Tinkering (leds installed! with pics)

[cberglof]

saltwater empire was one i had not hit on my list yet. i have been lurking for a bit to find more MN reefers. and thank you for the offer, i will hit you up once i think i can handle it all. i may start running chaeto in the next couple weeks if i find the time to get my light together and set up on my tank.

 

I put one of these http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11000158 on the back for a fuge light when my other light burned out and couldn't find bulbs. It works amazingly well. Lots of growth with it.

They were on sale when I bought mine for $25. Wish I would have bought another one for my bc14.

[tinkerer]

I put one of these http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11000158 on the back for a fuge light when my other light burned out and couldn't find bulbs. It works amazingly well. Lots of growth with it.

They were on sale when I bought mine for $25. Wish I would have bought another one for my bc14.

 

do you have the newer BC with the pre-cleared spot for a light, or did you scrape yours off? the area that they have cleared seems pretty compact.

[cberglof]

do you have the newer BC with the pre-cleared spot for a light, or did you scrape yours off? the area that they have cleared seems pretty compact.

 

Mine had the open spot but I decided to go with the inTank setup, the opening was really small where the fuge basket sits so I scraped off the paint where my chaeto is. I scraped off the paint on the entire second chamber on my 14. The factory spot is nice but just too small imo.

[tinkerer]

My feelings as well

[RedStang]

Don't worry about the snails. Nitrate of 20 really isn't that high. I added my initial CUC when my diatom bloom was going on. Have you done a water change yet? Now may be the time since you added the CUC. Lokk into some hermits too. Some think they're the devil but I enjoy them and am thinking of adding more hermits in addition to more snails.

[tinkerer]

i have my bucket of salt water setting up to do a water change this afternoon. i am contemplating the merits of a couple of hermits, just do not have enough algae yet to sustain them.

[RedStang]

i have my bucket of salt water setting up to do a water change this afternoon. i am contemplating the merits of a couple of hermits, just do not have enough algae yet to sustain them.

 

They'll eat pellets too.

[tinkerer]

water change is done, gonna wait until tonight to test everything again. and i am gonna have to find something to feed, the nassarius has not seemed to eat anything yet. i have seen him do a couple laps around the tank, but he never stops. run a lap bury yourself seems to be his idea of fun.

 

EDIT: params are steady from yesterday with the introduction of the snails and one pellet to try to get the nas to come out.

[tinkerer]

i am thinking next week i want to add two hermits and a couple more nerites and a couple more ceriths. down the line however what other crabs have people had success with? all the crabs seem to have some concern, but what have people had the easiest time with? what other inverts should i be looking at? this is your chance to lead me to success or failure, what would you add? not just now, but down the line... shrimp, snails, crabs, whatever.

[RedStang]

i am thinking next week i want to add two hermits and a couple more nerites and a couple more ceriths. down the line however what other crabs have people had success with? all the crabs seem to have some concern, but what have people had the easiest time with? what other inverts should i be looking at? this is your chance to lead me to success or failure, what would you add? not just now, but down the line... shrimp, snails, crabs, whatever.

 

I can't speak from experience on this one but I've heard a fighting conch could be a good addition and I'm thinking of getting one soon. I'll also be getting a cleaner shrimp.

[tinkerer]

testing from last night reveals that despite the addition of the cuc and more food to try to entice the NAS to come out things are still stable. and nitrate is dropping a little lower. i may dump a load or nerites and ceriths in there this weekend to get this diatom crap gone.

[RedStang]

testing from last night reveals that despite the addition of the cuc and more food to try to entice the NAS to come out things are still stable. and nitrate is dropping a little lower. i may dump a load or nerites and ceriths in there this weekend to get this diatom crap gone.

 

It'll go away on its own too. But more stuff means more fun to look at.

[tinkerer]

i figure i gotta add them sometime, might as well be this week. testing reveals no real change today. i noticed that one of the feather dusters on my LR was putting out a new fan about the middle of the tube and today i noticed that it has completely split into two feather dusters. also, the damn NAS decided to grace us with an appearance today, bout time!

[tinkerer]

got an email this morning from my LFS for black friday. all CUC half off! SA-WEET timing! got 9 more nerites (10 total), 4 ceriths (6 total), 2 hermits (red legs, not sure about exact variety), and an astrina star was thrown in as a freebie on the condition that if they over run my tank i bring in the babies. i have never been as excited about black friday as i am today. i tried getting pics with my crappy digi camera but they turned out crappy. i should have a whole roll of film to develop this weekend, i'll get some pics with it.

[tinkerer]

my new star decided to get out of the sand and onto the glass. and i completed my roll of film tonight, so monday or tuesday i should have better pics. got my hydor rotating wavemaker thingy put in tonight as well.

 

EDIT: 200th POST! FTW!

 

 

[RedStang]

Sweet! I scored some black friday deals too. I've seen a couple stars myself that must have come in on the LR. It's cool to see new things pop up.

