George's Red Sea Max Tank

[Vic6384]

George, I like your setup...

I've just started a 26 Gal bowfront, and I am in a similar situation to you, trying to ID things, finding things that came with my LR...

I'll have to keep track of your progress, since we've started at similar times,

looks good, keep up the slow progress!

[GAR1964]

Thanks Vic.

 

OK, so it's been a few more days... I'm getting a diatom bloom, a bad pump and fan arrive from Pinky at Red Sea Max and I save some time this evening to work on the tank. I spend a few minutes on replacing the pump... it's a pain rethreading the wires through all the channels, but eventually that part is done. Now for the testing, we have...

 

SG = 1.022 (on the swing arm hydrometer ~ 1.026 is my guess on the LFS refractometer)

pH= 8.2

NH4 = 0

NO2 = 0

NO3 = 5 ppm

 

So I'm guessing we're mostly through the cycle... but my top couple of rocks are still a bit tippy. I got some of the putty stuff at the LFS, cut off about an inch and a half and knead it until it's all one color. I divide that into three pieces and place them under what I think are key points in the LR.

 

I stand back to look and I notice the the rock is now "rocking" in the current so I make the mistake of putting my hands back into the tank to adjust and...

 

the whole thing collapses. 15 minutes later, the putty is hard (and pulled out of the tank), the rockwork is somewhat rearranged and now looks like this...

 

 

So I'm at a loss on this rock work stuff. I see these other threads where there are gravity defying arches and high stacks that seem to hug the back wall (but we're not supposed to lean it against the back wall), and I'm here trying to get a simple relatively open stack going and I can't. I have to be missing something obvious... it can't be this hard.

 

So it's back to the beginners form. The rock gets to cycle a couple more days because Friday and Saturday are already spoken for. Hopefully I can find that key tip before I pick it up again.

 

Aside from the LR stacking, I think we're ready. As I said, there was a nice diatom bloom starting (before I stirred up the tank it was very evident -- next time I'll take pictures first). I'm picking up a bit more on the critter research at lunch.

 

Soon... very soon (if I could just get this rock stacked).

 

-George

[GAR1964]

Hi! I returned from a 3 day business trip to find the tank in good shape and decided to buy a refractometer and start the clean up crew.

 

Went to LFS and had their reef guy test the water. We have (first number is LFS number, second is RSM kit's number).

 

SG = 1.025 (RMS hydrometer said 1.021, new refractometer says 1.025)

Alk = 8.4

Ca = 450 ppm

PO4 = 0.5ppm

NO3 = 2 ppm (RSM = 5 ppm)

pH = 8.2 (RSM = 8.2)

 

The RSM kit also indicated 0 ammonia and nitrite.

 

So I decided to get the first portion of the cleanup crew. After discussing with LFS guy, I came home with...

 

3 Scarlet Hermits

3 small turbo snails

3 Astrea

1 Nassarius - small

1 Black brittlestar (small)

 

I acclimated by floating the bag in the water and adding 1-2 oz with the turkey baster every 10 min or so over 2 hours. I had a devil of a time getting the snails to release from the plastic bag.

 

I also scattered a smattering of shells in the tank for the hermits (to keep them from attacking a snail for their shells).

 

 

That's probably the only shot I'll ever get of the brittlestar as he scurried to hide out under the rocks.

 

 

Here's a photo of 2 of the hermits and an astrea.

 

I guess it's off and running!

 

-George

[GAR1964]

Talk about a shock... a little while after that last picture was taken, I looked into the tank to see this...

 

 

I thought for sure that one of the hermits had bit the dust. It turns out (thanks to the beginner forum) that it probably just molted (he's hiding in the purple shell to the right of the "legs"). So I now have one Hermit that's MIA. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

 

Also, Mr. Nassarius came up for a photo op...

 

 

It's amazing hot much fun this is to watch these critters do their jobs!

[GAR1964]

As I'm looking for my MIA hermit crab, I'm amazed at how much life I'm finding in here.

 

Here's an edge on view of the top left rock...

 

 

Does anyone have any idea what these two things are on the left and right edges?

 

I was initially worried that the thing on the left was an aiptasia, but I'm not so sure now. It seems too leafy and green. Is this some macroalgae?

 

The thing on the right looks like a bigger version of the snail I found earlier. Could he have grown that much in a couple of weeks? I think it was called a Stomata. This one appears to have a "fuzzy" shell. If these look familiar to you, please let me know. In the meantime I'll search around.

 

I won't try to take pics of them, but the whole tank is teeming with copepods. They currently range from incredibly small to mabye 1/4 of an inch. I'm sure the fish will enjoy them as a welcome treat!

[GAR1964]

This morning I woke up and the tank temp was 82. I installed the RSM cooling fan (I was trying to avoid all the evaporation and temps were stable up until yesterday when I added the cleanup crew).

 

The cooling fan didn't seem to do anything... so I turned off the heater... still 82 (I left it after each of these steps for a couple of hours).

 

Finally turned off the skimmer... now a few hours later, it's 81.

 

Can a skimmer throw that much heat into the tank?

 

This was all done today with the AC at 70 which is way too cold for me... especially for October. I guess I could go ahead and get the chiller, but shouldn't the tank be able to keep temp without one?

 

Have any of you RSM folks experienced this?

[GAR1964]

It's amazing to watch the changes in the tank over the past week. Of course, cooler weather hit just after my chiller shipped. That will arrive in a couple of days so I'll be ready for next summer (or the next indian summer we get here).

 

The fun part of each day has been trying to figure out where everyone is in the tank. The brittle star moves from crack to crack each night. Currently he's in a hole in the back of the topmost piece of LR. But my only evidence of him is the occasional tentacle hanging out. It took me a few days to account for all three hermits, but they're fine. The one who molted has brought two shells together and hangs out protected by them both (opening to opening) until he's hungry. The nassarius has been MIA for 5 days (until tonight) presumably hiding in the sand bed.

 

Speaking of the sand bed, the turbo and astrea snails are pretty much ignoring the diatoms on it because there is so much to eat on the live rock. They have done a spectacular job of cleaning that though and now the coraline algae is really coming out. I'll probably increase my light cycle by another hour this week to make it an even 10 hours. The sand bed has little bubbles throughout that occasionally rise to the surface and the whole tank seems teeming with little bits of life.

 

There's a whole mess of little things (too small for my middle age eyes to make out - even with the magnifying glass) that are on the glass. They're definitely alive, but I can't ID them yet.

 

 

Here they're visible on the upper right part of the pic as flecs of white. With the mag glass you can watch them wiggle on the glass.

 

I'm also seeing some beginnings of the cyano in this pic (which also captures the bubbles).

 

 

Finally the snails are all happy. I didn't know they could hang upside down to eat, but that way the underside of the rock gets cleaned as well.

 

So I think we may be getting closer for fish. Parameters are...

 

pH = 8.2

NH4 = 0

NO2 = 0.05 (test strip says 0)

NO3 = 0-2.5 (between the two lowest colors, test strip says 0)

Temp = 79.5

SG = 1.025

Alk = Normal (test strip says 200)

Hardness (test strip) = 425 (I think this is mostly Ca)

 

Next post will add one last unresolved issue before I start on Fish.

[GAR1964]

So this morning I was opening my email and heard three sharp clicks coming from the tank that's 3 feet away from the computer. Of course, I start worrying about a mantis shrimp. At the prices of marine fish I really don't want to pay for a gourmet dinner for any Mr. Mantis in the tank, so i have a posting on the beginners forum to see what's up...

 

This afternoon I found this critter...

 

 

So far I'm guessing it's a large copepod (my tank has no predators yet), or is it a small mantis?

 

I'll wait a day for the magic of the beginners forum before buying anything.

[jonathanws]

So this morning I was opening my email and heard three sharp clicks coming from the tank that's 3 feet away from the computer. Of course, I start worrying about a mantis shrimp. At the prices of marine fish I really don't want to pay for a gourmet dinner for any Mr. Mantis in the tank, so i have a posting on the beginners forum to see what's up...

 

This afternoon I found this critter...

 

 

So far I'm guessing it's a large copepod (my tank has no predators yet), or is it a small mantis?

 

I'll wait a day for the magic of the beginners forum before buying anything.

 

 

copepod would be my guess lol

[GAR1964]

So the consensus over on the beginner's forum was that I most likely did not have a mantis problem (but to be careful anytime my hands are in the tank). That's not a problem as I'm still in my "gloves up to the armpit" stage with these creatures.

 

So today was visit LFS day and I added my first fish - a Royal Gramma

 

 

Again, I acclimated by floating the bag on the water for an hour... then adding turkey basters full of tank water over 2 hours (and also removing some of the bag water as it filled). Once the SG was within 0.0001 of the tank, I removed as much bag water as I could and dumped it, then let him swim out of the bag.

 

He went right for a little cave in the LR.

 

 

After taking this, I realized that flashing lights in his face was not perhaps the best way to make him feel at home, so you'll have to wait for another pic. Of course he went right to a cave that one of the scarlet hermits was cleaning... after a bit he choose a different hiding place.

[GAR1964]

After about 20 hours of hiding, I put a couple of food pellets in the tank and that got his interest.

