Paul's 50G fish only tank

[gwen_o_lyn]

What did you name those clowns?? The anticipation is killing me!!!

Let me know if I need to mail you a plastic turkey baster.

[pmartin]

i named the clowns "diddy" and "snoop" because we went to see them in concert that night.

i finally got a turkey baster of my ma, which i haven’t used yet due to the fact i am trying to remove algae everyday with a tooth brush.

Gwen, thanks a million for offering to send me one that is very thoughtful of you.

on a worrying note i had to remove 3 turbo snails last night that had died. There is no explanation that I can see why they died. I removed one a good god the smell off him was disgusting.

I did my test for ammonia immediately and it was up from 0 to 0.5 (probably due to the dead snails in the tank) so I did a 15% water change which made a huge difference in the ammonia levels (they are back to zero)

I don’t know if it was the snails time but I would like to know why they died especially since I am going on holidays on Saturday.

do snails have a short life span?

The clowns, cleaner shrimp and starfish all seem happy and healthy eating away no fin damage or ich (well not that i can see)

Any advice?

Paul

[CarmieJo]

Hi Paul,

Many snails are actually long lived but the type of turbo snails commonly sold in the USA need cooler temps than we keep our reefs at. When you keep them in warmer water you speed up their metabolism and they will only live a short time.

[Reefbaby]

One of the funny things that happened was the hitch hikers that came with either the star fish or the snails. Hopefully you can see the small star fish in the picture bellow (this is the biggest of 3) I am going to see how they get on and when they get a bit bigger I will try and trade them at the LFS.

Paul - I forgot to mention it and I don't think anyone else has either....actually your little starfish look like Asterinas....they're actually that small, they're not babies. here's some info about them:
AsterinaFAQs
they can multiply to astronomical numbers, but usually can be kept in check. I have probably 40-50 in my tank and they tend to hang out on the glass if I don't keep it super clean. They're a good thing though....just one more of those little hitchhikers!

[pmartin]

Well I got back from holidays with no fatalities. Nice one

There was a good bit of additional algae but I put that down to there being an algae bloom in my tank anyway. That automatic feeder worked a treat and thanks to my sister who looked in every day everything went well.

I have done about 3no. 15% water changes since I got home. I am trying to improve the water quality and reduce the algae.

Since my last entry I have made some modifications to my tank.

My tank is a Juwel and is really meant for fresh water fish, there is an in tank filter, heater and power heat in a corner in the back of the tank. I had my skimmer hanging on the outside of the corner piece as well.

filter.jpg tank.jpg

So I changed all that. I have hung my heater on the outside of the corner unit. Ripped out the powerhead and filter and placed my in tank skimmer in the corner section. It has made the skimmer much more stable

I also placed the sock filled Phos and carbon in beside the skimmer and placed the power head back into the corner unit.

I suppose this is a trial and error modification. I am unsure if the Phos and carbon filter will work at all due to me reconfiguring the powerhead location?

Will my skimmer work as well now that it is in its own section with a small powerhead trying to drag water through the unit?

30052007018.jpg

So now that my clowns, cleaner shrimp and star fish have survived over 2 months in the tank I decided to go to the LFS last Saturday and get myself a new fish.

So I got a Wimple fish which is the business. He is quite timid and so far the big clown hasn’t bullied him yet……….

mr wimple.jpg

I also got 4 turbo snails hopefully they survive a bit longer than the last crew. They have plenty of algae to keep them going

I noticed yesterday after my tests that my Alkalinity is very low so I am adding in and alkalinity buffer daily and testing daily. I believe that this is due to my algae boost.

Anyway all is going well. i have a mushroom and two other plants (that i have to identify) growing out of my live rock.

As always I would really appreciate any comments and advice.

Thanks CarmieJo and Reefbaby for all your help.

[pmartin]

hello again

since my last post i thought my tank was starting to settle and I had just come back from holidays and sorted out a algae bloom but unfortunately my Wimple fish died.

race.jpg

He only lasted a month

To be honest I don’t know what he died of, he looked in great health (no visible signs of any disease) but the night before he was just staring into the rock and when i came home from work i found him hugging the end of my powerhead

I did a full chemical test after I removed him and nothing was out of the normal.

Since then I have decided that in future I will be using a quarantine tank. Eventually I want to set up the tank as a sump but that would take a good bit of work to the base of the tank.

I wonder if you can help me with identifying the following on my live rock (I know a lot of you get excited about this)

You starter for 10 points is an easy one

1) mush.jpg

2) mush2.jpg

3) zoo.jpg

4) green.jpg

When I was cleaning my in-tank skimmer this lad pops out of nowhere.
crab.jpg
I know that I have been advised not to avoid throwing out anything you find in you tank immediately (until you identify it) but I couldn't find out what it was and since my Wimple fish died I don’t want to take any chances.

Thanks again for all the replies and any advise is greatly appreciated espically if i need to remove any of the above from my tank.

Keep you posted

[CarmieJo]

Number 2 looks like a zoanthid of some kind. The little shrimp looking guy is an amphipod. They are good guys and a sign of a healthy tank. Many fish like to eat them.

[pmartin]

hello again

its been a good while sicne my last post but everthing is going well

i quess i better show you what i have been at as i probably wont have much time with the arrival of our first child less than a week away.

i have added T5 lights and from there i have added blue mushrooms, star polyps, pussy coral and zoos

tank.jpg

i also got an algee blenny "Benny the Blenny"

benny.jpg

and a red star fish

star.jpg

i had a sea hare for a while but i guess i didnt have enough algee for him

my pussy coral isnt doing that good at the moment my alk is a bit low but i have been trying to adjust it with alk buffer.

i have a small slug that moves like a caterpillar. i dont know what it is but i will post a photo as soon as i get a photo of it.

anyway thats it for the moment

[Danamck]

Paul,

Looking good. Here's a tip on the old aquarium front: don't add anything else for a while. Your new baby is going to keep you plenty busy! Is this your first?

Dana

[Reefbaby]

also a note on Benny - make sure you provide him with plenty of algae (Nori or the like), as they can starve very easily!!

I can't believe you guys in the UK call a Lemnalia a Pussy Coral!

So...you gotta get a picture of this slug of yours...dying to know what it is!

best of luck with your little one on the way. it's life-changing and you'll love it!

[CarmieJo]

Congratulations on your impending arrival!

[pmartin]

Thanks for the reply’s

Yes it is our first child. We don’t know if it is a boy or girl yet.

I hope this doesn’t sound like I am being critical but Ireland is not in the UK.

the photo i have attached is not a great one but it was the best i could get (my camera is not that great)

04112007162.jpg

i have a video of it but i cant seem to upload it onto this site

the slug looks like the "slug" shown at the start of Astrivian's DIY closed loop Episode 102 but a darker shade of green

[Reefbaby]

Originally Posted by pmartin

I hope this doesn’t sound like I am being critical but Ireland is not in the UK.

critical?! no....you're right...my bad...same language though!

hmmm....the picture is a l i t t l e blurry....is it "hairy", smooth, any defining features?

[pmartin]

no real out standing features

it has two "prongs or horns". it is smooth and moves like caterpillar seems to be feed on veg matter.

more brown in colour than green

its body seems to sink into itself when it is feeding

i hope it survives in the tank cus it looks funny