My 8gal Reef

[BigBeginner]

Just read the last couple of pages and it looks like your tank is coming along very well, it looks great so far

VM

thanks =] i guess im one of the luckier people, nothing bad has happened so far, which makes this journal kinda boring but its only been 2 months

try to keep your hammer a fair distance away from other corals. when settled down they do extend their sweepers quite a distance. a same gauge is about >5cm from the skeleton. as far as i know, other corals don't fancy being in contact with hammers (except of course other hammers).

if you're worried about contact in your tank you can opt for a branching hammer which for my case sticks out from the main rocks.

eh, thats probably going to be a problem, unless the hammer is really small... will frogspawns still need a lot of space?

 

[SkiFletch]

Depends on the exact species/morph you choose. Remember, if/when the coral gets too big (provided you get the branching type) you can just frag it to keep it from overgrowing the tank

 

[BigBeginner]

k =] how do you frag a hammer/frogspawn? dont they have a skeleton

 

[SkiFletch]

k =] how do you frag a hammer/frogspawn? dont they have a skeleton

Yeah. They grow in a branching pattern like a tree, or at least the paranchora or paradivisa (hammer/frog) forms do. The anchora or divisa species just grow out in a big blob or wall type. The branching pattern ones though grow like a tree. when they get too big you notch the skeleton with something like a serrated knife, or a dremmel tool, and then just snap it off with your fingers.

 

[BigBeginner]

ok =] i went to the LFS and no hammers or anything of that type, there were a few xenias and a orange plate, some zoos and what not, nothing that really caught my eye, except for the xenias

also, i was looking for some rowwaphos and all they had for removing phosphate was seachem phosgaurd, is this any good? are their any other filter medias i should get? or just anything else i should get?

recently, ive had a 20 us gal tank clear up (it got nuked by some disease =[) so i was deciding what to do with it, my choices are... fresh water, another saltwater, or expand this tank into it (i've decided that their is no point to this because the point of this tank was for it to be in my room) its most likey to be a freshwater, since i already have a 55 gal and 8 gal saltwater, and only a small freshwater pond for my turtles, and i could expand my 10 gal freshwater into it, which would open up a 10 gal, then what would i do with this 10 gal

also i have a 2.5 us gal plastic tank that i used for freshwater guppie babies but im done with that now, so im looking for something to use this for

also i probably wont be doing a lot on this tank considering its almost at its full potential, (other then a few more corals and a shrimp or something) unless you guys can think of something for me to get/do

i feel like i could fit a lot more corals, but my LRs arent working the way i want them to and there is no space

EDIT: sorry, but i have 2 more questions, what is carbon for? is do i need it? and does anyone know the actual volume of a Oceanic biocube size 8? because i know most other biocubes arent the size they say... and i feel like i shouldnt be calling it 8 gals if thats an over statment

EDITEDIT: this time not a question, i just didnt want to make another post, i am now in love with Flaming Prawn Gobies! and i really want one

 

[SkiFletch]

Dunno about seachem phosguard, what color was the media? If it was a dark brown rust color, it's good, if it was pale white pellets it's junk.

Carbon removes many harmful chemicals from the water. It can help lessen alleopathic toxins in tanks where hard and soft corals compete with each other. It can also clean up toxins released by fish, or remove airborne chemicals like household cleaners, etc. Some people swear by it, others only use it in an as-needed situation (like me).

As for more stuff to add, you could also consider a favites species, or maybe even some acanthastrea or duncanopsamnia most are deepwater and not very demanding

 

[Straydum]

i've seen a flaming prawn goby in a pico tank before, so it should work. if possible, try not to get corals that are too big even though they look awesome and you've been waiting ages for one to come by. wait for the small, perfect one for your tank.

branching hammers seems easier to frag as opposed to fragging a normal hammer. there is information online on fragging one though i personally wouldn't try it.

