cvcdrk's 29g Mini Reef
- Thread starter cvcdrk
- Start date
lilmatty5dimes
Reef enthusiast
That's a great deal for shipping and real nice selection.
So Petco has all these very small emerald crabs right now.
Idk why they have them all but they do. $4 each on special this week. I was thinking about getting a few (in addition to the malformed one I already have haha).
I don't really know if this would be ok, though. Would they fight? There's not an abundance of natural algae/food for them, although if I see him I usually spot feed him some mysis or something. I would be willing to supplement them with seaweed or algae tied to a rock.
Would having like 4 or 5 emerald crabs be too much or cause a problem?
Also, these are pretty small right now (I know they will grow). I would say like the size of a dime. What is the success rate with crabs this small?
Idk why they have them all but they do. $4 each on special this week. I was thinking about getting a few (in addition to the malformed one I already have haha).
I don't really know if this would be ok, though. Would they fight? There's not an abundance of natural algae/food for them, although if I see him I usually spot feed him some mysis or something. I would be willing to supplement them with seaweed or algae tied to a rock.
Would having like 4 or 5 emerald crabs be too much or cause a problem?
Also, these are pretty small right now (I know they will grow). I would say like the size of a dime. What is the success rate with crabs this small?
ErinCahir
Sausage Wrangler
I would do more than two at the MOST in a tank your size. They get nasty when they get big.
Ok so update time. My package of corals is due to arrive tomorrow before 10:30am....so I am prepping for it. I have everything set up that I need and I cleaned the tank a little bit in preparation (so forgive the slightly cloudy water in the pics).
Everything has been going well. There's been no losses at all. Everything seems to be doing well. The duncan is still growing those two heads out of its stalk which tells me it's doing fine. They're growing really fast now. I notice daily changes in their size. The big duncan is doing well too. Keeping its color and reacting well to stimuli. I think it has weridly shaped feeding tentacles...some of them look clubbed or something like it got exposed to radiation and mutated lol. But overall it's doing great.
The zoas are fine...nothing to report as per the pic....they don't seem to be doing poorly at all and they've definitely grown a little bit but they don't seem to be extending off their skelton/the rock yet...and I'm not sure i they will or not.
The ric is doing great. It is growing quickly...it's already probably about 33% bigger than when I got it. Yesterday I saw it eat an entire piece of mysis shrimp that happened to fall on it. It was fun to watch.
And the scooter is doing good too. He eats more and more everyday when I feed which I think is a good thing. He's incredibly friendly. If you go near the tank he will come right up to you. He was easy to take these sequence pics with. :-)
The CBS is fine. I came home to find his second molt on the sandbed. That's two in the maybe 25 days that I've had him. Not sure if this is good or bad but seems good that he's molting properly. He eats at every feeding and is never aggressive towards anything. He and the emerald sometimes share his cave even and he doesn't seem to worry about it. He knows when it's feeding time, too...he comes out every time and claws at the feeder as I squirt some food towards him. He can grab ahold of it and pull a little bit too. Just a little, though.
Pics:
Zoas
CBS
Ricordia
Duncan
Everything has been going well. There's been no losses at all. Everything seems to be doing well. The duncan is still growing those two heads out of its stalk which tells me it's doing fine. They're growing really fast now. I notice daily changes in their size. The big duncan is doing well too. Keeping its color and reacting well to stimuli. I think it has weridly shaped feeding tentacles...some of them look clubbed or something like it got exposed to radiation and mutated lol. But overall it's doing great.
The zoas are fine...nothing to report as per the pic....they don't seem to be doing poorly at all and they've definitely grown a little bit but they don't seem to be extending off their skelton/the rock yet...and I'm not sure i they will or not.
The ric is doing great. It is growing quickly...it's already probably about 33% bigger than when I got it. Yesterday I saw it eat an entire piece of mysis shrimp that happened to fall on it. It was fun to watch.
And the scooter is doing good too. He eats more and more everyday when I feed which I think is a good thing. He's incredibly friendly. If you go near the tank he will come right up to you. He was easy to take these sequence pics with. :-)
The CBS is fine. I came home to find his second molt on the sandbed. That's two in the maybe 25 days that I've had him. Not sure if this is good or bad but seems good that he's molting properly. He eats at every feeding and is never aggressive towards anything. He and the emerald sometimes share his cave even and he doesn't seem to worry about it. He knows when it's feeding time, too...he comes out every time and claws at the feeder as I squirt some food towards him. He can grab ahold of it and pull a little bit too. Just a little, though.
Pics:
Zoas
CBS
Ricordia
Duncan
New Corals!
