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Nick's new 14g biocube


nwin

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April 1, 2011

 

 

Another day, another Aiptasia! Had to kill a big one today that my wife noticed...Aiptasia X seems to be doing the job, I think maybe I'm just hitting them accidentally or something and that's why they keep popping up? Who knows.

I've killed off the same aiptasia with Aiptasia X for months now! I suspect in my case that not all the anemones are aiptasia (I know I had a variety of hitchhikers when I started my tank). I find keeping a peppermint shrimp has worked for me pretty well. The Caribbean varieties are known aiptasia eaters, though they don't take out big ones. Do seem to keep proliferation in check! One of the guys at the LFS said that he finally got rid of them by using a real hypodermic needle and stabbing into the sides rather than using what comes standard with the box. Might try that!

 

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That looks like snail to me, probably nassarius if you have them. They are notoriously slimy!

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I've killed off the same aiptasia with Aiptasia X for months now! I suspect in my case that not all the anemones are aiptasia (I know I had a variety of hitchhikers when I started my tank). I find keeping a peppermint shrimp has worked for me pretty well. The Caribbean varieties are known aiptasia eaters, though they don't take out big ones. Do seem to keep proliferation in check! One of the guys at the LFS said that he finally got rid of them by using a real hypodermic needle and stabbing into the sides rather than using what comes standard with the box. Might try that!

 

 

That looks like snail to me, probably nassarius if you have them. They are notoriously slimy!

 

I was thinking of getting a peppermint shrimp, but so many people say that sometimes you get a bad one that will eat other corals or fight fish or whatever, and they look like they'd be impossible to get out of the tank, especially with lots of rock work and whatnot. I had cherry shrimp in my last freshwater, and you could pretty much forget about getting them all out of the tank if needs be.

 

I do have nassarius snails. I had no idea they left trails like that. Thanks!

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ARGH! I think all that stirring around might have stirred an aiptasia up, as there are now TWO visible...a peppermint shrimp is sounding better and better, though I would rather not get an animal just to clean house since I don't want the shrimp for anything but that...

 

I'm DONE with rock relocation!

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I was thinking of getting a peppermint shrimp, but so many people say that sometimes you get a bad one that will eat other corals or fight fish or whatever, and they look like they'd be impossible to get out of the tank, especially with lots of rock work and whatnot. I had cherry shrimp in my last freshwater, and you could pretty much forget about getting them all out of the tank if needs be.

 

I do have nassarius snails. I had no idea they left trails like that. Thanks!

Hmm -- I've never had problems with my peppermints "eating" coral -- they do annoy them by stealing food! I have seen them eat bristle worms. I don't find mine hard to catch b/c they come right up the my hand when it's in the tank, but if I were actively chasing it, there'd be no way to get it without removing all the rock. But this would be true for both the gobies I have, too. Especially the rainfordi who tunnels underneath the rock and goes there whenever startled. The variation is what makes this all so interesting! You can also try the berghia nudibranches (they've recently been re-named, but you can find info on them still using that term). These are aiptasia-eating nudribranches. The biggest problem people have is they are so efficient that after eating all the aiptasia, they die of starvation, then the aiptasia come back.

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Well, time to think of some alternatives...

 

Yellow headed jawfish seem to be pretty hard to come by around here so far, and I really don't want to spend 30 on one, and then another 30 on shipping by buying online. Add to that the Aiptasia which is annoying me.

 

Here's my possibilities

 

2 clowns I'm getting no matter what

Cleaner shrimp no matter what.

 

Maybe a goby/pistol shrimp combo?

I'm thinking a peppermint as well for aiptasia. Some people say you never see them too much anyways, so maybe it would't be so bad...I guess I can start looking at different gobies that would pair up well while hoping a jawfish comes in local.

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altolamprologus
Well, time to think of some alternatives...

 

Yellow headed jawfish seem to be pretty hard to come by around here so far, and I really don't want to spend 30 on one, and then another 30 on shipping by buying online. Add to that the Aiptasia which is annoying me.

 

Here's my possibilities

 

2 clowns I'm getting no matter what

Cleaner shrimp no matter what.

 

Maybe a goby/pistol shrimp combo?

I'm thinking a peppermint as well for aiptasia. Some people say you never see them too much anyways, so maybe it would't be so bad...I guess I can start looking at different gobies that would pair up well while hoping a jawfish comes in local.

Have you asked your LFS to get one for you? A good LFS should be able to get anything you ask for.

 

A pistol/goby pair sounds good though. A hi fin with a candy cane pistol would look good and shouldn't cost you more than $30.

 

Be careful with peppermints. There's like a 75% chance it will eat coral. You can just get some aiptasia x and nuke them all

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Have you asked your LFS to get one for you? A good LFS should be able to get anything you ask for.

 

A pistol/goby pair sounds good though. A hi fin with a candy cane pistol would look good and shouldn't cost you more than $30.

 

Be careful with peppermints. There's like a 75% chance it will eat coral. You can just get some aiptasia x and nuke them all

 

I looked online at the stock list to see what they carried and asked, but no response yet. I might call up later today.

 

I'm worried about the pistol/goby pairup as sometimes the gobies just don't seem too active as the jawfish would.

 

I've been using Aiptasia X every time I see one pop up. However, all the ones that I've seen are relatively small, so I have a theory that maybe a few I've gone for, maybe I brushed them the wrong way with the injection, and they broke off and multiplied? They just continue to pop up. I've probably had about 15 cases since I started the tank up. Last night I found two more.

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April 8, 2012: Happy Easter

 

mZyuh.jpg

 

So the tank is coming along, slowly but surely. On Tuesday I went to a LFS that routinely has a $5 frag tank. I picked up two zoa frags that looked relatively pest free (I saw a few frags with Aiptasia and one with nudibranches, i think) and had a decent color to them, brought them home and freshwater dipped them to get any nastys off.

 

My quest for a yellow head jawfish continues. I've called around and gone to a few different LFS in my neighborhood, and my main LFS said he's going to try and get me one this week and he'll let me know if it comes in, so that's good. I was at his store on Saturday and picked up a peppermint shrimp, which has been mowing down my Aiptasia in no time (alright, I only had two that I could see, but this morning they were no longer there, so I'm happy with that!). I also picked up a blue leg hermit crab and a skunk cleaner shrimp.

 

From all the research I've done and what the guy at the LFS told me, I will never see the peppermint shrimp except for at night and the cleaner shrimp will be wanting all the attention. It's been 24 hours since I got them (drip acclimated the hermit, cleaner, and peppermint shrimp in 2 separate containers) and it's been completely opposite! The cleaner shrimp is near the back wall, underneath some rocks just chilling and seeming VERY shy. Meanwhile, the peppermint stays at the front of the tank hanging upside down on some rock and was trying to start a fight with my hand when I put it in to adjust the position of the zoas! What gives!? Hopefully the skunk just needs some time to adjust and he'll be cleaning my hand soon enough!

 

I've got a bit of brown detritus on one side of rocks that the CUC doesn't really seem to be running after, but I am picking up a turkey baster tomorrow to blow that stuff off. Other than that...waiting and hoping a jawfish comes in this week!

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April 8, 2012: Happy Easter

 

 

I was at his store on Saturday and picked up a peppermint shrimp, which has been mowing down my Aiptasia in no time (alright, I only had two that I could see, but this morning they were no longer there, so I'm happy with that!). I also picked up a blue leg hermit crab and a skunk cleaner shrimp.

 

From all the research I've done and what the guy at the LFS told me, I will never see the peppermint shrimp except for at night and the cleaner shrimp will be wanting all the attention. It's been 24 hours since I got them (drip acclimated the hermit, cleaner, and peppermint shrimp in 2 separate containers) and it's been completely opposite! The cleaner shrimp is near the back wall, underneath some rocks just chilling and seeming VERY shy. Meanwhile, the peppermint stays at the front of the tank hanging upside down on some rock and was trying to start a fight with my hand when I put it in to adjust the position of the zoas! What gives!? Hopefully the skunk just needs some time to adjust and he'll be cleaning my hand soon enough!

This has been exactly my experience with peppermint shrimp. Even now, the gold banded coral with his lovely yellow body, red-and-white striped claws and purple legs (he thinks he's in a Dr. Seuss book) is rarely seen while the peppermints are out and about. Of course, they are not today b/c, as I was warned, the GBC has probably killed them. He may go. I like the peppermints.

 

Tank looks cool. I'll be interested in seeing how coral looks against the black-n-white sand.

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Tank looks cool. I'll be interested in seeing how coral looks against the black-n-white sand.

 

Yeah, I'm curious on that too. I ordered the sand online and thought it was going to be mostly black...obviously not the case. I'm hoping it doesn't take away from anything.

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April 15, 2012

 

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So the cleaner shrimp has finally started showing it's face more often...

