some sunday morning pics

[fireykat04]

Hey there,

Help a little bit? You have been a tremendous help. This whole site is wonderful. I have discovered threads about other things and it's great reading and learning and refreshing my memory.
I have been debating about the LR all day. Last night when I cleaned the collection cup of my skimmer it had the sewer smell in it that first caused me to rinse and scrub the rock. I'm not sure if it's pulling it out of the rocks themselves or if it's left over; I don't think it's left over. I'm thinking if it is pulling it out of the rock then that can't be good can it? I checked last night and all tests are right where they should be, everything is zero, ph 8.0 . But that smell still being there has me worried. I am wondering if I should just take all the dead rock out and pitch it. Do a major water change to clean it up? Keeping only the few good pieces I had bought at the LFS. Then just add a little at a time. I'm just not sure. I only have the cleaning crew: crabs, snails, serpent stars, a coral banded shrimp, the two clowns and the little bit of coral that is growing on the good rocks. Should I wait it out or clean it up now? Risk disturbing everything? :scared:
The levels have been zero for about 2 or 3 weeks now but, I don't want to add anything else if there is a risk that the rock is polluting the water. I'm not sure what test I'd do to find out. The Nitrites, Nitrates, ammonia all zero.
As for feeding my fish I feed them Prime reef flakes (color and taste, lol), and bio blend (tiny pellets) and give them the brine shrimp as a treat now and then.
I'm not planning on keeping any hard corals, cuz I don't think my lights will support them. After reading the stuff in here about lights; I'm not sure mine will even support anemones. I'm going to have to stick to the zoos, polyps; all that you mentioned. What is the proper amount of calcium suppose to read in a test? I'm glad I don't have to worry about adding a bunch of things. I am thinking that with a water change every two weeks, I shouldn't have a problem with depleted things in my tank since there isn't any thing in it yet.

Well let me know your thoughts on the rock. I'm just not sure whether to wait it out or ditch it. :notsure:
I haven't had a chance to play with the camera, hopefully that will make it on my list of to do tomorrow. I'll have to let you know how that turns out too.. :jumping:

 

[murph145]

well as for your skimmer collection cup gathering sewer smelling gunk..... thats what it is supposed to do.... how much does it collect in a day?? u shouldnt have too much being collected because u really dont have that much in your tank.....
my collection cup gathers about 1/2" a day of dark smelly stuff..... thats basically organic waste that has been seperated from the water..... your skimmer uses the bubble to seperate the waste from the water.... the organic waste has a water loving and water hating molecule and the bubbles cause it to seperate from the water and rise to the top where its collected....
your live rock or dead rock now shouldnt really be causing any excess waste in your tank.... if all levels are ok now then u should be fine.... i wouldnt worry about taking the rock out it wont do any more harm now.... what i would if i were u is just wait till you have some extra cash and pick out a nice piece of live rock once in a while when your at your store.... or just save up and buy a rock package from here then.....
your fine with what your feeding your fish now u really dont have too much to worry about but if u start getting a lot of vaarious ones then u start switching it up to give them a complete diet....
as for keeping hard corals and anemones u roughly need about 5 watts per gallon.... i know eveyone says the watts per gallon rule is useless but its an easy way to figure if you should have enough lighting....as with anything theres always different issues for each persons tank that can make the lighting different.... such as depth of tank how high the lights are off the surface.... but if u want an anemone one day target your lights for about 5 watts per gallon....
as for calcium u want your levels to be around 420-460 ppm thats about what natural salt water is ..... this way your corals will have enough calcium to continue to grow.... since ur only going to keep softies i wouldnt really worry about it now with reg water changes u should be fine.....
well im going to go take a lil nap now lol

its my 27th birthday today and me and my friends went out last night to down town la and went to a bar and stayed at the standard.... lets just say i had a lil bit too much to drink im surprised i can even think about my fishtank right now lol..... :joy:

 

[fireykat04]

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: !!!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
I remember those days of celebrating: OUCH. LOL
Good advice; I did get up this am and clean the powerheads, the skimmer and the filter pads in the Fluval. I feel much better now. AND I will just replace the rock a little at a time and not freak out and throw it all away. Besides I can use it for the base rock now. A few pieces here and there and I should be good to go.
If what everyone says in here is right; I have about 192 watts now. I have the Current USA Satellite PC. 36", Lights: 2x96W 1-Dual Daylight / 1-Dual Actinic, 1 Lunar Lights. SO if I were to buy another of those, that would give me 384 watts. Right? My tank is a 65 gallon so from the lights to the sand is 22" (I just measured lol). I think I can squeeze another of those on there. OR do you have any recommendations of a mh that I could add on with that fixture? The fixture takes up the length of the tank but not the width.
My coral banded shrimp comes flying out to catch food when I feed; I'm wondering if maybe I should get some sort of food for him? The serpent star comes out in the am feeding too. I'm wondering if they are hungry? Not getting enough to eat. I try to feed extra for them but, on the other hand I don't want to over feed the tank either. :thinking:
I hope you recoup from the partying. I look forward to your replies. You are a gem! Thanx :happy:

