Hitchhikers help!! Pictures of rock to!! I posted in wrong tab by accident

[kahlua]

Here is the best pictures I can get with this camcorder.
So I have little swimming tiny worm looking things there teeny I cant even get a picture. I got bugs running around on my rocks to which I believe is good but right? they move real quick.

Then I get these worm suction cup looking things, They loook like there back is sand. The rock I got from the lfs was so full of purple coraline and green. The guy said he thinks they even took some out of there tank why its so full. I got a few rock pics but I burried some crazy purple rocks to!!

I had them set up real nice then had to mess around with em of course lol
In the end my arms were soaked I was at witts end. Sure I was gonna catch something from this water lol. If you guys got any ideas for rock setup just holler. I feel like I have way to much.

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/004.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/002.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/007.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/005.jpg

Theres a few of these ugly hitchhikers to. They really honestly make me sick lol

heres some rocks

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/012.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/013.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/014.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/014.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/008.jpg


I havent put my sand in yet should I clean this garbage up or toss in the sand?

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/biocube/009.jpg

[Amphiprion]

Looks like some nice rock to me, from what I can somewhat see. I hate to say it, but those photos are really, really bad. Even on my 47" screen, I can't make out what they are. The first is very blurry and my best guess from that is Stomatella, but that could be far off, because I can't see it.

[odinthejd]

I agree with both things you said nice looking rock but those pics aren't good at all.

[kahlua]

Yeah I took em with our video camera. I dropped the gfs digital in the dog water dish during our move haha. Sucked so bad brand new 10. something megapixel. Floating like a boat in the giant water dish :(

[Troycool]

Well if it is Stomatella which is unlikely, here is some information

Stomatella

Stomatella snails are small fast-moving snails that look more like slugs than regular snails, although they do have small flat shells. There are several species available in the aquarium trade among which Stomatella varia is the most common. Stomatella snails can be bought in fish stores, but are also frequently brought into the aquarium with live rock. It can be hard to know exactly which species one keep if they have been introduced with live rock. They are 100% reef safe. Stomatella snails grow to be less than an inch (2.5 cm), and Stomatella varia will typically stay smaller than ¾ inch (1.9 cm). Stomatella snails come in a wide variety of colors from darker color such as grey, black and green to softer color such as orange and pinkish.

Stomatella snails are mainly night active but can be out and about in the day time as well. The best time to observe them is during the night using a flashlight. When your snails are most active depends on the exact species of Stomatella snail you keep in your aquarium.

Stomatella snails are beneficial for reef aquariums as they are herbivores that will help control micro algae growth. They should not be kept with wrasses such as the four and six line wrasse or certain shrimps like the peppermint shrimp as these predators might eat the snails and be able to quickly decimate a population.

Stomatella snails are just like all other snails very sensitive towards copper and you should not use copper based medications in an aquarium containing these or other snails. There is a large risk that the snails will die and pollute the water.

[kahlua]

Thats what sucks :( I cant get a good **** picture of the thing. Camera shoots awesome video and ****ty pictures for some odd reason

[kahlua]

Here I will go and try again see if I can get something better they move quick these things grr

[kahlua]

Thanks for helping me to guys much appreciated. Do you guys think I should put my sand in over the debris?

[Troycool]

Thanks for helping me to guys much appreciated. Do you guys think I should put my sand in over the debris?

wait, have you cleaned your tank thoroughly?

[kahlua]

Well I bought it brand new. Then put all the live rock in it. Since then nothing really just trying to keep the water running etc. Havent really had much to clean in all honesty. Its only a few days old so far

[kahlua]

I have a huge bag of sand but havent put it in yet, Basically from screwing with the rock so much theres ben some almost sand looking stuff in it.

[Troycool]

well you can add he sand then...have you ever added sand in a tank before?

[kahlua]

I havent never no be my first time ever. This is the first time Ive ever owned a saltwater tank in all honesty.
I been scared because my rocks settings look ugly haha. And these worm looking sand things are nasty lol

[kahlua]

Any tips or things I should do?

[Troycool]

First off, deciding if you want sand as your tank's substrate requires taking a few things into account. Sand is not a good choice for a planted tank if using rooted plants, its also undesireable if you have an undergravel filter system. Another thing to keep in mind if the tank is made of Acrylic is the extra care that sand requires.

The benefits of a sand bed typically outweigh most of the negative aspects. Most fish seem to prefer sand as the substrate, and some actually require it to feel at ease and for natural spawning behaviour. Tanganyikan featherfins, sandsifters & shelldwellers all significantly benefit from a sandy substrate, and its been noted that some fish use sand to aid in digestion. Sand also has a very nice, smooth look and its very entertaining to watch the fish "work the sand"; they really seem to enjoy it!

