Stephen from Ann Arbor, Michigan
size of tank:
12 gallons, 9 wks old, my first
saltwater.
inhabitants: ocellaris clown
sunrise dottyback
lawnmower blenny
neon goby
fire shrimp
cleaner shrimp
1 fromia star
4 bumblebee snails
1 cerith snail
3 nassarius snails
5 nerite snails
1 trochus snail
1 rose bubble tip anemone
ricordea florida (4 neon blue, 1
neon orange, 1 neon green, 3 pink, 2
teal)
4 zoanthid frags (orange, yellow,
purple, and red skirts)
2 frags neon green, 1 frag green
star polyps.
1 rhodactis sanctithomae
1 red pimpled green mushroom
1 frag pink bird's nest
sun polyps
3 pulsing xenia (dark brown, khaki,
blue)
Assorted discosoma, porites, and a
black sponge sprouting from live
rock.
Algae: Gracilaria and Chaetomorpha (brillo
pad)
system:
JBJ Nanocube DX, 75W Ebo-Jager
Heater, Coralife digital
thermometer, stock pump replaced w/
Aquarium Systems Mini-Jet 606,
CaribSea Tahitian Moon Sand, Instant
Ocean Reef Crystals, Seachem reef
complete, reef plus, reef carbonate
Filtration:
2 stock sponges, 2L Seachem Matrix,
2 100mL bags Seachem Purigen, filter
sock w/
Seachem Matrix Carbon/PhosGuard
(3:1)
lighting: 2x 24W
50/50(10,000K/7,100K blue) PC
Additives:
Seachem , DIY scraper, turkey baster
Water Parameters:
Temp:84 F
Salinity: 1.026/35ppt
pH: 8.3
Alk: 3.5 Meq
Calcium: 450 ppm
Nitrates: <5ppm.
live rock: 15 lbs Fiji
tips: ~easy effective DIY
scraper, 2 rare earth magnets and
adhesive-backed velcro.
~I replace carbon whenever the water
starts to smell. during my 3 week
cycle it was
1 cup, 2x/wk. since then have
replaced carbon only once.
~watch out for dissolved oxygen...
~Chaetomorpha algae great for
nutrient uptake but grew from fist
sized clump to 1/4
tank in 1 mo, see above.
~beginners wanting to fill their
tank quickly, I recommend xenia. My
colonies seem
to double in size every 2 wks.
~RBTA declines under current
lighting if left unfed. Fed
cyclopeeze/mysis, grows
nicely.
~anecdotal, in my tank,
cyanobacteria explodes in areas of
high flow/light when I
change filter media and green algae
bleach. Cyano also seems to decrease
when I feed
heavily. Hypotheses: cyano are
outcompeted by algae in low nutrient
environment; but
in absence of nutrients (new filter
media), algae (caluerpa & hair)
bleach and get
overgrown by cyano.
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