# Tabatha's 8 Gallon Saltwater BioCube



## Tabatha

*NOW SHOWING!*








​


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## XbrandonX

lol, what's that a commercial?


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## blossom112

Thats WTAC LOL


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## Tabatha

*LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CHILDREN OF ALL AGES, THE ONE, THE ONLY,*

*WILSON!!!*










He is not a figment of your imagination, he is indeed real!

_And he sounds much older on the phone_ ​


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## Tabatha

Wilson brought me some gorgeous well cured live rock from Sulawesi_"is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands."_ [Map] 










Placing the rock in the BC8.










Final placement:


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## Tabatha

Next comes the precise mixing of salt into the RO water.



















A few additives.










Adding water to the tank...


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## Tabatha

*Ta-Da!!!*










Isn't she beautiful???

The view from my chair:










My desk.










Thank you again Wilson, you did an awesome job, I love the rock you found and the placement, can't wait to get some critters in there! I don't want to leave the office anymore, I'm afraid I'm going to miss something, LOL! ​


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## blossom112

LOL i WOULDA THAUGHT HE WAS OLDER too!!!!!!!!!!! SAME AGE AS MY KIDS LOL

now to wait for the tank to cycle ............after 2 weeks you should do some night viewing its awesone (red light)


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## wtac

LMAO!!! That's quite an introduction...ya blew the "Pokeroo" cover!!! 

Great pics...I always forget to document my work in progress. I had a blast setting it up as well as meeting you Tabatha .

How old do you think I am?!? Those that know...keep it under your hat...let's start a betting pool...LOL!!!


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## dekstr

Looks good! Glad to see you're into SW side now! Looking forward to more pictures (of the tank)!


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## Ciddian

YAY! How awesome of you wilson 

He picked some -really- nice rock for you. I dont even have that much coraline and I've been running my tank for a bit longer than a year now. (but of course i have no idea what i am doing hehe)


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## Tabatha

The rock came from an established tank tear-down, it had been running for 7 years so I guess you can say we cheated a little, LOL! I am still amazed at how easy it is to set up and maintain!


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## Ciddian

OKay.. you need to teach me alrightly? especially with the extra stuff in those baggies. I am truely lacking in understanding that area.

Can you let me know your dosages and how you figure out whats needed?

Sorry for all the Q's


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## Tabatha

Oooo, I think I'll leave those answers to Wilson but I'll tell you what I do know, don't touch them with your hands as it will burn! 

It really depends on what salt you're using and what you have/want in your tank. Some salt is better than others in that you don't have to add anything.

Again, I'll defer to Wilson 

 7:29 a.m. NH3 + NH4 = 0
*Need to get ammonia + add 3 drops, test again.


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## Tabatha

*Creature Spotting*

*Creature Spotting!!!*​ 
This morning I spotted what looks to be a small starfish but it's not moving however, I see little things waving in the water which appear to be feather dusters, YIPEEE!*

 Update:*Starfish is alive, s/he has moved back into the rock, this is so cool!

* Update 8:44 a.m.:* OMG, just spotted yet another creature, it has tentacles, I'm terrified it might be a mantis shrimp, those things scare me! LOL!

* Update 1:30ish: *While redclove was here, we both spotted a little white creature bouncing along the bottom, looked a little like an adult brine shrimp.


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## XbrandonX

wow, a starfish! thats a pretty cool hitch hiker!

Now you have to wait 2 months for it all to cycle right? 

I'm jealous.


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## Tabatha

XbrandonX said:


> wow, a starfish! thats a pretty cool hitch hiker!
> 
> Now you have to wait 2 months for it all to cycle right?
> 
> I'm jealous.


Nope, not according to Wilson. Because this rock has cured for 7 years, I only have to wait 1 week, 2 at most! He really doesn't expect to see a spike. All the filtering is by live rock and sand. 

 BTW, thanks again for the aragonite, it's perfect! You're welcome to come visit sometime.


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## Tabatha

*ID Please?*

This is the creature I'm calling a starfish but I really have no idea. I tried to take a picture of the feather duster but it's rather transparent and didn't work out. The mystery creature hasn't reappeared but I'm still looking!


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## XbrandonX

yay! I'm welcome!  

love the coraline on those rocks.. fricken gorgeous, who needs fish!

Sweet, 2 weeks.. not bad at all.. I guess bringin in the high rollers like Wilson pays off!


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## Tabatha

XbrandonX said:


> yay! I'm welcome!
> 
> love the coraline on those rocks.. fricken gorgeous, who needs fish!


I know, I keep staring at the rock wondering what's going to pop out next!



XbrandonX said:


> Sweet, 2 weeks.. not bad at all.. I guess bringin in the high rollers like Wilson pays off!


LOL! You bet, glad I hired him, super nice guy to boot!


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## XbrandonX

Tabatha said:


> super nice guy to boot!


YOU KICKED HIM!???


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## KnaveTO

oh my... not another Saltie convert... you guys are a diesease on the freshwater hobby 

Nice tank there Tabatha!


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## Tabatha

KnaveTO said:


> oh my... not another Saltie convert... you guys are a diesease on the freshwater hobby
> 
> Nice tank there Tabatha!



Thanks Ross! You need to get one to find out what all the fuss is about!


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## UnderTheSea

Tabatha said:


> The rock came from an established tank tear-down, it had been running for 7 years so I guess you can say we cheated a little, LOL! I am still amazed at how easy it is to set up and maintain!


Very nice tank. Wilson did a great job.

When I have assisted in setting up tanks I have always suggested to get the live sand and live rock out of established system and even water from a water change. It all doesn't have to be from the same tank, just get it from their tank and into yours as soon as possible to prevent die off.

Good Job


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## Riceburner

wtac said:


> LMAO!!! That's quite an introduction...ya blew the "Pokeroo" cover!!!
> 
> Great pics...I always forget to document my work in progress. I had a blast setting it up as well as meeting you Tabatha .
> 
> How old do you think I am?!? Those that know...keep it under your hat...let's start a betting pool...LOL!!!


add 5 years to how old you think he looks and you will be close....


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## Tabatha

Riceburner said:


> add 5 years to how old you think he looks and you will be close....


FIFTY???!!!


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## wtac

XbrandonX said:


> YOU KICKED HIM!???


Yah...it was a tip for my efforts 

The little critters running along the sandbed are "pods" which are detritovoires. They'll be in the nooks and crannies of the liverock cleaning out what settles there. IMHO, all good stuff!!!

The critter in the rock looks like a crab of sorts, not sure if it's beneficial or predatory. The rock was from a 500gal system of a client of mine and never had any losses of fish, coral nor inverts...fingers crossed .


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## wtac

Tabatha said:


> FIFTY???!!!


I do feel like I'm 50 at times...LOL!


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## Tabatha

Believe it or not, I'm having a hard time getting the tank up to temp, it's a slow heater, maybe that's a good thing? It was only 70F when I got in this morning, I cranked it up to 80 then 85 and it's only up to 71.2F. I'll turn it down to 80 before I leave for the day.

The only critter I'm worried about is the one I can't really see, he has 2 things in front that look like a tarantula's fangs!


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## Tabatha

*~ Day 2 ~
Thursday 19 Jun 2008
*
Despite the fact that I'd set the heater for 86F, the temperature is still only 71F and I'm pannicking! I'm going to swap it out with another one I have at home tomorrow.

I poured some mysis shrimp juice in the tank for nutrients. Can't see the crab/starfish thingie or the other scary critter at all, they've both moved house so sadly, no signs of movement today, it was fun watching them yesterday.

Ammonia levels still at 0.

*Update 9:30 a.m. *Spotted the creature I'm calling a "mantis shrimp" -- have only seen the front, never the entire creature.


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## wtac

No need to panic...ithe smallish inverts can tolerate lower temps very well...better too cool than too hot .


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## blossom112

OH no mantis shrimp lolololol
They scare me TOO!
im constantly hearing cliking noises in my tank am afraid one dal ill wake and they have broken the glass b4 me lol
Very nice pictures .
2 week cycle ? lucky you !
OK off to home depot ,darn place can never find what im looking 4 lmao and i hate shopping! gonna need a nap when i get back lol


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## Tabatha

*Lighting Glitch*

I just discovered that my lights have been running 24-7 since Wilson set it up.  I had the power bar set to "on" instead of "auto" so I reset the timers and set it to auto and the lights went off! 

I'm not 100% sure but I think the power bar has to go through a cycle, we've had this problem at home too.  Fingers are crossed that it'll work now. Poor creatures never got any sleep!


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## KnaveTO

If it is a Coralife Power Bar then yes it needs to go through a full day cycle sometimes to reset itself.


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## Tabatha

KnaveTO said:


> If it is a Coralife Power Bar then yes it needs to go through a full day cycle sometimes to reset itself.


I got this one at Home Depot for $14.95 but I think it's the same, it has to cycle through a 24 hour period.


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## wtac

The timers are from the same manufacturer...one pays significantly more for the CoraLife lable and colored plug covers...LOL!


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## pat3612

Very nice Tabatha its so cool looking and sounds like fun hmmm maybe one day Pat


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## Tabatha

pat3612 said:


> Very nice Tabatha its so cool looking and sounds like fun hmmm maybe one day Pat


Thanks Pat, it is a lot of fun and I dread the weekend since the tank is at my office and I'll be away from it, LOL!  I think everyone should try SW at least once.


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## Fishfinder

Tabatha said:


> I think everyone should try SW at least once.



Heh. i think il wait till i get through Uni and pay off a few of the loans 

Very nice pics btw! Royal gamma's are cool looking also, but maybe an 8g is to small : ( (iv done research a little research into SW, but to much $$ )
If you dont mind me asking, how much did it cost ~ to set it all up?


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## Tabatha

Fishfinder said:


> If you dont mind me asking, how much did it cost ~ to set it all up?



BioCube.............................99.00 (BA's Boxing Week Sale)
Aragonite............................0.00 (traded fw stuff)
Salt........................................0.00 (traded fw stuff)
Live Rock............................70.00 (fully cured, stunning and worth every cent!)
Hyrometer...........................20.00
Calcium Test.......................15.00
Calcium Chloride Flakes......n/c
Magnesium Chloride Flakes.n/c
Wilson......................................PRICELESS!
______
*Total hard costs................$204.00*
=====
I'm totally hooked now and want to start a 5 gallon pico!


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## Tabatha

*Technology Glitches*

*~ Day 3 ~*
Friday 20 June 2008

Power bar still not set correctly, probably an error on my part, forgot to bring in the other heater and the temp is only 68.5 this morning, I've got to get these things sorted out! Will update this post as the day progresses.

Tuesday afternoon I put a nerite snail in the tank. Wednesday morning he was still in the same position so I thought I had killed him with the shock but a little later I noticed there was aragonite all over his foot, he was trying to right himself! I flipped him over and an hour later he was exploring the tank! This morning he's on his back again, his foot is all scrunched up, I'll right him again but he'll be on his own this weekend...

Ammonia: 0 mg/l


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## UnderTheSea

What method did you use to climatize the nerite? Did he come from a FW or SW tank?

