Stampos' Nano Diary

[sorgan]

oh i agree with seffie completly there, only last weeek i managed to poison myself fragging some gorgonians.

 

[Stampos]

Thanks GG and Steffie - I don't have any yet, but I certainly intend to get some

Ok, well today I got my LR!

I purchased 5.5kg of cured from another local LFS as it had nice Coraline colouring, and picked up the 3kg I had already purchased. I have another 4kg to pick up next week when it finishes curing. I realise it may slow my cycle but I plan on a wall type structure and so have picked out what I feel to be the best "building block" type pieces.

Also, any pieces I get which I decide aren't the best will be turned into rubble for a filter chamber

Here are some pictures:

What is the red patch on this piece, a sponge?

Also, found my first hitch hiker almost straight away........................

Steve the Stomatella

Not sure if he'll survive being plonked in with no acclimatisation - I do hope so.

Whilst collecting my LR I bought a new siphon, one with a primer meaning I will never have to taste salty water!

And, saving the best to last perhaps...........my most important purchase of the day

Let the rock watching begin!!

Simon

 

[seffieuk]

You have some nice rock there Simon - the plate is really nice

Also get yourself a little red torch or put some red cellophane over a torch, then at night with the lights off have a look in your tank, woo hoo.........

Seffie x

 

[sorgan]

looking good! that top piece of rock would look great if you could get some variety of star polyps to encrust it!

 

[Stampos]

Thanks both

As soon as I saw the plate I had to have it, then as soon as I got home started thinking "will it fit?" Would GSP not overwhelm the tank? I've read some people regret having them in their systems - any alternatives?

Very pleased at the moment, I found a torch app on my phone that gives a red light so will use that before I head off for a beer (no doubt I'll be rock watching after the beer as well!)

Simon

 

[sorgan]

Tbh mate people can call any coral a weed or a pest but if you like them who cares?
I love GSP and Xenia and all the other things that grow like crazy and TBH I'm not that fond of SPS so I suppose I am biased

 

[Stampos]

That's true, no denying they would look good with some flow on them!

Just spotted my second hitch hiker! I was using my red light to scan for movement and saw two tiny white "strings" moving, which I thought may have been the antennae of Steve the Stomatella I spotted earlier.

I switched on my moonlights........."hmmmm, still can't quite make it out. I know, lets switch on one of the main lights!"

Couldn't believe what I saw escape into a hole in the LR.

A tiny white starfish

 

[Stampos]

Seeing as it's now 24hrs since I put the LR in, I thought I'd do some tests.

Ammonia:

Nitrite:

PH:

My friend who borrowed me the test kit couldn't find the Nitrate test so I've just tested these so far...........hoping to pick up my own kit soon

 

[Stampos]

Spotted Steve the Stomatella today, so paremeters must be fairly decent

Also think I've spotted a feather duster worm........6 feelers/tentacles, 3 per side of "head". Semi translucent with white tips:

Hoping it's not Aiptasia

 

[sorgan]

sorry to kick you in the sack mate but a feather duster has loads of hairy like threads (hence the name)
doesnt look like an aip though, just let it be and see what it does

 

[Stampos]

sorry to kick you in the sack mate but a feather duster has loads of hairy like threads (hence the name)
doesnt look like an aip though, just let it be and see what it does

Thanks for that mate, as long as it's not Aip I'm happy

Found another hitch hiker tonight!

A blue Asternia starfish. I've been reading some can eat coraline which I think this one is doing!

 

[sorgan]

TBH that isn't s bad thing, coraline is attactive and stops algae growth where it grows but it also reduces the filtering power of your LR.
So IMO a few coraline eating critters are a good thing

 

[seffieuk]

So IMO a few coraline eating critters are a good thing

Couldnt agree with you more

Seffie x

 

[Stampos]

Ok, things are moving forward!

Last Friday I picked up the remainder of my LR and put it in the tank. I had to work all weekend and when I got home last night decided to scape my tank

So..........egg crate on the base, thin layer of TMC fine coral gravel to fill in the nooks and crannys then scaped my LR, went up fairly quickly and I'm more than happy with the finished result. I managed to incorporate the plate piece which will allow me to have a nice "flowy" coral on top and also provides a shaded area for corals that prefer shaded areas

It was quite hard to scape with the water clouded by the gravel, this is how it looked!

And tonight after it cleared

Very pleased with the layout, even if accidental!!

Tested my water again too:

SG - 1.024
Temp - 26.5
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
PH - 8.5

Am I cycled? Starting to notice green algae strands on the glass and the obvious diatoms on the plate (the clear patch at the front is courtesy of Steve the Stomatella) if cycled, is it too early to introduce the CUC?

Simon

 

[sorgan]

Your cycled get your CuC in!!!! Now the fun begins