critter count so far!

[redwarrior77]

Ok so far here's the critter count:

Several worms (look like bristle worms)
2 cerith snails
4-5 or more nassarius snails
1 red mithrax crab
1 hermit crab
1 keyhole limpet
2 cup corals
1 red macroalgae
numerous green algae
Several sponges - already bleaching, but that's pretty much to be expected, from what I've heard
Too many tiny barnacles to count

And this is all just with the part 1 rock!

I've been VERY closely monitoring ammonia levels...everything seemed pretty good until a couple of hours ago when it started crawling up. (Yes I am fretting over this thing like a newborn!) I did a 2g water change at that point and I'm monitoring it, prepared to swap out more water if necessary to bring it down. Right now it's hovering between 0.02 and 0.03ppm, but I don't want to leave for the evening and come back and have it sky high. I'm also a little nervous that my flow might actually be too high...every time my poor snails try to climb the glass much, they fall off! Mr. Limpet seems to have no problems, though. I wonder how you tell if you have TOO much flow vs. not enough?

In any case, everyone had fun today looking at all the critters. I'll post pics tonight of some of the stars of the show after I'm more comfortable with the state of the tank. :)

[Acrophet]

Watch those sponges.

[liverock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12920821#post12920821 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acrophet
Watch those sponges.

Watch the sponges..if in doubt use your nose..you have a very small volume of water...

if it does spike at this point.....it will be something on the way out, and you need to get at it asap....as things in small tanks change fast!


sea ya
Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

[redwarrior77]

I just changed more water...I noticed that my filter and the sponge by my pump were both filled with sand-colored guck...I did my best to clean them out and I'm getting ready to get to work on figuring out what on the rock is turning...the water smells very much like low tide, so I think it's worth spending the evening at work to figure this one out...I would hate to go home and come back to a dead tank in the morning. So far ammonia is still at about 0.05...time for the gloves.

One note for fellow nano tankers getting ready for this - keep some extra filters on hand, particularly if you aren't sure your skimmer is up to this kind of bioload. I'll be putting the purigen in tonight as well as thoroughly cleaning my filter...I think I will go out and get another one tomorrow and swap this one out as well.

[redwarrior77]

I think I found the culprit. All the rocks smelled fresh and fine except the big one. I found two sponges that felt "slimy" and smelled back, so I scrubbed both off with a paper towel. On the bright side, I also found a gorilla crab while I was scrubbing. I think all the poor creatures in my tank right now are wondering what is up with all the moving of the rocks and swapping of the water. So far, I've swapped out about 3.5g of water and I'm mixing more. I'm going to scrub the filter and sponge good and add the purigen and then hang out here for a few hours and see which direction things start going.

[redwarrior77]

Ok, now I think I freaked out for no reason. If the lights are on, the Seachem Ammonia meter shows <0.02ppm. If it's off, it looks like 0.05...I'm getting my ammonia test kit out to see what results it gives.

[liverock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12921291#post12921291 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Ok, now I think I freaked out for no reason. If the lights are on, the Seachem Ammonia meter shows <0.02ppm. If it's off, it looks like 0.05...I'm getting my ammonia test kit out to see what results it gives.

.o5 is ok...cycling....keep it there!

Richard TBS
:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

[redwarrior77]

How'd this get to be two posts? I guess one of my responses accidentally became it's own thread...oh well!

Well, it's been a looooonnnngg night. Like they say, only bad things happen fast, but man did bad things happen fast. I'd say until about 3 or 4pm, things were going great. My water was clearing up and I think every snail in the rock was coming out to play. Then...the water started to look more yellow and my ammonia started rising. I did a 3.5g water change at that point and then waited...it stayed at around 0.05. I mixed more saltwater and used my test kit rather than the "dot gauge." The test kit's results were somewhere between 0.05 and 1.0. I took out my filter, the sponge in front of my pump, and even my chaeto and rinsed them all in DO/RI. I couldn't believe the guck that came out of my filter! I placed them back in the tank and did another water change, this time 4g. I waited...and tested again. The same results. I pulled out each piece of rock, this time carefully sniffing each little crack and crevice (would have made an interesting story if a mantis shrimp had decided my nose looked tasty!). I scraped off a couple more sponges that had a "funky" smell to them just in case. I gave my tank last rights just in case and then finally headed home. My test kit last measured somewhere between 0.05 and 0.1 and my seachem "dot test" measured closer to 0.05.

We'll see how it looks in the morning, but for tonight, I have fought the good fight and annoyed my snails as much as I think they can take. Tomorrow, my better test kits should arrive along with my purigen...they were supposed to arrive yesterday, but who knows where they landed in the postal service's priority list. I'll go ahead and crop some pictures to post of how my rock looked before I began attacking sponges, but for now I have some hard-won words of wisdom for any fellow nano-tankers preparing to taken on this endeavour:

1. This is great rock, but with great rock comes great responsibility. You want dead rock that's predictable? You afraid of critters and just want a sterile tank? Stick with the overpriced dead LFS stuff. :smokin:
2. Spend as much or more money on your protein skimmer as you tank. No protein skimmer or a cheap protein skimmer ain't gonna cut it. Put up the bucks for a sapphire or tunze...I know I'll be upgrading to one.
3. Have backup filtration ready. If you use the foam-y filters included with a biocube or similar, keep several on hand so that you can swap them out if they get dirty on the fly. Be prepared. Even better, have some filter media specifically for filtering ammonia on hand and ready or already in the tank. Have extra filter floss or sponges. Basically have a spare of EVERYTHING.
4. Yes, it is important to keep your rock in water as much as possible, but don't be afraid to sniff it all over before you add it to the tank. If I had it to do over again, I would have sniffed each sponge twice and removed a couple of the larger ones to start with just in case. It's not like there wasn't plenty else on that rock! ;)
5. Plan on spending some quality time with your tank the first couple of days after adding the rock. You'll want to anyway to watch all the interesting critters you keep seeing and if you plan ahead for this, you will have also cleared out your schedule for any unforeseen issues that might pop up.

Even if I come in tomorrow to a dead tank with my ammonia through the roof, I'm still glad I went with real live rock versus the stuff in my LFS. I had a ton of fun today and tonight I learned a ton about my tank and what I can do better with it. For me, that's worth it even if I have to pretty much start from scratch again. Hopefully, though, the hard work I put in tonight will pay off and I'll come in tomorrow morning and my ammonia will be back down to tolerable levels and the snails will have forgiven me for all the craziness and come back out to play. :lol:

[redwarrior77]

Ok, enough with the whining and worrying...on with the pictures! :D
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139green_algae.jpg
Green macroalgae growing on the rock.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139redandgreenalgae.jpg
Red and green macroalgae...I really think this is one of the parts of my tank that gets the most admiring comments, no picture does it justice the way it moves in the flow and how much color it adds to the tank!

[redwarrior77]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139part1topdown.jpg
Top down tank shot
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139keyholelimpet.jpg
Keyhole Limpet
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139leastrock.jpg
Rock with unidentified corals
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139algaeandcupcoralrock.jpg
Rock with red and green macroalgae and cup corals
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139part1fts.jpg
Full Tank Shot

As you can tell, the top-down shot was taken in the afternoon, while the rest of the pictures were taken mid-day...you can see the difference in the water...still great pics, though!

[OgreMkV]

Awesome pics. Keep 'em coming.

[liverock]

Now is the time to use your nose....

if you are getting high ammonia readings, something is on the way out.....

if that rock you cleaned smells bad, ditch it....and I will send you more on part 2.

The Pics look good, and keeping the ammonia under 1ppm will make the tank come around in a few days..

Keep me posted!

Richard TBS
:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

[redwarrior77]

Things seem to be going better today! :D

The water is back to much clearer and this morning Ammonia registered somewhere (depending on test and what color looks most like what) between 0.05 and 1.0. The "low tide" smell also seems to have improved. At noon, it was measuring a little higher, so I did a 2g water change and added some fiber-fill (the kind for tanks, not pillows) to a couple of areas that I plan on taking out later today or tomorrow to help catch some of the extra "brown stuff." My purigen should arrive today unless the postal service has decided to take today off. :p

This evening I'm going to pull the rocks again for another "sniff test" and may do a water change then if the ammonia requires it. I think I'll wait until then to decide if one of the rocks needs to go completely. I think I made some good headway last night by removing some sponges that just weren't liking my tank, but I may have to remove a couple more.

Other than that, my critters seem pretty happy today. The snails and crabs are definitely more active and my keyhole limpet has decided the rocks are much more fun to hang out on than my tank glass. I still think he's my favorite so far, although the kids are pulling for the crabs.:jester:

[redwarrior77]

Woo-hoo...ammonia now back down to 0.05ppm! :D

[liverock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12926524#post12926524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Woo-hoo...ammonia now back down to 0.05ppm! :D

If your critters are happy, you are on the high road!

