[Custom] seabass

[seabass]

I sure hope they make it; thanks for checking in jeremai!

 

I got a Yellow Clown Goby, some crabs, and some snails from LiveAquaria.com today. He's a cute little guy:

[seabass]

I put a small frag of Blastomussa merleti in today, primarily as a check:

 

One of the Blue Leg Hermit Crabs checking out his new home:

[tinyreef]

so you think it was the quality of the 1st shipment rather than the mud? they almost look like terrestrial plants! very nice!

[seabass]

so you think it was the quality of the 1st shipment rather than the mud? they almost look like terrestrial plants! very nice!

Thanks, good to hear from you tinyreef! The first shipment was very stressed, most of the leaves had already fallen off before I opened the box; plus it smelled like a shipment of coral that had gone bad. In contrast, this latest shipment came in much better shape. Only a couple of leaves had fallen off, and the water didn’t smell bad.

 

I like how it looks too, but I’ve never seen Halophila in person. This makes it more difficult for me to judge the health of the plants (for example, I’m not really sure how translucent a healthy leaf should be). However, I think that they are in pretty good shape; I just hope that they start to thrive in their new sand bed.

 

From what I’ve read, the substrate that I have provided should be adequate, but I also get the impression that Star Grass is less forgiving than some of the other seagrasses. I’m hoping that the WonderMud and a little sand from my 40-gallon tank will help.

[sandlot13]

wow, that new shipment looks aweseome! cant wait to see how it grows!

[seabass]

wow, that new shipment looks aweseome! cant wait to see how it grows!

Thanks sandlot13! Me too, I’m not entirely sure what to expect. There were four small plant colonies; which seems to be a good amount for a standard 10-gallon tank. I still wanted some room to be able to show growth; and I’m hoping that I’ll get to harvest some, to prevent crowding, before the contest is over.

 

I also put a small piece of red Gracilaria (that was shipped with the IPSF pods) on one of the LR frags. I broke off those two pieces of LR to allow room to move the main rock into the right-hand corner; plus, I like how the small pieces look stuck in the left-hand side of the sand bed. I’m not sure that I will keep the Gracilaria, but it adds a little diversity to the look. I think that I would prefer something like Haliptilon instead, but I’m leaving it for the time being.

[seabass]

10 Gallon Star Grass Lagoon

October 31, 2006

 

Setup and maturing was the theme for this month. I still have to make a few adjustments, but it is mostly setup. The majority of the livestock has only been recently added.

 

It’s been a relatively problem free month; and I quickly won battles over Aiptasia and bubble algae. However, I lost my first batch of seagrass (which was severely stressed in shipping). Also, my tank is currently going through a typical diatom bloom (which I’m hoping won’t affect the seagrass).

 

My initial plans haven’t changed that much; however, they have deviated slightly. I’ve decided to make changes to my dosing plans, the substrate, flow, and temperature control.

 

Nutrients

To help limit unwanted algae growth, I haven’t implemented my plans to increase the nutrient levels yet. However, as my seagrass becomes established, I plan to install my HOB filter’s bio-wheel, switch to salt mix with either tap or spring water, and possibly add Aqua Chargers bio-balls to help produce additional nitrates. At this time, I don’t believe that dosing additional phosphate will be needed.

 

CO2

I was originally undecided about adding CO2, but as soon as pH starts to get high during the day, I will install the new CO2 system (as that will indicate CO2 depletion). I will be using a yeast reactor with a solenoid on a timer to regulate supply.

 

Additional dosing

My initial thought was to continue the practice of not dosing additives. However, I have ultimately decided to supplement E.S.V. B-Ionic 2-Part Calcium Buffer, E.S.V. B-Ionic Magnesium, and Kent Iron . I will be buying a magnesium test kit to help maintain suitable levels; however, I will not be purchasing kits for Iron or other trace elements.

 

Substrate

The substrate is currently made up of:

• 1 gallon of CaribSea Mineral Mud

• 20 lbs of Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand

• 20 lbs of Seachem Gray Coast Calcite

In addition, it has been seeded with about a couple of cups of: Indo-Pacific Sea Farms, Live Sand Activator Plus (with WonderMud) and some sand from my 40-gallon tank.

 

Flow

Instead of two powerheads, I’ve decided to stick with just one. The flow of the Penguin BIO-Wheel 150 Power Filter, along with one Maxi-Jet 600 Powerhead on the Natural Wave Timer should be quite adequate. In addition, I didn’t want to add the additional heat or take up valuable space with a second powerhead.

 

Temperature control

The pumps seem to be maintaining an adequate temperature at night and the lights add only one or two degrees, so I haven’t felt the need to add my Stealth heater. It would be primarily taking up space and adds the potential risk of (stuck on) failure; so I might save it for something else down the road.

