aquariumist

Testing my new video camera

2009-12-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

12g tank looks great!

2009-11-30T15:49:00.000-08:00

I have some new images of the 12g tank at the office. Enjoy!

Yellow Sponge Ball::

Peach Flower Sponge::

Green Star Polyps::

Pulsing Xenya::

Torch Coral::

Red Mushroom::

Brown button polyps::

Feather Duster::

Sun Coral (Closed)::

Toad Stool::

Zoanthids::

12g Nano - A couple more changes

2009-11-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

After all the changes I wrote about yesterday, I ended up changing things more. I waited a couple hours after I rearranged the chambers and grabbed a water sample. As I had written about, the water tests I have were showing the water as healthy, but there are two important tests that I didn't have... thus I grabbed the sample and headed to the fish store. He also said my salt level was to high (salinity / specific gravity).

The one I usually go to is closed on Tuesday (I always forget!), so I had to go a little further away to get it done. Bill is the owner if Neptune's Cove. I love his shop, and he is solidly the best teacher I know of. He knows his fish, and he doesn't mind giving advice to those who will listen. I had him test my water. He found that my KH (water hardness), and Calcium were way high. In fact they were so high, that in a 12g tank, I'm hurting my fish. As these two measures are so important to life, and I'm so far out of normal... I went ahead and purchased the test kits. I also purchased a pipette to spot feed my coral.

I've been wanting to do something with my water flow, so while I was there, I picked up one of these. I put it in the tank and I love it. I'm going to need to upgrade my pump now... but that will have to wait for payday.

To fix the salinity, KH, and Calcium levels I did a 1.5 gallon drain of the tank, then back filled with fresh water. I've done that twice (once last night, and once this morning). Specific gravity should read between 1.020ppm and 1.024ppm. Mine was at 1.027ppm.

I just tested it again. Salinity is at 1.022ppm (good). Calcium is 440ppm (good). KH is 143.3ppm (low). I've added a 'flick' of buffer to bring it back up.

12g Nano - A LOT of changes

2009-11-02T22:31:00.000-08:00

As pretty as the main tank is, the most important part of any salt water tank happens in places you can't see (or can't see well). On the nano cubes, there are compartmets behind the back wall of the tank. When you buy a nano, the come with 3 'chambers' inside the back wall. each chamber has a different design and purpose.

Out of the box, the tank comes with three blocks of sponge that sit in the first chamber. They feel about like a soft loofa sponge that you put in your bath/shower. The sponges catch large particles (like food and waste). Then natures takes over and beneficial bacteria grows inside the sponge.

The second is always empty at first, but I put 'live rock' in it. Live rock is the name that is given to the stones that are created when ocean corals die. The rocks are very porous and life (bacteria and microscopic organisms) literally grow inside the holes. Over time, the surface of the rocks collects beneficial algae. All of these life forms create an awesome natural filter for the water that flows through it. I put a baggie of small ceramic tubes in the second chamber as well. They also have many pours and overtime they also grow life that is beneficial to the tank.

The third chamber holds the pump, and as that takes up a great deal of space, I didn't ad anything to it. I tried to put the tanks heater in there, but the water level in that chamber is always much lower than the levels in the rest of the tank. The heater needs to be submersed in water. If the water level gets low, the heater will overheat, and burn out. To prevent this, I put the heater in the main tank. I never liked having it there, but I didn't have room for it in the back.

Fast forward to about a month ago. I purchased a protein skimmer. It's a really simple (but very cool) device that uses air to blow bubbles into the water. Clean salt water doesn't have enough protein to support bubbles. The more protein there is in the water, the longer the bubbles will stick together. The longer they stick together, the bigger the bubbles will get. Literally the yucky stuff in the water, will rise to the top of the protein skimmer, and fall into a little cup that sits on top.

This has been working pretty well, and every day I've had to clear out the skimmer to remove excess protein. Last night I made a lot of changes...

I took everything out of the back except the pump in the third chamber. Then I put it all back in in this order...

Chamber 1:

Proteins are generally created in the main tank, and the flow into the back through the return grate. That means that chamber 1 will always have a higher protein concentration than the other chambers. So I moved the protein skimmer to the first chamber. Also, because the sponges were no longer in the first chamber, I had room to put the heater in there with the skimmer. This made the main tank look better.

