New tank pics and questions

[Darold]

For my nano project I have decided to go with a 5.5 Gallon setup. Currently it has a few inches of live sand from the store, and a few pounds of live rock from an existing tank. Some of the goodies that came with the live rock include an anemone, a baby starfish (Possibly brittle), a possible feather duster, and one blue legged hermit. I am using 17inch 2x24watt lighting (One regular one blue actinic). I am just about to test the water parameters, however I decided to send you some pics 1st. I am planning on ordering higher quality rock from a website (Any recommendations on great rock in small quantities?) Also I had a few questions:

 

1) How can I move the anemone higher to get more light? I don't want to stress or damage it.

 

2) Should I go ahead and purchase higher quality live rock online at this stage?

 

3) If I do get better live rock, how can I safely relocate the anemone while it is re-curing (I plan on getting pre-cured live rock).

 

 

 

Thank you for your time.

[balla816]

you can pick the anemone up by the base...it will probably retract but thats ok cuz it will come out again in a few days...but if the anemone doesnt like where it is it will move so if it is just sitting there i wouldnt mess with it.....looks like a condy anemone and i had a few of them and when i first got him i put him more towards the light but then he moved around until he found a nice lil spot to rest in.....if your buying cured rock you wont need to recure it....but if u are buying a large quantity of live rock your tank will go through a mini "recycle" depending on how "mini" it is i dont know how well ur condy will do but in my opinion i think condys are the hardiest anemones there are....but if i were you i would put all of your livestock in a seperate tank until your mini cycle finishes..........and as for buying live rock online...i would just go to drs foster and smith even though they are a lil pricey they have a few kinds to lok at

[fish dude]

dr froster & smith have a new nano pack of live rock. you should look into that.

[Darold]

I am glad you are happy with that package. It was one of the top ones I was looking at. Thank you.

 

This morning I woke up and checked all my water parameters. Only the PH was off, and I attributed this to the fluctuations from night/day. I went to the LFS (The Fish Store and More in Atlanta). They re-checked my water and agreed that it looked great except for PH. I was given the green light to go ahead and get some more rock. Although I do plan on getting some offline soon, I bought one piece from them that was covered with life. I also grabbed a feather duster, fire shrimp, and a few hermits and snails. I have a few questions about the day though:

 

 

A) The store recommended I destroy my anemone. Should I? They claimed it would reproduce and take over the tank. Do you all agree? (See #2 in the picture below)

 

Here is the piece of rock I bought. Can anyone quickly Identify what is on it? I see some type of algae, a ton of bristleworms, but what are the other things? (Sorry for the large picture)

 

I am especially confused about these hairlike worms that are on the rock. I have either not read about them before in my research or can't remember. (#4 - two examples)

 

C) Should I be afraid of these bristleworms? Some people seem to think they serve a purpose. I have counted at least three so far, but I am sure there are more.

 

D) I belive I acclimated everything to the tank exactly as I should, but are there any other precautions I should take over the next few hours/days? I need to add more saltwater to replace the water I removed in acclimation, but think I should wait a while until everything gets unstressed from the move.

 

 

Here is a full tank shot that I took while I was waiting for some things to finish acclimating. I will post a finished picture very soon.

Again, thank you not only for your advice, but also in looking at my tank.

[Whitten]

That is one nice rock full of Zooanthids, and mushrooms.

[MattGecko]

#1 sponge I think - Its good

 

#2 anemone - (a beautiful one to, my 02). If you don't want it in there trade it sell but don't kill it.

 

#3 glass anemone - (huge pain in the @ss!) try to remove it also but be sure to dig the foot out of the rock or it will multiply.

 

#4 spaghetti worms - there good

 

#5 Green bubble algae - you should remove them as they will multiply. take the rock out and remove them all. Try not to pop them as they have spores inside or rice the rock off with salt water before to put it back in the tank.

 

#6 zoo's - good

 

#7 mushroom - good

[Superdave]

Darold,

 

How much did you pay for that piece of rock with all the life on it? It's a great early addition to the tank.

[Darold]

I beleive it was around $40. I have misplaced my receipt, but will post when I find it. The silly Shrimp cost more than the rock did.

 

Here is the end result. Well, I plan on taking out the boring pieces of rock and adding more lively ones of course later, but this is how the tank will look for a few weeks.

 

[MattGecko]

Looks good! My fire shimp chills upsidedown just like that and kind of sways back and forth.

 

If you find the bubble algae getting out of hand an emrald crab will help.

[Darold]

Yes, I have noticed that the shrimp sways as well. I beleive I have safely removed the algae, but haven't been able to get to the pest anemone yet.

[MattGecko]

They are a pain, I have tried injecting them with boiling Kalk water and everything else but they would always win/multiply. I finally just replaced the bad rocks.

 

Find a clean screwdriver and dig that little bugger out.

[schaferfred]

I didn't notice where anyone commented about your use of airstones. You will have alot of salt creep using them. Plus, powerheads provide so much more circulation. Tank looks great by the way.

[vangvace]

You could put a peppermint shrimp in there too to help take care of the pest anemone.

 

Why replace some of the rock in your tank with more lively ones? The ones you have now will be covered in coralline before too long and you have plenty of room on them now for corals

[Darold]

The rocks that are currently in the tank aren't bad, but I want perfection

 

I have heard the same problem about the aistones from another forum. Currently they are not causing too much of a problem except for splashing water up behind the tank. Which leads me to my next question.

 

I could not cut the plastic guard that fits on the glass top of my tank with heavy duty scissors. What is a good way to cut the plastic without having to purchase new tools (Saw)?

[vangvace]

I used tin snips to cut mine. You may be able to cut it with a serrated knife too, but the cut may not be as clean as you want

[Darold]

I eventually got the strip cut with some brute force. Everything seems to be doing great, however I am considering purchasing a regugium for the tank. I would like it to be big enough to relocate my heater if this is possible. As you can see in the pictures, the heater takes up way too much space in the tank. What are my best options for a quality refugium in a tank of this size? Because of the layout of my apartment and where I have decided to place my tank, a HOB fuge seems to be my only option. Although I can move the tank away from the wall some more, the HOB fuge would have to fit in the rest of the usable space. Thank you again for your time.

 

 

[Darold]

Just ordered a nano "zoanthid" and "Soft Coral" package from http://www.phishybusiness.com.

 

They will be shipping it out Tuesday night, so hopefully I will be able to put them in my tank Wednesday morning. Here is what I expect to get:

 

 

SOFT PACK

Two Sinularia

One Xenia from 1-2 inches tall

One polyp of Caribbean Ricordia

One GSP

Two Zoanthids

One Palthoa in 1"x1" sections

One color Mushroom rock with 2-3 polyps

 

ZOANTHID PACK

9 different colorful Zoanthids from colonies originally from Fiji, Bali, and Jakarta

Frag size is approximately a 1.5"x1.5" section

No brown Zoanthids

No doubles

 

All this for roughly $250

 

I have heard and seen some great things from this company, so I look forward to getting my shipment in soon. Is there anything I should do to prepare for this shipment?