A few questions regaurding my tank

Hey guys, just made a new account and would like to share my tank set up and ask a few questions. All though I am not a total noobie, I am pretty up there as far as being clueless goes.

Here are some pictures along with questions for you guys:

These few are just showing the set up

The power supply is more than enough to keep all systems go during a power outage.

The light fixture is just botched onto the back of the tank with a clamp; it has a full spectrum bulb.

First thing I would like to ask is regarding my cheato. It appears mainly green with brown parts in it, which I think is from transportation from the LFS to the tank but not sure. The tank really does not have a bio load right now so I am concerned with its ability to grow properly.

I am 99.99% sure this is cyano which is just dandy because I have a full fledged RO/Di system *groan* Is there really any efficient way to eradicate these things?

Same story here. I showed this picture to my LFS owner and really could not give me a 100% answer because he has never seen this in a sand bed. Thoughts?

This stuff has been growing around the tank. I am not talking about the green algae stems in the back round, but the purple stuff centered in the picture... What is this??

Any help on these would be sweet! On a lighter subject the newly acclimated peppermints seem to be doing just fine, although they like to hide behind the rocks; normal behavior? What should I feed them? I know they can scavenge but do they eat algae?

The starfish I put in is doing ok, but I am worried about him even though the acclimation process was over an hour. Can anybody identify the species?

Once again thanks guys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallreef 

well to start looks pretty good..so the chaeto needs good lighting which looks like you have and needs those excess nutrients to grow,, so you may think about feeding your tank a bit more 

on the sand bed looks like cyano.. the strandy stuff im not sure...

and the purple branching stuff I have NO CLUE???

the problem with starfish is they need detritus and such to eat and if you dont have enough in your tank it will starve I think its a fromia but the colors and bumps are hard to tell in the darker light

Hmm, do you think the chaeto will be okay without a bio load for three more days? As for the starfish, he appears to be doing just fine but he likes to cruze around the tank A LOT which concerns me because he could be looking for food. I read some people can have success with direct feeding which I tried with a piece of raw meat (100% no salt or preservatives) but he was just startled by it, not eating it. And yes, I have confirmed with some others that the species is fromia. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallreef 

seafood not meat....dont put meat in your tank...

 

get a piece of fresh shrimp or scallop and cut it up small enough to stab it with a toothpick and place it under one of the stars legs, very gently...

 

and I dont know about the chaeto...i know you can starve it out but im not sure how fast that happens

 

 

Wow thanks. I will give the shrimp thing a try. The peppermint shrimp like to hide behind the rocks, and then I see them they are usually hanging onto a rock swinging back and forth. Is this normal  behavior? Are they still adjusting?

Wow, thank you so much for the very warm welcome to the site guys (and gals). The cheato is growing just fine I think, and I understand the growth will not really blow me away when it does not have the ability to tumble. Though I did position it specifically under my water return so it is recieving a lot of water
 

This is what is paining me about my LFS. There are not that many around these parts so I have to make the most of what I have, and ordering off the internet concerns me because I am generally not home during the day. So I suppose I am a worry wort about the whole your fish come and cool off and die thing. Anyways back to the LFS; I need to trust this guy because I am a pretty good noob here. The "peppermint shrimp" are not actually actually the reef safe peppermints I was looking for. I am almost positive, but take a look

And finally: After closer examination, my starfish might actually be infected with some sort of parasite. I showed the evidence to some of my mates and they agree they have never seen fromia with these protrusions

Red flags all over, not to mention it appears he is not eating

Final Final, I promise. How do I go about the removal of the red stuff on by bed?? It is like half an inch into it

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flower 

 

Hi and welcome to the site.

 

The shrimp are fine, they are so light bodied that they kind of wave with the water flow...so they are just fine. I don't think Froma stars eat shrimp, they feed on algae film and they are hard to keep in a new tank...they are hard to keep in an established one too if it's too clean.

 

Cyano is a red mat like what is on the sand but not the branch stuff...if that is a turf algae. It spreads pretty fast but it plucks up easy and should just pull off the rock. If any floats away it will grow in new places, like hair algae it releases spores to spread...except it's red, tangs love it.

 

I don't know what the purple flower thing is, but I like it. Oh and Chaeto...it not only needs the light, but I read it like to tumble so you need some flow in there a

Thank you a lot, but I am talking about the blue protrusions on the organism! I know what the feet look like, not that much of a noobie!!!!!!!!!!

Look closely at the sides of the legs or whatever the large things are called *lol*, there are small blue ovals which stick out.

And could anybody validate the species of shrimp I bought? I am pretty sure they are not reef safe...

Here is a blurry side angle shot to help out with identifying the species

It does not really look like a camelback to me

I found a picture of a camel back:

and a peppermint:

"There are several different types of shrimp sold as "Peppermint" shrimp.  The ones illustrated here are the true Lysmata wurdenmanni which are completely reef safe."

And I believe that picture ^above Is more like the one I have in my tank

I think I have found the bottom to this, but I suppose I will have to wait and see when I get corals in the tank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 

I think that's the "intelligent design" of the starfish. Nothing to worry about, no signs of disease. Some starfish need relatively little to eat. I wouldn't be worried.

 

I can't tell by the angle of the picture of the shrimp - but it may be a camelback shrimp. Camelbacks aren't reef safe. Do a bit more research on it and see if you can find a pic of one and compare it to yours.

 

And here is a picture of my bed, I am still not sure if this purple stuff is cyano.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slice 

Funny you mention that today...

 

http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/390371/theres-a-dead-man-walkin-in-my-tank#post_3456521

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Limpid 

It looks more like a peppermint to me camels are more brown than pink. I had peppermints they are not completely reef safe. Mine ate polys and when they ate my ricordea they got evicted.

I will be furious if that happens with my shrimp!!