Building Gurgly – Kallor’s 125ish gallon reef tank

[YHSublime]

Nothing is certain when it comes to reefs! Especially the animals that live in them.

 

Looking forward to watching this develop.

[Sharkey18]

Do not tell your nem where you want it. As soon as you pick a spot it immediately starts moving in the opposite direction.

[Kallor]

Nothing is certain when it comes to reefs! Especially the animals that live in them.

 

Looking forward to watching this develop.

 

Thanks for checking in! There will no doubt continue to be all sorts of surprises, particularly as my tank becomes more biologically diverse. . . which makes it all the more important to have the this community support when things get dicey.

[Kallor]

Do not tell your nem where you want it. As soon as you pick a spot it immediately starts moving in the opposite direction.

 

LOL - yeah I'm kinda envisioning this happening. I guess worse case scenario my 'nem decides to hide in a dark corner, and the clowns both host him in said corner .... but time shall tell!

[Kallor]

The last two weeks have been particularly eventful for Gurgly. I've finally ordered my first fish, which I should have this week, and I unexpectedly have my first coral. I met with Andrei (aka dante411x - a really nice guy) - he came by to pick up some extra sound dampening foam I had left over from my build. He generously brought by an extra candy cane lps frag he had, and after a Bayer dip, I'm happy to say it seems to like its new home. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself . . .

 

As my nitrogen cycle wrapped up, I started to notice more and more life in the tank.

 

I've got a handful of bristle worms, but when they show themselves they don't stay visible for long, making getting a photo tricky.

 

I've also started to notice pods and other more exotic creatures on the glass ... I think this is some type of flatworm ... hopefully a harmless one.

 

These guys are particularly cool looking ... perhaps a Cladonema sp. ... or a hydroid?

 

Now a question for the community: Is this something to be worried about? I noticed two red bumpy scabs/growths on the candy canes 'stalk'. I'm not too sure what to make of this, as it is my very first coral.

 

 

And finally, the candy cane in all of its glory, tentacles extended on its second night in my tank.

 

Exciting times!

[YHSublime]

Look like some sort of tube worms on the candy cane, but somebody will be able to better ID than myself. I am terrified of flatworms, of any type, I don't know what that one is above, but it scares the bejesus out of me!

 

Let me know when you're ready for some softies, I'm right around the corner from you and getting ready to do a little slicing and dicing soon. What kind of fish did you order?!

[dante411x]

Wow this wasn't a short thread to read through! Wish I'd seen it earlier, this was a great read!

 

As for those little "growths" they came with the Pukani rock that I got. I've no clue what they actually are, I talked about them with Steve at QR when I first noticed them. They don't seem to spread too much and the consensus was that it's some kind of a tube filter worm. Mum sure you can take a knife to them and scab them off. Glad to see the CC open though

Edit: I was told they're not harmful and actually good for the tank. Filtering and such.. Whether or not that's true..

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 24, 2014 by dante411x

[gmerek2]

That is probably just an algae grazing flatworm. Your fish will keep the population down to where you won't notice them. Just double check your coral when they get popped in.

[Kallor]

Look like some sort of tube worms on the candy cane, but somebody will be able to better ID than myself. I am terrified of flatworms, of any type, I don't know what that one is above, but it scares the bejesus out of me!

 

Let me know when you're ready for some softies, I'm right around the corner from you and getting ready to do a little slicing and dicing soon. What kind of fish did you order?!

 

I ordered a pair of pink skunk clownfish - which hopefully will agree to host a purple long tentacled anemone that I'll pick up in short order.

 

Regarding softies, I'm game whenever works for you! Thanks for the offer! I'll send you a PM and see what times might work. If you haven't already diced up the corals in question, if it is reasonable I'd love to see the process!

[Kallor]

As for those little "growths" they came with the Pukani rock that I got. I've no clue what they actually are, I talked about them with Steve at QR when I first noticed them. They don't seem to spread too much and the consensus was that it's some kind of a tube filter worm. Mum sure you can take a knife to them and scab them off. Glad to see the CC open though Edit: I was told they're not harmful and actually good for the tank. Filtering and such.. Whether or not that's true.. 

