think it will be a few more months at this point (because I don't want to tear up the tank) before I think about replacing anything. First thing will be getting more snails. This year should be better money wise also. The surgeries and stuff cost me a lot last year, but I am getting caught up, and should be able to put more into it. I want better lighting also. This time I will work on the tank first and be more patient when it comes to stocking it.

 

[NickF]

You could think about getting a Tuxedo Urchin for the algae. I used to be replacing snails all the time until I got my tux, now I don't bother as he takes care of most of my algae.
Have you still got the Scooter Blenny, how is he doing?
How about some pics

 

[Dracko]

No, the Blenny died just after the Tang. He was so shy I did not think about not seeing him until it was too late. Will research the Tux though. Thanks. My digital camera also died over x-mas. I blame pix of the inlaws.

 

[Pat24601]

Sorry to hear things are not going well. Sounds like you are having a tough time all around.

 

[Oxylebius]

@Dracko
How are things going for you now? Has there been any change in the system for the better?

 

[Dracko]

Well, yes and no. My water system is fine now, and the algae is dying off. But slowly. There is now a lot more Coraline algae started, but even though I have done a lot of water changes, the progress is still going slow. I don't know if it is because of the tank size or what. Thinking about using a chemical remover, but not there yet. There is a new stuff called VIBRANT which is supposed to be safe for everything and work very quickly. And there are others too. But I don't like the idea of using them. The remaining fish are doing well. I try not to overfeed. My skimmer runs 24/7. Cup 1/2 fills every 3-4 days. Not sure what to do next. It has been several months and I would say I am half way there, but starting to run out of patients. Not giving up...just frustrated.

 

[Dracko]

My PPM meter still read my RO/DI as being in the 50s so today I took my water to be tested for whatever might be there. I was told the water has nothing in any way toxic. I was also told that with a RO/DI system I would never attain 0ppm unless I filter water before it is softened. He said that the softener uses salt to soften. That the RO/DI system would not remove all that salt. (?). Either way, he said that the water should be fine for a saltwater tank. He has installed several SW tank systems that did not test any better for quality, and has not gotten complaints. Has anyone ever heard of this, or have a comment?

 

[StirCrayzy]

Uh-huh. That is crap...
It is absolutely possible to attain zero ppm without a softener, using quality RODI components, of course.
Now if your on a well, I would say it is more efficient to run RODI after the softener, but still possible to run zero TDS. Plus changing filters more often.

 

[cracker]

I agree with Stir. So Your tds meter is reading 50? and The Guy told You it was Ok?
stir is right . If Your using well water, You may have to change out Your cartridges and RO membrane more often.But getting the tds down is very possible.

 

[Dracko]

OK. What I mean is that they said I should NOT let the water go to the softener first. [major re-routing for me] I am using city water...but it is not good. So I figured that the softener would remove some, and make my filters last longer. They are about 5 mo old, but they have only run enough through to do water changes and top ups for my 55g tank. Also....the DI filter is on top of the unit and so hangs horizontal. They said I should remove it and hang it beside vertically. Any thoughts?