70g Reef Rebuild [Archive]

rageybug

03-11-2009, 09:12 PM

I am starting this thread to document our 70g rebuild...

To those who don't know the background story, we had a 70g reef tank set up for about 2 years. We had a aiptasia (glass anemone) infestation so bad that we decided to tear apart the tank and start over.

As of today, all of our stock is crammed into a 30g tank waiting for the 70g to be ready again.

All of the live rock (LR) is sitting in a giant tub drying out. This will kill all of the aiptasia.

All of the substrate (silica sand & crushed coral mix) has been removed from the 70g and dumped... poor copepods...

The 70g is now sitting empty, waiting the new sand. Tomorrow we will probably be putting 100lbs of silica sand into the tank. This will give us a little more than 2.75" of sand.

We took this unfortunate opportunity to re-paint the stand (one good thing has come out of this) and re-do the background. We used vegetable oil to "glue" a black background onto the tank.

Once the sand is in, again, hopefully tomorrow, we will scrub down the LR and get it into the water to start curing again.

I will post as many photos as I can along the way and please feel free to add your thoughts and/or suggestions.

bluebluecow

03-11-2009, 09:15 PM

ohh I love theese threads looking forward to seeing and reading your journey

liz

ILuvMyGoldBarb

03-11-2009, 09:33 PM

Wow, sorry to hear you've had to take this extreme action rageybug. The upside to it, is that you get to reaquascape it exactly the way you want it. Can't wait to see how it ends up looking.

sid101

03-12-2009, 12:02 AM

Go RageyBug!!!Go RageyBug!!!Go RageyBug!!!Go RageyBug!!!Go RageyBug!!!

Good journey man! ill be sure to check this thread as soon as every update is done!

oldhead

03-12-2009, 12:04 AM

Man that's pretty extreme. Good luck with the rebuild, hope all goes according to plan.

HendersE

03-12-2009, 12:30 AM

Sorry you have to go through that... Good luck with rebuilding you tank!

rageybug

03-12-2009, 04:51 AM

Thanks for the encouragement!

coachfraley

03-12-2009, 05:33 AM

Good luck dude! Just make sure all that stuff is dead! The last thing you would want is to have to do it again!

I look forward to seeing the build!

rageybug

03-12-2009, 02:19 PM

I plan to leave the LR out for a week to dry out, then scrub it before putting it back into SW. I think this should be enough..no?

Tigerbarb

03-12-2009, 02:54 PM

I'm excited to see how your tank turns out. I hope the process of rebuilding it goes well for you.thumbs2:

rageybug

03-13-2009, 03:34 AM

Today we out 100lbs of silica sand into the tank. We filled the tank half way with salt water. In a few days we will put the LR back in and get it curing.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010001-2.jpg

We also picked up a new salt water test kit today so we are all set!

*Sarah*

03-13-2009, 03:48 AM

Wow good luck with the rebuild, I'll be following this as well :)

oldhead

03-13-2009, 12:10 PM

Awesome! Man I love watching tank builds, I could do it all day. Make sure you post lots o' pictures. thumbs2:

rageybug

03-13-2009, 01:22 PM

I am so bummed out. I woke up this morning, kissed my wife and said "happy anniversary". Our first by the way... Went out to the 30g to say hi to the fish and the coral beauty we got last week was dead.

I tested the water last night, these are the numbers...

Ammoia - 1ppm
Nitrite - 1ppm
Nitrate - 20ppm
P.H - 7.8

I would have done a water change last night but used up all of my salt filling up the 70g. I guess a combination of lack of sleep (6 week old baby) and excitement to get the 70g going, I forgot to buy more salt yesterday. After the salt was in the 70g, and I realized I needed a water change in the 30g I figured it could wait until today when I bring home some more salt. I guess I figured wrong... what a major dissapointment this early into the process... Friday the 13th maybe...?

The good news is, my wife's parents are going to babysit a few hours tonight so we can go out for dinner!

rageybug

03-13-2009, 02:29 PM

There must be something to this Friday the 13th thing.. now my Aquaclear 70 flter just crapped out on me. Now I have no filter/flow in the 30g... what next?

I need to get this 70g going again... soon!

tim k

03-13-2009, 02:40 PM

You may want to consider cooking your rock ,you are going to have a lot of dead stuff on it and it will ensure no problems with the rock in the future.

Hers is a link on what to do.

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?p=109759

Good luck and enjoy your dinner , a night out without the kids is rare LOL.

Tim K

rageybug

03-13-2009, 05:05 PM

A peppermint shrimp just bought it... this is getting out of hand. I've got two heaters in the 70g to get it up to temperature and will probably get some rocks in tonight. I am debating the plus/minus of moving everything into the 70g late tonight. Dead in one tank is the same as dead in the other...

coachfraley

03-13-2009, 05:31 PM

There will probably be a HUGE ammonia spike in the 70g once you add the rock that you have cleaned up.

What are you using for filtration in the 30g?

I would do water changes on the 30g, and try to figure out why it spiked.

Can you get a hold of any fully cured live rock to put in the 30?

rageybug

03-13-2009, 06:02 PM

I was using a few pieces of LR and an Aquaclear 70 filter on the 30g but the filter crapped out on me this morning. As of right now, there is no filter or flow. I really don't want to have to buy a new filter just for a few days use but I might have to. I am thinking about curing the old LR in buckets before adding it to the 70g. I do have a fair bit of base rock that I am going to add to the 70g right away to get started.

I can't do a water change until tonight as I am out of salt and won't be in town until this evening to buy more. I had lots of salt but used it all last night to get the 70g filling... totaly forgot about a water change in the 30g

tim k

03-13-2009, 06:23 PM

At least throw an air pump in the 30g if you have one or a powerhead.

Tim K

rageybug

03-14-2009, 03:17 PM

Okay, as you've read already... Friday the 13th started off with a "happy aniversary" to my wife (a pretty good start) and then went to a dead coral beauty, then a dead filter, then a dead peppermint shrimp, then a dead clown goby, then as we are on our way out for dinner, a car crash. There was a road crew working on the culverts on our road. The big truck was stopped on the right hand side so I stopped before driving passed it. The foreman waked me through and I slowly preceeded. As I get upside the 2 ton truck, the driver decides he's getting out and kicks the door open... BAM... there goes his door (right off the hinges) and I lose my passenger side mirror and some paint. Unbelievable....

rageybug

03-14-2009, 03:22 PM

70g is full of water, silica sand and the rest of my live stock. We boiled a few pieces of old base rock to ensure there was nothing left on it. We set the rock up in two spots to give the remaining three fish a little bit of rock to hide in/under.

Our LFS has some decent (not great, just decent) LR that is cured and ready to go. It is $10/lb so I will only get a little bit of it to give the tank a little bacteria boost.

Here's where we are....

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010003-1.jpg

rageybug

03-15-2009, 04:45 AM

Boiled some more base rock tonight. Got a few GIANT bristle worms out of the rocks. I set up a bit of a rock formation to let everything settle in a little bit. Looks like the two Warty Rock anemone are doing great. The green star polyps don't look to good, might have lost them...

The last three fish are doing very well, eating lots and enjoying the extra swimming room provided by the lack of LR in the tank.

We went to the LFS to get some cured LR but it was closed by the time we got there. Being on parental leave from work for the last 7 weeks, I have a hard time keeping track of the days! Today is Saturday, right..? They close early on weekends... who knew!?

One of the blue legged hermits in the tank had the unfortunate experience of a hitchhiker. One of the warty's attached itself to the hermit's shell. The poor hermit was dragging this anemone around the tank for a while. Kind of like an ant carrying a golf ball! Of course, I acted before thinking and decided to just seperate the two of them. Long story short, they are seperate but I got a pretty good sting on the end of my thumb. You know that feeling of cutting a finger nail too short? Take that and add a bee sting to it, that's what an anemone sting feels like!

We hope to get to the LFS tomorrow to get that LR. We'll see if the baby sleeps tonight and let's us wake up at a decent hour!

Hoping to get a new CUC order placed this week as we are down to about 7 hermits and 6 snails.

Here's where we are.... (a little cloudy as I just sifted the sand to make sure we had no air pockets)

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010002.jpg

labnjab

03-15-2009, 05:34 AM

Sucks that you had to rebuild, but starting new tanks is half the fun for me:hmm3grin2orange: Sucks about the nem sting. So far we haven't been stung by ours

bluebluecow

03-15-2009, 07:18 AM

what a time you have had and ow to that thumb

rageybug

03-15-2009, 05:32 PM

Good news... the green star polyps are back in full bloom! For a while it didn't look good.

Off to the LFS to get some fresh LR.

Rue

03-15-2009, 05:37 PM

Sorry to hear about your string of bad luck!

Hopefully your tank rebuild will go smoothly from here on in...

Red

03-15-2009, 05:41 PM

good luck with the rebuild!

labnjab

03-15-2009, 07:31 PM

Good news... the green star polyps are back in full bloom! For a while it didn't look good.

Off to the LFS to get some fresh LR.

I recently added some to our tank last week and it took a week before they would open, and their still not fully open, it seems like they take a while to acclimate

sid101

03-15-2009, 07:38 PM

Seems like everything is at last going somewhere with your tank, great to hear your bad luck ended mam!

rageybug

03-17-2009, 03:43 PM

it took a week before they would open, and their still not fully open

We find that the key to keeping these guys happy is the flow. It needs medium flow (which is what exactly...?) We found that as long as the polyps are getting blown around a little bit, they do best. If they are getting blown right sideways, too much flow and they won't spread.

rageybug

03-18-2009, 02:24 AM

Okay, time to bring you up to speed. We went to our LFS and bought 10lbs of fully cured live rock. We aquascaped the tank with the new LR as well as approximately 85lbs of our old LR which is now not very alive at all. The 10lbs of new LR is to help seed the old rock and get the bacteria growth started.

We boiled all of our old LR to kill off the aiptasia. It worked very well except that is obviously killed off everything else on the rock. The good news is I boiled out about a dozen giant bristle worms!

Our old set-up had well over 100lbs, maybe about 130-140lbs and kind of limited the swimming lanes. The new set-up gives a ton of great swimming lanes and we focised on creating areas for corals in the future.

Here are a few pictures of where we are. The water is still a little bit cloudy but should clear by tomorrow.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010003-3.jpg

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010004.jpg

coachfraley

03-18-2009, 02:32 AM

Very nice scaping job!!!

labnjab

03-18-2009, 04:37 AM

Looking good. I like the idea of less rock, but still plenty for filtration. Our 29 with 50+ lbs is just way too crowded, but the filtration is killer. Can't wait to see the tank progress

oldhead

03-18-2009, 12:35 PM

That looks great! I especially like the little island in the center there.

bluebluecow

03-18-2009, 03:17 PM

looking great

liz

rageybug

03-18-2009, 03:35 PM

That looks great! I especially like the little island in the center there.

We thought it would be a good idea to create that islnd in the middle. It creates a nice big cave (the moon wrasse claimed it right away) and still gives a nice swimming lane in behind it. You can tell in the pictures, but there are 3 different mushroom coral on it.

sid101

03-18-2009, 10:50 PM

Great tank! looks awesome i can't wait to see more!.

rageybug

03-23-2009, 05:30 PM

Just an update...

Tank is doing great! Cycle is well on it's way... put all the fish/inverts back into the 30g with a new filter until the cycle is done.

No sign of a glass anemone anywhere in the tank... phew... looks like we beat it!

tim k

03-23-2009, 08:29 PM

Tank looks great , love the uncrowded look myself.
It seems to be the trend in Reef keepers lately , I guess people are finding out less is more.

Keep it upthumbs2: .

Tim K

rageybug

03-23-2009, 10:39 PM

It is hard to find the right balance between enough rock for filtering vs enough swimming room for the fish. I think we are pretty close!

AABatteries

03-24-2009, 03:53 AM

Its looking good. I can just tell it will become a great tank. thumbs2:

rageybug

03-25-2009, 04:39 PM

Starting to get some decent algae growth on the sand and some of the rocks. The cycle is pretty much complete so it is time to turn our attention to the CUC.

