# Alt's 20 gallon piece of the ocean!!!!!



## altcharacter

Ok, so on my one day off this month I'll start giving some info and throwing up some pictures.

I'll be switching my 6 gallon nano that i've been using for the larger, more sexy 20 gallon with a nice black stand thanks to Greg (Sig). In the stand there will be a 10 gallon sump and all the usual suspects. Any information or ideas is greatly welcome.

So far I have the tank, sump, stand, sand for the sump, sand for the DT, and all the stuff coming in from the 6 gallon. I have about 3-4 pounds of LR that will be moved from the old tank and I'll be picking up a few nice bigger rocks for the new tank. Ciddian also was kind enough to give me a few rocks she had been keeping around and I thank her! Those will be going into the sump for now until they cure.

I'm wondering if I can mix the salt and let everything cure for a week and start to move stuff over? I was going to put some of the water in from the old tank and the gravel and possibly one of the LR. 

My plan is to move everything once the tank has made it's cycle in hopefully a week to two weeks.

Also picked up a Nice 24" T5HO light from Greg (I should just go over there and pick up what I need instead of shopping at a store)

Pictures to come soon


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## altcharacter

Ok, so here are the pics. Sorry about the sizes and whatnot since the forum doesn't allow me to upload pics for some reason. I've tried a thousand times a thousand ways and still it doesn't like me.

Day 1









The tank from Sig's house and being plumbed. The return I haven't been able to find yet. Every store I go to is sold out but NAFB said they would have a few in on wednesday so for now I'm using a piece of tubing.










10 gallon sump is underneath and ready to go. I'll be using a fine sand in there.










Filled up and tested for leaks....so far so good










Thanks again for the rocks Jess!!


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## sig

Looks good, but make sure you will not have the same water level in the tank and overflow box. This will be they way to floating

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## altcharacter

Yeah the overflow seems to be working well but I might upgrade to a larger bulkhead to make sure there is no problem.


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## sig

altcharacter said:


> Yeah the overflow seems to be working well but I might upgrade to a larger bulkhead to make sure there is no problem.


do not waste money. You do not need bigger bulkhead. In case you will get more powerful pump that needed, you can always install small bypass above sump and run excessive water back to the sump

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## pat3612

Try using a different browser to upload pics if you havent already for some reason I cannot upload pics with Explorer but Firefox is fine


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## 50seven

Or try hosting the images on Flickr or Picasa or something.

Looking forward to see this tank develop... keep up the pics!


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## altcharacter

I'm using firefox but some pics upload and others get timed out...so i'm thinking gremlins are involved...either way I just use photobucket and everything works fine.

Might have something to do with the size of the picture but who knows.

I'm working from tuesday till december 23rd so the updates will be fairly slow.


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## explor3r

Picasa 3 is great to use and easy Keving introduced me to it and Im loving it.
Looking good D this is a fun stage,Ill tag along to see progress


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## sig

altcharacter said:


> I'm using firefox but some pics upload and others get timed out...so i'm thinking gremlins are involved...either way I just use photobucket and everything works fine.
> 
> Might have something to do with the size of the picture but who knows.
> 
> I'm working from tuesday till december 23rd so the updates will be fairly slow.


Photobucket is fine, but it will not accept very big images. You should reduce size. sent me your email address and I will try to send you software to do it.
This software could also help in the future, when you want to send somebody images of you tank or....

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## altcharacter

thanks greg but its just me being lazy. I have Elements on my computer but just too lazy to actually use it.

On a side note the tank is looking great, the lights are on and i've been putting some of the water from the water changes into the new tank. I do think I have to figure out the overflow since it looks like it can't handle the flow.

Have to head to NAFB to get a ball and socket return...since nobody else has one for some reason. I went to like 5 stores and everyone was sold out.


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## altcharacter

So no pictures today to actually show. Although I did make it to SUM and bought a few things like the ball and socket hose for the return and a clownfish. I still have to get a pump for the sump but when you work 70 hours a week you have no time to even sleep.

I added some LR from the old tank and waited for the cycle to finish before I added anything else. First thing I added was the frag Sig gave me a few weeks ago and it seems to be liking the tank alot! So I moved over a couple other zoa's to see what would happen and they all opened within 2-3 minutes of moving over. I don't know if this will have an effect on them but only time will tell. All the tests seem to be good so hopefully everything goes well.

One thing I forgot to pick up was a red mangrove. I was going to try one or two to see how it worked with the system and to also give me that Island feel mon!

