15G - heating question

[Julie]

Looks excellent!  You want to simulate waves with the flow.

[Vallely4]

Is there too much flow you think?
Im wondering as I have an AC110 im going to put on my 20g, and thought the same thing, lotssss of current...  but almost every nano tank around has some AC refugium

But if your fine with 2Maxi600's and the AC110 then I shouldn't worry.

[KLKelly]

I guess I won't know if its too much until there are creatures in there.  If they are blown off the rocks I guess it would suggest too much.

I found a blenny online that I loved!!! I like it more than a clownfish....Its a Tail Spot Blenny

Link to the profile: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=2229&N=0

[kennyman]

I really like the look of your tank 

As it continues to mature over the next several weeks you will notice bits of cyano starting in the calmer places. You will have lots of opportunity to fine tune your flow then. The cyano is a great indicator as is detritus building up in places. I like the convergent flow you have there. It will send chaotic swirls all around once you have some things to wave back and forth for you to see it.

You might end up moving some of the rock scattered around the sand bed if you collect a few free growing corals but again its all things that you will change a bit as your tank evolves.

Also keep in mind that most corals come attached to rocks so you will be filling it up a bit more as you add frags.

[KLKelly]

Great advice!!!!  I'm glad the rock setup looks okay to start.  I admit to being really excited about getting the invertebrates in the tank. There is a number of different colours growing on the rocks but nothing that looks just like the cyano pictures - not slimey.

We saw a flash of our first possible hitchhiker last night.  After weeks of looking at the rock he saw movement.  I had a chance to see it also. As soon as the flashlight (even muting the light with our hands - thinking we were sneaky) as soon as the light hit what ever it was it was gone in a second.  It was so fast I have no idea what it was grrr.  Could have been a flat bug or a shrimp for all I saw.  We do know or think we that it was tinted green haha!
I wonder if I'd get a better look if I put a tiny piece of shrimp in there for a couple hours?

And... I just noticed white bugs on the surface and walls in the fuge - even though there's nothing in it but water and a tiny bit of sand.  I'll have to look them up - I know I've read about them.  I never noticed them in the daytime before.

Thank you guys!!!

[Cheebs]

Sweet tank Kelly..  I've got tons of those bugs aall voe the place, it seems most of them are beneficial.  They are most likely Copepods http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copepod and Amphipods http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphipod

Apperently their population can ge prety intense in new tanks before it levels off.

[Tyler.L]

hopefully it wasnt a mantis shrimp lol cause then there wont be any fish or anything else that will survive in that tank.

[KLKelly]

I sure hope not.  Are they superfast?  The second the light hit it - it was gone.  My eyes didn't get a chance to focus it was gone so quick.  I have a small piece of shrimp in there now and no signs of life.

We are planning on getting the first few members of our clean up crew tomorrow.

Honestly - what ever it was - I hope its reef safe.  There is no way we could catch this thing!

[Cheebs]

"However, mantis shrimp are considered by many domestic marine aquarists as pests. They can often sneak into a tank hidden in rocks, and once there, they can feed on fish, corals, and smaller crustaceans. They are notoriously difficult to catch once established in a well stocked tank [8] and have been known to crack aquariums[9]."

They sound pretty quick to me..  I'm not sure how you could catch it if it is one, perhaps you can bait it because you don't have any other fish in there.

[KLKelly]

It could have been an algae eating bug for all I saw.  Didn't like the light thats for sure.

I went in to pick up a magfloat algae cleaner yesterday - they didn't think they had the one that I could add a razor blade to later on if I needed it.  Then I clued in that I should leave the algae for the snails tomorrow.

Do the snails take care of all the algae or do you guys also use a magfloat/algae scraper?

[Cheebs]

My snails take care of alot of the algae on the glass, but over time there's some tougher and harder algae that is formed that you'll need to scrape or brush off.  My snails go over this stuff and it doesn't come off.

[kennyman]

I use a mag-float regularly to keep the viewing sides clean and a Kent scraper for Coraline once every other week. I leave the back and  the rocks for the critters to play on.

[Adam]

I have a mag float 350 with an 'easy blade' razor glued onto it.  It's great for the big stuff on the large glass surfaces, but I don't use it in the corners because it has a tendency to jump and cut the silicone.  I do that manually with just the inner portion of the magnet.

I think I got the easy blade from redbelly.

[KLKelly]

We added a small clean up crew early yesterday evening and I just read that the ammonia showing today can be normal.

I also got to witness today one of the scarlet crabs take over another ones shell.  Poor guy had to wait outside until the other was finished.  They look so vulnerable without their shells.  They aren't as active as I thought they would be and I'm hoping its normal.  The crab that I was sure was no longer in his shell (I edited my post) was the one evicted. I swear it was empty.

I am starting to read more about the corals now that I know which ones will be okay in our tank.  The pulsing xenia and the green star polyp I know are not exotic but I got a kick out of them.

[Cheebs]

Hey Kelly, I wouldn't be too worried about them not being active at first.  When I first added my cleanup I actually barely saw a crab or snail until a week or two afterwards.  Perhaps it takes them a while to get comfortable.  Now they are everywhere out in the open.

[KLKelly]

Thanks btw. We bought some dollar store shells so I hope it helps them. 

I bought some culligan water tonight.  Do you guys add Prime to bottled water or is it safe not to?  I assume I don't need to.

[Tyler.L]

i just mix my salt with the culligan and no problems with hair algae or any other algaes

[redbelly]

I second that.
Culligan is good to use straight out of the bottle. No prime needed.

[sniggir]

I realy like star polyps I think out of the low light corals they are probly my favorite

[KLKelly]

The ammonia is down to zero. I turned on the lights and there is a dead scarlet crab right at the front of the tank - out of his shell - I don't even see his shell.       

Is this normal?  If there was a bad hitchhiker in here would they leave evidence like this behind (he didn't have much of a body like I saw when they were switching shells). Or are they evil with each other? Or is there something with my water?

Temp is 76.7, ph 8.1, salinity 1.023, ammonia 0 testing nitrite.