TGunn's First 37g in the Bay Area

[tygunn]

MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!
I thought I was a HORRIBLE fishkeeper because today one of my clowns went missing. I searched high and low in the tank looking for a skeleton.

I tried peering in behind to the intergrated sump. I love the fact there is paint covering the sides but I can't really see in. So I took out a razor and removed all the paint.
Low and behold look who I found:

Yes, thats my yellow goby, chilling out in the sump.

And who else did I find on the other side?

Yup, the other clown. Both are eating well. I need to figure out a rescue plan. I'll also have to build an eggcrate guard to prevent them from going back there. Even though there is only about 1" of space it seems to be enough. Sheesh.

 

[aqua-nut]

Great you found them!

They look small. Will eggcrate have small enough holes?

 

[denzil]

You may have to use mesh netting to keep them out.

 

[tygunn]

I actually added craft-screen (small holes) to the eggcrate to make sure the goby wouldn't make it back to the sump. Despite having what I thought was an IMPENETRABLE barrier to the sump area, the darn goby is back there again. So I'm guessing he must have gone through the overflow teeth!!!!

I'm going to have to get some acrylic and build a better system of barriers. I'll have to put some craft screen over the overflow teeth too. Sheesh!

 

[Geneva]

So happy you found your fishies!! They are Houdinis - good luck in keeping them where they're supposed to be!!

 

[tygunn]

So happy you found your fishies!! They are Houdinis - good luck in keeping them where they're supposed to be!!

I feel bad though - I pretty much have to put them in "Fishie super-max prison"... . Haha

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[rygh]

Craft screen holes are pretty tight. If there is any light at all, algae will fill those up quick.
(That is what I use for an algae scrubber screen)

PVC plastic gutter mesh works for me.

 

[tygunn]

Wow I haven't posted an update in a while. Haha.

I'll have to post a few pics.

Things are coming along well. Today I rescued the yellow goby from the sump yet again and hours later one of the clowns was back there. Haha. Man these fish are driving me nuts.



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[tygunn]

Okay, time for an update.

First a FTS:

And a shide shot:

Avleopora; a tiny frag but I liked it. Not such a focused pic but oh well:

Ricordea:

Frogspawn:

Blurry-cam shot of a couple small little corals on the Florida rock:

I think this macroalgae is Halimeda, a calcerous algae. I like the look of it so I'm going to let a little clump grow:

Ah, GSP, what tank would be complete without it:

The GSP plug is on an isolated rock that I call "copepod isle", because there is a massive population of 'pods living underneath it.

FINALLY a good pic of the yellow goby!!

So far things are going great. I'm LOVING the florida liverock as its matured. This is my favorite smaller tank so far because of the large variety of life in it. I love looking at pods, watching little baby snails crawl by, and creepy worms emerge looking for scraps.

I definitely need to get some more corals in here and probably a couple more fish. My only dissapointment with my fish is that the clowns generally wobble around in the top left corner of the tank, and the yellow goby just sits perched on the bottom. So its not exactly a dynamic tank in that regards. Not sure what other fish would be well suited for this tank.

 

[Geneva]

Glad to see you back - great pictures! No more fishies in the sump?! Your goby doesn't spend the day sifting sand? How odd!

 

[tygunn]

Glad to see you back - great pictures! No more fishies in the sump?! Your goby doesn't spend the day sifting sand? How odd!

I can't believe the summer has went by so quickly! We had so much going on I can't believe it's already into August!

Nope, no more fishies hanging out the in sump. I think I finally got the right combination of barriers to keep them where they belong.

The goby does do a bit of sand sifting, but nothing major. Perhaps he got confused being in the sump and thinks the ground is now all made of glass?

 

[monkeybiz]

Coming along very nicely!

 

[tygunn]

So, my daughter pointed out a worm in the tank today:

It's a good 4" long without stretching itself out!!! Now to figure out what this is!

 

[tygunn]

...looks like a fire worm to me. I'll keep an eye on him and see if he is mowing down anything he shouldn't. Otherwise I'm fine with creepy stuff in the tank.

 

[tygunn]

Today I did a test of the water parameters.
Ca is 322 ppm
Alk is 146 ppm / 8.17 dKh

2 weeks ago I was at:
Ca 380 ppm
Alk 139 ppm / 7.784 dKh

I think its time to start dosing to keep my levels up. Water changes alone are not keeping up.

Give my low coral load I doubt its the corals as much as the coralline algae and halimeda.

Time to research what everyone is using nowaday. On my 140g tank I used a large calcium reactor. I still have the regulator and dosing pump, so I could always get a teeny-tiny one I suppose. I suspect dosing 2-part is likely easier for now though.

 

[tygunn]

I've been continuing to keep an eye on my Ca and Alk. I'm getting some whacky Calcium readings -- not a big fan of the Hanna Calcium Checker kit so far.
My Ca readings to date are:
August 16 - 380 ppm
August 30 -322 ppm
Sept 7 (pre dosing) - 395 ppm
Sept 7 (after 1st dosing) - 375 ppm

The Alk readings seem reasonable, however:
August 16 - 7.784 dkH
August 30 - 8.17 dkH
Sept 7 (pre dosing) - 8.064 dkH
Sept 7 (after 1st dosing) - 8.904 dKH

I dosed 20mL each of B-Ionic Calcium and Alk today. I'm going to see how things are tomorrow and will likely dose 10mL each again so I can slowly get my Ca and Alk up.

 

[Coral reefer]

I buy the powders from aquatic collection and mix my own 3 part for dosing. Very affordable. I use a bubble magus for dosing. Like it a lot.

 

[tygunn]

I buy the powders from aquatic collection and mix my own 3 part for dosing. Very affordable. I use a bubble magus for dosing. Like it a lot.

I'll probably end up doing the same in the long run. I used to have a big bucket of the calcium for Randy's 2-part and used washing soda for my alk. Had to get rid of that big 'ol bucket of calcium when I moved.

 

[swayd]

Great looking tank. Keep us updated on how you are going to go about dosing.

 

[FeliciaLynn]

I love how your Florida live rock has matured. I'm still so glad I went that route too since it adds so much life and color to the tank even before adding coral