 

Livestock

• Star Grass

• Spaghetti and Bristle Worms

• Amphipods

• 4 Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs

• 4 Caribbean Nassarius Vibex Snails

• 2 Astraea Snails

• 3 Caribbean Cerith Snails

• 2 Pacific Nerite Snails

• 1 Trochus Snail

• 1 Yellow Clown Goby which was just added and hasn’t started eating yet (but that’s not entirely unusual for this species)

 

October 1st:

October 13th:

October 31st:

October 31st:

[seabass]

I was out of town for the last few days. I had a tanksitter, but with the diatom bloom, I was still afraid of what I might come home to. While the diatom bloom seems to be subsiding, the seagrass ended up losing a number of leaves. However, there is also some new growth, so it’s looking promising.

 

Check out the new growth:

 

 

 

 

Notice what looks to be a root structure developing:

[tinyreef]

are the leaves getting transparent?

 

do you have a mg test kit? i forget what the transparency points to but i seem to remember something about mg.

[jeremai]

Looks great! I'm jealous... maybe I'll put in another order for Halophila and see how it does.

[seabass]

are the leaves getting transparent? do you have a mg test kit? i forget what the transparency points to but i seem to remember something about mg.

Some of the original leaves are relatively transparent. Although I’m still getting used to what a healthy leaf should look like, it seems that the more transparent leaves tend to lose color and fall off. Conversely, the new growth seems to be brighter green and more opaque. I could be wrong, but I’m guessing that the stress of shipping had more of an impact on health than the lack of nutrients.

 

I’ve been dosing a small amount of magnesium and iron; however, I haven’t gotten my magnesium test kit yet, so I’m not sure what the levels are (I’ll be placing an order for the kit this week) . I’ve also been doing frequent 20% water changes, so I’m thinking that the levels should be fairly normal.

 

 

Looks great! I'm jealous... maybe I'll put in another order for Halophila and see how it does.

Thanks jeremai! I’d try again if I were you; Star grass would be a nice foreground plant that should compliment the Shoal grass. It looks like I’ll have enough healthy plants to eventually fill this tank.

[DarkDevil]

Looking good! now u just need to wait for those little things to grow

[seabass]

Looking good! now u just need to wait for those little things to grow

Thanks DarkDevil; they seem to be recovering from transplant shock, so I’m hoping that growth start improving shortly.

 

Diatoms:

The diatom bloom is finally over.

 

Nitrates:

I added the bio-wheel last night. Looks like I’ll have to start monitoring nitrates now.

 

Livestock:

My male clownfish decided jumped from my 40-gallon. His mate is looking pretty bummed about it; so I’ll temporarily quarantine a juvenile in this lagoon for her. That should help add some more nutrients as well.

 

My Yellow Clown Goby is now eating a bit. It looks healthy, but I expect to see its appetite improve some more.

 

The Peppermint Shrimp are living up to my previous impression of them. They ate all the feather dusters and now they are picking at the Blasto frag that I put in there. It’s time to give them a new home before I add more Blasto.

[seabass]

This Saturday I’m planning on adding a Taam Rio Nano Skimmer ($30 needle wheel skimmer), primarily for improved gas exchange (more balanced O2 and CO2/pH), but also for improved water quality. However, since skimmers will reduce dissolved organics before they can be broken down into nitrates, I’m thinking of adding the bio-balls to help improve nitrate production. I’ll have to see if the 110gph pump actually produces that much flow.

 

In preparation of adding my coral, I’m getting rid of the Peppermint Shrimp. I know that they are considered reef safe, but (maybe from feeding pretty lightly) these guys are picking at the Blasto and small feather dusters; speaking of which, I’m planning on adding a couple of feather dusters too.

 

Finally, I changed my mind and purchased an iron test kit. Now I just have to find the time to test all these parameters. The grass is doing pretty good; there is definitely some noticeable growth. And although some of the original leaves have fallen off, I’m almost positive that these plants are going to make it.

[jeremai]

Any updates, on the skimmer especially? I had to yank all my grass (heavy feeding>high DOC>algae>smothered grasses), and I'm looking for a good, cheap skimmer - this one seems promising, my guinea pig friend.

[seabass]

Any updates, on the skimmer especially? I had to yank all my grass (heavy feeding>high DOC>algae>smothered grasses), and I'm looking for a good, cheap skimmer - this one seems promising, my guinea pig friend.

Sorry to hear about your seagrass. My Star Grass has been growing noticeably. Plus, the macro almost tripled in size. However, I gave the macro away with the shrimp. Since it was growing quite quickly, I didn’t want it to out compete the seagrass for nutrients.

 

The skimmer arrived, but I was afraid to introduce anything new to the tank because I was headed out of town for Thanksgiving. I have a tank sitter; so I’m hoping that everything still looks good when I get back. The skimmer looks pretty interesting (just like a small HOB filter). In addition to water quality, it should assist with gas exchange and pH stability. I’ll post an update and some pictures early next week.

[seabass]

So I’m now back from my Thanksgiving ski trip, which was nice. While I was gone, the seagrass lost a few more leaves; however, there are still some relatively healthy looking plants with new growth. Still, I was still hoping that they would have grown a little more.

