albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) Hi Albert, On my way home from my lady friends today I picked up this from a fellow reefer who used it in his Seahorse breeding tank with great results. However he had given up keeping seahorses so I got it for approx half the retail price. I know you will know what it is Albert but not sure many others on here would know. Now no cheating anybody who wants a stab at what it is. Welcome back ... and congratulations becoming a Grand Dad ! That is super ! Great feeling you must have ! And of course I know what it is ... but wonder if any other readers know and what to take a go at it. That's quite a large one too unless you enlarged the picture .... Nice buy ... I think I am getting one too as I have been saying but have not found a seller yet. Albert Edited October 21, 2012 by albertthiel Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Real Reef Tonga Branch rock has come a long way in a Year © Jake Adams Tonga branch live rock while once a staple of the spectrum that reefers could hope to find in abundance at their LFS has been supplanted mostly by other varieties. Last year Real Reef showed off some of their first hand made replicas of the classic Tonga Branch rock, but it looks a heckuva lot better now. Gone if the lumpy mass of short stubby branches replaced with a more slender more solid build with more natural branching appearance which we would say looks a lot closer to the real thing View more at : http://reefbuilders.com/2012/10/01/real-re...ga-branch-rock/ Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Banggai Cardinal Rescue Book Publication Delayed © By Shane Graber The initial goal of this book project was to have it ready for DFW-MACNA, which is happening this weekend. However, due to circumstances the book is not ready for the conference. Back in March, Reef to Rainforest Media launched an ambitious project: investigate the plight of the Banggai Cardinalfish and write a book about it in time for DFW-MACNA in late September. They used Kickstarter to fund the campaign and on April 8 the $25,000 project was successfully funded. Through the coming months, the project coordinators periodically posted updates and we were able to talk to Ret Talbot about the project and soon learned the names of the science team heading on the expedition to study Banggai's in their native habitat. The last project update on Banggai Rescue's blog was from July showing the science team in action. Read more at : http://tinyurl.com/95np9zs Albert Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Welcome back ... and congratulations becoming a Grand Dad ! That is super ! Great feeling you must have ! And of course I know what it is ... but wonder if any other readers know and what to take a go at it. That's quite a large one too unless you enlarged the picture .... Nice buy ... I think I am getting one too as I have been saying but have not found a seller yet. Albert The total height is 6.5/8" and the dia is 3.1/2" Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 The total height is 6.5/8" and the dia is 3.1/2" Looks bigger in the pic so thanks for the exact dimensions. That would be fine for my 20G too I think although maybe a tad large ... not sure yet ... Still wondering where I can get one here in the US ... maybe I'll look on eBay and see if there is one for sale there. Thanks. Albert Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Looks bigger in the pic so thanks for the exact dimensions. That would be fine for my 20G too I think although maybe a tad large ... not sure yet ... Still wondering where I can get one here in the US ... maybe I'll look on eBay and see if there is one for sale there. Thanks. Albert You could consider the "D" version which is considerably smaller Albert and I have in my current 94L nano. Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 You could consider the "D" version which is considerably smaller Albert and I have in my current 94L nano. Yes you are probably right ... for a 20 gallon which is less than what you have in liters especially since a 20 gallon tank does not really hold 20 gallons anyway and then there is the rock displacement. I think that what I have is probably around 17 gallons if that (that is US gallons of course), so the D would probably be the right choice. Thanks for the suggestion Les Albert P.S. I have a Zoa that is acting in a really odd fashion and have been taking pics during the day that show the changes and I am going to post the pics in a while showing the times at which they were taken ... looks like it wants to split but it is not really doing so (or maybe just not yet) Quote Link to comment
eitallent Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Now no cheating anybody who wants a stab at what it is. I have no earthly idea! LOL It looks like a space object! Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I have no earthly idea! LOL It looks like a space object! Remember that device Les wrote about a few times that uses Hydrogen peroxide ..... and slowly releases tiny oxygen bubbles into the water .... Maybe that will help you remember what it is ... if not ... let me know ... I have not seen anyone else posting a reply so far ... so I guess maybe others have not figured it out yet either, or elected maybe not to post it to see what others would come up with ... not sure ... Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH © Randy Holmes-Farley Content: - Calcium - Alkalinity - Calcium Carbonate - Solubility of Simple Solids - Supersaturation of a Simple Solid - Solubility of Calcium Carbonate - Calcium Carbonate and pH - Calcium Carbonate and Alkalinity - Calcium Carbonate and Magnesium - Summary of Abiotic Calcium Carbonate Solubility Effects - Summary of Biological Deposition of Calcium Carbonate - Additional Reading - Conclusion Link: http://tinyurl.com/ybbpgco Albert Edited October 21, 2012 by albertthiel Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 (edited) The Zoanthids: Sea Mats, Yellow Polyps, and Button Polyps © by James W. Fatherree, M.Sc. Great article by James Fatherree that also clarifies the difference between Zoas and Palys, a topic that is often discussed on many forums and that never or rarely seems to find hobbyists agreeing on what the difference actually is. Zooanthids are relatively small "soft corals" that can come in a wide range of attractive colors and patterns. They tend to be easy to care for and very hardy, and many can grow quickly, making various sorts great additions to a reef aquarium. So, this month we'll take a look at some basic zoanthid information, the common varieties you'll see for sale, the differences between them, and how to take care of them, etc. Link : http://www.saltcorner.com/Articles/Showart...hp?articleID=54 Another article was written by © Julian Sprung on Zoanthids, and the link to that one is : Read Julian's Article here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/inverts And Yet Another One, This One by © Eric Borneman : Link : http://www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_net/0198/0198_1.html Albert Edited October 21, 2012 by albertthiel Quote Link to comment
supernan79 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Yes I agree that 20 to 25 hermits may be a bit much indeed for a small tank like yours, so what I would do is keep about 8 or 9, and try to either trade the others here on the forum with someone, or at an LFS locally where you are. Of course, the number is also dependent on how large they are. If they are fairly small you can keep a few more than that, say a dozen. You'll have to have extra shells as when the grow they'll want to move in larger shells, so maybe some of the extra ones you have are empty shells (not sure as I cannot see what you have). You will have to check that out. On the snails, not all of them usually make it, so you'll have to watch and if in a day or two or three they do not move you may just want to remove those. Let me know whether you need more info ... Albert I did buy extra shells for the hermits and put them in the aquarium, but the original shipment was all live crabs. I've lost a couple in the last two days, as well as a couple snails- one species in particular which I'm guessing was more sensitive to the stress of shipment and acclimation than the others (and is also the only species I have that seems to always be upside down and can't right itself :-/ ). I will call the LFS and see if she'd be willing to do a trade. She does buy fish from local people so she might be interested. Thanks for the idea. Here is a pic of my tank... most of the snails have found nooks and crannies to hide in and seem to have spread themselves out a lot. Do they contribute to the bio-load of the tank? I've had a slight elevation in nitrites and nitrates but I'm assuming that has to do with the recent loss of the couple hermits, snails, and two polyps on a zoa that never seemed to open while the others are all recovered. I've been meticulous about removing any dead life I find asap but obviously there are going to be some I don't find (snails). On that note- should I cut off the two polyps of my zoa frag that didn't open and are turning fuzzy green? The rest started out looking like this- not happy about the length of time they took to get here since I paid for 1 day express and it took 4... but there are still at least 8-9 that did fully recover and open. I've been debating on ridding the potential decaying ones or waiting a little longer to see if they too recover. Here's a pic of that Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I did buy extra shells for the hermits and put them in the aquarium, but the original shipment was all live crabs. I've lost a couple in the last two days, as well as a couple snails- one species in particular which I'm guessing was more sensitive to the stress of shipment and acclimation than the others (and is also the only species I have that seems to always be upside down and can't right itself :-/ ). I will call the LFS and see if she'd be willing to do a trade. She does buy fish from local people so she might be interested. Thanks for the idea. Here is a pic of my tank... most of the snails have found nooks and crannies to hide in and seem to have spread themselves out a lot. Do they contribute to the bio-load of the tank? I've had a slight elevation in nitrites and nitrates but I'm assuming that has to do with the recent loss of the couple hermits, snails, and two polyps on a zoa that never seemed to open while the others are all recovered. I've been meticulous about removing any dead life I find asap but obviously there are going to be some I don't find (snails). On that note- should I cut off the two polyps of my zoa frag that didn't open and are turning fuzzy green? The rest started out looking like this- not happy about the length of time they took to get here since I paid for 1 day express and it took 4... but there are still at least 8-9 that did fully recover and open. I've been debating on ridding the potential decaying ones or waiting a little longer to see if they too recover. Here's a pic of that Yes losses due to shipment stress etc. are not unusual, especially with some of the smaller snails as you point out, and I would not worry about that since you got so many. You may, in fact, lose some more (they may never start moving and if you notice that they don't do so in the next 2 days or so, they are probably not going to and you can remove them). On the Hermits ... yes good idea to have some extra empty shells for them as when they grow, and they will, they will start looking for larger shells. Snails that are upside down do have a problem turning themselves back upright especially if they have nothing close by that they can attach to to do so. What is odd though is that some keep falling over. Some snails we get for our tanks come from cooler waters and climb up the glass, and sometimes out of the tank (mine do - I find one or two next to the tank every now and then and just put them on a flat space