collegeman
Member
I think one should never put xenia in a nano. I made the mistake and i am now paying.
My JBJ 28gal Nano Build Thread
- Thread starter ange062
- Start date
ange062
New member
I'll definitely take note of that xenia issues. I've done pretty well at keeping it isolated so far and planned to frag both that on my GSP back to my trusty LFS when needed. Hopefully I don't have issues with it running wild.
At this point, I am more concerned with the caulerpa as it grows about 10x faster than the xenia. I find myself having to prune it weekly now.
At this point, I am more concerned with the caulerpa as it grows about 10x faster than the xenia. I find myself having to prune it weekly now.
john miller
New member
Mine has been fragging my kenya tree for me. It has to really stretch out to reach it and most of time it looses what it snips off. Maybe you can trade him for another one at your LFS.
ange062
New member
Oh no, definitely trying to chow down on the polyps.
Trying feeding the tank a bit more, mine has gotten to the point where along with everything else it's hanging out towards the front of the tank by the time I get home from work and doesn't disappear back into the rocks until it's sure no more food is coming. Sounds like most likely it's hungry since you had the first acro in there for a while and never mentioned anything.
SlvrSurfRidr
aka: coraltopia
+1 - emeralds need a lot of food. When they are hungry, they find whatever is edible to eat. I finally gave up on mine after a year in the tank, was more work than benefit (even though they are kind of fun to watch
)
ange062
New member
You guys are probably right, there really hasn't been ANY algae growth in my tank lately except coralline, and you can tell from the patterns that the emerald has been doing a number on it.
I feel like I feed a lot, typically twice daily with 0.5mm Spectra pellets, frozen mysis, or frozen brine during "daylight" hours (I run my lights 3p-12a). Then every couple of days I alternate adding either phyto or zoo plankton at night since that's when the corals all have their feeders extended.
I may need to start "target" feeding my CUC at night. I'll look into some heavier sinking shrimp pellets, and maybe today throw in a fresh clam and mussel on the half shell as a special treat. Also been tossing around the idea of getting rid of my caulerpa / red kelp combo in exchange for lettuce algae / grape kelp combo for some live growing herbivore food.
I feel like I feed a lot, typically twice daily with 0.5mm Spectra pellets, frozen mysis, or frozen brine during "daylight" hours (I run my lights 3p-12a). Then every couple of days I alternate adding either phyto or zoo plankton at night since that's when the corals all have their feeders extended.
I may need to start "target" feeding my CUC at night. I'll look into some heavier sinking shrimp pellets, and maybe today throw in a fresh clam and mussel on the half shell as a special treat. Also been tossing around the idea of getting rid of my caulerpa / red kelp combo in exchange for lettuce algae / grape kelp combo for some live growing herbivore food.
To help feed the cuc and the two shrimp you have, instead fo dropping the food onto the water surface, hold it in your hand and release it under the water, much more of it will get into the water colum and get to the other tank inhabitants. You may also want to look into some Nori and putting a bit in the tank here and there somewhere where the cuc can get to it. With the skimmer you have, it would be very very hard to actually overfeed to where it will be detrimental to your WC
john miller
New member
I tear raw shrimp apart into small chunks just large enough to sink and let the flow blow it into the rocks. You'd be surprised how fast a hermit can move going after it.
ange062
New member
Well half a large shrimp diced was a big hit. The emerald, CBS, and nassarius went crazy over it, and the hermits picked up the leftover scraps. The coral beauty even got a couple bites in. Didn't see the emerald messing with corals again, so I think I will start trying to do this 1-2 times a week. I did catch him peacefully sleeping on the acro though, ugggg...
The ricordia's are crazy. I thought it would take months for them to cover this rock but it's just about done already. Check out this comparison of Day1 to Day12:
The SPS looks good still. The acro has a very bright green shimmer that I can't capture on a camera. I don't think the color will change much from here, so probably a month from now I plan to trade it in for a beautiful blue millepora piece grown from an ORA frag. The ORA frags have great PE and color, can't wait to watch them grow out.
The ricordia's are crazy. I thought it would take months for them to cover this rock but it's just about done already. Check out this comparison of Day1 to Day12:
The SPS looks good still. The acro has a very bright green shimmer that I can't capture on a camera. I don't think the color will change much from here, so probably a month from now I plan to trade it in for a beautiful blue millepora piece grown from an ORA frag. The ORA frags have great PE and color, can't wait to watch them grow out.
The acro will be fine with the crab sleeping in it, if anything it will at the very least detract any other pests from it, I dont know why they do it but mine decided it was where he was sleeping a month ago, not that it has anything to do with it but growth has jumped in the last 3 weeks and its colored up better than it was when I picked it up, as the polyps have turned almost neon green and there is a slight neon green tint on some of the skin...I think I may have gotten a huge steal on this aquacultured piece. Rics take a while to acclimate, I found this out about two weeks ago when I was concerned about one of the first two I had picked up, around the 10 day mark mine seemingly doubled in size as well which is a very good thing for us to know with small tanks lol.
