Another log of a Newbie starting out with TBS rock!

[The_fishkeeper86]

Yea thats excatilly what im going to do I live close to tbs so ill go and hand pick mine

[dwculp]

I cannot believe I am closing in on three weeks. The water parameters are all holding pretty rock steady:

Parameters:

pH 8.2
SG: 1.024-1.025
Temp: 25
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
PO4: 0.1
CA: < 400 (I have been dosing Reef Complete and Reef Calcium to get the CA up).

The nitrates at 5 are still bothering me a little. At least they are not rising. I am hoping that when the clean up crew arrives I will see a drop in nitrates. Everything looks good except that darn hair algea!!

I will be picking up a Niger Trigger this weekend. No, do not panic, it is not for the 40 gallon reef! It will be for a 75 gallon FO I am obtaining. The trigger is less than two inches so I will grow it out a bit in my 29 gallon. We move the 75 gallon to my classroom the week of the 22nd.

I got some way cool pictures of my super decorator crab yesterday, he looks EXACTLY like a piece of algae, amazing little creature, will post pics tomorrow or later tonight.

[dwculp]

I think I am going to order an auto-top off unit from Autotopoff.com on pay day and install it. Evaporation from the tank is not too much, but it would still be nice to not have to add water everyday. Should I top off with kalk?

I found another porcelain crab today, that brings the total number of porcelain crabs up to 3, and three decorator crabs. I cannot see the big decorator crab today, he is almost always out and about his rock, but not today. I hope something has not happened to him, I hope he is just in hiding, maybe molting or something. I also do not hear much clicking coming from the tank today which leads me to believe that it was possibly the big crab making those clicking noises.

[dwculp]

Just found the big crab, he moved rocks during the night!

[ratherbediving]

Originally posted by dwculp

The nitrates at 5 are still bothering me a little. At least they are not rising. I am hoping that when the clean up crew arrives I will see a drop in nitrates. Everything looks good except that darn hair algea!!
.....

The cleanup crew will help control algae, but they won't help with the nitrates. Don't know if that is what you meant....

Things that can control nitrates naturally are live rock, macro algae (usually put in a refugium) and deep sand beds (which convert the nitrates to nitrogen gas). I don't think you are going with a Deep sand bed, so it sounds like you need to find another method.

Of course your protein skimmer will help remove organic compounds which can turn into nitrate. Beyond that, there are filters which help reduce nitrate, but I don't know that you want to go that route. It seems like most people here don't.

Initially your nitrates will stay high because of stuff dying on the rock. Your live rock won't be able to keep up. Later on, when you have your tank stocked with corals and fish, your live rock and protein skimmer probably mayl still not keep the nitrates at 0 because of the increased bioload.

However, depending on what you are planning on keeping-- I wouldn't think that having nitrates at 5 is really anything to worry too much about.

[dwculp]

Holy crap! I think I have a tiny Calico crab!! It is hard to tell right now!

[H2OLUVSME]

Originally posted by ratherbediving
However, depending on what you are planning on keeping-- I wouldn't think that having nitrates at 5 is really anything to worry too much about.

i agree. my nitrates stay between 10-20 all the time, with no adverse effects. i have read where a few people cant get their nitrates to 0 for like a year or so, when the tanks becomes "mature".

i say you have nothing to worry about, IME.

landon

[dwculp]

pH 8.2
SG: 1.024-1.025
Temp: 25
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
PO4: 0.1
CA: < 400 (I have been dosing Reef Complete and Reef Calcium to get the CA up).

Gee, more of the same water parameters. Cant wait to get the second part of the shipment. I will call TBS on Tuesday or Wed to arrange delivery of the second half!

I have 10 gallons of water stewing for my weekly 10 gallon water change tomorrow. I will also be buying a Niger Trigger tomorrow for the 29 gallon FO. Please note before you flame me, it is only in the 29 gallon to grow out a little before going to the 75 gallon FO.

Something a bit weird, I am finding piles of rubble, especially along one particular rock, the smallest rock in the tank will have large piles of rubble next to it. I thought it might have been the current but the current would blow smaller pieces of rubble, these are at least larger sizes of rubble. I have investigated the rock and found nothing. The rock is fist sized has no holes in it. Weird.

[Scuba Oz]

Sounds like another new critter, those kids must be having a blast

[dood68]

C'MON TEACH YOU CAN'T LEAVE US HANGING LIKE THIS.

[dwculp]

Originally posted by dood68
C'MON TEACH YOU CAN'T LEAVE US HANGING LIKE THIS.

Well, I bought the Niger Trigger today and acclimated him for about 2 hours and put him into the 29 gallon tank. He ate within 30 minutes of putting him into the tank. He devoured a bunch of blood worms, he is only about 2 inches long and irredescent blue!

As for the reef tank, everything is going extremely well! Water parameters are still the same, I did a 10 gallon water change. The big crab is now wandering around the tank, going from rock to rock. The cup corals look much better than they did, I am feeding them every other day. I fed the brain last night and he swelled up and ate all the krill.

So far, I count 4-5 porcelain crabs, 3 decorator crabs, a serpent star, uncountable numbers of snails and hermits. A bunch of tiny crabs, a bunch of feather duster worms, a large spaghetti worm and TONS of smaller spaghetti worms and feather dusters and many things I cannot ID!

I have some great new pictures to post, especially of the really cool decorator crab that looks just like a clump of algae. In fact, he freaks me out because I can never find him, I always think the worst and then finally find him. Today it took a couple of hours and I finally spied him on another rock. I left the disk of pics at school Will post them Monday!

