Walker's 35g - Home of the Great Zeo Experiment

[albertthiel]

I just checked out the LFS I got the assessor from, and lo and behold, they have another one that was in the same tank as mine. Only, this one I think is a return/exchange, and it was being harassed constantly by the other fish in there. It had quite a few fins nipped as well.

 

I think that the month that mine spent in that tank was extremely stressful (even though there were no nipped fins when I got him), and maybe it just caught up with him.

 

I guess the LFS does not really know what fish to put together and what to do if aggression is taking place.

 

Once they noticed it they should IMO have put the Assessor elsewhere where it was not being harassed.

 

Sounds like the one they now have is not going to be one to buy either especially if that one already has signs of bruising on the fins.

 

Not good !

[Walker]

They're a pretty popular LFS so I guess for the most part the turnover is fast enough that it never really becomes an issue, except for the fish that stick around for a bit.

[albertthiel]

They're a pretty popular LFS so I guess for the most part the turnover is fast enough that it never really becomes an issue, except for the fish that stick around for a bit.

 

I guess that must have been the case then .. would not buy the other one though as you don't need another problem fish possibly

[Walker]

I guess that must have been the case then .. would not buy the other one though as you don't need another problem fish possibly

I definitely won't. I'm going away for a few weeks anyway, so I can't babysit new fish just yet. I am contemplating building a screen cover to allow me to keep firefish or jumpy wrasses though. It is quite a bit of a pain with everything HOB though. I wonder how people do it with a big AC70 and two pipes going in for a skimmer.

 

On the plus side, the SPS look like they're happy with good polyp extension. I'll take a full set of photos later and compare them when I get back (hope the tank sitter does a good job).

[albertthiel]

I definitely won't. I'm going away for a few weeks anyway, so I can't babysit new fish just yet. I am contemplating building a screen cover to allow me to keep firefish or jumpy wrasses though. It is quite a bit of a pain with everything HOB though. I wonder how people do it with a big AC70 and two pipes going in for a skimmer.

 

On the plus side, the SPS look like they're happy with good polyp extension. I'll take a full set of photos later and compare them when I get back (hope the tank sitter does a good job).

 

Yes I understand and I have that same problem with an HOB filter and an HOB skimmer so it's difficult for me as well to make one but I am going ahead and buying online as a kit and i'll have to do so mods to make it work on my 20 G

 

Have a nice few weeks off ...

[Walker]

The new arrivals:

Green Birdsnest

Bird of Paradise

Green monti cap

Sunset Millepora. A little blurry but it has pretty good extension - it's in the flow of both a powerhead and the AC70.

Unidentified acro - picture doesn't do it justice. You can see just a hint of it, but it's more purplish-green (with green polyps) and the tips are darker purple.

SPS side of the tank

 

I think I got some really nice pieces and all of them were ~$10 each. Monti cap was cheaper as I got it from another reefer and he broke off three large pieces for me (!). The other pieces are in out-of-the-way areas so I didn't take pictures.

 

There's also a porcelain crab in the tank somewhere but he's really shy so I haven't been able to grab a picture of him.

 

It's getting a little crowded so I'm stopping coral stocking at this point (hopefully!). I just want to have 1 or 2 more fish and it's done stocking.

 

I'm really considering adding a sump to get all of the equipment off of the back so I can put a proper lid on, but that entails drilling an already-running tank, which is crazy (or crazy... like a fox?!). More likely than not, I may just let it grow for a few months and upgrade the powerheads instead. Heh, I can totally see myself wanting to upgrade to "do it right" the second time around .

[Walker]

Added two new inhabitants, which completes my stocking wishlist - a tailspot blenny and a blue-green reef chromis. I'll let them settle in before taking pictures in a few days. The yellowline goby is getting very feisty with the tailspot, which I'm a little concerned about. So far it's just been chasing (no torn fins or anything), so I'm hopeful that the dispute will be sorted out with the newcomer in a few days. The chromis has been adjusting well and is swimming with the clowns.

[Walker]

Oh, and I'm very glad that the hermits I added before leaving on vacation did not terrorize the snails too much. I think I lost 1 or 2 ceriths, but that's it, which is great. They seem to be doing a good job cleaning up (even removed a few pockets of algae the snails were ignoring). I might need to replenish my snails if they get taken out at a rate of 2 per month.

