12gal Nanocube DX(nanotuners) Journal

[disaster999]

not a bad list. so far so good. thought about adding other snails? like astreas or ceriths?

 

im thinking a water change should be in the works to see if you could bring the PH up. also, raise the salinity up a little to.

[ddk997]

not a bad list. so far so good. thought about adding other snails? like astreas or ceriths?

 

im thinking a water change should be in the works to see if you could bring the PH up. also, raise the salinity up a little to.

 

When I do the water change, how will I be able to get the salinity to go up the "correct" way?

[disaster999]

got me there, not really sure.

 

what im thinking is make more water than you are going to change out. fill the tank to the usual level you normally keep your tank. when water evaps, instead of adding fresh water, add the extra salt water you mixed. check salinity every time you do that and the correct level is reached, add fresh water from there on.

[gfd2726]

just perform regular water change and keep some mixed water at the side and when the water level drop in your tank then just add mixed water to bring the water level up and your salinity will go up.

[ddk997]

Thanks Disaster999 and gfd2726.

 

I will be mixing up the saltwater today and warming that up and should be changing tomorrrow or tonight If it warms up enough (since im using a 100w heater laying around). I've also reliezed that maybe my Saltnity is alittle low because the direction on the back of the Instant Ocean salt also said that 1.5lbs per 5gal would only raise the salt to 1.022.

 

I have also revised my CUC which I will be purchasing from Reef-Scavengers.

 

6 Nass.

6 Nerite

1 Blue-Leg hermits

2 Whiteleg hermits

1 Scarlett hermit

1 Redleg hermit

2 Astreas

1 Emerald Green Crab

 

I wanted some stocky cerith, however they are sold out of them. They have jumbo cerith(grows 1-1.5 inch) in stock, I might pick up one of those.

What are your suggestions?

[ddk997]

Did some tests today and the PH actually climbed up and my Phosphate was a little bit up to the level where it indicates water change.

 

Salt. - 1.023

PH - 8.0

Temp - 79

Ammonia - 0

Nitrite - 0

Nitrates - 0

Phosphate - .1

Cal. - 380

ALK/KH - 11 d/KH

 

Mixed a batch of saltwater today Saltnity came out to 1.023 perfectly. The water is warming up now and will change once it reaches my tank temp and clean sponges. Then I also plan on adding in Chamber 2 Chemi-Pure Elite. (currently Chamber 1 - sponges, chamber 2 - nothing, chamber 3 - airpump and heater). Then on sunday I will do another test and If they stay the same, I will order the CUC from reefscavengers.

 

Does anyone have any CUC suggestions that have been sucessful? What are good for Green Hair(which i believe i have..sort of looks like grass,pine)?

[Qwank]

my CUC is 3 scarletts, 2 red legged, and one zebra hermit.

 

1 turbo, 4 astrea, 1 nerite , 5 nass, and 1 SMALL turbo. notice small is in bold letters.

 

i also have 1 emerad crab but i added him after the tank was up for a year to make sure there was enough algea to keep him away from my coral and clam. he eats hair algea (i had a little and its now gone since i added him) and pretty much any other crap thats in there.

[ddk997]

my CUC is 3 scarletts, 2 red legged, and one zebra hermit.

 

1 turbo, 4 astrea, 1 nerite , 5 nass, and 1 SMALL turbo. notice small is in bold letters.

 

i also have 1 emerad crab but i added him after the tank was up for a year to make sure there was enough algea to keep him away from my coral and clam. he eats hair algea (i had a little and its now gone since i added him) and pretty much any other crap thats in there.

 

Do you suggest I order an Emerald green crab now? or should I wait till later? Do your hermits attack eachother?

 

These copepods are pretty cool. I was actually watching some of them on my glass under a magnifying scope...some followed behind eachother like they were attached and I even saw one come attach and the one in the front turned around and shrug the follower off. It was pretty wierd to say the least...I heard having copepods in your liverocks are pretty lucky? Well thanks to Premium Aquatics on that one if true!!