Prmni.jpg

 

You can definitely tell the peppermint is afraid of him because anytime the cleaner gets remotely close, the pep freaks out and swims off.

 

WIth summer rapidly approaching, my cooling has been a huge issue. I upgraded the stock fans pretty easily, but didn't really notice a HUGE increase in air movement, I made the vents for them bigger, but still really wasn't getting anywhere. So I did some research and added some more fans!

hKXJd.jpg

 

Two more up front that are blowing cool air into the tank. Not the BEST job ever, but not bad for my first try, I'll take it. Tank never gets above 81 on the thermometer now...which in actuality is about 79.5-80, so I'm happy with that. I haven't noticed a huge increase in evaporation either, so that's good.

 

Tank parameters are still 0. About 1-2 days after I added my shrimps and hermit crab, I saw ammonia dart up to a bit under .25. I'm unsure if it was because the added bioload or what. One thing might have been my testing. I'm using an API saltwater test kit, and I normally always do 8 drops of solution one, invert a few times, 8 drops solution 2, shake for 5 seconds and wait for 5 minutes. Of course this day I just added 8 drops of 1&2 and then shook it up, so that might be the reason as well. All is well though. I still haven't had to do a water change since I've had the tank, which concerns me a bit, but since the chaeto continues to grow well in the fuge setup in the back, I'm not too worried about it.

 

I just used the turkey baster and man, do snails crap a lot or what!? I just stirred a bunch of stuff up in my tank, so I'm curious how that will affect the levels, if at all.

 

Oh, I also bought a Hydro Flo Deflector. I wanted something other than the stock stay in place thing in the back, and for only $12, I figured why not.

 

STILL no jawfish. My LFS that I've been going to says he's trying to get one, but I guess he didn't get in anything besides corals this week, so I'll keep on trying. I'm determined to get what I want and I don't want to settle...however, I don't want to buy online because with shipping I double my price ($30 for the fish, 30 for shipping)...if I could get some decent frogspawn, I would consider it, but it seems like some places are out of stock.

 

Well, that's it for now...just patiently waiting. I have supplemented the shrimp's diet with some pellet food since they aren't getting any waste/leftovers from the fish that aren't there yet.

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So were the stock fans not worth upgrading?

 

What fans did you add in front there? Can you post a couple pics of what you did to it? And a link would be great too :)

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So were the stock fans not worth upgrading?

 

What fans did you add in front there? Can you post a couple pics of what you did to it? And a link would be great too :)

 

I can definitely tell it helped a bit in upgrading the stock fans. Increased air flow quite a bit. The problem with upgrading those fans is that you're only putting in air and removing it from the enclosed portion where the lights are at. So all that ambient temperature is staying put pretty much. You basically HAVE to have another fan or source of evaporation so that the air can move around the whole tank and cool it.

 

The fan upgrade I used it pretty similar to this. The one exception was that mine doesn't look nearly as clean as his. The fans I used were the same ones I used in my OP. It's really not that hard and went by pretty quick. Just needed a variable volt AC adapter like that guy talks about in his post.

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I can definitely tell it helped a bit in upgrading the stock fans. Increased air flow quite a bit. The problem with upgrading those fans is that you're only putting in air and removing it from the enclosed portion where the lights are at. So all that ambient temperature is staying put pretty much. You basically HAVE to have another fan or source of evaporation so that the air can move around the whole tank and cool it.

 

The fan upgrade I used it pretty similar to this. The one exception was that mine doesn't look nearly as clean as his. The fans I used were the same ones I used in my OP. It's really not that hard and went by pretty quick. Just needed a variable volt AC adapter like that guy talks about in his post.

 

Gonna have to get some fan upgrades ordered soon.

 

Did it cost a lot?

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Gonna have to get some fan upgrades ordered soon.

 

Did it cost a lot?

 

Not really...the following are estimates:

 

2 fans at 10 bucks each -$20

heat shrink for the wiring-$2

AC adapter (I didn't have one and bought a variable one at radioshack-$20

 

Now, I wasn't thinking about the ac adapter at the time, but radio shack is a huge rip off most of the time. I'm sure you could probably get one at walmart for 10 bucks or so, or you might even have one laying around your house. Add in some zip ties and you're out the door done for less than $25 if you have an adapter, or up to $45 if you don't.

 

edit: Also, if you already upgraded the stock fans and you still have the stock fans in possession, I see no reason why you couldn't just use those if you really wanted to save $20.