When I have put guppy's in my SW tank I climatized them over a 24 hr period. I cut the top off a 2L pop bottle and placed the guppy's in it then placed the bottle in my sump. This way the water temperature equals out. Over the day, I would (with a turkey baster) remove some water from the pop bottle then add some water from my tank. I continuously check the salinity and it took about 24hrs to equal out. The key is to do it slowly and not stress the little guys.


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## Tabatha

UTS, thank you!!! I had posed the question but didn't receive any replies (till now).

I have a very small 5.5 gallon here in the office w/ a betta & the nerite, I had put 1 tbsp salt in that tank Monday but didn't measure the salinity. A couple days later, I plopped the poor guy into the SW tank. Thankfully he's still alive albeit very clumsy!

BTW, do you use your guppies for feeders or actual livestock?


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## UnderTheSea

Tabatha said:


> BTW, do you use your guppies for feeders or actual livestock?


They were to help out with algae so they were part of my live stock, but didn't stay. I have them away after being in my tank for about 6 months. Something just didn't seem right having them in the SW tank.


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## Tabatha

*Choosing Livestock*

* ~ Choosing Livestock ~*

I think I've come to a decision on livestock. Not too terribly exciting but considering this is my first saltwater tank, I'd rather be safe than sorry cause it ain't cheap!

* 1st:* corals, simple zoanthids, nothing too fancy.

* 2nd: *Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab(s), Porcelain Crab, and SEXY shrimp! (Kate, you'd LOVE them! Here's a video.)

* 3rd:* Flase Percula, breeding pair.


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## KnaveTO

sounds like a well thout out mix... good luck


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## Katalyst

Guess I'll be visiting you at work next! I love all of your choices! Can't wait to see it all put together!


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## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> This is the creature I'm calling a starfish but I really have no idea. I tried to take a picture of the feather duster but it's rather transparent and didn't work out. The mystery creature hasn't reappeared but I'm still looking!


 Has it reappeared yet?


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## Tabatha

Katalyst said:


> Has it reappeared yet?



Sadly, no, I haven't seen it again but I'm sure it must be in there somewhere! Wilson thought it might be a crab.

You're going to be soooo jealous of the sexy shrimp, apparently they breed like cherries, you'll have to keep a sw tank cause you know I'll be giving you some if they do breed!


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## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> Sadly, no, I haven't seen it again but I'm sure it must be in there somewhere! Wilson thought it might be a crab.
> 
> You're going to be soooo jealous of the sexy shrimp, apparently they breed like cherries, you'll have to keep a sw tank cause you know I'll be giving you some if they do breed!


ENABLER!  

I'm not listening! I'm not listening! I'm not...Okay so I'm a liar!


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## XbrandonX

hey you could breed amanos too then  

I could use a dozen or so of them!


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## Tabatha

XbrandonX said:


> hey you could breed amanos too then
> 
> I could use a dozen or so of them!



LOL! Yes, I have thought of this too! I've read about the process but what the heck would I feed them??? I'll look into it.


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## XbrandonX

shoulda held onto that salt...


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## Tabatha

XbrandonX said:


> shoulda held onto that salt...



Next time you visit, bring along a container and I'll give you some.


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## blossom112

Cyclopeze powder , rotifilers are good foods for fry .
My friend also uses these for her fw fry ,she also mashes up flakes and uses them .
NAFB carries the cyclopeze powder(20$) and i get the S-rotifilers at big al's in frozen .


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## Tabatha

*UnderTheSea*

Today Ciddian and I visited UnderTheSea to purchase some frags and see his set-up.

SWEET SET-UP!

One hundred and seventy-something custom gallon tank, a 60 something refugium and another frag tank in the making in a man cave that even a geek fish-girl would love!

I can't remember the names of what I got but I purchased 2 zoanthids & UTS gave us both a huge green wavy thing - I'm sure UTS will remind me of its name.  And although it's sitting on the brace of the Osaka under the lights, in a bag, it's opening again already!

Can't wait to get these frags into the nano!

Just wanted to add a shout-out and thank you to Cid for asking me to join her on this quest!


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## Tabatha

XbrandonX said:


> hey you could breed amanos too then
> 
> I could use a dozen or so of them!


Guess what? I just spotted a loaded female today!


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## Katalyst

I have tons of food for shrimpo's. I'll bring you some when we figure out when we can get together. 

You and Jess went shopping without me!


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## UnderTheSea

blossom112 said:


> Cyclopeze powder , rotifilers are good foods for fry .
> My friend also uses these for her fw fry ,she also mashes up flakes and uses them .
> NAFB carries the cyclopeze powder(20$) and i get the S-rotifilers at big al's in frozen .


Another good food for FRY (FW, SW & Inverts) is golden pearls ! It's even great for picky eaters. Couldn't get my clown goby to eat anything it's first week home so I tried GP's. He ate that for about a month then started to accept mysis.


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## UnderTheSea

Tabatha said:


> Today Ciddian and I visited UnderTheSea to purchase some frags and see his set-up.
> 
> SWEET SET-UP!
> 
> One hundred and seventy-something custom gallon tank, a 60 something refugium and another frag tank in the making in a man cave that even a geek fish-girl would love!
> 
> I can't remember the names of what I got but I purchased 2 zoanthids & UTS gave us both a huge green wavy thing - I'm sure UTS will remind me of its name.  And although it's sitting on the brace of the Osaka under the lights, in a bag, it's opening again already!
> 
> Can't wait to get these frags into the nano!
> 
> Just wanted to add a shout-out and thank you to Cid for asking me to join her on this quest!


It was like watching two kids in a candy store  Quite the unexpected reaction. Yes you picked up two zoa's and green star polyps (wavy thing  )

Next time you are by I owe you some free samples of Golden Pearls and a sample of my DIY frozen food that will feed everything right from your pods to the corals and fish. I had them ready at the door for you and totally forgot to give you them. I owe ya! 

I hope you enjoy.


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## Tabatha

Katalyst said:


> I have tons of food for shrimpo's. I'll bring you some when we figure out when we can get together.
> 
> You and Jess went shopping without me!



Sorry sweetie pie, it was saltwater, didn't think you'd be interested. 

If you are interested, I've planned a trip to a coral dude in Ajax tomorrow, PM me!


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## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> Sorry sweetie pie, it was saltwater, didn't think you'd be interested.
> 
> If you are interested, I've planned a trip to a coral dude in Ajax tomorrow, PM me!


I am going to a guppy breeder on Monday, call in sick and come lol!


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## Tabatha

Katalyst said:


> I am going to a guppy breeder on Monday, call in sick and come lol!


I can't, I have to get some stuff done which I didn't get done Friday b/c I took off early.


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## Tabatha

UnderTheSea said:


> It was like watching two kids in a candy store  Quite the unexpected reaction. Yes you picked up two zoa's and green star polyps (wavy thing  )
> 
> Next time you are by I owe you some free samples of Golden Pearls and a sample of my DIY frozen food that will feed everything right from your pods to the corals and fish. I had them ready at the door for you and totally forgot to give you them. I owe ya!
> 
> I hope you enjoy.


TDF was quite interested in the frags!  Don't forget, I'm just a step over in Ajax.

Took some photos through the bags, couldn't help myself, they're my very first frags!

Here's the green star polyps










Zoas (still hiding), when open, one is green and the other is orange.










BTW, the zoas are opening this morning, I'll try to get another shot.


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## Tabatha

*First Frags*



















Looking much better today.


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## wtac

WOO-HOO Tabatha...pokes her over the steep slippery slope..WHEEE!!!

Nice frags UTS


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## Tabatha

Oh yeah, you bet! I've got an appointment today at 1:00 to visit Maple Reef Aquatics, he's just 8 minutes from my house!

TDF, the neighbours and I were sitting around having a few drinks last night, TDF mentioned building a wall in the basement and having a 200 gallon SW tank down there, LOL! He's always wanted to try SW...


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## KnaveTO

Gawd... I wish I owned a house... there is so much I could do 

And by the way Tabatha... every time I hit Menagerie lately I look up at one of their cubes they have and think.... hmmmm... maaayyyybbbeeeeee.

It is all your fault! LOL


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## Tabatha

KnaveTO said:


> And by the way Tabatha... every time I hit Menagerie lately I look up at one of their cubes they have and think.... hmmmm... maaayyyybbbeeeeee.
> 
> It is all your fault! LOL



Come on Ross, I know you can do it, take the plunge, you won't regret it, especially with a resource like Wilson around!


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## quangbui

wilson's about 65 internally lol


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## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> wilson's about 65 internally lol


Internally or internationally?


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## quangbui

70 worldwide lol


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## Tabatha

Stunning Orange coral (can't remember the name!)










Pink Tipped Frog Spawn


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## Tabatha

We just returned from Maple Reef Aquatics, wow, what a set-up! Super nice guy, great selection and very healthy looking tanks!

TDF initially didn't want to go but his whole tune changed when we walked down the stairs.  Constantine spent some time with us and made recommendations as to which corals would work in our tank with our lighting.

TDF wants to look at other nano sw tanks this fall and in 5 years, would like a 200 gallon tank for the basement! W00T!!!


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## Ciddian

HAHAHAHA! So the man's weakness is was SW eh? rofl I think its your too ross. Hehehe :3 Bob also loves it.

Sorry i couldnt make it today tabatha.  It looks like it was great thou!


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## Tabatha

Ciddian said:


> HAHAHAHA! So the man's weakness is was SW eh? rofl I think its your too ross. Hehehe :3 Bob also loves it.
> 
> Sorry i couldnt make it today tabatha.  It looks like it was great thou!


I'm sorry you couldn't make it either, you would have loved it and great prices! You'll have to plan for another trip so we can visit together!


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## Ciddian

Yup yup! I'll save my monies and just let me know


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## Fishfinder

* MUST REPRESS SALT WATER AND MTS BUGS!!!!*
Tabatha is truely an ENABLER lol
Very nice frags you got there Tab


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## wtac

quangbui said:


> 70 worldwide lol


Thanks Quang...LOL!

BTW, the rock came from Quang as part of the LR that was in his fathers 400gal reef. In the next few months, Quang will have more to say. We'll leave that for another post in the future, as not to hijack Tabathas' thread.

Reef away!!!


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## I_dude

*Dumb Question*

This is gonna be a dumb question but.
What do you feed frags and the shrimp i.e - from what I know coral eat plankton in the wild.
So what do you do in a tank?

Thanks


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## quangbui

wilson aren't you glad tabatha's tank is small lol
time to get some test kits tabatha!


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## wtac

I_dude said:


> This is gonna be a dumb question but.
> What do you feed frags and the shrimp i.e - from what I know coral eat plankton in the wild.
> So what do you do in a tank?


To simulate the planktonic aspect, one has to add products such as Reef Roids, Cyclopeeze (frozen bar), phytoplankton, etc. Depending on the coral types kept will determine how many different products one has to acquire as each coral family prefers a particular particle size.

JM2C/E/HTH


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## Tabatha

wtac said:


> To simulate the planktonic aspect, one has to add products such as Reef Roids, Cyclopeeze (frozen bar), phytoplankton, etc. Depending on the coral types kept will determine how many different products one has to acquire as each coral family prefers a particular particle size.
> 
> JM2C/E/HTH


Forgot to mention that Constantine (Maple Reef Aquatics) gave me some phytoplankton which was a promotion he had on till Sunday, lucky to have gotten it!  I looked into culturing it but it's a bit much for me to add to my daily duties atm.


