Hannah’s tank journal

[Hannahhhh]

@msummerf specifically it’s a hard tube feather duster worm (coco worm). I totally love him!

[Hannahhhh]

My tube coral is happily eating some reef roids! 

 

Also in other news, I ordered these two from @AquaSD. They have a 30% sale going on, go check it out! I’m so psyched for the mushroom, it’s been sitting in my cart for weeks but I didn’t want to spend the money. The discount got me motivated though! I really really hope they look as awesome under my tank light as they do in the pictures!

[Hannahhhh]

Anyone have any opinions on a rock anemone vs a maxi mini? I’m terms of care, size, aggression, etc. I’d like to add one or the other to my tank. Do maxi minis show any movement in the current or do they look pretty stationary? It seems like rock anemones “wiggle” in the current. 

[billygoat]

2 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

Anyone have any opinions on a rock anemone vs a maxi mini? I’m terms of care, size, aggression, etc. I’d like to add one or the other to my tank. Do maxi minis show any movement in the current or do they look pretty stationary? It seems like rock anemones “wiggle” in the current. 

Maxi-minis are piscivorous anemones that will sting and eat anything that comes close to them, clownfish included. They are very beautiful but I personally would not want to have one. Though I've heard stories of people keeping them together with fish and other invertebrates without any problems, I wouldn't want to take the risk.

 

Rock flowers, on the other hand, are extremely peaceful anemones that have a weak sting and don't generally bother anything else in the tank. They don't move around much once they find a good spot and are fairly easy to keep. Clownfish will not host in them, but if you want to add some color or just have an anemone that you don't have to worry too much about, a rock flower would be an excellent choice.

[Hannahhhh]

@billygoat thanks for the advice!

[Hannahhhh]

Bristle worm or fire worm? If it’s a bristle worm, do any of you have strong opinions on keeping it/eradicating it? It seems like the jury is out on whether or not they’re pests or helpful. 

[pricewayne]

Looks like bristle worm! I’ve been told they’re great clean up crew and I have about 3 I’ve seen in my tank. Just keep an eye on their growth - once it’s more monster sized, pull it out.

[pricewayne]

BTA’s are great for clown hosting btw 🤓 I loooove mine.

 

If you go for a rock flower anemone, I’ve heard that sexy shrimp will host them!

[Hannahhhh]

1 hour ago, pricewayne said:

BTA’s are great for clown hosting btw 🤓 I loooove mine.

 

If you go for a rock flower anemone, I’ve heard that sexy shrimp will host them!

I like BTA but both of my local fish stores only carry decently large ones. I also just saw a very pretty rock flower online, which was why I posted my question. This is such a dangerous hobby, I’m gonna end up broke lol

[WV Reefer]

7 hours ago, Hannahhhh said:

Bristle worm or fire worm? If it’s a bristle worm, do any of you have strong opinions on keeping it/eradicating it? It seems like the jury is out on whether or not they’re pests or helpful. 

 

Bristle worm. They are an important part of a diverse cleanup crew. There are no reasons to get rid of them other than they freak some people out. 

[Hannahhhh]

5 hours ago, WV Reefer said:

 

Bristle worm. They are an important part of a diverse cleanup crew. There are no reasons to get rid of them other than they freak some people out. 

Awesome! I’ll keep him around then! I only saw him because I happened to wake up in the middle of the night and he was out. 

[Hannahhhh]

What experiences have you guys had using chemiclean? I’m fighting a never ending battle with Cyanobacteria, it doesn’t seem to matter how many water changes I do and how often I manually remove the Cyanobacteria. 

[WV Reefer]

37 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

What experiences have you guys had using chemiclean? I’m fighting a never ending battle with Cyanobacteria, it doesn’t seem to matter how many water changes I do and how often I manually remove the Cyanobacteria. 

 

I don’t use additives in my tanks so I can’t advise you on that but, How is your flow? And how much are you feeding?

