Ethos' Nano Diary

[parker313]

My cleanup crew varies as things come and go...

At one point, I had:
3 nassarius snails
3 cerith snails
1 Astrea snail
1 Margarita snail
1 Bumblebee snail
Hermit crabs - Something along the lines of 4 each, red & blue leg...

Right now, my numbers are a bit down.
2 Nassarius snails (one is now a hermit shell, don't know if the hermit got him before or after he died)
0 cerith snails - no idea what happened, just haven't seen them in a long time
1 bumblebee snail
1 astrea snail
0 margarita snail - got stuck between my mag-float and the top of the aquarium and when the water level dropped a bit, he died. Duh me.
4 or 5 hermits - I think I have 4 blue leg and 1 red leg.

Next time I'm up at the lfs, I'm going to pick up a few more snails.

I don't have any shrimp, but no real reason why not.

 

[Ethos]

I think I'm getting the LR today.
Can I get snails today also?
Do they need the tank to be "cycled" of w/e?
I have to do a finish up a few more chorse, then my parents'll take me to Petco.
What should I get with the LR? Can I get snails and ect?
or should I just get LR?
Thanks,
Ethos

 

[Ethos]

Ok, Just got Fiji LR!
I got about 8 pounds for about $55.
I got a free clam looking thing!
As the guy was pulling the rock out of the petstore tank, he noticed a gold clam on it and he gave it to me free!
Its really small, maybe 1/15 of an inch in Diamiter.
Fantastic!
The water is alittle foggy, but its looking good.
My crystal clean sand isn't so crystal clean anymore!

 

[parker313]

Cool!

I would wait until you get your diatom bloom and then add a few snails. From there, you can slowly build up your livestock, including a fish, more snails and/or hermits!

 

[Ethos]

I would wait until you get your diatom bloom and then add a few snails.

My what?
The clam hasn't moved, should I prosume its dead?
Also, this green soft coral was on one of the peices of LR I got, so is there any chance it would've spread onto my peice?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Most clams dont move. They do open, if thats what u mean, but with a new tank, it may take a while for it to adjust.

New tanks go through a cycling stage, as you know. accompaning that, blooms of cyanobacteria and diatoms.

Holding off on the clean-up crew until you get some bacteria established woiuld be good. Otherwise they wont have much to consume.

 

[Ethos]

So I wait for like, algy, then I get a cleaner crew, then I get some fish?
This cycling stage seems quiet a bit different than FW, its a good thing I have this forum.

So this is what I do:
Wait for algy bloom of some kind (just that green, sometimes brown stuff on the glass)
Buy a clean-up crew
Buy Fishes
Be Happy
Buy Soft corals

Is this about right?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Basically. Its just so your clean up crew have something to eat. No point putting them in early when there is nothin to consume.

Have a look/read of SteelHealer's Nano Journey. he has made a brillinat thread, and he demonstrates well what a cyano/diatom bloom is all about! He has some great pics there too.

 

[Ethos]

Alright, I'm onto it.
Does anyone know about this guy?
http/liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=155

I'm planning on adding him, plus another fish.

There was this crab in the petstore today, and he was called a "Feather foot crab" or something, does anyone know about him?

How do I know its enought algy to sustian a little crew of cleaners?
What do I feed my clam?

 

[Ethos]

Also - I'm planning on doing just basic LR filtration, with an empty filter for current.
Is there any other methoid? I might not have the chance to get a ton more LR, so I might need to filter using another methiod.
It needs to be cheap.
Are there any filter cartreges made for reef aquriums?

 

[parker313]

Alright, I'm onto it.
Does anyone know about this guy?
http/liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=155

This caught my eye -

Although it will tolerate a tropical water temperature, (76 to 78ºF), the Catalina Goby prefers the cooler temperatures associated with the island where found, Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles, California. Temperatures there range from 60 to 72ºF.

Just make sure your fish all need the same temp ranges...

Diatoms - when the diatom bloom, it's usually quite a lot and all at once. Get 3 or 4 snails and there will be plenty for them to eat. Don't worry if they don't eat all the diatoms, it's a naturally occurring part of the tank maturation and will go away.

How much LR do you have in there? Don't skimp on the live rock - it is crucial for your tank's success.

 

[steelhealr]

My recommendations would be to use ChemiPure and a phosphate binder...something like Phosban or SeaGel. I use other media, but, it's a personal choice. SH

 

[Ethos]

How much LR do you have in there? Don't skimp on the live rock - it is crucial for your tank's success.

Problem - I have about 8 pounds in there. I know I have about half, but I bearly have enough money for the fish I want.
My parents are set on getting me a matching hood for my 55G for christmas, so, eh, I dunno what else I can get.
I'll most likely be getting money from my relatives (If they dont forget about me, like they did during my birthday in augest ), so that'll be for corals.
I Don't have enough LR for that kind of' filtration, so what kind of media do you use SH?

The corals i'm thinking of (but most likely wont getting till late after christmas) are the Condy Anemone http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=619
And the Dwarf Feather Duster
http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di....cfm?pCatId=750

I have not used any chemicals yet, what should I use?
Also - Will adding more light give me an algy bloom faster or w/e its called?
I've had the tanks light + and extra florecent light with am towel over the tank so it'll get as much light as possible - Its kinda far from a window, so I wont get very good Natural light, if any.

 

[Ethos]

Alright;
Not to scare you away, but please answer as many questions as you can- I have tons!
Alright, no reply from before, but I can post this and have a couple people tackle all these questions!
First off, I'm going to say I hope SH and parker have not copy righted the use of their pictures - I have saved some for person notification (Or I just wanted to make sure I remembered them), but I promis I will not post any anywhere or claim them.
Now that that's cleared up, here are some corals I would love to keep (please give me any info you have on these guys, if you added prices i would love you):
Fanworm
Mushrooms
Ricordia (sp?)
Yellow Fiji Leather
(Can't read my writing, I believe its): Undiella (sp?)
Ephyllia Ancora
Tubastrea Aurea
Orange Plate Coral
Green Brain Coral (?)
Fox Coral (?)

Thanks again!

Thanks SH and Parker for your coral ideas!

Edit: Just to make things easy on myself, does this look like a good pack?
http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=2033

 

[steelhealr]

My first chamber contains the following media: Chemipure, Purigen, SeaGel, Algone and PuraPad.

All the corals you mentioned will survive under 'moderate' lighting. The tubastrea is not photosythetic and you will have to feed it 3 times a week. I have them and they are a PITA in my opinion.

As for the photos, they are OK for 'personal use'. LOL. SH