My first saltwater tank - IM Nuvo 40

[00Dan]

Because I was in the area I popped into Reef Shac today and walked out with two Trochus snails and a bottle of refractomer calibration fluid.

With proper calibration fluid I tested my salinity and found it was closer to 34 PPM than 35 -- not an appreciable difference and easy to correct.

I selected only two Trochus snails to start and see how they handle the current amount of diatoms and green film algae in the tank. My thought process was to start small and need to add more than to buy too many and have them starve. I temperature acclimated the snails in the bag for about 25 minutes and then dumped the whole thing into the tank. Normally I would not use store water and be a bit more cautious about acclimation but in this case the snails came out of a coral tank that has a couple fish inhabitants I have seen before, so I was confident that there weren't any fish parasites in the tank or medications in the water. I also saw some copepods in the bag when I got it home. Based on all this and the fact that salinity was a near match with my tank already I elected to add the entire contents of the bag.

With the snails and a couple pods in the tank I'll see where things go - time will tell if the pod population grows, and the snails both had coralline on their shells so I know its in the tank now.

 

[00Dan]

The clownfish I thought may be having issues is acting fine and eating heartily. The spots on the tail are still there but aren't growing; I think it may be either coloration or perhaps a minor case of lympho at this point. The other clown shows no exterior issues but I did observe some stringy white poop from him the other day. Watching them feed I also notice him sometimes trying to eat then spitting it back out. I have some PraziPro and API General Cure in the mail; hopefully that will knock out whatever may be affecting him.

The medications I reference here came in the mail the other day. I held off on dosing because I witnessed the clown I though had stringy poop and food issues eating and showing normal looking poop. I'll continue to monitor before deciding to dose the tank with Prazi.

 

[ZapataInc]

Because I was in the area I popped into Reef Shac today and walked out with two Trochus snails and a bottle of refractomer calibration fluid.

With proper calibration fluid I tested my salinity and found it was closer to 34 PPM than 35 -- not an appreciable difference and easy to correct.

I selected only two Trochus snails to start and see how they handle the current amount of diatoms and green film algae in the tank. My thought process was to start small and need to add more than to buy too many and have them starve. I temperature acclimated the snails in the bag for about 25 minutes and then dumped the whole thing into the tank. Normally I would not use store water and be a bit more cautious about acclimation but in this case the snails came out of a coral tank that has a couple fish inhabitants I have seen before, so I was confident that there weren't any fish parasites in the tank or medications in the water. I also saw some copepods in the bag when I got it home. Based on all this and the fact that salinity was a near match with my tank already I elected to add the entire contents of the bag.

With the snails and a couple pods in the tank I'll see where things go - time will tell if the pod population grows, and the snails both had coralline on their shells so I know its in the tank now.

Trochus snails are beasts when it comes to handling gha. And if you were lucky to get a male and female they have a chance to breed. I got a few from @ActiveAngel about 7 months ago and it went from 4 to to maybe 15+ babies now.

 

[00Dan]

Trochus snails are beasts when it comes to handling gha. And if you were lucky to get a male and female they have a chance to breed. I got a few from @ActiveAngel about 7 months ago and it went from 4 to to maybe 15+ babies now.

Maybe they will reproduce and I won't have to buy more! I don't have any GHA but I can tell they're eager to eat - I dumped them into the tank and they went to work immediately, none of this "I'm going to pull into my shell for three days" gig that some species pull.

 

[00Dan]

The spots I was worried about on the one clownfish's tail have mostly gone away; I noticed it had some minor fin damage back there and I think the spots were related. Both fish are eating but are definitely sensitive to food size still -- they may attempt to eat it but will spit it back out if its larger than a certain size.

I did get the mesh cover resized and done last night, so now I have a good tight fitting screen.

With how things are going so far I think I'm ready to add another fish and a couple more snails. I'm still debating on if I want to add any crabs.

On a different note, with all the advice and help the ARC community has given me I made the jump to supporting member and will be at the meeting tomorrow. It sounds like there will certainly be a lot to see there.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Always a good time

 

[00Dan]

I've made arrangements to get some frags tomorrow so in preparation I did a round of water testing this evening.

Salinity 35 PPM
pH 8.0
Nitrate 20 PPM
Phosphate 0 PPM
Calcium 340 PPM
Alkalinity 8 dKH

I'll be doing a water change in the morning to bring the nitrate down some. The API phosphate test is high range so despite it reading zero I just know its less than 0.25 PPM; I'd say a different brand is in order. I still doubt the calcium number but I think I can make use of the test for right now just to be able to track utilization until I pick up a better kit.
The pH didn't change but the number went down because I was using the wrong color calibration chart. Turns out that while the test fluid is the same for fresh and saltwater, the color charts are different. Oops.
I only checked alk with the API kit today but the last time I did and also measured 8 dKH I also tested with the Seachem kit and measured 9.8 dKH. I'm not sure which is more accurate but conventional wisdom doesn't favor API.

 

[00Dan]

The meeting was a success, I'd say. I walked away with a $50 gift card to Premier Aquatics, an ORA green bird's nest and a red monti cap from @jcook54, and some zoas (King Midas, Scrambled Eggs, and Oompa Loompas) from @tbrennan. I also acquired three more trochus snails from @ZapataInc. Lastly, I purchased one of @tonytran509's awesome acrylic frag racks.