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## Tabatha

*Day 6*

*~ Day 6 ~*
Monday 23 June 2008

Came to work this morning, forgot keys at home. Timers still not working so it appears the lights were off all weekend, heater not working, completely broken (BA brand, should know better!) and forgot the holder at home so it's on an angle but not touching anything. Going to return the power bar and heater.

As I write, my new corals are sitting in little plastic containers and I'm waiting for the tank water to come up to temperature before I start the drip acclimation.

* 8:57 a.m.:* Temperature is up to 74.7; Ammonia is 0.
Also spotted small white worms on glass.

* 9:11 a.m.:* Set up drip acclimation on 3 of 5 bags. I think the orange branching sponge is too big! 

*11:16 a.m.: *All the new frags are in the tank, they've relaxed and so now I can too.*  * I've put the pink tip frogspawn near the top of the tank, just below the output, 2 zoas on the other side of the tank and the orange branching sponge up front stage left.

My *question for Wilson* is; should I do a water change tomorrow (1 week anniversary) or not? If I do a water change tomorrow, I won't feed them today (?).

Photos to come...


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## wtac

It's not nessessary to do a water change at this point BUT, IMHO, it's a good habit to get into . Once one gets the "hang" of it all and learn some of the tips and tricks out there, then one can push the envelope a bit. At this point, it's all about maintaining a "forgiveness factor"...as we all know, SW isn't as forgiving as FW.


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## Tabatha

*Learning Curve*

After further reading, I've moved the frog spawn away from the light and away from the flow in what I think could be the perfect spot for it. Far enough away from other corals that they don't get stung.

I've also moved the green star polyp closer to the light and the orange branching sponge to front and center.

I am clumsy! There's not a lot of room in the tank for moving things around and I knocked a rock down but was able to reposition it easily. All the zoas are hiding again so I'll wait till they relax again before taking pictures. I think that's all the coral I'm going to add for now.

Next will be shrimp and hermit crabs, probably next week.

Guess what Wilson? I've been hearing clicking sounds all morning!!! 

How rough/delicate should you be with corals? I'm sure some are more resilient than others. My frogspan seems to bounce back really quickly, the green star polyp not so much and some of the zoas, even less so.


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## quangbui

maybe move the gsp to the back so it'll grow on to the wall
make it look like grass in the background
my frogspawns and octobubbles seem to like it in middle of the tank
hey tabatha it's water things can move easily


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## Tabatha

*June 23rd, 2008 Photos*

Pink Tip Frogspawn









Orange Branched Sponge









Orange Zoa









Green Zoa









Brown(?) Zoa









Is this a fan?


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## Tabatha

*Full Tank Shot!*










My view









Suggestions, comments and assistance welcome! Thanks for looking.


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## KnaveTO

Looking really nice there Tabatha! I probably should stay away from Salt as I still travel fairly often and Wilson would cost me a fortune in fish-sitting... lol

Maybe after my vacation in August I will beging to think about them again... till then I will just oogle your and the other salt tanks


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## Tabatha

My only regret is having it at the office instead of at home!


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## UnderTheSea

KnaveTO said:


> Looking really nice there Tabatha! I probably should stay away from Salt as I still travel fairly often and Wilson would cost me a fortune in fish-sitting... lol


I go on a week or two week business trips all the time. Extra long weekends through out the summer and I have no issues with my tank  One of the joys of having a larger tank. Larger the tank the more stable.

Tabatha, your tank is looking great. Zoo's have a tendency to take longer to come back out after being agitated. The GSP's like med to high flow, zoo's & hammer like low to med indirect flow. Hope this helps.


----------



## UnderTheSea

Tabatha said:


> My only regret is having it at the office instead of at home!


I wish I had a tank at work  It's great on days when I can work from home  Don't think I would get much work done at work if I had a tank there though. I would be doing nothing but answering questions all day.


----------



## wtac

Tabatha said:


> [FONT=Book Antiqua
> Guess what Wilson? I've been hearing clicking sounds all morning!!!
> 
> How rough/delicate should you be with corals? I'm sure some are more resilient than others. My frogspan seems to bounce back really quickly, the green star polyp not so much and some of the zoas, even less so.
> [/FONT]


Mantis shrimp fill only "whack" stuff that it wants to eat. In a hole, they will use the end of their tail and fan it out to block intruders. It could also be a hitch hiked pistol shrimp...but I don't recall ever adding one to Quang's fathers system, unless he did. Keep me posted and if need be, I'll drop by for some poking and prodding in the LR...it'll be fun...heh, heh, heh! I'll bring some extra LR if I end up having to take a piece that it's hiding in.

In terms of handling coral, they are for the most part quite resilient to our mucking around. Softies are quite tough...I've seen tidal pools of zoas at low tide just baking under the noon sun. As UTS mentioned, they take a bit longer to open up after they close. As long as you aren't rough housing then constantly, moving them here or there should not be a problem.

HTH


----------



## quangbui

aiyah!
no way it could be mantis!
never heard a clicking noise ever
pistol shrimp maybe but the trigger ate all the shrimps up long time ago
maybe a survivor but you never know


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> aiyah!
> no way it could be mantis!
> never heard a clicking noise ever
> pistol shrimp maybe but the trigger ate all the shrimps up long time ago
> maybe a survivor but you never know


Did you ever have porcelain crabs or any other kind of crabs in the tank? I saw something the first day with several legs but not since. The only things I saw today were tiny white worms. BTW, thank your father for the gorgeous LR!!! Wilson, I hope you kept some b/c I may need more in the future.


----------



## quangbui

yeah we a few crabs forget what they were called
but they were mostly black
my dad been trying to get rid of them but guess a few were still left behind
will do!


----------



## Tabatha

*Day 7*

*~ Day 7 ~*
Tuesday, July 24, 2008 11:37 a.m.

One full week of running, the bugs are not yet worked out, need to get the power bar sorted out (discovered I'm the problem ) and would like to get a black non-glass heater so it disappears into the background.

This morning my green star polyp is not coming out to play and appears to be lifting off the rock a little. Have I killed it???  The smaller head on the frogspawn is taking it's sweet time coming out, lights have been on since 6:00 a.m., it's not 11:30 and it's still not fully out. Everything else looks good. I still hear the clicking noise every now and again.

Damn, looks like I've got an Aiptasia on one of my frags, it's separate from the zoes, can I just rip it off with a pair of tweezers or something? I wonder if this is why my polyp isn't out and about today. 

It looks exactly like this:










Ammonia: 0
Calcium: 400


----------



## KnaveTO

If you want a black non-glass heater then you are looking for a Stealth Heater. They are sold at just about every LFS I have seen.


----------



## Tabatha

Thanks Ross, couldn't remember the name, saw them at BA's this past weekend.


----------



## UnderTheSea

Pair of tweezers or an exacto and grab it as close to the base as possible, don't do this in your tank though, do it in like a margirine container or something similar. Doing this in your tank can make it just spread.


----------



## KnaveTO

Geez... even the unwanted items have a beauty all their own... LOL


----------



## Tabatha

Here's the GSP which doesn't want to open today and to the right, you can see the aiptasia.










The plan is to remove the frag from the tank tomorrow morning and try to remove it as UTS suggested (not his frag BTW, didn't want to point fingers cause everyone gets them. ). If I can't separate it from the rock, I'll try to break it and salvage whatever is left, if possible.


----------



## quangbui

um don't pull tweezer it out
try some Joe's Juice it works
if any is left behind it's going to start growing again
these guys they spawn everywhere like there's no tomorrow so watch out


----------



## UnderTheSea

GSP (Green Star Polyps) are one of the hardiest corals, so something is not right. What lighting are you using and how close to the surface is the frag?

How do your parameters compare to Marc's chart below

Test Type Recommended Parameters matching Natural Sea Water (NSW) 
pH 7.9 to 8.3 - this varies from tank to tank; testing with a Pinpoint Meter is best 
Temperature 78° F to 84° F - average reef temperature tends to be 81° F 
Alkalinity 8 to 11 dKH -or- 2.86 to 3.89 meq/L 
Calcium 390 to 450 ppm 
Magnesium 1350 - 1400 ppm (or 3x Calcium levels) 
Phosphate .03 ppm - leading cause of nuisance algae in your tank: click for article 
Ammonia 0 - anything higher is toxic 
Nitrite 0 - anything higher is toxic 
Nitrate 10 ppm or less - huge water changes bring down nitrates

(Info taken from http://www.melevsreef.com/parms.html)


----------



## Tabatha

*Unhappy Frogspawn Baby*

Momma seems to be doing just fine, baby, OTOH, not so good. Kinda sucks b/c it's one of my favorites, that and the GSP.


----------



## UnderTheSea

quangbui said:


> um don't pull tweezer it out
> try some Joe's Juice it works
> if any is left behind it's going to start growing again
> these guys they spawn everywhere like there's no tomorrow so watch out


Whatever method is used just don't do it in your tank. There are a wide variety of options and all are hit and miss


Pepermint Shrimp
Kalk Paste
Kalk injection
Vinegar injection
boiling water injection
Joe's juice


----------



## Tabatha

UnderTheSea said:


> GSP (Green Star Polyps) are one of the hardiest corals, so something is not right. What lighting are you using and how close to the surface is the frag?
> 
> How do your parameters compare to Marc's chart below
> 
> Test Type Recommended Parameters matching Natural Sea Water (NSW)
> pH 7.9 to 8.3 - this varies from tank to tank; testing with a Pinpoint Meter is best
> Temperature 78° F to 84° F - average reef temperature tends to be 81° F
> Alkalinity 8 to 11 dKH -or- 2.86 to 3.89 meq/L
> Calcium 390 to 450 ppm
> Magnesium 1350 - 1400 ppm (or 3x Calcium levels)
> Phosphate .03 ppm - leading cause of nuisance algae in your tank: click for article
> Ammonia 0 - anything higher is toxic
> Nitrite 0 - anything higher is toxic
> Nitrate 10 ppm or less - huge water changes bring down nitrates
> 
> (Info taken from http://www.melevsreef.com/parms.html)


I don't have all the tests yet;

pH: 8.0
Temp: 79
Calcium: 400
Ammonia: 0

Crap, just ran out of reagent for my NO2 test!  I feel like I'm jinxed!


----------



## Tabatha

*1:59 p.m.* Just a quick little update, seems like the GSP heard me, there's now 3 little stars waving at me.


----------



## UnderTheSea

Wow, a play by play  

Maybe you should just get a webcam and we can watch your tank too hehehe


----------



## quangbui

sorry to say but tabatha your frogspawn's head that's basically dead
make sure to clip it off when you don't see anymore flesh lol or be prepared for that smell stanky
you should see my gsps lol


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> sorry to say but tabatha your frogspawn's head that's basically dead
> make sure to clip it off when you don't see anymore flesh lol or be prepared for that smell stanky
> you should see my gsps lol


*sob* What should I clip it off with, will scissors do? At least I still have the big Momma...


----------



## quangbui

i forget what the tool was called lol
its like a huge clipper its not too hard to clip it off
the skeleton is softer then you think


----------



## UnderTheSea

Regular hand tree pruners will work or aircraft tin snips.


----------



## Tabatha

*Test Kits*

Wilson recommended API, I have an API PH and Calcium kit, would it be worth while getting the API reef test kit?


