Spirofucci Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Just for reference. Ammonia: 0Nitrite: 0Nitrate: 2Ph: 8.1Dkh: 10Salinity: 1.026 If your params stay like that, it might be time for a wee bonnie fish! BTW, my son and I are addicted to Dr. Who on netflix. Probably gonna watch the last episode tonight, then we'll have to wait for next season. Link to comment
M&C Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Yeah the skimmer is pants. Im going to be putting cheat in that chamber to replace it shortly. I live near Stirling. Cool I think my folks are going to be moving through to Haddington soon. You still in the UK? Can you recommend any good LFS's. I used to go to ULA in Cupar but its closed now I remember visiting Stirling while I was there--beautiful place. I moved back to the States 7-8 years ago so I can't recommend any LFS. I didn't even know reef aquariums existed back then haha. As for those bubbles in your sand, it's nothing to worry about. Bacteria in your sand are converting nitrate to nitrogen gas, which collects and forms bubbles. Nitrogen gas is pretty much inert in our systems. It's completely normal and the sign of a healthy sandbed. Link to comment
KeyboardWarrior Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 The skimmer is not toad mate once you get the hang off it it takes very fine adjustment but once you get the hang of it it's easy to do and better than no skimmer. Unfortunately there isn't that many good LFS in Scottland but google mailorder corals they have good corals and you can pick up from them they are based in jock land Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 The skimmer is not toad mate once you get the hang off it it takes very fine adjustment but once you get the hang of it it's easy to do and better than no skimmer. Unfortunately there isn't that many good LFS in Scottland but google mailorder corals they have good corals and you can pick up from them they are based in jock land I might try out the skimmer again. I was just going to run Cheato instead for nutrient export, filter floss to catch any floating derbies and run carbon for chemical filtration and keep up with weekly water changes. Yeah I've seen mail order corals website and it looks great! And they guy lives only 30mins away from me! So I know where I'm going to get my corals On and sadder note my Astrea snail has died To be honest he's not looked like he was doing very well when I brought him home. We wasn't sticking to rocks very well, hardly moving or eating. Can anyone recommend what kind of snails I should get for my tank. I already have 1 nassarius which is doing well. But I need some snails to clean the rocks and glass. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 UPDATES! OK I've put my DIY hat on and made some slight modifications to the tank. I wasn't very impressed with the stock pumps power so I ordered an Eheim 1000 compact which turns over 1000 l/hr which is just over 30x my total tank volume an hour. Will this be too much? I can dial it down if need be. I also didn't want to have that much flow coming from one nozzle so I ordered another duckbill nozzle kit and drilled a hole on the other side. I split the line from the pump to each of the nozzles. The plumbing goes like this. Eheim 1000 Return pump -> Small section of 16/12mm flex hose -> 12mm to 9mm Reducer -> Small Section of 12/9mm flex hose -> 9mm Tee fitting ( From each end of the tee fitting ) -> 12/9mm flex hose -> Return Nozzle I forgot to take photos during the process but Im pretty happy with the results. Here is the finished thing. Above the tank. You can see the new nozzle (bottom left) The tee fitting I also picked up the TMC ATO It was pretty fiddly to get it just right in such a small space but its working great now. Starting to run out of room in the back chambers! And finally lets see some lovely diatoms... Link to comment
KeyboardWarrior Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Nice work on the mod looks cool my return is 1200LPH out of the one duckbill so nothing to worry about there and the TMC ATO is a good choice can't fault mine Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 I've had a disaster My cleaner shrimp died last night. I found him stuck in the overflow this morning. This SUCKS! I loved that little guy, he was seemed so happy just the other day and had gotten really confident and would swim/walk all over the tank. My tank Params are: Ammonia: <0.1 (though I think this will be from my shrimp as its usually 0) Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 1-2 Salinity 1.026 However I did just a refractor enter the other day and the readins I get from that are way out from what my hydrometer says so I'm not sure who to trust. I think I may know what caused it though. On Monday night I believe my filter floss in the middle chamber fell to the bottom and restricted the flow to the 3rd chamber where my return pump is and also where my float valve is for my ATO. The water level dropped and my