Nano to 75 gallon

[Kai]

I did find an empty turbo snail shell today when I moved a rock to scrub it. It was perfectly cleaned out though. As for the algae it doesn't exactly come off easy from the base but I could scrub at it and get some of the long stuff off. I also haven't seen my other 2 turbo snails, and 2 of my crabs recently so that's certainly a possibility, but wouldn't I be reading higher numbers if that was one of the causes? I also completely forgot I have a ton of ulva and two bunches of red gracilaria in there. I got them as food for the various critters so I forget that they're filtering as well.
I'm getting my reef cleaners order Thursday/Friday so I'll probably wait until after they're all settled in the tank and everything to cut back the photo period since I ordered for my upgrade even though they'll live in a 29 for a short bit. I have no problem feeding them, but for now I'll let them feast on what's in there for now. After they settle in and I switch tanks I'll work on perfecting my photo cycle.
I was also able to get a picture of some of the stuff on the glass.

 

[Kai]

Tomorrow is the big day Part One!
Tomorrow the 29 gallon gets disassembled. I have buckets, 2 10 gallon tanks, and some storage containers. Rocks, and sand are planned for some of them. CUC and corals are going to go in a 10 gallon with a nice hairy rock for them to work on. Skimmer is going to get put in a bucket with water so it keeps it's bio film. I have an air pump and an aqua lift and some mini air stones to keep things moving a little. I'm keeping as much water as I can. It's a 75 DT with a 40B sump and I only have a 30 gallon trashcan with fresh saltwater so I'm going to be needing a lot depending on how my rock turns out, and what I don't use from my freshly mixed stuff will be good when I start the TTM of my little fishes. I figure if I have a giant vat of saltwater and use from that each time I do a transfer then I won't need to worry about matching SG. I can't wait to see my little friends in a 10 gallon get to move up to my 75! They've been in a corner too so I haven't been able to watch them much. Unfortunately I have lost one in QT, a yellow watchman about a week ago. I'm very sad about it, I think I accidentally starved him to death so I think the sooner I get the remaining 4 in my tank the better. QT observed of course.
I plan to put every shell in that tank that I could find in a shallow tupperware and then whatever makes it's way out over the next couple days is occupied. This way I could know about how many inverts I have, and how many appropriately sized shells I have for my hermits. I tried to dump all of the things that I got from reef cleaners in a pile to find out the same, but everybody in the tank spread the empty ones out so much it's impossible to tell! I have some VERY nosy shrimp. I have some sifting snails, do you think I need to add a little sand to the tupperware for them or will bare bottom for a couple days be okay?

 

[Kai]

Now for a picture heavy post update on the past week. Finished up the cabinet- I'll post a final reveal of it once it's in it's spot. But this was the progress over the past week.


I also received a box of rocks! I ordered a 50 pound box of rocks from Reefcleaners, it was shipped on Monday, I received it on Wednesday! That was quicker than my quick crew! I rinsed the rocks out for dust and whatnot, and left them out for all of last week's rains, and that definitely wasn't because I was too lazy to carry them in. Nope I had a reason for it for sure


My quick crew was shipped on Tuesday and I didn't receive it until Friday, it was a stressful few days and it was hot out that week too. I ordered a quick crew for a 72 gallon because I didn't want to pay express shipping for the 75 gallon crew, though now I regret it, I should have gotten the express with the crew and gotten some shrimp or urchins and whatnot, but they were out of what I wanted and I was in a rush to get it because I was afraid the mangroves would be out of stock if I waited too long. I also ordered a 'special item' on the website for $3, they didn't have any penny macro which was disappointing but the special item was some ulva (with a few bonus pods in there which is the real treat because my dad brings home ulva whenever I ask for some), and two other macros which I don't remember the names of and aren't on the site for me to look up anymore, I'll figure it out eventually. One is yellow and bumpy, looks almost like crinkle cut fries.... The other is dark red and fuzzy/bristly.


I made my sump... my silicone job is 10x worse than it was the last time, I think the black doesn't help matters. The rim of the tank has been spray painted with a fresh coat of black, it was very faded and scratched, not exactly a good look with a brand new stand. And Friday I plan to spray paint the back again, and the side because it's got some scratches and the side needs to be done because of the cabinet.


