rO.oster's 29G Biocube Experience ©

[rO.oster]

FTS 8/15/2010

 

hmmm, where were we? last week I returned from a 5 day vacation after leaving the brand new CuC to do some work on some of that GHA, brown and green algae that was everywhere. What do I find when we arrived home? 3 foot tall swirls of GHA, billowing in the water, covering up the surface from the light like a canopy of trees. what growth! With grim determination, I quickly devised a plan and sanitized some SS clippers. I attacked the bushage with fervent disregard, and managed to cut away most of the growth. It was actually quite easy, as the CuC ate down a lot of the low growth and only the long strands remained. The stubs quickly became eaten down, and I haven't seen any new strand as of yet. It has occurred to me to throw some dwarf and regular cerinth snails in the refugium to attack the growing film algae back there, that way I won't need to clean out the back chambers.

 

The aiptasia has been an interesting dilemma, and concerning the liverock I bought to seed this tank, you guys were right saying its not worth the trouble. At least its caused me to stick my hand into the tank more, I have been trying to eradicate them using Aiptasia-X for the last 5 days. I have pretty much succeeded, but one or two resistors remain. They will meet their end.

 

The newly added Chemipure Elite and Purigen has made my water quality soooo niceand has caused a coralline bloom to occur. There are veins of dark red, purple, pink running along the ridges and fingers of my rock and showing signs of more forming. I can only imagine all the surfaces being covered in those different colors! The refugium is doing extremely well, I have to pull out the chateo ball and throw away half every week.

 

the nerite snails have been going to town laying eggs on every rock surface. i read these go larval after hatching and usually get eaten, but i have no preditors. I really really hope i don't get a snail infestation, any one have any comments about this? did some research but didn't come up with much.

(what coral is that called in the pic attached to the rock? he came in as a hitchhiker)

 

As far as stocking options go, I was planning on:

 

Livestock:

2 Maroon Clown (Pair)

Goby/Shrimp combo

Anenome crab

Peppermint shrimp

 

Coral

GSP

various mushrooms

various Zoas

-Hammer

-Torch

-Frogspawn

BTA (after light upgrade)

 

are there any online retailers with good "starter" packs? else i was thinking of a mr coral LPS bucket or something like it. I think my LFS wants to charge 3x the online price (plus tax too), and with $100-$150 free shipping, its no contest.

 

I want to DIY add another 36w PC to my hood, maybe even add 2x 36w for a total of 4x36w PC with some spare junk hood parts. Heat again being a major concern, I am in works right now to get the fans upgraded and independently powered from a wallwart. Stay tuned for this one. LED is just too expensive right now!

[rO.oster]

I'd leave it alone for now unless you planned on completely replacing that rock piece.

 

this sponge has now really popped up, its crazy how fast its growing. i think i will take it out and just chisel away the corner of rock it is holding onto. maybe dry it out or something. then take a lighter to the other side where a new colony is trying to establish, and be done with it. i don't trust sponges lol

[Coraline Kati]

this sponge has now really popped up, its crazy how fast its growing. i think i will take it out and just chisel away the corner of rock it is holding onto. maybe dry it out or something. then take a lighter to the other side where a new colony is trying to establish, and be done with it. i don't trust sponges lol

 

Tank is coming along smashingly

 

Looking forward to seeing that rock chiseled. That sponge is outta control! Can you put a pom pom crab in the QT?

[rO.oster]

Tank is coming along smashingly

 

Thanks!

[rO.oster]

oh its on.

 

 

I also added another 36w of PC lighting last weekend in a DIY 3.xx upgrade. I'm now running 2x36w acitinic and 1 x 36w 10k. I can flip flop the ordering if I want to crank up growth.

[txbonds]

oh its on.

 

 

I also added another 36w of PC lighting last weekend in a DIY 3.xx upgrade. I'm now running 2x36w acitinic and 1 x 36w 10k. I can flip flop the ordering if I want to crank up growth.