ATO went Crazy and dumped about 500ml of fresh water into the system. My tank was about to overflow in the morning when I got up and my salinty had really dropped so I quickly removed the extra water a brought the salinty back up. Since then the Shrimp has not been himself and wasn't eating even when I offered him some food, he normally goes crazy and gobbles it up. I'm thinking the rapid drop and rise in salinty must of stressed him out Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Oh man! Sorry to hear about the shrimp and the ATO. The first creature that went into my tank was a cleaner shrimp as well. His first molt got caught in the MP10 and it looked like a flag in a wind storm, thought he was dead at first. Yep, you gotta keep an eye on the ATO. On my first water change, I forgot to turn it off and it dumped a ton of RODI. Fortunately, I only had the shrimp and the CUC in there. I guess I fixed it fast enough, cause I didn't loose anything. Sounds like you might be ready for a fish? Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Oh man! Sorry to hear about the shrimp and the ATO. The first creature that went into my tank was a cleaner shrimp as well. His first molt got caught in the MP10 and it looked like a flag in a wind storm, thought he was dead at first. Yep, you gotta keep an eye on the ATO. On my first water change, I forgot to turn it off and it dumped a ton of RODI. Fortunately, I only had the shrimp and the CUC in there. I guess I fixed it fast enough, cause I didn't loose anything. Sounds like you might be ready for a fish? Thanks. He was acting strange last night and when I saw him this morning stuck in the overflow I was praying it was just a molt but no it was him. Man I'm not handling this very well. I thought If I ever loosed a fish I might get upset but a shrimp!? I just feel I let the little guy down Anyway all I can do is learn from this and strive to do better. I'm away on holiday on Saturday but when I get back I may get my self a wee fishy. Most likely a clown but before I do I need to make sure I can keep my salinty in check. Link to comment
KeyboardWarrior Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Mate ditch the hydrometer they are crap the reflectometer is much better and more accurate the best on the Market is the d-d one as for the shrimp sorry to hear about your loss mate never nice when something dies. Sounds like he might have died from shock the rapid large salinity swing would have put it into shock which ultimately lead to his death if anything like that happens again you nave to bring the salinity up very slowly over the course of a few days also I'd drop the salinity to 1.025 Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Mate ditch the hydrometer they are crap the reflectometer is much better and more accurate the best on the Market is the d-d one as for the shrimp sorry to hear about your loss mate never nice when something dies. Sounds like he might have died from shock the rapid large salinity swing would have put it into shock which ultimately lead to his death if anything like that happens again you nave to bring the salinity up very slowly over the course of a few days also I'd drop the salinity to 1.025 Yeah I know the reflectometer is more realiable but it turns out I got a duff one. I tried calibrating it with RO water like it said in the instructions but it was reading miles away from the zero line. I have sent it back and they say it is faulty. The replacement is arriving tomorrow. Thanks for the advice. If anything like that happens again i'll know not too make any drastic adjustments. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 I'M BACK! Got back from a week surfing in France, well learning to surf And I am pleased to say all is well with the tank. Well actually it is better than when I left. I decided to leave the lights off for the week as the algae in the tank was growing really fast. But When I came home all my diatoms had gone, and the small patches of Cyno had gone swell. The bubble algae is still there but I'm taking care of that. I have done a few things to the tank since I got home on Saturday... NEW MEMBERS I picked up a which I hope to be the final members of my CUC. I picked up a new cleaner shrimp and he is looking nicely settled in. I also picked up two turbo snails and an emerald crab. The emerald crab "Earnest" has taken nicely to his new job of munching my bubble algae. Here is my cleaner shrimp. The emerald crab seems to be pretty camera shy but I'm sure you all know what they look like any way MODIFICATIONS So after my filter floss/ATO disaster a few weeks ago I have put together a little media rack out of egg crate in the middle chamber to hold my filter floss and also to put in any other filter media I wish to in the future. I would of taken some pictures but its really only a slab of eggcrate with some filter floss... but it does the trick. ITEMS ORDERED Im waiting on some Cheato and a little LED huge light to arrive which I will put the the left chamber along with my heater. Im hoping this will compete against the other nuisance algae's before the make a come back and obviously help with nitrate export. LIVESTOCK PLANS I think its about time that I start stocking the tank (slowly). I was thinking of getting a pair of Percs but after reading I've realised this is a bad idea and will be just getting the one clownfish. Im thinking of going to pick him up on Friday. There is more but I feel I have rambled on... I leave you with some pictures FTS LEFT SIDE - This is my view from the couch, where I am spending more and more of my time DRAMATIC SHOT My sand bed before I left to go on holiday And my sand bed when I came home Link to comment