 

 

The bloom of cyanobacteria is slowly taking over. Where it traps bubbles rising from the sand bed, it makes for an interesting aquascene. So far only one hermit seems to be enjoying it. The other is still picking over all the live rock.

 

The third hermit is still so timid that he holds his shell against another forming a sort of hermit shell duplex. He comes out of it occasionally and digs around the sand near him and then goes back to the other shell. Perhaps he has something in there that's more tasty.

 

[GAR1964]

So the chiller arrived yesterday! Upon unpacking and reading the manual (had to, I never used a chiller before in my aquarium experience), I read that they want 24 inches of clearance on all sides and the front. That would mean I have to set it out pretty much in the center of the room in a blank 5' x 5' space... I can't really do that. I remember that a selling point on the RSM was that the cabinet was sized to house a chiller, so I asked a question of the All-In-One group.

 

But as of this evening, I didn't get an answer from the AIO folks, so I went ahead and plumbed it as the RSM literature said. I attached a 1/2 inch line to a spare mini-jet 404 I had and put that into the chiller inlet and then placed the pump in the triangle chamber next to the skimmer. I took the outlet and placed that aiming down into the heating compartment.

 

Here what the chiller looks like.

 

 

I turned it on and after a few minutes it kicked in... set the temp on the chiller to 79 and the temp on the heater (now plugged into the chiller) also at 79. Right now I have a sea of fine bubbles.

 

 

I don't think the fish will mind that for one night so I'll have to think what may be causing the bubbles. Any ideas?

 

Also, I had a spare outlet on the RSM power strip... and a new Koralia 1 to plug into it. I was going to try and put it in the corner, but the magnet on the back side won't fit in the power strip compartment. Maybe I'll mount it on the right side

[GAR1964]

So the temp has stabalized. The bubbles were coming from the chiller (adjusted the air control valve... may need to adjust again later) and all was saved with the help of the Beginner's forum.

 

Today I went to LFS again and added a Yellow Watchman Goby.

 

 

Here the Royal Gramma was checking him out. Then after he was released he just went to the bottom center of the tank and paused for his portrait.

 

 

That's probably the last time I'll see him out for a while. As soon as the lights turned off, he hid in the rock.

 

One thing I noticed is that my SG seems to have dropped suddenly to 1.023 (from 1.025). When I checked the RODI water from LFS that was actually a bit BELOW zero... I store the refractometer in the cabinet, so I'm wondering if the heat from the chiller may affect it's accuracy. I'll leave it out for a few days and retest just to be sure before I panic. There's no significant evidence of salt creep yet, so I don't think the drop is true.

 

The other parameters were pH=8.2, alk=normal, NO2 & NO3= zero, Ca = 425 (all done on at test strip).

[m'akoyPINOY]

how about but getting some cerith snails to cultivate your sand.

[H20]

hows the cyano looking?

[GAR1964]

Thanks for the suggestions... I have one Nassarius who lives in the sand bed. I don't want to add too many that they starve as I'm trying to stock slowly. What's the difference between the Nassarius and the Cerith. (By the way, which ones can't right themselves?)

 

The cyano is reduced. I guess the PhosBan is taking effect. I blasted some of the rocks with the turkey baster and tried to catch what I could - both in the filter and in my hands to remove it from the tank. Unfortunately, that covered some that was on the surface of the sand, so I tried some more blasts with the TB to get it up and moving in the water.

 

Finally, a dumb question. How do I feed in the marine world? I purchased some pellets, some brine shrimp cubes (frozen) and some similar Mysis shrimp (also frozen). I don't want to overfeed, so I tried shaving off a few bits (maybe 1/6 of a frozen cube) of the brine shrimp and thawed that in a few oz of tank water. I then placed that in the tank. Nobody seems to notice it. Is there a technique to this that's different from the FW world?

[GAR1964]

This morning when I checked the tank under the blue LEDs, I noticed the goby was front and center. This seemed unusual for him, so I got the flashlight and looked... I noticed that right next to him was a hermit crab.

 

This can't be good news, so I turned on the tank lights and found this....

 

 

 

So the Goby must have died overnight and the clean up crew evidently knows their jobs. Since the LFS gives a 48 hour warranty I removed him before the CUC destroyed the evidence. Getting him returned turned out to be an effort because this was CROP walk sunday with the youth group and I only barely made it back to the LFS before closing. They checked the parameters and everything is fine water wise, so I must have just purchased a sick fish.

[H20]

Sorry to hear about your fish. Will you be replacing him with something else?

