My slow 135g build

framerguy

framerguy

Well-Known Member
JoJo said:
the snails seems to be doing good, they look to be hard at work. i'm going to check out some other lfs to see what type of snails they have to offer. should i completely stay away from crabs or are there some that can be reef-safe? since the diatoms are spreading over the sand and rock at a noticable rate i'm going to shorten the time the lights are on to 4 hours a day. wouldnt this keep the diatoms from gettting out of hand or should i leave the lights at 8 hours and stock up on the CUC

On a MUCH brighter note there was a big box waiting for me when i got home yesterday. it was from Greg and it contained a nicely cleaned Turboflotor skimmer and a PH monitor. Seriously, you cant find a guy nicer than Greg! Thanks again Greg.
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Ha! That answers one question from my PM to you. I'm glad it made it. I didn't need them and you did, that's what friends are for.

As far as the crabs go, the only ones I would consider are the scarlet legs with the yellow eyestalks, although I would just stay away from them altogether IIWY. Ceriths are diatom eaters so I'd get more of them probably. They also eat green algaes so when that starts you will already have them in place, plus they eat from the sandbed and on the rocks and glass. They are the best "all around" snail. Nerites are good algae eaters for the rockwork. Strombus get big so don't get them. Astrea are good for algae but have a problem righting themselves when they fall so you have to watch out for them. Nassarius don't really eat diatoms or algaes, they eat detritus and leftover meaty foods and are great cleaners and stirrersfor the sandbed. Trochus are good choices too for algae, not diatoms so much though.

I left my lights on their normal cycle and am just living with the diatoms, they will lessen (and already have) with time. Bump up the CUC a little but don't overdo it, when the diatoms and algeas level out, they won't have enough to eat if overpopulated. One snail per 3 gallons should do it.

Enjoy your stuff, and go with the Sedra pump.
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
there's a review on the Sedra 3500 where the guy says he put it on a Turboflotor with some mods.

here's the LINK
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
well i finally found snails. i bought 10 nassauris and 10 cerith also 3 pepermint shrimp. the rock and sand are really starting to brown up in areas so i'll have to make sure i stay on top of w/c's and testing. i'm hoping the CUC will be able to handle it because i dont want to buy too many and then afterwards there not be enough food for them. John Deere seems to love the diatom bloom.

The tang looks like it may have 2 white spots on it and is losing its color so i have to keep an eye out on it.
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
I'm doing well! I have been on a mission to cleanup my house. Just keeping up with basic maintenance on the tank lately. The front glass needs a serious cleaning! I have major plans for the tank. But that's another story all together!
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
its good to hear from you. i've been cleaning house lately too, all the stuff i've been over looking for a while.

while at the why buying the CUC ealier i noticed the LFS has the B-ionic system that Terry has which is an alternative to a calcium reactor. i think i may be investing in one soon.
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
today i got to really sit down to enjoy the tank and i realized the diatom bloom is still growing on the sandbed. at first i thought the cerith werent doing there job but then i noticed of the 4 large and 13 small ceriths they guy grabbed for me, only 2 of the large and 3 of the small have moved since i put them in the tank. the rest are empty shells and i told him they looked empty when he pulled them out but he assured me they werent!

are there other snails that are good for the sand bed other than the ceriths?

and has anyone heard of a star snail, the lfs had some and said they're good for ALL algea?
 
Octoman

Octoman

Well-Known Member
I think they are referring to Astrea snails. Those are good algae eaters, but I think Greg mentioned earlier that they need some help flipping right side up sometimes if they fall.
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
thanks Mark.

Hey all, just getting home from the new lfs. they exchanged the empty shells for Star snails without a problem so now i have 5 star snails.

starsnail1.jpg


its only been 2.5 weeks that the hippo tang has been in the QT but i think i'm going to put it in the DT tonight. i looks pretty health and is eating like a pig so i think it would be ok.

i still havent got the MD shipment yet so still no skimmer, just frequent w/c's.

i'm starting to get these white fuzzy things on the glass & rock about the size of a bean.

1.jpg

2.jpg
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
i forgot about this stuff growint on a LR i got about 3 weeks ago for the lfs. i have no idea what it is

3.jpg


heres John Deere hard at work

blenny1.jpg


and a FTS, dogs shot free of charge. LOL

FTSac.jpg
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
thanks everyone.

bad news!!! when i came home from work today i found the tang with ich spots all over it. i just spent the last 30mins taking all the rock out of the tank and chasing it around. i'm acclimating it to go back in the QT but i'm not sure if i need to take ALL the other fish out too.

it was a rash decision adding the tang to the DT early now i have to pay the cost for doing it which SUCKS!!! but oh well, where do i go from here?
 
JoJo

JoJo

Active Member
everyone but the blenny is in the QT because i forgot about him and added all the LR back in the tank. i'm hearing that blennys dont like hypo so i have to do more reading before taking any action. i'm looking for a bigger QT right now since the fish will be in there for a while and i wan them to be comfortable.

Thanks to Wit for helping me through all this.
 
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