These pics are from this morning. They arrived here at my apartment at 11:03am (33 minutes late...thank you FedEx) but everything was well-packed and as advertised. Everything was labeled and quadruple bagged. Got everything acclimated in about an hour and a half.
They all opened up a little bit already when I took these pictures and they've opened up even more now. I will be waiting a few days with them in this position before I start positioning them in the tank.
These pics are from this morning. They arrived here at my apartment at 11:03am (33 minutes late...thank you FedEx) but everything was well-packed and as advertised. Everything was labeled and quadruple bagged. Got everything acclimated in about an hour and a half.
They all opened up a little bit already when I took these pictures and they've opened up even more now. I will be waiting a few days with them in this position before I start positioning them in the tank.
little_fish
Reef pro
Nice new stuff!
lilmatty5dimes
Reef enthusiast
Agreed very nice can't wait til they're fully opened.
Ok so everything went well placing the corals I have them where I want them. There is a chance I may need to move the blasto down to the sand but for the time being it's going to stay on the rock. It's too small imo to be down on the sand yet.
Pics of them opened up and in their new positions:
FTS:
This I need help with.....this pink/light purple stuff is forming in this one corner of the tank. I'm already aware that this corner does not have as good flow as the rest of the tank and I'm thinking that could be a cause but I don't know what it is.
It is difficult to break up. It forms and I usually blow it out with the feeder until it's gone but it's more difficult than you'd think it is. I don't know what it could be. Any opinions?
Pics of them opened up and in their new positions:
FTS:
This I need help with.....this pink/light purple stuff is forming in this one corner of the tank. I'm already aware that this corner does not have as good flow as the rest of the tank and I'm thinking that could be a cause but I don't know what it is.
It is difficult to break up. It forms and I usually blow it out with the feeder until it's gone but it's more difficult than you'd think it is. I don't know what it could be. Any opinions?
little_fish
Reef pro
Looks like cyano to me, i would work on getting more flow into that area and it should take care of the issue
I may need to get another powerhead.
The problem, I believe, stems from the fact that there really isn't any current being produced from my skimmer return. It flows into the media chamber of the overflow box where I have a tiny bag of carbon zip-tied and a small bag of nitrate sponge....there is a hole in the bottom where the water is supposed to flow out but it is underwater and I don't think it's producing much if any flow.
That spot is actually directly above where this pink stuff is forming. :-\
I think I will look into getting another small powerhead. The biggest issue I have is adding more equipment to the tank. I would if they made them smaller. It's just another thing that is going to take away from the aesthetic appeal but most of that is gone anyway with the weirdly hung light, all the stuff in the tank and the skimmer hanging off the side. lol
I'll end up at Petco at some point on Wednesday because that's when they get their SW shipments. I'll make sure to buy a powerhead while I'm there.
The problem, I believe, stems from the fact that there really isn't any current being produced from my skimmer return. It flows into the media chamber of the overflow box where I have a tiny bag of carbon zip-tied and a small bag of nitrate sponge....there is a hole in the bottom where the water is supposed to flow out but it is underwater and I don't think it's producing much if any flow.
That spot is actually directly above where this pink stuff is forming. :-\
I think I will look into getting another small powerhead. The biggest issue I have is adding more equipment to the tank. I would if they made them smaller. It's just another thing that is going to take away from the aesthetic appeal but most of that is gone anyway with the weirdly hung light, all the stuff in the tank and the skimmer hanging off the side. lol
I'll end up at Petco at some point on Wednesday because that's when they get their SW shipments. I'll make sure to buy a powerhead while I'm there.
Small update:
Not much has changed. I'm still taking things slow. I haven't replaced the clownfish who jumped yet but now that I have an effective (and fairly tight) top on the tank I was confident enough to start looking at fish again.
However, something has sort of fallen in my lap. A friend (really just someone I happen to know and saw a few days ago) is tearing down his dad's tank which has a juvenile Yellow Wrasse in it. He managed to sell most of the stuff from the tank but didn't sell the wrasse for whatever reason. He told me he was going to euthanize it. I did not think that was acceptable so I offered to take it and he said that was fine. If all goes as planned I will have it on Wednesday.
It is not an ideal situation, obviously, because my tank is likely too small for it, but I figured it living in a 30 gallon tank was better than it being murdered just because someone doesn't feel like taking care of it any more. Before you suggest, there are no LFS around here to donate or give it to and I haven't met or seen anyone in the area interested in saltwater so far....so unless Petco would take him (which I highly doubt), he's going to end up in my tank.
Aside from that, not a lot of news. I was feeding the other day and poked a rock and it seemed a little loose. So I started disassembling things to secure it and ended up re-shaping the entire right side of the tank and creating a rock ledge about two inches above the sand bed (where I hope to keep something cool). There's a couple pics below of the new 'scape.
