The TBS

[Spiffyguy]

Got the first package without any issues. Boxes were not damaged except for some cracked Styrofoam in the rock box. This is part one of a 29 gallon package. So far I have seen a bunch of critters I have pulled out about 8 small Gorilla crabs, but no mantis yet. I do hear an occasional snap, not sure if it is mantis or pistol shrimp yet. I have a trap baited so we shall see what I catch.

I have also found a few whelks that got moved to the 10 gallon. Also a white Cowrie. Looked like a white sponge until it started moving. I did not remove that one yet. Anyone know what kinda damage it will do. It is all white with a few "greyish" spots. The shell seems to have color but I did not peel it back. I have also seen a worm that was swimming, not sure if I moved it and it was trying to get back to land or that was locomotion.

I have seen a few more Gorillas in there. Also a black crab that was very small. THere is a bunch of macro on all the rocks. My existing rock looks a bit bare and dead compared to the TBS stuff. Bunches of tube corals and some barnacles I think. I will get better pictures once the tank clears up some. I think there is some stony corals too that look like maybe a candy cane skeleton. Just before lights out I thought I saw some flesh popping out.

One question is when I turned my skimmer on after about 5 hours it immediately tried to foam over, even with the cup at the highest settings. I have it off now but any ideas?

Here are the pics. A full tank shot.

Boxes.

Open boxes. Sand on left and rock on right. Crazy bagging. No leaks at all.

3 inch serpent star.

The tube corals

one of the smaller rocks

Same serpent star I think?

The big rock.

small tube coral frag with a feather duster on it. Cool stuff.

I will have more tomorrow.

 

[sirreal63]

Nice looking rock!!! I would be pulling all that caulerpa off asap though...it has a way of invading.

 

[Spiffyguy]

I am going to keep and eye on it. I like the feather stuff. Looks nice but I got the snippers handy just in case.

 

[sirreal63]

The nice thing is this is just the base rock...the nice stuff comes later. Don't be alarmed if your lights cause all kinds of macro to grow that you didn't even know was on the rock. My rock is a couple years old and still I see new stuff popping up on it. Not all of it was good but I have mostly won the battle with the red turf algae. Oh...don't snip, it leaves the roots intact...gentle pull it off so thou get the roots as well.

Enjoy the TBS...if is so full of life.

 

[Spiffyguy]

Round two I take a lot of pictures lol.

Sneaky serpent star. I would like to note that I mixed the TBS sand with 35 pounds of my own. That is why there is a bunch of little white chunks.

Best pic I could get right now of the Cowrie. This guy looks like a sponge, white with little grey dots. It is semi center in the picture. This is not a sponge. I have held it in my hands and it moves lol. Just curious if anyone knows what type of cowrie it is. It seems to be nocturnal.

Here is some type of toothy coral. It is on the rock to the right of my galaxie coral. Not sure what it is. there is some tentacles coming out though. The sweepers are clear and there seems to be a slit or mouth in the center. Any ideas?

here are some individual rocks now that the water is cleared up some.

Nice yellow type sponge. I hope it makes it.

I have been using my existing rock as base rock and the TBS to cover it up. Can't wait to see part 2.

The big boulder.

Side view

 

[JxMetal]

trumpet coral?

 

[Spiffyguy]

Hmm I will check that. There are a few others on rocks scattered around. Someone suggested just a large tube coral but it seems to have a different shape to it. I will look into that. A few of them do seem to be hanging on. Might have to try feeding some frozen mysis once I can get my skimmer to stop foaming out the top every time I turn it on.

Found a few more neat critters today. Things are all over that is for sure. Found a tiny tiny crab, it is all black except for he claws and tips of the feet which are white. No clue what it is. Neat to say the least. Also found what I think is am abalone. Doesn't look so good but I think it was on its back for awhile. I moved some rocks and must have knocked it over. I will keep an eye on it. Also found what I think it s Euclid (sp?) worm. Some crazy centipede thing with tentacles on its mouth. If it is bad I am not sure how to get rid of it. I shot some video of it, might get that edited tonight or tomorrow.

 

[capncapo]

Your centipede sounds like it could be a eunicid worm. I would catch it and get a good pic. If it is you want to get rid of it.

They are unlike a lot of worms in that they have no problem with being out during the day. There is a reason for that.

 

[Spiffyguy]

I figured. I think I remember seeing a picture of one in somebody's build thread down in Florida. I will have to drop him a PM and see how he got rid of his.

 

[JxMetal]

Ok, now that I can look at the pic of that coral (not on my Palm anymore) it looks as if it's flat against the rock. Am I right? Or does it have stalk/shoots type of body?

It's definitly an LPS

 

[Spiffyguy]

it is raised off the rock. there is a definite skeleton there. The sweepers are clear with white dots on them. Like a sun coral just not yellow. I will try to get a better picture.

 

[JxMetal]

clear with white tips? How big?

Probably candycane/trumpet coral

 

[Spiffyguy]

think it might be a cup coral

http://www.ianskipworth.com/photo/d70uw/d70910/DSC_0112-1.jpg

 

[JxMetal]

sure! never seen a cup coral before. Just pagoda cups, but those are quite different.

 

[kirby_32]

The rock you got looks pretty good. Better than anything I 've seen around STL. How much did you pay for "the package"? How much for shipping?

I'm assuming since you list a 55 gallon tank you have some original base rock in your tank and are just supplimenting it with this package correct?

Also if you wouldn't mind sharing how much base rock did you get and how much "nice stuff" will you get? What kind of sand came with the package?

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[Spiffyguy]

I moved from a 24 gallon nanocube. I had about 30 pounds of rock and 35 pounds of sand. The tank is a 55 but it is only 40 inches long due to the in tank sump. I purchased the 29 gallon package. The first part was 55 bucks for shipping to Lambert. It was $369 for the package.

http://tampabaysaltwater.com/thepackage/package_chart.html

I think it is surely worth it. The rock I guess is base rock but it sure looks nice. The sand is shells and sand. I opened the bag is whiffed in the smell of the ocean. It was killer. Looks ok with my white agra live stuff I had. I think in the long run price wise comes out pretty close to 7 -8 pucks a pound I think. Keep in mind I still have more coming and critters too. The adventure has just begun.

 

[mpcart]

That is a cup coral. I had them all over my TBS. They lasted about a year on my rock. I still have some tube corals that are still around after two years.

Nice looking rock.

-Mike

 

[Spiffyguy]

OK I have found another freaky thing. It kinda looks like a Euclid worm but it is very small and swims. Dark color with points all down each side. Looks like little razors if you will. IT swims by wiggling like a snake. Back and forth motion. There are two. Just caught the first.

Should I keep it?

 

[capncapo]

PICS MAN!!! PICS!!!

not aware of anything harmful by that description but the description does'nt remind me of anything.

 

[Spiffyguy]

Too small for pics. I have to use a magnifying glass just to tell that. THe head looks pointed and I can't see any tentacles