Richard TBS
:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

[redwarrior77]

A couple more pics...these are from this afternoon. The water is a lot clearer and ammonia is staying more stable around 0.05ppm. :fun4:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139macrorock.jpg
My favorite rock again
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/1931392nddaypart1fts.jpg
Full-tank shot from this afternoon. You can really see how much better the water looks as well as how the rock is losing the "brown fuzzy stuff" that it was covered with yesterday. I'm not sure what this stuff is, but underneath are the most beautiful dark purples and pinks and in some places the rock is almost orange.

[redwarrior77]

And then...there came death. :sad1:

When I left my tank last night...all was well. My ammonia was around 0.05ppm and it seemed like things were finally settling down a bit. Sadly, when I finally got a chance to go in to work to check on it...the ammonia had spiked. I'm not sure which test to trust since all 3 I used gave different results, but suffice it to say it was over .1ppm. I added my purigen and did another water change, sniffing each rock very carefully for anything dead. The snails and hermit crab seem to be weathering the storm ok so far, but the rock has emptied quite a bit...parts of it look more like the LFS "live rock" than the pictures you see on here. It didn't help that my new pump raised my tank's temperature as well overnight (not too high, but higher than it was when I measured specific gravity on my change water) and my specific gravity also elevated. I was very careful to bring that down as well with my water change. It was elevated, but luckily it wasn't high enough to do major damage.

I'm glad I decided to go in to check on things! I'm trying to stay positive since even if I do get die off on this rock, it will mean my tank is cycling. I'm going to install a new protein skimmer next week. Hopefully my snails and crabs and I will survive! :)

[docklink]

First, I'm sorry things went a bit south. It happens and it happens faster in the smaller units. However, you are on top of it and that will count for a lot. You'll be surprised at what survives and keep in mind, this is part one. Once it has cycled, it will handle the addition of part two much more smoothly. And part two is when the party really begins!! Keep watching and don't panic.
Good luck.

[redwarrior77]

I'm going to go in and check on it today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Most of all, I hope "Mr. Limpet" isn't floating...he's become quite the favorite! (Funny how attached we can become to a free snail!)

I'm hoping the purigen helps...I wasn't aware that 100mL is enough to treat 150g...what the heck is in that little bag?

[redwarrior77]

Mr. Limpet is MIA and the red macroalgae is gone. The hermit crab and snails seem to be holding on and I'm starting to see the barnacles come out. I'm hoping Mr. Limpet just has decided to weather the storm on the far side of the rocks. :)

[redwarrior77]

Ahhh...just found Mr. Limpet and he seems alive and well. For now, I'm going to cool it a bit with the massive water changes and just keep an eye on things. My specific gravity is good and I'm hearing the "clicks" of my mysterious little friend again...perhaps things are starting to look up?

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12943504#post12943504 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Ahhh...just found Mr. Limpet and he seems alive and well. For now, I'm going to cool it a bit with the massive water changes and just keep an eye on things. My specific gravity is good and I'm hearing the "clicks" of my mysterious little friend again...perhaps things are starting to look up?

:celeb2: it's good to hear you found your favorite Mr. Limpet alive and well after the spike. More pics please!

[redwarrior77]

More pictures!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139deadrock.jpg
This is the rock that has probably had the most death. You can see how it looks bleached out at the front and the red and green macroalgae has died off. However, the 2 cup corals seem to be clinging to life and I can see smaller pieces of macroalgae that seem to be surviving.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139leastrock2.jpg
Another rock...this one has many tiny pieces of red macroalgae that I'm hoping will start growing again.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139bigrock.jpg
The big rock...this is the one that I had to clean the most sponges off of when it began to turn. Happily, it now seems to be doing the best and I've seen 4 or 5 feather dusters open up on it this morning along with the usual barnacles.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139ftsday3.jpg
A full-tank shot. Mr. Limpet seems to be doing laps around the tank working on my glass. I think he's happy about these tiny white spots I'm getting on it. I'm hoping those are the beginnings of pods or something else good, but it's definitely got him moving more today than I've ever seen. :)

Hang in there, little buddies!

[redwarrior77]

It's ALIVE!!! :D

The tank is even livelier today than it was yesterday...I've even seen a baby hermit crab come wandering out and those little white spots are all over. They look to be some kind of eggs of some kind. The snails seem to think they are a buffet! I've also heard more of the clicking today than I've heard in a few days and seen more feather dusters than ever. I'm beginning to think we might make it over the hump.

My ammonia has dropped back down from its all-time high back down to around 1.0ppm...it's still high, but it's going down, which is way better than what it's been doing.

The macroalgae is even coming back. :D Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!

[redwarrior77]

I know you guys are probably sick of me posting by now, but I really am amazed at how this stuff has been "evolving" ever since I put it in my tank.

First, it was covered with all kinds of stuff. The I had my ammonia spike and some death. Now it's almost like what hasn't died is thriving, changing the character of the tank entirely. The rock really is a different color now from what it was when it arrived and I see much more color in it, pinks and reds. Every day a new little creature seems to take center stage. Today my coworkers finally noticed the feather dusters, yesterday it was Mr. Limpet. Not only does this tank make it more fun for us at work, It even makes me want to linger after 5, rather than dreading late nights. :D I'm really glad I didn't go with fiji or tonga...I'd be bored to tears right now, I'm sure!

[redwarrior77]

2 pics from today:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139day5cupcoral.jpg
The 2 cup corals, still hanging in there. This is the rock that had the most die-off, but it seems to be doing a lot better now.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139day5fts.jpg
FTS - slightly new rockscape. Mr. Limpet has been busy cleaning off some green algae on the rocks today rather than doing tank laps!

[OgreMkV]

Awesome Red. It looks great. Are you still waiting on part two?

[redwarrior77]

Yep...my ammonia is still higher than it should be...just waiting and enjoying the show for now!

[OgreMkV]

I was kinda confused by your readings. Sometimes you used the decimal and I wondering how you could even measure .05 ppm ammonia.

Did you basically remove anything that was starting to go white?

[redwarrior77]

I did the "sniff test" and basically took each rock individually and sniffed each area of it. When I found a sponge that was rank or felt particularly slimy to the touch, I pulled it off the rock and threw it out. It was hard to balance this with keeping the rock out of the water for as little time as possible, but I think it worked out pretty well. The last water change I did, I did another "sniff test" and each rock smelled basically the same as the water. Before, you could definitely detect a "low-tide" smell wherever something was dying.

As far as my ammonia readings, I'm a little confused myself. I have 3 (count 'em 3!) different ammonia tests and all 3 tend to give me different readings. The lowest is always the seachem "dot" in my tank, which seems to just be a rough guess. It has never measured above 0.02ppm and the highest it goes is 0.5ppm which it calls "toxic". My API test has always measured between 1.0 and 2.0 since I began using it. Now it looks more like between 0.5 and 1.0. The last set of tests I bought are the seachem basic marine. When I do the free ammonia test, which way less user friendly than the API tests, btw, it pretty much measured off the charts. I think I'll both this evening and see what kind of readings I get. So far, I think I like the API test better because it seems to be easier to use and I'm thinking those readings seem more in line with the life I'm seeing in the tank.

[divemonster]

Go Red Warrior Tank!! Glad to hear about all of the life that's still there. The new aquascaping looks really pleasing and nice. Your comments about "tonga" and "fiji" rock made me laugh! are your co-workers asking you, "When are you getting fish?" If i hear that question ONE MORE TIME :uzi:

I had that Seachem dot thing, but I threw it away because it never seemed accurate. I use the API ammonia test kit. It does seem to be more inline with what's going on in the tank

[OgreMkV]

I'm using the Red Sea test kits. I'm going to have get more ammonia reagent though. Testing 2-3 times a day for almost three weeks has depleted my supply.

[divemonster]

what salt mix are you guys using? i started out with the oceanic stuff but didn't like it. I'm using Red Sea salt mix now

[OgreMkV]

I'm using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. I don't like it too much though. After every batch, there's a precipitate film on the bottom of the bucket.

[redwarrior77]

Yech...ammonia sky high again...by both the API and seachem marine...looks like it's time for another water change and sniff test!

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12953672#post12953672 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OgreMkV
I'm using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. I don't like it too much though. After every batch, there's a precipitate film on the bottom of the bucket.

that was the same thing with the Oceanic mix. The Rea Sea does not seem to have the precipitate. I'd like to try to Tropic Marin but it does cost alot more.

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12953721#post12953721 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Yech...ammonia sky high again...by both the API and seachem marine...looks like it's time for another water change and sniff test!

how high? good luck, Red!

[docklink]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12952779#post12952779 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
I know you guys are probably sick of me posting by now, but I really am amazed at how this stuff has been "evolving" ever since I put it in my tank.


