Clumping Crabs

I noticed a clump of hermit crabs today.  Upon closer inspection they were feeding upon the carcass of the Peppermint Shrimp.  Time to update the tank specs.

I'm curious as to why I don't have much luck with shrimp, but everything else seems to do fine.  I'm sure there's a basic rule on that somewhere, but c'mon!  How much harder is it to keep a shrimp than an Anemone?

As it previous posts, the shrimp was only acquired for the elimination of aiptasia.  And it failed at that.  So between not doing it's "job", plus being nocturnal, the shrimp won't be missed much.

Anyway, RIP Peppermint Shrimp.

Preemptive Strike Realized

I put yesterday's plan into action.  I've isolated the anemone bowl as much as I can.

The rock close to the bowl has been moved to the back corners.  I think I have the coral where it needs to be for flow.  (knock on wood) There should be little else reason to necessitate moving rocks further.

Jax's Reef - in it's entirety

Close-up of back right corner where mushrooms are now housed.  The Peppermint Shrimp has claimed this corner as well, at least for now.

The isolated anemone.  We jokingly call this the anemone's "morning stretch".  It does this for a few hours each morning.

The back-left corner where the Star Polyps and Anthelia are now residing, as well as the Chaeto.  The anthelia receive really good flow in their current location.

Potential Anemone Preventative Care

Just a few (hopefully) quick things...

Noticed the anemone has had some what appear to be "irritated" tentacles.  They are shriveled and white.  I've noticed the clowns picking on those tentacles the last couple days.  Those tentacles just so happen to hang over the bowl edge to where they may be coming in contact with the anthelia.  I don't know if anthelia "stings" or not, but I moved it away from the anemone bowl.  I haven't yet looked to see how much flow the anthelia requires.  It's in "low" flow now, so I may end up moving it again to a better flow spot.

Since I moved the anthelia, I'm thinking of moving the remainder of the rock adjacent to the anemone bowl to avoid future coral contact.  That will be for another day.

I scrubbed cyanobacteria from a few of the rocks also.  While I was at it I went ahead and kept on brushing. Did all the rocks except the anemone bowl.  If the power filter wasn't installed, I probably would not have done that just due to the amount of detritus that was stirred up.  So now I'm waiting for the "dust to settle" so that I can hand out some mysis.

The surface film on the tank was about 75% gone... at least until I started stirring up the substrate and brushing rock.  I don't like stirring all that stuff up at once.  I don't know what effect it has on the inhabitants.  Maybe I'll start spreading it out over the course of a week instead of everything at once.  Speaking of which, I expect a pretty full skim cup tomorrow.

Nitrates are still at 10.  Just another patience game to play with the chaeto.

Found a dead shrimp today.  Judging by the location of the shrimp I see on a daily basis, I'm guessing the carcass I found was the new one.  Time to update the tank specs to reflect the change.  I still think I need to have a total of at least 4 just to keep the "territory" covered.  But those will have to come with time.

The first shrimp I got was a nice pink, even during acclimation.  The second shrimp was brown the whole time until it was in the tank for 10 minutes or so.  Then it turned pink, but I wonder if that had anything to do losing it.

I suppose that's it.

Slow Day in the Tank

Slow days in the tank get me thinking:

• Since removing the power filter, I've developed a thin skin of compounds on the surface of the water.  These compounds need to be skimmed, but, due to my lack of current equipment, they cannot be.  I can point my single power head enough toward the surface to disturb the water, but a majority of those compounds are just too big to be skimmed by my equipment.  Also, when the power head is adjusted, the anemone seems to need to readjust.  I like him where he is.
• With these compounds collecting at the surface (due to their bond with a hydrogen atom, they float) the gas exchange between the water and the surface is negatively affected.  At least the power filter would disturb the water tension to allow for better gas exchange.  It also has the effect of tumbling this film which allows the skimmer to grab what it can in addition to the filter capturing the larger particles.
• Also without the added flow the power filter provides, I have more dead spots in the tank for detritus to settle.  That means more frequent vacuums, which equates to more maintenance and more salt mix.