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Thanks for the info, I'll look into ordering some fans later today. I can already tell keeping these cool in the hot summers are gonna be a ##### and a half :lol:

 

Keep up with your jawfish hunt, they're well worth it!

 

I had one a longggggggg time ago back when I thought I knew what I was doing and they were really fun. I'm currently debating between a pearly or a blenny for my 14. Luckily I've got some time to figure it out :)

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Thanks for the info, I'll look into ordering some fans later today. I can already tell keeping these cool in the hot summers are gonna be a ##### and a half :lol:

 

Keep up with your jawfish hunt, they're well worth it!

 

I had one a longggggggg time ago back when I thought I knew what I was doing and they were really fun. I'm currently debating between a pearly or a blenny for my 14. Luckily I've got some time to figure it out :)

 

 

SO frustrated with the jawfish. My LFS ordered two in his shipment that got there today, one for him to sell, and one for me. Both of them DOA!

 

He says that he thinks maybe his supplier had just gotten them in and it was too quick a turnaround...pretty much going from sea to the supplier, then shipped right to the LFS. I've heard they don't ship well, so I'm hesitant to order online now for sure.

 

I'm thinking about giving up the fight. It really sucks having spent this much money/time on my tank and just have two shrimp and a hermit crab in it. I know I want 2 clowns, and I would just go ahead and grab those, but they say add the jawfish first...I don't want the goby/pistol combo, but I'd like something that burrows so I'm not wasting all this damn substrate!

 

So frustrated...

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So I was reading your posts about upgrading your fans, I am starting to have a loud fan issue so I will be replacing them soon. Anyway as far as the temp goes I just removed the feeding flap during the day because I keep my house at 77-78. I have never really had a problem with the temp, but I am trying to see if it will help keep my ph at a more constant lvl. I know it's not a lot of fresh air but it seems like the hood holds in co2. Just a thought. Oh yea you can also put that flap back on at night so the temp does not drop too much, living in the desert, there are some massive temp shifts.

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  • 2 weeks later...

April 29, 2012

 

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Well, I still haven't found a jawfish yet, so I've decided to switch gears. Today I saw a tail spotted blenny at the LFS and after reading up on them the last few nights, I decided that's what I'll go with for now! If I can get a jawfish, awesome, but I'm not going to keep waiting on it. If I can find a jawfish within the next 2 or 3 weeks, then I'll probably add one jawfish and one clownfish total...if not, then it will be 2 clownfish to go with my tailspot. I also picked up a pom pom crab! The little guy went into hiding immediately and I haven't seen him since though!

 

I took the Hydor Flo deflector off...the thing kept popping off and it seemed to decrease flow a LOT...I superglued it on for a bit, but it came off when I bumped it...I still have it so I might try it again some other time...

 

I also got 3 branches of frogspawn from a local reef guy for $25 so I grabbed that and it looks great in my tank.

 

Also added some barnacles so the tailspot has another hiding spot. Finally, replaced the chemipure because my water was starting to look kinda bad after water changes...figured I would try that.

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Benny the Blenny has gotten more comfortable!

 

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And not the best pic of the pom pom, but I'm glad to see he's moving around!!!

 

MKpnf.jpg?2

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Haha! I bet he loves that barnacle you gave him. They have a lot of personality one of my favorite fish.

IMO it is necessary to feed him more than once a day. I kind of just randomly do it since I work a lot. I noticed mine was getting pretty dern skinny and read up on it and others have had that problem. (I lost my yellow eyed combtooth blenny in a similar fashion over a period of months he got so skinny)

 

I bought some New Life Spectrum I don't remember the size (freakin small size pellets-get the smallest if you get it.) he loves it.. and I read they eat blue-green algae but for whatever reason mine prefers red algae sheets more. So I give him that on occasion as well as some herbivore flake food (I know I know -yikes! phosphates!!! AAAAHH RUN FOR THE HILLS!! but he loves it and I try to keep it to a minimum.) Another thing I kept reading in most places that these guys are herbivores but mine also eats mysis and the meaty bits from rods fish food with his greens.. Just some thoughts I thought I would throw your way as I am trying to fatten up my blenny. Not terribly picky eaters but difficult to keep fat.

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Haha! I bet he loves that barnacle you gave him. They have a lot of personality one of my favorite fish.