Not at all. It's fun to vicariously live the wonder and surprise that arises from a new tank of Richard's Rock. And once again, it is amazing what survives when all seems lost. Keep posting. :)

[redwarrior77]

I'm using reef crystals, too. I am finding that it seems like it takes more salt than the measurements to get the correct specific gravity. Other than that, I haven't had any problems with it. I use my old intake pump in a 5g bucket to mix it. I think I'll have better luck soon when I add a heater to the mix to get it closer to my tank's temp.

I never know which measurement to give when I do my tests since the two results vary so widely! I'm hoping it will get back down...does it make any sense that each day it seems to get to its highest in the afternoon, just after my lights turn off?

[OgreMkV]

Reef Crystals 1.4 lbs to 5 gallons is supposed to give a SG of 1.021 (I think). So to get it to the correct value of 1.024, we have to add more.

[redwarrior77]

Glad it's not just me! Unfortunately, RC is all my LFS carries. If I want to try anything else, I'll have to order it online.

I'm doing another ammonia test now, but it looks like everything came through the night again! Whew!

[redwarrior77]

Looks like we're back down to 1.00 ppm. Not great, but better than I've seen for days...these are some tough little critters in my tank to survive all they've been through, but I'm hoping the next few days those little bacteria will start doing their work and my tank will start getting happier.

One thing I have learned about cycling a tank from all this...it seems like it always looks the bleakest right before things start getting better!

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12957627#post12957627 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Looks like we're back down to 1.00 ppm. Not great, but better than I've seen for days...these are some tough little critters in my tank to survive all they've been through, but I'm hoping the next few days those little bacteria will start doing their work and my tank will start getting happier.

One thing I have learned about cycling a tank from all this...it seems like it always looks the bleakest right before things start getting better!

hang in there! we're all rooting for you and your tank.

[redwarrior77]

woo-hoo! Ammonia is now hovering between 0.5ppm and 1.0ppm! :D My critters seem even more active today as well. My red mithrax crab and the hermit crab almost had a showdown...the hermit got too close to the red's hole and he wasn't too happy. Luckily the hermit knew what was good for him and shuffled on along. Who knows, if this keeps up, in a couple of days I may be emailing Richard for part 2!

[OgreMkV]

How did you scrape the sponges off. I'm just curious, because my hands and a toothbrush didn't work.

[redwarrior77]

BABIES!!!

I have 2 baby hermit crabs and boy are they tiny little guys! One is riding on the back of the bigger hermit. I wish I had a camera good enough to get a good picture...it's really cute.

Ogre - I know it's gross, but I used by fingernails to peel off the sponges. Mine seemed to come off easily enough by just getting a nail underneath the edge of one and then peeling up. (Don't worry, I thoroughly washed my hands and scrubbed my nails after!) I would think that a small butter knife or anything else not too pokey but with an edge would work similar if you don't want the gross-out factor.

[OgreMkV]

It's not the gross out factor, it's the chance of injury. I'll stick with my pocket knife... thanks.

Gross out factor... this to a guy who teaches Biology and regularly has to lance infected wounds on animals. heh...

[redwarrior77]

Looks like my tank is over the hump! Ammonia is 0.5ppm and holding. Critters seem happy and gucky algae is starting to grow to feed the snails and crabs. :)

[dtech]

It's good to hear it's coming inline, closer to that part 2. I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt, I tried Reef Crystals, Tropic Marine, regular Instant Ocean. I like how the Coral Pro mixes it's excellent, and that it is rock stable on readings after I mix it. I have used several buckets of it and each 1 test the same. I test SG, Calc. I mix it at 79 deg, 20 gal at a time with circulation pump. I always have some mixed due to needing water changes every other day for my Pico.

[redwarrior77]

I am thinking of looking into other salt mix options online and buying in bulk. I pay about $13 locally for a small box of RC. I'm betting I can probably get a better deal if I buy a big bucket online. :D

[dtech]

The Coral Pro i use is $65 local and I can find it online between $35 and $45 depending on where and sometimes sales even cheaper. I only get the buckets, they do 175 gal.

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12965466#post12965466 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dtech
It's good to hear it's coming inline, closer to that part 2. I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt, I tried Reef Crystals, Tropic Marine, regular Instant Ocean. I like how the Coral Pro mixes it's excellent, and that it is rock stable on readings after I mix it. I have used several buckets of it and each 1 test the same. I test SG, Calc. I mix it at 79 deg, 20 gal at a time with circulation pump. I always have some mixed due to needing water changes every other day for my Pico.

Yeah the Red Sea Coral Pro is really a good product (at least i definitely prefer it over the Oceanic salt). my LFS stocks in the large buckets and i don't mind paying their price. It works out the same as buying it online with the shipping.

[redwarrior77]

Ok, granted this is my first tank and therefore my first cycle, but man, is this amazing. My ammonia is now barely even measurable. I have even less ammonia in my tank than when it was just water. Pretty cool.

Richard says to let it sit for a bit until next week and he has safely shepherded me this far with no issues, so I'm not about to push my luck now. Hopefully my crabs and snails will pick up the cleaning pace.

I did test for nitrates and found that they seem to be elevated, so I will do my first non-emergency weekly water change either tomorrow or saturday and get everything all nice and clean. I'm just so happy with how it is looking compared to the LFS rock I've seen...already my tank has so much color and life.

Oh...and the baby hermit crab count is now up to 2 and they seem to be more industrious little cleaners than the grown up! :lol:

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12968308#post12968308 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Ok, granted this is my first tank and therefore my first cycle, but man, is this amazing. My ammonia is now barely even measurable. I have even less ammonia in my tank than when it was just water. Pretty cool.

Richard says to let it sit for a bit until next week and he has safely shepherded me this far with no issues, so I'm not about to push my luck now. Hopefully my crabs and snails will pick up the cleaning pace.

I did test for nitrates and found that they seem to be elevated, so I will do my first non-emergency weekly water change either tomorrow or saturday and get everything all nice and clean. I'm just so happy with how it is looking compared to the LFS rock I've seen...already my tank has so much color and life.

Oh...and the baby hermit crab count is now up to 2 and they seem to be more industrious little cleaners than the grown up! :lol:

AWESOME! i meant to congratulate you earlier on your "babies." Your post made me laugh out loud. The joy and fun of discovering the new stuff never stops.

[redwarrior77]

The rock just keeps on changing! There is more and more color on this stuff every day and it's interesting to watch the changes. I've found Mr. Limpet again...he was just chilling out on the other side of some rock. There are more and more white "eggs" on the glass...I'm leaving them alone whenever I clean in the hopes that they'll hatch into something interesting or at least make some yummy treats for something in the tank.

Anyhow, my ammonia is happily staying down below 0.5ppm now. :D So, without further ado, here are some new tank shots from today...the water is cloudy due to a water change this morning. (Just a normal weekly one this time!)

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139leastrockday8.jpg
This is the rock that was the dullest on the first day. Now it's covered in small, growing macroalgae and those tiny orange tube corals. Gotta love that!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139bigrockday8.jpg
A picture of the cave where the big rock and the rock with the cup corals meets. I wish you could see all of the feather dusters on the big rock.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139cupcoralsday8.jpg
Happy little cup corals.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139ftsday8.jpg
Full tank shot. :fun4: Everything seems nice and content. Can you tell I love my little tank?!

[docklink]

Looking good!! Looks like you may be past the hump. Here's hoping so.:beer:

Divemonster: Yeah the Red Sea Coral Pro is really a good product (at least i definitely prefer it over the Oceanic salt). My experience also. It seems to hold CA+ and Alk much better.

[redwarrior77]

Got an email from Richard today, so most likely part 2 will soon be on its way! :D I can't wait!

My hermit crabs have gone nuts...I have 3 or 4 now! They've also decided it was time to upgrade their shells, so I'm now down by a couple of snails. As long as they don't mess with Mr. Limpet, it's ok. I did give them a stern talking to, though. There is one of the little ones that just seems to love riding on the big one's back. :D

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12991225#post12991225 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Got an email from Richard today, so most likely part 2 will soon be on its way! :D I can't wait!

My hermit crabs have gone nuts...I have 3 or 4 now! They've also decided it was time to upgrade their shells, so I'm now down by a couple of snails. As long as they don't mess with Mr. Limpet, it's ok. I did give them a stern talking to, though. There is one of the little ones that just seems to love riding on the big one's back. :D

A stern talking to...LOL!! One of the hermits in my tank tried to coerce one of the big cerith snails out of its shell, but the snail wasn't having any part of that! It shut itself up tightly and the crab eventually gave up.

[redwarrior77]

I've got 2 boxes from Richard here...and they're starting the acclimation process! :D

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12994742#post12994742 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
I've got 2 boxes from Richard here...and they're starting the acclimation process! :D

OOOH!! will there be pics TONIGHT??!!

