what next?

MamaJones

MamaJones

proud reefer!
we bought a new test kit and levels were all at 0...so Joe aquascaped:
poolfloat059.jpg


and then I aquascaped, and then he aquascaped again. I don't really like his setup, and he didn't really like mine...but he already added our chromis to start the next mini cycle, as I understand should happen afterwards. Here's where we are at:
poolfloat061.jpg

any advice on aquascaping now that two tiny fish are in there? He likes more of a puzzle aproach fitting each piece to lock together making tunnels, while I like to more showcase pieces making them look more like art as I build up making caves.

after the next cycle when/what should I add next? (and I am expecting some kind of algae bloom...when's that gonna happen?)

here's a pic of our old tank:

poolfloat064.jpg

it's a barren land in there...I had to convince Joe to leave one rock b/c the fish were so freaked out! although, they all seem fine now :)


currently we have anthia, wrasse, nemo, goby, peppermint shrimp, snails, 1 turbo snail, crabs, and linkia starfish. check out the way that snail has torn into our algae. I should probably move one at a time, right? what about taking into account what i want: a kole or p.brown tang, sand sifters like another goby or garden eels, corals (frogspawn for sure unsure of other adds) mandarin fish, a blenny (bicolor or midas?), any other ideas cause I'm open for suggestion on anything peaceful and non-venomous.

I am mostly worried about the snail and the starfish...I can't leave them in the old tank long b/c their food will be gone, but I can acclimate them to the new tank too soon b/c their won't be enough or maybe the right kind of algae for them to eat. Mostly I'm worried about the starfish...I'm really in love with Peggy!
poolfloat053.jpg

the crab was just cleaning her off, she seemed to like it...like moving her arms so he could crawl safely from one place to the next.

So, my big question is what next? :sfish:my fiah thank you for your help!

oh, and our light (t5 fixture) should be in later this week.
 
oh yeah, and after 3 times of going through the tank shooting kalkwasser into aipstias...there are still more. I seem to find another everytime I look at the damn rocks. :frustrat:
the ones left are very small, should I put my peppermint in to take care of them? should I get more peppermints to keep them undercontrol? should I take every piece of live rock with aipstia on it and throw it out a second story window to crush them damn rock on a sidewalk!!! and then kick it around the block a few times and then throw it in the Mississippi and buy some new rock with the money I'll have to get from selling a kidney or maybe one of my rotten kids!

yes, no, maybe?
 
Ha!!

If the aiptasia are small, getting several peppermints should help a lot.

I would go for the kole tang over the PB. Koles are much hardier. I have a kole, and he's cool.

You are also right to try to move the fish over to the new tank slowly, but since you moved the rock out of the old tank, you'll have to watch your parameters in both tanks closely (rock provides biological filtration).

When I moved my 55 gallon over to a 240, I added everything at once -- all the fish, corals and inverts. I don't think I lost anything, and I used all new sand and all my old rock.
 
I like the second shot of the tank better.Looks like there is a mermaid in there taking pictures:wink:
Instead of trying to wage an all out war on small aiptasias.Do like Biff suggested and add several pepperment shrimp.Then you just gotta nuke the bigger aipts. that the pepperment may not eat.
 
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so, should I just go ahead add all at once? even the starfish? Joe is currently getting some peppermints to add to the tank today. I'll check the water now on both tanks.
That mermaid won't get out of my pictures, I can't figure out how to get a pic without my reflection in it or the huge glare of flash...I think once we get the light and then take one at night it would work better.
I also went ahead and re-aquascaped again today...I couldn't stand it. I think (cross my fingers) that we'll both be happy with what I did.

Thanks for the imput, I appreciate it so much!
 
Since you used the rock from the other tank,I think you'd be alright to move the rest of your livestock.Just keep an eye on ammonia and nitrites for a week or so.You MIGHT get a small cycle,so be ready just in case.
 
what kind of light did you guys order and is your tank reef ready or you gonna use hang on skimmer. make sure to add some powerheads for good water movement or you will have water problems constantly i know from experience. If you do a sump let me know i have some chaeto i can give you guys thats full of pods and bristle worms and live mysis shrimp all the good stuff and reef tank needs. Plus i can hook you up with some easy freebie corals like star polyps and kenya trees.
 
d.french said:
what kind of light did you guys order and is your tank reef ready or you gonna use hang on skimmer. make sure to add some powerheads for good water movement or you will have water problems constantly i know from experience. If you do a sump let me know i have some chaeto i can give you guys thats full of pods and bristle worms and live mysis shrimp all the good stuff and reef tank needs. Plus i can hook you up with some easy freebie corals like star polyps and kenya trees.
Click to expand...

are you just giving it away?
 
