Seadragon's Simple & Easy 10g Reef ​💦​

[Seadragon]

6 hours ago, billygoat said:

So I wouldn't worry - you haven't been scammed!

 

Thanks for putting my mind to ease! 🙂

 

6 hours ago, IHaveADegreeInMarineBioBut said:

Really thought you meant Microsoft Excel 🥴

 

I've never heard of a red emerald crab.... perhaps a ruby crab?

 

Sorry for the confusion, I updated it and added "Seachem Flourish Excel" which is an organic carbon supplement. 🙂  Thanks for the info, I googled and found Ruby Emerald Crab.  Never knew those existed, but I'm glad I got one by accident! 😉

 

5 hours ago, Tired said:

Yeah, that's what people call a ruby crab. Similar crab, probably the same species in fact, just red. 

 

Good to know, as long as they might eat Bubble Algae, that's all I'm looking for. 🙂  Although the ruby red color does look more interesting and unique than the more common green variety.

 

 

Update After Adding the Pest Control Squad...

 

After adding the Ruby Emerald Crab and the Peppermint Shrimp to the tank, they took off running and scouted the new lands.

 

Ruby seemed mesmerized by the Bubble Algae, but so far has only picked at the frag plug and the surrounding rocks.

 

I noticed if Peppermint gets too close to Shrimpy (Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp), Shrimpy tends to scare him off and Peppermint just explores elsewhere.

 

Kind of reminds me of how the Porcelain Anemone Crabs once posed, but without the aggression.

[Seadragon]

Within 24 hours of adding the Peppermint Shrimp, one of the two Aiptasia anemones (the one on the backside of the tank near Alpha crab in the picture) disappeared -- I'm assuming it was eaten by the Peppermint shrimp.  It's been about 5 days and the small Aiptasia anemone near the front of the tank is still peeking out within it's hole.

 

The Ruby Emerald Crab loves to hide under the rock bridge in any dark crevices it can find.  I've seen it picking at the rocks constantly eating whatever may be on it -- sometimes Pineapple sponges.  It's a satisfying experience watching a crab easily pick apart a Pineapple sponge and consume it since there's so many of them in my tank, it's like a never-ending free food source.  I even noticed the Porcelain Anemone Crab pick at a pineapple sponge for the first time even though I feed him a Crab Cuisine stick every day by tapping his claw until he grabs onto the stick and shoves it into his mouth.

 

The Ruby Emerald Crab is so cute it almost makes me want to buy another.  It hasn't touched the Bubble Algae yet, but I'm sure it will eventually when it makes it rounds around the tank.

 

A few weeks ago, I found Captain Hook dead after his claw was ripped off by whom I'm assuming was Alpha crab -- I noticed Alpha crab was trying to clutch his claw the day before, but I was able to separate them.  I never knew Porcelain Anemone Crabs can die so easily, they seem like miniature tanks of the ocean world.  I guess they live up to the Porcelain name after all.  Alpha crab has earned his name though. 😉

[Seadragon]

23 hours ago, Seadragon said:

It's been about 5 days and the small Aiptasia anemone near the front of the tank is still peeking out within it's hole.

 

I just so happened to peek into the tank 23 hours later and now the 2nd Aiptasia anemone is gone.  It appears both Aiptasia anemones were eaten by the Peppermint Shrimp.

 

In other news, the Pom Pom Xenia has been spreading across the large rock in small bunches and the large Feather Duster has grown back about 25% of its former crown.

[mitten_reef]

it's been a while....how's this one coming along?

[j.falk]

I'm curious as to how this maintenance free tank is doing as well?

[Seadragon]

On 7/9/2020 at 11:32 AM, mitten_reef said:

it's been a while....how's this one coming along?

 

8 hours ago, j.falk said:

I'm curious as to how this maintenance free tank is doing as well?

