65 Gallon Project - Page 5

newreefbishop · #**101** 08/01/2006, 05:29 PM

fed the anemone yesterday...and she gobled up some shrimp...like it was no tomorrow.....it was cool to watch ....well post some feeding pics.....

newreefbishop · #**102** 08/03/2006, 10:49 PM

Preparing my tank for a long weekend, everything looks great so far. However I do have a couple questions, first of how many people are running a skimmerless tank. Secondly what are you guys using for backup power?

Besides the Damsels, and the Goby I am seriously contemplating my first true reef citizen....what do you guyz recommend?

theatrus · #**103** 08/04/2006, 12:44 AM

Some people do run skimmerless tanks. I do have a skimmer on mine, and a large percentage of people do

I use an older (swapped out the batteries) BackUPS Pro 1000 computer backup supply to run the main pumps and the heater. It can last for an hour or two (haven't tested it in a long while). Beyond that, I do have one of those battery powered air pumps which will last a good while longer to maintain aeration.

newreefbishop · #**104** 08/04/2006, 07:43 AM

I guess I will set mine to run really dry this weekend. I am going to get two UPS's and a generator. I know it may be overkill, but I live in south florida. Last year we lost power for about a 2 weeks total during hurricane season, this year, Im not taking any chances.

On another note the not sure if this is normal anemone feeding habits, but I feed him 1/2 a shrimp which he promptly gobbles up. About 2-3 hours later he "spits" it out, I was going to remove it but its almost disintigrated.....is there a reason for this, is this normal?

newreefbishop · #**105** 08/07/2006, 08:52 AM

So this weekend me and the wife took a little vacation to Orlando. Sayed with my brother who has not only a beautiful home but a beautiful tank as well. Watching his flo it gave me some idea about mine. I figured out I need a new powerhead and a new return pump. I want to increase the flow to move sediment off rocks and overall just make tank "move". Also had the opportunity to go to Sea in the City. Beautiful little LFS, with excellent looking stock and fish. And cant say anything but good things about the staff. Anyway picked up a new inhabitant, a beautiful green tip BTA. My Bother has a huge one but....considering my tank is slightly smaller I didnt want to get a giant that would move around and sting everything to death.

Anyway here are some pics....

I redid my Rockwork...I will be adding another 30 punds of Live rock in about a 2 months....probably 5 pounds every two weeks till I get an adequate amount. This is overall shot.

Here she is....

nickterp · #**106** 08/07/2006, 10:23 AM

Hey, about your Anemoney spitting stuff out 2-3 hours after you feed them.... that is absolutely normal and good. Basically they take in what you feed them whole, and a little while later they egest whatever they couldn't digest. Usually, bones, scales, or whatever... so that sounds really good! Tank is looking awesome.

Did your new BTA pick a spot and pretty much stay there after he found it? Thats a good sign, though they will usually move a little at first to get settled. Keep us/me updated on how the BTA does because I'm interested in getting one soon also! Thanks.

Nick

nickterp · #**107** 08/07/2006, 10:24 AM

Also, you asked if you should remove what the Anemone spits out. What I've read says you should definitely take that out of the tank right away. It won't poison the tank or anything, but the book said that what is spit out will produce alot of ammonia. And anyways... the Anemone doesn't want it anymore! Ha.

Nick

newreefbishop · #**108** 08/07/2006, 10:39 AM

If you notice on one side of the tank (left) I have a Rock anemone and on the other (right) I have a BTA. I put the re-arranged rock work last night before putting in BTA, and moved pretty much all of the rock work to the left side of tank with corals spaced so they wont fight. I placed BTA near bottom rock and it moved last night to a spot right above where I placed it. I will see where he moves tonight after lights out. I expect him to move, but hope he doesnt. And I may be able to get you one if your willing to wait a month or two. My brother has a huge one, the one i have now is a clone from same "brood" that may split in the next month or so. Beautifull addition to tank and from what i read, mushrooms, and zoos, can coexist nearby, but just be prepared, and have places for her to move when she wants....once they do....they usually dont move again unless they get ****ed.

nickterp · #**109** 08/07/2006, 10:50 AM

Thats pretty awesome that you got a "tank raised" Anemone. I've heard that a large portion of Anemone fatalities occurs because of how they are collected in the wild, such as divers ripping them from rocks, etc, doh! So, that gives your anemone a much better chance for survival. I bet he'll do real well.

I've got some zoos and mushrooms as well. But plenty of space for a BTA to travel around. I might pick one up from my LFS this week. They are one of those rare LFSs that really care and take care of their livestock well. They are actually only sell and maintain saltwater tanks. Though I think I would still need to really observe any BTAs they have very closely, because of how they are collected in the wild.

As a side note, your brother may be able to turn in some clones to his LFS for store credit/cash. One thing that I've heard can cause them to split is a couple weeks of feeding followed by a large water change.

newreefbishop · #**110** 08/07/2006, 12:18 PM

Well thanks.....Im actually going to pick up some clown today
will post pics after i do so

nickterp · #**111** 08/07/2006, 02:02 PM

What kind of clowns are you getting? I'm planning on getting some Maroons sometime soon, but I may be turning in a few of my Damsels first (I've got 5). I'll get store credit and have a few less agressive fish in my tank. Let me know how they do and if your yellowtails and clownfish get along ok. I'm definitely curious. Thanks!

newreefbishop · #**112** 08/07/2006, 02:20 PM

They will get along fine with most clowns and most clowns can actually be pretty agressive themselves....i thought about maroons, but not sure yet but i like the black and white, the onyx or a true percula. Either way Im shooting for a pair....

nickterp · #**113** 08/08/2006, 09:12 AM

Hey, is your BTA still settled and looking good like in the pictures you posted? Also, are you using T5's or PC lights? I couldn't tell from what you've written in the thread so far. I was just curious about how BTA's like that type of lighting.

