Reef Discussion

[rosechaser]

This is basically a follow on from my earlier post on water testing....I am still waiting for my tank which could be a few weeks away and came across some great coral sand and live rock which I jumped at.

I now have a 250 litre fish pond in the garage with the LR setup with heater, skimmer, light and pump....can't believe how quickly it all cleared up.

Main reason for the post is that I can't believe the life on the rocks...so far since Friday have seen, two tiny sea urchins (good or bad?) a slug that looks like a nudibranch, a couple of snails and heaps of snail eggs.....colour coming back into the rock after a couple of days...all makes we want to get started all the quicker...anyway, back to my pet rocks

 

[MTG]

while you have a chance check for large crabs, they will be a pain latter on. alot of nudibranches often eat coral. can you get a picture?
sea urchins wont hurt although they eat your coraline, and will knock alot of your corals over that arnt secured down well.

 

[MagicJ]

Hi Sven :welcome.

Good to see you are finally getting underway. You know you are hooked when you spend your spare time looking at rocks :) I hope you havn't given them names.

It could be a good idea to start a tank journal and post all your questions there - they will then be in the one place for future reference and you won't have to repeat yourself all the time.

Where did the rock come from? Has it already been cured?

 

[VaultBoy]

^^ I'm with him... start your tank journal, even before you have a tank to journal! that way its all there ready for when you get the tank!

Or you could do a journal on your new indoor marine pond :D

 

[rosechaser]

Last week I gave away a mantis shrimp that I found, and since then a few small blueish starfish have started to appear after lights out. They're about 15mm...few small bristle covered worms...another urchin...stuff just keeps appearing

 

[rosechaser]

Still looking after my pet rocks..waiting and waiting for tank to arrive....finished cycling about 3 or 4 weeks ago...grrrr

Anyway other than the fauna I mentioned earlier on I have just noticed (yes I was out there with my torch) some cobweb type material between two rocks...or mucous thread...any idea what this is?

 

[Synodontis]

Cant help you on the cobwebs Sven sorry. When you move your pets to the tank, they wount be out of water for to long will they? Will you also be using the water from the "rockpool"? Depending on time out of water, you may get another small cycle. Might pay to keep an eye on your water para's for the first few days. Never thought I would be so enthralled by watching rocks grow, but it is quite an exciting time watching life develop. Good luck it.

 

[rosechaser]

When I swap to DT the rocks may be out of the water for 20 minutes and then I would use the same water about 200 litres and the rest new NSW about 400 litres and yes i thought there may be a small cycle / balancing period..thanks

 

[firebird]

Still looking after my pet rocks..waiting and waiting for tank to arrive....finished cycling about 3 or 4 weeks ago...grrrr

Anyway other than the fauna I mentioned earlier on I have just noticed (yes I was out there with my torch) some cobweb type material between two rocks...or mucous thread...any idea what this is?

vermetid snail most likely-elaborate mucous to pull in food-have a couple in my tank. For great pics and ID on things www.chucksaddiction.com and get onto the Hitchhiker link