I painted the inside of the door for the sump high gloss white, I figured it couldn't hurt to get some light in there reflecting for the macro!

And here's the stand just waiting to be stained.

 

[Juano908]

Now for a picture heavy post update on the past week. Finished up the cabinet- I'll post a final reveal of it once it's in it's spot. But this was the progress over the past week.
View attachment 20499

I also received a box of rocks! I ordered a 50 pound box of rocks from Reefcleaners, it was shipped on Monday, I received it on Wednesday! That was quicker than my quick crew! I rinsed the rocks out for dust and whatnot, and left them out for all of last week's rains, and that definitely wasn't because I was too lazy to carry them in. Nope I had a reason for it for sure
View attachment 20500

My quick crew was shipped on Tuesday and I didn't receive it until Friday, it was a stressful few days and it was hot out that week too. I ordered a quick crew for a 72 gallon because I didn't want to pay express shipping for the 75 gallon crew, though now I regret it, I should have gotten the express with the crew and gotten some shrimp or urchins and whatnot, but they were out of what I wanted and I was in a rush to get it because I was afraid the mangroves would be out of stock if I waited too long. I also ordered a 'special item' on the website for $3, they didn't have any penny macro which was disappointing but the special item was some ulva (with a few bonus pods in there which is the real treat because my dad brings home ulva whenever I ask for some), and two other macros which I don't remember the names of and aren't on the site for me to look up anymore, I'll figure it out eventually. One is yellow and bumpy, looks almost like crinkle cut fries.... The other is dark red and fuzzy/bristly.
View attachment 20501 View attachment 20502View attachment 20503

I made my sump... my silicone job is 10x worse than it was the last time, I think the black doesn't help matters. The rim of the tank has been spray painted with a fresh coat of black, it was very faded and scratched, not exactly a good look with a brand new stand. And Friday I plan to spray paint the back again, and the side because it's got some scratches and the side needs to be done because of the cabinet.
View attachment 20505 View attachment 20506

I painted the inside of the door for the sump high gloss white, I figured it couldn't hurt to get some light in there reflecting for the macro!
View attachment 20507
And here's the stand just waiting to be stained.
View attachment 20508

Nice job, I like it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mrx7899x]

Nice

 

[diana a]

Wow nice job!

 

[Kai]

Thanks @Juano908 @Mrx7899x and @diana a I'm really excited for it to finally come together, all I need is to go get more sand and wait for an amazon order!

 

[Kai]

It's in!
Friday I disassembled the old tank and put everything in tanks and buckets, Saturday brought the tank up and started filling it, finished today. That's a whole lot of water.
The last of the little tank.

Making a huge mess.

Our new floor, no more painted plywood for us!

And a fresh coat of paint before we can never access that corner again.

New tank in place! We put it on silicone paper as well for an extra water barrier and thankfully was all level without needing any adjustments.

I think I've settled on this aquas cape give or take cleaning up a bit, some of the things have critters or things attached that I stuck in there to let them leave on their own.

Lights in the hood.

Finally all together.

And most importantly the view from the couch.

 

[Mark_C]

Very nice

 

[diana a]

It came out great! Best of luck

 

[harthag12]

Very nice, that had to be a very long day.

 

[Kai]

Thanks @Mark_C @diana a and @harthag12 , you're right it was several very long days I'm ready to be done but I still have my mess everywhere... maybe it'll clean up itself if I wait long enough.

