My 20H Build

[bassman57]

The tank's doing well. We've been doing water changes. As of this afternoon:

Ammonia: ~.5ppm
Nitrite: ~ .25ppm
Nitrate: ~ 10ppm
SG: ~ 1.026

We've got a ton of hitchhikers. We have some sort of anemone and we can't figure out what it is (for reference, the smooth area in the middle is about the size of a quarter). Anyone have any ideas? FTS to come....

 

[saltjohnswharf]

I think that's an aiptasia. Zap it with some Aiptasia X. Any anemone surviving the cycling will likely be a pest anemone that needs to die. Usually hitchhikers do not really show up until a month or so after cycling is done and ammonia is gone.

 

[duncantse]

Yup, it's an aiptasia.

 

[bassman57]

Darn. Thanks for the replies. Do you pour Aiptasia-X into the tank, or inject it on the anemone?

Here's a FTS. We definitely need to do some aquascaping.

 

[duncantse]

Did you paint the back or is it a background?

 

[bassman57]

It actually looks like the because the room is very dark. Because of the way the tank is situated in the room, we're going to leave both long sides visible. We're going to blackout one short end where the skimmer and stuff will be.

 

[Gold Stripe]

Inject that sucker with a needle. You can use aptasia x, kalk paste (Pickeling lime from the grocery store mixed with water) or since you dont have any livestock yet you could use lemmon juice. It will jack your PH for a short time but nothing in there will be harmed. You want to get rid of any aptasia as you see them or they will take over.

 

[saltjohnswharf]

Use Aiptasia X. Inexpensive and effective. You can remove the rock to another tank or a tupperware to treat it. If you do use a household method they are not very effective. They do cause ph swing so if you do try it remove the rock to someplace separate. That way you don't mess with the ph of the system. Simple precautions like that make the difference.

 

[rachbobach]

Did you paint the back or is it a background?

We didn't paint the background. It's on the bar between my kitchen and living room, so we can see both sides. We are going to add a background to the end with the protein skimmer (we are waiting on new O-rings coming on Monday). We will be able to see the tanks from two long sides and one short!! Lots to see. This weekend, we are going to do some major aquascaping.

Last night, we found a bunch of hitchhikers. We have 3-4 tiny porcelain crabs, maybe a decorator crab (it moves really slowly and is attaching things it finds to his legs/body), some type of wispy starfish (really tiny), a ton of feather dusters, a hermit crab, and several snails (maybe nassarius). Peter is going to post pictures soon.

 

[bassman57]

We did some aquascaping/cleaning today. We got rid of some gorilla crabs. The tank has been doing well. Based on our test readings it looks like were coming down from the ammonia and nitrite spikes. We've been doing water changes to keep everything in check. We still need to get rid of that Aiptasia.

Here are some pictures of the aquascaping. It is still definitely up for debate. The first picture is the view from the Living Room. The second picture is the end of the tank. The third picture is a view from the kitchen.

 

[cmac23]

Why does the eggcrate and the light on top of the tank look unlevel? The light fixture seems to lean to the right

 

[bassman57]

Why does the eggcrate and the light on top of the tank look unlevel? The light fixture seems to lean to the right

The eggcrate is warped. I should have looked at the piece better before I bought it. Hopefully over time the heat from the light will help it fall flat, otherwise I'll get a new piece.

The light, even with leg extenders, isn't quite wide enough to straddle the tank, so one end is up on the eggcrate and the other end is hanging over the side of the tank. We only have the light up there when one of us is home. It's not in danger of falling in the tank. This weekend I'm going to come up with a better way to place the light on the tank so it's level.

 

[bassman57]

Since it looks like our cycle is moving along well, we're starting to look at what we want for a CUC. I put a list together; no particular rhyme or reason. Let me know what you think. Anything we should remove or add?

4 - Astrea
6 - Cerith
5 - Nassarius
2 - Scarlet Reef Hermits
1 - Peppermint Shrimp

 

[saltjohnswharf]

Good for a start. Though I hate hermits. Tend to kill snails for their shells.

 

[bassman57]

Good for a start. Though I hate hermits. Tend to kill snails for their shells.

I've heard the scarlets might be slightly less likely to attack snails, but I'm still kind of wary about putting hermits in. What if we put a bunch of extra, empty shells in the tank?

 

[saltjohnswharf]

I don't buy them. The empty shells never seem to get used and my snails end up dead. Then I see a hermit using an astrea shell. Ticks me off. So I never buy them. Hermits are great algae eaters but snails are good too. And snails do not kill each other for a shell.

 

[bassman57]

Maybe we'll try no hermits for now and see how they snails do cleaning up. Thanks for the info!

 

[wheelspin]

Use Aiptasia X. Inexpensive and effective. You can remove the rock to another tank or a tupperware to treat it. If you do use a household method they are not very effective. They do cause ph swing so if you do try it remove the rock to someplace separate. That way you don't mess with the ph of the system. Simple precautions like that make the difference.

I have gotten rid of some by just injecting it with boiling water, just have to not scald yourself...lol

 

[bassman57]

Since it looks like our cycle is moving along well, we're starting to look at what we want for a CUC. I put a list together; no particular rhyme or reason. Let me know what you think. Anything we should remove or add?

4 - Astrea
6 - Cerith
5 - Nassarius
2 - Scarlet Reef Hermits
2 - Peppermint Shrimp

We might add 2 Peppermint Shrimp, does that seem like too many for a 20g? When the cycle finishes, should we add the entire cleanup crew or should we add a few at a time so we don't have our Ammonia or Nitrite spike up again?

 

[saltjohnswharf]

2 peppermint shrimp are fine for a 20. Do feed them, and any cleaners you may add, if they need it. I myself prefer to add cleaners a few at a time. That way you don't over shoot what you actually need. For example: Add the astreas now and 2 nassirius. You may only need 2 nassirius if you get the super tongan ones. For interest go ahead and add the peppermints now too. That way there is something to look at. If algae growth is getting out of hand then add the cerith and maybe a nerite. These inverts should not cause a problem with ammonia or nitrite but if you add more than you need they do pose a problem of being unnecessary money spent!

It's fun to add stuff. Even lame snails. Don't get ahead of yourself and bring home a damsel or a clown fish though! Or a frag for that matter!