Coral_Beauty's Tank

[coral_beauty]

Ok well this is the first aquarium I have ever kept (not counting goldfish!). I was contemplating starting with a freshwater tank, but I figured I had to learn everything from scratch anyway, why not just go with what I love? So I did!

My tank was bought on Ebay of all places as a complete marine setup. It is a 3ft non-standard bay-front tank that holds ~200L (I think thats about 50 US gallons). It is crammed full of live rock and has a deep live sand bed.

I'm running the following equipment on it:

* Canister filter (Unknown brand etc, came with the tank)
* Jebo 180 Protein Skimmer (bought as a quick fix by me as it didn't originally have one! Cheap, but works fantastic)
* 1/4 hp Aqua One chiller (Also added by me, definately necessary here in the land of Oz!)
* 2x Fluros (1x Marine Glo (Actinic), 1x Power Glo)
* 2x Power heads, various brands

The tank came stocked with:
* A pair of yellow banded maroon clownfish
* 3x Neon damsels - v. big
* 1x medium blue tang
*1x anemone, species still unknown

Well I think thats about it, here are some pics....

 

[coral_beauty]

So, after a while, the anemone ate the blue tang (ATE the blue tang!!!! 8O ) and the 3 damsels decided they hated each other so I had to sell them to my LFS (they are still there BTW and this was Oct 06). Only the clownfish and the anemone were left...

So I added a small red starfish and a coral beauty (hence my name, she was the first fish I ever bought) and decided I was bored with the look and so set about re-aquascaping the tank.

Here are the results:

 

[coral_beauty]

And this is now, note the size of that anemone!!!

Anyway, more aquascaping planned for the weekend because I need to get rid of some rock so I can get more corals - there's just no room in there at the moment!!!

There have been some new additions to the tank as well:

2x small corals have grown on their own - I think they are amplexidiscus
I bought 2 other corals and a bright orange sponge (any help with the ID of the sponge would be greatly appreciated!)
I also now have a black and yellow feather star, and a yellow and black nudibranch (so cool! although I was worried he would eat my sponge - hasnt gone near it yet though...)

 

[IslandCrow]

I think you may have some problems with that anemone down the road (not just the eating fish part). It may just be the picture, but it looks pretty bleached. If you in fact only have two flourescent lights over that tank, it's no wonder. Fortunately, it looks like he decided to take to the high ground, so at least he's getting as much light as you can offer. Metal halides are generally the best lights for keeping anemones. A good T-5 high output flourescent fixture would probably work as well. I'd one suggest at least 4 bulbs (more if you can fit them) and individual reflectors. For now, I'd just say feed him a couple times a week to make up for what he's not getting from his zooxanthalae due to the inadequate light.

By the way, I'm pretty sure that's what's commonly called a "carpet anemone". There are a few different species that go by that name, but I believe only a couple are generally found in the aquarium trade. I'm afraid I can't think of the species names at the moment.

Oh, last thing. Do you know what type of nudibranch that is (very cool by the way)? Most nudibranchs (possibly all) have very specific diets, and very few can be kept successfully by most hobbiests. If you don't know which one you have, you may really want to do some research and see if you can provide what it needs to survive.

 

[Anonymous]

Those carpet anemones get huge.....it could out grow your tank. They are beautiful but they get really big.

I agree on the nudibranch. Check out www.wetwebmedia.com to get an id and the care of it.

 

[herpencounter]

nudibranch- Notodoris minor

To 3 1/2in length. Feeds on sponges.

 

[coral_beauty]

Thanks for the feedback!

The anemone has always appeared to be healthy to me (getting bigger and bigger every day!) so I had never really considered that there might be a problem with it. It is a darker pink in real life than in the photo, but I will research anyway - I want to provide the happiest home I can for him while I have him.

I also thought it was a carpet anemone, so I think we might be on a winner there. And yes, it will out-grow my tank (I think it kinda already has). I'm going to start looking for a new home for it soon, its getting impossible to do maintanence with him in there!

Thanks for the ID on the nudibranch too. I had done some research of my own and thought it ate sponges - good to know now though. I thought I had the right kind of sponge in the tank too, but it turns out I was wrong - they eat a type of calcareous sponge not commonly available here in aquarium stores. Not impressed really, I bought it on impulse pretty much (without researching it 1st even though I always research things before i buythem!!! <kicking myself!> ) and then I find out its food isnt really available - stupid move on my part I know. But the thing I want to highlight here is that aquarium shops need to be more environmentally conscientious - they sold an animal that has no available food source!!! Luckily for me my nudi seems to have adapted to feeding off algae and hasn't died yet - although I can't imagine it would be much of a fun existence. I would take him back to the store, but it has been well over a month and its not like they can look after him any better - they wouldn't have any food for him either! I think I will look around for an Australia reefkeeper who has experience with nudis, maybe they can keep him happier and healthier...

