Here We Go Again!

[Dentoid]

Any skimmer that is pulling out foam will help with your nitrate problem. 20ppm is not bad and won't hurt your fish. Just keep the nitrates at or below 20 and you should be fine.

[tbittner]

This isn't a suggestion but more of a question. Would putting a ball of chaeto in the QT help cut the nitrates?

[lcstorc]

Cheato could help but I pretty much agree with Dentoid. 20 is not that bad for fish and the skimmer will help as well.

[DrHank]

Let me try and make you feel a bit better. Clown fish are in the same family as damsels. Generally speaking, they are as hardy as damsels. Damsels are one of the first fish you can put in a newly cycled tank. Accordingly, clown fish are also one of the first fish you can safely put in a new tank.

Also as Scott ans Lynn both told you (and I agree as well) 20 is not bad for a fish only system. You're doing great and it will be no time before your clown will be at home in the big tank. I think you could do it now if you wanted to. JMHO.

[Melanie]

Here are the test results on 8/12 at 6 PM after a 10 gal. h2o change.

KH 232.7
NO3 2.5
PO 0
pH 8.2
NO2 0
NH3/NH4 0
Ca2 500
Temp 78
SG 1.024

[DrHank]

It should be completely safe to start moving your critters into the display tank. You've made them a nice new home which they will enjoy for years to come. I'd probably drip acclimate them and put them in.

You should be very proud of your accomplishments. You've learned a lot and come quite a way in a very short period of time.

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by DrHank

Let me try and make you feel a bit better. Clown fish are in the same family as damsels. Generally speaking, they are as hardy as damsels. Damsels are one of the first fish you can put in a newly cycled tank. Accordingly, clown fish are also one of the first fish you can safely put in a new tank.

Also as Scott ans Lynn both told you (and I agree as well) 20 is not bad for a fish only system. You're doing great and it will be no time before your clown will be at home in the big tank. I think you could do it now if you wanted to. JMHO.

He is doing great, and you are probably right about him being ready to go to the DT. I'm only holding off because I just added him to the QT 5 days ago and I want to wait 2 weeks or more just to be sure he doesn't have the fungus the last clowns had. They started showing it a few days after I bought them.

I have to post some pics tonight because two of my shrooms "jumped" off the rock onto the substrate and one looks all shriveled up and the other looks OK. On the rock one shroom keeps flipping itself inside and out (if that makes sense.) Looking at my equipment and test results, do you think I have the right set up for corals? I'd hate to buy more and have them die. I'd love to have corals, but I'll be happy with a FOWLR too.

[tbittner]

I would think that you would have plenty of light, especially for mushrooms. Please post some pictures of them and I'm sure folks here can help you.

[DrHank]

You'll be able to have plenty of corals so don't worry. One other piece of equipment that you will want to have (fortunately it isn't very expensive) that I don't see listed is a Phosban reactor. That will help keep Phosphate in the undetectable range. You will also want to be running carbon in your system. It helps to remove lost of nasties including the chemical warfare that you always have if you keep soft corals. Some folks use a second phosban reactor to run carbon.

When you start pick one or two easy corals Xenia is an excellent first choice. It does well, in most cases, even when some nitrate and phosphate are present. In many cases, it spreads like a weed. If you're lucky, as it spreads you can frag it to rock rubble and trade it back to a LFS for credit you can use to buy other corals you like.

I would continue exactly what you have been doing maintenance wise. You want to ultimately try to get nitrates undetectable. That's what your corals will want. Since you've given me your Alk and CA values I will say that they both appear to be a bit high. DO NOT PANIC!!! All that tells me is that it is just about time for you to start looking into Reef Chemistry. Take your time because it can be confusing.

Here is where to go to learn.

Reef Central Online Community - Reef Chemistry Articles

Caution: This can be overwhelming so take your time.

Your tank is fine to move forward slowly. Fine tuning the Ca, ALK, & Mg is for optimum health and growth. Stick with the easier corals and you should be fine. I just started supplementing about a month ago and my corals all seemed do do fine even though I hadn't known how to provide the best conditions.

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by DrHank

You'll be able to have plenty of corals so don't worry. One other piece of equipment that you will want to have (fortunately it isn't very expensive) that I don't see listed is a Phosban reactor. That will help keep Phosphate in the undetectable range. You will also want to be running carbon in your system. It helps to remove lost of nasties including the chemical warfare that you always have if you keep soft corals. Some folks use a second phosban reactor to run carbon.

When you start pick one or two easy corals Xenia is an excellent first choice. It does well, in most cases, even when some nitrate and phosphate are present. In many cases, it spreads like a weed. If you're lucky, as it spreads you can frag it to rock rubble and trade it back to a LFS for credit you can use to buy other corals you like.

I would continue exactly what you have been doing maintenance wise. You want to ultimately try to get nitrates undetectable. That's what your corals will want. Since you've given me your Alk and CA values I will say that they both appear to be a bit high. DO NOT PANIC!!! All that tells me is that it is just about time for you to start looking into Reef Chemistry. Take your time because it can be confusing.

Here is where to go to learn.

Reef Central Online Community - Reef Chemistry Articles

Caution: This can be overwhelming so take your time.

Your tank is fine to move forward slowly. Fine tuning the Ca, ALK, & Mg is for optimum health and growth. Stick with the easier corals and you should be fine. I just started supplementing about a month ago and my corals all seemed do do fine even though I hadn't known how to provide the best conditions.

I was lonely and bored so I bought a Pink Pulsing Xenia, 3 bumblebee snails and some frozen brine shrimp plus.

[lcstorc]

Other than the brine shrimp sounds like a cool trip. Try feeding mysis or formula foods. Brine really has little to no nutrition.
I have heard a variety of things about the bumblebees so let me know how they do for you.
I agree that your tank is good to slowly proceed. If you wanted to really do it right then you should treat the clown in qt for ich to make certain you do not introduce it into the display. I will admit I do not take this extra step but since you have already gone to such lengths it might make sense to take the extra precaution.

[DrHank]

I've heard not so nice things about bumblebee snails (carnivores) and wouldn't add them to my tank. I agree with Lynn on brine shrimp. I think that if your clown were going to develop ick, it already would have. I would just return him to the display. That's just me though.

I'm lazy so I feed my tanks mostly frozen mysis, frozen krill, and frozen Ocean Plankton, plus of course freeze dried nori. I zap a cube in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds in a heavy plastic condiment cup, add to a small nylon mesh strainer and rinse with RO water (to remove phosphate). Forget Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals I serve DrHank's 1 minute meals!!! I feed once per day and alternate chow. The grazers (Tang, Rabbitfish, & Coral beauty) get nori clipped to the glass every other day. Ironically once the big guys start tearing at the noti, the other fish join in for the meal so basically they all get a fairly ballanced and nutritious meal every day. The fish do fine and I don't over feed.

Just a little info for what it may be worth. Also don't let the water chemistry get you down. I've had very nice tanks for years without supplementing anything (just doing weekly water changes). You also don't have to supplement to have a very nice tank. However, if you decide to supplement, you must test. Remember, GO SLOW! You're doing great and things will only get better.

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by lcstorc

Other than the brine shrimp sounds like a cool trip. Try feeding mysis or formula foods. Brine really has little to no nutrition.
I have heard a variety of things about the bumblebees so let me know how they do for you.
I agree that your tank is good to slowly proceed. If you wanted to really do it right then you should treat the clown in qt for ich to make certain you do not introduce it into the display. I will admit I do not take this extra step but since you have already gone to such lengths it might make sense to take the extra precaution.

the frozen brine shrimp plus is a "treat". i feed mysis every day. my clown gets 3 different foods in rotation (mysis, prime reef flake, and frozen brine) but the firefish so far only gets mysis because he will only eat in the water column and the flakes don't sink. i want to give him a little variety so he will get the frozen brine about once a week.

yeah, i'll let you know about the bumblebees. one turned out to be a halloween crab inhabiting a bumblebee shell so i got 2 bumblebees.

i didn't tell you guys about the crazy big serpent starfish that appeared out of no where! i saw some movement in the rocks and i looked closely and it was a large serpent star! i have no idea where that guy came from because i certainly didn't put him there. i can only guess he came out of one of the rocks. i'm totally amazed he lived after the crash and the fresh water soak and god knows what else i did during my learning phase.

yeah, i've been debating about some kind of treatment for the clown. he appears totally healthy so i hate to do unneccary medication, but on the other hand, like you said, I am already going to great lengths to keep from introducing disease and it might not hurt to go the extra step.

i will decide after my fuge is finished. right now Hermes (the red legged hermit) is in there and i KNOW he wouldn't like any of the meds I want to use on the ich.

[Melanie]

Originally Posted by DrHank

I've heard not so nice things about bumblebee snails (carnivores) and wouldn't add them to my tank. I agree with Lynn on brine shrimp. I think that if your clown were going to develop ick, it already would have. I would just return him to the display. That's just me though.

I'm lazy so I feed my tanks mostly frozen mysis, frozen krill, and frozen Ocean Plankton, plus of course freeze dried nori. I zap a cube in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds in a heavy plastic condiment cup, add to a small nylon mesh strainer and rinse with RO water (to remove phosphate). Forget Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals I serve DrHank's 1 minute meals!!! I feed once per day and alternate chow. The grazers (Tang, Rabbitfish, & Coral beauty) get nori clipped to the glass every other day. Ironically once the big guys start tearing at the noti, the other fish join in for the meal so basically they all get a fairly ballanced and nutritious meal every day. The fish do fine and I don't over feed.

Just a little info for what it may be worth. Also don't let the water chemistry get you down. I've had very nice tanks for years without supplementing anything (just doing weekly water changes). You also don't have to supplement to have a very nice tank. However, if you decide to supplement, you must test. Remember, GO SLOW! You're doing great and things will only get better.

I will watch the bumblebees like a hawk. Actually the astreas are the ones that are currently bugging me because they are eating all the corraline algae off of my new piece of rock (that came with the shrooms). buggers.

I haven't supplemented anything in the display since I set it up this time. If the calcium and Kh are high, it's because of the salt. I use the Tropic Marin Pro Reef. I think one of my snails died and that's what caused the little spike in trates. It was running 0 but I have a snail that is not moving at all on the substrate. He had fallen and I flipped him over and so far he hasn't moved in 2 days. I didn't know if I should take him out because I thought one of the hermits might like his shell but no one is showing any interest.

[Dentoid]

I would recommend against treating the clown if it shows no signs of disease or parasites. Why stress it out if it is healthy? Observation, in QT, is your best bet. If it starts showing signs of disease/parasites then you can start treating the QT. What is a Halloween crab? You have taught me something! You go girl!