[tinkerer]

CUC is beating back the hoard of diatoms but now i am getting green algae growth. params are still stable, hopefully the cuc can start working on some of the green menace.

[tinkerer]

dumb questions... i am thinking of a pistol goby combo. A: will this be ok with my kids clowns? i think it is fine as i feel i have seen it posted before. B: they will eat the mutha bleeping amphipods right? C: what shrimp goby pairs are out there that work well? i think i saw something like tiger/YWG as an option before.

[RedStang]

dumb questions... i am thinking of a pistol goby combo. A: will this be ok with my kids clowns? i think it is fine as i feel i have seen it posted before. B: they will eat the mutha bleeping amphipods right? C: what shrimp goby pairs are out there that work well? i think i saw something like tiger/YWG as an option before.

 

This is just my opinion, but I'd stay away from the shrimp/goby combo. Everything I've read said that as soon as you put them in they disappear and you never see them. Our tanks are too small for fish you never see.

 

I have a yellow watchman goby, that turned gray by the way, that I'm happy to see every other day or so. All 4 of my other fish swim about and make themselves very visible.

 

If you do decide to go shrimp/goby the clowns will be safe. If you want the amphipods gone, get a six-line wrasse.

[tinkerer]

big day today, another water change this afternoon and thanks to cberglof a ball of chaeto now sits in the second chamber. all params are still steday seemingly no matter what i do, i feed the nasarius today and he gladly jumped out of the sand to munch on a couple pellets. the other CUC members are finishing up the last real bad rock covered by diatoms. also, i got this pikish purple piece of LR that seems to have started encrusting more coraline, it has a ton of little pink dots ringed in white all over the rock. hell yeah!

[tinkerer]

looking for a consensus from the three or four people who read this. when is it safe to add a zoa or a GSP to this tank seeing as i have been stable for two weeks now? i was thinking a month out for first addition. is that correct? i have read that the GSP is incredibly resilient, should they be a first addition for me? i have a good rock buried in the sand to put them so they do not spread too far. how would i searate them from the frag plug? just a exacto knife and super glue to the new rock? i am thinking two more weeks and i may try. that will give me five weeks on the cycle, and three with CUC member.

 

BTW, four only four real readers, almost 1700 views is bad ass! not sure how many times i look at it though, just praying that someone will look and offer anything. "hey, you suck", " hey, nice start!", "hey, go back to FW".

 

also, redstang, i have seen others concerns that the six line will eat feather dusters. this make me nervous as i have a couple that are great looking that i want to hang on to. what are your thoughts?

[RedStang]

looking for a consensus from the three or four people who read this. when is it safe to add a zoa or a GSP to this tank seeing as i have been stable for two weeks now? i was thinking a month out for first addition. is that correct? i have read that the GSP is incredibly resilient, should they be a first addition for me? i have a good rock buried in the sand to put them so they do not spread too far. how would i searate them from the frag plug? just a exacto knife and super glue to the new rock? i am thinking two more weeks and i may try. that will give me five weeks on the cycle, and three with CUC member.

 

BTW, four only four real readers, almost 1700 views is bad ass! not sure how many times i look at it though, just praying that someone will look and offer anything. "hey, you suck", " hey, nice start!", "hey, go back to FW".

 

also, redstang, i have seen others concerns that the six line will eat feather dusters. this make me nervous as i have a couple that are great looking that i want to hang on to. what are your thoughts?

 

I was given a freebie Paly rock about 1 month in and it thrived. Softies don't seem to be as particular about their water as lps and sps from what I've read. Though I was given a monti cap a few days after the paly's and it's grown well since day one too. Basically I'd say you're safe to get a cheap frag of something to put in there. But I'd only put a cheap one in .

 

As for readers, it is disappointing, I think many people are like us, just getting into the hobby and looking for ideas. Unfortunately when many get their tanks up and running they only come back to update their thread. It's why I make an effort to stay involved even if I only have 6 months experience in the hobby. It only takes 10-15 minutes per day to read through new threads, post something, and then subscribe. Doesn't even have to be every day.

 

First I've heard that six-line's eat feather dusters. I can confirm that mine does not. Maybe if they get hungry enough?

[Jonboymd]

+1 on the cheap frags. Some of the biggest and best corals in my 125g started as 9.99 (or less frags).

[Ezsharkman]

dumb questions... i am thinking of a pistol goby combo. A: will this be ok with my kids clowns? i think it is fine as i feel i have seen it posted before. B: they will eat the mutha bleeping amphipods right? C: what shrimp goby pairs are out there that work well? i think i saw something like tiger/YWG as an option before.

 

 

They would be fine...they can make a mess by causing sand storms and grabbing frags that aren't glued down and using them to make their burrows. i see mine all the time.

its a randalls goby and tiger pistol

 

here are mine

[tinkerer]

 

nice photobomb on the part of the pistol! thanks for all the replies, i think i am gonna wait two more weeks and then give it a go with a small zoa or GSP. i have an island rock i am thinking of for the GSP.