We hope to get our order in next week sometime. Giving it one more week should ensure proper parameters in the tank.

Planned order...

Nassarius Snail x15
Nerite Snail x10
Green Porcelain Crab x2
Green Emerald Crab
Sand Sifting Crab x10
Dwarf White Leg Hermit Crab x20
Blue Leg Hermit Crab x25
Coral Banded Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp x2

labnjab

03-25-2009, 04:42 PM

coral banded shrimp are great, but it my make a quick snack of of kill the peppermint shrimp. Glad to hear the cycles going along good

sid101

03-25-2009, 05:32 PM

looks like a mighty crew!! the shrimp selection could cause problems.

kaybee

03-25-2009, 11:28 PM

Wow, that's definately a robust (planned) CUC there, particularly with the crabs.

rageybug

03-26-2009, 04:39 AM

coral banded shrimp are great, but it my make a quick snack of of kill the peppermint shrimp. Glad to hear the cycles going along good

We kept a full grown coral banded and the world's largest peppermint shrimp in this same tank before. They never even went near eachother. You think one peppermint vs 2 peppermint in this tank will matter? I have a lot of good hiding spots in the tank and the way the LR is set up, it is like there are three different areas.

rageybug

03-27-2009, 06:00 PM

Now the CUC is on hold. On a whim yesterday, we decided to start ripping out walls in our house. Seems like a good time to do a full bathroom renovation...

sid101

03-28-2009, 01:32 AM

maybe you would like this

http://www.fishnflush.com/

labnjab

03-28-2009, 01:49 AM

We'd want one if it was close to 10 gallons...We'd never leave the bathroom:hmm3grin2orange:

rageybug

03-28-2009, 02:15 AM

How are you supposed to watch the fish??? I'd look pretty silly if I was sitting the wrong way on the toilet when my wife walked in...

sid101

03-28-2009, 02:19 AM

hmmm, didnt really thought about it...

rageybug

03-29-2009, 01:56 PM

Went ice fishing yesterday.. came home to a half empty tank. Wife said "I think we need to move the tank.." Turns out she changed the bathroom renovation plans and the tank is right where a new wall and the bathtub are going to be. Drained in down to about 4" of water and dragged the beast across the living room. Filled it back up (did a 30% water change at the same time) and everyone is happy...

Water parameters are good and the cycle is complete. We put the fish back in this morning and all seems well... so far...

rageybug

03-29-2009, 09:59 PM

Stopped by the LFS this afternoon to get some flakes... picked up a orange spot goby and a small group of polyps. They were not labelled, just said "various polyps" but they are some sort of button polyp. I don't know the exact name. I'll post some pics tonight once they are settled into the tank. Please feel free to I.D them if you can.

Took a look at a really nice Hammer Coral too. Almost bought it but figured I should read up on it first. Nice xenia available too... so many choices...

Cameron

03-29-2009, 10:09 PM

Oh.. thats no good, hope everything works out for you, good luck!

That was about the tank, good job on doing research before buying, i always have that temptation, like theres always something new you want..

rageybug

03-30-2009, 12:32 AM

Okay... not good... goby is getting his ass kicked by the blue damsel (I know... damsels are mean) and the moon wrasse is kicking him when he's down.

I can't do anything about it, they are in and out of the rocks like crazy... all I can do is hope I didn't just buy a $30 punching bag for the damsel.

rageybug

03-30-2009, 12:46 AM

This is the new polyps... anyone know exactly what it is??

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010012_1.jpg

rageybug

03-30-2009, 02:17 AM

So the goby is now damsel poop... should have bought a case of beer instead...

ILuvMyGoldBarb

03-30-2009, 02:43 AM

The Polyps look like Palys to me.

sid101

03-30-2009, 01:27 PM

Ouch man very sorry to hear about the goby... those buttons are called here just "brown buttons" i asked as well for those because they have them in my LFS too.

rageybug

03-30-2009, 02:11 PM

New polyps are fully open this morning and seem happy in their new home.The blue damsel is sitting on the couch rubbing his full tummy (just like after Thanksgiving dinner) and we are going to look at another tank tommorrow. If it is a hit,, this thread will be closed and I'll have to start a new one called

"Rageybug's 220g Reef Build"

It is a 220g reef ready Oceanic tank with a 6' MH and stand for $400. The guy is moving and is desperate to get rid of it. I think it might be the best deal in the history of best deals! As long as it is in good shape, it's comin' home!

Cameron

03-30-2009, 02:20 PM

thats an INSANE deal, i hope it works out for you!! thumbs2:

rageybug

03-30-2009, 02:33 PM

thats an INSANE deal, i hope it works out for you!! thumbs2:

I know, crazy cheap.... maybe it is one of those "once in a lifetime deals" everyone keeps talking about but I've never actually seen!

sid101

03-30-2009, 02:36 PM

My god great deal! either you take it or ill take a plane there and get it myself ^^.

Cameron

03-30-2009, 07:12 PM

I know, crazy cheap.... maybe it is one of those "once in a lifetime deals" everyone keeps talking about but I've never actually seen!

I hope it is one for you, im sure we'd all love to see a great big tank like that.
Where did you find this deal BTW?

rageybug

03-30-2009, 07:49 PM

I can't tell you because the tank is not mine yet....!

I am trying to arrange to go see it tonight instead of tomorrow as we are expecting a 10cm (4" for you Yanks!) snow storm in the afternoon. I'm not up for driving a 2 month old baby into a snow storm just to look at a fish tank... even if it is a sweet deal.

tim k

03-30-2009, 08:10 PM

Good luck with getting the tank Rageybug , the light itself is worth more $400 so the tank is free . .

P.S. your Canadian you should be use to driving in the snow:hmm3grin2orange:

Tim K

AABatteries

03-30-2009, 08:41 PM

That's a great deal. You'll be spending probably $2000 for additional equipment.

rageybug

03-30-2009, 08:56 PM

If we manage to get it I would imagine it will sit empty for a while. We might throw some cichlids into it for a bit but the plan is a sw tank.

