45G Shallow - Considering a Carribean biotope

[TatorTaco]

Diatoms came and went after a few days. 

 

Ordered a 20G package from John at Reefcleaners for my 45G since I wanted to avoid ordering too many at one time.  My problem is that the bastards keep climbing out of the tank and I'm finding them on the floor.  No clue how long they were out, but I sniffed them and they didn't smell foul, so I tossed them in a cup and put them in the tank.  That way, if they didn't move after a while, I knew which ones were goners.  I reckon I have about 40 snails, and I've rounded up 4 off the floor so far in 2 days. 

 

Any idea how to resolve this issue?  It's a sleek looking rimless tank and I had no intention of getting fish that were known jumpers.  I'd hate to get a BRS screen kit or purchase an acrylic top for snails that were so cheap.  However, I have little interest in scouring the floor near the tank each day looking for suicidal snails. 

 

Just to toss some more pictures in, here is pictures of my wife staring at the snails once they were introduced to the tank. She must've sat there for 20 minutes just watching them. 

[samnaz]

I don't see any snails in that first photo, am I blind or something? If it's the Nerites climbing out, get used to it. There is no stopping them. I can't tell you how many times I saved their lives, almost daily. Somehow I managed to keep all three of them alive for months but eventually they all met their untimely deaths. They are the worst snail choice imo, and I don't understand why anyone even sells or buys them.

 

Your tank is too pretty for a lid. Unless your fish are jumpers I wouldn't get one. 

[cnseekatz]

How did I miss this? This is the new version of my tank. I'm really excited to see what you do with it!

 

The suicidal snails are part of the game. They can be out of the water for a LONG time before they die. I went on vacation for 10 days, and had my mom tank-sitting. She found snails on the floor and instead of throwing them back in the tank (or in the trash) she left them all on my kitchen table. I came back and figured something in my tank would eat them and/or use their shells, so I tossed them all back in. They ALL survived. 

[TatorTaco]

On 10/27/2017 at 5:57 PM, cnseekatz said:

How did I miss this? This is the new version of my tank. I'm really excited to see what you do with it!

 

The suicidal snails are part of the game. They can be out of the water for a LONG time before they die. I went on vacation for 10 days, and had my mom tank-sitting. She found snails on the floor and instead of throwing them back in the tank (or in the trash) she left them all on my kitchen table. I came back and figured something in my tank would eat them and/or use their shells, so I tossed them all back in. They ALL survived. 

That’s a funny story. I’m happy to report I haven’t seen any other snails venturing out for the last week. 

 

Im pretty happy with the tank so far. The corner overflow was a selling point over the previous model. 

 

I picked up up a few corals from Vivid Aquariums, but I had to report one as a goner (the torch coral). Created an ad on my local fish group and I’m hoping to pick up some ricordea mushrooms. 

 

Thanks for for following along!

[TatorTaco]

I’m running an AP700 light 15” off the water level and running it at 80%. This worked great when I only had zoas, but I’ve now bleached out both torch corals. OOPS!

 

Lights have now been dropped down to a peak of 30% after further research. I’m going to see how that works for a while before lighting any more cash on fire. 

 

The tank comes ones with a stock durso standpipe and it’s quite distracting, even in our often noisey living room. I’d love any suggestions on quieting this down, as it’s really keeping me from enjoying the tank. Maybe I should’ve researched that part better and if I can’t deal with the noise I’ll have to sell it and get a different tank? I’m sure that’ll (not) go over well with the Mrs. 

[TatorTaco]

Everything seems to be doing well in my tank (I suppose).  My mysterious LPS still won't open, so I moved it a bit and it still won't open.  Also, my Bam-Bam zoas apparently loved the high light but once I cut the lights down, very few polyps even open.  

 

I always hear, "take your time", but I lack the experience and husbandry to know how long to wait things out.  Tank is pretty boring with few corals and only 2 clowns.  I'd really like to get more corals, but with Christmas coming up, I'm not sure.  

[TatorTaco]

Hey y'all.  One of my clownfish jumped out a couple nights ago and was found the next morning.  That leaves me only 1 clown + snails + corals in a 45ish gallon tank.  Looks pretty...sparse.

 

I've religiously tested my water parameters, but it just seems as though I can't grow LPS very well.  My duncan is sprouting a new head, but I can't see any growth on my hammer coral and the torch/frogspawn/whatever it is refuses to extend its polyps no matter the placement.  I really wanted some movement in the tank, so I don't know what other options I have other than kenya tree, xenia, clove polyps, etc which I don't care for.  I'd prefer a low maintenance tank, so i'm just taking the easy route and will give up on LPS for the time being.  I've been checking into toadstool leathers which I think might be nice though. 

