A careful way of getting into reef keeping

it's hard to tell from the tiny pic but it seems like you have rocks all the way up to the each side of the glass...that's going to be very hard to clean the glass with a scraper...and i agree with above, i don't like or have a lot of rock in mine as well...i like the minimal look but to each his own
 
The forum controls don't seem to have any method for resizing images. I coded [img= ] into the attachement and it is limited. WTH!

Agree, glass cleaning will be a bear. Left rock can pivot without disturbance. Right has 2 tube Tonga tub rocks close to the intake and can be removed. The mouth of the cave is useless fresh water rock. Hopefully, reef safe. Honestly, I want more reef rock.

I will make a nice rockscape using white rubble rock when once I get enough of a corraline growth/culture. I think cheato in the back and skimmer is more trouble than it's worth. Primary nutrient export will be water changes. All too easy for this scale. I will go for any natural buffering. ie rock and aragonite sand.

Really, what is that pink liuminescense that shifts around?

[img=3000x1000]View attachment 15434
 
Last edited:
CienFuegos said:
Don't forget the test kits...
Click to expand...

Got the API Reef Master and a TDS for the RODI. If you could only use one Hanna Instruments, for convenience and time efficiency, which would it be? Right now, I am using the phosphate test because I started with live rock from unknown sources. Initially read at 2.0ppm and has bottomed at .25ppm. I think I need more test accuracy. Obviously, concerns change.

I intend to grow. Zoa/Paly, Yuma and a few encrusting corals. No cheato, but I have measured about 3 Tbs of GFO in a media bag may compensate. 2" more of sand may buffer Ph swings which used to be my problem with Discus and the Mt. Prospect water supply.
 
Last edited:
I decided to take some good advice and changed the rock work to where I can reach all of the glass. Figured out the forum controls, too.

The rocks are somewhat oversized, but I don't want to manually break any. As you guys already know, that purple stuff is a camera illusion. Or is it? Those two rocks didn't get the muriatic acid bath. I wish I do get the coralline. The upper levels now take up 3/4 of the horizontal space and quite staggered which is all the better if my corals demand more light.

Dead spots are the back corners (where you can see precipitate) with enough space for a gravel vac.
 
Last edited:
Rallos said:
I highly recommend new fish. I have bought a number of fish and corals from them and have been very pleased. Good prices too!
Click to expand...

Looks like Golden Aquarium is getting out of the Saltwater segment. FYI they have a Moray eel that's a foot long and going for $60.
 
I had to Google that one. It believe it was a Jeweled Moray Eel. You will find it in the top left side display.

Also, there is a very friendly (Hungry) 6" Powdered Brown or Naso Tang in the the back corner aquarium.
 
Reporting some experimentation because my RODI setup is delayed. Mind you, I don't claim to be following a scientific approach:

It seems that Chicago-Pilsen tap water is useable at 1ppm phosphates and <10ppm nitrates. Still waiting on the TDS meter and pH strips. I have GFO and carbon in a media bag. I recently added Purigen because the cycle is complete. Diatom growth was minimal except for 2 uncooked rocks.

On two separate occasions, I put a pinch of sugar in the water which would make it cloudy the next day with nitrates going up from 0 ppm to 40 ppm. The tank is so easily destabilized! A 20% / 2.5 gallons WC with tap water, A few drops of Seachem Prime and Reef Complete ( the 2 bottles will probably last a lifetime for my Nano) and all parameters are stable again within 24 hours. Zero nitrates and phosphates.

I am hoping 24 hour turnaround is fast enough to prevent die-offs. One dead and missing Trochus snail and the destabilized scenario can easily happen. I would have to do a semi-teardown of the rock work. Running early morning accountability formations is not my thing.

Finally, got the sand in today. Nature's Ocean brand #1. Not too happy with it. The uneven color makes it hard to spot diatoms early. I will go with Fiji pink or reef flakes next time.
 
Last edited:
gtg. 24 watts Blue actinic LEDs. I wonder if I can grow an encrusting monti on the top of the mound. I plan zoas on the first shelf and a yuma or dendro in the sand.

