Check out a couple of these links. Might be isopods:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchpods.html
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

If the bugs are super tiny, they're probably copepods. They'll almost look like a dot in size and are almost impossible to see on rocks
If they have a dozen legs, they are probably isopods. These I've had everywhere - rock, sand, glass. My fish have all but decimated them
Both are great fish snacks
The bigger ones you may see will look like small shrimp and are amphipods. These you'll see crawling around the rocks at night and you'll get molts floating around the water. Some fish will eat these too

The bryopsis I had was easy to pick off and my CUC kept it in check. I also run GFO and feed very lightly
Now that I have fish in the tank, I don't have anymore of it
I have an urchin, hermits, 4 kinds of snails, and 3 kinds of fish that graze on algae, although I don't know if anyone is eating it, or if it was just part of the cycle

Yes it does look like Bryopsis to me as well, nothing to worry about at this point but keep your eye on it. Sounds like copepods as well, its amazing what just starts growing isn't it, that was my favorite part of starting a new tank!

I've read that there's a sea slug kind of thing that will eat bryopsis

Also I've heard raising your mag will kill it off

Thanks for these links - I found them helpful - especially the first one. I have bookmarked them for future reference.

Yes, the bugs are "super tiny" - almost a dot. It's nice to know now what they are - I had done some reading but wasn't sure. I also have had one larger one that was more like a tiny shrimp - but haven't seen another one for a few days.

Regarding your bryopsis - did you pick it off by hand? And this will really show that I'm new at this "CUC"? what is that?

I have been running GFO from the start to keep the phosphate down. The phosphate levels have been at near zero.

It has been amazing to watch new things develop - though I'm really looking forward to actually getting a fish into the tank!

Thank you to everyone for your comments and help. It has been encouraging.

In my reading this week I had also read about increasing the mag - I'll keep a watch on this for a bit and if it is growing/spreading I'll start looking into the best way for me to increase the mag levels. Thanks.

The bryopsis just picks off

CUC is clean up crew, as in snails, crabs, etc

I wouldn't raise your magnesium right away. Give your tank time to settle in on it's own and go through some of the initial cycling
You'll add some critters, then some fish, then worry about the algae

Thanks - regarding the CUC :redface: I should have figured that one out . . . Thanks.

Well, off to "that northen AB city" for the weekend.

We returned from Edmonton last night to a nice surprise - the Bryopsis - if that is what it was - is completly gone! :lol: The snails that had seemded to be ignoring it for the past week cleaned it up over the two days we were gone. From the reading I had done I understood that few if any animals would touch Bryopsis - so maybe it was something different. Regradless, it was a nice surprise.

While in Edmonton we stopped in at Red Coral just to take a look - it was nice to see you again Doug - thanks for the conversation and advice. :biggrin:

A Little Color in the Tank!!
 

A few new developments:
1. We continue to be amazed at the life that develops. Since the disappearance of the one algae last week another has developed. Having no idea what it is we have simply been calling it "the fuzzy stuff". The snails don't seem to be in a hurry to eat it, but they are munching on it some.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1347067948

2. We have also seem some new animal life - a very small centipede like creature - I'm guessing that it is some kind of bristleworm? But I have not been able to get a picture.

3. The best news is that we moved the Royal Gramma from the QT to the DT! Our first spot of color in the tank! :biggrin:

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1347067947

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1347067945

More Livestock
 

Our lone Royal Gramma is doing quite good in the DT - it spent about a day mainly hiding but has been swimming in the open since then and has been eating well.

We have now purchased a few more fish. We have three more Royal Grammas and a pair of True Perculas. We have just put the five of them in the QT and appear to be doing fine. (yes it is a terrible phone picture :lol:)

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...y1/1209111.jpg

Our plan is to slowly introduce them into the DT after their quarantine. We are thinking towards the next ones that we will buy - though it will be quite a while before that takes place. We are thinking of a Kale Yellow Eye Tang, and/or a Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish, possible a Cardinalfish or two.

We also have five snails in the DT - Question - at what point do we add to the CUC? :question:

Wow - it has been a long time since I have posted on here - mainly because not much is happening. We now have four Royal Grammas (and a few snails) in the DT and all are doing well. Everything seems to be doing quite good. There have been no outbreaks of algae and the water parameters continue to be stable.

We did have a problem with the two Perculas that we had - unfortunatley, on about day 5 in the QT one of the Perculas began to appear lethargic and stopped eating. After talking to the LFS, we brought them both in and brought in a water sample. In the end, both fish eventually died. Niether showed any physical symptoms other then being lethargic. The water was sent out to a lab for testing and did not reveal anything. We are now waiting for another pair of captive bred True Perculas to arrive.

Other wise, everything is going fine.

It's been a little over a week since the last time I posted on here - Nothing has changed . . .

We ordered two captive breeed Perculas and they should be at the LFS on Friday. Sure wish I knew what happend to the first ones so that it does not repeat.

We are also begining to think about coral - when we should start to add some, what kinds etc. If anyone reading this has ideas, I'd sure appreciate hearing.

What are you interested for corals? Lps, sps, softies? I personally prefer lps. To start you could add some shrooms, zoas, acans, leathers. My first corals were a bubble, button and frogspawn, lost the frog but still have the other 2.

I like frags as its rewarding to watch them grow, but it's nice to have some bigger pieces as well.

My advise would be to go with some Lps corals to begin with and when the tank ages add some spa corals to fill the upper layer. Maybe try some shrooms, zoanthids, or gsp to fill up the live rock. It's a beautiful tank and I am excited to see what it looks like a few months down the road.

Hey George
Sorry to jump in here, but I haven't read your whole thread lately
I was a little concerned about you having multiple royal grammas ...

I like the idea that you are adding corals and wanted to let you know what happened in my tank ...

I had originally planned on adding only some softies, then maybe some LPS, and eventually some SPS ...

Before I had a chance to think about the future, a friend came over with some Montis. Then, a week later, there was a frag swap ....

I populated my tank faster than you can say cycle :smile:

I ended up with so many SPS and took the crash course in keeping parameters ...

I am really happy with our tank and all it's SPS ...

So, I'm saying, just jump in :mrgreen:

If you can keep your major 3 up, just do it :wink:

Our long term plan is to have a mixed reef tank.

I appreciate the advice re: to start with LPS - that's two votes in favor :biggrin:

No problem jumping in with a question about the Royal Grammas - I think I understand your concern with the multiple Royal Grammas, we had been told to go with either one Royal Gramma or three or more - but not to have two. So far the four of them are all playing nice together. The larger one is obviously boss, but there have been no bullying issues . . . yet.

And . . I had noticed how quickly your tank seemd to fill with frags - I had wondered what took place as your whole build has been a study of patience - I've been amazed at your pateince. Now I understand the sudden amount of frags. Thanks for the advice to "just jump in!"

:question: Can anyone point me towards a good resource or two regarding chemistry / water parameters? :question:

Thanks

I forgot in my previous post - thank you very much for the compliment re: the tank. I appreciate the feedback. :biggrin:

Wow this tank looks awesome! Love the white stand and cabinetry. Very clean and sexy :-) you did a phenomenal job here! Well done.

If you're still looking for some reading ...

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=48321

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

Wow - I really appreciate the compliment - I was looking through your tank thread and I only hope that when my tank grows up it looks close to yours. Thanks :biggrin:

Hi Greg - now I have some reading for tonight! I appreciate your sending these. I'm looking forward to learning and hopefully soon getting some coral into the tank.

An interesting find
 

I was doing some cleaning in the sump tonight and noticed something alive on one of my sump rocks - a closer inspection revealed a small crab. Its body is about the size of a dime. Sorry, no picts - I tried to get one with my phone but it was quickly gone.

What is the generally accepted opinion:
A. Let well enough alone?
B. Capture and remove?
C. Pretend I never saw it? :lol:

If it's in the sump, I think I'd leave it. It won't pose any threat to fish (which is usually the biggest concern with hitchhiking crabs) and it'll just help clean up any food that makes it back to the sump IMO.

Thanks - I appreciate that - now I just need to come up with a name for the hitchhiking sump crab.

Last week we spotted the crab in the sump and decided that we would let him be - however, just for the sake of doing it, we placed a small piece of raw meat in a glass, tipped it up against the rock in the sump and by morning we had ourselves a crab!

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...dley1/crab.jpg

It's body is about the size of a dime - quite small. After showing the kids we released it back into the wilds of the sump to live a happy productive life.:biggrin:

Its time to introduce the newest member of our family. We moved our Onespot Foxface Rabbitfish into the DT. He is doing quite well and playing nicely with the other residents.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1352504190

WHOA! He looks like one badass MOFO! Watch those spikes!

Great build. Love the electronic cabinet

Thank you very much :lol: - I am very pleased with how it turned out - though the inspiration :idea: for it came from Subman.

Thanks for the reply Kien - I managed to catch him in just the right pose for his portrait. And yea, I had heard that he packs somewhat of a bite! I'll make sure I keep my fingers clear.

That fox looks fantastic. :razz:

Thanks!

Last weekend was a step towards our desire for a mixed reef tank- we added our first piece of coral - we decided to start with what we have been told was the easiest. We placed it right at the bottom of the tank on the sand and it has been doing well. :biggrin: Yesterday we moved it up a few inches. Thanks Denny for the long conversation and advice last Sat.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1353109928

We also added our pair of Perculas to the DT on Tuesday - not with as much luck. They both appered to be doing well . . . but on Thursday one dissapeared, it's gone, lost, AWOL, not to be seen again. We have searched as much as we can and have found no part of him at all. :cry: The other one is doing great.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1353109927

Nice going! Congrats on your first coral!! I can't wait to get to that point myself!! How could your clown just go missing?? Something is fishy there!!!

That is one of the nicest photos of a one spot fox face I have ever seen! Great Job. It's been on my wish list for sometime now.

Ya, not sure what happened to him.

Thanks for the compliment - a bit of luck and and some patience to get the shot. We have enjoyed having the Foxface as a part of the fish family.

Our home life is a bit "upside down" right now. We began a major kitchen renovation on Monday and with a family of five, no kitchen, and not wanting to spend money eating out - life is a bit upside dows. Our contractor (who is doing a great job!) used to have several tanks and is thinking about getting back into the hobby. This afternoon they surprised us with a gift of two cleaner shrimp and four hermit crabs! Thank you Lawrence and Sharon! :biggrin: :biggrin:

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1354235623

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1354235623

Nice !!!

Now, it's been over 3 months since you've given us a FTS, and that was only with your new 'scape
C'mon man, you're dropping the ball here ... :razz:

A FTS? I really hadn't thought about it . . . The trouble is that my tank is looking so boring and colorless - it might get embarased :redface:

Actually a good idea - I'll take some pictures and see if I can post one tomorrow. Thanks.