We got in a new mantis today, a green Hawaiian ciliated mantis (from what I was told). She's very cute! About 3" long. A bit skittish at first (and apparently she has bad night vision, as she sat in one spot in the tank until the lights were turned on), but she took a thawed silverside tonight. She's in an Eclipse 6.
more mantis pics
- Thread starter jsronce
- Start date
Anyway, I put the pics I wanted to post on my webpage. Gonna have to get a bigger site soon. All pics are on this page: http://home1.gte.net/res08kg0/aquariums.html
The new mantis is most of the way down the page, under "6 gallon saltwater".
Above that one, under "10 gallon saltwater", is a pic of what my smaller O. scyllarus did to a clam tonight. Hungry gal. I wish I'd had my camera ready later when I offered her a thawed silverside. She reared up but was too lazy to remove the food from the skewer (turned out she was only tasting it anyway), so I had a perfect view of her underside while she munched on the fish I held 5 inches off the ground!
At the very bottom of the page is a cute pic of my reclusive little unidentified guy grabbing his dinner. We tried to take some good pics of him then, but he didn't like the spotlight and pulled the entire fish into his hole.
Hope you like them!
Jennifer
The new mantis is most of the way down the page, under "6 gallon saltwater".
Above that one, under "10 gallon saltwater", is a pic of what my smaller O. scyllarus did to a clam tonight. Hungry gal. I wish I'd had my camera ready later when I offered her a thawed silverside. She reared up but was too lazy to remove the food from the skewer (turned out she was only tasting it anyway), so I had a perfect view of her underside while she munched on the fish I held 5 inches off the ground!
At the very bottom of the page is a cute pic of my reclusive little unidentified guy grabbing his dinner. We tried to take some good pics of him then, but he didn't like the spotlight and pulled the entire fish into his hole.
Hope you like them!
Jennifer
kennerd
New member
Jennifer:
To post pics into your post, copy the properties of the pic from the web, click on the IMG button above the "Your reply" section when posting, and then paste the properties into the "pop-up" box that appears. Hit enter. When you submit the reply, it will have the picture right in the post, as opposed to an attached file.
By the way, you mentioned that you have some cyanobacteria problems in your tanks. I have a few eclipse tanks. Take your bio-wheel out, do a few water changes. The bio-wheel tends to harbor nitrates. Mine went away within a week or so.
If you find that your nitrates or phosphates start to get high again, get some Phos-zorb & De-Nitrate (both from Seachem) and a small filter bag and placea teaspoon of each in the bag & place it where the bio--wheel used to be for a few days. Just be sure not to plug your return hole, and the water should run through the bag.
Also, I use an airline cable-tied (loosely) along a shish-kebob stick for my nano-tank water changes: with the tube extending about an inch or two past the end of the stick. You can use it to get into nooks & crannies to remove detritus, and is great for skimming off the red nightmare.
Ken
To post pics into your post, copy the properties of the pic from the web, click on the IMG button above the "Your reply" section when posting, and then paste the properties into the "pop-up" box that appears. Hit enter. When you submit the reply, it will have the picture right in the post, as opposed to an attached file.
By the way, you mentioned that you have some cyanobacteria problems in your tanks. I have a few eclipse tanks. Take your bio-wheel out, do a few water changes. The bio-wheel tends to harbor nitrates. Mine went away within a week or so.
If you find that your nitrates or phosphates start to get high again, get some Phos-zorb & De-Nitrate (both from Seachem) and a small filter bag and placea teaspoon of each in the bag & place it where the bio--wheel used to be for a few days. Just be sure not to plug your return hole, and the water should run through the bag.
Also, I use an airline cable-tied (loosely) along a shish-kebob stick for my nano-tank water changes: with the tube extending about an inch or two past the end of the stick. You can use it to get into nooks & crannies to remove detritus, and is great for skimming off the red nightmare.
Ken
I might try that. I'd rather not, as some people still have dial-up modems, or have limited access, but if I can't get the thing to work the way it should....
How do Bio-wheels harbor nitrates? I'm iffy on removing the wheels, as they are what hold the most beneficial bacteria. If they're gone, every time you change the filter pad, you have to regrow new bacteria in the filter! I'm going to try doing minor water changes a lot more often, instead. I'll look for the products you suggested though. I can add a small bag on top of the filter pad where the water flows in.
It's that easy to get the cyanobacteria off the sides?! I've been scrubbing it off with a toothbrush then doing a water change to pull out what I can. It's slowly going away. What gets me is when the stuff manages to grow under the sand layer. Very annoying stuff.
Jennifer
How do Bio-wheels harbor nitrates? I'm iffy on removing the wheels, as they are what hold the most beneficial bacteria. If they're gone, every time you change the filter pad, you have to regrow new bacteria in the filter! I'm going to try doing minor water changes a lot more often, instead. I'll look for the products you suggested though. I can add a small bag on top of the filter pad where the water flows in.
It's that easy to get the cyanobacteria off the sides?! I've been scrubbing it off with a toothbrush then doing a water change to pull out what I can. It's slowly going away. What gets me is when the stuff manages to grow under the sand layer. Very annoying stuff.
Jennifer
kennerd
New member
The live rock and live sand should handle all of your filtration once the tank has cycled. Wet/dry trickle filters and bio wheels support the bacteria that break waste down into ammonia, then nitrite, and finally into nitrate, but no further. Wet/dry technology is fine in the fish only tank, since nitrates do not have much of an effect on fish. The bio-wheel is a type of wet/dry filtration method, and wht happens, much in the same way as bio-balls in a trickle filter, the final nitrate by-product stays in the system.
Reef tanks require water parameters with little to no nitrate. LR and LS break down the nitrogen cycle well, but some "export" method for the additional nutrients may be necessary. Whether thourgh skimming, water changes, or macro-algae trimming.
For a little more insight on your smaller tanks, check out the nano-reef forum here on Reef Central. Most of the folks there have tanks 20 gal & under (actually a majority of them are 10 gal & under), they are running skimmerless with more frequent water changes & are continuing to have success with good water quality.
Reef tanks require water parameters with little to no nitrate. LR and LS break down the nitrogen cycle well, but some "export" method for the additional nutrients may be necessary. Whether thourgh skimming, water changes, or macro-algae trimming.
For a little more insight on your smaller tanks, check out the nano-reef forum here on Reef Central. Most of the folks there have tanks 20 gal & under (actually a majority of them are 10 gal & under), they are running skimmerless with more frequent water changes & are continuing to have success with good water quality.