 

Thanks for checking out the thread! And also, thanks for the tube worm info. That certainly sounds like a reasonable guess to me . . . but I'm such a coral nub' I wasn't sure if it was a scrape the coral got, if it was an egg sack for something evil and invasive, or something more on the harmless side. I assumed harmless, as I figured you would have know about anything that large on the frag that was dangerous. I'm sure I'd get some tubeworms at some point anyway, and like you said they should be harmless. So I'll consider it a bonus addition to my tanks bio-diversity :-) 

[Kallor]

That is probably just an algae grazing flatworm. Your fish will keep the population down to where you won't notice them. Just double check your coral when they get popped in.

 

Thanks for the info! Your diagnosis aligns with the hitchhiker research I've done on my own - so I'm going to assume we are all correct :-) At first I was hoping they were baby cap snails . . . but alas, I suppose that isn't the case. It certainly is interesting how many different types of life can spring up in ones tank!

[dante411x]

Well, like I said "who really knows" and the two posts below are definitely from people that know more than me, so...

Look like some sort of tube worms on the candy cane, but somebody will be able to better ID than myself. I am terrified of flatworms, of any type, I don't know what that one is above, but it scares the bejesus out of me!

Last night when I read this I got very terrified. Started crazy amounts of research and looking at my tank with a telescopic lens. I knew what it was, but reading Isaac saying that... well, I think I was justified

 

That is probably just an algae grazing flatworm. Your fish will keep the population down to where you won't notice them. Just double check your coral when they get popped in.

I was a little less terrified. 

 

Just some honesty hehe

I ordered a pair of pink skunk clownfish - which hopefully will agree to host a purple long tentacled anemone that I'll pick up in short order.

 

Regarding softies, I'm game whenever works for you! Thanks for the offer! I'll send you a PM and see what times might work. If you haven't already diced up the corals in question, if it is reasonable I'd love to see the process!

I'm now very curious to see how an LTA fares in there. 

 

Thanks for checking out the thread! And also, thanks for the tube worm info. That certainly sounds like a reasonable guess to me . . . but I'm such a coral nub' I wasn't sure if it was a scrape the coral got, if it was an egg sack for something evil and invasive, or something more on the harmless side. I assumed harmless, as I figured you would have know about anything that large on the frag that was dangerous. I'm sure I'd get some tubeworms at some point anyway, and like you said they should be harmless. So I'll consider it a bonus addition to my tanks bio-diversity :-) 

Of course! It was great to meet you as well. As far as I know there's nothing evil and invasive in my tank, but at the same time, I wasn't exactly the most careful reefer when adding things to my tank.

[Kallor]

The communities generosity continues! Andrei started the ball rolling with the Candy Cane frag (which appears to be very happy) and Isaac kicked it up another notch with a great tank tour of his lovely setup and sent me home with 6 more frags. I now have some starter colonies of green star polyps, a lovely piece of red montipora (which really fluoresces nicely), a lively purple/green frogspawn, a green encrusting sps and a sliver of toadstool that I am going to enjoy watching grow into a healthy colony.

 

These new guys have been in the tank since Monday evening, and everything appears to be acclimating nicely. The GSP and the toadstool looked a little dicey at first, but now both of them are extending their polyps in the daytime.

 

I'm figuring out final frag placement, and will update with photos in the near future.

 

So now I'm almost 3 months into my setup, and I had after another week at 0/0/0 ammonia, 'tries and 'trates, with stable salinity (1.025), pH (7.9 - 8.1) and all that good stuff - so time for fish! The two tiny ORA pink skunk clowns I ordered via Quantum Reefs arrived on Friday, and I carried them home in the bags they shipped in.

 

Our cat, Moria, was quite taken with the new movement in the tank...

 

 

The clownfish are as small as any I've seen (around 1/2" I suppose), and I look forward to watching them grow. One of the pair seems more adventurous than the other (or just 'hides' in a more open spot) and has taken up residence in one of the front corners of the tank. He more or less hovers an inch or two off the sand bed, and hasn't shown any interest in food yet, but it has only been 36 hours since his cross country trip to VA. The more reclusive member of the pair has found a great hiding spot, and I haven't seen her since shortly after she was added to the tank.

