Cswan's Spec V | Get Rid of the Shrimp?

[NanoClown]

such a cool little guy! Maybe you should crush up some of those shark teeth so he can make better use of them?

[cswan19]

such a cool little guy! Maybe you should crush up some of those shark teeth so he can make better use of them?

Thats a good idea, thanks. Also he has four burrows... all but one are not visible from the front of the tank

 

Also, update on the goby...

 

Unfortunately I still have not got my goby and my LFS isn't really seeming like they are in a hurry at all. I think I am going to make them refund my money for the goby since I have still not received it and I will then go elsewhere to get it. I realize that this isn't a very common goby but if you don't think you can get it in a week don't tell that to the customer. It has been almost three weeks and counting Hope I get it soon! lol

[NanoClown]

I'd definitely ask for a refund at this point. It's kind of ridiculous that you have had to wait this long already when they said they could get it in a week

[cswan19]

Just went down to the new LFS I was talking about. The people there are awesome and helpful. I picked up a new coral while I was there to so pictures to come. Its acclimating right now and then I will do a dip and get it in the tank! Update to come soon

[chrisinator]

I have a similar build going on! Cool setup!

[cswan19]

I have a similar build going on! Cool setup!

 

Thanks! Start a thread so we can see your build progress! Everyone always loves checking out new tanks

[cswan19]

No updates tonight guys. Not sure why but my coral never opened up in time for me to get a picture. It is partially opened now but the lights are off so I still can't get a picture. It is a camo palythoa. It is on a huge frag plug though so I've got to figure out a way to get it on the rock without it looking awful... It is currently just sitting in the sand bed. I should have an update for you guys tomorrow. I also plan to get another coral tomor... The coral bug bit me hard haha I may only get a few more easy softies within the coming weeks, because I leave for a month on the 28th and my sister will be in charge of the tank from June 28th - July 28th so I don't want too much for her to worry about while I am gone. Once I get back I will get more corals and maybe get into some cooler LPS Man, I love this hobby.

[NanoClown]

Sounds great!

Just make sure you leave nice detailed instructions for her. You dont want her topping it off with tap or saltwater lol

[cswan19]

Sounds great!

Just make sure you leave nice detailed instructions for her. You dont want her topping it off with tap or saltwater lol

 

Haha yes thanks, I plan to leave her instructions. I have also been having her help me with water changes and testing so she can understand it and be able to do everything comfortably on her own. I'm confident she will be able to maintain it well.

[cswan19]

Update: June 13, 2014

 

Did a 20% WC this morning as well as cleaned all the snail poop and algae off of my powerhead and clean my media sponge.About to head down to the LFS to hopefully get a new coral I have been looking at for some time.

 

In the meantime here are some pictures:

 

My camo palythoa I got yesterday, the picture does not do it justice at all. This thing is like a bright bluish green turquoise color and glows green under actinic lighting. I was originally planning to put it on the small live rock on the right side of my tank but with the plug being so big I may just leave it in the sand bed. I was going to make the plug smaller with a dremmel tool but if you look you can see that the polyps are like all over the plug so I don't things that would work.

 

 

And then of course some shots of my other corals.

 

Pulsing xenia (love this thing)

 

 

And ricordea Florida (still my favorite )

 

 

FTS 6/13/14

 

 

Still a bit dirty

 

 

 

 

[NanoClown]

That camo paly looks sweet!

It seems like it might have some GHA growing in between the polyps though. You might want to give it a H202 dip (hydrogen peroxide, look it up ) to kill off that algae before it spreads throughout your tank

[cswan19]

That camo paly looks sweet!

It seems like it might have some GHA growing in between the polyps though. You might want to give it a H202 dip (hydrogen peroxide, look it up ) to kill off that algae before it spreads throughout your tank

 

Okay I will look into the H202 dip, I don't want to hurt the coral though I need to research it, I tried pulling some of the algae off of the plug when I dipped the coral before putting it in the tank but could only get so much.

 

 

Also, I just picked up a new mushroom coral from the LFS Its acclimating now, then I will do a dip, get it in the tank and take some pics once it opens up and adjusts. So I should have an update in a bit

[cswan19]

I was wondering if any of you guys could tell me about some pictures I took at my LFS while I was there.

 

The first is that I saw this stuff on the tank and was just curious to know what it was... Anyone know?