Livestock in hand I made a run to Premier to buy some coral RX. While there I also picked up two Nassarius snails.

At time of writing all the new livestock is in the tank. Now that coral is in I plan to up my testing regime some - I'll be testing alkalinity and calcium daily most likely to determine consumption trends.

 

[tbrennan]

The meeting was a success, I'd say. I walked away with a $50 gift card to Premier Aquatics, an ORA green bird's nest and a red monti cap from @jcook54, and some zoas (King Midas, Scrambled Eggs, and Oompa Loompas) from @tbrennan. I also acquired three more trochus snails from @ZapataInc. Lastly, I purchased one of @tonytran509's awesome acrylic frag racks.

Livestock in hand I made a run to Premier to buy some coral RX. While there I also picked up two Nassarius snails.

At time of writing all the new livestock is in the tank. Now that coral is in I plan to up my testing regime some - I'll be testing alkalinity and calcium daily most likely to determine consumption trends.

Welcome to the coral addiction! Glad we could all start you off right! Look forward to your success! Keep the good post coming!

 

[jcook54]

I would encourage you to test every other or every 3rd day. The margin for error in hobby grade test kits is such that you could run the same test 3 times and get slightly different results. Giving it a day or two in between will help eliminate some of that error factor and present you with a better trend. Plus, the corals that you added today are in survival mode. Their polyps will extend and they should appear healthy but the trauma of moving them will very often keep them from taking much up for a day or two.

 

[tbrennan]

I don’t think you will see much consumption of calcium and alk right at the moment. At least not enough that a weekly water change won’t take care of and manage. I would prob just test three times a week for now. Right before your water change, a few hours after and once or twice in the middle of the week is what I would do. Just to get a base line of what it is before and after a water change and to see if a water change is taking care of the consumption replacement if there is any consumption.

 

[Steve Burton]

I don’t think you will see much consumption of calcium and alk right at the moment. At least not enough that a weekly water change won’t take care of and manage. I would prob just test three times a week for now. Right before your water change, a few hours after and once or twice in the middle of the week is what I would do. Just to get a base line of what it is before and after a water change and to see if a water change is taking care of the consumption replacement if there is any consumption.

+++1 great explanation

 

[00Dan]

With the suggestions for testing in mind I left the coral be for a week and testing this evening. Parameters are stable compared to pre-coral tests:

Nitrate: 10-20 PPM
Phosphate: 0 - 0.25 PPM
Calcium: 320 PPM
Alkalinity: 8 dKH
Salinity: 35 PPM

I'll be doing my weekly water change tomorrow and will begin tracking throughout the week.

On a different note, I have a little bit of what appears to be turf algae starting to grow. Not sure on identification but its definitely a more complex type than the green dusting on the rocks as is. I did have some hair like algae come in on a couple frag plugs and a snail despite my best efforts with a dip and a toothbrush. I don't think it's GHA as its the wrong color compared to the pictures I've seen elsewhere. At this point in time I don't plan to take any action other than monitor - with five trochus snails in the tank one of them is bound to eat some of it (though I wish they would go after the frag rack).

 

[00Dan]

Some new additions today. After hearing they were looking to clear some inventory and doing some research on what they had in stock, I swung by Atlanta Aquarium and purchased a Royal Gramma, a Flametail Blenny, and a McCosker's Wrasse. I also purchased an Emerald Crab.

After an acclimation period and a 30 minute H2O2 bath for the fish, everybody is settling in. The crab I'm pleased to say went right for the filamentous algae that the snails were ignoring.

I'd say this is probably it for fish in this tank for now. Maybe I'll look at different inverts while I continue to wait for coralline algae to begin growing to signal that it's time for more coral.

 

[kullas]

Another invert ya may look at is the small red leg and blue leg hermits

 

[00Dan]

Another invert ya may look at is the small red leg and blue leg hermits

I’m still debating if I want to add any hermit crabs. I think I’ll stay the course for the near future with the 7 snails and one emerald crab. I also saw the blenny picking at some of the filamentous algae so he’s also helping.

My next invert will probably be a shrimp of some sort; I haven’t decided which yet so I am open to suggestions.

 

[ZapataInc]

I’m still debating if I want to add any hermit crabs. I think I’ll stay the course for the near future with the 7 snails and one emerald crab. I also saw the blenny picking at some of the filamentous algae so he’s also helping.

My next invert will probably be a shrimp of some sort; I haven’t decided which yet so I am open to suggestions.

I have a cleaner shrimp and three sexy shrimp.

 

[00Dan]

Some of the frag plugs I have were getting a bit overrun with hair algae; I pulled them and gave them another bath in Coral RX combined with using a toothbrush to clean off the plug.
While I was putting them back in the tank I saw the gramma dart into a hole, following him in I found the wrasse which had been hiding since I briefly saw him yesterday morning. Unfortunately, the wrasse was found upside down and not breathing. On the plus side the gramma and the blenny are both out and eating; I’m inclined to say I was just not delicate enough in handling a sensitive fish like a wrasse.

My task now is to figure out how to get the wrasse’s body out without moving rock - this will not be easy as he jammed himself in a difficult to reach hole before expiring.

 

[kullas]

Sory to hear. Best of luck to ya getting him out

 

[00Dan]

Sory to hear. Best of luck to ya getting him out

Unlike my hand the emerald crab is able to fit in that hole and has done so; I’m inclined to just leave it be for now given something is consuming the corpse rather than it just rotting.