Azreil's Aquarium Journal

[Azreil13]

So. I ended up going to a few pet stores today. I couldn't actually find a 2.5 gallon tank in stock or the EVO I was looking for. 

 

But, I did end up with a 5.5 gallon. Just waiting for the sand to settle and i'll post a picture!

[Azreil13]

Here's a picture update. First pic was this morning. I purchased an aqueon 5.5 gallon tank. I'm currently running their quiteflow 10 filter. It has a 100 gph rate. It's flow is a bit too much, so I order a thicker sponge to diffuse the it. The powerhead I got was way too strong, so I will order a smaller one next payday, it was the smallest they had. I will also grab a light off Amazon. For now I have a plant grow light on the way all behind it for my sake. The second pic was after I turned on the powerhead tonight and it blew the sand everywhere. Lol. I have 10 pounds of live sand and 2 pounds of dry rock, and also started with real sea water from my LFS. I want to pick up a couple pounds of live rock next trip out, and start my CUC. For now, I'm just ghost feeding and waiting. 

[Azreil13]

Hey guys. This past week I went out a purchased 4 pounds of cured live rock, an Astraea snail, a small Turbo snail, a Narcissus snail and three small hermits. I will post a couple pictures after work today!

[Azreil13]

Here's  a picture update! I have 6 pounds of live rock total now, everyone's asleep, but you can see my turbo going to town up in the top right corner. I've been measuring my salinity daily, and it hovers around 1.025. I have to top off about 1/4 cup every other day My temperature fluctuates right now between 72-79. I don't have any text kits at home besides ammonia, so I  have my LFS test the water. The gentleman there looked at my parameters and suggested my livestock so far. My next item is a good light next pay period, then cycle for two more weeks and hopefully my first coral!

[Azreil13]

I was staring at the tank for about an hour last night. Just watching the snails and hermits chilling and I have a couple questions for anyone following along. 

 

My Astraea snail didn't move at all for about two days when I added him. Just as I thought he was dead, he ended up on the other side of the tank overnight. However, now he isn't moving again. Is that's pretty common for them? Or is he sick?

 

I also noticed a plethora of Vermetid Snails. I read a lot of back and forth. Some people think they help clean the tank, others say they can damage coral with their feeders, and some people say they sap water calcium levels. I covered a few tubes with reef glue, but should I constantly hunt them? Or is that more trouble than it's worth? 

 

Thanks guys. 

[WV Reefer]

5 minutes ago, Azreil13 said:

I was staring at the tank for about an hour last night. Just watching the snails and hermits chilling and I have a couple questions for anyone following along. 

 

My Astraea snail didn't move at all for about two days when I added him. Just as I thought he was dead, he ended up on the other side of the tank overnight. However, now he isn't moving again. Is that's pretty common for them? Or is he sick?

 

I also noticed a plethora of Vermetid Snails. I read a lot of back and forth. Some people think they help clean the tank, others say they can damage coral with their feeders, and some people say they sap water calcium levels. I covered a few tubes with reef glue, but should I constantly hunt them? Or is that more trouble than it's worth? 

 

Thanks guys. 

 

Some snails only move around at night.  See if he’s out after dark. 

 

 Vermetid Snails are a nuisance and can irritate corals a bit. Ultimately you need to cut off their food supply. Gluing over them can help if they are near corals. 😊

[Azreil13]

6 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

 

Some snails only move around at night.  See if he’s out after dark. 

 

 Vermetid Snails are a nuisance and can irritate corals a bit. Ultimately you need to cut off their food supply. Gluing over them can help if they are near corals. 😊

Thank you! I figured maybe gen was just being obnoxious and freaking me out lol. My turbo and hermits are grazing like crazy so I wasn't to worried! 

 

As for vermetids that's good to know! I'll glue over what's I see and look into their food chain. I figure with 4 lbs of live rock it shouldn't be too many. I did notice a baby feather duster, I hope he makes it!

[Azreil13]

Does anyone have advice for cheap/janky lighting? Until I get a larger tank (after we move, eventually) I don't want to spend a fortune. I have a plant growing light behind the tank now, I've had live rock for a week and the coralline hasnt died off at all, so I'm not sure if it's good enough. I've used it for jars of algae and seedlings, but for years so I can't figure out its exact specs. 

 

My other thought is to buy clip on light fixtures for cheap and try to find bulbs good for corals. Just not sure if that's really a good option. 

 

Heres my current lighting, sorry for such crappy pictures. My iPhone is honestly like six years old lmao:

[kimdawg]

Several people including myself have the asta 20 led on our contest tanks.  It is fifty dollars and I love.  It has four channels that can be individual set.  I know meta tank and ratvan have the same light so check out some of our competition threads to see if it would suit your tank.

[Ratvan]

I can definitely recommend the Asta 20, in fact I started with a Cheap light (that i had spare) and am running a comparison between the lights at the moment, it's mostly in my backup pico tank thread

[Azreil13]

Hey guys. I know it's  been a minute, but I haven't really changed anything. The budget hasn't been there for new lighting or creatures yet, but I figure I'm just cycling nice and slowly. All my hermit crabs are still alive and my snails are doing great!  

 

I did find something weird though. One side is completely shell, and the other I can see some flesh. I'm 90% sure I saw it uncurl and almost straighten out, but when disturbed it curls back up. It's between 1/4-1/2" in diameter. I can't seem to find a description that I feel is accurate. Any ideas would be great. Pics here, sorry my phone camera is awful) TIA: