Tooting My Own Horn!

[Mya]

Well good morning one and all.

Well today is the last day of me letting it sit to dry. I will take some pics in a little while and post them up. Its not perfect and I dont claim it to be... but I made it.. and Im pretty darn proud.

I got a small piece of pulsing xenia last night. Yes, I know. Putting the cart way before the horse but the lady said she has so much of it and no one to give it to that she was going to start flushing the stuff. I took 3 small pieces. None mounted. I used a rubberband to stick 2 down and the other went somewhere before I could mount it. I know its in the back behind the rock where I can't reach it. I dont think they are going to make it but figured I would give it a shot. I hope the stuff grabs on to the piece of rock so I can take the rubber band off. I dont even know if I got it banded on there right? But I had to do something and fast before they went MIA as well.

 

[ReefGuy69]

Morning Mya. Well from what ive heard Pulsing Xenia is the hardiest. So your chances are the best. Just remember it can take over your tank so keep it in check. Cant wait to see ur pics.

 

[Mya]

Hey thanks for the positive re-enforcements. I hope it makes it and I do like how it looks. It hasn't melted away yet and because it was only bagged up for about 30 min I think the chances are pretty good for it as well.

So far none of my clowns have taken an interest to it... but Im hoping that will change. Here are some pics...

Yes, Im messy with silicon but Im pretty certain that those dividers aren't going anywhere. I believe the more silicon the better. Im sure some of you men can agree... Yes, that was a boob joke...


Frag 1


Frag 2


Questions --

That red looking stuff on my rock isnt that bad red stuff you get in ur tank is it? The lady yesterday told me about some red stuff on a rock that she got from a pet shop that she thought was okay but turned out it really wasnt. I wanna make sure I don't have something growing in my tank that isn't suppose to be.

Another, When you guys scrape the glass on you're tanks... do you guys do all of it? All sides? And how often?

Lastly, the lady yesterday her yellow tang had orange tips on his fins... I know this means something but dont recall what. Anyone know?

Thanks for answering my questions.

 

[Jeremy0322]

I like the sump, that is how mine ended up. There was sealant all over the place, but you could hit it with a hurricane and it wouldnt come apart. Any Mya, here is a good way to think about the frags, because I think it was the right move by taking them since they stand a better chance in almost any salt water tank compared to a toilet.

 

[Mya]

Well I figured it was free and a chance to test my tank. So I figured. Take it. Also, I didnt want to hear of it going down the toilet. Really when she said she was going to do it my heart sunk. I was like nooooooo....

Even if it melts in my tank I gave it a fighting chance. And hey, even if it lasts for only 3 days or so.. Thats 3 days of something super pretty in my tank.

Any answers to my questions above?

 

[Jeremy0322]

Sorry, I completely missed that, it was finals week and I am soooo burnt out right now...ugh. I have heard about tangs getting the orangish/reddish coloration to their fins as they age, i actually noticed a few weeks ago that mine was getting it, and looking online its not entirely uncommon. As long as it isnt on the body itself, my tangs stomach started to turn red a few weeks ago and it was a bacterial infection. But the fins are fine. I almost like it

 

[Mya]

Its interesting looking. The top fin and side ones are all tipped in bright flame orange. The actual body didnt look like it was anything other then yellow. Its tum looking kinda skinny tho which kind freaks me out.

I had a tang starve himself to death once. He would just let food float by him and I watched his tum shrink and sink in until he finally passed. Nothing I did for the life of me could get him to eat.

That red stuff on my rocks is nothing to be worried about right?
And scraping the glass? Those questions?

 

[Jeremy0322]

The red stuff looks like coralline to me, cyano can be red but if it is then it isnt much, and will more than likely go away if you keep the water change schedule up. And the glass, my tank sits with the back and the left side to the wall, so i clean the front and right side about once every other day with a mag float and then take a razor blade to the inside glass about once a week. I leave the other two sides alone though, there is coralline everywhere and it looks better than a white wall to me.

 

[Mya]

Well I have a lot of red on the rocks if you look back in the thread at the close ups of the rock. I thought it was coraline... but wasn't very purple. Was more red.

I scrape about once a week but was leaving the back wall and one side since like you it faces the wall. I think it will be nicer when its not the green algae and is the pretty purple coraline stuff.

Thanks again for the info, tips and such. I think I am going to take a shower and then head out to this pet store that is kinda far away. The guy has some nice show tanks and I want to take a look at them and what he might have for sale coral wise.

I shall return a little later.

