MY 40gl plan!!

[toastiireefs]

COngrats on your first mantis. I prefer to just pull its rock out of the tank and shake the guy out of its hole. You may need to open the hole a little with a left-handed screwdriver.

 

I little sand on the corals should be OK, but I would be concerned about leaving them buried for any length of time. I would at least lift the rock containing corals onto the surface of the sand.

 

 

haha- I just aquascaped and of course the rock with the mantis is on the bottom.... *sigh*

[YBeNormal]

I use a turkey baster to blow the sand and debris off my rocks.

[toastiireefs]

I use a turkey baster to blow the sand and debris off my rocks.

 

i need to get a new turkey baster!! the one i use now has panacur on it- which can kill gorgonias

[treesprite]

I use a turkey baster to blow the sand and debris off my rocks.

 

 

That's a great idea - I think I'll have to get one soon.

[toastiireefs]

so to lure it out should i get a little piece of shrimp and trap it?

[YBeNormal]

That's a great idea - I think I'll have to get one soon.

 

Yeah, they come in handy. Spend a few bucks to get a decent one (not the dollar store el-cheapo plastic one) and dedicate it to the tank so you know it is never used for anything that might harm your tank.

[toastiireefs]

Yeah, they come in handy. Spend a few bucks to get a decent one (not the dollar store el-cheapo plastic one) and dedicate it to the tank so you know it is never used for anything that might harm your tank.

 

yup!! i use mine for target feeding- for my seahorses- so i dont over feed the tank

[lanman]

Turkey basters? Useful?

 

My daughter knitted a shawl the other day - using two turkey basters as knitting needles. Very loose weave. And a very nice shawl. I have two basters for the tanks, and three in the kitchen.

 

bob

 

so to lure it out should i get a little piece of shrimp and trap it?

They actually have traps just for mantis shrimps - saw one at MS today.

 

bob

 

ok so i found a couple of things while looking at my tank last night

 

1) a very small crab greenish (at leat under actinics) and looked like he was eating algea so i think he might be ok- im gonna look up pics of emerald and mirthx or how ever you spell it

 

2) a very strange looking worm- it had a "suckie" face and a long pinkish body with a few long white feeler looking things- then a couple whitish thorny things i couldnt see very wekk since he was in a hole in the rock trying to build a door-

 

3) i think i have found hydroids!!! AHH! its not aiptasia its whiteish glowy with a pinkish middle and clear with tenticles

 

4) i just found a orangey worm looking thing on my gorgonia- i plan on removing it- but idk if its even a liing thing

 

also i need some extra long tweezers to pull out worms and such-

 

I have some hydroids in my 58-gallon tank. Odd thing is - a patch of them appears, and after a couple of weeks, they disappear. Then they appear somewhere else. Right now they are in the overflow, and on a powerhead.

 

bob

[toastiireefs]

Turkey basters? Useful?

 

My daughter knitted a shawl the other day - using two turkey basters as knitting needles. Very loose weave. And a very nice shawl. I have two basters for the tanks, and three in the kitchen.

 

bob

They actually have traps just for mantis shrimps - saw one at MS today.

 

bob

I have some hydroids in my 58-gallon tank. Odd thing is - a patch of them appears, and after a couple of weeks, they disappear. Then they appear somewhere else. Right now they are in the overflow, and on a powerhead.

 

bob

yea im gonna try and find some sorta mantis trap!

how would one ship a mantis shrimp to someone in NY

[mogurnda]

If one of those traps works, LMK. I found pulling out the rock quicker and more effective.

 

Roy Caldwell has written a how-to about mantis shipping here: RC mantis shipping. If it were me, I would just find a local taker. I traded the ones I got in the last shipment for cool stuff.

 

As far as the Eunicid worms, it's probably not a bad idea to get them out. I have one that eats anything on or in the substrate that doesn't move, which can be really frustrating.

[toastiireefs]

If one of those traps works, LMK. I found pulling out the rock quicker and more effective.

