T plus 89:00

It's been 89 hours since the cloudy tank was discovered, and 89 hours of closely monitoring the anemone.

By the time I'd gotten home from a short day of work the daylights had already had their 4 hour cycle.  The anemone still looks nice and full, even if a little "pale".  I bumped up the light timer one notch, which is 20 minutes or so (I think there are three notches per hour, but it's hard to tell).  I'm going to keep bumping it one notch a day until the anemone begins to shrink - a sign that it's getting too much light.  Then perhaps we'll start the additional hour per week for light acclimation.

I had enough things to do on my "need to get" list that I dropped by my LFS.  The atmosphere was a nice one today, I must say.  The owner was not around, but his wife was.  We swapped a few stories - she said she walked in today to what she thought was a shrimp birth...  Hundreds of these things swimming around.  It was neat to hear how excited she still gets with saltwater discoveries like that.  It gives me hope this hobby won't get old, at least for my wife and me.

I grabbed a phosphate test kit from the get-go, and the browsed while she helped the customer before me.  I spotted the Peppermint Shrimp and eyed them quickly before searching for their price.  Ten dollars each, or three for $24.  Phosphate kit was also ten bucks. So far so good... can't spend too much.  I told her about the tribulations with the anemone.  She conveyed a couple anecdotes about her experiences with anemones.  The moral of her story was that if it were going to die, it would be obvious.  Good news there.

While I was there, I inquired about the Cardinals.  They've only snacked a bit here and there for the last week.  I asked what they use to feed theirs - she said "Krill".  I have Krill pellets... "No, I mean Krill".  Show me this Krill.  She produced a can of freeze dried krill.  I quickly scanned the ingredients - krill and a vitamin supplement.  She demonstrated how to feed krill on their clown/anemone tank.  To my surprise, she placed the last bit of krill right into the anemone.  It closed up on her fingers and she pulled her hand out.  Wow, I haven't yet gotten the nerve to do that.

I told her if the Cardinals keep snacking this week, I'll be in for some.

I explained my concerns for the anemone being bleached and told her I've read they can be nursed back as long as they are target fed everyday - I've heard of using Mysis Shrimp for this.  She agreed that they love it and produced a frozen package of it.

Out the door for $28 and change and had one of the most reassuring and informative visits I've had in a little while.

Once I got home my wife was excited to hear the story about the owners wife hand-feeding their anemone.  She wanted to try it.  She did so successfully.  She even played a bit with the tentacles.  I asked if they were sticky or slimy.  They're sticky - good!  The Clowns had some of the shrimp, but not much.  The Cardinals weren't interested in it at all.

The Peppermint Shrimp, once in the tank, headed to the opposite end of the tank as the aiptasia, so no aiptasia will be consumed today.  And the small cloudy white snail we saw a week or to ago... Found it on the glass today.  The shell is beginning to become pronounced.  From the looks of it, it could be a Chiton, Limpet, or Stomatella.  As it matures, I'm sure it will become obvious.

Here are some photo's from this afternoon:

The Brittle Starfish made a small appearance this afternoon.

Here is the side view of the "Snail" we saw a couple weeks ago.

Here is the underside of the unknown "Snail".

Wasn't thinking too well.  It's the only picture so far of the Peppermint Shrimp.

Observations - The Tank After a Week

It's is a week ago tomorrow that the new inhabitants were "rescued" to my tank (and this week's tribulations explain why "rescue" is in quotes).

I don't have anything much planned today for the tank except to monitor the anemone.  I may do another ZooPlex feeding for the Clowns and drop in some pellets to see if the Cardinals are interested in food today (they haven't eaten much to speak of).

I've since learned that it is indeed possible to nurture a bleached anemone back from the brink.  It takes at least a month of constant care and attention (including ACTUALLY doing the right thing, intent will get you nowhere), which I think I have in me.  The anemone, being in the house not even a week yet, has already attained an esteemed place in the household - everyone is concerned and it's the first thing we check every time we approach the tank.

I've cut back the daylights to 4 hours.  We'll see how that goes.  Actinics will still be running for about 12, though.  I'm going to pick up some Mysis shrimp so that I may begin to feed the anemone something beneficial - the grocery bag of sea parts has a chemical used in detergents, plus it includes phosphates which short term will promote algae growth, long term will gain notoriety with nitrates and require water changes.

Here are photos of everyone today.  They are taken with actinics only using the flash from my phone.

The anemone is looking nice and full if only slightly bleached - it's at least progressing.

With the current low lighting conditions, I don't expect much growth out of the
mushrooms.  I do hope, however, they can at least maintain themselves.

Star polyps seem to be doing fine in mostly-actinic lighting.

Also, looking at my water tests, I see ammonia and nitrites trending down.  Nitrites were actually at zero today, and ammonia is half what it was yesterday.  And nitrates have been steady for three days, too.  All good news.  Perhaps within the next few days both ammonia and nitrites we stay at zero.  Then I can stick to watching nitrates solely.

While I'm at the LFS for the Mysis, I may pick up a phosphate test kit.  Just one more thing to over-analyze, I suppose.  But it's good information to know.

T plus 67

Went to call my wife during lunch to see how the anemone was doing. That was when I saw she had already texted.

Apparently the anemone had readjusted itself in it's bowl and was filling it nicely. It was inflated and also had better color.

Not being able to wait for hours to see the anemone after work, I headed home... And it does look good.

Today before leaving for work, I gave the tank another feeding of zooplex and let that run for about an hour with the skimmer and filter off.