----------



## quangbui

salifert tests kits are good


----------



## ameekplec.

Tabatha, every time I go to BA now, I think "Well, I guess I could afford one of these...." as I pass by the SW 12g biocube they have set up, that you have to pass by to get to the fishroom.

They had a skimmer for the biocube (8 or 12g) on sale at the tent sale this past weekend. I held on to it for a bit, then, reluctantly (but I'm sure wisely), put it down. That move probably saved me a few hundred bucks right then. 

For now, I will live vicariously through your SW biocube....until I finish grad school. Or get a better scholarship 

Thanks for updating so much! Gives me something to see while waiting hours between experiments! Looking very good so far!!


----------



## Tabatha

ameekplec. said:


> For now, I will live vicariously through your SW biocube....until I finish grad school. Or get a better scholarship
> 
> Thanks for updating so much! Gives me something to see while waiting hours between experiments! Looking very good so far!!



I'm glad I've inspired you and that you enjoy the updates. I'm hoping I can help other newbies who are interested in the _sport_, learn along with me.


----------



## Tabatha

*Day 8*

*~ Day 8 ~
*Wednesday, June 25, 2008

I came in this morning to see my poor baby frogspawn half dead.







]

After a little surgery, Momma is recovering nicely.









I am so clumsy in the tank, I knocked the rock down at least 3 times and had to rearrange everyone. I've decided not to do surgery on the aiptasia but have ordered Joe's Juice from Mops.ca, I've read a lot of success stories on AP and nano-reef.com. I've also ordered the AP Reef test kit.

If you haven't noticed, I'm selling off my 25 gallon freshwater long...


----------



## Tabatha

*Green Star*

My happy GSP:










In this image you can see where it's lifting off the plug


----------



## Tabatha

*Mystery Critter!*










*I was finally able to get a picture!!! Can someone ID him???
*
Consensus on AP is it's a *Mantis Shrimp! 
*


----------



## quangbui

did you take that live rock out??? and try to take that critter out???


----------



## Tabatha

Are you frickin' kidding, I'm terrified of it! I'm going to take out the rock tomorrow while wearing chain mail gloves and plunk it in a bucket for Wilson .  I can see the evil in its eyes!


----------



## blossom112

lol you too funny


----------



## Tabatha

Let's just say I have a good sense of humor. I get teased all the time at home and work!


----------



## blossom112

now stop buying stuff till im ready lol 
we can split on stuff at NAB, 40 BUX AND SPLIT IT , PRETTY BIG PEICES TOO ..........
i want the "rare stuffs too"


----------



## Tabatha

blossom112 said:


> now stop buying stuff till im ready lol
> we can split on stuff at NAB, 40 BUX AND SPLIT IT , PRETTY BIG PEICES TOO ..........
> i want the "rare stuffs too"


Don't worry, lots of time before I have something set up at home. We're thinking this fall/winter. And yes, I would like to go in on sharing, Ciddian and I were there last weekend, they had some stunning corals but WAY too rich for my little wallet!


----------



## blossom112

i will be saving the next 2 months while im just waiting out to see the spiders are gone , i think they are gone now but i want to be possitive , ill get a bunch of LR from them next month then wait a month to get the coral .
You talking the rare coral there lol is is also against the law to have lol
but shhhhh


----------



## Tabatha

I have no idea, all I know it was bright yellow and very pretty!


----------



## XbrandonX

Tabatha said:


> *I was finally able to get a picture!!! Can someone ID him???
> *
> Consensus on AP is it's a *Mantis Shrimp!
> *


I recognize those eyes...

I think I've seen them on AP, have you done a search to try and ID shrimps?


----------



## quangbui

hey tabatha mind if i take the mantis shrimp?


----------



## Tabatha

It's a mantis shrimp, Wilson is coming to get him today.


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> hey tabatha mind if i take the mantis shrimp?



You'll have to fight Wilson for it.
What have you got to trade?


----------



## XbrandonX

INSANE






whoah











wow.... you sure you want to get rid of that?

Not a UFC fan?


----------



## Tabatha

I would like to eventually add fish and crabs and sexy shrimp to my tank. Impossible with satan's spawn as resident!


----------



## XbrandonX

satans spawn... LMAO

man that guys awesome.

Watch your fingers!


----------



## Tabatha




----------



## quangbui

lol fight wilson?
easy picking for me then!
might help wilson pick it out


----------



## XbrandonX

I say keep the mantis nano and buils a new nano for pretty gentle loving things  

Two nanos are better than one anyways!!!

Man I'm so full of good ideas.


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> lol fight wilson?
> easy picking for me then!
> might help wilson pick it out



Bare fisted? 

I just want that piece of rock back!


----------



## KnaveTO

You will have to post pics of it once it is out of the rock!


----------



## Tabatha

I'm going to have Wilson go through my entire tank with a fine tooth comb because I've seen places where it appears someone has been digging!


----------



## Tabatha

*My Hero!*

Wilson, you're my hero!

My (female) boss was brave enough to remove the infested rock from my tank with a pair of spoons, lifted it and put it into a bucket of saltwater.

Wilson brought me a few new pieces of rock and searched my tank as there was evidence that satan's spawn had been scoping out new digs. Initially we couldn't find SS in the rock, he was a very good at covert ops. He eventually spotted the tail glistening deep within the rock, I bid him farewell!

Wilson also tested my water and found it was a little low on magnesium, which he corrected (calcium was 420, magnesium 1215). I received my AP Reef test kit today and Joe's Juice, YIPEE! However, Wilson also took care of my aiptasia problem! 

I bought another outstanding piece of rock for another project I'm working on at home... Mohahaha!

Many, many thanks again to Wilson and big, big hugs!


----------



## blossom112

I am at my daughters and ewe the mess(one reason shes on her own lol)
She is now talking about me staying the weekend (yeh right)but my 6 year old isnt any help either she wants to stay(because there are cats here)
So god knows when ill be home.
But sunday for sure!
I did a bit of fragging last night a test run,see how they do over the next few days .I only did a few cloves and my lst 3 pylop spider survivors lol.
just to let u know.


GREAT job WTAC!!!!


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


>


Ye gods!

Yep that is all..


----------



## ameekplec.

Tabatha said:


> I bought another outstanding piece of rock for another project I'm working on at home... Mohahaha!


Another nano thread in the works???


----------



## Tabatha

ameekplec. said:


> Another nano thread in the works???


*** PICO! ***


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> *** PICO! ***


COUGH*ADDICTED!*COUGH


----------



## KnaveTO

I was hoping to have pics of the little guy...


----------



## ameekplec.

Katalyst said:


> COUGH*ADDICTED!*COUGH


I can hear it now...an excited "PICO!!!!" followed firstly by quiet giggling crescendoing into a full on deranged howling.


----------



## Tabatha

*New Tank Shots*

*~ Day 10 ~*
Friday 27 June 2008

Everyone looks super happy today, especially my frogspawn! Here's a few new shots of the tank, frogspawn and a new hitchhiker...










Frogspawn









Hitchhiker


----------



## pat3612

Looking good Tabatha cant have sw, oh who Iam I kidding have to get me one lol  What would I need to set up a 10 gal sw. Thanks Pat


----------



## Tabatha

pat3612 said:


> Looking good Tabatha cant have sw, oh who Iam I kidding have to get me one lol  What would I need to set up a 10 gal sw. Thanks Pat


Go for it Pat! It's so much fun and so interesting, you never know what you're going to see next! Besides, we have lots of folks here to help us along.


----------



## quangbui

that looks like a nudibranch if so get rid of it!
or say bye bye to your corals


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> that looks like a nudibranch if so get rid of it!
> or say bye bye to your corals


Yay! Just my luck! LOL! Well, the little bugger has disappeared, probably eating my coral as I write. *sigh*


----------



## UnderTheSea

quangbui said:


> that looks like a nudibranch if so get rid of it!
> or say bye bye to your corals


This depends on the species of the nudi, not all will destroy your corals.


----------



## quangbui

lol in a month it'll get bigger and you'll see it for sure


----------



## Tabatha

Sooooo, who got Satan's Spawn??? Wilson, have you dug him out of the rock yet? 

I did a water change today but my nitrates were btwn 15 and 20 so I did another small w/c and tested again. It was down but not perfect. The power bar still isn't working properly so TDF (who had the day off) got me 2 new power bars and 2 new timers, the old fashioned kind.  Hopefully that will take care of my lighting problem!

I am totally in love with my frogspawn and have to get another!

Ross and gunnerx swung by the office and Ross treated us to Japanse food! Thanks Ross! YUM! Of course I was the only one who actually ATE sushi, LOL!

Started on my new project after work, no pictures till I get the lights from Cid.


----------



## wtac

If the top is a hard shell, it's a limpet...harmless and beneficial .

I put the rock in a Critter Pal and put it in my makeshift Rubbermaid reef "tank" until I can bring it over to Quang...LOL!


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> It's a mantis shrimp, Wilson is coming to get him today.


I showed my husband all the youtube video's and said, hey honey look at the new shrimp Tabatha is giving me. The look on his face was priceless!


----------



## Tabatha

Katalyst said:


> I showed my husband all the youtube video's and said, hey honey look at the new shrimp Tabatha is giving me. The look on his face was priceless!


ROFLAO! He's a macho guy, he must have liked that shrimp! 

There are so many interesting/cool/funky sw inverts!


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> ROFLAO! He's a macho guy, he must have liked that shrimp!
> 
> There are so many interesting/cool/funky sw inverts!


He actually did lol! Meanwhile I was freaking out that someone would let a poor crab and Satan's Spawn duke it out for a video lol. You are a brave woman to sit at a desk with those eyes peering out at you. Makes me glad my shrimp are small lol.


----------



## Tabatha

Katalyst said:


> He actually did lol! Meanwhile I was freaking out that someone would let a poor crab and Satan's Spawn duke it out for a video lol. You are a brave woman to sit at a desk with those eyes peering out at you. Makes me glad my shrimp are small lol.


Dude may have been small but as Wilson will attest, I was on the other side of the room when he was looking for SS! Of course watching those videos didn't help.


----------



## Tabatha

*Photoperiods & Salts*

Wilson, in your post you mentioned keeping the actinics on for 6 hours and 10,000K for 2 hours. Should I assume that this was for the LR only?

As you know, I have the timers set for 12 hours -- should I cut back even though I've added corals? What would be the ideal photoperiod for them?

I was just perusing the RedSea website reading about their salt mixes;




> 1.4 lb dissolved in 5 gal of Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) water at 750F (1Kg dissolved in 30 liters at 250C) will produce a seawater solution as follows: Specific gravity 1.021 pH 8.4 (after 2 hrs mixing or aerating) Alkalinity 2.2-2.5 milliequivalents/litter.




WHA? Am I supposed to warm up the water before mixing with salts? Does temperature make a difference in the salinity?


----------



## wtac

Tabatha said:


> Wilson, in your post you mentioned keeping the actinics on for 6 hours and 10,000K for 2 hours. Should I assume that this was for the LR only?


Yes, it was if you had LR only. Now that you have corals in there and the amount of coralline algae on the LR, the photoperiod that is presently set is perfect .