 

I only have one fish as of right now. A tail spot blenny. I first tried to put some pellets in the tank, but he didn't take notice. Then I tried some flake food that floats on the surface for along time (I use Ocean Nutrition Formula One or Two). He eats that stuff up like crazy. Maybe try a floating flake food and see what happens.

[GAR1964]

Yes...

 

While at the LFS, I discussed the path forward.

 

After tossing back and forth the blue eye cardnial vs the green chromis, the chromis won out. So I added a pair of the medium green chromis.

 

 

The amazing thing is the Royal, up until now the shyest fish I've ever seen is now being very territorial... and seems to define "his" as the area around all the live rock. I guess they'll sort it all out. He never seemed to even notice the goby, but it turns out he as quite a mean "game face" when he comes up to them and displays... even shocked me the first time I saw it.

 

Right now everything is moving too fast in the tank for a good pic. They seemd to quickly learn to stay on the other side of the Live Rock from where the Royal is, but that's still a bunch of swimming.

 

Going forward my plans are to add a pair of clowns (not sure what size I should aim for... small or medium) and then cool it with fish for a while.

[snowlancer2720]

awesome choice with the fish, even though they are one of the cheapest fish in the hobby (my LFS sels them for $3.99) I still think they are definately one of the cooler ones:)

[GAR1964]

Wow! Talk about an explosion of activitiy...

 

In the last 24 hours the tank has been a non-stop show. After about an hour of cowering in the corner, the Chromis had enough and just started swimming all around the live rock formation. AFter about another hour Royal stopped coming out on each lap to display his mean face and started just looking for food again.

 

Today when the lights came on, everyone seems happy. I put in a few leftover mysis shrimp (thawed yesterday) and that got everyone active, though realistically I'm not sure the Chromis actually ate any. They just seemed to swallow some and spit it right back out.

 

Here's a FTS, though with all the swimming it's hard to get a clear one.

 

 

I guess we'll let this set for a few days and make sure everything is still on track. One hermit left his old shell, so I'm not yet sure where to find him.

[GAR1964]

I seem to have a bubble algae problem...

 

 

 

At least I'm getting a variety of types... though that may not be a good thing. Advice on beginners forum is to try manual removal. Now I just need to figure out what that is.

 

More Importantly, MY ROYAL GRAMMA IS DEAD! The tank lights just came on and it's lying in the front left corner of the tank. It may have even just happened. The wierd thing is he seemed fine yesterday. Was eating and active (swimming around his 3 or so hiding places). That leaves 2 chromis... they're eating fine so I'm not sure what's up.

 

Temp when the lights came on was 78.7.

SG is 1.024

pH = 8.2

Alk = "Normal (1.7-2.8 according to RSM test kit)

NH4 = 0

NO2 = 0

NO3 = 1 (guessing between 0 and 2.5)

Ca = 425 (test strip)

 

I wonder what could be causing this... 2 dead fish in 5 days.

[StevieT]

Sorry to hear about the fish. It seems like your water isn't ready for life yet and you are going to go through a bio cycle with these new fish. I would chill out and let the chromis poop up the tank and get some good ammonia going.

 

You can pick off that bubble algae carefully.

[uwwmatt]

Get an emerald (mithrax) crab for the bubble algea, since I added mine I havent seen a single piece of bubble algae.

[GAR1964]

Good news and bad news this weekend...

 

I finally solved the flow problem. For a couple of days now, the system just didn't seem to have the oomph I expected for the 5 pumps in the system (one on the skimmer, one on the chiller, two main pumps and the koraila). On Saturday when I was looking around the tank I noticed through the acrylic back that the carbon bag was stuck up against the pump intake. I used a piece of 1/4 inch acrylic tubing to push it down and hold it in place and suddenly the flow surged. Now we have good surface skimming, and excellent flow.

 

 

The bad news is another fish bit the bullet. One of the chromis always "slept" up near the surface by the Koraila pump. He just sort of hung out there as soon as the lights went off and then resumed active swimming when they came back on. (His buddy "slept" down by a crevice in the live rock near the sand.) Well sure enough, when I inspected the tank on Sunday morning, he was completely stuck to the intake grille. I turned off the pumps for a few seconds and once the flow stopped, he swam a few minutes and just fell onto the live rock... dead. At least I know what happend to this one.

 

So I think at this point I'm going to wait. I'd like to get 2 buddies for the remaining chromis, but I'll wait a week and ensure he is able to hang around. Parameters are still great (zero NH4, NO2 and less than 5 ppm on NO3).

 

For the first time since they dropped from the bag, all three hermits were at the same place at the same time.

 

 

So luck has to change soon on this endeavor. I'm definitely staying with cheaper fish for the forseable future. Right now the decision is to let it ride for a week and see how the tank looks by next weekend.