 

Also, while I was picking up the clowns, I saw that Quantum had the perfect size purple long tentacled anemone in stock, so I grabbed him as well.

 

Here is them 'nem just after drip acclimation . . .

 

 

The 'nem still hasn't anchored himself anywhere in the tank. I tried burying his foot myself, but as he didn't choose to anchor himself, he slowly was pulled out of the sand. At the moment he is in the back corner of the tank behind some rocks, and apparently just tumbles wherever the current takes him. I've got the pumps on ultra-slow to try to make things more relaxing for him.

 

Based on what I've read online, it seems that this isn't too uncommon an experience to have when adding a long tentacled anemone to a tank. But all the same, based on what you all see in the photos, does this guy look healthy? I figure I should give him a week or so to sort himself out to his new home prior to worrying ... right? Based on the photos, does he look more or less healthy?

 

Here is the 'nem, upside down 24 hours after being added to the tank.

 

Hopefully this time next week I'll have two visible clownfish, and an anchored anemone. Time will tell!

 

As usual, all advice and comments are much appreciated!

[YHSublime]

Glad to hear things are going well. Honestly, it might be a little early for a nem yet. All mine have taken foot immediately, and not doing so yet is not a great sign. I would give it just a bit longer, and maybe find an alternative if it doesn't settle.

[sachabballi reef]

Glad to hear things are going well. Honestly, it might be a little early for a nem yet. All mine have taken foot immediately, and not doing so yet is not a great sign. I would give it just a bit longer, and maybe find an alternative if it doesn't settle.

 

+1

IMHO It is too early for a nem in your tank.  I would talk to QR and ask if you can return it and then when your tank is matured consider getting another one. 

[monkiboy]

i've always found BTA more resilient but even so, 3-4 weeks isn't much of a cycle at all - you still got some fun stuff to go through in the next 3-5 months as your tank stabilizes and finishes cycling though the algae stages. there's no reason to put the nem through that, ya know? the photos are nice photos but the subject doesn't look look it's off to a great start. how long did they have the nem, was the nem healthy, well-attached, etc at quantum? i'm surprised QR didn't mention anything about its requirements or inquire about your system at all. or did they and you just thought you'd give it a go anyway?

 

thanks for sharing your build thread - the photos are great and i am really falling for the design. that's awesome you were able to score all those frags - this a great community isn't it?! looking forward to your updates and i'm following along!

[Kallor]

+1

IMHO It is too early for a nem in your tank.  I would talk to QR and ask if you can return it and then when your tank is matured consider getting another one. 

 

 

i've always found BTA more resilient but even so, 3-4 weeks isn't much of a cycle at all - you still got some fun stuff to go through in the next 3-5 months as your tank stabilizes and finishes cycling though the algae stages. there's no reason to put the nem through that, ya know? the photos are nice photos but the subject doesn't look look it's off to a great start. how long did they have the nem, was the nem healthy, well-attached, etc at quantum? i'm surprised QR didn't mention anything about its requirements or inquire about your system at all. or did they and you just thought you'd give it a go anyway?

 

thanks for sharing your build thread - the photos are great and i am really falling for the design. that's awesome you were able to score all those frags - this a great community isn't it?! looking forward to your updates and i'm following along!

 

 

Eeek! To start, thanks everyone for the input! I feel sheepish about my potential mistake, but I don't want to overreact either. . . so with that said, I guess I need to clarify some stuff . .

 

My plan had been to get the anemone around 2 weeks after adding the clownfish - but the clownfish took a little longer to acquire than I anticipated, hence I picked them up at the same time.

 

monkiboy, I'm not sure what you mean exactly by the 3-4 weeks with regards to my cycle ... March 6th will the the 3 month mark for me. Do you mean 3-4 weeks since the cycle completed? I set the tank up and started cycling back in early December. I've been at 0 ammonia and nitrites for a long time (weeks) but had 2.0 or so PPM nitrates up until about a month ago. Then the nitrates dropped to 0.5 ppm until about a few weeks back . . . since then everything has held at 0/0/0.

