10g reef acquisition

[mhart032]

Ok hear we go, i set up my 40g hex stretch yesterday. didnt have anything but base rock in the tank and saltwater bought from my LFS btw i finaly found a good LFS guy. talked to him for a couple hrs yesterday. anyway the people i bought my hex from called me this morning they finaly sold their home and are moving next week, well they had a 10g biocube running for 2yrs well they didnt want to take it so they ask me if i wanted it. i said yes ofcorse it has 2 paired clowns 25lbs of live rock maybe more, a ton of purple mushrooms and a few small corals. i talked to the LFS guy this is the same guy that the parents on the 10g and my 40g go to. well the LFS guy said i could add that tank to my new 40g with no problems he asked me what my temp and KH levels were seeing how i just added the SW yesterday they were the same as the stores, perfect. is this a good idea? im just worring about the clowns will the suffer till they adjust or will anything happen? BTW the parents of the 10g bought the same SW from the same store. i brought it home in buckets. i added the LR and their were a few crabs on it and they seem to be doing ok. their crowling around doing their thing. oh the LFS guy gave me some SmartStart to add.. and i did. any ideas? i just dont want the animals to suffer..
-Matt

 

[GhostKnife]

Did you acclimate them. That is all I would do. I would not use any chemicals. The fewer the chemicals in your tank the better. The fish do not need any sort of chemical to get used to your tank. ONLY ACCLIMATE! The chemical can only hurt things that are already present in your tank. Just acclimate them to your water and in they go.

 

[roka64]

Hmm, I would have left the clowns in their tank and let your other tank cycle....but, the 26LBs of LR might help to speed up the cycle and you may not see on if you only have the clowns and LR as a bioload. As for adding that chem, that may kick start a cycle...not too sure since I've never used them before.
I would stay on top of testing your water and keep some premixed water for a PWC if needed...the 10G would make for a great QT.....

 

[mhart032]

I did acclimate them, i was very adamant about doing this. i even did the crabs and the little bit of coral it came with. i didnt want anything to suffer. anyway an update. things are going well the clowns were swimming around and checking everything out lastnight they seemed to good from the get go they were playing and swimming around, well what looks like playing to me anyway. the crabs are still moving around all the rock and doing their job. a couple of crabs didnt seem to make it. unless they were already dead at the bottom of the 10g im not sure because the 10gs parents broke the tank down. i only have like 7 crabs. do i need more? do i need anything else right now? am i missing anything important. all me levels are great btw. except for the temp is alittle on the high side but not out of the safe zone..
-Matt

 

[roka64]

What kind of crabs?

 

[mhart032]

their little electric blue and redleg hermit crabs.
-Matt

 

[roka64]

Personally, hermits are not my favorite, I like nassi, cerith and margirita snails. In a newer tank, you want to start small and add later as mor foraging food becomes available.

 

[mhart032]

Makes sence to me. i have a question about a patch of green in the tank. its a small little patch of green that looks like fresh green grass. almost like winter rye grass. and its just a very small patch of like 10-12 strands. ill see if i can get a pic of it when i get back.
Matt

 

[roka64]

Xtalreef
Check down toward the bottom....Look like anything there?

 

[mhart032]

It kinda looks like the bryopsis alge. That's a great page btw that's definetly a bookmark..

 

[mhart032]

I believe i have some bubble alge too. it looks like little eggs strung togeather.
here is some pics of both, sry for the cell phone pics..
in the first pic their a little patch of green
and in the second pic im not sure if you can see the seed/bubble things..

 

[mhart032]

Update, man that grassy stuff was really stuck on their. and the what i believe is bubble algae its pretty hard stuff as well.

 

[melosu58]

Update, man that grassy stuff was really stuck on their. and the what i believe is bubble algae its pretty hard stuff as well.

'Bubble' Alage: Selected Descriptions, Controls and Comments by Horge Cortes-Jorge, Jr. - Reefkeeping.com

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "10 Step Plan for Nuisance Algae Control"

 

[mhart032]

That is most defiantly it after further investigation it is bubble algae. time to get to work.. id like to thank everyone with all their help in this transformation. its been stressful but with the info i have goyyen its made a world of difference. thanks so much
-Matt

 

[mhart032]

Ok guys its been almost 7 days that i have had this tank setup. if anyone that has read this thread can give me some help on if i should do a PWC or not. im not sure because most let tanks cycle for a couple weeks before doing a PWC but this is kind of a differnt senerio. any advice?
Thanks
Matt