I will need to build a sump, get a much bigger skimmer, more LR and sand, more flow.... more more more!

rageybug

03-30-2009, 08:57 PM

you should be use to driving in the snow:hmm3grin2orange:

Tim K

I'm fine in the snow, it's the other guy I have to watch out for. If I get hit, not cool...

rageybug

03-31-2009, 06:09 PM

Going to see the 240g at 6:00pm tonight.....

cocoa_pleco

03-31-2009, 06:51 PM

Going to BUY the 240g at 6:00pm tonight.....

______________

Kyle

03-31-2009, 08:21 PM

Better be Buy lol

Cameron

04-01-2009, 12:09 AM

Better be Buy lol

Hopefully its a suitable aquarium :19:

rageybug

04-01-2009, 12:19 AM

So I get there, tank is awesome, exactly what we want. It is a 7' long 220g Oceanic Reef Ready tank. Only 5 years old, a 6' MH canopy and a custom stand. All for $400 bucks!!!

We tell him we'll take it and he says "oh, by the way it isn't $400 anymore. I want $400 for the tank, $400 for the light and $200 for the stand."

I almost lost it... the price went from $400 to $1000 without as much as a phone call or e-mail to tell me (he had both my phone number and e-mail).

Granted, it is still a decent deal but I was pissed...

I left his house, without the tank.... bummer.

Kyle

04-01-2009, 01:17 AM

Dont you hate going to look at something at the person changes their mind? :spam:

AABatteries

04-01-2009, 02:01 AM

I would've gone off on the guy.

cocoa_pleco

04-01-2009, 02:04 AM

what a pain in the arse, he could of at least told you before to save you a trip

anyways, $1000 is still a good price

rageybug

04-01-2009, 02:06 AM

I would've gone off on the guy.

I had my wife and 2 month old daughter with me and he had his family there too. Not a good situation to lose my cool in.

Like I said, I was pissed but what am I going to do.... who knows, if my bathroom renovation gets done soon and he still has it for sale I might be able to work on the price with him... you never know.

sid101

04-01-2009, 04:09 AM

I think you did the right thing by containing but i would have not ^^, of course i dont have a wife and a 2 month old daughter, either if that is still a very good price for waht you said before he is pretty much desperate to get rid of it, just wait untill he's really close to moving and buy it then, of course you take the risk of someone else buying it for 1000$ before but it's what i would do, actualyl i would let him know that when he's ready to sell it for 400-500$ i would go get it.

Cameron

04-01-2009, 11:41 PM

I would've gone off on the guy.

Yeah that's ridiculous, sorry to hear though..

rageybug

04-02-2009, 04:55 PM

Just did a test...

pH 8.2
ammonia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite 0

Going to the LFS today to see what goodies I can get my hands on...

rageybug

04-02-2009, 11:23 PM

We decided to get the xenia today. Been looking at one for a while now. Here's a pic, will try to get one later tonight once it is open.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010003-4.jpg

rageybug

04-02-2009, 11:34 PM

While at the LFS, the owner agreed to take back the Moon Wrasse we got from him. It has eaten almost my entire CUC. All we have left is 3 blue leg hermits, 1 electric blue hermit and 3-4 snails.

If we can catch it, he'll give us a store credit for the purchase price... IF being the key word.

We decided to put the CUC order on hold until the wrasse is out... expensive wrasse food!

If this is not a lesson in "research before you buy" I don't know what is!

cocoa_pleco

04-02-2009, 11:59 PM

lol, lunar wrasse are definitely invert eaters. my lunar cleaned out 60 hermits and 30 snails, he still gives my urchin the odd peck but its too spikey for him.

rageybug

04-03-2009, 12:12 AM

That damn wrasse is a $300 fish now...

rageybug

04-03-2009, 02:04 PM

Today, my mission is to catch a 3" moon wrasse without having to tear down my LR... again.

Right now, there is 1/2 a cube of frozen food in the net. Just letting the fish get used to it in the tank, hoping the wrasse's appetite gets him in trouble.

The two damsel won't stay away from the net so I'm hoping to wrasse gets curious too.

Any ideas on how to catch a fish that does not want to be caught and has a million and one places to hide??

labnjab

04-03-2009, 02:08 PM

The only thing I can think of is go fishing, lol, maybe use a crab for bait, but a real tiny hook and some fishing line might actually work. Only problem would be keeping the damsels away from it

Cameron

04-03-2009, 02:34 PM

The only thing I can think of is go fishing, lol, maybe use a crab for bait, but a real tiny hook and some fishing line might actually work. Only problem would be keeping the damsels away from it

You'd probably have a problem with ripping up its lip, as well as opening a wound for infection.

rageybug

04-03-2009, 02:47 PM

The only thing I can think of is go fishing, lol, maybe use a crab for bait, but a real tiny hook and some fishing line might actually work. Only problem would be keeping the damsels away from it

There is no chance I'm going to use a hook. It would damage the fish to the point that it probably would not be able to eat.

rageybug

04-03-2009, 02:47 PM

The wrasse is taunting me from the rocks... I think it knows what I'm trying to do...

rageybug

04-03-2009, 04:00 PM

Here is that picture of the xenia I promised. It is wide open and appears happy in it's spot near the top of the tank.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010001-3.jpg

I'm not sure if I have the right specis --> Xenia elongata
Please correct me if I'm wrong...

.... still no wrasse....

labnjab

04-03-2009, 04:10 PM

There is no chance I'm going to use a hook. It would damage the fish to the point that it probably would not be able to eat.

I meant a barbless hook. I've never tried it myself, but heard of people having success with no ill effect on a fish. So far I haven't had to catch a fish in a SW tank, but I'm not looking forward to it when I do:ssuprised:

Good luck and the xenia looks great, does it pulse?

coachfraley

04-03-2009, 04:22 PM

Ragey,

The bottle trap will work on some fish. Here are the directions on how to make one:

http://www.cshm.org/images/fraley/bottletrap.jpg

BTW, it does not have to be minutemaid!thumbs2:

rageybug

04-03-2009, 04:22 PM

the xenia looks great, does it pulse?

Not yet...

rageybug

04-03-2009, 04:25 PM

I've heard of the bottle trap before. What's the idea, just cut the top off and flip it over. Put some food in the bottom and see what happens?