 

So I get emailed when I get a private message, but I didn't get an email from thread replies so here's the late reply. 🙂  Thanks to @j.falk for bringing this to my attention via private message.

 

We got survivors!  Our original clownfish, fat Nemo, is alive.  And the original cleaner shrimp as well as the original Yellow Watchman Goby are able to survive in this hostile maintenance-free environment.

 

I did learn that I should have never gotten 2 Tiger Sand Conchs for this tank.  (Initially, I was going to put 1 of them into the School Nano Reef, but then I was afraid the numerous hermit crabs in there would kill it.) The Tiger Sand Conchs kept the sand bed crystal clear, so much so that they died of starvation.  And now we're at the point where the tank is in dire need for at least 1 of them back.  I'd also like to pick up a hardy green Emerald Crab and a Blue Tuxedo Urchin to clean up the tank.  Afterwards, I'll take some pictures once it's looking nice.

 

And that's it for the updates, I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy!

[j.falk]

@Seadragon - I figured you'd get an email notice if I messaged you which is why I did it.  Your fans are demanding an update to your maintenance free miracle tank(s).  😛 

 

But seriously, I'm glad to hear that both tanks are still up and running although I would be skeptical of how things are going with the school tank.  That one probably should've been taken down and brought home for the time being.  Trusting in someone else to take care of a tank, especially if they don't know what to look for should a problem arise, is usually a recipe for disaster.  I could never do that myself.  I trust no one...not even my own wife when it comes to my tank.  😅

 

That being said, I'm glad to hear you are still at it.  You set the tanks up with the basic idea of how your freshwater planted tanks were set up and I've been curious to see what would become of your experiments in the long run.  I'm anxious to see some new photos of how things are going after all this time...but I'd rather see some "as is" photos instead of you polishing up the tank before taking the pics.  "As is" photos tell the real story of how a tank is doing.  🙂

 

[Seadragon]

2 hours ago, j.falk said:

That being said, I'm glad to hear you are still at it.  You set the tanks up with the basic idea of how your freshwater planted tanks were set up and I've been curious to see what would become of your experiments in the long run.  I'm anxious to see some new photos of how things are going after all this time...but I'd rather see some "as is" photos instead of you polishing up the tank before taking the pics.  "As is" photos tell the real story of how a tank is doing.  🙂

 

 

I don't mind taking a timeline of "As is" photos from the moment I introduce the new CUC and then every week or so after so we can see it go from a "jungle" of sorts to a "cleaner-looking" tank. 🙂  I'm hoping to add the new CUC in the coming weeks, stay tuned!

[Seadragon]

So true to my word, I'm going to provide the as-is "BEFORE" pictures of my tank taken as of 9/25/2020.  It's not going to be pretty, but I believe within a few weeks, maybe sooner, we'll start to see huge improvements over the aesthetics as the new CUC get to work.  So without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

 

I present The Original Survivors: Nemo, Goby, and Shrimpy amongst the barren wasteland

 

Close-up of Nemo and Goby (Yellow Watchman Goby) with a bad case of Cyanobacteria near them

[Note: I had two Tiger Sand Conchs that made short work of cyanobacteria in the past.  I expect my new single Tiger Sand Conch to do the same over the upcoming weeks.]

 

Shrimpy hanging out

 

Shrimpy venturing through the apocalypse

 

Royal Urchin, Green Emerald Crab, and Tiger Sand Conch acclimating

[Note: The plan is for the Tiger Sand Conch to eat the cyanobacteria, the green Emerald Crab to eat the Bubble Algae off the rocks, and for the Royal Urchin/Blue Tuxedo Urchin to go around the tank eating various algae and to clean-up stuff while it moves around.]

 

Damselfish "Dory" acclimating

[Note: At the LFS, the seller said it was just a blue damselfish and when I looked at the tank, it was crowded with all fully dark blue damselfish.  I was amazed when I started acclimating this fish that it turned to a lighter blue color with a yellowish tail.  Pretty cool, maybe it was all stressed out at the LFS and it's happier now.]