 

Can't wait to see it. When do you get them? Please post pics.

[Derekcaudill]

how is the green hair algae problem coming? I have some growth starting on just the sand and want to get it out now before it becomes a real problem. What CUC did you get?

[rO.oster]

This upcoming Friday they arrive, will be the start of my 4 day weekend. I wanted to give props to Big Al's Online and the great customer service they have. I ordered 2 x 25W Hydor Theo submersible heaters and they both royally suck. One I'll keep for the water bucket, but its a good 10 degree's off. The other will not turn off. It makes me very nervous because in my display I am using a 150W Theo. So far its been accurate, but time will tell. They are sending me the replacement and a few items I need with free shipping (AC20 impeller, Kents Lugolis coral dip solution)

 

how is the green hair algae problem coming? I have some growth starting on just the sand and want to get it out now before it becomes a real problem. What CUC did you get?

 

My green hair algae problem went away after adding the hermits. Ever since I cut down the tall stalks with some scissors, the hermit crabs ate everything that was low enough to grab. Then one day I came home and everyone was standing still, not moving. Not one sign of algae. At that point I realized I had to feed the hermits and snails, and when I did they all came running into the feast!

 

Because of that, I returned 5 hermits and 3 Nassarius to the LFS (not given credit, naturally). I am also donating away the Nerite snails that lay eggs, as I'm tired of all the sesame seed pods on my rock structure. This seemed to lighten the load a little. Still no algae to this date. In total I have 4 Nerite, 10 Large Cerith, 40+ Dwarf Cerith, 8 small Nassarius, 2 Blue leg Hermit. I will move more to the 5.5g quarantine when the cycle finishes.

 

Week 7 FTS:

[RussianBoy]

FTS 8/15/2010

 

hmmm, where were we? last week I returned from a 5 day vacation after leaving the brand new CuC to do some work on some of that GHA, brown and green algae that was everywhere. What do I find when we arrived home? 3 foot tall swirls of GHA, billowing in the water, covering up the surface from the light like a canopy of trees. what growth! With grim determination, I quickly devised a plan and sanitized some SS clippers. I attacked the bushage with fervent disregard, and managed to cut away most of the growth. It was actually quite easy, as the CuC ate down a lot of the low growth and only the long strands remained. The stubs quickly became eaten down, and I haven't seen any new strand as of yet. It has occurred to me to throw some dwarf and regular cerinth snails in the refugium to attack the growing film algae back there, that way I won't need to clean out the back chambers.

 

The aiptasia has been an interesting dilemma, and concerning the liverock I bought to seed this tank, you guys were right saying its not worth the trouble. At least its caused me to stick my hand into the tank more, I have been trying to eradicate them using Aiptasia-X for the last 5 days. I have pretty much succeeded, but one or two resistors remain. They will meet their end.

 

The newly added Chemipure Elite and Purigen has made my water quality soooo niceand has caused a coralline bloom to occur. There are veins of dark red, purple, pink running along the ridges and fingers of my rock and showing signs of more forming. I can only imagine all the surfaces being covered in those different colors! The refugium is doing extremely well, I have to pull out the chateo ball and throw away half every week.

 

the nerite snails have been going to town laying eggs on every rock surface. i read these go larval after hatching and usually get eaten, but i have no preditors. I really really hope i don't get a snail infestation, any one have any comments about this? did some research but didn't come up with much.

(what coral is that called in the pic attached to the rock? he came in as a hitchhiker)

 

As far as stocking options go, I was planning on:

 

Livestock:

2 Maroon Clown (Pair)

Goby/Shrimp combo

Anenome crab

Peppermint shrimp

 

Coral

GSP

various mushrooms

various Zoas

-Hammer

-Torch

-Frogspawn

BTA (after light upgrade)

 

are there any online retailers with good "starter" packs? else i was thinking of a mr coral LPS bucket or something like it. I think my LFS wants to charge 3x the online price (plus tax too), and with $100-$150 free shipping, its no contest.

