Mercuryne's 28G Algae Farm

[Mercuryne]

New salinity Test- 1.025.

The tank really cleared this weeked (even though i was in there adding the new LR.)

I was at the LFS and was tempted but after everything I've read here, i will wait to add Livestock.

I'm traveling this week and my wife will keep an eye on the water level while i'm gone and I will test the params when i get back on Friday.

 

Still reading all the forums and everything i can to learn as much as I can. Amazing what you can pick up on this site.

 

Here is a better photo of the tank once it cleared.

 

[Mercuryne]

First signs of life!!!

Day Ten in the life of my Nano cube.

Added two new sections of LR on Saturday that looked really healthly.. lots of color and some plant life. I came home tonight to what looks like life.

Not sure exactly what it is but knew somebody here could identify. thin, long and white. and definate movement on one end. some sort of worm?

shown in the two photo's below. just to the left of the red coralline? or is that red some sort of sponge? truly not sure...i know this sounds so foreign to you guys, but i do appreciate your patience as i learn what all of these new things in my cube are.

 

 

another:

 

Then after the MH light went out this evening i went in to take a quick look and from the top of one of the rocks i saw a big POOF of particles. not sure what caused it, but it was definately something.. the matter just floated off in the current and i went around the side of the tank to see if anything was there, but whatever it was was fast.

 

REALLY COOL!!! i could sit and watch it for hours

[j0hnny]

Awesome! It's exciting to find all the living critters. I can stare for hours also. So much that I'm thinking about adding magnifying glassess mounted to flexible arms on the stand that can either be removed or hidden.

 

My guess is that the red thing is a foramadalin (botched the spelling there!), rather than a sponge or coraline. If you squirt it with a turkey baster, does it sort of move like meat, or is is hard like rock?

 

Looks like a tube worm/feather duster and/or spaghetti worm (?) next to it eh?

 

The particle poof may have been Speedy Gonzalas! Ha! Maybe a Mysis shrimp. Those suckers haul "a" double snake. I had what I believe to be one on the first day of adding LR. I assume the ammonia levels made life tough for that guy now though. It looks like you have some nice coraline on those rocks, hopefully it survives the cycle.

 

Great job!

[Mercuryne]

Awesome! It's exciting to find all the living critters. I can stare for hours also. So much that I'm thinking about adding magnifying glassess mounted to flexible arms on the stand that can either be removed or hidden.

 

My guess is that the red thing is a foramadalin (botched the spelling there!), rather than a sponge or coraline. If you squirt it with a turkey baster, does it sort of move like meat, or is is hard like rock?

 

Looks like a tube worm/feather duster and/or spaghetti worm (?) next to it eh?

 

The particle poof may have been Speedy Gonzalas! Ha! Maybe a Mysis shrimp. Those suckers haul "a" double snake. I had what I believe to be one on the first day of adding LR. I assume the ammonia levels made life tough for that guy now though. It looks like you have some nice coraline on those rocks, hopefully it survives the cycle.

 

Great job!

 

 

Johnny,,

thanks for the quick reply...i was so phsyched to see movement in there. funny thing is that its all showing up on the two brand new pieces of LR...i got them from the same tank from the same LFS about 5 days apart. they may have been new to that tank and were just healthier..

really cool.. i'm getting out my book now to see if i can look up what they are. i havent checked the consistency of the red bit yet. will do that in the am. Not sure if its soft or hard.

 

how much die off did you have at the peak of your cycle?

[Mercuryne]

hey pM me with questions..ill happily answer them all

 

Reefer,thanks for the info on navigating this site...starting to get the hang of it

much apprecited

[Gussie]

Merc,

 

Facinating!!! Curious to know if the red thing is a sponge. Are you sure that the "worm" thing isn't a new featherduster? Hope AC & Boo survive the weather while you are gone.

[NAL]

Looking good, I will be following this one.

[Mercuryne]

Merc,

 

Facinating!!! Curious to know if the red thing is a sponge. Are you sure that the "worm" thing isn't a new featherduster? Hope AC & Boo survive the weather while you are gone.

 

Gussie (Pop?)

after doing a little research, i'm pretty sure that they are spagetti worms, although i could be completely wrong.

that's the most likely diagnosis at this point.

