Jeffry's Red Sea Max 130 (with videos!)

[Jeffry83]

I think mine is spreading,look at the picture from my tank from Feb 18,post 32.It was allot thinner back than...It's really hardy stuff,feels like rough brushes from a paint brush.I tried getting it off with a new toothbrush (i use that to remove algae at the water line where the mag-float can't reach it,very handy) but it's really hard,can barely just remove it with my fingers.

[Jeffry83]

Tried to find out the last few days what kind of algae i got,still don't really know,some say Wrangelia,some Gelidium and other say Macro algae.So i got a small blue Sea Urchin,a Mespilia Globulus to be precise.Even if the red algae will not be his/her liking to nibble on,there is still enough other kinds of algae on the rocks!Also a small turbo snail has been purchased to help with the algae here and there.

 

Also both a Phosphate test to see how high/low the levels really are,and they are actually really low,just above zero.

 

I also managed to haggle a small piece of Zoa from the store,got it for 5 euro's!And inspired by Stevie's timelapse video on youtube i made one too!

 

Enjoy:

[Gerber77]

Dude nice video, at first I was WTF is that guy putting in his tank, your fish looked like they were on speed. Then I saw the time lapse and started laughing.

[Jeffry83]

Well,when you look at the clown fish on their normal behavior,it's like they are also on speed,they mostly never stop swimming at all seeing they are in the tank for 2 weeks now...They still don't want the anemone as their home.

[Jeffry83]

A little update:

I have seen the Sea Urchin chewing on some of the spots but he still is adjusting to my tank,mostly he is still inside the rocks and when the lights go off and the moonlight switches on mostly a hour later you can see him on the rocks.

 

Strangely,my hermit crabs don't dare to come out of the rocks anymore since i got the fish!I see them crawling around inside but when they see the fish they are like,screw it,to busy outside to play!Maybe this is why the red algae is seen expanding suddenly,the hermits are on strike!I have also noticed some more hitchhikers come from the rocks,i have seen little blue starfish crawling around on the rocks,just 3 till now.Also some strange looking snails that seem to fix their almost round shells on the rock and than trow slime in the water to catch stuff in it like a fishinnet...Got some new pictures (including from the star fish and snails).I have also found out that i have a tiny Porcelain Crab,i identified him by a picture of a hitchhiker faq!

[coralcor]

what did you use to get rid of your green hair algae. my dad just started a tank. and all his rock came covered in red and green hair algae. or at least that what i think it is. and it came with a chalace(sp?) i think thats what it is any way.

 

that pink tip is under stock lighting right? what are you feeding it?

 

oh and whats your CUC consist of? my dad and i are going to pick his up tomorrow.

[Jeffry83]

The algae will die off slowly,if you get really long hair algae you can manually pluck some away...It's normal for a tank that starts off fresh to get algae.Also adding a bag of Phosphate stop/killer can help allot.My clean up crew till now consists of a Hermit Crab (just saw two tiny legs under a rock where a big crab lives,so lost another one,those damn hermits just won't survive in my tank when little!)

 

This week i bought a turbo snail,was the only one in the shop and the Tuxedo Urchin.Ofcourse the hitchhiking crabs also do their part,i can see them picking of the rocks during the day and when the light goes off,i new have spotted two tiny Porcelain Crabs,one in a really nice color.Here in Holland CUC's are a new thing and some things you can't even get your hands on.The shops here don't even sell small frags of coral,but i told the local store to do that so he doesn't have to sell those big pieces of rock of 40/50/80 euro's constantly.Now he has a extra tank in the shop for small pieces for hard corals.

 

And the anemone,he just grabs some food that goes around the tank,when i feed them i turn of the circulation pumps accept the small streamer inside the tank so the food will not drop on the bottom and drift between the rocks.I give the fish a diet of 2 kinds of food,i give them red plankton,2 kinds of Mysis,(normal and special Dutch Mysis,stuff smells like it was just from the boat and frozen right way and for once in a while i also got some Artemia/Brine Shrimp as a treat).

 

I don't have to really feed the anemone but sometimes i just squirt some food his way and sometimes there is a big shrimp inside the Mysis blocks that i give him.He really seems to like it where he is now and also is getting to his original brownish white color.Only the fish have been brought up with frozen food so they don't wanna touch the pellets at all!I am trying to make them eat it while it has been soaking in water for a few minutes,some minor results till now.

[Jeffry83]

A update:

 

The red algae infestation is still present and it will not go away.I am gonna confront the LFS where i got the rocks from about it,it was on their live rock when i got it so they are responsible.And the anemone has grown twice it's size already!So I am gonna trade it in for a smaller bubble tip anemone.I also am getting some green algae on the back,and while my Phosphate is at zero and all the measurements of the water are almost perfect.

 

And with the fishies it's all going well,the Clown fish have grown,one is significantly bigger so that one will turn into the female or already is. The other residents of the tank are also doing really well.I also got two more corals,one Acropora humilis that is doing really well and one don't remember the name of...