[dhebert24]

have you been feeding your rock? i just got my 1st half of the package, and my instructions said to not feed it. also, are you following the 5 hrs of light per day rule? any idea when you can/should go to a light "schedule"? thanks, the rock looks great, i'm having fun with mine as well..

[dwculp]

Originally posted by dhebert24
have you been feeding your rock? i just got my 1st half of the package, and my instructions said to not feed it. also, are you following the 5 hrs of light per day rule? any idea when you can/should go to a light "schedule"? thanks, the rock looks great, i'm having fun with mine as well..

Yes, I have been feeding the rock, but only because my cycle has long been complete. I did not feed the first week or so of having the rock. I am limiting the amount of light.

[Scuba Oz]

BUMP

[dwculp]

pH 8.4
SG: 1.024-1.025
Temp: 25
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
PO4: 0.1
CA:450

Wow, over 3 weeks and not a single problem!!

Here are pictures of the small decorator crab. This one is really a decorator crab as he has put bits of algae on himself and looks exactly like a clump of algae. I can never find this guy, I always think the worst and usually end of spying him moving around where I just looked!!









Ok, Wheres Waldo.....can you find the crab?



Pictures of the large decorator crab, who now roams the whole tank and has done a pretty good job tearing through algae.



Finally, a smaller version of the big guy above:



Finally, I bought the Niger Trigger and placed it into the 29 gallon tank. He seems to be doing well, eats like a mad man! However, he is doing nothing but hiding in the rocks. Currently he is laid out flat on the ROOF of a small cave. It is actually kind of comical. I sure hope this is normal behavior for a small Niger Trigger, he is only about 2 inches in length. The kids have named him "Nick the trigger" because it sounds cool.

I am not really into naming fish, unless they cost a lot of money, saltwater fish I generally have no trouble naming, but I have a 55 galloon freshwater tank stuffed with about 40+ fish, kids ask me about naming all the time, usually goes like this:

Kid: "WOW!!! Look at all those fish, this is COOL!!!. What are their names?"
Me: "Huh?"
Kid: "What have you named them?"
Me: "You don't NAME fish!"
Kid: "Sure you do!"
Me: "Ok, tell me, how do you tell that tiger barb from the other 12 tiger barbs in the tank?"
Kid: "Oh, I guess you have a point. But can we name them anyways?"

Actually, I do have a green spot puffer in the freshwater tank that is named Budda because of his big belly. He is an extreme character in the tank. Very nice fish, does not bother any of the other fish in the tank. However, he killed three other puffers right away when they were introduced, he wants to be the only puffer in the tank.

[dhebert24]

Very nice pics of the crab. I haven't noticed too many hitchhikers on mine, except for a few hermits, snails, a couple of porcelains, and one gorilla crab. I plan on getting the gorilla crab out, but he has not left his hole yet.

What exactly are you feeding your rock/critters?

[dwculp]

Originally posted by dhebert24
Very nice pics of the crab. I haven't noticed too many hitchhikers on mine, except for a few hermits, snails, a couple of porcelains, and one gorilla crab. I plan on getting the gorilla crab out, but he has not left his hole yet.

What exactly are you feeding your rock/critters?

I am feeding the sun/cup corals krill. I take an eye dropper and put a bit of krill on each polyp. I feed the brain coral krill and give a bit of blood worms or krill to the serpent star.

[tygger]

Originally posted by dwculp
I am feeding the sun/cup corals krill. I take an eye dropper and put a bit of krill on each polyp. I feed the brain coral krill and give a bit of blood worms or krill to the serpent star.

So you have to reach your whole arm into the water each time you feed?

[dwculp]

Originally posted by tygger
So you have to reach your whole arm into the water each time you feed?

Yes.

[Scuba Oz]

Great pics The rock is looking great also

[Scuba Oz]

Great pics The second package coming soon? Looking forward to seeing the rest of the rock they send you, thought of any scaping ideas yet?

[dood68]

hey teach, will the cup coral ever get any color? like maybe as it grows or will it stay trandparent.

[molloy]

I just got my second shipment of TBS rock a week ago and didn't realize until reading this entire thread that I had to hand feed these things. It was cool the way they grabbed the food and took it in.

How do you feed by hand. I used chopsticks, but the food wanted to stick to the chopsticks. I need 12" tweezers. So far, I've just been feeding the rock Bioplankton

I didn't know what most of the stuff on my rock was. You have most of the same stuff, so I know now. Thanks. I have several spider worms and one has tentacles (or whatever they are called) like 8" long.

Great thread! The students are lucky to have you.

-Brendan

[dwculp]

Originally posted by molloy
I just got my second shipment of TBS rock a week ago and didn't realize until reading this entire thread that I had to hand feed these things. It was cool the way they grabbed the food and took it in.

How do you feed by hand. I used chopsticks, but the food wanted to stick to the chopsticks. I need 12" tweezers. So far, I've just been feeding the rock Bioplankton

I didn't know what most of the stuff on my rock was. You have most of the same stuff, so I know now. Thanks. I have several spider worms and one has tentacles (or whatever they are called) like 8" long.

Great thread! The students are lucky to have you.

-Brendan

I use an eye dropper and suck a bit of krill into the eye dropper and then place a bit on each polyp, I have been told that each individual polyp must be fed and fed at least every other day.

[dwculp]

Originally posted by Scuba Oz
Great pics The second package coming soon? Looking forward to seeing the rest of the rock they send you, thought of any scaping ideas yet?

I will call TBS today or tomorrow and see about delivery of part two next week sometime. I am hoping for a Monday delivery but we will see. I will let you guys know the minute I know it is coming in and post pics!!