SeaSerpants Dual Hills 20g ONE MONTH!!!

[SeaSerpant]

Hello Everybody!

I have been apart of this forum for almost 2 years now! And i've never even had a SW tank. After finding out how expensive this hobby is i went FW and already i know SW is the best! I had talked before about getting a 20g and now i have!

Specs:
24x12x17
Rounded Front corners
Black Back

Equipment:
K-2 Viper (metal halide) with 10k bulb (will change to 14k)
Penguin 330 Biowheel Filter
Hydor 100w heater
Koralia nano powerhead

Bio-sea Marinemix salt
15lbs Live Rock
20lbs Argonite sand

Corals:
None
Want:
Zoas
Pulsing Xenia
Frogspawn
Feather Dusters
(any ideas for nice colourful corals? preferably soft)

Fish/cuc:
None
Want (will change):
2 clownfish (female, male)
RedFire Fish
Longnosed Hawkfish
Magenta Dottyback
Lawnmower Blenny
CUC
Possibly a pygmy seahorse


I just set this tank up yesterday and it's looking good. The filter almost has all the sand out of the water column and everything is looking good. Now before the pictures i have a spur of questions:

When can i tell when the nitrogen cycle has started/finished?
Will the metal halide be good enough for corals?
How many fish can i have? Corals?
What kind of CUC is the best at cleaning? best looking?
Is there any kind of anemone that won't kill other corals?
Does my tank look good?
Any Advice?

And here are the pics:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish002.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish003.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish001.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish004.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish005.jpg

I'm thinking about switching the sides of the light around with the filter!
Comments Please!
Thanks
SeaSerpant

PS, Just bump the thread for me to update/reply or i might forget!

[gobytron]

Good start so far...

1st things first...
When can i tell when the nitrogen cycle has started/finished?
Testing.
You get an ammonia spike when the cycle begins, followed by a nitrate spike followed by both of them dropping (sometimes fast sometimes painfully slow) to 0 when it has finished.
2nd
Will the metal halide be good enough for corals?
what wattage is your k2 halide?
Anything 150 and up and you're fine for coral of any variety, however you're correct in believing the positioning should be rethought. You want the light over where the coral will be, not your sand bed.
3
How many fish can i have? Corals?
With no skimmer or sump, the lesser the better.
You'll be dedicating a lot of time to water changes or hair algae removal without any additional filtration to your live rock other than your biowheel (which we will get to) if you go with your list as proposed.
You might consider an all coral tank, with maybe 1 or 2 very small fish until you want to bump up your gear, but in the end, up to your desired level of work.
4
What kind of CUC is the best at cleaning? best looking?
Snails are the way to go, hermits and crabs in general are opportunistic and not to be trusted. A few are pretty reputable though, like the smaller scarlett variety. Go to an LFS, they will be able to help you here as in the end, it's really all the same until you know exactly what your systems needs turn out to be when established.
5th
Is there any kind of anemone that won't kill other corals?
No, not really, most or all have a tendency to sting and move around from time to time doing just that to anything that happens to be in the way.
6 and 7
Does my tank look good?, Any Advice?
Looks great.
Your scape looks like there is lots of room around rocks for flow and fish.
As far as advice, ditch your biofilter, they are almost useless and usually just accumulate nasty stuff that winds up impacting your aquarium chemistry negatively. If anything, take all of the media out and run some good carbon in there and change it regularly.
I think you might want to consider adding another powerhead as well as you'll want a higher overall tank turnover as well as more flow.
Also, take your time, best add 1 fish/coral at a time, a small system feels any change.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions about anything.
Can't wait to check here in a few months.

[SeaSerpant]

Wow thanks Gobytron thats really helpful! :thumbsup:
The wattage of the light is 150w! yay!!
For the filter it is rated for a 75g tank so the aquarium has a good overall turnout!

And i have an interesting tid bit. On the middle rock on the left side, there looks like there is a tube there, i just realized when i turned the light on, a feather duster head popped out! It looked like the top one in this:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/Pomatostegus_stellatusCOZDi.jpg

Any ideas?
Thanks
SeaSerpant

[elitesurfer]

Wow thanks Gobytron thats really helpful! :thumbsup:
The wattage of the light is 150w! yay!!
For the filter it is rated for a 75g tank so the aquarium has a good overall turnout!

