lots of rock questions

[Djhgksga]

Do you guys have your rocks fixated together or just piled up? I'm thinking I should fixate mine somehow, but I don't want to mess up the bacteria. How can I achieve this?

Also, if I buy some real live rock (not base rock made live), will this cause a mini cycle? How do I go about adding this to my tank? Is there a procedure or do I just drop it straight in?

Also, what to do if I encounter unwanted creatures?

What is some good live rock to order online.. good bang for buck?

Thanks!

 

[KcMopar]

If you add a few pounds at a time you should not have a cycle if you tank is well established. There is glue you can use to keep the rocks bonded but then its not easy to re-arrange if you have to for what ever reason. You can cure the live rock in a big waste can with a good flowing pump and a light for 2-4 weeks, then you can add it a little at a time to your main tank. What critters do you think would be unwanted?

 

[exhumed07]

i've had 1 unwanted critter and that has been the aptatian anenomy, and yes i know i spelled it totally wrong lol

 

[strout]

If I had to do it all over again, I would buy dry rock from BulK Reef supply or Marco Rocks and then just seed the tank with a few pieces of live rock. Thats the best way to get Bang for your buck. The two companies I listed above sell their dry rock for a tad over $2 a pound. You can also catch rock from reefers taking down their tanks and cut down on the price that way.

 

[KcMopar]

i've had 1 unwanted critter and that has been the aptatian anenomy, and yes i know i spelled it totally wrong lol

Just buy a couple of those peppermint shrimp, they will eat all your glass anemone's in a hurry!!

 

[exhumed07]

I have bought them before to rid my tank of them. only problem is they live for about 2 weeks and die. they don't seem to scavenge.

 

[strout]

I target feed my Peppermint Shrimp. When I feed pellet food, I add a bit more pellets so that some make it to the bottom for the shrimp to get. I also buy a piece of shrimp, well I don't buy, my wife works at a fish market. I cut a few small pieces and feed the Peppermint shrimp these pieces. My shrimp are going on three yrs old.

 

[exhumed07]

I'll have to try that, seems like alot of those small critters u need to spot feed

 

[strout]

Peppermint shrimp are very adapt at hiding, you may still have some in your tank and just don't see them. I think they tend to do alot of roaming around when lights are out.

 

[KcMopar]

Mine scurry like cockroaches when the lights come on LOL. I have found that shrimp do not so well with nitrate over 10/20PPM. Before I got my scrubber I had problems keeping them.

 

[Fuzz16]

i didnt read where anyone mentioned this, but you need to make sure you put rocks down first, i used large peices of dry rock on the bottom and piled up all the rocks a row or two, and then added sand mix
Very important to add rock before substrate! if you get fish that dig around in it you dont want your rocks moving around due to sand movement and crashing into the side of your tank.
and you can use glue or silicone or just place stratigically to be a strong hold.
I wouldnt buy LR online, shipping alone would kill you! id get some LR peices and use dry for the rest like said above

for unwanted creatures..you can mix some salt water at a higher salinity rate than your tank, something like 1.05+. you dip your LR into the mix for 90 seconds MAX. critters will come up then grab ones you want, some are beneficial, and put them in tank, the bad ones you can just flush

arrowhead crab will eat bristleworms, but not reef safe.heard six-lines will eat small bristleworms also

 

[KcMopar]

Those bristle worms keep my areas of low flow and substrate very clean. I would not have a SW tank without them. They get the stuff in little tiny crevices and holes that would otherwise rot and raise up my nutrients.

 

[Fuzz16]

i like them too, cheap clean up crew
i dont like when i accidently grab one and get needles stuck in my hand that are like fibreglass...and seeing them at 5" is disgusting.

another thing you want to watch for is aptasia, and you want to get rid of that ASAP as it spreads very quickly

 

[KcMopar]

Thats why I keep the peppermint shrimp, they keep the glass anemones (aiptasia) in check. I have a couple worms that are about a foot long, most are just a few inches though.

 

[strout]

A Foot Long Can you get store credit for them *laughingc

 

[Fuzz16]

peppermint shrimp scare me...one was snacking on a sps...that cost a lot of money. they say their reef safe, but i think some instances occur where no fish or vert is really reef safe. nothing is 100%. with the aptasia i inject them with calcium and they die off, i think some people squirt it into their mouths and it gets them gone too.

kinda made me grossed out...foot long...really? nasty. cant they become dangerous at that size?

 

[KcMopar]

I have a large syringe that I use to suck glass anemones (aiptasia) up with to, this stops them from releasing spores when you inject them and just making more a few days later. You are correct, sometimes things that are supposed to work just do not and other times things that are known not to work do???!!! Its crazy for sure!

 

[Fuzz16]

if you suck them up, the peice attached to the rock may regenerate if any peice of the mouth is left, never heard anyone doing that before

 

[KcMopar]

I have not had this happen yet but, I have worried about that. I have tried the injection thing but have had future problems because the animal released spores while I was giving it the injection and seeded the tank with dozens of them. I have found sucking them up and the peppermint shrimp to be the most effective for me. Also if you use the syringe method you can get them when they are still tiny.
Yes, two of the worms must be 10-12 inches long and at least as thick as a bic pen. They avoid me if I have to get into the tank and I ALWAYS look before I grasp to avoid getting on to one of them.

 

[exhumed07]

the bristle worms in my tank are maybe a 1/4 of an inch long and i did have a small outbreak with the glass anemones a while back but got a pepermint shrimp and it cleared them out and have not had any since.