First Marine Tank :)

[indir-emir]

Ok everyone, thanks to our wonderful crazy crab lady (says that on her profile hehe), she has taken a stab in the dark and appears to be correct. The crabs appear to be Diogenes Pugilator. Which are in fact very small crabs Their carapace size is a maximum of 5-6mm. So they will stay small

It also appears that my whiskers/duncan coral ahs popped a new head open! I now have 21 heads! Had 20 previously. Yay! That food i put infor the corals (phyto, zooton, and reef snow) must really help The head was not there last night!

My coral beauty (still needs a name, suggestions? ) is picking away at rocks eating something He cruises from one side to the other picking at the rocks, looks quite cool lol. Maybe i will call him vacuum I am hoping he will start coming out from the rocks soon as he settles in.. He comes out but only for a few seconds before he dashses back into the rocks.

Also is it normal for clowns to dig a pit? Mine seems to have dug out a pit behind the arch against the back glass lol. Should i put my Euphillya ancora close to my clowns section to see if they will host it? I see some people have had success getting hte coral to host the clowns Or should i wait a bit longer then get an anemone for them to get their wild behaviour hapenning! How long should i wait for a nem?

 

[Harry1996]

I think a tank must be at least 7 months old but 12 months would be better.
I never seen my clowns do that before.
I dont name my fish but u could call him/her rocket or something? or better fluffy

 

[indir-emir]

Lol mine seem to sleep in pit they ahve dug out Oh well, they are starting to explore the tank more and more each day Now to breed them? Hehe. Thats on the list at some point though, shame i dont know wether they are sexually mature or not.

Nem is alot later down the track then

Haha fluffy, that wouldn't be very manly of me. Girlfriend would probably laugh at me hahahaha. I think i may call him pecker or something along those lines, thats all he does all day. Pecks at rock lol. Need to head to the shop and buy some nori sheets for him to have a go at.

 

[Harry1996]

how much did he cost? i would love one. but im upgrading soon anyway.

 

[seffieuk]

How about cruiser as he cruises round the tank

The clowns will host when they are ready and to be honest you dont really want them hosting in the euphyllia

Seffie x

 

[indir-emir]

Cruiser is a good one All he does is peck at the rock though Will shoot cruiser over to the girlfriend see what she thinks

Any non anemone that clowns can host in without issues? Or should i just wait for a nem I really would like to see there natural behaviour, and i think it would calm them a little. They swim around the tank a little more each day.

I wish cruiser/pecker (going to decide between the two lol) would come out more, such a great looking colour to him/her. In time

@Harry, he cost my girlfriend $50 for my birthday. This is australian dollars though, i think they would be less in the uk. Maybe have an ask around at your LFS and see what they can do for you

EDIT: Also bought some Nori (seaweed) which reefers here highly recommend as the seaweed to feed fish. Would like to have this in for the coral beauty. Any tips on how much to use and how often? I have 10 sheets which are pretty big. Like 30cm by 15cm Got 2 packets aswell, no idea how i didnt think, ah well only $3 each compared to 10 at the LFS lol. How often do these guys need to eat seaweed in their diet? And is rubber banding it to a bit of rock nearhis hide out a good way of doing it, or should i use a vegi clip?

 

[seffieuk]

Dont worry, when he gets used to you he will come out more

Clowns host in all sorts of weird and wonderful things, but favs seem to be long polyped toadstools, hairy mushrooms and xenia

Seffie x

 

[indir-emir]

ohhh xenia id really like some of that in the tank Need to ask my LFS to source me some of the pulsing hand one, i really like those ones Will have a look at the others soon

Any tips on the seaweed question above?

 

[seffieuk]

Any tips on the seaweed question above?

I would put a small amount in a clip and see if he takes it and then go from there

Seffie x

 

[indir-emir]

Ok need to get myself one of those clips, mine seems to have gone missing lol.

Will pegs do anything bad to the tank? Might do a quick DIY one with the billion suction cups floating around haha.

 

[indir-emir]

More good news today

My coral beauty has been out and about quite a bit today, picking away at rocks still Mum recons its got a tongue, but i doubt it lol. Do fish have tongues? His dashing around my tank chewing up algae or something of my live rock

My clowns have journeyed around the entire tank several times today (i was at work till 4pm, its now 10pm). The little one seems to hit the left side more than his missus who prefers the right side

Put in som nori atached to my DIY algae holder Which is a pvc pipe about 5 inches long (had some left from my over flow pipe jobs) with 2 holes drilled into it with fishing line tied to it so i dont have to get my hands wet to put it in or remove it However no one took a liking to it so i tied a small chunk to some live rock on the right side, nothing as of yet.

My sinularia is DEFINETLY growing, will get a picture to compare it tonight.
My panancora is opening up more and more each day, must just be getting used to my tank.
My goni seems to be doing good, i accidently brushed against it a fair few times while cleaning the algae of glass today, and its been half close up for about an hour or two now. Not to worried though, just me being forgetful that it makes coral close up if i touch them lol.

Getting quite a bit of a red algae around the tank, on rocks and on my back glass. And some brown, which i think is diatomes. Going to google it tonight as ive been busy the last few days and at night im to tired to think lol.

Does anyone know a way to remove some copepods out of my tank so i can start an external colony going? To see how well i can handle it so i can see wethe buying a mandarin will be worthwhile.

A few pics tonight to show some comparison of my sinularia, and my DIY vegie holder thing lol.

EDIT:
Ok guys i need some opinions on an RO/DI unit... Out of the following two, which would be better? I am leaning towards the counter top one because i can attach it to a faucet when its needed and store it when its not (i think thats possible anyway). Can also get a hand held TDS3 meter for an extra $30. I should have enough to buy this this next week, or the week after that.

Sick of organising trips to the LFS (i lost my licence) to get RO water all the time, considering putting tap water in as its a huge pain in the butt (aging it anyway). Going to test my tap water tonight...

Which of these two to you guys recommend?
Counter Top:
http/www.psifilters.com.au/buy-online/details/343/42/reverse-osmosis/countertop-reverse-osmosis-systems/4-stage-countertop-reverse-osmosis-system.html

Non counter top:
http/www.psifilters.com.au/buy-online/details/73/40/reverse-osmosis/laundry-wall-mount-reverse-osmosis-systems/psi-019-bb-3-stage-reverse-osmosis-basic-system.html

 

[seffieuk]

More good news today

My coral beauty has been out and about quite a bit today, picking away at rocks still Mum recons its got a tongue, but i doubt it lol. Do fish have tongues?

Well, many fish do have tongues but not as you or I would imagine them, more like folds of skin in the bottom of the mouth - they certainly can't stick their tongues out at us, thank goodness


Getting quite a bit of a red algae around the tank, on rocks and on my back glass.

Time to check your phosphates and improve flow, you are also probably over feeding, I think we all do to start with

And some brown, which i think is diatomes. Going to google it tonight as ive been busy the last few days and at night im to tired to think lol.

Yes, I expect it is, need to increase your cuc - maybe an orange lipped conch?

Does anyone know a way to remove some copepods out of my tank so i can start an external colony going? To see how well i can handle it so i can see wethe buying a mandarin will be worthwhile.

Not really, just buy yourself some, about £14 posted

A few pics tonight to show some comparison of my sinularia, and my DIY vegie holder thing lol.



EDIT:
Can also get a hand held TDS3 meter for an extra $30. Investment in a TDS meter is money well spent imo

Sick of organising trips to the LFS (i lost my licence) to get RO water all the time, considering putting tap water in as its a huge pain in the butt (aging it anyway). Going to test my tap water tonight...

It is a real pain, making your own is the way to go

Which of these two to you guys recommend?
Will go take a look now

Seffie x

Right, you need a unit that has the abiltity to flush and has a DI unit to get those TDS down to 0 - I don't think either of those have them as they look like household water systems. I have had a quick look on Australian ebay - but can't find a unit comparable to those in the uk. Do a search on ro units for marine fish tanks and see what comes up for Australia and get back to us.

 

[indir-emir]

Us aussies here havnt got hte best of things like you guys in the UK/US. Our ebay is also a shocker lol.

No luxery of buying pods for 15 bucks Id be keen on that in an instant. Impossible to source here aparently, going to keep trying though.

Hmm a fella on another forum linked me a unit, but i was leaning towards a counter top one. Its a shame, looks like ill have to find a way to mount one. Ill just grab the link real quick.
Here we go:
http/www.psifilters.com.au/buy-online/details/81/19/reverse-osmosis/di-reef-systems/laundry-wall-mount-reverse-osmosis-systems/psi-019b-di-4-stage-reverse-osmosis-unit.html

Would that one suffice? Not much extra, but still pretty expensive :\ This one was linked from a guy who says its a great unit for the reef tank.

Also, no photos tonight. Camera battery is dead from my birthday, so its charging overnight.

 

[seffieuk]

Yes, thats better - you will also need ball valves so that the membrane stays wet. Do you know how much that would convert to money wise here in the uk (think i will just go and look, interested to know how much it is)

Seffie x

brb


mmmmm, that £173

http/www.osmotics.co.uk/ultrapure-4-stage-150-gallon-per-day-reverse-osmosis-system-p-529.html

this is the sort of system I would buy in the UK

 

[indir-emir]

About 180 pound seffie.

That orange lipped conch is pretty cool looking. Now to tyr and source one

Any other suggestions on CuC? Or a way to reduce the algae? Or is it usualy just coz of flow or phosphate. I have pretty good flow around the entire tank i think, so ill test for phosphate tomorrow.

EDIT:

The equivelant to that here would probably cost 500+ and is way outa my price range lol. Even that 300 one is a bit overpriced... May be i will just have to make the double pain in butt to get RO water from LFS