Step-by-step account of my first reef (with lots of pics)

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You can buy those short cords cheaply online, and even at places like Fry's Electronics. I think I bought a 10 pack for like $14 shipped a year ago. Yours looks great, but the ends aren't cheap. Here's 6 on Ebay for that price:
http://cgi.ebay.com/6-Pack-Power-St...709121114QQcategoryZ45342QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Why aren't you simplying siphoning out the flatworms you see when you treat? Reduce their population proactively, I'd say. Use the flatworm vacuum, without the bag. Just put the tubing in a nearby bucket.

flatworm_vacuum.jpg
 
melev - I realize I could have gotten those short extension cords, but I already had the supplies at my house (I bought them before I knew about the pre-made ones) and I was happy to do a DIY project. I'll certainly keep the others in mind for future uses if necessary.

I do siphon out the flatworms proactively, but I wanted to leave a few on the glass so I could watch them and see if they died from the treatment. I swear, I wish I could have filmed a movie. As soon as the FWE was added to the tank, they dove straight down into the sand where I believe they are relatively protected. I still feel like a lot of them are resistant to FWE. I was convinced of this when I siphoned out hundreds of them into a 1 gallon container, then added 5 drops of FWE (this amount should treat about 6 gallons). After an hour there were still flatworms crawling around the container. I guess I'll have to approach it like I've approached the bryopsis -- persistant removal from the system with repeated treatments and siphoning.

My new fan works OK, but boy is it loud. I'm considering the variable voltage device to dial it down, but this clearly would not provide sufficient cooling. I may have to change it out for a different fan entirely :rolleyes: .

p.s. that's one bag full'o flatworms - makes me wanna hurl
 
Well, for $40, you could have a variable speed IceCap fan that will do the job, and do it well. I'm very pleased with mine, and use them as needed. They ran today, because I used fresh air to keep the tank cool. The fans really take care of the heat emanating from the bulbs.

When I go back to running the A/C unit, the fans will go on break for a while.
 
I'm not sure if that IceCap fan would work with my ReefKeeper since it has its own temperature probe. On the other hand, there's no reason that I'd have to hook it into the ReefKeeper, is there? If it's that much quieter, that may just be the way to go.

Finally, something to celebrate ...

While looking into the tank tonight I saw the first evidence of non-protozoal reproduction. One of the cerith snails was resting on top of a huge string of eggs that were laid right on top of the magnet cleaner. I took some pics but am not sure if they turned out or not. At any rate, I'm very happy to have signs of good health in the tank, even if it is just snails. I'm going to introduce the sixline wrasse into the tank tomorrow and I wonder if it will eat the eggs. The peppermint shrimp, clown fish and LMB are showing no interest at all.

After the water change over the weekend and restarting the skimmer the GSP have opened back up. The skimmer is going nuts! I'm nearly filling the collection cup daily now, and it truly reeks.

Since running the reverse photoperiod on my fuge light, my pH has been much more stable and runs close to 8.2 throughout the day. I've therefore crept up a little on my kalk addition. I've also noticed that with the proliferation of the nuissance algae, my coralline growth has ceased and actually regressed. I'm hoping it will grow again once the nuissance algae is better controlled. Since cleaning the CL drain pipe with muriatic algae, I'll have a good place to monitor new coralline growth - that pipe was completely caked with coralline when I cleaned it. Now it's pearly white.

The other byproduct of my recent cleaning binge is that the flow is definitely improved in the tank after cleaning the SCWD. This, too, should help with the algae control.
 
It's been 7 whole days since I pruned any bryopsis and I'm happy to say that there are very few patches that now require any manual removal. I don't know if it's the lettuce nudis, the LMB, the higher alkalinity, the improved flow, or a combo of everything that's making the difference, but whatever it is, it's working. I've only seen 2 nudibranchs over the past 2 days so either one is dead, or I'm only seeing 2 at any given time. Even though my tank is small, there are a thousand places for them to hide so the third one might still be alive.

