sage_commander's TBS thread

sage_commander · 05/22/2007, 11:36 AM

I've seen lots of these threads here where folks document their TBS adventure, so I thought I'd add mine as well. I'm sure I'm going to have lots of questions as I go along, so why not post them here?

A little background: I have really no experience in any type of aquaria. We bought some type of item for my sister from DFS, and as you may know, we started getting catalogs every so often. I was actually getting tired of seeing them until one day I looked at one and became interested. Somehow I found this forum, which has been an absolute lifesaver. And just over a year of research (and saving) and here I am.

So here's a few pics to get started. First, my 46g bowfront from the back (just before I strapped it to the wall):

Here's the tank after the sand and water were added:

And here's the LR I picked up last night/this morning:

I'm waiting for my wife and kids to get back from some errands before I start (they would kill me if I didn't).

I'm guessing the rock has been in those boxes for about 30 hours. Should I expect to see a huge ammonia spike once I get them in the tanK?

I also want to thank everyone that has answered my questions here - you have been very helpful. And hopefully you'll be patient with me as we go here. So I will post more pics later of the rock as we add it to the tank.

hmello@bermexin · 05/22/2007, 11:39 AM

Did you buy cured or uncured rock. You will see a spike no matter which but a larger one with uncured. Tank is looking good. Keep posting pics and questions as you will get alot of help here.

Welcome to RC.

sage_commander · 05/22/2007, 11:42 AM

With TBS I did not have a choice of cured or uncured. Either way, I'll be ready. It's just that I have read some threads where there was hardly a spike at all because the rock is packed in water.

hmello@bermexin · 05/22/2007, 11:54 AM

Oh yea TBS rock, I did not read your post well I guess. You will experience a cycle. There will be some die-off. Just test for ammonia daily and when you see the spike and then it start to go dawn. At that point start to check Nitrites and do the sam thing. When both ammonia and nitrites have gone to zero, check nitrates and do a 20% water change. Only then can you start to add some CuC.

MusMusculus · 05/22/2007, 12:06 PM

Good luck! Wear gloves!

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1121577

BTW, despite some bad hitch hikers (so far 1 mantis or pistol I haven't caught, a whelk, 2 cirolanids and 2 gorilla crabs) I love the florida rock. Great life on it. Stuff just keeps springing up.

Spike was minimal and mostly from dying sponge. I finally removed the orange ball sponges from my rock and the low-level ammonia I had been seeing dissapeared over night.

sage_commander · 05/22/2007, 03:39 PM

Well, we got the rock in. Thankfully there was no bad smell or anything like that. I am afraid that I'm going to need more rock - I'll probably get some Jakarta from my LFS.

So here goes. Any IDs on the first three pics would be appreciated:

Sea star:

Snail:

Bad guy:

As more stuff pops up I'll post more pics.

techreef · 05/22/2007, 03:59 PM

the two brown circles w/ white fins sticking out of them in the 1st pic are cup corals. They should extend clear tentacles into the water once they settle into your tank. tear that caulerpa off of the rock (the green macro algae in 1st pic) or it will spread quickly throughout your tank. Looks like lots of sponges and a colony of tube corals in the 2nd pic. I'm really interested in the coral in your 3rd pic. I have two columns of that coral on my TBS rock and have yet to ID it. It will look like that hairy monster from the Marvin the Martian Looney Tunes cartoons when it extends its short brown polyps all over that calcerous mound of coral skeleton. I really like that coral.

Very exciting. keep your ears peeled for popping noises coming from your tank, and keep checking for gorilla crabs and whelks. My rock had quite a few of both. Enjoy!!

Nano Chris · 05/22/2007, 04:44 PM

Damn i wish i had ordered from TBS when i first started, that looks like some awesome lr!

sage_commander · 05/22/2007, 04:46 PM

Quick question: One of the boxes has a small bag of dry sand(?) in it. Anyone know what this might be for? Should I toss it in?

MusMusculus · 05/22/2007, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Criminal#58369
Damn i wish i had ordered from TBS when i first started, that looks like some awesome lr!

Just wait until he has had it in the tank for a few weeks. The amount of life on these rocks (bad and good) is astounding compared to the mostly-dead Pacific "live" rock.

I left all my caulerpa. It is growing fast, but I want veggies in there for some fish I will add later and I like the look of a macroalgea tank. It could overtake the tank, but only if I (or a fish) didn't prune it occasionally. With me pruning it, it acts as a nitrate/phosphate sink and in areas with denser growth a refuge for pods. Just don't let it overgrow and go sexual. That makes a mess.