Also before leaving for work I turned the daylight lights off leaving just the actinics running. I did that because the anemone looked better earlier in the day before the daylights had kicked in. With this possible revelation I will be adjusting the lighting schedule. I'm thinking of leaving the actinics running for twelve hours still, but cutting back on the daylight. Maybe I'll start at four hours of daylight and increment that an hour or two a week until I find a sweet spot.

It's good to get good news...

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T plus 56:00

After looking at some before and after shots, I started to get concerned about the anemone beginning to bleach.

March 26, Day 1

March 29. Day 4

March 30, Day 5

After doing a little research on how to care for bleaching anemones, a product name rang a bell with me.  Someone had mentioned ZooPlex, which just happened to be on my list of additives/foods to research.

I followed the directions, adding 2 tablespoons of ZooPlex to the tank after shutting off the skimmer and power filter.  The clowns went crazy for it.  And my research shows if the clowns are happy, the anemone is happy.

Woke up this morning and took a few shots, plus a video of the clowns feeding on the ZooPlex.  I must say, the anemone is turning from a light blue (white reflecting the actinics) to a nice fleshy tan again.  It still has a few problematic (short or deflated) tentacles, but hopefully with the new diet the Clowns are providing, the anemone will begin to regenerate itself.

And tomorrow I'm probably back to worrying...

Anemone's and Sanity

Got home and fed the fish.  The cardinal's still aren't eating much, but the Clown fish are beginning to - but only if I drop the food in just the right spot.  Heaven forbid they wander too far from the anemone to pluck food from the water.

Before feeding the fish, the anemone looked so-so.  No real change.  After feeding, however, it seemed to inflate again, but nothing compared to it's original fresh-in-the-tank size.

The back-and-forth is making me crazy.  I hope the anemone wins the waiting game we're playing.

Here are snapshot's of how the anemone and corals are doing:

The anemone's tentacles are inflated and extended nicely.  This morning some tentacles were short and thick, others were long and thin.  These are looking nice at the moment (at least in my opinion).  It appears as though the anemone is bleaching, though.

The Star Polyp is looking good.  Most of the polyps are open.

It appears as though a couple of polyps are bleaching.  I'll be keeping an eye on it.
EDIT - They aren't bleaching.  They tend to "whiten up" when in transition
between being fully open and fully retracted.

I Think I Found the Cure to My Salinity Variances

A Refractometer...

Mental note - get a phosphate test kit after the refractometer.

T plus 8:00

Just checked the water and skim.  Skim is doing exceptionally well.  Water... it's OK.  I wish I got consistency from the test strips.  Maybe I'll save my pennies for a digital tester someday.

Here are some photo's of the progress:

The Anemone

Before Tribulation

Mar 28 03:32, just after 50%+ water change.  Very contracted.

Mar 28 04:20 under Actinics.  Still contracted, but not deflated.

Mar 28 12:15.  Was deflated during water test.
Water was a little low in salt with my rush to refill the tank.
It's upper portion has begun to inflate again since
correcting the situation.

The Star Polyp Coral:

Mar 28 12:15.  It is slowly beginning to re-open.

Spot Mushrooms:

Mar 28 12:15.  They are almost back to normal.

Encrusting Anthelia:

Mar 28 12:15.  Anthelia was barely affected.
Only a few arms retracted into their polyps.

Post Tribulation Observations

Don't let the title fool you.  We're not out of the woods yet, but things are beginning to look up.

(Still nothing in the skim cup... checking that almost every couple hours it seems).  The anemone has started to show signs of ... not being on the brink of death?  At least it's moving again inside it's bowl-shaped rock.

Speaking of the anemone's rock...  When I got the anemone, it was attached to a small not-quite fist-sized rock. While the water was drained down in the tank, I was attempting to pull the anemone out.  I had planned to put it in it's own water... just in case.  Short version - I wasn't able to remove the anemone (which gave me hope it was still alive prior to doing research on it), but I was able to remove the small rock it came attached to.  Apparently it re-situated itself in the last couple of days.  It's now attached to the bowl-shaped rock it's lived in for who-knows how many years.

With the anemone's old rock out, I simply put it in one of the buckets.  I thought I would let it dry out and maybe use it as a desktop remembrance if the anemone were to perish.

Once I began cleaning up the "triage", I removed the rock from the bucket I'd placed in it and put the rock temporarily on a TV tray.  I went to stack the bucket along with the other buckets and noticed something curled up in the bottom of the bucket about where the rock had been.  There's still a little saltwater left in there, so I thought maybe this "thing" was still viable.  I fish it out with the net and let it drop into the tank...  I still don't know whether that was good idea or a bad one since I don't know what it is.

It came alive once it hit the bottom.  It looked like it was attempting to borough under the crushed coral substrate.  It looked like a red leech with spikes running along the length of it's body on both sides.  The only reason I mention a leech is because it seemed to flatten itself out when attempting to burrow.

Here are some pictures of it.  I'll be looking it up when the thought hits me.

UPDATE - It's a Fire Worm, which is a type of Bristle Worm.  A very good member of the Clean Up Crew.  I wonder how many more there are...

UPDATE Mar 31, 2011 - There was a second fire worm in that rock.  Too bad that rock had been sitting in an empty bucket for three or four days.  It was DOA.

Tribulation

I woke up to go to work, walked by the tank on the way out the door, and almost fell over.

The tank was the cloudiest I'd ever seen it. Wondering if it was the removal of the power filter, I immediately installed it. I quickly looked at the skim level and couldn't see anything. Then out the door I went with my fingers crossed.

I texted my wife so she'd be aware of the situation. A few hours later she called to tell me it was still very cloudy.

I hurried up with my necessary duties and left three hours early. I immediately came home and set up for what was going to be a long morning.

I unplugged my heater, filter, skimmer, and power head and began to drain the tank. I drained water continuously until just the top of the anemone was at water level. I drained at least half of the tank.

Before completing the tank drain, I checked my skimmer cup again. Still couldn't see anything in the collection cup. Not even bubbles. I go to lift the cup and realize the reason I don't see any bubbles or skimmage...

The cup is entirely full! I shake my head realizing it was probably full even before I left for work. No skimming has been going on the entire time. I dump it and make a mental note to start checking it every few hours, at least until the cloudiness is fixed.

With the tank drained, my concern was for the anemone. I had no idea if it were dead, alive, or what. I hurriedly made enough salt mix to get the water level back up to the skimmer, then plugged everything back in. I bought myself a little time, so I'm off to do research.

Research was mostly inconclusive. Dead anemones stink like nothing else when they're out of water. I drained the tank enough that some of the anemone was exposed. I didn't notice any "what-the-hell" smell.

Apparently anemone's also "melt" when they're dead. The anemone, other than being contracted, still looks OK. Also, living anemones are sticky, dead ones are slimy. I still haven't gotten up the nerve to touch the anemone, so that test would have to wait.

While researching, I see that anemones can do some really funky things. Sometimes they expel brown, sometimes white, sometimes they turn inside-out. I was hoping my cloudiness was due to a huge white excretion, if it was the anemone that caused this...

A few hours later the tank is full and the waiting begins... More water changes scheduled later.  I knocked the cloudiness down quite a bit, but it's still there. I picked up some carbon and put some in the power filter. Maybe that will help with the cloudiness as well.

The tank after a 50% (or more) water change.  Still pretty cloudy.

The mushrooms have retracted.

Encrusting Anthelia still mostly open.  The Clownfish are attempting to nurture the anemone back to it's normal state.

Star polyps have almost completely retracted.

Going to Remove the Power Filter

All the benefits of power filters never really applied to me, it doesn't seem. The only benefit I seemed to get out of it was larger particle filtration, and a little flow.

I'm willing to bet that my power filter was doing more harm than good. They are known nitrate factories. With so much flow going through them, nitrate is all the further they get in the Nitrogen Cycle.

I'm willing to bet enough that I've gone ahead and removed it. Other than the obvious "cloudy tank on cleaning days", I may be surprised... in a good way.

We'll see.

Feeding the Anemone

I'm experimenting with different foods for the anemone. This was an octopus tentacle from a bag of frozen sea mix picked up at the grocery. I apologize for some of the off-subject video - I could see the tentacle, but couldn't find it in the viewfinder - so there's a bit of wandering at times.

Going Through the Chemicals - Kent's Marine Iodide

Among the chemicals I received was "Kents Marine Iodide".

From the manufacturer -

Iodide Supplement for Reef Aquariums.  KENT MARINE IODIDE replaces iodide needed for proper growth and health of invertebrates and macro-algae. Contains a safe form of iodide, which will not destroy system bacteria.

Directions - Shake well before using. Add 5ml (1 tsp) per 50 gallons of tank capacity every week or 8 drops per 50 gallons each day. Daily dosing is the preferred method.

From The Reef Tank boards -

• its in your salt mix and most foods

• Iodine is often (and historically) sourced from marine algae/kelp... so the only thing you will be feeding is the algae.

• Once again, if you do not test for it, do not dose it.

• Makes for a great coral dip!

So this bottle will go with the acclimation equipment...

Salinity Observations

So I'm noticing fluctuations in my salinity from day to day.  I wonder why that is.

A second hydrometer was gifted to me yesterday (along with the chemicals, some food, and the new tank inhabitants), so I compared the two during my water test today.  My hydrometer read 1.0235 (a rise of .001) and the gifted hydrometer read 1.019 or so.

I then tested both hydrometers in the RO/DI saltwater I have left over from my LFS.  The gifted hydrometer read about the same.  My hydrometer read 1.022.  From the instruction I've received from my LFS, I would assume his water is at or about 1.022, so I'm going with my hydrometer for the moment.

I'll still be using both just to satisfy my curiosity on this matter.  I will just be sure to rinse them both well before retiring them for the day.  Perhaps with a little "hydrometer maintenance" I can bring them both to more comparable readings.

The previous owners of the hydrometer kept their salinity level "right in the middle" (which is 1.0225).  Their hydrometer reads about .003 less than mine.  If my hydrometer is accurate, they could have been running a salinity that would approach 1.025 or 1.026.  If that is true, then adding about 30 pounds of their rock (which is still going to contain some of their water) plus an anemone (which is also going to contain their water) could have elevated my salinity by .001.

However, this logic does nothing to explain the measured drops I recorded between March 23rd, 24th, and the 25th.  I think diligent hydrometer cleaning will be the next variable I contend with.

EDIT:  I've discovered why the salinity readings are fluctuating...  The nature of hydrometers, at least the float-lever type that are pedaled by pet stores, are in and of themselves unreliable.  Next on the list of equipment... a refractometer, which is a much more accurate means of measuring salinity.  But I've already come to this conclusion.  I'm only restating it here.

The Ugly SIde of Beautiful Reef Tanks

With all of the stress of moving and acclimating the new adoptions, the thought of "the ugly side" never came to mind.  But I was reminded all to quickly when my wife got home from work.  The previous owners of the new inhabitants had dropped off a little present:

The box of chemicals, food, and other miscellaneous equipment they needed to run their tank.  What a shocker.

