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  #26  
Old 10/26/2004, 07:37 AM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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Day 4

Here it is day 4 with the first half of my 40 gallon package from TBS saltwater. This morning the big crab, which I believe to be a porcelain crab is not in his hole. Maybe he moved holes during the night.

I searched high and low in the tank and I do not think I have a mantis shrimp, but I do still hear lots of clicking and popping coming from some of the rocks.

I started testing more water parameters today:

pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0.12 - 0.25
Nitrite - 0.1
Nitrate - 5.0
Phosphate - 0.1

I am wondering how my nitrates got so high in just 4 days! I will do my first water change today to bring the nitrates down.
  #27  
Old 10/26/2004, 07:46 AM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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Found the crab, in his normal hole. Wow, they can REALLY hide!!
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  #28  
Old 10/26/2004, 08:06 AM
LowCel LowCel is offline
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Looks great so far, congratulations.

I can't tell from the pictures, is the crab hairy? If it is get rid of it while you can. I have one from tbs in my 90 gallon that I cannot get rid of, no matter how hard I try. I believe he is responsible for a lot of missing snails and hermits in my tank.
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  #29  
Old 10/26/2004, 08:45 AM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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Quote:
I can't tell from the pictures, is the crab hairy? If it is get rid of it while you can. I have one from tbs in my 90 gallon that I cannot get rid of, no matter how hard I try. I believe he is responsible for a lot of missing snails and hermits in my tank.
The crab is not hairy, he is pretty smooth, red and white with small claws with white tips.
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  #30  
Old 10/26/2004, 08:51 AM
LowCel LowCel is offline
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Glad to hear it, wish I was as lucky.
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  #31  
Old 10/26/2004, 02:25 PM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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Crab pic

I finally got a decent pic of the crab, he came out and was cutting up a sponge with his small, scissor-like claws. I am leaning towards it being a mithrax crab possibly?


Last edited by dwculp; 10/26/2004 at 02:44 PM.
  #32  
Old 10/26/2004, 02:39 PM
scooters reef scooters reef is offline
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That's no Mitrax crab

I can't say if it's harmful or not, but if I saw it cutting up a sponge it would be history.

Or, to clarify, I'd TRY to make it history.
  #33  
Old 10/26/2004, 02:46 PM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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Why is it not a Mithrax crab?

Could it be a decorator crab?
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  #34  
Old 10/26/2004, 02:54 PM
LowCel LowCel is offline
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Those back legs look hairy enough to me, harmful or not it would be gone if it was in my tank. It is much easier to remove it now than later.
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  #35  
Old 10/26/2004, 02:57 PM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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It is not hair, it is detritus, debris.
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  #36  
Old 10/27/2004, 12:53 AM
ratherbediving ratherbediving is offline
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TBS has some crab id pictures on their web page:

TBS crab id

I think there may be better picts out there. If you look at the good crabs/ bad crabs picture you can see the smaller pincers seem to belong to the 'bad' crabs.... Although I am no expert, I'd agree that it doesn't seem to be a porcelain crab or mithrax just based on what I have read on RC--- I thought that porcelain crabs (and mithrax crabs as well) had a smooth carapace. That's not what your picture looked like.
  #37  
Old 10/27/2004, 01:07 AM
CrewCab CrewCab is offline
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dwculp, I added 60lbs of TBS rock to my tank almost 2 weeks ago. My ammonia level never went past 0.25ppm. On day 4 with the rock my readings were as follows, the only thing I have done is add fresh water to make up for evaporation.