 

Roy Caldwell has written a how-to about mantis shipping here: RC mantis shipping. If it were me, I would just find a local taker. I traded the ones I got in the last shipment for cool stuff.

 

As far as the Eunicid worms, it's probably not a bad idea to get them out. I have one that eats anything on or in the substrate that doesn't move, which can be really frustrating.

 

eeek-

yea i have some worms that look like grubs but enlongate like earthworms...

 

they are in the sand and i havent seen them come out-

 

i got some pictures they are really suckie but thats ok

 

i'll upload them when i get home from chincoteage

Edited August 3, 2007 by toastiireefs

[toastiireefs]

so there is this red sfilm stuff that is spreading everywhere (my tank is also going through diatoms) and like its algea like which makes me think its not cyno.. course it could be- but i didnt think cyano looked like that..

 

but diatoms and that red stuff is covering a lot of things- and i found a crab that was hairy and i don think its good- then i found something else underneath a rock that i cant see very clearly but it looked cool--

 

umm it looks like the hole the mantis was in is coverd up with a "door" like thing but it culd be a different hole--

[mogurnda]

so there is this red sfilm stuff that is spreading everywhere (my tank is also going through diatoms) and like its algea like which makes me think its not cyno.. course it could be- but i didnt think cyano looked like that..

 

but diatoms and that red stuff is covering a lot of things

Sounds like the usual diatom/cyano bloom that a few-week-old tank goes through. It will die down as the tank settles in. Same thing happened in the tank you saw, but it had been set up for almost a month, and the diatoms were dying down a bit. Meantime, lots of circulation judicious feedings, and reduced lighting will help keep things under control.

 

- and i found a crab that was hairy and i don think its good

probably isn't. I would remove it if possible.

 

- then i found something else underneath a rock that i cant see very clearly but it looked cool--

cool sounds good. Skinny? fat? Legs?

 

umm it looks like the hole the mantis was in is coverd up with a "door" like thing but it culd be a different hole--

They build a door out of mucus when they got to bed at night. He might have other entrances as well.

[toastiireefs]

Sounds like the usual diatom/cyano bloom that a few-week-old tank goes through. It will die down as the tank settles in. Same thing happened in the tank you saw, but it had been set up for almost a month, and the diatoms were dying down a bit. Meantime, lots of circulation judicious feedings, and reduced lighting will help keep things under control.

 

probably isn't. I would remove it if possible.

 

cool sounds good. Skinny? fat? Legs?

 

They build a door out of mucus when they got to bed at night. He might have other entrances as well.

 

 

thanks- does cyano cover everything and move off the rock? cuz it looks like its killing some things-

and well let me take a pic

when i say off the rock it sways in the water like the calpura

 

the mantis had its hole again this morning and i saw him-

i still need to get some traps for him

Edited August 6, 2007 by toastiireefs

[treesprite]

i imagine that if it's covering over things, it might keep them from getting light or food.

[mogurnda]

does cyano cover everything and move off the rock? cuz it looks like its killing some things-

and well let me take a pic

when i say off the rock it sways in the water like the calpura

I am still not sure what

[lanman]

Cyanobacteria looks really wierd. It can cover whole stretches of the bottom or the rocks. Increase your flow over those areas - and knock it loose with a turkey baster so it can get skimmed/filtered out.

 

bob

[toastiireefs]

IIIMMMM BBAAACCKK!!

only one very sad casualty with the seahorses- but nice to know i have a stable enviorment that it didnt cause a ammonia spike

 

 

thank you!!

now im having lots of hair algea in two tanks-

so i was thinking of getting a lettuce nudi for a couple days then trade himout?

 

 

i believe (i will have to double check today) my perams are 0 0 10

but the mantis shrimp is still alive (never got to making a trap- will do ASAP)

 

generally how long must someone wait before adding corals?

and can i add fish soon? i want to make sure everything is perfect

[mogurnda]

Welcome back!

