Dave's 90gal build
- Thread starter archer8681
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archer8681
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8648871#post8648871 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TA
The rock should be fine for the most part (little-no cycle involved)....its the sand bed that needs to "mature".
Regardless....it's looking nice!
Hold off a bit and see how things go....watch for signs of stress.
Watch the clam...crocea's like to be up on the rock...at least place a piece of rock under him under the sand. Looks large enough that he can get all he needs form the light, but you may want him higher up. Also, a little phyto to feed him (and therefore the entire tank!) may help him get enough nutrition.
As far as the heaters go...get a Ranco controller (single stage; approx $50 or so) and hook up both heaters through it. No more messing with heaters!
Thanks!
I'll take a look at that controller.
I did put a shell under the clam in the sand so he has something to grab on to. If I see him starting to dig down too much. I'll do something to bring him back up.
Getting back to the LR, to be more specific, it came from a 65 gallon tank that had about 10x as much load as I currently have. This is why i got such great freebies on the rock that are all doing well. It wasn't just LR that had been cured in a vat. Someone told me that a good 'visual' cue if there are issues of ammonia would be the Xenia. Mine is pulsing and seems great!
archer8681
Premium Member
One thing I forgot to mention is that I think one of my pepperment shrimp molted. I saw an empty exoskeleton floating in the tank. It looked like it was in tact aside from the tail section which i saw floating seperately. Either he molted or the Fire Shrimp decided to rip him apart. I'll try to see if i can find all 3 peppermints at the same time, but they are usually well hidden in the rocks.
archer8681
Premium Member
NEWS FLASH!...............
Something really cool, that I wasnt sure would happen, especially this quickly. One of my 2 clowns is making him self comfy with the sebae! Now if the 2 clowns start working together with the sebae, all the better! Right now the 2nd clown is hanging close but not going 'in'.
Something really cool, that I wasnt sure would happen, especially this quickly. One of my 2 clowns is making him self comfy with the sebae! Now if the 2 clowns start working together with the sebae, all the better! Right now the 2nd clown is hanging close but not going 'in'.
melev
Well-known member
I believe that scooter blenny is malnourished. Its body looks very thin to me. You might try the mandarin diner technique perhaps.
With the transfer of all that liverock comes other issues as well. It may be packed with detritus and waste that will come out of its pores for months to come. My set up was a transfer from a 29g, a 55g, and what was left from the 280g before its move. I had a ton of fish and I fed heavily. A few months later, phosphates were through the roof, and it took almost 6 months to get them down. I lost some corals due to that.
So slam on the brakes, enjoy your tank and let it mature quietly. Seriously, just watch it for now, tinkering with what you've got and stay away from the candy stores (LFS, etailers) for a month.
With the transfer of all that liverock comes other issues as well. It may be packed with detritus and waste that will come out of its pores for months to come. My set up was a transfer from a 29g, a 55g, and what was left from the 280g before its move. I had a ton of fish and I fed heavily. A few months later, phosphates were through the roof, and it took almost 6 months to get them down. I lost some corals due to that.
So slam on the brakes, enjoy your tank and let it mature quietly. Seriously, just watch it for now, tinkering with what you've got and stay away from the candy stores (LFS, etailers) for a month.
archer8681
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8650617#post8650617 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I believe that scooter blenny is malnourished. Its body looks very thin to me. You might try the mandarin diner technique perhaps.
With the transfer of all that liverock comes other issues as well. It may be packed with detritus and waste that will come out of its pores for months to come. My set up was a transfer from a 29g, a 55g, and what was left from the 280g before its move. I had a ton of fish and I fed heavily. A few months later, phosphates were through the roof, and it took almost 6 months to get them down. I lost some corals due to that.
So slam on the brakes, enjoy your tank and let it mature quietly. Seriously, just watch it for now, tinkering with what you've got and stay away from the candy stores (LFS, etailers) for a month.
He seems to be very active and I see him eating everytime I feed the tank. It may have not been the best pic with just the T5's on, but I will definately give your method a try. I'd much prefer fat healthy fish.
As I said before, I dont plan on adding anything more for a while, aside from pods. Just sitting back and testing my water parameters frequently.
Thanks for the advise, everyone
archer8681
Premium Member
The unit has 4 switches & 4 plugs for the HQI's, T5's, blue LED's, and white LED's. It only comes with 2 of their timers, so you would need 2 more if you want to control the LED's that way.
archer8681
Premium Member
Quick update.
Tanks is doing fine, and water parameters remain stable. I did also rearrange the rock a little bit. I think I like it better now. The small sand storm that I created cleared in about 30 minutes.
Two things concerning me.
