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You're hosed with the sand. Keep rinsing out the foam and be patient. I did this exact same thing on my first tank and it took a day or so to get even somewhat clear.
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May 9, 2011 13:28
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arioch posted:but hopefully those baby nems aren't majanos. That was the first thing I thought of when I heard "baby nems."
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May 9, 2011 15:31
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I had to use an actual micron filter to knock my initial cloudiness down. Lesson learned rather early on: Never put dry sand in your tank, fill it up with DI water, THEN your salt mix. The only small anemones I know to be hardy enough to put in a new tank and not be pestilential are mini carpets. There are two varieties of them, the "maxi minis" which can grow to around 6" and the "mini minis" which stay around 1-2". They have truly beautiful color variations, the "mini minis" are hardy as all gently caress (not sure on maxis since I only introduced mine after the tank stabilized). They're both identified as Stichodactyla tapetum right now though I'm relatively sure they're really separate species. In my experience the "mini minis" do well enough under good conditions that they do reproduce quickly (but still not to the kind of pestilence levels of aiptasia or majano) and are easily propagated that way to where people feel comfortable with giving them as freebies. In my mind, unlike aiptasia, some majanos have really cool colors that make them reasonably suited for smaller picotopes where they can be controlled. Article on "maxi minis": http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/mini-carpets-perfect-small-sea-anemones This is an example of a "mini mini": http://cultivatedreef.com/purple-martini-mini-carpet-anemone-stichodactyla-tapetum-p-182.html VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 17:07 on May 9, 2011 |
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May 9, 2011 16:51
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It sounds like your friend knows what he or she is doing, but that isnt good husbandry or a good thing to do to those animals if your tank hasnt cycled yet. Adding the clowns and starfish will only add to your bioload (which is probably really light right now) and will cause your ammonia and nitrite to spike. If you have a QT tank I would just stick it all in there for a few more weeks. I made the same mistake with the sand in my current setup. It will clear up soon jsut run a filter sock and that should help it clear up quickly.
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May 9, 2011 20:32
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I needed to separate these posts, so I apologize in advance for the double post. I am hooking up my GFO/Carbon Reactors (not I am not running them together, separate pumps, separate reactors), and I'm using a maxijet 1200 for each reactor. I'm wondering if it will be a problem keeping the return line and the pumps all in the same compartment as my skimmer? I know with a skimmer it's a good thing to keep recirculating some of the same water to make sure everything is being cleaned efficiently, and Im wondering if it the same with running GFO and Carbon? If anything I can extend each return and let it spill into the compartment with my Mag return pump. For reference: -2 BRS Reactors -GFO pellets and carbon -2 Maxijet 1200s
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May 9, 2011 20:37
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Shouldn't be a problem, although I actually pump out the water from the return chamber then the effluent lines go into the skimmer chamber (the drain chamber). I do that for the entirely psychological effect of "hey my macros have first crack at the nutrients". As far as livestock in the above post goes, the clowns (assuming they're tank-bred) have been through far worse than a mere cycling tank. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 20:59 on May 9, 2011 |
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May 9, 2011 20:51
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Wellll gently caress. I had all the live rock and stuff with the Kenya Trees and anemones and whatever else in buckets until I could get them into my tank. They were stuck in there for over 24 hours because I had to make some last-minute changes to my set-up (and wait until the water had cleared up somewhat from the sand.) Stupidly, I let the temperature in the buckets get dangerously low; the bobbing thermometer was reading 65 degrees, but when I reached into the buckets to actually pull the stuff out, the water felt even colder. All of the live rock and critters are in my tank now (which was fairly cool by that point as well, so the temperature shock was actually minimal) warming up, but the damage has obviously already been done. Some of the Kenya Trees are clearly dead, shriveled up and blue. The rest are in bad shape; they appear to be alive, but are pretty limp. Hopefully they'll perk up with some warm water flowing around them. All of the little starfish appear KIA, I haven't seen any of the copepods, and it generally looks like a wasteland right now. All hope is not lost, though. There are little feather-duster worms alive on the rock, the anemones seem hardy, and there are lots of unidentified worms and crawly things on the sand. I put the clowns into my 10 gallon quarantine tank and set them up with a heater and power filter, where they will probably stay until the tank is fully cycled. Now all I can do is wait and see what survives I guess. Man I knew I would end up killing stuff eventually in this hobby, but I had really hoped to at least get them into my tank before doing so. 
