tibbsy07 5.5 pico reef

[jedimasterben]

Margarita snails aren't from tropical regions and that's the issue. Stores sell them, and they die, and people want more of them, which is why you see them sold so often, but they won't survive.

[tibbsy07]

Margarita snails aren't from tropical regions and that's the issue. Stores sell them, and they die, and people want more of them, which is why you see them sold so often, but they won't survive.

Good to know! I'll just go to Reefcleaners this next time. I'll take Merle out. I am assuming Barry is actually dead and not molting. I'll remove him, too. Dang.

[tibbsy07]

Got some great news today - my wife got the job she applied for! She'll now be making as much as I do. She's been complaining the tank is looking kind of bland and she wants a fish... Maybe I can convince her to let me get a "QT tank" with a fish and keep it there for a couple of months while this one fallows and then I can FINALLY get the nanobox with the BlueFish and maybe upgrade the tank to a 5g cube...

[tibbsy07]

Barry was definitely dead. Gave him a burial at sea, as it were. Merle has some resident pods in his shell, but when I flip him over, he is moving, just slowly. I think he's on his way out, but I don't want to chuck him yet - I feel bad damning him to death if he's just being lazy or something.

[ninjamyst]

i just noticed a bunch of my snails died recently too... i feel your pain.

[tibbsy07]

i just noticed a bunch of my snails died recently too... i feel your pain.

I'm keeping an eye on Merle. I think he's toast. We'll see. My wife is already asking about another emerald and a pom pom.

[tibbsy07]

The tank is getting ugly... there are hairy nasties starting to creep up. Barry isn't around to keep it in check, and Merle is being odd. He stays in his shell, but if the shell is on its back, then Merle will come out to try and flip it. He never is able to, though. I put him vertically near the glass and within seconds he came out, latched onto the glass and started his way up the side. But about halfway up, he fell back off - presumably not strong enough to hold on? I'm not sure. Radioactive zoas are getting pissy, as are the ones that are always mad. I'm still not sure what to do about those.

 

The yuma is growing though, I can actually SEE it now. Kenya tree, GSP, watermelon zoas, other snails, blue sympodium, xenia, ric, hammer are all doing great, it seems. I'm going to have to get some level of CUC again, though.

[tibbsy07]

I've been talking to El_Fab about picos and his maintenance. His pico was incredible (obviously) and very diverse. He recommends that I get an ATO (definitely on my list) as well as using CPE and chaeto in the HOB. His weekly maintenance was much more involved, too. I read up on his weekly maintenance and I think it worked well for him and it makes some sense.

 

Any ATO recommendations? I was thinking Tunze or the Smart ATO (I'm just hesitant because of the optical thing)

 

Here is the link to his maintenance: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/136990-el-fabs-pico-reef-20072010/page-17#entry2087383

 

His feeding scheme is a good bit more heavy than mine has been - but I think everything else is solid. I'm going to stick to the feeding regimen of erisen http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/323574-the-italian-nano-cube/ though less frequently.

[tibbsy07]

I'm a bit confused as to what is going on in the tank. The green bay packer/random zoas are still unhappy, as always, but the radioactive dragon eyes are really mad, too. Everything else seems ok. I talked with El_Fab and he suggested another water test, just to be sure. Everything looks spot on. Mg might be a tad high and Ca a bit low, but not extremely...

 

SG: 1.025

Temp: 78

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

pH: 8.3

dKH: 11.2

PO₄: 0

Mg: 1300

Ca: 375

 

So what gives?

 

Kat suggested Barry might have died during a poor molt - this is definitely possible. Merle might just be dying because of temperatures, but Kat also said she had margaritas live for over a year. My other margarita is doing fine. I put Merle vertically against the glass and he'll climb it, but about halfway up he falls off - like he can't support the weight of his shell. If I put his down in the sand, he just stays in one place.

[markalot]

IMO Alk is extremely high, I think 8 to 10 would be better, and Calcium should always be above 400. I doubt that's what is pissing off the zoas. Could it be too much light?

 

If the zoas remain pissed it's time to take some nice clear closeups, and/or make up a mix of old tank water and flatworm exit and see if anything nefarious drops off.

 

IMO

[Arkayology]

Could it be too much light?

[tibbsy07]

They liked the light before. I have tried monitoring them for any signs of problems, and I'm not seeing anything. The radioactive zoas have been in the same spot since day one and have only been angry the last day or two, and nothing has been added besides the blue sympodium since they were added.

 

The other zoas that are always angry, well... they've been angry since about 2 weeks after I put them in. They were intermittently angry in between, too. I think they're just pissy.

 

Ca is low, but that could be that the corals are using it and that's why. As far as dKH, I thought anything above 8 was good?