1) I am starting to feel bad for one of my 2 clowns. One has taken to the Sebae really well and gets all nice and cuddly with it. :love1: The other looks like he wants to also, but hey, the Sebae is already taken. The two clowns seem to get along just fine. Will the two of them possibly share the Sebae? or will I need to get another anemone for the 2nd clown somewhere down the road? He looks so lost compared to the other one. :sad1:
2) The scooter blenny remains very active and is a joy to watch jumping around the tank from rock to rock. He is eating, I'm just not sure how much or if he is getting enough. I have seen him take mysis when I feed the tank. But since Melev mentioned that he looked a bit skinny, I have been concerned about his welfare. I tried the 'Mandarin Diner" method of Melev's, but that hasn't worked well. I did it with some mysis, the went out and purchased Formula One & Formula Two small pellets. That also didn't work. He wants nothing to do with them either in the jar or laying on the sand. He just passes them by. One thing I have noticed when he eats the mysis, he goes for ones that are moving near him (looking like live food), but doesn't really eat ones on the sand or rock right in front of him. Am I missing something here? Are these fish usually this picky? Do I need to try to feed him live food? If I did I'm sure the clowns would get to most of it real fast before the blenny. Any suggestions? I did get the fish from Tony @ SB, so I'll call him tomorrow to see what it was eating there. Not sure if the fish was from a recent delivery he had, or if it was there for a while.
Tanks is doing fine, and water parameters remain stable. I did also rearrange the rock a little bit. I think I like it better now. The small sand storm that I created cleared in about 30 minutes.
Two things concerning me.
1) I am starting to feel bad for one of my 2 clowns. One has taken to the Sebae really well and gets all nice and cuddly with it. :love1: The other looks like he wants to also, but hey, the Sebae is already taken. The two clowns seem to get along just fine. Will the two of them possibly share the Sebae? or will I need to get another anemone for the 2nd clown somewhere down the road? He looks so lost compared to the other one. :sad1:
2) The scooter blenny remains very active and is a joy to watch jumping around the tank from rock to rock. He is eating, I'm just not sure how much or if he is getting enough. I have seen him take mysis when I feed the tank. But since Melev mentioned that he looked a bit skinny, I have been concerned about his welfare. I tried the 'Mandarin Diner" method of Melev's, but that hasn't worked well. I did it with some mysis, the went out and purchased Formula One & Formula Two small pellets. That also didn't work. He wants nothing to do with them either in the jar or laying on the sand. He just passes them by. One thing I have noticed when he eats the mysis, he goes for ones that are moving near him (looking like live food), but doesn't really eat ones on the sand or rock right in front of him. Am I missing something here? Are these fish usually this picky? Do I need to try to feed him live food? If I did I'm sure the clowns would get to most of it real fast before the blenny. Any suggestions? I did get the fish from Tony @ SB, so I'll call him tomorrow to see what it was eating there. Not sure if the fish was from a recent delivery he had, or if it was there for a while.
melev
Well-known member
Dave, the other clown may join the one in the anemone in time, or just swim wherever it feels comfortable.
The scooter blenny may decide to eat the other food, so don't give up. It may take a few days for it to swim into the diner, but after a while it figures it out. Just keep it in the same spot, and put in just a little food so it doesn't rot. Odds are hermits and snails will rush into the diner and consume the food that goes uneaten.
The scooter blenny may decide to eat the other food, so don't give up. It may take a few days for it to swim into the diner, but after a while it figures it out. Just keep it in the same spot, and put in just a little food so it doesn't rot. Odds are hermits and snails will rush into the diner and consume the food that goes uneaten.
archer8681
Premium Member
Update
I tried Melev's method to feed the blenny for a number of days. He just has no interest in pellet food. Fortunately, I have seen him going after, and eating, mysis more and more. I know that I do have something of a pod population from the cheato I got from Tony, and also possibly from the LR I got from Ryan. I'm, gonna get down to Tony's and pick up some pods to increase my fuge population in the next few days. Hopefully the blenny will enjoy that also, and give him something aside from mysis. I do eventually want a Mandarin, so hi pod population is needed anyway, but that's not for months. Past that, he is very active in the tank and is a joy to watch.
My 2 clowns seem to 'share' the Sebae...sometimes, so for now that's good.
I did have a little opps yesterday. While tinkering down in the sump, I pushed the adjustable standpipe on my G3, and had to reset it to get the bubbles to the same level. I have been running the skimmer fairly dry and I had about 2" of solid junk in the collection cup. Well of course, I set the standpipe too high, and got distracted with something else in the house. I came back like 30 minutes later to find the collection cup overflowing, and most of the junk got back in the tank. YUK! When I tested the water today, I noticed a small amount of ammonia. I haven't had any losses in the tank, so I am guessing it is from the skimmer incident. Trates & Trites were 0. I gotta get the gate valve mod soon.
Everything else in the tank is doing well, my pulsing xenia seem to have gotten bigger, and I noticed two very small new colonies of the stuff. I have been seeing some GHA which I didn't want to let get out of hand, so I'll add some more to my clean up crew this week.
I also decided to hang my light fixture. The legs that came with it make it almost impossible to reach into the tank. I picked up a 4' shelf from Lowes thats 5/8' thick. Using 5 heavy duty bracket (2 on top, 3 on underside) I mounted the shelf about 3' above the tank. I now have the light fixture leveled and hanging about 6" above the tank. Much better access!