And i have an interesting tid bit. On the middle rock on the left side, there looks like there is a tube there, i just realized when i turned the light on, a feather duster head popped out! It looked like the top one in this:
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/Pomatostegus_stellatusCOZDi.jpg

Any ideas?
Thanks
SeaSerpant

Ya that looks like feather duster:
http://www.aquariumfish.net/_advertising/blue_zoo_aquatics/logos_and_images/feather_duster.jpg

Has the water settled to the point its clear?

[SeaSerpant]

Elitesurfer
Thanks for confirming my suspicons. i'll try and take a picture of it tomorrow (pic was of one off the web). The water has cleared to being crystal! lol! I'll take a pic of it tomorrow too!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[elitesurfer]

Elitesurfer
Thanks for confirming my suspicons. i'll try and take a picture of it tomorrow (pic was of one off the web). The water has cleared to being crystal! lol! I'll take a pic of it tomorrow too!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

Hehe sit back and let it cycle now. :)

[SeaSerpant]

I know this is a very quick update but... i gotta keep busy!
I took a bunch of tests and i think my cycles started!
Ph-8
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-5
Ammonia-.5
SG-1.025
Temp-27

And i noticed that i have a small thing of aiptasia, it's about a penny in size, should i worry about it? I'm thinking i'm just going to get a peppermint shrimp!(when the cycle is done!)

And i have heard from many people that a HOB filter doesn't do much for filtration (live rock and sand does most!) so i'm thinking about getting a nano remora, hopefully it will make the flow better too!

Ok and just a few pics since it's clear now!

Aiptasia

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish007.jpg


Feather Duster

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish010.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish012.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish011.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish009.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish008.jpg

Comments Welcome
SeaSerpant

[dsaundry]

Looking good so far! I would suggest after confirming tank cycle, that you start with either a chromis or a yellow tail blue damsel and see how they do before you invest in the other things on your list. I would advise against a seahorse especially for the other things you want. Clownfish are good but stick to the smaller variety, perc's etc. maybe a nice anemone as well, but make sure you put sponge over filter intakes to prevent it from being sucked in, peppermint shrimps are good for aptasia most of the time and a cleaner shrimp is nice as well. stick to softies and mushrooms etc, I will see if I have any pics of my 27g tank at work, easiest tank I have got to take care of and I abuse it regularly{maybe thats the secret}, With small tanks I believe the secret is the K.I.S.S. theory, Keep It Simple Silly. I have customers who come in and stare at my tank for ages, so it works well. You are doing great so far though.:biggrin:

[SeaSerpant]

Dsaundry,
Thanks for the reply! I like the look of a yellow tail blue damsel, but is there a nicer fish for that? (lol, just like asthetics, tis all):p
I do like the idea of an anemone, except for the part of it killing other corals/fish and growing to large! I expect to keep it to soft corals, i don't very much like the look of hard corals:biggrin:

Now another question, i have looked at a bunch of different sites and i get totally mixed results, i have a HOB filter, should i get rid of it? Almost all say take out the biowheel (can cause bad things in the long run) and some say that just some filterfloss and carbon is good in it! Is this true?

Thanks
SeaSerpant

Ps
Don't worry, i'm doing my homework!

[gobytron]

The thing is, you're going to run into all kinds of different opinions about these things.
using a HOB filter for a reef, which requires much better filtration than fw or fish only set ups is just not going to cut it.
20 gallons is pretty small for a reef as well, this means that you need even better filtration than a comparably larger system.

As stated in the very first post and in the pms you have sent me, your HOB is almost useless as designed.
Adding some carbon and filter floss will help but you will need to change them regularly or they will just do the same thing that any media will do which is become a haven for phosphates, dissolved organics, ammonia and nitrite.

The best filtration you are going to h=get without a skimmer is from your love rock, again, as stated to you before which means that you're better off with another powerhead in there to help the water get pushed through (and filtered by) the liverock than to keep the HOB filter on.

As I suggested, do some reading on dissolved organic compounds and you'll have a good idea of the difference between the filtration a skimmer gives you versus what a hob filter will do for you.

These are very important pieces to your puzzle.

Looking better every time I take a peak at this thread though, keep up the good work.

