My Nano Reef Set-up/diary (upgraded 45g) Step-by-step

[1entra]

I'm not too happy as I bought some acrylic off the net to use to make a top for my tank but it didn't arrive today as expected so cant make it now till monday at the earliest!

 

[1entra]

I bought about 4kg LR yesterday, its all small light pieces that I can use to just add a few more caves and overhangs in my tank. I know some of you have said I dont need it but I havee been looking at my tank and personally believe I could have done with a bit more... and also the pieces I seen in my LFS were really good so I just couldn't resist!

Well anyways I didn't wish to add the pieces to my main tank as I didnt want a spike in ammonia etc as this would kill of livestock. So instead I added the rock to my QT tank. When I checked the params this evening they were:

• Temp: 16 Degrees C
• SG: 1.024
• pH: 7.8
• Ammonia: 0ppm
• Nitrite: 0.25ppm
• Nitrate: 20ppm

I think this shows me the LR is causing the QT tank to cycle so I will let it be and wont add any to my main tank till all the params are 0.

Well anyways due to adding the LR to my QT tank, I end up moving my Green Chromis straight to my main tank. I even acclimatised it for about an hour so it wouldn't stress too much even though all the QT tank params were the same as the main tanks. The chromis ate half hour after having been introduced to the tank and swam around happily in its new home.

Well anyways guess what I woke up to find this morning... THE CHROMIS AHD ALSO MIRACOUSLY DISAPEARED!!! What a jockin surprise!

That has confirmed it to me, there is defo a predatory shrimp or crab in my tank and I so am going to put a skewer through it and barbacue it when I catch the little SH*T... its cost me 4 fish upto date!

And whilst Ive been sat here on my computer I have just heard two loud clicks come from the inside of my tank. Still have not seen or even caught a glimpe of the critter responsible! But they have been the loudect clicks I've heard to date!

I think the mo-fo has grown after having ate my fish!

I have made myself a "bottle" trap as recommended by somebody on this site and plan on using it in the next day or 2 to capture the little f***er! I really amd not happy!

 

[chrissaysyes]

youll get him buddy

 

[1entra]

I think I know where the little sh*t is hiding out! I just noticed a 1.25"-1.5" diameter hole in one of my pieces of LR that I could have sworn I have never seen before but then just as I started to wave it off as me being paranoid I looked at the back of the same pice of LR and there is also a new hole there which I know for defo wasn't eteher before as its I have a colony of feather dusters located there and this hole has appeared directly in the centre of the feather duster colony!

So now what do you wthink I should do? Do you think it will be residing in that piece of LR or may it have randomly dug a hole through it? What is the best form of action to take now? Should I set my bottle trap nearby the LR or should I dip that piece of LR in a bucket or fresh RO water (I have been adviced this is another method that helps drive a mantis straight out of LR and gets it running for cover!)

 

[1entra]

I can swear this whole ordeal is getting me right paranoid as every time I look at my tank I swear I am seeing more holes and current the holes seem to be getting bigger each day I look at them! I think the concept of having a "preying" mantis is really doing my head in and I'm sure I'm just noticing previous holes in more detail now that I'm on the constant look out for them! I wouldn't be surprised if there are several predatory shrimps/mantis's in my tank!

By the way I bought myself some new lighting off ebay. Its a 3ft MH with 150w bulb along with 2 x 39w T5 blue actinics. Its also somes with blue moonlighting LED's attached.

I am going to be so glad when I catch whatever is responsible so I can be at peace of mind again!! Then I can also get going again with buying more fish and corals and get my tank going again as I am noway going to risk getting any more livestock till I have got to the bottom of my current issue!

 

[chrissaysyes]

This video will make you happy AND will show you what I personally would do to rectify the problem Puffer fish munching on a mantis shrimp

 

[1entra]

I made myself a DIY trap to capture the predatory shrimp/crab today using an empty 2litre plastic bottle of pop. I cut the top off the bottle where it stops sloping and the sides start go straight. I then inverted the top into the base of the bottle and secured it in place usin plastic ties.

I placed the bottle trap into my tank with a prawn inside it as bait about 45mins ago. So far I have managed to attract my cleaner shrimp, 1 small hermit and 2 snails into the bottle but no mantis, although I have heard several clicks come out of my tank already. I am very sceptical this will work but it has been recommended to me as apparantly many people state to have had success using it and capturing mantis shrimp with it!

I know my cleaner, hermit and snails are at risk in the trap as they have now also become bait, but there is no way I am taking it out, and wrecking the hole plan! I know it may sound horrible but I am willing to risk losing them as long as I manage to capture the one(s) responsible for the deaths of my fish!

I really hope the srimp/crab takes the bait and this works! (fingers crossed!)

 

[fiskkeeperpro]

good luck with that. Its a real shame youve loast so much.

Will

 

[piranha_trader]

Your misery aside (sorry man)...this has been some great reading!!

Something similar to reading Lord of the Flies or Moby Dick or watching Predator (Governator)

I hope you get the bastard too.


Please include pics when you do....a nice Predator shot (like in the movie when its injured and the invisibility is wearing off) would be nice.