Tabatha said:


> Am I supposed to warm up the water before mixing with salts? Does temperature make a difference in the salinity?


Yes, temperature does affect salinity but is dependent on the difference of the room temp and the nano's temp. I should have made a stronger emphasis when I was first mixing a bucket of NSW. At that point it did not matter if the temp was correct. My apologies . If you don't have a heater, I have one at home kicking around that you can have.


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha what size heater (inch wise) and watt wise do you need. A friend of mine just gave me about 6 and if there's one that fits in your tank you are welcome to it.


----------



## Riceburner

Katalyst said:


> Tabatha what size heater (inch wise) and watt wise do you need. A friend of mine just gave me about 6 and if there's one that fits in your tank you are welcome to it.


ahhhh....so size does matter.....


----------



## blossom112

Was very nice meeting you 2 !
sry my tank isnt as beautifull as it used to be ,but i will start up in the next 3 to 4 months .
And hope you are happy 
everything should do fine with lots food and light 
everything ok with phyto , sun gets frozen cubes brine and the more you feed them the more they grow babies 
Gl hope yer happy.
D


----------



## Tabatha

*Day 15*

*~ DAY 16 ~*
Thursday 03 July 2008

After tending to and staring at the 5.5g pico all weekend, the BC8 looks absolutely massive! The zoas, frogspawn and GSP look fantastic but there's these little white things all over the glass, looks kinda like spores or something. Ammonia and Nitrites are ZERO!!! Next week I hope to add fish & a porcelain crab (providing I don't spend my entire allowance on corals as I have an appointment at Maple Reef Aquatics Saturday at 2:00).

Here's that strange white stuff on the glass:









Here's a shot of my very happy GSP which appears to have fallen off his rock (must reposition):


----------



## KnaveTO

Tabatha... did the powerbar get fixed after we futzed with it?


----------



## Tabatha

Hard to say, the light was on when I got into work Monday but without being able to properly monitor it, I decided to go old school. However, we're going to use the power bar on a new SW tank we're building at home. 

Note: We used this power bar on the 25g long without any problems.


----------



## blossom112

WOOOOHOOO TABITHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have inspired me to place an order now i have to hustle and get my 20 gl ready for the new livestock ,i will be on the hustle tonight !
Iam very scared to do this again after all i have been through the past month or so ,but i talked to him on the phone and he sounds cool and i have to start somewhere !
So i put in a small order (lmao)
And i will see how that goes .
And if i like him and his stuff dont reak havok on my tank he is my new best friend  hahaha.
TYSVM for posting his addy 
D.


----------



## Tabatha

Are you going to Maple Reef TONIGHT??? I'm so excited for you, he has so many beautiful specimens!!!


----------



## blossom112

Nope cant anyway my daughter is in crazy mode (the one who lost baby)
Driving me batty too and she has been to the hospital gawd knows how many times getting me up at 2am to spend my nights at scarbrough gen emerg .
i placed my order and gave him a 200.00 limit lmao(small order)
and he is going to come to me 
Thank god as im so so tired and hate shopping .
Maybe when i get my car running i will have to go look and see at his place .
Tomorrow at 530 , so i will be tired tomorrow too trying to fix tank tonight 
Thanks a bunch tabitha .
Now he better be good to me or i wont be his best costomer lol

OMG i have to go see a rainbowlori (another parrot) this weekend too geeee i should rebook that im pooped
plus karma gonna have her babies soon


----------



## Tabatha

Holy frig Blossom, you really know how to go all out! I'm just going for a frogspawn and maybe some funky zoas. In the new tank, I'd really love to get a clam.


----------



## blossom112

hahaha tabitha your funny 
To me that isnt going all out  
But im desprate to get something ,so i will do an order with him and wait 3 weeks (if i can wait that long) and watch them like a hawk ,if everythings ok 
im gonna place a BIG order (i know he's listening to us lol)
now i want to get the big tank out and get the new ones in grrrrrr...........
You should grab his phyto while your there awesome price.
plus the parrot is 650 ..........lmao debating if i should tell hubby or just wait lmao


----------



## Tabatha

I am planning to grab another bottle of phyto while I'm there, thanks for reminding me! I can only do a little bit at a time as funds allow


----------



## blossom112

So i think im in real trouble lmao .
I have the bird coming tonight and coral tomorrow .........i dont think hubby's too please guess i better be quiet for the next few days lol


----------



## Tabatha

I want to hear all about your new corals and PHOTOS, LOTS OF PHOTOS!!!


----------



## blossom112

omg i got the bird what a joker sooo funny .
I can take pictures but cant get them on the pc grrrr i have to get an attachment its old uses floppy's lol
So im tired and dont know if i can have the tank ready grrrrrrrrrr


----------



## Tabatha

*Hydroids*

So that stuff all over the glass on my tank appears to be hydroids and harmless but I think I'll scrape them off tomorrow morning.

Reference: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1166558&perpage=25&pagenumber=8


----------



## blossom112

what i do is i have a cloth just for in the tank and wipe with the cloth so they stick to the cloth and dont end up all over the tank.
just a thaught


----------



## Tabatha

Good idea, I was going to use a membership card but a cloth makes more sense. Will also do a water change today.


----------



## Ciddian

Tabatha.. I hate you and your super happy corals. >.> I'll have to show photos of yours to mine so they can have idols to look up to. LOL

Everything looks great!


----------



## Tabatha

Have yours not opened yet???!!! I think you need to ask Wilson's advice! Even the sun corals in the pico are well and eating, even the super difficult coral from Blossom is extended eating


----------



## Ciddian

yea yea..rub it in..  LOL j/k 

Yup as soon as i get that magesium test i'll prolly give him a ring.


----------



## blossom112

So glad to hear the carnation is happy but dont pannick if it droops just feed it lol
last night i took all out of the 20gl ,to get the sand in and to my amazment there are baby goby's in there lmao i didnt even know .
i put the sand in and left it empty ,now to break rock to set it up .
Hope i can get it done b4 he gets here lol
But i got my bird last night and omg it is awesome ,we took iyt out this am and she jumped on floor started running said come get me lmao ,i had to put in cage as im afraid the open sump lol
and trying to find homes for the pups too omg i cant wait to get everything on an even keel


----------



## Tabatha

*~ Day 20 ~ Minor Disasters*

*~ Day 20 ~*
Monday 07 July 2008

I came in this morning to find my beloved frogspawn dead and a dead crab at the front of the tank (or had she moulted?). To make matters worse, I brought in new frags, 2 hermit crabs and a yellow clown goby to put in the tank. I immediately removed the frogspawn and did an ammonia and nitrite test. Oddly enough, both are reading zero! Did it spike over the weekend? I'm warming and preparing fresh water for a 10% change.

Everyone is sitting in bags till after the wc.


----------



## Ciddian

Was this the one where the baby died? I had the same issue... One headfell apart after the other and i had the thing for almost half a year. 

If the crab looks like just an outer shell, then yes it moulted..


----------



## blossom112

Im really surprised you frogspawn died ,they are normaly pretty hardy , my friend downstairs even had high levels and theirs survived !
wait a month or so ill pass you a clipping of mine  ,just to be sure your tank is ok .
That is weird tho !
so sry tabitha


----------



## Tabatha

I can't figure out how and why my frogspawn bit the dust but everything else appears to be okay in the tank and the parameters are fine. I made the decision to put everything in that I'd brought, a few small frags and the yellow clown goby. Will post update tomorrow.


----------



## Tabatha

*~ Day 21 ~ Everything A-Okay*

*~ Day 21 ~*
Tuesday 08 July 2008

Little Goby Man is still with us (YAY!), they're notoriously bad eaters, especially when first introduced to a new aquarium so I turned the pump off and dumped in way too much rotifers. Microscopic, how am I supposed to get it out? Arg. Oh well, no more food for at least a couple of days! All of a sudden, there's a ton of bristle worms on the rocks, guess the excess food brought them out of hiding! 

There's a lot more critters in this tank than I initially thought, I just saw some legs which appear as though they could belong to a brittle star.

Something or someone knocked down one of my zoas. As I mentioned yesterday, there was a crab shell at the front of the tank, it looked like a Sally Lightfood *which eats small fish*!  I've never seen her other than her legs on the first day but she's still pretty small so hopefully Little Goby Man will be okay.

* 7:58 a.m. *Yup, it's a star fish of some kind, blends in with the rock so well, if it weren't moving, you wouldn't see it!


----------



## blossom112

i wouldnt worrie too mych about the rotifliers,they will be eaten by everything and by the sounds of it they are all hungry by coming out like that .
Great job !


----------



## Tabatha

*Hiding Goby Waving Sun*

*Hiding Goby Waving Sun
*









Where's my little goby hiding?











You were right Blossom, they were hungry! Thank you again for your generosity, they're stunning (and looking for food again)!
​


----------



## blossom112

OMG thats the most amazing picture i have seen yet !!!!!!you could win something with that pic lol
The more you feed the more they grow lol


----------



## Tabatha

*Crab!*

I saw the crab! The lights go off around 3ish and I saw movement behind the rocks. I can't tell what kind it is but it looks burgundy in colour with short(er) front limbs than a Sally. Any thoughts/ideas? I tried to take a picture with the flash but it scared him/her away and I missed the shot!


----------



## Tabatha

*Goby Doing Great!*

My Little Goby Man is doing great, he's hunting on his little reef and appears to be successful! He also loves to sit on the frags as they wiggle around in the current, he jumps from coral to coral, his favorite seems to be the hairy tongue mushroom.  This was the more active of the two that I bought, the other one at home doesn't seem to be as interested in food as this one, I fear he may not make it.

The zoas, gsp and suncoral all seem to be doing very well, the orange branching sponge, no so well, a few white spots indicating a little die off. It is a difficult coral to keep, I may take it back home where I can monitor it more closely.


----------



## Riceburner

Great shots T.


----------



## Tabatha

*~ Day 27 ~*

*~ Day 27 ~*
Monday 14 July 2008

This morning when I came into work, the tank was in disarray, one of the zoas was over turned and Little Goby Man was MIA. Earlier last week, when he was startled, he'd jumped into the drip tray of the second chamber, I have a devil of a time rescuing him. I checked the chambers again this morning and there he was, sitting in the tray, motionless with water running over him, I thought he was dead. I pulled out the tray, he wiggled a little bit so I dipped it in the water. Lo and behold, he was alive!!!  Tough little dude! I was really rethinking the whole having fish at work thing and wondered how others survived the weekends.

That mystery crab is really crating havoc with the corals, turning them over and tossing them around.

Going to do some water tests now...
*Test Results*
Nitrites = 0
*Nitrates = 20 *water change required*
Ammonia = 0
PH = 8.0
*Calcium = 350 more calcium req'd*​


----------



## hojimoe

lets put it this way tabatha.... you doing this...is making me do it.... over the next month or two, I'm going to be getting a biocube, 14 or 29  ask wilson, i've been bugging him a bit with q's lol 

looking great though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

"just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, "


----------



## Tabatha

*CONGRATULATIONS!!! *Now we just need to convert Katalyst! LOL! 

Get the BC29!!! I want to see your journal on GTAA when you get your tank!


