Halo's 28JbJ Reef/Invert Nano Diary

[halostalker]

yea i was thinking about those hydro flows =P
as for the rock the big rockz are deep in the sand i think to the bottom but i added alot of pressure to the top of them to see if they would shift and they don't but the ones in the front are just a little in the sand but not worried yet
also i checked many times and how stable the rockz are by pushing on them or hiting them from side to side and they really don't move or even if the move they are stable enough not to fall anyway b.c they are held up my more then a couple of contacts on the other rockz so not afraid that something would get pushed over even by a strong fish or star fish or something lol
it suckz today i hurt my right eye on a stick and now i have a cut on the white of my eye
no pain, can still see but im letting eye heal so even when im wrighting this just using left eye

 

[halostalker]

Ph 8-2-8.2
Ammonia 0 (it did rise a little 2 dayz ago so i thought my cycle was starting
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0 (my sea weed in the tank is growing so quick its amazing?)
K so i was wondering do u guyz think my cycle was right, b/c after all the live rock came from a tank that has many fish including big ones and coral? this live rock has been in a lite sump for many monthz to years=P (there was even a big panther grouper sitting in the sump next to the live rock)
i guess i will still go very slow, i'll add one scarlet hermit now

(there is some green algae he can much on(i was wondering y i didn't get a diatom outbreak but then my skimmer has been pulling alot out(its like a brown tea more darker then light).
i was thinking maybe i should just get a cycle fish i did it in my old tank and it worked great?
this way at least i increase the bacteria, then i'll take fish out and just add coral and small inverts

 

[halostalker]

PH 8.2-8.3 (sorry)
Well i love my skimmer it suckz out alot of brown stuff i guess it might be still some die off from the rockz but i suppect its really just pop from all the worms and stars in my tank, all the rock is looking great some algae is growing on them and i started to notice some of the purple coraline algae comign back a bit, the water is still crystal clear which i love=P, all my tests are testing 0.
the thing i really don't like about this nano is it has no fan in the tank that can cool off the humidity a little b/c i get fresh water that settles on the rim and then it drips down the front of the tank=(, i also believe that would help with the temp problem which i can't believe i don't have i keep my halides on for 12 hours and my temp only swings like 1-2 degrees and i don't even have a heater in it b/c it stays stable at 76.50-78.8 which also depends on how my house is which is usually 76-78.
But then again if there was a fan in the tank there would be alot more evaporation

 

[halostalker]

I got 1 scarlet hermit and a Snail today, paid $6.50

dam LFS
I also put alot of rubble rock in the back sump area in my tank and almost filled it up

there better start to be alot of pods in my tank heheh. i put filter floss on top of the SUMP LR and i made a hurricane in the tank with my hand.
I tryed adding this HOB filter i have but it was making to much noise and not really perfect for this nano tank so i gave up and took it off.

 

[halostalker]

omg i just seen this little crab Zebrida adamsii i so want it omg its sick............. i don't know if its reef safe but i hope it is and maybe i can get one

 

[halostalker]

Update---- after adding more LR and filling the sump area i noticed a increase in PODS lol i see alot run around now,(maybe if i start feeding phyto i can increase there population and maybe keep a mandarin in the future)
Im searching for additives and there are so many out there that i can't seem to choose

HELP needed bad

 

[reefmate75]

grow your own green water atleast that way you know whats in it really, your in collage? they have a biolagy class? go there and see if they have any cultures on ice that they might give a young budding hobbyst thats intrested in the cultivation in something
if they will not give it to you, im sure they will not charge much for it

 

[halostalker]

thanx yea i have been reading up alot about growing my own green water, and about other cultures that eat green water and produce pods that u can feed to larval fish, shrimp.
After all i really would like to try my hands at breeding all the inverts in my tank thats y i will try to get a pair of each.
Now what other additives are good, calcium, coral food, etc

 

[peef]

With a tank this size, as far as I am concerned, you shouldn't have to dose anything. If you do a weekly 5gal water change you will keep your calcium, alk, and PH right where they should be. If you have not noticed a swing in the trates I would say you are done with the cycle. You probably skipped it as you got established live rock that wasn't shipped, causing tons of die off. If you want a cycle fish go pick up a little damsel if you want. But I think if you just monitor your levels for a little while longer and don't notice anything you should be fine to get a normal fish that you really want.
As far as food, I would just get phytoplankton. Cyclopleeze is ok but not really that nutritious as all it is, is the skeletons of phytoplankton. Marine snow is also a good food to add every once in awhile. I would feed the fish a mixture of mysis and the marine cuizine - carnivore mix.

