The Goby and Gorgonian Grotto ... Algae, algae everywhere!

[Lynaea]

Update 7/12/14

 

I have done three water changes with about 5 gallons each of RO water and the algae situation has definitely improved! That'll teach me not to follow standard procedures. . I got my RO/DI unit yesterday so that will be easier now, I got the portable 100 gpd model available on Amazon ( POQ-4B-100 ).

 

I had also been running my lights 10 hours a day at 100%, I finally got around to programming a custom setting. Right now its 80% for 8 hours with just blue/moonlight for several hours before and after (so I can check on things before I leave in the morning and before bedtime), will see how it goes.

 

Blowing off the rocks has certainly helped too but was deteriorating the water faster than I could buy & change it so I held off the last time, my fish were looking stressed even though my params were/are 0-0-5.

(I got a better test kit where the minimum reading is not 20 ppm)

 

I tweaked the AC 110 mod a bit, water was going over the second divider, I added another bit of plastic so now it flows into the fuge area only through the grating.

 

My stuff from Amazon for the DIY water changer is here so I'll be working on that this weekend and will definitely put up a thread in the DIY section. I'm really excited about this, I'm not sure why the reef-float is only sold in Europe, it seems like a great solution for nano water changes.

 

My order from Fin-Addict will be here Tuesday, I was a little concerned about the long delay but I think it will be for the best that it didn't arrive when I was full of algae.

 

My 'coin-chain' halimeda is not doing well, one may have gone sexual and is now disintegrating, I'm going to pull all three out and assess what is saveable when I change the water again.

 

Also, that black sponge did NOT like where I'd placed it, I moved it to the sand in a shady spot and made two frags as well, all three now appear to have new nubs sprouting at the tips and are no longer sagging and bending, yay!

 

I'm also going to remove the large barnacle cluster at center-front so I can have more open sand area.

 

Pics after Tuesday package, maybe before if able.

[gena]

You have a really lovely tank! It looks fantastic .

[Lynaea]

Thanks Gena!

 

I have to admit to getting ideas from your tank threads as well as a few others.

[gena]

Thanks Gena! I have to admit to getting ideas from your tank threads as well as a few others.

You are very welcome .

[Lynaea]

Well, my Fin-Addict order didn't come today, they had 'equipment issues' yesterday so it is supposed to ship today. Kind of bummed as I had the day off and planned to play in the tank.

 

I did do that a bit though, I got 4 items from ReefCorner, this was a really great experience, everything came exactly as described. I got some Stomatella snails, two blasto frags and.......

 

 

This super awesome purple and green rock flower that one of my shrimp claimed almost before I removed my hand from placing it in the tank, lol. This guy was open in the shipping bag, all through acclimation and attached very quickly after being put in. I'm super happy with everything I got from them!

 

They also sent a super tiny blue sponge frag as a freebie. This site doesn't have a ton of corals but what they do have are well described so I had no fear that something might look red instead of orange, etc in person. There was great communication from almost immediately after I placed my order and they even asked about my tank set-up and goals/preferences (hence the sponge frag). I will absolutely order from them again, check them out: http://reefcorner.com

 

Other updates I think I forgot to mention:

 

I got a second Koralia Nano and put it in last weekend, flow is much better now.

 

A few weeks ago I noticed the chaeto in my fuge was dying, I have since removed it all and replaced it with some of the blade shaped caulerpa from GCE. It's growing well and is much happier in there then the chaeto was.

 

here's a better pic of my black sponge, there is new growth at the bottom and all tips, the two frags have new growth too, yay!

 

 

I also ordered some macros from cal3v, they will be here this week too. I'm gonna have a FULL tank!

 

I think I may have lost my smallest masked goby, not sure if it was getting bullied or was just too small for shipping but it didn't seem to eat as well as the other two from day one, all other fish and inverts are doing well though.

 

I did remove that big barnacle cluster from the front center and it looks a lot better with that space opened up, more pics after I get my shipments!

[gena]

The black sponge is way cool .

 

Sorry about your goby loss. Don't you love the masked goby? One of my favorite fish of all time. I know they aren't fancy looking but they are adorable little guys and easy to photograph .

[Lynaea]

Yeah, I had to have that sponge before I even knew that's what it was, I love how it grows all squiggly, it reminds me of one of the aliens from the Men In Black movie .

 

I wasn't even going to get the masked gobies, really was after the rusty goby, but I'm glad I did. They are active and swim around but still act like gobies and perch on things, hide in holes, etc. I love their markings too, they aren't super flashy but very pretty. I'm considering getting 3 more (maybe....eventually) but I'm not sure if I'd end up with a group or a pair that bullied the rest.

