45 Gallon Reef Diary From Setup To...?

[SkiFletch]

Just got back from my two LFS' that I usually go to today... One of them had a 10kW generator, no losses. The other, no generator. Nearly every saltwater fish, coral, and invertebrate is dead. In talking with the owner, the temperature in the tanks quickly reached 51f with no light or water flow. The one fish that survived is a fairy wrasse. The only corals that survived were one giant sacrophyton and two zooanthid colonies. And the only other living inverts are some zebra hermits. They had a GORGEOUS 220g display tank with some great corals, and a wall-hammer that I was going to buy... All gone

 

[Mr.September15]

You should have taken them in! I would bet that they would give a very good discount on them

 

[BOD]

wow you would have thought they would be a bit more prepared for somthing like that

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, you'd think so...

 

[Redstratplayer1]

UPDATE please update

 

[SkiFletch]

Read my mind... Was planning on doing one toinght Are you in my head?

 

[Mr.September15]

lol. Cant wait till the update

Or do I already know what your going to write in your update

The internet is a scary place

 

[Redstratplayer1]

Read my mind... Are you in my head?

Yes i am and i can tell that when i start my tank you will want to give me frags lots of frags . B)

 

[SkiFletch]

As many of you know, recently the armies of nuisance algae enacted their most diabolical plans yet; in changing weather patterns and bringing an early snowfall, treese were felled upon unsuspecting power lines destroying the power grid and leaving the theatre in pending darkness and doom. Yet command was ready for said attack. Running jumper cables through the window emergency power was restored via an inverter

Yet temperatures still plummeted and the theatre went into a state of hibernation. General Xavier unfortunately succumed to Command's attempt to keep his oxygen supply with a backup powerhead. The general proved himself to be as absentminded as he is lethal and stuck his face in the inlet of the powerhead, shredding it and spelling out his own doom. General Xavier will long be remembered as a hero in the great algal wars.

Once the corps of engineers was able to restore power the resulting damage of running on emergency power was assessed. Proteins and dissolved organics were at an alltime high as purification systems were overwhelmed. Ironically enough, command had procured a new purification system to help keep the waters clear and deter the algal armies. A Euroreef 5-2 with recirculation modifications and auto-empty options was installed. Command has allready fallen madly in love with this filtration system as its re-circulating Sedra 3500 needlewheel pump creates more microbubbles than they have ever seen Furthermore the filter's massive size should allow command to cleanup after the emergency mess

Yet before new filtration was installed, and even in the cold and dark of emergency conditions the armies of algae struck hard and more than doubled their forces. Drastic matters needed to be taken. To this end, command rushed out and recruited Major Julio Chaves to head Battalion 6 of the Algal Demolitions Forces.

Interviews for Major Chaves were very short as he hails from Mexico and speaks no english (or spanish for that matter). Major Chaves seemed more interested in cleaning sand and fighting skirmishes against the minor forces of cyanobacteria, allies of the dreaded hair algae invaders. While Major Chavez' zeal in combating these brigands is commendible, the forces of Cyanobacteria pale in comparison to the divisions worth of their hair algae allies. Just the same, Major Chavez will continue to fight his skirmishes in hopes of keeping that enemy at bay.

Even after the addition of Major Chavez the forces of hair algae grew further still. While personally perusing local recruiting stations the impossible was found. A young relative of General Xavier was found emerging from the pack. The recruit had that same zelout sparkle in his pinprick eyes that General Xavier had and Command was quick to act. The new recruit was commissioned right away and given the vacant Three Star General command of all of the First Army and its Algal Demolitions Forces. Command is happy to introduce General Grant Eisenhart to its constituents:

Along with General Eisenharts commission, Command commissioned the Corps of Engineers to construct mesh netting around the main powerhead inlets to combat any curiousity of General Eisenhart. Undeterred by being thrust into such a monumental undertaking, the General steamed straight into his duties and began MASSACREING the enemy on the western front before nightfall. Observing from afar with nightvision technology, command can see that nightfall has not deterred General Eisenhart, to the contrary, he continues to take his fight to the enemy even in darkness. Just as General Xavier before him, the enemy flees for crevasses or ends up in his gullet.

With safety measures installed to protect General Eisenhart from his own devices, COmmand is confident that he will have the enemy reeling in defeat in no less than a fortnight.

Meanwhile during the carnage and destruction a new friendly of the Catalaphyllia (Elegance) Jardinei family was added to the theatre. Previous additions of this family have not gone well, but hopes are high for this individual as it appears healthy upon arrival:

And last but not least, a picture of the theatre as it stands today. Please note General Eisenhart fighting on the western front and the territory around the mushrooms where the General has allready instituted his iron will. Admiral Hastings has become more photogenic as well and can be seen front and center.

 

[Mr.September15]

As many of you know, recently the armies of nuisance algae enacted their most diabolical plans yet; in changing weather patterns and bringing an early snowfall, treese were felled upon unsuspecting power lines destroying the power grid and leaving the theatre in pending darkness and doom. Yet command was ready for said attack. Running jumper cables through the window emergency power was restored via an inverter



Yet temperatures still plummeted and the theatre went into a state of hibernation. General Xavier unfortunately succumed to Command's attempt to keep his oxygen supply with a backup powerhead. The general proved himself to be as absentminded as he is lethal and stuck his face in the inlet of the powerhead, shredding it and spelling out his own doom. General Xavier will long be remembered as a hero in the great algal wars.