 

[BigBeginner]

Ski:
yea, the phosgaurd is white pellets =[

i guess dont need carbon now then

ill look up those species and see if any intrest me

Straydum:
ill probably never see one here, so ill just give up on a flaming prawn goby

i probably shouldn't try fragging a normal hammer, since i have no experience fragging, EXCEPT i did frag a mushroom once and its doing good =]

Can sponges move, i mean like walk around moving. Because i had this black sponge on a peice of LR i got and the sponge was on the sand with the LR, and now its in a hole in a completely different rock on the top layer i wish i saw it move, but, i did tap the rock and it twitched! i didnt know sponges did this

other then that, nothing really new except im starting to get algae on the sand (noooooo) its looks like just diatoms though, not sure yet

 

[SkiFletch]

Sometimes they can detach, float around, and re-attach. Although this is rare with sponges/tunicates. Common with "mushroom corals" though

 

[BigBeginner]

im 99% sure this is a sponge and 100% sure its not mushroom =] also it has little holes like sponges but it might be attached to something because it is reacting like a snail or crab because everytime i get near, it retracts into its new home (which is a hole in side one of my LRs) ITS SO COOL!!! but its weird because i just stayed still on the sand for a week without doing anything

EDIT: now that i looked under it (to see if there were any legs or anything) and i saw what looked like a mouth, kinda like a clam but with "teeth" and its on the bottom. its so weird, in all the readings, lurking this forum, i haven't seen or heard of anythig like it

and i guess since im telling you of things ive seen my tank, ill continue, there is also a white sponge <a href="http/www.melevsreef.com/id/scypha.html" target="_blank">http/www.melevsreef.com/id/scypha.html</a> attached to the "moving-black-sponge" and i have a small red sponge on a piece of LR i got and it looks good so far (not rotting) and yellow sponges like <a href="http/www.melevsreef.com/id/blue_sponge.html" target="_blank">http/www.melevsreef.com/id/blue_sponge.html</a> on 2 rocks (man i have a lot of sponges) then i also have some feather caulerpa growning, a tiny feather duster, a buch of other different macroalgaes and plants, millions of pods on my glass (im guessing i have nothing in my tank that will eat them... so i wil be taken over by pods soon)

and there are like a hundred of little white balls on my glass that are attached on one end and sticking off, when i look closer it looks like there are eggs inside them, are these pod or snail eggs?flat worms?

EDIT: i tried moving the sponge thing, and it is holding on to the hole in the LR, its really similar to a clam or worm, and it retracts back into the whole when i touch it (but its to big for the hole so it still sticks out) and im guessing its a filterfeeder because its still alive and doesnt look like its photosynthetic

 

[Straydum]

sponges may (or may not) thrive in an home aquarium due to many being non photosynthetic which means you'd have to feed them separately. they are filter feeders. if you're into keeping them do not expose them to air. any pictures of your tank?

 

[seffieuk]

I've got a few sponges in my tank, they seem to be spreading like crazy - they are a sign of a healthy tank

Seffie x

 

[BigBeginner]

yea, i saw the sponged on the rocks of the corals i ordered, so i tried very hard not to expose them to air and they are all doing good so far

and ill post some pictures, i have a couple new ones, but it looks pretty much the same, the chaeto is starting to take over, so time to do something about it, also i have some weird green grassy plants growning, it looks cool swaying in the current =]

HAIR ALGAE IS COMIN!!!! and its the same stuff that is taking over my 55 gal BUT I WILL NOT LOSE! its just starting, bubbles and red spot on my sand =[

Goby is feeding good, im finding ways to feed it better, right now it wont eat mysis as easily as brine shrimp =[

glass is covered in green algae, and the small clear balls have "hatched" as there are no more white balls in them, just a clear sack, pod eggs maybe?

Found a few new feather duster hitchikers, and i think i accidently got rid of all the bristle worms =[

All corals doing good, mushrooms are opening HUGE now. except one red mushroom, that kinda fold up into a clam shape after 5ish hours of light, but is fully open when the lights first turn on? weird

 

[seffieuk]

You probably didn't get rid of all your bristleworms - they just seem to hide them selves away and then you only see them occasionaly.

It is amazing watching the tank come to life isn't it and getting to know what each thing in there does

SEffie X

 

[BigBeginner]

yea probably not, but i havent seen any and i use to see them all the time