manwe Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 So just got some bad news from the wife. Emerald crab is dead today. Not sure why yet. She said the temp on the tank had creeped up to 82. I doubt that would be bad enough to cause him a problem though. I'll have to test the water when I get home to see what's going on. Snails still seem fine so far though. I must have jumped the gun on the crab. Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Did you read this? http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/186982-ultimate-led-guide/ I'll admit I didn't retain a lot of it, but it seems to be pretty comprehensive. After reading that are you still considering the beamworks light? Link to comment
Saltwaternewbie12 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I did end up ordering them....I figure for $40 if they suck....oh well.....I have seen some prett good reviews about them, so I'm hoping for the best!! I ended up with the 6x3w reef ultra bright 11" clamp on......it can't be worse than the stock light!! I'll let u know as soon as they get here!! Link to comment
manwe Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 Did some tests when I got home to try to solve the mystery of the dead emerald crab (sounds like a novel title). Ammonia: 0.5 ppm (this one still confuses me since it hasn't budged it over three weeks) Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 0 SG: 1.024 Phospates: between 0.25 and 0.5 according to API test ( need to get a better test ) Water temp: 78.6 That's the only tests I had at home last night. The Phosphates are high and the stubborn ammonia level is definitely a suspect as well. I'm guessing it's one of these two things, but the snails still seem happy. I guess I'll just give it some more time. I'm at about the 4 week mark now so I'm a little confused about the persistent Ammonia level. Link to comment
Saltwaternewbie12 Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I lost all my snails and hermits in one night a few weeks ago.....everything tested perfect, so I couldn't figure it out....I replaced them and they have all been fine.....only thing different was I removed the coral banded shrimp and gave it to my brother....Idk if he had killed them or not..... Link to comment
manwe Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 Yeah, I'm just going to give it a few days and then see how the parameters look before I try anything else. Link to comment
fretfreak13 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Make sure the crab isn't actually dead. They molt. Link to comment
reeferman81 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Make sure the crab isn't actually dead. They molt. I was actually looking to see if someone would mention this because I was going to. Link to comment
happyhour99 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Things are holding pretty steady. I still see traces of ammonia, but no nitrites or nitrates. I'm starting to think it might be the API test not being very accurate or something. Grab some distiled water from your local store, then check it. That will give you an indication of how off your test are. Link to comment
manwe Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 Make sure the crab isn't actually dead. They molt. Hmm, I hope he was dead because I already pulled him from the tank and the kids gave him a porcelain funeral. He wasn't moving or showing any signs of life at all. How would I know for sure? For future reference at this point. Grab some distiled water from your local store, then check it. That will give you an indication of how off your test are. That's a good idea, thanks. Link to comment
fretfreak13 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Hmm, I hope he was dead because I already pulled him from the tank and the kids gave him a porcelain funeral. He wasn't moving or showing any signs of life at all. How would I know for sure? For future reference at this point. What you may have thrown away was the molt itself, not the crab. You may see him out and about. The only real way to know is to look at the body caveity. If its hollow, its a molt. If its meaty...well its a crab. Read http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/324731-i-sang-swing-low-sweet-chariot-to-a-crab-today/'>this recent thread where the same thing happened to a fellow NR member. Her crab is alive and she threw away the molt. Link to comment
manwe Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 What you may have thrown away was the molt itself, not the crab. You may see him out and about. The only real way to know is to look at the body caveity. If its hollow, its a molt. If its meaty...well its a crab. Read this recent thread where the same thing happened to a fellow NR member. Her crab is alive and she threw away the molt. I didn't really look that close, but I've seen no signs of it since then. If it's there then he is a ninja hiding in my tiny 8 gallon tank. Link to comment
fretfreak13 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 They do hide for awhile after molting because their skin is soft and they're vulnerable. Link to comment
manwe Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 Still no sign of the emerald crab so I'm assuming he was a goner. Nothing has really changed at all. Snails are doing fine. Water params are the same. I still show some ammonia (0.5 ppm), but no nitrites or nitrates. Algae keeps growing. I'm not sure what the best next step is. I'm really surprised that I'm not seeing any changes of note especially in the ammonia levels. I did try an ammonia test using just distilled water to make sure I wasn't screwing up the test and if came up 0 ppm as expected so that doesn't appear to be an issue. I'm debating doing a big water change, but I'm probably better off just waiting it out. Link to comment
Saltwaternewbie12 Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 How are things going here? Link to comment
manwe Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 Sorry, been slow to post because I've just been trying to give the tank some time and not think about it. I've done a couple of big water changes and dealt with a cyano bloom by keeping the lights out for several days. I decided to give it a go again yesterday so I picked up a couple of blue leg hermits, a new emerald crab, and a ricordia. My aptasias seem to be doing well however . We'll see how the new inhabitants hold up. Link to comment
manwe Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Yeah, went to the LFS to get one day before yesterday but they were out. Going to pick one up next week. Link to comment
manwe Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Oh, I've been meaning to post this pic of another hitchhiker that I thought was dead but recently opened up. Not sure what it is yet. Link to comment
manwe Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Suddenly peppermint shrimp seem to be scare. I've been to my local LFS three times in the last two weeks and they've been out of them. Aiptasia is really getting on my nerves. Link to comment
BattleAthletics Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Super hot water injection not helping? it helped on some of the aptasia that I had. Link to comment
manwe Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 I haven't really tried anything yet. I was hoping to not mess with the tank and let the peppermint have a shot at them first. Link to comment
manwe Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 Things seem to be going pretty well now. Everything has survived so far at least. here's a couple of updated pics. Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 The red is nice on that rock, more magenta seems at least and is that some kind of old shell or long bivalve or something?. Link to comment
manwe Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 It's still alive. Came as a hitchhiker. Hearty thing whatever kind of bivalve it is. Link to comment
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