 

Could it be too much light?

Again, maybe? They haven't been moved and everything was fine until a day or two ago.

[metrokat]

Tibbsy, of all the thousand + polyps I have in my zoa forest, it is a miracle if all of them are open at the same time for a photo op. Some zoas will stay pissed for days.

 

You might have amphipods irritating the zoas. A FW dip helps because they scamper off. But since it is a new tank, it will take a month or more for them to self regulate without a fish to eat them.

 

Check after lights go out with a flashlight to see if amphipods are on the zoas.

[tibbsy07]

Tibbsy, of all the thousand + polyps I have in my zoa forest, it is a miracle if all of them are open at the same time for a photo op. Some zoas will stay pissed for days.

 

You might have amphipods irritating the zoas. A FW dip helps because they scamper off. But since it is a new tank, it will take a month or more for them to self regulate without a fish to eat them.

 

Check after lights go out with a flashlight to see if amphipods are on the zoas.

I definitely have amphipods (or some kind of pod, hard to tell) on the zoas. I've seen them often. I have pods everywhere it seems. I know that the zoas can be tempermental, and given my test results all seem normal (or at least nothing way out of line), I'm just going with it for now. That one set of zoas, the green-bay-packer-whatever-they-are, have been angry for a long time and I think they'll probably just melt. They rarely ever come out, they have almost no tendrils on their polyps... I've tried spot feeding, moving to new places, nothing works. C'est la vie. The dragon eyes will be fine, methinks, just a tad bit unhappy.

[joy13]

I find either loves a tank or hates a tank I have them in. Same light, type of flow and I mix my own water so none of those can be the reason, it is so frustrating to me because I will get a certain coral for a tank and it doesn't want to be there I move it and watch it grow like crazy.

 

Wait until after the lights have been off for a while take a flashlight and a magnifying glass see if there is anything out of the ordinary. Did you dip the corals before you put them in the tank for pests?

[BulkRate]

Had "margaritas" (keep in mind that wholesalers & LFS don't always ID on anything other than what they look like)... loved 'em when I could get warmer-water sourced specimens. Those lived a year + at normal reef temps.

 

I'm becoming a fan of tectus snails (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+1755&pcatid=1755)... they're slow moving (but agile around frags - not at all like turbos) & are veritable Zambonis when it comes to nuisance algae. Like banded trochus they can right themselves if they fall onto the substrate plus they seem at home on glass/sand/rock and they just seem... hardier. I have three smallish ones in my 9 gallon, and suspect I'll need to return/trade one soon to ensure there's enough food to keep the rest going. This is in a mandarin tank, so you know there's normally plenty of hair algae growth from the daily feedings.

 

In my recent alkalinity debacle almost every snail I put in over a 4-6 month period simply shut down within days of acclimation and died within a week or two... but these just went torpid & clamped onto the glass for 3-4 weeks; recovered on their own once I tossed my faulty test kit and slowly dosed the tank back up to around 9 dkh.

[tibbsy07]

Had "margaritas" (keep in mind that wholesalers & LFS don't always ID on anything other than what they look like)... loved 'em when I could get warmer-water sourced specimens. Those lived a year + at normal reef temps.

 

I'm becoming a fan of tectus snails (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+1755&pcatid=1755)... they're slow moving (but agile around frags - not at all like turbos) & are veritable Zambonis when it comes to nuisance algae. Like banded trochus they can right themselves if they fall onto the substrate plus they seem at home on glass/sand/rock and they just seem... hardier. I have three smallish ones in my 9 gallon, and suspect I'll need to return/trade one soon to ensure there's enough food to keep the rest going. This is in a mandarin tank, so you know there's normally plenty of hair algae growth from the daily feedings.

 

In my recent alkalinity debacle almost every snail I put in over a 4-6 month period simply shut down within days of acclimation and died within a week or two... but these just went torpid & clamped onto the glass for 3-4 weeks; recovered on their own once I tossed my faulty test kit and slowly dosed the tank back up to around 9 dkh.

Ah good to know - thanks! I might pick up 1 or 2 of these little fellas.

 

I've decided I am going with the Tunze 3152 ATO when i get one. It comes with everything I need except the container and water... For ~100 bucks, it's hard to beat. Plus, tons of people have had great success with them.

 

The alkalinity test I use is the Red Sea kit with Ca and Mg. Phosphates I use salifert. Everything else is API (except temp and salinity, obviously). So far no problems with the kits. I'm fairly certain of my test kits.

 

Considering I'm not growing any SPS, I'm ok with the Ca and Mg and dKH where they are at - I'll keep going with water changes and/or adding the marine stabilizer if I need it.

 

I've entered the Marine Depot Chemi Pure Blue contest thing. If I win, I'll give it a shot. If not, i'll probably stick to CPE.