Ammonia- 0ppm
Nitrate- 0ppm
Nitrite- 0ppm
PH- 8.0
SG-1.024
  #38  
Old 10/27/2004, 04:05 AM
dandwfish dandwfish is offline
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Location: Perth, west Australia
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being that I live on the other side of the world, I only get to read your stuff in my day time, so wow ...different rock used here. Mine comes from Ningaloo reef, (great Barrier reef, other side Aust)
It also seems to have alot of stuff on it, I say make sure you are careful with the crabs, mine started to shift soft corals and tip some over onto their faces, not good. so I cull all but decorator crabs as they are just too beautiful.
Wish I had a teacher like you, but then again I grew up at the beach diving and swimming, Part of Australian life.
Fish suggestion: Blue Manderine, they take alot of time to trust you and come out but so worth it,
cheers
  #39  
Old 10/27/2004, 06:52 AM
LowCel LowCel is offline
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If I were you I would pass on the mandarine. They survive by eating pods. They are not really recommended for tanks under 90 gallons. You would also need a sump/refugium hooked up to the tank so that your tank will have some place to produce pods.
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  #40  
Old 10/27/2004, 10:10 AM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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Day 5

Here I am on day five with the first portion of "The Package" from TBS. Ammonia is still very close to 0.

Last night I was picking up a rock to reposition it and a small crab less than the size of a dime shot like a bullet out of the rock towards my hand! It scared the daylights out of me and I almost dropped the rock.

I saw another, identical crab crawl across a rock and wedge itself between the rock and a sponge to hide.

This morning as I sat at my desk something caught my eye. I looked at the tank, and crawling across the ground was something straight out the movie Alien. It was so bizarre I cannot even describe it. I finally realized it was my spaghetti worm leaving his hole and going to a new rock to set up space. I was a bit worried about this and I realized the large "mystery" crab had invaded his hole. They were sharing the same large rock and the crab entered into the worms hole via a back-door from his hole into the worms hole. Spaghetti worm seems to be doing fine.

Since my ammonia is going down I decided to hold off doing a water change until Friday. Friday will mark the one week anniversary of the tank and so I will start regular 5 gallon water changes each Friday. This equates to about 12.5% water volume per week.


Here are some pics for today:

Pics of the "Mystery crab"






Full tank shots:





A question for everyone - I was always told that one of the most important aspects of reef tank keeping was good flow. I have two Maxi-Jet 1200 power heads (295gph ea.) in the tank. One in the back right and the other front left. However, I only run one as it seems if I turn both on it is too much and blows stuff around. Are the two of them together to much? Will I be fine with one?

I still hear some clicking and popping. Havent found anything, so I am not sure if I have a mantis or not. Maybe it is the crab making those noises.

Last edited by dwculp; 10/27/2004 at 10:59 AM.
  #41  
Old 10/27/2004, 10:42 AM
LowCel LowCel is offline
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You should probably go ahead and run both of them. They will blow things around at first but everything will eventually settle down.

The tank is looking great so far, I can't wait to see it in a few months.
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  #42  
Old 10/27/2004, 11:34 AM
OCDP OCDP is offline
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Hey! Man if only I had a teacher like you back in school dude... I think that's great what your doing.

Anyways, the rock is amazing... looks great. I would be too afraid to order that stuff lol ... too many critters, but it has sooo much other goodies on it! I can't believe it has a brain on it! That's awesome! The rock itself is very colorful, which is why I would be interested. But I'm not interested in the least to catch crabs and the dreaded mantis lol

Looks like you got things under control, looking good... well done I will definitely tag along this thread!

Scott
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  #43  
Old 10/27/2004, 12:24 PM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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Ewwwwwwwww. Mr. Culp, that worm is gross!!



  #44  
Old 10/27/2004, 01:17 PM
dood68 dood68 is offline
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it sort of looks like a gorilla crab but not as hairy
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  #45  
Old 10/27/2004, 01:25 PM
OCDP OCDP is offline
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hehe, man that's rad... i wish i had teachers like this in high school... or junior high for that matter.. that would give me something to stare at all day during class
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  #46  
Old 10/27/2004, 03:49 PM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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The end of day 4

Day 4 is about to come to a close (at least for me). I normally stay at school MUCH later than our official 4:10 release time. I sponsor and teach a robotics club 5 days a week(Oklahoma Regional Botball champions and the highest ranked middle school team in the country!), I am the chess club coach, I have an interactive fiction club and a few other activities. However, I am leaving today when the bell rings to go and do some early voting and catch up on some sleep.

