I’ve Gone To The Dark Side!

A new adventure! I shall be watching with interest. My husband would never agree to another tank but didn't someone once coin the term 'fish tank by proxy' 

Wow - what a development... you kept any thoughts on that possibility quiet! Congrats on an additional tank - what size is it? All sounds very exciting/fascinating, although I have zilch knowledge in that arena, so you'll have to keep us updated as you go along so that we can learn.

 

The tank is 60 litres. Marine fish seem to generally be larger so there’s not room for much really a pair of clown fish, a goby and I want to ensure my management of nitrate levels is going ok before going any further than that. There is good scope for more invertebrates and crabs though.

I plan to grow macroalgae (seaweed) to help in this regard which is not always the norm in a reef tank - I am starting to understand coral though and think the soft coral species also help. The general ide seems to be to keep water changes minimal whilst exporting the max amount of nutrients. It seems a slightly risky strategy compared to large water changes but with the cost of ro and remineralisation, salt etc it starts to make sense. That’s what skimmers help with (although I don’t have one!)

The tank is very much a starter all in one thing. It is absolutely amazing value for money though - a Maidenhead aquatics exclusive - they have done very well to get it. I would like to think I can keep the costs not too excessive, though I won’t skimp if I think something is neccessary. I just bought a bottle of phytoplankton for example to feed the critters I have currently as I was concerned for their future (probably overkill based on my research but...)

Making the move to the dark side has a lot to do with being bored in lockdown I’m afraid. I always wanted to try it - had thought this would be a ‘once the kids moved out’ thing tho... what also helps is I’ve got my tanks to a point now where the maintenance is so minimal and they are stable etc so I can be more confident in taking on something else.

Below is a copy of my notes on planning thing out if anyone wants to take a look...

Corals
Euphyllia (long polyp hard coral - a bit harder to keep than soft coral and needs calcium for growth)
Pulsing Xenia (soft coral has what look like hands that open and shut)
Finger leather coral (branching soft coral)

Macroalgae
Caulerpa Racemosa Cylindracea - green
Caulerpa Prolifera - green
Gracilaria Mammillaris - red
Solieria / Gracilaria Tikvahiae - red

Invertebrates
Banded Trochus Turbo Snai
Cerith snail ( turns over substrate )
Red legged hermit crab (might attack Cerith snail for its shell if bigger one not provided)
Mithrax crab

Shrimp
Randall’s pistol shrimp ( pairs with hi fin goby, red and white stripes)

Fish
Percula clownfish ( eventually get anemone - these need feeding e.g. prawns)
Green clown goby (tiny!)
Hi fin goby (black and white stripes with yellow head)
Royal grammar ( purple and gold - some sources say needs larger tank ?)

Well unfortunately the tank is delayed - Brexit has halted deliveries and they are sold out almost everywhere! As are my prizes from the gallery competition. The local shop has sourced one in the Carlisle shop and is getting it sent down to them. Hopefully early next week (fingers crossed). As I didn’t get much live rock and I therefore didn’t get much die off - I know the tank can deal with 0.5 mg/l in 24 hours but I don’t have anything left to dose it with. I’ve decided based on the advice of members of a reefing forum that the time has come to stock a couple of snails and a hermit crab. Without the tank available I’m going to have to cling film the current setup (and pierce some ‘breathing holes’). Still, I’m excited to be getting some critters!!

Been super impressed with the MicrobeLift Special Blend and Nite-Out II which are very oddly named starter bacteria products. I do believe these have played a significant part in getting my tank to this stage so quickly - I would definitely recommend them (though would caution about leaving the window open for the first dose of Special Blend - it stinks to high heaven!!!)

Well I’ll not be able to pick up till Thursday - it lands Tue evening and I’m working Wed! I got some RO so I can keep the tank topped up and have added a partial make shift cling film lid to further help here.

Oh and more importantly I got the critters  (well not quite fish yet!)

Going clockwise in the photo from top left 
1. Cerith snail, algae eater, also eats other detritus and buries intro he sand keeping it from going anaerobic
2. Banded Turbo snail (not that you can tell due to the Corraline algae on its shell - it’s a good algae and will eventually cover nearly all the rockwork - a sign of a mature and stable system) which is an algae eater
3. Red legged hermit crab (fully aquatic and max size 1 inch - super cute - my absolute favourite already! I could hear him skuttling about earlier on the sides of the tank
4. Macro algae - not 100% sure on IDs but suspect Caulerpa Serrulata and Gracilaria Mammillaris - already really liking these too and will definately be getting more - currently wondering if I might end up preferring it to coral 


Added half an algae wafer (as I had them). And have seen everyone eat. Worryingly I think the hermit has already got desires for a new shell - or it may well have simply been hungry - removed it forcibly from the Cerith snail earlier (they can kill snails and steal their shell) - I’ll get it some alternatives, free from snails to choose from!  I have some Hikari crab cuisine on order for everybodies next feeding.

I really need to get my nitrate to come down now - time to see how good the macroalgae is!! Even after a water change I’m still at 30mg/l. I’ll need to at least double the water volume when I get the tank so that will no doubt help.  Got my KH up using bicarbonate of soda to maintain ph above 8 as is desired on the Marine side!

Got a royal gramma reserved for pick up in a couple of weeks time assuming all is still well. They really are stunning fish especially when seen in the flesh. I’ll post a photo from the web of that too...

Perhaps you could start a new movement towards marine macroalgae aquascaping. 

I wondered if someone might say that! I had the same thought! I actually think I prefer the more natural looking algae colours to the less natural fluorescent coloured corals. There are some “non-disco rave” species too of course but I think by avoiding them I’m probably not doing the reefing hobby justice lol

I see what you mean.

Got the tank!!! Just not got the light yet so below is lit temporarily (should only be a few days with a spare freshwater light I had.

I still need to do a couple of tweaks - right hand most rock structure needs to be turned clockwise (looking from the top) about 20 degrees as it looks a bit flat on to the front glass right now.  And that piece of coral rock stuff on the left is currently hiding a really nice cave in the rock structure on the left hand side... can’t quite figure out where to put that piece just yet... but don’t want it there!

Managed to get a freebie piece of Botryocladia (macroalgae - the red one on the left hand side) too which isn’t exactly looking it’s best right now but I’m hopeful it soon will.

Water parameters so far are still good despite the move but tomorrow will be a better test of things in that respect.

Can’t wait for the bubbles the clear - water already looking quite clear thanks to some careful water adding (little usb pump! - slow but effective) and copious amounts of sand washing.

Being able to see the cerith snail dig into the sand for the first time was pretty nice - as was seeing the hermit crab properly (or not top down) as this has been the only angle available to this point given the yellow plastic tote! Toddler Matt kept saying ‘here’ and pointing at it - and whenever it moved he’d say ‘weeeee’! Soo sweet!!

More update photos, as requested 

The last three seem to all be rotated the wrong way but you get the idea!!!

 The hermit crab moulted then decided to climb up the silicone for a bit 

First picture is of the feather duster worm which seems to be growing each day!

Edited to add: I’ve added one of the cerith snail looking like an elephant 

Here is the royal gramma - a little thin but already eating well. Took him (I think) a bit of time to settle in the tank in part due to the increased flow vs the shop tank (for a while when I switched the wavemaker off he’d come straight out and I’ve slowly been increasing flow). They are a cave dweller, it’s so cute that he retreats to his special cave when he’s not comfortable and then peaks out at us watching to check it’s ok to come back out a minute later. Still not venturing very far from his cave but I’m sure that will come with time too.

I never got a nitrite reading during the initial cycle but I am getting a small one now - fortunately it’s only a small ready and salt reduces the toxicity of nitrite so it’s nothing to worry about for now -in fact many reefers suggest you don’t need to even bother testing for nitrite. Still I’ll be keeping an eye on things! I’m adding a bacteria in a bottle product but it’s an old bottle and I’m not sure will make much difference. No ammonia reading though - this does make me wonder if the nitrite eaters take longer to multiply or something - I’ll do some research...

In other news the snails are a bit of a menace (I’m fairly certain they are to blame!) each night they get extra active and are managing to dislodge rockwork, macroalgae etc etc. I’m trying to get better and better with snuggling them into nooks and crannies but am being beaten so far!! A daily battle at the moment!!

I bought a slightly more sensitive macro algae that turns a bluey pinky purple once settled. They are rare to find and so I wanted to secure it whilst I could but I’m not sure if it’s going to make it in the tank - a lot of die off taking place (turning it white). I’m hopeful a small portion will survive for growing on. The green macroalgae (fastest growing species) is putting down roots and I’ve seen a little growth already too. I’m very pleased with that one 

I learned that a good filter sock/ filter floss in a marine tank sump/filter can help remove up to 40% of excess nutrients from the tank and so am trying to optimise my set up a little to encourage the flow to pass through my filter floss (my only filter media due to the live rock).