Tale of a Cursed Tank
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URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23576
Printed Date: July 04 2026 at 1:28pm
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Topic: Tale of a Cursed Tank
Posted By: Pinner Reef
Subject: Tale of a Cursed Tank
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 7:09am
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I posted this on another site but figgured it might be helpful here as well.
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 ------------- In SLC Near Downtown |
Replies:
Posted By: Jeff Morrill
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 9:05am
Well said?? How big is your tank again? Try taking trades , and infesting 90 plus gal !!!! I feel your pain it irritates me to no end how a responsible reef keeper can effect hundreds of corals and still want a deal. O well live and learn ? Don't let it kill your drive for the hobby, Chin up!, Smile a whole lot! Good luck.------------- WHAT KINDA GUM????... Give em 2 sticks. |
Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 9:11am
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Greg,
I think everyone who has been in the hobby for a while can understand your frustration. We'll all had similar experiences and it does suck. I'm impressed with your tenacity and I'm sure you'll be rewarded with an awesome tank!
Your lesson about dipping all incoming (and outgoing) trades is a great practice we should all employ to reduce the chance of a club-wide outbreak of (insert reef pest here).
Good luck!
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Posted By: Tresa
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 9:39am
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"Sometimes I hate this hobby... I swear It's like dating only with more STDs" - that was priceless!
That really sucks - we have all been through times when we want to throw in the towel, but it gets better...................
I always dip with lugols and tank water - is fresh water better? It seems to me that it would stress the corals out more, but I don't know....................
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Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 9:49am
| I dip with Lugols and tank water too. |
Posted By: tamortman
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 10:37am
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what about tech d coral dip is that any good? how do you do a fresh dip? and how long?and what does that do that the coral dip doesn't. ------------- 210/75g inwall reef 1500-2000g pond Herriman |
Posted By: cl2ysta1
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 11:34am
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well this sucks. we had a horrible cyano problem in our VERY clean 120 gallon for a long time. We tried all your above methods short of dosing. Scarlet hermits SOLVED our problem overnight. they were pricey little boogers but totally worth it. as for the STDS. I'd reccomend now that you have your problem fixed to be VERY dilligent about dipping everything that goes in your tank. A rabbitfish should be able to take care of that hair algae. just a regular foxface would work. good price for them too.
sorry about your trouble trust me I know the feeling! ------------- I <3 Boxers Achilles tang lover |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 11:47am
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As Crystal mentioned, your fight against algae left out the best defenses. Your fight against cyano left the best defense till last and didn't even mention one of the most common causes. I would love to speak to you about how to do a proper reef tank if you would care to reply either here or by telephone. I don't mean to offend, but I know that I can help you. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: jpiotrowski
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 12:06pm
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You did everything right except....you went backwards on the lighting. I have personally experimented with techniques used to get rid of cyano and was just starting to talk to people about publishing what I found when and article came out in a fish mag testing exactly what I tested and coming up with the same results.
For cyano:
Water flow is numero uno. The higher the better.
High Alkalinity not only reduces cyano growth but also (along with Ca) helps to maintain pH
Cyano is not photosynthetic, it is bacteria not an algae. I doubled my lighting in my experiment and I was able to stop the cyano from spreading but didn't kill or reduce.
Of course keeping your phosphates down will help. Mark has numerous good ideas along with being a great guy for someone who lives in Southern Utah...listen to him especially about feeding.
Sorry, I can't help you with the nudi's. That would be a pain
John
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Posted By: jdmckell
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 12:08pm
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This should be good! |
Posted By: jonafriendj
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 12:12pm
I was wondering about that.. Everyone keeps saying too much light causes cyano. Maybe it is a by-product of the cyano feeding off increased phyto or something? ------------- Pleasant Grove |
jpiotrowski wrote:Posted By: MadReefer
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 12:22pm
Cyanobacteria is photosynthetic.
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Posted By: MadReefer
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 12:28pm
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I had cyano in my tank but it is not a problem.
I think the added light works because it gave algae a chance to grow and use all of what the cyano needed.
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Posted By: jonafriendj
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 12:36pm
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That seems like it makes sense... but, what would the cyano need ------------- Pleasant Grove |
Posted By: CrimsRayne
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 1:46pm
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I had to fight a similar battle recently when I bought a couple zoo frags. They were totally infested with zoo eating snails and nudis. I was pissed too. It took a couple days and several dips to get them all. I bought another couple frags and dipped them before they went in the tank and nearly freaked with how much stuff came off the frags. All sorts of snails, worms, nudis, and other stuff. Sure there was also a pod or two, but who cares when the other stuff would have eaten my frag in no time.
It's a hard lesson learned, but I'm also on the dip now ask questions later. Usually, What the **** is that?
 Hey Mark, I've also been fighting cyano. I'd like to hear what your tips are for getting rid of it. I've tried kalk (to remove phosphates), water changes, increased flow (now 3 pumps/korallia in a 24 gal  ), removing it by hand, feeding less, removing corals (incase the tank was overstocked and cause it was starting to grow on them), Cal and alk are fine and it still won't go away. It seems the more I try the worse it gets. It's the only tank with this problem thankfully, but it's frustrating beyond belief. Please help it is driving me crazy.------------- "What we know from this hobby is too hard to share with the people who just want to look and not get wet." -Rioreefer "The Puffer Girl" Zoo freak :) West Jordan |
Posted By: pa_reptileman_4
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 1:48pm
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LETTUCE NUDI is what cured my cyano....believe it or not. ------------- pitiful guppy tank. shane |
Posted By: Will Spencer
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 2:36pm
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It's interesting to me that everyone is so big on dipping to rid themselves of "icky stuff", but no one has brought up what many advanced hobbiests have been pushing for years if not decades.
