29g Low Tech Lps/softies

[gregswimm]

Starting a sumpless 29g mostly invert only tank. It is currently 1wk old. Most of the stock is hitchhikers which are: zoa, bristle worms, a cone snail, tons of pods, 2 types of anemones, unknown polyps, assorted clams, an unidentified Malleus spp., and assorted macroalgae.

I have added 2 elephant snails (turnadae something), 3 blue leg hermits and a banded coral shrimp.

The sole reason I added these snails and hermits is to get a jump start on algae as I am using tap water to mix my salt. He coral banded shrimp is to help control the bristle worms. There are a bunch of bristles and I have seen them chewing on my polyps and leaving spurs in them.

My filtration is 2x hob, a hob refugium and a dsb in the main tank.
Lighting is currently 1x105w cfl + a t8. I have ordered some par38 LEDs to replace these bulbs.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Zoa, Palythoa, mushrooms. All great beginner corals.

 

[gregswimm]

Ya, I forgot to mention I have leather and mushrooms also. All hitchhiked the best corals are free.

 

[gregswimm]

Here is the tank. I plan on adding more LR. It is expensive so I won't be adding it all at once. I probably wont be adding any more LR either till I can kill this cone snail, it worries me that there is something that venomous in my tank

 

[gregswimm]

Last night/today I acclimated an endler to full SW 1.024. So far so good. I'm now acclimating a FW/brackish nerite, I'm too broke to get some proper SW snails right now lol.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Hah, cool, endler in saltwater. Do youhave any pics of the cone sail? Ive never heard of one hitchhiking into an aquarium before.

 

[gregswimm]

Hah, cool, endler in saltwater. Do youhave any pics of the cone sail? Ive never heard of one hitchhiking into an aquarium before.

Yes. I found out it is not a cone snail, but it is still carnivorous. marginellid called a peppermint snail

 

[gregswimm]

Well, the endler died. I think there was too much flow as he was constantly getting churned around the tank >_>

 

[GAB99]

Well, the endler died. I think there was too much flow as he was constantly getting churned around the tank >_>

go for a molly man those things can take it haha

 

[gregswimm]

The endler would swim a few inches, hit the flow and blow to the other end of the tank, swim a few more and blow somewhere else. Getting a molly means I have to buy I fish I don't want, as well as possibly introducing fish AIDS.

 

[gregswimm]

I really need my LEDs to get here. This 105w CFL is a bit too ridiculous and far to warm, around 3500k. I had to remove my T8 (6500k) as it was electrifying my water . I had my zoa too high up on the rock and It may have bleached a bit, so I stuck it on the sand. I am also starting to loose some polyps on it and am not entirely sure why, maybe I need less linear flow. Considering getting 2 800gph 'wave makers' off ebay and using this http/www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DJVM8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A2701FG002WN6Z to control their on/off cycle. The wavemaker http/www.ebay.com/itm/800GPH-CIRCULATION-WAVE-MAKER-AQUARIUM-PUMP-NEW-/251150577233?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a79bdae51#ht_3283wt_1271

Review of the timer http/www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav2i5/wavemakers/Wavemakers.htm


Blehh, the LR totally shat on my budget

Also need to do some Zoa fragging, I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket

 

[GAB99]

First off mollies don't have fish AIDs, I'm pretty sure the closest thing to fish AIDS is fish TB, no offense but that's a bit ridiculous, any fish has the chance of bringing a bug into the tank, that's what quarantine is for.

Second It was merely a suggestion so if you don't want a Molly by all means don't get it, I suggested it because it was a live bearer like the endler but it is much hardier and will be able to handle the flow better.

Also, you did say it was going to be an mostly inverts tank, but what are you planning fish wise and what inverts do you want ?

 

[gregswimm]

I got some tampa bay live rock today. Had a bit of an accident while putting it in, I saw a mantis jump out of a rock, so I jumped and got a net and in the process managed to knock my CFL in the , it shattered and began sparking and boiling >_<. I did a 10g water change to try and remove what mercury I could. I cannot do more as I am out of salt. Apparently I am bad at electricity. That's the third day in a row I got electrocuted.

The good news is that the rock is epic. Lots of sponges, crabs, snails, barnacles, feather dusters, and algaes.

Edit: The mantis is of the hammer variety and is 3/4 of an inch. If you want it let me know

 

[GAB99]

I got some tampa bay live rock today. Had a bit of an accident while putting it in, I saw a mantis jump out of a rock, so I jumped and got a net and in the process managed to knock my CFL in the , it shattered and began sparking and boiling >_<. I did a 10g water change to try and remove what mercury I could. I cannot do more as I am out of salt. Apparently I am bad at electricity. That's the third day in a row I got electrocuted.

The good news is that the rock is epic. Lots of sponges, crabs, snails, barnacles, feather dusters, and algaes.

Edit: The mantis is of the hammer variety and is 3/4 of an inch. If you want it let me know

that stinks i really hope the mercury doesnt come back to bite you, tank and health wise.

is there anything the mantis shrimp could eat that you dont want it to? otherwise id say leave it, it could eat other pest species and then when its time for it to hit the road catch him.
man hes tiny

 

[gregswimm]

I miss ID it. I thought mantis shrimps were the only ones who snapped. It is a pistol shrimp Synalpheus fritzmuelleri. She is also holding eggs, so no way I would put her in my tank. Could she not also take out my blue leg hermits and my bristles (ohh ya I found bristles in the water the LR came in )


Edit: cavitation is a beast http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavitation#Marine_life