 

[fireykat04]

On the skimmer; I've got it running really high cuz it's the only way I can keep the little air bubbles out of the tank so it's collecting about an inch to an inch and half a day. I thought that was a lot; I just figured it was because of the rock. :thinking:

 

[murph145]

hey there again :jumping:
yeah i think i have finally recovered from the night of my birthday partying... lol
yeah i think u will do fine with the rock.... like u said just use some of it as base rock and replace some with new live rock slowly and u should be fine!!!!
as for your shrimp .... i have a skunk cleaner shrimp and i dont really do anything special to feed him he just grabs what comes along .... as the brine or formula falls to the ground he jumps on it.... u just want to make sure hes getting something as long as hes grabbing something and eating it he should be fine.... the serpent on the other hand is a scavenger and will mainly feed at night .... mine actually feeds during feeding time now.... when i throw the food in the tank his arms come sticking out from behind the rocks and he grabs pieces of food as the float by.... they are really cool to watch kinda sucks they dont really come out though.... i once in a while feed him a piece of squid on the stick he will grab it off and take it that way too....
so your skimmer collects about an inch to an inch and a half a day.... hmmm.... how dark is the liquid in the collection cup?? the stuff that gets collected in my cup is very dark like a nice strong coffee minus the nice strong coffee part

skimmers are kinda hard to get sometimes with the little adjustment screw.... mine is adjusted like 1and a half turns out from all the way in.... lets the right mixture of air and water in.... however when i clean the foam that covers the power head it bubbles a lot or when i feed and the bubbles will overflow into the tank.... im thinking u need to adjust the skimmer a little more u shouldnt be getting that much in your collection cup (i could be wrong though) o and i was askin how dark it was to see if it is waste or if its mostly water with a little waste.....
well my mom came over to my house and gave me my present today ..... it was a $100 gift certificate to my LFS lol how did she know what i would want.... she was so proud of herself lol..... so i went today and bought some more LR for my tank too just 2 small pieces and a 10lb piece too.... i just placed them in but its hard to find room anymore..... ill attach a pic in a few mins though so u can see it :happyfish
BTW- what kind of gem am i?? hopefully not some sort of cubic zirconium lol :happy:

 

[murph145]

heres a few pics i took today.... its kinda hard to notice the new rock lol but ohwell.... they are kind of whiter but i think the corraline will get its color back they had been in a low light aquarium at the LFS
i put the 2 small pieces atop the rock which the two RBTA's are on .... then i put the bigger piece on the ground on the right side of the tank and then moved the bubble coral and put him atop that rock .... ill have to look at it for a while and see if i like it....
heres some pics :jumping:
hey if u have some other questions or anything it might be easier to email me if u want.... im at murph145@aol.com..... just in case

 

[promisetbg]

Very nice
What's the little fish that has taken up residence at your front glass?

 

[fireykat04]

Hi ya :jumping:
I have seen my shrimp grabbing and eating like a maniac. Mine comes out at the first feeding of the morning while the actinic lights are still on. He makes a sweep and runs back. It is pretty kewl. I actually saw my mithrax crab eating off a rock this am. Haven't seen him in days. He stays hidin even at night.
When I got up the skimmer cup was half full. It was like a normal coffee and stinky. I did cut it back this am. Before I cranked it up to stop the bubbles in the tank it was very black like you said yours was.
I stopped at the LFS on my way in to work today and got some krill, thought I'd throw a piece in for the serpent and who ever else wanted some, and since I have NO algae (at least good the good kind), I bought some seaweed and a clip for it for the Tang.
WAY TO GO MOM!!!

