So busy!

Aye yahh, it's been awhile. Again. Are we noticing a pattern? Between work, school, being sick, and various other things, the blog has fallen to the wayside. However, it's your lucky day as I am sick and on Spring Break. I know, how could I have such good luck? It's shocking.

Let's get on with the reason we're (or, let's be honest, I'm) here. Fishies!

..... Well, no new fishes as of yet, but lots of news regardless.

So, last you heard my galaxy coral died, and everything else was doing pretty good. Well, the galaxy is still dead. I have two sets of buttons, one of which is melting away in bad health. MY single sexy shrimp got two friends, and were happy for awhile. But they disappeared to the little reef aquarium in the sky. I want to cry giant bitter tears, because at $17 a pop, it was not just an emotional loss.

So what killed 2 sexy shrimp, started killing my beautiful orange/purple buttons, and shriveled my pulsing xenias to small melted stumps? NIRATES! The evil ninja pirates of the aquarium world. They have a great effect on the tank, causing ammonia to spike eventually. No matter how you slice it, they are bad. What causes them to spike? Left over fish food that doesn't get eaten, decaying fish, plankton supplements, too much of a bio load, etc etc. So what's a good level for nitrates to be at? As close to zero as humanly possible. It's hard to get it so low since you're gonna have some bio load with fish, and things do happen, but with a balanced tank, good filtration, and reasonable feeding practices, it is managed. So if I understand the basics of nitrates, mine is probably amazingly low right?

Mine's at 160. 160! It should be 0! When doing a nitrate test, it should be clear or a pale yellow. Mine was a deep red. Oi vey, what is going on in my little 3g tank? It's amazing that Ron isn't leaping from the tank in horror.

I still don't know why my tank is sinking like the titanic. My boyfriend and I leapt into action. We went out and bought a new filter (it filters 10-30 gallons I believe) instead of my tiny little filter. The first filter turned the tank over 30(ish) times an hour, while my new one turns it over 300(ish) times an hour. (Look how big it is! Size matters.) The old filter had polyfilter, purigen, and a standard sponge. The new filter has purigen, polyfilter, charcoal, and natural-nitrate-eattin-algae. I also have been doing multiple water changes. In addition, I've been adding nitrate-eating-bacteria to the water. The nitrates, if they have gone down, has been minimum.

With my 12g tank nearing the end of it's cycle, I took desperate measures to save what I could. The pulsing xenias, both buttons, and a few idiot hermits for good measure, all got dumped into the big tank. They've been there for about a week now, and the nearly dead xenias are slowly making a comeback. They've even started pulsing again! If they make a comeback, they're going to be so pretty. It's a bit too early to tell how the buttons are doing. The hermits prove that they are indestructible as always. (Though they do enjoy pissing off any coral in the tank.)

The picture above is my xenias when I first got them, Ron being so interested in the camera that he won't give me a clear shot of them. The picture to the right is the same xenias transplanted into the bigger tank. They look pitiful hm? That's the danger of nitrates. They have melted away and are mere shadows of their former, glorious selves. I am crossing my fingers that they will make a comeback.

I would really like to put Ron in the bigger tank to give the little tank a chance to return to normal, and so Ron wouldn't be in any danger of getting sick, but I don't trust that my 12g has finished it's cycle. Coral and hermits shouldn't be in any danger of suffering in the cycle or affecting it, but a fish is a different story. Plus, what if he got used to the big tank? I still haven't decided if he's getting a bigger place and a girlfriend, or sticking in my little 3g so that I get to sit next to him. (It's selfish, so sue me. I love my little desk buddy.) Please excuse the blurry picture.



On another nifty note, my porcelain crab is beginning to take food from my tongs. That's nice, because I began to feed her by hand to avoid overfeeding. She is a filter feeder, (she eats stuff in the water) but I'm nervous with the poor water quality. The first couple times, she latched onto the tongs like they were devils hands trying to take her down, but now she realizes that those little metal things mean food! Now she latches on trying to find the tiny, but tasty, algae disk.

So who is doing well in the little tank? My ricordea is thriving. I don't know if it's super hardy (it is an easy, beginner coral) or perhaps a devourer of nitrate.

One of my brittle starfish made an appearance, which was super exciting! Look at all those action poses!

That is about it for this installment. Everyone cross your fingers and pray that I get my nitrates under control before they get control of the tank. ...Who am I kidding? Too late!

No one knows any other critters that devour nitrates do you?

Lots of new things to speak about! So much has happened that I never reported on. Eeeesh...

I went to a salt water fish store called Ocean Exotics and finally purchased a small clown and a porcelain crab for my tank. I can easily say, I will never shop there again. The crab turns out to be a decorator crab and begins destroying my feather duster tubes and peanut worm tubes. Thank god I had no coral in the tank at the time.

Then the clownfish died within ten hours.

