OK. Here goes the next adventure. Trying to start my own thread...

:)

First Livestock were Catalina Goby - alas no more !

However a bright addition to start things off. Let's see how we get on loading images of the (ex) inhabitant...

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh49/FenMuskieHunter/IMG_1029.jpg

Looks like I've got the Yellow Feather duster in the background too...Another 'former' resident that is no more ! Had been thinking I'd been getting on really well as a newcomer to Marine - running through these photos, I'm not so sure ?

Let's continue with a few more pictures !

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh49/FenMuskieHunter/IMG_1030.jpg

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh49/FenMuskieHunter/IMG_1034.jpg

Added some coral and things start to take shape a bit...?

...looks like we've got this sussed out too then ??

Wanted to give the camera a plug too because I have been delighted with it. Have also taken underwater images with it whilst SCUBA diving. Excellent results too.

Canon A640 - Compact camera with 10.1 MegaPixel awesome colours and clarity.

Had to have been the Sexy Anenome Shrimp for entertainment value & the Galaxia coral - I never realised they had long tentacles. Fantastic under the Moonlighting on the Biocube...

Have been badgering one or two members of the Forum (mostly Phurst) for advice here and there and making way too many trips to the LFS. Damn it's less than 3 miles from my house...Wish they'd relocate a bit further away. Also had added some shells which I'd ordered from Seashells from seashell world. (http://www.seashellworld.com) Sorry another plug but apart from the size of one or two (bit big for my Nano), I was delighted with what I got for less than $30 - much better value that the local fish store...

False Percula Clown & Catalina Goby seem to be getting on famously - doing really well monitoring all the water parameters.
Specific Gravity
Calcium
PH
Alkalinity
Nitrate
Ammonia

All under control.

Raided the Amazon bookstore for a number including the Nano Reef Handbook amongst others. Best one by far though is an underwater masterpiece of Photography - Roger Steene's - Oceanic Wilderness. Having been lucky enough to dive in Indonesia & Malaysia, some of the photographs provoke some great memories and have been an inspiration for the Biocube 14 project - much more than any of the standard Marine Aquatic Tank Guides.

:up:

Amazon.com: Oceanic Wilderness: Books: Roger Steene

Not an Aquariasts book but just trust me and order it. You won't be disappointed !

Despite the initial protests from the wife (throwback of having 3 freshwater tanks in the sitting room at one point a few years ago...), the tank is starting to take shape.

In my opinion it's a pleasant addition to the sitting room, without dominating things !

Aim was to try and create as natural looking reef as possible and tie in the colours. Found a Zoanthid colony at the Local Fish Store and whilst not being the brightest of colours, seems to tie in OK with my scheme which is predominantly Green & Purple ?

Additionally still over the moon with the results from the Canon A640 camera...

Also really delighted that the young girl in the LFS, persuaded me to go for it with a Reef Tank & that it wasn't that difficult these days with a Biocube...

One day, realised that the Yellow Feather duster wasn't in a good position for flow. I hadn't sunk the base of it in the sand but had poked it into the rocks where it had been fine for weeks. Next thing I realise is finding it out of it's tube. Advice at the Fish store was to euthanise it because once out, they don't generally survive. I thought I knew better so left it for a few days in the hope it was moving to an area of better flow and would build another tube. Wrong ! Clearly the Skunk Cleaner shrimp thought otherwise and cleaned him up.

3 or 4 weeks later, decided to add a Six-Line Wrasse. Looked a really good addition to the tank and the layout with all of the holes and crevices seemed to suit him really well.

Unsettled the Catalina Goby a bit though but got to see a bit more of him too competing for food more and a bit more active around the tank.

Unfortunately, the Goby who's shown signs of white spot from time to time, had another outbreak. No chance of getting a treatment tank going (wife factor) so knocked up the temperature to 78 deg F to see if that would help and started offering garlic impregnated Omega One Marine pellets.

Whilst the fish didn't seem too interested, the hermit crabs did. Made sure that I didn't overfeed.

Exit one Catalina Goby !

Well with the disappointment of losing the Goby, reassured myself that it might have just been an inappropriate occupant in the first place because of it's lower temperature constraints. Probably a good thing then.

But to make up for the disappointment & the fact that I had to go to the shop, let's add some more coral.

:agree: ??

Outbreaks of brown algae on the glass have cleared up with a bit of help from some bumble bee & Astrorea Snails. Added a couple more Hermits which had made 7 in total. They looked good though from being in the Coral tank at the Local Fish Store, had taken on a purple corraline layer to their shells. Mind you, they ditched those after they saw the new ones I had put in from welcome to shell world's cyber-island - your window to seashells, nautical supply and coastal home decor accents and fixtures (http://www.shellworld.com)

Whislt the brown algae had gone, am starting to get a stringy purple algae growing on the sand and partcularly one of the rocks. Not sure if this needs addressing ??? Help/Advice appreciated !

