Paul's Godiva 90x46x62

[leopardshark]

Somethings using it up like for instance I have mangroves .. Which are renowned for consuming mag ...


But mainly it's for building coral skeletons along with calc

I think you've got an imbalance and you have to just balance it out for the time being ...

So the alk and calc ions are held together by the mag ions and they don't dissipate out which is what's happens

 

[Fishpalace]

If last set of tests were 2 weeks ago and done a 100l change since I would rtest again before taking any action as the parameters might look very different.

Would start to get into a routine of weekly change and weekly test as you can then track what changes you make and what you see over 3 to 4 weeks and then take action unless parameters are really out of sync.

Just a thought

 

[sandyzoo]

Ok... Retested tonight.

Here are the results:

Ph 8.4
Ammonia <0.25 (lowest reading on the test card)
Nitrate 0
Calc 420 API / 390 Salifert.
Mag 1140
Kh 161
Phos 0.25

Depending on which test I believe the calcium / magnesium are better. No improvement on Phos.

Maybe I am over feeding them.

 

[leopardshark]

How are you feeding them ?

And what are you feeding?

 

[sandyzoo]

We were feeding twice a day.
In the morning a pinch of flakes or pellets... And a cube of frozen in the evening.
Does that sound a lot for 3 fish and some crabs, shrimps and snails???
They always seem bloody hungry!

 

[leopardshark]

Yep too much for them. I'd cut it down to flake if they eat it and cube every other day ...

Defrost cube in tank water or ro water

 

[leopardshark]

I feed x2 a day with cube but I have butterflies they really require it....

 

[sandyzoo]

Yes they eat anything.
Ok... I'll cut to feeding once a day and monitor the Phos.

 

[sandyzoo]

My clowns are no more than 4cm long. The wrasse is maybe 6. I think my shrimps are bigger than the clowns!

 

[leopardshark]

You'll soon be able to put more fish in dude ... Just need your water chemistry to stabilise .....

 

[Fishpalace]

My clowns are no more than 4cm long. The wrasse is maybe 6. I think my shrimps are bigger than the clowns!

I wild consider using 1/2 a cube of food for 3 fish and def agree with once per day. Phos should start to reduce fairly quickly as reducing excess nutrients.

 

[sandyzoo]

I'm on the case. I will reduce feeding immediately. I only fed that much because they seem to hungry.
Greedy buggers!!

 

[sandyzoo]

Time for an update.

Everything is alive! That is a plus.

I ran out of feed pellets just before we went on holiday and so bought some flakes from a local pet shop that stated they were good for Marine fish. We left instructions for a daily feed while we were away. On return though, the algae seemed worse, and the sand looked very bad. Now this may or may not have been due to me not being there poking around the the tank for a week or so! Who knows. I have stopped using the flakes immediately though, and have cut feeding right down to half a cube of frozen twice a week. Its been a week and a half.

This has had quite an effect on the personas in the tank! The snails and crabs now seem a lot more active, and appear to be more efficiently eating algae! The cleaner shrimp has now moved and taken up residence in another part of the tank, and is vigorously approaching my hands if I am in the tank for any reason.

I am going to do a water change and tests this weekend. I couldn't face testing the water when we got back from holiday, because I could just SENSE that the Phos was up again!

I have added a toadstool leather coral to the tank, thanks to a fellow reefer's generosity. It seems to be doing okay.. although I am not feeding it anything special. This was added just before we went away. The crab that we found living in the live rock seems to have grown and is doing well. I'm not sure how reef safe he is... but he doesn't seem to be doing any harm.
I have a couple of smallish snails that constantly live on my zoas. I am not sure these are good or bad. Again.. no noticeable harm is being done. I have attached a pic in case anyone can help identify them. There are only two. and they have been there since I got the zoas on the big bit of live rock.



I have also noticed an increase in the number of little brittle stars in the tank.

I am considering getting an auto water changer!