Nick

newreefbishop · #**114** 08/08/2006, 02:43 PM

Well, thanks for reminding me....

Im using a coralife fixture....total of 192 watts....PC

I will be adding a Halide retrofit in the coming months.... The BTA hasnt moved since it found that spot....it opened up and ate last night. I fed is a cooked shrimp, cleaned and devined....

andrew.flavell · #**115** 08/08/2006, 03:07 PM

Nice looks well.Id second losing the bio balls read the thread on nitrates.

newreefbishop · #**116** 08/08/2006, 09:50 PM

ANDRE....Well, bioballs work for some people and others they dont....For me I use them to minimize microbubbles, I have a fuge as you can tell that helps in nitrate export. I havent had any issues so far, and it seems to be working. I clean 50% of them every week. So that will also remove the excess nitrates.

On another note...My BTA has settled in nicely, opened up and gobbled up a shrimp, it was beautiful. I am going to wait till the end of the month to get my clowns...want to let everything slabalize before i move forward.

nickterp · #**117** 08/09/2006, 11:09 PM

Sounds good. Here's a picture of one of my new clowns in the new BTA that I said I'd post:

Doing really good, eating some small pieces of silversides. The only thing I'm having trouble getting right is the flow. I had 2 maxijet 1200's at opposite side of the tanks. But that was a little too much for the anemone at first. So now one is running with a much smaller PH on the other side....

newreefbishop · #**118** 08/10/2006, 09:46 AM

Nice looking BTA and clown looks pretty happy. I will keep you posted when I get mine and the condition of my BTA. Today is feeding day. I will post some pics tonight of the event.

Did water last night.

Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - undetectable
Ca - 415 ppm
PH 8.4
Sal 1.025

SO far so good

I gave my LR a good cleaning as well, got a little brush and went to work. I was wondering does anyone else do this, and how can i keep them clean. Do I need more snails, crabs? Or more flow over rocks?

newreefbishop · #**119** 08/13/2006, 10:25 PM

SO last night I went out and got 2 fire clowns.....they are beautiful....

One actually was being picked on by my damsels, which I didnt know would be so vicious. Anyway, they didnt host right way, which concerned me. This morning I figured it was because damsels where fighting them. So I removed rock, coral, etc, and caught damsels. I went out for a couple hours to find one had moved right into the BTA. I was so happy...lol...anyway I will post some pictures before bed tonight.

Also on another note I made some Live Rock today...or rather I made some base rock that will soon be live. I made roughly 60 pounds of it. I have it curing in buckets of fresh water, and should be ready in about 3-4 weeks. Im optimistic about my success in that regard. My recipe was 1 part cement, 2 parts sand, 2 parts salt...the salt was water softner salt which made rock extremely light. I baked mix for 45 min then cool in oven overnight.

Will post pics of progress there also.

drives300 · #**120** 08/13/2006, 10:29 PM

Great tank progress. Do you check alkalinity with your other parameters?

newreefbishop · #**121** 08/13/2006, 10:54 PM

I check tank parameters every other day.....

newreefbishop · #**122** 08/13/2006, 11:03 PM

So here are the pics.....

Im assuming the one in the anemone is the female, she is extremely protective. She actually attacked me....

She doesnt like anyone near her anemone. I think I will let things settle for a few days before I attempt to re-introduce the damsels, wither that or sell them locally for a few bucks.

Anyway here are the pics.

female

happy couple

I think the damsels hurt the male, I will continue to monitor his progress for the rest of the week, but feel he has about a 60% chance of surviving.

theatrus · #**123** 08/13/2006, 11:09 PM

See, Damsels are mean

PatMayo · #**124** 08/13/2006, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by newbiemike
pics look great. Keep them coming. Coraline will take some time. Add stronitium every week to get it going. Before long you'll be cursing because you'll have to scrape it off the glass. Bu then again, that is the fun of it.

I don't agree with this statement. It is not necessary or even wise to add strontium. There really is not reason to. If you have accepatble levels of alkalinity, calcium and magnesium it is not necessary. In fact the benefits of it are debateable.

This link will help with your parameters.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

My coralline really took off in about 65 days. It is out of control now and I have never added that chemicals. Check out the chemistry forum. You can really get an education there.

In my opinion you are moving much too rapidly and I hope you don't end up having one of those "help my tank crashed" threads. It's very critical that as you move forward you give the tank time to age and you understand the nutrients of it and how to maintian alk and calk at the proper levels. But I gotta tell you it looks good so far. I hope it works out for you.

Have fun.

Regards,

Pat

newreefbishop · #**125** 08/14/2006, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by PatMayo
I don't agree with this statement. It is not necessary or even wise to add strontium. There really is not reason to. If you have accepatble levels of alkalinity, calcium and magnesium it is not necessary. In fact the benefits of it are debateable.

This link will help with your parameters.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

My coralline really took off in about 65 days. It is out of control now and I have never added that chemicals. Check out the chemistry forum. You can really get an education there.

In my opinion you are moving much too rapidly and I hope you don't end up having one of those "help my tank crashed" threads. It's very critical that as you move forward you give the tank time to age and you understand the nutrients of it and how to maintian alk and calk at the proper levels. But I gotta tell you it looks good so far. I hope it works out for you.

Have fun.

Regards,

Pat

Pat I understand your opinion, but how would you say Im moving too fast, I have a few soft corals, and 4 fish. Tank is two months old. I havent forced anything in there now to live and only chemical I dose is Calcium. I run tests every other day to watch water quality. Anyway just curious where Im moving too fast so I can resolve any issues. OH all the rock in there was Live Cured....and sand was also live.....