[SeaSerpant]

Well it's day 5 and guess wht i have!

Diatom algae,

the conditions are
(Was at.5) ammonia-.1
nitrate-4
nitrite-0
sg-1.023
ph-8.4

I've searched it up and i think i'm nearing the end of the cycle (yay for short cycles) and one last question, what eats bristleworms?

thanks
seaserpant

[SeaSerpant]

Just a quick update, lots of diatom algae and my cycle is done (everything is at 0)


ID PLEASE
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish018.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish017.jpg

Aiptasia
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish007.jpg

Algae Pearling (quite nice looking actually!)
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish016.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish015.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish014.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish013.jpg

Comments very Welcome :D
Thanks
SeaSerpant

[dsaundry]

Dsaundry,
Thanks for the reply! I like the look of a yellow tail blue damsel, but is there a nicer fish for that? (lol, just like asthetics, tis all):p
I do like the idea of an anemone, except for the part of it killing other corals/fish and growing to large! I expect to keep it to soft corals, i don't very much like the look of hard corals:biggrin:

Now another question, i have looked at a bunch of different sites and i get totally mixed results, i have a HOB filter, should i get rid of it? Almost all say take out the biowheel (can cause bad things in the long run) and some say that just some filterfloss and carbon is good in it! Is this true?

Thanks
SeaSerpant


I like the looks of the damsel a lot and they stay relatively small, while I agree that the live rock is your best filter I don't agree 100% about the hob filter condemnation. I personally use a Cascade300{ebay}hob filter and use the filter iserts which come with carbon as well, I have a hob skimmer,{ebay again} and just basic pc lighting, the hob adds a little circulation along with 2 hydor nano's and the tank is doing great. 2 yrs+ and going strong. Take the bio wheel off your hob I would agree as well but its no worse than bio-balls imo. You will always get a wide variety of opinions in this hobby, the best advise I can give you is to take notes of what works and doesn't work as you proceed in this mad but wonderful hobby{obsession} and keep whatever works best for you. :biggrin:

[dsaundry]

One more thing, I wouldn't get too concerned about the bristle worms as I don't believe them to be too bad. I am sure there might be the odd variety but imo if you have live rock and substrate you will have bristle worms. Just don't play with them.:lol:

[SeaSerpant]

Thanks again!
Well tommorow i am going to my lfs to pick up my Cuc! i will update then!

thanks
seaserpant

[SeaSerpant]

Well i got my CUC today and a few corals! Just a quick update:

Specs:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Ph- 8.5
SG - 1.024

Livestock:
2 Hermit crabs
2 astrea
2 turbos
1 peppermint shrimp

Corals:
1 small Mushroom
group of zoanthids
2 small heads of hammerhead corals

NOW FOR THE PICTURES :lol:

GROUP OF SNAILS
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish027.jpg

PEPPERMINT SHRIMP
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish028.jpg

HERMIT CRABS
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish029.jpg

CORALS
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish026.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish020.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish022.jpg

TANK
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish030.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish025.jpg

COMMENTS WELCOME

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[Skimmerking]

tank is looking great buds,
loose the BIO wheel IMPORTANT IT CREATES NITRATES.

The HANG on is great for adding oxygen to the tank since you have no skimmer or sump leave it there.

use the media for only polishing the water and use the chambers for carbon and PHosban ok. other cool stuff like probes or what ever. HTH

tanks is looking great and starting on its way to cycle WELL DONE

[SeaSerpant]

Thanks Asmodeus!
I took the biowheels out a while ago, but thanks for reminding me to never put them back in :D I have some carbon and a bit of filter floss in the hob filter right now and to me everything looks to be ok!

I hope to get most of my corals this friday and hopefully some of my fish (aquarium illusions is having a sale!!!) And then it's just a low road from there! (hopefully!)

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

Hey all,

I just put my peepermint shrimp into my tank on thursday and i found it dead behind my filter intake. It still has all it's colour and i would have expected it to atleast be a bit clear.
Is it actually dead did it molt? It looks like the flesh is still in it... sad.gif
My params are as follows:
Ammonia-0 (could possibly be .1)
Nitrate-0
Nitrite-0
Ph-8.5
SG-1.025

Everything else is showing no signs of stress or any problems, zoas are out, mushroom is the biggest it's ever been, frogspawn is growing nicely, snails are active, so are the hermits.

WHAT COULD THE PROBLEM BE???

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[Myka]

Hi SeaSerpant!

Great start to your new tank! =] Your tank is rather too new for a shrimp. They are more sensitive than a lot of people realise. I would suggest you wait at least 3-4 months before trying to add a new one.

What are you using to test your pH? I am surprised to see the pH so high during the cycle, as well as after. I suspect it isn't accurate. I would suggest you check it against a calibrated digital pH meter/monitor.

FYI, the "pearling algae" pic you posted is actually dinoflagellates. I see a wee bit of cyano bacteria as well. Usually when you see an algae-like growth that is "pearling" like that it is a bacteria of some sort, and not an algae. I would also suggest you get on top of the red bubble algae (siphon them out when you do water changes) as they are difficult to irradicate.

Corals:
None
Want:
Zoas
Pulsing Xenia
Frogspawn
Feather Dusters
(any ideas for nice colourful corals? preferably soft)

Fish/cuc:
None
Want (will change):
2 clownfish (female, male)
RedFire Fish
Longnosed Hawkfish
Magenta Dottyback
Lawnmower Blenny
CUC
Possibly a pygmy seahorse

Be aware that feather dusters have very poor long-term survival. They require more food than we can usually provide them without polluting our tanks. I hope you don't want to put ALL those fish in the tank!! If you decide to get a Lawnmower blenny pick one that eats prepared foods as most won't accept prepared foods, and will die of starvation in a small tank like yours. The Longnose Hawkfish will get too big for your tank. If you decide on a Dotty, I would suggest an Orchid Dotty instead as the Magentas can become quite aggressive. Pigmy seahorses are one of the most challenging ponies to feed, they are best left to reef keepers who have previous experience with ponies. I would suggest that your tank would be full with only two of the fish on your list (not including the ones I don't suggest you keep). Consider checking out "nano" fish for more options. There are lots of teeny fish out there that allow you to keep more fish in a small space.

[SeaSerpant]

Wow thanks so much Myka!

Well i guess i forgot to add my updated stocking list!
2 clownfish (female, male)
Blue Neon Goby
Bluestripe pipefish (will come way later or never)
Yasha Haze Goby
Firefish goby (possibly not!)
CUC

There is a sale on at aquarium illusions this weekend but with this death i've decided not buy any fish and only corals!

For PH i am testing with a digital tester! And my dad is a chemist so it's calibrated!

Thanks Again
SeaSerpant

[Myka]

You are very welcome!

I think you are still being rather exuberant with the amount of fish you want to put in the tank. It is not a freshwater tank where the fish population can be much greater without compromising the water quality.

That's cool your dad's a chemist! I would assume then, that he knows to calibrate it for alkaline pH rather than acidic pH. I am very surprised that your pH is that high. Are you using any additives at this point of just salt? What salt are you using?

Are you really amped on getting clownfish? They do much better in pairs, but you would be filling your tank almost to capacity just by getting a pair.

If you don't mind, I would like to suggest some of my favourite fish that I would consider suitable for a 20 gallon tank. I choose these fish because they have a small territory, and do well in nanos. Note that some are not compatible with eachother:

~ Yellowhead/Pearly Jawfish (proen to jumping, should have a lid on tank)
~ Clown Gobies
~ Yasha Goby (prone to jumping, pricey)
~ Firefish (prone to jumping)
~ Neon or Sharknose Goby
~ Hi-Fin Goby
~ Yellow Striped Cardinalfish
~ Yellow Watchman Goby
~ Orchid Dottyback
~ Yellow or Blue Assessor (pricey, can be a bit harder to obtain)

If you're really set on clowns, consider tank-bred True Percula Clowns (a bit more sensitive than Oscellaris to acclimate, but hardy once acclimated) or Barberi Clowns as both of these clowns will stay smaller than the rest.

[SeaSerpant]

You are very welcome!

I think you are still being rather exuberant with the amount of fish you want to put in the tank. It is not a freshwater tank where the fish population can be much greater without compromising the water quality.

That's cool your dad's a chemist! I would assume then, that he knows to calibrate it for alkaline pH rather than acidic pH. I am very surprised that your pH is that high. Are you using any additives at this point of just salt? What salt are you using?

Are you really amped on getting clownfish? They do much better in pairs, but you would be filling your tank almost to capacity just by getting a pair.

If you don't mind, I would like to suggest some of my favourite fish that I would consider suitable for a 20 gallon tank. I choose these fish because they have a small territory, and do well in nanos. Note that some are not compatible with eachother:

~ Yellowhead/Pearly Jawfish (proen to jumping, should have a lid on tank)
~ Clown Gobies
~ Yasha Goby (prone to jumping, pricey)
~ Firefish (prone to jumping)
~ Neon or Sharknose Goby
~ Hi-Fin Goby
~ Yellow Striped Cardinalfish
~ Yellow Watchman Goby
~ Orchid Dottyback
~ Yellow or Blue Assessor (pricey, can be a bit harder to obtain)

If you're really set on clowns, consider tank-bred True Percula Clowns (a bit more sensitive than Oscellaris to acclimate, but hardy once acclimated) or Barberi Clowns as both of these clowns will stay smaller than the rest.

Thanks Again Myka,
I know the Clownfish will take up most of the tanks space, so thats why i was looking for tiny fish with the small bioload, Hence the yasha goby and the blue neon goby (they both barely grow to 2 inches!) but then i noticed, hey what about another swimming fish other than the clownfish.
I'm going to scrap the bluestripefish idea, it'll cost alot and it'll be a long time before i get it!
So that leaves me with the clownfish, yasha haze goby, blue neon goby and another swimming fish!
I hope i can get these all but i have a feeling i won't be able to find the Blue neon goby so locally!

I have seen no antennae or tail of the peppermint shrimp, but i can atleast hope he just molted!
Everythings growing fine, the mushroom is threatening to grow of the zoanthids on top! (pic is my avatar) and the hammerhead seems to be doing fine!
How fast is the hammer supposed to grow? It seems to me that it has grown enough for each heads (there were 2 seperate heads on the hammer)
I have some funky teal algae growing on my live rock, i can't take a good enough pic of it, but it just looks like my rock is turning teal, theres no texture or anything to the algae!

Just say when you want pics!
Thanks
SeaSerpant
Thanks Again
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

Well i went to the LFS to get my water checked to see if anything in it killed the shrimp and everything came back negative, so it must've been stress that killed it!

But on the other hand i got new Corals!!! I got at torch coral with a coral barnacle in the middle, and some gsp with Some nice green and yellow zoas!

But again there is a problem, the torch is kind of sickly looking but hopefully it will clear up by tomorrow!

PICS

TORCH
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish036.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish037.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish038.jpg

ZOA
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish041.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish043.jpg

PLACES IN TANK
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish048.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish049.jpg

COMMENTS WELCOME
Thanks
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

Well today was the sale and i loaded up on what they had :bling: So i bought 2 more hermits (they gave me 3 :P) a galaxy coral that looks AWESOME. I was inspired by some of your guy's duncan corals so i got one and a very small patch of xenia, which i hope, will grow to be nice and tall!

I got KORALIA 1 instead of the nano and some coral supplements for the corals in my tank, Ultra MIN s AND Ultra Organic. I shut off the filter and and let just the powerhead go as i put in .375ml of the Min and .75 of the Organic! And i think my hammers have gotten a tinge greener!

So to bring you guys up to speed:
PARAM
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0 - .1

CUC
5- Hermit crabs
2- Bumblebee Snails
2- Astrea Snails
2- Turbo snails
Whack load of bristleworms :lol:

CORALS
Hammerhead
Torch
Galaxy
Xenia
Mushrooms
GSP
Zoanthids
FeatherDusters

PICTURES
COMING SOON TO A THREAD NEAR YOU!!!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

Thanks for all the comments guys :) ;)

Well for and update, My ammonia still is holding .05 but looks like it's nearing zero, I took out my filter floss because i thought thats what might be causing it!
I got my 14k light in today and installed it and everything looks more vibrant!
My zoas by my mushroom don't want to open up, they start to, but then bristleworms climb all over them... grrrrrr
The duncan coral looks great and the xenia has already grown like a weed! with the aiptasian right beside it... The galxy coral is doing great and i love how it moves in the floww!