I've decided to go with pvc or abs for the plumbing instead of the hoses that i've been using to give it a more finished look and also to make it into the base properly. I've noticed that the hoses are a bit harder to bend into the stand and don't really sit properly once into the sump.

So the Clown is sitting in the old tank (don't worry he's really small) until probably next week to make sure everything is ok but I was wondering what other fish people would recommend for a 20 gallon. I also have a blue damsel that seems to be a little territorial with the clown so he might not make it to the new tank but we'll see how they get along.


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## altcharacter

ok so here are some pics finally
After going to sum and nafb yesterday the tank is looking better but now I just need to fill the space with coral. I got rid of some of the frags that I didnt need and now the tank looks bare.

I still have to change the bulkhead and the overflow to the proper size and also do some rockwork but its looking close to what i want

The 2 clownfish went in and the blue damsel I had in there almost killed them so I had to put the damsel in the sump. He looks pretty sad now but Im not up for paying for more fish for him to kill.


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## sig

I think it is low place for the hammer. It should be higher, but thinking about future try to attach it that I will not reach other corals when grow up

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## altcharacter

If you mean the torch, then yeah I put it down there since it seems to be happiest there. Also because it isn't around other coral

I've made some changes in the last few days since all the purchases and i'll have to take more pics but so far so good.

Also have to work on the plumbing in the next few days.


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## sig

altcharacter said:


> If you mean the torch, then yeah I put it down there since it seems to be happiest there. Also because it isn't around other coral
> 
> I've made some changes in the last few days since all the purchases and i'll have to take more pics but so far so good.
> 
> Also have to work on the plumbing in the next few days.


yes.it is torch. I hate them, but they are nice 

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## explor3r

Dave is coming along the clowns are beautiful they always been one of my favorite fish just because theirs looks and the way they swimm.
Is that a monti digitata on top? it looks bleached


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## altcharacter

Yeah that's the one I was telling you about the other day. It went in my other tank and it didn't fair so well. I'm trying to get it some color but haven't been home the last few days to see if there is any change or not. 

I'll keep you guys updated.

Today I bought another piece of LR from BA's. I find they have some pretty nice pieces even though with the discount it came out to $4.75/lb.

Was thinking of buying a extra-small yellow tang for the tank but don't know yet. What do you guys think? I need to add some color and keep in mind that the clowns need to get along with the other livestock also.


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## bigfishy

Yellow tang can grow up to 8"+. Wouldnt that be a little too big for a 20G tank? 



Get a lumpsucker! they are small and cute!


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## 50seven

If you want a splash of yellow, go with a Yellow Watchman Goby. That tank is WAY too small for ANY tang. And don't be fooled if you find one small in size- they still swim a lot and the small ones grow fast. Sorry. 

YouTube: Tang Police


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## altcharacter

Thanks for the advice guys. Always good information here.

I look into the other fish


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## altcharacter

so i'm still battling a huge cyano outbreak. The LR I picked up on boxing day was really bad but really cheap. I paid 20 bucks for 10 pounds and they look pretty good so i'm not that mad.

I've noticed that pretty much every coral in the tank has started to get color and bloom amazingly. I'm thinking of starting to does calc but since I don't have a tester I figure I should wait. I've been changing the water 3 times a week due to the cyano so I figure the calc levels should be alright.

I did have a problem with my blue claw hermit again. At the SUM sale I picked up 12 snails total and put them all in the DT. My idea was that I wouldn't clean while cycling until I got the snails so they could have a buffet and I was totally right. They went right in and ate everything, but the blue hermit decided he wanted a new shell and riped right thru 4 snails. He would just pull them out whole and discard them, ruining my water params. Although the emerald crab was happy about this.

So the hermit is now in the fuge =P

Next to comes is a ATO, a new/different fuge setup, and maybe a reactor but I don't know yet. I was thinking of getting another buddy for the clowns but not to sure yet.

Any ideas on a star that would work well in my setup?


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## Ciddian

Oohh!! I missed this thread! Happy you could use the rock


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## altcharacter

The rocks are alive and well!! Thanks!


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## Will

Have you considered just using Red slime remover, or erytheromicin to kill the Cyano?

Fish suggestions: Royal Gramma, Yellow Watchman, Bi-Colour Blenny, Firefish or Dartfish.


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## sig

altcharacter said:


> Any ideas on a star that would work well in my setup?


I suggest you stop adding live stock and make your tank running normally. Do not even think to dose anything for now, since you do not what are you doing ( do not worry, I also do not know).
By changing one parameter you are affecting others. I just got in this issue and ....