 

 

 

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures in the coming weeks!  And reply with your guesses on whether the sand will be clean and white within a few weeks, or if it'll remain the same or worse, or whatever is on your mind as you look through my pictures.

 

Thanks for stopping by, take care, and stay healthy!

[j.falk]

Wow...that is A LOT of cyano.  😮

 

And remember that conversation we had when you first started the tank about not adding any damsels to it?  They don't call those Blue Devils for no reason.

[Tired]

How much trouble that guy is will depend on if it's a blue devil, yellowtail blue, or what. One genus of damsels, most of which are blue, is semi-aggressive and might work okay. Three fish is pushing bioload pretty hard, though. 

 

You are absolutely going to need a good hiding place for that damsel. Damsels need a cave they can claim and hide in, and will defend that cave, but generally not the rest of the tank.  Can't tell if you have anything like that already. 

[Seadragon]

Yeah, Dory is pretty feisty.  It jumped out of the net into a dry bucket during the first round of transferring it to the tank.  Once I got it into the tank, it went into full shy-mode and found an area of the giant rock at the back where it could somewhat hide.  It's becoming more and more curious of its surroundings as time passes though.

 

The thing with this Nemo, it IS somewhat aggressive.  So, I didn't want to get another fish that was peaceful because I already know what the outcome would be.  I'm betting on that two semi-aggressive fish will play by the rules more so than one aggressive one killing off the peaceful or smaller fish which I've seen and don't want to repeat again.

[Tired]

Are you planning to make this maybe a one-water-change-ever tank, to get rid of all the probable dissolved organics from the stuff that died? Or just running with it and hoping something uses 'em up.

[Seadragon]

Every couple weeks, I take a ton of paper towels and remove the majority of protein foam that forms at the surface of the water.  And then I add fresh filtered sea water to replace what was removed from that cleaning, and also add some distilled water.

 

During the recent acclimation, it removed a couple inches of water.  I then added fresh filtered sea water + some distilled water and checked the salinity to make sure it's where I want it.

 

Although I've never done true water changes, I do these simple maintenance steps and sometimes I even take the giant tweezers and remove whatever gunk I feel shouldn't be there.

[Poison Dart Frog]

You could treat the tank with Chemiclean and do a water change 2 days later and be done with the cyano right away. That stuff works amazingly well. 

[Seadragon]

2 hours ago, Poison Dart Frog said:

You could treat the tank with Chemiclean and do a water change 2 days later and be done with the cyano right away. That stuff works amazingly well. 

 

Could, but then the Tiger Sand Conch would die from starvation.  Already had that happen to 2 conchs, I'm going to let this one have a cyanobacteria buffet with no competition from other conchs this time. 🙂

 

I really like the idea of natural remedies.  It's sort of like buying a few thousand baby preying mantis' (eggs) off the Internet to eat pests that are destroying your vegetable garden.  No chemicals or pesticides needed.

 

I also watched a video on YouTube recently where in some parts of Thailand, they have like tens of thousands of young ducks go through the farmer's field to eat the snails, leftover crops/stems, and bugs.  The ducks get fed (of which they eat later) and the farmer doesn't have to spend much on pesticides or fertilizer (due to the duck poop).  Win/Win!

[Tired]

What in the world kind of ladybugs do you have that eat plants? All the ones I know of are insect-eaters, and actually feed on pests.

 

I get your comparison, though, and I agree. Why do chemiclean? It's not as though the cyano is a ticking bomb counting down to when it nukes your tank. Cyano isn't that hard to get rid of, and is easy to keep from causing any trouble in the meantime- just baste your corals if any tries to grow on them. No need to rush, no need to try and poison anything out. 

[Seadragon]

2 hours ago, Tired said:

What in the world kind of ladybugs do you have that eat plants? All the ones I know of are insect-eaters, and actually feed on pests.