I tried Melev's method to feed the blenny for a number of days. He just has no interest in pellet food. Fortunately, I have seen him going after, and eating, mysis more and more. I know that I do have something of a pod population from the cheato I got from Tony, and also possibly from the LR I got from Ryan. I'm, gonna get down to Tony's and pick up some pods to increase my fuge population in the next few days. Hopefully the blenny will enjoy that also, and give him something aside from mysis. I do eventually want a Mandarin, so hi pod population is needed anyway, but that's not for months. Past that, he is very active in the tank and is a joy to watch.
My 2 clowns seem to 'share' the Sebae...sometimes, so for now that's good.
I did have a little opps yesterday. While tinkering down in the sump, I pushed the adjustable standpipe on my G3, and had to reset it to get the bubbles to the same level. I have been running the skimmer fairly dry and I had about 2" of solid junk in the collection cup. Well of course, I set the standpipe too high, and got distracted with something else in the house. I came back like 30 minutes later to find the collection cup overflowing, and most of the junk got back in the tank. YUK! When I tested the water today, I noticed a small amount of ammonia. I haven't had any losses in the tank, so I am guessing it is from the skimmer incident. Trates & Trites were 0. I gotta get the gate valve mod soon.
Everything else in the tank is doing well, my pulsing xenia seem to have gotten bigger, and I noticed two very small new colonies of the stuff. I have been seeing some GHA which I didn't want to let get out of hand, so I'll add some more to my clean up crew this week.
I also decided to hang my light fixture. The legs that came with it make it almost impossible to reach into the tank. I picked up a 4' shelf from Lowes thats 5/8' thick. Using 5 heavy duty bracket (2 on top, 3 on underside) I mounted the shelf about 3' above the tank. I now have the light fixture leveled and hanging about 6" above the tank. Much better access!
melev
Well-known member
Dave, let me invite you to clean your collection cup daily. This will prevent that type of incident from occuring ever again. Accidentally reintroducing 24 hours of skimmate (or less) isn't a big deal, but a week's worth might be an issue.
At the very least, it could fuel an algae bloom in the tank.
At the very least, it could fuel an algae bloom in the tank.
archer8681
Premium Member
Well I tested my water again, ammonia is still present, but barely, and that may just be me and deciding if the the color is perfect to be at 0. It's real close. Trates & Trites are still 0. Weird. Ph is dead on at 8.2. My temps have been between 76.5-78 (nite to day time). Not totally crazy about the Theo's. I think replacement is in order sooner or later. I'll probably do the Ranco controller like TA suggested.
I ripped apart my powerheads to make sure nothing was stuck in them. They were fine, but a quick clean doesn't hurt. Also rinsed out the sponge that goes over the standpipe on the skimmer.
Guess weird stuff happens like this every now and then. Oh well, I'll just monitor the levels more frequently over the next few days.
I ripped apart my powerheads to make sure nothing was stuck in them. They were fine, but a quick clean doesn't hurt. Also rinsed out the sponge that goes over the standpipe on the skimmer.
Guess weird stuff happens like this every now and then. Oh well, I'll just monitor the levels more frequently over the next few days.
archer8681
Premium Member
I've been checking my water like every other day after that trace of ammonia I noticed about 1 1/2 weeks ago. Everything has remained stable ammonia has stayed at 0 and trates & trites have also remained at 0. ph is still at 8.2. So all is well. I also checked my calcium level which was around 450ish maybe a lttle higher.
The scooter blenny seems to be doing well and continues to eat mysis.
My sebea seems to be doing great. It amazes my how big he gets when he opens up. When I saw him in the tank @ SB, I don't remember him being as big as he is now. The 2 clowns are both loving him. I've seen other anemones get fairly large, how big do the sebea get? He is in a space that will definitely allow him more room, I just want to make sure I don't place anything too close to him.
I added some more snails and blue leg hermits to my clean up crew, and also added a hammer, a frogspawn, and a mimic tang. These have been in the tank for about 6 days and are all doing well. I want to add a kole yellow eye tang rather soon, and that will be it for fish for a while. I eventually want a mandarin, but that will wait for a few months. I would also like a 6 line, but I am unsure how long I should wait before I put one in. Should he go in after the mandarin? I have read that they may sometimes jump from the tank. Has anyone had this happen?
Haven't taken any pics recently, but I will add some soon.
The scooter blenny seems to be doing well and continues to eat mysis.
My sebea seems to be doing great. It amazes my how big he gets when he opens up. When I saw him in the tank @ SB, I don't remember him being as big as he is now. The 2 clowns are both loving him. I've seen other anemones get fairly large, how big do the sebea get? He is in a space that will definitely allow him more room, I just want to make sure I don't place anything too close to him.
I added some more snails and blue leg hermits to my clean up crew, and also added a hammer, a frogspawn, and a mimic tang. These have been in the tank for about 6 days and are all doing well. I want to add a kole yellow eye tang rather soon, and that will be it for fish for a while. I eventually want a mandarin, but that will wait for a few months. I would also like a 6 line, but I am unsure how long I should wait before I put one in. Should he go in after the mandarin? I have read that they may sometimes jump from the tank. Has anyone had this happen?
Haven't taken any pics recently, but I will add some soon.
archer8681
Premium Member
Picture time!
