125g 2 in 1 Seagrass Reef

ThePurple12 said:
I have an old 20 long laying around, currently housing a hitchhiker crab. I'm going to use the old sand/mud/fertilizer that seems to be great at growing seagrass. I'll use an old T5 fixture for lighting. If the seagrass doesn't grow in the new sand, I'll have a backup tank full of it!
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That is an excellent idea! Ha ha, it seems that 20 gallon longs used to be a staple tank that nearly everyone had. Mine is being used as a sump tank now. It's probably 25 years old.
 
The sand from Petco came today. I dumped it in and the tank looks pretty unnatural right now. I actually mixed in some sand from my seahorse tank (replaced that with new sand), hopefully that will help the seagrass when I add it back in. Not surprisingly, I completely forgot to add dirt before the sand:sad2:, so I guess I'll wait and see how the seagrass does before I add dirt/mud.

And yesterday the Reefcleaners order came...most of the snails, including all the conchs, haven't moved at all since I added them yesterday, and the Halimeda I ordered looks dead. The acclimation guide says it can take up to 3 days for them to move.

Looks like there are at least 3 different species of Strombus, now let's hope they're alive!
 

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ThePurple12 said:
The sand from Petco came today. I dumped it in and the tank looks pretty unnatural right now. I actually mixed in some sand from my seahorse tank (replaced that with new sand), hopefully that will help the seagrass when I add it back in. Not surprisingly, I completely forgot to add dirt before the sand:sad2:, so I guess I'll wait and see how the seagrass does before I add dirt/mud.

And yesterday the Reefcleaners order came...most of the snails, including all the conchs, haven't moved at all since I added them yesterday, and the Halimeda I ordered looks dead. The acclimation guide says it can take up to 3 days for them to move.

Looks like there are at least 3 different species of Strombus, now let's hope they're alive!
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Bummer on forgetting the dirt. I hate it when I forget something after a job is done.

I plan to add more dirt to my fuge too, so maybe between us we can figure out the best way to do that.

I hope your snails revive! That would be a shame if they are all DOA.
 
I've had terrible luck with Reefcleaners. They've sent the wrong plants, as well as dead ones. They're on my NO list. I hope your Conches make it. Having a selection like that sounds great. Maybe the grasses will be fine. On the bright side, this is a chance to get things right for your corals. Remember seagrass can flourish in pristine reef conditions. That's how they outcompete macro algae. You'll make it work!
 
It looks nice and fresh, I'll get a picture. No hair algae on the sand, but there is a small amount on the rocks that appears to be going away.
 
Sounds good! I think you've done a good job of rectifying your bad situation, and turning it good. You figured out the problem, and fixed it. Onward and upward!
 
Here's the FTS after a sand bed swap! The tank is low on water--I'm filling a Brute container of RODI right now. I actually only changed the sand on the right side where the seagrass is, as that's where I added most of the fertilizer. The seagrass has been planted in both tanks, so it's looking pretty sparse.
 

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Sorry to hear that the Conch's are not showing signs of life yet.

That was probably a good move not to remove the sand where it had not been fertilized. That will not be as disruptive to you bio-filter too.
 
I can confirm the conchs and other snails are dead; they fell out of the shells when I picked them up. Not a great smell. Reefcleaners sent a refund, and I guess I'll go the LFS route this time if they ever get some conchs in.
 
Sorry to hear that. I can just imagine that smell! They gave you a refund and not store credit? If so, that's good.
 
Ahhh, I am sorry that they were dead, that is a bummer. I am glad that they refunded your money but that still does not take away the sad feeling of the animal perishing.

I hope that your LFS is able to get you what you are looking for.
 
Yeah, it's crazy that everything died except for one Astraea now. Must've been the 1 day delay. They did send a refund and not store credit, which I feel a lot more sites should start doing.
 
That's too bad about the Hypnea. Did you say it arrived in bad shape? I've never been able to bring a plant back that arrived half dead.

I'm having lousy luck with Ulva Intestinalis. Some plants just don't survive in our particular setups. I often try plants twice, to see if I can change something and have better luck. So you might succeed if you try one again. That appears to be what's happening with my Galaxaura. Just by changing the lighting, it looks to be growing.
 
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