I think my list of "pro's" to keep the power filter in the tank was not thought out enough.  And since adding the chaeto, I've at least taken a step to stem the tide of the power filter's big negative effect.

So guess what - the power filter has been reinstalled.

I hate the fact that I simply cannot keep my hands out of the tank for more than a week.  However, I want the best for the tanks inhabitants.  I am not afraid to experiment to improve the conditions of the tank.  I am also not afraid to undo any changes I make if those experiments net a negative effect.

The chaeto will simply be my low-budget nutrient removal device until I can afford an under-the-tank solution.  And the chaeto will benefit from the installation of the power filter as well.  Due to the chaeto's location in the tank, the power filter will provide plenty of flow to it.

I also took some pictures today.  

The mushrooms are doing surprisingly well. They aren't spreading yet, but they are getting larger.

The anthelia is doing well.  It seems to be getting nice and thick.  It, too, has not yet started to spread.

I can almost see the anemone growing day by day.  It now easily "over-flows" the bowl it resides in.

The star polyps are NOT doing so well.  The aiptasia at the bottom left has stung enough to create a purple barren spot.  And the dark brown coral right of center seems to be doing a similar thing to it's neighbors.  I am hoping to get the aiptasia removed next week since the peppermint shrimp aren't interested in it.

2nd Attempt at Power Filter Removal - Part III

I double-checked with the wife about halfway through my shift for a report on how cloudy the tank was.  She said it wasn't cloudy at all and that it actually looked good.

Sigh of relief.

Finally got home, and yes it does look good.  Perhaps the combination of removing the power filter AND changing the water did the trick.  This time the tank has a chance to start at near-zero readings (at least with ammonia, nitrites and phosphates) with the power filter gone.  I also checked the skim cup.  It's at almost an inch I'd say.  That would bring my new "daily skim norm" to at least 1 inch, maybe 1.25 to 1.5 inches.  We'll see.

The daylights have long been off today, as have the actinics.  The moonlit tank is what greeted me upon arrival home tonight.  Granted, it's different lighting (same exposure though), but here's how the tank looks now:

Water has cleared up. No light beams shining down,
at least that are perceptible to the camera like in the prior two photos.

I'm anxious (and then again not) to see what water readings are going to be for the next week or two.  And then it'll be nice to know the new tank's 'routine' so that I can lighten up on the testing, getting back to once or twice a week.  I think until I get a bigger skimmer, it might be stretching it to check once a week on a continual basis.  Perhaps I can get by with 3 tests every 2 weeks, but I dare not go further than that, at least until it finishes up this newest mini-cycle.

I'm mostly curious how nitrates are going to behave.  I still had a reading of 10ppm after removing the filter and then performing a 15% water change.  So it's going to take at least one other water change to remove traces of them.  With the power filter, I didn't seem to gain much ground with water changes unless nitrates were at least 20ppm.  I'm curious of the headway I'll be making with water changes now.  If after another couple changes I still have traces of nitrates immediately following the water change, I'll probably head down to the LFS and pick up a fist-full of chaeto macroalgae.

Also due to the removal of the filter, I also fasted the inhabitants today.  Since no one ate today, I should probably feed them something that everyone enjoys tomorrow - so not ZooPlex.  I think a mysis cube will do well.  I'm going to put them on a rotating regiment - mysis one day, krill the next, then zooplex.  Rinse, repeat.  We'll see how the variety of diet goes with the inhabitants and the water column.  And for the remainder of this week, as hard as it may be to keep my finger out of it, I will refrain from feeding the anemone directly.  Time to put the Clowns to work.

The aiptasia-dodging shrimp pair are another story, however - I mean, come on!  Do I seriously need an army of shrimp to rid the tank of aiptasia???

Don't answer that.

Two New Friends

Ended up picking up another Peppermint Shrimp today... Initial observations are that no one has told the new guy he's supposed to be nocturnal, which is good. He got the other shrimp to come out and play as well.

