My Blenny is a Jerk

First of all, Happy Halloween to everybody!

What I believe to be my sailfin Blenny, is absolutely reaping havoc in my reef tank.
First I figured out he killed my favorite serpent starfish.

And now (at first I thought my emerald crab was pushing frags out to look for a new hiding spot.) Turns out, my Blenny is trying to push them out! He swam on top of my coral and tried nudging it out as soon as I refragged it (fortunately I used epoxy this time.)

I haven't determined if this is related yet but both of my clownfish have a mild case of ich and the sailfin blenny appears to be completely unharmed or unaffected.

Any suggestions?

Poor clown fish

Ok. I transfered my 35gal to a 50gal this weekend. Everything went good but I just noticed today this clown hanging in corner near top of water. Not usual for him.

Levels are.ph 7.6 (yes low...)
Amonia 0.2
No3 nitrate 2
No2 nitrate 0
I'm still waiting for levels to balance. They were perfect before the change.

I'm not sure why all of a sudden my one clown is not looking well.

I got a hang on back filer with a power head in tank.

Any ideas?

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Coral closing?

Hey guys, quick question. I forgot to turn my lights on before I went to school, so the night lights stayed on all day.. I just realized that and turned my lights on. My coral, can someone tell me what type it is, im totally spacing out. Is closed up.. is this just because of the lights? The water isn't an issue, And the salinity is right around 1.025. The glass is dirty and gross because it's been neglected for quite some time. The rest of my corals are doing quite well

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RO/DI Filter question - Best filter combo Spectrapure

I'm running the maxcap 180 2:1 with a booster pump to 70 psi at the membrane. The TDS of my tap is really low ~ 15. I must have higher suspended solids because my sediment filters clog up pretty quick, less than about 500 gallons or so. My tap has about 1.5ppm chloramine.

My carbons were having chlorine breakthrough pretty quick too. I'd guess about 2 months or 800 gallons.

These are all guesses as I haven't been keeping close track of how much water I'm actually making.

Due to the sediment filter and carbon seeming to clog quicker, I purchased a second canister with pressure gauge and I now have .2 Zetazorb prefilter -> 1 micron Chlorplus -> .5 carbon -> 70psi RO -> silica buster -> mixed bed semi-cond DI. This setup lasted about 2 months before the zeta lost 10% pressure and chlorine breakthrough again.

It seems that running 2 carbon is pointless since I test for chlorine every time and if there is breakthrough I switch out. Running 2 just makes it so I can switch out less freqently (but same total #).


Would it make more sense to use a 1 micron purtrex ($3.50) in the remote canister followed by the zeta? The 1 micron is much cheaper to filter out the suspended solids. So the system would look like:
1 micron -> .2 zeta -> .5 carbon -> ro -> di -> di


Thanks!

help with coral frag identification

I got this for free and have no clue what types of corals these are...please help...the one on top is a very pinkish purple color with yellow spots...

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Need fish ideas for a DSB

Anyone know of a fish that prefers to have a deep sand bed minus a jawfish and or engineer gobies? Thanks

Hobbyist Priced SPS...Create your own pack!!

Most all are healed few months. Some maybe a week or two. I can do fresh cuts unmounted if preferred. Most all are like 1"+ unless noted. Tons of great feedback!!

UPS overnight in styro. Standard Live Arrival Guarantee with pics in bags of DOA’s within 2 hrs of delivery.

Take all 20 listed for $310 shipped and I’ll toss in a random freebie!
Or if you want a smaller pack
pick 10 for $200 shipped.....
pick 15 for $275 shipped…..


