KJoFan's SCA 150g Build (1 Viewer)

[KJoFan]

How are you liking the Mitras'? FTS update? Still using the ReefRocker light project?

Liking the Mitras so far. I'm still using the ReefRocker light project, I just kind of set it and forget it. Which is what you should do with LEDs I suppose. I got some guidance from GHL support on a possible button fix for the one unit where the buttons aren't working, but I've yet to have a chance to open it up and take a look at it. I also need to go in and try out some cloud cover/sunset settings, but again just need to find the time.

Overall the tank is doing well, but I am battling pretty low nutrients that's probably due in part to only have two fish in the tank. I've got a Hippo Tang that can go in the tank real soon, and then I'll be gone for a week. After I'm back I need to really step up my stocking game and try to get some nutrients into the tank which I think will really help everything overall.

I might even be checking some par numbers soon to see where I'm at on that front. I don't have a recent FTS (still looks empty anyway) but when I do some more practicing with the iPhone I'll try to grab one and post it up.

 

[KJoFan]

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[Reefking]

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Nice taste in sps frags!

 

[KJoFan]

Nice taste in sps frags!

Thanks. Hopefully I can turn them into colonies.

 

[dougers31]

Holy crap look at all those frags and nice ones at that

 

[Livestuff]

Was really nice seeing this in person. Nice job and hope for some great growth .
Road trip next

 

[KJoFan]

This beauty graduated from QT today to the main tank (hence the egg crate in the FTS).

She's only a couple inches long but doing well. This was my first ever successful attempt at a full QT period. I wasn't much for QTing fish in the past due to lack of success and impatience, but when all my fish were wiped out in my last tank in a matter of a couple weeks, I resolved to QT the fish this time. So, after observation, 2 rounds of prazi and 30 days of copper, she has graduated with flying colors.

The only other inhabitants are my clown pair that are known to be an unwelcoming duo, so I've divided the tank for now. Thus far I think both parties are unaware of the other...

I'll be on a trip next week, but once I get back I'll be deciding on the next fish inhabitants. It takes flipping forever to stock a tank when you QT.

 

[KJoFan]

Took some par readings with an Apogee MQ-200: (sandbed readings in red..seem high)

 

[KJoFan]

Also, ordered a Hoeven's wrasse and 7x Ignitus Anthias from LA this past week. One anthia came in DOA and the wrasse was dead within a couple hours. I don't like ordering fish. The remaining six Ignitus are doing well so far though.

I tested nitrates this evening and still sitting on zero. Sigh. Many of my sps are bleaching even though I have them as low as I possibly can in the tank. I don't know how to increase nitrates aside from dosing them. Might cut down fuge lighting from 8 hours to something less, see if that helps first.

 

[DarkSky]

Also, ordered a Hoeven's wrasse and 7x Ignitus Anthias from LA this past week. One anthia came in DOA and the wrasse was dead within a couple hours. I don't like ordering fish. The remaining six Ignitus are doing well so far though.

I tested nitrates this evening and still sitting on zero. Sigh. Many of my sps are bleaching even though I have them as low as I possibly can in the tank. I don't know how to increase nitrates aside from dosing them. Might cut down fuge lighting from 8 hours to something less, see if that helps first.

What's the policy with LA on fish deaths like that?

 

[KJoFan]

They have a 14 day guarantee. So I submitted an email to customer service with pics of the dead fish and they refunded right away. That’s one plus with them is they have always been good about refunding any losses like that.


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[jlanger]

What's the policy with LA on fish deaths like that?

They have a 14 day guarantee. So I submitted an email to customer service with pics of the dead fish and they refunded right away. That’s one plus with them is they have always been good about refunding any losses like that.

