MattyS 30g Rimless - First Adventure into SW

[Newstead]

Love the new rockscape.

Lucky you to have stomatellas! They are great algae eaters. Had several but I haven't seen any in a while :-(.

[MPSchenck]

Hello Everybody!

 

So it's been a couple of days since I found the kenya tree coral growing out of a hole in my LR and the stomatella. That's all pretty freaky stuff for a new to SW guy, let me tell you. Anyway, so I've got a params update and my daughter and I hit the LFSs in Chattanooga today and I picked up some cheapo goodies.

 

 

Params update...

 

So not much has changed here, but why would it really.

pH: 8.2

Ammonia: 0 ppm (Seachem Ammonia Alert still reads <.02 ppm)
Nitrite: 0 ppm

Nitrate: 2.5 ppm? (Somewhere between 0 & 5 ppm as there was the slightest tinge of orange)

Salinity: 1.024 Still bringing it up super slowly by using my LSF's 1.026 "reef water" in my ATO.

 

Now lets see those goodies.

I picked up a new orange mushroom...

 

I may need to move him around around a little. My deep purple one isn't expanding nearly as much as it was when I first got it so I moved it to a slightly darker spot. My other one with the deep red color and greenish blue spots is doing great.

 

I also got some regular ole GSP...

 

I had to turn the light color up so everything wasn't BLUE in the pics, but the green on this one is pretty nice. I do not intend on leaving it on the rock it's on. I'm going to try and find a suitable piece of LR at the LFS and attach it. Am I correct in believing I can't super glue it down, and have to rubber band it?

 

Another cheapie...

 

So there is some really good colors in this candy cane coral - reds, greens, teal, and orange. Looks nice, but we'll see when it puffs back out. I've read "feed them" and "don't feed them" I'll try getting it to eat some mysis once it settles in. Placement question: It is on the bottom in the substrate but it is directly under the light, move it up as it acclimates?

 

Finally, my snipped and relocated kenya tree...

 

So yeah, it looks shrunken and wobbly. Not sure if that's due the super low light it was getting or the trauma of being snipped, pulled out of the tank, super glued to a rock, and put back in shaded but more light. I will say if it's going to be that sweet rich purple color I would like it to make it.

 

As always thoughts, suggestions, criticisms are welcome.

[MPSchenck]

Love the new rockscape.

Lucky you to have stomatellas! They are great algae eaters. Had several but I haven't seen any in a while :-(.

 

Thanks!

I've since counted up 4 total, including the big one I first saw. I'm hoping they get jiggy with it and make a bunch of babies.

[MPSchenck]

So my transplanted Kenya tree has completely gone missing. I wonder where it will strout up next?

Added a starry blenny today. I know they aren't as brightly colored as the Midas but they just look so dang cool with the little stalks above their eyes. Looking forward to him loosening up and coming out of hiding a bit.

Question: Could the flow from my wavemaker, listed in the equipment in the first post, be causing my ocellaris to pretty much just hang out in corners? He does swim around a bit, across the front glass and he strays out during feeding time but the wavemaker is in feeding mode for 10 minutes then and not running. I have it set to the lowest setting on wave mode 2 where it ramps up and then back down immediately. Everything is on the lowest setting.

[CronicReefer]

Question: Could the flow from my wavemaker, listed in the equipment in the first post, be causing my ocellaris to pretty much just hang out in corners? He does swim around a bit, across the front glass and he strays out during feeding time but the wavaker is in feeding mode for 10 minutes then and not running. I have it set to the lowest setting on wave mode 2 where it ramps up and then back down immediately. Everything is on the lowest setting.

Clowns are much better swimmers than we give them credit for however mine spent their entire lives in right hand corner of my 29g. Now that they have been moved into my 75g they venture around but still spend 80% of their time in the right corner. I've noticed mine swim around looking for pods now that I have a decent population while in my 29g it had no pods.

[MPSchenck]

Hello Everybody!

 

Small-ish update.

 

Params from last night before my first water change.

 

So pretty much the same as the last time

pH: 8.2

Ammonia: 0 ppm (Seachem Ammonia Alert still reads <.02 ppm)
Nitrite: 0 ppm

Nitrate: 2.5 ppm? (Somewhere between 0 & 5 ppm as there was the slightest tinge of orange)

Salinity: 1.0245-ish

I re-tested the salinity immediately after the 20% water change, using 1.026 "reef water", and it tested pretty much the same as before the water change. Switched form reef water to RO/DI in my ATO. If 20% water changes make so little impact on salinity then I'll let the water slowly change over to 1.026 as I do water changes.

I'm planning to do another round of params testing tonight to see what the water looks like 24 hours after the water change.

Question: I see saltwater fish on the package, but does anyone have any experience with Hikari Algae Wafers for Starry Blennies? He may still be in transition mode from bringing him home from not-so-LFS (1.5 hours away and I didn't drive straight home), but I know he's not eating the Hikari Mysis I'm putting in. I've read people put nori in for them, but all the nori we have is salted, my wife is from S Korea we always have a stock in the house. Anyone have any other algae food experience with blennies?