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to have too much live rock? When I look at other people's tanks, I seem to have more.. and I also have quite a bit in the sump.

I've also noticed that my cheato has grown a lot - I probably need to get rid of half of it.

I have ordered a mesh tank cover, which I am hoping will help the corals - although I realise I'll have to top up more regularly.
I have an IT2080. It is set on the custom setting that it came with. If anyone has a programme for this that they would recommend I'd be interested to see it.

Lots going on.. but I'll post my next water test results! Fingers crossed I can think about another attempt at adding a fish!

 

[Bob1888]

Look like sundial snails zoa eaters Google's you're friend and see if the pictures look similar

 

[dannydization]

just catching up on peoples threads mate keep up the good work and you will too be there bud

 

[sandyzoo]

Cheers for that Bob. Yes - they do look like sundials.
Typically I couldn't see them last night.. but I will try and get them out.

My mesh aquarium cover arrived today. Hopefully that will increase the amount of light getting to the bottom of the tank.

 

[CEECH]

Plus 1 for bob
You will have to get some pictures up
Seems to be going ok though always ups and downs

 

[sandyzoo]

Finally managed to add a fish... and it didn't die! We got the tank on 26th September and finally successfully added a new fish on 5th December.

Our previous attempt resulted in the death of the mandarin and this really knocked my confidence, and so I left it a while before adding again. Even though I'd tested and tested and found no nitriates or ammonia.

I now have a small female Valentini Puffer. She has settled in well and is a really active member of the tank. She seems to have sparked a friendship with the clownfish, to the point where they share a river shrimp together.
I was aware that they have a rep regarding eating of corals and CUC, but I think she is too small to bother my CUC and I only really have Zoas and a toadstool.

The pyjama wrasse had a few moments of dominating her and chasing her.. but they seem to have got over that one. I started to wonder if that bullying might have been the cause of the mandarin getting stressed and dying. The puffer never seemed unduly concerned by the wrasse and peace seems to have been established.

 

[sandyzoo]

So things didn't go quite as nicely with the puffer as I'd hoped. She did eventually start to attack my two shrimps.. My intention was to catch and sump them while I contemplated my next move, but I couldn't catch them. It took the puffer a couple of weeks to eventually wear them down and then they vanished.

A pity as they were very popular members of the tank community and made the puffer quite unpopular in the house! It wasn't a nice process to witness... and I was convinced I was going to get rid of her.

However, since the demise of the shrimps, all has been calm and peaceful in the tank, and its a nice salty box to watch again. Phew!

A few new additions since my last update. Actually, along with the Puffer I added an urchin, a sand sifting star and a red star of some sort.

A couple of weeks ago I added 2 Bengai Cardinals and an Orange Spotted Goby. I bought the goby mistakenly believing it to be a diamond watchman.

The new additions have settled in nicely.. althugh the Goby doesn't move much. I was hoping for a sand sifter... I'm not sure that prawn gobies are known for that. (I can't get her a shrimp either due to the puffer!)

My water is nice and clear.. and the only algae now visiable in the tank is on the back wall... which is where the smails now spend most of their time. I don't know if it was water quality or the addition of the Urchin and red star that dealt with the algae in the end.

So in my (approx!) 280L tank I now have:

2 Clowns
1 Pyjama Wrasse
1 Valentini Puffer
2 Bengai Cardinals
1 Orange Spotted (prawn) Goby
7 snails (mix of Trochus and turbo)
3 red legged hermits
1 blue legged hermit
1 sand sifting star
1 red star
Some Zoas
A leather loadstool
2 small frags of monti (refusing to stick to anything and not doing so well)
1 bit of GSP on the weir wall. Alive... and growing a little, but refusing to stick and so being held on by magnets!)

I'm not sure how many more fish I can have. I've seen a Potter's Angel at a LFS and really like it. I've read that they might eat my zoas and toadstool tho!

 

[sandyzoo]