----------



## hojimoe

Tabatha said:


> *CONGRATULATIONS!!! *Now we just need to convert Katalyst! LOL!
> 
> Get the BC29!!! I want to see your journal on GTAA when you get your tank!


oh there will definitely be a journal! lol...and more pictures of wilson! lol


----------



## wtac

This time I'll make time to get a haircut and shave...so much for the Pokeroo cover. Thanks 

LMAO!!!


----------



## quangbui

yeah don't forget your bathing suit too wilson!


----------



## Tabatha

*~ Week 4 ~*
15 July 2008

Everything looks good in the tank except Goby and the orange sponge which is slowly turning from orange to white. Goby is just sitting at the front of the glass; typically when you approach, he takes off.  I've read that a lot of clown gobys don't make it.


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> *CONGRATULATIONS!!! *Now we just need to convert Katalyst! LOL!
> 
> Get the BC29!!! I want to see your journal on GTAA when you get your tank!


Damn you woman! lol *shakes fist* You have a saltwater vodoo doll of me! I know it! I have been looking at salt water tanks, corals and shrimp for the past two hours. I want a picotope!

*runs screaming!*

I hope little goby man is better tomorrow...I think he needs a name too!


----------



## Brian

All this talk has gotten me looking up for a salty too 

Gotta find some room.


----------



## Tabatha

Katalyst said:


> Damn you woman! lol *shakes fist* You have a saltwater vodoo doll of me! I know it! I have been looking at salt water tanks, corals and shrimp for the past two hours. I want a picotope!
> 
> *runs screaming!*


Yup, that's where I started! Have you been checking out nano-reef.com??? That's where I got my inspiration.  The nice thing about SW is that 1 tank is enough, IMO. 



Katalyst said:


> I hope little goby man is better tomorrow...I think he needs a name too!


Yeah, I hope little dude is okay too.

I got a pretty good look at the mysterious crab yesterday. I'm thinking he might be an emerald crab which would look burgundy under the blue night lights? He has short front arms and damn he's fast!


----------



## hojimoe

lol tabatha, I don't know which is a better question? 

why are you up at 4:00am? or, what the heck time does your boss make you come in? hehe


----------



## Tabatha

hojimoe said:


> lol tabatha, I don't know which is a better question?
> 
> why are you up at 4:00am? or, what the heck time does your boss make you come in? hehe


I got up at 4, fed the animals (2 dogs, 4 cats, lots of fish and corals), read email, jumped in the shower at 4:30, dried hair & got read for work, made lunch & breakfast, in the car at 6:00 a.m., at work just before 7:00 a.m.


----------



## ameekplec.

Tabatha said:


> The nice thing about SW is that 1 tank is enough, IMO


This coming form the lady who got a two more SW tanks before even a month was up?

You're trying to get everybody hooked; "yeah, don't worry the first one's free..."

Must.....hold....out.......


----------



## Tabatha

ameekplec. said:


> This coming form the lady who got a two more SW tanks before even a month was up?
> 
> You're trying to get everybody hooked; "yeah, don't worry the first one's free..."
> 
> Must.....hold....out.......


Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Someone might hear you! Geeze!


----------



## Tabatha

*Crab: Destroyer of Coralscapes!*

This morning I spotted the crab, s/he actually had the odasity to come out of hiding in broad daylight! His upper body appears to be purple as well as his front claws. His rear 1/2, however, is striped. Not very big, maybe an inch. I think he's finally realizing that he's not going to get eaten by the mantis shrimp. 

Any ideas what kind of crab this might be??? He loves to topple my corals, it's a bit of a PITA because 9 times out of 10 they end up face down.


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> This morning I spotted the crab, s/he actually had the odasity to come out of hiding in broad daylight! His upper body appears to be purple as well as his front claws. His rear 1/2, however, is striped. Not very big, maybe an inch. I think he's finally realizing that he's not going to get eaten by the mantis shrimp.
> 
> Any ideas what kind of crab this might be??? He loves to topple my corals, it's a bit of a PITA because 9 times out of 10 they end up face down.


How the heck do you get any work done? lol I'd be staring all day. Still can't believe you had Satan's Spawn in your tank! Heck I'd hide too if I were the crab!


----------



## quangbui

about that mantis shrimp he wont' come out hiding lol!


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> about that mantis shrimp he wont' come out hiding lol!



Ah, so you're the lucky one huh?


----------



## quangbui

lol yes here's hoping i have a few fingers left when i get the critter out


----------



## Tabatha

Will you be working at the store this weekend? I'm trying to convince my husband to visit!


----------



## quangbui

yes i'll be at the store from 11 00 to 7pm on sat and 12 to 6pm on sunday


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> yes i'll be at the store from 11 00 to 7pm on sat and 12 to 6pm on sunday


Do you have any snails in stock at the moment? I've got green algae in this tank and need a little help.


----------



## Ciddian

bah.. i cant wait till i move. I've decided to set up an extra shelving system for tabatha's stow-aways LOL


----------



## Katalyst

Tabatha said:


> Do you have any snails in stock at the moment? I've got green algae in this tank and need a little help.


I saw the prettiest corals today at Big Al's Vaughn. One that was purple and pink. I decided you need it even though its in one of their display tanks I already told the manager if you liked it I'm taking it lol.

And they had a red & purple shrimp which I bet would eat your algae.


----------



## ameekplec.

Any updates?

If I have to wait any longer, I might have to start my own tank to get my sw fix


----------



## Tabatha

Not much going on and nothing has really changed in the tank. The purple crab with furry rear legs is getting more brave and will show himself while I'm at my desk during the day. My biggest pet peve with him is his rearranging the corals and knocking them off the rocks and, just like toast, they always land face down!

My clown goby wasn't eating and disappeared, which is so often the case with those little guys. I won't be trying any more clown gobys.

Coraline is beginning to grow on the back wall but I also noticed a little red slime algae starting there as well however, I was over feeding the tank trying to get the goby to fatten up.

Next week I'm on vacation, TDF and I will be replacing all the floors in our house which means tearing down both the 90g Osaka and the 20g sw tank! 

I haven't lost any corals and the parameters are always stable, I'm testing once weekly now. I ran out of RO water today when I went to do a water change then put a little too much salt in the fresh water. That seems to be my biggest problem -- mixing up the right amount of salt to water. I'll add a little phyto to the tank before I leave today.

Hopefully when I return from vacation, I'll have a few new corals to add as well as clownfish!


----------



## Ciddian

Ya that took me a few times to get right too. I wish i had the room to rehome your little crab. He sounds wonderful.

I do hope he doesnt stress out the corals too much.

What that red slime.. hopefully it wont slime out tiny frags. Can really be a pita


----------



## Tabatha

Katalyst said:


> I saw the prettiest corals today at Big Al's Vaughn. One that was purple and pink. I decided you need it even though its in one of their display tanks I already told the manager if you liked it I'm taking it lol.
> 
> And they had a red & purple shrimp which I bet would eat your algae.


I must be asleep at the wheel, how did I miss your post???

Will send PM...


----------



## Tabatha

*Anemone & Clown Fish & Anemone*

Anemone & Clown Fish & Anemone
​
It all started when TDF and I ventured out to Oakville in search of saltwater madness. We've both been bit by the bug hard but are both excited by the adventure so we're in it together!

Last weekend we bought a tiny little quarter sized rose bubble tip anemone for $40.00! YIKES that is expensive! She's doing well, I've read so much about them traveling around the tank and stinging other corals, I was nervous. I wedged her under a small crevice of my highest rock to get the most amount of light and flow. She wiggled herself out and made herself a home cm's from my intended home so I was thrilled!

Thursday, TDF surprised me by wanting to visit Sea-U-Marine in Markham! He purchased a Toonze skimmer and I purchased a pair of yellow barred maroon clown fish -- GORGEOUS!!! Although they're the largest (6") and most agressive of all clown fish, I couldn't resist! The female instantly hosted my tiny anemone and mauled it.

I contacted Constantine of Maple Reef Aquatics here in Ajax, he happened to have a large rose bubble tipped anemone available and I told him to bring her on over!

At the same time, we're tearing up all our carpeting due to geriatric cats, the youngest being 10 years old, peeing repeatedly in the same spot. We purchased waterproof flooring for the entire house which means tearing apart both the 90g Osaka and 20g saltwater. Friday was the first day of my "vacation" which I spent tearing up carpet, draining the Osaka, moving fish and trying to sell stuff. Needless to say I was exhausted and stressed out!

Constantine was kind enough to deliver my RBTA and some zoas.

I dripped the corals for just over an hour then put RBTA into the tank. I put her up on the purple rock with the baby RBTA and she was sooo happy, high flow, high light! Then the big clown fish girl found her and started rubbing and sucking on her foot. Remember I was taking up carpet and draining the Osaka and trying to keep an eye on everything in the SW tank at the same time.

The clown fish finally pushed the RBTA off the rock whereby she flew through the water merrily, fully extended. Hastily I moved everyone out of the way, let they get stung by accident. After a while, I adjusted the powerhead which blew her into the intake of the fuge pump! In a panic, I turned off all the pumps and gently pried her from the pump. She looked okay! Tentatively I turned on the pumps after adjusting the direction of the flow again and kept an eagle eye on her.

She was pushed into a crevis where the clown followed and continued to host. I couldn't see RBTA, she was on the back of the rock and slowly crawed back up to the top of the tank. By this time, TDF had arrived home and rearranged the pumps so they wouldn't be a threat. Eventually RBTA made her way up to the purple rock where I really wanted her to stay.

Unfortunately, that didn't last long. After the daylights faded into night, she was seemingly push down to the bottom of the tank again. She has since found a happy place near the bottom. I've been able to rearrange the other corals so they aren't all crammed in one side of the tank.

TDF and I discussed the lighting situation since she's been living under 400 watts of metal halide and we have the LEDs. TDF says that it's not about watts but rather PAR value of which the LED's have more than the MHs per watt.


----------



## blossom112

I am looking into lighting for the 40gl .
And its so confusing to me , which is the better lighting?
I had planned the MH and priced it at around 400 , i was thinking isnt that cheap for MH?
I have no clue when it comes to lights
lol


----------



## UnderTheSea

blossom112 said:


> I am looking into lighting for the 40gl .
> And its so confusing to me , which is the better lighting?
> I had planned the MH and priced it at around 400 , i was thinking isnt that cheap for MH?
> I have no clue when it comes to lights
> lol


That is pretty pricey. I got 4 250W setups (bulbs, ice-cap ballast, reflector and socket for $450. Are you looking to go SE or DE?

Have you considered T5's ?

Shoot me a PM. I'm up to something and maybe able to help you out.


----------



## Tabatha

*~ Week 7 ~*

*~ Week 7 ~*
Tuesday 5 August 2008

I just got back from vacation and although there's green algae and a bit of a diatom bloom, the parameters are pretty good, just a little low on calcium, which I dosed. The corals are all great and hermit crabs are still busy, as is our little hitchhiker friend, the purple mystery crab. There are tons of tiny white bugs all over the glass eating the diatom. I ran out of RO water just before I left for vacation on the 25th (July) but I should be getting another delivery this week.

I've ordered a frag pack from Maple Reef Aquatics and hope to add a fish the week after.


----------



## Riceburner

Pictures!!!!


----------



## Tabatha

Not knowing what I'd find today, I didn't bring my camera. With all the algae on the glass, you'd only see a blur of brown crap anyway.