I went ahead and moved one fish yesterday...the one I could catch, a goby, and I haven't seen him since, I know he buries himself...I'm just a worywort. I'll move the other three fish one at a time today since our other tank is not handling nitrate levels so well.
the nitrates were not at 0 yesterday either, so I'm going to have to do a huge water change and maybe get some water conditioner???
We do have a sump! We'll soon have a light under there, I think we are just going to use our old tank's light since it's just a reg. compact flor. one. I don't really know much about sumps/refugium...except I know that I want all those creatures you were talking about, d. Where in IL are you?
As far as lights, we haven't ordered one like I thought Joe did...there was some miscommunication apparently. we have a glass top...a must with kids...and are getting a T5 nova extreme with lunar lights. I'm between the 4 light fixture and the 8 light. (2 10Ks/2 act) or (4 10K/ 4 act) because I was thinking 8 is a whole lotta light for us and the fish. But is the 4 set not enough for corals...I know that it won't penetrate well to the bottom, but we do have 4 inches of sand raising the bed up...we can just keep lowlight corals down there.
Am I completely off????

we have a skimmer... it's already got all the good bio junk in there...lots of fish poop everyday :) It hangs on our 30, but I was planning on putting it in the sump. we knew that we'd upgrade when we bought it so it's suppose to be good enough for a 200 gallon tank or something like that.
I'll take a pic of the sump area so you geniuses can tell me what to do with it :)
 
here's the sump pics and a current tank pic...I took the hood light off the old and just set in on the new...temp. fix just to perc up the fish in there a little.

fish006.jpg

fish007.jpg

fish009.jpg

should I put my protein skimmer on the back of the sump?
 
I'd either put the skimmer on the sump,or if it'll fit,just sit it down in the sump.That ways its off the display and out of sight.
 
i live in granite city IL. are there are tons of reefers in this area who are awesome and will even come by each others house to help set each others tanks and sumps up. if you look at my photo gallery i have pics of my tanks and sumps. If you decide to go with in sump skimmer Octopus skimmers are affordable and awesome. Let me know when your setup and ready to go i hook you guys up with some stuff. I'm in the local SLASH CLUB st. louis area saltwater hobbyst.
 
It's okay if your nitrates are above zero. It's really hard to get them (and keep them at zero). What you need to have at zero is ammonia and nitrites.
 
Wow...i checked out some of your like 300 pics d. How many tanks do you have!? I'll have to look into the "slash club" I've never heard of it. what LFS do you go to? which is your fav?

As far as the sump, ya'll are right...I do want it in the sump, but since we have the hang on kind we are looking into getting a new one.

All of our fish are in the new tank now...I'm going to move the linkia and the turbo snail tomorrow. I'm so scared about the linkia though b/c I think I'm lucky that he's made it this long. everybody pray for Peggy!

Should I get anything to lower my nitrates...I've been reading more about them and that they are mostly present but corals & even fish do better when they are at 0 too.

And when can I start growing things in my sump? I know I need to get the light down there...but after that do I have to wait for my bioballs to be all...bio-y? (that's a word right!?!)
 
when you move linkia do not expose to air, they say thats bad for them, never used megaflow sumps or any sumps with bio balls. i'll put out a link for you to a few helpful websites and the club sight for st. louis area. its hard to keep nitrates all the way down but wants everything is running smoothly in your tank add a few crocea clams since there the easiest of bunch and they filter feed on nitrates and there the secret to 0 nitrates in your tank. I like gatewayaquatics, there websites are gatewayaquatics.com and zomania.com they sell zoos, palys, and ricordea worldwide and have best selection and great prices, plus i go to beldts fish store and aquatic treasure here in illinois.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=414


for good ideas on sumps and sump setups
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
 

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