Mr. Fosi's 5.5AGA fish/coral mix

[Mr. Fosi]

A few weeks ago I swapped out about 4lbs of the origional rock that I had in the tank for 4lbs of rock that I bought from Dr. Mac at Pacific Aquaculture East. It is quite a bit more porus than the origional rock and it has more interesting shapes. I also added a piece that I bought from an LFS (Aquadrome), but I never got a pic of it before i cured it and my hermits cleaned it off.

 

 

 

 

Just today, I added two new pieces of rock, three more astreas, one nessarius, and a dwarf blueleg.

 

I bought this and the aformentioned piece from Aquadrome one day after they recieved them from a FL aquaculture outfit. The most recent piece has been curing in my 10g rock tank for about 2.5 weeks.

 

 

 

 

It came in with two patches of what I believe to be a species of Madracis.

 

 

 

 

There is another hitchhiker that I haven't been able to identify as well as a couple species of macroalgaes (that my hermits will probably eat), a lot of bubble algae, and a nice deep-red coralline algae.

 

The other piece of rock that I put in there today is something that I got from a different LFS (Sean at Buzz'n Bees rocks!). I have been dealing with BnB pets for most of 10 years and Sean has always taken care of me, and this rock is just the latest manifestation. I brought in some java fern and Cryptocoryne wendtii that I have been cultivating in my FW tank and traded it for a nassarius snail and a rock containing these. The first pic is what they looked like 1min after I moved them to the aquarium from the acclimation bag and the second pic is what they looked like 4hrs later:

 

 

 

 

My halimeda has been growing like a weed. This is what it looked like on 1-14-06:

 

 

 

 

And this is what it looks like now (the whiteness is an artifact of the flash):

 

 

 

 

And there are two updated FTSs:

 

 

 

 

 

I never scrape my glass. I mag-floated it a couple times during the first month, but I haven't done it since.

 

The hair algae and cyano that I have been contending with for the past two months was exported to my rock curing tank when I swapped in the rock from Dr. Mac. I am not sure what I am going to do with the exiled pieces of rock that I have, but I was thinking about cooking them (http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...oking+live+rock). I disagree with Nuhtty and I don't have a PhD in marine science, just a BS in Biology. For what its worth, I am beginning graduate work at U. South Carolina this summer toward my MS or PhD in marine science.

 

I am pretty sure that I can retain the nitrifying bacteria and shed the photosynthetic algae (coralline and others) by keeping it in a dark container of saltwater for a couple months. I don't think that temperature is critical, since I don't care too much about whether the feather dusters live, but I will keep the water moving to facilitate shedding. I don't know if it will confer all the benefits that have been proported on RC, but I am certain that I can be rid of the nuisance algae without converting my LR to dead rock by completely drying it out for several months.

 

Still no deaths or MIAs and all the dire predictions of a crash due to doing "too much, too fast" that were posted at the beginning of this thread have failed to materialize. I haven't been doing waterchanges very religiously and my wataer params have all been stable and within acceptable limits, so don't try to tell me that I dodged the bullet either.

 

It is kind of fun spending time here at NR answering beginner questions, and all-in-all things have been going rather well. I'll keep updating as things mature, grow, get added, subtracted, and expanded.

 

PS: If the crash ever happens, I'll report that too.

[Mr. Fosi]

I bought a mushroom for $5. It was not exactly an impulse buy, since I was hoping that Aquadrome would have a nice, small, cheap coral that I could snag.

 

Dave (the owner/operator) called it a red ruffled mushroom, but it looks a little more purple under my 50/50s. This pic was taken a couple min after I plopped him in the tank. Now that the tank lights are off, he is extended a lot more.

 

 

 

An updated, and much better focused pic of the Madracis sp..

 

 

 

And an updated FTS. I am not sure what the pipe-cleaner-looking macro is, but I love the color and the morphology. I think it adds a neat look to the tank.