Anyone ever heard of Quarantine?
Don't get me wrong, I have never quarantined a thing that has gone into my tanks, ever. But every nearly every book and every magazine author not only suggests quarantining, but advocates it stongly. Yet none of us ever do it. I have been through well more than my share of invaders due to my not using a quarantine tank and every time I swear I will get one and use it religiously, but never actually do it.
I agree with those in the know, however, that it would make a huge difference for all of us if we would do it.
So, I will now, once again, make the oath that from now on nothing will go in my tank with out being quarantined first. Although I know full well that is not likely to happen.
Good luck with your reef Pinner. Don't give up, it will get better.
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Posted By: jonafriendj
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 2:45pm
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I can say the reason why I haven't / probably won't set up a quarantine tank is space. If I had room for another tank, I wouldn't want to use that room for a qt. ------------- Pleasant Grove |
Posted By: jpiotrowski
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 2:48pm
| oops! You are right cyano is photsynthetic, forgot it's blue-green algae history. My bad. Though it is documented that higher intensity light does negatively affect growth, probably due to the bacterial wall instead of a plant wall as cyano are really bacteria that ate chloroplasts (very generally speaking). My experiments did not have macroalgae in the tank. |
Posted By: Danner
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 3:00pm
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omg i am sorry but i had to use that line as my signature. i was laughing so hard when i read that. but good luck gettin everything squared away.
Ryan
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Posted By: Danner
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 3:09pm
| nm adam already took it :( |
Posted By: cl2ysta1
Date Posted: February 07 2008 at 3:40pm
I QT fish but not corals.
hmmmmm
Maybe i should start but i'm always so excited to see it in my tank! ------------- I <3 Boxers Achilles tang lover |
Posted By: The Kid
Date Posted: February 08 2008 at 12:06am
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qt tank for corals rubber maid container, hob filter, small power head, small heater, diy light 32 or 65 watt pc's or 2 t5ho's, 24 inch vho's something to set frags on. when you are all done drain the water out clean every thing off and pack it away in container put on shelf. ------------- Life is to short not to! |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: February 08 2008 at 2:45pm
Since each tank is different, knowing current conditions is very helpful. Let's start with this: What are the Alk and Ca levels and can you post a pic of the tank and tell us how it's set up? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Pinner Reef
Date Posted: February 10 2008 at 1:25am
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Sorry for the late reply peps. I don't have the net at my pad and surf only at work in the middle of the night.
The Tank Crashed!!!
 It never opened and the next afternoon when I woke up everything was slimed. I did four huge (relatively) waterchanges in the course of two and a half days and couldn't get the ammonia under control. Thankfully Chris n Kerry at Fish 4 U were kind enough to give me some space in one of the Bio-cubes for whats left of the rockwork until I can restabilize my tank (i suppose it helps that I'm an employee there). As it stands most of the coral are still closed up (a few zoas and palys are peeking). My little pseudo is still alive thankfully but I lost several hundred dollars in coral so far. The tank was only 8g and such is the way of the nano. I do intend to continue the tank but I'm serously bummed ATM. This really brings to light the delicacy of our enviroments. What I believe the cause of the crash was a combination of excess luggals (lost count of # of drops) and the fact that I may have missed a few of the nudi carcasses. Normally a bigger system could have handled the toxins of a few of the lil buggers but my nano couldn't take the heat. Right now my tank is re-cycling with the LR rubble in my back chamber and a couple of pieces in the display (it looks sooo empty, its depressing). On the brighter side, if there is one, the crash wiped out any remiants of the GHA I was working against.
If you want to see all the horribleness that resulted in the crash check it out at Fish 4 U. My rockwork is in the bottom row of bio-cubes marked "Recovering Tank". Like I said this is by far not the end of my reefkeeping ways just a minor setback. A special Thanks is extended to Chris and Kerry for all the help they have been in this trying time for me.
I'll repost pics when i get things all back together.
-pinner
-pinner ------------- In SLC Near Downtown |
Posted By: Pinner Reef
Date Posted: February 10 2008 at 1:54am
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Ok to answer a few of the posts:
Mark P. Feel free to add your best/favorate methods for curing any algea/cyano problems. The primary reason I started this thread is to learn new and better ways to treat that which we hate in the hobby.
Crystal Really Scarlet hemits huh I've never heard of that one but would have at least attempted it prior to dosing.
Reptileman lettuce nudis for Cyano is another natural method I hadn't heard of but wish I did.
Will The quarentine is another great Idea and like you said is sadly underused in the hobby. Like someone said lack of space is what prevents me from setting one up. I live in an apartment and get to pay deposits on any setup I have but can't justify $150 for a quarentine.
I like all the feedback this thread recieved and actually picked a few choice methods so keep them coming!
Laters
Pinner ------------- In SLC Near Downtown |