John,s Reef Journal {experience Newbie}

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Been doing some research on the clowns percula or teardrop? :unsure:

The Teardrop Clownfish can be distinguished from other Amphiprion ocellaris by the 1/2 white stripe on their side that resembles a teardrop, rather than a full stripe.The color pattern is also very similar, but it is not as bright orange. Also the black outlines on the white stripes are thinner on the Teardrop Clownfish when compared to the Percula and the teardrop clownfish is sometimes sold as the Percula Clown, even though it is not.

So it looks like they could be Teardrop Clownfish, also known as the False Percula Clownfish
The advantage of the Teardrop Clownfish is that it is much hardier and aquarium specimens rarely exceed 2" which IMO make them perfect for a nano tank
So it’s going to be interesting over the next few months to watch and see if the stripes ect do develop. :good:
 
Question please help

I have been buying my RO water/ salt mix from my LFS

I am going to get my own RO unit fitted when the plumber gets round to it my Q is are there any good salts you guys can recommend that will help buffer my PH a little (don’t know what salt my LFS is using in the RO mix) also do you think the low ph could be the problem with the pussy coral
Thanks again for all your help!!!!!
 
I use RED SEA CORAL PRO salt as its balanced for reefs rather than just fish. Its not the cheapest out there,but it does give a good consitant reading.
PH... my tank runs at about 7.9 and so did my other tank for that matter with no issues. I found that my tap water PH was low to start with, and then even with the buffer of a good salt it only ever goes upto 7.9. As long as its consistant and does not go any lower dont worry. Trying to raise can cause far more problems in keeping the tank balanced.
Only thing you have to watch is when aclimatising new inmates. Most suppliers of fish will be running tanks at about 8.2 to 8.4 . and the PH shock can be a huge issues. Just take more time to aclimatise the fish & inverts/corals etc to give them chance to get used to the PH change.
As for the coral I would just check your Phosphate level too. This can sometimes cause issues with some corals while others dont show any signs of stress. and your KH also should be checked as if its too low this can cause stability problems. Failing that try moving it to another position in the tank. Maybe its getting too much/not enough light or its a problem with the flow of the tank water thats irratatiing it. If its only been in the tank a week or two then it may still be settling in and in that case its just best to leave alone if all the tests look OK and its not roting or dropping to bits.
 
Hello thanks for that littlme
my phosphates & carbonate hardness are....
PHOSPHATES 0ppm
CARBONATE HARDNESS 196.9 ppm

Ph 7.9 (low need to get this up a little )

(My tap water which should just be the same as my LFS) is also low just like yours, my test kit only reads down to 7.4 and the tap water dose not register on its color chart. So I guess I to am going to be like your self littleme and have a ph of only 7.9
My LFS keeps RED SEA CORAL PRO salt so that’s good news there priced at 7 kilo bucket for £19.95 or 22 kilos for £55.is this a good price?
As for the water flow and the pussy coral well I was thinking of upgrading the circulation any way as I have read that a reef tank should have 20+ x turn over and i only have the stock 266gph pump in there 10x turn over, I have seen in the forums that people have changed these for the maxi jet 1200. 265gph (and put the original in chamber 1) creating 20x turn over
Would I be best off doing it this way or buying a HYDOR KORALIA NANO 290gph or possibly even a HYDOR KORALIA 1 with 400gph
 
The prices is pretty good for the salt its a little cheaper online but once you pay the shipping it makes it more expensize so go for it. Its a very stable salt to use and Ive been able to keep both hard and soft corals with no problems. Red Sea also do addatives which you can add to the tank once its been upt for 6 months.
As I said above.. even with the buffering of 80kg course coral sand mine PH never goes above 7.9. but i have been carefull with adding new stock and lost very little over the past year so it can be done. As long as all the other water stats are good such as magnesium KH etc it should not cause too many problems you just have to keep an eye on it.

Before you spend the moey on new kit I would research your corals more. Go over to Reef Central and post in the soft coral forum and they will tell you what type of flow you should be aiming for . The HYDOR KORALIA are better as they give a wider more even flow, which is better for the tank in general. As I have a 100g and it would have cost me about £250 just for the wave makers I went for some cheap imports that do just the same job. I got 2 x 5000lph for £25 delivered. They have been in the tank about 3 months now and work great with no issues what so ever. They do smaller one for small tanks too.
 
its a personal thing, but i use the stock pump for circulting water for water changes, have a MJ1200 in last chamber and a koralia nano in the tank under the rockwork.

as an extra note, most softies don't like too much flow, so although its good to have more turnover just make sure that its not directed at any softies.
 
as an extra note, most softies don't like too much flow, so although its good to have more turnover just make sure that its not directed at any softies.

