JDavid's 8 and 29g BioCube builds

[jdavid]

Okay, so kill the nem and the blue cloves
I won't have access to RO water until later this week, gotta get my brother to fill up some 6gal jugs for me

Everything looks good. I added only one drop of Kent strontium and molybdenum last night and the palys look like they have better color today. The instructions says 5 mL/50 g every 4 days

 

[ruadh]

The nem may be a strawberry anemone, or a variation, google it. It's hard to tell by the pics. If so, I've heard they're harmless. I've had what I thought was a strawberry, but got rid of it anyway since I didn't know for sure.

 

[jdavid]

It actually does look a lot like this

>http://www.underwaterplanet.com/Strawberry%20burst%202.jpg</a>

Really is it a problem if there is just one tiny one and he lives in a hole. I can't even ID it because all I can see is the tentacles. I don't want to kill anything that isn't actually a pest in the 8g. The 29 I'm going to be a little more picky with. Eventually when the 29 is stocked I will have another 20 g running for holding stuff, the 29 will be a reef tank, and I am going to start over the 8 from scratch with bleached rock, give it a long time, make sure it is perfect for seahorses and add dwarf seahorses. I have hatched brine shrimp before and it is very easy to do, I still have a vial of eggs and I'm gonna get one of the little hatchery things and start practicing keeping them going at all times before I get the seahorses. I am going to redo this tank last because I read that they are more challenging and for more advanced aquarists. By then I should have some practice at maintaining water quality etc under my belt. Btw I just decided this is what I want to do and my plans are constantly changing so we will see what happens. In the meanwhile, I'm not getting anything else until the 29 is cycled or until I can give away some button polyps lol

 

[jdavid]

okay so ammonia is now at 0. thinking about doing a WC and adding a fish today..

 

[jin_moon]

looks like Pseudocorynactis sp. see the bottom of the link and see if it looks like what you got:

 

[jdavid]

it does appear to be what it is, I would say that is very possible.

 

[jdavid]

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=369&pictureid=2327" alt="" />

So I hear this usually happens after the initial cycle

 

[brandonmason]

So you are planning a seahorse tank in the 8 gallon?

I try and do water changes on my seahorse tank twice a week as when feeding they dont always get all the food

 

[jdavid]

I read that for dwarf seahorses you can even do them in a five gallon if you do two. It helps with food density

I am just doing my 8 g with corals and then when I set up my 29 I will also set up a 20 and move everything into those tanks. then later on, my 8 will be free for a seahorse tank. I am considering it still, I don't see why not

 

[kilralpine]

The brown is algae growth, not necessarily a bad thing; just about every tank will go through a few type of algae outbreaks before eventually settling down. If your concerned with your sands look you will either have to regularly vacuum it with your water change (do not disturb it and then not remove the nasties kicked up). Otherwise find livestock that turns over sand, usually watchman type gobies or starfish; for after your ammonia drops. The crushed coral will over time change color because of its coarse size and ability to trap detritus; something I myself am moving away from.

On the note of possibly having a mojano, removal needs to be specific if not you will plague your tank with spores and it WILL reproduce just like aptasia.

 

[jdavid]

Well the rock is easy to break, I could just take that chunk out.
Ammonia is down to zero already. Can I add a small clown now? My brother has been holding it for weeks

 

[dball711]

Amonia at zero is good but how about nitrites? If they are at zero also then you should be good to go.

 

[kilralpine]

Zero nitrates would be good but only a couple of ppm wont cause damage to a clownfish; they are quite hardy. If your unsure wait 1 week and test again. Anything under 10ppm is probably acceptable for a clownfish.

 

[dball711]

kilralpine;843342 wrote: Zero nitrates would be good but only a couple of ppm wont cause damage to a clownfish; they are quite hardy. If your unsure wait 1 week and test again. Anything under 10ppm is probably acceptable for a clownfish.

Agree but my refrence was to zero nitrites not nitrates.

 

[jdavid]

nitrite is at 0. nitrate is a little harder to read because there is little difference of color on the card between 5 and 10. It is def under 20.
see-

 

[rdnelson]

JDavid;843368 wrote: nitrite is at 0. nitrate is a little harder to read because there is little difference of color on the card between 5 and 10. It is def under 20.
see-http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=369&pictureid=2328" alt="" />[/QUOTE]

Looks like 10 to me. Do yourself a favor and do a water change before adding any livestock. Get it as close to zero as you can with water changes. Once you add livestock you will be generating more so starting low will help you maintain going forward.


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[kilralpine]

^+1

 

[jdavid]

OK- just got home with RO/DI water, CUC (five large snails, one large and one small blue leg hermit crabs), snowflake clown, and some free frags. which was really just my brother breaking zoa polyps and peeling mushrooms and star polyps lol.

The CUC is in the tank and going crazy and the snowflake is acclimating in the bag. His colors don't look so good..

Think I'm gonna name my snails. One is huge and black.. He is the coolest. He is in the forest of palys right now. I think he is a margarita snail??? lol I think that is what he called them. and theres another black one and 3 white ones.

Okay so here is my tank stock now
5 snails
2 blue leg hermit (get off my coral you dumb crab!)
one million green buttons (please take some lol my brother has nice LR waiting for me to pick up)
Frogspawn 2 heads
Duncans 2 heads
Trumpet coral 5-6 heads
small xenia

waiting on glue to arrive shortly-
star polyps (going on the black acrylic)
few zoa polyps
random mushroom (I hear these are difficult to glue.. its gotta go in the tank soon one way or another)

 

[jin_moon]

keep the gsp away from everything else. you're going to run out of real estate pretty quickly in an 8 gallon and the GSP will outgrow EVERYTHING minus your xenia.

if you're water chemistry is right, the xenia will explode. i've read that iodide is what they need but i'm not 100% sure...

rubber band the mushrooms around a rock or use fishing line to gently tie them down. within a week or so, they'll adhere to the rock.

magarita snails are a coldwater species. it will die relatively quickly. if you purchased this snail, i would suggest you take it back for another species. in my opinion, for pic/nano tanks, cerith snails are some of the best snails you can get. they stay small, they can flip themselves back over, and eat off both the rocks and substrate.

Edit: and don't rush to stock your tank. in this hobby, patience is the real virtue.

 

[jdavid]

well my brother works at a petstore and he plucked this snail out of his reef tank it appears to be doing fine, i'll look into that

not sure what gsp is bout to look that up. pictures coming soon. and I am already out of real estate i need to get rid of some palys and get the 29 up and running. oh and the mushroom already attatched itself to some small rubble, it might have already been attached and I didn't notice. pics coming soon

Edit: oh duhh green star polyps
I'm gonna put them on the back like the biocube in aviarium. it looks awesome