Tropical Fish Forums

Pete Harcoff · Advisors Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Canada

Funny how things work out. This time last year I'd been planning a 120 gallon (then 200+ gallon) upgrade over my existing 56 gallon reef. Ended up shelving the plans due to the sheer logistics of it, although it still remains an idea when future time + money allows.

However, in the mean time I had a forced downgrade of my reef tank. It ended up springing a leak and deposited 10 gallons of saltwater through my carpet and into my basement. Fortunately, the carpet damage was very contained. By fluke of the way the floor was, most of it drained down an air intake and into the underfinished basement. Still, ended up being a royal PITA returning after a 10 hour day at the office and then cleaning up this mess until 1 AM. Oh well, such is life.

At any rate, my spare 20 gallon QT is now my main reef tank. I got rid of my SPS and went for an LPS/soft mix since I'm only using a single 65W bulb for now. I may go back to SPS and have left some room on top of the reef.

In a way, that tank disaster may be a blessing in disguise. I always did find it a pain to work on the prior 56 gallon tank, partially from the way I had it set up (no sump), but also given its size. A 20 gallon, in constrast makes for easier water changes and generally less hassle in cleaning.

I also set up the reef with a PVC/eggcrate support. The entire reef is elevated about 1.5 inches off the barebottom and also has support to keep it off the rear glass. There is sand (about 1 inch) but it only accounts for 1/2 to 2/3 of the total surface area. This way I hope to avoid debris build up.

Anyway, here's a less than ideal pic for now. I've still got some hair algae which exploded after the switchover. Probably a combination of die-off in the LR coupled with no skimming for a month. But I've added a skimmer (Tunze Nano 9002), which seems to be working decently for now.

FloridaBoy · Moderators Joined: 04 Jul 2004

I love a story with a happy ending... Laughing

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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

nes999 · Regulars Joined: 10 Mar 2009 Location: Peoria IL

good to hear something good happened after all. I do like the look of your 20 gal
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WHY doesn't my flying fish fly?

Pete Harcoff · Advisors Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Canada

Thank you both. Unfortunately, disaster has struck again it seems. Just this past week, two of my fish (royal gramma and a coral beauty) came down with what appeared to be ich. I started dosing some reef-safe anti-ich meds and both fish appeared to be doing okay.

Then today I wake up and discover the basslet dead and the coral beauty very pale and swimming lethargically. I dosed some broad-based anti-bacterial and anti-fungal meds as well, but when I came home from work the coral beauty was near-dead and I had to put her down. Sad

So that blows, two fish gone just like that in one day. I wonder if maybe the ich was a symptom of some underlying disease the two fish picked up somehow. Meanwhile, the clown is showing no signs of any disease *knocks wood and cross fingers*. I'm going to keep medicating the tank in the mean time just to be safe.

Now I'm thinking I'm going to add a UV to this setup. Losing fish like this sucks. Sad

FloridaBoy · Moderators Joined: 04 Jul 2004

Sorry to hear this. That's why my first rule of marine keeping is always to have two tanks, you need a hospital/quarantine tank so you can pull that clown out for proper treatment such as copper, and let the parasites starve in your display by running fallow for a month or so. Despite the marketing claims, in my opinion there is no such thing as a medication that will effectively exterminate an ich infestation and not kill or damage your inverts.
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

Pete Harcoff · Advisors Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Canada

Thanks for the support. I do have a QT tank but unforunately getting the fish out w/o tearing apart the reef is the bigger problem. I'm amazed at how quickly my basslet and coral beauty went, since they appeared to be healthy the previous day.

Unfortunately, my clown is showing some signs of disease now too. I notice one of his fins is a bit ragged and spotted a few small white dots around his gills. He's still swimming and active so my plan is to try to get him into quarantine and then use some stronger meds. I'm also going to try a full 50% water change this weekend and run the tank through the usual battery of tests. Although I suspect if it was a water problem then the other organisms would be affected too, but all inverts and corals appear healthy and normal.

FloridaBoy · Moderators Joined: 04 Jul 2004

Yes that's the problem with cryptocaryon; it not only infects the fish, it also infests the entire tank. Your system is no doubt loaded with these parasites, which results in wave after wave of free-swimming tomites which are exploding out of your substrate and live rock. The infected fish can be saved with copper and/or properly administered fresh water dip. Let me know if you need more info on this. The other option would be to take it to the LFS if they have a hospital tank running with copper you could leave it there for 3 or 4 weeks but be sure and call them before you show up with sick fish. Best wishes for your success...
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

Pete Harcoff · Advisors Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Canada

Turns out it isn't ich, but velvet. I misdiagnosed things earlier probably because with my coral beauty and basslets dark colouring, the visible symptoms weren't really visible. But with my clownfish, I noticed the slip reddish patches on his white stripes.

I did get my clownfish out and am using a malachite green-based treatment. I don't have any copper treatments on hand, unfortunately, but I will be picking some up after this.

Unfortunately, I think my clown is at an advanced stage by the time I got him out. Hopefully he pulls through...

FloridaBoy · Moderators Joined: 04 Jul 2004

Ahhh yes, Amyloodinium... the second big killer.
Pete, keep in mind copper does not always completely resolve Amyloodinium, and to my knowledge no medications on the market have proven to be a silver bullet on this. I have seen situations where this was VERY hard to eliminate and required the entire system to be broken down and bleached. You can kill it with starvation (run your tank fallow without fish for a couple months) but be VERY cautious when you add another fish because this stuff tends to linger a long time. Please see Fenner's notes here regarding curing infested systems:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/amylloodiniumart.htm
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Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

Muskwit · Members Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: Devon, UK

Hi,

I hope your fish recover - a real shame - I'm sure they are in good hands.

It is a real stunning looking tank - very impressive. I hope I will be able to have a marine tank that looks like yours one day, but I am still compiling my shopping list & saving money to buy the gear Very Happy

- So much gear to choose from Confused

Muskwit.
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May the fish be with you!