My First Attempt At Marine (cheap Custom Tank 80ish Litres)

[creg]

thanks greg, going to get another coral at xmas and was planning on one of those you mentioned

 

[creg]

wouldnt galaxea be too aggressive is a tank this small? they have one at my lfs would love it

 

[Donya]

wouldnt galaxea be too aggressive is a tank this small? they have one at my lfs would love it

Depends what else you want to have around it and where the flow goes. It would need space because of the sweepers, but they can make a great centerpiece sort of thing in a sparsely coral-populated tank. They are nasty though in close quarters, so if you want the look of lots of corals tucked in together then galaxea is definitely one to avoid.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

I have a branching hammer for my clown. He loves it! Make sure you get a big one, clowns get larger than you think.

 

[creg]

i want lots of corals eventually so galaxea is out, think im going to try some pulsing xenia instead but keep it slightly away from my main rockrock in the center so it dosnt take over.


the aip is back, how do people manage to inject them with stuff when they retract into the rock instantly if touched? think my next purchase will be a peppermint shrimp

 

[Donya]

how do people manage to inject them with stuff when they retract into the rock instantly if touched?

If they're in a hole in the rock it's hard. You really have to rely on tricking them to eat the stuff, which is hard anyway with some individuals. If the hole points up, you can fill the hole with something caustic if you're using Joe's Juice (less effective with Aip-X since it doesn't seem as burn-inflicting to things it touches) or kalk paste. You can also try to wall them in with epoxy putty or superglue, but if the rock is porous it will probably just pop out of another hole a couple days later. I played whack a mole with one for ages in a rock that was full of holes - ended up half filled with glue and it was still there.

think my next purchase will be a peppermint shrimp

One usually won't do the job with Aips. Mine only engage in Aip-killing when in groups of 3-5. I have only had pairs do it when in a pico.

 

[creg]

ok thanks for letting me know. im gonna try aiptasia x instead

 

[creg]

caulerpa?

 

[nkd5024]

Yup sure is.
You sure got some nicely cycled rock, well worth the money compared to non-cycled, that is why you barely saw a cycle.

You could try picking it off the rock with some tweezers but it is very likely the roots are within the rock and it will keep coming back. If your willing to put in the extra work of pruning it, that is one species that IMO actually looks pretty nice as it covers a rock. A LFS in my area decided to do that and the empty rock was covered in it and it looked really nice, although the guy taking care of it said he was in there at least an hour a week trimming it from around the corals!

I just read through your thread and am quite impressed how quickly your learning, took me much longer!

I do have a few thoughts.
If you were to add in a bag of activated carbon in your HOB filter I think that would help with the diatoms you are seeing. Some people say it removes essential elements that the corals require but IMO as long as you do regular water changes that isn't a concern.

I also think that adding a second powerhead would help as well. Water movement is just as important as lighting!

 

[gregswimm]

Why not keep the caulerpa? It looks good and rarely goes sexual when trimmed.

Also, peppermint shrimp are a55holes, I would use some other control method.

 

[creg]

@nkd5021

thankyou for your kind words. i have a couple bags of carbon in my filter at the moment and am bidding on a 2nd powerhead on ebay. gonna put it on the back right hand corner near the bottom. im flat broke at the moment, the costs of things for a marine tank add up very quickly. i need a 2nd powerhead, more liver rock, aiptasia medication, couple new t5 bulbs (want more blue) loads more coral, cleaner shrimps/emerald crab..

before i read anything about caulerpa i thought it sounded great, it reduces nitrates and phosphates and it looks cool and natural, then i googled and read some horror stories about how it will take over tanks and "goes sexual" lol. but as you say its probably got an established root system already in the rock so will be impossible to remove. i could just remove the rock itself but ill risk it and see how it grows, as im running skimmerless im guessing it could help to have some caulerpa in the tank anyway.

ive read that about peppermints greg lol, they nip at any and all soft corals

 

[creg]

ive been thinking as the caulerpa is only growing on that one piece of rock what if i just isolate it? then i woundnt have to worry about constant trimming and it over growing my vorals correct?

 

[nkd5024]

ive been thinking as the caulerpa is only growing on that one piece of rock what if i just isolate it? then i woundnt have to worry about constant trimming and it over growing my vorals correct?

Unfortunately thats not the case as with corals. The species I have in my refugium has entire root networks throughout my sand bed. Trimming will be the only method of controlling it, either while theres only a small amount of it or when you have a nice covering of it. You could let it cover the one rock that is seperated from the rest and then trim that as it gets closer to the sand bed.

Having a nice chuck of it growing will definitely help with nitrate/phosphate removal!

 

[creg]

hmm i think ill leave it where it is for now and see how it goes, its not growing particularly fast at the moment

 

[gregswimm]

ive been thinking as the caulerpa is only growing on that one piece of rock what if i just isolate it? then i woundnt have to worry about constant trimming and it over growing my vorals correct?

It can grow over corals but it would be easy to see before it happens. You will be able to see the growth approaching the coral, and then you can trim/divert the growing 'branch'.