Claire's 12g - Boring but happy

[D Z]

Awesome! What do you have in mind for the CUC?

[ClaireRenee]

yay!

Thanks Cindy... I just caught up on your thread. I can't believe all of that beautiful life in your one month old tank. Mine is still a wasteland I am sorry to hear about your GCG, but everything else looks fantastic.

 

Outstanding Aquascape!

Thank you! Unfortunately I broke the scape while doing my massive water change... oops! The good news is that I put it back together and I think now it is a little better because I now have a big area for coral at the bottom of the arch for coral placement. The ordeal was really frustrating but at least it happened while there was nobody in the tank to bother.

[ClaireRenee]

Awesome! What do you have in mind for the CUC?

Thanks!

 

For now I am going with a small group of banded trochus, cerith, and nerite snails. I was tempted to get a scarlet legged hermit crab since I think they are cute. I have heard, though, that they can be a big pita. So for now I am just going to get some snails in there and see how they do.

 

I also got three assassin snails for my planted freshwater tank. I am so sick of the obscene overpopulation of ramshorn snails.

[D Z]

Thanks!

 

For now I am going with a small group of banded trochus, cerith, and nerite snails. I was tempted to get a scarlet legged hermit crab since I think they are cute. I have heard, though, that they can be a big pita. So for now I am just going to get some snails in there and see how they do.

 

I also got three assassin snails for my planted freshwater tank. I am so sick of the obscene overpopulation of ramshorn snails.

Cool! Make sure you try to get both Florida Cerith and dwarf cerith, and don't be afraid to add a bunch of the dwarfs. The dwarf are tiny and clean like hell, but stay mostly hidden during the day. I personally would skip the scarlet hermit. If you really want a couple hermits, go with the good old tiny blue legged hermits. They are the less aggressive out of all the hermits.

[ninjamyst]

Cool! Make sure you try to get both Florida Cerith and dwarf cerith, and don't be afraid to add a bunch of the dwarfs. The dwarf are tiny and clean like hell, but stay mostly hidden during the day. I personally would skip the scarlet hermit. If you really want a couple hermits, go with the good old tiny blue legged hermits. They are the less aggressive out of all the hermits.

 

I keep reading mixed reviews on dwarf ceriths. Some say they are useless, some loves them.

[D Z]

I keep reading mixed reviews on dwarf ceriths. Some say they are useless, some loves them.

Dude, all I know is I have about 100 of them in my tank. You don't see them at all during the day, but at night they are everywhere.

[ClaireRenee]

I keep reading mixed reviews on dwarf ceriths. Some say they are useless, some loves them.

I will do some research on the dwarf ceriths...

 

The next thing I need to figure out is wether I should add fish or coral next... does anyone have a good reason to go one way or the other?

 

Thanks

[cju84]

I will do some research on the dwarf ceriths...

 

The next thing I need to figure out is wether I should add fish or coral next... does anyone have a good reason to go one way or the other?

 

Thanks

 

I'd try a hardy coral first like a zoa - something hard to kill. You'd probably feel worse if a fish died over a plant

[ClaireRenee]

I'd try a hardy coral first like a zoa - something hard to kill. You'd probably feel worse if a fish died over a plant

 

That is what I was thinking too. Also I keep flip-flopping on my fish stocking plans. I want one, or two, of everything YIKES!

 

Thanks for the advice!

[ClaireRenee]

So I just got a letter from the power company. We have a scheduled power outage next wednesday from 9am-3pm .

 

I guess it is time for me to think about my power outage contingencies... I will not have anything except for a CUC with snails, micro stars, bristle worms etc.

 

I think my FW planted will do OK on a battery powered bubbler, but what do I need to do for my SW?

 

I have read lots of the articles here on N-R, I don't have a powerhead that I could put on a battery back-up and most of the articles are for full reef tanks.

 

Do you think my CUC would be OK with only aeration? Or should I go get prepped for more?

 

Thanks

[ClaireRenee]

On a non-reef related note... Let's Go Giants!!!!

 

My neighborhood is a war zone right now! There are screams, car alarms, and mortars going off everywhere

[D Z]

On a non-reef related note... Let's Go Giants!!!!

 

My neighborhood is a war zone right now! There are screams, car alarms, and mortars going off everywhere

LOL...not a giants fan, but that awesome!(unless you're trying to sleep)

 

As for the power outage, I think your CUC will be fine with just aeration. Honestly, they would probably be fine even without the aeration, but if you already have a battery powered air pump, I would go ahead and run it to be safe. Think of it as a trial run for if you did have a full blown reef tank.

 

I honestly think you should start with a fish and a hardy coral. Remember, naturally, your coral are going to feed on the waste produced by your fish. It is very much possible to have a reef tank without fish, but I personally just think its better to start off with both.

[cju84]

So I just got a letter from the power company. We have a scheduled power outage next wednesday from 9am-3pm .

 

I guess it is time for me to think about my power outage contingencies... I will not have anything except for a CUC with snails, micro stars, bristle worms etc.

 

I think my FW planted will do OK on a battery powered bubbler, but what do I need to do for my SW?

 

I have read lots of the articles here on N-R, I don't have a powerhead that I could put on a battery back-up and most of the articles are for full reef tanks.