I guess it is like a minnow trap.

sid101

04-03-2009, 11:14 PM

Ussually when i had too much trouble catching a fish i would just make the space he has to run much smaller, moving rocks arround and sometimes tupperware caps. After a while i just bough an assorment of plexiglas pieces

rageybug

04-04-2009, 02:35 AM

Good idea Sid but this is a SW tank with 100lbs of LR in it. I can't just "move some rocks". It would involve removing almost all of it to get him.

We gave up on the wrasse for today. I figure we will pull the rocks out this weekend. The tank is only a few weeks old so there is not too much to disturb in the process.

sid101

04-04-2009, 02:51 AM

True sorry ^^.

rageybug

04-08-2009, 02:58 PM

Still no wrasse....

We tried the bottle trap. The wrasse did not come out of the LR for two days. Looks like we are going to start pulling LR some time this week and get him out.

cocoa_pleco

04-08-2009, 09:31 PM

honestly its going to be near impossible to get him out. when i tore down my 55g i left 6" of water and some LR and i could never catch him. i chased him for 5 hours the first night and he wouldnt come out so i had to leave him in murky water with a bit of LR overnight, and after he just gave up and i got him

kaybee

04-08-2009, 10:35 PM

Looks like we are going to start pulling LR some time this week and get him out.

That and a big net(s). Still may take a while.

Thalassoma wrasses seem too smart, wiley and cunning to fall for the old trap trick. :hmm3grin2orange:

Cameron

04-08-2009, 11:22 PM

rageybug

04-21-2009, 10:23 PM

I got the moon wrasse out today! I had to take every single piece of LR out to get it, but it's gone!

Took it to the LFS and swapped it for a 6-line wrasse and a scissortail goby. We almost picked up a long tentacle anemone too but thought we should read up on it first. We might go back to get it tomorrow.

The two new fish and acclimating right now, I'll try for some pics later tonight.

The LR is sort of back where it was. It is impossible to get it exactly the same but we are close. We made sure to create an ideal location for the anemone in case we decide to get it. Wonder if it will stay there.....

tim k

04-21-2009, 11:08 PM

Man thats a lot of work for one fish but I have been there before.
Look forward to seeing some pics of the new additions.

Tim K

rageybug

04-22-2009, 01:12 AM

Look forward to seeing some pics of the new additions.

Tim K

Not going to happen tonight. Water is still too cloudy from ripping the LR apart. I'll try for some photos tomorrow.

coachfraley

04-22-2009, 04:03 AM

Congrats on catching the fish! I know how satisfying that can be.

Nice choice on the sixline.

I was close to buying an anemone for my tank, but the risk reward scenario just didn't work out in it's favor. If you can isolate it somehow, that would be a huge plus.

rageybug

04-22-2009, 03:17 PM

We have a spot at the front left corner that is the target location.

It has great light, strong flow, a deep sandbed and is isolated by LR. We placed the LR in a semi-circle with the glass that has created 3" sheer walls on 3 sides. I hope this will keep it in place.

We plan to target feed it daily for the first week to convince the anemone it is in Shangri-La! I know that there is no gaurantee that it will not move but we are going to do our best to convince it not to.

rageybug

04-22-2009, 05:19 PM

Heading out to the LFS in the next few minutes.... hopefully coming home with the anemone!

rageybug

04-23-2009, 12:44 AM

We have the long tentacle anemone floating... looking forward to seeing it in the tank. It is pretty big... should look awesome!

rageybug

04-24-2009, 09:28 PM

Got a decent picture of the new anemone. It is about 6" across... maybe closer to 7". Today it dug it's foot into the sand and appears to like it's new home. Let's hope it stays there.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010021.jpg

labnjab

04-24-2009, 09:31 PM

rageybug

04-24-2009, 09:32 PM

Here is an updated picture of the tank. I cut a little bit off of the right side, but the only thing you can't see is the button polyps. You can see both the xenia and green star polyps on the right hand side and most of the mushrooms are visable too. As luck turned out, 3 of the fish made it into the shot too!

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010019.jpg

rageybug

04-24-2009, 09:35 PM

nice buy. I like anemones. IMO if you feed it at least once a week and it likes the flow then it should stay. We've had ours since Feb and it hasn't moved an inch. Is this your first anemone or have you had others?

I fed it a raw shrimp last night and it ate the entire thing, then buried it's foot today so I think it will stay put.

We have two warty rock anemone in the tank right now. They are only about the size of a $.25 coin... maybe a bit bigger.

We tried keeping two different condy anemone when we first started out with SW a few years ago. They lasted all of 2-3 months. This is why we all preach "research" here... right!?

rageybug

04-24-2009, 09:38 PM

We have two warty rock anemone in the tank right now. They are only about the size of a $.25 coin... maybe a bit bigger.

I just realized that you can see one of the rock anemone in the photo of the entire tank. It is just in front of the electric blue hermit at the front left side of the tank. It is in front of the long tentacle anemone on the front most piece of live rock.

rageybug

04-27-2009, 04:28 PM

The new anemone is starting to climb onto the LR today... aargh!!!

labnjab

04-27-2009, 05:01 PM

Hopefully he doesn't go too far, but maybe him moving will make the Damsal leave it alone

tim k

04-27-2009, 06:01 PM

The new anemone is starting to climb onto the LR today... aargh!!!

Try tying an anchor on him thumbs2: .
Tank is really coming to life now.

Tim K

rageybug

04-28-2009, 03:40 PM

Well, the anemone is currently sitting dead center in my LR and does not appear to be slowing down. I might try putting it back where it started tonight and try to create some better conditions for it.

rageybug

05-01-2009, 03:02 AM

Just added a Talbot's Damsel and two blue-green chromis.

rageybug

05-01-2009, 05:32 PM

The new fish seem to have settled in nicely. Here is an updated stock list...