There are quite a few readily available sands that are commonly used for aquariums. They are Silica (also sold as Blasting sand, used in the sandblasting industry); Play Sand (sold at most building/hardware centers for sandboxes, brickwork, etc.); Black Beauty (its actually iron slag, not sand, but is used quite often); Coral Sand (sold primarily in fish stores and aquatic supply shops); Aragonite (also sold at fish shops and aquatic supply centers); Black Tahitian Moon Sand (another sand available through fish shops & aquatic supply centers).

Silica sand is a lighter tan and is very uniform and fine in grain size. It cleans very easily and provides a nice look , its very afffordable and can usually be found for 10 dollars or less per 100 lb. sack.

Play sand is also very affordable and is darker and less uniform in grain size & color than Silica sand. It contains a fair amount of clay and can be quite dirty compared to Silica sand. As long as you take the time to thoroughly rinse the sand it makes a good substrate.

Black Beauty is another affordable sand used for sand-blasting and is sold at home supply/hardware outlets. Its not really sand but powdered iron slag. It can be quite sharp so its not recommended for fish that sift a lot of sand such as Tanganyikan sandsifters. Furthermore, these very fine particles contain iron, which means they are not inert.

Coral Sand is an off white color, lighter than the previous sands, and less uniform. Its a bit rough to the touch but is a good choice if you need to stabilize your PH or improve your buffering capacity. Its fairly expensive compared to the previous types but less than Aragonite.

Aragonite is a sandy substrate available in several colors and grain sizes, its similar to Coral sand as far as buffering goes, so its a good choice if you need help with buffering. Its quite expensive, so you may want to consider another choice if you have a large tank to fill.

Lastly, a newer sand is now available that is a nice black color, very uniform and much safer than Black Beauty. Its Black Tahitian Moon Sand, its a great choice if you want the black sand, but its expensive (similar to Aragonite).

Once youve decided to switch to sand and have picked out the variety, you need to prepare it for the tank. I recommend only a 1-1.5" depth of sand throughout the tank, it can take a lot to maintain a real deep bed and can cause problems which Ill explain later on.

With the exception of "Live Aragonite" (sand thats pre-seeded w/ living organisms/bacteria) youll need to clean your sand. Dont cut corners here; its time well spent. Get a 5 gallon bucket and a garden hose with sprayer attachment. Pour about 2 gallons of sand into the bucket and fill the bucket with water, pour the excess dirt film from the bucket, then really churn the sand while giving it a high pressure spray, this will get most of the dust, etc, off the sand. Pour the dirt film again and repeat until youre pouring clear water. If you choose Play sand or Black Beauty this can take several tries before its clean enough. I get a 30 gallon trash can and line it w/ a couple trash bags to pour the clean sand into. Just repeat this process 2 gallons of sand at a time until you get all the required sand clean.

If youre switching from gravel to sand theres a couple ways to make the switch. If you have a small tank and want to remove the fish while doing the change-over thats fine. Larger tanks w/ a lot of fish is easier if you leave the fish in while changing over. I like using a large filter bag to load the gravel into, you can also use a spaghetti-strainer bowl or nylon hose. Anything thats safe and porous will do. If you dont have much bacteria filtration in your tank you may want to keep some seeded gravel in a filter bag or nylon hose so you can aid your sand substrate in establishing bacteria levels, just put the bag near the filter intake and you should get good results after about 5-7 days.

When the gravel is removed BE SURE to shut down any impeller operated pumps & filters. Youll have a lot of sand floating around and it can really do some damage to your equipment. When adding the sand if youve left your fish in the tank, be careful not to add too much at once. It can clump together and become a "depth charge", splashing a lot of water and stressing the fish, just be patient and careful here. Once your sand is added and youve got it leveled out and the tank arranged to your liking, go ahead and turn on your pumps/filters.

Another thing to keep in mind: If youre cleaning your sand with very cold water, or leave the sand overnight in the cold, the sand can cause a quick temperature drop when added to an existing tank and shock the fish. Be sure to keep the sand in room temp for awhile to get the sand temp back up or add some warmer water to the sand. This usually isnt a problem, but its something you should be aware of.

Maintaining the sand bed can seem like a challenge to those that havent tried it. Its actually very easy once youve gotten used to it. Heres the procedure I use and its worked well over the years:

Every 2-4 weeks, depending on your fish load and available time, a good skimming of the sand should be performed. A small vinyl hose works well, about the inner diameter of a garden hose. Just hook the hose up to a faucet pump and siphon up the surface detritus. You may siphon a lot of sand the first couple of tries, a little practice is all it takes. Just keep the end of the hose about " away from the sand and quickly siphon up the fish waste. No need to remove or re-arrange the rocks, just get all the visible sand areas. Try to get the entire "visible" sand floor.