and they are fine as long as they remain wet on the inside - they do so by closing their operculum to keep water inside so sometimes even after hours and hours and even longer when you put them back they will do fine) Some speculate that the reason they fall, or climb out of the tank, may have to do with the temperature of the water, and that they are looking for a cooler area (outside of the tank for instance) but I have not seen any authoritative writings that confirm that, so the temp reason may be anecdotal, although if you read messages on forums you will find a lot of posts mentioning it). I would just keep an eye on them and put them back in the right position when you see that they cannot upright themselves. On the trade at the LFS... yes good move, as since you have too many, that may be the way to go and hopefully you will get something for them, probably not much, but something is better than nothing. Yes snails crawl around the entire tank so sometimes you will see them, and sometimes not, or only if you really look for them very hard. Obviously they do contribute to the bio-load but your filters should be able to handle that, unless you have a lot of them that die, and if that is the case then I would try to find out why ... Are they being aggressed by anything else in the tank maybe ? Is something not right with your water quality? Losing one or two happens but losing more than that should be an indication that something is wrong, or that they are not finding enough food, although they would not die that quickly from lack of food. Of course, if you see any dead ones, you should remove them but in most cases IME they seem to crawl in spaces where you do not see them, so they may be hard to find ... watch your ammonia and nitrite levels, and if you see that they go up for some reason, do some water changes and you may want to put a Poly Filter in the filtration system as that will remove ammonia. Also look around the tank and see if you can find what may be causing that increase in ammonia and/or nitrite. On the Zoas : often they will close and stay closed and look like they are "melting" but then in many cases they stay closed for some time and then re-open, so I would not write them off unless you are certain that they are dead and falling apart and decomposing. If you have any that are obviously dead then yes you should get them off the rocks. However don't be too hasty, as they may not be dead but just closed as I pointed out. If you are sure they are dead then remove them so they don't pollute the water (and remember that you should wear gloves when you deal with Zoas or Palys as they contain strong toxins (Palytoxin). Take the rock they are on out of the tank and slice them off with a razor blade, or sharp knife, but be careful not to get any of their tissue on your hands or arms, and after you have done so, wash your hands and arms well even if you did wear gloves. Don't get too close to them by bending over so nothing of their tissue can get on you. If it does wash it off immediately. I know I sound alarming but Palytoxin is a very potent toxin ... I posted about it a few days ago and if you do a search on my thread for Palytoxin you will find the article about it. As I said don't decide too quickly that they are goners as I have had some that stayed closed for 2 or 3 days and then suddenly re-open. Reason: unknown basically, but that is what sometimes happens. Glad that you only have 2 or so that look in bade shape and that the rest is doing ok. Well hopefully this answers your questions but if not just post me another message. Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I did buy extra shells for the hermits and put them in the aquarium, but the original shipment was all live crabs. I've lost a couple in the last two days, as well as a couple snails- one species in particular which I'm guessing was more sensitive to the stress of shipment and acclimation than the others (and is also the only species I have that seems to always be upside down and can't right itself :-/ ). On that note- should I cut off the two polyps of my zoa frag that didn't open and are turning fuzzy green? The rest started out looking like this- not happy about the length of time they took to get here since I paid for 1 day express and it took 4... but there are still at least 8-9 that did fully recover and open. I've been debating on ridding the potential decaying ones or waiting a little longer to see if they too recover. Here's a pic of that Note that the post before yours has links to 3 articles on Zoas You may want to read those Albert Quote Link to comment
atoll Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Just a quick note on snails. I would suggest you climatise them very slowly and over a period of at least few hours using the drip method. Many do seem sensitive to change and I believe that quite possible that is the reason many die even a few days later. Many can also be killed for their shells by hermit crabs wanting to go up to a larger shell. Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Just a quick note on snails. I would suggest you climatise them very slowly and over a period of at least few hours using the drip method. Many do seem sensitive to change and I believe that quite possible that is the reason many die even a few days later. Many can also be killed for their shells by hermit crabs wanting to go up to a larger shell. Very good point indeed Les. I assumed hopefully rightfully so that he did that and if he got them from John at Reefcleaners they came with instructions that clearly specify that acclimating them to temperature is necessary. Not sure though if that is where they came from. John also has it listed on his website: http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?opti...7&Itemid=67 so I hope that he did so, but thanks for pointing it out as it is indeed needed. I remember when I got mine I did so for at least a good hour, and had no large snail losses. I did loose some of the small ones but that is