saltwater newbie attempting a 55 gallon reef

[BTB0923]

pepermints will sometimes eat them but the best two ways I've dealt with them is
1. boiling water in a syringe shoot it right on them..
2. mix kalkwasser paste and smear right on them

You'll be happier with a direct approach then a crap shoot with the livestock!!

Since the peppermint shrimp are relatively cheap and I kinda want to add another invertebrate anyways I decided to try them first. If it doesn't work then I'm def going to try the boiling water approach.

Berghia love aiptasia and reproduce like mad and clear the tank of them peppermint's are good but you want to make sure it's the true peppermint or you'll be dissapointed

mr.reef24

I did a little research and found out that the "true" peppermint shrimp are called lysmata wurdemanni. I got two of them today. One of the lfs employees and I looked up this species in a book and I am positive that is what I got. They told me its still kinda a crapshoot as to whether or not they will eat the aiptasia, but I want to try it anyways. I tried to take pics but as soon as they went in the tank they hid in the liverock. I'll try and get some better pics later.

The new Seachem Reef Salt I ordered showed up and I did my first 10% water change with it last night. Here are some of the testing results....

Tank before the water change:

ph: 8.2
salinity: 1.0215
nitrate: 0
phosphate: 0
calcium: 395
dkh: 9.5

DI/RO water after adding the salt mix:

ph: 8.3
salinity: 1.022
calcium: 460
dkh: 8

Tank after a 10% water change:

ph: 8.3
salinity: 1.0215
calcium: 400
dkh: 9

Although the calcium level is great, I'm a little concerned that the seachem salt mix only raises the alkalinity to 8. Is it maybe because I only waited 4 hours after adding the salt mix to do the testing?

I want to get my calcium level up so I would like to have a frequent water change schedule for a while if possible. Could I get away with doing 10% every other day or is it too risky??

 

[BTB0923]

While I was at the store today getting the peppermint shrimps I noticed that they were having a labor day sale... buy one frag get one free. I hope I didn't jump the gun too bad, but I just couldn't resist and had to get a couple.

I got some kind of green and red zoanthids and some green starburst coral. If anybody can give more specific identification please do. Now that they've been acclimated they both seem to be doing great so far. I took the attached pics after I put them in the tank while they were opening up. The zoas took about 10 minutes and the starburst about 15 minutes....

 

[whamphyry]

beautiful mate... i cant comment on your question but i sure can on what i see ^_~...

am lookin, am lookin, and i like what i see ^_^


edit: by the way, how much did you get those corals for (i am sure wondering that you seem to be getting a lot of great deals)

 

[BTB0923]

Thanks! The zoanthids were $15 and the starburst were free because of a labor day sale. I have been getting some pretty good deals on stuff, but really anybody can do just as well if you know where to look and meet the right people. I'm thinking about maybe listing everything I've got for this tank and showing how much I've spent when I am a little further along. I figure it will help anybody that is interested in doing a tank like this figure out if they can afford it or not.

 

[whamphyry]

hmmmm... a curious person's question: how did you position those corals onto your live rock?

since all i have read lately is like "just throw them into the tank" xD... did you "put" them in their position using your hand? or did you use something (coz some sting right? or are those only anemones?)...

 

[mr.reef24]

glad to see you got the true peppermints and the zoanthid's look great glad to see your tank is coming together nicely.

mr.reef24

 

[BTB0923]

Thanks. I'm trying to get my calcium levels up with that new salt mix. What do you think is the shortest amount of time I can wait inbetween 10% water changes without risking the health of the tank??

Also, I found a couple people on craigslist trying to make space in their tanks and selling frags for really cheap. Is it safe to add a few more frags tomorrow or am I risking adding on to the bio-load too much too quick?

 

[BTB0923]

hmmmm... a curious person's question: how did you position those corals onto your live rock?

since all i have read lately is like "just throw them into the tank" xD... did you "put" them in their position using your hand? or did you use something (coz some sting right? or are those only anemones?)...

Not sure if there are corals that can sting or not. I just put them in the tank using my bare hands.

 

[Myteemouse]

hmmmm... a curious person's question: how did you position those corals onto your live rock?

since all i have read lately is like "just throw them into the tank" xD... did you "put" them in their position using your hand? or did you use something (coz some sting right? or are those only anemones?)...

No stinging going on even with nems except I've heard of a big carpet getting a hold of a guys arm..LOL
The one thing you don't want Zoanthid or Palys juice in an open cut..
There palytoxin has no none cure..
Mostly just a rash but some have been hurt bad.
on the top ten list of toxic

 

[Myteemouse]

BTW not all are as toxic as a few , but I really don't want to find out which ones are the worse ones. LOL