IMO it is necessary to feed him more than once a day. I kind of just randomly do it since I work a lot. I noticed mine was getting pretty dern skinny and read up on it and others have had that problem. (I lost my yellow eyed combtooth blenny in a similar fashion over a period of months he got so skinny)

 

I bought some New Life Spectrum I don't remember the size (freakin small size pellets-get the smallest if you get it.) he loves it.. and I read they eat blue-green algae but for whatever reason mine prefers red algae sheets more. So I give him that on occasion as well as some herbivore flake food (I know I know -yikes! phosphates!!! AAAAHH RUN FOR THE HILLS!! but he loves it and I try to keep it to a minimum.) Another thing I kept reading in most places that these guys are herbivores but mine also eats mysis and the meaty bits from rods fish food with his greens.. Just some thoughts I thought I would throw your way as I am trying to fatten up my blenny. Not terribly picky eaters but difficult to keep fat.

 

 

So far it looks like he's feeding on a lot of this brown algae/detrius I have on the sides of some of my rocks...it's not Diatoms as far as I know as the tank isn't covered in it and I get zero readings on everything...just like some algae...he's been gnawing on that and hasn't touched the formula 2 frozen I got...the pellets are in the mail as no LFS has Ocean Nutrition around me. I also seem to have a small but of GHA growing that my CUC isn't taking care of... argh!

 

I just changed my chemipure after about 2 months, so hopefully that will help with the water quality. Also, I'm seriously considering getting rid of my chaeto and replacing with purigen...it creates Such a mess I get all these little strands of chaeto flowing through the tank!

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Good that hes eating the brown stuff. Hopefully he starts eating prepared food as well. Mine didn't eat frozen food for two or three days. check out this thread if you haven't already and want more info on the little guy. There's some good stuff in it. From what I have read in general tailspots LOVE jawfish and jawfish tolerate tailspots LOL. Though I don't recall the species of jawfish they were talking about or tank size off hand. It's somewhere in there.

 

You're tanks looking great btw. :) I have a frogspawn just like that - it grows like crazy!! :D

 

What does the brown algae look like? Just curious. I find diatoms pop up when I add plastic to the tank. They love silicates. Hmmm. I never tried Purigen. so I can't really comment on that.. I'm sure someone will chime in. However you could try running your tank with all three. That would put it to the test. If chaeto still grows then it's still eating up those nitrates/phosphates so they can read at 0. ;) Just keep an eye on it IMO.. It is freakin annoying though when it gets stuck in your return pump. It doesn't happen to me often but I find when it does.. cursing helps.

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Good that hes eating the brown stuff. Hopefully he starts eating prepared food as well. Mine didn't eat frozen food for two or three days. check out this thread if you haven't already and want more info on the little guy. There's some good stuff in it. From what I have read in general tailspots LOVE jawfish and jawfish tolerate tailspots LOL. Though I don't recall the species of jawfish they were talking about or tank size off hand. It's somewhere in there.

 

You're tanks looking great btw. :) I have a frogspawn just like that - it grows like crazy!! :D

 

What does the brown algae look like? Just curious. I find diatoms pop up when I add plastic to the tank. They love silicates. Hmmm. I never tried Purigen. so I can't really comment on that.. I'm sure someone will chime in. However you could try running your tank with all three. That would put it to the test. If chaeto still grows then it's still eating up those nitrates/phosphates so they can read at 0. ;) Just keep an eye on it IMO.. It is freakin annoying though when it gets stuck in your return pump. It doesn't happen to me often but I find when it does.. cursing helps.

 

Thanks! It's definitely getting there!

 

The fish has eaten most of the algae, and my phone camera won't pick up the algae that's left over too well...if I were to describe it, it looks kinda like the dirt you would empty out of your vacuum...it's not stringy like GHA, but it's just clumps of dirt/detrius that are on the sides of the rock. I haven't added any plastic to the tank in quite a while.

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May 6th, 2012

 

A6tVP.jpg

 

Alright, so the tailspot "Benny the Blenny" has been doing absolutely great. He doesn't go in the barnacle all the time, but sometimes, so that's good. I thought my pom pom was dead for the last few days until I finally saw him come out today when I did a feeding, so that's good. I'm glad I didn't get two of them, though...as for the little amount I've seen him, I'm not sure he's worth it.

 

I got some new hermit crab shells as my blue legged was looking a little cramped...of course he chooses the biggest shell about 4 times as big as his old one! He can barely move the darn thing.

 

I'm still searching for a jawfish, but today I saw a B/W ocellaris clownfish that I just couldn't say no to... He seems to be doing well so far!

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