NEWBIE 200 gal build diary

lareefkeeper

lareefkeeper

New Member
+1 to all and to all a +1.
In regards to the Lion, I doubt it's eating pods as that is just not its diet and it doesnt really have the mouth to catch them. You say he is too small for silversides, so how small is he? Live foods are the best thing to entice him to hunt and feed, could you do small goldfish? Other than that you may have to either find another source for live ghost shrimp or return the lion, sorry. Good luck and keep us all updated.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
Spanko- WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS MISERABLE TIME?!?! hahaha
Thanks for all the info!!
The fox face was actually in the tank a good 2 months before the tang... that tang is gone though now, so it's cool. There is a small sailfin tang in there with him and they are buddies. I like the sailfin more anyway, he is a lot less aggressive.
I have taken down the feedings to every 3 days and I don't think I can do less. They seem so hungry... even before when I feed daily... no food was ever hitting the rocks... I only put in a little food at a time, and don't add anymore food until it was all eaten.
I change 20 gallons of water about every 5 days. Lately I have been trying to stretch the changes to about 7 days to save a little on water and salt.
When I change water, I have one of those like super suction hoses that you hook up to a hose and it uses water pressure to suck out crap in the tank... that is how I have been getting out the cyano in water changes. Also, every night for about 20 minutes, I take my turkey baster and a bucket and I pick an area and just go at the cyano til there is none left. EVERY NIGHT WHILE I WATCH TV!!!
filtration- I do not have a skimmer yet. When the new year rolls around, we will have a very large skimmer.
As of right now, there is just my sump/fuge for my filtration. Where my drain comes out in to the sump, there is a little like... box that the water goes through first. That is where I have my filter pads. I buy this blue pad stuff that you get at the petstores and it's cheap too! Basically...
I get the blue stuff, and I also get the fiber fill (white cottony stuff) and I roll up the white stuff inside the blue pad and then I have loose bag carbon that is in this filter box too. I change out this filter media about once a week, or sooner if it is too dirty.
My water is very clear and clean and I don't have any other problems except this cyano thing.
Also, I don't plan on buying anymore fish, EVER! I bought my big order off of SWF recently and I don't plan to buy anymore fish. I bought them small so I can have them grow up in the tank and then eventually we plan on building a house when we move and we are going to put in a very large, in wall system, and upgrade then.
As far as corals, I have just a few frags right now and I am just leaving those alone. I don't plan on buying anything else for the tank besides a skimmer at the start of the new year.
Thanks again for all the help!!! I really do appreciate it!
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
LA- I was thinking of getting some small feeder fish, just to get something in his belly and then trying to get him onto frozen later. I hear that you shouldn't feed them things like fresh water feeders and what not because they cause like lock jaw or liver deposits but I think at this point, I don't want him to just starve. He comes out every night and is hunting something....
I don't think taking him back is an option. I can't catch anything in this tank and He is so tiny, it would be damn near impossible. I can hardly see him. lol As far as his size, he is around 1.5 inches. You could fit him in a measuring table spoon. He is just a little guy but he has doubled in size since I bought him.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
So I saw this little creature months ago in my sump and I hadn't seen it until tonight so I pulled it out and I put it in a cup to take pictures.
it is like a snail with no shell (actually that little brown thing is a shell) and it moves really really fast! It has little feelers like a snail and it if I touch it, it is soft like a snail, but then it hardens up like a little rock.
Anyone know what this strange creature it? I have never seen a snail without a full shell...

 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
very cool. I think I've seen something like that before but I"m not sure where, when or what it was. I hope somebody recognizes it. *cough* *cough* spanko *cough*
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
i have those and i had no problem with them!
btw hey sis! and Tia!
tia is aunt for spanish.
hows everything?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by melypr1985
http:///forum/post/3147034
very cool. I think I've seen something like that before but I"m not sure where, when or what it was. I hope somebody recognizes it. *cough* *cough* spanko *cough*
+1......was thinking the same thing...cough**Spanko** cough
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
TeresaQ for the win! She cleared up the mystery...
It is a stomatella varia. They are good and apparently will breed in the reef tank often but they will not become a nuisance. They are herbivores and eat micro algae.
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
Originally Posted by rlablan
http:///forum/post/3147086
TeresaQ for the win! She cleared up the mystery...
It is a stomatella varia. They are good and apparently will breed in the reef tank often but they will not become a nuisance. They are herbivores and eat micro algae.

super neet! I know I've seen them elsewhere and they were never labled bad. So cool!
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
So I was just looking in the tank and....
I have ich out the wazoo!!!
the hippo tang has like 20 spots!
my royal gramma has a ton of spots
sailfin tang has a few spots
rock beauty has a few spots too
pygmy angel has 1 or 2 spots also...
I am seriously just getting so frustrated. Every time I have one issue, there are like 4 more that crop up.
What am I supposed to do with all of these fish now? They can't all go into QT and I could never catch them all either. What should I do?
I feel like I am going to cry.
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
Alright, so I am looking into treatment of ich in a reef tank and all I am seeing is "get a uv steriliazer and cleaner shrimp."
I already have the sterilizer and am running it, have been for about a week or so... maybe a little less.... It is small though, so it won't kill things too quick, like my pods and stuff like that. I don't want to starve my mandarin.
Next question is will the cleaner shrimp actually clean all of this ich off? I am willing to buy a couple if I can get them to actually help the problem. I had one a long time ago, but I never saw it cleaning anything. I did not have ich or anything at that point though??
So will shrimps help? if they will, I will get some tomorrow.
I don't think I can get a cleaner wrasse because I already have a wrasse... won't they fight? also, I read about cleaning gobies?? I have 2 gobies so I dunno if I can have more but I have never heard of a cleaning goby.
What should I do? I don't want to lose fish and chasing them with a net will only stress them more. I am trying to give them vitamins but they only get them every 3 days now since I cut down food because of the cyano!
I should have kept my money and went on a nice vacation instead of starting saltwater!!!
 
melypr1985

melypr1985

Member
Originally Posted by rlablan
http:///forum/post/3147804
Alright, so I am looking into treatment of ich in a reef tank and all I am seeing is "get a uv steriliazer and cleaner shrimp."
I already have the sterilizer and am running it, have been for about a week or so... maybe a little less.... It is small though, so it won't kill things too quick, like my pods and stuff like that. I don't want to starve my mandarin.
Next question is will the cleaner shrimp actually clean all of this ich off? I am willing to buy a couple if I can get them to actually help the problem. I had one a long time ago, but I never saw it cleaning anything. I did not have ich or anything at that point though??
So will shrimps help? if they will, I will get some tomorrow.
I don't think I can get a cleaner wrasse because I already have a wrasse... won't they fight? also, I read about cleaning gobies?? I have 2 gobies so I dunno if I can have more but I have never heard of a cleaning goby.
What should I do? I don't want to lose fish and chasing them with a net will only stress them more. I am trying to give them vitamins but they only get them every 3 days now since I cut down food because of the cyano!
I should have kept my money and went on a nice vacation instead of starting saltwater!!!

dont say that! Just BREATHE! woosaaa....
The cleaner gobies are probably the neon gobies that you see for pretty cheap. Cute little fellas that only get like 1 1/2inches. From what I've read the shrimp and the gobies do a pretty good job of keeping the fish parasite free. I'm thinking of getting one or two of the gobies later on. Stay calm, keep feeding them and doing water changes. I'm sure somebody with more experience will tell you basically the same thing. Good luck girl! And dont be frustrated, be concerned, but never frustrated!
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
Here is the other thing now....
I also noticed this last night.
That fox face has issues. I QTed him and treated him for a bacterial infection and I left him in there for a while. he was fine and healthy, eating and active. bright eyes, bright color too.
now he looks the same as before. is spoltchy sometimes but not as often. but his eyes are cloudy. and now

[hr]
I can see his lateral line! on his left side I see it more and there are 3 small pits are the area... say it isn't so!! I cant take another disease!!!!
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Look up HLLE in the disease section...that is easily treated...follow ALL the instructions in same section
BELIEVE ME....I DID IT with my tangs....
 
rlablan

rlablan

Active Member
salt and chemi clean came yesterday but I was out til 6 am and I am a hot mess.
I will look up the HLLE, thanks for the advice meowzer.
Cant I treat him in the DT for this? or do I have to take him out. It is so so hard to get any fish out, but he is the worst. I can't take apart my reef again. It's sooooo much work.
 
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