 

I have a list of CUC which I will be ordering over the weekend from reefscavengers...Let me know what I should Add/Take out.

 

8 Nassarius

8 Nerite

3 Astrea

5 Dwarf White Leg Hermit Crab

2 Bluelegs Hermit Crab

2 Red Leg Hermit Crab (http://reefscavengers.com/redleg.html)

1 Lettuce Nudibranch

 

I wanted some Cerith, however they only have jumbo certh(grows 1.5-2 inch). Worth having?

 

Should I get a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp?

 

 

I did initally planned on getting a emerald green crab, however I heard they were also a hassle. Green Porcelain Crab are they any good? I heard they cosume algae and are filter feeders. Also Extra hermit shells so they wont attack others, I hope.

[disaster999]

some people have no problem with hermits, some hate them because they kill snails and or each other. i guess its a matter of choice. same with the emerald crab, they are a hit and miss with bubble algae. some might munch on corals if theres nothing for them to eat.

[ddk997]

UPDATE:

After a day of water change and putting in the Chemi-Pure elite, I have noticed that my water is much clearer now than before.

I have earlyier said I might have green hair algae, well its looking more like Bryopsis possibly, however im still unsure and I also think it could possibly be something good.I tried taking a photo, but my camera seems to not like to focus very well.

 

If it is, I did find some help on this forum about death to bryopsis by adding high levels of MAG.(1500-1600) and it should kill it, while not affecting others in the tank. easy solution to bryopsis

(thanks Lalini)

 

Meanwhile, I ordered CUC from reefscavengers, hoping this will devour everything in my tank. If this doesnt work, time to get some MAG test kit and some Kent Tech M.

 

Heres what I purchased, should be here next week.

 

Nassarius Snail 10

Nerite Snail 9

Jumbo Cerith Snail 1

Turbo/Astrea Snail 5

Dwarf White Leg Hermit Crab 5

Blue Leg Hermit Crab 2

Red Leg Hermit Crab 2

Extra Hermit Shells

 

I havent even recieved my product from them, however I do know one thing for sure. Reefscavengers customer service is top of the line, It really cant get any better.

[Qwank]

thats a lot of nass snails. they are meat eaters, i would have got 5 more astrea and only 5 nass. unless they are the tiny nass. mine are about 1" big. they have tiny ones that are 1/4" . but they do a good job mixing up your sand and keeping them clean

[ddk997]

I tried to get some photos of the green thing thats growing as best as I could, like I said I need to get a new camera

 

 

 

I have been hearing that things like to get into the back chamber, well I decided I was going to make something today that would prevent that. I cut out two dvd case covers, that had 2 holes on the front cover. Cut them into a square and shaped them with scissors, washed them off and put them in. Im going to keep them out for now until I get the CUC.

 

[ddk997]

Ok I have just found out that Reefscavenger has cerith snails in stock for nano cubes. Also nerite snails for nano cubes. I just e-mailed them trying to get my order to change, however the price outcome was the same.

 

8 - Nassarius Snail (down from 10)

8 - Stocky Cerith Snail - Juvenile (minus jumbo cerith)

5 - Nerite Snail - Juvenile (minus 8 regular nerite)

6 - Turbo/Astrea Snail (+ 1 more astrea)

5 - Dwarf White Leg Hermit Crab

2 - Blue Leg Hermit Crab

2 - Red Leg Hermit Crab

Extra Hermit Crab Shells

 

I hope the Stocky cerith and White Leg hermit crab take care of the hair algae. I have a bunch of brown diatoms all over my rocks, including all over the sandbed.

[gtriever]

Be careful not to overstock... that seems like an awfully large number of inverts for a 12 gallon tank. IME, it'd probably be better to start with about 2-3 Turbo/Astrae (or Trochus would be even better, if you can get them) and not over a total of 6 Cerith/Nerite/Nassarius. As far as hermit crabs, if you want them in your tank, maybe 3 Scarlet Reef Hermits. Otherwise, you run a good risk of a massive dieoff in a month or two as the food sources are depleted.