Every 8-16 weeks, again, depending on fish load, a good churning of the sand bed is required. Trapped food and gasses can become toxic over time and these need to be released periodically. Youll notice that there will be a statification of the sand bed. The bottom "trapped" layer of sand will turn a dark grey-black in time, and once the layer is churned up and the waste & gasses released, it will eventually turn back to the original sand color. Youll even notice a bit of "rotten-egg" odor when churning the bed, this is normal and are just the gasses being released. At this time you should also move rocks and churn the sand under them. You may want to do half the tank at a time so there wont be as much disturbance. Youll have quite a cloud of debris, so youll want to let it settle and do a good skimming again. Be sure to keep all impeller-operated equipment off during the churning procedure.

One last note, when keeping sand in Acrylic tanks, be extra careful when cleaning the surface and using algae-cleaning magnets. A single grain of sand between your cleaning sponge or magnet and the acrylic surface can be very damaging.

Hope you enjoy sand as your substrate!

[kahlua]

Thanks for all the info crap I got alot to learn here by the looks of it haha.
I bought the caribsea live sand. Says to not wash it can be put straight in the tank from what the bag says. What do you think of this stuff?

[Troycool]

that should be good sand

[Amphiprion]

It is so-so. For the money, I recommend "real" live sand, which is sand that has been collected (or cultured) and still contains many beneficial organisms other than just bacteria. As far as the initial cycle is concerned, the bagged variety works fine. In any case, you'll get better results with a higher diversity.

[Troycool]

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&source=hp&q=caribsea+live+sand&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6029595263140971192&ei=eA6GS4eYI5HStAOVg-TZDQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ8gIwAA#

[Amphiprion]

That, unfortunately, is barely different from the current bagged sands. Much marketing hype.

[Troycool]

That, unfortunately, is barely different from the current bagged sands. Much marketing hype.

I see...what would you recommend?

[kahlua]

I cant get a better picture of this ugly thing lol stupid video camera...
You guys have any ideas for the live rock I cant seem to get the stupid thing set up good.. FIgured with this one way it gave me alot of flat space for corals etc

[kahlua]

Thats the sand I bought I believe or one along them lines was like 30dollars at the local fish store

[Amphiprion]

They aren't cheap, but I recommend the live sand you can find at premiumaquatics, as well as inlandaquatics. Some of the older sellers, like billsreef.com, are no longer in business as of now, which is very unfortunate, since it had the best live sand available. Another idea is to boost diversity via "packs," like what you can find at www.ipsf.com (http://www.ipsf.com). Of course, this isn't 100% necessary, as rock will add some diversity, but this is more ideal to get as much as possible. Edit: I try to do this about once per year, myself, or more if I get it for free.

Edit: as far as structure is concerned, you're going to have to play around with the configurations :D.

Try to remove the animal and place it in a glass for a top-down shot.

[Troycool]

They aren't cheap, but I recommend the live sand you can find at premiumaquatics, as well as inlandaquatics. Some of the older sellers, like billsreef.com, are no longer in business as of now, which is very unfortunate, since it had the best live sand available. Another idea is to boost diversity via "packs," like what you can find at www.ipsf.com. Of course, this isn't 100% necessary, as rock will add some diversity, but this it is more ideal to get as much as possible.

:iagree:

[kahlua]

Do you think the sand over the debris is okay? I guess the cuc will take care of anything missed really. I bought a 20lb bag you think that I should put the whole thing in there? I got the biocube to so I need to change out the bioballs pre cuc or fish to.

[Amphiprion]

It shouldn't be an issue. Some folks would prefer to remove it, since it does consist of at least some detritus, but there's quite a bit else hidden amongst it that would be better to keep. You'd be surprised at what lodges in the what we normally would consider junk.

[kahlua]

Haha awesome I shall add the sand then in the badboy. That worm looking thing from wwhat you can see does it look dangerous? I know the picture is crappy to :(

[kahlua]

Thanks for taking the time out to help a complete newbie out Im lost hehe
Should I add the full bag or maybe just half to start out?