 

 

 

The PVC skimmer is still working like a champ and I cut down on microbubbles (from the output water splashing into the AC70) by putting some filterfloss across the outlet of my AC70 semi-fuge. I saw a seaclone skimmer that came with everything but the maxijet (which I already own) on ebay for $10, so I bought it. I don't know what I am going to do with it yet, and it isn't like me to buy things that I don't have a plan for, but I couldn't pass it up. Maybe it will come in handy on a larger (second?) tank.

 

The only thing that is a bummer is that my NO3 tested at ~15 mg/l after my water change. I think I am going to have to do a massive one either tomorrow or Sunday. Despite the high NO3 readings my zoas and Madracis seem to be doing fine, but I prefer to have it lower than it is.

 

15 ml/l is nothing compared to the ~40-80 mg/l that is swirling around in my exile tank. The rock in there still has a lot of hair algae on it. I will leave the magnum 350 on it, but I am going to do a big water change and darken the tank (and the body of the magnum) with some brown paper (bags). I hope that I will have rock that is clear of both cyano and hair algae in a couple weeks.

[Yuri]

Nice tank. I really like the scape. Good luck with the cyano!

[Mr. Fosi]

Nice tank. I really like the scape. Good luck with the cyano!

 

Thank you and I am sure that there will be no trace of the cyano after about 3 weeks of darkness in my exile tank.

 

Here is two pics of the shroom as it looked this morning (I guess it doesn't mind the high-ish NO3 levels...):

 

 

 

 

 

The hermit was on that rock for over an hour. The rock had been in my mini refugium before I glued the shroom to it. I wonder what it had on it that the hermit liked so much.

[Mr. Fosi]

Well, the little shroom started to detach from the rock. It is still fully extended, but it started turning sharply toward the light and has begun to let go of the rock that its on.

 

I don't really want to have to glue it directly to a rock if I don't have to, so I moved it to a higher spot, in the hopes that it just wants more light.

 

I also did a 70% waterchange in my exile tank. It brought the NO3 reading to ~12 mg/l, which is down from ~80 mg/l before the change. I am scrounging my house for black plastic trash bags or paper gorcery bags to cover the panels with. So far I am SOL, so I will track something down at work tomorrow.

 

After having read some stuff on "cooking" LR, I got the idea of my exile tank. As stated in previous posts, I have had problems with hair algae and cyano since the inception of my tank. To win the fight against it, instead of drying my infested LR out and killing everything in/on it, I would rather cook it in a blacked-out 10g for the next few months. This way: 1) I win the fight against the annoying algaes without losing all the benficial inverts and microorganisms and 2) after my wife and I move to South Carolina, I can expand to a 10g AGA without having to buy much, if any, LR.

[Carolina Fish Nuts]

hi i saw on one forum that you were moving to columia NC (sorry spelled wrong)

well let me tell you that you will want to think about geting your own r/o system the water here stinks (i realy mean that u can smell it) if u have county or town water it is so full of cloramine that the tap fillter will not get it all out. oh and there is nothing out here "nothing" sept for a few of us fish nuts (we can get a little carried a way) the closes wall mart is 1 hour away or 2 hours depending on the directon u go. the nerest town of any substans is were i live plymouth

this is were u will find you lfs

 

sorry scrach that just saw that you ment SC youll like that better

[Mr. Fosi]

Yeah, my wife and I can't wait to move.

 

She has wanted to move to a warmer clime for a long time and I am ready to ditch my crap job and start doing something that is interesting.

 

Everyone that I know who has been there says that "The South" is "different". I guess there is probably a grain of truth to that, but I'm not too worried. I've been to pleanty of other places and countries that were different and I'm still here to tell the tale.

 

The only thing that I am actually dreading is the physical move. We (my wife and I) both hate packing and moving. Top that off with the fact that she is pregnant with our first child and will be into her 3rd trimester when we make the move. I think we'll both be happy when it is over.

[Mr. Fosi]

I bought a frogspawn frag from Six and I am very happy with it.

 

These pics were taken right after my lights came on and after it had been in the tank for about 9hrs. Notice the very awsome deep red and orange coralline algaes on the rock.

 

Without the flash.

 

 

 

 

With the flash (Hi Mr. Hermit!)

 

 

 

I am also reading up on kalk. I may start dosing soon.

[Six]

Kool Fosi!

Lookin great! That frag is much more open than I would have guessed after transit! Kalk def. will help that coraline grow, tho the red I may have maintained in some freaky alternate universe, I'm fairly sure it isn't common in most tanks. You'll love the frag when it opens!

[Mr. Fosi]

Thanx for the input and encouragement Six.

 

As it is, the frag is having a tough time but we'll see what is left once it fully acclimates to the tank. I had a bit of an NO3 (20 mg/l) spike, but I have taken corrective action with a 50% waterchange. I will do another one tomorrow.

 

On other fronts, I decided to pull the PVC skimmer offline because I couldn't control the salt creep that it was producing. After having used it for a month, I have decided that it is better suited for the sump than for in-tank use.

 

I decided to pick up a seaclone(clown?) skimmer sans the maxijet. Despite what people here say, I think I can make it work quite well. Plus, it was only $10 on ebay.

 

The rock cooking in the exile tank is going well. I blacked out the walls and lid of the 10g, and the clear body of the magnum350 with junkmail and scotch tape a few days ago. When I removed the cover to take a look with my flashlight I saw almost no hair algae anywhere. There are a few stubborn whisps here and there, but they will pass away before too long. I think that I will leave the rock blacked out for at least 2 weeks past when the last visible hair algae disappears.

 

I haven't done any water tests on the exile water since I did a waterchange a few days ago, but I am not very concerned.

[CKing4749]

Im here in the Charlotte area, let me know when you get to NC and get your 10 gal up and running, I'll mail you a frag to welcome you to the neighborhood.

[Mr. Fosi]

Im here in the Charlotte area, let me know when you get to NC and get your 10 gal up and running, I'll mail you a frag to welcome you to the neighborhood.

 

Very cool, thank you for the hospitality. Is it still offered even though I am moving to Columbia, SC (not NC)? I guess Columbia SC is somewhat closer to you than Columbia, NC...

 

An update for those who care: I took a better look around the exile tank this morning and I noticed that the coralline and foraminarians are still colored up and looking good, whereas the hair algae is virtually gone.

[CKing4749]

Very cool, thank you for the hospitality. Is it still offered even though I am moving to Columbia, SC (not NC)? I guess Columbia SC is somewhat closer to you than Columbia, NC...

 

Of course the offer still stands You will be much closer anyway, as you stated. I moved from my home of 20 years in Texas to the Carolinas a few years ago, so I know what its like to pack up your life and move. Its practically another country around here. Its nice, the weather is overall pretty pleasent (although warmer in the summer then you are likely used to). I will tell you though, if the people in your area know how to read signs and obey traffic laws try and enjoy that while you can, you won't see much of it around here.

[Mr. Fosi]

Of course the offer still stands... I will tell you though, if the people in your area know how to read signs and obey traffic laws try and enjoy that while you can, you won't see much of it around here.

 

Once again I thank you. It is funny you mention the quality of drivers; I always thought that Pennsylvania had the worst quality.

 

Update on the frogspawn:

 

It has been struggling, as you can see from the photo. It hasn't opened very well, but I was told that sometimes it takes frogspawn frags some time to get acclimated. I hadn't been worried until I came home from work on the 2nd day: it was completely limp and the mouths were gaping. I did some water tests and found my NO3 up to 20 mg/l, so I did an immediate 50% waterchange (matched temps and salinities of course) and swapped out my filterfloss. It looked somewhat better the next day, but I decided to do another 50% waterchange to bring the NO3 down further. The pic from today shows the mouths still gaping, but at least some of the arms have begun to puff up, rather than look like deflated socks.

 

 

 

 

When I am done writing this, I will do another 50% waterchange and then leave it alone for a few days, unless something else funny shows up in my water parameters. Given how much better it looks today than it did a couple days ago, I am feeling very encouraged.

[Mr. Fosi]

Things are looking up for my froggy frag.

 

I haven't messed with the water since I did the last 50% waterchange and it has just looked better and better. As you can see from the photo, there are no gaping mouths or deflated arms. I think that in another day or two I might see full extension with sweepers.

 

 

 

 

The bad news is that my shroom doesn't like where it is at. Its been out, but it hasn't fully extended in almost a week. I decided to move it to an area of lower flow and a little less light. We'll see how it looks over the next few days.

 

In other news, I read through a very long thread over at RC on Remote Deep Sand Beds (RDSBs): http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...l=deep+sand+bed

 

There are some people who were skeptical, tried it, and are very happy campers now. I don't know if there is an application for me with 5.5g, especially with a long move coming up. As much as I want to do it, I might just have to wait until after we move to try it out.

 

I put the seaclone that I got on ebay on my exile tank. Right now I am powering it with a DIYed intake venturi on a penguin 660 powerhead. I am getting decent bubble production but it is taking forever for the darn thing to break in. Since I see no trace of hair algae or cyano on any of the rocks, I thought that there would be oodles of undecomposed organics in the water. Either the skimmer is worthless (save the snide I-told-you-so until I do a full test) or there is less in the water than I thought.

[Mr. Fosi]

The frogspawn is looking better and better. I tried to feed it today, but after letting the food sit on its largest mouth for about 15 min, I decided to turn my circulation back on and let the clown get it. While I was waiting to see if the 'spawn would take the food, I decided to try feeding the Madracis.

 

It worked. I dropped food on 2-3 of the polyps that make up the front colony and they had it eaten in ~10min. They are kind of an ugly brown color and I wonder if I feed them with nicely colored foods, whether they will develop a nicer hue... After the feeding, I had to do a little relocation of the mushroom.

 

I had a small (1"x2") piece of LR onto which I had glued the shroom and at first, the it was doing great (see the pics earlier in the thread), but a couple days ago it suddenly turned into a burrito.

 

It didn't fully let go of the rock, it just rolled up one side of itself like a window shade. I couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I moved the rock to an area of less light and flow.

 

A day later, it looked even more tightly rolled up, so I decided to sit and observe for a little while and see if I would notice anything untoward. After about 15 min I noticed a very small (~1mm) little aptasia on the rock ~5mm from the shroom.

 

I didn't want to put a shrimp in my tank b/c it is too small (and too much $$). A shrimp would quickly run out of food in my tank and the anenome was too small to inject with anything. I wanted to take the shroom off the rock anyway, so I took it out of the tank, coaxed the shroom off the rock and into a waiting cup of tank water with my pocket knife (sanitized with isopropyl alcohol) then I dropped the rock into a cup of boiling tap water. I put the shroom back in my tank and left the rock in the hot water for about 5min before letting it cool and putting it in my AC70.

 

I'm going to check the rock tomorrow, but I am sure the aptasia is dead. I could have sqirted the thing with a little lemon juice or potassium permanganate and let it sit, which probably would have taken care of it, but the boiling cup of water was more fun.

 

When I put the shroom back in the tank, I lightly pressed it into a rock crevice that gets a little light and a little flow; we'll see how it does now. I also decided to move the frogspawn while I was at it. I had a hunch that I would see better extension if I moved it a little further out of the flow from my AC70, but I didn't get a chance to see if my hunch was correct before the lights went out.

 

In other news, I have been doing some reading about different denitrator setups and also about dosing tanks with ethanol (EtOH) as a means of removing NO3 and PO4. I don't think a denitrator setup is worth messing with until I can give it some time to cycle up and get working, so I am going to wait until after we move to do anything in that area.

 

The EtOH, however, is a different story. Apparantly, using 0.04ml of 90 proof vodka per gal to reduce NO3 and PO4 was in vogue in Europe a couple years ago. I read some stuff on RC and other places about people who had used it and had such a drastic reduction in free nutrients and organics that some of their corals suffered from nutrient starvation.

 

Since I have an exile tank that contains only LR, a lot (15ppm) of NO3, and an unknown amount of PO4, I decided to try dosing that tank with some 50 proof banana rum (no vodka around). Maybe I'm retarded, but I think it'll work just as well as the vodka and given the contents of the tank, I don't have to worry about any extra goodies that might be in the rum. If it doesn't do anything, I may try dosing a little sugar, which is another method of nutrient reduction that I read about.

[Mr. Fosi]

Well, dosing the exile tank with EtOH didn't do anything for the nutrient levels, I'm gonna try sugar next.

 

The mushroom is doing 120% better. It likes the new place enough that it is almost fully attached and it is fully extended for the first time in a week.

 

The frogspawn is also doing very well. It definately likes its new position of greater light and less flow; it finally looks like a healthy coral. In fact, I went to the LFS last night to have some water tests (PO4, Ca, and Alk) and I took a look in their LPS tank. Guess what I saw... A two-headed branching frogspawn frag, the same colors as mine, for $75.00. Both of the heads, individually, were smaller than my frag ($15, thank you Six), and I bet I'll have something that looks like theirs in a month or two.

 

Also, I started a denitrification thread in Advanced Topics (http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...opic=84357&st=0). I think, after we move, I will try the plenum idea when up set into a bigger size tank.

[Mr. Fosi]

After taking some water to the LFS for testing I found out that my Calcium was 300 and my alkalinity was 160. The LFS guy said that the ranges should be 320-500 Ca and 60-130 alkalinity, and people here at NR confirmed that these were good ranges.

 

I also found out that Instant Ocean is a salt known to be low in both Ca and alk, so I decided to try mixing salts. Rather than dose (since I don't have Ca or alk tests) I decided to pick up a small packet of Oceanic salt, which is known to be high in Ca and alk. Since I have 25g worth of IO left, I mixed up a batch of 3/5 IO - 2/5 Oceanic salt water and did a 50% waterchange.

 

I was going to do a smaller waterchange, but I decided to risk it with a larger change so I can have my water tested tomorrow to evaluate results. The frogspawn and shroom were really irritated by the change at first, but it has been 30min and they are almost fully extended. The Madracis never seems to care when I do anything in the tank as long as I don't touch it directly.

 

I think I am going to unmask my exile tank and put a light on it. I was origionally going to leave it like blacked out until we moved in July, but I am impatient and I want to play around with it. Plus, now that I am more interested in growing my corals (and I am having Ca problems), I want to get that Halimeda out of my tank. I am going to try and sell some of it, but I know that it will come back no matter how low I prune it. I think that it is only contributing to my low Ca levels.

 

Also, the chaeto that Six sent me with the frogspawn is doing really well in the tank. I wonder if the stuff that I had before was dying when I got it... Oh well.

 

I also decided to pick up some tetra marine flakes. I bought the smallest package I could, since it should take me a while to use it up. The clown and the corals both like these flakes a lot more than the FW flakes that I had been feeding them and I think that these will provide a more balanced diet. I would like to get some mysis or cyclop-eez, but I don't have the $$ right now.

 

Ok, enough talk. Picture update time:

 

Frogspawn:

 

 

 

Madracis:

 

 

 

Mushroom:

 

 

 

New addition! Star Polyp:

[nanospoof]

Been looking at this thread (man talk about a lot of reading) anyway when are you moving to Columbia? I live in Spartanburg South Carolina, not to far away. You will see the south is different (I'm not from the south just moved here after college and getting married) but not bad. As for warmer weather you get plently of that plus plenty of humidity. Anyway I like the tank but i might be biased since I also have a 5.5 gallon AGA. Well I don't know about Columbia but up here in the Greenville Spartanburg area there a couple of good Fish stores I could point out to you.

[Mr. Fosi]

Where are you from origionally? How long of a drive (time) is Greenville from Columbia?

 

My wife and I are moving down in July. We're hoping to be fully moved by the 15th, but that date is more of a guideline rather than a hard-set goal.

 

Yeah, the humidity is what I hate, but I think I can live with it as long as I am doing things that I find interesting. Of course, it is easier to take humidity when you are 80ft under the water breathing out of a tank and looking at neat marine organisms...

 

Do you have a tank thread?