[Walker]

Seems like the tailspot and yellow neon goby have sorted out their differences after some nipped fins (on the tailspot, at least). The neon takes over most of the rockwork except on the right side, where the tailspot has made its roost. The "airspace" above the rocks is neutral territory (and is mostly the tailspot's domain anyway) and they seem to have stopped chasing each other for the most part. Hope that continues, and that the fins heal in short order.

 

The tailspot and the chromis have both been eating well, and the tailspot in particular (which I was worried for) is a fat pig, especially for cyclop-eeze. Its stomach was visibly distended after feeding time. At this rate it might outgrow the goby in a few weeks.

 

So far I've been pretty impressed by the hermits (well, except for the loss of two ceriths, which is a little annoying). They sift the sand fairly well and have picked clean a number of algae patches on the rocks. I would have liked the red legged hermits to be more active, but it seems like they're doing their job. The blue legs I think are more vicious (and I can see at least one carrying an ex-cerith shell) but also quite a bit more industrious. I may have to drop in a few dwarf ceriths to (eventually) be replacement shells.

 

The porcelain crab has been awesome, running out of its burrow every time feeding time comes around. It is still a little shy (and which is why I haven't gotten a good picture of it yet) but is getting bolder. It doesn't get startled when I walk around the tank anymore.

[Walker]

Forgot to mention that the acro I added two weeks back seems to be doing quite well, and is starting to encrust on the plug. The millepora is starting to grow extra branches. Seems like my next upgrade would be better flow - I wonder if replacing one of the Koralia 240s (the one that is right in front of the millepora) with a 750 would be enough, or just maybe save my pennies for an MP10? I kinda like how quiet the Koralias are though.

 

Aaand... pics!

 

Chromis.

 

Tailspot. Note the nipped rear fins after a fight with the yellowline goby.

[Walker]

Just observing the tank right now, I did not realize that it seems like I got the godzilla of neon gobies. When I got him, he was the runt of the litter at the LFS, thin and probably less than 1". The "little" guy has been eating like crazy and is now at least 1.5" long, and fat around almost to pencil size. It's longer than the chromis and the clowns, LOL. I read that they grow fast since they live only 1-2 years, but it's quite impressive to see in action.

[rafastank727]

Cute tailspot. Its always out in the open?

[Walker]

Cute tailspot. Its always out in the open?

 

Yep. After the first day of hiding from the yellowline goby behind the powerhead, he's been out and about 90% of the time, either chomping on algae on the rocks or hanging out with the clowns. He has his preferred spot on the rocks but usually only stops there when something surprises it.

[albertthiel]

Yep. After the first day of hiding from the yellowline goby behind the powerhead, he's been out and about 90% of the time, either chomping on algae on the rocks or hanging out with the clowns. He has his preferred spot on the rocks but usually only stops there when something surprises it.

 

Nice that he remains in the open that much ... Must be well acclimated ... Nice Tailspot although not easy to see as real small in the Pic but I could enlarge the pic on my iPhone to really "see" it.

[Walker]

Yeah, the tailspot is kinda small (1.25", I think) - I'll see if I can get a better shot with macro mode.

[Walker]

Best shot I can get on the tailspot, but the colour's a bit washed out - still need to figure out a good colour balance.

 

 

And I finally got a shot of the porcelain crab when I was feeding today:

 

[albertthiel]

Best shot I can get on the tailspot, but the colour's a bit washed out - still need to figure out a good colour balance.

 

 

And I finally got a shot of the porcelain crab when I was feeding today:

 

 

Nice shots ... and yes those tailspots are not easy to catch on camera ... Lovely pictures.

[Walker]

My first "uh-oh" moment... the rock base that my toadstool came in on has valonia/bubble algae >.<. I was kinda wary of that base anyway because I know that LFS had a bit of valonia in their display tank, but I figured after 3 months, I was safe already. No such luck.