As i was leaving for my road trip this am i saw three new bits of life. what looks like more life. very small and almost translucent. Looks sort of like an anemone, all three were small with 6 or 8 tentacles. But while on the plane today i was reading a nano reef guide book, and now I fear that the three new hitchhikers MIGHT be AIPTASIA (a form of anemone but not a good one.. They sting everything). they are small but all three have tentacles. if that's the case i will have to decide what to do when i get home on friday. Since there are no other frags or fish in the tank at this point i dont think there is much they can hurt (if indeed that's what these three new things are.)

 

But, I fear my tank might be too early in the cycle to introduce a peppermint shrimp to clean them up.

 

They can grow for the next three days, and i will take photos on friday night when i get home and post them in hopes that someone can identify for me.

 

Stand by and lets hope that my brand new and First SW hasnt been invaded by bad guys already.

 

Mercuryne

 

Looking good, I will be following this one.

 

Thanks Nal. I appreciate the interest. As you will see above, there are more signs of life in my new tank. hoping the new guys turn out to be somethig great. but i fear its Aiptasia. I'll post pictures friday

 

Tagging you as well to follow.

[Gussie]

Merc,

 

I think I've settled on the Biocube 14g whenever I buy a Nano. It seems to be real close to a "plug and play" kind of set up. I left a message for AC this morn to see if she and Boo did ok during the storm. It appeared that the tornado went right up I-40 towards where you live. Watched it til it passed Nashville.

[Mercuryne]

I FEAR ITS AIPTASIA!

 

My 28G Nano is almost two weeks old now. Tomorrow it will be anyway.

 

I've been on the road for business all week, and have been getting updates from my wife.

She says that there are three new forms of life that match the three others that i am guessing are aiptasia.

As soon as i get home tonight i will see if i cant get some photos and get them posted as i am extremely curious to see exactly what they are. (small anemone looking things.. almost translucent with tentacles)

i dont want to take out anything that is GOOD for the tank, but i fear its the little fellas that like to sting everything else in the tank.

 

Will test the water again tonight to see where my cycle is.

If the new forms of life turn out to be Aiptasia..........

WHAT should i do?

i've added no livestock of any kind ....these are just coming from the LR that i added on initial setup.

 

Is 14 days too early to add a peppermint shrimp? (from what ive read, they love to eat them. Or should i dose the tank with Juice to kill them?

 

dont want to add the shrimp too early in the cylce, only to see it die because the ammonia was too high....Need all of your expert advice.

 

Pictures coming as soon as i get off the plane from San Antonio.

 

thanking you all in advance

[Gussie]

Merc,

 

Before you remove the "spaghetti worms" you may want to try to for sure ID them in the ID fourm on Nano Reef.

 

Gussie

[Orange Crush]

Now, if i can just figure out how to TAG other peoples threads so i can easily find them, and also how to get my pictures to stop getting reduced, i'd really be rolling.

 

1. Just above the upper right hand corner of the first post in every thread you'll see a drop-down menu labeled "options." "Track this topic" is how you subscribe to a thread. All of your tracked topics are viewable in your control panel under "Subscriptions."

 

2. Link off-site rather than attaching. If you attach, it shrinks. If you link, it displays as-is.

 

3. Any questions you have about what's in your tank will likely be answered very quickly if you post a picture in our Identification Forum.

 

to NR

[Mercuryne]

I returned home last night from a four day road trip. Days 10-14 in the life of my new nano reef tank.

 

I returned to a large amount of algae convering the live rock, and on much of the substrate.

I've also found many more forms of life. Not sure what all of it is.. but there are at least three of what look like some sort of feather duster's. they were poking out when i walked into the run and all three retracted, and then came back out.

 

Photo below

 

 

There are also a number of what i believe are Aiptasia.

 

On a couple of the new chucks of LR there also seems to be some sort of Meat Coral or something growing.

Orange in color, and in a couple of different locations in the tank.. some large and one that i took here that is just starting to show its self.

 

 

I tested the water last night and the Ammonia has dropped off to almost nothing, but the nitrites and Nitrtes were high. I'm guessing my tank is in the middle of cycling? but not sure.

I will take the water to the LFS today for them to test.

If Params allow, i will add the first of a CUC to get rid of as much of the Algae as possible.

 

 

Algae shot below

 

 

 

 

At 14 days into the cycle, does this all sound and look about right to you guys?

[Mercuryne]

Merc,

 

Before you remove the "spaghetti worms" you may want to try to for sure ID them in the ID fourm on Nano Reef.