 

[kat74]

Haaaaalooooooooooo!!~

Soooo..... where did you get your awesome harlequin's?

j/k
Seriously.... I'm gonna be keeping an eye on this thread!!

 

[halostalker]

yay=P yea 3-5 gallon water changes a week is what i plan on doing, but still reef crystals doesn't have a high calcium around 350-380 when i test it, so i got kent's Kalkwasser just to add a little more calcium once i have coral, i will add just a little now to help out the purple algae.
I also got concentrated phytoplankton =P. I plan on getting others like marine snow once i have a lot of coral.
Yea i just did a check of all my levels
PH 8.2-8.3
Temp 78.7
ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
calcium 350-360
DKH 7.5-8.5
phosphates < 0.0003
I am starting to get some gold algae all over the rockz but i suspect its due to me adding more live rock to the sump and some of the LR was kind of green so i guess it will die off in no light=P.
Oh well the rock is looking a but better then being all white lol now its goldish green

Now today i was observing my tank for a half hour and i notice wat i think are flatworms(very flat sort of brownish) well i have alot of pods in the tank right now most are small, but a very tiny pod which only looked like a white spec was running around in circles on the class and bumped into a flatworm and the flatworm kind of scrunched up and the pod was gone, i think it ate it lol(i have really good eye sight) lmao yea i love my tank to much.
Also did i tell u guyz about this blue worm (sort of like a brittle worm) well its over a foot long i think not to thick but its a nice color blue. it goes from rock to rock(from hole to hole) and now when ever my family lookz at the tank they ask hey were is the blue worm

I don't want to remove it b.c its a good detrius eater but i heard storys of some big worms eating corals but i'll wait and see.
If thats the case i'll borrow a coral banded shrimp
Thanx again Peef, good advise as always

THanx Kat i always enjoy having u around

(about time we talk in another post other then ur thread lol)
Edit" sweet page 2, also i posted alot of pic up do u guyz see them or is it just me????? no one commented on the crappy pics

 

[halostalker]

i never get to many responses!!!!!!!!!! lmao
Maybe i should change the name of the thread if i can lol
to something like
Halo's jbj 28g diary
Halo's advanced invert reef
LoL i wonder if i could change it lol b/c i really am not liking halo ordered his first reef.

 

[blazin2k6]

AHAHHAHA. Yeah i never figured out how to change the thread neither. Thread name that is. Yeah your tank is looking fine btw. Its good you are taking your time with it and not just rushing to put everything in it all of a sudden. be patient.

 

[halostalker]

Originally Posted by Blazin2k6
http:///forum/post/2492668
AHAHHAHA. Yeah i never figured out how to change the thread neither. Thread name that is. Yeah your tank is looking fine btw. Its good you are taking your time with it and not just rushing to put everything in it all of a sudden. be patient.
lol yea i really want to change it i wonder if a moderator would let me

yea im trying to be patient (im very patient, im a fisherman and a reeferman, Example: u have to wait for the fish to bite and i watch the coral grow lol)
yea being a full time student and having a full time job(55 hours a week wasted) time consuming so im using that to not go rushing into anything yet
well my tank has been up for while, i can see the the purple coraline algae growing(it used to be specz on the rockz now its spots