I have a personal flaw - the gut-punch word is "ignorance".  I believe the French have a nicer word for it - "naivete".

I have the unenviable contention that I can outmaneuver fate, against all odds.  This contention even trickles down to reef tanks.  I believe that if I provide the correct environment, I will not have to use such chemicals.  As I type this I can see just exactly how naive this is.  But I also have a strength to offset this weakness - compromise.

Here's the game plan.  Research the chemicals, see what they provide and how to use them effectively.  If at all possible, I will find alternatives to some of the chemicals, I hope...  I have a glass box, not 2/3rds of the Earth to play with.  I'm not so naive to not realize that.

There must be hundreds of dollars in that styrofoam box...

Meet the New Inhabitants

Purple Tipped Sebae Anemone hosting a mated pair of Ocellaris Clownfish

Neon Blue Spot Mushroom

Encrusting Anthelia

Star Polyp Coral - It has since opened up

Not pictured is the nocturnal Brittle Starfish (for obvious reasons).

More pictures to come as they are collected over the next few days.

The Luxury of Time has been Taken Away

It's been a week since the Damsels were returned.  I've been growing accustomed to spectating.  Things have changed.

My wife called about 9am.  A client of her employer has a leak in their tank.  They have a ton of things they are nearly giving away just to save them.

She didn't know specifically what they had, but there were fish, coral, live rock, and live sand.  She gave me her clients phone to call.

I called and asked if I could help, verified what I would need to bring (just a couple 5 gallon buckets) and got the directions.

This had to have been a 300 gallon tank.  When I got there the water was two thirds of the way down.  Their basement was littered with 40 gallon Brute cans with the live rock, corals, etc.  The fish were still in the tank.

We talked a bit about the size and maturity of my tank and equipment.  They had a couple of clowns, a couple cardinals, some shrimp, 3 starfish, what looked like an eel, plus some angels.

I let them know I would do everything I could to help save what they had.  Part of that was not to take on too much.  I ended up with the two clowns, their hosting anemone, the live rock the anemone had claimed, some mushroom coral, a couple other types of polyp coral, and two cardinals.  Oh, and a starfish.  I figured I was pushing the limits of the tank with 4 fish and an anemone so I elected to get a starfish for help with the cleanup crew.

It took a few hours, but everything has been acclimated to our tank.  The anemone re-situated itself in it's bowl-shaped rock.  The clowns have found their host.  The starfish is hiding, and the cardinals really don't know what to do.

No more spectating.  I am now an active participant.

A Biological Experiment?

Yes, it is.

The whole thing is.

I consider the tank my own personal BioLab.  I am keening interested in the processes of cause and effect in relation to our 75 gallon saltwater tank.  That is why the main page of this blog publishes different aspects of readings along with the days actions so that changes in those readings may be directly correlated to actions of the past.

Why the scientific slant for a lead up?

Because yesterday, my wife and I observed a new form of life in the tank:

It was a creamy white and about 3/4's of an inch in length.  It's a ground-based life form, so no swimming.  We first noticed it moving toward an opening in one of the rocks we have toward the front of the tank.  It was wandering in and out of the rock and occasionally onto the substrate.

At first, as it was moving away from us, it appeared to have a fuzzy head with a single leg extending from the rear.  I initially described it as a one legged jellyfish.  It then disappeared into the rock.

Moments later it became visible again as it exited the opening in the rock.  I could see what look like two appendages in front of the animal.  Those appendages ended with spheres.

With this new detail observed, it appears as though this animal is some sort of snail.  I didn't notice a shell at all.  Or at least the shell is the same creamy white as the animal itself.

While we scrambled to get the camera set to the macro setting in order to take a picture, we lost it.  I'll be keeping a close eye out for it today.  I'd like to get a picture of it.

So where does the "Biological Experiment" title come into play?

• I have not intentionally added any life forms except Damsels and Dwarf Hermit Crabs.
• It has been two or three weeks since anything new (15 lbs of live rock) was added to the tank.
• In the past week I've stopped using tap water for water changes and top-off's (mainly because I'm out of salt mix).  I've been using RO/DI water from the LFS.  In the past 4 days I've added 15 gallons (20%), and I think it's interesting to monitor nutrient levels since the switch.

I think it's amazing to see watch the effects of simple everyday causes that I introduce into the system, plus the contributions of the tank itself as it matures.  I suppose if I didn't, I probably shouldn't have a tank.

So here I am wondering what single cause would produce this effect of a new snail hitchhiker...  It's probably not a single cause, but the orchestra of multiple causes.

• The use of RO/DI instead of tap water causing an increase of the health of the tank
• The addition of live rock a couple weeks ago
• The addition of the Aqualite at the same time as the rock
• The addition of flow into the tank within the week

It's been two weeks since adding the live rock.  This snail was most definitely a hitchhiker on the rock.  I wonder in what form I received the snail...

Eggs?  If so, how many?  The snail is pretty small and due to it's color is really hard to notice on the white crushed coral substrate.  About a third of my live rock is white, also.  I may have more of them, but until they mature, they will be hard to see.

Immature hatch-lings?  Maybe.  This would account for so far seeing only one.  If it were eggs, I would think that I would notice more of them, especially near the hatching site (where ever that is).

Could the rock work I performed this week have somehow allowed this snail to become viable?  Or at least noticeable?  What about the removal of the Damsels?  Could they have been eating these critters?  Now without a possible "predator", perhaps "they" are now able to grow to a size that more noticeable.

And should I hold off on vacuuming substrate for a week or two in the hopes this snail becomes more visible so that I may avoid throwing it out with a water change?

Observation - A Lack of Activity Leads to Closer Scrutiny Part II

I have now noticed red growth on the rocks. I am going to review the video I posted earlier because I didn't notice it earlier.

Here are some pictures just taken, along with the video just posted for comparison:

And the video:

Now that red growth has shown up, I'm going to do a little serious research on what it can be, it's causes, and, if considered a nuisance, what can be done to prevent these type of growth in the future.

Now that I've watched the video keeping an eye out for red growth, I'm seeing it.  Just didn't notice it before now.

So What to Look for in an LFS?

I'm having disconcerting thoughts about my preferred LFS.  Why is this business my preferred LFS?

• They are within 2 miles of the house.
• The owners seem to be very knowledgeable, and that knowledge doesn't have to be dragged out of them.
• The business has just about any hardware a person would need.
• The business has been around for 17 years or so.
• On busy weekends, you can hear the customers talking him up by stating how far they come just to go to that store (most I've heard so far is 3 hours)
• The owners seem to like to spend time with the customers.

So far, most of my purchases have been pretty major.  First trip in was the tank and equipment... about a grand or so.  Owner was VERY helpful.  Great first impression.

Second purchase was 35 lbs of live rock and 7 fish, maybe something else, I forget.  This was about $200.  Lot's of tips from the owner on acclimation and where to go from here.

Third trip was another 15 lbs of rock, crabs, and the aqualite.  About a $500 day.  Before the purchase, he was very helpful.  After the purchase, the owners helped carry the purchases to the car since I hadn't yet learned not to take the boy if I'm going to get more than a single hand can carry.

Next trip in was in a rush to replace the heater that went out within 2 months.  I know he knows who I am just based upon the greetings I've received from him in the past.  This was my fastest trip in and out of the store.  Walked in, grabbed a heater, and went straight for the counter.  I had less than an hour to get home, install the heater, set an approximate temperature, then get to work.

I work in retail.  If I knew a customer as well as this guy knows my purchases, I personally would have wondered (and I'm the type that would ask) why another heater?  Didn't I just sell you a heater 6 weeks back?

Nothing, except "Debit or Credit".  Forty dollars spent.

Next was the big tank cleaning day and the return of the Damsels.  I picked up a 750 gph powerhead, a test kit, and 10 gallons of RO/DI water.  Tab was about $80.  Owners were lukewarm.  Maybe they had some things going on.  I've never run an LFS, so who knows?

I went in yesterday to grab 10 more gallons of RO/DI water since I misjudged the amount of water I needed to refill the tank after the big cleaning.  Tab was $10.  Owners were, dare I say, cold.  Maybe they were just really overloaded with business tasks.  They were both in the back dealing with the water system.

So what am I looking for in an LFS?

I think the most important thing is interest in how thing are going (if they are personally aware of my situation in the hobby).  I don't expect a part time employee to inquire how things are.  But I would expect the owner to - I mean we carried the tank and stand out together.  They helped load the live rock and aqualite.

I would especially expect inquiring interest since it's the subject of conversation that keeps me putting money in his register.  His register over all other registers in town.

I'm not asking for a "Hey, Norm!" moment, and I'm not accusing the owners of scaling their customer service (or even their mood) up or down with the dollar amount the customer is spending.  But I don't appreciate the times they seem dismissive.  Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive.  But perhaps not.  Perhaps I've crossed a line with the owners without knowing it and I'm the douche-bag.  Perhaps I am unrealistic to expect the level of customer care that i personally deliver to "strangers".  Perhaps the owners are human, too, and are suffering from a shitty home-life - maybe I walked in just after a huge fight (husband and wife team).

My recent interactions are funneling me towards exploring the remainder of mom-and-pop LFS's in town and also becoming serious about purchasing online.  A week ago I would have considered the previous sentence "cheating" on my LFS, as if we're in a relationship (which we kind of are).  But after yesterday, I'm ready to see what else is out there.

Observation - A Lack of Activity Leads to Closer Scrutiny

So it's been 4 days now since the Damsels were removed.  I bet it's going to be another month before we get any fish back into the tank.  When it rains, it pours.

So with only 10 Dwarf Hermit Crabs, the needles on the gauges seem to be winding down.  After four days, nitrites are nearly at zero.  There is more than one thing going on that effects nitrates, so I'm not putting a lot of weight on it's results quite yet, but I will keep an eye on it to see if I can determine if nitrates are being converted to nitrogen.

If I would have known it would be so long before replacing the Damsels, they'd still be here.

So the tank is a lonely place now.  With fish AND crabs, the fish would draw me in, then I'd begin to study the crabs.  I still gaze into the tank habitually only to find three or four crabs within view... not much to see.  But habits are hard to break.  I now study the rock.  With the addition of flow, I can see detritus attached to the rock waving in the current.

As I go from rock to rock, I've begun to notice some algae.  I'm curious as to what it is - at least it's a nice shade of green instead of the brown stuff (not that the brown algae is gone).  Chances are it's nuisance algae, but at least it gives me something to do.

Once in a while I'll see a nice big piece of detritus resembling a dandelion seed.  Flow doing it's job:  CHECK.

And the Search Continues

During my errands yesterday I stopped by the LFS. Not a huge selection of Clownfish. Maybe had eight in the entire store. All were considered medium to large in size.  I'm looking for a group of three to five with sizes ranging like in the wild.

So I've spent a little bit of time today researching other LFSes... Without much luck. Some folks just don't understand how important websites are, or perhaps I place too much emphasis on them.