 

 

And also they had these "misc. leather corals" on sale for $5 a piece! I wanted to buy one since they were cool looking and really cheap. But I didn't want to impulse buy as I have read a million times that that is a horrible thing to do in reef keeping. lol so I followed directions. I would like to research and read about care of them but I was wondering if anyone could tell what kind of leather coral it is. And if anyone has any experience good or bad with these corals and would like to share I would appreciate that too. Here is a picture of some of them.

 

 

Thanks guys.

[NanoClown]

1st picture is a bunch of fresh snail eggs

 

Most leather corals are extremely easy to take care of. They dont require too much light or flow at all. It should do fine in your tank if you really want them. I usually pass up on them myself. I dont find anything too interesting about them hahaha

[ninjamyst]

if u dip those palys in h202, rinse them off REAL good. i had a huge rock of similar ones before and dipped in h202 and they started to slime really bad. i put it back into my tank and a few days later, my tank kinda crashed. i am not sure if it's at all related but just throwing it out there.

[cswan19]

1st picture is a bunch of fresh snail eggs

 

Most leather corals are extremely easy to take care of. They dont require too much light or flow at all. It should do fine in your tank if you really want them. I usually pass up on them myself. I dont find anything too interesting about them hahaha

 

Never would have guessed snail eggs. I learn something new about reef keeping everyday it seems! Haha

And as far as those leather corals go, I may have to pick one up I just like the unique shape they have. Do you know if they will "hold" on to things like ricordeas do? It looked like they were just loose on the sand bed in the tank so I would have to get it to hold on to a small LR in order to glue it to the main rock work or keep it from sweeping with the flow I would assume.

 

if u dip those palys in h202, rinse them off REAL good. i had a huge rock of similar ones before and dipped in h202 and they started to slime really bad. i put it back into my tank and a few days later, my tank kinda crashed. i am not sure if it's at all related but just throwing it out there.

 

Oh geez, this h202 dip sounds risky... How do you mean rinse it really good? Like after I dip it would I put it in a small container filled with water from the DT and leave it there for a bit? What would be the best method of rinsing it?

[cswan19]

So I have acclimated and dipped my new coral and have some pictures. But I also need some id's of potential hitchhikers?

 

Here it is. It is a Rainbow Butterfly Rhodactis mushroom coral. This one was the only one with two heads on it and they only charged me for one head. Woohoo for deals haha

 

 

And here is a picture for an id... Is that a feather duster in the middle there? If it is, is it safe? I know nothing about feather dusters... The tube it is in is like a rock? It is hard to explain, I should have taken a picture of it when the mushrooms were closed and I could see the rock that was attached to the frag plug. The rock has like a tube like structure (that appears to be made from rock). The little feathers that are coming out of the top were not there when I was handling it, it opened up shortly after putting the coral in the tank. Any ideas on what it is?

 

The second id I need is those little orange/red stringy things on the bottom of the frag plug. (you can see them a bit better in the first pic) Are they worms or just algae? I don't remember if they were there during the dip or not. But if they were worms it seems like they would have died in the dip? Either way does anyone know what it is? If it is safe?

 

 

Also I think my dry rock is starting to become live rock There is a lot of all this red/green/purple algae all over it.

 

[Kijho]

Looks really good!!! Purple is good!!

 

Not sure on the hitchhikers though! Love all the new corals and updates!

[edavis402]

So, instead of getting more hermit shells from the pet store and crushing them up, do you think it would work the same or close to it if I used sharks teeth? I live in the sharks tooth capital of the world and go to the beach almost everyday. I have thousands or sharks teeth I have found on reefs when free diving and on the sand while walking over the years. I have some from the size of my whole hand down to the size of my fingernail. Do you think my shrimp would be able to use those as a support for his burrows. I think he is knocking and moving my xenia because he is trying to get the rock it is on for his burrow lol. Is it safe to put sharks teeth in? and do you think it would support his burrow at all?

Geez i want a shark tooth the size of my hand!

[cswan19]

Looks really good!!! Purple is good!!

 

Not sure on the hitchhikers though! Love all the new corals and updates!

 

Thanks man, the updates will start slowing down a bit since I'll be going out of town, but should speed back up again once I'm back (if my wallet lets that happen) haha.