Chamber 2:

Live rock that is broken into small parts if termed 'rubble rock'. I put the rubble rock back into the bottom of the second chamber. Truly the rocks are the best filters for salt tanks. I also stuffed a single sponge on top of it to because it never hurts to have to much filtration.

Chamber 3:

There a LOTS of little chemical packs that you can buy and put into your tank. Each has a benefit unique to it's make up. This time I went with carbon. I'm told that it will clear up my water, and make everything look really crisp. I'm also considering putting a bag 'chempure' in the third chamber for the added water cleaning properties it offers.

All in all, I'm happy with the changes. I waited 2 hours and tested for niterite, niterate, PH, and ammonia. All of them came out perfect, except ammonia. You want it at zero, but mine came out at .25. This doesn't concern me now, because it's not very high, and there is going to be an ammonia spike when you start playing with the filtration.

Next I'm going to take a sample of water and have it tested today. I can't test for all the levels. I need to buy more test kits for that... but the test kits are not free, so new test kits will have to wait.

Happy tank

2009-11-02T11:59:00.000-08:00

Growth Part2

2009-10-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

Keep Growing

2009-10-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

I monitor a local aquarium forum from time to time, and yesterday I found a deal that is truly to good to pass up. I local youth has fragged his Sun Coral, and is selling frags for $15/frag. I've had my eye on a frag about half this size. The local fish store has one for $60, and it's only has 2 heads!

I couldn't pass it up. And the coolest thing? He used youtube to help sell them. I saw them and was hooked. I'm going to pick my frag up at around noon.

Power failure

2009-10-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Had a small scare when i came in today. It seems like the power failed, because the gravity skimmer was at the bottom of the tank. All the coral was sicky looking. It put the skimmer back in place, and let it run for about 20 minutes. Once the water flow was established, i stopped the pump, and did a 20% water change. After that everything opened back up, and now it all looks happy.

:)

2009-10-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Sun light disco

2009-10-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

I know this has nothing to do with aquariums, but i wanted to post this video of my office. This time of year, about 6PM, the sun comes into the windows and lights up our disco balls really well.

2009-10-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Happy Me!!!

2009-10-13T15:01:00.001-07:00

Ick! Videos like this remind me that I need to clean the outside of the glass with water sometimes. I couldn't help it... I'm so in love with this tank right now, that I had to shoot another video. I tested the water, and found almost everything is perfect! The PH a smidgen low, but I fixed that by adding a little buffer to bring the numbers back in line.

The star polyps have started attaching to the rock, and that makes me happy too! next week i'm going to try and find a small clump of mushrooms to add.

Waking up

2009-10-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

12g update

2009-10-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

Did a water change today... waited a couple hours and tested...

PH: ~8.2
Ammonia: .25 - .50
Nitrate: < 5.0
Nitrite: <.25

Happy tank! Happy tank keeper!

Auquarium = Happy

2009-10-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

I can't freak'en believe how happy this silly tank makes me! I swear I can be in the worst call with the worst customer, and slip away by looking inside my nano. I'm very sorry the many of the dollars I've spent so far have gone to waste, but I'm ecstatic about this tank.

My mind is filling with dreams of happy corral dancing in the current of the water. The very idea of that truely makes me happy. I was very discouraged after the heat of this summer crashed my tanks (and crushed my heart), but now I'm ready to slowly rebuild... in a smarter way.

I can totally see myself with a 150g tank one day.

:)

12g Nano update

2009-10-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

The 12g tank is doing great. I got a water test kit... the water is perfect! The striped damsel is still doing awesome... I had a couple of snails and a star fish in there with "fishy". The rock was starting to get very purple, and the sand is always clean, and I clean the glass regularly.

I had been noticing that the flow of water into the back chambers seems to be restricted. I pulled the sponges out and cleaned them... all three of them. Since then the water is perfect, and the water flow is much better. After the water parameters got back to normal, I took a trip over to the LFS. I picked up 10 blue leg crabs, 5 turbo snails, and a feather duster.

I waited for a couple of days for all that to normalize, and then went back to the store to check on some shrimp... no dice. They suggested that I not add any more inverts now, and I agree... the tank is a little thick with the crawlers at the moment. I did get a frag of star polyps though. It's sitting in the sand near the front of my tank. It's very happy.

