djoutkast22
Active Member
This setup is gna be sweet
Tonapah's IM38 build
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OP
OP
Quick update.
I decided to put six Nessarius snails and two Astrea turbo snails into the tank. I also put some Cerith and some Nerite snails in with two Emerald crabs.
They have been extremely active. And have eaten the rocks nearly bare. I am concerned that there is not enough food. However, I have been ghost feeding.
I originally had a spike in ammonia after first putting them in. But levels appeared to be stable at close to zeros now.
Coraline algae seems to be flourishing at this point.
I will post pictures soon.
Cheers
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
I decided to put six Nessarius snails and two Astrea turbo snails into the tank. I also put some Cerith and some Nerite snails in with two Emerald crabs.
They have been extremely active. And have eaten the rocks nearly bare. I am concerned that there is not enough food. However, I have been ghost feeding.
I originally had a spike in ammonia after first putting them in. But levels appeared to be stable at close to zeros now.
Coraline algae seems to be flourishing at this point.
I will post pictures soon.
Cheers
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
OP
OP
Thanks DJ. I liked the rock setup enough that I bonded the rocks last night with reef putty. I stirred up the water a bit as I was doing it but it appears to be bonding.
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
OP
OP
Things are looking ok I think. The ammonia seems to be fluctuating between 0ppm and .20ppm and followed by a small rise in Nitrates between 0ppm and 10ppm. Nitrites stay at 0ppm with no fluctuations. Ph seems to be dipping down to 7.9 from 8.2 ... The ATO seems to keep water levels even and salinity right at 1.027.
In short, I think I'm ghost feeding too much. Even though the skimmer seems to be working overtime, I think the extra food keeps too much decayed material in the tank creation the ammonia spikes. I'm not sure.
I think I'll drop the ghost feeding altogether for a day or two. The snails and crabs and sand sifting star should be fine. Although the way those Nessarius act, you never know. They are like vulture/hyena/sharks. Hahaha. When I resume ghost feeding, I'll just do about 1/4 cube of frozen brine instead of a whole cube.
Anyway, I'm still enjoying it. It's 13 and nothing that I know of has died. :) The snails seem ok: rocks are very clean and whitish but coralline seems to be growing ok.
Cheers
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
In short, I think I'm ghost feeding too much. Even though the skimmer seems to be working overtime, I think the extra food keeps too much decayed material in the tank creation the ammonia spikes. I'm not sure.
I think I'll drop the ghost feeding altogether for a day or two. The snails and crabs and sand sifting star should be fine. Although the way those Nessarius act, you never know. They are like vulture/hyena/sharks. Hahaha. When I resume ghost feeding, I'll just do about 1/4 cube of frozen brine instead of a whole cube.
Anyway, I'm still enjoying it. It's 13 and nothing that I know of has died. :) The snails seem ok: rocks are very clean and whitish but coralline seems to be growing ok.
Cheers
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
OP
OP
I had three Nerite snails go AWOL last night. I was able to save two of them. The third was out too long I think and the cats played with it. So, I decided to put the glass lid on it, at night anyway.
I found some nice corals at the LFS today and I couldn't help myself. I bought an alien eye chalice, a birds nest acropora, and a pretty Duncan with about 5 or 6 heads on it. A few other things but I'll wait to mention them.
Full Frontal
Close up of the Duncan
Close up of alien eye chalice (35+eyes)
Close up of the birds nest
I'll work on getting better pics without the drastic blues on. The photos don't do justice to these beauties.
Things are going well with the water. Ph still seems a little low at 8.0 and Nitrates are still in the 5-10 range. I'm sticking with the water change regimen. All in all, I'm happy. We'll find out soon if things are gonna be ok. I'll try to keep theses happy for a while before I add anything new.
Tonapah
I found some nice corals at the LFS today and I couldn't help myself. I bought an alien eye chalice, a birds nest acropora, and a pretty Duncan with about 5 or 6 heads on it. A few other things but I'll wait to mention them.
Full Frontal
Close up of the Duncan
Close up of alien eye chalice (35+eyes)
Close up of the birds nest
I'll work on getting better pics without the drastic blues on. The photos don't do justice to these beauties.
Things are going well with the water. Ph still seems a little low at 8.0 and Nitrates are still in the 5-10 range. I'm sticking with the water change regimen. All in all, I'm happy. We'll find out soon if things are gonna be ok. I'll try to keep theses happy for a while before I add anything new.
Tonapah
KingOfPain86
Active Member
The PH will fluctuate per your lights. When you test for PH it's best to wait a few hours after your lights come on.
revhtree
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Looking good!
OP
OP
Thanks.