----------



## Tabatha

*~ Week 8 ~*

*~ Week 8 ~*
13 August 2008

Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10
PH = 8
SG = 1.023
Calcium = 440
Temp. = 78F


----------



## Tabatha

Sunday I purchased 8 new coral frags (zoos, mushrooms & a candy cane) as well as an ocellaris and a purple firefish. I put them in a Rubbermaid bin with heater and powerhead till I could get them to work on Tuesday.

Last week I did my water change and parameter tests, all were normal. I had a stick-on thermometer as well as a digital thermometer, neither of which were older than 6 or 7 months. The digital read 78F and the stick-on said 84F, I had no idea which was correct.

Tuesday before leaving for work, I packed up all the corals and the fish last, just before walking out the door, it's about 45 min. to an hour to get to work depending on traffic. (They were in one of those giant double zip lock bags with tons of water.)

The first thing I did when I got to work was open the fish bag, scoop out some water and start a drip, after about 45 min. - 1 hour, I released the fish into the tank.

Within 10 minutes, the firefish was dead and I noticed the ocellaris was breathing hard. In a panic, I started checking ammonia, nitrites and nitrates then it hit me that the water felt too warm as I was filling the test tubes. I immediately turned off all the lights, the heater, lifted the lid and started mixing some new salt water. After a water change, the temperature started to go down and the ocellaris started to slow and breath better.

As above, I tested the parameters again this morning and they're excellent (with the exception of calcium which could be higher - 480 would be perfect).

I'm trying to name the ocellaris, I'm bouncing between "11" and "Swift" (Thanks Brandon & Sunstar!). I'm also going to look for a little friend for him this weekend, perhaps a boy/girlfriend?

New pictures will be posted later this afternoon or this evening.


----------



## Tabatha

*Photo Update*

Mushrooms









Zoanthids









Candy Cane









Left View









Right View









I'm going to attempt another FTS, the one I took yesterday is a little washed out.​


----------



## Tabatha

*FTS & New Hitchhiker*














































Can anyone ID the new hitchhiker?​


----------



## Tabatha

*Ocellaris Bars*

One interesting thing I noticed about my little ocellaris is that he doesn't have black bars outlining his white stripes, he has white bars.


----------



## UnderTheSea

Tabatha said:


> One interesting thing I noticed about my little ocellaris is that he doesn't have black bars outlining his white stripes, he has white bars.


I don't have my book with me right now but it may be a Perc


----------



## Tabatha

I got him from Constantine (who told me s/he was an ocellaris).


----------



## UnderTheSea

try the looking here

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+27


----------



## Tabatha

Yeah, the true Percs have a lot of black between the white bars. Very, very pretty! The Ocellaris they have on the live aquaria site, have fine black bars between the white strips and the orange body colour. Constantine had this little one for quite a while, he was hand feeding him.


----------



## quangbui

hitch hiker sure looks like a small nudibranch to me


----------



## Tabatha

quangbui said:


> hitch hiker sure looks like a small nudibranch to me


That's what I thought at first too but it looks like it has a bit of a shell. It's loving the glass so I think it's probably eating algae.

I think it's a Stomatella varia: http://www.reefcorner.com/SpecimenSheets/stomatella_varia.htm


----------



## Tabatha

After work yesterday TDF and I stopped by NAFB on our way home, I picked up a green bubble tip anemone for my new little buddy. When he was at Constantine's he hosted the RBTA I now have at home.

I put the BTA in a breeder net in our home tank and gave her a tiny piece of raw shrimp. I checked on her this morning and she's doing fantastic, she's plump and fluffy and fuly expanded.

For those who don't know, bubble tip anemones travel around until they find a place in your tank where they're happy. Our RBTA has moved around quite a bit in the Osaka, our maroon clowns gravitated to her immediately and feed her regularily. It's an incredible relationship.

I hope she makes the little Ocellaris feel more comfortable in his new home. I'd like to swing by Sea-U-Marine and pick up another Ocellaris this weekend.


----------



## Tabatha

I'm here at work, immediately upon arrival, I floated the anemone bag then after about 20 minutes, turned off the pump, lifted her out of the bag and placed her in a crevice on the rocks. I let her settle in a bit then turned the pumps back on. I wasn't sure if she was going to stay there but she's starting to relax and it seems like she likes the position so far.

I'm considering adding a Koralia nano for more flow but I'm afraid it might be too much. I'm also considering purigen to keep the water quality in check.

Update:

Well, silly girl has slipped through the crevice and into the cave. She seems quite happy in the shade but no one can see her!


----------



## Tabatha

*Ocellaris Update*

Little dude seems to be acting and swimming normally today and actually ate voraciously! YIPEEE!

GBTA girl is still in hiding. It'll be really interesting to see where she finally ends up!


----------



## ameekplec.

Yaaaaaaaaaay! BTA! 

Haha, I was wondering if A BTA and a pair of clowns was apropriate for a small tank <10g, but if you're doing it....


----------



## Tabatha

I wouldn't have done it if Wilson didn't say it was okay!


----------



## ameekplec.

Well Tabatha, the gears are in motion now...solwly but they are. Your light may be put into use soon....


----------



## Tabatha

ameekplec. said:


> Well Tabatha, the gears are in motion now...solwly but they are. Your light may be put into use soon....


YAY!!! I am so excited for you!!! I'll be looking for your journal!!!

W00T!!!


----------



## blossom112

WOOHOOO
And i hope you have a good camera too !
So sry i havent posted ,been busy with the new tanks and trying to get the pups ready to go !
Looks awesome tabitha!!!


----------



## Tabatha

*~ Week 9 ~*

*~ Week 9 ~*
Monday August 18, 2008

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
PH: 8.0
Calcium: 420
Phosphates: 0

*Added 2mL Seachem Reef complete.

When I arrived at work this morning, the top rock was toppled over, the anemone was completely shriveled up and the damn purple crab was king of the mountain. I grabbed one of my small pails, grabbed the rock and put him in the bucket then got the tweezers and scared him out and put the anemone & rock back in the tank. After rearranging the rocks and frags, I floated a bag with a new baby ocellaris and dumped the crab in my aged water bucket.
 
 After releasing the new Ocellaris, I fed them and the anemone and while the fish ate, the anemone spit her enriched shrimp piece out. I'll be so upset if she doens't make it. Friggin' crab!!!

Is it too late for the anemone? Can I bring her back???!!!


----------



## Mr Fishies

I've watched the soap opera that is this thread from the beginning. With your coral/anemone woes, terrorist shrimp and now a crab that keeps pulling the rug from under your feet (pun intended with best intentions, although jokes are probably not wanted) it's been a long road, but for some reason that last pic really looks sad.  I hope you can save it too.

May the force be with you.


----------



## Tabatha

Thanks Mr. Fishies, this tank has been a real roller coaster but it really is satisfying when you have a success!

Ocellaris #1 is a female, white stripes with white outlines. Ocellaris #2 is the male, a typical specimen with black outlining his white stripes and is "shivering" to show his submission to #1 (I need names!) Pixel & Sprite?

The anemone ate, I very carefully placed the piece of shrimp in her mouth, she puffed up and devoured it but she's now limp'ish again though somewhat better than how I found her this morning. Pixel & Sprite are trying to host her.  Once she's close to being more normal, I'll post photos of her progression throughout the day If you haven't guessed, I get just as attached to the anemones and corals as I do the fish and inverts!


----------



## Tabatha

*The Green Bubble Tim Anemone Eats*

I've been snapping photos all morning, I finally got her to eat a piece of raw shrimp, she's been puffing up and flattening out sporadically. Unfortunately her mouth is still gaping open, not a good thing.


















































































BTW, these photos were taken in sequence so you can see how she changes minute by minute.​


----------



## Tabatha

*Pixel & Sprite*

Thought you might like to finally see some pictures of Pixel & Sprite. Pixel is the larger of the 2 and doesn't have any black stripes outlining her white bars.




























 Forgot to mention, Pixel got really good at hunting copepods over the weekend, can't see ANY now!!​


----------



## Tabatha

*My Baby's Comin' Back!*

Just a few minutes ago!!!








​


----------



## Tabatha

*I Thought She Was A Goner*

*I thought she was a goner, but look at her now!*





































I'm such a happy girl and apparently, so is she!!!   ​


----------



## findingnemo

Wow...

So happy for you!!!


Good stuff. Looks like the clowns cheered the anom back to life?


----------



## Tabatha

Thanks Nemo, today was a real roller coaster of a ride! When I left work, the Ocellaris were hosting the anemone and her mouth was finally closed. I can't wait to get in tomorrow and see how she's doing. She'll get another small piece of shrimp!


----------



## ameekplec.

Tabatha, I'm glad the little on made it! 

And I'm even more jealous now!!! Great pictures as always!!!


----------



## Tabatha

Ameek, I can't wait till you get your sw tank going, I'm looking forward to it!!!

I came in this morning expecting to see a big strong fluffy girl blowing around in the current but instead I found her all shriveled up again.  I fed everybody some yummy, raw, fortified shrimp, she's up and down like a yo-yo again but I don't think it'll take her as long to recover today. I was really looking forward to taking some photos of a healthy girl but I guess it'll just take awhile.


----------



## Tabatha

She's a sleepy girl, it's taken her all morning to wake up!


























​


----------



## Ciddian

awee... good to know its doing well  The two clowns are adorable <3


----------



## Riceburner

it's looking great. Here's hoping for the best outcome.


----------



## hojimoe

wow amazing that anemone came back to life! great job tabatha, i wouldn't be surprised if the clowns had something to do with it


----------



## Tabatha

*She's on the Move!*

*@ Ciddian:* Thanks! I agree, I just adore the clowns!

*@ Riceburner: *Never a dull moment, thanks for the well wishes.

*@ Jim:* Food helps a great deal with anemones and I agree, I think the clowns have a lot to do with it too. 

*Update*

*Good news:* She's big and fluffy!
*Bad news: *She's on the move and sitting in the cave where no one can see her and I can't feed her! 










Unfortunately, she's not well enough to feed herself, food isn't sticking to her "tentacles" and the clowns are too greedy to feed her.

Option 1: Move the top rock to the side of the tank.

Option 2: Don't move the rock and take a risk of her not eating again.

How could this tank be too bright for her??? Everywhere I've read, anemones like bight light. HOWEVER, every time I went to NAFB, the lights were never on in the anemone tank. Owner told me they just forgot -- but every day?

Thoughts/ideas/opinions???

I've removed the top rock to the cave and rearranged the corals (AGAIN!). The clowns are happy!


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## Sunstar

I am getting bitten..... my husband and I saw beautiful tanks at big al's and a tiny tank... just a tiny one would be fine..... Oh woe is me. I want one!


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## Shattered

That's a stunning tank, and what a great write up of the process.


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## Tabatha

Sunstar, go for it!

Shattered, thank you! 

I'm really crazy about the anemones, I'd like to add a GBTA to our 40g Osaka too!


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## Sunstar

money is an issue. perhaps next summer. I need time to research anyway.


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## Tabatha

Sunstar said:


> money is an issue. perhaps next summer. I need time to research anyway.


I think the biggest investment I made in this tank was the tank itself, $99., next was the LR @ $70. My Anemone was $40 and the Ocellaris were $20.00 each. The beauty of all-in-one tanks is you don't have to spend extra $$ on lighting/fuge/pumps/filters.