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May 10, 2011 12:52
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Next time just leave them out of the water with wet newspaper on top. Also cloudy water doesn't hurt fish or coral.
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May 10, 2011 14:48
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You should probably also take some pictures of the nems and show them to us. Kenya trees are pretty prolific and decent growers, I wouldn't be worried about only have SOME survivors. I have a couple small colonies of a neon green nepthea (same stuff) and it's taking off pretty well. You almost certainly have a bunch of live pods in there still, just wait for them to recover. Copepods can survive being refrigerated by going into a low metabolic mode. Your stars (micro brittle stars, most likely?) are certainly toast, though. That's fine, they're dime a dozen (i.e. don't go buying the 6 for $30 packages on websites like IPSF). VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 17:51 on May 10, 2011 |
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May 10, 2011 17:47
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On a second note with the pods and their survival, crustaceans like pods, pysis, and bring can survive freezing. Dont worry about them going through some cold.
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May 10, 2011 18:37
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I have a question for those who have had clown breed in their tanks before. The past few week my clowns and have been showing the signs that the male has given into the female, and the 'dance' together etc. Now the past few days the female is looking kind of fat, she shows no signs of disease or sickness but did not eat this morning. She has dug out a hole in the sand bed near some rock work, and is just chilling down in the sand. Is this a sign she is going to spawn soon? I got worried at first because I wasn't sure if something was wrong.
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May 10, 2011 20:03
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I think I just read a post on RC where someone was asking a similar question. Basically the dude had a hole in his sandbed and everyone said it was the clowns. I know a lot of freshwater fish dig holes in a lake or river floor to spawn, so it wouldn't surprise me.
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May 10, 2011 20:11
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yea she's dug farm enough that I now have some egg crate exposed. I'll be happy when she does spawn though and it isnt something serious.
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May 10, 2011 20:23
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Yeah, things seem better than I had feared as of now. Even the shriveled and blue Kenya Trees are standing back up, although they are still a bad color and haven't unfurled their branches yet. I've spotted a few of the starfish (yeah they are micro brittles) on the rock that seem to be alive, although they're not very active at the moment. Looks like some of these guys are doing okay.  Some of them aren't, though.  This is the anemone I was talking about. He's about half the size of a dime.    Edit: Here's the overall tank (75 gallons): 
Anony Mouse fucked around with this message at 22:43 on May 10, 2011 |
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May 10, 2011 22:11
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Lions and tigers and Aiptasia oh my!
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May 10, 2011 22:15
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I can't tell what that anemone is from the side but it looks like a mojo to me. You're going to have to make up some kalk paste, inject the anemones you see, and then get a couple peppermint shrimps for the aiptasia you don't see. And hope you get it all before they end up growing in/from your overflow/drain/sump.
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May 10, 2011 22:48
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arioch posted:I can't tell what that anemone is from the side but it looks like a mojo to me. As for the aiptasia, I was planning on getting some kind of shrimp for the tank eventually, so I guess I should just go ahead and get some peppermints sooner rather than later?
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May 10, 2011 22:56
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They're as pestilential as aiptasia, basically. They have a redeeming quality in that they're actually colorful and good looking, but that only really makes them suitable for small aquascapes where them getting everywhere is still them being reasonably contained.
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May 10, 2011 23:11
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Alright! Since my last post on page uh.... 21.. I'm finally able to get back to setting up this tank of mine! I ran into a small problem with my overflow plumbing, though. My drain pipes need to go through my stand. I'm leaning towards shaving out a divot in the shape of the outline in the second picture rather than wrangle the pipe around the stand with a bunch of fittings. If I add a vertical support right there I don't believe there will be any structural issues. It's so close to the end I don't think there would be a problem anyway. Does anyone see a problem with my cunning plan? And what sort of tool would I use?
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May 11, 2011 05:38
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I'd just add a couple bends in the drain pipe than messing with the stand.