I moved a few things and cut them off the plugs because I think they are hideous. When I cut one of the plugs off the green slimer, a couple worm things came out of the glued area - I cut off a small portion of the stem, scraped it until it looked clean, and dipped it in coral dip again. I let it sit in an acclimator tank for a few hours and checked it again before putting it in the tank. I'm thinking this was a bad idea but I glued it in already. I can break it out if anyone thinks I should.
Here is a picture of the full view
I was hoping someone could confirm what this chalice is called. I was told it is a Red Volcano chalice. If so, any thoughts on placement and how it should be fed?
Thanks
Tona
ReeferMan420
Active Member
Looks like that stringy stuff is red slime cyanobacteria
OP
OP
I will certainly keep an eye on them but I think they will be hard to get out of the tank if I decide to remove them. They are fast little *******s and they seem very shy.
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783
OP
OP
I will keep an eye on that. I didn't notice anything lately but purple coralline, and very little green tint growing at this point. I had a little "stringy stuff" early on but I brushed it off with a tooth brush and ran the UV for about 3 hours.
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783
shovelrider
Active Member
Nice! looking good so far.
SeahorseKeeper
Where's the mysis?
Looking good!! :)
OP
OP
Water parameters are still looking good.
Using SeaChem Salinity for water changes and it's keeping Ca, Alk, and Mg high where it should be.
You were right about keeping an eye on the emerald crabs. I think one ate my sand sifting star today. I don't know if the star died first or what. The star was moving a lot so I don't really know what happened. When I got home from work, there were just 5 tentacles left. The mouth was gone.
Alas, my first tank death. And honestly, I'm a bit crestfallen. sucks.
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783
Using SeaChem Salinity for water changes and it's keeping Ca, Alk, and Mg high where it should be.
You were right about keeping an eye on the emerald crabs. I think one ate my sand sifting star today. I don't know if the star died first or what. The star was moving a lot so I don't really know what happened. When I got home from work, there were just 5 tentacles left. The mouth was gone.
Alas, my first tank death. And honestly, I'm a bit crestfallen. sucks.
Tona
When all is said and done, there is too much said than done. - Grandpa
Tonapah's-IM38-build https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135783
OP
OP
Thanks. I plan on adding some crab eating "somethings" LOL .. I'll teach those little vultures. just kidding.
I think I'm going to look for some kind of fish to add this weekend and some fancier hermits and snails. I don't think I have enough.
I found plastic grate at the hardware store today - the kind that fit over ceiling tile lights. I'm going to cut it to fit the top to my tank to try to keep the snails from getting away. I've lost about half a dozen to climbers.
I'm not feeling real proud. Several snails awol and a star dead so far. :squigglemouth:
Tona
MadBrad527
Community Member
That's the bummer to the hobby, but it's the true way to learn, and that's from mistakes. Sorry for the losses, but I'm really liking this thread so far. I can imagine this tank doing very well!
OP
OP
Today was a good tank day.
I did a 5g water change (15%) in about 30 minutes with just my ATO pump. Pretty simple. I'm getting it down pat I think.
Ammonia and nitrites are zero. I went to the LFS store and picked up a better NO3/PO4 test. The API test wasn't accurate enough - the scale jumps from 0-5-10-20 and over. It calls for too much extrapolation. The Sera PO4 test was fine but it I was having the same problems. At this point in my experience, I don't feel the need to keep testing Ammonia and Nitrites. I think my tank is beyond the cycle for sure. I'll test it periodically just to keep an eye on it.
So, to make a long story short, I'm now using the Red Sea Pro Ca/Mg/Ak and the Red Sea Pro NO3/PO4 test kits. Both are easy for me to use and the NO3/PO4 appear more accurate in that I am able to pinpoint the numbers better.
Post water change numbers were good.
1.026
Mg - 1380
Ca - 420
Ak - 9.2dKH
NO3 - 4.0ppm
PO4 - .10ppm
I'm using Seachem Salinity salt and mixing precisely 5g at a time. I use a food scale set to grams and measure out the appropriate amount. Works out fine and I'm getting pretty fast at it. The longest part is waiting on the RO/DI to produce good water. I didn't count the mixing time into my water change PR. ;)
Also, at the LFS store today, I picked up an Emerald Green Ricordia, and a light purple and green tipped plate of some kind. I'll try to identify it precisely later. Nothing crazy happened during the "dip" process.
I might be getting too much green stuff. Haha. Gonna have to change my colors up a bit.
I ALSO PICKED UP MY FIRST FISH!! Woohoo.
I saw a Midas Blenny that just called my name. So I got him. S/He is very shy. I'm hoping it finds a forward facing hole because as it is now, he's hiding in the back.
I'll post pics tomorrow if I can get a good shot of everything.
Tona
Tonapah
I did a 5g water change (15%) in about 30 minutes with just my ATO pump. Pretty simple. I'm getting it down pat I think.