LiveAquaria has always had a good great "Arrive Alive, Stay Alive" guarantee.
There is one thing to remember though. Orders from the LiveAquaria web listings are shipped from straight from the California holding facilities where fish haven't been thoroughly checked or quarantined. It's as close to buying your fish for a wholesaler as you can get; most larger online retailers are like this. These animals require a quarantine and possible treatment regimen from you. Orders through LiveAquaria's Diver's Den sections are shipped from Wisconsin and these fish, inverts and corals have gone through the quarantine process. These animals have a much better survival rate as they have been treated, observed and are feeding on prepared foods. You do pay a little bit more through the Diver's Den sections, but it's worth it. Either way, if you have any casualties, both locations offer the same 14 day guarantee.

 

[H2OHOH]

Live Aquaria is fantastic. Great customer service. It took me a little time to get my head around Fish coming in the mail...but I guess that is how the stores get them...

 

[Reefking]

Agreed. My fish quarantine tanks are always full after a live aquaria order. I have had great success with fosters.

 

[KJoFan]

LiveAquaria has always had a good great "Arrive Alive, Stay Alive" guarantee.
There is one thing to remember though. Orders from the LiveAquaria web listings are shipped from straight from the California holding facilities where fish haven't been thoroughly checked or quarantined. It's as close to buying your fish for a wholesaler as you can get; most larger online retailers are like this. These animals require a quarantine and possible treatment regimen from you. Orders through LiveAquaria's Diver's Den sections are shipped from Wisconsin and these fish, inverts and corals have gone through the quarantine process. These animals have a much better survival rate as they have been treated, observed and are feeding on prepared foods. You do pay a little bit more through the Diver's Den sections, but it's worth it. Either way, if you have any casualties, both locations offer the same 14 day guarantee.

Not sure if this was all directed at me or @DarkSky but I'm fully aware of LiveAquaria's process and the differences between DD and LA. I didn't think I was complaining, simply stated that two died. It happens. It has happened to me with DD purchases too for that matter. Also, I do have a fully dedicated quarantine tank...

A couple things about purchasing from DD vs LA in my particular instance. Most of the time you can only purchase a trio from DD for anthias (granted I saw on Friday they listed two trios of Ignitus Anthias, but that doesn't happen often) and I wanted more than a trio, that pretty well prevented me from going the DD route. And the wrasse I added because I wanted one and hadn't seen one on DD. I try to buy more than one fish at a time as I only have one QT tank and it takes awhile to go through QT, so if I can do it once for a group of fish, that's my preference.

Also, I am trying to stock my tank relatively quickly as I need to generate more nutrients so I can get N and P off zero...maybe. I don't want to wait months/years for just the fish I'm looking for to come through DD. So, if there needed to be an explanation about why I went the supposed inferior route of LA vs DD...that's why.

My comment about not liking to ship fish is because it can be a stressful, hit or miss situation. But, I don't have access to all kinds of LFS that might have what I want and my nearest LFS isn't that great about getting fish I request in so...online ordering it is.

 

[jlanger]

Not sure if this was all directed at me or @DarkSky but I'm fully aware of LiveAquaria's process and the differences between DD and LA. I didn't think I was complaining, simply stated that two died. It happens. It has happened to me with DD purchases too for that matter. Also, I do have a fully dedicated quarantine tank...

Sorry for any confusion, but my comments were just adding to your experience with LiveAquaria; nothing directed at you and your husbandry practices. My apologies.
The post was directed towards those people reading this post and that have not ordered from LiveAquaria before, I thought it would be helpful to inform them on the difference of ordering animals from the different locations.

Another insider tip when ordering from the Diver's Den section...
Most often, when a listing for a fish pops up on the Diver's Den website, there will usually be more coming within the next few days. When fish are shipped to Wisconsin, they usually receive multiple specimens from the wholesaler. After the animals pass through their quarantine procedure, they are usually listed on the site one specimen at a time. So if you notice there's a fish that you'd like to get but it sells before you could purchase it, check back daily for the next week or so and you're likely to see it available again. However, you're not often to see this with some of the less common specimens. So... if you see that they have a trio of Ignitus Anthias available, it's a very good probability that they will have another trio available. If you'd like to get more than just one trio, try calling them and see if they have another group ready that can be added to your order. It's not a guarantee, but it's worth asking.
Another Diver's Den tip...
If you're looking for a specific fish or coral to purchase from the Diver's Den section, you can fill out a suggestion form on their website; here. It's not a guarantee that they'll bring in that fish for you (and you'll need to watch for it), but it's also worth asking.