That was way nice of her!! Got to love moms who pay attention to their children even when they are grown!!! LOL :happy:
Yesterday was like my birthday. A friend of mine stopped at the LFS and brought me a yellow tang, and a piece of purple coral!! I was wondering why he had asked me so many questions. Soon as the coral pops out, I'll send you a pic and you can identify for me. LOL :yes: it's a beautiful purple. Is there somewhere online that you can go to specifically look up corals? WIth pics for those of us that are coral impared. LOL
I think you missed my lighting question: SO I'll ask you again.
If what everyone says in here is right; I have about 192 watts now. I have the Current USA Satellite PC. 36", Lights: 2x96W 1-Dual Daylight / 1-Dual Actinic, 1 Lunar Lights. SO if I were to buy another of those, that would give me 384 watts. Right? My tank is a 65 gallon so from the lights to the sand is 22" (I just measured lol). I think I can squeeze another of those on there. OR do you have any recommendations of a mh that I could add on with that fixture? The fixture takes up the length of the tank but not the width.
WOW as usual the pics are beautiful. That rock is light. Thanks for the email addy; I will use it on those rush must know

questions. LOL

 

[murph145]

promisetbg:
that fish is what the fish store called a red headed jaw fish.... dont know exactly what it is besides the fact that its a jaw fish.... he moves around every couple days makin a new burrow for his home.... today he made his new home under one of my shrrom rocks.... hes a cool fish but kinda makes a mess sometimes with the sand...
Fireykat04:
hi again.... thats cool that u got a new fish and coral from your friend.... hmmm im not sure about the coral.... when i look up things about corals i do a search with the name the fish store gives usually i find what it is then search through it that way....
well i guess if ur skimmer is collecting that much and its dark then its working im just amazed it gets that much....
as for the lights... u can do that if u want..... do u have a canopy on top of your tank?? or does the light fixture just sit on top of the tank.... u have a 65 gallon so u basically have 3 watts per gallon.... i know i know everyone says thats not a good rule of thumb .... but its the easiest one to judge how much lighting you have.... 3 watts is on the lower side u would only want to keep softies in your tank right now.... no hard corals until you have more lighting..... so if u bought that new set up u would have double the light or 6 watts per gallon which is more than i have.... i have 5....
if you have a canopy u can get another retrofit PC system to fit under there... if not u can get another system like you have.... they also make hang over the tank systems that have a MH fixture in it with actinic PC on the outside.... it all depends on how much u wanna spend.... tell me how much and ill let u know what u can get ....
take care! :jumping:

 

[fireykat04]

hey hey hey
I have the versa glass top on the tank and the Satellite is a fixture. No hood. I want to be able to keep anemones. Speaking of which. Why would an anemone that requires bright light hide under rocks out of the light? I had a friend ask me that and I have no idea? As for the lights I'm clueless. I don't want to spend a mint, just enough to upgrade to be able to keep anemones. a couple hundred, if I need more than that; I'll have to wait a bit.
The krill I bought today; I came home and gave the coral banded shrimp a piece and he went nuts. He is steady eating.. I put it on a wooden grill skewer that you make shish ka bobs on and he took it right off the stick. He is a happy camper. I will give the Tang the seaweed in the morning. Hope he loves it as much!
I backed the skimmer off this am before I left and still had bout 3/4 of an inch when i got home. Brown yucky junk. That's why I thought it was pulling it out of the rocks. So much of it?
Okay, rough day at the office; I'm off to bed. Talk to you tomorrow. Give me some insight to lights. :happy:

 

[jobob]

i was in the same boat as u, i wanted to upgrade to mh. i had 2 fixtures, 4x55 and 2x65 on my 55gal. so i went out and got some wood($50) and made a canopy. then i went to

[hr]
and got 2x175w mh for $200 with bulbs. and then i took apart my pc fixtures and retro fit them into the canopy with the new mh. so it only cost me $250 to make a mh canopy. it only took a couple hrs to build it. i got stain,hinges for the $50 too! so all u need is a little know-how and u could do the same!! i only use 2x55 and 2x65 in the new canopy.

 

[murph145]

hmmm interesting about the skimmer.....
what kind of filteration are you using for the tank.... sump? cansiter? hang on back?
yeah i use a metal skewer stick to feed my anemones/eel
im not sure about why an anemone would hide under a rock...sometimes they get stuck while moving around under a rock and cant figure how to get out.... in that case you have to move them out yourself.... a new anemone might have to get adjusted to new lighting in a different tank.... im not really sure why.... mine have never gotten stuck under a rock or anything like that....
how does that glass top work?? do you get a lot of salt creep on it?? what about your tanks temp?? get high or stay stable.... the only thing with more lights means more heat that could possibly raise the tanks temp.... i dont have a top on my tank anymore the tank use to have an acrylic top but once i upgraded my lights i had to remove it due to the heat factor.... my tanks alot easier to access now.... people often debate about taking the top off ..............
i was just reading what jobob was writing and thats a good idea of what he did to get some mh over his canopy.... if not and u just wanna stick to the already enclosed fixture they get pretty pricy when having a MH/PC combo.... ill look around some and see what i find...
have a good nite :happyfish .... i know what u mean with the rough days at work... i have to work tomorrow night we have been doing night shifts at a medical clinic the last month its killing me...

