Thank you. And I think I will be ok. The live rock in my tank sits on about a 0-1/4" of sand, so I'm not too sure that he would be able to dig it out and topple anything. Maybe make it settle a little more, but I went shallow sand bed, and made sure when I placed my live rock that I wiggled them deep into the 1" sand bed. But seeing the way this guy digs... who knows.... lol. Maybe he'd be able to push sand underneath the rocks and "jack them upward" and dig em out later? Dont know if that is remotely possible, but I'm someone who tries not to rule out things as "impossible."
Up and Running
- Thread starter Mikilios
- Start date
Thank you. And I think I will be ok. The live rock in my tank sits on about a 0-1/4" of sand, so I'm not too sure that he would be able to dig it out and topple anything. Maybe make it settle a little more, but I went shallow sand bed, and made sure when I placed my live rock that I wiggled them deep into the 1" sand bed. But seeing the way this guy digs... who knows.... lol. Maybe he'd be able to push sand underneath the rocks and "jack them upward" and dig em out later? Dont know if that is remotely possible, but I'm someone who tries not to rule out things as "impossible."
Flame_Angel
Ready For Business
Looks like a great start into the hobby. I really like it when people take the time to research before they dive into the wide world of reef keeping. I'm also rather enamored with how you aquascaped your rockwork; looks great!
Why thank you flame angel! I appreciate the kind words.
Hair algae is doing well...lol
Hair algae is doing well...lol
So I went and picked up a handful more cleaners. 4 nassarius snails, 6 small ceriths, and two red hermits who have been attacking the hair algae growing on the live rock. The ywg and pistol shrimp have done a wonderful job stirring up all the sand and upsetting the growths of hair algae down low, and so far the ceriths are beggining to work on the remaining hair algae on the sand. Perhaps now my cleaning crew will be able to keep up with the green hair algae?
Hair algae is doing well...lol
So I went and picked up a handful more cleaners. 4 nassarius snails, 6 small ceriths, and two red hermits who have been attacking the hair algae growing on the live rock. The ywg and pistol shrimp have done a wonderful job stirring up all the sand and upsetting the growths of hair algae down low, and so far the ceriths are beggining to work on the remaining hair algae on the sand. Perhaps now my cleaning crew will be able to keep up with the green hair algae?
Shrimp Day
Shrimp Day
So I finished out the shrimp selection I wanted for the tank. Got 3 baby cleaners and a fire shrimp. It is funny that Eros (the resident fire shrimp) immediately came close to the acclimating fire shrimp and was watching him for a while. Just need to acclimate for a few hours now...
Shrimp Day
So I finished out the shrimp selection I wanted for the tank. Got 3 baby cleaners and a fire shrimp. It is funny that Eros (the resident fire shrimp) immediately came close to the acclimating fire shrimp and was watching him for a while. Just need to acclimate for a few hours now...
Your tank's nutrient levels will (ideally/likely/hopefully) come into balance, and the hair algae will stop growing
VERY happy fire shrimp
VERY happy fire shrimp
So I introduced the new fire shrimp first.... and her name is Big Ma (as she is the biggest of all the shrimp). Eros seemed to take an IMEDIATE liking to her, and courted her into his cave within 30 seconds of her freedom from the drip acclimation (apparently the 3 long hours of watching her being drip acclimated got him very excited to meet her). Eros and his favorite cave are now home to both Eros and Big Ma. They seemed to go through half an hour of "meet & greet" as well as maybe a little :love1: time too (Eros mounted her several times...).
After 10 more mins I let the trio of cleaner shrimp out. I am calling them Hewey, Dewey, and Lewey. They are comical in the way they rove the live rock and swim about. They are like a pack of wolves roaming around the tank. They did all gang up at one point on Big Ma and Eros. This was very humorous to watch play out. Eros basically "hid" behind (or ON) Big Ma, and let her guard the home front. She has chased off the cleaners several times (and the confrontation is nothing more then antennae whipping). All in all, I could not be happier with todays results. The fire shrimp are both content to keep their cave, and give no further chase. The cleaner shrimp will just have to make due with the other 46 gallons of tank space.
Good day. :beer:
VERY happy fire shrimp
So I introduced the new fire shrimp first.... and her name is Big Ma (as she is the biggest of all the shrimp). Eros seemed to take an IMEDIATE liking to her, and courted her into his cave within 30 seconds of her freedom from the drip acclimation (apparently the 3 long hours of watching her being drip acclimated got him very excited to meet her). Eros and his favorite cave are now home to both Eros and Big Ma. They seemed to go through half an hour of "meet & greet" as well as maybe a little :love1: time too (Eros mounted her several times...).
After 10 more mins I let the trio of cleaner shrimp out. I am calling them Hewey, Dewey, and Lewey. They are comical in the way they rove the live rock and swim about. They are like a pack of wolves roaming around the tank. They did all gang up at one point on Big Ma and Eros. This was very humorous to watch play out. Eros basically "hid" behind (or ON) Big Ma, and let her guard the home front. She has chased off the cleaners several times (and the confrontation is nothing more then antennae whipping). All in all, I could not be happier with todays results. The fire shrimp are both content to keep their cave, and give no further chase. The cleaner shrimp will just have to make due with the other 46 gallons of tank space.
Good day. :beer:
Why is it that I have a 50 gallon DT and all the large life forms (3 cleaner shrimp, 2 fire shrimp, and the ywg+pistol shrimp) all decided to call home the same 10 gallon section of rockwork? I am certain it is everyones favorite rock structure... but COME ON! lol. So much real estate... and they CHOOSE to crowd each other. Oh well... they all seem happy (and at least the cleaner shrimp will wander from time to time).