 

I have no idea how to remove the bubbles from the rock itself. The toadstool has attached to the liverock in my system, so I can't just pull out the rock as it's essentially toadstool-glued onto the LR. I figure the best way is to cut the remaining toadstool "foot" off of the base and just yank it from the system. I do run carbon so hopefully it won't destabilize my display too much.

[Paleoreef103]

My first "uh-oh" moment... the rock base that my toadstool came in on has valonia/bubble algae >.<. I was kinda wary of that base anyway because I know that LFS had a bit of valonia in their display tank, but I figured after 3 months, I was safe already. No such luck.

 

I have no idea how to remove the bubbles from the rock itself. The toadstool has attached to the liverock in my system, so I can't just pull out the rock as it's essentially toadstool-glued onto the LR. I figure the best way is to cut the remaining toadstool "foot" off of the base and just yank it from the system. I do run carbon so hopefully it won't destabilize my display too much.

That's rough. A few things you can do is 1) get an emerald crab 2) very very carefully try to manually remove the bubble algae (turn off all pumps and try to gently nudge it to dislodge them, don't force it) 3) you can TRY gently covering the bubble algae with epoxy putty to smother it.

[Walker]

That's rough. A few things you can do is 1) get an emerald crab 2) very very carefully try to manually remove the bubble algae (turn off all pumps and try to gently nudge it to dislodge them, don't force it) 3) you can TRY gently covering the bubble algae with epoxy putty to smother it.

I wasn't keen on having an emerald crab as I've heard they can get aggressive and go after fish, and I wasn't that confident about manually removing it as it was near the bottom of the tank.

 

Well... I did it. I had to cut off the foot of the toadstool to do it, but I removed that piece that has valonia. It's quite a bit pissed off and slumped down, but it still has polyp extension. I'm hoping I didn't do permanent damage to it. I should separate it from one of my monti caps though, as it slumped right into the monti cap.

[albertthiel]

I wasn't keen on having an emerald crab as I've heard they can get aggressive and go after fish, and I wasn't that confident about manually removing it as it was near the bottom of the tank.

 

Well... I did it. I had to cut off the foot of the toadstool to do it, but I removed that piece that has valonia. It's quite a bit pissed off and slumped down, but it still has polyp extension. I'm hoping I didn't do permanent damage to it. I should separate it from one of my monti caps though, as it slumped right into the monti cap.

Have a pic of what the Toadstool looks like now ? TKS

[Walker]

It recovered much faster than I thought... it is now upright again, albeit shorter now. It looks like it sucked in its extra height to anchor itself better to the rock:

 

I also made a big change to circulation - added a 750gph Koralia pump, nearly doubling my circulation. I was contemplating removing one of the 240s, but I figured the footprint was small enough to tolerate. In any case, that gives me over 40x flow, mostly concentrated on the SPS side of the tank. I did find that even a millepora can't really take the full force of 750gph (it was very happy in 240gph). Also, the frogspawn and hammers were being blown around even across the tank.

 

My solution was to aim ALL the powerheads to the side, off at an angle. This reduced the force somewhat and spread it around into random eddies. It definitely dislodged quite a bit of detritus, but I'm fairly confident there are no more dead spots under the powerheads. The fish are a bit disoriented, but they are slowly getting used to the increased flow. Seems like the wild-caught fish (chromis and tailspot blenny) are already happily roaming the tank, but the tank-raised ones (clowns and yellowline goby) are still hiding out in lower-flow spots.

 

I'm already seeing some good reactions from the coral. I think it's a good upgrade. The only downside is the massive powerhead footprint in the tank. I'll see how the tank reacts to the flow and go from there.

 

FTS:

[Walker]

I forgot to mention that even before the upgrade, the SPS additions were very happy, with the purple acro actually encrusting onto the plug fairly quickly, and the millepora starting to grow branches already. The monti caps have added a good 1/8" of growth all around.

[albertthiel]

I forgot to mention that even before the upgrade, the SPS additions were very happy, with the purple acro actually encrusting onto the plug fairly quickly, and the millepora starting to grow branches already. The monti caps have added a good 1/8" of growth all around.

 

Guess you will have to observe how they all react to the changes in waterflow and make adjustments if needed

[Walker]

I'm actually not so worried about the coral, but I'm concerned about the fish adapting to the current. We'll see in the next few days.