Ah, the diatom phase…
The more pods, the merrier! What's your first fish planned?
The more pods, the merrier! What's your first fish planned?
Planning my macro algae/ seagrass tank
- Thread starter nawilson89
- Start date
nawilson89
New member
Either a blenny or a goby, depends what my lfs has.
The pod situation is out of control! I've never seen so many. I let the diatoms on the front glass just grow, really no reason to clean it just yet, and when I checked on it when I got home from work they were everywhere!
Awesome start! Are you seeing any spaghetti worms in your sand? Any snails laying eggs?
nawilson89
New member
Haven't seen any spaghetti worms or eggs. I have seen a single flatworm though. I actually don't remember if that's a good sign or not.
nawilson89
New member
I have two fish.
One Tail Spot Blenny
One Royal Gramma Basslet
Tomorrow after work I'm going to check if the LFS over by my job has any Goby I like.
I'm now debating what else I would want. I can't overload on goby because of fighting and I kind of dont want clownfish. So I was thinking 3 cardinals. Bangaii or Pajama.
On to macro algae:
Caulerpa is taking off just like I knew it would.
Chaeto is slowly growing.
Gracilaria and Dragon's Breath don't seem to have grown at all. In fact the dragon's breath doesnt look as amazing as it once did....
Halimeda is slow growing, not to worried about it.
One Tail Spot Blenny
One Royal Gramma Basslet
Tomorrow after work I'm going to check if the LFS over by my job has any Goby I like.
I'm now debating what else I would want. I can't overload on goby because of fighting and I kind of dont want clownfish. So I was thinking 3 cardinals. Bangaii or Pajama.
On to macro algae:
Caulerpa is taking off just like I knew it would.
Chaeto is slowly growing.
Gracilaria and Dragon's Breath don't seem to have grown at all. In fact the dragon's breath doesnt look as amazing as it once did....
Halimeda is slow growing, not to worried about it.
nawilson89
New member
Two neon gobys!
My pod shipment from reefs2go came in. So more pods! The Tailspot Blenny went for a bit of hunting. Which was good.
My gf saw the Blenny and Basslet have a standoff. They are still figuring stuff out. Poor kids.
My pod shipment from reefs2go came in. So more pods! The Tailspot Blenny went for a bit of hunting. Which was good.
My gf saw the Blenny and Basslet have a standoff. They are still figuring stuff out. Poor kids.
nawilson89
New member
This morning my tank was a little hazy and I don't know the cause so I did a small water change. I'm preparing some more water now just in case it doesn't clear up my tonight. I'll do a secondary water change.
Everything is looking good though. Caulerpa is still showing more growth than anything else, some lone pieces had turned white yesterday which is assume is why my tank was a bit cloudy.
Everything is looking good though. Caulerpa is still showing more growth than anything else, some lone pieces had turned white yesterday which is assume is why my tank was a bit cloudy.
nawilson89
New member
I'm seeing new shoots coming from the seagrass. I haven't even put any plant tabs yet.
nawilson89
New member
Sorry for the long read.
Sorry for the long read.
Flora:
I'm still not seeing much (if any) chaeto growth. It may be because they aren't free floating, but I'm not concerned. I've decided to pull the few pieces I have save for a bunch i have tucked into the entrance of a cave. That piece is used as security for a neon goby who has taken refuge in the rock.
The Dragon's Breath seems to be taking off, but I am waiting for more growth before sectioning it out.
Of course the caulerpa seems to be doing the best as expected. A few of it's leaves have grown larger and broader on some of the shoots.
Codium is being pushed down by the current, I plan on getting a weaker powerhead as I think my tank has TOO much current. I can't remember the rating of this circulation, but my fish haven't taken to a portion of the tank, probably because of the amount of current it's getting.
Gracilaria. I'm not sure on where it's gotten. Neither I nor my girlfriend have seen much change in it.
Halimeda is about the same as the graci. No note worthy changes.
As I said in a previous post, sea grass is throwing up new shoots. It's looking really good and seems to be doing much better than i expected.
Fauna:
All fish are eating well and looking healthy at this point. I've been monitoring them for a few days.
My neon goby "pair" are looking alright to say the least. One is slightly larger than the other and the bigger one does chase it a bit. At first I was a bit worried about that, but from my experience with gobies it's ok. My last pair of gobies (they were a different species though) did alot chasing and after a month started to spawn and did alot of the same activities these two are doing. The non dominant one is hiding out in a cave and comes out to explore and eat then goes back to the cave on it's own for the most part. My old pair of greenbanded did the same thing, both are looking very fat.
Two spot blenny was hiding out under the halimeda but has found a new cave dwelling in my largest rock. It technically has an apartment above my neon gobies. It's been out and about among the rock work picking up pods.