 

Whoops, it appears it's both praying mantises and lady bugs that are good for your garden and eat pests. 🙂 I didn't realize lady bugs were so beneficial!  Thanks for the response!

 

 

Lady Bugs and Praying Mantises are like an automatic pest control that works day after day and never needs batteries. You just turn these predatory insects loose in your yard and they get right to work. As long as there is work for them to do (insect pests) they will stay in your yard. In fact, they only leave when the job is done. Here is what you need to know about each of these beneficial garden friends.

Praying Mantis

This beneficial insect gets its name because, while waiting for food to come by, it holds its long front arms as if it is praying. The mantis is a very useful insect to have in your garden; it eats flies, caterpillars, grasshoppers, roaches, and other pests. But if you are a beekeeper, watch out ... the praying mantis will sit at the entrance to the hive and devour bees one by one as they go in and out!

If you see a mantis, you may be startled by its aggressive behavior. It will stand up and buzz its wings at you. But that's only because it's trying to scare you off; the Praying Mantis is completely harmless to humans.

Praying mantises are terrific pest exterminators. They keep down the population of bugs that are a threat to plants. A master of disguise, the praying mantis can be an able assistant to farmer and gardener alike.
 

Ladybug

These are the most popular and widely used beneficial insects for commercial and home use. Ladybugs are capable of consuming up to 50 to 60 aphids per day but will also eat a variety of other insects and larvae including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites, and various types of soft-bodied insects. They will feed on other pests, but are best known to eliminate the aphid population, and are one of the most active predators, searching from dawn to dusk for food.

Lady bugs are beneficial in all stages of their life cycle. Each female can lay 10-50 eggs daily. The larvae of these eggs live for three weeks before pupating and eat up to 400 aphids at a rate of 50-60 aphids a day in later stages. After 2-5 days adults emerge and continue to feed. Each adult will consume over 5,000 aphids in their lifetime.
 

Both of these beneficial insects can be an important addition to the tool kit of every gardener.

 

 

[billygoat]

13 hours ago, Seadragon said:

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures in the coming weeks!  And reply with your guesses on whether the sand will be clean and white within a few weeks, or if it'll remain the same or worse, or whatever is on your mind as you look through my pictures.

My guess is that unless your cleaner animals are lazy, you should see a reduction in cyanobacteria. However, with the way the system is running I think the cyano (or something similar) is likely to come back again and again. Your conch and other cleaners could destroy all of that algae within days, but all the nutrients that gave rise to that algae are going to stay in your system, and as long as they do that algae is likely to some day rise again. Without water changes, a protein skimmer, or some sort of very robust refugium for algae harvest, your system seems to have very little going on in the way of nutrient export. This would be the most worrisome thing for me in the long run. The fish must be fed, but with every feeding the balance is tipped further in favor of the algae and cyano. 😥

 

For example take the farmers you mentioned above, the ones who bring in many ducks to clean up their fields. The reason the system is effective is because nutrient exports (ducks consuming things and then being removed when their work is done, crops sequestering nutrients and then being harvested) match or exceed nutrient imports (duck poop and other fertilizers, decay from various dead things, etc.). If you left the ducks there forever and just kept feeding them when they ran out of snails, they would probably throw everything out of balance.

 

Edit: Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have only fish, shrimp, and cleaners in the tank right now right? If so, cutting the lights way back or even turning them off entirely for awhile could assist greatly with algae control.

[Seadragon]

3 hours ago, billygoat said:

Without water changes, a protein skimmer, or some sort of very robust refugium for algae harvest, your system seems to have very little going on in the way of nutrient export.

 

...

 

 

Edit: Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have only fish, shrimp, and cleaners in the tank right now right? If so, cutting the lights way back or even turning them off entirely for awhile could assist greatly with algae control.