It's all a very happy tank, and I'm a very very happy tank owner.

24g update

2009-07-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

When I came back from Europe, the 24g was empty and dirty. The glass was covered in algae, and the rocks bare. I left the water running and just let it sit there for. Grant's 90 gallon tank was very sad. Only the blue tang and the golden striped tomato clown were left...

Two weeks went by, and in that time the blue tang passed. Once it was gone, it occurred to me that the ammonia spike from my tank might have cleared. I tested the water, and all seemed perfect. I moved the tomato to the 24g. It wasn't healthy. The 90g tank's crash was hard on it. But it's been in the 24g for a couple of weeks now and it's doing MUCH better.

Once food was introduced back into the system, I noticed a hassarius snail come out of the sand... A couple days later, I noticed a hermit crab... then another. The tank's parameters are great, and all the life inside is happy.... though limited.

30g turn down

2009-07-02T21:25:00.001-07:00

I'm very sad to announce that the 30g take has been turned off and taken apart. I'm not sad because of the investment that I've lost. I'm sad because of all the life that was in that tank, and I didn't do what it took to care for it correctly.

New star

2009-06-24T11:00:00.001-07:00

I'm not going to post a photo, because I don't have a camera that will take a picture of it... but the 12g tank now has a baby star. it is about half the diameter of a penny. :)

New starfish

2009-05-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

This is my new clean up crew.

24g

2009-05-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

2009-05-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

24g

2009-05-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Been to long!!!

2009-04-20T20:39:00.001-07:00

I havent made time to update this one in a long time. Photo updates this weekend!

Luna in action

2009-03-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

2009-03-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

New baby... Luna!

Bliss

2009-02-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

This week I started my new roll with the company I work for. That means I get to spend the full day in the cube with my 12g tank. I'm so happy with it. I'm going to keep it growing and getting better.

Grant's water change

2009-02-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

Did a 20g water change on the 90g tank last night. The skimmer isn't working well. I don't know how to fix it. I'll need to get the previous owner to help me with it when he comes back. All the fish are happy and healthy. I seated the rocks so they won't fall as the goby's dig. The new goby's look great! The pair is fun to watch...

State Of The Aquarium(s)

2009-02-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

24g:

Yuck! There is green algae all over the back wall, and it is ever growing on the some parts of the rocks. The fish and coral seem happy. They eat well. I've been treating with with #1, #2, iodine, and tossing in a little phytoplankton. I must still be over feeding, though i sometimes skill a day, and rarely feed more than half a cube. The heat here fluctuates a lot, and the warmer it gets the more I have this problem. last night I got some phas-ban, and that should help me with the problem. I also pulled out one of the sponges , and cleaned it out. When I did that, a couple drops of the most foul water ever fell into the display part. It was awful, but cleared up nicely as the water circulated. The good news is all the life is happy.

30g:

I put glue on top of this thing. It was was easy, and all the coral in that area are much more happy.

Because of the heat, I took one of the lid panels off. The idea was to help dissipate the heat. The side affect was that my clams opened up a little more. So.... just to check on things... I pulled the other panel off too. Now the clams open up nicely. It's not as much as if I had a MH, but it's nice.

The long plate tentacle is dead. I had noticed it wasn't well. I thought it wasn't getting enough light, so I moved it to the middle of the tank. That seems to make it a bit more happy, but the snail's web thing kept irritating it. I left it in the tank until it's mouth was gaping open and it's tentacles were all but non existent. Now it's outside drying out. I want to keep it.

I had a snail die too. It was one of the pretty (and fun to watch) Nassarius Snails. I saw a hermit crab eating it :(. I'm saving it's shell too...

90g:

I'm told the gobies are happy in their new home. I hope to go see it this weekend. I like that tank because of all the technical stuff under it. It's really cool. 90g... that's a lot of water.

12g:

The 12 it happy. I'm staying on top of the water changes and the live stock seems to be happy. I need to work out a better feeding schedule. when i feed, i feed to much.. then to let the system get back to normal..i might skip a day. that's not good for the system over all. I need to correct that.