[Amphiprion]

In all likelihood, it isn't dangerous. Of course, I can't guarantee that, though. Sounds like you need some gloves ;)

[greech]

Little late coming in to this one. Pics of the HH's are a little tough to see clearly but the 1st pic of the oval flat animal coould be a number of things. It looks like a pod of some sort but it also looks too flat. I'm pretty sure it isn't any type of flatworm so you should be safe there. The HH on the glass looks like a Aterina Starfish (mostly a non issue). I was a bit taken back by some of the HH's I have found too but I have learned that many of the freaky things we find in our tanks are usually beneficial to the health of our systems so don't start killing things just yet. There are several HH threads online. Here is one that shows som decent pics of some of the more common HHs along with a little info on each.

http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

Not sure if you added your sand yet (the sand you have is perfectly fine). The jury is out on how "live" bagged sand actually is but your LR looks like good quality stuff that will fill your sand full of life in no time. You basically want a shallow bed (1" to 1.5") or deep (6"+). Depths in between can cause headaches. Personally I would not go with a deep bed in a nano tank but others might disagree. The best way I have found to add sand is to put some in a large ziploc bag. Place the bag in the tank near the bottom and cut the corner off the bag. This will keep the dust storm down a little (turn your pumps off too:)). You can also funnel the sand using a funnel (of course) and a pieces of PVC pipe to direct the sand where you want it. Of course you can just add cups of sand as well. It should clear up in a day or two.

The aquascape you have going isn't bad but you have some fairly good size pieces in there and many of them our roundish (tough to work with). You can use a flat head screwdriver and a hammer to break a couple rocks into smaller (and hopefully angular) pieces. From there its just feel. I like to try and find rocks that fit/lock together naturally but if you can't get things to fit just right you can get a tube of Aquamend puddy from Home Depot to hold them together. This stuff is perfectly safe for your tank but try and use it sparingly as it is bright white and will stick out for a while until it dulls or coraline grows over it. You can also use a dab or two of super glue GEL (make sure it's GEL) on each side of the Aquament to give you a quicker bond. One other thing I have found with aquascaping is to put some small (preferably flatish) rocks on the bottom in the sand to provide a base or risers for the larger rocks. This does two things. It creates a cave effect at the sand bed and also allows better flow over the sand. Also try and make your scape more lateral than verical so you have more spots to add corals and better distribution of light to those spots. Just know that you are not alone with trying to get your scape right. Its the bain of many o' reefers existence :) Hope this helps.

[Troycool]

glad to help

[kahlua]

You guys rock thanks so much for all the tips!!
Actually Im going home and pulling out the hammer and flathead right away haha
I totally never thought haha

[greech]

Don't break them all up you are going to want some big pieces too. Just break one or two up and see how that helps and go from there. Hope it works out well for you as it has for me. Love to see some updated pics.

[Amphiprion]

Not sure if you added your sand yet (the sand you have is perfectly fine). The jury is out on how "live" bagged sand actually is but your LR looks like good quality stuff that will fill your sand full of life in no time. You basically want a shallow bed (1" to 1.5") or deep (6"+). Depths in between can cause headaches. Personally I would not go with a deep bed in a nano tank but others might disagree. The best way I have found to add sand is to put some in a large ziploc bag. Place the bag in the tank near the bottom and cut the corner off the bag. This will keep the dust storm down a little (turn your pumps off too:)). You can also funnel the sand using a funnel (of course) and a pieces of PVC pipe to direct the sand where you want it. Of course you can just add cups of sand as well. It should clear up in a day or two.

All I can say is that sand beds with higher diversity (edit: [seem to]) last longer without issues, deep or shallow. You'll find that to be the case in the vast majority of circumstances unless other methods are employed to keep the sand clean over time.

[greech]

All I can say is that sand beds with higher diversity (edit: [seem to]) last longer without issues, deep or shallow. You'll find that to be the case in the vast majority of circumstances unless other methods are employed to keep the sand clean over time.

I could not agree more and am one of the non-believers of the bagged live sand. I used it and wish I had spent my money on some sand from Premium Aquatics or spent less money and just bought dry sand. I just meant that the sand he has is fine for his purposes now. Getting a few cups of sand from a trusted, established tank is another way to add some diversity (note the word "trusted").

[Fishfriend1]

good luck, im a little late, and everything that i can add has been added so far.

Whats the stocking plan? As for rock, why not a small cave with a large flat piece on top, you can break them apart to do this. Can we have some more full tank shots?

[Amphiprion]

I could not agree more and am one of the non-believers of the bagged live sand. I used it and wish I had spent my money on some sand from Premium Aquatics or spent less money and just bought dry sand. I just meant that the sand he has is fine for his purposes now. Getting a few cups of sand from a trusted, established tank is another way to add some diversity (note the word "trusted").

My mistake, then. I misunderstood what you were trying to say.

I don't want folks to think that bagged "live" sands can't be used, as they are perfectly acceptable. It's just I wholeheartedly encourage a boost in infaunal diversity to make up for what isn't there. I see that you meant the same.

[greech]

No problem at all. Glad you brought it up. He just seemed a little worried about his choice is sands and didn't want to the poor guy to stress :)

[kahlua]

You guys are to awesome to have around. Your guys info and willingness to help a new guy is to awesome hands down!

[kahlua]

Oh yes fish I must post more pics hehe