FISH
Scissortail Goby
Blue Damsel
Yellowtail Damsel
Talbot's Damsel
6-line Wrasse
Blue-gree Chromis x2

INVERTS
Long tentacle anemone
Warty Rock Anemone x2
Electric Blue Hermit
Blue legg hermit x5
White leg hermit
Algae Eating Reef Hermit x4
Nassarius snail x5
Nerite snail x5
Turbo Snail x2

CORAL
Varius Mushrooms x7
Xenia
Green Star Polyps
Button Polyps

coachfraley

05-01-2009, 05:38 PM

So where are you going to go from here? I am drooling over all that space to put coral!

rageybug

05-01-2009, 07:35 PM

We have pretty much maxed out our fish capacity. We still would like to add a Clarkii clown in hopes it will host in the new anemone. We'd also like to replace the coral beauty we lost. After that, maybe a yellow watchman goby but not 100%. I'd say that is about as packed as a 70g can get.

Corals will be our next step. We have a very basic stock so far but have big ideas for the future. When we aquascaped the tank we tried to focus on creating prime coral spaces.

Being very green when it comes to coral, we are taking our sweet time when it comes to stocking. We don't have a great set-up for many corals as our lighting is only mid range and we don't have a sump or calcium reactor. We are still using a $5 hydrometer and don't have a full reef test kit.

For lighting we are using two different fixtures...

36" GLO T5 HO 2x36w fixture
bulb #1 --> marine-glo
bulb #2 --> life-glo

36" Strip light - 2 bulbs
bulb #1 ZOO MED ocean sun 10,000k
bulb #2 Perfect-a-lamp 30w (just for light)

I know that a light upgrade would be needed for many corals but we still have a ton of options with the lights we have.

labnjab

05-04-2009, 04:55 PM

Could the LTA be moving because the lights too low?

rageybug

05-04-2009, 05:09 PM

I put it back where we wanted it and it has anchored it's foot. T5 lights should be enough light...no?

coachfraley

05-04-2009, 05:53 PM

oldhead

05-05-2009, 02:04 AM

Hey just outta curiosity, what are the dimensions of your tank??

oldhead

05-05-2009, 02:05 AM

rageybug

05-05-2009, 02:06 AM

Hey just outta curiosity, what are the dimensions of your tank??

36" wide
18" deep
25" tall

rageybug

05-05-2009, 02:08 AM

I'm with Labnjab, the LTA probably wants more light, so it is trying to find a spot higher up in the tank.

With the mixture of HO and NO bulbs, I would guess that the anemone would need to be placed near the top.

It did not try to move up towards the light. It moved into a higher flow area. I put it back in place and adjusted the powerhead to provide better water movement. It seems to have worked because it has really dug in to the sand. I knew before we added it that it would probably move, pretty much every anemone will move to find a perfect spot.

rageybug

05-07-2009, 01:49 AM

We added two more blue-green chromis today. There are now 4 in the tank... a much nocer looking group. They are schooling together already!

Kyle

05-07-2009, 02:09 AM

and the new pictures are where???

rageybug

05-08-2009, 02:30 AM

and the new pictures are where???

Coming soon.... memory cards are filled up with baby pictures!

rageybug

05-08-2009, 02:32 AM

We added a new bunch of button polyps today. Not sure exactly what they are, kind of a blue-ish color. Pics soon....

Almost picked up a beautiful hammer coral too but they want $90 for it. Pretty steep but you never know.

We also placed an order for a wild caught Clarkii Clownfish in hopes that it will hang out in the new anemone.

coachfraley

05-08-2009, 03:24 AM

How many heads were on that hammer? They usually go for $10 a head in the So Cal area.

ILuvMyGoldBarb

05-08-2009, 03:34 AM

They usually go for $10 a head in the So Cal area.

Wanna send me one? LOL They go for $20 a head here. I guess that's the difference in shipping them cross country. Most pacific species of fish and coral are likely cheaper out there.

rageybug

05-11-2009, 03:36 AM

How many heads were on that hammer? They usually go for $10 a head in the So Cal area.

I'm not sure how many heads are on it. I never thought to count them. Next time I'm in the LFS I will look. It is on a nice piece of LR and is maybe about the size of a medium orange... does that give you any idea?

rageybug

05-13-2009, 02:53 AM

Looked at the hammer coral today. It has four heads on it and is more the size of a grapefruit. Pretty nice coral but $90.... dunno about that...

coachfraley

05-13-2009, 03:43 AM

That sounds a little on the high side, but not unreasonable if it is as big as a grapefruit.

You could always try to get a smaller one and grow it out. They grow pretty quick.

rageybug

05-17-2009, 01:43 AM

Still debating on the hammer coral.

We seem to have lost the xenia. It is kind of flat and shriveled up right now... now sure why. Going to test the water, do a water change and then test again to see what is going on. Don't want to add anything else until I figure out what happened to the xenia.

coachfraley

05-17-2009, 03:28 AM

unleashed

05-17-2009, 05:32 AM

Hopefully someone will back me up on this, but from everything I have heard and read xenia can totally hit or miss. Some people just can not get it to grow in their tanks, while other people have trouble controlling it.

My personal opinion is that it does better in tanks with higher than normal nitrate and phosphate levels.

So maybe you shouldn't be too concerned about your xenia doing poorly.
I've read and seen this as well coach.

Some (like me) can't get it to grow while others can and have it grow like weeds

I do however have a small amount which has grown very very little in the 12 months I've had it (no more than 5 mm or so)

kaybee

05-17-2009, 06:31 AM

Xenia grows to weed-like proportions in my tank. I've heard that tank-raised xenia does a lot better than the wild collected variety.

An even hardier coral in the xenia-family is anthelia, though most of them do not pulse.

These corals are capable of coming back if even a fragment of their base-stem lives.

rageybug

05-17-2009, 03:49 PM

These corals are capable of coming back if even a fragment of their base-stem lives.

It looks pretty dead but I have not removed it yet. Should I leave it in to see if it recovers or should I try to remove it?

Can it pollute the tank much if it stays in dead?

rageybug

05-17-2009, 03:52 PM

One other thought is that we added a new group of palythoas to the tank, fairly close to the xenia. You think maybe the ployps got to the xenia?

kaybee

05-17-2009, 08:04 PM

The paly's wouldn't have done it.
I've actually got xenia growing on some of my paly's in their attempt to outcompete them for space.