View attachment 15713
 
Last edited:
Latest addition. Blue eyed blondes That's a half frag disk clumsily super glued by yours trully. Orange Bam Bams on the lower right strangely looks the same in this cellphone pic. I need a camera. Getting the Rastas this weekend and that is it for zoas.3 varieties in contrasting colors.

Interesting observation. Turbo snails are not that effective for cleaning rocks. They just do ciircles on the glass that I scrub every other day. It seems the Trochus stay on the rocks. The two live rocks I started with have green algae which is maroon under actinic. I keep them for their biological seeding and patches of coralline. The bone white rocks which under went a muriatic acid bath glow pink at random hours...coralline presence. Seeing coralline spots spreading on the liverock, too.

View attachment 15854
 
For cleaning rocks I feel like dwarf ceriths, nerites, hermits and emeralds are the best. some people dislike using crabs as some of them can turn into pests. This has not been my experience minus one emerald which took a liking to my bubble coral (promptly removed and placed in the sump. But again IME i have found no other cleanup or algae eaters to do a better job than crabs and the above listed snails. GL!
 
Rcunning8 said:
For cleaning rocks I feel like dwarf ceriths, nerites, hermits and emeralds are the best. some people dislike using crabs as some of them can turn into pests. This has not been my experience minus one emerald which took a liking to my bubble coral (promptly removed and placed in the sump. But again IME i have found no other cleanup or algae eaters to do a better job than crabs and the above listed snails. GL!
Click to expand...

Nice to hear a positive word on dwarf ceriths! I really like pukani rock but the thought of algae in those nooks and crannies worried me. You'll notice the BRS reefsaver to the left of the picture which has tons of holes and channels.
 
Last edited:
Paulip said:
Nice to hear a positive word on dwarf ceriths! I really like pukani rock but the thought of algae in those nooks and crannies worried me. You'll notice the BRS reefsaver to the left of the picture which has tons of holes and channels.
Click to expand...

Ive never heard of anyone having issues with dwarf ceriths. I have 100 in my 120 and no issues :) please share with me what you have heard about people taking issue with them
 
Rcunning8 said:
Ive never heard of anyone having issues with dwarf ceriths. I have 100 in my 120 and no issues :) please share with me what you have heard about people taking issue with them
Click to expand...

Sorry. I might be spreading misinformation. A google search produced a report, a rant rather, that they were clam killers. I have been searching some other negatives, but it may have been tangential to what I was looking for.
 
The only thing that I've heard about them is they can sometimes crawl out of the tank if you dont have a lid. I actually have a pack on order right now from reef cleaners with a bunch of them. Do you want some?

Also: I had one emerald crab that tried to eat some of my zoas when he got huge so I got rid of him. I got another small one and he is now use and hasn't bothered a thing. I target feed him also so he's probably too full to try to eat any corals.
 
Last edited:
Rallos said:
The only thing that I've heard about them is they can sometimes crawl out of the tank if you dont have a lid. I actually have a pack on order right now from reef cleaners with a bunch of them. Do you want some?

Also: I had one emerald crab that tried to eat some of my zoas when he got huge so I got rid of him. I got another small one and he is now use and hasn't bothered a thing. I target feed him also so he's probably too full to try to eat any corals.
Click to expand...

Nerites do and will climb out of ur tank. I found one 50 yards out of my apartment, down my hallway climbing up the metal elevator door once to give u an idea of how crazy they are. They will climb out of the tank and often on a daily basis but dwarf ceriths do not do this, or atleast they have not for me :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
If you get the right nerites and not the intertidal checkerboard ones, they don't crawl out. You want ones from the pacific. Species name is Vittina luteofasciata. They are my favorites. Also like trochus species of snails.
 
Yeah, we have to toss the dice on well behaved crabs. Seems worth it though if you can't have a tang.

My tank is rather new and there is some green alga. The calcerous type that you can't scrub off the rock. I am sure I can wait it out as the purple is spreading. The strange thing is: Every day, I turkey baste the rocks in 2 sessions until debris is caught in my sponge and doesn't cloud the water. However, I find that there is always a ton of debris to to turkey blast everyday. I do not feed anything in the tank.

Where is all this stuff coming from? I think I need a diatom filter or a Magnum...yet it would still be a daily chore.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top