Tanks Pics // update // hitchhiker id etc

[kahlua]

Gonna post some pictures here about latest developments.
I have some algae starting to grow maybe you guys can tell me if Its good I believe it is though. Added a small cleanup crew to!! Also I have another hitchiker or three I believe came with the sand to.. They are taken from my camcorder but I tried my best

CUC :

2 blue leg hermits (tiny guys)
1 Turbo Snail well big guy cant rem his type haha
1 Red Firefighter Shrimp dude (who hides all the **** time)

Question do I need to feed the shrimp anything or will he find things etc in tank?
The sand made a stinkin mess I, added seems like the rock is coated I tried everythingt to blow it off with a turkey baster etc... Also some spots I cant reach on the glass with my algae tool to!!

And on with the pictures :

TANK

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01119-1.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01117-1.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01111-1.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01109-1.jpg

ALGAE

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01190.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01130.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01129.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01126.jpg

Hitchhikers (two are same type other is a little snail type thing I cant find anymore )

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01160.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01157.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01161.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01040.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01198.jpg

CUC (shrimp is hiding haha)

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01135.jpg

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae255/kahlua403/update/newstuff01184.jpg

My liverock in the pic above you can see it grows like a purple plant life on it. The place I bought it says its good but I dislike the look of it any ideas?

[duneenworywifit]

your tank looks brand new and clean,wait about 3 more weeks and youll see alge....that little bit you have is nothing.I have the same stuff allll over everything,snails are digging it though.Your little hitchhiker looks like an aptasia anemone.Try and get him out in one piece.Set up looks real cool,have fun!

[kahlua]

sweet thank you!! and how do I remove the bugger?

This rock I got seems to add pest after pest I cant believe it jesus its terrible..

[duneenworywifit]

try a syringe with some lemon juice.stab him in his stem.Or take the rock out and chip him off.Theres also some type of chemical to use aswell,check these guys here and they should be able to help you out.good luck!

[Fishfriend1]

well, i kind of like glass Anemones, but if u dont like them just use lemon juice. The snail thing is fine, it wont hurt stuff unless its one of those hunter snail thing, um the ones that shoot fish with their tongue or whatever... In any case, the snail wont hurt the tank. Personally i would add some small snails and 1-2 more hermits. IDK, did u put the size of the tank in this thread yet? You really need to get over the hitchhikers thing, keep posting but dont assume that they are bad for the tank. I got a large # of hitchhikers too, never bothered about them till my clownfish died, and even then only after trying everything else. Most hitchhikers are helpful of harmless additions, only some are bad. As for the scape, well u got some really god rock for scaping, i love it! Thats is such a good scape, can have almost any fish that fits in the tank lol. I with my scape looked so good. Other then that i dont really have much else to say except good luck and good job.

[greech]

Looks good to me and agree with comments on the algae especially on the bottom of the tank near the sand. My advice would be to stay on WC's. I don't know what the red velvety looking algae is. I have some too but I actually like the way it looks. I probably should get an ID on it but have not.

Unless you want more aptasia take them out. Aptisia is juts something almost everyone deals with. I always seem to have 1 or 2 every so often but I never let it go beyond that. They will pop up everywhere and can sting livestock. I have seen some large enough to eat fish and shrimp. You can remove your rock but not worth it IMO. Syringe with lemon juice did not work for me b/c I could never stab them quick enough before they retracted back into their whole. Ended up using Joe's Juice with is like pure calcium your squeeze over them with a dropper. Works very well for me but its like $15 for a small bottle. AptaisiaX is another product that seems to work for some.

Tanks looking good!

[kahlua]

Hey guys thank you very much for the quick replies!! Ill have to grab some of that and give it a shot and see if I can beat em haha

Thanks for the compliments to! It looked bad until I was just about to add sand messed around with the rock and was lucky enough for it to work haha (finally)

I have quite abit of the red algae on there do you think its bad?

I also have lots of like purple plant life with my liverock that I really dislike is there away to kill this stuff?

Think I would be crazy to return this liverock to them due to all the plant like things etc.. I found another place about a day after with much better rock. BUt then I have to let it cycle again and what the heck would I do wityh my shrimp // snail // hermits?

[Fishfriend1]

Hey guys thank you very much for the quick replies!! Ill have to grab some of that and give it a shot and see if I can beat em haha

Thanks for the compliments to! It looked bad until I was just about to add sand messed around with the rock and was lucky enough for it to work haha (finally)

I have quite abit of the red algae on there do you think its bad?

I also have lots of like purple plant life with my liverock that I really dislike is there away to kill this stuff?

Think I would be crazy to return this liverock to them due to all the plant like things etc.. I found another place about a day after with much better rock. BUt then I have to let it cycle again and what the heck would I do wityh my shrimp // snail // hermits?

R U serious! Purple is good, its caroline algae. I think that u should get over the extra stuff that came in with the rock. I wish i had all the stuff u do, if u want to mail it to me ill be happier then a rabbit is a carrot farm!:grinno:

[kahlua]

haha thanks fish!! yeah I love the coraline but its these little hair stuff not green hair algae but almost like a purple hair plant you know. I see alot of rock that doesnt have it drives me nuts lol.

[greech]

There are no guarantees that you won't get it it again even if you swap rocks. I would scrub it if it bugs you and just stay on top of your tank. Maybe cut your light cycle down a little as well.

[Fishfriend1]

I agree with Greech, if u dont like it just scrub it off.

[kahlua]

Were able to scrub plant life off sweet!!! I found me a bristelworm I think today to! Ill post a quick pic I got em of em hehe
Dont want him to bite me but I believe there good hehe :P I also ran to the store and bought joes to blast them glass anemone things :) Do you guys think it would be a good idea to put in some soft corals before I add the fish in there or maybe do fish first? Seen some really good prices on some zoas at my lfs and also another one Ill try to find the pic its a bubble type thing. Sorry I ask so much I have no friends in the hobby so I have noone to ask anything or look at my tank nothing :(

[Jstdv8]

good start. for the aiptasia you don't need to overspend on aiptasia x or joes juice, just misx your own from Mr's wages pickling lime. You'll find it at wal-mart in a large tub that will be a lifetime supply of aiptasia killing power for 4 bucks or so. mix it into a past and cover the face of the aiptasia. This works good because it doesnt allow the aiptasia to reproduce (they spew their spawn/seed out when attacked) like lemon juice and boiling water do. I killed 300 of them over about a months time (can't do more than about 10 a day or you can spike your PH) and I only had one come back after 3 months and I offed him too. no more aips.
after you apply the paste leave it sit for 45 mins and suck the paste and the aiptasia out with a turkey baster and discard.
Clean the turkey baster and rest easy.

[Jstdv8]

I wrote this up a while ago on another forum. copied it here.....

How to kill aiptasia with pickling lime or kalkwasser mix

1.) Mix 1tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. wages pickling lime with 1 1/2 Teaspoons of water to make a nice paste. The paste should not be running, but it also must be thin enough to get injected through the syringe.
2.) Apply a layer of the paste to the oral disc of the aiptasia. Sometimes you can get them to think its food by teasing their tentacles a little and then injecting the paste onto the oral disc. If they suck back into their hole right away just cover the hole with the paste.
3.) wait 45 minutes to an hour
4.) suck out the paste and the aiptasia with a turkey baster and dispose of them.

I bought 100 lbs. worth of live rock from a fellow reefer who was tearing down her tank. The rock was covered with aiptasia (estimating over 300). Some of the rocks also had some corals on them (mushrooms, green star polyps and Kenya trees)
I put the rock on a 55 gallon tank that I used as a holding area while I treated the rock before putting it into my display tank.
I mixed up a small batch of the lime paste and started injecting the aiptasia with the method used above.
I recommend doing only a few at a time as the paste can cause a PH spike in your tank if you do too much. Keep in mind Pickling lime and kalkwasser are similar products that are used for correcting alkalinity and calcium problems and can be used safely if in small doses.
Be sure to cover the whole face of the aiptasia with the paste to ensure that it cannot release its seed into the tank and make more aiptasia later. You also must get it out of the hole as even a small piece of aiptasia can grow into a whole one over time. Do it right the first time.

Other methods that work include Peppermint shrimp, Copper banded butterfly, joe's juice, aiptasia-x, vinegar, boiling water or just leaving the rock out in the open air for a couple of days(killing everything on it.)

Peppermint shrimp work well as long as they don't have a different food source they like better. It is also very important to get the correct shrimp as there is an imposter shrimp that doesn't feed on aiptasia that looks very similar. When you are buying the shrimp ask for L. wurdemanni. Do Not accept the shrimp if it is a L. californica.
Peppermints will also not attack a large aiptasia so these will have to be removed in another way. There is also no guarantee that the aiptasia will not release its seed into the water which they tend to do when in danger. This will cause more to pop up later.

The Copper banded butterfly's require an established tank to safely house one (preferably 6 months or longer). Some for whatever reason don't prefer aiptasia though (the upside here is that these ones are reef safe)
If you choose this method you risk the fish devouring other corals in your tank that you wanted to keep once it has eaten the aiptasia. And again, there is no guarantee that they won't release their seed into the water when attacked.

Aiptasia X is similar to the paste that I described above and it comes in a nifty little syringe with a straight and an angled head for getting at aiptasia in hard to reach places.
The downside here is the cost. At 20 dollars a tube it gets pretty costly, especially if you have a lot of aiptasia to treat. A jar of Mrs. Wages pickling lime costs about $4 at Wal-mart and you will have a lifetime supply.

Boiling water, vinegar and Joe's juice all have been known to work but as with most methods are very hit and miss. While one person says they had great success the next may say it didn't work at all.

Best of luck to you and good hunting!

[kahlua]

Sweet thank you so much for all the info thats awesome!!
So many great tips in there thats sweet!!

