Newbie Corner Feedback-Reefkeeping 101

[Aquarist007]

Originally Posted by Paul B

I feed them clams. I keep a large chowder clam in the freezer and shave off very thin pieces. I use a baster looking thing to suck them up and blast them into a container a few times to give me tiny pieces of clam. About 1/8th long and paper thin.
I use the baster to put a piece of clam in every open polyp. There are tiny tentacles in each polyp, unfortunately they are not sticky like an anemone and you sometimes have to gently push the clam into the tentacles. In a minute of so, the animal will engulf it.
I also sometimes feed them small pellets soaked in fish oil but I believe the clam is better. I feed them about once a week and they multiply much faster is you feed them.

I am confused here oh great mentor. The op was asking about feeding torch coral. I believe you are describing and showing how to feed trumpet coral or candy cane coral?

[Paul B]

I am confused here oh great mentor. The op was asking about feeding torch coral. I believe you are describing and showing how to feed trumpet coral or candy cane coral?

You are correct oh great Capn. That comes from not paying attention, not sleeping and working too much (mostly on fun, or inventions.
Besides that I also sometimes confuse the two even though they look entirely different so ignore that post and talk amongst yourselves.

[mannyfly84]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...0&id=613087651
This is a better pic of the sea urchins, please let me know if they could be a danger to my 20 gal. tank. I also have started hearing clicking noises at night inside my tank and did some research and am worried if maybe a pistol shrimp was the cause for my peppermint shrimp dieing??? Any suggestions on how to find out whether or not I have a pistol shrimp would be great cause I haven't seen anything yet.

[Aquarist007]

Originally Posted by mannyfly84

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...0&id=613087651
This is a better pic of the sea urchins, please let me know if they could be a danger to my 20 gal. tank. I also have started hearing clicking noises at night inside my tank and did some research and am worried if maybe a pistol shrimp was the cause for my peppermint shrimp dieing??? Any suggestions on how to find out whether or not I have a pistol shrimp would be great cause I haven't seen anything yet.

I don't know what you mean by danger but
long spined urchins will
grow too big for a 20 gal
consume all your corraline algae from the rocks
knock all corals and frags over
stab you in the fingers when you clean your tank

Clicking sound sounds like a mantis shrimp. Check at night with a flashlight

[mannyfly84]

I have watched like every evening when the clicking starts and nothing and the clicking will go on during the day now, all my fish and snails are fine the only thing ever that got injured were my peppermint shrimp, and i think the wrasse did that i watched him and the clowfish pull one apart... is there anyway this could be a pistol shrimp? plus how could it be a mantis those things are huge arent they? Is there anway to draw the mantis shrimp out to see if it is in fact that?, and the urchins are long spined black sea urchins? how do i get rid of them?

[Aquarist007]

Originally Posted by mannyfly84

I have watched like every evening when the clicking starts and nothing and the clicking will go on during the day now, all my fish and snails are fine the only thing ever that got injured were my peppermint shrimp, and i think the wrasse did that i watched him and the clowfish pull one apart... is there anyway this could be a pistol shrimp? plus how could it be a mantis those things are huge arent they? Is there anway to draw the mantis shrimp out to see if it is in fact that?, and the urchins are long spined black sea urchins? how do i get rid of them?

mantis like other shrimp and crabs can be small enough to hitch hike into the tank in the pores of the live rock

Methods to Capture Mantis Shrimp Outside Tank:

If you can quickly remove the rock where the offending mantis shrimp is hiding, then you can isolate the animal using the following methods.

