ahoowahoo
Member
I'm looking for some help from you old SW hands on IDing s few things in my tank. If you follow the link below you should see 5 pics of things growing on my live rock. None of the things in the pics were growing on the rock when I received it 12 days ago.
Please excuse what might seem to you all as stupid questions but I'm still new to SW.
http://virtualwunders.com/fish/tank.htm
Tank background
4 weeks old (LR 12 days-nearly cured from the vendor)
50G
80lbs LR
220W lights (110 10K & 110 blue)
5 150 gph PWs
1 200 gph Fluval 304 (no media except mesh)
Remora Pro (w/Mag 3 pump)
Pic 1
A - I assume this is some sort of macro algae? While I'm happy that anything is growing, I've read some threads from folks that have this stuff nearly taking over their tank and I would like to know if I have trouble ahead. First appeared about a week ago and now some of them are about an inch long.
Pic 2
A - More of the same growth as in pic 1
b - These are interesting little things (to me at least lol). They range in size from about 4mm to 6mm. In the photo it is hard to tell but they have little ribs growing on the inside and they look very much like the structures above them on a different rock (only these are living and the ones above appear to have been dead for quite some time). Growth rate +- 1mm per day.
C - About the best way I can describe this thing is a cocoon looking think with an opening the closes periodically??? It is about 3/4 of an inch long.
Pic 3
A - This is one of the neatest things so far in my tank. I noticed it on Christmas eve as it was waving back in forth. I call my wife into my computer/tank room to show her and its gone.
(Course she is looking at me like I'm crazy...saying surrrrrrrrrre I believe you, in a voice that only wives can use LOL.) About 30 seconds later I'm looking at the spot where I though I saw it and POOF, Its back! I actually saw it re-emerge. Every so often it just sucks itself back into the rock?? Also noticed that it is photo sensitive. When I was clicking these pictures when the flash went off it pulled the disappearing act only to reappear a minute or two later.
Pic 4
There are little colonies of what can best be described white "tentacles". They seem to flutter in the water movement quite easily back and forth. Where they are found they number from 6 to more than 10.
Pic 5
This greenish/red stuff is what really caused me to post this message. I was quite content to just let my rock cure for 3-6 weeks (however long it took to get water quality levels where they need to be) but this stuff is starting to grow fast. In fact, some of the coraline algae is starting to get covered with the stuff.
So I'm thinking of getting some sort of clean up crew to start munching this stuff.
Option 1
12 Scarlet Hermit Crabs, 20 Turbo (or Astrea) Snails, 30 Mexican Red-Leg (or 60 Blue-Leg) Hermits, 1 Abalone (or 2 Tiger Tail Cucumbers), 2 Emerald Mythrax Crabs, 2 Sand Sifting Cucumbers, 1 Brittle Star, 1 Serpent Star, 1 Red Fromia/Orange Knobby Star, 10 Burrowing Snails. $151 (free shipping and no tax)
Option 2
25 Scarlet Reef Hermits
35 Blueleg Hermits
25 Turbo Snails
1 Sally Lightfoot Crab
1 Cucumber
5 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Brittle Stars
4 Emerald Crabs
$119 Free shipping
Water parameters
Ammo - 0 (was <.25 last week and not sure why NO2 and NO3 didn't go up afterwards)
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ph 8.5 or 8.2 (from 2 different test kits)
Alk 3.2
So the questions....
1) Would it make sense to add a cleanup crew to control the stuff in Pic 5?
2) Isn't it unusual to have such a difference in Ph readings from one test kit to another? (8.5 is from Red Sea kit 8.2 is from the SW test included in the kit I use for my discus)
3) If I do believe the Red Sea test what is the most effective way of lowering Ph? (assuming the the buffering capacity is sufficient to maintain the right Ph level-alk would seem to be ok at 3.2?)
4) Should I be running my lights? If so, should I slap my timers on to give the tank specific light periods? (I have been running my lights +- 12 hours a day since receiving my rock on the premise that if I wanted things to grow they would need light (although Walt Smith, where the rock originated, says not to while curing to minimize algae growth)
5) If I do add a cleanup crew will they have enough to eat without any food being introduced in the tank?
When I received my LR I sort of just layed it arbitrarily in my tank without any concern with its arrangement from an aesthetic point of view. My plan was to wait until it cured, and then arrange and epoxy the peices together how I wanted them. Now that it looks as though things are moving faster than I anticipated I need to get things rolling. But I don't want to kill things I know are growing now !
Please tell me if this plan makes sense.
1) In my new 20 rubbermaid bin I plan to use to premix SW I siphon off say 10G of water.
2) Take out 10 - 15 #s of rock, arrange and epoxy them, and return to tank.
3) Repeat step 2 until all rock is arranged.
(I'm hopeing that in the couple of minutes the rock might not be fully submerged wont' fatally damage anything??)
4) Add sand.
5) Introduce cleanup crew.
Wow, this post has kindda got outta control. Sorry about that...