Grant's 90g bow front

2009-02-07T09:07:00.001-08:00

I went with grant to buy a couple of gobys, and shot this short video of the tank before we left.

Yellow Tail Blue Tang
Tomato Clown
Yellow Tail Blue Dansel
Coral Banded shrimp
2x Yellow spotted Gobys (new)
6x Nassarius Snails (New)

$19 of coral for the 12g

2009-02-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

Crab death (I think)

2009-02-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

I had two crabs?? REALLY?? I had no idea. The photo of the creature above is a crab... I'm sure of it. When I found him dead, I was very sad, because I only knew of one crab. I feed him from time to time. It's fun to watch him grab the food and yank it away from my holder tool. But tonight I got home and I noticed a little movement in the hole Mr. Crab uses to hide away in. I poked a small krill part in the opening, and just like always Mr. Crab comes right out and takes it away. So then what was this poor soul that passed away this week? Was this little creature hiding in yet another rock? Some one has said they recently saw a crab on the other end of the tank... I tried to feed the 'phantom crab', but never was able to draw it out. So i stated to suspect that there wasn't another.... well there was... There was two. Because one is dead, and one is still eating my offerings. Now I feel bad for the little dead one.... did I let him starve? If only I had known I would have taken care of him.

such is life... then death.

Feather duster update

2009-02-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

My feather duster is back! I was about to give up and take it out, but this morning he was standing proud. The rest of the reef is pretty happy. The long tenticle plate seems ill, but i moved it to help it out.

I'm not ready to add anything else to this tank as of right now. i'm pretty happy with the setup. I'll be moving in about a month, so i'm not going to disturb it more than i have to. The goby shakes things up enough. He causes the rocks to shift as it sifts the sand. On more than one occation, I have found some of my favorite coral laying on the ground. I also think that goby(kingsly) is the cause of the feather duster to lose it's head.

Life is moving right along.

Fishy in the new cube

2009-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

For those that care, and yet don't already know, I've taken a new role in my company. This is my new cube w/ my 12g nano, and the very first fish ever purchased.

New Zoas!

2009-01-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

What is this thing??

2009-01-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

It started out tiny, but keeps getting bigger. It doesn't seem to be attacking anything, but it casts a net/web, and it gets tangled in my other coral. I need to know what it is and if i need to end it or not.

2009-01-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

New Addition

2009-01-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

I've been hunting for a new sand cleaner for the reef tank. tI went to the store to get a skimmer i needed, and fell in love with this guy! He is a perfect sifter. He looks like a battle ship. And lift loads of sand at a time. Enjoy the video.

Fishy's Move(Domino Damsel):

2009-01-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Fishy has left the coral reef, and is testing the waters in a friend's 14g nano. Fishy was my very very first fish, and started out in my 24g marine nano. She did a great job of testing the waters, and of course, being sturdy as a rock, she thrived.

She got moved to the 30g reef tank when I suspected she had stressed my first true perc to the point where the perc died. She stayed in the reef tank for 3 months. The was her call to duty one more. You see, Domino Damsels are simple, and easy to breed. Supply vs. demand for these things puts them at $4 - $6. That's why it is a good idea to test your tank water out with them.... if they die... well, no one wants a fish to die. but if one isn't going to make it.... You got to hope it's not your $40 tang, right?

I had read that it's a bad idea to start out with a damsel, because they are impossible to get out. I remember getting her out of the 24g... that wasn't so bad... well... let me tell you a little story.

I'm a huge fan of, 'if it aint broke, dont fix it'. I have my reef laid out just the way i want it. fuzzy mushroom here, clam there... perfect! everything had plenty of light. it was easy to reach things that needed hand feeding... oh no! i told myself i wasnt going to talk in the past tense... oh well... the fact is that all those well throught out rock formations were perfect for fishy to hide in.

i spent half hour with my little net, but couldn't even get on the same side of the tank. i started to shift the small stuff on top, only to find that i couldn't reach her and that i would have to remove more. i ended up taking out every live rock i have. the tank had two fish, a net, and half of my tired arm in it. even still, fishy was evading my every atempt at her capture.

i ended up gettng her, but not before half my carpet was soaked, and i had smashed a couple of fingers trying to rearrange the tank.

word to the wise... dont let your damsels grow up to be established :)

Live to die another day

2009-01-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

I did get some sleep. Worry plus fatigue led to some really restless slumber. I didn't want to wake up. I didn't want to roll out and face my dread. But I did. I searched the tank for a floater, but there was none. The two clowns seem a but sad now that their nem is gone, but they danced their little perc dance without pause. They didn't seem to notice anything had ever happened.