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May 11, 2011 06:45
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Sweet just found this thread as I normally browse Reef Central and Ultimate Reef (UK site.) I have previously had 24" cube, 3ft and 6ft tanks all marine and had to sell my stuff due to moving. As I am now settled I want a new tank! Were having a baby in a couple of months so whilst looking for something suitable a freebie was offered... Its an octagonal tank about 5.5 gallons. I am going to be doing a crazy aquascape and a desk lamp retro fit, so its all going to be fun! Has anyone here adapted a desk lamp for aquarium use? I am looking at these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LED-Spotlight...#ht_1352wt_1139 which i think will be similar to using T5's but we will see. Filtration on such a tiny tank will be an internal filter, running floss and carbon. No skimmer or sump just regular water changes ~25% a week... stocking wise I am looking at some hardy corals and probably a clown if i can find a tank bred one for not silly money. Perhaps a goby to clean the sand.
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May 13, 2011 00:32
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 also teaser on my current project: 
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May 14, 2011 00:28
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thegasman2000 posted:
I believe these work in standard light socket thingies. Lots of people are using them on smaller tanks nowadays.
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May 14, 2011 04:38
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You need fixtures with ventilation because they run HOT in the back, though. And they're deceptively powerful, may well cook your corals if you hang them low enough.
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May 14, 2011 06:43
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kaosAG posted:I believe these work in standard light socket thingies. Lots of people are using them on smaller tanks nowadays. Thanks for that. Just need to find a UK Retailer who doesn't want to charge the earth! edit: This looks good but £70! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CREE-QUAD-SPE...#ht_4342wt_1139 thegasman2000 fucked around with this message at 18:27 on May 14, 2011 |
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May 14, 2011 17:44
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Also keep in mind those things are pretty heavy, versus regular incandescents and fluorescents. You might need to look around for a bit for a really stable and solid architects lamp fixture.
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May 15, 2011 20:52
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One of my Clownfish died. The other fish seems to still be healthy and is eating well, and they were both in the same water conditions since I got them, so he must have been a bit weaker since the start. Some more pictures:  Here is one of the mystery anemones in the tank. Green body with fat brown tentacles. Is it a Mojano? I've been looking at images of them online trying to ID them, but they all seem to be different.  There is a mushroom wedged in between these two Kenya Trees. Algae growth is starting to pick up steam, and the aiptasia are everywhere, so I'll be picking up some Peppermint Shrimp and hermit crabs online ASAP.  A pair of mushrooms on one of the rocks. From looking at pictures online, I think they are Lavenders? Kind of purple-ish bodies with brown, green-tipped tentacles.
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May 15, 2011 22:55
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Does that mystery nem move around? And can you get a better shot of the mouth disc? It could be an extremely small BTA.
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May 15, 2011 23:18
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Yeah, they move. The one on the sand bed moved about a foot over a day or so. The big one crawled his way up into the rocks somehow, because he wasn't there two days ago.   Two visible here. 
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May 15, 2011 23:55
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Yeah, those are mojos. Get to it.
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May 16, 2011 13:32
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How easy is it to just pull them off with tongs? Will I need to resort to kalk paste or Joe's Juice or whatever? I've read that they just explode from those, releasing larvae that just exacerbate the problem.
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May 16, 2011 22:15
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If you know where all yours are right now, your best bet is to kalk paste them. Also get some kalk paste in the majority of the aiptasia. (But make sure to not squirt any of your actual coral) Then I'd get a couple peppermints and let them go to town. Again hopefully you haven't gotten any aiptasia into your plumbing yet. If you don't have any syringes right now, I'd just get a bottle of Aiptasia-X, which comes with a suitable syringe with a nice needle for kalk paste. Then keep that syringe around. Get Mrs. Wage's pickling lime and mix it up with some RO water (make sure not to breathe that poo poo in, do it outside if possible). I found what works well for me since I'm not judging amount of kalk vs. water, is to make a mix, then let the kalk settle out (overnight), then pick up the kalk layer with the syringe, which results in a nice deadly paste. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 23:13 on May 16, 2011 |
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May 16, 2011 23:07
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Teaser #2
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May 17, 2011 17:52
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Just a quick, crappy, cell phone FTS cause I was bored.