 

I figured that since I've got about 140ish gallons of water, two tiny clownfish would be unlikely to trigger much new activity with regards to the nitrogen cycle. . . particularly since I've been doing regular ghost feedings to keep the bacteria in my tank happy (along with the bristleworms).

 

I've talked to Vince and Steve both quite a bit about my setup, and they are familiar with my tank, its age and my equipment. And I certainly don't want to shift any blame their way if I made a mistake. Steve said that the anemone had been in the store for about 3 weeks . . . though it did not appear to be attached in their anemone area when I saw it. However, I figured since it was a 'nem that likes sand, and it was in a bare-bottomed holding area, the lack of attaching to the glass might be by design as unattaching the 'nem can be harmful (or so I've read). But like I've noted, I'm still learning and mistakes are inevitable I suppose.

 

The thought on getting the anemone earlier rather than later was to avoid it walking around and zapping established corals as it found its home. But if I've bungled things I want to do what is best for the anemone and the rest of the tank inhabitants.

 

So with that all said: is it unanimous that I've made a blunder with adding the anemone? Even though I'm at the 3 month mark? If so, how long should I wait before bagging up the 'nem and driving him back to QR (assuming that would be in the 'nem's best interest)?

 

Thanks again for all the info and the continued advice!

[howaboutme]

There's a longer cycle of a tank other than the nitrogen cycle that leads to stability in our tanks. Monkiboy knows his stuff....

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

 

[Kallor]

There's a longer cycle of a tank other than the nitrogen cycle that leads to stability in our tanks. Monkiboy knows his stuff....

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

No doubt in my mind about either of those 2 statements. :-) I was just trying to clarify if the "3-4 weeks" was a typo (and he meant months) or if he was referring to something else . . .

[camelcruiser]

In my opinion a bubble tip would have been a better route based on the age of the tank however I did the same thing with my very first tank before I knew anything at all about keeping saltwater animals and the purple lta did fine it's kind of a toss up. I would put it in a crevice where sand and rock meet and turn your flow down to let it try to gain a foot hold. Also when it does don't feed it for a little while as that will use unnecessary energy that it might not have after acclimating to the new tank.

[Kallor]

In my opinion a bubble tip would have been a better route based on the age of the tank however I did the same thing with my very first tank before I knew anything at all about keeping saltwater animals and the purple lta did fine it's kind of a toss up. I would put it in a crevice where sand and rock meet and turn your flow down to let it try to gain a foot hold. Also when it does don't feed it for a little while as that will use unnecessary energy that it might not have after acclimating to the new tank.

Thanks for the tip! I called Quantum Reefs and talked to Vince, and he had the same advice. I made kinda a cage with my hand and very delicately moved the 'nem from the back corner of the tank to a lower-flow area in the front - I placed him right in front of a rock, in a crevice area as you described, and then buried his foot with some extra sand. I've also got my MP-40s turned off, and I'm just letting the recirculation pump run, so there are just some delicate currents in the tank.

 

The 'nems tentacles are not pushed back into his 'foot' casing and his colors and everything look nice. I'm taking some interval photos so if he moves around or something like that I'll hopefully have a record of it

 

I was pondering the feeding issue, but I'll certainly hold of for now as your advice definitely makes sense. I did feed the one clownfish that isn't hiding - I squirted a brine shrimp is the corner he is hiding in - he quickly gobbled it up, so I'm feeling confident about his health. Hopefully his partner will come of the rocks and into view in the next day or two.

 

Thanks to you, and everyone else for the input and help!

[sachabballi reef]

for what its worth I never feed my nems. My clown will here and there but it uses the light and anything that it catches from when i feed the tank..

 

keep us posted on the nem and good luck!!