I'm getting full extension on almost everything. Every night when the lights go out the War coral extends all it's feeding tentacles, and everything else is usually fully extended during the day which seems good to me. I haven't seen any new growth or anything but it's still early.
So nothing really exciting to report besides that. I'll be doing tank mait. on Wed and likely taking some more pics then if things cooperate and when I get the new wrasse. :-/
Not much has changed. I'm still taking things slow. I haven't replaced the clownfish who jumped yet but now that I have an effective (and fairly tight) top on the tank I was confident enough to start looking at fish again.
However, something has sort of fallen in my lap. A friend (really just someone I happen to know and saw a few days ago) is tearing down his dad's tank which has a juvenile Yellow Wrasse in it. He managed to sell most of the stuff from the tank but didn't sell the wrasse for whatever reason. He told me he was going to euthanize it. I did not think that was acceptable so I offered to take it and he said that was fine. If all goes as planned I will have it on Wednesday.
It is not an ideal situation, obviously, because my tank is likely too small for it, but I figured it living in a 30 gallon tank was better than it being murdered just because someone doesn't feel like taking care of it any more. Before you suggest, there are no LFS around here to donate or give it to and I haven't met or seen anyone in the area interested in saltwater so far....so unless Petco would take him (which I highly doubt), he's going to end up in my tank.
Aside from that, not a lot of news. I was feeding the other day and poked a rock and it seemed a little loose. So I started disassembling things to secure it and ended up re-shaping the entire right side of the tank and creating a rock ledge about two inches above the sand bed (where I hope to keep something cool). There's a couple pics below of the new 'scape.
I'm getting full extension on almost everything. Every night when the lights go out the War coral extends all it's feeding tentacles, and everything else is usually fully extended during the day which seems good to me. I haven't seen any new growth or anything but it's still early.
So nothing really exciting to report besides that. I'll be doing tank mait. on Wed and likely taking some more pics then if things cooperate and when I get the new wrasse. :-/
little_fish
Reef pro
Looks good! And I'm sure the right home will come for the wrasse at some point
So I bought some nutramar ova for my scooter after reading how fantastic it is and stuff. He at some of it but it didn't seem like he ate as much as he usually does with the mysis.
Maybe I should try mixing the two together for him?
Is it common for fish to be picky about a new food? Anyone think it is likely that he will begin to act ravenous around it like I hear other fish do?
My corals sure loved it.
Maybe I should try mixing the two together for him?
Is it common for fish to be picky about a new food? Anyone think it is likely that he will begin to act ravenous around it like I hear other fish do?
My corals sure loved it.
little_fish
Reef pro
Depends on the fish really, but yes, i would mix it with the mysid
So I got the fish this morning. He had it ready to go when I got to his house in a black bag so I didn't get to see it but I could feel it. I get home and float it for 20 mins and then went to open the bag.
The fish is huge. It's at least 3.5". It has one spot on its dorsal but clearly it is not a juvenile anymore. Also, there was a sexy shrimp in the bag as well...and four narcissus snails. The guy kept thanking me profusely for taking it off his hands.
I think the Sexy shrimp is going to end up being lunch for my CBS at some point....but then I put him in and they are FAST. I startled him when putting the wrasse in and he darted so quickly it was like a flash.
The wrasse did well after acclimation I believe. I've been reading up on them and I know they go to the sand when sleeping or stressed. He swam around for a bit (lights off) and then found a place to bury himself. I watched him do it...very cool.
Pics of him acclimating:
The fish is huge. It's at least 3.5". It has one spot on its dorsal but clearly it is not a juvenile anymore. Also, there was a sexy shrimp in the bag as well...and four narcissus snails. The guy kept thanking me profusely for taking it off his hands.
I think the Sexy shrimp is going to end up being lunch for my CBS at some point....but then I put him in and they are FAST. I startled him when putting the wrasse in and he darted so quickly it was like a flash.
The wrasse did well after acclimation I believe. I've been reading up on them and I know they go to the sand when sleeping or stressed. He swam around for a bit (lights off) and then found a place to bury himself. I watched him do it...very cool.
Pics of him acclimating:
Small update...
The wrasse finally began coming out. Ate for the first time yesterday. He sucks up mysis shrimp like it's his job and the rest that falls on the bottom the scooter comes along for. :-) Works out well.
So far there's no aggressive behavior. I'm not expecting any but I am keeping an eye out.
He is active all round the tank. Swimming strong and with/into the current.
I added a new powerhead. A JBJ Oceanstream 500gph. It is awesome and I like it a lot. I like it better than my Hydor.