)
PODs are growing like crazy i just checked (night) and they are all over the place and i have a sick amount of flatworms on my glass(with in a inch^2 there are like 3)
I so want to get a HOB refugium like a medium CPR refug but im a little worryed it wouldn't work well or it would mess up my skimmer b/c there would be no room for it
But if i could just find someone else that has done that and i can have a word with them or see picz i would get it quick
i tryed this HOB (50) filter i have and put it on but it didn't work well b/c it was small.
OMG i would deff have a nice amount of pods if i got that refugium. (maybe enough for 2 mandarins or one really fat one

)
Oh yea if i where to get a mandarin in the future u think tiger pods and arcti pods would work for it and keep my pods up and the mandarin happy=P well a bottle of that stuff cost 20 so if i bought both u think my mandarin would be good for a while=P

 

[kat74]

Yes! You can change your thread title. I sent a PM to saltwaterfish.com and asked Scott if I could change my thread title a while back. I sent him a direct link to my thread and told him what I wanted my thread title to be changed to and he did it.
Are you sure that it's flatworms you have? I'm not 100% sure, but I don't know if that's something good to have?

Peef or PerfectDark may be able to confirm this for you. I know that pods are awesome to have, just not sure of flatworms?
If you build a fuge and can maintain a sick amount of pods, you should be able to keep a mandarin.

 

[nikko6nv]

halo, whats up buddy. looks like you are doing great. I think you said some where in your earlier posts that you had a saltwater tank befor this so i dont have to tell you that patients is a virtue in this hobbie. watch your lighting becouse the algae is gonna creep up on you faster then you think. start woking on a good clean up crew and your on your way. Good luck.This is acuually my first post on this site, i am a MR guy, but the members here seem very supportive, and thats very important in a good forum. Im definetly gonna watch your progress. Dont hesitate to ask for help, im no where near an expert, but have made my share of mystakes, which i can help you avoid. From one Staten Islander to another.

Nick

 

[halostalker]

thanx nikk i love having so much support=P yea the algae in my tank is coming i have alot now and my glass is turning gold(but i'll let it stay like that for a while before i go in again and do a cleaning) i think the extra nutrients are coming from the LR i added to the sump as i expect there was a mini cycle with it and the die off produced nutrients that has fueled a algae bloom in my tank. i don't mind i know this is a natural process and i like a but of algae let my pod population maximize=P
Kat it was late at night when i was reading so i answered my own question and right after i went to sleep, but anyway the flat worms i have are just another species of pods they are so small. the flat worms that are pests to coral and stuff are a lot bigger and different colors.
yea i would love to add a refug on my nano but the problem is whats the best way of doing that, i know i can put a light on the sump and have stuff in there but i really don't want to i rather get a HOB one thats more convenient to me

IF anyone out there knows or can verify that a Medium CPR can fit on a jbj 28 gallon i would like to know how exaclty does it work, like do i have to remove my skimmer?(i rather not).

 

[halostalker]

Sorry guyz no picz im busy with work and my bro keeps forgeting his camera at his GF's house.
My tank is getting a algae bloom the front glass is starting to turn a goldish green=P
IM goin to leave it for now (no time got to do reports) i'll scrub it off on sunday with my 5g water change.
Griessingeri goby is such a sweet little fish $130 i wish that i could get maybe a pair for that price=( oh this goby is also known as a flaming pawn goby

i have been thinking can i get a anemone and put it on the sand bed away from every other coral i will have????? i was thinking i could give the anemone 1/4 the tank or sand bed and then everything else will be on high rockz or far enough away.
I want a pretty anemone like maybe some nice sebae or other that are pretty amazing. well this is just a thought i would be dosing phyto and even later on pods so it would have a good environment and i even have alot of light for it.
this is till a Dream, to make room for it i would just have to remove 2 big pieces of tonga branching LR.
DO u think guyz i could pull it off?

 

[halostalker]

red flower anemone they are pretty nice they don't move just stay attached to a rock, and they don't sting how cool is that and it stays small should i get one lol=P

 

[halostalker]

just checked my tank specs
Ph 8.2-8.4
ammonia 0
nitrate 0 (its funny b/c i have alot of algae)
everything else i are fine
I did this while dripping kalkwasser so i guess im dripping it good lol