Was my tank cursed? No, that store is just filled with liars and sickly stock. I dare you to argue with me! Anyway, I went to Aquatropics and bought a real porcelain (took me 2 days and disassembling my rocks to get the decorator out!) and a healthy clownfish (whom I've named Ron on account of his 'red head'). 3 months and they're still going strong. Sort of.

So, the first clownfish died, the decorator crab was donated to a store, and the new inhabitants were doing good. Well, until the porcelain crab began to lose his legs. All but one. Sigh. Later, while staring at her with tear filled eyes, I see eggs in her little tucked up tail! So mommy was just stressed! I can happily say that a month later and she has regrown all but one leg.

Not everything has had a happy recovery though. I managed to completely kill the most beautigul Galaxy Coral ever. It is now a shriveled husk of rock sitting at the bottom of my tank. On a happy note, some buttons and pulsing xenias are doing quite good! Well hopefully anyway.

I have managed to get ahold of a single sexy shrimp who has taken to sticking her little grubby hands into the buttons, hurting one of them pretty bad. They don't open as readily now. Or maybe something else is causing that? Corals are so picky! Ron isn't so difficult! He sticks his head out of the water and demands food. Like some sort of odd aquatic doggy!

Other big news, I now have a 12g tank cycling! So far I've got a yellow sponge, blue chubby starfish, and several red featherdusters.

I'll have more pictures and a more interesting post later, but for now, I'm tired and needed to give a quick sum up of my recent stories and adventures with the tanks!

Dee

Random Mutterings

I find it funny that in a hobby that everyone seems smart and capable, no one knows a damn thing. Well, that's not fair. Let me rephrase that. Everyone is so certain that only they are right, that no one can agree on anything. It's like the tree falling in the woods question, no one cares what you think but everyone wants to have their say.

Being a noobie, I am currently getting in touch with my inner sponge, absorbing any knowledge thrown at me, regardless of it being right or wrong. And like a sponge, I'm full of knowledge that is closer to bacterial waste than useful information. Before the people reading this (I'm including my imaginary friends) riots from my criticisms, let me say that I have learned some things that everyone agrees on. Let me put them in convenient bullet format for you.

*Anything that's pretty or interesting is as hardy as a snowball in hell.
*Whatever set up you have, it's not good enough for something awesome.
*Fish are crazy motherfuckers.
*If you want it, god will find a way to keep you from it. This includes being impossible to keep alive, find, or afford.
*Salt water fish need salt water to swim in.

There you have it. Concrete FACTS. I know that last one threw some of you. It's okay, just try harder to pay attention next time.

My biggest gripe about the weird eb and flow of knowledge in this hobby is that people who you should trust to give you accurate information will lie, lie, and then tell you the truth, which is actually wrong but they don't know it. This group includes those who are so full of themselves that you just want to poke them with a needle to release the hot air, aquarium store owners who creatively bend the truth, and forum posters. Forums posters are an odd creature. A few are helpful, giving their opinion but not forcing it, eager to help along a new reefer... Others however are mean, spiteful, seeking knowledge without having done any research, or tearing apart a new comer for the sheer pleasure of it.

I've been told by big headed hobbyist that Live rock isn't that important in a reef tank (with fish) and that with constant water changes, everything will be fine. (Why do that to yourself or the fish? ;_;) I've been told after expressing my interest in a fish unfamiliar to me that while it grows to need a tank that's at least 65 gallons, it'll be happy in my nano for awhile. After all, it grows slow. (Researching it, I also discovered it's a mean fish as well, and would love to eat my future soft coral.) And the forums, dear lord, the forums. I've seen posters tell their fellow humans that they're new at this, and just added a Mandarin to their freshly cycled 12 gallon tank. I've seen experienced reefers manage to fit in that they are an expert and they've won awards into every single post they write. ("Why yes, in answer to your question, the sky is blue. As an expert who has won awards for all the reef tanks I've ever made, I enjoy staring at the sky at least once a day.")

So, is this post all complaints and whining? Heavens no. I would just like to thank the individuals who are knowledgeable, enjoy sharing their wisdom, and aren't afraid to learn they're wrong and take the advise of others. You, good sir, are a a rare find.

Setting up the Tank

So, setting up a tank isn't nearly as difficult as you would think. Admittingly, I have things easy since salt water tanks are commerically available now and simplier than in the past. Plus, I'm still not entirely sure how lights and filters work. But hey, that stuff is boring. You know what isn't boring? Live rock! As you see to the left, I had a lot to choose from. Whatever pieces I picked would determine the entire look of my tank. How's a girl to pick? Easy. Use what I've been taught in various art classes. Pick a centerpiece and build around it.