[redwarrior77]

Well, for once I'm pretty speechless! It's going to take me a while to figure out where all the rock should go, but for now I have it pretty much just piled up with so many plastic bags floating above. So far, I've seen two little unidentified fish that seem very eager to find a way out of their baggies. I also have 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 lobster of some kind that seems a little wary wondering if there's butter around, 1 of those redish orange crabs, 1 unidentified crab that looks like he's ready to fight, 2 anemonies, a big coco worm or some other tube worm...ok...I'm running out of room here to remember them all.

Incidentally, my birthday was yesterday and this is about the best birthday present I think I've EVER gotten...too cool! Well, time to add some more tank water to the first batch of baggies!

[redwarrior77]

Indeed there will...here is the first of many to come:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139redcrab.jpg
Unknown red crab...you can't tell from the picture, but this guy is HUGE! I'm not sure how he'll like living in a nano-reef, but if he gets claustrophobic, maybe that's an excuse to upgrade? ;)
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139bagtank.jpg
This is the first HALF of the bags I got from Richard acclimating. I went for the more sensitive guys first since I'm probably going to be more tired for the second batch...I am going to be one sleepy, but happy girl at work tomorrow...and I bet I'll be pretty popular as well! :D

More pics will be coming and I promise to bring my good camera to work tomorrow!

[divemonster]

Happy birthday! :celeb3:

A POPULAR network engineer....there's probably a joke in there somewhere about nerds and computers but we'll just move right along :D

the crab is a decorator crab but i don't know what kind. mine has put tunicates and sponges and coralline algae on it carapace. one of my instructors named it "Rambo" It was pulling up clumps of green algae and stuffing it into its "mouth" which was rather comical.

hmm...the two little fish are probably a goby and a blenny...unless you got 2 gobies or 2 blennies

the lobster is probably a slipper lobster, and they are lot of fun to watch. They are good sand stirrers since they like to bury themselves in the sand during the day.

[redwarrior77]

Well, so far the fish are out. (I was only able to keep them in the bags an hour and a half...they kept trying to find ways out and seemed much happier after I let them into the tank. They seem very curious and are enjoying exploring their new home. Both appear to be of the same type, just one small and one bigger. They are both very long and thin with small mouths and are rock-colored with dots.

It's hard work getting all these little guys ready to go into their new home at once! Definitely fun, but hard work! The decorator crab seems particularly irritated with me right now. Every time I add new tank water to his bag, he throws up a claw in defiance of his captivity. The sea cucumbers seem less upset about being kept in bondage. The flame scallop is just hiding and muttering to itself "find a happy place, find a happy place!" LOL

I'm not sure how each of these creatures will do in a tank like mine, so I'll be watching them carefully to make sure they are happy and don't need a bigger home to roam. We don't want any in-tank rebellions!

Back to the bags...more pics in progress!

[redwarrior77]

More Pictures, even if they are pretty carpy with my blackberry camera!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139cocoworm.jpg
I think this is a cocoworm. It has a beautiful fan and will have to find a place of honor in the tank for sure!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139flamescallop.jpg
A very nice flame scallop that Richard sent...I really hope I can keep him happy!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139Decoratorcrab.jpg
Somebody really should tell this guy that this attitude of his is not going to get him out of his bag any sooner! I think I'm already getting attached to this little fellow's personality...he reminds me a lot of my 4-year-old! :lol:

[redwarrior77]

Yet more pictures! (Hey, what I'm missing in quality, I'm making up for in quantity!)
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139lastbags2.jpg
These are both pictures of the last batch of bags floating and acclimating. You might be able to see that in the one on the right, there are 2 anemonies, I believe one is a flower anemonie and the other is a condy.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139lastbags.jpg
Another shot of the last of the bags. I think the colorful one on the left is all various types of sponges.

Oh, and Mr. Attitude did get freed from his prison of plastic and promptly ran screaming like a little girl into the rockwork where he is giving me dirty looks as I type! :p

[redwarrior77]

When I let the hermits loose it was like letting a bunch of teenagers out of school for the summer...they immediately starting runny rowdy around the tank. I think everyone is doing pretty well so far, except I am worried about Mr. Lobster. He still hasn't moved from the spot he started in...hopefully he's just taking it all in...

[divemonster]

well ok, who needs pics with those colorful descriptions of your tank inhabitants?!

glad you posted them though. i got so jealous I had to drive up to my shop to look at my tank (wanted to top off and check water chemistry)

[divemonster]

the lobster will be slow to start (mine were). aren't the hermit crabs hilarious?? I laughed when I saw them scurrying around searching for new shellestate

[redwarrior77]

I love my hermits. It's funny how my coworker and I both have tanks about the same size, but our tanks are so completely different. He only does snails and has a couple of rics and a fish with the normal live rock. His tank is always clean and cool looking.

My tank is like a block party where everyone comes out, even the less desirables of the neighborhood. It's rowdy and sometimes messy and there have been known to be fights, but it is certainly active! Come to think of it, this kind of describes the difference in our personalities! :D

[OgreMkV]

Beautiful. more pictures... please ;)

[redwarrior77]

More pictures! In my daze leaving the house this morning, I left the good camera, so these are more carpy blackberry-camera pics...tomorrow I should be rested enough to remember it. I was here until 1am floating baggies! :D

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139rocknem.jpg
My rock anemone looking all sweet and innocent. "See, I wouldn't hurt a clown, would I? I'm so pretty!"
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139sidetank.jpg
Side shot of tank with sponges just hanging out. The yellow one has already earned the name "Spongebob Yellow Ball."
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139fts_part2_day1.jpg
Full Tank Shot. I've decided that cocoworm's most dangerous natural predator must be a camera lense. Mine already knows to retract defensively whenever a camera is near!:lol:

[redwarrior77]

Well, I suppose an updated critter count is called for.

1 Keyhole Limpet - Mr. Limpet who has been with me from the first and seems a little confused at all the newcomers, but is having fun cleaning the new rock :D

A Wild bunch of Blueleg hermit crabs - Both new and original, all fun

Snails - Some nassarius, some cerith...some of the new snails still aren't moving much...worried about those guys!

1 Peppermint Shrimp - Doing well
1 Flame Scallop - Ditto
1 Giant Feather Duster - The Star of the Tank so far and doing great!
1 Stone Flower Anemone - So pretty and hanging in there
2 Sea Cucumbers - very still today, both crawled under a rock and haven't moved since
Various crabs
1 Gorgonian - Very pale
4 sponges - hanging in there
1 Serpent Star - seems happy behind the rocks
2 fish - peeking out of the rocks here and there, seem to be doing good


And then, the 2 casualties today...let us take a moment to remember them. :hmm2:

Red the Slipper Lobster
Condy the Condylactus Anemone (turns out she probably was ok after all, but I removed her from the tank thinking she had passed to the great beyond. :( )

Happily, ammonia is hovering around 0.5ppm and everything that is still there seems to be doing well. I expect that it will take some time for the other critters to get used to their new home, but the starfish is already exploring just as I typed this! :D

[OgreMkV]

Really cool.

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13000306#post13000306 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Condy the Condylactus Anemone (turns out she probably was ok after all, but I removed her from the tank thinking she had passed to the great beyond.

i thought you said it was smelly. When mine died it smelled badly, and it was falling apart

[redwarrior77]

I thought it was...in any case, I'm sure it is now. :( In any case, I doubt I could have kept it long term, so it's probably for the best. It was losing pieces of its tenticles, smelled bad, and was kind of shrivelled up. I'm really hoping the rock flower pulls through...I'm completely in love with her. (Anemones just seem girly to me, where as crabs are definitely guys. LOL!)

[liverock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13002114#post13002114 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
I thought it was...in any case, I'm sure it is now. :( In any case, I doubt I could have kept it long term, so it's probably for the best. It was losing pieces of its tenticles, smelled bad, and was kind of shrivelled up. I'm really hoping the rock flower pulls through...I'm completely in love with her. (Anemones just seem girly to me, where as crabs are definitely guys. LOL!)

Best to be pro-active..rather than re-active...when it comes to water quality...

BTW...off to the Keys...be back sunday

sea ya
Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

[redwarrior77]

Another day, another water change! My ammonia was right at 1.0ppm, so I did a 2g water change. I'm pretty much just planning on doing at least 1 2g change a day until things stabilize and doing 2 if it gets worse. Considering my tank probably only actually holds 12g, with equipment and rock and such taking up some of the 14g, 4g would be 1/3 of my water.

In the meantime, I have sad news. Spongebob Round Ball started getting slimy and had to be removed for the good of his tankmates. He was a good spongeball and will be remembered fondly for his quirky sense of humor and peaceful nature.

Other than that, everybody seems happy in the tank today. :)

[divemonster]

may Spongebob Round Ball RIP

soooo...how about a pic or two? :D

[redwarrior77]

Wouldn't you know it, I forgot my real camera at home again today? Work has been nuts (as usual) and I've been rushing around. I'll take a few blackberry camera shots and you can rap my knuckles with a ruler if I forget again tomorrow.