NOW FOR THE PICS!!!
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish079.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish080.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish076.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish077.jpg

COMMENTS PLEASE!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

Well i got a new test kit to replace my 2 year old one and it turns out it was too old to test! My new test kit tested for 0 ammonia... Happy and Mad at the same time!!!! Guess i might buy some fish while the sale is still going on!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[Skimmerking]

looking really good there buds

[Marlin65]

Looks great I would say you are well on your way to making a magnificent reef. You might want to keep an eye on those bumble bee snails though they might eat your Zoe's if they can't find enough to eat.

[SeaSerpant]

Asmodeus
Thanks for the great comment!!!

Marlin65
I'll be sure to keep a good lookout on them!
MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS :P !!!!
IT'S BOXING DAY :lol: !!!
Well today i went down to the lfs and "splurged"!!! :) Well i bought 2 Clownfish (one has a partly missing fin, will it grow back) and a Yasha Hase goby, which hasn't shown itself onece it was put in the tank and one more try at a peppermint shrimp!!! As for corals i bought a real nice looking toadstool (can anyone tell me what exact kind?) a ricordia, Clove polups, and some more zoos!!!
Since my parents were along my dad saw the scooter blenny and he, REALLY, wants one, and he kept going on about how nice it was! Now i know the problem with sandsifters in a nano, but i want to get one for my dad! If i do get it will their be many problems in the long run :huh: ?
My duncans haven't opened up since i did all the additions, hopefully it will open up! There has been no problems since i set up the tank other than the few aptasia and the still unknown shrimp death! I guess i'll post my Lists:

FISH
2 Occelaris Clownfish
Yasha Haze Goby (about 1")

CUC
Peppermint Shrimp
2 Astrea Snails
2 Turbo Snails
5 Hermit Crabs
2 Bumblebee Snails

NOW FOR THE PICS!!! :D
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish003-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish018-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish019-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish020-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish016-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish013-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish012-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish010-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish008-1.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish014-1.jpg

COMMENTS ARE REQUIRED ;)

THANKS
SeaSerpant

[bvlester]

I would slow down for a bit now. I would also not add the skooter blennie for a while maybe a couple of months as they manly eat co-pod and such you should buy zoo plankton also for the corals spot feed with a turky baster or pipet. the corals will start taking off with spot feeding. looks like you have some lps which you should be adding Ca for they use it to build there skeliton corals like hammer, galixy, frogspawn coral. so you have digressed a bit away from softies only. But that is ok you can get away with doing regular water changes even softies do better with extra Ca in the tank.

Bill

[SeaSerpant]

Thanks Bvlester
I wasn't planning on putting the skooter blenny in for a while, but thanks for the heads up :thumbsup: If i do spot feed should i shut off all the powerheads and everything?
I am dosing Ultra Min s and Ultra Organic, will these be good enough?

Thanks Again
SeaSerpant
PS
Haven't seen the Yasha goby since i put it in... grrr

[karazy]

looking good.
i would put the elegance coral (the one on the far left) much closer to the light, as they require good lighting and over to the shaded side might not be the best for it.
dont worry about the yashia. they are known for hiding for long periods of time when first put into a tank.

[SeaSerpant]

Hey Karazy,
Thanks for the input, i do understand that they need good light but they are also aggressive in that they can really pack a punch with their stings. I will definitely move it if i see any problems with its growth!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[bvlester]

I do my spot feeding about 1 hour after lights out as I have a candy cane and a trumpet which feed in the dark they have little tenticals they extend after dark for feeding. My self I do not turn off my power heads but I do know people that do and thier carals may grow a bit faster than mine. The way I see it in the wild the ocean does not spot moving so I don't stop mine either.

Ultra Min s and Ultra Organic should be ok it is just a preferance as to what product you use. I spot feed zoo plankton and rotifers the rest of the food and nutrence the corals get for what is in the tank already and left over food from feeding.