Here's the piece I picked. I know, it might not look like much to some people, but I had this rock picked out a good 3 weeks before I had a tank to put him in. Bright purples and greens (Fiji rock I think) and such interesting bumps and bubbles to look at. Plus, it's round. This may seem like a silly thing to get excited about, but live rock rarely comes in 'round'. At least, none that I've ever seen. (And that live rock tank was pretty big.) I had my focus point. After that, the sales guy practically picked out the other rocks for me. I picked the small round rock (that was probably once a coral of some kind) and the large rock that was going to be the bulk of the tank. The two small ones were just lucky ones taken off the top.


So just what exactly do you do to set up a tank? Well, once you admit you don't know the first thing about lights and filters, the hard part is over. Find someone you trust and have them pick that stuff out for you. The only thing I made sure to learn is what supplies I needed to do everything I wanted. I understand my light's limitations and how to improve upon it. (Great lights = hard corals, average lights = soft coral, freshwater fish lights = dead coral) Now, once you have the tank, the fun begins.

This, is my empty 3 gallon Picotope tank provided by a secret source. (My boyfriend. Shh) It's perfect for my desk, budget friendly, and not difficult with an expert reefer on hand to help. (I don't suggest starting with a 3g. It's for experts only, and while I am most certainly not an expert, I had one on hand. So, tank, check. Next, rocks. A general rule of thumb is 1lb of live rock for every gallon of water. You can go over as much as you want, but do not go less! Live rock is one, if not the most important thing to go into your tank! In case you don't know (and I'm sure you do) live rock is a natural and fantastic filter for your tank. By using live rock, you're making as close to a natural reef in the ocean as you'll get, well, not in the ocean. Anyway, look it up if you want to learn more.

We have a tank. We have live rock on standby. Now, the fun! Get some live sand (I know, it sounds creepy doesn't it?) to fill the bottom of that tank. Generally 1lb of sand per gallon. Does that sound familiar? Anyway, people like to angle the sand, higher at the back, then shallower in the front. So, that's what I attempted.






Then, set up your rocks! Make sure to make some little hiding places or your future tenants will be stressed and unhappy. See my centerpiece round guy there in the middle? I'm so proud. It's simple, but that works for me. I already know where I want the coral to go, and where I hope sexy shrimp will one day wiggle there little butts. Of course, you needn't be quiet so particular. Sometimes winging it works!






Last but not least, the salt water. I buy premixed salt water, because it's only a 3g tank, I'm lazy, and inexperienced. I poured the salt water into a watering pitcher and added it slowly. I cannot stress this enough. Even going as slowly and gently as I did, I did a number on that perfectly situated sand. Oh well. You won't be able to tell what you've screwed up, not for awhile anyway. Welcome to your reward for all that work.

Congratulations my friend. You've started the cycle. Be prepared for the most agonizing wait of your time as a salt water tank owner.

I am now blogging.

Not an exciting first post, but everyone has to start somewhere. I needed a place to post my current obsessions and pictures, not for others per say, but for me. Therefore, do not expect grammar, spelling, or anything that makes sense. (Not that a public, widely read blog has one, or any, of those things.)

After eating in fine dining establishments and taking pictures of the food like a true backwaters Florida girl and having nowhere to post them and comment, I briefly considered a blog, but when I realized that I don't get out to fine dining establishments enough to warrant an entire blog about it, the idea died.

Then I was introduced to a new obsession. Salt water tanks.

I'd always been fairly impressed by the colorful fish available to the salt water tankers. I mean, look at fresh water tank fish. Brown, cream, the occasional blue-ish fish... and they just sit there. Watching you. Judging.

Then I saw a small (12g) salt water tank set up properly (though not very clean...). It had rock, water, and a small clownfish. I needn't describe a clownfish to you, but it wasn't just that he was pretty. He was interesting.

Following my finger, swimming to and fro like a dog wanting attention, I found that he was adorable (as should anyone when confronted with a happy clownfish). He had no idea he should be afraid and was just as interested in my finger as I was in him. My curiosity in him caused me to notice other things in the tank. At first glance, a rock covered in green gunk is not very appealing, but if you stare long enough, you notice other things. Tiny corals trying to fight the green invasion, tubes with feathers coming out, an oyster hidden on the side...

And this was from a tank with no coral! No cleanup crew! Nothing!

Well, such an interesting tank must be a ton of work. When I was told it wasn't, I scoffed. Surely there were things, maintenance I was unaware of, work that had to be done that would turn me off of the idea.

"No," I was assured, "the rocks do it all. Just watch and enjoy."

And so, my need to have one grew. I asked questions, read forums, surfed Wikipedia. There was so much to know! How had I never looked into this before?

With some help and generous donations, I now have a 3 gallon salt water tank cycling. If you have no interest in this, I suggest you look elsewhere for entertainment. This blog, while encompassing my hobbies as a whole, such as the very briefly mentioned fine dining hobby, will more likely than not be almost entirely about my up and coming salt water tank. About a month into cycling, I already have a long list of things to talk about.

That's for another day, another post. I will make it more appealing with pictures though, I promise.

Dee