Follow my Oceanic 144g half circle reef tanks progress. 
Purple Rocks and IPSF Critter Update
Posted 05/19/2012 at 10:53 PM by Aaarrrggg
When the sand started looking like Fraggle fur I gave in and treated with Chemiclear. Worked wonders on the cyano but the diatoms remained pretty bad for a while. I guess adding that extra bag of sand (=silicates) just before introducing the BSJ didn't help matters there.
Apart from the obligitary (old fashioned) large water change after the Chemiclear dose; the WCs have been performed soley by the Litermeter automatic waterchanger. I even left everything on auto pilot when we went away for 5 days!
Speaking of the waterchanger... we decided to spruce up the fish cupboard a bit with some decals!
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/fish-room-decals.jpg[/IMG]
When the tank started getting grotty around the 5mth mark I began to worry that slow/constant WCs might not cut it long-term; but the tank came through that (with a little help from Dr Tim's Waste Away bacteria) and it looks better than ever now! Here are some close ups of the Marco rocks getting nice and purple!
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/coralline3.jpg[/IMG]
Shot looking down on highest shelf rock (the yellow circle is the top of the lawn marker peg used for aquascaping)
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/coralline4-1.jpg[/IMG]
[B][SIZE="4"]IPSF critter update![/SIZE][/B]
Spagetti (aka Mama Mia) worm burrows have popped up throughout the whole sandbed. (Extreme close up, those are grains of sand)
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/spag-worm2.jpg[/IMG]
I accidentally turned up one of the sand clams, so they're alive and well too. Managed to snap this pic before it disappeared below the surface again (they're surprisingly fast.)
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/sand-clam.jpg[/IMG]
Around the time of the "Supermoon" (extra large full moon) I started noticing these tiny "Metroid" looking things appearing on the glass:
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/strombus-egg.jpg[/IMG]
After some research I believe they are Strombus Snail eggs! I've been careful to avoid them when cleaning the glass.
The pods have continued to multiply. Looks like amphipods have a taste for the strombus snail egg sacks:
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/strombus-egg2.jpg[/IMG]
I'm resisting the urge to run out and buy a mandarin. Being a good girl and waiting till Christmas.
Apart from the obligitary (old fashioned) large water change after the Chemiclear dose; the WCs have been performed soley by the Litermeter automatic waterchanger. I even left everything on auto pilot when we went away for 5 days!
Speaking of the waterchanger... we decided to spruce up the fish cupboard a bit with some decals!
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/fish-room-decals.jpg[/IMG]
When the tank started getting grotty around the 5mth mark I began to worry that slow/constant WCs might not cut it long-term; but the tank came through that (with a little help from Dr Tim's Waste Away bacteria) and it looks better than ever now! Here are some close ups of the Marco rocks getting nice and purple!
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/coralline3.jpg[/IMG]
Shot looking down on highest shelf rock (the yellow circle is the top of the lawn marker peg used for aquascaping)
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/coralline4-1.jpg[/IMG]
[B][SIZE="4"]IPSF critter update![/SIZE][/B]
Spagetti (aka Mama Mia) worm burrows have popped up throughout the whole sandbed. (Extreme close up, those are grains of sand)
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/spag-worm2.jpg[/IMG]
I accidentally turned up one of the sand clams, so they're alive and well too. Managed to snap this pic before it disappeared below the surface again (they're surprisingly fast.)
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/sand-clam.jpg[/IMG]
Around the time of the "Supermoon" (extra large full moon) I started noticing these tiny "Metroid" looking things appearing on the glass:
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/strombus-egg.jpg[/IMG]
After some research I believe they are Strombus Snail eggs! I've been careful to avoid them when cleaning the glass.
The pods have continued to multiply. Looks like amphipods have a taste for the strombus snail egg sacks:
[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r161/TheAaarrrggg/strombus-egg2.jpg[/IMG]
I'm resisting the urge to run out and buy a mandarin. Being a good girl and waiting till Christmas.
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