Lizard's Secluded Reef(er) Pages |
Page 4 |
Well, now that the Tet holiday is over and the tank didn't seem to have any problems except the disappearance of one cleaner wrasse and one small clownfish. It is quite possible that the carpet anemone got hungry while I was away on vacation as they still haven't made an appearance in two weeks and I still cannot locate their remains across the tank bed or in the filter system. Also, only one hermit crab is left as the others were found as empty husks when I got back. Everything else in the tank looks healthy and now on with the story... The tank has been circulating for about a month and steady progress has been made in both water quality and stability of the environment. Current tests of the water quality show that the nitrate level, ammonia level, and the ph of the water is at acceptable levels. The water tests show yellow on nitrates and ammonia now where as at the first and second weeks, the nitrates were at a dark purple on the testing. Those levels are considered dangerous for any livestock that was introduced, but I believe the sea-plant that I had added for a few weeks (now removed due to a troublesome lunare wrasse) helped speed the natural process of removing the nitrates. Now the tank has a nice grass-like algae bloom on the top shelves of the tank. Some tank enthusiasts try to eliminate bloom completely, but I find that it does add some natural balance to the tank and welcome the top growth. Near the bottom on the substrate, some small spots on the glass, and on the face of some of the front rocks, I have experienced a slight browning (called Diatom algae). This is one algae that is a by-product of the nitrate cycle nearing it's completion and has to be cleaned on a regular basis. Reading on it further, I have found that the growth can be maintained through daily cleaning and also cutting back a few hours of white light in the tank. Also a clean-up crew of crabs and other inverts helps to maintain additional algae break outs, but I still am having trouble catching the lunare wrasse which has been eating all of the crabs. I have added a few other helpers which have been able to avoid the wrasse wrath. :) In addition to the main tank, I have also added a hospital/separation tank to my home which ran me 320,000 VND (nearly 20$ USD). That tank is now in it's own cycling process and I have added the plant remnant rock, a small live rock, and a few dead corals to the bottom. |
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To the left, water testing kits that are available in HCMC. To the right, the hospital tank as it now looks. Currently running through it's own cycling process with 1/3 of it's water from the main tank and 2/3 fresh salt water brought home from the local fish store. |
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Now back to the main tank... |
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Here are a few of my algae/scavenger cleaning crew introduced to the main tank over the last few weeks. A Scopas Tang, one of two Banded Coral 'Boxer' Shrimp (though it's recommended to have only 1 per tank, my tank is large enough for them to have plenty of room), and a female Leopard Wrasse which also picks around at the algae most of the day. |
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Here are two varieties of Mushroom Coral that I added as soon as I got home from vacation. I placed them on the top shelf on opposite ends of the tank and they expand even larger than these pics show. Some algae growth on the top shelf can also be seen. The left one has a green tint and the other a purple tint. |
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I also introduced 2 anemone to the bottom left of the tank later in the week and after some re-arranging of the Elegance Coral, added a nice Hammer Coral to the top right. The larger of two anemone has since moved behind this pics location to position itself under the shelf behind the smaller one. There is a large gap in the rock for light and expansion. |
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Other new additions last week included two Tomato Clowns. The tomato clown on the left is a bit darker than the other, but you can see the the brighter one made itself at home real quick. |
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Rounding out today's current line up are the Dwarf Hawkfish (also known as Falco's Hawkfish), a 3 Spot Domino Damselfish, and a Bicolor Goatfish which roams the bottom of the tank during the day and is everywhere at night. To find the Dwarf Hawkfish... follow the link, go to Gallery 3 - Reef Fishes and you will find him at picture 8. Though not a traditional anemone fish, the Domino spends a large part of his day playing around in the carpet anemone. |
To keep from overfeeding, but maintaining healthy stock I have been using Tubiflex worm squares a few times a week and also a large dose of around 100 brine shrimp weekly after adding the additional anemone and coral. After running across a formula to calculate aquarium size, I went ahead and took my own measurements. 23in x 27in x 55in x .00433 turned out to be a total tank volume of 147.89115 gallons. After the store told me it was 400 liters, I just left it alone. Now I see that the tank is actually much bigger than originally thought which is a welcome development to say the least. I have been swapping out 30 liters a week for a mini-partial just to do it in small doses and the tank seems to be responding quite well as here is the new addition found this week... |
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Here is a small polyp colony that I found when I moved the flowerpot coral off of the top shelf to find better lighting and flow. Turns out that it had propagated itself to the top shelving of the tank and has actually doubled in size since this photo was taken a few days ago. Took about 30 shots to get this one, so I am just waiting for it to get a little bit bigger before trying again. I may move it to a more porous rock before it gets too large as the piece of rock it is attached to is quite small and loose. |
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And at last, the current look of the tank after I cleaned it this morning. Top left close-up, main tank view, and right hand close-up. *Special thanks to 'gm333' for identifying the 'Bicolor Goatfish' and confirmation of the 'Hammer Coral'.* |