MusMusculus · 05/22/2007, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sage_commander
Quick question: One of the boxes has a small bag of dry sand(?) in it. Anyone know what this might be for? Should I toss it in?

It should be damp, not dry, and is live sand. Probably has lots of worms and mini-stars in it. If your rock is already in, and you want to add this, put the sand in a specimen cup or something similar and slowly lower the cup into the water. Bring it down to the bottom and slowly pour out the sand. This will avoid a sand storm.

hmello@bermexin · 05/22/2007, 08:41 PM

yea bad guy crab. Boy are we havin fun now eh?

jepuskar · 05/22/2007, 09:09 PM

Sage, did you buy the TBS 'package'?

techreef · 05/22/2007, 09:15 PM

sage, i think that "dry sand" is their little package of nitrifying bacteria. there should have been a sheet of paper w/ instructions on caring for your TBS shipment. dump that bacteria in your tank, and it will really help your cycle progress without a major spike. also, look and more importantly smell for dead/dying sponges on the rock. they are the most likely to die during transit.

sage_commander · 05/22/2007, 09:27 PM

I didn't buy the "package." I really wanted to but did not have the fundage, and plus did not want to make two trips to the airport (the one last night was a bear).

There were no instructions on that packet, but I added it about two hours ago. Things are looking good! I'll post more as stuff comes out.

sage_commander · 05/23/2007, 12:37 PM

A couple of issues I'm having. First was last night with the skimmer. I was trying to partially close the valve that sits above the pump since it was skimming way too much. The valve is partially cracked where it fits on the pump output. I had made a temporary fix with some teflon tape, but it stopped skimming. So right now it's in my garage awaiting repair. I'm gonna glue it tonight.

The other problem was the timer for the actinics - it never shut the lights off last night. So I'll have to get another one of those. Minor problems so far, I guess. I'm going to test for ammonia tonight as well.

sage_commander · 05/23/2007, 09:50 PM

Free ammonia was measured to be about 0.01 mg/L. I would imagine this will increase. Will check tomorrow. I might be crazy, but I could swear I'm hearing a clicking sound...

techreef · 05/24/2007, 08:10 AM

haha. wouldn't surprise me at all if you had either a pistol or mantis shrimp (or multiples) in your rock. happy hunting! btw, the pistols are nothing to worry about, and depending on what you put in your tank, some argue that the mantis' bad reputation is overblown.

sage_commander · 05/24/2007, 09:09 AM

I'm not real worried about the possible mantis - yet. There's other stuff in there for sure, though. We found a hermit crab a little bigger than a rice crispie. There are several featherdusters or perhaps aptasia (too small to tell yet). And last night we saw some sort of worm like thing that came out of a hole then retracted so fast I'm wondering if it was the arm of something else. Cool stuff.

techreef · 05/24/2007, 10:22 AM

the quick worm is most likely a eunicid worm. I've got at least 4 of them. honestly i'm not sure if they're okay or not. but they're so fast that I doubt that I'll ever figure out a way to get rid of them.

sage_commander · 05/24/2007, 08:07 PM

Total ammonia was 0.05 mg/L. Specific gravity was 1.025.

Found some small worms no thicker than a thread. Almost sand-colored.

sage_commander · 05/26/2007, 10:41 AM

Ph this morning 8.05 (interpolating)
Alk 4.5
Nitrite 1-2.5 (interpolating)
Nitrate ~7.5
Ammonia 0.05 still

I'm going to reposition the top powerheads this weekend so they're not blowing sand. Also I need to move one or two rocks so I can get the mag float by that part of the glass. Change the filter sock and fix my skimmer. Lots to do.

MusMusculus · 05/26/2007, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by sage_commander
.....
Ammonia 0.05 still

....

Check for dying/dead sponge. They rot slowly and will keep a low level of ammonia going (and the organics will depress your pH, don't try too hard to raise it yet). I had the same problem, mysterious low level ammonia, until I tore a big orange ball sponge off one of my rocks. Once I got it out I could smell some funk (hard to sniff test well on a 20lb rock). The ammonia that I had been reading at .05 for 2 weeks literally dissapeared within 3 hours.

sage_commander · 05/26/2007, 11:14 AM

The LR has only been in there for less than a week. I could still be seeing a cycle, right? I was expecting it to be higher today, actually. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it, though. There are some cool-looking sponges in there, but I'm thinking they may not make it.