[redwarrior77]

Pictures! Ammonia is pretty much nil after the water change...everything looks great!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139sidetank_part2_day2.jpg
Shot of that same side of the tank today...looks a little sad missing Spongbob Round Ball. :(
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139giantfeatherduster.jpg
Giant Feather Duster looking very cool...you can kind of see the flame scallop behind him. I always worry about him...is it normal for them to have their shells gaping open most of the time? He only closes if I touch him.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139rockfloweranemone.jpg
My beauty, the rock flower anemone. Is it normal for it to be so white or should I be worried about it? (Can you tell I worry a lot? :eek2: )
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139fts_part2_day2.jpg
And another Full Tank Shot. :fish1:

[divemonster]

You're getting very good at taking tank shots even with a blackberry! Your liitle ecosystem is so colorful and beautiful. I like the way you have arranged your rock.

The flame scallop should have its mouth open, it's how they feed. I've read that they are tough to keep longterm. i'll try to find a link for you to read up on feeding them, unless HowardW or Denny the Geek of all Things has some good advice ready :cool:

Your flower anemone may develop more color soon, it's still acclimating to its new environment. I can't tell you what color mine was at first because it stuck itself to the front glass for 3 days where all I could see was the bottom of its foot. it has since moved down into the sandbed but does not really face the front of the tank. it is brownish tan with white. Have you named her yet?

[redwarrior77]

LOL...the 2 things I named died right away, so I'm thinking I'll wait until this cycle is done before naming anything else. Red the Lobster and Spongebob Round Ball might have lived if they'd remained anonymous! :D

[redwarrior77]

Oh...and one more question...my sea cucumbers are cuddled up together next to a rock and pretty much haven't moved today. They moved to that rock yesterday and are curled up beside and slightly underneath it...is this ok? How will I know if they aren't doing well?

[redwarrior77]

Oh...and one more question...my sea cucumbers are cuddled up together next to a rock and pretty much haven't moved today. They moved to that rock yesterday and are curled up beside and slightly underneath it...is this ok? How will I know if they aren't doing well?

[redwarrior77]

Good news...ammonia is down to 0.50ppm! :D I removed the red tree sponge, though, because it was shriveling up and failed a sniff test. :( I just don't think sponges like my little tank!

My coworkers are beginning to worry that I have homicidal tendencies! LOL! They are now saying that my tank is like a season of survivor in that every day a member gets voted off. The way I see it, though...the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. If it's gonna kill everything else, it must leave.

The orange tree sponge is starting to show the same signs...it's like they get "pores" and then start shriveling up and then they're pretty much gone. I'll give it tonight, though, and hope it perks up!

I'm just glad my ammonia seems to be staying under control better this time! YAY!!!!

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13007441#post13007441 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Oh...and one more question...my sea cucumbers are cuddled up together next to a rock and pretty much haven't moved today. They moved to that rock yesterday and are curled up beside and slightly underneath it...is this ok? How will I know if they aren't doing well?

They will disentegrate into a pile of white "snot." the ones I got moved to a spot and stayed there. They eventually began moving around. Although I did lose one to a nasty stone crab :furious: Husband removed the crab (mostly because he didn't want me ripping off its pincers and throwing in the refugium with the huge gorilla crab).

Give them some time, Richard says they are tough critters.

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13008533#post13008533 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Good news...ammonia is down to 0.50ppm! :D I removed the red tree sponge, though, because it was shriveling up and failed a sniff test. :( I just don't think sponges like my little tank!

My coworkers are beginning to worry that I have homicidal tendencies! LOL! They are now saying that my tank is like a season of survivor in that every day a member gets voted off. The way I see it, though...the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. If it's gonna kill everything else, it must leave.

The orange tree sponge is starting to show the same signs...it's like they get "pores" and then start shriveling up and then they're pretty much gone. I'll give it tonight, though, and hope it perks up!

I'm just glad my ammonia seems to be staying under control better this time! YAY!!!!

Sponges are tough to keep. I removed my red tree sponge for the same reason. It so failed the sniff test. (GAG) I am having better luck though 'cause that was the only one I've lost (fingers crossed) The Yellow ball and the orange trees are actually growing!

[divemonster]

Grats on the ammonia! YOU GO GIRL :D

[redwarrior77]

Ammonia is down to 0.25ppm! :celeb1: I think I'm going to hold off on today's water change and just watch things.

In sadder news, the decorator crab is now an amputee! I saw him sitting in the same old spot he was in last night, so I very gently touched his shell with a finger when I was changing my filter just to make sure he hadn't moved on to the great beyond. He moved, but he left an arm! I'm worried about him now. Will he grow it back? Will he survive a one-armed wonder? Will he ever dance again? :eek1:

Other than that, the tank seems content today. I'm going to bust out the seachem tests later on to check my nitrates and nitrites to see how those are doing. Everything's getting pretty hungry in there, so I'm hoping feeding time will come soon.

I got my reef chilli and I have freeze-dried mysis as well. I'll pick up some shrimps just to cut up tonight from the grocery store. When those levels drop, I'll have a nice little buffet for everyone to celebrate with. :)

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012221#post13012221 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
. . . In sadder news, the decorator crab is now an amputee! I saw him sitting in the same old spot he was in last night, so I very gently touched his shell with a finger when I was changing my filter just to make sure he hadn't moved on to the great beyond. He moved, but he left an arm! I'm worried about him now. Will he grow it back? Will he survive a one-armed wonder? Will he ever dance again? :eek1:

awwww! the poor thing! I don't know if it will grow back. I wonder why it fell off? maybe one of the experienced reefers has a theory.

[Acrophet]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012221#post13012221 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Ammonia is down to 0.25ppm! :celeb1: I think I'm going to hold off on today's water change and just watch things.

In sadder news, the decorator crab is now an amputee! I saw him sitting in the same old spot he was in last night, so I very gently touched his shell with a finger when I was changing my filter just to make sure he hadn't moved on to the great beyond. He moved, but he left an arm! I'm worried about him now. Will he grow it back? Will he survive a one-armed wonder? Will he ever dance again? :eek1:

Other than that, the tank seems content today. I'm going to bust out the seachem tests later on to check my nitrates and nitrites to see how those are doing. Everything's getting pretty hungry in there, so I'm hoping feeding time will come soon.

I got my reef chilli and I have freeze-dried mysis as well. I'll pick up some shrimps just to cut up tonight from the grocery store. When those levels drop, I'll have a nice little buffet for everyone to celebrate with. :)

what do you have in your tank that you need to be feeding reef chili and mysis?

[redwarrior77]

I was assuming mysis would be good for the anemone and decorator crab as well as the serpent star. The reef chili would be for the flame scallop, giant feather duster, and eventually corals.

[HowardW]

As for the tree sponges, they are quite difficult to keep long term to begin with, but will do better in a mature tank with excellent water quality and very good flow.

Reef Chile is good but is a 'heavy' food and must be used very sparingly especially in a newer tank. Flame scallops are also hard to keep and are primarily plankton feeders and will maybe need to be target fed with DT's on a daily basis. Another very good commercial food is Rod's Food but should also be used sparingly.

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012566#post13012566 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by divemonster
awwww! the poor thing! I don't know if it will grow back. I wonder why it fell off? maybe one of the experienced reefers has a theory.

well arms do not normaly "fall off" just as you are very attached to your parts, same for them -- must have had a run in with something ...

but the good news is that all crustacia (crabs,shrimp etc...) moult shells and will re-grow lost limbs.

will be a bit smaller the first moult, that's all.

[redwarrior77]

Whew...that is good news. I think I might have figured out what he had the run-in with, but I'm still no closer to catching the culprit!

I finally saw my mantis shrimp this morning. He came out of a hole in the larger rock and I could see the separate eye stalks and that he was long and skinny. He's very well-camouflaged! This, of course, led me to freak out and tear my tank apart. I took out the rock and put it in the bucket with my tank refill water, but then put it back after I found a pistol shrimp and one of my fish cowering in the rock. I'm thinking now that a better idea might be to put a trap in my tank and try to catch him that way. He is one tough bugger!

Of course this all led to a massive re-arrangement of my rockscape. I think it looks better now and now I should have room for a small trap. I think I'll try building one first.

In the meantime, everybody else in the tank seems to be doing good today. My red mithrax crabs are working hard to clean up my rocks. Unfortunately most of my snails that came with part 2 aren't moving. I caught my hermit crabs eating 2 of them! So, I removed those. Naughty boys! The orange tree sponge is questionable, but I'm giving it today before I do a sniff test. It still looks better than the red one did before it died.

So, to reward you for reading through all this...pictures!

[redwarrior77]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139sidetank_part2_day3.jpg
Picture of the side of the tank today...my beautiful anemone and my decorator crab who is still hanging in there...he's moved some since losing his arm, so hopefully he'll do well as an amputee!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139fts_part2_day3.jpg
Full Tank Shot with my new and improved rockscape.