[MPSchenck]

Well I put 3/4 of an algae wafer in a secluded spot in the back of the display area, on a ledge of some LR near where the Starry Blenny has been hanging out. The hermits found it first, but when I was feeding the clown I left the tank for a minute and as I turned and started back he was up on the top rock trying to grab some of the mysis. I didn't see if he did actually get any because as soon as he saw me turn around he was gone. Makes me feel better about him eating if he's out trying to get the mysis.

[MPSchenck]

So I haven't updated in while - no pics this time but a ton of links, sorry.

 

I did another water change this past Monday, not because my parameters were off, but mostly just because I'm trying to get in the habit of it.

 

I came home Wednesday to find clownfish jerky on the carpet next to the stand. In fiddling around trying to figure out what may have spooked him to jump, I had my hand in the tank moving some stuff around and I got popped...stray voltage, not hurt but enough to feel. That, I think, would cause a little clownfish to jump out. I spent the evening reading up on stray voltage in the aquarium - a lot of debates. My father was an electrician for 40 years in an industrial newsprint factory so I called him. He ran me through a few tests and we can't really narrow down that it's a specific piece of equipment. He thinks I may have a partially bad ground bar behind my power meter. I've called the local utility company to come out and check it, they'll be here next week.

Everything is plugged into a pretty good surge protector/power strip, I use one for my audio equipment and one for my TV and video equipment. The one all the aquarium equipment is plugged into shares an outlet that my audio equipment is plugged into and it is DIRECTLY behind the aquarium cabinet, in hindsight that wasn't a great idea, but that outlet isn't a GFCI outlet, it's a cryogenically treated medical-grade outlet. You can read about medical-grade UL outlet requirements here. I installed that outlet for my audio equipment surge protector to plug into. Anyway, I can't go back an put in a GFCI outlet because I would have to completely break the tank down and move the stand to get to it, so I found this little device. Also, when I ordered that I ordered a titanium grounding probe as well, the stuff will be here tomorrow. It wasn't until hours later when I was having a snack before bed that I realized I could have died. I kept seeing some health & safety video I'd seen sometime in the past where a woman blowdrying her hair in the bathtub and dropped the hairdryer in the tub play through my head. Honestly, it scared the $h!+ outta me. Even after I apply the GFCI outlet adapter and grounding probe I'll not stick my hand in the tank until I've unplugged everything.

 

On a slightly related note: I hated the 2 glass panes that came with tank for a lid. You can't tell until you put them on that the tank isn't exactly square, put the lid on and it looks like crap because the panes that make the lid are square, but there are also gaps all around it. So I'm having the local glass place cut me a piece of 1/4" lexan to the exact dimensions of the tank to sit above the rim and cover about half the AIO sump. There will be a 4"x2" cut out in the middle of the front for air exchange and feeding. I'll not really like having the cover but it's better than fish jumping out.

 

Anyway, otherwise everything is going well. I've had a HUGE copepod bloom, they are thick all over the glass. I'm not gonna run out and buy a mandarin. I assume they will die back and a normal population will develop?

[MPSchenck]

I got my custom cut lid today. The edges are a little rough, I don't know if the place will smooth them out for me or not - I was in a hurry.
When I picked up the lid this morning I left plans for a custom ATO reservoir that I'll glue/weld together. When I go back to pick it up I'll ask if they'll smooth the edges.

[pelphrey]

On a side note I don't know if this is true or not.... But I read that salt water is a electricity conductor. Hopefully that is all sorted out now!

[MPSchenck]

On a side note I don't know if this is true or not.... But I read that salt water is a electricity conductor. Hopefully that is all sorted out now!

 

It is, the GFCI adaptor plugged into the outlet, power strip plugged into the adaptor and the grounding pride is in the tank. The local utilities company came by and checked behind my breaker box and meter and said the grounding strips where fine. I never did figure out if there was a bad piece of equipment in the tank. I should go around unplugging things again and testing.

 

I'm pretty sure all water is conductive but saltwater is a better conductor than pure or freshwater due to the increased amount of ions from the salt.

[pelphrey]

It is, the GFCI adaptor plugged into the outlet, power strip plugged into the adaptor and the grounding pride is in the tank. The local utilities company came by and checked behind my breaker box and meter and said the grounding strips where fine. I never did figure out if there was a bad piece of equipment in the tank. I should go around unplugging things again and testing.

 

I'm pretty sure all water is conductive but saltwater is a better conductor than pure or freshwater due to the increased amount of ions from the salt.

 

I would agree with that statement. Glad everything got sorted out!

[MPSchenck]

I know I've been saying I was only going to do easier corals, but my LFS is having a sale so I picked up a green Monti Digitata frag yesterday for $20. We will see how it goes. If it doesn't make it I'm ok with that. On a side note it's weird to me that in my neck of the US most SPS frags are markedly less money than LPS, soft, and zoa frags.

 

I took this less than 5 minutes after placing it.

 

 

I also finished my "custom" polycarbonate ATO reservoir last week. The place that cuts the material doesn't really do that great a job I've discovered so before I have them cut anything else I'm just going to invest in a table saw blade for acrylic and buy the uncut sheets from them. This was my very first time welding plastic, but it's been holding 5g of water for a week and the total cost was right at $50 (material, having it cut, sandpaper, weld-on 4, and applicator bottle) so I'm ok with it being ugly.