Tale of a Cursed Tank

So I havn't posted an update on my thread in a long time. The reason is because I've been fighting one outbreak after another.

It all started about seven or eight months ago with a cyano outbreak. I can't say where it came from but it showed up none the less. I really don't like dosing too much in my tank so I started the folloing

Cure:
Increased flow to target areas
Increased WCs to double standard
Decreased Lighting by 4hrs
Decreased feeding (no spot feeding and half of what the fish was used to)
Attempted manual removal w/ baster and tooth brush.

Weeks later none of this had worked and eventually I broke down and dosed Chemi-clean while keeping up the routine. It took two doses but I finally beat it back.

About a week after I stopped noticing it pop up I brought home a blasto frag as a reward. Apparently the previous owner had some GHA in his tank and therefore I was rewarded with GHA of my own. Now this was about two or three months after I started working at the LFS and for some odd reason I didn't feel up to tank maintience (go figure). Anyway the GHA got going really well and before I knew It the crap was outta control. Again attempting to not dose I tried the following.

Cure:
Increased WC again
Added tons of phytoplankton for compitition
Added Phosban
Decreased Lighinting first by 4hrs then 6 to where the lights were only on for 4hrs a day
Deecreased feeding again.
More manual removal.

Again after weeks with minimal improvement I decided to dose EM tablets at the suggestion of a Co-worker. Again two doses along side a diligent regimine and all but a few patches were gone. But this time my corals were starting to suffer from the lack of light and stability. I lost a couple of my favorate Zoa colonies (bummer). At this point the increased maintience had me worn out and fairly pissed.

None the less after attending the frag swap and winning an auction for some prize zoas, I had reenergized my passion. Little did I know I was headed for my worst nightmare... Zoa eating nudibrachs. Zoanthids are my favorate coral and make up the majority of my stock. I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd procure these little bastages. That was about a month ago... fast foward to yesturday morning I happned to be up when the lights came on which happens about once a week. I decided to check for more GHA tufts ripe for the plucking when I noticed about 20 or 30 of them feasting on a fresh batch of Zoas. I literally freak out and started cursing and stuff (would've been hilarious to watch but I was not a happy camper).

Like I said there are few things in the reef keeping world the mortifies me but these little punks are one of them. There was to be no standing on aires with this outbreak... It was all out annilation at whatever the cost. Last night the entire contents of my tank were dipped in Lugals and FW. it wasn't until I pulled everything out that I realised what I was up agaist. Where I thought there was 20-30 I found at least a hundred of them littering the bottom of my bucket [insert more cursing].

I think I may have over done the lugal's a bit though as when the lights went out about 30min later only a few palys had peeked out.

Sometimes I hate this hobby... I swear It's like dating only with more STDs. It pisses me off to no end when somone trades a frag knowing full well it will damage the new owner's tank. "Hey thanks for trying to save that small poriton of the reef with your frag but you serously just decimated another by doing so". We get this kind of thing at the store all the time, someone brings a frag and aptasia or majano... I've grown to despise the habit.

Dear God if this crashes the tank I will be EVER SO PISSED. From now on I don't care how long its been in shipping how stressed the coral looks, everything gets dipped. I'm sure to lose a shipment or two along the way but if thats the price I pay for serenity then so be it.

Hopefully if anything someone will stumble across the thread and find the cures useful.

Grr Rant Finished

-pinner