 

[Mrx7899x]

You've been busy

 

[Kai]

So I went to LFS today and I got some new friends!
I got a Midas Blenny, and an Algea Blenny, and a yellow and green clown goby. Drip acclimated them to my water and have them all in a temporary holding tank. I also got a yellow and green clown goby. Their expert there, who I trust the advice of greatly, said I could probably get away with a couple more (!!!!!!!!) I love those things. They're so funny looking it's freaking fantastic!! I also got a conch which has been on my list. It is the best creature I have ever seen. There is nothing better than those eyes poking out of the shell and looking around. Reminds me of Tamatoa. (The crab from Moana, Crabs Mcjones icon). I also got some cleaner shrimp, two skunk and one blood. I'll only put two skunks in my DT, the other can stay in my coral frag QT tank. Blood will be going in DT once he molts. I also got a candy pistol shrimp SO TINY. No idea where he went, QT has a bunch of junk in there, rocks, an egg crate stand for corals, a container of sand for conch, so who knows where that little guy went but it's got to be only 3/4" but he had no problem eating some brine shrimp.
Both blennies have eaten, LFS was giving away brine shrimp today so I soaked them with plankton for a while and vitamins before I fed them to my fishies. The shrimp and midas gobbled them up! Algea blenny ate some algae strips I put in there and some algae off the rock, and conch. Only things I haven't seen eat yet are the clown gobies. One is super thin, didn't notice at the store. But I also went to ikea tonight got a bunch of containers to do a TTM with all of my fish by placing a bunch of the smaller containers in a larger one of heated water to reduce cleaning and the amount of water needed.
My existing fish, the two clownfish, the neon goby, and the cardinal, are starting their TTM but I took a step back tonight and reapplied just how many gallons of water that was going to take. I've got the current TTM crowd in a 5 gallon bucket, but they're all pretty chill. The midas and algae blennies I wouldn't trust together in the same bucket, so I'd have to do something bigger like a 10 gallon tank. And on top of it I don't like not being able to see the fish in the bucket. But then that's a lot of water and a lot of stuff to clean, filter/bubbler, heater, tank, hiding things. It's a bit much. But I remembered seeing online someone who had their QT as a bunch of commercial circular food storage containers all sitting in a bath of water and only the bath of water got heated and he ran a bubbler into each container.
I liked this idea, it means a bit less cleaning, not having to haul a tank outside every couple days, heater etc. So 8 at night I decided an ikea trip was in order. I found a bunch of 1 gallon storage containers for 1.49 each. And the lids were .50. Then I got two larger storage containers that'll hold the bath water for 8.99 each. Then I got some frozen Swedish meatballs to take home because the cafe was closed and you can't go to Ikea without getting Swedish meatballs. I need to get some more airline tubing tomorrow... and maybe some more clown gobies but I'm excited to start close examination of all the new friends. Oh and corals too! Not sure what they all are yet, I'll post more once they open up and I can look them up properly.

 

[Kai]

You've been busy

Very busy!

 

[diana a]

You did a lot yesterday. I love algea blenny. I think my next fish will be an African Midas Blenny. They remind me of anthias. In the wild the African Midas will swim with a group of anthias to blend in from predators. I would love to have Flame Anthias, but I would need a 120 to keep 2-3 of them. The the African Midas Blenny would be my best fit do to the size of my tank. If you do get a Midas blenny make sure to have a mesh cover on your tank. They are great jumpers!

To bad you couldn't attend the monthly meeting at @Mark_C yesterday. Great party

 

[Kai]

You did a lot yesterday. I love algea blenny. I think my next fish will be an African Midas Blenny. They remind me of anthias. In the wild the African Midas will swim with a group of anthias to blend in from predators. I would love to have Flame Anthias, but I would need a 120 to keep 2-3 of them. The the African Midas Blenny would be my best fit do to the size of my tank. If you do get a Midas blenny make sure to have a mesh cover on your tank. They are great jumpers!

To bad you couldn't attend the monthly meeting at @Mark_C yesterday. Great party

Oh my the jumping! I drip acclimated them in a 5 gallon bucket because those bags are just tricky, and boy oh boy was it tricky to catch a fish with a square net in a circular container and he was jumping several inches out of the water up the side to try to avoid my net. It was rather nerve wracking. I just looked it up, I think I got an African one, it's got a fantastic... sherbet yellow pink color and the eye is a beautiful bright blue.
I'll make it to some meeting some time. South/Central jersey is just a bit more of a trek for me and since I had plans to go to LFS because of their sale I went with that. Maybe next time!

 

[Kai]

'Tanks' are all ready for transfer!
I may have also gotten a black clown goby today and another green one. I love them so much.