 

I want to DIY add another 36w PC to my hood, maybe even add 2x 36w for a total of 4x36w PC with some spare junk hood parts. Heat again being a major concern, I am in works right now to get the fans upgraded and independently powered from a wallwart. Stay tuned for this one. LED is just too expensive right now!

btw i didn't see if anyone mentioned but that coral is called a kenya tree.... it's a cool coral but it can seed and spread all over teh damn place.

[rO.oster]

btw i didn't see if anyone mentioned but that coral is called a kenya tree.... it's a cool coral but it can seed and spread all over teh damn place.

 

 

thanks, i got him as a hitchhiker on some coral i got from the LFS. Two days ago I broke him off of that rock and refragged him onto my new rock scape.

 

after a long and hard ordeal I've managed to recover and re-scape my tank after a near disaster involving Locktite waterproof adhesive. In short, dont use it. Stick only with 2 part putty meant for submersible use.

 

 

My first order of coral and fish arrives tomorrow! I can't wait!

[rO.oster]

9/3/10 Parameters:

pH: 8.1

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrites: 0ppm

Nitrates: 0ppm

Calcium: 400ppm

dKH: 8ppm

Phosphate: .1ppm

[SlowGoing]

My first order of coral and fish arrives tomorrow! I can't wait!

 

Did it come in yet?!

[rO.oster]

Did it come in yet?!

 

Yes, I just woke up from a nap after dealing with the whole ordeal. They arrived, I floated and drip acclimated, then I had to superglue the rics onto rocks and arrange everything, reinforce the zoas with more glue. The Randals Shrimp is no where to be seen. Everything is still calming down, I left the lights off all day and won't turn them on until tomorrow. I had a blue mushroom break off and float away in my scape, I can't find it yet. Hopefully it didnt get chopped by my MP10. The True Percs are beautiful, and are already doing awkward dominance dances with each other.

[SlowGoing]

Yes, I just woke up from a nap after dealing with the whole ordeal. They arrived, I floated and drip acclimated, then I had to superglue the rics onto rocks and arrange everything, reinforce the zoas with more glue. The Randals Shrimp is no where to be seen. Everything is still calming down, I left the lights off all day and won't turn them on until tomorrow. I had a blue mushroom break off and float away in my scape, I can't find it yet. Hopefully it didnt get chopped by my MP10. The True Percs are beautiful, and are already doing awkward dominance dances with each other.

 

That's awesome! I can't wait to see the pictures.

 

My percs have been acting weird the past couple of days ... doing their dances.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your mushroom. I had the same thing happen to me. I spent 20 minutes trying to move rock around and find it, but it was no where to be found...

[jsleep]

Yes, I just woke up from a nap after dealing with the whole ordeal. They arrived, I floated and drip acclimated, then I had to superglue the rics onto rocks and arrange everything, reinforce the zoas with more glue. The Randals Shrimp is no where to be seen. Everything is still calming down, I left the lights off all day and won't turn them on until tomorrow. I had a blue mushroom break off and float away in my scape, I can't find it yet. Hopefully it didnt get chopped by my MP10. The True Percs are beautiful, and are already doing awkward dominance dances with each other.

 

I had a mushroom float away in the current once similar to your situation. About 2 months later, I found it growing somewhere else in my tank. It must have gotten caught on some rock and attached itself. So, make sure you check around the tank every once in a while; you may get a nice surprise.

[SlowGoing]

I had a mushroom float away in the current once similar to your situation. About 2 months later, I found it growing somewhere else in my tank. It must have gotten caught on some rock and attached itself. So, make sure you check around the tank every once in a while; you may get a nice surprise.

 

That would be awesome.