 

Good luck with the tank!

[ddk997]

Be careful not to overstock... that seems like an awfully large number of inverts for a 12 gallon tank. IME, it'd probably be better to start with about 2-3 Turbo/Astrae (or Trochus would be even better, if you can get them) and not over a total of 6 Cerith/Nerite/Nassarius. As far as hermit crabs, if you want them in your tank, maybe 3 Scarlet Reef Hermits. Otherwise, you run a good risk of a massive dieoff in a month or two as the food sources are depleted.

 

Good luck with the tank!

 

Thanks for the help gtriever. I was also told a different thing when I named my CUC. They said are you sure it was going to be enough? I bought the small cerith and nerite snails that only grow to 1/4 to 1/2". I hope the scarlets will be okay, that might be too many crabs like you said. If food depletes, could you throw in some food?

[ddk997]

What do these look like???

 

[gtriever]

Thanks for the help gtriever. I was also told a different thing when I named my CUC. They said are you sure it was going to be enough? I bought the small cerith and nerite snails that only grow to 1/4 to 1/2". I hope the scarlets will be okay, that might be too many crabs like you said. If food depletes, could you throw in some food?

 

NP; was it the LFS who asked if it'd be enough? Really, you should start slow and add "critters" as needed. The amount you had listed there is actually not much less than I started with in my 125 gallon tank. And yes, you can supplement with other food if necessary.

[Qwank]

If food depletes, could you throw in some food?

 

 

once a week i throw in about 3 beta pellets at night for the hermits and nass snails to fight over. i do it at night while my purple pseudo is sleeping other wise he eats all the pellets.

[ddk997]

Looks like the Bryopsis, that I have is growing pretty fast. I tried to take the rock out and rip them out, however they are farely hard to spot once out of the water and not floating. Also they seem to be only growing on the rocks that are at the top...PLEASE HELP!!!!!

[disaster999]

since your still in the cycling stage and dont have corals in the tank, just inverts, i would put your tank in complete darkness for a while just to kill off any stinkin algae that would pop up.

 

or you could dose kent's tech m, raise your mag level to 1500-1600ppm and see if they die.

 

they look anything like this?

[ddk997]

since your still in the cycling stage and dont have corals in the tank, just inverts, i would put your tank in complete darkness for a while just to kill off any stinkin algae that would pop up.

 

or you could dose kent's tech m, raise your mag level to 1500-1600ppm and see if they die.

 

they look anything like this?

 

Yeah they somewhat look like but hasnt gone that crazy yet.

Will keeping the lights off be safe for the live rocks?

How many days with the lights off you think I should do?

Inverts arrive sometimes mon-wed...lights off still ok?

Thanks

[disaster999]

the rock will be fine. i believe thats how they cure the rocks anyways, in the dark. also inverts will be fine without lights. think how they get shipped, they dont receive any light during shipping.

[ddk997]

the rock will be fine. i believe thats how they cure the rocks anyways, in the dark. also inverts will be fine without lights. think how they get shipped, they dont receive any light during shipping.

 

 

Thanks!! I will keep the lights off for a few days and see what happens. I FOUND A HITCHHIKER TONIGHT!! However I do not know if its good or bad...is it possible to find bad hitchhikers on a cured rock?

 

I couldnt get a clear photo without a blur, but I did try to draw it up as best as I could. The picture looks exactly like the thing on the tank. Theres two of them on the tank glass, one is larger than the other.

 

please help!! thank you!

 

[disaster999]

nothing to be worried about. its a sign that your tank is coming along nicely.

[ddk997]

Got some help on this forum and found out that this little guy is in the Jellyfish family. Hydroid jelly - Cladonema jellyfish.

 

edit:

disaster999, I have just read that if lights were not provided, more coralline algae will die. Is this true?