Do not forget also, that any time you change you biological balance ( adding or removing fishes. LR, etc) you push your tank again in the cycling process. Cyano in the beginning is OK I think. I always had this problem after starting new tank

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## ameekplec.

I wouldn't use red slime remover - it'll set you back farther than it will help. As much as it's unsightly right now, it's just another sign that there's room for improvement.

As for what that is, Sig hit on it - you have to manage nutrients better.

Since you might not be amenable to undoing the stocking issue I'd suggest these things:

Better export of nutrients - more water changes. Bigger, more frequent until you have nutrients under control.

Remove dead things - even if the crabs and such will eat dead snails and stuff, try to remove them before they rot. It'll help a lot.

Feed less - if you're feeding frequently and a lot, cut down. In general people feed too much anyways, so a small reduction won't do much to anything.

Also, if you are low on flow, cyano can take over. Is it occurring a lot in low flow areas? If so, you might want to work on flow patterns to get better flow in and around your rocks.

don't sweat the cyano - we all got it, and some of us still get it


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## altcharacter

Thanks for all the suggestions again guys but like I had said before, I know what the problems are with the tank. I just have to get through them with time and patience. The LR that I bought was pretty nasty and as soon as I introduced it to the tank the cyano took over. Although it seems to be going away now I can't guarantee that it won't come back since it is what it is. The flow in the tank is pretty good in my opinion, the cyano is everywhere...even in high flow areas so that just tells me there's way too many nutrients in the water. I've been syphoning out the gravel and the sump as much as I can and everytime I do it I see more crap come out but the water changes are getting clearer over time. 

I haven't added any new livestock and I don't intend to add anymore until the cyano is pretty much gone. 

As for red slime remover, I'm with Ameek on this issue. I'd rather just fight off what I have and not kill the beneficial guys in the tank. It's unsightly but it also tells me there's a problem somewhere. Amazingly I'm not having a cyano problem in my sump...so far.

I'll post some pics hopefully tonight.


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## altcharacter

Ok, here are some pics finally
Sorry about the quality but my point and shoot camera would only pick up the actinic for some reason. The tank looks much better in person of course.

You'll see the cyano i'm talking about but like I said, it seems to be dwindling away.


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## altcharacter

one more, I had to do use elements on this to to try to make it more realistic


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## sig

Ask guys how hammer coral should be placed (if it is hammer). I think k it will better in horizontal

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## altcharacter

well she's glued in so she stays until one of the crabs decides to eat the base away


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## altcharacter

So today I was dropping in some food for my fish and one of the small bits made it to the bottom. Out of nowhere I see this amphipod scramble for the little bit and tear it apart. I was amazed since I had never seen one of these guys out scavaging for food.

So, should I let them grow or should I get a mandarain 

What says you


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## Ciddian

oohh let them go crazy first ^^ LOL The first time I ran into one of those I was cleaning out a filter and it flew out at me and on my shirt. I am not afraid of bugs normally but that was unexpected ha :3


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## altcharacter

Thanks for the advice! I think I'll plan on getting one in about 6 weeks or so.


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## altcharacter

update on the tank. 
3 pics of the hammer, floridia, and one of the eagle eye zoa
All were purchased from explor3r (alex)


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## altcharacter

So today I got rid of all my cheato since it looked like it was just melting away. Alot of parts were breaking off of it and falling into the sand. I was worried that it might mess up the system so the big chunk I have left I just tossed. I'm thinking it might be the light but I really have no idea

On a side note, I left for the weekend and alot of my coraline algae has turned grey for some reason. I instantly did a water change and fed all the coral and fish but I still have no idea what happened. It seems like everything was normal but my salinity was a bit low @ .023 which is after evaporation of 2 days. Before I left it was .024 and I was thinking it would creep up a little but somehow it went down instead?


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## TypeZERO

That's weird, your salinity should go up 
That pink/red ricordia is very nice! They do like lower light so if you stick them under shade they open up like an umbrella!
I also noticed a vermetid snail on the green ricordia frag plug, you should break it off, they sometimes send out web like strings that may irritate your corals.


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## PACMAN

TypeZERO said:


> I also noticed a vermetid snail on the green ricordia frag plug, you should break it off, they sometimes send out web like strings that may irritate your corals.


I hate these snails!


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## altcharacter

I'll do that. I have seen a few corals with a few polyps that are looking HURT.