I looked and looked, mostly relieved that I didn't see Dobby floating, or twisted in some corner. I wanted to find the goby. I wanted to see if the perceived panic had passed. I turned on the lights an hour early, and waited. THERE SHE IS! I saw a head... then some gills. I watched her sit there and breathe. It still looked labored, but I'm hyper sensitive to her movements at the moment (and i may just be my imagination. I went and got a cube of blood worms and mysis. All three fish were pretty eager to eat. That's a good sign, and did my heart well.

I'll keep an eye on them, and go get a TDS (Total Desolved Solids) tester today (~$25). threat level has been reduced to orange, and now I wish I could go back to bed and rest a little.

Tank Crash?

2009-01-04T01:30:00.001-08:00

I'm worried!!

I think I'm watching my favorite fish struggle for breath. I've never seen her act like this before... and there is absolutely nothing I can do to help her. :(

I got a Reverse Osmosis (RO) machine from the guy I got the 30 gallon reef tank from. I hadn't used it because he said I might need to change one of the filters. I turned it on and ran 10 gallons of water through it, and took that water to have it tested. I had been reading online that RO water needs to be tested with a 'TDS' meter, but I took my water sample to my LFS, and after they checked it out, they said it was great water. I ran it for 10 more gallons, and then did a 5 gallon water change in both tanks. I went to work, and after work i took the unit over to a friends house and ran off another 10 gallons for his tank to do a water change.

Also of note, we had a freakishly warm day in Texas today. The outside temp got up to 77, and my apartment got up to 81. The 24g got all the way up to 83, and the 30g got up to 85! I uncovered them and turn on fans to cool them down. (after the water change, before the trip to the friends).

My first indication of a problem was when I returned home, and my Nem was dead. It had been getting sicker and sicker for a while. I tried to do water changes, made sure it had enough light, tried to feed it per the LFS advice. I didn't expect it to live, but I was shocked at how wilted it got so quickly. I hadn't noticed my goby in a day or so, but that's not odd. It likes to hide under the rocks. Tonight I was cleaning the glass, and noticed her swimming around. FAST! This got my attention because so much has happened in that tank today, and she is my favorite fish.

I pulled out my test kit, and started to test all the levels. Everything is fine. Ammonia isn't 0ppm, but it's very close. Nitrate and Nitrite are almost 0ppm, and my PH is perfect at 8.2 - 8.3.

So then what could have my goby going crazy???

The water change? Was the temp diff to much? I can see that hurting the nem, but my goby has never once shown signs of discomfort. Was the water bad?

Was the hot water (83degree) to hot for him to be able to live in??

Did i mess up huge by not getting the water tested with the TDS meter?? There is no test I know of that test for everything. What are the chances my stupid RO filter let some chlorine into my water??

Could the nem's death have set off something that is upsetting the Goby? I noticed the shrimp molted tonight as well... could it have been trying to shed it's skin to avoid what ever is going on in the tank?

Am I imagining this? I'm just not used to the fish's nocturnal habits? The percs look happy. They aren't darting around looking for something. The goby truely is. It usually plays in the sand and looks relaxed. This fish seems to be in a panic. I'm very sad. My fish might be suffocating, and there is absolutely nothing i can do. :(

I hope i'm just imagining things. There is no way i'm going to be able to sleep, but i'm going to try. I hope my goby is okay in the morning.

COME ON DOBBY!!

Multimedia message

2008-12-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

Multimedia message

2008-12-31T15:22:00.000-08:00

24g is worth a look too

2008-12-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

I spend a lot of time each day looking into both my tanks. The 30g reef tank is great and offers something 'new' almost every day, but the 24g nano has a lot of sheer beauty to it. Some times I forget the potential audience of this blog, and thus I forget to post articles and photos as often as I should. To that end, this is a post dedicated to the 24g and the livestock it now holds.