Royal Gramma says near the back of the tank for now in the rock work and is eating well. It's a bit skiddish which is weird for me as I've never had nor seen a Royal Gramma that was so reclusive.
I haven't established what I want as my remaining inhabitants. I want to add a few more different species of macro algae and a few fish.
Whether I do a few cardinal fish or a pair of sea horses is to be debated.
I plan on taking a few pictures tonight.
Sorry for the long read.
Flora:
I'm still not seeing much (if any) chaeto growth. It may be because they aren't free floating, but I'm not concerned. I've decided to pull the few pieces I have save for a bunch i have tucked into the entrance of a cave. That piece is used as security for a neon goby who has taken refuge in the rock.
The Dragon's Breath seems to be taking off, but I am waiting for more growth before sectioning it out.
Of course the caulerpa seems to be doing the best as expected. A few of it's leaves have grown larger and broader on some of the shoots.
Codium is being pushed down by the current, I plan on getting a weaker powerhead as I think my tank has TOO much current. I can't remember the rating of this circulation, but my fish haven't taken to a portion of the tank, probably because of the amount of current it's getting.
Gracilaria. I'm not sure on where it's gotten. Neither I nor my girlfriend have seen much change in it.
Halimeda is about the same as the graci. No note worthy changes.
As I said in a previous post, sea grass is throwing up new shoots. It's looking really good and seems to be doing much better than i expected.
Fauna:
All fish are eating well and looking healthy at this point. I've been monitoring them for a few days.
My neon goby "pair" are looking alright to say the least. One is slightly larger than the other and the bigger one does chase it a bit. At first I was a bit worried about that, but from my experience with gobies it's ok. My last pair of gobies (they were a different species though) did alot chasing and after a month started to spawn and did alot of the same activities these two are doing. The non dominant one is hiding out in a cave and comes out to explore and eat then goes back to the cave on it's own for the most part. My old pair of greenbanded did the same thing, both are looking very fat.
Two spot blenny was hiding out under the halimeda but has found a new cave dwelling in my largest rock. It technically has an apartment above my neon gobies. It's been out and about among the rock work picking up pods.
Royal Gramma says near the back of the tank for now in the rock work and is eating well. It's a bit skiddish which is weird for me as I've never had nor seen a Royal Gramma that was so reclusive.
I haven't established what I want as my remaining inhabitants. I want to add a few more different species of macro algae and a few fish.
Whether I do a few cardinal fish or a pair of sea horses is to be debated.
I plan on taking a few pictures tonight.
saltwater sam
New member
Pictures as often as possible 
nawilson89
New member
Pictures as often as possible
I try, but the tint of my pictures gives me a headache. it's so weird that my phone with a pretty decent camera takes such terrible picture of my build.
Sounds like all is well! Can you run pics through a photo edit software, to lose the pink?
nawilson89
New member
I've tried that with different apps on my phone. It's possible and probable that I am completely inept at this sort of thing.
nawilson89
New member
Picture time!!
Picture time!!
Shoal Grass growing in nicely
The only fish who will let me take it's picture. my two spot blenny
Dragon's breath
FTS
I added a few inverts.
3 astrea snails and 3 nassarius snails
one tiny blue leg hermit
one red leg hermit
Picture time!!
Shoal Grass growing in nicely
The only fish who will let me take it's picture. my two spot blenny
Dragon's breath
FTS
I added a few inverts.
3 astrea snails and 3 nassarius snails
one tiny blue leg hermit
one red leg hermit
That's awesome!
nawilson89
New member
So time for another water change. It seems my dumping of a whole bottle of phytoplankton a few weeks ago is now coming to bite me. What I thought was just a murky aquarium is actually bacterial bloom, as it hasn't gone away. Time for big water changes. I think it will be two 5 gallon changes over the course of the weekend. I don't want to reduce my light period as the (I forget if this is the right word) 'carbon dioxide' release in the night hours will kill off my inhabitants.
deepercon
New member
Hopefully your bacterial bloom will clear up and get your tank looking crustal clear(or the closest you can get to that)
I have a (wannabe) planted tank also and my codium got soft around the top and the branches just fell off and floated into the abyss.
Any idea why? As you have a nice stalk growing i see
I have a (wannabe) planted tank also and my codium got soft around the top and the branches just fell off and floated into the abyss.
Any idea why? As you have a nice stalk growing i see
nawilson89
New member
My battle with bacterial bloom is still ongoing. At this time I wish I had fan worms or porcelain crabs to eat up all this free floating goodies.
You're not carbon dosing, are you? That's how I got a bacterial bloom.
nawilson89
New member
Nope. No Carbon dosing.
Iodine, Iron and Manganese.
I was feeding everyday and maybe too much a day. I had alot of detritus laying around. I haven't fed since Thursday I think and it's been getting alot clearer with less detritus.
I also suctioned out a bit of detritus and I will do some more this week.