Either way there's not much to look at out there.

Perhaps it's time I become synchronistic with those of similar thought.  Perhaps I'll obtain them online.  I can always time the overnight order to arrive on a day off.  I've got just enough time to place an order and time it accordingly.

I'll have to ponder that, but not for too long.  Today's the day if it's going to happen.

Step Two of the Journey Almost at an End

Busy day and I'm beat.

About 8:30, I got started:

I was able to find all 10 crabs and remove them safely from the tank.  I housed them in a small bucket along with a small piece of live rock for them the play with while they waited.

Next came the live rock.  I removed all the pieces and placed them in a tub with some tank water.  Forgot all about shaking them off in waste water... ended up shaking them up in the tank before removing them.  Just that much more to vacuum.  I'll chalk that one up to lesson learned.

With only the 6 Damsels and substrate remaining, I began to vacuum.  The first 3 or 4 buckets were just the surface detritus - mostly from shaking the rock in the tank instead of waste water.  The next 10 or 15 (I'm estimating, wasn't keeping track) buckets were from deep vacuuming.

When the waste bucket got full, I applied the strainer to the top of the bucket and gently dumped all but a gallon or so back in.  Sometimes I'd let the bucket settle a bit, other times not.  The strainer seemed to work great at keeping the visible detritus in the bucket.  Not back for $4.

Then in came time to wrangle up the Damsels.  I only netted 5 of the 6.  Somehow, one of the Domino Damsels physically disappeared.  So I bagged up 5 Damsels instead of 6.  I figured the Damsel may be in with the rock.  But I did clean them off pretty good before removing them from the tank...

The live rock was then placed back in the tank.  I hate how it looks now.  I'm going to have to mess with it a bit...  Maybe study some photos and videos to see what went where.  No Domino Damsel.  The other Domino Damsel perished while bagged.

Then off to the LFS at 11:00.  Grabbed 10 gallons of RO/DI saltwater, a 750gph powerhead and a 6 in 1 test kit, and was credited some money for the return of the Damsels.  They must have thought I was bullshitting them when I mentioned how I lost more Damsels today than in the two months of having the tank, especially when I pointed out that one was physically missing.

I pulled out another couple gallons of water just to make sure I had room for the 10 I bought.  If a person finds out there's not enough room in the tank for the water, it's already too late to do anything about it.  Ended up pulling out too much water overall.  I could probably use at least another 5 to fill it completely.

Installed the powerhead, aiming down and along the back stretch of the tank behind the rock.  For now, it's something to help the rock purge itself of nutrients and to keep detritus suspended longer, allowing the filters a better chance to grab it.

The water is still a bit cloudy from all the substrate and rock work.  Detritus floats around roughly counterclockwise and stays suspended in the water.  Gone are the days where the tank would clear up (usually by settling) in an hour or so.  I'm curious if I'm still going to have daily skimmer dumps...

I'll let the tank clear up for a day or two, then we'll see about Clownfish.

Still no Domino.

Step Two of the Journey Begins

Yesterday was Jax's one year birthday party.  This is week I've been waiting for.

First order of business will be to pick up another 5 gallon "Homer" bucket and two lids for the two buckets I already have.  I've run out of salt mix and will now begin purchasing premixed RO/DI water for a buck a gallon from my LFS, and I'm going to need probably 10 gallons, plus some room to drip-acclimate today.

Second order of business is to temporarily remove the Dwarf Hermit Crabs from the tank.  I'll be needing to move around rock in the tank to get to the Damsels so I'll probably end up putting some of the smaller rock into a temporary container, then add the crabs to that so they aren't so uncomfortable.  They may be in there a couple of hours.

Third order of business will be to get the six Damsels bagged up and returned to my LFS.  I may need to remove some of the rock from the tank completely in order to catch those elusive fish.  That's OK, though.  The tank is going to get a good vacuum and scrub today.

Fourth order of business will be to get the tank cleaned up.  I've been gaining insight on the science of reef tanks from the Reef Tank forums, specifically about "Reef-keeping Made Easy", Lighting, and Detritus.  These three threads alone, though some may be some very deep reading, have bolstered my confidence and gone a long way toward keeping the guess-work out of this Journey.  It has also dispelled some myths and some of my preconceived notions about biodiversity in the tank.

I will be vacuuming the crushed coral bed more thorough than I ever have in the past.  For this I am going to need a water pump.  Usually when cleaning the substrate, I only have enough time to quickly vacuum about one third of the tank due to my 5 gallon water-change bucket filling so fast.  What I'd like to do is to modify one of my buckets to house a water pump that will return water to the tank.  This will, in effect, give me a limitless amount of capacity in the bucket in order to completely clean the substrate.  If I'm able to accomplish this, I may feel safe changing water every other week instead of weekly.

Edit - After picking up some additional buckets at Home Depot, I ended up finding something I'll try in lieu of a "pump bucket"...a 5 gallon bucket paint strainer.  It's sort of like a hair net for a bucket.  We'll see if that will hold the suspended detritus in the bucket while I pour the water back in to continue vacuuming the substrate.  Remember - my goal is to remove as much detritus as I can initially, then perform a 10% water change.  It doesn't matter how many times the "waste water" goes back into the tank as long as the detritus stays in the bucket AND i pull out 8 gallons when I'm done vacuuming.

Once I'm done with the substrate, I will turn my attention to the power filter.  Currently, like my substrate, it is a nitrate factory.  Before dumping the waste water from the substrate cleaning, I'll thoroughly clean the pads and impeller, and rinse out the interior.  Once it's clean, it's future cleaning will be included with the substrate cleaning (still learning as I go).