[monkiboy]

saad has it right in to avoid feeding it until it attaches and is doing well in your tank. like kim mentioned you don't have to feed it. they can prosper and do very well without supplemental feedings. typically you want to purchase the nem first, allow it to become accustomed to your system, parameter's flow, light intensity, etc and have it thriving before incorporating it's possible inhabitants. as i'm sure you've seen there have been a lot of threads in the past six months of nems that have been "loved to death." i've had success with various species of anemones and adapting them in new systems and old systems but it's always easier on the nem to have an established system, one that you know the in and outs of, that is very stable, and looked over by someone who has had a lot of experience or diligence in study regards to the nem's needs if that is not the owner of the system themselves. you have a lot of options for purchasing a healthy specimen and you can pick up some great books on nems to learn more about what makes one specimen ideal over another and what might work best for your tank. when introducing the nem, you want lights to be at whatever intensity level you will begin your light acclimation at for that specimen depending on what kind it is and where lights where over the system it was in previously. like saad mentioned, you should have your powerheads off for about an hour and in that time, a healthy nem will attach nicely and you can begin ramping up or adding your powerheads. please be sure you have them covered or you have avoided powerheads completely in the tank for at least the first few months. especially with a new tank where things are going to be changing often, the nem may seek up a different shelter/area to reside. once the nem has been in a spot for a while and much else won't be changing with the tank, adding power heads is possible or removing covers but there is always a risk of nem soup as i've seen and had nems for two years in one spot and one day, seemingly without reason, they will move, so best to plan around that or to make sure you have them covered with some sort of intake floss/foam guard, etc. at this point and without malice, i have to say i do not think the nem's best chance of survival would be in your system or care. i'm confident the clowns will be fine notwithstanding a grave husbandry error. if you keep the clowns and get a nem down the road, you can always partition off a section for the nem to be acclimated and attached to while the clowns are isolated to the rest of the tank so don't be discouraged about not being able to have one down the road. if you keep it, definitely keep us updated and i'm sure we'll all do our best to help you out with any questions you may have to ensure it's best chance of success. thanks for being candid and honest with your experience and posting up. i'm certain it'll be helpful for someone else searching and looking for guidance in no time at all. g'luck!

[Kallor]

at this point and without malice, i have to say i do not think the nem's best chance of survival would be in your system or care. i'm confident the clowns will be fine notwithstanding a grave husbandry error. if you keep the clowns and get a nem down the road, you can always partition off a section for the nem to be acclimated and attached to while the clowns are isolated to the rest of the tank so don't be discouraged about not being able to have one down the road. if you keep it, definitely keep us updated and i'm sure we'll all do our best to help you out with any questions you may have to ensure it's best chance of success. thanks for being candid and honest with your experience and posting up. i'm certain it'll be helpful for someone else searching and looking for guidance in no time at all. g'luck!

 

Hey, thanks a ton for taking the time to write this up. I've been trying my best to do due diligence with my purchase plan (talked to folks in person, did a post on the ReefCentral "nubs post here first before buying anything" thread, and all that jazz). Regardless, it seems I may have dropped the ball in this instance. But again, thanks for taking the time to follow my thread and to give me the benefit of your great deal of experience.

 

I'm going to keep a careful eye on the 'nem over the next few days. My basic parameters remain solid, so I can't think of any reason my tank would be poisoning the 'nem (of course there are things we can't test for ... but for those we can, things look good). I don't have any worries about the clowns loving the 'nem to death - as far as I can tell they have no clue he is even in the tank. The one clown I can see is remaining contained in a 4" cube only he can see, which is on the opposite side of the tank from the anemone  

 

My thinking is that absent some drastic shift in my water parameters, the best thing is to take is slow and give the guy a week to settle. He isn't getting bothered by fish, and there is very low flow. After he has a chance to make my tank his new home, if he still hasn't settled then I'll move him somewhere he can be happy and then revisit this anemone decision again some months down the road. 

 

Thanks again for the valuable input! If I'm unintentionally being tone deaf to your advice, feel free to let me know. You've given me a lot of tips, and I'm going to re-read this a few times over the next few days. Additionally, as you noted These 'build logs' are only helpful when we share both our ups and downs, so I'll update regardless.

 

With that said, everyone enjoy a cozy evening at home and stay off what may soon become hazardous roads!

[monkiboy]

just realized what a huge block of text that came through as. pardon the length, too but that was all voice to text on the phone so not too shabby, i thought

 

good luck with your plan and let us know how the coral fare as well - sounded like a great starter pack if i remember correctly. photos are always appreciated!