[cswan19]

So, I got to spend some time with my mom today and we went to a couple different LFS's so I could show her some of the coral stocking plans for the future. We started looking around and she found two corals she really liked and decided to buy them for me cause she really liked how "pretty and bright" they were . They are in my tank now and I have some pictures I took earlier that I am getting ready to upload the pictures in a minute. One of them is my first LPS coral! I took the plunge because my mom really liked it. although my calcium is a bit too low so I will be dosing everyday until I can get that up. I probably shouldn't have bought the LPS just yet as I'm going out of town and I'm not super knowledged on them not to mention my calc levels aren't really ideal just yet... but my mom was buying and I was excited. Whoops I think it will be okay though, by the time I leave my calc and alk levels should be up to normal so my sister will basically just have to do a couple extra tests and possibly minimal dosing. I think all should be fine though. Pics to come soon...

[ninjamyst]

what salt are you using? you shouldn't need to dose calcium / alk if you are using decent salt. less dosing = less potential for mistakes.

 

the mushroom is awesome looking. i been wanting to get some myself. i always thought feather duster was good so i guess you got 3 corals for the price of one =).

 

is the new LPS a frogspawn?? or maybe a hammer? so awesome that your mom is fully supportive of your hobby.

[cswan19]

what salt are you using? you shouldn't need to dose calcium / alk if you are using decent salt. less dosing = less potential for mistakes.

 

the mushroom is awesome looking. i been wanting to get some myself. i always thought feather duster was good so i guess you got 3 corals for the price of one =).

 

is the new LPS a frogspawn?? or maybe a hammer? so awesome that your mom is fully supportive of your hobby.

 

I buy premixed from my LFS and idk what salt mix they use... I want to start mixing myself though, so what brand would you recommend? I took some water to the LFS for calc and alk testing and they told me my calcium was about 390 something (I don't remember exactly the number they said, but I know it was too low) So we also got a two part dosing and some test kits. Also they talked my mom into getting a pH buffer for me too since my pH was 7.8. Anyway, they said to test and dose calcium everyday until the levels are right.

 

Thanks , the mushroom is pretty sweet, wish it was a bit more fluorescent under the actinics though, but it is beautiful under the white lights.

 

No, not frogspawn or hammer just yet, I am waiting until after I get back from vacation to get that, I don't want to have any issues with stinging (probably won't happen, but want to be safe) while I am gone, because my sister wouldn't know what to do. It is a bright green trumpet coral something I have been wanting to get.

 

And yes, I have a cool mom. But I have also had a real passion for the ocean, I'm a surfer and free diver, so spend most of my time in the water. Plus, I am currently going to school to become a marine biologist . The natural beauty of the ocean has always been something I was passionate about, so she is supportive, and I am thankful.

 

Uploading pictures now...

[cswan19]

Update: June 14, 2014 (although it is after midnight so technically it is the 15th as I am uploading this, got the corals on the 14 though..)

 

Here is the tests and dosing we got today. I plan to get the red sea reef foundation kit in the future as it is MUCH nicer, but just cannot afford it right now.

 

 

And here is the first coral. It is called a gobstopper palythoa, super bright under white lights and super super bright under actinic. The only thing is one of the polyps is still closed. It was closed at the store but I thought it was just cause the guy that worked there had his hand in the tank, so hopefully it is not any issue and will open up soon...

 

 

 

And here is my first LPS coral A green trumpet coral! and it look like some red macro algae on it as well! Is this is a good thing? I don't know much about macro algae care or anything so if someone could chime in that would appreciated.

 

 

And here is one with the actinics on (not great since the iPhone doesn't do well with them on) it gives you a better idea of how bright green it is. I love it.

 

 

Also the guy I asked at one LFS said no feeding is required and another LFS I went to I asked the same thing and she said I should target feed brine at least once a week. So what is the right answer? lol

 

Also a FTS June 14, 2014

 

 

Some of the corals will eventually go up on the rocks, I just have yet to get any epoxy/glue to do so.

 

 

[ninjamyst]

omg, my childhood dream was to become a marine biologist too. my fav animal as a kid was the manatee, now i like the deep sea weird creatures. but i cant swim....soo....probably not a career choice for me =P.

 

i recommend Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, and alot of people use it. It's very economical. You can get a bag for 50 gallons for $18 or so. I bought a 2 part dosing calcium / alk when I first started my tank. Used it like 2-3 times and never again. With regular weekly water changes and good salt, your calcium and alk should be stable. Unless you get into SPS, then you start to look into dosing.

 

 

definitely put the zoa frag on rock so it has room to grow and spread. that polyp looks amazing. as for the trumpet, you dont NEED to feed, but feeding in moderation won't hurt. But since you dont have much yet in the tank, I wouldn't feed right now. And try to use ur hand to pick the green hair algae off the trumpet.