Replace rock in its own, isolated tank with saltwater. Do not provide sources of food for several days, then trap mantis using bait.
Dunk rock quickly in carbonated water. You may use club soda or make your own liquid by mixing dry ice and saltwater. The mantis shrimp will quickly scoot out of the rock when exposed to this.
Squirt boiling or hot water into the cavities where mantis shrimps may be hiding. This has been suggested to me by retailers of local fishing stores as well.
Dunk rock in freshwater. Some people say they have used this to good effect, but others note that it could severely damage the other inhabitants of the live rock.

http://www.blueboard.com/mantis/pest/catch.htm

[mannyfly84]

I caught this thing in my tank, not sure if it is a mantis shrimp, kind of looks like it but maybe a baby one? check these pics out and let me know please!!!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...9&id=613087651
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...4&id=613087651

[Aquarist007]

Originally Posted by mannyfly84

I caught this thing in my tank, not sure if it is a mantis shrimp, kind of looks like it but maybe a baby one? check these pics out and let me know please!!!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...9&id=613087651
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...4&id=613087651

Its hard to tell Manny but I will send the link to PaulB--he should know

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by mannyfly84

I caught this thing in my tank, not sure if it is a mantis shrimp, kind of looks like it but maybe a baby one? check these pics out and let me know please!!!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...9&id=613087651
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...4&id=613087651

definitely not a mantis shrimp. Looks like a nasty Cirolanid isopod. If you have one you probably have several. They are not good and I would say worse then a mantis shrimp to have in your tank. They are not the source of your clicking though. You probably have a mantis or a pistol shrimp. Pistol shrimp good and mantis may not be so good and needs a species only tank.



http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/bp/index.php

[Paul B]

Thats not even close to a mantis shrimp but it is hard to tell from that picture.

[Aquarist007]

thanks for answering the post guys

[cbourque]

Question... I just started a 34 gal red sea max (my first tank ever). I added 35 lb. of live rock. The only other things i have in it are sand, and hermits. I don't use the heater, and the temp of the tank ranges from about 80/81 without the lights, and 82/83 while the lights are on. should i get a chiller just to lower those few degrees? or are those temps ok?

[Sisterlimonpot]

Originally Posted by cbourque

Question... I just started a 34 gal red sea max (my first tank ever). I added 35 lb. of live rock. The only other things i have in it are sand, and hermits. I don't use the heater, and the temp of the tank ranges from about 80/81 without the lights, and 82/83 while the lights are on. should i get a chiller just to lower those few degrees? or are those temps ok?

83 is pushing it, there are other alternatives to chillers, like creating more surface agitation to promote evaporation, you can use external pumps (if you have a sump\fuge), use an external power head like an MP10. However, depending on where you live and summer being around the corner you just very well may need a chiller to keep the temp down.

[terri_ann]

Originally Posted by Sisterlimonpot

83 is pushing it, there are other alternatives to chillers, like creating more surface agitation to promote evaporation, you can use external pumps (if you have a sump\fuge), use an external power head like an MP10. However, depending on where you live and summer being around the corner you just very well may need a chiller to keep the temp down.

I agree with Sista'. Simply placing a fan to blow over your sump/fuge can decrease the temp by 3-5 degrees. If you don't have a sump/fuge, you can also blow the fan over the top of your tank...if you have a glass top/other, removing that can help...just make sure when there are fish in there, that they can't jump out (bird netting, screen, egg crate). Chillers are costly and can just add heat back to the system if they aren't properly placed...I avoid them. You can also change your lighting schedule especially since you have no corals...but corraline needs light

[shades251]

ok guys i dont know much about this site but i need answers and no one is giving me any i have a 24 gal nano cube 150 watt mh/ 28 watt t5 atanics... now besides shrooms and zoas i need some info on bright colored coral and fish that will not out grow the tank or at least will take a really long time to out grow it HELP!!!!

[Aquarist007]

Originally Posted by shades251

ok guys i dont know much about this site but i need answers and no one is giving me any i have a 24 gal nano cube 150 watt mh/ 28 watt t5 atanics... now besides shrooms and zoas i need some info on bright colored coral and fish that will not out grow the tank or at least will take a really long time to out grow it HELP!!!!