Last night I saw another row of snail eggs, this time on the glass. They were gone this morning, so either something ate them or they were swept away in the current. The first "clutch" of eggs remains on the magnet cleaner. I hope a horny male snail (can I say that on RC?) comes by soon to fertilize them.

My new sixline wrasse was moved from the QT to the display. There was no hostility whatsoever between it and my other 2 fish. It hid in the rocks for only a minute or so, then it began rummaging around and eating pods off the rocks. When I fed the tank it ate as well. I like this fish already.

The LMB still looks pretty thin to me. Of course, compared to my clownfish, any fish would look thin. I see it eat off of the rocks and glass regularly, so I'm pretty sure it's not starving, but I've read so many legendary accounts of portly LMBs that I am a little concerned. My tank still has plenty of algae (hair and leaf) so I'm going to resist adding any supplemental food specifically for the blenny since I'd really like him to eat the nuissance algae.
 
alilen9168 - Thanks for the kind words. With the algae troubles I'm having it's nice to hear that it looks good to somebody. You must have read a lot of this thread, since I haven't posted a full tank shot in quite a while. I should get on that.

jfw60 - Thanks for the link and no, I hadn't heard of them before. It looks like a great alternative, since I'm entirely frustrated with my flatworm problem. I looked back on my aquarium log just today and I've been battling them since November, 2005. I guess they're the gift that keep on giving :D .

How long did your blue velvet nudi live after your FW's were gone? In the description it mentioned that they need a constant supply of flatworms to stay alive. I would presume that once the worms die, so goeth the nudi. I could also imagine a situation where the nudibranch eats all of the 'hatched' flatworms, then dies before the flatworm eggs hatch, resulting in a continued flatworm infestation. Glad it worked for you, though!

If you don't mind, could you expand on your experience with this nudibranch and your flatworm problem? For instance,
How long did you have FW's?
How many BV nudis did you get for your tank?
How long did it take them to rid your system of the worms?
Did you put one in your sump also?
Did you ever see a FW recurrence once you noticed that they were gone?

Sorry if that's a lot of questions, but I'm very intrigued by this potential solution to my FW problem. I'm going to do a search on them as well.
 
I might not need those blue velvet nudibranchs afterall, as I may just have imported the flatworm killer that I've been looking for. It's my new sixline wrasse. The day before adding it to the tank I saw the uprisings of a new outbreak of flatworms on the glass. Last night, the day after adding the sixline to the tank, I counted only 2 worms on the glass, and I think I even saw the fish eat one of them! I can't wait to get home tonight and see how many are in the tank. It's funny how my previous sixline never ate a singe flatworm, as far as I can tell, and this one has potentially nearly rid my tank of them entirely. Nevertheless, jfw60, I'd still like to get answers to those questions in case my sixline isn't as good as I think it is.

The bryopsis continues to regress, and I found that 3rd lettuce nudi last night ... in the sump. It passed through the screen to the intake of my overflow box, through the screen inside the overflow box, and through the spraybar into my sump, and I saw it climbing along the acrylic of the sump wall. I didn't hire it to work down there, so I placed it back into the tank. I'm kind of amazed it survived that trip and hope it doesn't take it again.
 
life is good

life is good

Over the past week I think I've counted only 2 flatworms in my tank :beer: . The new sixline wrasse has taken on a beautiful coloration and obviously has an appetite for the pestulant protozoans. This fish is just what I was hoping to get from a sixline wrasse; an active swimmer and good cruiser of the rocks (this fish covers the entire tank), flatworm assassin, and pretty to boot. I don't want to say I'm happy that my last sixline wrasse died, but it certainly didn't control the flatworms like this one does. I hope to never add FWE to my tank again, and I'll reserve its use for dipping new corals.