History so far...
10/04/2008: Initial setup
10/14/2008: Tank Cycles; crabs and snails added
10/17/2008: Added Domino Damsel, and Peppermint Shrimp
10/28/2008: Added Orange Spotted Goby
11/04/2008: Got a stand and moved the tank
11/10/2008: New Perc (Clownfish) and first coral (Long tentical plate)
11/13/2008: New Perc Dies / Long tentical plate removed
11/26/2008: 2 new Perc added and my first Anemone

That is the state of tank as of today.
1 Goby (named Dobby)
2 Perc (named Ron and Hermione)
1 Anemone (unnamed)
1 peppermint shrimp (katie)
several snails and crabs.

Photos!!

Full tank photo:

Dobby the Goby:

Ron and Hermione hosting in their anemone:

The Tank Family:

The Smile Maker - a clean tank is greatness

2008-12-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

I took the day off work, to go to a funeral, and with some of my spare time I completed a couple of projects I've been meaning to handle. Here are some photos of the 30 gallon tank after a rearrangement. Enjoy!

I wanted to get some good photos of the different coral in this tank. I'm not sure what everything is called, so if I label something wrong, or don't put anything at all, I would be happy to learn something from someone who does know what I'm talking about :)

Fuzzy Mushroom:

Hard Coral?

Closer Look

White Growth

Lobophyllia

Pretty Mushroom

Mushroom Colony

Unknown

Unknown

Clam

Pom Pom

Green Mushroom

Kenya Tree

Feather Duster

Clam

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

new tank

2008-11-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted to toss up some photos of the new tank. Now that I look at them, they don't show the splendor of the tank, but they do show some of the different types of coral that came with it, the size and colors of them, and the parts that are associated with them. I'll do a more formal write up of them later.

2008-11-13T20:30:00.000-08:00

R.I.P Lupin

Today I came home to find a horrible sight. The long tentacle plate coral was missing. I had it perched on the top of my highest live rock. It had been there 8 days, and all seemed well. I had noticed the plate had moved a bit, but only once. I had read here that it might move a little. I didn't worry to much. As days went by, it seemed like it was getting happier. It waved a little more, and opened a little wider every day.

The say day I got the long tentacle plate coral, I got a clown fish. From day one, it seemed like my prec was very ill. At first it just sank to the bottom of the tank. The next day it started to swim around, but slowly and awkwardly. It was the third day before he would eat anything. Again, as days went on, he had a little more spark, and ate a little more. Yesterday he was chasing the domino fish around a little.

When i came home today, the first thing I noticed was that the coral was missing. In a 24 gallon tank it didn't take long to find it sitting in the sand behind a rock. And there, in it's grip, was my perc. I had seen the perc laying on a rock at night time before. It isn't odd for it to just sit there for a couple seconds at a time, but this placement was odd. At first I was excited, because it seemed like he had figured out how to host with the coral. It only took me a second to realize that something wasn't right. I grabbed my net to pull them out of the sand.

I pulled the perc away form the coral, and in doing so, noticed that the coral had a mouth(?). I'll spare details because of little eyes that might read this, but the sad fact is that Lupin is no more. I took photos of the coral before it closed it's mouth. I'll upload them soon. I also took photos of lupin so that I can ask Tony more about what happened.

I don't understand. I'm mad, and sad. In the end... I miss my little fishy. And as pretty as it is under the moon light LEDs, I'm mad at my coral. Mad at my coral? That sounds like crazy talk. *sigh*

I think I'm going to give the plate coral back and get a pair of pecs next time.

Night view

2008-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

*work in progress*

The tank comes with two types of lights. the high output compact florescent lights, and some 'moon lights' that emulate the moon shining into the water. The following photos are what the tank looks like at night.

Tank v2.3

2008-11-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

MORE MORE MORE!!!

v2.3? yeah... my tank is now at version 2.3.

Version 0.1
-Take tank out of box
-Add sand
-Add water
-Add live rock
-Turn on pump
-Let sit 3-4 weeks

Version 1.0
- Add crabs
-Let sit 1 week

Version 1.1
-Add snails
-Add shrimp
-Let sit 1 week

Version 1.2
-Add domino fish (to test water)
-Let sit 2 weeks

Version 2.0
-Add goby
-Add more Rock
-let sit 1 week

Version 2.1
-Move it from counter top to stand
- pump some water from tank to buckets
- put fish in one bucket
- put rock in another bucket
- pump the rest of the water and put it in holding tanks.
- move tank to new stand
- put new sand in
- put rock back in
- put water back in
- put fish back in
- Let sit 1 week

Version 2.2
- New chemicals to even out the water, and promote growth of good algae

Version 2.3
- Add clown fish
- Add coal

Version 2.4
- ??