[redwarrior77]

Howard - thanks for the advice...I certainly need it. Do you have any experience with Marine snow?

[HowardW]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13013986#post13013986 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Howard - thanks for the advice...I certainly need it. Do you have any experience with Marine snow?



Yes I do and I don't use it or any other of the preserved liquid bottled foods as I believe they do more to pollute the water quality then offer useful nutrition. The only foods I use are Rod's food (which has everything you can imagine) and DT's live Phytoplankon both sparingly. I would also move that top rock.

[redwarrior77]

Where to? I keep having problems with my rockscaping...it seems like I just have more rock than I know what to do with. (Good problem to have!) I was thinking of getting some reef epoxy to help hold things together because it seems like no matter how I stack them, it's rather precarious. :/

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13014426#post13014426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Where to? I keep having problems with my rockscaping...it seems like I just have more rock than I know what to do with. (Good problem to have!) I was thinking of getting some reef epoxy to help hold things together because it seems like no matter how I stack them, it's rather precarious. :/

Yeah it just looks like it wants to go somewhere :(

it's a bee; I spent hours one day trying to re-work part of my rocks ... I have a soft coral that normaly is found in a cave or other hanging place so I have it expoyed to a rock that has a flat side, I use that to make a "cave" for this coral and trying to balance it and not smash the coral and not bring down a stack of rock & break the glass of my 90 gallon tank.... very nerve wraking!

even then I did get a scratch on the glass from the process.

here is a link to a photo of some:
http://www.marinedepotlive.com/ps_ViewItem~idProduct~ML0606104-01.html

not a very good photo.

they open at night, when closed they shrink to a stub, when open they are like 5 times larger.
white polyops on a strwaberry red body.
I have had this for about 5 years, never really gets bigger for me but has not shrunk ither....

this is not one of the "imposible to keep" ones but looks almost like them.

[redwarrior77]

That's a really pretty one...I could see working to build a cave just for it! The entire time I was re-arranging my rockwork, I was terrified I would accidentally smash my anemone! She just kept rolling up into a ball and then rolling right over to where I wanted to set down a rock! It's a challenge to re-arrange things without crushing anyone or taking rock out of the water.

I'm considering either
A) Taking out the rock that I know the mantis is in entirely...I will probably buy a 10" mushroom rock off a fellow reef club member in a few weeks anyway and then I probably would have too much rock, particularly too much to have 1 with a mantis in it.
B) Try to trap the thing while leaving my tank alone.

These attempts to catch the bugger are just getting too stressful on both the tank inhabitants AND me. Any ideas? I can hear him clicking away right now. Bleh.

[redwarrior77]

And, sadly, I am down to only 2 of the snails left from the package. I don't think they were the victims of attacks because their shells were intact and their insides still, well, inside. I did find the hermit crabs feasting on a couple after the fact, but I think they were just doing their jobs as scavengers because the snails had not moved for some time.

One thought - there were near where I had placed the condy anemone before it died, so they may have fallen over and been stung by accident and it just took a while for them to finally perish?

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13015239#post13015239 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
And, sadly, I am down to only 2 of the snails left from the package. I don't think they were the victims of attacks because their shells were intact and their insides still, well, inside. I did find the hermit crabs feasting on a couple after the fact, but I think they were just doing their jobs as scavengers because the snails had not moved for some time.

One thought - there were near where I had placed the condy anemone before it died, so they may have fallen over and been stung by accident and it just took a while for them to finally perish?

water quality.... I think most snails are very touchy about amonia levels. not sure about gravity and ph .... but all of them are things that if they swing to far stress out lot's of critters.

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13015353#post13015353 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by figuerres
water quality.... I think most snails are very touchy about amonia levels. not sure about gravity and ph .... but all of them are things that if they swing to far stress out lot's of critters.

the snails do seem to stress easily.

[redwarrior77]

Luckily, my most active cleaners seem to be doing fine. Mr. Limpet is a champ at cleaning and seems to be thrilled to have more rocks to scour. The hermits seem to clean in spurts and then be lazy for a bit. My red mithrax crabs are too much fun to watch as they pick their way along the rock like picky old ladies at a salad buffet. :D I can't wait until my cucumbers stop cuddling and get to work!

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13016536#post13016536 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
. . . as they pick their way along the rock like picky old ladies at a salad buffet. :D

LOL! Crabs are so comical. The decorator spider crab in my tank seems to be experimenting with its wardrobe, but it has kept the single piece of feather caulerpa on top of its head, which makes it look like a flapper from the roaring 20s.

[redwarrior77]

How active is your decorator? Even before mine lost a limb he has been very still. He moves until he finds a comfy spot and then just sits. He's now the one I'm most worried about. :( Shame, because he's so cool!

[divemonster]

all of my decorator crabs are active now. It took them some time to reach their present level of activity. There are 3 different types in the tank. They get much more active once the tank lights go out, with the exception of the one little guy who is so well camo'd it's hard to find. it seems to park itself for long periods of time.

[redwarrior77]

Ammonia is down to 0.25ppm and everything seems happy except for the sea cucumber that started to float...the other one is slowly working his way along a rock, though, so I don't think he's mourning too heavily for his buddy.

I spot fed my anemone and decorator crab some tiny pieces of cut shrimp this morning and they eagerly took it. I couldn't get my serpent star to eat, mainly because I think he thought I was trying to skewer him with the bamboo skewer! Hopefully he'll catch on soon or at least find someone's leftovers. The fish were too shy to feed as well.

I think I have another anemoe in the tank, underneath a rock I see lots of tiny white tenticles...could be a baby condy? In any case, I have re-thought my love affair with clownfish after doing some research. Most of the things I love most in my tank are the types of things that might think an expensive, small fish was lunch. In the end, since they're already here, I think I might rather keep them and forgo the clownfish. If I do add another fish, I might add a clown goby, which would be less of an expense if it would fall prey but is still a great fish for a nano tank. In the meantime, though, I'm thinking I'll just enjoy the critters I already have and think about adding corals. :) Pretty much everything in there would do ok with most corals and they're my main interest anyhow. I have a line on a $25 mushroom rock through my reef club. :D

[redwarrior77]

More Pictures...this time no fts...just critters!
Atlantic Cup Corals -
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139cupcorals.jpg
Rock Flower Anemone after enjoying her shrimp -
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139rockflowernem.jpg
Giant Feather Duster just moving in the flow -
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139featherduster.jpg
Decorator Crab just hanging out on the orange tree sponge -
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139Decoratorcrab2.jpg

Everybody looks pretty happy today! :D

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13019759#post13019759 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Ammonia is down to 0.25ppm and everything seems happy except for the sea cucumber that started to float...the other one is slowly working his way along a rock, though, so I don't think he's mourning too heavily for his buddy.

I spot fed my anemone and decorator crab some tiny pieces of cut shrimp this morning and they eagerly took it. I couldn't get my serpent star to eat, mainly because I think he thought I was trying to skewer him with the bamboo skewer! Hopefully he'll catch on soon or at least find someone's leftovers. The fish were too shy to feed as well.

I think I have another anemoe in the tank, underneath a rock I see lots of tiny white tenticles...could be a baby condy? In any case, I have re-thought my love affair with clownfish after doing some research. Most of the things I love most in my tank are the types of things that might think an expensive, small fish was lunch. In the end, since they're already here, I think I might rather keep them and forgo the clownfish. If I do add another fish, I might add a clown goby, which would be less of an expense if it would fall prey but is still a great fish for a nano tank. In the meantime, though, I'm thinking I'll just enjoy the critters I already have and think about adding corals. :) Pretty much everything in there would do ok with most corals and they're my main interest anyhow. I have a line on a $25 mushroom rock through my reef club. :D

wow! look at that happy tank :thumbsup:

I waited 10 days before I fed anything in the tank. There was a total brawl between the maroon serpent star and the blenny over a piece of shrimp! When it comes to the fish question I have been telling people that it will be months before the reef is stable enough for the bioload of introduced fish. ;)

RedWarrior, what did your reef club have to say about food for the reef tank?

[OgreMkV]

Awesome pics.

You might consider going fishless and getting some really interesting inverts.

[redwarrior77]

My babysitter fell through for the meeting...my first. (Teenagers!) They did have a rough recipe they shared...mostly fresh shellfish with garlic and plankton added.

[divemonster]

You need to change your Current Tank tag to: Got Reef . . . cycling . . . waiting . . .

Garlic seems to be a bit of a controversy. Some stuff I've read proclaims the virtues of how it increases the inhabitants' resistance to pests and diseases, other material states there is no benefit to adding garlic to your reef's diet.

Fishless, yes indeed. However, if you have a blenny and/or goby that was added with Part 2 then is your tank truly "fishless?"