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## altcharacter

So today I cleaned out all the spiderweb making snails that I could find. It seems that I had 3 of them in there from what I could see. A few of my zoa's have started to shy but I'll assume that might be due to the stupid snails.

I also went down to SUM today and thanks to Chris he helped me get a different bulb for my T5's. I had a coralife piece of shit actinic in there that really didn't do any good so I upgraded to a geissman Actinic Plus bulb. As soon as I put it in I could totally tell a difference. I'm with greg when I say I'll never buy another Coralife product again.

All the coral are popping really nicely with the new bulb and i'm thinking I shouldn't have ot suppliment any other type of color...but who knows.


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## TypeZERO

T5's are great, lots of bulb options. Different colour temps and different brands. I heard Fiji purple/pink bulbs (forgot maker) are very popular.


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## altcharacter

Pretty sure KZ or ATI makes the fiji purple ones and I would totally get one if I had a 4 bulb system. 

I'm still thinking of doing a 4 bulb setup with:
KZ New Gen 14k
Geissman Actinic plus
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI purple plus or blue plus


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## altcharacter

Just a quick update on the tank. The cyano has finally receded to the point of extinction but I know it can always come back. The clowns I have are starting to brush up against one of the rocks ever since I started feeding them 3-4 times a day. Although for some reason they won't eat brine or mysis?!?! They just like pellets.

I think I might have a leek in my 10g refuge but not to sure yet. I'll check tomorrow once I do a big WC.


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## altcharacter

so I found my leak. It seems the gasket around the bulkhead is leaking so i'll have to make a trip to SUM or NAFB tomorrow to get a new one. For now a towel is soaking up the small leak.


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## ameekplec.

You can add a bead of silicone to the gasket to seal it - it'll put your sump out of commission for a day, but that'll seal it right up.


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## altcharacter

Well the overflow glass is drilled for 1" drain but the overflow box itself is a 3/4" so the gasket doesn't fit properly and it doesn't drain fast enough anyways. So I'll be getting a 1" overflow and cutting the overflow box to fit it just to make sure it's alright.

Thanks for the advice though, I was going to do that but figured I should properly fix it before my floor starts to take a shit.


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## sig

altcharacter said:


> so I found my leak. It seems the gasket around the bulkhead is leaking so i'll have to make a trip to SUM or NAFB tomorrow to get a new one. For now a towel is soaking up the small leak.


Go and get plumbing putty. It works perfect. Put putty under bulk head and rubber gasket on the another side of the glass. It will tale 10 minutes to fix.
I used putty in all my tanks FW,SW and never got a problem

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## altcharacter

I already bought the new bulkhead and plumbing for it. I slip fit everything to see if it worked and every joint leaked for some odd reason. I'll be gluing every joint to make sure it doesn't leak and I'll put a union joint in so I can clean it later.

So far the increase in size is awesome but it makes more sound of course.


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## 50seven

I always silicone all the joints in my bulkheads. Just that added security factor.


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## altcharacter

I just glued all the joints except for 2 of them that I know don't leak and I really don't care if they do since they're over the sump. The directions say "until it's dry" but how long is that? I think I'll wait atleast 2 hours to make sure but my problem is my heater is in the sump and I don't really feel like moving it to the DT. Also if I do that then the sump will get to cold.

I did a test piece to figure out if it's ready or not so we'll see.

Thanks for all the input guys


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## TypeZERO

50seven said:


> I always silicone all the joints in my bulkheads. Just that added security factor.


I do this also, I don't think its needed if you installed it properly but it makes me sleep better at night


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## altcharacter

do you glue them and silicone them? I might just silicone the bulkhead to the first slip to make sure it isn't leaking since thats my only leak I have so far.


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## altcharacter

So just a small update.

One of my turbo snails was eaten by something...dont know what.
Another of my turbo's has some type of featherduster growing on his shell.
One of the mexican turbo's has been overrun by coralline algae and now there's an orange sponge growing on the shell.

Also I think there might be some type of teddy bear crab or something living inside one of the LR. I noticed a fuzzy/furry white claw come out and try to take a swipe at a passing snail. Any idea on how to get him out?


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## explor3r

Call the A- team...or myabe if you see in which rock the crab lives I would try to take the rock out and then the crab out of the rock


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## altcharacter

new pictures for those of us who like looking at pretty pictures

If you take a look at the green sps I have, there's a problem with cyano growing on one of the branches. Greg gave me this because it wasn't doing good in his tank and it was completly white when I put it in and now it's getting back it's color except where the cyano is. I've brushed it off and put it infront of hi flow but it seems to still be there and the coral isn't growing anymore in that area. Should I cut that piece off or possibly dip it in some type of solution?