Bill

[SeaSerpant]

Thanks Bvlester,
Does spot feeding enhance good growth or just keeps the coral healthy, or both? Lol, i guess it should be kind of obvious but i just don't know ;)

Just a quick update for today, I saw my little yasha goby come out from inbetween the rocks i tried to snap a quick pic but it was blurry. I hope this little goby doesn't turn out to be shy, but just as outgoing as all the others!!!
And the clowns are doing good, they like swimming across the top and going down to have a nice little dive, is this normal??? One of them is also doing a nice spasm dance for the other to show dominance... how nice?
Thanks
SeaSerpant

[Skimmerking]

Thanks Bvlester,
Does spot feeding enhance good growth or just keeps the coral healthy, or both? Lol, i guess it should be kind of obvious but i just don't know ;)

Just a quick update for today, I saw my little yasha goby come out from inbetween the rocks i tried to snap a quick pic but it was blurry. I hope this little goby doesn't turn out to be shy, but just as outgoing as all the others!!!
And the clowns are doing good, they like swimming across the top and going down to have a nice little dive, is this normal??? One of them is also doing a nice spasm dance for the other to show dominance... how nice?
Thanks
SeaSerpant people spot feed to ensure that the coral is getting fed in the wild the lps use there tenticles to grab food from the ocean, however the ocean has a lot of huge food to feed the corals, our tanks dont that is why we spot feed. If you dont mind taking some advice if you can split the rock and have the elegance coral in the middle to grab the direct light and food in the middle.

THe Mh light try having it hook on the side then you can have direct light over the tank. or try running 2 smaller ones one on each side and the light in the middle. other then that , the tank is going slick........


blood shrimp are a great add to a tank like the smaller ones 2 blood shrimp
well done

[bvlester]

asmodeus you beet me to the punch with your explination thank you.

SeaSerpant your tank is looking nice.

Bill

[SeaSerpant]

Asmodeus
I tried both your ideas, when i move the MH to the side then the lid won't fit on and then i tried parting the 2 live rock mounds and then the scaping kind of looked crappy... not to mention i burnt myself on the MH lol:twised:

Would just switching the galaxy and the elegance work too?

I could rearrange everything even though i am fairly happy with the scape!... would i have to take all the corals and fish out and put them in a sepperate bucket to rescape??? or should i just not rescape?

Thanks for the comments guys, i can't wait till everything grows out! but i guess i have to!!!

EDIT: I have a different filter (fluval) that will enable me to center the light! Hurray hurrah!!! AND if i do get rid of my geckos i can put another one of the same lights on the other side!!!

Thanks
SeaSerpant

[SeaSerpant]

ONE MONTH CELEBRATION
:Banane27:
It's been just a day over a month so to celebrate i'm going to do what i normally do in updates! Update!
I have recently bought a remora nano skimmer to replace the HOB filter. It is still in the break in period and it's fairly noisy! I did notice an overturned astrea snail and it was empty... oops, and it looks like one of the hermits got attacked and eaten as it's shell too, was empty...

On the good hand, i bought a fire shrimp, a blue neon goby and a red scooter blenny. The "blenny" will eat some certain type of mysis but i am going to buy some extra pods and some other things for it. But for now it is feeding on all the pods in my tank. I know it wasn't very smart to put it in now, but it is doing good and when something does go bad, you can say, i told you so!

I also bought a rock, which i wanted for the pistol shrimp in it. In the rock was actually 2 pistol shrimp and almost a 1/2 foot long bristleworm! Currently one pistol shrimp has paired up with my yasha goby and the other... well i don't know whats happened to it!

I've rescaped, not majorly, but it looks much nicer to me! It wasn't very hard to do so i hope it caused minimal stress to the fish!

Fish/inverts
2 clowns
Blue Neon Goby
Red Scooter Blenny
Yasha Goby
2 Pistol Shrimp
Fire Shrimp
Peppermint shrimp

NOW FOR THE PICS!!!

BEGINNING
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish008.jpg

MIDDLE
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish079.jpg

NOW
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish086.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish085.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish087.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish088.jpg
http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/SeaSerpant/fish090.jpg

COMMENTS PLEASE!!!
Thanks
SeaSerpant

[Skimmerking]

i like it I really think that you dont need a skimmer on that 20 gal 2-3 gal per week will do wonder's

nice rock layout

[SeaSerpant]

Asmodeus
You always seem to be the first to reply ;) Thanks! I do do about 5g water changes each week and everything looks good. I guess i may not need it, but it cant hurt:mrgreen:

Thanks Again
SeaSerpant