New to the game

[Philodox]

Hello everyone,

I'm a newbie to the whole aquarium business. After sharing an office with a friend of mine at work he brought in his saltwater reef system. Needless to say, I'm hooked now.

So, I went out to acquire my own setup. Here's what I have thus far

44gal Perfecto Corner Pentagonal
150w 10k Coralife clamp on metal halide
Cascade 1200 canister filter
250w stealth heater
about 40lbs of live rock (from some guy on craigslist)
live sand (from the same guy on craigslist)

I got everything off ebay except the Cascade filter


Here is a photo of the setup.


I got a few hitch hikers from the other guys tank. I'd like help in identifying them. I've gone to the local aquarium shops and they cannot ID the coral. Maybe you guys can.


This first one I originally thought to be a variant of a kenya tree coral, but now I'm not so sure.. Anyone have a clue? I put the coral in my friends tank to recoop after the transfer. The guy I got him from had him sitting in stale water for a few days. He was completely limp when I got him, I thought it was going to die. Anyhow, after a day in a good system it straightened back up. It's about 7 inches tall from the shell it's attached to the top of the stalks. If you happen to know what it is please let me know.





I noticed this morning that these things were budding out of the live rock. I did some research and I think they are anemones, could someone confirm?




Thanks ahead of time guys!

-Jon

[James404]

Originally Posted by Philodox

Hello everyone,

I'm a newbie to the whole aquarium business. After sharing an office with a friend of mine at work he brought in his saltwater reef system. Needless to say, I'm hooked now.

So, I went out to acquire my own setup. Here's what I have thus far

44gal Perfecto Corner Pentagonal
150w 10k Coralife clamp on metal halide
Cascade 1200 canister filter
250w stealth heater
about 40lbs of live rock (from some guy on craigslist)
live sand (from the same guy on craigslist)

I got everything off ebay except the Cascade filter


Here is a photo of the setup.


I got a few hitch hikers from the other guys tank. I'd like help in identifying them. I've gone to the local aquarium shops and they cannot ID the coral. Maybe you guys can.


This first one I originally thought to be a variant of a kenya tree coral, but now I'm not so sure.. Anyone have a clue? I put the coral in my friends tank to recoop after the transfer. The guy I got him from had him sitting in stale water for a few days. He was completely limp when I got him, I thought it was going to die. Anyhow, after a day in a good system it straightened back up. It's about 7 inches tall from the shell it's attached to the top of the stalks. If you happen to know what it is please let me know.




I noticed this morning that these things were budding out of the live rock. I did some research and I think they are anemones, could someone confirm?




Thanks ahead of time guys!

-Jon

Those anemomes are aiptasia from what I can tell. They are pests and need to be eradicated for sure. Products that work are Aiptasia X, Joes Juice or a Kalk paste injected into them.

Looking good so far though, don't see many pentagon tanks around here. Should be interesting.

[Reefman29]

The last picture looks like aiptasia- a pest anemone. You should either remove the rock and let it dry or inject them with lemon juice. How long has the tank been setup? You should probably invest in a protein skimmer as well.

[thebkramer]

WELCOME TO RC!! AND THE ADDICTION!!!

You will find this site great with friendly and very experienced reefers!! All the info you need is here.. or we sure will help you find it!!
As for your pics: the 1st is either yes the Kenya or Nepthea.. I usually get the 2 confused lmao.. so someone will give you a def answer on that
The 2nd pic.. I'm sorry to say are aiptasia!! Get rid of them asap! Before you continue on with your tank so they don't spread.

You're tank is looking good and can't wait to see more!! Its always fun to watch a tank grow!! Remember to have patience, patience, patience in this hobby! And most importantly Have Fun!!!

[Philodox]

**EDIT**

I do have joes juice. I used what was left of the bottle i inherited and am out. There are dozens of those Aiptasia in the tank. Most are in the underside of the rocks where I cannot get to. Do you guys think I should take the rock out and dry it? Won't that kill the live rock alltogether? There are several feather dusters and such that are on the rock that are really cool looking along with some soft coral that's attached. I"d had to have to kill the rock to get rid of those Aiptasia.

[Philodox]

Reefman29, I'm sorry I forgot to answer your question. The tanks only been up for 1 whole day as of tonight.

[2Addicted]

You need powerheads.

and

To Reef Central

[Philodox]

Originally Posted by 2Addicted

You need powerheads.

and

To Reef Central

I've actually waiting for a Hydor Koralia Evolution 750 to come in the mail.

[2Addicted]

Originally Posted by Philodox

I've actually waiting for a Hydor Koralia Evolution 750 to come in the mail.

Nice. I have a few of those in my tank

[Philodox]

Originally Posted by 2Addicted

Nice. I have a few of those in my tank

$25 on amazon.com Can't beat that with a stick

[2Addicted]

Did you have to pay shipping? they are 30 at my lfs

[Philodox]

Originally Posted by 2Addicted

Did you have to pay shipping? they are 30 at my lfs

Yes, shipping was $2.50

[Philodox]

Well, I got rid of most of the large aiptasia using Joes Juice. There are still a few small little buggers that I can't reach. I've got the local aquarium store getting me 4 peppermint shirmp which should be here Tuesday. Hopefully they will knock out the rest for me.

I'm still trying to get that tree coral identified. None of the local "experts" know which kind it is. The trunk of the coral is easily 2 inches thick. It's rather odd. Anyone with more knowledge than me able to ID it?

Thanks again everyone for the helpful tips of the trade!



**edit** got my first two fish! A diamond Gobe and a Bengai Cardinal. Both seem to be doing well after a day in the tank. The diamond gobe has already dug himself a nice home under a peice of rock. He's still a little skittish, but came out to say hi when I fed them today.

[2Addicted]

Originally Posted by Philodox

Well, I got rid of most of the large aiptasia using Joes Juice. There are still a few small little buggers that I can't reach. I've got the local aquarium store getting me 4 peppermint shirmp which should be here Tuesday. Hopefully they will knock out the rest for me.

I'm still trying to get that tree coral identified. None of the local "experts" know which kind it is. The trunk of the coral is easily 2 inches thick. It's rather odd. Anyone with more knowledge than me able to ID it?

Thanks again everyone for the helpful tips of the trade!



**edit** got my first two fish! A diamond Gobe and a Bengai Cardinal. Both seem to be doing well after a day in the tank. The diamond gobe has already dug himself a nice home under a peice of rock. He's still a little skittish, but came out to say hi when I fed them today.

I dont deal with soft corals anymore but that looks like a stressed out kenya tree or a stressed colt coral.

[James404]

Originally Posted by 2Addicted

I dont deal with soft corals anymore but that looks like a stressed out kenya tree or a stressed colt coral.

+1 looks like a colt coral that isnt doing so well.

[Philodox]

Originally Posted by James404

+1 looks like a colt coral that isnt doing so well.

Thanks for the ID! This coral is one I got for free from the guy I bought my live rock and sand from. It was in even worse shape when I put it in my friends tank to recover while line gets up and running. It looks leaps and bounds better after just 2 days in a good system.




On a side note, I've got 8 other spots on my live rock where this stuff is sprouting up. Most of it is only 1-2" tall with one or two branches. It seems very hardy to of survived a dead tank and transplant into my tank which has literally been up for 3 days now.

Anyone need colt coral crags once these build up some?

For those wondering why I ut fab in already, the water tests great. PH is a tad low, so I added buffer for that. I test for ammonia, nitrates/nitrites, and PH daily. It's been constant so far with no spikes. The only issue I've had is with aiptasia which I think I have under control now.

Anyone want some

[Philodox]

Ugh. Sorry for the typos. I'm posting from my iphone

[Philodox]

Well, that colt coral is looking much better now. I plan on transferring it out of my buddies tank and back to mine tonight when I get off work. Here's some before and after photo's


Before:




After

[philosophile]

Wait a sec... its been running only a few days, and you're putting fish into your tank?

Probably way too soon.

[Philodox]

Originally Posted by philosophile

Wait a sec... its been running only a few days, and you're putting fish into your tank?

Probably way too soon.

I thought the same thing as well. The water tests good and I've been testing it every day for pH, NO2, NH3 & KH. All have consistently been at optimal levels. I think part of it is that the rock and sand came from an established tank.

Before I put fish in the tank I went and got 20 turbo's and 30 hermit crabs. They sat in the tank for 2 days cleaning up before I added the first fish.

Unfortunatly, some of the tubro's have gotten ganked by the crab. I've seen 3 or 4 hermits wearing new shells

I've also since added 2 peppermint shrimp to help clean things up as well. Getting 2 more on Tuesday. Hopefully that quartet of peppermints will clean up what little aiptasia is left.

In the tank right now are about 15 turbo snails, 30 hermit crab, a bengai cardinal, diamond gobe, 2 tank bred clowns & 2 peppermint shrimp.


I don't plan on adding anything else for a long while. I want to make sure things stay consistent in water quality and add some corals. I'm putting my colt coral and some money tree in the tank tonight.

[Philodox]

Well, looks like the tank has started to do it's first cycle. Ammonia is finally measurable along with Nitrite. Both aren't at deathly levels yet (I guess that's good so far). Nitrates aren't measurable yet though. I am going to continue to monitor the levels.

Do you guys think I should do a water change yet? Would a water change during the first cycle make the cycle longer in duration?

Thanks!

-Jon

[philosophile]

Do a water change... It shouldn't affect the bacteria colony that you have... If I ever have measurable levels of ammonia, I want to dilute dilute dilute.