Ammonia and nitrites are zero. I went to the LFS store and picked up a better NO3/PO4 test. The API test wasn't accurate enough - the scale jumps from 0-5-10-20 and over. It calls for too much extrapolation. The Sera PO4 test was fine but it I was having the same problems. At this point in my experience, I don't feel the need to keep testing Ammonia and Nitrites. I think my tank is beyond the cycle for sure. I'll test it periodically just to keep an eye on it.
So, to make a long story short, I'm now using the Red Sea Pro Ca/Mg/Ak and the Red Sea Pro NO3/PO4 test kits. Both are easy for me to use and the NO3/PO4 appear more accurate in that I am able to pinpoint the numbers better.
Post water change numbers were good.
1.026
Mg - 1380
Ca - 420
Ak - 9.2dKH
NO3 - 4.0ppm
PO4 - .10ppm
I'm using Seachem Salinity salt and mixing precisely 5g at a time. I use a food scale set to grams and measure out the appropriate amount. Works out fine and I'm getting pretty fast at it. The longest part is waiting on the RO/DI to produce good water. I didn't count the mixing time into my water change PR. ;)
Also, at the LFS store today, I picked up an Emerald Green Ricordia, and a light purple and green tipped plate of some kind. I'll try to identify it precisely later. Nothing crazy happened during the "dip" process.
I might be getting too much green stuff. Haha. Gonna have to change my colors up a bit.
I ALSO PICKED UP MY FIRST FISH!! Woohoo.
I saw a Midas Blenny that just called my name. So I got him. S/He is very shy. I'm hoping it finds a forward facing hole because as it is now, he's hiding in the back.
I'll post pics tomorrow if I can get a good shot of everything.
Tona
Tonapah
OP
OP
Benny the ******* (Blenny) is doing well. He hides from me, which isn't cool. Any time I so much as sneak up to the tank, he goes to his hole in the back of the rocks and hides out. I guess I should have made some holes forward facing. Alas, live and learn. He is eating mysis shrimp but I just noticed that he appears to be passing on the largest pieces. I might try brine tomorrow instead to see if he's still interested. He seems to be doing pretty well all in all. I think he's beautiful. Yellow gold scales, blue eyes, killer pecs, and a mean blue streak down his dorsal fin. ;)
The emerald green Ricordia is thriving so far. The plate is eating the hand fed mysis - I cannot believe how big its mouth is. Truly shocking. Very cool to see it eat and shape itself into a volcano looking thing after it closes its mouth. I think that's probably my cue to feed it again - when the peak drops down flat. We'll have to play it by ear. I think I'm gonna like plates.
My pink pucker chalice and red volcano chalice are still just sitting there. No color changes, no obvious growth, no nothing. Maybe I'll move them somewhere else in the tank to see if they do "something" - I don't think they know they are here to entertain me. o.O
The Duncan is getting huge. Nuff said - lots of little heads are a'popping.
The ultra blue sympodia might be the neatest. It just looks awesome with a big pile of bright blue with little green flowers. It's growing well. The slimer and bird's nest don't look much different to me but I see white'ish tips on the birds nest. Nothing much to speak of with the green slimer - seems pretty calm.
Parameters are holding steady:
1.026
Ph - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 4ppm
Phosphates - undetectable (0ppm)
Mg - 1280 (a little low I think)
Ca - 420
KH - 9.0 dKH
I promise I'll post pics tomorrow now that I think I can get a good shot of Benny the ******* (from a distance with the zoom lens in my own **** living room). Haha
Tona
Tonapah
The emerald green Ricordia is thriving so far. The plate is eating the hand fed mysis - I cannot believe how big its mouth is. Truly shocking. Very cool to see it eat and shape itself into a volcano looking thing after it closes its mouth. I think that's probably my cue to feed it again - when the peak drops down flat. We'll have to play it by ear. I think I'm gonna like plates.
My pink pucker chalice and red volcano chalice are still just sitting there. No color changes, no obvious growth, no nothing. Maybe I'll move them somewhere else in the tank to see if they do "something" - I don't think they know they are here to entertain me. o.O
The Duncan is getting huge. Nuff said - lots of little heads are a'popping.
The ultra blue sympodia might be the neatest. It just looks awesome with a big pile of bright blue with little green flowers. It's growing well. The slimer and bird's nest don't look much different to me but I see white'ish tips on the birds nest. Nothing much to speak of with the green slimer - seems pretty calm.
Parameters are holding steady:
1.026
Ph - 8.2
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 4ppm
Phosphates - undetectable (0ppm)
Mg - 1280 (a little low I think)
Ca - 420
KH - 9.0 dKH
I promise I'll post pics tomorrow now that I think I can get a good shot of Benny the ******* (from a distance with the zoom lens in my own **** living room). Haha
Tona
Tonapah
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