75G Build, First Timer

[Patterson333]

Originally Posted by NanoNerd

Great, only was asking cause if you had to try copper it's 99% impossible to get copper removed from media.

Good to know. I used to use this QT tank for freshwater a while ago, and I never had a substrate for that same purpose.

[Patterson333]

I did another water change and brought down the SG from 1.015 to 1.011. I'll try to do another small one tomorrow to bring it down to the 1.009 I'm aiming for.

I must say though, the clowns weren't looking too good to me. Not eating, clamped fins, fading color, I'm a little doubtful that they'll be able to withstand the treatment, or the disease for that matter...

On the bright side, the pajama cardinal in there is strong as ever. Eating, active, colorful, no signs of disease. He doesn't seem to have been bothered by the hypo at all, which is great since I thought he might have been. Hopefully I don't jinx myself lol.

[coffeetwitch]

i hope it works out for you!

[NanoNerd]

The lower Sg will cause them to hang at the bottom and just lay there. They will move around some, feeding with a garlic supplement might be needed. Feed high amino acid food. Keep lighting off or at min when feeding. It's always a long shot with ick if not caught in time.

I hope it works out for you

[Patterson333]

Yea I'm thinking I might need to pick up some garlic supplement if they continue with their hunger strike lol

[Patterson333]

I went out earlier and picked up a garlic supplement. I also got some cupramine, just to keep on hand. It's been my experience that it's usually a good idea to keep some of these meds handy.

Unfortunately, it seems I was too late for the smaller of the two clowns. When I came home from dinner with my gf I found him dead. I'm not too hopeful about the other one either...

[coffeetwitch]

darn... sorry man

[rdnelson99]

That's a shame Patterson. :-(

[scottayy]

had the exact same thing happen with my clown fish not too long ago
i read it's hard to successfully treat them
but i/we spared nothing

[NanoNerd]

Darn man, that sucks. Some times it's too late once you can even see ick. it happens, rub it off and start again. I can't tell you how many fish and coral I killed to get where I am today. People ask me all the time how much money I have spent in my tank, I say enough to buy a small car... And if you ask my second half she would confirm. Lol hang in there, learn from mistakes and keep going.

[Patterson333]

Thanks everyone, before starting this project I had kept FW tanks for about 3 years, so I've had quite a few fish die on me (especially in quarantine). I try to do the best I can to treat them, but when a fish dies I don't beat myself up about it (when I first started I kind of did lol).

In other news, I'm starting to gather the parts to build a DIY top-off system for my display tank. I've been entertaining the idea for a while, but now I've committed myself to it. I find myself having to top off somewhat frequently, and the fluctuations in salinity, while minor, kind of annoy me. So hopefully with this system I'll be able to keep things more stable AND do less work. I'll keep you guys updated on that project as it progresses.

I'm also thinking about getting my first coral for the 75G. Something really hardy, I was thinking maybe a mushroom but I'm open to suggestions. I'll check all my water parameters before doing so though.

[coffeetwitch]

Keep us posted how you do the ATO. And I'm interested in coral suggestions too

[scottayy]

I've got a thread in DIY for my ATO. Dead simple. Interested in seeing your work.

[coffeetwitch]

Originally Posted by scottayy

I've got a thread in DIY for my ATO. Dead simple. Interested in seeing your work.

Cool I'll check it out

[Patterson333]

Originally Posted by scottayy

I've got a thread in DIY for my ATO. Dead simple. Interested in seeing your work.

I just read through that thread of yours. So nice and simple, good work!

Unfortunately I don't really have the space for a gravity operated system. My original plan was to buy a pair of float switches and have one of my engineer friends help me out with the setup. But so as to not bother them and for convenience purposes, I just ordered this little system. It wasn't too much more expensive than buying the parts on my own, and it is semi DIY lol.

Top-it-Off Kit Deluxe

Also, I already have a pump I could use (one of those Marineland powerheads), and the holding container shouldn't be too expensive.

[Patterson333]

Well, came home to find the clown attached to the filter intake. He was gasping really heavily, color was pretty much gone. Eyes clouded, upside down, fins all mangled.

There's absolutely no way he would've pulled through, so instead of letting him slowly die out I prepared a little cup of ice cold (cheap) vodka and put the poor little guy out of his misery. It was pretty much instantaneous. Never a pleasant thing to do though.

I'm starting to think that maybe I'll set up the empty 55 I've got as my quarantine. That way they'd be exposed to less stress and more stable conditions. I also want a kole and/or bristletooth tang at some point, and they probably wouldn't last all that long in a 10 gallon QT...

[coffeetwitch]

sorry about your loss.

[Patterson333]

Alright everyone, I've got another question for you. If I end up setting up that 55G as my QT, it might have to be in my garage.

The weather's getting cooler, but the temperature in the garage is still probably going to be in the 80s. When I was curing my live rock in there, the max temp was around 86-87 (but this was during Miami summertime).

Anyways, do you guys think the temperature in there would be too hot for my QT? I suspect my max water temperature would be around 86.

I'm figuring that the higher temp would probably be less stressful than the cramped quarters of that 10G, especially for larger fish like tangs. What do you guys think?

[rdnelson99]

Not only would the high temp be bad news for the fish but the fluctuations in temp will be really bad news. I suspect that in the garage it would have a big swing over a 24 hour period.

[coffeetwitch]

Originally Posted by rdnelson99

Not only would the high temp be bad news for the fish but the fluctuations in temp will be really bad news. I suspect that in the garage it would have a big swing over a 24 hour period.

+1. I have read this on multiple sites.