New Aquarium Setup quote from LFS - TANK UPDATES!!!

[tecwzrd]

The mag cleaner won't hurt them. They just get wiped to the sand. It's not unusual to see pods this early

 

[TheChad]

The mag cleaner won't hurt them. They just get wiped to the sand. It's not unusual to see pods this early

My tank has been up over a year now, and I have yet to see any life in the LR or LS. This is upsetting because I paid alot of money for LR, which had alot of die off when it was shipped, then alot of money for 80lbs of LS, and No pods or any "night life"

-TheChad

 

[roka64]

I bet if you picked up one of your rocks, you will see pods all over the place. The bigger ones in my tank will come out when I feed, but they stay as close to the rocks as possible. Try using a red lensed flashlight at night about an hour or two, after lights out, you will really be amazed!

 

[hyosafi]

TANK UPDATE WITH PICS

The tank has been up and running for nearly two months now and things are coming along nicely. I've tried to be as patient as possible and I think it paid off as I have only had one loss, a purple tang that I really regret losing.

Currenty inhabitants in order of who got added first:

2 percula clowns, blue tang, yellow tang, flame angel, diamondback goby, scooter blenny, 4 anthias and a royal gramma. I think I've pretty much maxed out my bioload. Water parameters are good with Nitrates around 10 ppm, phosphates at .25. I got a weird calcium rating yesterday but I think its in the mid 400s. Everyone is eating and getting along nicely. Well, except for the royal gramma who most hangs out in the back by the rocks, so when I feed, he usually doesn't see the food. Its sort of annoying really. Darn pretty fish though.

The two perculas are pretty hilarious. One has been chasing the heck out of the other for about 2 weeks now. I havnt seen any nipped fins or anything, but one is really chasing the other around.

The other hilarious thing with one of the clowns is that I seriously think he has formed some sort of relationship with my Diamondback goby. The Diamondback likes to just chill on the sandbed, very still, for a minute or two at a time. Then he'll move to a new spot and munch on the sand there. He's always right out front. What I'm noticing is that one of the clowns, the same one every time, has a tendency to swim right up next to him. He slowly get closer and closer till he is literally right next to the goby, touching him even. He just sit there super still, just like the goby. Its hilarious. At first the goby would open run away, or he would open his mouth real wide to scare the clown off but now they pretty much just chill together sometimes. I'm trying to get a pick of it. Its really funny to watch.

As far as corals, I've got out 7 or 8 assorted pieces in there now. Mostly polyps and zoos. They are doing quite nicely, except my leather likes to be sideways for some reason. I thought I had him positioned wrong but pretty much just likes to point in a weird direction.

I was fearful that I didn't have enough light for these guys but everyone seems to be doing just fine. I even have a clam that seems to be doing just fine. This is with 4 54watt T5HOs.

One issue I do have is that of the 20 snails I put in, I think very few of them are left. I know some of the 20 hermit crabs I put in have died as well but I still see a bunch of them. Is it normal for the cleaner crew to sort of die off like that. I keep the glass pretty clean so maybe the snails didn't have enough food. Not really sure.

Now for some questions

1) How big a cleaner crew should I have for my tank??

2) I have one cleaner shrimp right now. I think I'm going to add another cleaner but I'd like to add some different ones as well. Anyone have recommendations for some neat shrimp? I was going to get a Fire Shrimp but the guy at the LFS said they pretty much hide in the rocks most of the time. I also really liked the Coral Branded but have heard that they can be a problem.

3) My skimmer cup fills with water. It fills very slowly, but after a few days, there is dirty water in there. Is this normal? Also, how often do you guys actually wipe down all the crap that gets stuck on the cup. Is that like a weekly thing? The skimmer cup is probably one of the worst odors I've ever experienced in my life. Its worse than the gnarliest crap ever.

4) In the beginning I noted how I had a TON of pods. I saw them on the rocks and on the sand. Not just tiny ones but nice sized ones. My problem is that I havnt seen a single pod for more than a month. They completely disappeared. What explains this??


Thanks for lookin and sorry if this post is too big!!

MORE PICS OF MY TANK CAN BE FOUND HERE

 

[lando]

Your tank looks great! I must admit, I am a bit leery of the timeline in relation to the bioload n the tank. However, if parameters are okay just keep up on the PWC to ensure they stay that way. Keep up the good work.

 

[roka64]

1. My snails come and go. I have to replenish them from time to time.
2. I like the Pederson Cleaner Shrimp http://www.etropicals.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=43&pCatId=1283.
3. I don't have a skimmer, so I can't help you there.
4. Your pods have probably taken refuge in your sand/rock and other places.
That is a nice tank!

 

[STARFYRE]

Your tank looks FANTASTIC!!!!

How big a cleaner crew should I have for my tank??

I was told 1 snail per gallon of water. I'm not sure how accurate that is? Especially if you have crabs in there. I didn't add my whole clean-up crew right away. I've been experimenting with different types of snails to see which ones are the most beneficial in my particular tank set up.
The nassarius are nice for aerating the sand. My nerites pretty much stay cleaning the glass. The astreas do a great job of keeping my rocks clean. My tank is pretty small, so I strayed from the turbos; but I heard they are great algae eaters in bigger tanks. Astraeas do not get very large, so they may or may not be ideal canidates for your tank. The nerites are very pretty. They have awesome blue streaks on their shells that look really cool under MH and acticnic lights.
As for the skimmer; I clean my cup thouroughly when it gets about half full. I run it under water and run my finger over the slime to get it off. If you have issues with touching slime, buy a new toothbrush and use it only for cleaning equipment.
I must reiterate how beautiful your tank is!

 

[tecwzrd]

I agree that's a boat load of fish to add to the tank all at once. I also assume due to the short time span that none of them were quarantined before adding

Rushing with a SW tank can quickly lead to disaster and I'm glad you have only had minor hermit/snail deaths but with that large of a tank and rock they shouldn't have starved to death.

20 hermits/snails a good range to have at this point. You really only need enough to keep your sand/lr free of any food that your fish miss.

Rising your skimmer cup up (if possible) will keep water out of it. If you can't rise it then lowering your bubble production slightly will also create more dry foam. A photo would be helpful.

Your clam looks great now but needs high light (7-9 wpg) to survive long term. I'd recommend returning to your lfs if not getting more light.

You need to get your po4 down or algae will eventually overrun your tank.

Pods often have burst of activity in my tank and I'll see them everywhere for months and then nothing and back to everywhere. As Scott mentioned looking for them at night is your best bet

Fire & peppermint shrimp hide often. Cleaners like the skunk and CBS tend to stay in view more often. My favorite is the CBS but never get more then 1.

 

[hyosafi]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I definitely did put in a lot of fish but I've been monitoring it pretty closely and doing frequent PWCs.

I'm going to keep an eye on the clam and if I notice any issues I will take it right back. The LFS has had clams under simliar lighting for months and they seem to be doing okay.

I thought some phosphates were normal, just like nitrates. Is that not true? On the phosphate test color chart, .25 is the lowest amount.

As Scott mentioned looking for them at night is your best bet

I've been meaning to ask, where the heck do I get a flashlight with a red lens, or something similiar. I imagine red celophane would even work but I can't find any.

My favorite is the CBS but never get more then 1.

I really want one of these but have heard they can sometimes be a problem. Have you had any issues with yours? Liveaquria shows that they are reef safe and peaceful so I don't know what the problem would be.

 

[tecwzrd]

Any po4 above .03 can cause algae issues. If you are getting any reading of po4 with your test kit it's too much IMO. po4 in introduced to your tank mostly through feeding. Flakes more then frozen but if you do you do use frozen then thaw and rinse in a plastic strainer before adding to the tank.

My CBS hasn't messed with anything in the tank other then the starfish and that is only when they are competing for the same scrap of food (starfish wins every time) They will fight with other CBS which is why I'd only get one. They molt frequently about every 3-4 weeks but even after a fresh molt mine is still in the open (unlike my other shrimp) They are also part of the "cleaner shrimp" family and my tang only goes to the CBS even though I have a skunk cleaner also

 

[hyosafi]

THanks for the info tecwzrd and also the tips about po4. I'm going to have to look into some products.

I think I'm going to add a CBS tonight!! Sweet.