Kind of fits in with the general decor though - so let me know what to do.

From my days as a freshwater aquariast, my experience with treating white spot wasn't very positive.

:(

There is no way I can get a treatment tank rigged up but the Six-Line is showing signs of infection. Some days fine and you wouldn't know it - others several on his body and clearly on his fins. Not sure what to do other than try to pursue the garlic route in the feeding & knock the temp up to 80 deg F. Hoping that won't have a detrimental affect on any corals, including the mushrooms I've also recently added...??

:eek:

False Percula Clown seems OK this time. Not sure if they're not as susceptible to it as the Catalina Goby and Six-Line Wrasse ??

When the Goby had it, was convinced the Clownfish did too - mainly from occasional flicking behaviour on the side of the tank and rocks which used to be a clear sign of White Spot in my Freshwater experience. Very little physical evidence though - maybe a few small spots on fins and tail but absolutely nothing on the body whatsoever....

...this time, no indication of the Clown being affected in the slightest whilst the Six-Line has intermittant symptoms of varying degrees to hardly anything to more severely affected. LFS said check the tank for electrical shorts - I haven't done yet but am due a water change and clean up today so will then !

Also prior to the Goby giving up on things, the Skunk Cleaner Shrimp succumbed to something. I had noticed a change in behaviour for about a week beforehand. He used to come and clean my hand but was spending increasing time at the back of the tank and much less active during feeding (.

Since November, he had shed twice so I figured he had been fairly healthy....

This has been primarily brine shrimp but have more recently been alternating with Mysis shrimp and the Omega One Marine pellets with Garlic.

Knowing all of my tested water parameters were absolutely perfect, I didn't worry and just put it down to coincidence, possibly as a result of devouring the Yellow Feather duster worm...

Roger Steenes book 'Oceanic Wilderness' has an excellent photo of a Flag-tail shrimp Goby, Ambyeleotris yanoi paired up with Randall's Shrimp, Alpheus randalli

Both are from Bali, where I've SCUBA dived, so I have to have one of each. The local fish store reckons they've got the equivalent of the flag-tail and am waiting on them receiving a Randall's shrimp in.

I'm not in a rush as I need to find out what's going on with the Ich. From my freshwater days, I seem to remember it being the case that 'White Spot' existed in all tanks. An outbreak in any of the fish, seemed to indicate stress, caused by any number of factors - incl. poor water quality or overstocking.

I think I'm well in control of those things so am a bit puzzled. Treatment tank isn't an option !

Any advice appreciated...!!

:huh::huh::huh:

Guess what else Roger Steene's book has...

Brilliant photo of two Clown Anemone Fish looking really happy teamed up with a very vividly purple tipped Anemone. Whilst it's not Indonesia, no one would criticise me for adding such a colourful piece of Papua New Guinea to my project tank.

Everything I've read suggests avoiding adding an Anemone like the plague. But the colour combination really suits the orange of the Clownfish plus fits in with my tank 'colourscape'

If anyone has a purple tipped coral - not a big piece or recommendation of what to do to create the effect, please send me a PM or reply. Would be great if my False Clown Perc decided it was a good place to hang out too.

If I've not persuaded you to buy 'Oceanic Wilderness' yet, I'm giving up plugging it anymore...

So the tank is maturing nicely - to be honest I can't believe how good it looks in such a short space of time since tipping the sand and Live Rocks in on 29 October.

Have concerns about

What's going to happen with the Ich on the Sixline ? Or what I should do to deal with it ??
How long to wait before collecting the Flagtail Goby from the LFS ?
Whether to wait until they get the Randall's Shrimp in before taking the Flagtail ?
If the purple algae growth is a good thing or something I need to address (see mid-right on tank photos). It looks cool though ??
Before adding the Randall's Shrimp & Goby, can I encourage them to take up residence at the front of the tank with a cunningly dug tube using a chop stick & poking it deep into the sand & then surrounding it with few small stones - ??
Any advice to the above so I actually guarantee where they set up & get to enjoy seeing the wierd partnership of Goby & Shrimp ??


When to proceed with final stocking ?

To complete things, I want to add:

Purple Firefish
Magenta Dottyback, Pseudochromis porphyreus (as the last critter & seen in Roger Steene's book)


Okay I lied about not plugging Oceanic Wilderness anymore but if a few more people had copies we could discuss some of the pictures and ideas of how to emulate in tank projects...!

Amazon.com: Oceanic Wilderness: Books: Roger Steene

These are probably the last of 2007. I hope the Six-Line makes it well into 2008 and beyond...:unsure::unsure:

...That's a cue for anyone to jump in with advice now please ??