Here are a couple photos of my new clown fish, and my first coral. Click to see a larger view.

Dallas North Aquarium / The stand

2008-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Went to visit Dallas North Aquarium.
- NICE!!!
- Funny dog faced fish

24 gallon nanocube stand
- from $220 to $89, YAY!
- photo? sure!

The GOBY!!!

2008-11-11T09:25:00.001-08:00

*work in progress*
I love my goby. I has wanted a yellow headed goby, but in the end... i really love this one... she's awesome. Click on the images for larger versions.

falling behind.

2008-11-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

I want friends and family to be able to read this blog, and keep up with my favorite hobby. However, as many readers will understand, life is sometimes demanding, and updates come slowly. I fear dropping behind on this blog project, because as much as I want my friends and family to be able to stay in touch, I really want to be able to look back myself and remember my thoughts as I wade into my newiest hobbie.

So here I'll list a table of topics I would like to make note of, and grow this entry out.

The GOBY!!!
Yellow head vs. Orange Spotted
The algea blooms.
White and purple are good / Brown is bad (color blind)
Dallas North Aquarium / The stand
Where did the crab go?
ode to a snail
The Move
props to Aqua Trader
Grants Tank
to much tank for me now.
More Life 2 ( the clown and coral)
Introduced lupin, and hogsmead to the tank.
Hin's Offer
what do you do when someone is willing to give you $3000 of salt water gear and livestock for $1000 (esp when they will allow you to make $100/mo payments!?!)
Corel food
Calcium (part 1) / ?? (part 2)
Afrian algea eater
Goals

So much to cover... so little time. *I LOVE THIS TANK*

The start of something good

2008-10-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

A rush for product:
Friday night we got to my dealer late. Tony closes at 7, and we got there at 6:50. There were already some other customers in the store, and we waited our turn. It was already 7:15 when he got to us, and I really didn't want to keep him late, but I wanted a shrimp to get rid of my pest. He suggested that I get two, and "If you're going to add a shrimp or two, it wouldn't hurt to add a fish". This was music to my ears. I've been waiting for this. I picked up my stuff and ran out the door.

The follow up:
I knew I would go back the next morning. In my rush to leave the store, I didn't ask my questions. I needed to know more about why he suggested two shrimp, and not one. Why one fish, and not two. I wanted to know about feeding, cleaning, and water changes. As always Tony has answers that sound really reasonable, and so far he hasn't been wrong. He gave me some brine(sp?) shrimp for feedings. The minimum purchase (when using a credit card) is $10, so I also picked up a few snails. I couldn't be happier with everything right now.

Keeping Track:
I need to sit down a tally up the total I've spent so far. I'm sure it's nearing $500. I'll add that as it's own post later on. I may be paying a little more with Tony, but I can go and ask him questions, and that is invaluable to me right now.

Tank Status:
I'm starting to see purple on my rocks. I didn't know what it was that makes your rocks purple, until I saw this posting. Seems like coraline algae is the magic. My glass is still very clean, but the I'm seeing a brownish algae on the back wall and on the pump output thingy. The water is clear, but the food particles tend to float around a bit.

Aptaisia:
My aptaisia is gone. Less than 48 hours after I put in the shrimp it was gone. But because of the way the snails attached to the rock (the locations they picked), I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they eat it too.

Lighting:
A friend at the office gave me two timers to control my light. I haven't had a chance to put them inline yet, because I need the 3 prong to 2 prong socket adapter first. that will allow me to control the big lights automatically. I'm still going to have to figure out a way to control the smaller 'night' lights. If I put the ballest on the timer, then when the main lights are off... so are the night lights. may have to bust out my wire cutters and electrical tape :)

No Vacancy

2008-10-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

Today I have the solution to my problem. I put two peppermint shrimp in the system. They will help keep the rock clean of the aptaisia pest. The very moment I put them in the tank they went to work getting to know the place. The crabs have been fun to watch as they crawl around, but these two are like a speed boat compared to a paddle boat. They zoom around, rock back and forth for a second, and then zoom around again. I'm told it may be several days before they start to attack the aptaisia... we'll see. I'm glad they are here. We've decided that they are a both female (the choice of my daughter) and they are named Katie and Elizabeth.

