TBS Rock

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13572939#post13572939 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sun777
I need to get some skewers to take the mantis and stone crab out. I have changed out 50% of my water today and still have a ammonia level of 1.5ppm.

I have updated my gallery with a pic of the stone crab and mantis

http://picasaweb.google.com/scrapnchip/Fish

Slow down on the water changes....as it will not cycle if water is changed too much..

Just watch the rock for changes...

make sure your test kit is good...get another cheepo one and compare results...

if the tank looks happy it is happy...let your observations direct you actions...

and don't stress out...this is not so hard....let it ride a couple of days and see what happens!



sea ya
Richard TBS
 
I gotta weigh in. (it's all good though)

I had a very difficult part 1 cycle. Ammonia at most times seemed to approach 2.5 plus (no, even more than that, I was just too scared to admit it) and I changed water aggressively to get it down. It didn't seem to work though (or so I thought, I went through 200 gallons in a week and even had to drain the hot tub:), The tank and the house stunk like a piling at lowtide. It was 10 days of the most maximum stress and lower back pain but the balance finally found itself (seemingly not through my intervention, I might add). It was like old Sol shining again after an extended eclipse. Nature's amazing and so was the cycle in retrospect. I guess you've got to earn your day in the sun (or under the T5s to be exact)

Part 2 was an incredible, reaffirming breeze though. The ammonia really never went over .25 and that's with a whole lot of stuff going in the tank all at once. If there was ever a time for the bioload to act up, this was it. Everything opened up right away and has stayed that way through what seems to have been a very gentle cycle. The tank's inhabitants were happy from the get-go. I did have one of the orange tree sponges go south after a week. It was looking bad and a smell of it's base confirmed it (gag, there's nothing subtle about the smell of a puking sponge, the top part of the sponge smelled OK though, interestingly enough).

I've got 1 mantis shrimp captive (who IMHO, is the best of the lot. They are very interesting critters) and at least 3 others loose in the tank (those hated hitchhikers). I don't fret though. Everything's looking fantastic. The fans and gorgonians are extended all the time. The lobe coral is in full bloom and pulsates like a xenia. Feather dusters, other worms and tunicates have made their appearance and add to drama.

There are beautiful yellow encrusting sponges on one rock that had some die off during acclimatization, but now they exhibit an open pore pattern that seems to show that they're really happy (I dare say, they're even spreading). The Condi anenomes look flourescent under the actinics. One green, one blue and another violet. (where the red one went, I don't know) They and the rock anenomes love a piece of shrimp every few days. The kids love feeding the inverts and now roll their eyes when their friends ask "When are you getting fish?"

I'm so glad I went this route. It makes sense to have the whole system working together (rock, sand, CUC, light and skimmer) in one step as opposed to adding elements piecemeal. I don't think I would ever have bought the quantity of snails and hermits that came with the package all at once otherwise. They sure are busy. The snails took care of a brown and red diatom bloom (normal in a cycle, I was told) in the tank tootsweet, cleaning the powerheads,return tubes, rocks and glass.

The serpent stars show themselves as soon as piece of shrimp is accidentally dropped. They look like the tripods in "War of the Worlds. I haven't seen the peppermint shrimp at all since they were added, though I did find a shed of the pistol shrimp after a day or so and now he hangs out, bigger and better, upside-down under one of the ledges. The cukes stay busy and visible too.

Hang in there Sun777. I was sooo nervous during part 1. The tank is really what I hoped it could be (and most important of all, my wife loves it now). I plan on keeping things moving ahead slowly and watch what I have grow and evolve. It's hard to resist adding stuff though, but I don't want to screw with a good thing yet. (A tridachna's on my chrismas list)

TBS shepherded me through the whole process with quick responses to my distressed emails and gave me the assurances I needed. Richard told me he hasn't had a customer fail yet and I would guess that even if they stumbled, through a fault of their own, he would still make good and get them straight. I've failed miserably and dramatically before in this hobby for one reason or another and I think it will be different this time.

oh and troymans postes r the best who needs punctiation or good sppells wen you have that expeririense :rollface:
 
Thanks Richard and Hobobob for talking me off the ledge. I have read so much about keeping ammonia levels below 1ppm that I have been very active with water changes to try and get there but still no luck with a current reading of 1.5ppm. I will get a cheap test kit tomorrow to check the ammonia and will watch and wait for the next couple of days.

The tank does seem ok I have some very small snails on the glass and some type of worms that are going all thru the live sand and I see a number of feather dusters. I have not noticed anything wrong with any of the sponges losing any color or what I call shedding.


One question for you hobobob. Do you feel the 200gallons in water changes helped or hurt your cycle?