 

I'm also going to get a 10W single LED from inTank, put some chaeto and a few pieces of LR rubble in the HOB. I am adding rubble because I like the rubble/rock look with frags instead of plugs, and this will be a good way to cycle them but keep them contained. I'm talking like 2-3 pieces.

[tibbsy07]

The new PicO Aquariums' Aquaclear surface skimmers are awesome looking! I am definitely going to have to get one. Only 25 bucks! I think this would go great in my tank.

[markalot]

The new PicO Aquariums' Aquaclear surface skimmers are awesome looking! I am definitely going to have to get one. Only 25 bucks! I think this would go great in my tank.

 

Holy crap, that is terrific. I have one I ordered from Badfish before he stopped doign business. Awesome quality but I use it for my HOB skimmer on the output to reduce bubbles in the tank. I'm going to order a bunch of these.

[tibbsy07]

I picked up a new emerald crab yesterday. Seems to be doing fine, though Barry 2.0 is WAY more fiesty. Skiddish, too.

 

 

Figured out why these guys are so unhappy:

Turns out they are a home to 4 LARGE amphipods - I mean, like massive. I mixed a mysis/fish food cube with some phyto and started feeding the tank and these pods just burst out of the zoas and started stealing some of the mysis. Last night I checked on the tank and I could see them running around everywhere.

 

Always happy (sorry for the terrible photo)

 

 

Blue sympodium is growing, as is the kenya

 

I love the hammer, so flippin' much!

 

The ric is really starting to look great, as well. Really coloring up nicely!

 

Weeds are growing

 

Not too sure about these ones - I think it's partially amphipod-related, but they've been doing this for forever it seems.

 

Really terrible picture, but the best I can do with my phone considering the yuma is all the way around the back of the tank. It's now pink, orange and green! You can see it a bit from the front because it's getting larger. Supposedly it is an orange yuma (what I paid for, but..)

 

Almost picked up a pom pom from the LFS yesterday. They have 2 of them, 20 bucks each. About 10 minutes before I was able to get a sales person, though, they started fighting. Then a customer bought one of them. The one that was left didn't have anymore anemones on it and lost like 2 legs in the skirmish. A hermit was killing and eating it by the time I found someone to help me out. Their CPE was 15 bucks for the 6 oz one, and they didn't have anything else I really needed, so I just got the emerald and some RO/DI water.

[markalot]

Might want to try mixing some tank water and flkatworm exit and dipping. I find most pods jump off and this dip has no effect on the corals.

[tibbsy07]

Might want to try mixing some tank water and flkatworm exit and dipping. I find most pods jump off and this dip has no effect on the corals.

I have melafix that I dip my corals in. Amphipods HATE that stuff. i was just dumb and put them back in my tank before. I wanted diversity and I'd never had an issue with them previously. I knew that sometimes they irritated coral, but they'd always been good for me. Not this time. I'm going to dip them this week.

 

Should I try and move/rescue the unhappy zoas? I'm not really sure what to do with them.

[tibbsy07]

Tossed merle and the other small margarita. Neither had moved in 72 hours nor did they react when I removed them.

 

Fed the tank heavily and all seems well.

 

I thought I had lost the few feather dusters that were in the tank but it turns out they just grew longer, like an inch each, and are out of viewing area.

 

Barry 2.0 has a new spot on the underside of the large arch. Also super fiesty. Grabbed the wooden skewer I use to move stuff.

 

I am going to do a 4L change tonight and another 4 on Thursday. Going to Sarasota for a few days so I want to be sure everything is good for then.

[joy13]

Zoas can tank a fresh water dip, I am not sure but I don't think the pods can,

[tibbsy07]

Learned a valuable lesson for my tank today - xenia do NOT like purigen or hydrogen peroxide. I had been feeding pretty heavy and the loss of the majority of my clean up crew was leaving the tank very fuzzy with brown hair. I added purigen back to my AC70 along with carbon last night after my water change just to help out initially. Well, I won't be using purigen in the tank anymore. I had restored it using hydrogen peroxide like Jedimasterben had done. I've used lab-grade (30%) hydrogen peroxide before on my 12g with no issue. Wrong here. I rinsed the purigen well but i figured only 3% h2o2 would be fine, especially diluted in a 5g tank.

 

I have never seen coral so mad. Zoas are great, hammer, ric, and yuma are loving life. The xenia are tiny tiny hidden bulbs covered in slime. The kenya tree is all closed and limp. The blue sympodium is hidden too. Very strange. Must be something about the purigen and/or h2o2. Makes sense that while i used purigen the xenia were never happy and have only been good since i went back to carbon.

 

I think the most i will use is CPE from now on.