MusMusculus · 05/26/2007, 11:55 AM

Could be that the tank is just stabilizing, but with all that very live rock and real live sand you really shouldn't see much of any cycle unless there is something rather large rotting in there (or you are currently feeding the tank). TBS rock and shipping is just that good.

I think you are OK just keeping an eye on things for now, but I noticed a massive difference in the health of my hitch-hiker corals after my very low ammonia levels went to 0.

I hated removing my big sponge (baseball-sized). It looked great in the tank. At least some of the other sponges (the types that grow flat on the rocks) are surviving well. I have one sponge that is flourescent yellow! But I can tell that even my smaller ball sponges are dying now.

Good luck with yours!

05/22/2007, 11:36 AM	#1
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	sage_commander's TBS thread I've seen lots of these threads here where folks document their TBS adventure, so I thought I'd add mine as well. I'm sure I'm going to have lots of questions as I go along, so why not post them here? A little background: I have really no experience in any type of aquaria. We bought some type of item for my sister from DFS, and as you may know, we started getting catalogs every so often. I was actually getting tired of seeing them until one day I looked at one and became interested. Somehow I found this forum, which has been an absolute lifesaver. And just over a year of research (and saving) and here I am. So here's a few pics to get started. First, my 46g bowfront from the back (just before I strapped it to the wall): Here's the tank after the sand and water were added: And here's the LR I picked up last night/this morning: I'm waiting for my wife and kids to get back from some errands before I start (they would kill me if I didn't). I'm guessing the rock has been in those boxes for about 30 hours. Should I expect to see a huge ammonia spike once I get them in the tanK? I also want to thank everyone that has answered my questions here - you have been very helpful. And hopefully you'll be patient with me as we go here. So I will post more pics later of the rock as we add it to the tank.

05/22/2007, 11:39 AM	#2
hmello@bermexin Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,205	Did you buy cured or uncured rock. You will see a spike no matter which but a larger one with uncured. Tank is looking good. Keep posting pics and questions as you will get alot of help here. Welcome to RC. __________________ Henry Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known. Current Tank Info: 29g BioCube, AI SOL 12" Super Blue

05/22/2007, 11:54 AM	#4
hmello@bermexin Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,205	Oh yea TBS rock, I did not read your post well I guess. You will experience a cycle. There will be some die-off. Just test for ammonia daily and when you see the spike and then it start to go dawn. At that point start to check Nitrites and do the sam thing. When both ammonia and nitrites have gone to zero, check nitrates and do a 20% water change. Only then can you start to add some CuC. __________________ Henry Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known. Current Tank Info: 29g BioCube, AI SOL 12" Super Blue

05/22/2007, 04:44 PM	#8
Nano Chris Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 2,758	Damn i wish i had ordered from TBS when i first started, that looks like some awesome lr! __________________ Chris ------- 34 Gallon Red Sea Max 130! Setup (Just got back into the hobby) Current Tank Info: 34 Gallon RedSeaMax!

05/22/2007, 08:41 PM	#12
hmello@bermexin Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,205	yea bad guy crab. Boy are we havin fun now eh? __________________ Henry Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known. Current Tank Info: 29g BioCube, AI SOL 12" Super Blue

05/22/2007, 11:42 AM	#3
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	With TBS I did not have a choice of cured or uncured. Either way, I'll be ready. It's just that I have read some threads where there was hardly a spike at all because the rock is packed in water.

05/22/2007, 12:06 PM	#5
MusMusculus Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 210	Good luck! Wear gloves! http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1121577 BTW, despite some bad hitch hikers (so far 1 mantis or pistol I haven't caught, a whelk, 2 cirolanids and 2 gorilla crabs) I love the florida rock. Great life on it. Stuff just keeps springing up. Spike was minimal and mostly from dying sponge. I finally removed the orange ball sponges from my rock and the low-level ammonia I had been seeing dissapeared over night.

05/22/2007, 03:39 PM	#6
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Well, we got the rock in. Thankfully there was no bad smell or anything like that. I am afraid that I'm going to need more rock - I'll probably get some Jakarta from my LFS. So here goes. Any IDs on the first three pics would be appreciated: Sea star: Snail: Bad guy: As more stuff pops up I'll post more pics.

05/22/2007, 03:59 PM	#7
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	the two brown circles w/ white fins sticking out of them in the 1st pic are cup corals. They should extend clear tentacles into the water once they settle into your tank. tear that caulerpa off of the rock (the green macro algae in 1st pic) or it will spread quickly throughout your tank. Looks like lots of sponges and a colony of tube corals in the 2nd pic. I'm really interested in the coral in your 3rd pic. I have two columns of that coral on my TBS rock and have yet to ID it. It will look like that hairy monster from the Marvin the Martian Looney Tunes cartoons when it extends its short brown polyps all over that calcerous mound of coral skeleton. I really like that coral. Very exciting. keep your ears peeled for popping noises coming from your tank, and keep checking for gorilla crabs and whelks. My rock had quite a few of both. Enjoy!!