[Jeffry83]

Made a small movie again yesterday:

 

 

When cleaning the tank yesterday and looking at my tv at the same time i suddenly felt something attacking my hand,it was the female clown fish!She keeps following my hand where ever it goes in the tank,when i corner her she attacks me like a dolphin does,just pouncing at my hand.

 

Here are some new pictures:

 

The new bubble tip Anemone,here it's just 4 hours in the tank,funny fact,in Dutch we call it a Nipple Anemone.

 

[Jeffry83]

As you can see this one that i saved from poor conditions in a tank in a store is back in perfect health!I now placed it where this kind belongs.

 

My Sea star is doing a great job,the substrate really is kept clean on the front.

 

[Jeffry83]

A small update:

 

 

 

 

Look at me! I can do a trick!

 

 

 

TADA!!

 

 

 

My newest addition: a Salarias fasciatus (Blenny) to keep some of the short algae at bay, she/he keeps the back wall really algae free!

 

 

I also purchased a chiller because i could not hold the temperatures at a normal level... I bought a Resun 300. I also have purchased the media basket from Steve's mediabaskets.com

And also got some Purigen to help filtrate the water.

 

And the female Clown finally went in the Bubble Tip Anemone! (only when i made this picture than she never went in it again).

[Jeffry83]

A update again, the red algae has been cut down allot since introduced the tuxedo urchin, wherever it eats the algae away it does not go away. But it's still there at some places where (s)he never seems to want to go. The female clown fish has made the anemone her permanent home and really defends it highly aggressively! When i stick my hand in the tank she will attack it! You will feel it, but she always does it when i'm not looking...

 

The red algae has taken out a stone coral, it was the kind that is very sensitive to algae grows.

 

Pic update:

This one was taken just after the lights where on, so most corals where still coming up.

Damn algae's.

The pulsating Xenia is doing excellent.

[StevieT]

leather still sleepy

[Jeffry83]

Its been a while since i have been here, so its time for a update! I have a HD camera now so i made a new video!

 

[Land0]

nice vid, i liked how steady the camera was it made u feel like u were starin at it in real life... u mustve used a stand? or else u have precision with ur hands a doctor would envy ha.. and oh yeah, great tank!

[Jeffry83]

nice vid, i liked how steady the camera was it made u feel like u were starin at it in real life... u mustve used a stand? or else u have precision with ur hands a doctor would envy ha.. and oh yeah, great tank!

 

Yes, i use a camera stand, for some shots i used my hands seeing the stand could not be positioned right...

[Jeffry83]

Time for a update, my latest inhabitant:

 

A Orange Diamond Goby:

 

And a update about the tank itself, this year i had a terrible algae plague, so bad i had to resolve to chemicals, even though my water quality is almost perfect and the phosphate level is almost at zero, i think the membrane of my osmoses device was saturated so bought a new membrane, at the moment the tank is not looking nice at all, because of the chemicals used the corals don't open that much and because the goby is constantly cleaning, the algae on the rocks is covered in dust.

 

I also got advised at the local LFS to get a good algae eating fish, seeing the plague i had i went with a Foxface Rabbitfish, he is still very tiny and might grow out of the tank, but he can stay until he becomes to big. Soon i will start some good water changes to filter out the chemicals used.

[siwelk]

How's the weather over there?

[Jeffry83]

sh*t

 

It hasn't frozen or snowed at all, only rain, rain,rain. While last year we were knee high in snow.

[siwelk]

While last year we were knee high in snow.

Same here.

I haven't even been up to board yet.

[metrokat]

following, cute fish.

[Jeffry83]

following, cute fish.

 

Sadly, he's no longer , he suddenly disappeared on me 2 weeks ago, i think a crab got him, tried catching it with a home made crab trap (you know, with cut up bottle and some shrimp) but nothing so far. I have done a good clean up between the rocks this weekend, but did not see anything big enough to catch a fish.

[imcosmokramer]

love the diamond goby

[Jeffry83]

Thought i might update this once (i also have a thread going on on another forum and totally forgot about this one).

 

I was a bit getting sick of my tank seeing i just could not get the hair algae under control, than suddenly two months ago after i did a good clean up it just did not come back as it did. I still have some tiny bits of algae sometimes, but my cleaning crew consisting of two Mexican Turbo Snails, 4 red hermit crabs and one Urchin take care of that just nicely.

 

My soft coral suddenly started to let lose of it's base, i noticed a small worm crawling below it, don't think he did the damage but i cut the coral lose and placed him back on his spot and a 2 tie-wraps wrapped around the rock so it won't drift off and it can attach himself again. Some pictures:

 

 

 

i want to add more pictures, but i have reached my 10 mb limit.

 

Here is a video from a month ago showing how much the tank has changed compared with the picture with all the algae:

[metrokat]

OMG! You just came back from the abyss. How are you?