1.) ORA Borealis:


2.) Pink Birdnest:


3.) Green Slimmer


4.) Orange Digi


5.) Green Stylo


6.) Sour Apple BN


7.) Purple Tipped Acro


8.) Blue Green Turaki


9.) Thin Bushy Blue Tip Acro


10.) ORA green BN


11.) Tri Color Granulosa


12.) Teal Tip Acro


13.) Purple Digi


14). Purple stag/ silver polyps


15. ORA Geko Green:


16.) Orange Cap


17.) Steve Garrets Stylo:


18: Tyree True Undata:


19.) Monti Spongodes


20.) Waynes Reef Acro

Manic *onday

Morning all. Getting ready to crash for a couple hours then drag myself into work.

Went on a date with a very nice Registered Nurse. We did brunch and walked around little Italy, which is a neat district in Cleveland. There is also a fantastic art museum with a lot of Picasso, Monet, Andy Warhol and many other pieces. It is impossible to describe how amazing the art was in person.

After that we went to a cool German place with the long tables.

Somehow I dropped my date off at 3 am. Jack had no issues with dog training at midnight and Kathleen is super good at it. We watched the History channel together and it is neat to hang out with someone into that stuff.

Coffee is on along with danishes and Greek yogurt. I need a combat nap.

Aiptasia Trouble

Hello TRT
A few months ago, about 4 months, i started my own 20 gallon reef tank. After all water parameters were good after about two months, I started adding fish(i did not quarantine the damsels only acclimated) to it. I've done 10% water changes weekly. I have 2 powerheads, protein skimmer, and a filter. For my CUC I have five turbo snails and one tigertail cuke. After a month of everything going well, I got myself some corals. However, I did not do much research so i accidentally picked a couple of bad corals. Many of them had aiptaisia. One of them was on the coral mount so i used bone cutters to cut the whole part off. However, my second coral, a button coral, had aiptasia sticking out in between the corals. How do i remove that, cause i can't take it off since it just shrinks in between the corals where i can't reach. I've heard of kalkwasser, but how do I mix it. Also, will it kill the coral? Lastly, when i have injected the kalk, do i still need to remove the tissue remains?Is kalkwasser effective?

Decorator crab dead or molted??

So a few days ago I had a fish pass in my tank. I can only assume my decorator crab ate the remains, because he had a small piece of fish attached to himself. Yesterday I noticed my decorator crab was out with the lights on (very unusual for him). He wasn't moving very much, even when poked. When I picked him up he moved a little but just hung out in my hand. I sat him on my polyps (where he loved to sit at night) and let him be. This morning he was barely moving at all. Found him on his back a few times and flipped him back over. The last time I checked on him though, he was on his back, and no longer moving. Mouth not moving, eyes not moving, nothing. I flipped him over and sat him on my coral, just in case. He appears to have what looks like a black string coming out from his shell on his underside. I've read that he may have molted, but he hasn't taken any of his "decorations" off the "shell" and it still has its eyes and no splits or cracks in the shell where he could get out. Has my little guy passed away? I'm going to be devastated if he's gone... I loved watching him ride my coralline snails around the tank and sneaking up to steal the algae growing on their shells to stick to himself. I'm also gonna miss the fact that he took some polyps and stuck them on the stop of his head to make it look like he's wearing a party hat. I should also note that he got a white cone shaped thing that popped up on his head, with a pinhole in the middle. I've never seen anything come out of that. I'll try to post a picture as he is now when I get home, but I'll post a picture of him from his better days.

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Is this Good or bad and what is this please?

Hi all

I don't know if this a correct place to post my Question.

I have this as attached photo and i don't know what is this .

Please help.

Thanks

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New to Saltwater

Hey there guys!! I'm new to saltwater and picked up a 14g oceanic biocube after wanting a saltwater tank for the past 20 years. Currently have a Blood Orange Clown, a blue Damsel, a decorator crab, a Nardoa Star, a tiger conch, a few blue leg hermits, some asterea snails, some coralline snails, and a couple asterina starfish. Tank has been up for a couple months now and the parameters have tested perfect since week one. Now that I finally have my tank set up with a decent amount of live rock and a few little polyps here and there I'm looking at getting a couple more fish, and then maybe moving to a bigger tank to expand.