05/22/2007, 04:46 PM	#9
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Quick question: One of the boxes has a small bag of dry sand(?) in it. Anyone know what this might be for? Should I toss it in?

05/22/2007, 09:09 PM	#13
jepuskar Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 595	Sage, did you buy the TBS 'package'?

05/22/2007, 09:15 PM	#14
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	sage, i think that "dry sand" is their little package of nitrifying bacteria. there should have been a sheet of paper w/ instructions on caring for your TBS shipment. dump that bacteria in your tank, and it will really help your cycle progress without a major spike. also, look and more importantly smell for dead/dying sponges on the rock. they are the most likely to die during transit.

05/22/2007, 09:27 PM	#15
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	I didn't buy the "package." I really wanted to but did not have the fundage, and plus did not want to make two trips to the airport (the one last night was a bear). There were no instructions on that packet, but I added it about two hours ago. Things are looking good! I'll post more as stuff comes out.

05/23/2007, 12:37 PM	#16
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	A couple of issues I'm having. First was last night with the skimmer. I was trying to partially close the valve that sits above the pump since it was skimming way too much. The valve is partially cracked where it fits on the pump output. I had made a temporary fix with some teflon tape, but it stopped skimming. So right now it's in my garage awaiting repair. I'm gonna glue it tonight. The other problem was the timer for the actinics - it never shut the lights off last night. So I'll have to get another one of those. Minor problems so far, I guess. I'm going to test for ammonia tonight as well.

05/23/2007, 09:50 PM	#17
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Free ammonia was measured to be about 0.01 mg/L. I would imagine this will increase. Will check tomorrow. I might be crazy, but I could swear I'm hearing a clicking sound...

05/24/2007, 08:10 AM	#18
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	haha. wouldn't surprise me at all if you had either a pistol or mantis shrimp (or multiples) in your rock. happy hunting! btw, the pistols are nothing to worry about, and depending on what you put in your tank, some argue that the mantis' bad reputation is overblown.

05/24/2007, 09:09 AM	#19
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	I'm not real worried about the possible mantis - yet. There's other stuff in there for sure, though. We found a hermit crab a little bigger than a rice crispie. There are several featherdusters or perhaps aptasia (too small to tell yet). And last night we saw some sort of worm like thing that came out of a hole then retracted so fast I'm wondering if it was the arm of something else. Cool stuff.

05/24/2007, 10:22 AM	#20
techreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Montclair, NJ Posts: 1,046	the quick worm is most likely a eunicid worm. I've got at least 4 of them. honestly i'm not sure if they're okay or not. but they're so fast that I doubt that I'll ever figure out a way to get rid of them.

05/24/2007, 08:07 PM	#21
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Total ammonia was 0.05 mg/L. Specific gravity was 1.025. Found some small worms no thicker than a thread. Almost sand-colored.

05/26/2007, 10:41 AM	#22
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Ph this morning 8.05 (interpolating) Alk 4.5 Nitrite 1-2.5 (interpolating) Nitrate ~7.5 Ammonia 0.05 still I'm going to reposition the top powerheads this weekend so they're not blowing sand. Also I need to move one or two rocks so I can get the mag float by that part of the glass. Change the filter sock and fix my skimmer. Lots to do.

05/26/2007, 11:14 AM	#24
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	The LR has only been in there for less than a week. I could still be seeing a cycle, right? I was expecting it to be higher today, actually. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it, though. There are some cool-looking sponges in there, but I'm thinking they may not make it.

05/26/2007, 11:55 AM	#25
MusMusculus Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 210	Could be that the tank is just stabilizing, but with all that very live rock and real live sand you really shouldn't see much of any cycle unless there is something rather large rotting in there (or you are currently feeding the tank). TBS rock and shipping is just that good. I think you are OK just keeping an eye on things for now, but I noticed a massive difference in the health of my hitch-hiker corals after my very low ammonia levels went to 0. I hated removing my big sponge (baseball-sized). It looked great in the tank. At least some of the other sponges (the types that grow flat on the rocks) are surviving well. I have one sponge that is flourescent yellow! But I can tell that even my smaller ball sponges are dying now. Good luck with yours!