TikiBird's first SW tank (BioCube 29)
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The Cerith Snail and the Super Tongan Nassarius Snail are great for your sand bed. They will dig though it and clean it. Hermits will keep the top clean also. I was told by my lfs that I will need at least 30 hermits in my 29 Biocube. Everything I read said that it is good to have a hefty clean up crew.
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TikiBird
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Wow!! I would never have thought I could have so many!
@TikiBird I dunno, but at only about four months old your tank looks great and is miles ahead of others the same age. No diatoms no thick slime coat everywhere. IMO the Live rock with the algaes actually did you a pretty big favor. They and all the other micro flora and fauna(our invisible pets), processed extra the nutrints and minerals that fuel the standard ugly phase and afforded Immediate competition so no one organism could overrun the tank. Ie diatom bloom, cyano, etc. And personally Id like some of that red turf stuff for my tank.FTS....
If anyone has ideas on how I can get my sand clean, I'm all ears!
Yea you need some gardeners in there. The last batch of snails I got for my 30, were 2 1in turbos 2 asteria, 6 cerith(crab snacks), 4 trochus , 2 turbans , and I have one tiny cute fighting conch. I also have a lot of stomatella plus small bristle worms and a good collection of pods. cope iso and amphi.
I dont prefer crabs, they eat my snails and need more food than snails so I only have 2 in the 30 and Im about to move one out . In my 55 i have maybe 3.
Heres Renee's article. If you have a lot of meaty food you might want a Nassarius snail or three.
I have the best luck with using a tooth brush to scrub the spots and usually it doesnt grow back. Personally Im dealing with bryopsis, but as of late this has been working for that too.
SO yea Tiki, no more ugly tank jokes, a couple months ago my 30 looked like a Chia Pet!
Hey your not happy about the zoas?
thats way too many IMO. as some point those crabs will run out of food and either starve or go after anything edible. ANYTHING.
opps for got this.https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/choosing-cleanup-crew-critters.258695/
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TikiBird
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Thank you so much, @saltyfilmfolks!! You are so kind.
And that is GREAT info!! What an interesting theory that all the algae on the live rock was actually a GOOD thing! Who would have thought??
Thanks for the snail recommendations. I clearly need to go shopping. [emoji16]
I have to say the tank looks better than it did before my urchin and blenny arrived! They have been chowing down. They also like the nori I put in.
I was having a brief meltdown about the zoa's toxicity, but I'm going to leave them in. I like them, I am just afraid they're going to, you know, kill me. [emoji15] But I'm going to be more cautious with them in the tank and I think I'll be OK.
Link to Renee's article?
No more jokes. [emoji23] There are SO many spotless, gorgeous tanks on here it is a bit intimidating!! I had tank envy. Lol You made me feel a lot better.
And that is GREAT info!! What an interesting theory that all the algae on the live rock was actually a GOOD thing! Who would have thought??
Thanks for the snail recommendations. I clearly need to go shopping. [emoji16]
I have to say the tank looks better than it did before my urchin and blenny arrived! They have been chowing down. They also like the nori I put in.
I was having a brief meltdown about the zoa's toxicity, but I'm going to leave them in. I like them, I am just afraid they're going to, you know, kill me. [emoji15] But I'm going to be more cautious with them in the tank and I think I'll be OK.
Link to Renee's article?
No more jokes. [emoji23] There are SO many spotless, gorgeous tanks on here it is a bit intimidating!! I had tank envy. Lol You made me feel a lot better.
Not many nowadays remember this stuff. Its the old school way of setting up the best easiest simple system. I read about it in a 30 year old book
How tragic,
. Is it pouring up there today? The San Diegans believe this is the apocalypseyea, that aint that real. Even I clean up good for a picture, when my wife makes me. And some of those folks have been practising and learning for years.
I put the link in late, it's a sticky, under the invert discussion forum.
So what coral is next for you? Are you dosing cal and alk yet or would you prefer to avoid it for now and just do WC's?
Avoid the green palys. btw.
.
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TikiBird
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Not many nowadays remember this stuff. Its the old school way of setting up the best easiest simple system. I read about it in a 30 year old book
How tragic,
yea, that aint that real. Even I clean up good for a picture, when my wife makes me. And some of those folks have been practising and learning for years.
I put the link in late, it's a sticky, under the invert discussion forum.
So what coral is next for you? Are you dosing cal and alk yet or would you prefer to avoid it for now and just do WC's?
Avoid the green palys. btw.
.
I guess I'm just naturally old school! Hahaha
LOL @ the cleaning up good for a picture! Don't we all! Lol Then you accidentally flip your phone camera around and take an unflattering selfie and it's ruined. [emoji33]
Just read the sticky, and it's fabulous. Psyched to go snail shopping! [emoji222] [emoji222] [emoji222]
I'm not sure which coral to go for next...any ideas? I need something "easy." I'm actually going to my first swap in a couple weeks (they said I don't actually have to have anything to swap, I can just buy!). Tips?
I haven't dosed cal or alk yet. Should I? I do a 10-20 % water change every week or every other week....
It was CRAZY windy and rainy here yesterday. We were SO lucky not to lose power at my house. I had the battery-powered bubblers ready to go for my tanks just in case, but that is obviously not ideal and I was so relieved when the power stayed on all night. I thought it was the apocalypse yesterday too!! Lol Today it is sunny. Good day to go out to the fish store. [emoji16]
It would be choosing less stony corals. Montipora will sink your calcium if your not dosing, so even though there easy theres a price. If your doing weekly or every other week you'll want to stay with softer corals rather than stoney ones. So you could combine WC and manual two part dosing and be just fine. I did that for a long time.
ANd coral picking? really, what do you like and what would fill out the tank well.
An easy photosynthetic gorgonian would probably be nice, it does have a skeleton, I have a Pink and golden those are easy. A devils hand or a toad stool, both leathers. A bubble coral maybe for the lower right side?
Clove polyps are nice but the can over grow stuff like xenia do, same with gsp, but if you place them right its ok.
I love love blastomussa merletti, even though its a stony its a fairly slow grower and looks like a Rose bush. I had great luck in a pico tank with them for several years.
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TikiBird
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Thank you @saltyfilmfolks! I'm going to look up all of those and save the pics. I wish you could shop with me in person and tell me what to get!!
Id love to get up north someday.
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TikiBird
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LMK if you're in the Bay Area! Maybe I can take a field trip to some shops there. [emoji16]
I do hate having so many friends here I cant go shopping with.
When the weather warms up Ill send up some gorgs. I have to trim them, the last trimming is still in the sump
SD is coral spoiled.
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TikiBird
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I do hate having so many friends here I cant go shopping with.
When the weather warms up Ill send up some gorgs. I have to trim them, the last trimming is still in the sump
Oh!! That is so nice of you!! Thank you so much. [emoji1] I'll try my best to give them a good home!! [emoji847]
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TikiBird
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Hey @saltyfilmfolks, were you serious about wanting the red turf stuff?? I'll be happy to give you some, if you tell me how to do it! Lol
lol. thanks, its probably harder to to than it worth. I actually bought some that looked similar. I kept moving it, the crabs ate it, it faded out and just finally all died in the display.
On year or more later, its growing quite well on the overflows of my sump
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