Also couldn't resist getting a mandarin


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## altcharacter

forgot the full tank shot


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## ninjaturtle

whoa dude, everything has gotten so much bigger since the last time i saw it


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## sig

looks good, but I think you need a bigger tank

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## altcharacter

HA, I know I need a bigger tank but like I've said. The largest size in the living room is going to be a 20g. The basement i'm thinking of around a 100g. I've been looking at tanks but I don't really want anything beyond 40" so i've been thinking of something like 40x24x20 which works out to around 95g or so. I'm not a huge fan of height and I've seen alot of tanks around the 24" height which doesn't appeal to me


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## Tim

altcharacter said:


> Also couldn't resist getting a mandarin


love that fish

does it eat frozen/prepared food yet?


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## Tim

altcharacter said:


> HA, I know I need a bigger tank but like I've said. The largest size in the living room is going to be a 20g. The basement i'm thinking of around a 100g. I've been looking at tanks but I don't really want anything beyond 40" so i've been thinking of something like 40x24x20 which works out to around 95g or so. I'm not a huge fan of height and I've seen alot of tanks around the 24" height which doesn't appeal to me


A deep tank would work ok using a DSB. I actually wish I had done that to begin with on my DT sometimes. It can be a pain to clean the glass down the bottom as you saw, but any problem can be solved with a good set of long bbq tongs


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## altcharacter

so far it just grazes the rocks for pods and hangs out. 

I'm not a fan of tall tanks just because of the look. I'd rather have a semi/cube like I said 40x24 or so


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## sig

altcharacter said:


> HA, I know I need a bigger tank but like I've said. The largest size in the living room is going to be a 20g. The basement i'm thinking of around a 100g. I've been looking at tanks but I don't really want anything beyond 40" so i've been thinking of something like 40x24x20 which works out to around 95g or so. I'm not a huge fan of height and I've seen alot of tanks around the 24" height which doesn't appeal to me


It is good size, but this custom made will cost a lot

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## altcharacter

Cost is the last thing to worry about in this hobby right? If I'm going to do it, I might as well pay more and like what I get.


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## 50seven

altcharacter said:


> new pictures for those of us who like looking at pretty pictures


Yes, we are the visual generation, we need pics, or it didn't happen 



altcharacter said:


> Should I cut that piece off or possibly dip it in some type of solution?


I would. The digitata won't grow up the old skeleton any faster than making a whole new one. Just cut it off as close to the live tissue as possible. Might be easier to use a pair of pliers to snip it, as breaking it off might break it off somewhere you don't want it to.



altcharacter said:


> Also couldn't resist getting a mandarin


In a 20G? How cruel.  LOL he will be fine as long as he gets enough to eat. As long as he looks fat, he is eating well.


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## Tim

altcharacter said:


> Cost is the last thing to worry about in this hobby right?


That is what I said to my wife then she asked me how much we had spent so far. Needless to say I am now on a "budget" 



50seven said:


> In a 20G? How cruel.  LOL he will be fine as long as he gets enough to eat. As long as he looks fat, he is eating well.


Yeah I was reading how these fish just motor through the pods. Better start seeing if you can train it to eat pellets. Melev I think has a few articles on them.


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## altcharacter

I've read a few ways on training mandarins to eat frozen mysis. I'm going to start trying on monday but my 20g is overrun with pods and from what I've seen all he does is graze the rocks. He seems pretty happy so far but i'm going to make sure he stays happy.


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## Ciddian

Ooooo i hope the mandarin does well! thats one of bobs favorite fish but we never got one because we were too scared of killing it lol.

really nice!


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## altcharacter

So i'm having a huge problem with something tearing holes into my LR and i've setup a trap 2 nights in a row now but have only caught everything else in the tank. It's been on going since I bought some crappy LR on sale. Next tank i'm totally just going to do the Marco rock and cycle it that way. I'm kind of tired of getting unwanted or uneeded hitchhikers.

I had to take everything out and search every hole but found nothing yet.
I'll take some pics today and show you wassup!


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## Tim

I was at SUM the other day. They are almost out of the rock. I asked and they said they would be ordering more in the near future.