[billygoat]

42 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

What experiences have you guys had using chemiclean? I’m fighting a never ending battle with Cyanobacteria, it doesn’t seem to matter how many water changes I do and how often I manually remove the Cyanobacteria. 

I'd say don't do it! I have never tried Chemiclean myself, but even if it works perfectly it will not address whatever is causing your cyanobacteria to grow in the first place. The best strategy will be to identify what your cyano are feeding on and eliminate it from your system, otherwise you're just going to have to administer the chemical cure again and again in the future.

 

Excess phosphate is a common cause of cyano growth. Do you have a phos test kit?

[Hannahhhh]

2 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

 

I don’t use additives in my tanks so I can’t advise you on that but, How is your flow? And how much are you feeding?

I just use the stock pump output that comes with the evo. What I can say is that corals in all parts of my tank “wiggle” from flow. I’ve kinda used them to gauge flow. I feed what the fish eat. I use a dropper to drop pieces in until they’re finished eating. My fish are all a bit dumb though, so sometimes they do miss some pieces. I actively remove the Cyanobacteria mats from my sand twice a day. It doesn’t seem to grow on my live rock (or my CUC deals with the rocks) 

[Hannahhhh]

1 minute ago, billygoat said:

I'd say don't do it! I have never tried Chemiclean myself, but even if it works perfectly it will not address whatever is causing your cyanobacteria to grow in the first place. The best strategy will be to identify what your cyano are feeding on and eliminate it from your system, otherwise you're just going to have to administer the chemical cure again and again in the future.

 

Excess phosphate is a common cause of cyano growth. Do you have a phos test kit?

Darn, I just read some more about it and went for it and added it like 1 minute ago. I just got a phos test kit today, I ordered one online awhile ago but it was super expired. I figure I’ll test after 48 hours pass (that’s how long the chemiclean says it takes to work). After that I’ll try to address the root causes. 

[Hannahhhh]

 

Also unrelated, but is anyone who follows me or reads this from the Boston area? It would be great to find some local reefers !

And I also just placed an order with aquasd and paid $40 for shipping. I’m able to add more corals to the order, so if anyone lives near me and wants something from them, let me know! You can add to my order and grab the corals when they’re delivered!

 

Have any of you ordered coral from them? Did it look similar to the picture? Are you happy with your corals?

[Gravity]

Here is a nice guide on algae causes and solutions you might want to checkout. 

 

[Hannahhhh]

I ordered one more thing from aqua SD. Their 30% sale is just too good. Check out this cute rock flower anemone! 

[Hannahhhh]

On 5/10/2019 at 1:32 PM, billygoat said:

I use a Flipper... but to be honest with you I have never actually employed the flipping function. I mostly just use the bladed side. It seems like a nice glass cleaner, but sometimes I sort of wish I had a simple handled scraper for certain hard-to-reach spots.

I just got the flipper, the blade side is AWESOME!

[billygoat]

43 minutes ago, Hannahhhh said:

I just got the flipper, the blade side is AWESOME!

It's pretty nice right? I occasionally use the soft side for scrubbing too. Have to say I still have not needed to flip it, but whatever; it's nice even without the flipping. 😄

 

Gorgeous RFA btw. I am sure it will look great in your tank.

[Hannahhhh]

My poor pom pom has lost a pom pom. When I looked closer at that claw, it looks like part of the claw itself is missing. That leg just ends with a wispy part. Poor dude. 

[billygoat]

2 hours ago, Hannahhhh said:

My poor pom pom has lost a pom pom. When I looked closer at that claw, it looks like part of the claw itself is missing. That leg just ends with a wispy part. Poor dude. 

That's sad news! Do you have anything in there that might have gone after him?

[Hannahhhh]

Corals from aquasd arrived today. I will say I’m a bit disappointed with the mushroom. I spent a lot on it and it doesn’t look anything like the ad at all. I’m hoping it will perk back up once it’s settled, but for now, I’m pretty bummed 😞 

[748S911]

Those pics are always taken under heavy blues, and corals sometimes lose color when stressed from shippping. It should look good after it settles in to your system, give it a couple of weeks.