 

[fireykat04]

Hi again,

The Tang isn't loving the seaweed. At least I'm not seeing him eat it. I haven't seen him eat anything yet. He seems to be pretty wild. Any thoughts on what I can coax him into eating? I did get some pellets and sprinkled those on the rocks. He does roam around picking at the rocks. But we know I have nothing there. Hmmmm.. :notsure:
I can not get my skimmer to stop witht he little bubbles in the tank and unless I run it wide open! It's making me crazy. I don't want all those little bubbles in my tank. I have tried adjusting it from the screw barely open to all the way.
Here's a pic of the new coral. What do U think it is? Got to run, work calls.

 

[jobob]

well they kinda look like a clove polyp, but kinda like a goniporia. is it in 3 pieces? or does it all grow on one rock???

 

[fireykat04]

Something weird is going on. I didn't see your guys new post until I posted again? I wasn't ignoring you jobob. Just didn't see it. Wonder what is up with that? I might have to go your route for lights. I have a friend that could probably help me do it.

 

[fireykat04]

Okay. NOT so weird, it's me.. We are on page 2 now. LOL
jobob it is all growing on one rock. It looks like 3 pieces but, on one rock.
murph; I'm running the Fluval canister 404, It's what I bought when I panicked about the rock. I'm thinking I probably should go to sump. I'm getting a lot of salt creep on the galss. I leave the tops open because of the heat. The lights I have sit right on top of it. So it does heat things up. I want to get a firefish and they say they are jumpers so, I'll have to start closing the lids.. I'll have to take a pic of the top for you to see. NOW I really have to go to work.
You guys have a good one!! Till we type again! :jumping: Keep the advise coming

 

[jobob]

yea i did the same thing, i get emails saying there is a new post and i get there and its the same one!!! then i realized that there was a 2nd page.lol. but is that coral all the way open?? or half open?,

 

[murph145]

looks like clove polyps to me too jobob.....looks like the coral isnt all the way open yet
as for your yellow tang eating seaweed..... i tried some of that for my blue hippo tang and he didnt want anything with it either.... he eats the frozen formula 1 and 2 cubes though i defrost those and break them apart in the tank thats how i feed mine his greens....
i have 2 fluval 404's on my tank.... my tank was set up for canister filters it was drilled in the bottom..... they work really good for me i add any kinda carbon or filter media to keep the water clean....
skimmers are kinda tricky what kind do u have? mine makes bubbles after everytime i clean it for like an hour then they go away so im not sure y urs doesnt...
yeah it took me a min to realize y i wasnt seein the new posts either didnt realize it was on the 2nd page lol
i would take the glass tops off and run some eggcrate or some kinda mesh across the top to prevent any fish from jumpin.... i have only had one fish make it out so far and it was one of my siscor tail dart fish... i was wondering where he went then i saw him behind the tank dead

oh well.... talk to u guys soon

 

[fireykat04]

I'm glad I'm NOT the only one to do that (miss the 2nd page).

Clove poylps huh? Kewl. I thought they were beauuutiful. When I took the pic they were only half open. I can't wait until they are open fully.
GREAT.. frozen formula. That will work. I believe he is pretty wild, cuz he still hides at the first site of a person! He is picking at the rocks though (even though there isn't anything there.) Which made me think of something: before I buy a fish from now on I will definitely ask to see it fed. I didn't buy him (he was a gift) but still it made me think to ask. Another thing I had forgotten from the old days.
For my 65 gallon that Fluval does the trick. Cleaned the water right up when it was all murky from my dumb rock disaster. Had I started with it; my rocks would probably be alive now!

I have carbon in mine too. Do you have the ceramic bio things in yours? Does carbon affect your PH? I also have something else in there that looks like carbon, I think it's Chem pure. If I remember right. How often do you change your media? I clean my sponge filters every two weeks. I'll run now until I think of a bizillion more questions! :joy:

 

[fireykat04]

Looked at the Clove Poylps in here and sure enough looks like it. Forgot to ask about the egg crate, where would I get that? AND with the heat of my lights being right on it, won't it melt? IF I go to some sort of mess, it couldn't be metal right; cuz that would contaminate the tank when it started corroding?
Let me know