[rO.oster]

UPS finally arrived around 2pm, but not without me being up all morning preparing myself for what was to come. With good reason I think now, I remember the feeling I got the first time I cut open a bag tied shut from a fish store. It deflates and gets all wacky on you. Better to bobby pin it to the tank so you can work with your hands. The order from www.reefs2go.com walked up 18 hrs after being sent, and each fish and item had its own bag that was marked with a computer printed label. This all was bundled in a cooler with a cold pack. Into the tank they went for a 15 minute float, and the work began to cut open the bags for drip acclimation.

 

 

 

Already I could smell how fetid the water had become from shipping, I was eager to get them some fresh water. In between dripping rounds with my baster I read of the large amounts of opinions people have on NR about drip acclimation; a lot for, a lot against. The instructions with my order suggest a 2 hrs drip, and that is what I did since they have a 14 day livestock guarantee. My order from bigAls also arrived then, and I took the time to prepare a Lugols coral dip solution per the instructions, 2 cups of water to 10 drops solution. Each coral soaked in this for 15 minuets and was dropped into the tank. A few things came off the frags which I can only assume were bad (long arm star, small bugs), I threw them all away. I dropped the clowns in, they immediately stayed close and started to explore well. The YWG went right for the front hole I made for him, just like I was hoping for. The Randal shrimp shot to the back wall (it didn't like free falling) and I haven't seen him since. I think he is under the scape by the back wall I hope he grows a pair and comes out to find my Goby and his new home.

[rO.oster]

FTS 9/6/2010

 

Life ticks much more slowly (or drains away fast depending on who you ask) in front of a living tank. Initial observations turn into something more, revealing personality and characteristic traits. The clowns are different, one slightly larger and darker likes to spend its time micro-examining the rocks and walls for pods and bugs, expertly picking them up. The female I presume, she ignores the other clowns antics and asserts her size when necessary. The other, a slightly smaller lighter orange, spends his time having fun, enjoying the flow from the MP10, getting the other clowns attention and getting hushed when too riled up. Last night we observed him dancing around the frogspawn, nipping and preparing it for invitation it seemed . That clown treatment also caused the frogspawn to cough up its morning meal of silverside chunk

 

 

The blue mushroom is still no where to be found. I removed the blue ricordia from the rock ledge and placed it with the green ricordia on the sandbed. The multi-colored ricordia has been a debacle, I kept messing with the position and it fell off. It has two mouths splitting, and was all folded up wierd, so I razored off a fold and glued it down, and re-glued the big chunk. Unfortunetly, I ran out of my good frag glue so I decided to use another super glue which wasn't gel type and the bond has failed twice now. The first time I was able to catch it, now I can't find the ricordia OR the frag chunk I'm tired of learning this lesson TWICE, today I go to the store and stock up on a FEW tubes of marine putty, marine adhesive gel, and some big fat tubes of Cyanoacrylate gel

[txbonds]

Looking good in there. I wish my clowns would take to my frogspawn.

 

FTS 9/6/2010

 

Life ticks much more slowly (or drains away fast depending on who you ask) in front of a living tank. Initial observations turn into something more, revealing personality and characteristic traits. The clowns are different, one slightly larger and darker likes to spend its time micro-examining the rocks and walls for pods and bugs, expertly picking them up. The female I presume, she ignores the other clowns antics and asserts her size when necessary. The other, a slightly smaller lighter orange, spends his time having fun, enjoying the flow from the MP10, getting the other clowns attention and getting hushed when too riled up. Last night we observed him dancing around the frogspawn, nipping and preparing it for invitation it seemed . That clown treatment also caused the frogspawn to cough up its morning meal of silverside chunk

 

 

The blue mushroom is still no where to be found. I removed the blue ricordia from the rock ledge and placed it with the green ricordia on the sandbed. The multi-colored ricordia has been a debacle, I kept messing with the position and it fell off. It has two mouths splitting, and was all folded up wierd, so I razored off a fold and glued it down, and re-glued the big chunk. Unfortunetly, I ran out of my good frag glue so I decided to use another super glue which wasn't gel type and the bond has failed twice now. The first time I was able to catch it, now I can't find the ricordia OR the frag chunk I'm tired of learning this lesson TWICE, today I go to the store and stock up on a FEW tubes of marine putty, marine adhesive gel, and some big fat tubes of Cyanoacrylate gel

[Edelmango]

I have been following along...looks great so far. What setting are you using on your MP10?

[rO.oster]

I had a mushroom float away in the current once similar to your situation. About 2 months later, I found it growing somewhere else in my tank. It must have gotten caught on some rock and attached itself. So, make sure you check around the tank every once in a while; you may get a nice surprise.

 

heres hopin man... my ric, I found it!!! then i glues it BACK down, and this morning its gone again. Very frustrating... no sign of the mushroom either...

 

On a plus note, I can hear my Randals shrimp clicking during feeding!

 

I have been following along...looks great so far. What setting are you using on your MP10?

 

 

thanks! I run my mp10 on reefcrest 60% and Ecosmart nutrient transport shortpulse at 50%, nightime mode is 50% default. I must say that the MP10 is a seriously valuable addition to my tank, and probably has attributed (that plus the fuge/chateo) to my rapid coralline growth I've had in just 2 short months with dry rock. I even have coralline on my glass at the opposite end of the vortech. I am quite amazed!

[roly01]

Nice tank man, love those zoos and ricordias, did you get them online? if so where? also love your watchman, had one but the day im doing my led retro, i come back to my room to put the hood back on and on the floor in front of my tank there he is motionless cant believe out of all the days to jump he decides to do it the day i have no hood on

[rO.oster]

just a quick update, today I fed again, and both peppermint shrimp cleaned my hand for the first time. what a awesome feeling to feel your skin being picked off of you. I found my blue mushroom! I also found my multicolor ricordia frag, it was in the same crevice as the mushroom. I fed everyone today, and spot fed the zoas and rics marine cuisine watered down and squirted on top of the mouths. they seemed to nom nom it up. while the feeding was going on, Mr. Randalls finally shows up for a quick half second, so it is nice to know he is alive. The goby and him missed having a face to face meeting by only 8 inches, I was so excited! I am positive one day soon they will join forces. Feeding days makes everyone all jittery and come out and about, I love it. I feed every other night.

 

 

Nice tank man, love those zoos and ricordias, did you get them online? if so where? also love your watchman, had one but the day im doing my led retro, i come back to my room to put the hood back on and on the floor in front of my tank there he is motionless cant believe out of all the days to jump he decides to do it the day i have no hood on

 

thanks, they came from www.reefs2go.com though I didnt read about how to get them to attach to the substrate. I glued mine to rocks and that was probably why the multicolor was so agitated and kept detaching. Ricordia frag really easy so I am pretty excited to have my frag back. hopefully the mother chunk will turn up, no doubt its somewhere in the cracks of my landscape. sorry to hear about your YWG, ill make sure to keep my hood on tight.

[rO.oster]

FTS 9/24/2010 2.5 Months Old

 

Just a quick update. I acquired some GSP, and a very nice green Toadstool frag from Justind823. He also threw in some really nice macros, unfortunately there is not enough light so they are in the quarantine for now.

 

 

I am feeding a random rotation of formula 1 flakes/frozen marine cuisine/frozen silversides/frozen mysis/freeze dried brine & mysis every other day, and target feeding the peppermint shrimps with small silverside chunks every other feed cycle (every 4 days). I target feed the frogspawn silverside fillet with no skin or bone every 1 week.

 

 

The Randals shrimp continues to craft his caves underneath the main rock pile in the back, I spotted him just the other day. Last night one peppermint shrimp molted under the moonlights, I would not have even seen it had the reef keepers caretaker not spotted it at bedtime. It reminds me of a cicada molting on the pine trees. I have a small spot of cyano that is persisting, so I am trying hard not to let any food float or be wasted in the water column.

 

 

 

I am going to throw a party when the goby and randals shrimp find each other. Its a small world, after all.

[Justind823]

Tank is looking good and so are my frags!