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Kenya Tree Issues

Hello All:
I know people are gong to say Kenyas are weeds. But I like them and have a really nice one this is happy.

I bought a new one and a neon green sinularia. They came friday.

The Kenya was broken away from the plug/frag when I got it. It was also bent over. I tried to use putty, but by last night it had dislodged and ended up on the sand.

I puttied it again. That did not help it, although it was definitely trying to thrive.

I took it out today after watching a YouTube video and got rid of the putty. Then I super glued it.

It only looks so-so about an hour after. It is still purple. But it seems to be shrinking.

I am hopefully attaching an overall shot of the tank and some close ups of the kenya I am worried about.

Any thoughts? When will I know if it is dead? I have already complained about it to LA.

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My imperator angel is not eating

Hi,

I recently purchased a juvenile imperator angel (about 3 in). I saw him eat in the store, and he even ate some angel food food the second day I had him. Since then, I have not seen him eat. Thus far I have tried feeding him: green algae, brown algae, emerald entree, brine shrimp, squid, mysis shrimp, krill, angel food (san francisco bay brand), and mega marine angel. I have tried adding garlic to the food, but no luck so far. Any suggestions?

Starter fish for new tank

So I'll be getting a saltwater tank (my first, personally) for my high school aquatics tank in my next semester of school, and the teacher has told us we'll be needing starter fish (and that they often end up not making it, and have been coined as the "sacrifice fish" :o ) I'm looking for a species of fish that'd well suit that purpose that is (preferably) cheap, and if possible, on the more peaceful side. Any suggestions? :)

Happy birthday to Junkzoo on 10/30!

And here's the Official TRT Chorus® to sing....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!!

Last couple of bits of advice wanted..before cycling

Just a couple of bits of advice before I begin cycling my new tank if I may.

I pretty much have everything set up and ready for my new reef tank at last. The Aquarium specs are as follows:

48x18x18 tank
6 t5 tubes ( 2 blue, 2 white, 1 red, 1 actinic blue)
2 jeboa wp 25 wave makers
200w heater and stc 1000 controller
Mini micro ato system
Hob mce 600 skimmer
40kg of diy live rock ( almost ready to go in)
2 pieces of live rock (sat in a quarantine tank ready to seed the diy rock)

I intend keeping mainly lps and softies in the tank with maybe later a bit of plating montipora. Fish and invert wise, nothing special, the usual gobies, clowns, clean up crew and shrimps etc..

My pondering are?

Which salt red sea salt, or red sea coral pro? I want the best for the tank and to not have to dose loads of stuff but on the other hand I don't want to pay for what I don't need.

The second question is. Can anyone recommend a good substrate that won't be blown everywhere? I love the bright, fine aragonite sand but the flow in the tank is very strong I don't want to be constantly dealing with moving sand and sandstorms. I don't mind normal 'coral sand' for cichlid tanks. Nowadays people don't recommend it it seems. So are there any larger grain aragonite Sands about?

Cheers in advance

Splendid Sunday

Morning all,

Cold and chilly here in Cleveland. Off to brunch in little Italy and the art museum with a cute RN friend later this morning.

I am spending too much time gallivanting and not enough unpacking. Also, blew up something in the exhaust in the Volvo drag racing some kid in a GTI. Life is never boring at Noob Manor.

Oh yeah Jack's new pet sitter lady is fantastic. Glad I can fly on a moments notice and he is pampered.

Coffee and muffins are on.

SCREAM for more SALES!