 

With Christmas coming, I'm hoping that I can score some salty presents.  Also, I picked up a seasonal 2nd job with the hopes of saving up for a month or until the job ends.  With that money, I hope to earn about $500 that I can use exclusively for the tank.  Here's the wishlist: 

Replacement clownfish from Liveaquaria.

Yellow Watchman Goby from Liveaquaria.

Pistol Shrimp from Liveaquaria.

 

5 pack of rock flower anemone from VIP Reef.  

Toadstool coral

As many zoas as I can afford. 

 

If you have any advice or suggestions, feel free to let me know. 

 

 

[samnaz]

53 minutes ago, TatorTaco said:

Hey y'all.  One of my clownfish jumped out a couple nights ago and was found the next morning.  That leaves me only 1 clown + snails + corals in a 45ish gallon tank.  Looks pretty...sparse.

 

I've religiously tested my water parameters, but it just seems as though I can't grow LPS very well.  My duncan is sprouting a new head, but I can't see any growth on my hammer coral and the torch/frogspawn/whatever it is refuses to extend its polyps no matter the placement.  I really wanted some movement in the tank, so I don't know what other options I have other than kenya tree, xenia, clove polyps, etc which I don't care for.  I'd prefer a low maintenance tank, so i'm just taking the easy route and will give up on LPS for the time being.  I've been checking into toadstool leathers which I think might be nice though. 

 

With Christmas coming, I'm hoping that I can score some salty presents.  Also, I picked up a seasonal 2nd job with the hopes of saving up for a month or until the job ends.  With that money, I hope to earn about $500 that I can use exclusively for the tank.  Here's the wishlist: 

Replacement clownfish from Liveaquaria.

Yellow Watchman Goby from Liveaquaria.

Pistol Shrimp from Liveaquaria.

 

5 pack of rock flower anemone from VIP Reef.  

Toadstool coral

As many zoas as I can afford. 

 

If you have any advice or suggestions, feel free to let me know. 

 

 

Slow growth rate in Euphyllias generally isn't cause for concern. If they've only been in your tank for a couple months, I wouldn't worry about that yet.

 

On the other hand, failure to show good polyp expansion indicates somethings up. Less than perfect parameters could be the problem (what are your Alk and Nitrate levels?)  If your parameters are in check, strong and/or laminar flow might be preventing polyp expansion. Have you tried moving them to very very low flow areas? Trial and error in placement is usually the best way to determine the ideal location. 

 

Euphyllia are tricky sometimes. Don't give up on them just yet. If I can keep them alive, I'm confident you can too. :-)

[TatorTaco]

Thanks for your input @samnaz  Alk was 8.5dkh and Nitrate is 0 when I checked it last a few days ago.  

 

Regarding the coral relocation.... how long would you suggest I leave a coral in one place to see if it's happy or not?  I've moved it 3 times since I got it, so that's approximately once every few weeks.  

[TatorTaco]

Last week I lost one of my 2 Black Saddleback Clown fish due to carpet surfing.  I thought it was an anomaly until I came home last night to discover my remaining clown had jumped into the overflow.  I hate the idea that I need to get a top for this tank, but it looks like that's where I'm at now.  I did the most ghetto impromptu top I could come with (financially and time-wise) at 11pm.  Our screen door needs to be replaced so I just ripped the screen off the door and used a few pieces of baseboard trim I had laying around.  Check out this ingenuity!

 

 

[Travis]

Man that sucks.  I hated the idea of a top on my tank too, but I really like how my Artfully Acrylic lid looks.  You should look into them.

[TatorTaco]

8 minutes ago, Travis said:

Man that sucks.  I hated the idea of a top on my tank too, but I really like how my Artfully Acrylic lid looks.  You should look into them.

Crap.  I was looking forward to making a $300ish coral order in a couple weeks since I have so little coral, but it looks like they're my best bet.  $200 + 6 weeks for a lid?   Would you buy it again if you had to?  

 

I noticed on their website that the mesh doesn't appear to be very straights.  Maybe it's tighter in some areas and looser in others?  Do you have this issue with your tank?  Is the lid pretty rigid and thick, or flimsy? 

[Travis]

15 minutes ago, TatorTaco said:

Crap.  I was looking forward to making a $300ish coral order in a couple weeks since I have so little coral, but it looks like they're my best bet.  $200 + 6 weeks for a lid?   Would you buy it again if you had to?  

 

I noticed on their website that the mesh doesn't appear to be very straights.  Maybe it's tighter in some areas and looser in others?  Do you have this issue with your tank?  Is the lid pretty rigid and thick, or flimsy? 