[Lynaea]

Hi again,

 

My Fin-Addict order arrived Wednesday, I am not super pleased with them. First they didn't contact me so I kept having to ask when my stuff would be shipped. Early Tuesday they said some of the Rics and one gorg had 'issues', so I picked a few other items as possible substitutes. Then when they sent my tracking info they said two gorgs and the sponge I really wanted also had 'issues'. Of the ten items I ordered half were apparently out of stock, however they were all still available to purchase on their website and have been straight through to today. When I began having issues with them communicating I did some research and found many bad reviews so I was afraid of what I would receive.

 

They sent me 7 items in an 8.5 inch square box with packing peanuts and a cold pack on top, each bag had maybe 1/2 cup of water in it. The rock flowers water was brown, the 2 purple gorgs had been bagged together and the water was purple and smelled like stagnant, old seawater. The top of the green gorg was folded over on itself and tied into the top of the bag because it is about 8 inches tall and they had to put it in a 4-5 inch bag with less than a cup of water. All of this is exactly as the reviews I found had stated.

 

I ended up dumping most of the bag water rather than acclimating them in that toxic waste, surprisingly everything but the large purple gorg has survived so far. This morning I noticed it was rapidly losing flesh and pulled it out of the tank. All the flesh sloughed off, I pruned it and put the base back in just in case its save-able but I doubt it. They sent me the green gorg, some green zoa's and 5 shaving brush plants instead of five items that I ordered, supposedly the zoa's are worth $40+ but idk. I also got a green rock flower, the 2 purple gorgs (the one that survived is only about 4 inches tall), a rainbow Ric and 3 star astrea snails

 

I'm kind of wondering from this and the reviews I found if they don't purposely downgrade or leave out items to make up for the constant sales and freebies they offer, if I had paid the full $150 I would be very upset, as it is I think I maybe got stuff worth what I paid. I'm somewhat tempted to order just the purple tube sponge I want and see if they magically have it in stock now but I'm afraid of how it would fare in 1/2 cup of water for 24+ hours. Ugh!!!

 

I've got to scape everything and then I'll do more pics, hopefully tomorrow. I got my macros in too so the tank looks more full, but not like I was hoping, ah well, back to SeaLife.com I go

[vlangel]

Sorry about the trouble with your order but I'm glad that you shared so we can be wary of ordering from them. Anxious to see pics!

[Lynaea]

Pics!!!

 

I took these right after rearranging so the water is cloudy but I couldn't wait

 

Left side

 

Right side

 

And my new blastos

 

I was playing with my new macro lens too, here's one of my dwarf hermits

 

I'll work on some less cloudy ones tomorrow hopefully.

 

Also, I finally finished my water changing contraption , I'll start posting the DIY on that soon too, think its gonna work great, yay!

[Lynaea]

Sorry about the trouble with your order but I'm glad that you shared so we can be wary of ordering from them. Anxious to see pics!

 

The more I think about it the more I'm okay with the amount of stuff I got for the $$, I am not happy with the lack of communication or the way they were bagged and packaged though. I should probably paste this in the vendor feedback forum so others can find it.

[Lynaea]

I posted my DIY automated water changer build here:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/349078-automated-water-changer/?p=4788815

 

I haven't done a final full run of it but it looks promising so far!

[Lynaea]

New and improved FTS:

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/9ECEFD98-9825-440D-A774-954EE1198D2D_zpsarteidij.jpg.html'>

[gena]

New and improved FTS:

 

Looks wonderful!!!! You're going to need to post more pictures of the blastos . I love your collection!!!!!

[Lynaea]

More pics!!!

 

Two of my Blastos by request , the third one wasn't too pleased after I changed the water so none of those. Hard to tell but these are lavender, not bluish.

 

A really bad pic of my rusty goby

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/8E890AEE-5DA2-4379-89BD-02FE807BDAC0_zpskpnppvz6.jpg.html%5D'>http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/8E890AEE-5DA2-4379-89BD-02FE807BDAC0_zpskpnppvz6.jpg.html%5D"]http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/8E890AEE-5DA2-4379-89BD-02FE807BDAC0_zpskpnppvz6.jpg.html%5D[/url]"]http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/8E890AEE-5DA2-4379-89BD-02FE807BDAC0_zpskpnppvz6.jpg.html][/url][/url]

 

My Tangaroa

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/56F05AE8-45D4-4AD5-8B45-F31C284E7C16_zpsbvixlyqj.jpg.html'>http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/56F05AE8-45D4-4AD5-8B45-F31C284E7C16_zpsbvixlyqj.jpg.html"]http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/56F05AE8-45D4-4AD5-8B45-F31C284E7C16_zpsbvixlyqj.jpg.html[/url]"][/url]

 

And one of my masked gobies

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/27E0E418-4CAE-443C-851D-D2240F5E4E7A_zpsmcpspjbi.jpg.html'>http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/27E0E418-4CAE-443C-851D-D2240F5E4E7A_zpsmcpspjbi.jpg.html"]http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/27E0E418-4CAE-443C-851D-D2240F5E4E7A_zpsmcpspjbi.jpg.html[/url]"][/url]

[Lynaea]

Shrimp in a Ric

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-07/B5D4F9CE-522E-4373-AD16-7470DAD5AE6C_zpsc6uwd6pj.jpg.html][/url]

 

And Sushi says if you're just gonna stand there staring at that thing you might as well pet me too!