The other good news is that the bryopsis is definitely on the way out :celeb2: . The last time I pruned it was nearly a week ago and it only took me 45 minutes to remove all that was accessable. I used to prune for 3 hours and could have done more if I would have had the desire. I don't even mind the few small patches of bryopsis that are left (I can't reach them without taking down my aquascape) since I know that they will be food for my LMB and/or lettuce nudis. I've only been seeing 2 of them over the past 2 days so one might be dead; I haven't seen it in the sump this time.

I gave the largest piece (canteloupe size) of monti capricornis to a friend for his tank. It was too big for my tank and looks really nice in his 180. This coral probably contained as much SPS volume as all of the other SPS in my tank combined, and I'm interested to see how removing it affects my calcium and alkalinity levels. I may be able to decrease the volume of B-Ionic that I'm adding. I'm now seeing coralline algae growing on my recently cleaned CL drain pipe.

Bummers include the disappearance of an orange ricordea polyp (that never did well since being placed into my tank) and the disappearance of the tiny coral that I found a while back and was growing on the 1/2 mollusk shell. It's too bad since I wanted to see what this developed into. My green ricordeas (the ones on my avatar) are still looking quite pale, and I wonder if I should place them in a different location with less light? I don't think I can blame my Phoenix 14K bulb since they were beginning to change color before I switched out the XM 15K bulb. Maybe I need to feed them more? I have some rotifers and I might give it a try.

Last night my pumps really got a workout. We had an intense thunder/lightning storm from about 2:45-3:15 a.m. and the power went off and on at least 4 times in that time period. I got up to check on the tank during that time, and to enjoy the spectacle going on outside. The pumps never hiccupped, there was no risk of flooding, and I have a new level of comfort with my system now that it's been adequately cristened with bad weather.

Not much input here from other folks lately (or from me for that matter) so I know what that means ... need more pics, right? I'll get on it.
 
Glad to hear the FWs are getting a woop'n from your six line.

I am struggling with pyramid snails ... arrrgh!!!

And yes, WE NEED PICS!!!
 
MORE PICS! :)

Glad to see you're getting a handle on the flatworm problem. Hope I never run into it, but I probably will. Right now it's the red cotton candy algae that's a pain. I was in Orlando all this week, and when I came home this afternoon there was definitiely a lot more of it in the tank.

On Tuesday I leave for another week to Atlanta. My son will stay home and watch the tank. I've been training him on the systems, but I'm still nervous.

My frogspawn does not look happy for the last couple of weeks. It doesn't extend much at all. So tonight I tried moving it a bit. It was in an area of high light and high flow. I moved it over to the cornor of the tank for a bit less light and more gentle flow, and see what that does. I have been feeding it a bit of mashed up silverside once a week or so. Does that seem right? I've read all my books, and I got to admit that they're kinda sketchy on feeding details.

I missed the storm action the other night, but my wife told me it hailed like crazy up here. No power outages, luckily. My son could hook up the inverter and the generators if need be, but my wife is not a 'lectricty person. She'd probably electrocute herself and the fish!

Bruce
 
Bruce,

Sounds like what you're feeding the frogspawn is a little big for it's tiny mouths. Something along the lines of cyclopeeze, cyclops, rotifers, or some even reef roids may be more appropriate. Check out the reef roids at www.finsreef.com one of RC's sponsors. They definitely elicited a feeding response when I tried them and they don't need to be refrigerated or frozen which would help getting them out to you.

Mike,

Tell them the real reason you haven't been posting a bunch... a big tank is in the works folks for Mike's office... a BIG tank.

John
 
Bax - Pyramid snails hu? I haven't had them ... yet. How do you get rid of them?

As far as the flatworms go, I may have spoke too soon. Today I saw about 8 of them. Maybe I'm feeding my sixline too much. Looking at the size of its belly, I know it's eating a ton of food! The LMB, on the other hand, is as skinny as a rail. I'm really getting concerned about this fish. Its respiratory rate is lightning fast, and I haven't seen it eat in a while. There appears to be plenty of algae in the tank, but maybe it's not to the fish's liking. I may have to get some supplemental food for it and hope that it eats.

