Hello From South Africa

[theoilartist]

Thanks for the help with the pic lljdma06. I agree that I'm going to need more LR. Will my tank cycle again if I add more LR later? If so then I presume it would be best to get all the LR in and cycled before adding any coral or fish. Correct?

 

[lljdma06]

Thanks for the help with the pic lljdma06. I agree that I'm going to need more LR. Will my tank cycle again if I add more LR later? If so then I presume it would be best to get all the LR in and cycled before adding any coral or fish. Correct?

If the rock in uncured, then yes, expect a cycle every time you add. Even if it's cured, you run the risk of a mini-cycle if there's too much time between transport and you have some die-off. Better to all your basic LR at once. Now you do have to leave some wiggle room. Many corals are sold with rocks attached to them. Gotta leave a bit of room for those.

OMG, did I have problems when I got my pumpkin yuma! The rock was too big. I had to do some fancy arranging to get that into a stable scape. Epoxy was involved.

 

[theoilartist]

Went down to the beach this morning to get some water and to check out the rock pools for some inspiration. It seemed that many salties had the same idea in mind. I managed to collect some ocean rock with loads of coraline on it. I'll use this as a base for more LR. My kids also got in the action and have added some local shrimps and yellow banded hermits to what is now becoming a family hobby.My, I mean, our tank is looking good.I'll post some pics soon.

Regards,
Theoilartist

 

[lljdma06]

Went down to the beach this morning to get some water and to check out the rock pools for some inspiration. It seemed that many salties had the same idea in mind. I managed to collect some ocean rock with loads of coraline on it. I'll use this as a base for more LR. My kids also got in the action and have added some local shrimps and yellow banded hermits to what is now becoming a family hobby.My, I mean, our tank is looking good.I'll post some pics soon.

Regards,
Theoilartist

You do know that harvesting without a license may be illegal in South Africa?! You need to look that up. I'd have a look at some of the regulations. Glad you weren't caught. Nice that you live near the coast though. I can collect in South Florida too, but I have to have a fishing license and observe regulations.

It's wonderful that the kids are involved. If you post pictures, we can id some of the critters and determine if they'll be reef safe.

L

 

[theoilartist]

 

[theoilartist]

Here is another pic of this snail that I got today. It is very beautiful and quite mobile over the rocks.

Full tank shot.

A moon light shot.

 

[lljdma06]

Neat snail. It looks like some sort of turbo snail to me, but I can't tell. Also maybe a turban snail. Not sure.

Where are the hermit crabs though?

 

[theoilartist]

Neat snail. It looks like some sort of turbo snail to me, but I can't tell. Also maybe a turban snail. Not sure.

Where are the hermit crabs though?

The hermits move very quickly and seem to be camera shy. I have 3 yellow banded hermits at present. They're local to our coast line so when you go down to the rocks you see thousands in the rock pools.

 

[theoilartist]

I know everybody loves pics. Here are the latest in the progress of my SW tank

This is REX the Snail.

I don't know what this is. I would be greatful if somebody could help with an ID.

This small green anemone looks like it was attacked and still carries the battle wounds.

I'll post some more pics later. Photobucket seems to be given some problems with my pics.

Regards,
Theoilartist

 

[lljdma06]

If you can collect like this, then you should really consider making this a biotope aquarium. I've got a Florida one in the journal section. Your rocks from the region too, so might as well.

The animal in the second picture is called a chiton, very good algae eaters. I've got a fuzzy chiton in my FL biotope. I'm not sure what species yours is though.

Just be careful that...

A. You don't get arrested for collecting, I'm still worried about that with you
B. That you make sure the species you collect are tropical, the snail, to me, is suspect. Some are colder water species that only tolerate a seasonal rise in temperatures but would slowly bake to death in the home aquarium that's kept at constant temperatures.
C. Watch the anemone, they can travel about. If it gets caught in your powerhead, very dead anemone. How big is it? The pink tips to the tenticles makes me wonder if it isn't a baby condy anemone? We face each other on the same ocean, so we may share critters in common. Most anemones will get too big for your tank, so you may have to take this little guy back.

L

 

[theoilartist]

If you can collect like this, then you should really consider making this a biotope aquarium. I've got a Florida one in the journal section. Your rocks from the region too, so might as well.

I will have to research the "biotope aquarium" as i'm not familiar with that term.

The animal in the second picture is called a chiton, very good algae eaters. I've got a fuzzy chiton in my FL biotope. I'm not sure what species yours is though.

We have various types here. I have another pink one riding on a snail that we call a perriwinkle.

Just be careful that...

A. You don't get arrested for collecting, I'm still worried about that with you

I checked and it seems that the laws are more aimed at fisherman collecting for bait and people collecting for commercial sales. All the local "salties" do it this way.

B. That you make sure the species you collect are tropical, the snail, to me, is suspect. Some are colder water species that only tolerate a seasonal rise in temperatures but would slowly bake to death in the home aquarium that's kept at constant temperatures.

The sea temp here ranges from 14 - 25 degreesC , so I see that I will have to watch that. For now though everything appears happy

C. Watch the anemone, they can travel about. If it gets caught in your powerhead, very dead anemone. How big is it? The pink tips to the tenticles makes me wonder if it isn't a baby condy anemone? We face each other on the same ocean, so we may share critters in common. Most anemones will get too big for your tank, so you may have to take this little guy back.

Yes I was amazed to see that they move around. The nems are all quite small in size. maybe the size of an american quarter. The one with the pink tips is very small and looks like it ws damaged at some point. I really hope that does well.
L

 

[theoilartist]

"We face each other on the same ocean, so we may share critters in common." I think you must use a different google earth to me. I'm on the Indian Ocean (Warm Water)and as far as I remember you're on the Atlantic.

 

[lljdma06]

"We face each other on the same ocean, so we may share critters in common." I think you must use a different google earth to me. I'm on the Indian Ocean (Warm Water)and as far as I remember you're on the Atlantic.

Oh... Cut me some slack! it was early when I wrote that. I forgot that SA has two sides, big country. SA has a west coast facing the Atlantic, if I'm not mistaken. But you face the Indian ocean. Cool, you'll get some nice species then.

L

 

[theoilartist]

I had a look at the biotope aquariums on google. It seems that is the direction my aquarium is going without me even realizing it. We have beautiful sea life where I live and it's really been amazing having a little bit of that in my home. I see that one of my biggest challenges is going to be water temp. We're having our summer atm and it's HOT! This in turn heats up the water in my tank. I had a ice pack in the water today to keep the temp at a reasonable level. I also had to switch off the lighting. Those 2 measures brought it down slowly to 27degrees C. I was able to switch on the lights again later in the day. everything still alive and well.
Would this still be an issue in a bigger tank? You see, now you guys have got me looking at eXpanding to bigger and I'm sure eventually more sw tanks. I tell you.... it like a drug!

Regards,
Theoilartist

 

[theoilartist]

Here's some more pics. Enjoy.

FTS