[nanospoof]

Greenville is about an hour and a half depending on how fast you drive. Also amazing is that at only over an hour away the humidity and temp is way different. Columbia is Very hot and Humid in the summer. Originally born in Texas but grew up an Army brat so I have been all over the world. I do have a tank thread if I knew how to make a link to it I would. But it is in the Members Aquariums section titled Nanospoof 5.5 AGA, check it out i would love to hear some feedback.

[cmador]

I also found out that Instant Ocean is a salt known to be low in both Ca and alk, so I decided to try mixing salts.

Funny, when I first started I bought Oceanic salt and had the reverse of problems you had so I bought IO salt and mixed 50/50 for my water changes. The 50/50 mix provided really good results until I ran out of both and I have since changed to TM pro reef salt. I think you will see good results with this mix and I believe someone on this board only uses the oceanic/IO mix for their tank. Good luck in your move.

[Mr. Fosi]

Good luck in your move.

 

Thank you. If remember who is using the 50/50 mix, let me know.

 

On to the updates:

 

As you are aware I discovered that my calk was low and alk was high in my 5.5g AGA (300 & 160 respectively). I also noticed that my pH fluctuated from 8.0 to 8.2 (not bad) between morning and evening.

 

Rather than begin dosing, since I have no calc/alk test kits, I decided to mix up some water with a 50/50 mix of Oceanic and Instant Ocean (IO) salts and do a big-ish (50%) waterchange. After some initial, mild irritation on behalf of the inverts, everyone is looking great. I did this about 5 days ago.

 

Since I recently setup a 10g AGA as an exile tank (i.e. no purchased livestock), I decided to play with kalk dosing as well. I dosed about 250ml (large amount) of saturated kalk into the 10g (~8g of water) over 3 hours last night. The water in the rock tank was mixed with only IO.

 

The pH in the rock tank shifted pH from 8.0 to 8.2. I tested the pH before the lights came on this morning and it was still at 8.2. I will test it tonight when I get home and see if there was any upshift.

 

I tested the pH of my 5.5g (50/50 mix) this morning and it was also at 8.2.

 

I guess it doesn't shock me too much, since there is much reduced bioload and photosynthetic primary production in the rock tank. But I find it interesting that a 50/50 mix of Oceanic/IO salt has the same before-light pH as a kalk dosed IO.

 

I am going to try and get to an LFS to get a calc/alk test tonight and see how the tanks match up and to see how the 50/50 mix is working.

[ZaderMatermorts]

I've found that I need quite a bit of calcium and alkalinity supplementation using IO. I bought a bucket of their reef crystals, but haven't used it yet, so I'm not sure on the difference. I like the idea of mixing brands, I may try that out.

 

The froggie looks much happier, but should definitely come out some more. Keep us updated. You have some of my favorite corals in your tank - frogspawn and gsp are two of my favorites for some reason.

 

I like the look of your 5.5, it's got a nice mix of LR which should give some great diversity. Plus the smaller size rock helps make your tank look a little bigger than it is. I have to admit that I haven't yet read all of your thread, though I plan to.

 

How's the AC110 doing as a fuge? Another question I have is why you didn't put the chaeto in there? Just no lighting yet? I'm in the planning stages of a true nano of less than 10G, the HOB fuge is something I really want to go with. It's a very good idea.

[fishwannabe]

Been looking at this thread (man talk about a lot of reading) anyway when are you moving to Columbia? I live in Spartanburg South Carolina, not to far away. You will see the south is different (I'm not from the south just moved here after college and getting married) but not bad. As for warmer weather you get plently of that plus plenty of humidity. Anyway I like the tank but i might be biased since I also have a 5.5 gallon AGA. Well I don't know about Columbia but up here in the Greenville Spartanburg area there a couple of good Fish stores I could point out to you.

Just noticed this thread. I am from SC also. I live in Marietta GA now, but the rest of my family lives in Spartanburg/Moore area. I would love to have the names of the fish stores in Greenville. I hope you are happy in the area. I would love to move back, but my hubby's job has kept us here for 20 years. My husband is from PA, and he loves it down here. Like any place, there are positives and negatives. But overall I think the South is a great place to live. I hope you continue to enjoy it.