Can you take a photo of your xenia? It is disintegrating?

oldhead

05-17-2009, 09:02 PM

My Xenia have shrunk to half the size that they were and have appeared to stop propagating since I've been doing more of a wet skimmate and more frequent water changes. It is true that they like more "dirty" water, at least in my case anyways.

rageybug

05-18-2009, 02:57 AM

The paly's wouldn't have done it.
I've actually got xenia growing on some of my paly's in their attempt to outcompete them for space.

Can you take a photo of your xenia? It is disintegrating?

I forgot the camera at the in-laws house tonight. I'll get it tomorrow and post a pic or two.

labnjab

05-18-2009, 11:28 AM

I use to have 12-13 heads of xenia, back when I was having a large hair algae outbreak. After the outbreak was cleared up and the water was clean again all the xenia started withering away and now I have none aside from a few small areas which are getting smaller by the day (it didn't melt, just got smaller and smaller until it was gone) I know nothing else is wrong because everything else is doing great, but I think the xenia just like somewhat dirty water

rageybug

05-25-2009, 04:28 PM

The paly's wouldn't have done it.
I've actually got xenia growing on some of my paly's in their attempt to outcompete them for space.

Can you take a photo of your xenia? It is disintegrating?

Okay, it took a while but I got a photo of the xenia...

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010012-1.jpg

rageybug

05-25-2009, 04:29 PM

Looks like the anemone has decided on a home... at last! It is pretty much where it started out but is up against the side glass.

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010013-3.jpg

rageybug

05-25-2009, 04:32 PM

We picked up a small frag from the LFS yesterday. I thought it was a frag from his giant Colt Coral that he recently sold. He swore that it was impossible and figures it is some kind of leather...

I tried to get a clear picture if it but they are all fuzzy... not sure why. Here it is... colt coral right...?

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp132/rageybug/P1010005-3.jpg

I will see if my wife can get a better picture of it... she is way better with a camera than ,me.

labnjab

05-25-2009, 04:42 PM

Glad to see the Nem has settled in. As for the coral i have no idea, lol

rageybug

05-25-2009, 06:12 PM

Yes, we are happy that it stopped moving around. It was in and out of most of the left side of the tank before it settled.

We are still waiting on a Clarkii Clownfish from the LFS. They have been trying for a few weeks to get some wild caught ones but they are only finding tank raised from their suppliers.

rageybug

05-27-2009, 02:30 AM

Nothing major, just added a emerald crab.

The new coral is growing at a freakishly fast pace... it has easily tripled in size in only a few days. Now that it is bigger we can tell that it is a colt coral for sure. Not a bad pick up for $10!

Gayle

05-27-2009, 03:15 AM

No pic of the crab??? I am gonna cry!!!!!!!! LOL

It is looking really good Rageybug!!

labnjab

05-27-2009, 11:15 AM

No pic of the crab??? I am gonna cry!!!!!!!! LOL

It is looking really good Rageybug!!

Its very hard to get a pic of an emerald crab, lol. I've had mine for 2 months and have only seen it a few times during the day. The usually only come out at night

sid101

05-27-2009, 03:50 PM

Your tank is coming along beautifully.

AABatteries

05-28-2009, 12:44 AM

We are still waiting on a Clarkii Clownfish from the LFS. They have been trying for a few weeks to get some wild caught ones but they are only finding tank raised from their suppliers.

Why would you want wild ones, not tank raised?

ILuvMyGoldBarb

05-28-2009, 01:17 AM

Why would you want wild ones, not tank raised?

Wild clowns are more likely to host in an anemone then captive bred clowns. :)

AABatteries

05-28-2009, 02:16 AM

Ahhhh! That makes sense.

rageybug

05-28-2009, 03:59 AM

Wild clowns are more likely to host in an anemone then captive bred clowns. :)

You got it!

tim k

05-28-2009, 10:02 AM

Wild clowns are more likely to host in an anemone then captive bred clowns. :)

I have read that wild Clowns have a very tough time adapting and rarely survive in aquariums , were as captive bread are very harder little guys.

Not sure how accurate that is so I wish you luck with them and your Reef is looking great.

Tim

ILuvMyGoldBarb

05-28-2009, 10:50 AM

I have read that wild Clowns have a very tough time adapting and rarely survive in aquariums , were as captive bread are very harder little guys.I can only speak from my personal experience, but I've had 2 reef tanks and 2 pairs of wild caught Ocellaris Clowns and I've had no issues at all. I've also heard the idea wild clowns do not adapt as well and that is true, but it is not as drastic a difference as it is some times made out to be. Clowns are some of the most adaptable fish in the hobby.

rageybug

05-30-2009, 02:15 AM

I've heard that about clowns too but I am going to give it a shot. Our tank is a comfy one so we'll see!

rageybug

06-01-2009, 09:20 PM

Picked up 3 new corals today...

Pipe Organ Coral - (Tubipora musica)
Branched Alveopora Coral - (Alveopora sp.)
Green Button Polyps - (Zoanthus sp.)

details later...

tim k

06-01-2009, 09:57 PM

And the pics are were ?????? LOL

Tim

rageybug

06-02-2009, 02:10 AM

We went to the LFS to check out Friday's order and found the alveopora in the first tank we looked at. I have never even heard of this coral before. The LFS has them listed as "branching daisy coral". I have not taken any photos yet because it is still closed after the acclimation process.

The pipe organ and zoos are very small. We like picking up $5 frags from the LFS. They are very small and there are lots to choose from. We like the idea of buying several smaler cheap corals than buying the parent coral for a fortune. The average coral up here goes for about $75... give or take.

To give you an idea of the prices here...the daisy coral was $50, and a hammer coral is $90, small xenia frag $40, plate coral $75...

Miltonic

06-02-2009, 02:22 AM

rageybug

06-02-2009, 02:26 AM

good luck with your Alveopora Rageybug, I got one like two weeks ago and quickly went down hill and it bleached on me just a week after, It aso never fully extended up in my tank. :( Kaybee gave me some info on it and it seems that this coral don't survive long in captivity and are more of "dirty" water coral so its needs are never fully met in a clean reef setting we're trying to recreate.