5
As I've said I'm still new to the marine environment and I REALLY apprecite the time people take to respond to my queries!
Thanks again.....
AW
Please excuse what might seem to you all as stupid questions but I'm still new to SW.
http://virtualwunders.com/fish/tank.htm
Tank background
4 weeks old (LR 12 days-nearly cured from the vendor)
50G
80lbs LR
220W lights (110 10K & 110 blue)
5 150 gph PWs
1 200 gph Fluval 304 (no media except mesh)
Remora Pro (w/Mag 3 pump)
Pic 1
A - I assume this is some sort of macro algae? While I'm happy that anything is growing, I've read some threads from folks that have this stuff nearly taking over their tank and I would like to know if I have trouble ahead. First appeared about a week ago and now some of them are about an inch long.
Pic 2
A - More of the same growth as in pic 1
b - These are interesting little things (to me at least lol). They range in size from about 4mm to 6mm. In the photo it is hard to tell but they have little ribs growing on the inside and they look very much like the structures above them on a different rock (only these are living and the ones above appear to have been dead for quite some time). Growth rate +- 1mm per day.
C - About the best way I can describe this thing is a cocoon looking think with an opening the closes periodically??? It is about 3/4 of an inch long.
Pic 3
A - This is one of the neatest things so far in my tank. I noticed it on Christmas eve as it was waving back in forth. I call my wife into my computer/tank room to show her and its gone.
(Course she is looking at me like I'm crazy...saying surrrrrrrrrre I believe you, in a voice that only wives can use LOL.) About 30 seconds later I'm looking at the spot where I though I saw it and POOF, Its back! I actually saw it re-emerge. Every so often it just sucks itself back into the rock?? Also noticed that it is photo sensitive. When I was clicking these pictures when the flash went off it pulled the disappearing act only to reappear a minute or two later.Pic 4
There are little colonies of what can best be described white "tentacles". They seem to flutter in the water movement quite easily back and forth. Where they are found they number from 6 to more than 10.
Pic 5
This greenish/red stuff is what really caused me to post this message. I was quite content to just let my rock cure for 3-6 weeks (however long it took to get water quality levels where they need to be) but this stuff is starting to grow fast. In fact, some of the coraline algae is starting to get covered with the stuff.
So I'm thinking of getting some sort of clean up crew to start munching this stuff.
Option 1
12 Scarlet Hermit Crabs, 20 Turbo (or Astrea) Snails, 30 Mexican Red-Leg (or 60 Blue-Leg) Hermits, 1 Abalone (or 2 Tiger Tail Cucumbers), 2 Emerald Mythrax Crabs, 2 Sand Sifting Cucumbers, 1 Brittle Star, 1 Serpent Star, 1 Red Fromia/Orange Knobby Star, 10 Burrowing Snails. $151 (free shipping and no tax)
Option 2
25 Scarlet Reef Hermits
35 Blueleg Hermits
25 Turbo Snails
1 Sally Lightfoot Crab
1 Cucumber
5 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Brittle Stars
4 Emerald Crabs
$119 Free shipping
Water parameters
Ammo - 0 (was <.25 last week and not sure why NO2 and NO3 didn't go up afterwards)
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ph 8.5 or 8.2 (from 2 different test kits)
Alk 3.2
So the questions....
1) Would it make sense to add a cleanup crew to control the stuff in Pic 5?
2) Isn't it unusual to have such a difference in Ph readings from one test kit to another? (8.5 is from Red Sea kit 8.2 is from the SW test included in the kit I use for my discus)
3) If I do believe the Red Sea test what is the most effective way of lowering Ph? (assuming the the buffering capacity is sufficient to maintain the right Ph level-alk would seem to be ok at 3.2?)
4) Should I be running my lights? If so, should I slap my timers on to give the tank specific light periods? (I have been running my lights +- 12 hours a day since receiving my rock on the premise that if I wanted things to grow they would need light (although Walt Smith, where the rock originated, says not to while curing to minimize algae growth)
5) If I do add a cleanup crew will they have enough to eat without any food being introduced in the tank?
When I received my LR I sort of just layed it arbitrarily in my tank without any concern with its arrangement from an aesthetic point of view. My plan was to wait until it cured, and then arrange and epoxy the peices together how I wanted them. Now that it looks as though things are moving faster than I anticipated I need to get things rolling. But I don't want to kill things I know are growing now
! Please tell me if this plan makes sense.
1) In my new 20 rubbermaid bin I plan to use to premix SW I siphon off say 10G of water.
2) Take out 10 - 15 #s of rock, arrange and epoxy them, and return to tank.
3) Repeat step 2 until all rock is arranged.
(I'm hopeing that in the couple of minutes the rock might not be fully submerged wont' fatally damage anything??)
4) Add sand.
5) Introduce cleanup crew.
Wow, this post has kindda got outta control. Sorry about that...
5
As I've said I'm still new to the marine environment and I REALLY apprecite the time people take to respond to my queries!
Thanks again.....
AW