Fifth order of business will be to get the live rock put back into the tank (if it needs to be completely removed, which is not a bad idea - detritus will settle underneath them) after giving them a good shake in the waste water.  This will remove a lot of the detritus from the rock surface allowing the rock to begin purging itself of nutrients once again.

Sixth order of business will be to introduce "flow" into the tank.  This provides a multitude of benefits:

• Detritus and other nutrients are suspended in the water column longer allowing the power filter and skimmer a wider window of opportunity to do their job.  Decreased particulates in the tank translates to lower ammonia and phosphate production which both cause positive chain reactions on down the line.
• With flow, live rock will have the opportunity to wick nutrients to their surface and subsequently into the water column in order for those nutrients to be removed.  Substrate will have a similar benefit.

Seventh order of business will be to introduce new flora and fauna into the tank, a.k.a. "First Fish" and "First Coral".  We've decided upon the Clownfish (but not which species), but not yet on the coral.  That will heavily depend on the stock currently available at my LFS.

It's going to be a busy day today.  I'm going to do my utmost to ensure our new arrivals live happy, healthy lives.

Observation of Adding Live Rock to a Newly Established FOWLR

A week ago, as previously mentioned, I brought home 15 pounds of live rock and 10 Dwarf Hermit Crabs.  For the past three or four days, the protein skimmer has been collecting a lot more than I'm accustomed to seeing it collect.

Up until now, I emptied the skim trap about once a week, or three times every two weeks.  There would be about half an inch to three quarters of an inch of skim.

Now I'm seeing that much collected within an 18 hour period.  I've been dumping it daily for the past few days.  In the past, I've never seen the bubbles filling the trap.  They've always just remained at the top.  Now I have bubbles filling the trap except, of course, where the skim takes over.

So I wonder what's happening here?  Could 10 less-than-one-inch crabs be increasing the detritus in the water column by an estimated factor of 10?  Six Damsels occupy the tank.  I don't quite think the crabs equate to 54 more Damsels (which would produce nutrients by that same factor of 10).

Already having 35 pounds of live rock, I, in essence, added an additional 43% of live rock.  Does that translate into adding an additional 43% of nitrifying bacteria to the tank?  Maybe not, but it's not a horrible estimate.  With ammonia and nitrite readings effectively at zero for the past 4 to 5 weeks, I've potentially added 43% more bacteria without increasing their food source (ammonia and nitrites).  Is this potential ammonia- and nitrite-starvation causing the nitrifying bacteria to reduce in population to a more sustainable number?  Seems sound to me, but I'm no rocket surgeon.

I think the solution lies with both the large percentage of live rock added AND the crabs, with just a sprinkle of "lack of flow":

Sure, I added some animals to the tank along with the new live rock, but not enough to increase the amount of ammonia in the tank by my estimated 43%, which would be enough to feed the addition of 43% more nitifying bacteria.  So some of these bacteria must be starving and dying off.

Without a powerhead (as of yet), the most flow that my live rocks and substrate gets is a very light flow from the power filter, which only effects the half of the tank the power filter is in.  So there is a bit of "marine snow" sitting on my rock and substrate.

Watching the crabs, they tend to sift through this "snow" while grazing upon the substrate and rock.  The first day they were introduced into the tank I noticed them tossing up a decent amount of white particulates.  These particulates are particles that are decomposing and contributing to nutrient production.

My logic (whether false or not) is leading me to believe that the crabs are causing the increase in skimmage, not due to their bio-load in the tank, but by their behavior of tossing "snow".  Remember, I have yet to introduce any flow to speak of to the tank so the live rock is not able to "clean" itself.  To compound the issue, I've added an approximate 43% of nitrifying bacteria without an equivalent increase in their food supply.  I believe the dead bacteria now contributes to part of my detritus.

This leads me to believe that I can expect another increase in skim production once flow is introduced into the tank.  Flow will, in essence, be performing the same function as the crabs seem to... dusting off substrate and rock.  If my logic is sound, skim production will increase, but also will not last as long as the crab-induced skim production will.

Prior to the introduction of the crabs, I was more than likely "under-skimming" - more "dead organic compounds" were being introduced into the system than were going through the skimmer.

Now that the crabs are sifting through protein particles while grazing, I have a little catch-up to do.  More (hopefully, anyway) DOCs are making to the skimmer than are being created.

With the addition of flow in the next couple weeks, I feel confident that more nutrients will be skimmed than generated, allowing me to get caught up and then begin to find a new "normal" with the skim trap.

So now that I'm at the end of my thought process, the title of this entry seems misleading.

Comments?  Alternate theories?

The Short List for the Near Future

Damsel's are small, pretty, and have a relatively small gallon-per-fish requirements.  But they're also pretty territorial.  If they aren't eating, they're usually attempting to dominate one of the other Damsels, except for the smallest - he only has the hermit crabs to pick on.

So in the next couple of weeks, the plan is to bag up the Damsels, which is no small feat.  In my many weeks of studying them, I've found that they are particularly adept at hiding and fitting into tight spaces.  End result - the live rock is going to have to be either removed from the tank completely to catch them, or at least I'm going to have to arrange it to avoid any nooks, cranny's, or hiding spots.

I've heard of fish traps but haven't really looked into them.  I'm going to want to bag these guys up pretty quickly.  My entire life has taught me that traps will generally sit empty and I just don't have inclination to make multiple trips to the LFS to drop off fish a couple at a time.