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May 17, 2011 22:22
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May 18, 2011 02:42
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Finally got my 90g started. I'm pretty cheap, so my equipment is hardly top-of-the-line and none of it is brand new, but I think I'll do alright once things are up and running. I'm planning on running a mixed reef (mostly LPS/SPS, with a few soft). Equipment: - 90g tank w/Oak stand and 20g sump (drilled) - Current USA Nova Extreme Pro 6x54w T5HO - Panworld external return pump (~1100gph) - Red Sea Berlin skimmer rated for 150-400g, including a Mag 5 pump. I've heard alot of bad things about these but hey I got it for free! Best price. - 100 lbs reefcleaners.org base rock - 60 lbs Nature's Ocean black reef sand When it's good and cycled I've got the following livestock to put in it so far: - 2 ocellaris clowns (~4 years old) - 1 coral beauty angel I'm also planning on adding at some point: Watchman goby Purple or hippo tang Spotted mandarin small school of chromis (blue or blue/green) (maybe) copperband butterflyfish I'm also open to suggestions, as I've not had experience with larger fish. Right now I'm in the process of filling this thing. What a long process! Full Tank Shot:  Sump Setup:  While installing the sump I actually managed to crack it 1/2" between the hole and the corner of the tank. I've applied 100% silicone sealant judiciously around it, in the hopes that I won't have a leak. If not, I'll be working on my third possible sump (the seller cracked the first one, long story). Skimmer:  It was free, and while I was running it to clean it out it produced a pretty good foam. It should be adequate for my bioload.
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May 18, 2011 04:36
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Are you going to put some dividers in the sump to prevent bubbles from reaching the return? Or space to throw a small Cheato ball in? I would also double check on your stock list. That tank will be too small for a Hippo tang and you might think about waiting 6 or so months and adding a separate fuge to supply pods for the Mandarin. When I looked into even the ORA Mandarins a lot were still pod only eaters. I do think the copperband also picks at corals, so I would use caution there. Other than that, the tank looks great! Know what bulb combination you will be using?
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May 18, 2011 16:49
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Dono posted:Are you going to put some dividers in the sump to prevent bubbles from reaching the return? Or space to throw a small Cheato ball in? Eventually I will put in some dividers or otherwise upgrade the sump. It's not much now but I was thinking of putting a filter sock over the skimmer output to minimize that. Most of the spotted mandarins for sale around here do eat mysis. I wouldn't buy one that didn't. I've got some left over rubble I'm going to throw in the sump for pod production but I don't expect it to be enough to feed a psychadelic mandarin, like ever. The light came with 3x actinic blue 3x daylight 54w t5s, but as I replace them I'm going to switch 2 of the daylights out for 420nm purple.
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May 18, 2011 23:14
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The tank-bred mandarins still have a nasty tendency to just switch off of eating frozen, so I wouldn't rely on that. Happily, my pair of mandarins have been thriving on pods (and live mysis) in my system for close to a year now. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 23:45 on May 18, 2011 |
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May 18, 2011 23:40
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Melchior posted:Eventually I will put in some dividers or otherwise upgrade the sump. It's not much now but I was thinking of putting a filter sock over the skimmer output to minimize that. Between your skimmer and the drain pipe a filter sock still wont prevent bubbles from reaching your return. Guaranteed. Also, your skimmer may not have adequate time to collect and skim particulates from the water column if it's moving too quickly. Melchior posted:The light came with 3x actinic blue 3x daylight 54w t5s, but as I replace them I'm going to switch 2 of the daylights out for 420nm purple. Are those daylights 6500k? If so, man that's too white for me. Just a recommendation, but I get really great growth AND color (nothing gets washed out like the 6500k bulbs) from my LPS and my few SPS frags from: ATI 2: Blue+ ATI 1: Blue+ ATI 2: AquaBlue ATI 1: Blue+ ATI 2: Purple+ ATI 2: Blue+ Bulbs under 1 run from 10a to 10p Bulbs under 2 run from noon to 6
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May 18, 2011 23:53
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