YWG+Pistol = daylight basement
2 fire shrimp = ground level cave room
3 cleaner shrimp = 2nd story penthouse tower
YWG+Pistol = daylight basement
2 fire shrimp = ground level cave room
3 cleaner shrimp = 2nd story penthouse tower
Went to petco today and bought a cheap water pump to circulate my replacement water (pushes 160g an hour). Now just waiting until tomorrow afternoon to do a 5 gallon water change. All the critters seem to be doing well, although I did lose a snail to a tempermental hermit crab. These things happen I suppose... I have decided that the couple of hermits I have will be the ONLY hermits I have, unless some dire need for more arises (and even then... I'll look for other solutions first). Pesky hermit crabs...
Hi there your tank looks great, and its nice to see you taking it slow. I don't have a tank but I have been lurking these pages for a while. In the above quote you were talking about sealing the top of the tank, from what I have read in other posts this could cause problems with the oxygen exchange on the surface. Just a thought, unless of course I misunderstood what you intend to do with the pieces.
Keep up the good work, lets get some more fts!
Thanks for the comments! And yeah, I have been taking it slow... and doing a lot of monitoring. The snails thus far have kept in the tank, so for the meantime I still have the open top. Its just a work in progress, and learn as I go to what all the little critters are doing. So far I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished so far. Everyone is eating, growing, and seemingly happy (minus the one rogue hermit crab.... :mad2
JrodSeattle
New member
What are you hoping to add to the tank next?
:fish2:
:fish2:
Good question
Good question
I just added 20 astrea snails. The tank is in need of the algae eaters... I also did a 6 gallon water change today. Everyone in the tank seems happy enough, and the astrea snails are immediately going after the algae. Yay snails. Also, I actually took some time today to stare intently at my refugium and realized.... that thing has blown up with pods..... after watching for a while it started to hurt my eyes...lol. They were swimming everywhere, and crawling on all the glass. Guess they are happy too.
All in all, a good day.
Next for the tank...hmmmm.... I'm thinking some more nassarius snails. =)
Good question
I just added 20 astrea snails. The tank is in need of the algae eaters... I also did a 6 gallon water change today. Everyone in the tank seems happy enough, and the astrea snails are immediately going after the algae. Yay snails. Also, I actually took some time today to stare intently at my refugium and realized.... that thing has blown up with pods..... after watching for a while it started to hurt my eyes...lol. They were swimming everywhere, and crawling on all the glass. Guess they are happy too.
All in all, a good day.
Next for the tank...hmmmm.... I'm thinking some more nassarius snails. =)
Almenmarine
New member
Can i see a photo of your Fuge?
to see the pods? or just to see what it looks like in general? because i definitely wont be able to get a good pic of the pods... lol. they are tiny... but they are EVERYWHERE.... on the substrate... in the cheato... climbing the tank wall... they really exploded in population in the last few days
Pod Happy
Pod Happy
The tank really seems to be having a "bloom" of pods recently. They are everywhere. I see them crawling on the glass in all chambers of the sump/refugium... and the display tank. I guess there isn't too much predation going on for them since I only have 1 Yellow Watchman Goby. I can't imagine that the inverts in the tank are eating them in mass quantity. Perhaps my hopes of one day having a mandarin will work out. It is fun to watch them from time to time darting around the cheato with jerky swimming motions. Anyhow... all inhabitants are doing well. The algae problem seems to be less now as far as expansive growth goes (perhaps because as time goes on, the coralline algae is slowly winning the real estate war, and the 20 astrea snails too). All in all, I feel good about where the system is at now that I am beyond the three week mark. :dance:
Now to contemplate what goes next into the tank. I will pick up a few more cleaners here and there, and I'm also thinking about adding the b&w clown pair. Perhaps also I could put a softie or lps into the tank in the next few weeks? It seems my system is pretty darn stable (considering I have never ventured into saltwater before) and for this I am grateful. It definitely pays to have quick diagnosis of issues and resolve them before they get big (such as the bubble algae that I dont see anymore, or the aiptasia I killed with joe's juice).
Another point I've noticed. One of the emerald crabs has molted (Poseidon, who is now much bigger then Percy), and two shrimp in the past week. It is easy to tell when the shrimp do.... their skeletons have landed in the Korallia covers both times..... kinda creepy seeing it because each time I thought one of my shrimp had gotten himself killed. But.... just molting. =)
Pod Happy
The tank really seems to be having a "bloom" of pods recently. They are everywhere. I see them crawling on the glass in all chambers of the sump/refugium... and the display tank. I guess there isn't too much predation going on for them since I only have 1 Yellow Watchman Goby. I can't imagine that the inverts in the tank are eating them in mass quantity. Perhaps my hopes of one day having a mandarin will work out. It is fun to watch them from time to time darting around the cheato with jerky swimming motions. Anyhow... all inhabitants are doing well. The algae problem seems to be less now as far as expansive growth goes (perhaps because as time goes on, the coralline algae is slowly winning the real estate war, and the 20 astrea snails too). All in all, I feel good about where the system is at now that I am beyond the three week mark. :dance:
Now to contemplate what goes next into the tank. I will pick up a few more cleaners here and there, and I'm also thinking about adding the b&w clown pair. Perhaps also I could put a softie or lps into the tank in the next few weeks? It seems my system is pretty darn stable (considering I have never ventured into saltwater before) and for this I am grateful. It definitely pays to have quick diagnosis of issues and resolve them before they get big (such as the bubble algae that I dont see anymore, or the aiptasia I killed with joe's juice).
Another point I've noticed. One of the emerald crabs has molted (Poseidon, who is now much bigger then Percy), and two shrimp in the past week. It is easy to tell when the shrimp do.... their skeletons have landed in the Korallia covers both times..... kinda creepy seeing it because each time I thought one of my shrimp had gotten himself killed. But.... just molting. =)