We have an excellent forum for dealing with cubes:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75

You might want to post here or check out the other threads

To answer you question you have plenty of light to grow both lps and sps corals
However lps corals are more hardy and more forgiving of changes in the water than sps corals so I would start with those
These corals will give you good growth and colouration for your cube
torch coral
frog spawn or hammer
kenya tree
toad stool mushroom
pink xenia
leathers
open brain
orange plate coral

After a few months you may want to try out
elegance coral
pipe coral
duncans
favia
chalice
acans
which come in alot of great colours

[Michael]

Originally Posted by coralgasm

to all who start a "reef" tank

a few guidlines that will help it work

1. get the right stuff (equipment ), please, get it before you try, most imortantly LIGHT.

2. be humble, your tank has more to teach you about it than the other way around.

3. wear kid gloves, if you think something is challenging, work up to the challenge, don't, please don't, start with it.

typically, start with shrooms, ->, from now on that is into (deadheads rejoice)->zoos->starpolyps->leather corals->lps (trachys, lobos, duncans, plates, yada yada)-> other lps (favia, platy, acan)->sps (monti or seri), and, finally acro. this is NOT a GREAT guidline, each tank is different, you must decide for youself what is safe to add and when.

YOU know YOUR tank better than anyone else.

yes very good, but you need to be more specific, whats the right stuff? with so much equpment available today your comment of "buy the right stuff" doesnt help anyone.

[Fyfer8]

I have a question that i can only think of in theory so far.. i was hoping maybe somebody else has already succesfully done this and can let me know if it will work or of another method i should use.

When i set up my tank, I placed 20 lbs of LS in my 28G tank. The LFS said it would be enough but I really like tanks with deep sand beds. I WANT TO PUT MORE LIVE SAND IN MY TANK. Is this possible? In theory, I believe filling a cup with LS about 3/4 full and then topping it off with my saltwater mix would counteract the vaccuum effect on the sand when the cup goes into the water. I will then use my hand to slowly pull the new sand out of the cup to fill the tank.

Will new LS make my nitrates spike (possibly ammonia even)? Will any other water parameters be effected if done correctly? Has anybody done this or heard about people doing this? Is there another proven method?

[Sm1nts2escape]

Thank you soo much.

[IMM3DOORSDOWN]

[naughty]

so i have a question:

i have a bc14 and i bought water for it from my lfs, but! their salinity seems way too low, it's at about 1.019 - 1.020 and i've been trying to evaporate some and replace with more saltwater to raise the salinity but so far my hydrometer has been showing no changes, and it's been about a week. should i stick with this method?

do i need to buy more salt and just add it in next time i do water changes? i guess my question in general is how big of fluctuations in salinity can reef nano tanks stand?

[Alaska_Phil]

Yep, go ahead and buy a bag of salt. Most LFS add only the minimum to keep fish healthy (less salt = more profit). Reefs need a bit higher salinity. Better yet, get an RO/DI filter of your own and mix it yourself. For a 14 all you'll is a 5 gal bucket and small powerhead. You'll have plenty of pure water for top offs in the future too.

[kctango]

phil how do you size a ro/di for a tank, I have a 110gal with sump

[Alaska_Phil]

Originally Posted by kctango

phil how do you size a ro/di for a tank, I have a 110gal with sump

60 to 100 gal/day units are pretty much standard. keep in mind your tap pressure, incoming water quality and temperature will have a big impact on flow rate. For example I have a 100 gal/day unit, but my tap water is only 42 degrees, and has a TDS of 220, so even after going through a water bath with two 300W heaters, and a booster pump raising the pressure to 100 psi, I only get about 2-1/2 gal/hr out. So don't expect the rated flow unless you have pretty clean water to start with, 70+ psi and a water temperature of 70 degrees.

That said, how patient are you? I think a 100 gal/day would work fine for you 110 set up. I maintain my 50 gal with sump with mine, and I'm planning a 150 as well. However, I will be adding a 1500W heater ahead of the RO unit at that point. I'm not THAT patient myself.

[Jlobo]

I bought 4 pieces of live rock this morning. They were nice pieces that had been cured for some time so I put them in my tank and noticed what I thought was an anemone on one of the rocks. I called the pet store and the employee said it was probably a feather duster. It looks just like an anemone to me (translucent, tentacles) and I did some research and I think it may be an Aiptasia. Do I need to get rid of it? It's the only one I can see.