[vlangel]

Looks fantastic! Sushi does too!!!

[gena]

Gorgeous...I love this tank! Thanks for the blasto picture too .

What's your thoughts on the rusty goby? I was a bit disappointed with them. Hiding all the time. How dare they .

[Lynaea]

Gorgeous...I love this tank! Thanks for the blasto picture too .

 

What's your thoughts on the rusty goby? I was a bit disappointed with them. Hiding all the time. How dare they .

 

Thanks!

 

I was expecting a cryptic fish so I'm okay with it, there also aren't too many places to completely hide since the tank is viewable from three sides. There have been several days in a row when I haven't seen the rusty but then I'll feed and notice a flash of movement and there he'll be in a new spot. He tends to hang out under ledges where I can see him most of the time though, once I know where to look. I think a pair would have been cool but I am glad I also got some more active fish, just rusty's would be kinda boring.

[gena]

Thanks! I was expecting a cryptic fish so I'm okay with it, there also aren't too many places to completely hide since the tank is viewable from three sides. There have been several days in a row when I haven't seen the rusty but then I'll feed and notice a flash of movement and there he'll be in a new spot. He tends to hang out under ledges where I can see him most of the time though, once I know where to look. I think a pair would have been cool but I am glad I also got some more active fish, just rusty's would be kinda boring.

I'm glad you are able to see yours so easily .

[Lynaea]

Woooh, I'm past due for an update!

 

I don't have an FTS because I was trying to do a video but PhotoBucket is being slow with the uploads, so I'm just gonna photo dump.

 

The big updates are;

- I ditched the HOB and put in another Vortech nano, I like it MUCH better this way.

- The water changer thing didn't work so well so I bought a Magnum HOT 250, I've been running this a few hours once a week with chemipure blue and elite and blowing the crap off the rocks. There's some stuff that I can't get to but in general the water and rocks look much cleaner.

- I got a second Tangaroa goby and they've been getting along great, the original was shy but this new one is out all the time and the first one is out more now too. They are very cute together, they share a cave and follow each other around of just sit together 'standing guard'. They also do this cute little shimmy dance at each other. The new one has more black on its dorsal fin and is smaller so maybe its a male and female (??).

- I also just got a Tiger goby, its a funny looking thing with a big belly, can barely swim, just hops around. I got some good footage of it eating if it will ever upload (grrrrr).

- I've been doing a lot of retail therapy due to BS at work so I have LOTS of new zoa's, LPS and shrooms. Some pics:

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/E62265A8-25E4-419E-86E4-ED38751AA2FE_zpsanns7tlq.jpg.html][/url]

Oh yeah, I also got a pair of anemone crabs and a pair of peppermint shrimp, one of each in this photo with codium and new zoa's.

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/9CFCC3F8-418E-43A7-B6B4-76135715CF41_zpssyle0vcz.jpg.html][/url]

I got some Micromussa from the AquaSD live sale, they're very cute, both had their feeding tentacles out when I fed today.

 

AND, a whole bunch of new Blastos, because I love them and can't stop spending money!

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/D615F9E0-4DD2-4C1E-BC7D-85BE8FBC5D0E_zpswq8b0gdy.jpg.html][/url]

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/9C7CFAB8-F491-499B-8C60-9A5D6499AB25_zpsijjaiq2y.jpg.html][/url]

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/F6EBE164-841D-4705-8E62-77C327E5CEF5_zpsczddfdql.jpg.html][/url]

 

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/lynaea1234/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-08/3F14C137-A905-411E-A9C7-4E85F32B3948_zpsvr3igq0k.jpg.html][/url]

Finally got a decent shot of my Rusty goby, he's getting more brave and is starting to hang out on an overhang at the front of the tank.

 

One more, got a decent shot of the new Tangaroa

 

More to follow when the video goes through.

[Vort]

Very nice sponges, what do you feed them?

[Lynaea]

Mostly Kent Microvert & phyto and Reef Snow. I recently got three different dry coral foods but I've only used those a few times. The red one didn't make it but the orange one has new growth at the tips!!

[Vort]

I hear that microvert stuff is junk. But what do I know, I'm just a bizarre man with a lust for poriferans. It is very good to see success with sponges, I'm hoping my two will do alright. Did you get your gorgs from KP?

[Lynaea]

Some of them, two at an LFS, two from Fin Addict but don't reccomend.