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Unread 06/05/2019, 01:17 PM   #551
Michael Hoaster
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That's nice of you to say, but let's face it, you've got Red Grapes dialed! Most of my macros are still in the 'potential' stage. Your's look better than people who sell them!


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Unread 06/06/2019, 05:15 AM   #552
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster View Post
That's nice of you to say, but let's face it, you've got Red Grapes dialed! Most of my macros are still in the 'potential' stage. Your's look better than people who sell them!
Maybe its the seahorse poop that is the magic fertilizer for red grape!


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Current Tank Info: A 56 gallon naural nutrient macro reef that flows into a 30 gallon fuge with macros/seagrass that flows into a 20 gallon sump.
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Unread 06/06/2019, 06:21 AM   #553
Chasmodes
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The dusky jawfish might be a threat to your tiny fish, I don't know. They're not aggressive, but, they have a large mouth. There are some smaller species out there for sale on-line that might be promising though. It seems like the tiger (or yellow, or black cap) jawfish doesn't get that big, according to fishbase. I posted more info on other species on Michael's thread.


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Current Tank Info: 101g 3'X3'X18" Cubish Oyster Reef Blenny tank, 36"X17"X18" sump
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Unread 06/06/2019, 07:21 PM   #554
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The dusky jawfish might be a threat to your tiny fish, I don't know. They're not aggressive, but, they have a large mouth. There are some smaller species out there for sale on-line that might be promising though. It seems like the tiger (or yellow, or black cap) jawfish doesn't get that big, according to fishbase. I posted more info on other species on Michael's thread.
I never even considered that a jawfish might pose a tbreat to my barnacle blennies or green clown gobies but I do need to think on that. Maybe a small jawfish is what I should consider.


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Unread 06/07/2019, 07:32 AM   #555
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Here a a couple of notes from Michael's thread that I'll repost here for future reference to help you in your research. I put in the vendor's name this time for the ones that are sponsors on RC:

There are some other smaller jawfish species that might be worth considering too. The tiger (aka yellow or black cap) jawfish intrigues me. According to Fishbase, they only get to be 2.5" long.

Live Aquaria has a chinstrap jawfish that only gets to 3" and looks pretty cool. It has a similar morphology to the dusky, so perhaps their behavior might be similar.

Blue Zoo Aquatics has a "red devil jawfish" that they say only gets to 1.5-2" long. I couldn't find that fish on Fishbase, so can't confirm that.



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Current Tank Info: 101g 3'X3'X18" Cubish Oyster Reef Blenny tank, 36"X17"X18" sump
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Unread 06/13/2019, 05:55 AM   #556
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chasmodes View Post
Here a a couple of notes from Michael's thread that I'll repost here for future reference to help you in your research. I put in the vendor's name this time for the ones that are sponsors on RC:

There are some other smaller jawfish species that might be worth considering too. The tiger (aka yellow or black cap) jawfish intrigues me. According to Fishbase, they only get to be 2.5" long.

Live Aquaria has a chinstrap jawfish that only gets to 3" and looks pretty cool. It has a similar morphology to the dusky, so perhaps their behavior might be similar.

Blue Zoo Aquatics has a "red devil jawfish" that they say only gets to 1.5-2" long. I couldn't find that fish on Fishbase, so can't confirm that.
Thank you Kevin. These notes will be very helpful when I am ready to get a jawfish. My plan is to leave the fish load on the tank as it is for now. However, when my seahorses live out their natural lives, I plan to set the 30 gallon up down stairs next to the sump. The drain will flow into it and the overflow will flow into the sump. Not only will it increase my overall water volume but it will give me a place to QT new fish before the UV sterilizer. I should probably have a Y and valves to isolate it from the entire system just to be safe. Anyway the main point is once the display is hooked up to the basement sump system, I wont have to carry 5 gallon buckets up the stairs to do WCs, so I will be able to feed even heavier than I do now thus I think the display could handle a few more docile fish.


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Unread 06/13/2019, 06:08 AM   #557
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After yesterday's WC I did some long overdue parameter testing. Some of the results surprised me since I am not dosing Alk, CA or Mag.

My last test was April 4th and the Alk went down from 9.9 to 7.7. That was not surprising but CA stayed the same at 450 and shockingly the Mag went up from 1350 to 1500. Instant Ocean is typically low in Mag so for it to go up is crazy. I am buying my salt in bulk from Chewy.com since I do so many WCs on the seahorses so I don't know if that has something to do with it. I intentionally use IO because it is so consistent. My test kit is fairly new so it should not be that. I plan to test again and also test the newly made saltwater. If I get the same results, what should I do if anything?

I guess I should mention that everything looks great in the tank. And I do dose strongium and coral vite. I need to see if either of those have Mag.


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Unread 06/13/2019, 07:28 AM   #558
Michael Hoaster
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I like Instant Ocean too. Or if there is anything else on sale for cheaper, then I like that, but generally IO is usually the cheapest. For my type of tank, it's not critical.

Getting your next tank closer to your sump sounds like a good idea. Five gallon buckets are heavy! Carrying those up stairs sounds like a good workout.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 06/13/2019, 09:41 AM   #559
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster View Post
I like Instant Ocean too. Or if there is anything else on sale for cheaper, then I like that, but generally IO is usually the cheapest. For my type of tank, it's not critical.