 

Gussie

 

Seems like the spagetti worms are harmless and can stay.. however. looks like the anemone's that i was telling you about are AIPTASIA. Will have to get a peppermint shrimp into the tank asap, before they start multiplying.

[Gussie]

Can't wait to see what the orange things are. The featherduster looks great. Bet it'll be pretty.

 

The orange thing looks almost like a hammer coral.

[DogfoodEnforcer]

with tap water, although your TDS might be ok, i would definitely check the phosphates. my tap water is awesome (below 10 TDS), but we have mean ass phosphates, so i have to use an RO/DI unit.

[Mercuryne]

with tap water, although your TDS might be ok, i would definitely check the phosphates. my tap water is awesome (below 10 TDS), but we have mean ass phosphates, so i have to use an RO/DI unit.

 

DogFood (ok that name makes me laugh)

thanks for reading through the thread and offering up a good tip on what i should be watching for.

the next time i test, i'll definately check the phosphates...I took a water sample to the LFS today and the Ammonia had dropped to almost nothing.. but the Nitrites and Nitrates were both very high..which leads me to believe that i'm on the backside of my cycle. (if Trites are still showing heavy and so are the trates) then i should be seeing the Nitrites dropping soon.. Yes? Your thoughts?

 

i will my perform first big change (after cycle is complete, and all future water changes with R/O.. I've learned my lesson..When i posted that i used tap... didnt take these guys long to convince me. (rookie mistake.)

 

I have all kinds of life on the rocks (pardon the pun) or was that Love on the rocks? I get confused... Tiny feather dusters..Aiptasia (that i will deal with in a few days, by adding a peppermint soon as i'm cycled), also some weird masses that look like the start of maybe meat coral or something like that, along with a number of Spagetti worms.

 

I had no idea that the first few weeks waiting on the cycle to run its course would be so interesting.

amazing hobby.

 

Thanks again for the tip abou the Phosphates.. I'll keep an eye peeled for em.

[H20]

You can buy some Aiptasia removal stuff that you put into a syringe and squirt it right onto the aiptasia, and it melts right before your eyes. Maybe Joes juice or something? there are several brands out there. that would be the quickest and easiest way of killing them, and the stuff you squirt on them does not hurt the rest of your tank.

 

The thing that went 'poof' might have been a peanut worm retracting into his hole. They snap back into their hole when they sense movement or light. they are funny. They are good guys to have in your tank too.

[Mercuryne]

H20,

 

I think i'm going to go the route of the Peppermint shrimp First.

I tested water again last night and i'm so close to finishing my cycle that i think i can add CUC by Friday.

I'll give the shrimp a chance to do it naturally first, if that doesnt work, i'll go with Juice.

 

Was really pleased to see the Nitrites coming down last night. Almost there, and i cant believe i've been able to be this patient..

 

Thanks for the tip....

 

new photos coming soon.

[Weetabix7]

The orange things look like sponges to me.

Peppermint shrimp will do a good job of eating aiptasia, but they sometimes decide to eat coral as well.

I had some attack my favorite green torch coral, and several others have reported similar experiences.

You could always leave them in til they eat the aiptasia, which shouldn't take terribly long, then return them to the LFS for credit towards corals, fish, or supplies.

You can also try getting a hypodermic syringe from a pharmacy and injecting a small amount of lemon juice directly into the middle of them.

[Gussie]

Merc,

 

The lemon juice remedy sounds like a good natural cure. I read yesterday in another thread about someone who injected pure lime juice and it melted the Aiptasia immediatly. Have the orange things grown any at all?

[Mercuryne]

The orange things look like sponges to me.

Peppermint shrimp will do a good job of eating aiptasia, but they sometimes decide to eat coral as well.

I had some attack my favorite green torch coral, and several others have reported similar experiences.

You could always leave them in til they eat the aiptasia, which shouldn't take terribly long, then return them to the LFS for credit towards corals, fish, or supplies.

You can also try getting a hypodermic syringe from a pharmacy and injecting a small amount of lemon juice directly into the middle of them.

 

Weetie,

 

That was my plan.. get the pepp for now and see how it does once i start slowly adding coral..if i have to take it out later i will.. Enjoyed your thread.

 

thanks for the post..

 

Mercuryne

[Mercuryne]

Ok.. all you veterans....another rookie question.

 

I'm about 17 days into my cycle now and almost done. The ammonia is virtually zerol.. the nitrites are on there way down.. and nitrates are showing but not heavily.

