VAreef
Reefing newb
I haven't been very active this week with work and aquarium maintenance but I think I can say I have graduated from a "complete newbie" to "know enough to be dangerous".
My tank is doing great for corals. I just added a beautiful rock covered with some really nice green hairy mushrooms, some button polyps, and some really cool neon green things that I can't pronounce much less spell (they are very cool and once they completely open I'll post pics). The corals are doing awesome and I think(it may be my imagination) that some are actually getting bigger and growing.
I did however add a hippo tang that rapidly contracted mass amounts of ich and got stuck to the powerhead I so carefully protected him from. So basically, no more fish for me until I get a quaranteen set up. I am not going to let another one of them die and thats probably my favorite fish.
So basically my plans now are to get the chromis I have in there out and let the tank sit for 6 weeks with no fish while I set up a quarantine tank for adding fish or corals and quarantine everything that goes in there.
So far this week I think everything is going pretty well though. My calcium is up to 360 and ammonia, nitrites, and even nitrates are at ZERO! Alk and pH are also still good and in the "buffer" range. I did find out tonight that my hydrometer sucks and when I thought I was 1.023-1.024 salinity I was actually 1.026-1.027. I'll be getting back up readings of salinity a lot more now. Poor Hippo got salted to much.
So basiclly this is just a hey from VA beach and thanks to everyone for all their help as it is really paying off for me.
Current tank is:
Hairy mushrooms
Some cool red mushroom hitchhickers
A colt? or finger leather that is really neat
Some Zoanthids
some button polyps
4 Reef chromis
Cleanup crew
And one RIP hippo tang.....
My tank is doing great for corals. I just added a beautiful rock covered with some really nice green hairy mushrooms, some button polyps, and some really cool neon green things that I can't pronounce much less spell (they are very cool and once they completely open I'll post pics). The corals are doing awesome and I think(it may be my imagination) that some are actually getting bigger and growing.
I did however add a hippo tang that rapidly contracted mass amounts of ich and got stuck to the powerhead I so carefully protected him from. So basically, no more fish for me until I get a quaranteen set up. I am not going to let another one of them die and thats probably my favorite fish.
So basically my plans now are to get the chromis I have in there out and let the tank sit for 6 weeks with no fish while I set up a quarantine tank for adding fish or corals and quarantine everything that goes in there.
So far this week I think everything is going pretty well though. My calcium is up to 360 and ammonia, nitrites, and even nitrates are at ZERO! Alk and pH are also still good and in the "buffer" range. I did find out tonight that my hydrometer sucks and when I thought I was 1.023-1.024 salinity I was actually 1.026-1.027. I'll be getting back up readings of salinity a lot more now. Poor Hippo got salted to much.
So basiclly this is just a hey from VA beach and thanks to everyone for all their help as it is really paying off for me.
Current tank is:
Hairy mushrooms
Some cool red mushroom hitchhickers
A colt? or finger leather that is really neat
Some Zoanthids
some button polyps
4 Reef chromis
Cleanup crew
And one RIP hippo tang.....