I would buy again for another tank.  It is very solid.  It took 8 weeks to get mine in.  they are made to order and with a 6-8 week waiting period, I know I wasn't the only one willing to wait for a quality product.

[SeaFurn]

1 hour ago, TatorTaco said:

Last week I lost one of my 2 Black Saddleback Clown fish due to carpet surfing.  I thought it was an anomaly until I came home last night to discover my remaining clown had jumped into the overflow.  I hate the idea that I need to get a top for this tank, but it looks like that's where I'm at now.  I did the most ghetto impromptu top I could come with (financially and time-wise) at 11pm.  Our screen door needs to be replaced so I just ripped the screen off the door and used a few pieces of baseboard trim I had laying around.  Check out this ingenuity!

 

 

That's such a bummer. 

Good ingenuity though. 

You can make one yourself that doesn't look too unsightly pretty easily.

I bought window screen framing and corners from Home Depot and bought the mesh from Marine Depot. Put it together in under an hour. 

It would be cheap and then you can decide if the more expensive one is worth the wait and expense. 

[TatorTaco]

19 minutes ago, SeaFurn said:

That's such a bummer. 

Good ingenuity though. 

You can make one yourself that doesn't look too unsightly pretty easily.

I bought window screen framing and corners from Home Depot and bought the mesh from Marine Depot. Put it together in under an hour. 

It would be cheap and then you can decide if the more expensive one is worth the wait and expense. 

You know the mantra of reefing is to buy the best quality you can first so you don't waste money, but I can't help but question if that would apply here.  I figure I can go the DIY route for $50 or less, but the Artfully Acrylic lid would be $200.  I'd be a bit disappointed to spend so much money to not be happy with it the first go around.  You know? 

I think I'll just leave my ghetto setup as-is for a while and maybe I'll have a better idea then.  I'm sure the current screen is blocking a lot of light though.  :-(

[Christopher Marks]

Sorry to hear about the fish  

 

I think the theory goes that the lights turning on in the morning is a frequent and common time for fish to jump, do you think there was any correlation to your situation? Do your lights ramp up slowly in the morning or turn on all at once?

[TatorTaco]

1 hour ago, Christopher Marks said:

Sorry to hear about the fish  

 

I think the theory goes that the lights turning on in the morning is a frequent and common time for fish to jump, do you think there was any correlation to your situation? Do your lights ramp up slowly in the morning or turn on all at once?

That's a great observation!  I just did a software update on my phone (dang iPhone) so I can't seem to pull up my light schedule until it reconnects to my wifi at home. It does slowly ramp up and down over the course of about 30 minutes from 5% to 35%.  The tank is in the living room, so I wonder if when we enter/leave the room and the lights turn on/off would be startling the fish.  I've yet to hear a splash when I'm in the room though.  

[TatorTaco]

I'm still on the fence on what to do with my screen situation.  I think I'll just create a screen stop and make that work until I get sick of it, and then I can decide if I want to cough up that much money for an Artfully Acrylic lid. 

 

Since the tank is only for zoas and LPS, I've been focusing on creating a "dirtier" tank.  I've been experimenting with keeping my filter sock in for 2 weeks at a time instead of 1, and increasing how much food I feed each day.  Now that I have a bit of nitrates, I can already see my zoas getting bigger and staying open longer.  

 

I need to replace the missing black saddleback clownfish, so I've been shopping around.  I'd love to pick up a midas blenny too.  

 

My LFS' selection is pretty slim (and way overpriced), so I've been coral/window shopping online lately.  I'd love to be able to pick out about 5-6 more zoa frags that have 5+ polyps already.  Seems like a handful of vendors aren't shipping until the new year and haven't updated their stock list (I'm looking at you VIP Reefs).  RFAs would be really great to try. 

[Travis]

For zoas, check out YourReef.com.  They have some great deals with their zoa frag packs.  I ordered a 20 frag pack and most of the zoas had 10+ polyps.

[TatorTaco]

1 hour ago, Travis said:

For zoas, check out YourReef.com.  They have some great deals with their zoa frag packs.  I ordered a 20 frag pack and most of the zoas had 10+ polyps.

No kidding?  Did they do a good job of mixing up the zoas so they all didn't seem similar?  I was really hoping I could have all sorts of different zoas growing next to each other of different sizes/colors. 

[luckie1966]

If you look on amazon they sell a screen window kit, a almost clear netting and plastic rimless clips. I think that's the cheapest way to go and have it look descent.

I got the netting and the screen kit, haven't used it yet but netting the way to go. My LFS  offered me a deal I could not turn down, he is a good sale men lol when I got my cube it came with a canopy kit.