Back to moving the live rock around... I now have hermit crabs, so they will either need to be temporarily removed from the tank or I'll need to be careful moving rock around.  There are only 10 in the tank (I've only been able to spot 9 at any one time), so moving them to a temporary bowl or cup should be the easiest way to go.

I'm thinking our first fish will probably be a Clownfish, which I'm sure is a very common choice.  It's actually a close race between a False Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) and some sort of Tang - and due to the cost of Tangs, more than likely a Blue Hippo Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus).  If it weren't for the "Nemo" themed birthday party this weekend, the Tang may still be in the running.

Personally, I'd prefer to have a handful of other types of Clowns, but I'm a little limited in what's available at my LFS - I'm not yet adventurous enough to hit other saltwater LFS's or order online.

I've been doing a little research on the Clown which is beginning to sway what the first coral will be.  Still undecided, but I seriously doubt I'm coming home with a mushroom on that day.  I can't really visualize a clown claiming a mushroom.  No real hope in deciding now what coral to start with... I'm not familiar enough with the LFS selection, but I'm going to shoot for something that at least remotely resembles and Anemone, if possible.

I've also read the Clownfish live in small groups - so there's hope for a handful of Clowns living (hopefully) as they do in the wild.

Also with the first fish and first coral, I'll be bringing home some "flow".  The LFS and I have talked a bit about what I'll need.  He recommended a 750 gph powerhead for the end of the tank opposite of the backpack filter... makes sense - the filter is already producing a little flow down on it's end.  It was also suggested that in the future, if more flow is needed, get a smaller powerhead for the filter end to add just a bit more flow.

I'd also like to feed the fish a more varied diet in the future.  So I'm thinking Reefpods - they feed on detritus so they're a part of the "janitorial crew".  I've read that they love to live in Chaeto, and Chaeto helps with Nitrates.  I saw today where someone liked the look of "grass" in their tank, so they just balled up some Chaeto and nestled it in the corner.  I realize that's not the most efficient use of Chaeto for removing Nitrates, but I can see that it's a happy medium for dual use - removing Nitrates and housing Reefpods.  I don't yet have a refugium, so it doesn't sound like a half-bad idea, especially if I have some flow in the tank.  Who knows, maybe when I do get a refugium, I'll still have Chaeto in the main tank just for another Reefpod shelter...  (I have since gained insight that deters me from this action)

Eventually I'd also like to start making a little money (or losing less, whichever the perspective is) in saltwater.  I'm tossing around ideas for selling beginner fish and corals, but that's going to take a lot of equipment, time, and work (not to mention space).  But I've been in business before and baby-steps are OK with me... I'm used to it.

Look what happens when a guy brings a salt tank home for his son...

... and this is just short list (figuratively).

I guess I'll go get that water change done.

The Boy got Crabs in Old Town

The Dwarf Red Hermit Crabs (seen on the substrate)

I mentioned before we'd picked up some Dwarf Red Hermit Crabs (Chibanarius digueti) last time we were at the LFS.

I went in about 7 weeks after setting up the tank. To his credit, the owner of my preferred LFS was a little reluctant to sell me much of anything prior to the tank becoming 8 weeks old.  I mostly wanted some assistance with keeping the brown algae off the rocks and substrate...  I'm sure the Damsels are tired of the prolific clouds of marine snow dislodged when I stir the algae into the substrate and lightly scrub the rocks.

He agreed that I was probably close enough to the end of my cycle (if I'm not already through it) to take home some Dwarf Red Hermit Crabs (but no snails just quite yet).

He took me to the tank where they were housed.  They certainly seemed active...they were very busy sifting the crush coal bottom.  They were a buck a piece, and he thought 10 would be a nice number to start with.

We had a quick discussion which allowed him to get to know me a little better.  He started off by mentioning most customers will ask how many crabs can be put in a certain size of tank... I interrupted him to verify its not the tank size that matters, but the amount of work to be done, or at least in this case, the amount of algae available for the crabs.  He was relieved to hear that I understand that perspective, which probably elevated me a notch in his opinion.

Back to the house and I've got to wait on the crabs to acclimate before putting the new Coralife Lunar Aqualite...seemed like an eternity, but this post is about the crabs, not necessarily the light, lol.

After what was probably an overly thorough acclimation, the crabs were ready to be introduced into the tank.  I dropped each one in and they all landed within 6" of each other.  I hurried with the new Aqualite so I could catch every detail.

After less than a minute, all but two of the crabs were already in motion.  About half started hiking.  The other half began to graze in place.  After about 5 minutes all but the two crabs that were motionless had left the drop zone.  Crabs trails of white had already begun to appear behind the grazers, and one special "hiker" was already on top of the highest rock in the tank.

I verified the two motionless crabs were still alive - I could see the antennae twitching, just no leg movement.  To this day (not like it's been years) those two crabs are still my slowest movers.  Granted they are the two smallest crabs in there.

I've also learned, through close scrutiny, that not all the crabs are Dwarf Reds.  At least one of them is a Dwarf White Hermit Crab.

After a few days of watching them, they seemed to take on a slightly different personality than the had in the LFS.  I only watched them a few minutes before purchasing them, but as I said before, they were really, really active.  In my tank, they seem to siesta.  But then it occurred to me:  The LFS doesn't have much algae, so those guys really must have to work for their food.  On the other hand, my tank is like Thanksgiving.  And just like Thanksgiving afternoon, we're all napping with full bellies.

So while the crabs graze upon the rock and substrate, I continue to scrub the algae from the glass.

In a couple weeks, I'll have my snails.  Perhaps even a Chaeto (Chaetomorpha algae) nest of Reefpods as well...