Premium Aquatics Online Site

Live Rock temp storage

So I have all of the live rock (about 100lbs) that was transferred from an existing 80g tank sitting in a 2nd 56g tank with the original tank water. It was transferred in buckets so it got moved around a lot. Have had it in the tank about 1 week so far as I'm holding it there until I can set up the tank. It may take a couple of more weeks, so I'm trying to keep it alive. There are also 3 cucumbers in there that came with the live rock. They look fine, but nitrates are really high. Nitrites, Ammonia and PH are all great. The salt level was high too at almost 1.30, but I've added distilled water over the past few days to get it down to 1.25. Not sure if the nitrates are from stirring up the live rock, or if some of the live rock is dying. There is no sand in the live rock tank. Is there anything special I need to do over the next couple of weeks to keep it alive? There is some debris on the tank bottom, so I'm thinking of siphoning it out and adding more fresh water. I have a powerhead and heater in the tank now to keep the water moving and temp at 78. It's been 10 years since my last tank, so I"m a little rusty. Thanks!

Trick r’ Treat! 10% OFF Halloween SALE!

Click here for exclusions on sales

Premium Aquatics Online Site

Dart hole ideas?

I'm in a highschool aquatics class and next semester we'll be getting our tanks, so I've been researching/planning about which fish me and my partner will be getting for the tank and the care they'll need.

One fish I've looked at is the firefish/dartfish. Under their care it says that they need "bolt-holes" or "dart-holes." I understand the purpose, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas for what plants/ materials can be used for this.

Saturday sure sunny at the shore

Good morning TRT Friends, and.....HAPPY SATURDAY! Getting ready for a boring morning over at the boatyard, with fingers crossed for a half day. Cinnamon rasin toast to go with our coffee and pink milk, as well as a handful of Hershey bars someone left laying around in front of me. :rolleyes: Looking forward to an afternoon up at one of our local farms, corn maze, hayrides, and pumpkin picking....and BIGGER pumpkin buying. Smidge warmer today, nearing on 70 in the sunshine, but sure cooler with the ocean breeze over at work. Hope all are well, and have cool things layed before them for today, and all the best,
Hack

Hermit crabs...

Hello all, just curious. Anyone recommend a good place to get some shells for hermits? Being in Ohio I don't have the ability to just go get them off the beach. Lol

What is this ? :/

Hello everyone thankyou for taking the time to read my post.

So I currently have a small nano reef tank that includes:

Fish:
1 x yellow tang
2 x ocellaris clownfish
7 x chromis
1 x melanuras wrasse

Invertebrates:
1 x sand sifting starfish
4-5 x hermit crabs (orange/black/white dots on legs)
1 x turbo snail
4 x snails (unsure of type) :/

Corals
1 x leather toadstool
1 x hammer coral
? X mushrooms (far few different varieties in there)
1 x torch coral
1 x bubble tip anemone
1 x white anemone
7 x zoanthids (small colony came as hitchhikers)
1 x green gonipora
1 x green frogspawn coral
1 x plate coral
1 x purple/green Duncan's
1 x elegance coral
1 x green blastomussa
2 x scolymia
1 x colony of green star polyps

So today I found this small white egg looking thing floating in my tank and I can't seem to find anything about it on the internet. I was just wondering if any of you guys know what this is, I'm only new to the hobby and still have a lot of learning to do! Thanks again for taking your time to read.

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Just started saltwater tank

Hi guys!

So I am new to this whole Saltwater business... always have done freshwater but thought its time to try something new. Can someone direct me from here please

I have a 55 gallon tank
-Live sand
-Dry Rock
-Heater& Filters running
-Checked the specific gravity its at 1.027--- I know these needs to be brought done with a water change.:fish:
-Checked the water with the test strips (The 5 in 1 deal) all within normal limits

I just set this up about 3 days ago, I know it needs to cycle but what I am looking for to know when its done being cycled?

The live sand should of jump started it correct?
Thanks!

Lights... I know, I know

I'll start with sorry. I know this has been discussed at length over time, and I've tried to read as many threads as possible. But technology and prices change so fast I thought I'd try to get the latest update.

So I am setting up a new (used) 48" wide 80g tank with 48" wide 55g refugium. I'd like to keep just about everything except maybe SPS. I've read a lot about the 165W Marsaqua black box LED's, and most love them. But there is always those on Amazon that have issues.