In order to make sure there is something for the shrimp to eat when the aptaisia is gone, I got MY FIRST FISH!!! It's a small domino fish, and while I don't expect much from it, it made me very happy to just watch it zoom around. My son decided that it is a boy, and we're going to call it 'Fishy'. Fishy isn't some thoughtless name. He pondered several names, and we had a long discussion that ended in Fishy. Maybe some day I'll post that story... for now you just need to know that Fishy is our first fish, and we're all very proud. It's time for the lights to go off in the tank, but I just can't do it right now... we want to look in! The tank life will just have to stay awake until we've got our fill of spying in on them :)

Not all life is good life

2008-10-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

It is really hard to take photos of the tiny life form in my tank. So i tried to capture it on video. I wanted to know what it was, and how to protect it. I took the video to Tony, and asked him what it was. He didn't have good news for me. he said it is a aptaisia, and that it is a pest. He said it's okay to have it in the tank for now because it helps filter the water, but it can't stay. Apparently it will kill my corral, and spread until it takes over the tank.

So I have to kill it soon. I've read a couple sites that talk about using different way to kill it. I'll wait for Tony to recommend something. :(

Life!!! (updated)

2008-10-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

My tank has cycled (there is brown in/on the sand) and that means I'm ready for some life. I got some new live rock (~9lbs), and 4 hermit crabs. Things are coming together nicely, and I can't wait to start putting more life in the tank.

OH YEAH! There is some surprise life on one of my new rocks. I don't know what it is, but it looks VERY much like corral. I've tried to take photos of it, but it is almost clear, and is pretty small. I hope it is able to survive. I'm pretty sure it is still alive because it changes shape from time to time (the stem gets longer and shorter, and that seems to be related to the status of the light in the tank.

This is a photo of what I am assuming is corral. I took a million of them, but it's hard to photograph a clear object this small through glass and water. I've found these on my live rock The day the new rocks were put in. Today I checked... and I may be imagining this... but i think it's getting bigger. I'm positive that the stem grows and shrinks in response to the lighting. Click on this photo for a better look.

Temprature management

2008-10-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

All is not lost. On the advice from my supplier, I opened the lid to my tank, and lowered the water volume. This has increased the surface water movement, and allowed the tank to breathe a little more. I was seeing the water staying at room temp + 4-6 degrees, but now the deviation is around .5-2 degrees. I'm happy with this for now, as the outside temp is low enough and I can sustain life in my tank without the use of my air conditioner.

worried

2008-10-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid of the tank temp. The guy who sold me my tank said that the water needs to be between 70-80 degrees. Today the room temp got up to 78 (average daily temp for fall in Texas), but the tank got up to 84.4 degrees. I'm not sure why the +6 degree delta, but I need to figure it out. I don't want to have to run my A/C to control the tank temp.

I found that the temp didn't change much from when the lights were on, and when they were off. I know the pump creates some heat, but the pump tank is the same temp as the main tank, and i would think if the pump were my problem, the difference would be greater than 1 degree. The main tank as 23.2 more gallons to help dissipate the heat, right? If someone know what i'm talking about, or just has a working knowledge of fluid dynamics, I would love to understand this better.

If the ambient temp is 78 degrees, and the tank is indoors with the lights on, is +6 degrees going to be average? does that mean i'm going to have to turn on my A/C and keep it 74 or below?? I'm not sure i want to do that!?!

First tank

2008-10-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

Got my first tank today... went all in with a nanocube 24 gallon salt water tank. I got that, sand, a live rock, water, thermometer, and cleaning magnates. It took me about 20 minutes to set it all up, and about 24 hours for the water to clear up. I've taken some photos, and sooner rather than later, I'll post them here.

I can't put any life in it yet, as i'm told to wait for the biology to settle. Then I'll be able to put some crabs in, and a snail or two. I can't wait!!!