 

Like I mentioned before, I do remove the protein foam that forms at the surface of the water every couple weeks.  Probably in the next "cleaning", I will use my giant tweezers to remove some gunk build-up at the bottom that I feel might be too hardened for the conch snail to handle quickly.

 

Yeah, you're absolutely right about turning off the lights or light reduction in general.  I think now that I introduced the new CUC members, in addition to the snails that were already in the tank, I will try just that.  Whenever I'm not viewing the tank, I can turn off the lights.  When I am viewing it, I can re-enable them.  Good suggestion, thanks!

 

Note: There is still chaeto macroalgae in the tank.  Hopefully between the regular removal of surface protein foam, chaeto macroalgae and removal of excess, and reduction of lights, we'll see faster progress.

[Tamberav]

You could siphon out the crud and put the water right back in through a small micron sock. I have done this myself when wanting to 'clean' but not reduce the NO3/PO4. 

 

Even though CUC eats, they poop and eventually debris that nothing cares to eat builds up regardless. Many say it is inert but they also have sumps where it settles instead of being unsightly in the DT. I am guessing simply stirring up the crud with a turkey baster on the rocks/sand once the tank is more clean (would no want to disterb so much crud right now) and a filter with floss could be the answer.

 

 

[Seadragon]

31 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

filter with floss could be the answer

 

I still have my prefilters for the circulation pumps.  I could just add one back and then clean it whenever I skim the surface with paper towels.  Good idea, I like it!

 

Imagine if the tank looks beautiful after a month or so and the only thing I do every week or two is skim the surface with paper towels to remove protein foam, remove a cup of tank water to rinse & clean out the prefilter, add fresh filtered seawater & distilled water back in, and remove any hardened gunk with the tweezers -- all while doing no real water changes. 🙂

 

Oh, and I almost forgot, turn off the lights whenever I'm not viewing the tank! 😉

[Seadragon]

2 Days Later... Update:

 

Wow, how much of a difference 2 Days can make!  A good bit of the substrate looks like sand now!

 

 

I've been watching Nemo and Dory intently for the past 2 days.  No aggression that I've noticed thus far.  They seem to pretty much do their own thing and don't mind the other since they sort of have their own agendas and personalities.

 

However, I was surprised when I saw just how small the Tiger Sand Conch they selected for me was.  Much smaller than the other two that I had awhile back.  Like the other two, they usually take a week to adjust to the tank before they go super active and start cleaning up the cyanobacteria.

 

 

I've been very impressed with the Royal Urchin!  It has been getting right to work the moment it was placed into the tank.

 

 

Unfortunately, the green Emerald Crab is hiding on me now.  For the past two days, it was at the front of the large rock.  Looks like now it moved to somewhere I can't easily view it.

 

 

That's my short update for now!  I'm expecting an even cleaner tank within the next couple weeks.  I'm also thinking about buying a frag of Green Star Polyps in the future to put in this tank.  What do you think?

[Tired]

Oh, that urchin doesn't look good. An urchin losing its spines is a dying urchin. You shouldn't be able to see its shell so clearly. They're supposed to look like this random pic I found online, and be carrying things around on top of them for disguise and sun protection.

[Seadragon]

55 minutes ago, Tired said:

Oh, that urchin doesn't look good. An urchin losing its spines is a dying urchin. You shouldn't be able to see its shell so clearly. They're supposed to look like this random pic I found online, and be carrying things around on top of them for disguise and sun protection.

 

The bottom spines are still moving around.  You think it'll die soon?

 

Added: I moved it to the front of the glass and I can see the bottom-half portion of the spines still moving and tingling.  However, shrimpy was on his back at the old location, and when I peeked in with a flashlight, Shrimpy is again on his back in the new location up-front at the glass.

 

I read two cases on other forums where they sometimes rebound after they shed their spines.  So... in my case, only the upper-half of spines seem to be gone, but the bottom-half remain so there's some hope since it's still moving.  Although it might be dying since Shrimpy took an interest in it.