 

[IslandCrow]

Well, if you can keep that nudibranch alive, that will be awesome. Bringing him back certainly wouldn't do the nudi too much good, since it would just get sold to someone else and have no better chance to survive. So, I guess you should just enjoy it while it lasts (which is hopefully for a good, long time). If I were you, I would inform the LFS where you bought it why this is not a good creature to stock. Some LFS owners are unscrupulous, but I think many are just uninformed. I've found that as long as you approach them as someone trying to help them out, many can be very responsive to your comments and suggestions.

If that carpet anemone is eating, growing and looking healthy, my inexperienced mind would tell me that it probably is. I think many species have a wonderful ability to adapt to a deficiency in one need (strong light in this case) if you do a good job taking care of its other needs. Anyway, if I didn't mention it before, very nice tank. I like the aquascaping you've done.

 

[coral_beauty]

Thanks heaps - I took your advice and let te shop know about the nudi today. They said they aren't very impressed by it either because apparently they ordered some "fish" from a supplier and they received no fish, just inverts like nudis, and other inverts that people generally dont like to keep because they poison ur tank when they die, which understandably pissed them off. So they have not ordered from that supplier since in order to teach them a lesson (although i think they will again, if they havent already and r just lying to me). Either way, it was good to see that the guy i spoke to also felt the same way that these creatures shouldn't be being taken from the reef and sold when they're so difficult (impossible!) to care for properly.

I will enjoy him while he lasts - easily the coolest critter I have, and still looking strong, so hopefully he will survive for a long time to come yet.

The carpet anemone is eating and DEFINATELY growing - so I think he's healthy. Although I have taken everyone's advice about it and I'm looking into getting some T5 HO lighting for my tank instead of the fluros - not that much extra $$$, but a lot of benefits im thinking.

Thanks for your comment on the aquascaping too btw, nice to know someone else out there likes it... I was worried it looked a little too much like a rock wall, which wasn't the idea!

 

[IslandCrow]

I love my T-5s, and I think you'll be happy with those. As with everything else, though, do some research. There's quite a variety out there. The biggest thing you want to make sure of is that each bulb has its own individual reflector. Some units use one big reflector, which defeats the purpose. T-5s are able to provide the light they do because they're small enough to have a reflector for each bulb. I have a Tek unit, which is pretty good for the money, but it does have a couple drawbacks. First, there's no built in fan, which decreases the efficiency of the bulbs as they get hot. Second, the reflectors could be better (though they're still pretty good). I have heard rumor that the new Tek units have better reflectors, though I don't know how they compare to the Icecap reflectors which are supposed to be some of the best. You can also overdrive T-5s to get even more oomph out of them. I know Icecap ballasts overdrive the lights, and I think Workhorse makes a ballast that does the same.

 

[coral_beauty]

Thanks for the tips!!! I didnt know you could get individual reflectors or that you could overdrive the lights, although I have only just started looking. Thanks again! 8)

 

[IslandCrow]

Look at the Tek or Aquactinics (better quality) setups if you're looking for something fully assembled. If you don't mind some assembly required, you can also buy the parts (ballast, reflectors, endcaps, bulbs) or purchase a retro kit (same price or less assuming it doesn't come with anything you don't need). These are some of the online stores I frequent for lighting supplies (in order of preference). Most of them are probably just the store name .com, but you may have to Google some of them:

Reefgeek
Premium Aquatics
Hello Lights
Marine Depot
Drs. Foster & Smith

I'm sure there are other good places to go, but hopefully that helps.

 

[coral_beauty]

Thanks for the links - I will give them a go! Is the assembly required on retro kits difficult? I can't say I've ever built something like this from scratch before so I have no idea. I'm usually pretty handy with these things though....

 

[Luv'reeftank]

Nice tank

 

[coral_beauty]

Well I guess I jinxed myself by mentioning my nudibranch Gus, he was doing so well, but unfortunately he died yesterday. Not happy. But I have learnt my lesson now....

 

[coral_beauty]

Nice tank

Thanks for looking!

 

[IslandCrow]

Yeah, lesson learned on the nudibranch. If it makes you feel any better, there was probably not much you could have reasonably done to keep him alive, and even if you hadn't gotten him, he'd probably have just died in someone else's tank. As for the T-5 retro kits, you're absolutely correct. Some assembly is definitely required. I don't think it's anything really cosmic, but if you don't feel comfortable playing with wires and electricity, you may not want to mess with them. Of course, the main purpose of a retro is not even so much the price, but the ability to custom mount it in any hood, so it still may be the way you want to go. Check with your LFS, and they may be willing to assemble the lights for you (for a price). Some store owners may have issues if you don't buy the lights from them, but I would think most wouldn't have a problem with it. Just don't let them convince you that the cheaper setup you plan on buying online is worse than the more expensive one they're trying to sell you off their own shelves. It could be the case, but as long as you've done your research, be confident in your decision. The guys at Reef Geek have always been very helpful (and from what I can tell very honest) answering my questions.