 

[Kai]

Well tonight was a bit of a roller coaster. Not a big one, just the little dragon ones at the carnival.
I got my 'tanks' all ready for TTM and started putting everyone into the containers. I got my clownfish, cardinal, and neon goby all in their containers. Then moved to disassemble the other little tank of goodies that I got the past couple days. And I get everyone out and into a bucket except for the yellow clown goby. I tore apart all of the rock and frags in the little tank. Lifted moved repeated. Nothing. The little yellow one I noticed yesterday as so painfully skinny, but I made sure to toss a lot of food in there and figured that would be good. Apparently it was not. The little guy was nowhere to be found. I have several shrimp in there so I think he died and was cleaned up quite well overnight especially since shrimps didn't seem super interested in eating earlier this evening.
And then I had noticed while netting one of the green clown gobies how disgustingly thin that one is. I posted quickly on R2R, dumped in a bunch of frozen food, put some vitamins in the water and now all I can do is sit back and hope he's going to eat. I'm a bit nervous that he's in the little 1 gallon container with another green clown goby, but I have 2 PVC Ts and a PVC cap for them to hide around. They don't seem to be bothering each other and I'm too nervous to stress them out with going in there with a net. I think I saw him eat a little, and he does seem to be swimming a bit. So I'll make sure that I feed often and keep a close eye on him, it's SO much easier in the little plastic tubs.
This is the poor little thing. I think I'm going to get some brine shrimp bubbling before I go to sleep. I hope it'll hatch in time.

 

[Kai]

Well it looks like I have a killer crab on my hands.

When I put everything back in my tank after the move, I added the two little crabs I had to the DT. They had previously been in the sump, because one of them was carrying eggs and I was afraid that if they hatched DT would be overrun by crabs. This was before I knew that they were so tiny I wouldn't matter and they'd be all torn up by filtration and whatnot. But I figured that since I now didn't have that worry, I'd drop them in the DT and let them have a go of it in there.

Well last night I came out into the living room a few hours after lights out and was looking around with a flashlight. First I noticed a leg in the sand. Then I noticed my favorite little Hermit's shell laying there. Empty. I was so so sad, but I kept a little hope... maybe... maybe he just switched shells and molted? But all of the spare shells were in the same places as before. While I was looking around I spotted one of the crabs that I hadn't seen since I put them in the big tank laying in a cave of my rock work. Hmmm that's weird but... maybe he's just eating from the sand and I can't see? I wasn't convincing myself of anything at 3 in the morning. And not to mention that this was just hours after I discovered that my yellow clown goby had gone MIA in the QT tank as well, and that a green one was looking quick to follow.

When I checked this morning, the crab in the rock cave was still there. Confirmed dead. Hermie's shell was still empty... another confirmed dead. I have no idea when the crab died, I wasn't too concerned. They were New Jersey crabs so who knows how long they live or how old he already was, the thing was carrying eggs for a while so it was at least whatever age that starts at. But Hermie was a hard hit, the little fella was always running around. But at this point, I thought it was just a natural death. He was sitting on a rock for a while the day before not how he usually did so maybe that was it? Maybe he was ill?

Then tonight, I fed the tank, I've been somewhat overfeeding because I want it to be able to handle the additions of my critters a bit better, and with so much of the new sand and rock I want to make sure there's enough food for everyone. And that's when I saw it.
One of my ghost shrimp (who are pets, those things are hilarious) was perched on the rock EATING ANOTHER SHRIMP. Now the shrimps have never shown aggression to each other before. The most they do is take food from each other. Sometimes they'll attack a dying?/dead? snail, but nothing really major. They're all fairly peaceful so WHY IS HALF A SHRIMP IN THE OTHER SHRIMPS MOUTH.

And that's when I saw him. The crab that I had forgotten was even in there, standing out in the sand looking like the proud jerk that he is. Nothing can convince me that he isn't the killed. 3 critters dead in two days and the sudden reappearance of a crab all but forgotten of? The universe is rarely that lazy for it to be a coincidence. I tried to lore him out with some fish but WHAYDDA KNOW the killer was already full. Now the hunt is on. He will not get away with this. It's time to catch a crab.