Jtnova's Marine Journal (Rip!)

[SkiFletch]

You don't have any corals in there to really tell how much flow you have do you?

 

[jtnova13]

no, except for some mushrooms that came with the live rock.

I don't want to rush into corals while I still have sand blowing around. I fixed the problem by putting the powerheads in the front corner of the tank and pointing them at the back middle glass near the top.

I also moved the return outlet to the far left side where the overflow is and pointed it lengthwise also near the surface. This has kept the sand from blowing around.

I'm worried that there is not enough flow through the rocks though. But I don't really know how much flow you should put on rocks... the tanks I've seen don't even point powerheads at their rocks.

I ordered a tee and 2 U-shaped directional tubes, so I will be able to direct flow better.


I have alot of green algae on my glass. May have to get some more snails.
Tank stats are:

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
phosphate: 0
pH: 8.3
SG: 1.026

The algae growth is from a 6 hour photoperiod i've been keeping up with my actinics so the coralline algae will keep growing. I shortened it to 4.

 

[seffieuk]

How is the tank doing?

Seffie x

 

[jtnova13]

Thanks for asking seffie!

The tank is doing well, i bought some astreas to clean the glass and they do a fantastic job!

My clowns are in qt for the week and should be good to go soon. I will start to build the arch out of base rock probably this weekend. and may be getting a fairly large green toadstool from a friend!

I am also playing with anemone ideas, any suggestions? I want to get one before alot of corals so it doesn't end up rolling over all of them! I have more than enough light for one!

 

[rabbut]

We generaly recommend Anemones go into tanks at least 12 months old. Just remind me what lights you have, then I can single out the species that will do best for you. You'll need to get better covers on those Maxijet mods also, they'll be able to get their foot into those guards and mince it on the impellers... If they can, they will in their first few days of wandering...

All the best
rabbut

 

[jtnova13]

Yah i read that anemone should only go in well established tanks.

I also read that you should put an anemone in first so it doesn't walk all over your corals.

I am willing to wait awhile if that's better in the long run.



Rabbut, I have 2x 250W 15000k MHs and 4x54W actinic (blue)

bit of bad news..

one of the clowns was sitting on the bottom of the QT struggling for life, so i tried to do like a 75% water change to save him but it was too late

The other one is showing signs of stress too. I am sort of mad at the LFS for recommending ridich.

sigh, live and learn. Remember to quarantine your fish BEFORE you have a problem

 

[seffieuk]

Oh really sorry about that


Regards Anemones - I love this site:

http/www.karensroseanemones.com/ Enjoy

Seffie x

 

[rabbut]

Most Anemone's would likely be fine under your lights TBH

 

[jtnova13]

Rabs, I've decided to hold off on the anemone for a few months, especially since i am already having a headache with my first fishies!

I am going to get a black and white percula to go with the surviving orange one. This is actually quite fitting as my gf named them after us and she's white, i'm not

They will both be small and the tank is huge (for them) so maybe they'll get on or even pair up!

I noticed something weird today... it seemed like 3 snails were going around without their shells on. I don't think they were turbos and definitely weren't nassarius. Do ceriths leave their shells? i also have astreas.

There are plenty of bigger empty shells littering the sandbed, will they find them? Or do i have a more serious problem? I'm hoping they just outgrew their shells.

 

[rabbut]

I'm not sure how different coloured clowns mix TBH. If they are tank bred perc's, they should be OK, as I've seen that one done a few times now. If they are wild caught, I'd suspect it will end very badly, as "unusually" coloured Clownfish attract more attention from predators in their colony, as they stand out more, hence putting the group at risk. For this reason, wild fish "oust" the odd one out. This said, it's rare to find wild caught unusually coloured Clownfish, as they usually die for this reason in the wild, so the black Perc will almost definitely be captive bred...

I'm going to have to pass on the shell-less snails, as I know on none that would even survive without a shell, unless they aren't snails Please could you post a picture of them?

All the best
Rabbut

 

[jtnova13]

I will post a picture as soon as i can find them again! They were fairly large, a little less than an inch i'd say.

 

[zipzap]

Hi there maybe you got some Stomatella in ur tank like us a cross between a snail and slug..

 

[jtnova13]

Hi there maybe you got some Stomatella in ur tank like us a cross between a snail and slug..

I looked them up and I think they are stomatella... Are they common hitchhikers? I have about 3 of them all the same size and i never saw them before this morning... weird.

 

[zipzap]

Ours were hikers, they started of as little moving dot and now grown up 1 brown 1 yellow.

 

[seffieuk]

Yes, common hitchhikers - be careful of brightly coloured ones though, keep your eye on that yellow one zipzap

Seffie x