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## explor3r

altcharacter said:


> So i'm having a huge problem with something tearing holes into my LR and i've setup a trap 2 nights in a row now but have only caught everything else in the tank. It's been on going since I bought some crappy LR on sale. Next tank i'm totally just going to do the Marco rock and cycle it that way. I'm kind of tired of getting unwanted or uneeded hitchhikers.
> 
> I had to take everything out and search every hole but found nothing yet.
> I'll take some pics today and show you wassup!


Why dont you get some of the Marco rock now and cycle it and after change all your rock? is that an option?


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## altcharacter

It totally is, but i'm also thinking that we might get a larger tank downstairs soon so I might just wait for that. 

Another option is to wait for the creature to eat all the LR until he has nothing left. Then he'll be the one in the corner looking for a rock =P


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## Ciddian

its eating it? Or are you loosing purple off the rock?


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## altcharacter

There are holes being burrowed into the rock. Alot of the LR has been pulverized into small grains and has now mixed with my aragonite to make it a white/grey color.

Come over and I'll show you. I still owe you a loaf of bread anyways.


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## altcharacter

Ok so I found one of the bastards that is making holes in my rock. I've left him in a tupperware to dry out and then once he's dead I'll put him back in the tank to show all the other bastards what will happen to them.

He seems to be some type of smaller snail that somehow burrows itself into a hole by somehow softening the actual rock. When I took this guy out the hole he was in felt like jello

The last shot you can see what he did to the hole

He's about half the size of a pea


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## rickcasa

altcharacter said:


> Cost is the last thing to worry about in this hobby right? If I'm going to do it, I might as well pay more and like what I get.


There's a lot of used 90g tanks going around lately at a decent price. So more $$ to spend on corals and fish right?

Trouble with putting tanks in the basement is that they may tend to get neglected.


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## Ciddian

that is crazy.... O_O I've never seen that before with rocks and snails


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## Tim

I may have something similar 

I found a pile of ground rock beside one of my smaller rocks and also saw something that looked like a snail with either it's skin coloured shell or doesn't have a shell (slug??). Definitely had 2 antennae and moved like a snail. I thought it was cool so I left it now I may reconsider. It is in my fuge so not too worried.


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## altcharacter

rickcasa said:


> There's a lot of used 90g tanks going around lately at a decent price. So more $$ to spend on corals and fish right?
> 
> Trouble with putting tanks in the basement is that they may tend to get neglected.


We actually spend alot of time in the basement since we have a family room there and also there's a concrete foundation that I can work with. I would have to put a 100g+ tank in my living room and have it leak.


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## altcharacter

Just a quick update on my little tank.

I had spent the last 5 nights trying to catch the bastard teddy bear crab and of course I caught everything else in the tank instead of the bastard 

So, my wife thought I was going crazy and suggested that I wait for the lights to go out and see what hole he's in. Then take the rock out and fish him out.

Nothing better than taking a hammer and chisel to your LR @ 11pm. To my surprise I found 2, yes 2, bastard crabs in one of the rocks! 

So they're sitting in a little cup of saltwater right now and i'm trying to decide if I should put them in the sump or just flush em.

Although they weren't teddy bear crabs. I took some pics and I'll post them as soon as my battery recharges on my camera.

One thing I did notice was my hammer was being eaten by something and I assume it was one of the crabs but I'm still a noob and i'm not sure.


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## 50seven

I'll take them if you're gonna flush them  I have a 120 Gal. refugium that they can roam in.


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## altcharacter

I'll save em for you dude. I'll be heading your way in the next few days so PM me your info and I'll drop them off.


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## altcharacter

Alot has happened with my tank but I just wanted to let you guys know that my emerald crab is berried and carrying a ton of eggs around!!



I don't know if I should throw her in the sump or just let the eggs spread and have the fish eat them. I'm pretty sure they won't hatch right?


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## Tim

If you have babies, I want one


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## ameekplec.

Crabs have a very long development before the metamorphosize and settle, so they won't survive more than a few days at best. Best to make them nutritious food for everyone else.


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## altcharacter

And that's exactly what happened. The crab spewed the eggs out and the tank ate like champs.

I was pretty sure that was going to happen.

Also, I've pretty much gotten rid of the cyano and the coral seem to be growing very well but one of the things I can't figure out is my gsp is curling


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## 50seven

altcharacter said:


> ...but one of the things I can't figure out is my gsp is curling


That's nothing. My GSP plays hockey. 

Sometimes I find that the tissues curls upwards or into the current when it's looking for something new to grow on to.


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## altcharacter

nah this is totally different, they're curling backwards and have always been like that since day one. I'm thinking it has something to do with the water conditions but everything seems to be normal and the gsp seems to be growing very well. 