I don't have a ton to spend on lights, but would like to get the best I can, maybe around $200 or so. I know most of you have weighed in on this subject at some point, but maybe one more time for the new guy. : )

Thanks.

Coral Dipping

Hello All:

I just got a neon green sinularia and a kenya tree from Liveaquaria.

I dipped both for about 15 minutes in Coral Rx before placement in tank.

I noticed on the rock that the sinularia is attached to that there might be an aiptasia. I can AptaisaX that. But I also see something else I am not sure about.

Anybody have any opinions about taking it out and dipping it again?

Thanks.

VIDEO :: Improve flow without pumps or powerheads

What's wrong with my coral beauty?

Hello fellow reefers, I got this new coral beauty a week ago at one of my LFS and a few days after getting it, I noticed Its got a white spot on part of its lip. Don't know if it's a parasite...mouth fungus maybe?. she is still eating and swimming perfectly. I still think it's possibly a scrap from the LFS she was in a 55gal tank filled to the top with LR and with a chocolate tang. Took the best photos I could she is a pretty friendly fish. Thanks again!
Ps. Disregard the red slime outbreak that is being fixed as we speak.

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Anyone have a green HELMET fungia coral frag for sale?

Hey there, just seeing if anyone has a frag or a smallish one of these for sale :). Will pay for shipping.

Sand or No Sand?

My plan was to have sand, but now I'm not sure. I read somewhere that it isn't necessary and can actually create issues. I have about 100lbs - 125lbs of cured live rock waiting to go in when I set it up, but not sure if I should include the sand.

The 80g used tank I bought, with a 55g refugium, has sand, but since I have to move the tank I can set it up with or without, but not sure of the all of the pros and cons since it's been 10 years since my last tank.

What is everyone's thought on having a sand bed? Thanks for your advice!

Fantastic Friday

Morning everyone.

Work was slowing down and had some changes in my domestic situation, and moved renting a really cool house in Cleveland. Got a couple new projects all of a sudden, and up early trying to decode Italian directions to fix something at a client site not too far away. There are some other business dealings as well.

A very nice young lady that used to be a server at the watering hole is on call to take care of Jack. She lives down the street which is convenient.

Got my cars and all my stuff at the new place, but need time to put it together.

Tonight is the first date with a very accomplished and very intelligent lady. We have talked for a long time, and it should be enjoyable.

Coffee is on, and put out greek yogurt and berries. Lost the 15 pounds put on traveling and hit the gym every day.

Sorry for poor attendance lately, but had to get things back on track at Noob Manor.

Back once more

Good morning/afternoon TRT.

I'm back, my original account password was changed and I forgot to reset it in time. So a few months later I have decided to set up another account.

So updates to the system...

- I now have 2 fish, a true perc clown, and a PJ cardinal.
- I have an aqua illumination prime as my main light.
- I've got about 30 blue mushroom corals and just started using RODI again.

The reason I didn't actually use it was because when I moved house there wasn't a tap we could use in range at all, so I reverted to rainwater. What I forgot was that the water didn't go directly into our huge water tank but started at our iron roof then got to our tanks. So my corals started dying, I had no idea what was up so I decided to do some research on it.

So then I went to my LFS and got 100 litres of saltwater from them and did a 100% water change to save my remaining mushrooms.

It worked, so today I set up our RODI pump and will never go back.

So everything is doing really really well and one of my friends who owns a nine foot reef decided to pull his tank down due to aptasia. He decided to give away all his livestock to give him a break from marine for a few months. So I was the lucky recipient of the mushrooms I was just talking about.

Im going to try and add a few photos soon.

Alright, so thats it for now I will update as soon as I can. :)

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Help! Brittle starfish dying?

It almost looks like it's organs are falling out... it looks awful.
The corners of his body are all cut up, I'm not sure if my emerald crab cut him up or if it hurt itself trying to crawl under a rock...

Any suggestions on helping this guy?