 

Do you think my CUC would be OK with only aeration? Or should I go get prepped for more?

 

Thanks

 

You could always take a straw and blow a lot of bubbles for those six hours?

 

Your CUC should be totally fine though in all seriousness.

[cindyp]

i think you'll be fine too, claire.

 

also, i'd suggest a mushroom as starter.

i've found them even hardier and less senstive

than zoas. i mean, i still have my original two

mushrooms that survived my Jar of Death. ha

[ClaireRenee]

LOL...not a giants fan, but that awesome!(unless you're trying to sleep)

 

As for the power outage, I think your CUC will be fine with just aeration. Honestly, they would probably be fine even without the aeration, but if you already have a battery powered air pump, I would go ahead and run it to be safe. Think of it as a trial run for if you did have a full blown reef tank.

 

I honestly think you should start with a fish and a hardy coral. Remember, naturally, your coral are going to feed on the waste produced by your fish. It is very much possible to have a reef tank without fish, but I personally just think its better to start off with both.

Thanks for your help. That makes me feel better that the tank is going to be ok... Sure makes me think about what I would do for a long term power outage. I guess I should get that figured out by the time I get this tank stocked. However at my current pace I will have a lot of time

 

You could always take a straw and blow a lot of bubbles for those six hours?

 

Your CUC should be totally fine though in all seriousness.

LOL... That is exactly what my husband suggested!

 

i think you'll be fine too, claire.

 

also, i'd suggest a mushroom as starter.

i've found them even hardier and less senstive

than zoas. i mean, i still have my original two

mushrooms that survived my Jar of Death. ha

I will look at the mushrooms on my next LFS trip, Thanks!

[ClaireRenee]

So, I feel sooooo bad! I think I just assassinated my assassin snails . I got my snails from LA and in addition to the SW CUC, I ordered some assassin snails to bring my FW snail explosion under control. Well, I drip acclimated them in SW... crap!!!! I got them into FW, but they aren't moving. I am such a bad snail mom. I hope they will recover

 

On a brighter note the CUC is in the SW tank and everyone looks good.

[ClaireRenee]

Potential good news... My three assassin snails are moving around I still have my fingers crossed, but hoping they pull through

[East1]

they should have just been a bit dehydrated from it, and should be fine!

I'm actually really jealous of the reef conversions in these, we don't have anything similar over the pond, but this would make the perfect tank for gobies that would normally jump!

[ClaireRenee]

they should have just been a bit dehydrated from it, and should be fine!

I'm actually really jealous of the reef conversions in these, we don't have anything similar over the pond, but this would make the perfect tank for gobies that would normally jump!

I felt so terrible, I thought I was doing a good thing getting all of my creatures drip acclimating within minutes of having them out of the box... not so good when you get your animals mixed up . I hope you are right... seems like they are doing ok now.

 

Do they not have the Fluval Edge on that side of the pond? I know that Neil sends products to the UK... You should check it out. The company is called Saltwater Conversions. I think it would be great for jumping fish... doesn't leave them much room to get out.

 

Thanks for giving me some hope! I certainly need it.

[East1]

Oh I didn't realise he ships across, that's awesome. I might try figure out a way to add an edge to my current sump now!

 

Yeah, depending on how long it was for it should be fine, it's not nearly as bad as the opposite, marine inverts in freshwater die pretty fast.

[ClaireRenee]

Oh I didn't realise he ships across, that's awesome. I might try figure out a way to add an edge to my current sump now!

 

Yeah, depending on how long it was for it should be fine, it's not nearly as bad as the opposite, marine inverts in freshwater die pretty fast.

I did some research after the fact and found out that they can survive long term in brackish water, so I am hoping that I didn't add enough SW to really harm them. I still can't believe that I made that mistake... doh!

 

I am hoping I have learned my lesson and won't make that kind of mistake again.

 

If you get an Edge, let me know. I would love to follow whatever you do with it. I am sure it will blow whatever I do away. I am so impressed with what you have done with your mangrove tank. I really want one now. I should probably get something in my tank first though

 

Everyone says to go slow, but I think I am taking it to a detrimental extreme... LOL

[Orangutran]

Get some Scarlett hermits! They don't bother anything. Not sure why there is so much hate for hermits. They are so entertaining, who cares if they kill a few snails. It's all part of nature.

[cindyp]

Get some Scarlett hermits! They don't bother anything. Not sure why there is so much hate for hermits. They are so entertaining, who cares if they kill a few snails. It's all part of nature.

 

i think it depends. i mean, in my 8g nano, i really can't take risks

of anything that's ever called aggressive. so i stay away from

almost all shrimps and crabs. i did try a pom pom but it died.

and my sexy shrimps are good. but i can't get any other shrimps

due to sexies.

[ClaireRenee]

I am so excited. My CUC is in my tank, I have snails, pods, worms and mini stars. All is doing well. The tank is looking better every day and the parameters are solid. I am going to get my first coral on monday. So here is a photo of the living room with the two tanks. It is super dark, but gives you an idea of how the room is looking.

 

[Sk8n Reefer]

Great room set up- look nice and comfy to enjoy the tanks!