Have concerns about
[LIST]
What's going to happen with the Ich on the Sixline ? Or what I should do to deal with it ??
How long to wait before collecting the Flagtail Goby from the LFS ?
Whether to wait until they get the Randall's Shrimp in before taking the Flagtail ?
If the purple algae growth is a good thing or something I need to address (see mid-right on tank photos). It looks cool though ??


It's tough to say on the ich. Some fish just shrug it off, while others seem to be killed off. Treatment (with either copper, or hyposalinity) would be my choice, but if a QT is out of the question, I guess there;s nothing to do but wait and see, unless you have a reefing buddy with a QT.

I would definitely wait until the ich issue is worked out one way or another before adding the goby, or any other fish. IMO, you should wait about 6 weeks from either the last sign of ich on the sixline/clown, or them finaly dying of it. 6 weeks with no symptoms, or no fish, and you can be reasonably sure it's gone from the tank. I know it's a long time, but would you rather wait it out, or watch your nice new goby come down with it as well. This will give the LS time to get in the shrimp as well :)

The purple is cyano, which is technically a bacteria, and not an algae. It's pretty common, and there are a number of things you can do to get rid of it. You can temporarily step up the frequency and/or volume of your water changes, try to get a little more flow in the areas it's growing, temporarily reduce your photo period, run some carbon and/or use an antibiotic like chemiclean. I'd recommend a combination approach, and only use the antibiotic as a last resort.

I'm pretty sure I can come up with a "nano care package" to send your way once that cyano is gone :)

It's tough to say on the ich. Some fish just shrug it off, while others seem to be killed off. Treatment (with either copper, or hyposalinity) would be my choice, but if a QT is out of the question, I guess there;s nothing to do but wait and see, unless you have a reefing buddy with a QT.

I would definitely wait until the ich issue is worked out one way or another before adding the goby, or any other fish. IMO, you should wait about 6 weeks from either the last sign of ich on the sixline/clown, or them finaly dying of it. 6 weeks with no symptoms, or no fish, and you can be reasonably sure it's gone from the tank. I know it's a long time, but would you rather wait it out, or watch your nice new goby come down with it as well. This will give the LS time to get in the shrimp as well :)

The purple is cyano, which is technically a bacteria, and not an algae. It's pretty common, and there are a number of things you can do to get rid of it. You can temporarily step up the frequency and/or volume of your water changes, try to get a little more flow in the areas it's growing, temporarily reduce your photo period, run some carbon and/or use an antibiotic like chemiclean. I'd recommend a combination approach, and only use the antibiotic as a last resort.

I'm pretty sure I can come up with a "nano care package" to send your way once that cyano is gone :)

Nano care package sounds cool ! Is the cyano definitely something I need to take care of or just get it under control - have to admit that I quite like the colour of it...?

Nano care package sounds cool !

LOL, yeah, I'm sure I have a couple of frags I can spare.

Cyano has a tenancy to grow very quickly. Quickly enough to overgrow corals, coraline, the sand bed, rocks, even macroalgae and starve it for light. It's a pretty color, but in a few weeks you'll be cursing the stuff.

Cyano is often a case of too many nutrients and too little flow. Have you added another powerhead? It will help with the cyano and your corals will appreciate the increased flow too. I've ordered a few of these The Best Nano Pumps, 250gph++, Gate Valve, 3-6w Power Supply - $4.99 : Fraggle Reef, Premium Corals and More (http://www.fragglereef.com/zen/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2874&zenid=004c1400b8dfbd529df4f6c852dfa0dc) but haven't had time to install them yet. I'll get it done next week (before the inlaws get here for my hubby's 50th b-day.)

I agree with Pearson regarding the addition of new fish while ich is present in your tank. The parasite has a 4 stage life-cycle and only one stage is on the fish. This is why you see it come and go.

In my experience the shrimps are a little sensitive. If you had a lot of evaporation and topped off the tank you could have changed the SpG quickly enough to have

OK. I get the message folks, the cyano has to go. I'll get on with it.

Similarly I'll wait out on the Flagtail Goby...

As far as the Powerhead Carmie, is that a replacment, or in addition to the Powerhead which came with the Biocube ? If it's in addition to, how do I install it ??

Thanks for the advice - keep it coming !

J

Hi Muskie,

This would be an additional powerhead. Not only would it increase overall flow, it will make it more chaotic which is considered beneficial. Here is a picture of my NC24 showing both the return and the powerhead.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f198/CarmieJo/DSC_8112.jpg

OK - so I did a 20% water change yesterday. Took the opportunity to take out the rocks, shells and pebbles which had a coating of cyano. Bought a toothbrush and gave them all a scrub along with getting as much of the stuff out of the tank as I could.

Nipped down the road and got a Powerhead - Rio 90. Looks like it will push 80 gal/hour. Also got a replacement filter.

:up: