cruiZe Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 3/28/10 FTS Current stuff. Stock list Tank born on 8/8/2009 first mini CUC added day 17 Main CUC added day 33 (thanks John @ reefcleaners !) More added day 76 (10/23/09) (thanks again John) 1 Astraea Conehead Snails 1 Small Turbo Snail 3 Red Tip Hermit Crab 5 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs 26 Dwarf Cerith + 52 = 78ish (Total in DT & Fuge) 4 Florida Cerith Snails + 4 - 1 (killed by crabs) = 7 11 Nassarius Vibex + 7 = 18 2 Small Nerite Snails 1 Medium Nerite Snail 2 Large Nerite Snails 6 Virgin Nerites 7 Zig Zag Periwinkles + 51 = 58ish 34 Juvenile Florida Cerith CUC in fuge (removed from above) 19 Dwarf Cerith 5 Nassarius 2 Virgin Nerites 1 Astrea 1 Florida Cerith 1 Blue Leg Hermit (for hair algae) Live Stock 2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp added day 35 (9/12/09) Ocellaris "Clown A" Day 77 (10/23/09) Ocellaris "Clown E" Day 163 (1/18/10) 2 Small Peppermint Shrimp d252 (4/17/10) Small Emerald Crab "Emeril 2" d252 White crown Feather duster d252 Death list 1 Peppermint Shrimp (2") added day 17 (RIP day 26) 2 Black Margarita Snails crab food 2 Peppermint Shrimp (1") added day 28 (1 MIA, other RIP day 34) Clown B & Clown D RIP from Brooklynella, sick Clown C returned for credit. Peppermint Shrimp "aiptasia buster" added 10/27/09 Day 80 Thanksgiving feast for all 11/26/09 day 110 2 Astrea snails 2 small Peppermint Shrimp also Jan 18, consumed within 2 weeks i have officially given up on peps. Featherduster Day 100 (11/16/09) came out of his tube early Feb, down hill from there. Emerald Crab "Emeril" 175 (1/30/10) MIA 4/12/10 Corals HH Kenya Tree Coral Tripled in size now over 2 1/2" tall 2 small Kenya's dropped from above. 4" Orange spot zoa colony added day 35 doubled in size 5" Frogspawn colony (4 heads) added day 80 now has 9 heads small green and blue mushroom frag + now 7 mushies small blue mushroom frag + 13 polyp Brown Palythoa frag added 11/13/09 day 97 now has 80+ polyps 10 polyp Pulsing Xenia frag added 1/30/10 day 175 now has 40+ polyps 4 head Trumpet aka Candy Cane added day 175 also splitting into 7 already Green Ricordea (1 mouth) Red Ricordea (2 mouthes) added 3/15/10 day 219 12p 'tiger tail' zoa frag & 6p 'joker' zoa frag added 4/7/10 d242 Hitchhikers 1 Peppermint (Hyalina albolineata) Snail (1/4 inch) 6+ Orange/Black Bristle Worms (from 1/2" to 2 inches) 1 Orange Asterina Starfish (3/8") 1" Stomatella named "my buddy" multiplied into 10+ stomies! Hardware Nova Extreme 24" SLR 96w (stock 10,000k/460nm actinic bulbs) w/ built in fan dual LED moonlight Koralia 1 powerheads (400gph) x 2 Aqueon HOB 100gph w/ surface skimmer 100w Jäger Heater Custom Acrylic Fuge 24" x 4.5 x 15" tall fed by MiniJet 404 (thank you scooternerd!) Bio Filter 13lbs dry eco rox 6lbs cured LR 20lbs of CaribSea Arag-Alive sand Fuge Bio Filter 4lbs cured LR 10lbs Aragonite sand Chaeto ! orig 1st post... Been lurking here for months, slowly assembling parts and pieces... my fiancee and I finally started our tank ! It's a 15g AGA 24x12x12 tank... I removed the top plastic rim (hours of cleaning, but worth it !) and tinted the back and one side glass with auto tint (i think its 35%, had it around) Got 13lbs of dry fiji eco rox from BRS (free shipping !) great rock, I got 4 large pieces and used the screwdriver/hammer method to trim them... here is the tank with 12 gallons of distilled/IO salt water, the rock, my HOB (no media) and heater I had around tonight I picked up 5lbs of small LR pieces from the LFS and a Korelia 1 powerhead... the LR is awesome ! it has tons of stuff growing on it so I brought it home in a bucket of salt water so it was only out of water for about 5 min total, as I was positioning the small LR pieces around the base rock scape, I noticed 2 small starfish (about 1.5-2 inch span but very thin and black) and I think a bristle worm. here is a close up of the mix, I marked the glass at different stages so I know exactly how much water these rocks are displacing. the dry rock is about 3/4 gallon, and the LR is a little over a quarter, so now with only 13 gallons of sea water, the 15g is pretty full... I will be adding sand after a few days, (budget is tight) eventually replacing the glass heater with a Jager, and eventually a Nova T5HO light (right now just using old fluorescents i had around... please let me know what you think ! Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 The K1 is low, in the back pushing water up and through the bridge in the rocks, and the HOB (empty) is pushing the water back to the left, flow isn't bad for now. I added a couple flakes of fish food hoping the cool lookin star fish would get them, watched it float all around the tank until this monster grabbed the flake and ate it ! is this an aiptasia ? the largest at about inch and a half pictured here. there are a few smaller ones around, just want a solid ID before i torch them. smaller one. what are the 2 brown furry patches? (there is another ananomy in the background) Temp is solid at 80.5 SG 1.023 (as measured by the LFS with my sample water, haven't ordered my refracto yet) Ammonia test zero, but this is day one. Will 5lbs of LR seed 13lbs of dead rock without a big dieoff? (both stars are hidden but I want to save them if possible) considering adding live sand to help establish things but I know its unnecessary. Link to comment
Rocker Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 Lookin' good! The tint is pretty cool. & yes, that pic you were asking about is definitely an aiptasia. Best & easy way to kill it since nothing is on your rocks is to take that rock out & burn the aiptasia with a lighter or squirt it boiling water. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 This morning both of the brittle stars were out exploring here is the little one on the bottom and the bigger one on a rock. at first I thought the aiptasias were magically dead as they were almost black and tiny when i flipped the light on, but after a while they woke up, and puffed up to their regular nastyness. also last night i spotted what might be a pyramid snail, it is absolutely micro, about 1/8 inch long, climbing on the glass, then he went to the top and was actually "walking" on the surface of the water upside down! This morning it was getting sucked into the HOB, but I free'd it with the turkey baster and it went under a rock somewhere Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 anyone know what the brown bumpy patches are? here's another pic Link to comment
opy01 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 Nice setup. That brown stuff looks like a form of macro algae. I like your stars, I wish mine would come out... if the one in my main tank is still around lol. Have you nuked the aptasia yet? If not you need to hurry, they spread like a disease. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 10, 2009 Author Share Posted August 10, 2009 thanks for the tip. I nuked 2 of them with boiling water, and 2 more on a small rock i pulled out and torched with mapp gas i don't know what happened to my stars, but they are both chilling on the bottom with 70-80% of their legs missing ! they are still alive, but don't look happy. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 Last night added 20lbs of CaribSea Arag-Alive sand. I think it looks great ! I originally wanted something with a finer grain, but this was the best the LFS had, but now I really like it. Even with the K1 and HOB running the water was never that cloudy, and I did not rinse it. Within half an hour it was 95% clear and this morning looks perfect. It was tough getting all the sand in there around the rocks, but the turkey baster is a great great tool. Avg depth is 1" - 1.5" and I had to pull another gallon of water out, now my total displacement is right at 12 gallons, 3/8" from the top here is a close up of the sand, its nice and white. I took the stars out, put the sand in, then carefully put them on top. Every day their legs get shorter, and they really arn't moving much, anyone know whats happening to them? One is now only a body with 1 tiny leg! Link to comment
opy01 Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 you got crabs in there? I read that brittle stars will be eaten by things in the tank sometimes. I saw a crab pulling on the arm of one of mine that was sticking out of a hole in the rock. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 The only living thing I put in was 5lbs of LR, I saw both the stars when I added the rock and haven't seen any other animals, other than the snail who is still around and the worm i saw only the 1st day. Link to comment
Chyendra Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Looks like you're off to a nice start! Can you get another pic of those brown things growing on your rock? It might be a macro algae, but they could be Hydroids, which can be a pain. This is a good hitchhiker library - http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 here is more of a profile of the brown stuff, it's defiantly spreading/growing. It looks firm, it doesn't blow around much at all. still zero ammonia. PH is a little low, 7.8... how soon should I start worrying about PH? Link to comment
Chyendra Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I think Opy is right, I does look like a type of macro. 7.8 isn't too low just yet. Give it a little time. Your sand will help buffer your pH. pH can also flueuate with time of day/ light schedule, being the highest at the very end of your photoperiod. So keep that in mind when you measure it. You're off to a good start! Now the waiting begins.... Link to comment
Militant Jurist Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Looks like a great start! The pH will be a bit low during your cycle, and as a person said above, the sand will help to buffer it. As you do water changes, the pH should start working its way up. Have you begun testing your water? After the cycle ends, you'll want to keep an eye on the alkalinity. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 Day 6; this morning, before i turned the light on... SG 1.025, PH 7.9, Am 0, Nit 0, Nitrate 0 Right now I have the API saltwater master kit, planning on getting the api calcium and KH/carbonate test kits in a few weeks... Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 Moved some things around and mounted the temporary light to clean up the look a bit. here is a new FTS hope you enjoy! and yes, this is in our kitchen. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 16, 2009 Author Share Posted August 16, 2009 LR has been in a week yesterday, LS a week tomorrow... pH is rising ! color between 8.0 and 8.2 early today (lights on 2 hrs) Amm, 'rites, 'rates still all zero. I've been testing every other day or so and haven't picked up anything yet Realized that an orange spec on one piece of LR is actually a tiny 3/8" starfish ! Whatever is on the rock must taste great cuz he only moves about 2 inches per day ! It has 6 stubby legs, mostly brownish green and orange dots on body. Saw the brittle star torso's rolling around in the sand, they look so sad without legs ! Link to comment
Militant Jurist Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 LR has been in a week yesterday, LS a week tomorrow... pH is rising ! color between 8.0 and 8.2 early today (lights on 2 hrs) Amm, 'rites, 'rates still all zero. The last time I cycled a tank, I had something similar happen. I think I was well into week 2 before I started to see an ammonia spike, and I used a lot of dry rock like you did. Good job being patient... I know how tempting it can be to go pick up something new! You've got great hitchhikers though, so hopefully they can keep you content for now. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 so i've noticed a 2-3" bristle worm every night, crawling around on one of the rocks. He's shy to the flash light, but very menacing ! Haven't seen it completely out of its cave, but its def the largest thing in the tank right now. Anyone think this is the culprit for the brittle stars missing legs ? There are also some white/ clearish thin worms about 1/2 inch long out at night on various rocks, what are these? Big news this evening after work i noticed ... DIATOMS ! Brown crap growing on most of the sand and some of the rocks. Does this mean that our cycle is almost over? (even tho no readings of amm or 'rites have showed up, EVER ?!) Want to add a peppermint next week to start chewing away at the aptasia, tiny ones are too much of a hassle. Link to comment
Militant Jurist Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 I would wait on the pep shrimp until after your tank is completely cycled. You really want to be sure that you've gone through all the stages, because inverts are very sensitive to water quality. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 Update, NEW TOYS ! Just in from the good Dr's... Refractometer (and calibration fluid) a second K1, MagFloat, and dig thermometer Had to venture out into the rain storm on my day off to get this box from the post office ! Apparently they couldn't deliver it yesterday because my dog was outside... My sg is a bit low so I pointed the 2nd K1 to agitate the water a bit for faster evap. After careful calibration (the refracto came reading .002 high with the 35ppt / 1.0264 fluid) my distilled water reads negative .003 guess that shows calibration fluid IS all it's cracked up to be. Here is a pic of the night monster (over 2 inches) and my tiny orange star to the bottom left corner of the rock. Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 day 14, amm, 'rites both zero... nitrates are 5 or 10 (so hard to tell !) how high should i let the 'rates get before first WC ? Link to comment
RyanR1212 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 HOLY $&!% DUDE!!! thats a flippin monster!! you got to get that thing outy ASAP :scarry: :scarry: Link to comment
cruiZe Posted August 30, 2009 Author Share Posted August 30, 2009 day 22 water test results, 0,0, nitrates about 15, 1.025 sg, 78-79 degrees and 8.2 pH in the evening. Added a peppermint shrimp, an astraea snail, 2 margarita snails, 2 blue legs and a red tip crab. Along with my hitchhiking tiny peppermint snail (id from melevsreef.com), giant bristle worm and some kind of tiny limpet thing that i think the tiny snail is eating. Both brittle stars are MIA after their legs fell off/were eaten off Link to comment
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