 

I would wait for corals until the hair algae issue is resolved. How many herbivores have you got in the tank, and what are the levels of nitrate, phosphate and alkalinity?

 

I have never found lettuce nudibranchs to be very efficient for hair algae. Hermits, especially the mexican red-legs, have worked best for me, but the key is really to get the circulation and nutrient levels to where the hair algae won't thrive.

[toastiireefs]

Welcome back!

 

I would wait for corals until the hair algae issue is resolved. How many herbivores have you got in the tank, and what are the levels of nitrate, phosphate and alkalinity?

 

I have never found lettuce nudibranchs to be very efficient for hair algae. Hermits, especially the mexican red-legs, have worked best for me, but the key is really to get the circulation and nutrient levels to where the hair algae won't thrive.

 

ok

nitrates are 10

i'll pick up an alk and PO4 test when i return (im going away again till friday haha- but my parents know how to take care of the tanks)

i'll boost circulation

 

 

i have like 6 snails and i know i need a lot more- they dont seem to be moving m uch? eeh

i'll try and pick a lot of stuff up on saturday or sunday

[treesprite]

hey, welcome back

 

Sorry to hear about your seahorse. Did the horses have babies while you were gone?

[Rascal]

nitrates are 10

 

Until you get this and phosphates to just about undetectable levels you will have a difficult time getting rid of hair algae no matter what critters you add IMO.

 

 

i'll pick up an alk and PO4 test when i return

 

Definitely get the alk but save your money on the PO4. The hair algae is your phosphate test kit. If you have it, you have excess phosphates. Most kits won't register the PO4 b/c the algae takes it all up.

 

 

have like 6 snails and i know i need a lot more- they dont seem to be moving m uch? eeh

 

you really have to be carefull acclimating snails to your tank -- they have an even harder time adjusting to rapid salinity changes than most marine organisms.

 

IMO many many many small snails are better than a few large ones (i.e.--turbos). I like margaritas and ceriths and lots and lots of nerites and stomatella.

[toastiireefs]

thanks!!

 

im going tomorrow to scales to check it out and gets lots of snails (maybe)

 

how does one control PO4??

 

 

 

hmmm and YES my seahorse did have many babies that are everywhere in the tank- its very cute

 

umm also ..

hmm oh yea i was a little P.O.ed because my water never came and i need to do water changes and top offs!!! eeek...

 

also how do u get rid of micro bubbles- i know i have seen so many posts bout this but i never understood what it ment till now

[Rascal]

how does one control PO4??

 

1) limit input

- use good ro/di water (personally I aim for 0.0 TDS)

- don't overfeed (many drain off the liquid portion of thawed frozen foods, I do not)

 

2) maximize export

- water changes

- skimmer

- GFO (granular ferris oxide) in a media reactor (ex: phosban reactor, but there are many more).

 

For me the last of those was the most effective, but it's not cheap and if you are not careful you can shock your system and kill a bunch of corals. Start off with small amounts, gradually increasing until you see the result you are looking for, and always rinse it until the water running through comes out clear so you don't get a bunch of brown-red GFO sediment in your tank.

[toastiireefs]

umm ok i got skimmer- should i clean it out more regularly?

 

i currently have no fishies.. just a mantis- i want out (its growing..) and a purple gorgonia who has been struggling and has not opened in a while...

and a bunch of occulina and claddacora (either or?) that was on the rock

i have RO/DI water from Endless waters. they just havent delievered my lasst 5gls or so..

 

 

and i didnt understand that last statedment with the ferris oxide (or iron oxide sry i was happy i knew what it was)

 

For me the last of those was the most effective, but it's not cheap and if you are not careful you can shock your system and kill a bunch of corals. Start off with small amounts, gradually increasing until you see the result you are looking for, and always rinse it until the water running through comes out clear so you don't get a bunch of brown-red GFO sediment in your tank.

 

so what do u do? and what should i buy? the GFO? and place small amounts in my tank?

im going to scales in about an hour.. i dont want to have to make another trip to the fish store before school starts