venturalvn Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Wow that sand really cleared up fast! This is a cool little tank, can't wait to see it stocked with some coral and fish or two over time. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 Wow that sand really cleared up fast! This is a cool little tank, can't wait to see it stocked with some coral and fish or two over time. I know I couldn't believe it! Thanks, I can't wait either Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 So I have been thinking about what corals Im going to get for my tank and I think I have finally decided on five that I will get to start off with. CORAL WISH LIST 1. Ultimate Metallic Emerald Zoanthid 2. Ice Blue/Silver Pulsing Xenia 3. Duncan Coral 4. Blastomussa Wellsi 5. Orange Plating Montipora I'll start off with the softies then move on to the LPS and finally move on to the Monti. I don't have very much room in my tank so I want to get a definite plan and stick to it so I end up with what I want and leave enough room for them to grow out. I never thought I would get a pulsing Xenia for two reasons 1. They grow rapidly and need to be trimmed back a lot from what I hear 2. The usual pale colour of Xenias put me off even though I love there pulsing monition. But after seeing this Silver/Blue variation I fell in love with it, and the wife has pretty much said we need one. FISH WISH LIST This one is short. 1. 1x Clownfish (Perc) 2. Possibly a goby in the future, haven't decided which one yet. Any suggestions? I'll be going to get my clownfish on Friday. Very excited The site where I have linked to all those corals is only half an hour away so I can go and collect them in person which is great, so I can see my corals before I get them and also save on postage costs, but the guy who runs it is away on holiday and doesn't open until the 23rd so I will be waiting till then before I get my corals. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 FIRST FISHY!! Picked up my first fish from the LFS on Friday evening after work. A False Percula Clownfish. And here is the little one... I took a while to look at all the different clown fishes they had and this one quickly stood out. He/She was swimming about, no signs of distress or illness and was eating. I also really liked how the middle band is broken, looks like she/he is wearing a saddle ...fast forward a few days later The Clown is still settling into the tank but appears to be healthy and she (I'm just going to call her a she for now) did eat some frozen mysis yesterday, though not very much but she Im taking it as a good sign that she is starting to eat. THough most of her time is spent swimming up and down along the glass at the front of the tank. But she is venturing into the tank more and more so I guess she is just adjusting to her new home. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 UPDATES... The tank is doing great. The clownfish has settled in nicely and is eating like a pig he spends most of the time exploring the tank hunting for things to eat along with his cleaner shrimp friend. I reduced the flow as he looked like he was constantly struggling against the current. Once I reduced it he seemed a lot happier. Since then I have been cranking in it up slightly and now it's back to full power and he is swimming around effortlessly so I'm pretty happy with that. Earnest the Emerald crab has been a busy bee and demolished the bubble algae that was in my tank and has been a very handy little addition to the tank. The snails seemed to have become less clumbsy and I havn't had to flip them over ages. I have added some cheato to the back chamber and a little led light. Cant see any growth yet but it's only been a few days. Next up... CORALS!!! Link to comment