I dropped him into the aptasia corner. He hit it on the way down. After a couple of minutes of exploring, he came across the bigger of the three aptasia. He boxed it a few punches, then went on, so he knows they're there.

After a little while longer, he came across the first shrimp and they both began to roam. It's nice to see them both out in the light.

We also discovered what appears to be another coral in the tank. I'm sure it can be seen on other pictures of the star polyp coral, but it's grown enough to be able to tell what it is, in a general sense. Fron a dark spot within the coral to something additional.... Good day.

Speaking of good day, it was another good experience at the LFS.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Insufficient Funds

Just took another look at the back of the anemone bowl. Apparently the rent check from the Peppermint Shrimp bounced. The aptasia is still there...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

One Aiptasia Down and Analyzing the Future

As before, I have 3 visible aiptasia.  Two on the left side of the Star Polyp Coral and one on the back of the anemone's bowl.  I witnessed the Peppermint Shrimp on the back of the bowl last night and noticed the aiptasia wasn't visible.  But I wasn't sure if I just couldn't see it due to the Moonlight LEDs.

I checked again this morning once the actinics kicked in, and I'm pretty sure it's gone.  I'll double check later on in the week, but I think the shrimp just started paying rent.

Parts of the anemone didn't look so hot when I got home.  It's left quarter appeared deflated, though the remainder of it looked very nice and healthy.  I went ahead and hand-fed it.  It didn't close up on me though.  And then a bit later the mama Clown fish began to eat what I had put near it's mouth.

Maybe I should quit stressing about the anemone and just let the clowns take care of it.  The previous owners said they never lifted a finger for it.  I think I'm game to try that for a week or two.  I'll watch to see if the Clowns feed the anemone.  If the path of least resistance gets me to my goal quicker, why not?

I was thinking last night what I'm going to do if that thing ever splits...  it HUGE.  It's gotta be 10-12" in diameter.  Hopefully I'll be one of the lucky one's in which the 2nd anemone resides close to the original - meaning it split for good reasons, not for bad.

Since I now have a phosphate test kit, I tested my tap water.  No phosphates. There are probably other things in the water that don't need to be, but at least I feel assured I'm not adding to the phosphate levels in the tank by using tap water.  That only leaves food as the source of new phosphates, and I've never been accused of starving fish, so I could get that under more control easily.

I find it strange, though, that after the last water change I had 0 phosphates.  The next day I'm at about .125 ppm, and so far it's just plateaued from there.  I'm beginning to think my rock is the primary source of phosphates in the water since it reappeared then leveled off.  If it were food, it would steadily increase every day.  We'll see what it's at before the next water change, which is in 5 days.

My hypothesis is that if the level of phosphates is still .125, my feedings are having a negligible impact on phosphates, meaning the levels are coming from the rock and substrate.  Or at least the diatom and cyanobateria are keeping up with food phosphates.

I'm a ways off from doing anything big with the tank, if ever.  I'm asking myself "what's my biggest problem in the tank?".  Hard to say right now, since I don't perceive the tank as having a major AND permanent problem.  Sure the diatoms and cyanobacteria are annoying, but they will pass.  It's like the tank has started another cycle since I added that last 15 lbs of rock.  Then more inhabitants came before that cycle ended and I'm back to square one.  So time should heal the brown and red colors.  Easy - time is free.

The next biggest issues I see are tied.  Nitrate levels, Ammonia levels, and phosphate levels.

Ammonia levels will eventually work themselves out.  Given enough time, the proper bacteria will grow to meet the demand of ammonia levels.  Once again, time is my friend.

Nitrate and phosphate levels will probably always be around either from food or from rock.  I know some believe macroalgae to be a bandaid (myself included), but exporting nutrients via micro or macroalgae is a legitimate practice (just one of many sources).  The key is to actually export it via harvesting, not to let the macroalgae grow to the size of a basketball... and I think that's where I become seemingly hypocritical.  I agree with it's use as long as it's harvested (removed), but not with it's presence for the sake of presence.

So perhaps the next thing I'll do is devise a rod on a suction cup to pin the chaeto to the side of the tank.  If it's mounted in the right spot close to a powerhead, it will spin.  Who knows...