 

[yungreefer2410]

well it might be cyano algae. i would touch that then touch some corraline and see if they feel the same. thats how my first silicone job went. i use painters tape now

 

[Jeremy0322]

You can get coralline in many colors, i have pink and purple in mine, at one point had some light green coralline which looked awesome, and know you can get orange but have no idea how, if anyone knows how to get the orange stuff i will pay you a dollar...lol. I want the Orange sooo bad for some reason.

 

[BLAKEJOHN]

Fora little more than a dollar I will send you my large rock with some yelowish orange on it. No, Sorry I won't. but here is a pic.

 

[Jeremy0322]

See, for algae that stuff is wicked!

 

[Mya]

That is some wicked cool algae. I agree. How awesome. I didn't know it came in such a variety of colors.

I didn't find anything exciting at the pet shop I went to today but was a nice drive. I am going to see if I can feel a difference in what I think is coraline and the red stuff. The red stuff in all over the rocks a lot more then the purple colored stuff. It started getting really red when natural light started getting to my tank more.

How many ppl use canister filters on there tanks? The few tanks I have looked at lately all have canister filters. Is that pretty common for saltwater reefs?

I looked also at some 75s and 90s again and I am so torn. I like the idea of a 75 but a 90 looks so stunning and 15 extra gals for my fish is probably really nice. I'm going to see if I can't find a nice 90 deal somewhere. Not rushing getting a bigger tank but, looking

 

[Jeremy0322]

I would go with the 90, if you have the option to go bigger you might as well. And i used a canister filter for a while just to run media, not many people use them for filtration purposed i dont think, but they are really good with running media through them.

 

[Mya]

Well the lady yesterday, thats all she has. A canister filter. No sump. No refuge.

She doesnt have many fish. Only like 6-ish in her 90 gal.. but still. Just canister and nothing else. That was the first time I had seen something like that.

 

[Jeremy0322]

I dont know if i would agree with the canister filter and nothing else idea, but it can definitely be helpful getting some good flow through carbon. Unless its a small tank they are usually not powerful enough to work on a reef tank. You may be able to get away with it on just a normal FO tank, but i doubt a reef talk would turn out well.

 

[Mya]

I was totally shocked. Today at that other fish store I went too. I looked in there cabinets too. They had sumps, skimmers, and canisters.

I saw some of that red grape stuff too. He said my tang would eat it but that stuff was pretty.

Found a super cheap 90 gal. I sent an email about it. Hope it's not sold and hope I can get my hands on it.

Got another question. The local lady that I talked to and got the xenia from... She is upgrading to a 150 (I think) from a 90 gal. She has a bunch more rock that she plans to add. The question is.. how should she add this new rock? The rock is bone dry right now. The rock has been out of the water for a while. Sat out in the weather. Then they brought it in and boiled it. Now its dry in a bin. How should she cure this rock and such? For how long? And so forth... Should she set up a bin of salt water, heaters, and power heads? Just move everything over and slowly add one piece at a time? She asked me but I really had no idea and didn't want to guide her wrong.
Any suggestions?

 

[ZAPCOnj]

Hey Mya, I'm back at the computer for a bit.

How did the sump turn out? i saw the pic on the other page and it looks pretty close to the design of mine. Have you installed it yet?

If the RED on the rock is "furry" then it's the bad stuff. It'll be the red hair/slime cyano. it'll feed off the Phos in your water... you may get a 0 reading but that will be because the cyano is using up the phos before it can register. the only way to get rid of it is manual cleanings, water changes, and running a phosban reactor (in your sump). I battled the red stuff for a while in my biocube but when i started the 40 i also started the 2 little fishies Phosban reactor and have not seen the red stuff since.


When i scrape my tank every other day i to all the VIEWING sides. the back gets a scrape once a week.

I agree with Jeremy if you can find a 90 cheap go for it. same basic foot print as the 72 but more volume (a little higher)

Canister filters are not the best. They will do the job but if used long term you will have a lot of maintenance just to keep them clean. If you don't then you could come in to some serious problems. I know a few local reefers who use canisters for one week out of the month on their systems to run carbon and a few other things. but after the week is up they take it off and dry dock it.

I got a few new things for my tank.. i'll post pics later

 

[Mya]

Oh post post... I was wondering where you been!

Im going to install the new refuge tomorrow. SO excited... I can't wait to see it all working and in action. Adding the Chaeto will be like icing on the cake!

Everything in my tank looks kinda fuzzy. Even not in the red. And it looks like brown fuzzy stuff... Look at the close up pics of my rocks. (Page 3 of this thread) Do you think all that red on my rocks is the bad stuff? I dont know what my Phos is either. I don't have a test for that.

Don't forget my rock help question above... and... I think I am going to get this 90. Its a damn good deal. Im trying to work out a time to go look at it and pick it up now.