ReefWeeds Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 Went to the fish store for some water today, and came home with this little guy. Bullseye Snapping Shrimp (Alpheus soror). He looks a lot like a mantis, and sounds like one too (hence the "snapping" shrimp), but he's actually a pistol. He's a beautiful shrimp, and from what I've read, this particular species doesn't partner with gobies, like other pistols do. They're perfectly content to be solo, which is good, because I don't have any gobies! I also bought a used UV Sterilizer off a local board. It's the Coralife Turbo Twist x3. It's an inline sterilizer, that I plan on setting up with it's own powerhead, and will just recirculate in the sump for a few days. I want it to help control some minor dinoflagellate issues, but don't intend to run it full-time after that. I prefer my water to be a little dirty! They're normally pretty expensive, but I grabbed this guy for $25, and had a powerhead lying around... so how could I lose? Woah!!!!! That's an awesome "went to the LFS for water" pick up!! That shrimp is beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 i been thinking about running UV too. keep us posted on if it helps Will do! Woah!!!!! That's an awesome "went to the LFS for water" pick up!! That shrimp is beautiful! Thanks. I thought you might like it!! 1 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Bringing this photo to the new page... because it's cool! 2 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 8, 2016 Author Share Posted April 8, 2016 Reworked my mangrove propagule management system (MPMS). The floating Styrofoam worked well, but I was concerned about the foil side leaching toxins into my tank. So I switched it out for a pvc structure. This gives me a few noticeable benefits. 1. No metal near the water 2. No big floating "raft" taking up surface area, casting shadows, etc. 3. I'll be able to slide the propagules up the structure as they grow to encourage the growth of aerial roots. 4. I used PVC T's at the base, and left them open. That should be good for pods and worms. 4 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 In the words of Metrokat, "Good Morning from the Reef!" 5 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 Just realized that my Radions have been staying on all night! Now, it's been at a very very low, bright blue setting, but I'm wondering if it had something to do with all my recent excessive algae problems? The real bitch was that they'd be off (totally) when I go to sleep, and when I get up in the morning. I just so happened to come downstairs in the middle of the night, and the whole place was lit up! Just changed the program, so that the lights stay off all night. I hope that helps! 2 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 I was up in LA this week, and came across an amazing LFS. Beautiful coral collection. I asked about a particular piece, and he called it a Peppermint Acro. I've never heard of that, but this is clearly a Sarmentosa of some kind. It's really beautiful, and the tips look like they want to turn pink. He sold the whole piece to me for $50. I bet I could sell single stem frags for $40 each. And as a bonus bonus, there are two little acro crabs in there! I rearranged the scpae a little yesterday to accommodate the new colony, and to adjust for some growth. The result is a tank that is really starting to look like an SPS tank, and not just a reef with some sticks in it! I'll try to get a FTS soon. 5 Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Beautiful!!! I think sarmentosa is one of my favorites! I only have a teeny booger piece... Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 I noticed that my return flow had slowed to almost a stop. It's not terribly unusual, as the pump often gets jammed up with bits of algae. So I pulled it out, cleaned it, set it back up and plugged it in... nothing. It was working, but not moving water. What the heck, right? So I unplugged it, and almost jumped with I heard this loud sucking/wheezing sound. Went up to the display, and detached the loc-line return, and tried to run water through it at the sink. No dice. I disassembled it and pulled out no less than 30 lbs of chaeto! Once everything was back in place the thing began pumping like a champ. I'm not sure how long that's been going on, but the decreased return flow obviously decreased the rate of overflow into the sump. Having barely no water circulating from the tank into the sump and back almost certainly caused some of the tank problems I was noticing. Hopefully this corrects the problem, and some of the nuisance algae goes away, and the SPS that started bleaching out will color back up again. Beautiful!!! I think sarmentosa is one of my favorites! I only have a teeny booger piece... Thanks! I really like them too. My LFS has a gorgeous colony, similar to this one, with the turquoise green body and bright pink tips. He refuses to frag that for me, because he says you never see them with pink. I'm hoping this turns out like his! And for the price, it was impossible to pass up! 4 Quote Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 things are looking great! hard to tell from the photos but how close are your acans to zoas? 1 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 16, 2016 Author Share Posted April 16, 2016 Acans and zoos are right next to each other, some of the acans are growing over zoos. They don't seem to mind each other too much! 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Wow, things are looking beautiful, Chris! I think acro crabs are so freaking cute. Those wrasses 1 Quote Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Reworked my mangrove propagule management system (MPMS). The floating Styrofoam worked well, but I was concerned about the foil side leaching toxins into my tank. So I switched it out for a pvc structure. This gives me a few noticeable benefits. 1. No metal near the water 2. No big floating "raft" taking up surface area, casting shadows, etc. 3. I'll be able to slide the propagules up the structure as they grow to encourage the growth of aerial roots. 4. I used PVC T's at the base, and left them open. That should be good for pods and worms. This is awesome! I think I'm going to steal your idea 1 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 So... does anyone else have recurring dreams about fish tanks? I totally have one that I revisit every once in a while. It involves me finding a tank that I set up a LONG time ago, and then basically forgot about. I find it, and everything is still alive somehow, without having lights, or having been fed. I'm amazed, but feel horribly guilty. Is that weird? Do I need to take a step back from this hobby? Things are looking great, but I'm glad you figured out your return problem! Dinos always worry me. Your post about this dream cracked me up. It made me remember a dream I had where I had about six tanks all set up together, and I kept fogetting/blowing off maintaining some of them because I had so many. But whenever I remembered to check the neglected tanks, there were all kinds of cool new fish and corals that had grown up out of nowhere It was a great dream 2 Quote Link to comment
1.0reef Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Incredible leopard wrasse! Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 17, 2016 Author Share Posted April 17, 2016 Things are looking great, but I'm glad you figured out your return problem! Dinos always worry me. Your post about this dream cracked me up. It made me remember a dream I had where I had about six tanks all set up together, and I kept fogetting/blowing off maintaining some of them because I had so many. But whenever I remembered to check the neglected tanks, there were all kinds of cool new fish and corals that had grown up out of nowhere It was a great dream Lucky.... Mine just make me feel like a horrible person! Wow, things are looking beautiful, Chris! I think acro crabs are so freaking cute. Those wrasses Incredible leopard wrasse! Thank you guys. I enjoy them a lot, they're beautiful. I wish my tank was a LITTLE bigger for them, because they are incredibly active. They also make it very difficult to enjoy sparkly-clear water. They love burrowing into the sand, and then exploding out, just to stir up the crap in the sand to look for food. I appreciate the aeration they're providing, but it leads to cloudy water quite often! 3 Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Wow, I love that top down shot! 1 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Wow, I love that top down shot! Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Tanks looking good, those wrasses are awesome, great color. Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 Tanks looking good, those wrasses are awesome, great color. Thanks man! Quote Link to comment
ReefWeeds Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 I'm loving the sunlit photos, Chris! Very nice. 1 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 19, 2016 Author Share Posted April 19, 2016 I'm loving the sunlit photos, Chris! Very nice. 1 Quote Link to comment
cnseekatz Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 So... I've barely seen this little "snapping shrimp" more than once or twice since I put him in the tank. I do, however, hear him ALL the time. He's in there clicking away all the time, and I'm pretty sure he stole my emerald crab's lair. 3 Quote Link to comment
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