And with the phosphates and nitrates being taken in by macroalgae, perhaps my browns and reds will dissipate sooner.

(I'm still back and forth about adding pods to the chaeto)

Moonlight Views

Got home tonight after the actinics turned off, so it was just the moonlight LEDs lighting the tank.

Even with 1 LED per 12" of linear tank, there are still a lot of details to be seen, especially after a person's eyes adjust to the lack of light and begin to focus on moving shades of grey.

I noticed the new Peppermint Shrimp at the left side of the tank.  As it was inspecting the rock, it came across one of the Brittle Starfish legs.  He began to "box" with the starfish, but the starfish leg went limp and began to curl in the flow.  Almost immediately the shrimp apparently realized the leg was nothing interesting.

A few minutes later the shrimp actually crossed over the starfish and changed rocks.  Good, I'm thinking.  That's the rock with aiptasia.  The rock is about 8 inches in length with the aiptasia on the left edge.  The shrimp was on the right edge.  It crossed along the front of the rock for just a couple of inches, then left the rock and began weaving across the substrate toward the front of the glass...  so the aiptasia lives yet another day.

A while after that the shrimp appeared on the anemone bowl, inspecting the front side.  After a few minutes of this, the shrimp began to get higher and higher on the rock, approaching the edge of the bowl.  Mama Clown just so happened to be on watch just above the shrimps position.  I could see her notice the shrimp's antennae weaving back and forth as appeared over the edge.  A few seconds after noticing, Mama Clown exited the anemone to see what exactly it was.  The clown and shrimp met at the edge at the same time.  A couple head-butts from the clown and the shrimp disappeared behind the Encrusting Anethelia.

So it seems the shrimp is acclimating to it's environment nicely.  We should probably get a few more.  Most of the live rock is not stacked, which leaves a lot of no-mans-land that cannot be reached to be cleaned or vacuumed.  Detrivores will be needed to assist in these areas.  Also, Peppermint Shrimp claim a territory of about 12".  To evenly distribute shrimp across the entire tank, 4 would be needed.

I've also been reading about how the shrimp generally won't dine on larger aiptasia... which is disappointing.  In my opinion, two of the three visible aiptasia are "not small".  So perhaps I'll be entering the tank (or pulling the rock they live on) to at least partly remove the current aiptasia (knowing I will not possibly be able to completely remove it) so that they may grow back smaller & more appealing to the shrimp.  I'd do it right now if the starfish wasn't in the way...

The glimmer of Moonlight LEDs from the photosynthetic cyanobacteria.

Observation - Aiptasia, Mushrooms, and Anemone Tentacles

This morning the aiptasia seemed a lot smaller than it was yesterday.  FINALLY!  The peppermint shrimp is earning it's keep!

That was until later we noticed the aiptasia back to it's normal size.  Eh.  Maybe it's time to get a couple more peppermints.

Notice today a few tentacles on the anemone are wilted.  I wonder what's causing that.  They are relatively few and spread out across the anemone, but there is one quarter-sized patch that's entirely wilted.  Something to keep an eye on.

And the mushrooms look like they are doing really well.  They seem to be getting larger, which is a good sign.

Here are today's pics, along with a mushroom comparison:

April 2nd Mushrooms

Mushrooms from about 5 days ago.

The two aiptasia can be seen on the left of this rock around the side.  They are growing, too.
 Need to make them a meal before too much longer...

A Prehistoric Treat & Some Eye Candy

The Peppermint Shrimp, who has yet to earn his keep, came out from the rock he's been hiding under since acclimation to grab something, then retreat back to his hole.  I got a much better picture of him.

We were treated tonight to an early emergence of the Brittle Starfish as the Clown fish entertained us by skimming the half pipe of which the anemone resides, only to be interrupted by a starfish leg which they promptly shoo'd away.

And the photosynthetic bacteria of the Red Slime Algae glimmered in the Moonlight LEDs to top off the night.

This saltwater world can truly be amazing.