Careful. Many softies DO like high flow. My Sinularia flexibis loved it (spaghetti coral) as did my Yellow Fiji Leather. SH
 
yup my leathers love the high flow (sits in the highest flowrate part of my tank) and my kenya tree seems to enjoy the extra flow as well.
 
apoligies i guess some do.
its just from personal experience many don't.
my kenya tree hated it in the main flow. and even my pulsing xenia preferred it in more sedate waters.
 
Your 100% right little me I defiantly need to do a lot more research into coral keeping :good: . But that’s :cool: its all part of the fun of keeping a reef tank I guess. :lol: There’s defiantly a lot more to it than I first thought, do you no of any good books or web sites?
As for the flow am I right in thinking what you guys are saying is each coral has its own needs and it would be best to try and create 2 separate areas 1 high flow and 1 low ? what do you guys use in your tanks for flow and turn over?
Thanks again guys.
 
Hi John,
I'm running MaxiJets myself but the Koralia's seem to be getting a lot of good press, and they're easy on the electricity.
I also use Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, it does what it says on the tin and I'm happy with the results.
Nice Aquascape by the way.
What are you feeding your clownfish on.
Regards
BigC
 
Hey john at my work/LFS we use red sea coral pro salt also. It seems to do the job haha. Your question with the perculas is that they probably aren't mature yet because today at work I was looking at some of the new ones that came in and some had stripes that didn't connect due to there young age I'm guessing. The thing that is mind boggling to me is why they are only on one side of the fish because I have never heard of this but then again you learn something everyday right? Teardrop clowns are something new to me also. In my 14 gallon biocube i have the hydor koralia nano (290) and it seems to do well. In the 24 gallon you might need a little extra so probably look into the hydor koralia 1, or switch out the stock and put the hydor nano in. Tank looks good keep up the good work.
 
Hi John,
I'm running MaxiJets myself but the Koralia's seem to be getting a lot of good press, and they're easy on the electricity.
I also use Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, it does what it says on the tin and I'm happy with the results.
Nice Aquascape by the way.
What are you feeding your clownfish on.
Regards
BigC

Big C
Thanks for the compliment on my aqua cape Big C. I got to be honest I have changed the rock about abit since thoughs pics were taken. It did look good but it was not very practical to be honest all the over hangs created quite a lot of shaded areas where the light did not get to I will have to get some more pics up of my new aquascape I have bean feeding the fish with frozen food {gamma blister} mainly brineshrimp+ spirulina Mini Bloodworm Finely Chopped Prawn they seem to like the brinesrimp best so that’s what I tend to feed them, I feed small portions twice a day I keep a close eye on them to make sure they eat the vast majority of whats put in to the tank at feeding time and if they don’t I run the skimmer for 2 or 3 days and tend not to feed them for a day or two as well.
I have taken a look at your tank Big C and I really like the look of the rock walls on you aquas cape it must of taken you long time to stick all the little pieces of rock to the egg crate (but defiantly worth it it looks really good)
 
Hey john at my work/LFS we use red sea coral pro salt also. It seems to do the job haha. Your question with the perculas is that they probably aren't mature yet because today at work I was looking at some of the new ones that came in and some had stripes that didn't connect due to there young age I'm guessing. The thing that is mind boggling to me is why they are only on one side of the fish because I have never heard of this but then again you learn something everyday right? Teardrop clowns are something new to me also. In my 14 gallon biocube i have the hydor koralia nano (290) and it seems to do well. In the 24 gallon you might need a little extra so probably look into the hydor koralia 1, or switch out the stock and put the hydor nano in. Tank looks good keep up the good work.


NANOREEF11
Thanks for the info I think I am going to go for the red sea coral pro salt as well, that’s 2 recommendations I have had one from your self and one from littleme and my LFS also stock it so that’s a bonus as well. As for the flow rate water tern over well I am starting to sway towards the hydor koralia,s :drool: but I am now not to sure which one :lol: I am hoping that the extra flow rate and turbulence will also help with my ph problem as well {gas exchange :dunno: } my clowns have been in the tank now for only 3 -4 weeks and you can already see changes to there stripes color ect there really cool I will give it few more weeks and get some pics up for you guys
Thanks again
 

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