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## blossom112

I dont think your lights are too bright at all , it is common for anemone to put its butt into the worst places ,but if it isnt in light and you cant feed it , it will starve , so you need to feed it or put it out in open for the light .
I never trust them tabitha not after my outbreak !
And everytime i go the lights arent on either and when they do its the actinic only .
If you think its dead it probably isnt so keep it in water lol
I would move the rock and let the light feed it and the clowns will host it and poo the anemone will be eating the poo.
check with a flash light and mag glass ,see if their are anything that shouldnt be there (like spiders) .
I have a suspicion i got my spiders from them and when i mentioned zoa spiders to her she was like what are they (like please gimme a break!)
anyone in the business 10+ years knows what they are .I found with them when theres a problem they are dumb all of a sudden.when we went a month ago i saw a couple there complaining their anemone died (which is why i didnt get one then )
What ever you do dont give up on it tey are funny , one day you think they are dead and the next alive .
I really want an anemone ,i miss ours so much!
But i shall wait till we get osaka  or something that meets our needs.
then i will have to bug constantine for a purple tipped  my fav color!(you hear that constantine lol)
Good luck tabitha! keep your chin up and dont give up!


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## ameekplec.

Tabatha said:


> I think the biggest investment I made in this tank was the tank itself, $99., next was the LR @ $70. My Anemone was $40 and the Ocellaris were $20.00 each. The beauty of all-in-one tanks is you don't have to spend extra $$ on lighting/fuge/pumps/filters.


Hmmm, I was quoted at $115 for a 10g tall starfire glass tank. Maybe I will hold out for a $99 biocube. Where'd you get it?


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## Tabatha

ameekplec. said:


> Hmmm, I was quoted at $115 for a 10g tall starfire glass tank. Maybe I will hold out for a $99 biocube. Where'd you get it?


You're going to hold your breath for a few more months, I got it at Big Al's Boxing Week sale with a $50.00 rebate. Yes, Oceanic actually sent the rebate!


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## ameekplec.

I guess I can wait on the biocube. It really would be nice to have the all in one system. 

But then again, combined with the small tank footprint (not much space for it), and the 10g tall looks pretty nice for a small tank too 

Well, I guess a 'planning' thread is due...


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## Tabatha

ameekplec. said:


> I guess I can wait on the biocube. It really would be nice to have the all in one system.
> 
> But then again, combined with the small tank footprint (not much space for it), and the 10g tall looks pretty nice for a small tank too
> 
> Well, I guess a 'planning' thread is due...


*YES!!!* I'll be watching for it!


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## KnaveTO

Don't remember who posted it but someone posted a link about a great Saltwater site that helps out with info on the basics as well as the typs of tanks and the like. Anyone remember?


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## Tabatha

nano-reef.com is awesome, Melev's Reef is also awesome!


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## pat3612

Great tank Tabatha its really come along .Pat


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## Tabatha

Thanks Pat!

Well, GBTA is all cranky again today, I've tried feeding her but her mouth is facing the substrate and the kids are stealing her food. I think I'm going to bring her home to the Maroon clowns, who know how to take care of anemones! 

I did a 10% water change in the hopes it would perk her up but to no avail.


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## Wall Aquarium

It's cool! a good job.


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## Tabatha

*~ Week 10 ~*

*~ Week 10 ~*
Monday 25 August 2008

Calcium: 440
PH: 8
KH: 7 (125.3/ppm KH)
Phosphate: 0.5
Nitrates: 40
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0

Performed a 10% water change after testing parameters. Added 2.5mLs Seachem Reef Complete.

Remarkably, the anemone looks great this morning, she's in the middle of the aquarium on the bottom, with her foot tucked under one of the rocks. I'm not happy with the high nitrates and phosphates, I'm still waiting for the arrival of our inexpensive Seachem Purigen from Florida which is coming with our VorTech MP20 and PhosBan Reactor for the Osaka 40g Mach II. Purigen sells for $30.00 here in Canada, $11.00 in the U.S.!!! Even with shipping, it's still more economical to buy from the States. LFS need to lower their prices to complete, IMO.

I was finally able to find some silversides, YIPEEE! I cut some up and put a chunk in the anemone. She immediately embraced it although her tentacles still aren't holding food. Unfortunately I found the chunk beside her a little later. I smushed it up and let the clowns play with the skin so they wouldn't steal from the BTA. I'm going to bring in more shrimp tomorrow as she did well with that.


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## UnderTheSea

Looking good !

As for you comment about LFS need to lower prices here in Canada I had always thought the same until putting together a business plan and researching suppliers. There are many factors that determine the price - Volume, Taxes, Shipping Destination etc. You may have noticed that LFS on the West Coast are significantly cheaper than most stores in the GTA, on of the major reasons is shipping. Most products whether we like it our not come from Asia, most products will come into Canada from the West Coast by water, then distributed by air, rail and/or land. We are in the Middle of Canada and therefore have a higher shipping cost, not to mention higher taxes than the west coast. As for comparing to the US, the hobby is much more popular there then up here where costs are higher.

There are ways for you to get your products cheaper....Price match is one of the easiest ways and how I do most of my purchases if it is for something I must purchase new. I pretty much always buy my food NLS products from BA's which includes free express post shipping (I think over $25) to my door and price match against JL Aquatics.

JL has your Purigen for $13.75 (free shipping over $100), if BA's stocks this item the will beat it by I think 10%. If you don't have an order over a $100 ask fellow reefers if they need anything and put the order in as one. So if you are paying $11 US plus shipping than you are actually paying more than locally once you pay shipping, customs/taxes/brokerage fees....
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=sc-pur0250

Not trying to deter anyone from buying US but there are ways to get things cheaper locally.


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## ameekplec.

petsandponds.com usually has lower prices for items that BA online sells as well. If you buy over $35 from BA, it's free shipping, and they price match, beating the other price by 5%. Beats going to the store any day.


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## Tabatha

*American Online vs. Canadian Online Shopping*

Neither J&L nor BA's will price match American online stores.

*Two Little Fishies PhosBan Reactor *

J&L .............. $46.95
Salty Supply .. $36.99 (US)
BA's ............. $59.99

*EcoTech VorTech*
We picked the MP20 which is not available in Canada at all.

J&L ............. $439.95
Salty Supply . $419.98(US)
BA's ............ $ Not available

*SeaChem Purigen 250mL*

J&L .............. $13.75
Salty Supply .. $11.99 (US)
BA's ............. $19.99

It's amazing how Big Al's is consistently more expensive than the competition.

J&L's total is $500.65; Salty Supply's total is $468.96 however, we're not getting the only model VorTech J&L carries, we're getting the MP20 which is $295.00 which is a considerable savings of $156.67! Also, our shipping was upgraded at no extra charge.


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## Tabatha

*~ Week 10 ~*

GBTA is big and fluffy this morning and has moved again. Late yesterday afternoon I noticed she fell off the rock and was laying face down on the substrate, this time I really thought it was the end of her. I slipped on a pair of gloves and gently rolled her over face up on the ground. Shortly after she began to puff up again. This anemone is definitely different from any other!

This morning I shredded a piece of silverside and placed it near her mouth. I'm finding I'm probably over feeding since I'm desperate for her to do well. I'm now wondering if perhaps I should do another water change?


























​


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## Tabatha

*Checking Parameters*

Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 0
Phosphates = 0

I thought I'd test the parameters to make sure I wasn't over feeding, allowing the ammonia & nitrates to build up. Thankfully, the results are perfect. Anemone looks like crap again this morning but maybe she's just a frequent pooper? I've tried to feed her every day this week, using a net, but she just spits it out.


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## Announce

When my anenome was dieing I did quite a bit of research and over feeding is actually the biggest cause for them the get ill


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## Tabatha

*Anemones*

I've done quite a bit of research on RBTA and have read through Karen's Anemones webiste: http://www.karensroseanemones.com/

We have 2 RBTA's in our 40g at home which are doing very well. I'm considering bringing this GBTA home and swapping it out for a frogspawn. Am going to wait one more day...


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## Tabatha

Our order arrived from Salty Supply yesterday W00T! With the addition of the VorTech MP20 in the 40g Osaka, I'm able to take the Koralia Nano to work, it may be a bit too much flow for the Oce's so I may shave off an impeller or two. We also ordered 100mL Purigen which comes in it's own micro bag and sits in the center chamber beautifully. My only concern is that this bag is for 100 US gallons, is there any danger of using the entire bag in an 8g tank? I may remove it before the weekend just to be safe.


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## wtac

The tough thing to guage is how much of what Purigen is going to remove and what creature is going to be negatively impacted. It's an aggressive ab/adsorbing media so for now I'd recommend taking out for the weekend as it's best to monitor how the BC8 is reacting to the addition of Purigen .


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## UnderTheSea

I totally agree with WTAC. I am actually not a big fan of any media except for carbon. If you require media to reduce nitrates, ammonia etc then there is an underlying issue. They are okay as a temporary solution while you get the parameters under control but I don't see the need for continuous use.

As for choppingg off a blade on the koralia I don't advise doing this. This will cause an unballanced system and cause issues with the magnet and probably crack it in no time. You will find many that have modded there systems but usually putting larger propellers and shaving them down to size. I would recommend doing this method over chopping off a blade.


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## blossom112

Feeding everyday is too much ..........
every 2 to 3 days ,if you have a clown hosting 2x a week .
Good luck


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## Tabatha

This tank in my office, not at home so it only gets fed 5 out of 7 days and in the case of this weekend, 4 out of 7 b/c of the long weekend.

The only reason I'm currently over feeding (IMO) is to ensure the anemone recovers and thrives.

I've moved the Koralia Nano to adjacent the output of the stock powerhead, it seems to be working very well, the Oce's can move around the tank easily and the anemone appears to be enjoying the added flow. I will be removing the Purigen over the weekend, will check the parameters when I return on Tuesday and perform a water change.


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## Tabatha

*To be continued...*

This thread is continued here: http://aquariumfans.ca/index.php?showtopic=12&st=20


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## blossom112

Hey tabitha .
You still have that nudi? if you end up with babies i would love to buy one from you ! Thanks ... I was going to go buy some but I read they multiply like crazy ,and thaught id ask you first .
D


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## Tabatha

We haven't seen him in weeks, unfortunately. We were told by Ken at Sea-U-Marine that he'd disappear. 

Call the nearest BA's, I saw lettuce nudi's at the Whitby location and Cid picked up a couple too, she's near the Scarborough location.


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## blossom112

Do they eat sponge too?
Mybe i should wait then she may end up with too many 

OH maybe yours is in hiding having babies 

Thing maybe I will look around in a few weeks ,they are so beautifull.
busy now this week ,and dog grooming and vets in a few days and that is always stressfull as i have to leave the dogs and i hate doing that!

Thanks for the heads up , i may go to big al's as they have pleco's i want !


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## Ciddian

yea they have lettus slug thingies at BA scarborough but call to check cause i only saw the two there and i bought them X) 

Caution on any powerheads. they get sucked right in. 

sorry for the small detour there tabatha.


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## blossom112

They be ok with the hydor koralia?

Hey thanks u 2 for the info ..... i got a nudi .....its cute !!!


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