Ange, your tank looks AMAZING! I Have the same tank as you but yours is spectacular!
Please do tell us what the green plant is smack in middle? It's gorgeous and really sets off the colors! Obviously the coral is gorgeous as well!
Also, I saw in an earlier post you dose seachem reef iodide and magnesium, I was wondering if you could be so kind as to post any other additives/maintenance you perform? I am still trying to understand everything about reef keeping and let's jsut say I dont know what I don't know.
Keep up the great work! It's inspring...
Please do tell us what the green plant is smack in middle? It's gorgeous and really sets off the colors! Obviously the coral is gorgeous as well!
Also, I saw in an earlier post you dose seachem reef iodide and magnesium, I was wondering if you could be so kind as to post any other additives/maintenance you perform? I am still trying to understand everything about reef keeping and let's jsut say I dont know what I don't know.
Keep up the great work! It's inspring...
ange062
New member
Thanks for the comments Crease and Audi! The green stuff is caulerpa macro-algae. I like how it looks in the tank and it helps to control phosphates (mine stay at 0 or VFT).
I typically dose Kent Tech M Magnesium, Kent Purple Up, and Seachem Iodide halfway between weekly water changes. I think I am going to change this up though. My Mg has been staying constant, but my Ca has been running a little high and my Alk a little low, so will probably be switching to a 2-part Ca/Alk in conjunction with the Mg/Iodide.
Other than that, I do weekly 4-5gal water changes along with a deep/aggressive vacuuming of the sand and a thorough glass scrubbing. Rocks/corals are cleaned with a turkey baster 2 times a week. I use a cut up filter sock in top tray of media basket which is changed out daily. I also alternate adding phyto/zoo plankton a couple times a week.
As far as dosing, just make sure you are testing for what you are adding, unless you have a heavy coral load it's probably not going to do anything for you (and isn't needed). Weekly water changes with quality salt mix are likely enough for the majority of situations. I never noticed levels moving before adding 6-pieces of SPS and a clam.
I typically dose Kent Tech M Magnesium, Kent Purple Up, and Seachem Iodide halfway between weekly water changes. I think I am going to change this up though. My Mg has been staying constant, but my Ca has been running a little high and my Alk a little low, so will probably be switching to a 2-part Ca/Alk in conjunction with the Mg/Iodide.
Other than that, I do weekly 4-5gal water changes along with a deep/aggressive vacuuming of the sand and a thorough glass scrubbing. Rocks/corals are cleaned with a turkey baster 2 times a week. I use a cut up filter sock in top tray of media basket which is changed out daily. I also alternate adding phyto/zoo plankton a couple times a week.
As far as dosing, just make sure you are testing for what you are adding, unless you have a heavy coral load it's probably not going to do anything for you (and isn't needed). Weekly water changes with quality salt mix are likely enough for the majority of situations. I never noticed levels moving before adding 6-pieces of SPS and a clam.
ange062
New member
Thanks heliguy!
Well, I went out of town this weekend and left the tank unattended for the first time. I bought an Eheim feeder, removed the stock feeding lid, and ghetto rigged a custom lid out of aluminum foil and packing tape since I was in a rush and didn't want my jumpers on the floor when I got home. Had to modify the feeder also to get the right amount using my Spectra micro pellets. I was really scared when I got home this evening, but everything looked alright. Much to my dismay, the extra tilt when on the canopy had led to about 2x my calculated amount of food dropping twice a day. The floss had tons of food in it, the skimmer had 3-wks worth of skimmate, and evap was a little over par at 3-in for 3-days.
Everything looks good, the SPS actually has better PE than normal, only the rasta seems to be bothered at this point but not sure what's up with that. Rics are the largest I have ever seen.
I tested water and NH3, NO2, NO3, and PO4 are all in check at 0. Alk is a tad low at 7.5, and Ca is at 440, with pH at 8.3. Going to switch supplements as I mentioned earlier to get this in check, though it's not a huge concern right now.
Updated FTS:
Well, I went out of town this weekend and left the tank unattended for the first time. I bought an Eheim feeder, removed the stock feeding lid, and ghetto rigged a custom lid out of aluminum foil and packing tape since I was in a rush and didn't want my jumpers on the floor when I got home. Had to modify the feeder also to get the right amount using my Spectra micro pellets. I was really scared when I got home this evening, but everything looked alright. Much to my dismay, the extra tilt when on the canopy had led to about 2x my calculated amount of food dropping twice a day. The floss had tons of food in it, the skimmer had 3-wks worth of skimmate, and evap was a little over par at 3-in for 3-days.
Everything looks good, the SPS actually has better PE than normal, only the rasta seems to be bothered at this point but not sure what's up with that. Rics are the largest I have ever seen.
I tested water and NH3, NO2, NO3, and PO4 are all in check at 0. Alk is a tad low at 7.5, and Ca is at 440, with pH at 8.3. Going to switch supplements as I mentioned earlier to get this in check, though it's not a huge concern right now.
Updated FTS:
