1st Marine tank: 55g reef. Couple questions... with pics

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Greyhaven7

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Sep 19, 2005
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Hey all.
Just to let you know, before I start ratteling off questions here, I've done NUMEROUS Google searches (with either no result, or conflicting results) and used the "search" function here.

Here's my setup:
tank.jpg

55g glass aquarium
Marineland "Emperor 400" Bio-Wheel filter
Marineland "Penguin 550" Power head w/ bio filtration "sponge" on intake
Coralife lighting: 2 double Actinic and 2 double 10k's. (seperate plugs to allow timing)
About 40lbs of live rock (fresh stuff from a shipment the night before)
Live Sand (had been in the display tanks at the LFS for over a year... nice and bio-active)

Little story first...
This is actually my 2nd tank... the 1st was ruined within a week. The first live rock I got had about 8 Mantis Shrimp hitch hickers on it (tiny little ones, less than 1/8 inch). I asked my LFS for advice on how to get rid of them... they advised "Coppersafe" (a new employee). Being the newbie that I am I put it in. Then read about it online.... Well, I think you all know what that does (kills almost all inverts and can never be fully removed)... so the LFS paid for a whole new setup. Hence the nice fresh live rock, and year old live sand... also 2 bags of some of those little ceramic bio cylendar things that had been in their system for over a year.

This new 55g has been cooking for about a week with it's bio active goodness kicking up the Nitrate, Nitrite, and Amonia levels in just a few days... the levels are already dropping. Amonia is almost at 0, Nitrates are still at 35ppm, Nitrites are down to 5ppm.

Questions (finally).....

1.) There's some white fuzzy spots on my live rock... small... about the size of a quarter. They're a little fuzzy. I've read that they are die-off from the LR. Is there any possibility they could be anything else?
wdo.jpg

cuo.jpg


2.) Same thing on this sponge (at least i think it's a sponge).
sdo.jpg


3.) What's this little guy? anemone? coral?
scr.jpg


4.) What're these little copper colored things?
scw.jpg


5.) Should I clean this up?
bdo.jpg


6.) What's a propper lighting cycle... I've got actinics and 10ks and can set each on a timer. And plan to add corals, anemones, small fish, and clean up crew critters... snails, shrimp, crabs, stars.

7.) When is it safe to add corals? Crabs? Shrimp? Fish? (I've heard MANY conflicting responses on this one)

8.) Should I clean the brown crap off my LR?

9.) Anything else I should do? Anything important I should know? Suggestions on anything? equipment? critters?

Thanks guys!
 
1. You can scrub it a bit--the dead spots aren't really the rock,but rather some critter that was attached. This is the source of the ammonia, so while the tank is cycling, if ammonia levels don't spike again, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

2. Same as above. Sponges die off, but usually come back no problem (and that's a good thing).

3. Aiptasia-you already ID'd it.

4. Can't really tell. Are they poking out of a hole? Do they move? Could be the tip of a worm.

5. I wouldn't worry about it. The cleaner crew will clean it up, and it doesn't look to be too bad a diatom bloom.

6. I run actinics for 45 minutes before and after the main lights come on, and the main lights are on for about 11 hours. JMO, but you do not have enough light for any of the 'good' anemones. Low to midlight corals will be tough. I ran a 65 with about twice the lighting you have, and very few corals really thrived.

7. Once the ammonia stays at 0 for more than a few days, you can safely add some animals. What types--depends. Some fish, but don't buy a damsel just because it will survive in the tank. Better: list what you want, and we can help get them in order to add. In general, cleaners, fish, corals (and corals should wait at least 6 months, IMO).

8. No reason, unless it's a huge thick layer.
 
Not much to add, but...
#2 looks more like a siderastrea coral than a sponge. Is it hard or soft? The stuff on it looks like dying sponge, though
#4 look like vermetid snails. They live in tubes and have two tentacles that stick out. Feed by making a mucus net.
#9 Try to remember to enjoy it and take it slow.
 
Not enough light? how much light should I have??? lol. The tank already lights up the entire room easily. Wow. I had no idead corals needed that much light.

The copper colored things do not move, and nothing ever extends from them (I spend hours staring into the tank these days, so I'm pretty sure). They appear dead (if they ever were alive).

#2... about it being a coral... that was my initial thought. The lady at the LFS said it was a "sponge bed"... but like I said, they also told me to use copper in my tank, so who knows. It is very hard and rough. The "cells" are filled with many hard pointed parts pointing toward the center of each "cell". It's entirely possible. That'd be cool if it were... except it's in there durring the cycle... and will probably die.

Are we 100% sure #3 is Aiptasia? I've now had some people tell me it's a "cup coral".
 
Do a google image search for siderastrea and let me know what you think. It's a common hitchhiking coral, and remarkably tough.

#3 sure looks like aiptasia to me. I can't see a skeleton. There's a photo of a cup coral (phyllangia) in the hitchhiker sticky in this forum.
 
hmmm, well now there's 2 of them... (just didn't see the other before)

ans.jpg


As you can see, the arms are much longer than you can actually see in the pic. I tried to draw them in. That looks like an annoneme to me rather than a coral. You agree?

Also, any idea what this bright greem thing is? It appears to be a 5 pointed "bloom" of sorts. Not moving much except in the current.
gth.jpg
 
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