I broke my hydrometer today. I dropped it and the little weight on the swing arm snapped off. I will have to buy another tonight, which saddens me. The old hydrometer was pretty accurate as I tested it against water of a known SG. I had bought one from Instant Ocean as a backup a few weeks ago, it was WAY off. > 0.010 to be exact. My Sea Test would read 1.024 while the IO would read 1.034 or above!!!

I will get a refractometer when pay day swings around. After dropping >$500.00 on the rock this month the refractometer will have to wait.

I had an interesting exchange with a student today, he was talking during a test:

Me: I need you to move seats, please take your materials and sit over there.

Student: Do I have to?

Me: Yes, you do.

Student: That’s why you are making enemies, you better watch yourself.

Me: Are you threatening me?

Student: I am just saying you have lots of enemies now, you just better watch yourself.

Me: Exactly what is that suposed to mean?

Student: I am just saying your time is over, it is our time now.

Stuff like this doesnt really bother me. The kid is all of 13 and about 2.5 feet tall. I could crush him and not break a sweat doing it. However, it worries me sometimes that some student may decide to get back at me by dumping something in the tank. I spent $1,500 of my own money, not the schools and it worries me a bit. Unfortunatley the student would be hurting not only me, but the other students who are growing to like the tank. I put it in my classroom along with my other tanks and snakes for the enjoyment of my students and me.

Water parameters at the end of day 4:

Ammonia - ~0 (where was my ammonia spike??)
Nitrite - 0.05 - This is on the way down also
Nitrate - 5-10ppm (on the way up)
PO4 - 0.1
Calcium - 400

It looks like the tank may be cycled, or at least close to it If, by the end of next week the ammonia is holding at 0 I will call Mary at TBS to arrange the next shipment. However, the best time for me to pickup will be after Nov. 20th so it may be a little while before I get the second shimpment.

I may transfer my CBS next week if the ammonia holds steady at 0.
  #47  
Old 10/27/2004, 04:45 PM
OCDP OCDP is offline
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hey ,

i can't believe that rock, its simply amazing! bang for the buck! you name it, its got it!

As for that student... lol well... i would be crapping my pants about those tanks... either way, if a kid wants to rebel, hes going to do it. I think you need to do something serious here.. this is your hard earned cash and all your time and effort, and some 13 year old snot shouldnt be able to have access to something so valuable. I would lock doors, allow selected times to view the tank, etc.. im not a teacher but im sure you could come up with something. There's no excuse for what that little puke said... if I were you, I'd beat him with the detention stick... for about a month for uttering such threats.... whether he's serious or not... just to teach him who's boss!!!
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  #48  
Old 10/28/2004, 07:33 AM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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The Start of Day 5

Here I am at work early and ran a complete set of tests:

pH 8.2
Ammonia ~0
Nitrite - 0.05ppm
Nitrate - 5-10ppm
Phosphate - 0.2

The nitrate and phosphate level has me a bit worried. I am not feeding the tank, so why are the nitrates and phosphates rising. The only filter I have is a protein skimmer (CPR Bak Pak 2 with the bio-bale removed). I will do a 10 gallon water change tomorrow after work which should drop it a bit.

I received the 36" 96W 50/50 Coralife Aqualight from That Fish Place yesterday. This would give me 300W of light above the tank. The bulb was broken inside the fixture. I have been ordering from That Fish Place about 18 months, have spent about $1200.00 there over the last 18 months. I emailed their customer service department and asked if a replacement bulb could be sent instead of doing an RMA on the entire fixture. We will see what happens and if they get to keep my business, this is the first problem I have had with an order and right now it is not a problem, things happen, we will see how That Fish Place handles it.

Ok, I have to go setup for a solubility lab.
  #49  
Old 10/28/2004, 08:54 AM
dwculp dwculp is offline
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I just got email from That Fish Place. They are mailing a replacement bulb out right away with an RA for the old bulb!
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  #50  
Old 10/28/2004, 09:11 AM
brad23 brad23 is offline
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your tank isn't cycled after 4 days, its not even close. Your water levels will spike again.
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