My 20g Journal "Pic Warning" (now a 29g!)

[Lorna]

They all look great.......I think that xenia may be anthelia, but if not it is an unusual color and one that I would love to have......nice snag on the remora pro, you won't be disappointed....and as you said the only draw back is the size of the mag 3. You should think of putting a sump under your tank and then put the skimmer down there to free up room in your main display.

 

[TRe]

ditto on what lorna said

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks for the comments guys!

Lorna, I went and looked at a pic of Anthelia, it appears to be tan/orange/pinkish colors (may have been just the variety I looked at). The stuff I have that I thought was a Pulsing Xenia, is all green, I dunno, I'm going to keep researching this, either way the info I found on Anthelia, says I can keep it under my current lighting, so if that's what it turns out to be, that's OK too

As far as the sump goes.....as I posted a few posts back, I've been working on a plan to turn an old 10g into a sump, the biggest problem is that this new Remora Pro, is like 17" tall (the part that hangs on the tank) and like 21" overall, so it will be way too tall to hang on a 10g, unless I find a way to raise the tank up, and then I may encounter clearance issue inside my cabinet.

I'll keep working on it, maybe I can figure something out. I may try something like a 20 long, I'd still have to raise it, but it would give me more room on the other end to create a refugium.

I guess another idea would be to build a new stand (to match my canopy ), and use one of my empty 29g's as the sump/fuge. That way I would solve the height issue, and almost double my systems water volume.

So many thoughts.......*crazysmil

 

[Lorna]

That last idea sounds ideal. the other option is that you can run the remora inside the sump it just makes more noise as the water drops.......total head clearance is probably your biggest issue.

xenia and anthelia come in a variety of colors one being green and blue. most of the pulsing xenia I have seen are pinkish tan but that doesn't mean anything......there is a type of xenia that is really rare and expensive but is beautiful it is cespitularia a type of xenia that is irridescent and an unusual color.

Google Image Result for http://www.calacademy.org/research/izg/Cespitularia.jpg

 

[IDunnoWhy]

10/31/07 Update w/pics & questions

OK, so I've had my corals for a week now, and most seem to be adjusting to my water/lighting quite well. There are some pics below, and some have questions attached

These first two pics are of my "Pulsing Xenia" (yet to be determined if it is indeed a Xenia or not ) I'm amazed how fast this thing has grown, it's over 4 1/2" when fully extended.

This pic is of my Zoos, they have finally opened all the way, and appear to be happy with their tank placement (lighting seems adequate)

This pic is of my leather, it looked kinda wierd, but seems to be OK, notice the lil' white "stems" are those polyp extension or what? Is it normal in appearance?

This pic is of my GSP it's completely closed up and I can't figure out why....To much light (right at the top of the tank) too much current? (right under the fuge return) any thoughts?

Here's a couple pics of my Peppermint, he/she is finally comfortable, and explores the tank out in the open regularly.

And lastly, look at what I found.....I assure you I didn't buy this little guy, so he must have come in with my most recent LR addition, I counted my other crabs, and all are accounted for, so I know I didn't purchase a "incorrectly marked crab" either. I currently have him in my Q-tank, until I can return him to the LFS, He's a zebra hermit (I believe) and I've been told they are not the preferred hermit as they are more aggressive. Still I thought the picture was cool though....

 

[Helena21]

Everything looks really nice!
Thats what happened to my GSP i bought a frag and i think it was dead when it arrived or something. I put it in my tank and it never opened up anywhere in the tank. I think ive read sometimes GSP do just close for days and then open up again.
Good luck with it

 

[IDunnoWhy]

11/6/07 Update! Christmas in November!

OK so the UPS brought me a package today!

My Koralias showed up, along with a couple test kits I needed! Not a bad way to blow $76

Now for a few "pretty" pictures

I bought these Nassarius snails a while back, and as they burrow most of the time, I never got to take a picture of them.....Well one snuck out today, and I grabbed a few pics

Here he is investigating my Leather

Here he is making his long "trek" across the tank (total of about 10" LOL)

And here he is going back down under.

Here is my most recent purchase, I was at the LFS tonight getting some supplies, and I got to talking to one of the guys there, he was REALLY wanting to sell me something

He asked what I was looking for, to which I said, "well I'd like a cleaner shrimp, but I just can't bring myself to spend $25 for one"......So he says "will ya' take one home for $10 So I said "why isn't in the bag yet!"

I forgot to ask......I have a container of marine flake food, and I was wondering is this adequate for the shrimp (both the peppermint & cleaner) or is there something else I should add also. I also read that cleaner shrimp require Iodine to be added to the tank, is this true?

 

[Lotus]

The shrimp and snails will be fine with flake. I've never managed to get the fish to eat them, but the clean up crew seem to eat them occasionally. Nice shrimp! I think your "peppermint" may be a camel. Have a look through some ID sites to check.

The polyps on your leather don't look fully extended. They usually come out about 1/2" or so, with "flowery" looking parts on the end.

Here's a pic of one of mine with its polyps out (mine's a different color, but yours will look more or less the same):

Use your new tests to check your alk. and calc., as sometimes if those are off it will affect the leathers. He could still just be acclimating, they tend to do their own thing, and sometimes close up for a few days.

 

[jessey]

wow denny, i just read through this entire thread, and i am so impressed by your set up! everything looks great... can't wait to see some fish soon! <3

 

[Lorna]

looking great. That xenia does it have a shimmery look to it? sort of an iridescence? if so it could just be a cespitularia which is very hard to get and rare......but I doubt you'd get it in a frag pak unless the guy didn't know what he had.......either way it looks great as do all your additions. The gsp sometimes take a week or so and the leather may also.....nice pics and they will all love the korallia....

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Lotus - Thanks for the pic of the leather, at least now I know what it's suppose to look like I went and looked at pics of the Camel, and I think the patterns/coloring is slightly different, my pic of the Peppermint is hardly a quality image of the actual shrimp, I'll try to get a better pic later.

Jessey - Thanks for the comments, I'm really happy with how this tank has come together, I have much to learn and a long way to go, but as everyone else has said "take your time & do it right" so I did and, well, so far so good.

Lorna - The Xenia does have a "shimmering" effect to it, I wouldn't say iridescent, but close. I'm going to go research that Cespitularia tonight and see if what I have resembles it.

 

[Katie217]

Awesome!!
I am SO jealous of that "xenia" I cant find it locally, and its one of my fav corals!!

 

[IDunnoWhy]

12/12/07 Update w/ Questions

OK, It's been about a month, so I thought I'd post an update, plus I've been having a few minor issues, that I need to ask some ?'s about.

First Here's a few FTS pics to give you an Idea how things are looking, not much has changed, however I am finally getting some decent Coraline algae going on some of the glass, pumps & fuge.

OK here's a couple pics of my Leather, Notice where I had the rubber band.....It turned into an entirely new Leather, it's pretty small still, should I move it away from the parent?, or can two Leathers grow that close together with no trouble?

Here's a few pics of my Kenya Tree, this thing has been in the tank from day one, it lived through my cycle, it lived through me adding/changing the rock work almost weekly, it's been yanked off rocks and glued back on at least 4 times, it lived through me bumbling around with different fuge mods & skimmer settings, basically I've done everything in my power to kill it.....But it just keeps going.....Ya' just have to respect the thing.

Here's one of my Xenia, it looked a little sick for a few weeks, but now it has new "shoots" and seems to be bouncing back again.

Here's one of my cleaner shrimp, the only creature in my tank that actually likes the camera.

Now, a few questions (Hopefully you've read down this far...)

My Zoos are dieing, all I have left is one single polyp (I started with about 10) I've tried every lighting level in the tank from low to high, I've tried low current areas & high flow areas, nothing seems to be working....Am I missing something?

My GSP are doing "OK" but really only open once or twice a week, they are positioned near the top (The flat rock in the top center of the tank, see pictures above), with very good flow going over/around them, should I try some other area of placement?

 

[Lorna]

hmmm everything else looks good. I would leave the leather where it is until it gets a bit bigger then move it. The xenia looks good as does that kenya tree. The zoas and gsp.....mmmm not sure what the issue is but maybe someone else can shed light on the issue. Maybe you have some night crawling hitchhikers that come out and eat them and bother the gsps too, suce as zoa eating nudibranchs.......

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Thanks Lorna!

It's weird, when I first got the corals, I figured the Zoos & GSP, would be the easiest to care for, but they've proved to be the most difficult for me?

 

[sweetpickles7]

Any updates?