[redwarrior77]

I've got 2 little fishes...not sure what they are, but nothing's eaten them yet! I guess I should change my tag! :D

I'm going to buy some tubing today and try to figure out how to siphon water out of my tank for my water changes. Up until now, I've just been bailing it out with a gallon water jug...ghetto, but it works! I'm also going to see if I can pick up some loc-line to split the flow from my mj1200, right now it's just pretty much hitting one spot really hard. Is there no end to tank tinkering? :D

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13025486#post13025486 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
I've got 2 little fishes...not sure what they are, but nothing's eaten them yet! I guess I should change my tag! :D

I'm going to buy some tubing today and try to figure out how to siphon water out of my tank for my water changes. Up until now, I've just been bailing it out with a gallon water jug...ghetto, but it works! I'm also going to see if I can pick up some loc-line to split the flow from my mj1200, right now it's just pretty much hitting one spot really hard. Is there no end to tank tinkering? :D

just get another mj1200 and hookup some flex tube to the output from it put the inlet strainer on the inlet side and put the pump in the tank, have the flex tube / hose belong enough to go down to your water bucket...

plug in and water gets pumped out.

simple and cheap and you can roll up the hose when done and put it away.

that mj can't "push" water up more than a foot or two at most but if you can put the new make up water at close to the same level as the tank you can use the mj to fill the tank also.

for my 90 i have a sump and use a mag-drive 500 to do the same thing.

I wish I owned a home .... if I did I'd have built in plumbing to do water changes! then I'd just use valves to do it!

one big extenal pump to move the water around, a mag in a big tub to mix new salt up. some float valves, shutof switches and such....

[liverock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13025486#post13025486 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
I've got 2 little fishes...not sure what they are, but nothing's eaten them yet! I guess I should change my tag! :D

I'm going to buy some tubing today and try to figure out how to siphon water out of my tank for my water changes. Up until now, I've just been bailing it out with a gallon water jug...ghetto, but it works! I'm also going to see if I can pick up some loc-line to split the flow from my mj1200, right now it's just pretty much hitting one spot really hard. Is there no end to tank tinkering? :D

You have a tiger Gobi...and a wrasse of some kind...not sure what he is....came in with the rock!
Look on the critter ID page for a pic....

sea ya
Richard TBS

[redwarrior77]

My ammonia is down to undetectable and I did my first normal weekly water change and cleaning today. Unfortunately, I found one of the fish wedged between a piece of plexi I have to block off my bottom intakes and the bottom intake missing his head. :( I can't tell if he met with foul play or if he just swam behind there and then got crushed. I removed him and the orange tree sponge which was starting to have a white spot on it. It's a shame because the hermits seemed to be having a good time hanging on it today.

The anemone is starting to darken up some and the decorator crab seems to be doing fine. My peppermit shrimp molted! I haven't seen him yet to check out his spiffy new carapace, but I'm sure he's looking sharp now.

[OgreMkV]

Sorry about the fish, but the shrimp molting sounds cool. That usually means that everything in the water is in good shape.

[mhills16]

you know the mantis shrimp will actually maybe be worth keeping in there. they are pretty neat animals , just a thought, but as you said about the anemone being girly, there is probably nothing manlier lol than a mantis shrimp. They are pretty interesting animals!

[redwarrior77]

Everybody seems nice and happy in the tank today...no more deaths/suicides!

My sea cucumber is beginning to move a little bit more...I get the feeling those guys just are the speediest. I saw my peppermint shrimp today, probably showing off his shiny new carapace. My diatom bloom has definitely begun, but it's staying reasonably under control with the help of my diligent cleaners. My red mithrax crabs are getting big!

Ammonia remains 0...I need to test my 'trates and 'trites as well now. I'm just so happy to see things flourishing! I saw many spaghetti worms in the tank today and those iny white eggs are all over the back of the tank...I'm sure my critters will enjoy the food. I've been pretty occupied at work today, but I still enjoy glancing over and seeing all the life in there!

[redwarrior77]

Everything is stable and seems to be thriving. I saw my mantis shrimp again today and he appears to be growing...he gave me a suspicious look as he was banging on a barnicle shell and the huffed off.

My sea cucumber is shrinking...or more like getting longer and skinnier...I can't think this a good sign...or is it? My new koralia nano should be in this week to add some extra flow and other than that, I'm just letting everything get used to its new home.

Richard - when my ship comes in and has a bigger tank on it for home, I'll definitely be emailing you...I'll never use fiji or tonga! :D

[OgreMkV]

Heh, you won't ever use Fiji (I think) anyway.

One of the two islands, I forget if it was Fiji or Tonga, has banned live rock harvesting starting (again, I think) September 1.

You'll enjoy the nano. It's a great little powerhead. If it makes any noise at all, disassemble it and reinstert everything. If the prop and the guide rod are even slightly out of alignment, they make horrible noises.

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13045199#post13045199 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
Everything is stable and seems to be thriving. I saw my mantis shrimp again today and he appears to be growing...he gave me a suspicious look as he was banging on a barnicle shell and the huffed off.

My sea cucumber is shrinking...or more like getting longer and skinnier...I can't think this a good sign...or is it? My new koralia nano should be in this week to add some extra flow and other than that, I'm just letting everything get used to its new home.

Richard - when my ship comes in and has a bigger tank on it for home, I'll definitely be emailing you...I'll never use fiji or tonga! :D

they are very elastic, they can stretch and they will change size as the eat.

[redwarrior77]

I think I may also add a hydor flo deflector for my intake pump...it creates an awful lot of flow in just one spot and it might be nice to break that up just a bit. I've heard mixed reviews on them...people either seem to love them or hate them!

I've been keeping an eye on my mantis shrimp today and I think I'm going to try building the "pop bottle" trap this weekend and see if I can make one that will fit in my tank. I'd rather not tear everything apart trying to catch him and my coworker has already said he would be welcome in his tank, so he already has a new home waiting if he cooperates!

[divemonster]

the mantis shrimp (really stomatopods) is a fascinating creature. Once upon a time I felt they had no place in my tank. That sort of attitude is wrong IMO because they do provide a service to the reef and they have their place in the food chain. Yes, it will hunt and kill the "good" crabs, but it will also hunt and kill the "bad" crabs (which are ALOT more destructive than the mantis).

I enjoy watching my mantis alot. It will even let me hand feed it.

[redwarrior77]

My sea cucumber died today. :( When I added my new koralia nano to the tank, it pretty much disintegrated and started leaking white snot strings all over the place. I removed it, put in a clean filter, and I plan on doing a water change later today when I have time. :( So, no more cucumbers and I'm down to only 2 snails. I think I'll be ordering more snails this weekend to help out the hermit crabs.

My next major mod is going to be underwater LED's for my chaeto refugium in the back. Then I think a hydor-flo deflector. Hopefully by the time I'm done with all these crazy equipment upgrades, I'll be ready to add some corals to the mix. For now, my cup corals seem to be doing very well and I even have a couple of babies. My tube corals seem to also be on the mend.

Lighting - when is it ok to go to 11 hours of light? Is 11 hours of light a good amount or too much? What do you guys do?

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13051577#post13051577 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
My sea cucumber died today. :( When I added my new koralia nano to the tank, it pretty much disintegrated and started leaking white snot strings all over the place. I removed it, put in a clean filter, and I plan on doing a water change later today when I have time. :( So, no more cucumbers and I'm down to only 2 snails. I think I'll be ordering more snails this weekend to help out the hermit crabs.

My next major mod is going to be underwater LED's for my chaeto refugium in the back. Then I think a hydor-flo deflector. Hopefully by the time I'm done with all these crazy equipment upgrades, I'll be ready to add some corals to the mix. For now, my cup corals seem to be doing very well and I even have a couple of babies. My tube corals seem to also be on the mend.

Lighting - when is it ok to go to 11 hours of light? Is 11 hours of light a good amount or too much? What do you guys do?

well IMHO there are different ways to do lighting.

do you want a "Gulf" biotope or a more "tropical" one?
do you want a "shallow" or "mid" or "Deep" one?

for example around florida where this rock came from daylength varies thru the year, water vis changes also. to make a very gulf like system you will want to alter lighting to match.

if you want a more tropic setup then daylenght is more constant thu the year.

so first work out what kind of coral, cirtters and part of the world you want, then match that.

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13051577#post13051577 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
. . . Lighting - when is it ok to go to 11 hours of light? Is 11 hours of light a good amount or too much? What do you guys do?

Question: Do you get 11 hours of pure daylight in your area of Florida? We don't here in Texas, although we do get quite a bit of heat this time of year ;) Honestly we do get about 9-10 hours as the season approaches the longest day of summer season. But there are days where cloud coverage will block the sun for several day on end. Knowing how murky the Gulf can be and how unpredictable the weather with all fronts moving around, I've decided that a restricted "light" schedule is probably a good idea until my tank finds its biological/chemical balance.