venturalvn Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 That's a great looking clown! I love that coloration. Do you think lowering the flow let him explore more easily, rather than letting him swim more easily? I got my clown last Wednesday and he has barely left the corners of the tank, save for a few exceptions. He constantly paces up and down the 3 of the 4 corners of my tank. I've tried lowering and redirecting the flow, but he hasn't really ventured out on a consistent basis yet. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 That's a great looking clown! I love that coloration. Do you think lowering the flow let him explore more easily, rather than letting him swim more easily? I got my clown last Wednesday and he has barely left the corners of the tank, save for a few exceptions. He constantly paces up and down the 3 of the 4 corners of my tank. I've tried lowering and redirecting the flow, but he hasn't really ventured out on a consistent basis yet. Thanks, I love him! My clown stayed in the exact same spot for just over a week when I first got him. He would bob up and down right by my sandbed at the front of the tank. When the flow was higher he would be moving around quite frantically. Then when I reduced the flow he looked a lot calmer bobbing up and down. He still stayed in the same spot for the next few days. It wasn't till day eight or nine until he was swimming around my tank. From what I've read this is very common for newly introduced clowns and it can take up to a week or even longer for them to really settle in. Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 THIS FREAKING SUCKS!!! When I got up this morning I went down to check on my tank like I usually do. The tank has been going great so far, the clown has been swimming around happily, all the inverts are busy scurrying around. I've had a lot of new life popping up in the tank including lots of fan worms that I just noticed the other day. Anyway the clownfish wasn't in his usual spot where he sleeps this morning, actually I couldn't see him anywhere! This was crazy where could he hide? The tank is not very big and he couldnt of jumped out because the lid is on. Is he in the rear chamber? No... So I looked around the floor and there he was around he back of the tank. I can't figure out how on earth he managed to jump out, there's barely a gab on the lid of the tank! Parameters are in check. Ammonia 0; Nitrate 3; (my water change is scheduled on Friday) and PH is 7.8 that reading was taken early in the morning way before lights go on so I guess the ph does dip a bit a night. Salinity 1.025... I'm at a total loss and don't know what to do next? He was such a cool wee fish Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 UPDATES - DAY 63 Wow day 63! Time does go quickly. Its been a while since I updated this mainly due to feeling pretty rubbish after loosing Ormand (my clownfish) After the 24 hour period of feeling like I should give up I decided to move on and learn from what happened. RIP little friend So I have made some changes to tank. 1. I got some more clips from TMC to hold up the lid and fill in round the gaps to prevent any more jumpers. 2. I have got myself a little 3w Moonlight to add in some more blues as Im not really happy with the current light. Im going to upgrade my light in 3-4 weeks to a PAR 38 bulb that has more blues and purples as Im not liking the over ally white look. After the passing of my Clown and the changes were made I went to a new LFS and picked up some new tank mates. INTRODUCING! Toby the Sharkhead Goby Zoas Antheas - I was told these were Blue Xenias but from reading the look like not very Blue Anthea's GSP - I know people say these two are like weeds, but I like them and I guess i'll just trim them when needed and continue to learn my own lessons (plus I have no choice according to the wife ) Orange Monti Cap Acan This picture dosnt show its true colours, its orange in the centre and flourescent green around the outside. When I took it back from the LFS it didn't look so hot, dark brown patches and I saw a hole in one of the heads. Anyway the colour is coming back and its looking puffed up and squishy, the hole is healing up really quickly and I see lots of feeders out at night and it has been eating pretty well. ----------------------------------------------- So that is most of the updates to the tank. Im going to take a break from adding anything for the time being and enjoy the tank for the next few weeks. Link to comment
zoanthidfreak Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 loving the pictures and this thread that clown was amazing, it's a shame about it passing keep posting, as I said I really like where it's going and can't wait to see where it ends up Link to comment
polarblair2000 Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 Nice photography!!! CHeers! loving the pictures and this thread that clown was amazing, it's a shame about it passing keep posting, as I said I really like where it's going and can't wait to see where it ends up Thanks man. I know, he looked so cool. Hoping to get another one over the next few weeks. My cleaner shrimp has moulted for the second time this morning! I always get very confused when I see to sets of long antennae poking out from opposite ends of the tank in the morning. I found my emerald crab snacking on his moulted remains whilst perched onto of my monti cap, hope he dosnt think its his new dinner table Link to comment
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