# Lava Rock for the Reef?



## Klinemw

I'm just starting my first reef tank (125g) and sump (50g) but would like to use some lava rock as very porous base rock because of (a) its porosity, (b) its initial color contrast (I know eventually it will be encrusted and probably unidentifiable, (c) the ability to sculpt the rock to create flat bottom to add more stability to the base and also create a few more holes and crevices to serve as a coral base and attachment point for some of the macro algaes and (d) ready access to large, shape-able pieces. 

Is there a chemical difference between the reddish or more black lava rock that would cause a problem in the aquarium or sump environment? Is there a reason that I wouldn't want to use this as base rock? It would appear to be a great, low cost alternative to the suggestion to "find the most porous live rock you can."

I appreciate the education.

klinemw


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## NeonShark666

True lava rock is very safe in saltwater environments. Artifical lava rock may not be because of the rock and paints used to make it. Lava rock may disolve silica into the water because of the porous nature of the rock. If silica is of significance to you, use coral rocks.


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## phys

good answer neon shark! If you do use it, be sure your live rock or base rock is deep enough in it not to be affected by crumbling or dissolution.


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## snail

I have heard that some lava rock is too high in iron for reef tanks, however if you are going to have macro algae they will probably be happy to consume any extra iron.


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## Klinemw

Thanks for the responses to my inquiry about lava rock so far. 

I heard that the "more red" lava rock has a higher iron content than the "more black", but a culture of macro algae will balance and "take up" the iron and other heavy metals that might leach from the lava rock. 

The impact of additional silica released into the reef aquarium is unknown to me. What problems does this cause...more diatoms, well is that a problem and how big of problem is it? Increase in nitrate levels, again, wouldn't that be balanced out by the macro algae? I wasn't planning on trying to include sponges in my aquarium, but wouldn't that be a positive for them and for clams, mollusks, and snails? What impact would that have on corals? I was planning for softies primiarily, but maybe that would be good for some of the stonies?

I've even read about dosing additional silicates to increase the concentration in the aquarium. If the lava rock releases silicates into the water, would that eliminate the need for any supplemental dosing?

Does that mean that the real problem with the lava rock in the reef aquarium is the potential release of some hazardous heavy metals in concentrations that could have a negative impact on the reef without a balancing take up by the macro algae. I guess that could increase the less desirable algae, but might not be a factor with the culture of macro algae...am I on the right track with my risk assessment?

Right now it sounds like I should think about strong washes to get any loose materials off any selected lava rock and maintain a strict regimen of 15-25% partial water changes until I determine if some bad stuff might come out of the rock. Signs of continued distress from the corals would be a warning sign and some relief after a partial water change would be an indicator that the chemistry is off.

Klinemw


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## Justonce94

You seem like you have alot of questions haha. That's good. the more question, the more you learn and grow.

I'm not so sure whether having sponges inside of the tnak would be good or bad, but just try it out and see what happens. The moment you see something wrong, change everything. Because making your own aquarium is all about testing so just be careful as to what your currently doing.

And I think you should take the risk and see how that goes. Good luck... I hope I helped!


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## Klinemw

Thanks for your input. I found some base rock at one of the local "marine only" fish stores that is getting close to the look I was hoping to achieve, but if you ask me this still has a volcanic base rather than a coral base and is darker in color. This rock is fairly porous and has some holes that fish and invertebrates should love. It also has some ledges that will serve as great platforms to mount corals. The rock provides some of the vertical surfaces I was hoping to create for the look of a wall or cliff rather than a pile of rubble. 

Putting a couple of the pieces together, after sorting through hundreds of pounds of rock, allowed me to create a very narrow vertical crevasse with a nano power head completely hidden from view that generates flow from behind this rock structure toward the front of the tank. The 1/4"-3/4" gap varies between the mated vertical faces which are 12-15" tall to 6-8" wide. One piece is shaped like a foot from the ankle down (the toes would be toward the front of the tank) and the other mated to the inside of the ankle is like a domed pillar with a big part of the side of the dome missing. If I can figure out how to email myself the pictures from my phone (yes, I'm really that old), I'll post a couple and you can see if my description matches the pictures. 

If I get a chance this week, I may try to pick up a couple more tall pieces of this stuff to play with.

I also decided to "harden off the tank" with some blue damsels to create the first bio-load to keep the live sand and rock fed until I am really confident that the tank is well stabilized. It also starts the long process bringing some life to my new base rock. I may be one of the few that actually likes the hardiness, color and activity that the damsels bring to the tank, but if they start to get too aggressive, they'll be traded off for something else down the line. They went into the tank this weekend...so far, so good.

I did violate one of my rules and didn't quarantine these "sacrificial" damsels for thirty days before putting them in the tank. They did get a fresh water bath and none of the LFS water went into the tank with them. I hope that they do well and that I haven't polluted my tank not only with the chemicals that may leach from the new rock or any bio-hazards from the fish.

klinemw


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## phys

sounds like you have a great setup started there! hope it keeps working for you. If you havent already, you should be adding your clean up crew. they'll help to break down waste and excess foods to be further digested by the bacteria.


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## Klinemw

Big algae bloom started Tuesday morning...the bioload plan kicked into gear. Within 72 hours of adding the fish I have brown hair algae over an inch long covering a substantial portion of various parts of the tank. Fish looked great, mushroom coral looked great, my couple of test ricordia polyps looked great, just other areas of the tank started looking pretty shabby. Ammonia barely registered and Nitrite also in the barely detectable range on my test kit.

Immediately suspected my test kits were old when I got them a couple weeks ago so had LFS test water, with same results... Added a mixed bag of about a dozen snails, four tiny hermit crabs, and a 2.5" Lawnmower Blenny late yesterday (Wednesday). --violating my quarantine regimen, again-- 

Everything still looks great today, in fact better than ever, just still have this algae problem. I even just found what looks like a couple of additional coral polyps on one of the "live" rocks added from the LFS before the bloom. (I wouldn't call it a live rock just because its been in a tank of water so it would grow bacteria, but they do. Well maybe they were right after all.) Can't identify them yet because of my lack of knowledge not because they're not big enough to identify. One is a tall, but well proportioned tree shaped soft coral with a white body and multibranching branches starting from about half way up the stalk. It's about 3/4" long already. Its in a location that I would have thought I would have seen it right in the front of the tank. The other looks like a flat disk a little bigger than a pencil eraser with short yellow green arms all around the perimeter of the disk. I don't know what they are but I think I'm happy to see them...

Where the cleaning crew has worked you can see a real positive impact on the algae already. Is it possible for the cleaning crew to catch up with the growth of this algae? While I'm "forcing the tank" would a second lawnmower blenny fight with the first one in my 125 (8 square feet of bottom area)? Would I be better off adding more snails? I hate to change anything because it appears to be going very well except for this algae mess in parts of the tank. Where it remains, it almost looks like its growing at a rate of 1/4" inch per hour...if that's possible?

I think I'll do a partial water change tonight, just because I can, not because I suspect that I have a major problem. If the crew can't catch up then eventually I'll have a problem, but for now it appears that there is just another parameter that needs to be dialed in, but heck if I know what it is.

That's the update on my mixed reef at this point...

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Friday afternoon I added another dozen Astria (sp) snails and 5 peppermint shrimp (three holding eggs). Wow, this expanded cleaning crew with the Lawnmower Blenny has really helped clean up a good deal of the hair algae in the tank over the last 48 hours. 

I have a couple of tufts of macro algae starting to grow on two different rocks and found another polyp of something. The polyp is a small flat disk with yellowish arms/tenticles radiating all around the outside edge of the disk which is a little whiter yellow. No idea what it might be.

Also saw about a 1" pink bristle worm. I've always heard that if you see one you probably have dozens. Will watch to see if I discover more.

I can see how the Lawnmower Blenny gets his name. This prehistoric looking little fish opens his huge mouth and literally scrapes the algae away. This really looks like someone scalped their lawn with the lawnmover. He's fun to watch and much less shy than he was when we first put him in the tank. How likely is it he would eat smaller peppermint shrimp, say between 1/2 and 3/4 inch long? There are so many chambers for the shrimp to hide I might never see them even if they haven't been eaten.

The eggs carried by the peppermint shrimp will likely never hatch, but regardless it is a good food source for some of my critters. Maybe eventually I can get some to survive in a refugium after the tank has fully matured.

What livestock to get next? I would like a couple of nice coral starts but don't know what fish to consider. What's hardy enough to tolerate another tower cycl

I'm planning to put in some more base rock, but I don't really want to go through another cycle. I found a couple more pieces of this base and its almost ready to go into the main tank.

Klinemw


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## phys

Its just best to wait until you have all your rock in your tank and set up before you add coral or fish. If you need to move things around or go through another cycle, this can stress your fish or kill them. Be patient and you'll spend less money replacing fish and coral that would have been killed.

Letting those rocks sit in a bucket for a few weeks will keep it from causing another cycle in your main tank so you're doin good there. 

The algae bloom may dissapate and get under control after a few weeks. I had a bad one for a while then figured out a feeding schedule and what not and everything is in a good balance now. So keep going with what you have and go slow with it, things will work out if you stay in the right path.


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## Klinemw

Thanks for the good advice.

Can you tell me why adding base rock to an active aquarium causes it to "cycle" again? I would understand it the rock is dirty or has some kind of bioload that it adds to the tank, but if it's "dead" how can adding this to a tank cause it to cycle?

Now, I'm not doubting that it happens, but I sure don't understand why.

My algae bloom is now under control and my "crew" is making significant headway to stay ahead of the algae growth. I am seeing new life (soft coral branches, polyps, bristle worms, and some other type of tube worm appear in the tank quickly, each contributing to the environment in one way or another. All of the livestock I introduced to the tank appear to be doing great and are showing no signs of stress. There were a couple of frayed fins when they were put into the tank, but that has all cleared up now (in 5 or 6 days). I wouldn't have bet the fins would heal so quickly.

Thanks again for your assistance.

Mikel Kline
[email protected]


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## phys

As long as it had been sitting outside for awhile in the air and not in someone's tank, then it probably wouldnt cause much of a cycle at all. I missed the part that it wasnt just "live rock". So just make sure you keep tabs on the parameters to make sure nothing comes of putting it in.


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## Klinemw

Interesting phenomenon has occurred in my new mixed reef tank... 

Last night I stumbled across a couple of pieces of "Tonga Rock" at the LFS in one of their sump troughs I just had to have. This stuff really looks like it's big branches of old multibranching staghorn coral. One of the pieces is about 2' long with a few branches, the other is not so long, but with much more branching. I love this stuff...it reminds me of a section off to the left of Cocea (sp) Beach in St. Thomas and takes me back there with the strong vertical rocks already in one part of the tank.

-- I know, another rule violation: always cure live rock from other tanks and let it sit isolated in a quarantine tank for a few weeks before you introduce it to the display tank --

-- and the second violation: add your rock before you add the tank livestock of fish, invertebrates and corals --

You've got to know where the line is so you know when you've crossed it!

That said, the five peppermint shrimp that I've had in the tank for 3-4 days (earlier, recent rule violation) all suddenly came out and started climbing over the new rock. The shrimp had been so shy that I had only seen one or two at a time (the same bold ones) until that new rock went into the tank.

There may be a couple of things going on here, but I'm looking for more opinions. Here are my guesses:

1. There was something on this new "rock" from the LFS that, while invisible to my naked eye, the shrimp recognized as an attractive food source. No other reaction to the introduction of this rock by the fish or any members of the cleaning crew that just went on as if nothing happened. I have no idea what I might of introduced into my tank with the addition of this rock.
2. These branching structures were familiar to the shrimp instinctively as coming from their wild habitat.
3. The shrimp have been in tank long enough to overcome their "shyness" and were coaxed out with the introduction of the new rock.

I suspect a combination of all of the above. This morning everything looks great, healthy and thriving. I am going to swap the position of the two new pieces of rock for aesthetic reasons only.

Comments?

Klinemw


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## snail

I'd say mainly 1 but could be a combo of all factors.


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## Klinemw

Still rushing in, on Monday this past week I added a small rock with two different kinds of zoanthid on it; one orange and one bright green. The rock is situated so both kinds of zoanthid get about the same flow and light. The orange polyps look like they are lovin' life, but the green, not so much. The green polyps just aren't as open or stay that way as long as they were at the LFS. They don't look like their about to die, just less happy.

Is this typical of the color variations in this coral? Do orange zoanthids prefer more light, or more flow, or different chemistry than the green zoanthids? Any suggestions -- should I move the rock to a different location in the tank to try and get both kinds equally happy? If I do move the rock, how long should I wait to see if things will turn around? Is it possible that it just takes this kind of zoanthid longer to get acclimated to the environment in my tank?

Obviously they don't all like the same thing...is this fairly color-typical?

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Dipped the Zoanthid rock again in ReVive last night to see if that might help the bright green Zoa perk up a bit. This morning it appears that it might have helped somewhat. We'll see how it looks after a couple days.

Added another mushroom rock (blue with cream spots) to the tank last night. During the dip, a bunch of tiny little "bugs" and a couple of "little shrimpy looking dudes" jumped from the rock. I have no idea what they were, but I have mixed emotions about killing them off and not introducing them to the tank. I know that you can introduce some really bad stuff into your tank, but how are you going to get the diversity of life in the tank if you don't allow it to survive or be eaten by something else...circle of life thing. Doesn't much matter now, they're gone.

Everything in the tank looks great. I even have a couple of the peppermint shrimp that I now see all the time. The "Tonga Rock" that may have caused them to come out of hiding has changed the dynamics in the tank. The blue damsels have taken up residence among the branching structure and all five of them now stay in closer proximity to one another than before the Tonga Rock was introduced. If I didn't know better, I'd guess that there was a big grouper in the tank that they're hiding from -- in plain view, but near the protection of the branching structures -- but not stressed. They look great and are very active.

*How long will peppermint shrimp hold their eggs? * It has been about a week since they were introduced to the tank.

Next additions will be more Zoanthids and either a Yellow Tang or Royal Gramma. I'm also going to look for some more of the Tonga Rock to have "spill" from the rest of my base rock.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Well the ReVive dip appears to have resolved all of the issues with my zoanthids opening fully. They look great! Everything in the tank looks super. One of the live rocks that had lots of purple and maroon encrusting algae is really starting to regain all its color. 

The Lawnmower Blenny is just as fat and sassy as can be. It looks like if he eats any more he'll burst, but he sure looks healthy and happy.

The new blue spotted mushrooms appear to really be growing and I must have picked up this mushroom rock at just the right time because there are several new mushrooms that have started growing on the rock, almost completely covering any exposed surface that existed on the rock when it was added to the tank.

The tank is naturally moving past the brown hair algae phase to a green algae phase. The front glass is getting a thin film fairly quickly that removes easily, but is a minor annoyance. I'm confident that we'll go through this phase pretty quickly and I could probably help that along by removing some of the nutrients from my now overly nutrient rich water. My plan is to keep forcing the tank and push it as far as I can without seeing visible signs of stress on my livestock.

I could probably also slow the algae growth if I would shorten my lighting cycle. I hate to do that since everything (including the green algae) is doing so well and I think we'll move through this phase quickly.

It's been a week since I added anything to the tank, which I know is nothing in the evolution of the tank, but it seems like an eternity. Maybe I can find a couple more zoanthids frags to add from the LFS. 

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

The ReVive did the trick with my green eyed zoanthids. They are doing great and after a little over a week, I now count one additional orange polyp and two additional green polyps on the rock! They look great!

Had the opportunity to add a few more zoanthid colonies this past Monday evening. A little different bright green and an orange with more of a creamy-yellow eye. Dipped in ReVive before they ever hit the tank and after 12 hours they are fully open and doing great as well.

I only see three or four of the peppermint shrimp at one time and two are still holding eggs after a week. I don't know how long this process will be and I've been too busy and too lazy to do the research.

The Tonga rock that I just added is really starting to "pink up" and I'm getting lots of color on many of the coral rocks. It hasn't started yet on some of my base rock, but its only been in the water about a month. I have one rock about the size of a large cantaloupe that is almost comply encrusted in three very different colors, a nice dark pink, a medium lavender, and a very dark maroon. Way cool and way ahead of schedule.

I picked up a small six line wrasse and a yellow watchman goby to add to the tank but I have placed them in a 10 gallon quarantine tank for the next few weeks -- so I'm back at following the rules to quarantine any fish that go into the main tank.

Two bad things have developed. One is that I think I found a very small Majano Anemone on one of my rocks that I'm going to have to decide what to do with and I had one of the larger hermit crabs in my cleaning crew kill and take over the shell of one of the margarita snails. The snail was on the side of the tank and overnight I discovered the crab in the snail's distinctive shell. I'm fine with this circle of life thing, but *is this going to be a problem with my hermit crabs as they look for shells?* I have added a few shells of various sizes for them to grow into, but I didn't think it would happen so soon or that the crab would kill the snail to get the shell. I understand why he liked it, the shell has a very distinctive colored swirl to it and is quite attractive. Maybe the crab didn't kill it but it died in the almost 80 degree water in my mixed reef tank. I know it didn't starve, it was a voracious algae eater and I hate to loose it. After a little research, as neat as they are, I don't plan to replace it because of its preference for cooler water.

I have just noticed some small white spots randomly forming on the back of the tank that may be (hopefully) the first stages of more Coraline algae growth. It's an area of the tank right behind the Tonga rock that is pinking up so quickly. We'll just have to wait and see. *If its not, any ideas of what these small, smooth, oval white spots might be? * They could be many places in the tank and not be identifiable or seen like they are on the back glass.

Next fish...Royal Gramma or Yellow Tang?
Next coral...probably a leather or maybe a start of a Ricordia colony?
Next invertebrate...fire shrimp or cleaner shrimp?
*
What's the best way to get small mysis shrimp to live in the sump or refugium? If I'm supposed to cook off the live rock before it goes into the tank to kill off all the undesirables, then how do you get all the good diverse marine life that I would like to have in my reef?*


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## Klinemw

Witnessed some really interesting behavior last night under the "full moon" LED night lights; spawning activity of the peppermint shrimp...way cool to watch them race around the tank. Prior to all this dashing about, they all sat perched out on the ends of the tonga rock like Christmas tree ornaments swaying in the current. As expected, two fresh molts as part of the process. Also noticed that one of the other, uninvolved shrimp had dropped its clutch of eggs. The larvae are fish food at this point, but who knows, maybe I will rig up a larvae trap and a tank to try to raise the larvae at some point. I still only see four of the original five shrimp put in the tank. Perhaps they cannibalized the fifth shrimp, but there were never any signs that it had been attacked. I don't think they were over crowded in the 125 and there's plenty of algae and extra food matter in the tank for them to feed on. It's a mystery that may never be solved, unless of course the fifth one comes out of hiding at the same time as the others.

This is way ahead of the schedule I expected...this tank was dry a little over a month ago. Everything in the tank looks really healthy so far. Time to add another frag of coral...

Fish in quarantine look good and are behaving as expected; so far so good.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Well, I couldn't help myself at the LFS last night and have now added some red mushrooms and green polyps to my collection of corals. All were dipped with ReVive and rinsed last night after a three hour drip acclimation process before going into the tank. 

This morning the mushrooms (one was noticeably a darker brick red color than the other three) look better than they did at the LFS. Under the T-5 blue actinic that serves as the first light of the day they are entirely bio-luminescent with a vibrant bright orange color (almost a cross between blaze orange and hot pink). Spectacular!

The dark purple base of the green polyp looks good but the bio-luminescent lime green tufts that were just starting to show over the entire colony were amazing. I am in awe of the colorful display starting to develop. So here's the question of the day...*how much of this actinic light can I use so the bio-luminescence is more visible for a longer part of the day? * During the "daytime" hours with lots of light intensity from the metal-halides it just doesn't show up. Is it just a balancing act between the actinic and metal-halides to see how it balances out--extending the t-5 actinic time and reducing the metal-halide time?

Quarantined fish looking really good this morning. I doubt that I will isolate them for the full 30 days--breaking another rule, but...no signs of stress or disease anywhere. Maybe early next week they'll get introduced into the tank.

klinemw


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## Klinemw

So, after 10 days in quarantine and everything looking great and well adjusted I moved the small Six Line Wrasse and Yellow Watchman Goby into the main tank. This made room for the excellent new Royal Gramma I found. The Six Line Wrasse is moving freely about the tank, but the Goby is much more reserved at this point. I hope he gets over some of his shyness after a few days.

I also picked up a purple mushroom rock with about a dozen small purple mushrooms. I have also noticed a very deep brick red mushroom on the rock that was overlooked at the LFS. It's the same color as the small amounts of dark red macro algae that is also on the rock in a few places. ReVive bath after the almost three hour acclimation showed very little foreign life scrambling to leave the rock. These mushrooms have an incredible color under the actinic lights. They're open full in the tank so must have acclimated very well.

Still lots of "pinking up" going on with many of the rocks. More of the small white ovals have appeared on the back of the tank. All of them have remained the same size, just more showing up.

Got a fist full of empty shells of assorted sizes to give the hermit crabs more choices than the shells that have snails living in them. Still have one crab that just can't find the right shell. He's changed again today looking for just the right fit or finish.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Royal Gramma in quarantine still looks great. I think I might give him a couple more days and then unleash him (or her) on the main tank. Next fish will likely be a Yellow Tang.

Still waiting for that next invertebrate...Fire Shrimp or Cleaner Shrimp to complement my school of Peppermint Shrimp. Don't really want to add a pistol shrimp, but the Yellow Watchman Goby would probably appreciate that.

Added some "watermelon" mushrooms hoping that the rust color with light green stripes would "glow" orange under the actinic lighting, but instead is a neon green with dark stripes under the actinic.

Added my first neon green candy cane frag of just four heads.

Added an wavy form of zenia (at least that's what they called it at the LFS), but I don't know what kind. I got a sizable colony for the motion not the color. Its sort of a very light purply-grayish-white color with multiple long, pointed arms branching from a central point on a larger stock. Each arm is loaded with tiny little fragments. A quick glance looks kind of like octopus arms.

I also added a bright pink zoanthid colony. Not as fully open as I might like, but enough to give me confidence that it will eventually find its happy place in my tank.

So far, so good...

KlineMW


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## Klinemw

Well the Blue Devils lived up to their name and ganged up on my perfect Royal Gramma when introduced into the tank. Some significant tail and fin damage on the Gramma, but things have evened out now and looks like he'll make it and get established in my tank. He found a place to call home and is now defending it from intruders. If nothing else he appears hearty and is eating well.

First major casualty in my tank. My perfect six-line wrasse that was doing so well was found dried up on the floor. He had to go from the tank to the overflow box and out. Guess I'll cut a piece of egg crate to go over the overflow to protect the one place I thought was safe. Very sad day he was great! Have to replace him soon.

Minor casualties continue...had another small hermit crab kill another one of my snails.

The long outstretched flowing brownish coral must have been some form of pulsing zenia that must be much happier in my tank than at the LFS. Stayed in that stretched out form for about a week, then started to contract, making me think that it was pretty unhappy. I started thinking that in a day or two I would try moving it somewhere else in the tank. That next morning, before I could move it, it looked totally different. It's more whitish pink now and pulsing to beat the band. It is about mid tank with moderate flow. Much better than what I expected. 

Green Star Polyp (GSP) likes more flow. I reduced the flow that was directly over the GSP and while it was fine, the long green arms got shorter and slightly darker green. Replaced the flow and the GSP is back to the bright lime green and much longer "grass". I don't know which form is better for the coral, but the lime green with longer grass is more to my liking. It looks great and is growing rapidly. 

The volunteer Kenya Tree is now a little over 2" tall. I have discovered a few small feather dusters (tube worms) in various portions of the tank and a small colony of yellow sponges. I love this sense of discovery, when you look closely at a rock and see something new, that you hadn't noticed before.

Introduced a cleaner shrimp that is doing very well, but has decided she likes a place midway up on the back of the tonga rock. The long white antennae are clearly visible on either side of the rock, but she's mainly hidden from view, at least for now.

What a difference an hour makes. I reduced the duration of my metal halides by an hour and increased the T5HO actinics by an hour. My mushroom corals have really responded favorably, if larger and wavey edges is considered favorable. They have also stretched their throats/necks/bodies out as though they're reaching for the light a little more. This might calm down after a day or two. We'll see. Maybe a 30 minute adjustment is about right.

Next fish is the yellow tang or replacement six-line wrasse.
Next invertebrate -- not sure.
Next coral will likely be more zoanthids in a different color form. I like the fact that they grow and expand the colonies and appear to do really well in my tank.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

My damsels have spawned! They were the first fish put in this new tank on April 23rd. I'm assuming that that is a great sign that I am getting my tank dialed in and that everyone is happy. I don't know that this spawning will be anything more than food for the tank, but I'm excited about the possibilities in the future. Another of the damsels is starting to "plump up" so maybe this will happen again in the near future. *Will the male Blue Damsels breed with multiple females within a short time interval?* I don't think they can support two clutches of eggs at one time. I have some snails laying eggs in the tank as well. I hope another good sign.

Still tweaking...

Klinemw


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## Levi

Well your tank sounds like it's doing well. Sucks about the devils spawning lol but that's just my personal opinion. If the babies live your gramma is dead meat! o.o

Can we get a full tank shot? Sounds like you've gotten yourself a nice collection of corals. I dip mine in CoralRX for 3-5 minutes but I never acclimate them. I just plop them in and they do great. No losses except one but the guy cut that frag in front of me and the whole coral shattered. I'm pretty sure that was why lol

I do light acclimate though since I use the LEDs


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## Klinemw

My Royal Gramma has found a good home and is doing great. He just needed some time to get adjusted before the Damsels started their tag team attacks. His fins are growing back at a rapid pace and I can see where they're already starting to color up again...so if the saying's true that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger, he's going to be one tuff guy.

I bought five Blue Damsels (3 Fuji Blue Devils-black on their fins and 2 Yellow-tail Blue Damsels),for $20 to toss in the sump to keep the bioload up on the tank while it cycled, but since the display tank was empty, what the heck, lets just dump them up here for now... They can get pretty nasty, but tell me where I can get that much color, activity, and heartiness for $20. And now that they seem to want to spawn, who knows, maybe I'll go into the domestic damsel business and make a buck on each one I can raise.

Still looking for a nice Six Line Wrasse to replace my jumper. I'm planning to add a Yellow Tang and a Sailfin Tang and maybe call that good for the fish until something special catches my eye. --I can always fry up the damsels.

Currently, I have:

1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Diamond Goby
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
3 Fuji Blue Damsels
2 Yellow-tail Blue Damsels
1 Royal Gramma
1 Cleaner Shrimp
4-5 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Tiger Conch
a fist full of small hermit crabs
a larger fist full of assorted snails

with plans to add:

1 Six Line Wrasse
1 Yellow Tang
1 Sailfin Tang

All of my corals are tiny frags or starter colonies, mostly because I'm cheap and my tank is too new to trust to far.

I have 8-9 different zoanthid starts ranging from 3-15 polyps
a green star polyp colony
a pulsing zenia colony
a small clump of purple mushrooms
a small clump of blue mushrooms
a small mixed clump of green mushrooms (some called "psycho" at the LFS)
a few red mushrooms
a four head candy cane
an open brain coral
and two tiny frags of montipora to see how they might react in my tank.

I'll get a couple of full tank pictures posted this weekend when the metal halides are on and I'm here at the same time. You can see what you think of my fairly unique aquascaping. You just have to keep in mind that I'm an active fish first kind of guy, but more importantly no single big bite at the apple for any of my livestock. Hearty is the name of the game.

My tank has had water in it for less than two months, but everything is doing great so far; having only lost the jumper Six Line Wrasse, maybe one of the Peppermint Shrimp (but I don't really know), and a few snails to the predatory practices of a couple hermit crabs. I'm way ahead of schedule. I'll keep forcing the tank until something starts to look pretty stressed.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Well, I found a really nice yellow tang and a gorgeous sailfin tang about the same size so I took the plunge so to speak. These were the next two fish on my want list so I'm very happy. The LFS made me a deal on a three-for with a flame angel so I am really going to have to watch water quality the next several days as the tank adjusts to the additional bio-load.

No problems with the damsels and these fish. They're all over twice the size of the damsels so there was a lot of bickering among the damsels as they redefined the space left over for them with the exception of the corner of the tank where the damsels spawned. The damsels made it clear that they would keep that home and it was respected by the new fish.

So now these three new tank mates are acting like they are life long friends and almost playfully swim together, like they enjoy one another's company. Too funny. No issues between the tangs at all. Everyone is active and eating well.

Going to let the tank settle in for a while before I add anything else, but I still want to replace my six line wrasse at some point.

Next fish...six line wrasse
next invertebrate...a second cleaner shrimp? Will they fight?
next coral...some special zoanthids and perhaps I'll try my first serious SPS in the form of some larger frags of Montiporia Cap. That really depends on how my test frags hold up. So far so good. I would like to get something with some orange or red...

Will post some overall tank pictures tomorrow.

klinemw


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## Klinemw

The dynamics in my 125 mixed reef have changed in the last 24 hours. I suppose the change started last Friday evening with the addition of three new fish: a yellow tang, sailfin tang, and a flame angel. My blue damsels are hiding out more around the rocks now that they're not in near total dominance of the entire tank.

I haven't seen any significant aggression from the new larger fish toward any of their other tank mates. None should be necessary, they're at least twice the length of the damsels. Perhaps its the near constant motion from the tangs that wigs out the damsels, but they stay pretty close to home now.

The new fish are voracious eaters and doing great. 

The diamond goby (now nicknamed "digger") is digging his way throughout the tank. The size of the piles of sifted sand are impressive as he digs his way around almost every rock in the tank. He has burrowed under rock that I thought was sitting on the glass bottom of the tank. Very interesting to watch, but if you want to control your sand placement this is not the fish for you. Otherwise this is a "must have" for all of the sand sifting it does.

After several weeks of nothing in my Reef Octopus Skimmer, it has really come into its own with a nice soupy layer of skimmate in the collection basin. Whew...does that goop stink when you wash out the basin. Hard to believe all that was in the water. It may be that I've started overfeeding because of the new fish, the diamond goby has stirred up enough detritus to need skimming, or I've just finally build up enough organic matter in the tank for there to be something to skim. Surely all of these factors are at work. *I think I may have decided to supplement my set up with a DIY algae scrubber ahead of my skimmer.* Regardless, the water in the display tank is crystal clear.

I've also decided that I'm going to drill holes in the top of the overflow screen to allow more water to flow into the overflow box. That's the limiting factor on the amount of flow in my tank right now. The DART would suck the sump dry if I didn't significantly throttle it back. It should be interesting to do with the tank full of water. The acrylic shavings should be caught in the filter socks on my drains.

KlineMW


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## Klinemw

This morning I discovered (they may have been there a while) dozens of very small snails a little smaller than about half the size of a grain of rice, so I guess at least some of the snail eggs I've seen have hatched. 

At this size they will likely be great food for my Flame Angel and maybe the damsels. Maybe a few will grow and survive to replace the larger ones that the hermit crabs will occasionally eat and claim the shell. With an over abundance of snails in the tank, will that have a significant impact on the calcium in the water? I don't know that my test kits are precise enough to measure the drop, but something to keep an eye on. The rate of Coraline algae growth appears to be a quick way to see if I need a partial water change or to start dosing the tank with supplements.

Everything is doing great. The female damsels are starting to "plump up" again, so the next full moon cycle on my tank will probably lead to another spawning. Haven't seen them preparing a space yet, but I'm sure that will start soon. The Diamond Goby has buried their last spot with his digging, so they're going to need to create a new space elsewhere in the tank.

The Royal Gramma has completely regrown his fins now and they're starting to regain their color.

Would a partial water change (20% of system volume) cause the zoanthids to produce more polyps? In the last 48 hours, since the partial water change, most of my zoanthid colonies have added polyps. *Could this be because of the water change, or is it tied more to a lunar cycle?*

Yesterday was the two month anniversary of my first fish being introduced to the aquarium...I am so far ahead of where I thought I would be at this point. Here's the current list:

3 Fuji Blue Devil Damsels (black fin variant) - one pair spawned about 3 weeks ago
2 Yellow-tailed Blue Damsels - paired up and getting ready to spawn
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Royal Gramma
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
1 Flame Angel
1 Sailfin Tang
1 Yellow Tang
1 Diamond Goby
3 (maybe more -- started with 5) Peppermint Shrimp
1 Scarlett Cleaner Shrimp
1 Tiger Conch
a fist full of assorted snails (but expanding in numbers)
a fist full of small hermit crabs

6-8 different zoanthid colonies
green star polyp colony (growing rapidly)
4 head candy cane frag
blue mushroom rock (to many to count on the rock)
purple mushroom rock (about a dozen polyps)
red mushroom frags (4 polyps on 2 rocks)
green and "psycho" according to LFS (about a dozen polyps)
Watermelon mushroom rock (5 polyps on a single rock)
pulsing zenia colony
an open brain coral
a small red montiporia cap frag
a small purple montiporia cap frag


Obviously my mixed reef is a "fish first" tank and I suspect that I will need to stick to hearty corals because of the fish load, but everything appears to be doing just great. Very colorful, all polyps opening well, zenias pulsing, everything eating and active.

Next fish -- Six Line Wrasse to replace my jumper, then maybe a Catalina Goby, or will that fight with the Watchman Goby?

Next invertebrate -- unknown, would another cleaner shrimp fight with the existing one?

Next coral -- perhaps a leather or some frogspawn.

And, I still owe this forum some pictures...

klinemw


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## Klinemw

Well, I'll be...I found a beautiful 2" full bodied Six Line Wrasse at the LFS and it was really high on my want list. And, while it wasn't on my list, I found a small "mixed" rock that had some small neon orange mushrooms and a few "eagle eye" zoanthids. These bright orange mushrooms look just like that day glow orange under black light with my actinic plus bulbs. Incredible color.

So I'll just keep forcing the tank until some kind of distress. I know that I must be one of the luckiest reef keepers around. My tank has had water in it for about 10 weeks. 

The skimmer, which wasn't operating for the first month of the tank, is doing a great job, and needs to get rinsed out and cleaned every 4-5 days. 

Lost another snail to those cannibalistic hermit crabs. Everything else is doing fabulous...at least for now.

Klinemw


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## jessiesa

Thanks for all of the updates. I've really enjoyed reading about your tank. I hope mine turns out well.


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## Klinemw

Things are still doing very well in my tank, however one of my two zenia frags is stressed. I've noticed a slight "shrinkage" in this coral over the last week or so. The other frag, from a different colony originally, is doing just fine. 

The other things that have changed since then would be the addition of the six-line wrasse and the resolution to my montiporia frags staying glued to the rock work (more glue -- Lock tite Super Glue). All of my parameters are great with the exception of my pH at about 8.2, when it had been about 8.3-8.4. I wouldn't have guessed the difference in pH would have caused the problems, but I suppose that is possible. * Any other ideas what might be going on? * I know that's not much to go on, but really nothing else has changed. I'm at a loss for what might be going on. The LFS said that in some tanks for no known reason, the zenia's either do very well or very poorly. Right now I'm in that 50/50 range...

I also saw one of my peppermint shrimp picking at the edge of one of my mushroom corals today. * Is that a common behavior for a peppermint shrimp? *Haven't seen if for the couple of months they have been in the tank together. There doesn't appear to be much damage to the mushroom coral, but it obviously didn't like this kind of attention.

The yellow-tailed blue damsels are starting to exhibit the breeding behavior again. This time its near a large opening in the rock outcropping about mid-depth in the tank.

Haven't seen the Yellow Watchman Goby for a couple days, but can't find a body. That alone doesn't surprise me, there are lots of snails, hermit crabs, shrimp, and of course those damsels that would have disposed of the evidence of foul play pretty quickly. It does not appear to have jumped from the tank. Maybe it got buried by the Diamond Goby ("Digger") during one of its many excavations followed by land slides. Sure hope it appears soon, I starting to think something terrible has happened.

klinemw


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## Klinemw

One of my peppermint shrimp is still picking at the same red mushroom...but it appears to be only one shrimp and the same one shrimp picking on just one mushroom and the same mushroom. This mushroom is bright orange, has been in the tank for almost 6 weeks, and appears to me to be just exactly like several others on the same rock. *Why would this behavior suddenly start over the last few days?* No notable changes in chemistry or feeding schedule.

I still miss my Yellow Watchman Goby...no body parts, no dried carcase, no signs of fowl play, but I'm afraid gone for good...I guess I may never know why he decided to leave.

klinemw


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## Klinemw

Been a while since I updated the progress of my tank. Still no signs of the Yellow Watchman Goby...but sadly, the mystery of my Diamond Goby disappearance has finally been solved. I found him crispy in a narrow space between the top of tank and the front wall. All I can figure is that he somehow wedged his way out through a tiny spot around the egg crate and one of the return tubes...otherwise, I have no idea how he might have ended up where he did. He had to flop out doing a back flip onto the glass top, then wiggled his way into this small space clear to the front of the tank. I'll have to round the corners of the holes rather than leaving the squared corners of the egg crate. The biggest gap right now appears to be about 3/8" by two of the return tubes. Much smaller than I would have guessed he would find to jump out.

The four day attack of the peppermint shrimp on just one of the mushroom coral polyps has ended without much damage to the polyp. I guess that will also remain a mystery. Everything else is doing great. No fish loss do to damage or disease, just the jumpers. The zoanthids continue to multiply, the green star polyps have about doubled in size in the last 6 weeks and I might even be able to see a little difference in the Montiporia Caps. 

Will be diving in Grand Cayman for a week so it will be fun to see how things look after a week of not seeing them every day. 

Shopping list upon return:

replacement Diamond Goby
replacement Yellow Watchman Goby

Maybe I'll add a pair of clownfish and an anemone. 

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Well, back from Grand Cayman and lots of time in that beautiful water. Water temperature down to almost 100 feet was right at 84 degrees F. That water also tasted saltier than the water in my tank at 1.025. Came back with some ideas for coral placement in my tank and perhaps a couple of other modifications to my aquascaping after studying some of the reef patterns.

The Green Star Polyp appears to have spread an additional half inch in the opposite direction of the flow in just a week. One of the colonies of zoanthids looks like several new buds have popped up. The Candy Cane is really doing great. The Pipe Organ looks as though its starting to recolonize a portion of the small head in the tank that had nothing showing when I left. Mushroom Cove has also seen some growth and I have a couple of new orange mushroom polyps. I can't see much growth from the Montiporia Cap, but I don't think it's dieing either. 

No apparent losses in the tank during the week I was gone, except I haven't seen my Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp since my return. The dominant blue damsel has a pretty good size lesion on one side with what appears to be a little fungus and noticeable swelling. Perhaps the sins of his past are catching up with him. This is the primary bully that tried to kill my now fully recovered Royal Gramma. But, he's spawned twice in my 3 month old tank so I have real mixed emotions about his long term viability in my tank, but then again, I really don't want to see him go. I'll watch him closely to see how this progresses and may try to catch him (yeah, right) and move him into quarantine for treatment. No other fish appear to be affected at this point.

Probably a mistake, but scooted over to the LFS and purchased a long-tentacle rosy anemone and Pat sold me another piece of his prized Tonga Rock. It goes so much better in my tank anyway. We'll just have to see where the anemone lands. I know it will choose a site it likes and settle in. It's already decided it didn't like where I wanted it to live. I hope it doesn't cause havoc with the existing corals as it moves about the tank.

I also have on reserve at the LFS a 3-4" green bubble anemone with green and white swirl patterns on the tentacles; very different and very cool. It's pretty well attached to a good size rock so they'll try to entice it off that rock into some looser rubble. Don't want to injure it just to bring it home.

Next items for the tank...more corals and perhaps a pair of clown fish. Of course I'm going to try to replace my Diamond Goby, I miss "Digger". He made such a wonderful mess of the substrate.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Found my Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp this morning when it came out at feeding time.

...Also new weird behavior from the Lawnmower Blenny (aka "Dinosaur") who now looks like its hosting in the Green Star Polyps. Pretty funny...you just see the top of its head sticking out of what appears to be tall grass. Came out to feed then returned...no one seemed to bother it before, so I don't think this is just for safety from attacks. The blenny appears immune from any of the typical tank squabbles and is a friend to all, kind of like a Walmart Greeter. Amazing to watch. It will be fun to see how long this behavior lasts. *Can anyone tell me if this is a typical behavior for a Lawnmower Blenny and Green Star Polyps?*

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Found a new Diamond Goby to add to replace the jumper I had before. I have made some more modifications to the top trying to eliminate any possible means of escape. I guess time will tell. Right now it appears to be happily rearranging the substrate in my tank. 

My Lawn Mower Blenny is perturbed by this new Diamond Goby and will occasionally make an aggressive move toward it. The Diamond Goby is so fast that I doubt that any direct physical conflict will result. Didn't see this behavior toward the other Goby which was also added to the tank after the Blenny. Perhaps its just the newness of this tankmate.

Everyone else is doing just fine. Even the Blue Damsel with the big wound. It is still eating well, very active, and impossible to catch for quarantine and potential treatment.

Added a nice Green Leather frag, partly because its hard for me to leave the LFS empty handed. My green and white bubble anemone is still very firmly attached to a piece of live rock at the LFS. I may be forced to buy the live rock to get the anemone, but I would have to kill off the Green Star Polyps growing on the same rock. I don't think I need to add any more at this time. At the current rate of growth, the Green Star Polyps in my tank will cover every surface in the tank in less than six months if left unchecked. 

klinemw


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## Klinemw

After a few weeks of waiting for my anemone to loosen its grip on a piece of live rock (partially covered with Green Star Polyps -- of which I have my own growth) I was finally able to pick up my green and white bubble tip anemone. He is way cool, but doesn't like the front of the tank. After two days of moving around the tank, I found it the other morning hanging from the inside corner of my overflow cover, torn, and strung out. Part of its base was hung up in the edge of the overflow. Fortunately about 20% of the tentacles were still "inflated" and I really wondered if it would survive. I moved it from where it was hung up and set in a fairly low flow corner of the tank with lots of rock around to protect its base and to hopefully help it feel comfortable. It was largely deflated for several days and now, after this rest period, it is starting to look like it is healing and most of the tentacles are filled. Whew, I thought that it was a lost cause, but now I think it is going to survive and do well in my tank. Time will tell.

I also added a nice start of Frogspawn coral. I was told at the LFS that it preferred moderate flow, but even the moderate flow in my tank must have been more than it liked. After about three days with it still mostly retracted, I moved it to a much lower flow area in the tank and it still stayed primarily retracted. After about three more days, I moved it a couple hours ago to an area with about the least flow in my tank and it is already starting to extend more fully. My mushrooms in "Mushroom Cove" see more flow than this area of the tank. Guess it just took a while to find the right location in the tank with the combination of light and flow.

The Lawnmower Blenny is still "hosting" in the Green Star Polyp...too funny. He looks like he's playing in the tall weeds with only his eyes and top of head sticking above the tops of the wavy green polyps. He and the Diamond Goby appear to have worked out their differences.

The big hole in the side of one of the blue damsels, while still looking nasty, appears to be a little better. The damsel still eats and is as active as ever. Perhaps it will survive this wound and heal up all on its own. There's no way to catch it and the fish trap reviews don't give me any confidence that the investment in the trap would yield results anyway. I hate to put $50-60 into a potential trap and treatment, when (a) I don't really know what I'm treating, and (b) I can replace the fish for less than $5. As long as the fish is doing as well as it is right now, I'll just wait and see what happens.

Everyone else is doing just great.

Currently, I have:

1 Yellow Tang (who will take fresh spinach from my fingers)
1 Sailfin Tang (perhaps the largest fish in the tank)
1 Flame Angel (gorgeous, and maybe one of my favorites)
1 Six Line Wrasse 
1 Lawnmower Blenny (way too fun to watch)
1 Diamond Goby (always digging -- must not like mushrooms, he keeps burying them)
3 Fuji Blue Damsels (very active and blue color is unmatched)
2 Yellow-tail Blue Damsels (spawned a couple of times -- free fish food)
1 Royal Gramma (purple and yellow pixelated about 1/3 of its body length)
1 Cleaner Shrimp
4-5 Peppermint Shrimp (never see more than 4 at one time)
1 Tiger Conch (some type of monovalve growing on its shell)
1 Long-tentacle Rose Anemone (fabulous rosy red color tentacles with plum base)
1 Bubble-tip Green and white Anemone (marbled green and white bubble tip tentacles)
a fist full of small-medium hermit crabs
a larger fist full of assorted snails
a few volunteer "feather duster type" worms that just appeared on some live rock.

with plans to add: 1 pair of clownfish (and that's the last of the fish, probably)

All of my corals are tiny frags or starter colonies, mostly because I'm cheap and my tank is too new to trust to far (water added 4/20/2011 and 5 damsels on 4/23/2011).

I have 10-12 different zoanthid starts ranging from 3-30 polyps
a green star polyp colony (spreading rapidly)
a pulsing zenia colony (still pulsing)
a small clump of purple mushrooms
a medium clump of blue mushrooms (growing and reproducing by buds)
a small mixed clump of green mushrooms (some called "psycho" at the LFS)
a few red mushrooms
a few bright orange mushrooms (day-glow orange)
a four head candy cane
an open brain "Welso" coral
2 tiny frags of montipora that are starting to grow slowly
a small green leather
a 7 head green frogspawn
and 3 volunteer kenya trees (just started growing on a couple pieces of live rock).

I also have some form of what appears to be an encrusting light blue colored sponge that has started growing on an old piece of staghorn rubble. 

I used to see a very small "bristle worm" every now and then, but haven't seen any at all since the 6-Line Wrasse and Flame Angel were added to the tank.

Water chemistry is still great, but may start thinking about a kalkwasser reactor at some point in the future because of some of my corals. I'm hoping that will buffer the pH a little, but I'm still OK at this point. Don't really want to dose unless needed. Still producing lots of skimmate from the skimmer.

Really enjoying this hobby.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Swung by the LFS today, just because I could, and added a small pink zoanthid colony and a peach palythoas colony. Everything else is doing great. My Frogspawn appears to be very happy in this my fourth choice of permanent locations. It sits about mid-tank depth in one of the lowest flow areas in the tank. Even my zoanthids and mushrooms like more flow...go figure.

The Lawnmower Blenny still appears to be hosting in the Green Star Polyp colony.

Next fish will likely be a pair of clowns.
Next invertebrate will likely be another scarlet cleaner shrimp.
Next coral may need to be some SPS that likes a high flow environment with mid-level light...I'm open to suggestions.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

First thing this morning just as my first daylights were coming on (I'm not normally up this early) my welsophyllia brain coral was puffed up about the size of softball. I've never seen it anywhere near that big and puffy.

As the daylights came on it started to retract into a more normal size and coloration, which is often about the size of half a grapefruit with varying shades of green, purple and white.

I'm under the impression that when they're all expanded that they are happy in their environment. This welso has been in the tank for about 6 weeks. It is directly fed on occasion with thawed frozen fish food. And, periodically over the last several weeks with fish oil soaked pellets based on Paul's experience and recommendation.

*Is this a typical behavior? Could it be related to a lunar cycle? * My LED night lights sequence on and broadly follow the lunar cycles. More night lights on during a full moon, partially for new or old moon, and totally dark for no moon. This is the second "full moon cycle" since its been in the tank. Perhaps I missed the first one or the welso was just getting acclimated to my environment. Any thoughts...is this OK or is there something wrong with my brain (couldn't resist the pun...I already know the answer to some interpretations of that question)?

Everything else in the tank appears to be just fine. 

The Diamond Goby looks like it is very content moving all the sand from the back of the tank to the front. Not sure what I'm going to do if this continues. It keeps burying my mushrooms and zoanthids with fine sand, like a dog burying a bone. It buries them and I dig them out, over and over and over. It would be bored to tears if it gets moved to the bare bottom sump, but there's no way to keep it from jumping out down there. The mushrooms seem to be taking it well so far... 

klinemw


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## Klinemw

Well the Diamond Goby is really starting to get on my nerves. He continues to dig under every thing he can find and move the sand over the top of the mushrooms and some of the zoanthids. I was gone for a few days and he had two of the mushroom rocks completely buried under one to two inches of substrate. I am amazed at how fast he can dig. It's fascinating to watch, especially when he relocates small snails out of the excavation area. I'm going to have to make a coarse strainer so that I can find some of the small zoanthid colonies that were started on small pieces of rubble. We've gone from "...that's really cool to watch...", through the frustrating phase of "...I sure wish he would stop digging so much...", passed the "...this is starting to be a continual aggrevation...", to our current stage "...I'm not sure I would save him if he jumped out of the tank" mode. He's even started undermining the Welsophyllia brain coral.

The Welsophyllia brain coral continues to "puff up" at night a week after my first discovery. Hope that this is a happy phase. When its in the normal daytime deflated stage, it is noticeably larger in diameter than it was when I first added it to the tank.

No recent tank additions (not in the last week anyway). 

I have noticed some color changes in some of the zoanthid colonies, those not buried by the Diamond Goby. I have one colony that started as a peach color that is now starting to show a nice yellow, center. I started with just six polyps from the LFS and now have nine polyps.

I also have some fluorescent green zoanthids that were tucked in a back corner that have colored up nicely and now have a fairly wide almost wedge wood blue outer ring. The skirt and center are still bright green. The original colony that these came from is still in the tank and remains totally bright green. The original colony is in a low area of the tank but lots of light and with medium-high flow. The polyps changing color are actually higher in the tank, but more shaded and in an area of low flow. I may relocate another part of the original colony to another location in the tank with different conditions to see if they'll stay the same or change colors over time.

I'll try to borrow a good camera to get some pictures of these zoanthids. I won't have a before picture of the peach colored zoanthids, but I think they're pretty cool with the change.

May have to start dosing the tank with Kalkwasser, I can see that the rate of growth on the Coraline algae has slowed. That's the only parameter that appears to have started to change.

klinemw


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## Klinemw

Interesting development in the tank. My tank is growing coraline algae in all parts of the tank except one particular area that is *growing a brownish green filamentous algae*. The brownish green area is on a couple vertical branches of tonga rock directly in front of a high out put power head. Its only growing in the elevations with the highest flow...some of the very top and bottom parts of the rock are still growing the coraline algae and not this fibrous algae. This is on only vertical rock surfaces about 8 and 11 inches away from the front of the power head. Surfaces further away are not experiencing this growth. I think that would rule out a lighting issue, particularly since its not happening elsewhere in the tank. All the water chemistry parameters are right in line and substantially unchanged from prior readings. *Any ideas (a) what this might be and (b) why it is growing only in the highest flow area of the tank?
*
Everything in the tank is doing great and appears happy, active and eating well.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

That new algae growth is still here. It hasn't expanded its range to any where else in the tank, the fibers are not getting any longer, but isn't really decreasing in scope either. Every now and then I see a trail through it down to the rock where a Ninja Star Snail decided to plow through it for lunch. The Lawnmower Blenny doesn't appear to want to eat it, the Yellow and Sailfin Tangs don't appear to want to eat it, only the Ninja Star Snails. None of the other of a variety of snails appear to want to eat it. Its not really hurting anything and because its not more than a 1/4" long mat it doesn't really bother me, but I am very curious.

Everything else is doing great.

I did add a couple of pieces of "fully cured" live rock from the LFS about a week before this algae started growing. This algae is not growing on the new live rock at all. I did my precautionary ReVive dip for the live rock to get rid of any bad stuff coming from the rock. I've been told that its probably unncessary by some to dip everything, but its something that I've always done. Perhaps the ReVive didn't kill the algae spores on the rock that have now circulated to this high flow area and have "taken root" on the Tonga Rock getting maximum flow. Sounds far fetched, even to me. Perhaps its just a coincidence.

The additional live rock was to help deal with my Diamond Goby burying some of my mushroom corals. It was used to elevate the mushroom rocks up off the substrate. This part of the plan seems to be working. Diamond Goby is happy playing in the sand and I no longer want to serve him as lunch for burying my coral. 

Any ideas?

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

My algae growth is now turning green. It's still about the same size and the strands are still about 1/4" long. I have noticed that my Yellow Tang is starting to pick at this algae, but in that much direct flow it is a little difficult.

Also, after nearly 4 days of looking all around the floor for my missing Six Line Wrasse, it has suddenly reappeared. I have no idea where its been for its short vacation, but I'm thrilled that its not all dried up under something like my last one that jumped from the tank. I was racking my brains trying to find a hole in the cover, which is about 30% egg crate and the remainder glass at this point.

Everything else is doing just great. The skimmer is really working well. Now that the Diamond Goby is not burying my mushrooms and zoanthids, things are really starting to shape up nicely.

My frog spawn has a new very small segment that is starting to open up a little. The existing heads are just huge and look great. I can finally see some growth on the edges of the purple monteporia cap. 

The blue sponge that was growing on a piece of live rock is starting to grow and encrust more on that rock. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. It is really interesting. It appears almost like it is growing white translucent ice crystals on the surface of a colonial blue base as it encrusts on the rock. I know that if you touch it, it can leave a red welt on your skin.

The welsophyllia brain is no longer puffing up the size of a softball at night, but has returned to its normal half grapefruit shape. It is noticeably bigger during the day than when I first brought it home. I was told that the colors would intensify if it had more light, but the colors are deeper on one side that is a little more shaded than the other, contrary to what I was led to believe. I don't have a place in the tank to put it where it doesn't have as much light to see what happens.

Everybody is looking good. The Sailfin Tang, which was about the same size as my Yellow Tang and Flame Angel when first introduced to the tank, is now about 20% larger than the other two. It looks fantastic and is developing a really nice blue sheen on its fins. It and the Yellow Tang are just as full and round as they can be and their fins are perfect. There was a small tear on the top fin of the Sailfin Tang but it is now completely healed in less than 48 hours.

Next fish...a pair of clown fish or maybe a mandarin dragonette.
Next coral...more zoanthids, some ricordia, and maybe an anchor.
I'm thing about some Red Fire Shrimp, but I hate to spend that much money on something that I may only see on rare occasions.

Happy to report "Its all good" as we cross the 4 month birthday of this mixed reef setup. Thanks for all the advice and input from this community. Things couldn't be going any better.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

Had the opportunity yesterday afternoon for a near disaster. My freshwater automatic top off failed to shut off, filling my sump with an over abundance of fresh water. The volume of water was sufficient to change the specific gravity in my tank from 1.027 to 1.025. No apparent problems. The fish, invertebrates and most of the corals appear to be unaffected by the rather sudden change in salinity. Only one set of zoanthids, the pink and green, "Cat's Eye", has remained closed since the change.

This morning my welsophyllia brain coral was all puffed up again. This pretty much confirms that this behavior is on the lunar full moon cycle, but could be stress induced because of my fresh water oversupply. May have to wait another month to see what happens.

One other potential side effect is that my Yellow-tailed Blue Damsels have gone into a sudden breeding behavior. It could be just the lunar cycle, but I suspect that the lunar cycle coupled with the salinity change started this behavior. I've heard before that the damsels will spawn with just the change in salinity mid-lunar-cycle, so the combination of factors may have just been more than they could handle or control themselves. My tank is much more mature now (if I can keep from doing stupid things to it) from previous spawnings by the other pair, so perhaps some of the eggs will hatch and some of the fry survive. If not, well I guess that's more food in the circle of life.

My green hair algae is still growing only in the highest flow area in the tank. The carpet length has grown to about 3/8" long. It has receded somewhat in scope and now I see the tangs picking at it from time to time; the Yellow Tang more than the Sailfin. It must be working for them, the Yellow Tang is perfect...fantastic color and thick full body. The Ninja Star Snails are still the only snails that appear to have any interest in eating on the growth.

One of the heads in my trumpet coral is starting to divide, so it will be fun to watch the progression.

Everything else is doing just great. I'm glad my Six-Line Wrasse has returned from its multiday vacation. Since its return, it is much more visible, swimming more out in the open. I wonder what changed?

The Royal Gramma has now fully "colored up" after its initial fights with the damsels over turf. The tail and fins grew back quickly, but its taken until now for them to regain their original colors. In fact, it's taken up residence on the other side of the tank in an area the damsels originally fought so hard to control. Attitude?

Next fish -- probably some clowns at some point in the future
Next invertebrate -- maybe an anemone to host the clowns
Next coral -- some special zoantids or polyps to help bring some more life to some of the rocks. I do think that I'm enjoying the soft corals and LPS corals because of their movement and more varying appearance. I might be able to detect a little growth in the monteporia cap, but only if I use my imagination. Wow, this stuff sure grows slowly.

Klinemw


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## Stephjls

I've really enjoyed reading your updates! It gives me something to do while I gather all the equipment I need for my new 75g tank. I'd love to see some pictures!


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## Klinemw

Thanks Stephanie. I find these kinds of updates somewhat therapeutic, allow me to reflect on how much I'm enjoying this hobby, and create a record that I can go back to from time to time to see how the tank has progressed over time. I'm glad you enjoy reading them as you gear up for your own tank. I hope you'll chronicle your tank so we can all live vicariously through yours. 

I did post some pictures on the "members gallery" that will give you a sense of my tank. You can search under my "stage name". Fortunately for all my fish, I'm lucky to apparently be a better reef keeper than photographer.

I had an opportunity to swing by the LFS this past Thursday evening and found a couple of different mushrooms to add to "Mushroom Cove". One was an orange ricordia that had no real rock attachment. I super glued it to a small piece of rubble before putting it into the tank. The other was some form of hairy mushroom that I got more for its interesting texture than its coloration. It was attached to a fairly large 3"-4" flat rock. Put them in the tank and all was well.

Fast forward to today and upon return from a couple nights camping and wow, how did those rocks get moved and turned upside down? The hairy mushroom is nowhere to be seen. I can only guess that while contracted it fell from its rock down between some of the base rock. I don't see it any where. It will either grow where it is or just be gone.

The orange ricordia is now on a different rock having come loose from where I glued it.

I've seen the damsels move some unattached frags, but this latest set of aquascaping by the tank inhabitants is really impressive. These rocks should have been very hard to move, let alone flip over. They must have all worked together to flip the rocks over...

Everything else is good. The pink and green "Cat's eye" zoanthids have a couple small polyps open, but there should be 6-8 polyps at this point. I may be forced to pop the colony off the rock it's glued to and try a ReVive bath to try to perk them up. We'll see. It has been less than a week at this point. Maybe in a day or two.

Klinemw


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## Stephjls

I'm still learning a lot (and actually learned a lot from reading through all your posts and looking up certain things), but hopefully soon I can get things rolling. I'm stuck between making a sump filtration system or buying a canister. I thought I was completely bought on the fluval G6 at the petstore, but came home and read some nasty reviews. So, things haven't started rolling towards a filled tank.

I want to do a set up like yours, smaller of course (first SW tank, it is a learning experience!) so would you suggest I just go with a sump? I will be fish first, like you've done.

I'm off to look at your pictures!


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## Klinemw

I started my tank with hardy fish to give me a "hard cycle" through the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate cycle. I started with a canister so I could have more direct control over the filter media during start up and to provide some directed flow in the aquarium. I added the sump because of my reading and desire to increase the total volume of my system. The larger the total volume the more stability in the tank. The sump also allows me to use an in-tank protein skimmer, which for my limited space "fish closet" is a better option.

Fortunately, I don't usually experience the problems many people have with their equipment. Just lucky I guess, but I always try to buy high quality equipment that is over-sized for my specific purposes. One thing that I have learned is that different things work for different people because of a great number of factors, one of the most significant is initial water quality. The other advice I might give would be to always take your time and make any changes to your environment slowly. I find that the fish and at least soft corals are much hardier that you might think. Shock is the number one killer. Most of the time you can see the major things coming. Its how you react that makes the difference.

Klinemw


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## Klinemw

I can't believe that is has been almost six weeks since I last updated this chronology of my adventure. My mixed reef tank has been going now for six months. My fish are all doing great. My Sailfin Tang is now the size of a saucer and easily twice the size of the Yellow Tang put in the tank at the same time. Both are perfect, very full bodied and extremely active. The gorgeous Flame Angel added at the same time is now the much smaller of these three tank mates. They were all put in the tank at the same time when they were all about the same size.

The Royal Gramma has fully regrown his fins and the coloration has returned out to the ends. Very interesting to watch and obviously super hardy. It still lives where the Blue Damsels once lived, but now that its twice the size of the damsels, its really no contest. The Royal Gramma lives where it wants but no real conflicts.

The Six Line Wrasse appears content in the tank. My first one found a small opening and was found crispy on the floor. It is also very full and active. I thought that I lost it once, but was apparently away on a four day vacation. It's been very active and highly visible since.

In spite of the grief that they have caused me and the occasional wise-cracks from more experienced aquarists, the pair of Yellow-tail Blue Damsels and pair of Blue Devil Damsels continue to thrive and will exhibit interesting spawning behavior periodically. They add those flashes of electric blue color to the tank and they are in constant motion. They are now the smallest fish in the tank so their bullying days are now primarily just defensive posturing. I'm glad I put them in the tank even though they about killed my Royal Gramma.

The Lawnmower Blenny (nicknamed "Dinosaur") continues to perch on the rocks and coral and will still act like it's hosting in the Green Star Polyp (GSP) from time to time. You just see the top of its head sticking above the GSP like its hiding in the tall grass.

The Diamond Goby (nicknamed "Digger" for obvious reasons) and I still have this love-hate relationship. It is so interesting to watch it sift the bottom and move the substrate from pile to pile burrowing under just about everything. But, therein lies the problem...it still buries some of the corals increasing the maintenance requirements in the tank. Almost worth the trouble. This is my second Diamond Goby. The first found an even smaller gap to leap through and was found crispy outside the tank. I understand the value of this creature in my tank, but I don't know that I would get another if something happened to this one.

The Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp is still shy, but will now come out from behind the rocks at feeding time. It's body length is about an inch and a half long and the bright white antennae are 2.5" to 3" long. Because of that I usually know where it is, but only because I can see the white tips moving about.

I think I may be down to a couple of Peppermint Shrimp, but I only see them out at night. I know that there is also one that went through the overflow and now lives down in the sump. I moved it back into the tank three times, but it must think the giant water slide into the sump is fun and keeps sneaking out of the tank to the sump. I've stopped moving it and it now resides in the sump where I can see it all the time.

In six months I lost one Blue Damsel to injury/illness, one Six-line Wrasse that jumped, one Diamond Goby that Jumped, one tiny Yellow Watchman Goby that just disappeared one day, and perhaps a couple of Peppermint Shrimp probably because of cannibalism.

All in all that's more than I like to loose, but maybe not too bad figuring that I did a "hard" cycle on the tank and almost everything wrong to start a tank according to the "experts". The fish are the easy part...and I'm glad to report that all of my favorites are doing fabulously. Next update I'll talk about the corals...not as much success there, but not widespread destruction either.

Klinemw


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## Saltwaterstan

Klinemw said:


> The four day attack of the peppermint shrimp on just one of the mushroom coral polyps has ended without much damage to the polyp. I guess that will also remain a mystery.
> 
> Klinemw


Hi Klinemw,

I was reading your thread and found it enjoyable. I liked your documented observations of the Peppermint Shrimp. When you described the activity of the Peppermint Shrimp picking at the mushroom it sounds like something a Camelback Shrimp would do. They look very similar. If you can get a photo that would be great.


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## Klinemw

I'll see if I can get a picture, but I don't have a good camera. My shrimp have longitudinal stripes nearly the length of their bodies and lack the characteristic "hump" and irregular color bands found on camel shrimp. I know that there are several varieties of shrimp that get lumped into the peppermint shrimp label, and I don't know which species I have, but I'm reasonably confident that these are not camel shrimp. Thank you for the inquiry.

It's been a very long time since my last update. All of my fish are in excellent shape with no losses after nearly a year of tank operation. I have had some challenges with the dreaded red cyano and my light reduction regimen took a tole on some of my corals that has taken months to fully recover from. I have a continuing battle with the Diamond Goby who want to bury many of my zoanthids as it moves the substrate around the bottom of the aquarium.

Mikel Kline
klinemw


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## Reefing Madness

Saltwater Aquarium Shrimp for Marine Reef Aquariums: Camel Shrimp
Saltwater Aquarium Shrimp for Marine Reef Aquariums: Peppermint Shimps


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## Klinemw

I know this is a ridiculously long link (copy the entire string) to a "peppermint shrimp" that looks like mine, but if you are able to open the link you will see the more horizontal lines that are on my shrimp. You tell me. Is this a peppermint shrimp?

Mikel Kline
klinemw




Image Detail for - http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/marine%20tank%20019.jpg


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## Saltwaterstan

Thanks for the link to best describe your shrimp. There are soooooo many varieties of this species. The one you linked to has the closest markings to a _*Lysmata seticaudata *_and is sold as a "Peppermint Shrimp". *Lysmata seticaudata *are known to eat aiptasia. The two questions I have are; Do you have any aiptasia in the tank anymore? Did you observe any additional eating habits on the mushromms or any other corals?


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## Klinemw

My Peppermint Shrimp only appear to pick at some of the mushroom corals, but don't really appear to do any long-term damage. The coral retracts when being picked at, but then will shortly reopen after the shrimp move on. The only mushroom corals they pick at (this is not an individual behavior) are the multiple varieties of "smooth" green and blue mushrooms. They do not exhibit this behavior on red, orange, purple, or even the green hairy mushrooms in the tank. I have several color pattern variations of the green that are all targets of this activity. It also happens during both daylight and "moonlight" periods before the corals are mostly retracted. I have not noticed any increased occurrence over time, nor has the behavior stopped. 

I have not ever had any aiptasia in the tank. Perhaps because the shrimp take care of them before they are visible or get noticed. There are lots of places in the tank that I can't see because of the hardscape and position of the tank within a wall. Only the face is visible.

I have a couple of small Majano Anemones that started as one anemone almost a year ago on a signature piece of live rock that looked like a single small zoanthid head. Now after this length of time there are two side by side each about the size of a dime. I'm confident they are a variety of Majano Anemone, but at this growth rate are very controllable, at least until I start to see an infestation. I have a Flame Angel and a Six Line Wrasse that might be helping to control them, but I've never witness any of my fish picking at these anemones. I don't know if these fish will help control the growth of these anemones, but I have been told by different sources they might help.

I think they are interesting enough to keep and try to control in my tank, in spite of the almost nuclear extraction recommended by many in other forums.

I did find one on a new piece of live rock as I put it in the tank. It expanded in about a week to the size of a nickel, then split, and the two anemones moved about two inches apart. I removed that rock and destroyed the anemones and the rock has been in a quarantine tank for quite a long time with no regrowth. Perhaps I over reacted with this based on the behavior of the others. Perhaps this was a more invasive variety. I'll never know.

Mikel Kline
klinemw


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## Klinemw

I'm sorry, I didn't fully answer your question about eating habits. I have not see these shrimp show any interest in an of the other, mostly soft corals in my tank. It appears to be confined to the varieties of smooth green mushroom corals in my tank. This might be a shrimp species specific behavior or there may be an attractant in the green form of the mushroom corals. They don't bother the Green Star Polyps or the multiple green varieties of zoanthids that are also in the tank.

Mikel Kline
klinemw


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## Saltwaterstan

Klinemw said:


> I'm sorry, I didn't fully answer your question about eating habits. I have not see these shrimp show any interest in an of the other, mostly soft corals in my tank. It appears to be confined to the varieties of smooth green mushroom corals in my tank. This might be a shrimp species specific behavior or there may be an attractant in the green form of the mushroom corals. They don't bother the Green Star Polyps or the multiple green varieties of zoanthids that are also in the tank.
> 
> Mikel Kline
> klinemw


I would have to agree with you that it could be a behavior or something yummy on the mushrooms.


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## Klinemw

I have recently modified the overflow weir to support increased flow in my tank, in part because I finally got daring enough to modify it in the operational tank and I'm hoping to add some corals that should respond well to a higher flow rate. I have noticed a few interesting changes in the tank as a result of this higher flow (no other changes).

1. As I expected, there is one hairy mushroom polyp (a volunteer) that has more flow on it and is not real happy as a result.

2. The pair of formerly Yellow Tailed Blue Damsels have had the yellow portions of the peduncle and tail become a much darker almost golden-orange color. They look perfect, but the darker color was completely unexpected. I don't really think this is a "happiness" thing, as they have spawned on multiple occasions. I'm hoping that eventually as the tank becomes more established that I will be able to have some of the fry survive. Right now they're just more fish food. Any idea about the noticeably darker colors? These are the only fish in the tank that have changed colors.

3. I now have an Asterina starfish breakout that I didn't have before. I have had a few in the tank, but now there are hundreds. I've read numerous threads about whether they're a nuisance or not, and while the jury may still be out as to any harm they might cause, do these starfish really like the increased flow? If that is the case, why don't we hear more about these "population surges" from other mixed reef aquarists? And, why don't I have these large numbers in the sump where there is even higher flow? Is this a common problem? Should I be concerned? Should they be destroyed or perhaps have large numbers moved out of the display tank into the sump, where there is even more Coraline algae for them to consume? Unless I get strong advice to the contrary, I think I'm going to eradicate large numbers from the display tank by removing them with a scraper and a net.

Everything else is responding happily to the increased flow.

klinemw


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## Klinemw

This is the 18 month anniversary of the addition of livestock to my 120 gallon mixed reef tank. I have learned a great deal and violated many "rules" that have been established on this and other forums.

I have had my ups and downs, but still love this hobby. I have a great mix of fish and corals. 

My fish include the following:

2 - Yellow-tail Blue Damsels - the original fish used to start the tank. They now spawn every other full moon lunar cycle. You can set your calendar by them.

2 - Blue Damsels with black anal and caudal peduncle - also part of the original fish used to start the tank 18 months ago. Started with three of these, but they killed the third one. They have spawned a couple of times.

1 - Six-line Wrasse. Great fish. This is the second one. I had to replace one that jumped from the tank.

1 - Royal Gramma that initially lost all of his fins because of relentless attacks from the Damsels. This is the only fish, other than one of their own, that they beat up. It has fully recovered and all of its fins have regrown and regained all their color. This fish must be tough as nails. Now, it gets along with everyone.

1 - Diamond Goby. Long white fish with orange markings. The sand sifting activities of this fish are very interesting to watch, but we have an ongoing love-hate relationship. This is my second, after the first one jumped from the tank. This may be the only fish that I perhaps could do without. It continually pushes the substrate to the front of the tank, buries the corals, and is generally a pain. I don't think I could catch him if I wanted to. Lightning fast.

1 - nearly 6" Sailfin Tang, (more commonly called a Red Sea Sailfin) whose vertical yellow stripes are now starting to turn into spots starting at the head and slowly working their way back to just past the pectoral fins. Way cool fish and very active swimmer. This is the heaviest feeder in the tank. Easily the largest fish in the tank.

1 - 3-4" Yellow Tang very active and pals around with the Sailfin Tang. It's perfect in every way. I would consider this the "must have" aquarium fish. It is the first fish pointed out in the tank because of its spectacular color.

1 - 3 1/2" Flame Angel. This is another gorgeous fish. This fish is the most active swimmer among the rocks. It loves to move in an out of all the caves, crevices, and other archways in the tank. This is the only fish in the tank that has gone after any of my corals. It particularly likes green branching SPS varieties-- strips it clean like eating corn on the cob. Doesn't bother any other coral. It's just a little aggressive, doesn't nip at fins, but will dart around following other fish.

1 - 4-5" Starry Blenny. Nearly black with white-blue tiny spots that look like stars against a dark sky. He has transparent yellow tail and pectoral fins and pom-pom eyebrows. His large mouth looks kind of tribal. He drapes over the rocks with a "what's up dude" attitude. Fun to watch and very different shape than my other fish. Its a replacement for my Lawnmower Blenny - one jumped from the tank, another about this same size suddenly died with no outward symptoms after being in the tank for almost 3 months.

1 - 2 1/2" Niger Trigger, interesting shape and constant movement.

The Sailfin, Yellow Tang and Flame Angel were all about the same size when introduced into the aquarium at the same time. Now they act like the three amigos and swim together all the time.

This may be a nearly ideal mix of "semi-aggressive" fish given their bright colors, different body shapes, swimming characteristics, and personalities. Perhaps just the right amount of "tension" in the tank. Everyone appears to be thriving in the mixed reef. The only one to disturb the corals is the Flame Angel, but that appears to be limited to only the green branching SPS for some reason. One LFS told me that these SPS actually have an odor that might be attracting the Flame Angel. 

I have a Yellow Watchman Goby that now lives in my 50 gallon sump. It would move into the overflow, then take the water slide down into the sump. I simply got tired of moving it back into the main tank all the time. I wish it liked the display tank better. I'm the only one that gets to enjoy this fish.

I think I have about all the fish I'm going to put in the tank, unless one of you have a "must have" in your tank that might mix well in my mixed reef. Next time I'll write about the corals in the tank.

Klinemw


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## Reefing Madness




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