Thanks
Kyle
 
Looking back and knowing that small changes are better than big ones, I don't know that I would have done it differently. A fifty percent change didn't put a detectable dent in my ammonia levels and my house really smelled.I did 50% changes for a few days in a row. I guess that the cycle spun a bit out of control starting with one offending rock that then involved the rest. The ammonia dropped suddenly to zero.

The rock definitely took a big hit deathwise during the cycle but the new stuff that came made the tank all spiffy looking
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13576374#post13576374 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hobobob
Looking back and knowing that small changes are better than big ones, I don't know that I would have done it differently. A fifty percent change didn't put a detectable dent in my ammonia levels and my house really smelled.I did 50% changes for a few days in a row. I guess that the cycle spun a bit out of control starting with one offending rock that then involved the rest. The ammonia dropped suddenly to zero.

The rock definitely took a big hit deathwise during the cycle but the new stuff that came made the tank all spiffy looking



You hit the Key...with this..


"guess that the cycle spun a bit out of control starting with one offending rock that then involved the rest, then ammonia dropped suddenly to zero."

sometimes one rock can be the problem child...when identified and removed...things are back on track again...be aware of any changes with the life on the rocks...you just never know...every tank is different....and every rock is different..

sea ya
Richard TBS




:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:
 
ammonia stayed at 1.5ppm with the API test ket. I went and bought a SeaChem ammonia meter that sticks to inside the tank and it shows the ammonia level at about .5ppm. I did have some of the clear jelly like sponge fall off one rock today and left what looked like a open sore on the rock.

I did not do any water changes today, but will keep my eye on the rock. Everything else looks good as the mantis and stone crab are moving around and the sea cucumber is busy as well. I noticed a number of small white organisms with out shells on the glass tonight.


Thanks
 
yeah i've got those too, i think they are either some sort of flatworms. Everything I've read indicates that they are ok. If you jump on the sand at night with a flashlight you'll see some copepods about. They should make good fish food once the tank is ready.
 
If you can't scrub it off, get the rock out of there. You can always replace it later. Better that than to foul everything with one rock's rudeness.

Your nose will tell you. It's not a subtle aroma at all. The jelly is a sponge checking out. I think it would depend on how much the sponge has insinuated itself into the rock whether you give up on the piece or not. If you can get it all off, you're probably good to go.

good luck
 
I tried another test kit and this one gave me almost the same reading as the API test kit. The SeaChem instant ammonia test kit that is in the tank is still showing .5ppm. When moving around a rock tonight I found 2 dead stone crabs. The mantis and cucumberr are still fine.


What are some sure signs that the tank is not happy?


Thanks for everyones help


Kyle
 
My ammonia came down to .5ppm. This after I removed a rock and found a few dead stone crabs. The rock that I removed and kept in a 5gal bucket with water had such a strong odor when I got home I thought I was going to vomit....Now that the ammonia is down I will just sit back and wait..
 
Well all is well in the tank ammonia is down to 0 my other readings are good. I am starting to notice a few brown spots starting to form on the rock. I have pulled a total of 6 dead gorilla crabs out of the tank. I can still hear the mantis and the other night the family and I saw him pounding some rock to make a hole a bigger. I have tried a very small pc of shrimp to try and get the mantis shrimp or the other crabs to come out but no luck.

I hope to get the 2delivery very soon from TBS
 
I got the brown spots too. I was told they were diatoms and a sign of the cycling . The snails in part 2 cleaned up the brown bloom right away.
 
Kyle,
I've really been enjoying your pictures and your posts.

So your gorilla crabs have molted! The mantis shrimps in my tank have pretty much hunted the gorilla crabs I missed to extinction.

When are you getting part 2?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13639906#post13639906 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sun777
I made my first mistake. I said earlier that I pulled 6 dead gorilla crabs out, but what I actually think I pulled out was there sheddings. I visited the tank first thing this morning and I saw a gorilla crab party in my tank. I am not sure where they have been hiding but them came out this morning.

Look here to see one of the party goers.


http://picasaweb.google.com/scrapnchip/Fish#5262026362577966210
It's amazing where and how well they can hide. Over the years I removed what came with my original shipment but there is still one that I have been hunting for the last year and still haven't been able to catch/kill. It's alittle less than the size of a 50-cent piece now but has learned to avoid any and all aspects of my presence. I catch glimpses of it every now and then but just long enough to frustrate me. It, of course, leaves empty snail shells about and I need to replenish the supply of snails every few months.
They really aren't much of a problem when very small, but as they grow they can be. Good luck catching them.
 
Back
Top