Thanks for the heads up. I admittedly know very little about this coral, and might even be calling it by the wrong name. LFS Dude said that there are two different corals he knows as "daisy" corals. He ordered in the kind I bought because the other kind rarely last more than 6 months in captivity. He said this "daisy" is very hardy and should do well in our tank (he knows our tank).

Maybe when I post some photos the AC can help identify what exactly is is!

kaybee

06-02-2009, 02:48 AM

There are two type's of LPS coral which carry the common name "daisy coral" (also known as "flower pot coral"). Alveopora is one of them. Goniopora is the other. Goniopora have 24 tentacles on each polyp head while alveopora have 12, so differentiating the two is pretty easy.

Both are considered challenging corals to keep, with goniopora being the more difficult coral. Alveopora, while somewhat easier to keep is far from being considered a hardy coral (e.g., if goniopora lasts 6-12 months in captivity, alveopora may last twice the duration). I acquired an alveopora in a buy 2 get 1 free deal (with it being the free coral). It did good for a little over half a year, then commenced a slowly yet steady downward spiral.

What makes these corals hard to maintain is that they have a food requirement that isn't specifically known and difficult to provide for in a tank. Systems which seem to have the most success in keeping these corals tend to have high(er) levels of dissolved organic compounds and may do better in skimmer-less tanks.

However, these corals are known to do well in some tanks, with growth, skeletal development and reproduction (the dropping of 'daughters') being key indicators that something is going on right. Frequent feeding of small-particled foods may help tilt the odds of success in your favor (cyclopeeze sized foods and smaller microscopic stuff such as oyster eggs may prove beneficial in this regard).

Good luck!

rageybug

06-02-2009, 03:28 PM

According to your description I did label it correctly as Avleopora. I just counted and it has 12 fingers per polyp.

I am a little worried about this coral now! The good news is that we do not run our skimmer 24/7. In fact,, we probably run it only 2-3 days a month. If it is on any more, it stops skimming and water just fills the cup. It comes in so fast that it almost overflows by the time I can unplug it again. It does this after adding new water too. We will usually skim for about 12 hours every two weeks or so and the tank seems to be very healthy. All water tests are good, corals are growing and spreading and the fish are loving life!

Thanks again for the info on the alveopora!

coachfraley

06-02-2009, 05:24 PM

Are you sure your skimmer is tuned right???? That doesn't sound like normal skimmer operation. You should be able to run it 24/7 without any trouble????

tim k

06-02-2009, 06:58 PM

Something is not right with your skimmer , they are intended to run 24/7.
It sounds like you have it set up way to wet , you need to lower the water level in the chamber some how.

What skimmer do you have ?

Tim

oldhead

06-02-2009, 08:10 PM

rageybug

06-02-2009, 10:09 PM

We have put the skimmer on every single level of adjustment and it does the same thing....

Right now that is the least of my worries. Today the anemone is moving again. It left a stringy residue behind in it's old spot. Kind of looks like cob webs. We took a closer look at the foot of the anemone and it has Sea Spiders all over it. I read that the best way to get rid of them is to do a fresh water dip but I don't know what FW will do to the anemone. Any thoughts? I am worried that the spiders will spread to some of the other tank inhabitants like the zoos we just added.

tim k

06-03-2009, 01:09 AM

rageybug

06-03-2009, 02:13 AM

hmm... know of any other way to get rid of Sea Spiders?

rageybug

06-06-2009, 07:21 PM

We picked up a Yellow Wrasse from the LFS yesterday. Once we put it in, the 6-line Wrasse went after it right away. The yellow buried itself in the sand and we did not see it until this afternoon. Seems to be fitting in now, and the 6-line doesn't even notice it now.

Hopefully it will try to get some of those Sea Spiders...

rageybug

06-08-2009, 11:13 PM

I manually picked 26 spiders off of the anemone yesterday and I barely even took a dent out of them. The ones that were on it's tentacles would not come off at all.

This afternoon... the nem bit the dust.

oldhead

06-08-2009, 11:32 PM

Sorry to hear about your loss...

tim k

06-08-2009, 11:34 PM

That really sucks Ragey.
First you battle with Aiptasia now this just try not to let it get you down..
Maybe its time to nuke the tank with Interceptor and get rid of the little $%^#@@#$.
Good luck.
Tim

rageybug

06-18-2009, 03:32 PM

We have not done much to the tank for a little while now. Moved a couple pieces of LR around but that's it. No sign of sea spiders on anything else so I think the issue is fixed... (hoping)

I still need to get some photos on here don't I?

rageybug

06-22-2009, 01:59 AM

Added a tuxedo urchin and some zoos.... that's all for now.

jman

06-22-2009, 03:24 AM

give about a week now before checking back on the sea spiders it will take a lil time when nature works on them lol

rageybug

06-28-2009, 03:37 PM

I scooped out a sea spider that was floating around in the current last night. No sign of any others but I'm sure they are still around if I got one out. All of the corals seem to be doing well, with no sign of spiders on any of them.

rageybug

07-05-2009, 01:28 AM

Added a Lawnmower Blenny and a Brittle Star.

No sign of Sea Spiders

All is good!

coachfraley

07-05-2009, 04:36 AM

Hurray, no more spiders!

Red

07-05-2009, 05:13 AM

woo, I hate spiders, so I guess that I hate marine spiders too! Glad your tank is doing well!

sid101

07-06-2009, 02:16 PM

Seems like your tank is finally picking itself up again, good to hear, kudos!

rageybug

09-03-2009, 02:43 PM

Not sure if anyone is still interested in this or not so I'll just do an brief update and see what happens.

We have been away for most of the summer... travelling, cottage etc.

This is the tank as it sits now...

70g

Fish:
blue-green chromis x3
blue damsel
yellow tailed damsel
6 line wrasse
yellow wrasse
scissor tail goby

Coral:
various mushroom corals
green star polyps
various palys
colt coral

Inverts:
various snails
various hermits
brittle star
pincusion urchin

Over the summer we had our neighbour taking care of the tank for us when we were gone. They did an okay job but we did lose some stock (we kind of suspected we might). We lost a lawnmower blenny, blue-green chromis, and a branching daisy coral.

As for now, we are shopping for a larger tank. We will probably leave this one as-is until then.