I am seeing some significant growth on almost all of my corals at this point which makes me feel great. My yellow polyps started with 3 heads and one budding, it now has at least seven heads with a new one budding about once every four days or so. The duncan now has two new budding heads and three distinct full heads.
I invested in a couple more frags yesterday....including my first SPS coral (just to see how it went). It was $20 on sale for a fairly large green pavona coral. I also picked up a colony of green clove polyps.
Overall the tank is going really well. I'm still getting some small spots with gross brown algae all the time. I routinely blow these off the rocks but I feel like this just contributes to the problem and spreads the crap. I believe my nitrates have risen, as well. I changed about 50% of my nitrate sponge a couple weeks ago and since then they've definitely risen some. Maybe I should change less next time. Regardless I'm due for a water change today but I don't think I'm going to be able to get around to it so I'm going to wait until Sunday and do a 10 gallon or so water change then.
If I get around to taking pics today I will post them.
The wrasse finally began coming out. Ate for the first time yesterday. He sucks up mysis shrimp like it's his job and the rest that falls on the bottom the scooter comes along for. :-) Works out well.
So far there's no aggressive behavior. I'm not expecting any but I am keeping an eye out.
He is active all round the tank. Swimming strong and with/into the current.
I added a new powerhead. A JBJ Oceanstream 500gph. It is awesome and I like it a lot. I like it better than my Hydor.
I am seeing some significant growth on almost all of my corals at this point which makes me feel great. My yellow polyps started with 3 heads and one budding, it now has at least seven heads with a new one budding about once every four days or so. The duncan now has two new budding heads and three distinct full heads.
I invested in a couple more frags yesterday....including my first SPS coral (just to see how it went). It was $20 on sale for a fairly large green pavona coral. I also picked up a colony of green clove polyps.
Overall the tank is going really well. I'm still getting some small spots with gross brown algae all the time. I routinely blow these off the rocks but I feel like this just contributes to the problem and spreads the crap. I believe my nitrates have risen, as well. I changed about 50% of my nitrate sponge a couple weeks ago and since then they've definitely risen some. Maybe I should change less next time. Regardless I'm due for a water change today but I don't think I'm going to be able to get around to it so I'm going to wait until Sunday and do a 10 gallon or so water change then.
If I get around to taking pics today I will post them.
So the wrasse for the last 15 mins has been acting really weird and has acted aggressive towards the glass.....forceful enough to make a sound audible from a few feet away. I turned off the lights to maybe calm him down. It's almost as if the is scared of his reflection and attacking it. Is this typical behavior? Anything I should do to prevent it?
Pics as promised:
Acan with its feeding tentacles out. I realize this picture makes it look a little white, it isn't actually white at all. It has a very light blue rim in there but the colors in real life are quite vivid.
Blasto has been moved around a lot. It isn't growing like I would like. I think I've finally found a good low-flow area for it to settle in.
This was my first coral and it is still growing. All the stuff at the top of the frag along the rocks is new growth. It has now completely encrusted into that position (even though this is the only frag in the tank not secured with super glue!). I would estimate that there are about 10 heads more than when I got it.
Orange Dot Zoas....started with two when I got the frag and now there's four distinct heads and it looks like another forming.
These light purple zoas are growing like weeds and I'm loving it. It's difficult to see but these have formed polyp heads on the surrounding rocks already! :-)
My new SPS coral. A green Pavona coral. It has since been placed in a high-flow area at the top of the tank. So far so good but it's too early to tell.
And of course, the new wrasse....pictures suck because he's fast.
As I said, the yellow polyps are growing like weeds as well. I am glad. I like colorful things.
Pics as promised:
Acan with its feeding tentacles out. I realize this picture makes it look a little white, it isn't actually white at all. It has a very light blue rim in there but the colors in real life are quite vivid.
Blasto has been moved around a lot. It isn't growing like I would like. I think I've finally found a good low-flow area for it to settle in.
This was my first coral and it is still growing. All the stuff at the top of the frag along the rocks is new growth. It has now completely encrusted into that position (even though this is the only frag in the tank not secured with super glue!). I would estimate that there are about 10 heads more than when I got it.
Orange Dot Zoas....started with two when I got the frag and now there's four distinct heads and it looks like another forming.
These light purple zoas are growing like weeds and I'm loving it. It's difficult to see but these have formed polyp heads on the surrounding rocks already! :-)
My new SPS coral. A green Pavona coral. It has since been placed in a high-flow area at the top of the tank. So far so good but it's too early to tell.
And of course, the new wrasse....pictures suck because he's fast.
As I said, the yellow polyps are growing like weeds as well. I am glad. I like colorful things.