[Travis]

19 minutes ago, TatorTaco said:

No kidding?  Did they do a good job of mixing up the zoas so they all didn't seem similar?  I was really hoping I could have all sorts of different zoas growing next to each other of different sizes/colors. 

Out of the 20 pack, I had 2 duplicate color morphs.

[TatorTaco]

49 minutes ago, luckie1966 said:

If you look on amazon they sell a screen window kit, a almost clear netting and plastic rimless clips. I think that's the cheapest way to go and have it look descent.

I got the netting and the screen kit, haven't used it yet but netting the way to go. My LFS  offered me a deal I could not turn down, he is a good sale men lol when I got my cube it came with a canopy kit.

If you happen to stumble across the kit, I'd appreciate a link.  I searched but couldn't find the kit.  I remember the BRS video where the host explains that you can piece it together but it didn't seem worth the effort to save a dollar or two when they offer everything you'd need.  I did find the screen for about $12, then the IM rimless lid clips for $10.  I think I'd need the frame kit for about $15 and then the spline tool $5.  That's $41 vs BRS' $45 for my tank. 

[TatorTaco]

52 minutes ago, Travis said:

Out of the 20 pack, I had 2 duplicate color morphs.

Those bastards!  :-) 

 

Already got a message back from Stacy at YourReef.  Was hoping I could get an order placed today and receive it tomorrow (Saturday).  I'm terribly indecisive and I think I'd prefer to hand pick my corals.  I may shop their WYSWG and just get it next week.  I'm headed to my LFS in a bit though and see if I can pick out anything decent. 

[TatorTaco]

During my 3 day weekend, I was pretty busy with the reef tank.  Here's what I've been up to:

 

1.  Had 2 black saddle-back clown fish.  One jumped a few weeks ago, and i was having a difficult time finding another one locally.  My wife (apparently) wasn't a fan of the non-standard clown fish, so I traded in the remaining black saddle-back clown fish for a pair of (hopefully more docile) plain Jane clown fish.  

 

Out with the old 2017...

 

And in with the new 2018:

That's only 2 fish, but the reflection makes it look like 3.  FTR:  I have no intention of trading in fish on a whim moving forward.  I do think whatever keeps my wife's interest in my hobby is generally a smart call though. 

 

2.  That green plate coral of mine just wasn't doing much for me.  I tried to sell it locally along with my pink montipora for dirt cheap that I got as a freebie (I just wanted them gone) but didn't get any hits.  Long story short, I ended up trading them in for store credit to get the clowns.  Here's a few pictures of what they looked like:

 

To replace the lost corals, I picked up a long tentacle plate coral and a montipora capricornis and plopped them down right where the previous corals were.  I'm very happy with this decision and I hope they both do well in their respective places. 

The Monti Cap is about 6-7" across, so It's already taking up a chunk of real estate, which I wanted. 

 

The long tentacle plate coral's skeleton is about 3-4" and once expanded looks considerably larger.  This is a picture after it was in the tank for a few hours.  I'm excited to watch it fluff up even more like it was when I purchased it. 

 

3.  While I was at the LFS, I picked up a pretty orange mushroom (for way too much money - $30).  I'm blaming it on my unsupervised shopping spree and getting caught up in the moment.  I'm not one to haggle, but I still wish I would have asked for a discount on that one.  You might be able to see it at the bottom left of the picture showing the new clowns. 

 

4.  In the very top aquarium, I did a little mini-jump / fat kid hop to see what critters were on the sand and I happened to notice what I thought was a grandis palythoa.  The manager told me it was a button polyp, and I could have it if I wanted it for free.  Well, I didn't/don't know the difference, but I wasn't going to pass on free stuff.  I understood that nobody wanted button polyps and thought they were just ugly brown zoanthids.  I thought the grandis palythoas were like regular palys but on steroids - very large.  Let me present, this weird big thing.  It was in the sand bed with only it's skirt showing, but when it was placed in the bag, it reminded me of an anemone since it's body was kinda.... anemone like.  I know that's a terrible explanation, but it just looked....weird.  I tossed it in a shot glass solo cup with some dry rock to weigh the cup down.  it has since attached but I think I may leave it like that for a few weeks before I figure out what to do with it.  

 

5.  Lastly, I ordered a BRS screen top for my tank with the clips.  Not sure how it'll work out since my overflow is in the back left corner, but I hope to at least attempt to have something better looking covering my tank than the current solution.  

 

Oh, and I changed the color on my lights from a deep ocean blue to a lighter/whiter sky blue.  It's so nice to actually see the color on my fish while still seeing the glow from the corals.  I have no idea why I didn't do that sooner!  

 

And.... I think I'm done with my tank update. Whew.