I think you could catch this guy pretty easily if you tried. Since its nocturnal why not wait up one night with a piece of fish tied to a string (make sure its a nice chunk). Either stay up all night and watch or wake up in the morning and see where the string ends up.

 

[nanocubeking]

Try some lance fish. They're alot smellier. I think youd get a better chance with the lance fish.

I think you could catch this guy pretty easily if you tried. Since its nocturnal why not wait up one night with a piece of fish tied to a string (make sure its a nice chunk). Either stay up all night and watch or wake up in the morning and see where the string ends up.

Time to do some fishin'!

 

[1entra]

My worst day ever (so far!) ​

Thanks for the comments and advice guys. Its all appreciated as I've had the most hectic day ever!

Firstly I woke up to find that my bottle trap had caught no mantis shrimp or crab etc but had insted caught my cleaner shrimp, 3snails and a small hermit! What a shame but just had a feeling it wernt going to work. Well anyways I left home for work and had a phonecall of me mam around lunchtime telling me how my tank was leaking and had flooded my room! OMG I almost had a blumin heart attack. Could not believe this was happening to me AGAIN!!!

I think I must have broke every land speed record shooting home as fast as I could! The only thing going faster than my car must have been my heart!!

Well anyways upon getting to my room I noticed my tank to be only 2/3 full meaning approx 1/3rd of my tank water (approx 55litres) was now covering most of the carpet in the room in about 1/2" deep!!! Let me tell you now I could have died on the spot. It was my worst nightmare come true!

After intial shock in a second or 2 I came back to my senses and noticed the tank wern't leaking but instead my refugium was overflowing water straight out onto the floor! I immediately swithed off the refugium inlet pump and started looking for potential causes and guess what I found... the hitchhikwr crab residing in the refuge had decided he fancied climbing through the 1/2" hole from the main chamber into the filter chamber containg LR rubble. Stupid thing had got stuck in the hole and so endup stopping the water flowing through it and into the main chamber and so causing the overfowing as the fuge pump continued to pump water!!!

I really wanted to introduce Mr. Crab to Mr. Mallet to see if I could make a pancake out of it but the room was more important so I instead set about mopping up the mess. It took me all day but my carpet is still splodgy!

Well anyways this ordeal really p*ssed me off as you may be able to imagine and my attention soon turned to the predator in the main tank. So I decided to fill a bucket with fresh RO water, take out each individual piece of LR from my tank and gave it a 30sec dip after which I placed back in the tank before removing next one. NOTHING CAME OUT OF THE ROCK! I just cannot believe it!

Instead I found hundreds and hundreds of small and tiny copepods and amphipods dead inside the bucket of RO water. I didnt even realise I had so many in my tank! This again to me feels like a right loss as God knows what else I might have killed off on my LR ie. beneficial bacteria! Also upon trying to set my LR back up (as I rushed it as was not in the best of moods) in the tank I placed it in some really cr*p locations. I think I will do a full aquascape on the weekend when I have a bot more time on my hands!

Well now I'm really confused on what to do as nothing came out of my LR. Do you think a possible predator would reside in the sandbed or do you think this entire serious of events have been coincidental and Ive just been on a wild goose chase?
I think I might do another dip into carbonated water before I re-aquascape my tank on the weekend. This will hpefully give me piece of mind even if I dont find anything!

 

[piranha_trader]

Wow...what a string of bad luck. Rough man....really rough.


I cannot believe you didnt find anything. It HAS to be some sort of predator.


Do you have a cat with really long claws possibly?

Man.....

 

[littleme1969]

Seems you and marine are not good buddies at the mo . But its all a learning curve, yours just seems to be 10 times bigger than others. Killing off some criiters with the RO was to be expected, but others will have survived in the tank and deep inside the rock and so will soon repopulate. It would have been better to do both dips at the same time, so to reduce the amount of time the rock was out of salt water, and your more likely to catch anything doing a double dip. As I said before the traps didnt work for me either, both crabs and mantis are very sneaky and are generally not fooled, especialy as if there is anything in there it will be well fed on all your fish its eaten.
If it was a crab with all the food it has eaten it would have shed a few times and you would have found the EXO hanging around the tank. I'm always finding sheds from my crabs, despite the large amount of rock work in my tank.
Thats leads me to my original conclusion, thats its just been bad luck with the fish and you have maybe an issue with the water you cant detect. As ive said before I have both an asortment of crabs and mantis in my tank, and never lost a fish yet despite having tidlers of under 1 inch in there.
If it where me Id have another good go with the carbonated explore all holes that are big enough for anything to hide in, then take your time with the scaping, trying to orintate any large holes to the front where you can keep a good eye on them. But take your time with each piece.
At least then you will have piece of mind and know if anything dies its not down to a predator.

You seem to have had the worst look possible so far, I hope things turn a corner for you know and you can start to enjoy it

 

[chrissaysyes]

yeesh, that's rough man. I had an overflow the other day but luckily I'm the one who caused it. Best wishes man, if I were you then I'd do another dip in RO and then carbonated, then just start fresh.

 

[1entra]

Yea I plan on doing another (final) dip in both RO and carbonated water this weekend. How long do you think I should leave the rock in each for the dip to be affective?