I found another nudi in the sump today. I can't believe they can travel through so many screens and still survive.

bcoons - Leaving the tank for the first time is definitely anxiety-provoking. I don't want to jynx you, but I've returned from every trip I've taken to some kind of problem. Fortunately it's usually something minor, except for the time I had that small flood :p . As far as your frogspawn goes, I like the description of where you moved it ... it should be happier there. For food you could also give it mysis shrimp. I target feed my frogspawn with my seafood mixture every day, but there are many folks who never feed them. I don't think you can go wrong with whatever technique you use.

Tomorrow I'm going to clean the glass and get some pics. Until then, here's what the cerith snail eggs that hatched in my tank looked like.

ceritheggs1.jpg


ceritheggs2.jpg


John - Yeah, the planning of my office tank has taken priority over my little 30g. Once we finalize the plans a little more I'll post another link here, but suffice it to say that we've decided on a 450g display (up from my previous plan of 215)! :D
 
Well, I've been doing some research using the search function on RC (now that I'm a paid member, it works much more often) and I'm pretty sure that the cute little red puffballs of algae in my tank are Asparagopsis. Very bad news from what I've read. Very difficult to eradicate. Best response seems to be to get some Pacific Mexican Turbo Snails. {sigh} I guess there is always a challenge going on in this hobby.

Oh, well, when I get back from Atlanta next week I'll try to get some snails and see what happens. More continuing education on this thread.

And, BTW, I have tickets for the new Georgia Aquarium next Sunday at 10 AM. Eat your hearts out! :D
Bruce
 
Bruce - If I'm correct, I believe that the Georgia Aquarium is the largest public aquarium in the world. You should see if you can get a tour of the pump rooms and see the inner workings of the aquarium. When I went to Moody Gardens in Galveston last year, I spoke with one of the guys who was feeding the fish and he was all too enthusiastic to tell me what went on "behind the scenes." Of course you'll have to take pics and post'em on RC. If you do please put a link here.

Yesterday I did a water change and siphoned out about 10 flatworms. During the siphoning of the sump I looked very hard for the 3rd lettuce nudi but had no luck. It's been about a week since I've seen 3 of them so I'm pretty confident that I'm down to 2.

I added a coupling to the CL drain pipe so that it no longer sucks air when the pumps turn on after feed mode. Coralline is starting to take off on the drain pipe as well. The tank's looking pretty good right now and I'm feeling ready to add some more stuff. I'm still waiting for a juvenile true perc but my sources have not been getting them in lately. I'll be leaving town in a week and will be gone for 6 days so I'll probably put off getting the new fish until I get back anyway. Until then I still have the QT up and running. I think I'll just let it run fallow and do a 50% water change before I add a new fish to it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7227559#post7227559 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dudester The LMB, on the other hand, is as skinny as a rail. I'm really getting concerned about this fish. Its respiratory rate is lightning fast, and I haven't seen it eat in a while. There appears to be plenty of algae in the tank, but maybe it's not to the fish's liking. I may have to get some supplemental food for it and hope that it eats.
Click to expand...
I should have trusted my judgement. I came home this evening to find my peppermint shrimp and snails feasting on my poor deceased LMB. It was as skinny as a rail and I'm sure it starved to death. This is discouraging as there truly is a lot of algae in the tank. I'm skeptical of replacing this fish with another LMB but I really like their personality and behavior. Maybe, if I get another one, I'll try to train it immediately to eat prepared foods.
 
Unfortunately this seems to be the case with LMB all too often. They really don't like prepared foods and once the algae they prefer is gone, it's a matter of time before they starve to death. I still think yours had something wrong with it Mike because it definitely should have had a pot belly.

John
 
So John, would you recommend I try another one, maybe one that you keep at A.A. for a little while before taking home? Or could you recommend an alternate fish that would potentially eat hair algae?
 
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