I also bought a new gsp frag from Alex to attach to the back glass and in his tank the gsp was long and flowing but in mine it's starting to curl a little more everyday.

It bugs me because I want the flowy gsp not the crappy pubic hair looking gsp.

Anyone want some of my pubic hair gsp? Free crabs with every purchase!!!


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## 50seven

altcharacter said:


> nah this is totally different, they're curling backwards and have always been like that since day one. I'm thinking it has something to do with the water conditions but everything seems to be normal and the gsp seems to be growing very well.
> 
> I also bought a new gsp frag from Alex to attach to the back glass and in his tank the gsp was long and flowing but in mine it's starting to curl a little more everyday.
> 
> It bugs me because I want the flowy gsp not the crappy pubic hair looking gsp.
> 
> Anyone want some of my pubic hair gsp? Free crabs with every purchase!!!


LMAO

Do you have much flow? Try experimenting with more or less flow for a few days. In my old 35G I had too much flow but didn't know it until I accidentally left one of my powerheads off for a few days


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## explor3r

Strong flow guys and it would help if is in all directions combine with strong light..


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## PACMAN

50seven said:


> that's nothing. My gsp plays hockey. :d


EPIC! Now immortalized in sig!


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## altcharacter

nothing has helped yet with the gsp. I've putit under hi flow with direct light and i've put it in low flow with indirect light and it still looks like pubes. The piece I picked up from Alex is starting to curl also and thats in the sand with moderate flow with good light. This is why i'm thinking it's the water conditions. There has to be something different about my water that makes them do that.

Whats funny is all the pieces of gsp I know people have usually came from Alex and they all look different. All depends on water conditions


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## JulieFish

I have two colonies of GSP that I got from two different sources. One has firmer looking, curlier tips on the polyps, the other has longer more flowing polyps. The one with the flowing polyps will look a bit different in different places in the tank, flow blasting right on top makes the polyps close up a bit, etc. Also, when it is growing the new growth never looks as nice and flowing as the mature polyps so maybe just give yours some time and try different places in the tank.


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## conix67

altcharacter said:


> nothing has helped yet with the gsp. I've putit under hi flow with direct light and i've put it in low flow with indirect light and it still looks like pubes. The piece I picked up from Alex is starting to curl also and thats in the sand with moderate flow with good light. This is why i'm thinking it's the water conditions. There has to be something different about my water that makes them do that.
> 
> Whats funny is all the pieces of gsp I know people have usually came from Alex and they all look different. All depends on water conditions


GSP doesn't need strong lighting, it should do well in either case. Flow isn't too important but there should be at least some. Yes, the water quality is the key. It's almost like a sensor in the tank (well, most corals are) that tells something is not right, if it's not doing well. You may check for all parameters and they could be alright, yet some corals aren't happy.

What I know is that my GSP is much happier in my new tank, just like all my SPS corals. The difference here is the size, but also my 75G has better filteration (skimmer, refugium). I'd try more frequent water changes for a while and see if things improve, and make sure to keep the parameters stable through the water changes including temperature..


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## altcharacter

Thanks for all the comments and such but like I had said in previous posts, it has nothing to do with the water quality, lighting, or flow since my water quality is awesome and I do 2 water changes a week. The pieces I have in my tank are from the same colony that Alex has and it looks different in everyeones tank since everyone has a different setup.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with my gsp except the fact that its curled. It grows like crazy.

I'll take some pics so you guys can see


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## sig

I will give you a few soon

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## sig

conix67 said:


> What I know is that my GSP is much happier in my new tank.


What a new tank?  can we get more info?

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## conix67

sig said:


> What a new tank?  can we get more info?


My old tank is the 12G nano, and my new tank is the 75G I currently have. Sorry my new tank is pretty old now.


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## altcharacter

Ok so just a quick update. The cyano is pretty much non-existant except for a little patch in the fuge and everytime I do a WC I make sure to vacuum it out.

All the coral is growing very well and I have a few sps at the top of the tank that Greg gave me that are doing amazing.

Here's just a quick pick of one of the frags I mounted to a LR that started out 3 months ago with 3 polyps and now has around 30. The extension on these guys is amazing...like 1-2 inches easily!!!

Here's the water params as I know them..I don't have all the test kits yet so give me a break

salinity 1.026
PH 8.1
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0
KH/Alk 8.3/2.96


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## explor3r

Zoas are looking hot, what about a FTS


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## altcharacter

I have a few other shots on my cell phone but i'll have to make an effort to get them up. Or you could just swing by and see it =P


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## iBetta

[QUOTE








[/QUOTE]

i have the same one!  know what its called?