 

I have quite a bit of activity going on with my life rock. (seeing stuff all over..a few small feather dusters, spag. worms, aiptaisia.. etc.)

 

Also have a pretty good algae bloom goin on..although its started to slow.

 

I've waited patiently to add any livestock, but im getting close. would like to add CUC this weekend. provided the Nitrites are gone.

 

HERE IS THE QUESTION...

i want to add some more live rock to my aquascape.. just want to go more verticle..

But, if i add a few more pounds of live rock now, will this change my cycle dramatically?

will it start over so to speak?

or will it just finish the cycle from where it is now?

 

Does the addition of MORE live rock, and subsequent die off, start the cycle all over again?

looking for honest answers.. I a beginner, but have read and studied alot since setting up the tank.

Most everyone here has been super helpful so far. Just want to do it properly.

any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Mercuryne

[Mercuryne]

Finally Cycled!

 

After Three weeks, i believe my tank is cycled.

I have waited to add any sort of livestock, and I've sat quietly and watched the algae explode.. (Metal Halide lights) I made the mistake of Running them during the cycling period, and the algae is like a forrest. (its everywhere.)

 

Anyway.. before going out of town on satruday. I checked the water friday night in my 28g nano cube and everything looked good.

Ph. 8.2

salinity 1.024

Ammonia gone

Nitrate, almost nothing

Nitrates showing barely.

 

on the way home from Chattanooga, i stopped and picked up a first class CUC.

 

5 Small Blue Legged Hermit crabs (small)

2 Red legged Hermits (That's all the LFS had)

5 Nassarius Snails

3 Astraea Snails

1 Sand Sifting Starfish (small)

and

1 Peppermint Shrimp (To do battle with the Aiptasia i have seen coming from my LR.

 

I acclimated all characters by letting them float for a long while then introducing some of the tank water into the bags.. let them float some more.. introduced some more water.. took my time about it and finally released the crew.

The blue Legged Hermits were trying to grab algae before they even hit bottom.

Nassarius snails made a pass on one rock then sort of buried themselves.

The Red Legged Hermits made there way to the edge of the LR and began to feast.

The sand sifter propmtly buried himself in the substrate, and the Peppermint shrimp did just as i thought and hid behind the aquascape. Here is were it gets good.

 

Previously in this thread i've mentioned seeing Poof of particles as i walk into the room where the tank is.

but i've never seen what could be causing it.

Over the course of the past weeks ive seen Aiptasia, spagetti worm Tentacles, feather dusters emerging and some sort of orange cells that look like life, but ive been unable to identify.

 

When the pepp. shrimp went behind the rocks i was sitting beside the tank watching and something came flying from where the shrimp went.. It went up into the rocks so fast i barely saw it but it looked like some other sort of shrimp or something maybe an inch long with what looked like a hard shell. he was QUICK and wanted away from the peppermint shrimp. Maybe i'll see him again later.. not sure how he had avoided my prying eyes all this time, but he was obviously scared of the Pepp.

 

I turned off the MH light and left everyone be for a while, when I went back in I could see that the Red Legged Hermits had climed to the top of the rocks and were feeding. Astraea's were roaming the glass.

 

I will see how the crew does for the next few days.. Although I fear with all the algae that's in the tank, they COULD eat themselves to death.

 

QUESTION: "should i think about removing some of the algae by hand? or should i wait and let the CUC do it all?"

 

 

Here are a few photo's of the new inhabitants.

 

 

Sand Sifter and a few of the Blue Leggs

 

 

 

One of the little Blue Legged Hermits. (really small in real life)

 

 

Astraea's getting right to work

 

 

Peppermint making himself at home

 

 

One of the Aiptasia is already missing so i'm guessing that the Shrimp made quick work of him.

 

Stay tuned for news of the battle with the Algae.

[Mercuryne]

NEW VISITORS!!!!

 

Someone in my tank has been busy! My cycle is finished last week...... the algae is Strong, and i believe i HAVE PODS

 

The CUC has been in there for three days, and overnight the PODS showed up.. at least i think they are

 

I'm a new to the hobby, and have read quite a bit, not CERTAIN but that's my hunch..... I will start searching the site now to identify, but figured i'd post these, and someone would know instantly.

Are they what i think they are? ok for the tank?

 

So now not only am i battling Cyano and other algae, i have lots of little "somethings?" to think about.

 

 

Everyday is a new adventure, and i'm enjoying every hurdle...