to be expected according to John and I think that is also the reason that he sends plenty more than what one orders. I did not get any Hermits but the procedure is outlined in his instructions also. Good point. Thanks for bringing it up, since I did not ... :-( Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Yesterday I posted that one of my Zoa/Paly polyps was exhibiting strange behavior and that I took pictures of it every now and then ... here are some of the many I took. This morning with the lights still out it shows the same little know at the top as you will see in some of the pictures below. Based on the shape of the mouth and the fact there are sand grains on the coenenchyme it would appear that this is a small colony of Paly's. 10:37 12:49 12:54 16:23 17:29 18:37 Odd behavior indeed for just 1 polyp among a number of them on that rock ... I'll keep an eye on what it does today ... The colony has expanded since I got it and a number of small ones have grown on that same rock but may not really be clearly visible in the pics above. I thought I would post this in case others see theirs acting sort of in an odd manner so they know what they can look like when they do so. So this is just informational Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Blastomussa merletti © corallore Blastomussa merletti are a very pretty and hardy LPS which makes this coral a good choice for both beginner and experienced reef keepers combined. In my opinion, this coral closely resembles Acan corals. While not offering the variety of color combinations, it is a hardier coral and more tolerant of less than perfect aquarium conditions. Read more at : http://www.corallore.com/blastomussa-merletti-736.htm Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Montipora capricornis © corallore Montipora Corals are considered to be a fast growing SPS coral. Once the coral is established in your reef tank its growth can dwarf other corals when provided the right water flow, light, and the addition of calcium and other trace elements to the water. They can grow in many different shapes and colors. Montipora capricornis for the most part is a “plating coral”. This means it will either grow out in a plate shape, or if seeking more light it will grow up in a vase shape (The picture at the top of this article is of a Monti growing in a vase shape) then plate out once it gets to the desired light range. I have personally seen plating Montipora caps larger than a trash-can lid in people’s home reef tanks! More at: . . . . http://www.corallore.com/montipora-capricornis-486.htm Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Toadstool Coral - Leather Coral © corallore White/Off-White Frag with typical Brownish Color Closed - all tentacles retracted & coating on Head Toadstool corals are a very common coral for beginners. This coral normally grows a stalk which is attached to substrate and grows up into a flat cap at the top, which gives it the “Toadstool” appearance. In my personal experience this is the hardiest coral I have ever come across and a perfect beginner coral for a beginner. The typical color of the toadstool is different shades of brown. A little rarer but still available are purple toadstools and yellow toadstools. Toadstool corals can also have different color polyps. Notice that the coral in the top of this article has white polyps, the coral frags at the bottom of this posting have brown polyps and the coral directly below has green/yellow polyps. Of course there are many other color variations, some far more prized and "priced" than others. The more unusual the color and the number of heads, the more the price will go up ... I have personally seem very large ones, close to 1 foot of head size that were being sold for over $275.00 or even more. Read more : http://www.corallore.com/toadstool-coral-470.htm And if you wish to see a large number of them, check this link : http://tinyurl.com/8tbk6rg but note that not all pictures are actually Leather or Sarcophyton or other types of so-called Leather corals. Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 (edited) JBJ cubey is an All-In-One Pico System © Joost de Vries JBJ has always been a big name in the all-in-one nano aquarium part of the industry, but now they are finally giving the pico world some love with their JBJ Cubey. We’ve thouroughly covered the Cubey, so it is great to finally see it run in person. Made out of acrylic and designed as a complete package, the aquarium looks very sleek with canopy and desktop stand. With a volume of a mere 3 gallons, the tank is tiny and should easily fit on any desktop. Link to more info : http://tinyurl.com/93d6eau Albert Edited October 22, 2012 by albertthiel Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Blohole 2700 from Reeflo is Packing More Power and Pressure © Jake Adams The Blohole 2700 is Reeflo’s follow up to the popular line of water pumps powering frag systems and high powered protein skimmers. With three adjustable flow rates, the Blohole 2700 can push a maximum of 2750 gallons per hour at zero feet of head pressure, while still delivering 1200 gph twenty feet up. This IS a powerful pump ... no ifs or buts. Link: http://tinyurl.com/9bnwf9z Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 A Few Pictures of my Tank - Update Baby Yuma He likes the Yumas for sure .... Seems to be doing OK but not much change right now from one day to the next Polyps (Paly) at 6:37 Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 SPS and LPS Corals 101 - Article by a Blogger with Pictures © water_baby83 - Written by a Hobbyist but contains a lot of information on both SPS and LPS corals Informational article The article covers a large number of corals and information you might find useful Link : http://tinyurl.com/99djqct Albert Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Pictures from Maria Masala's Album © Maria Masala View more on : http://www.facebook.com/bloodymary85 Albert Quote Link to comment
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