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## altcharacter

Just a quick update.

Thanks to TankCla for coming to the meet and letting us calibrate our refractometers. So this is where my problem lies. I tested mine and it was off by .009

So this whole time my tank has been living with .035 salinity. Although everything looks fine and dandy I'm still going to drop the salinity

So far over the last 24 hours I've dropped it .003 to .032 and I've done it very slowly. I'll let it sit at that for another 24 hours and then I'll drop it to .030...and so on. I'm thinking a week to drop it to .026 is good? What you think?


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## altcharacter

Long overdue update on my tank. I've been extremely busy with work so my tank has suffered a little.

I had put gsp originally on a rock like a year ago as a tiny tiny frag and have fraged it 3 times since but now it had taken over the whole rock and was growing over the sps I had on the same rock so late one night I got out the saw and tried saving the sps. So far it seems to have worked and I relocated it also closer to the lights and more flow. The GSP is now at the bottom of the tank on it's own rock in the sand so it shouldn't grow over any other corals.

Placed a new rock in the tank that I got from Andy (he'll probably notice it) once I cleaned it, scrubbed it, and soaked it in r/o water for a few hours.

Cleaned all the pumps, lines, filters, and any piece of glass I could reach so now the tank looks so much better!

Also went to SUM today and met the new guy....Greg (I think). Bought new bulbs for the lighting and it totally makes a difference. I was noticing some brown algae growing on the aragonite so I assumed it was time to change them. Also noticed my coral growth had slowed if not stopped.

First pic is the same as the one above, but you can see the growth. I had to photoshop it a bit because the crappy phone cam doesn't pick up the right colors








This is one that Flexin5 (Jay) gave me. Don't know the name of it but like the colors








Another one Jay passed on to me. He didn't know what it was either and I definitely don't know. Any ideas?








Last one FTS for those who care. The hammer and the torch are growing very well. I also moved the powerheads a bit to compensate for the new rock.


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## altcharacter

One extra....forgot to show off the Clarkii picasso that I got from Cypher
She moves to fast to take a proper pic but you get the idea


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## Windowlicka

Were you @ SUM around 2-ish? Red shirt (IIRC?)


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## sig

enough with the 20 already. Time to see 100 

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## altcharacter

Windowlicka said:


> Were you @ SUM around 2-ish? Red shirt (IIRC?)


I have no idea what I was wearing. I know I had shorts on and i'm a big fat mexican american! 

Yeah Greg, you have inspired me to setup my 100g and start fishing out of it with fish hooks


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## cablemike

sig said:


> enough with the 20 already. Time to see 100


bigger tank means spending more money on coral, salt mix, water, hydro, and fish. did i miss anything?


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## sig

cablemike said:


> bigger tank means spending more money on coral, salt mix, water, hydro, and fish. did i miss anything?


for sure, but he is DONUT GURU

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## altcharacter

You forgot the money to keep the wife happy!
I was supposed to finish the basement first before I started the new tank but now i'm thinking I might just setup the new tank and wait for the basement to be done then I'll break it down and move it instead.

We'll see how it goes with the wife though.


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## sig

altcharacter said:


> You forgot the money to keep the wife happy!
> I was supposed to finish the basement first before I started the new tank but now i'm thinking I might just setup the new tank and wait for the basement to be done then I'll break it down and move it instead.
> 
> We'll see how it goes with the wife though.


it will be good reason to go bigger and sell this small 100G. This tank will not be interesting anymore 

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## Ciddian

looks nice!!! Say hi to the wife for me  Love the little clown omg..


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## altcharacter

Ok so I haven't posted anything in a bit and I picked up a really nice piece from MadJelly yesterday. You really have to stop in and say hi to them, awesome guys!!

Tell me what you think.

Edit: Now that I look at this pic, it doesn't do it justice. Thanks again guys!


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## explor3r

altcharacter said:


> Ok so I haven't posted anything in a bit and I picked up a really nice piece from MadJelly yesterday. You really have to stop in and say hi to them, awesome guys!!
> 
> Tell me what you think.
> 
> Edit: Now that I look at this pic, it doesn't do it justice. Thanks again guys!


Nice piece chicharron man... I know is more beautiful than it looks in the pic because I have one too


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## Flexin5

wow dave those zoa's i gave you really grew out! tank is looking great!


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