 

[KJoFan]

Sorry for any confusion, but my comments were just adding to your experience with LiveAquaria; nothing directed at you and your husbandry practices. My apologies.
The post was directed towards those people reading this post and that have not ordered from LiveAquaria before, I thought it would be helpful to inform them on the difference of ordering animals from the different locations.

Another insider tip when ordering from the Diver's Den section...
Most often, when a listing for a fish pops up on the Diver's Den website, there will usually be more coming within the next few days. When fish are shipped to Wisconsin, they usually receive multiple specimens from the wholesaler. After the animals pass through their quarantine procedure, they are usually listed on the site one specimen at a time. So if you notice there's a fish that you'd like to get but it sells before you could purchase it, check back daily for the next week or so and you're likely to see it available again. However, you're not often to see this with some of the less common specimens. So... if you see that they have a trio of Ignitus Anthias available, it's a very good probability that they will have another trio available. If you'd like to get more than just one trio, try calling them and see if they have another group ready that can be added to your order. It's not a guarantee, but it's worth asking.
Another Diver's Den tip...
If you're looking for a specific fish or coral to purchase from the Diver's Den section, you can fill out a suggestion form on their website; here. It's not a guarantee that they'll bring in that fish for you (and you'll need to watch for it), but it's also worth asking.

No offense taken, just wanted to make it clear I knew what I was getting into. Now, if only DD didn’t post up new fish at 5 pm. Hard to jump on anything during work hours. And inevitably the fish I want are also sought by approximately 4 million other people who are faster and/or less busy than me.

On the bright side, I still have 6 Ignitus and at least half show interest in food and are eating so.... Shy/nervous little buggers though.


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[KJoFan]

Sigh. I'll never get this tank stocked. Picked up a Bellus female angelfish off DD last week, it arrived about an hour ago DOA. Water temp read 68 degrees when I opened the bag. There was a sizeable cold pack taped to the lid...probably unneeded right now but I guess they don't check the weather, just assume summer = hot.

I don't know if that was primary cause of death but still.

 

[OldNemo]

Sigh. I'll never get this tank stocked. Picked up a Bellus female angelfish off DD last week, it arrived about an hour ago DOA. Water temp read 68 degrees when I opened the bag. There was a sizeable cold pack taped to the lid...probably unneeded right now but I guess they don't check the weather, just assume summer = hot.

I don't know if that was primary cause of death but still.

That sucks. Hang in there. I finally got my first two fish in my tank after 120 days of fallow in the DT. Another two on the way in the coming weeks but yeah QT takes time. Battling STN on a couple of SPS due to lack of nutrients and I fed my DT during this period. Good luck.

 

[KJoFan]

Tank is chugging along. Corals are surviving though not thriving but...we've hit the six month mark so...hopefully it's all downhill from here? I'm still fighting low nutrients and working on upping my fish load to help with that. Coralline is finally starting to show up on the back wall, which I know can end up a nuisance but also a sign the tank is slowly maturing I believe.

Current inhabitants are only a pair of Snowflake clowns that lay eggs weekly and the Regal tang.

In QT tank #1 are 6 Ignitus anthias that should graduate to the display at the end of the month. QT tank #2 has a male Pintail wrasse and a Potter's Leopard wrasse. Unclear as yet if the Potter's will ever see the display, the Pintail is doing alright. They've got a ways to go yet in QT. QT tank #3 has a pair of Potter's Angelfish that started presenting with signs of velvet last night, so I quickly upped my game to get them to full therapeutic copper. They're still active and eating so hopefully they pull through.

Oh, and I'm leaving Thursday for a trip to Atlanta, returning Monday...no big deal. (This is also known as terrible timing and poor planning on my part.) Did I mention none of the QT's have ATO hooked up nor auto feeders so...they'll just have to lump it for a few days. I like to do things the hard way.