Once the corps of engineers was able to restore power the resulting damage of running on emergency power was assessed. Proteins and dissolved organics were at an alltime high as purification systems were overwhelmed. Ironically enough, command had procured a new purification system to help keep the waters clear and deter the algal armies. A Euroreef 5-2 with recirculation modifications and auto-empty options was installed. Command has allready fallen madly in love with this filtration system as its re-circulating Sedra 3500 needlewheel pump creates more microbubbles than they have ever seen Furthermore the filter's massive size should allow command to cleanup after the emergency mess


Yet before new filtration was installed, and even in the cold and dark of emergency conditions the armies of algae struck hard and more than doubled their forces. Drastic matters needed to be taken. To this end, command rushed out and recruited Major Julio Chaves to head Battalion 6 of the Algal Demolitions Forces.



Interviews for Major Chaves were very short as he hails from Mexico and speaks no english (or spanish for that matter). Major Chaves seemed more interested in cleaning sand and fighting skirmishes against the minor forces of cyanobacteria, allies of the dreaded hair algae invaders. While Major Chavez' zeal in combating these brigands is commendible, the forces of Cyanobacteria pale in comparison to the divisions worth of their hair algae allies. Just the same, Major Chavez will continue to fight his skirmishes in hopes of keeping that enemy at bay.

Even after the addition of Major Chavez the forces of hair algae grew further still. While personally perusing local recruiting stations the impossible was found. A young relative of General Xavier was found emerging from the pack. The recruit had that same zelout sparkle in his pinprick eyes that General Xavier had and Command was quick to act. The new recruit was commissioned right away and given the vacant Three Star General command of all of the First Army and its Algal Demolitions Forces. Command is happy to introduce General Grant Eisenhart to its constituents:



Along with General Eisenharts commission, Command commissioned the Corps of Engineers to construct mesh netting around the main powerhead inlets to combat any curiousity of General Eisenhart. Undeterred by being thrust into such a monumental undertaking, the General steamed straight into his duties and began MASSACREING the enemy on the western front before nightfall. Observing from afar with nightvision technology, command can see that nightfall has not deterred General Eisenhart, to the contrary, he continues to take his fight to the enemy even in darkness. Just as General Xavier before him, the enemy flees for crevasses or ends up in his gullet.

With safety measures installed to protect General Eisenhart from his own devices, COmmand is confident that he will have the enemy reeling in defeat in no less than a fortnight.

Meanwhile during the carnage and destruction a new friendly of the Catalaphyllia (Elegance) Jardinei family was added to the theatre. Previous additions of this family have not gone well, but hopes are high for this individual as it appears healthy upon arrival:



And last but not least, a picture of the theatre as it stands today. Please note General Eisenhart fighting on the western front and the territory around the mushrooms where the General has allready instituted his iron will. Admiral Hastings has become more photogenic as well and can be seen front and center.

Nice story thing . Wish I had the energy to read from the beggining, but you wouldnt mind giving me the sparknotes version . LOL...Yeah JK...Or maybe not . Your tank still looks gorgeous even though its been through so much .

 

[SkiFletch]

Heh, the sparknotes version is way long too Long story short, even the people that do the research are prone to mistakes, hence its so important

 

[SkiFletch]

After approximately 48 hours in the theatre General Eisenhart has annihilated the enemy on the western front. There is still much territory for him to re-claim but he has proven his worth as did his predecessor. At last nightfall General Eisenhart was seen finally entering a small cave for rest as decimating his enemy has clearly been very taxing. Command looks forward to witnessing his continued domination over the enemy.

 

[sacramonel]

I read on Liveaquaria that Sea Hares are rated Expert Only (not saying you are not. Your tank certainly qualifies you as one). It states that when startled they emit a Toxic dye. Are you worried at all about that?

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd for once have to completely disagree with Liveaquaria's listing. Their dye is far from toxic. I've even drank some of it by accident in the wild (long story) when snorkeling off of key biscayne in florida. Also, General Xavier must have inked before he met his end as I actually didnt notice that he was dead on the powerhead. What I noticed was that my skimmate cup was full of a purple-red substance which after my memory kicked in led me to remember that it was the same color of sea hare ink. Once I saw that in the skimmer I feared the worst and ended up finding him sucked into the powerhead inlet . Nothing in the tank was harmed by the ink though and the skimmer readily cleaned it up.

I still wouldn't reccomend a sea hare for any tank without a skimmer since while not toxic or disastrous, sea hare inkings would be VERY unsightly to the display and might longterm harm corals by depleating their light source. But man, if you've got a hair algae problem, there is nothing that compares to the voracious apetite for it than a sea hare.

Edit, thanks for the heads up, I never knew they listed them that way

And one more thing... Although I've heard many people have gotten them to ink, I find it very difficult to do. Neither General Xavier nor General Eisenhart inked when I picked them up and moved them around the tank, nor did they ink in-transit to my home. As a matter of fact, even when I was in florida swimming with them I found that I really had to poke and prod them before they would release ink.

 

[SkiFletch]

After nearly 5 days in-theatre, General Eisenhart has made significant progress in his fight against the forces of hair algae. He has decimated the enemy in the western front and left only small pockets of resistance in his wake. General Eisenhart has in the meantime shifted his concentration to the boarders of the field of battle. Here are some pictures of territory once completely ruled by the enemy now being reclaimed by General Eisenhart's wrath:

And this second photograph illustrates a path for which the General traversed the front. You can see to the right or left the enemy remains where General Eisenhart has allowed them some respite.