For now I am lighting the tank 6 hours a day. During the winter months I may change it to 8 when it is cooler outside, and then when the wonderful Texas summer comes back around I may lower it back to 6 hours just to keep the heat under control. A bit of a reverse to natural conditions but at least the reef is experiencing seasons (albeit artificial seasons). Any experienced reefkeeper advice is MORE than welcome. This tank is meant to be a Gulf reef tank.

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13054694#post13054694 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by divemonster
Question: Do you get 11 hours of pure daylight in your area of Florida? We don't here in Texas, although we do get quite a bit of heat this time of year ;) Honestly we do get about 9-10 hours as the season approaches the longest day of summer season. But there are days where cloud coverage will block the sun for several day on end. Knowing how murky the Gulf can be and how unpredictable the weather with all fronts moving around, I've decided that a restricted "light" schedule is probably a good idea until my tank finds its biological/chemical balance.

For now I am lighting the tank 6 hours a day. During the winter months I may change it to 8 when it is cooler outside, and then when the wonderful Texas summer comes back around I may lower it back to 6 hours just to keep the heat under control. A bit of a reverse to natural conditions but at least the reef is experiencing seasons (albeit artificial seasons). Any experienced reefkeeper advice is MORE than welcome. This tank is meant to be a Gulf reef tank.

to get 11 or 12 hour days you have to be very near the equator.
I think in tampa we do get to 10 hrs part of the year.

but for gulf style we have summer storms that cloud things off and on..

[liverock]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13054997#post13054997 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by figuerres
to get 11 or 12 hour days you have to be very near the equator.
I think in tampa we do get to 10 hrs part of the year.

but for gulf style we have summer storms that cloud things off and on..

True...but....I have always found it much easier to run the light's less than most folks....I usually have them on when I am there to see the tank, rather than all day long...cuts down cleaning issues also..

Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13056067#post13056067 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by liverock
True...but....I have always found it much easier to run the light's less than most folks....I usually have them on when I am there to see the tank, rather than all day long...cuts down cleaning issues also..

Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

Yeah, I am not saying how long to run the lights, just what the natural lights are like, after that one has to make some choices.

like keeping in mind the inverse square law of light, how water depth modifies the light and so on...

I think a lot of folks have locked on to an idea of a reef as the top 24 inches of the reef.

might be fun to build a deep-reef where the only light is the blue stuff and it's more sponges and soft corals and low-light stuff.

I know there are some fish that look nice but do not like stong light. as I recall there's one called a "hamlet" that's got a nice color but stays around caves?

just a thought....

[redwarrior77]

I guess I need to think more about the future of this tank, then.

I am planning primarily soft corals and mushrooms so that I can stick with the stock lighting. I'm not sure if I'm going to go for any strict biotope, though. I think about the most challenging things I'd like to keep as far as light is concerned is a frogspawn...other than that, I'd like some rics and some pretty mushrooms. I may get some zoanthids at some point, but I'm not sure. :/ I'm still trying to decide on fish...if I can get Mr. Mantis moved to his new home, then I may get a pair of clowns and see if they might like hanging out with my anemone, even though they are from different parts of the globe.

My main idea is to stick as much as possible with aquacultured stock. I feel like I did a good thing going with aquacultured rock, so I'd like to keep going with that. So that will probably mean nothing incredibly rare and mostly frags from the tanks of reef club members. :)

[redwarrior77]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139FTS-week3.jpg

I figured it was time for a little update and some pictures! I had another death today...a red mithrax crab was found missing a couple of limbs in the sand and didn't move when I picked him up. I suspect that the mantis shrimp may have been involved, but there wasn't enough evidence to convict. Other than that, the tank seems great today. While it's not quite as colorful as it was when I first added part 2, having lost the sponges, the rock itself is coloring up amazingly fast with corraline everywhere. :) This rock definitely looks great a lot quicker than most live rock.

I plan on devoting a decent part of my weekend to trying to trap Mr. Mantis and relocate him to another tank. I'm sure he'd enjoy his new home since it is filled with yummy snails! :lol:

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13062615#post13062615 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139FTS-week3.jpg

I figured it was time for a little update and some pictures! I had another death today...a red mithrax crab was found missing a couple of limbs in the sand and didn't move when I picked him up. I suspect that the mantis shrimp may have been involved, but there wasn't enough evidence to convict. Other than that, the tank seems great today. While it's not quite as colorful as it was when I first added part 2, having lost the sponges, the rock itself is coloring up amazingly fast with corraline everywhere. :) This rock definitely looks great a lot quicker than most live rock.

I plan on devoting a decent part of my weekend to trying to trap Mr. Mantis and relocate him to another tank. I'm sure he'd enjoy his new home since it is filled with yummy snails! :lol:

Crab: not a moult ??

[figuerres]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13062496#post13062496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
I guess I need to think more about the future of this tank, then.

I am planning primarily soft corals and mushrooms so that I can stick with the stock lighting. I'm not sure if I'm going to go for any strict biotope, though. I think about the most challenging things I'd like to keep as far as light is concerned is a frogspawn...other than that, I'd like some rics and some pretty mushrooms. I may get some zoanthids at some point, but I'm not sure. :/ I'm still trying to decide on fish...if I can get Mr. Mantis moved to his new home, then I may get a pair of clowns and see if they might like hanging out with my anemone, even though they are from different parts of the globe.

My main idea is to stick as much as possible with aquacultured stock. I feel like I did a good thing going with aquacultured rock, so I'd like to keep going with that. So that will probably mean nothing incredibly rare and mostly frags from the tanks of reef club members. :)

with Power Compact lights @ the right settings you can keep a *LOT* of leather and soft coral.
I had a 55 with PC for the first several years and some of the corals I had included:

Yellow Fiji Leather, zoanthids, shrooms, frogspawn, candycane, two kinds of brain coral, bubble coral, doughnut coral, tbs brown gorgonians.

note that bubble, brain and some others are LPS corals.

really the MH lights are for when you want to do acropora and other SPS type corals.

also when looking at lights there are some tradeoffs you can make.

stronger light for a shorter time can be equal to a lower strength light for a longer time. within some limits that is.

and there are the non-photo corals that can look amazing but many have never been kept in a captive tank.
I did see a story here a while back that one or two folks keeping some of them... some day we might see a "lights out" reef coming around.

[redwarrior77]

I have heard that sun corals (ironically enough) are non-photosynthetic, which is why you have to be sure to feed each little head. I'm thinking one of those would be a great addition if I can make the commitment to feed it every day.

I forgot who mentioned it, but I also have those thin white "tubes" growing on one of my rocks...not sure what those are, but they've been growing quickly. :) Other than that, everybody seems happy this week!

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13085442#post13085442 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by redwarrior77
. . . I forgot who mentioned it, but I also have those thin white "tubes" growing on one of my rocks...not sure what those are, but they've been growing quickly. :) Other than that, everybody seems happy this week!

It seems quite a number of folks have the white "tubes" on their rock and no one knows its identity.

Whatever it is, it's non-photosynthetic. It seems to grow on nutrients in the water...nitrates perhaps based on when its growth begin to escalate (at least in my tank).

I've spent ALOT of time on using Google and <a href="http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm" target="_blank">WetWebMedia.com</a> trying to ID the stuff. Using <a href="http://www.algaebase.org/index.lasso" target="_blank">Algaebase</a> is not any help without at least a phylum or subphylum to start a search (if it is an algae).

Has anyone else had any luck IDing the stuff? I do wonder if it will disappear over time.

[redwarrior77]

Whatever they are, I think they are probably a good sign seeing as they seemed to sprout about the same time as I started seeing a lot of corraline growth. :)

I'm also a Mommy again! I spotted a baby keyhole limpet on one rock and a baby decorator crab has decided to hang out on the tube of my giant feather duster all day. They look just like mini versions of my full-grown critters, so I'm pretty secure in their ID's. My red mithrax crabs are getting huge and have been doing a great job getting rid of that bit of hair algae that had started growing. I may have to feed my tank a bit more to keep up with all my cleaners since my rocks are looking picked clean lately.

My rocks have pinked up nicely and I'm even seeing some corraline start on the back wall...this is amazing for a tank this young! Richard's rock rocks! :D

[divemonster]

congratulations, Mommy! :celeb2: Richard's rock is excellent and also your good hubandry practices help, too. How's the flower anemone doing?

there is coralline spreading my tank but the little spiny urchin (who isn't so little anymore) is "helping" with the control of it. I've noticed orange and blue sponges proliferating since no one is too keen on eating those.

[redwarrior77]

Time for an update! Well, ok, a little past time. I haven't done much to my tank lately, mainly because work has been crazy and I've been waiting for my wallet to catch up with it. Everything that is left seems to be thriving. My last sponge gave up the ghost earlier this week, but my crabs sure are happy. Here's a full tank shot just for kicks:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/193139fts08-14-08.jpg