[Fishfriend1]

Were able to scrub plant life off sweet!!! I found me a bristelworm I think today to! Ill post a quick pic I got em of em hehe
Dont want him to bite me but I believe there good hehe :P I also ran to the store and bought joes to blast them glass anemone things :) Do you guys think it would be a good idea to put in some soft corals before I add the fish in there or maybe do fish first? Seen some really good prices on some zoas at my lfs and also another one Ill try to find the pic its a bubble type thing. Sorry I ask so much I have no friends in the hobby so I have noone to ask anything or look at my tank nothing :(

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! your tank isn't ready for coral until u know it can keep fish alive. If i were u i would take it one step at a time :). Once u can keep fish in the tank (clowns, damsels, dwarf angelfish, fish that wont kill coral) you can put in corals. Until then try to stay away from the difficult corals. If u really need to try with corals get the cheapest stuff possible and be ready for failure as much as success. Do u have a coral testing kit (it tests for stuff that corals need as well as just the norm)? If not get one ant test ur tank. If it passes then u can put corals in. Of course you may have coral killing hitchhikers so keep a vigilante watch. Good Luck.

[Fishfriend1]

Were able to scrub plant life off sweet!!! I found me a bristelworm I think today to! Ill post a quick pic I got em of em hehe
Dont want him to bite me but I believe there good hehe :P I also ran to the store and bought joes to blast them glass anemone things :) Do you guys think it would be a good idea to put in some soft corals before I add the fish in there or maybe do fish first? Seen some really good prices on some zoas at my lfs and also another one Ill try to find the pic its a bubble type thing. Sorry I ask so much I have no friends in the hobby so I have noone to ask anything or look at my tank nothing :(

NOOOOOOOOOOOO! your tank isn't ready for coral until u know it can keep fish alive. If i were u i would take it one step at a time :). Once u can keep fish in the tank (clowns, damsels, dwarf angelfish, fish that wont kill coral) you can put in corals. Until then try to stay away from the difficult corals. If u really need to try with corals get the cheapest stuff possible and be ready for failure as much as success. Do u have a coral testing kit (it tests for stuff that corals need as well as just the norm)? If not get one ant test ur tank. If it passes then u can put corals in. Of course you may have coral killing hitchhikers so keep a vigilante watch. Good Luck.

[Jstdv8]

corals are no harder to keep than fish, just need the proper lighting.
What would people do that just wanted a coral tank and no fish. Gotta start sometime.
The coral kit he is refering to would include ammonia, nitirite, nitrate, phosphate, PH, calcium, alkalinity and for certain corals iodine and magnesium.
but its called a reef master kit not a coral kit.
for corals once you have the lighting and your parameters are stable you could start with just about any softy corals. leathers, mushrooms, star polyps, kenya tree, xenia.
some of the others require more lighting and a more established tank with superior water quality and stability as well as higher need for flow and spot feedings in some instances.
Also stay away from anemones until your tank is at least 6 months old minimum.
Anemones are neat looking but can be a royal pain too. they need spot feeding, require alot fo light and proper flow, perfect water conditions. And if they die they can contaminate the whole tank and kill off everything.
Also keep in mind clowns don't need anemones. They prefer them in the ocean because the nem offers protection. in our tanks thats not so neccesary.

[greech]

Just want to throw something out that I wish someone told me before I started stocking. Softies like shrooms and zoas can take over pretty quickly and stoney corals don't stand a chance if they decide to battle. If you like softies and that's what you want then by all means go for it. There are some beautiful ones out there. Just be aware of their ability to multiply quickly and in a small tank they don't have far to go.

Also, there are a lot of LPS corals that are just as easy to care for and have similar lighting needs. Acans, chalice, and favia are all easy, lower light corals that come in a variety of color morphs.

Agree with Jstvd on the nem comments. You really need a mature, healthy tank and even then they can be a problem especilly in a smaller tank. If they aren't fed enough or they don't like flow then they will start walking. When that happens, anything in its path will be toast and the odds of it making it into a powerhead or overflow are on the high side. If you are set on one you might want to let your tank mature and add the nem first so it can find a place it likes and then add corals around it. My $0.02.

BTW - it is pefectly fine to add corals before fish or vice versus. Just make sure your tank is ready for livestock and stock slowly to see how your tank responds.

[kahlua]

Sweet thanks guys!! Yeah theres some neat stuff more testing though darn hehe
They look so awesome in there in the future def want to get an anemone for my clowns when I get them hehe. But all in due time!

Im really disliking the rock I got haha. I go to this other store here and they have thise rock looks like coral its just beautiful. Then I go home see my rocks and am like wow this sucks haha

[Jstdv8]

once your rocks are covered in coral it won't be so bad LOL
The rock that looks like acropora is called marco. pretty cool stuff

[greech]

Marco rocks (as I know it) is not a type of rock per say but rather a vendor

http://www.marcorocks.com/

If the rock is really knobby it's probably figi or pukani rock which you can buy dry at Bulk Reef Supply

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/eco-rox-fiji-dry-rock

They also have tonga which is more of a branch looking rock that I suppose could look like acro.

[Frogmanx82]

Generally soft corals like a bit of nitrates and fish waste. If you are going to go with soft corals, you should have a few fish or inverts.

[kahlua]

Sweet thanks guys always awesome how much you guys have helped me makes me way less scared haha