 

I’ve added a couple of pinkish Fan Worms which appear to be doing fine. Here is the Blastomussa merleti that I've added. I’ll be breaking it up and distributing it amongst the live rock.

 

I have a Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) coming this Saturday; which I will be quarantining in this tank (destined for my 40-gallon reef). A Fire Shrimp is also on its way. Here’s Butters the Yellow Clown Goby (Gobiodon okinawae). His appetite has definitely improved.

[seabass]

I’ve added my Taam Rio Nano Skimmer tonight. It is 7 1/4” x 4 3/8” x 10 5/16” (taking up 2 1/2” in back of the tank, and 4 7/8” above the rim). It runs just a little louder than a regular HOB filter, but it’s not that bad.

 

A carbon filter goes on the left hand side (although I’m not sure where to get replacements). Currently I don’t have it installed, so there are tons of micro bubbles in the tank. However, I’m thinking that the gas exchange will help everything.

 

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but here is the needle wheel. All in all, it seems like a neat little skimmer. I’ll post some updates after it has been running for awhile.

[jeremai]

Woop!

[seabass]

Tons of micro bubbles:

 

Pink Fan Worm:

 

10 Gallon Star Grass Lagoon

November 30, 2006

 

I’ve added a skimmer, a couple of Fan Worms, and my corals this month. In addition, I have a False Perc and Fire Shrimp coming on Saturday (that should do it for my livestock). The pod population has notably increased with the introduction of the skimmer; which I’m sure that my Clown Goby appreciates. His appetite is good (he’s primarily fed Formula One and Formula Two flake food).

 

There are still a few changes that I’ll be making, including the introduction of the CO2 system and Natural Wave Timer. I have both, but have yet to setup either. I’ll also probably do something about the micro bubbles that the skimmer is producing, but nothing really seems to mind.

 

The seagrass seems to be taking hold. The original leaves have mostly fallen off, but the new growth seems to be more than keeping pace. I’m hoping that the CO2 will increase its growth rate even more.

 

Filter

I’ve ditched the bio-wheel (at least for now). I had three motors go bad, so I finally just bought a Wal-Mart AquaTech Filter to have something more reliable (must be a bad bunch of motors).

 

Flow

Seems I’m constantly changing the flow (dead filters, good filters, powerhead, skimmer, Wave Timer…). I’m happy that everything seems OK with it all.

 

Skimmer

I haven’t bothered trying to adjust it yet; however, it is producing tons of micro bubbles. The inhabitants don’t seem to mind, so I don’t either. Not much for skimmate yet, but I’m not too concerned. It’s increasing gas exchange and I’m guessing that it is adding maybe 100gph of flow.

 

October 1st:

 

October 31st:

 

November 30:

[travisurfer]

awesome, let us know how the skimmer goes. i have heard nothing but good rebiews as of yet. maybe it just needs some tweaking

[seabass]

Thanks travisurfer! To be fair, I haven’t even tried to adjust the skimmer yet. I’ve been kind of digging the bubbles for now (nothing seems to mind and the pods are all over now). Maybe this weekend I’ll tweak it to reduce the micro bubbles.

 

Tonight I broke up the Blasto and glued in to the rock. Plus, I’m getting my clownfish and shrimp in the morning, so I’ll post some more pictures this weekend.

[jeremai]

Did the info that came with the skimmer mention a break in period or anything? Might take a bit for it to settle down into a groove, if you know what I mean.

 

But yeah, try and adjust it - I wanna see it perform!

[seabass]

Did the info that came with the skimmer mention a break in period or anything? Might take a bit for it to settle down into a groove, if you know what I mean.

 

But yeah, try and adjust it - I wanna see it perform!

jeremai, I still haven’t added the carbon filter or made any real attempt to tune the skimmer. However, it mentions a 24 to 72 hour break in and best operation when salinity is between 1.020 and 1.025. Operation can be also be affected if there are oils on the surfaces (carbon might help remove impurities), or if the variable venturi needs cleaning. Plus you can adjust water level and the venturi (by raising the venturi tube, the air volume will increase and water flow will decrease).

 

The Fire Shrimp was about three times the size of my new False Perc and Yellow Clown Goby, so I put him in my 40-gallon instead. He immediately found the other Fire Shrimp; now they are both out and about. Shrimp tend to be bolder when there is another one of their kind in the tank.

 

Here’s my new clownfish ‘Chips’. I’m going to quarantine him in this tank for a few weeks until he’s well acclimated and eating well. His future mate ‘Fish’ is in the 40-gallon acting depressed.

 

You can see that I’ve broken up the Blasto and put in on the LR. It will probably take a bit for them to recover from my rough fragging technique.

[seabass]

I’ve been gone for Christmas so I’m glad that everything is doing fine. Chips is doing very well and his colors are much brighter now. As you can see, the seagrass is hanging on but not thriving:

 

 

The coral is also doing well: