The Winter Reef

[Keko21]

I'm in this weird new tank syndrome phase with ammonia still hovering at .25ppm. Only inverts in the tank: 4 sexy shrimp, a feather duster, 3 hermits (one is a huge thin stripe which seems to be producing more waste than he cleans), 3 nassarius vibex, 3 florida ceriths, 2 astreas, and a handful of dwarf ceriths, and obviously a healthy group of pods. I had a tailspot blenny which was doing fine until it jumped out of the tank THE DAY BEFORE MY LID ARRIVED!

Just being extra cautious now before adding fish again. Nitrites did spike and subside as expected, NO3 is at about 10ppm, but definitely still getting ammonia readings. Should I expect another nitrite spike?

 

[Haggisman14]

I'm in this weird new tank syndrome phase with ammonia still hovering at .25ppm. Only inverts in the tank: 4 sexy shrimp, a feather duster, 3 hermits (one is a huge thin stripe which seems to be producing more waste than he cleans), 3 nassarius vibex, 3 florida ceriths, 2 astreas, and a handful of dwarf ceriths, and obviously a healthy group of pods. I had a tailspot blenny which was doing fine until it jumped out of the tank THE DAY BEFORE MY LID ARRIVED!

Just being extra cautious now before adding fish again. Nitrites did spike and subside as expected, NO3 is at about 10ppm, but definitely still getting ammonia readings. Should I expect another nitrite spike?

I'm curious how the snails do for you. I currently have about 5 astraea in the tank, 2 larger hermits (black leg type), and 2 nassarius snails. My snails just weren't doing a good job keeping the nusance algae at bay, so I popped in 15 little blue legs, and in 2 weeks time they brought everything back to an "acceptable" level in my opinion.

So far all hermits are leaving my snails alone...no casualties just yet!

 

[Keko21]

New recruits!!

 

[Keko21]

Well you win some you loose some… clown goby is eating on day 2! Excellent!

Hector’s goby was found being eaten by crabs. Life on the reef can be tough sometimes.

 

[Haggisman14]

Bummer Bob! Sorry to hear the Hectors goby didn't make it!

I know the feeling though! I've lost BOTh emerald crabs that i put in the tank...no clue why. Everything else has always been good.

 

[Keko21]

Well this handsome fellow is doing well. Obviously decided to go the hardier route.

Just trying to clear this cloudy water- lingering for a couple weeks now despite water changes and running activated carbon in the filter cup with filter floss.

I also have the return pointed up for extra surface agitation and gas exchange. Fish dont seem to be breathing heavy and everything seems happy. Just super murky in there.

Ph 8.1
NO3: 5-10ppm
PO4: .03
Ammonia: .02ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
77*F

 

[Keko21]

Some nice updates on the Winter Reef!!!

Bacteria bloom is gone! Fish are happy! And we have our first coral and an anemone!

I decided this is going to be a pulsing xenia and BTA only tank! (Well maybe a few others lol)

 

[Cthulukelele]

Some nice updates on the Winter Reef!!!

Bacteria bloom is gone! Fish are happy! And we have our first coral and an anemone!

I decided this is going to be a pulsing xenia and BTA only tank! (Well maybe a few others lol)

Great idea! Anemones are great in pest coral tanks since they make their own space haha

 

[Haggisman14]

Looking good! Love the little sexy shrimp you have in there too!

 

[Keko21]

Time for an update on the mini!

A little bit of a rock scape rearranging yesterday due to the fact that i had a nasty GHA outbreak and rocks needed to be scrubbed. Now I am by no means an advocate of chemical remediation and always advise to fix the root problem, but HOT dang Algae fix from API absolutely nuked the remaining GHA in less than 24 hours with no issues to any other inhabitants!

Xenia is growing nicely and waves to me on the daily. The only other corals I an putting in are heavy stingers so hopefully the xenia will give some space. Currently the only other coral is a frog spawn but I have a hammer, a goni, and a cynarina coming Thursday