Robb in Austin Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Keep an eye on the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates over the next week. I wouldn't test for the others anytime soon; wasting your kits until any cycle is done. Yes the salinity is a little low but ok for now. Once you start adding corals then you'll want it at 1.026. How did you test it? If it's a hydrometer, ask for a refractometer for Xmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 lol - Guess I better ask for the refractometer I just wanted to get a base line for everything - I actually get a huge kick out of the chemistry involved in this more than you would imagine. I did have a tiny bit of ammonia register this morning, but added another 20 gallons of water to top off my tank and the guys at RCA said that was just like doing a water change - then tested it all tonight and came up negative. I want to get my cleaner shrimps Friday if my levels stay good (Roberto the banded Bandito needs to come live in my tank!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I'd highly recommend waiting at least a week to make sure you don't get a cycle. The last thing you want is to add Roberto and have him die due to an ammonia spike. I hear ya on the chemisty aspect. It's a bit like being a mad scientist when you break out all the test kits in the kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hey Lynn, I saw your post in the live rock thread and thought I'd add a few remarks here. Aside from moving too fast, which we've all done so don't feel too bad, I wonder if you acclimated the shrimps properly. Invertebrates(crabs, snails, shrimp, anemones, etc) need long slow acclimation to your tank. They have a reduced ability to self acclimate and a very sensitive to changes in water chemistry. I float their bags in the display tank and over a period of hours add small amounts(30-60mL each time) of tank water to their bags. I like to at least double the amount of water they are in before scooping them out and adding them to the tank. Once again, slow way down, do lots of reading and question asking before moving along. We repeat this each and every time to help you avoid undue death and cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Nothing beautiful happens in this hobby quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Hey Lynn, I saw your post in the live rock thread and thought I'd add a few remarks here. Aside from moving too fast, which we've all done so don't feel too bad, I wonder if you acclimated the shrimps properly. Invertebrates(crabs, snails, shrimp, anemones, etc) need long slow acclimation to your tank. They have a reduced ability to self acclimate and a very sensitive to changes in water chemistry. I float their bags in the display tank and over a period of hours add small amounts(30-60mL each time) of tank water to their bags. I like to at least double the amount of water they are in before scooping them out and adding them to the tank. Once again, slow way down, do lots of reading and question asking before moving along. We repeat this each and every time to help you avoid undue death and cost. Yeah - in terms of reading I'm doing lots of that (Page 130 of the reef tank owners manual today) *sigh* the shrimp I got were to get the...pollops? off of one of the rocks I have. The peeps at RCA said that it was bad and would spread and the peppermint shrimp would eat it. So - one of the things I had read was the acclimation piece - on http://saltaquarium.about.com they talk about it. I was planning on doing that with my snails - logan (from RCA) said with my water test I could have 10 snails and 10 crabs so I could have something in there to look at (they all took off and hid except for one guy who looks like he is trying to jump ship) - Anyways they said I didn't need to acclimate the snails or the red leg cortez guys, I could just dump them in. So to make a long story short (very short for mr. pepperment) I thought that since the shrimp dudes werent fish I could just dump them in as well. I DID let them float to get used to the temperature - but yeah dumped them in and one shrimpy died in like 20 minutes, the other in a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 I'm waiting until saturday to get Roberto I'm not going to get any more hermits since it sounds like they eat corals. I really want to get a rose anemone - but I'm still not certain which clowns they will work with. Plus the chapter on anemones in the book make them sound very difficult to keep alive. I'm thinking I want to get a serpent star, a tiger conch, more little snails and then try mr. peppermints again for my cleaning crew saturday. I tested again this morning btw - still 0 on ammonia and nitrites but trace on nitrates. I'm assuming that's because I don't have my protein skimmer running yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Polyps. I assume you mean aiptasia which is bad type of anemone. Peppermint shrimp will eat them so RCA wasn't incorrect in that regard. I would disagree with the readiness based on tests. If the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate numbers are still 0,0, low next week, then yes add away; but slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Blue and red leg hermits are reef safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 BTA's are not difficult per se, but you need to have good lighting and flow. I would wait about 6 months before adding one. It will give the tank time to mature a bit. Most clowns will host BTAs in captivity, but it's not 100%. What is the reef tank owner's manual? Not familiar with that book. Edit: nevermind. I googled. And wait longer than Sat to get a cleaner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Polyps. I assume you mean aiptasia which is bad type of anemone. Peppermint shrimp will eat them so RCA wasn't incorrect in that regard. I would disagree with the readiness based on tests. If the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate numbers are still 0,0, low next week, then yes add away; but slowly. The RCA people didn't say I could have shrimp - just snails and hermits. They wanted me to wait too - that was me being bad. And yes we have Aiptisia on one of our rocks - http://aiptasia.ca/ Was hoping the shrimpies would eat them and it wouldn't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Lynn, I started my first marine tank 40 years ago. I was attending the Texas Maritime Academy in Galveston and put together a 55 gallon "Galveston Bay" biotheme. My filtration system was an undergravel filter tha had four air lift tubes pulling water dow thru 4" of crushed up oyster shells (purchased from the chicken feed store). For lighting I had four 40W florescent bulbs. I had just taken a course in Chemical Oceanography and thought that I was "knowed up". I added chyemicals feverishly to keep up with changing alkalinity and pH. It wasn't until I burned out on working for stability that I gave up and left things alone. I came to realize the beauty of "Patience". Dynamic equilibrium describes the pH buffering system for the ocean. Carbon dioxide in the athmosphere and calcium carbonate in the ocean interact to make the oceans very stable. This same chemistry goes on in our reef tanks. Give things time to cycle. Rome was not built in a day. Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 If the aiptasia is only on one rock, remove that rock from your tank immediately. How many of them are there? Slow down a little, wait to see what your water testing looks like in a couple of weeks. Nothing good comes from haste in this hobby. I started my tank with live rock, and I still waited nearly 3 months to make sure it was ready before I added livestock. Anemones require an established, mature tank. Wait at least six months, a year would be better, before adding one. They are not difficult to care for, but they do require good lighting and good flow, as well as a mature tank with stable levels. You will need to cover all powerheads, because they can walk around a tank and get sucked into them. Just sit back right now and relax Start working on your livestock list and researching, and wait until your tank is ready. That way you won't make any discouraging mistakes (something we have all done). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-b0xcar- Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I wouldn't remove the rock. Once its safe to add your livestock just add a peppermint shrimp. They eat aiptasia like its candy. It will be gone before you know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 We bought that rock with a mushroom coral on it - the mushroom coral is doing really well - so we didn't want to move it. It also has a mollusk or something on the bottom of it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99taws6 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I agree with all the above posts. Also it's no guarantee peppermint shrimp will eat your aptasia. Best to kill them off yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 This is the coral that came with one of the rocks - Does it look okay? We thought it was looking okay but it released some kind of 'slime/goo' there and from what I've read, that's a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 It should be fine. Mushrooms will survive pretty much anything, including a cycling tank, the next apocalypse, and probably live out of the water for 72 hrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 It should be fine. Mushrooms will survive pretty much anything, including a cycling tank, the next apocalypse, and probably live out of the water for 72 hrs. Lol - all right - I feel better! As we are watching him here he seems to be trying to relocate - weirdest thing, I didn't know they moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Oh yes, they can move very well They are members of the anemone family, pack a potent sting (against corals, you won't notice it), and can move where they dang well please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 lol ya I have one that relocated onto a turbo snail I guess he wanted to move at a faster pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaJohn Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 if you have aptasia on a rock I agree even if the mushroom is on it get it out. I bought rock from an infected tank and 2 years latter I am still fighting the little buggers. As far as peperment shrimp eating them. Some do some don't its a crapshoot. So far it has cost me 5-6 bottles of aptasia x 10 nudibranch, dozens of peps, joes juice, kalk, and the latest addition to the weapon cash a 1.4w laser so far its been the best tool ever. but add it all up and its 1200-1500 bucks and it was because I did not listen and remove the rock that had some on it. And that does not count all the hair I have pulled out and how many times I have considerd starting over by removing everything and acid wash it all. If you want to save the mushroom put some ice in a plastic bag and with the rock out of the water gently nudge it till it lets go or you can just razor blade as close to the rock as you can then place the cut off mush room in some tupperware with a bunch of small rocks in it and a few holes so the water can flow around in the dish while its in your tank. In a few days the shroom will hook onto a rock and be as good as new. If you want 2 mushrooms do the same but cut it in 1/2 making sure to get some of the center on each 1/2 some people even cut them into 1/8's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cMidd Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Patience we have all rushed...it is an exciting and addicting hobby. Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 If the aiptasia is on the shroom rock, pull the rock out and break it. Throw the shroom half back in. Live rock breaks fairly easily depending on the size; a hammer and screw driver or chisel will take care of it if your hand wont. If it's not, take the rock out that it is on. There have been plenty of tanks run over by it. I've had some here and there. Peppermints will eat smaller ones, once they get over 1/4" tall, IME, they wont touch em. I currently have one thats about 2 inches tall. I've been watching him since he was about 1/2" tall, and not messing with it, and so far he's behaved and not spread or thrown clones off. It's actually kinda cool but if I see another I'll nuke it somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynnEdwards Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 I pulled the shroom rock out and tried to break it - my husband did actually. And as he was hammering the rock with the scrwdriver....he missed and hit my poor mushroom I am distraught - no mushroom Rock is out though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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