Getting your next tank closer to your sump sounds like a good idea. Five gallon buckets are heavy! Carrying those up stairs sounds like a good workout.
The sump now is actually connected to the seahorse tank, (which is in the livingroom next to my 56 gallon tank). I have it that way because I much prefer to carry 5 gallon WC for the 56 gallon (AIO at the present time) rather than the 20+ gallons WC a week for the seahorse tank. 5 gallons is a good work out, 20 gallons is insanity! I am training for a Tough Mudder the beginning of September but its counter-productive if the training kills me, LOL.

Instant Ocean usually being the cheapest also has influenced me.


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Unread 06/14/2019, 07:27 AM   #560
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I did another WC last night. I had not mentioned just how crazy high the NO3 and PO4 were...50-60 ppm and 2. - 2.5 ppm respectively. The WC brought the NO3 down to 25-30 ppm but the PO4 is still 2 ppm. I have a phosphate sponge that worked well once before. I added a small amt in a mesh bag and will check again Sunday. I am hoping for 1 or just under by then.

I will say the coral looked fantastic after the WC before the lights went out last night so I do not want to do anything too drastic.


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Unread 06/17/2019, 09:55 AM   #561
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You probably already know this, but be careful when lowering phosphates. Too drastic a change too quickly will be detrimental to the corals.


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Unread 06/17/2019, 07:21 PM   #562
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You probably already know this, but be careful when lowering phosphates. Too drastic a change too quickly will be detrimental to the corals.
Thank you, I did know that but appreciated the heads up anyway.


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Unread 06/18/2019, 06:58 PM   #563
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I checked the PO4 today and it's down to 1 ppm. We are getting there.

I bought a cleaner shrimp this past weekend for the 56 gallon. I chose a large one in case the coral banded shrimp I had acted aggressive toward it. That does not appear to be a problem however. I also got a tiger conch but with all the rubble rock in my tank, I may never see it again. LOL Today I went to a different lfs for food and came home with a feather duster. Actually I used restraint because I really wanted a diamond sandsifting goby but I did not succumb to the temptation. Mostly because I do not want to do bigger WCs on the 56 gallon.


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Unread 06/18/2019, 10:39 PM   #564
Michael Hoaster
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Feather dusters are nice. Pic?


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 06/19/2019, 06:58 AM   #565
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Feather dusters are nice. Pic?
I will try and take a few pics of the cleaner sbrimp and feather duster. I bought some oyster eggs and reef roids to feed my coral and feather duster. I have never kept feather dusters long term but I have never fed as heavily as I am feeding this tank. The fact that 2 by-valves just showed up tells me this tank has more varied nutrients than any previous tank I have had.


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Unread 07/10/2019, 03:49 PM   #566
Michael Hoaster
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It's been kinda quiet around here Dawn. Everything's OK I hope!


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 07/11/2019, 05:14 AM   #567
vlangel
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It's been kinda quiet around here Dawn. Everything's OK I hope!
Thanks for asking Michael, yes everything is good here. We went to SC to visit our son and his family for a week and there was disc golfing, amusement parks, the Whitewater center, antiqueing, fireworks, ice-cream and more. It wad crazy hectic. Then we brought our 3 grandchildren back with us, the youngest being 2 and a half. Need I say more? LOL. My son flies in on Saturday evening to rescue us, ha ha! Seriously, its been great and aminst all the chaos I am getting WCs done on both tanks so hopefully next week will be back to normal.


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Unread 07/11/2019, 12:55 PM   #568
Michael Hoaster
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Good! Ahh, family time. Enjoy!


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 07/17/2019, 06:46 PM   #569
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The grandkids are all back home and my husband and I are recovering from amazing family time. I am catching up on tank and home chores. Both tanks got WCs this week. The fish and seahorses are all doing well but I did lose the yellow torch which made me sad. The pipe organ does not open as well as it did but everything else looks good.

The WCs are up to date but the glass is pretty dirty so I don't have any pics yet. I will work on that.


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Unread 07/17/2019, 07:38 PM   #570
Michael Hoaster
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You must be pooped! Family time's great, making memories and reconnecting with everyone. Then you can settle back down and return to your aquatic critters…

I look forward to pics, once you get the batteries recharged!


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 07/23/2019, 03:28 PM   #571
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Glad you had fun with the family Dawn, welcome back!


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Current Tank Info: 101g 3'X3'X18" Cubish Oyster Reef Blenny tank, 36"X17"X18" sump
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Unread 07/24/2019, 01:23 PM   #572
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Glad you had fun with the family Dawn, welcome back!
Thanks Kevin.


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Unread 08/06/2019, 05:22 AM   #573
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Well I am back from another long weekend away. Both tanks are doing well even with some neglect with the summer schedule. I always make doing the seahorses WC priority every week but I did not get to the reef tank last week before we left. I did manage to snap a quick cell phone pic Aug 1st. Sorry I could not imbed the pic directly but here is a link.
https://flic.kr/p/2gMJsDa


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Unread 08/06/2019, 06:37 AM   #574
Michael Hoaster
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Chock full of life!


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 08/17/2019, 05:44 PM   #575
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Well on Thursday I returned from another trip. Today I did major maintenance on both tanks. Considering how much travelling I have done this summer the tanks are doing very well. I have not lost any fish and my pipe organ is rebounding since I relocated it. I have not added anything new as I have all I can handle now.


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