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Journal Eden

Hi all,
seedoubleyou said:
Many corals can look very similar to the anemone, it makes me wonder have they evolved this way to deter hungry fish.
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They are all <"Anthozoa Cnidarians">, which are quite plastic in growth form <"Systematics of the Hexacorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa)">.
..... Cnidarians are classified into four main groups: the almost wholly sessile Anthozoa (sea anemones, corals, sea pens); swimming Scyphozoa (jellyfish); Cubozoa (box jellies); and Hydrozoa (a diverse group that includes all the freshwater cnidarians as well as many marine forms, and has both sessile members, such as Hydra, and colonial swimmers, such as the Portuguese man o' war).
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I'm not entirely sure what differentiates Soft Corals from Anemones? Some-one will know.

cheers Darrel
 
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Elegance Coral (Catalaphyllia)
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Zoanthid (Zoas) contain Palytoxins
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Mushroom Coral
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Toadstool Coral
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Fox Coral
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Kenya Tree
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Green Star Polyp
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Pulsing Xenia
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Different type of Mushroom
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Small update as I’ve been busy with work and had a tango with Covid for the second time.

Ugly phase
The tank currently has a case of the “uglies” a minor diatom outbreak that is common in all new setups due to the presence of silicates.
There are a few ways I could handle this.

  • Copepod’s
  • GFO (Granular ferric oxide)
  • let it run it’s cause.

My plan
I am yet to add a clean up crew as there has been no need. So I will be adding some snails and shrimp.
I’ve been trying to find a good source for copepods and bristle stars which I plan to add.
I’m toying with the idea of ceasing the water changes as they can actually worsen diatoms by importing silicates into the tank (I will have to research my current salt further).

Casualties
I’ve lost one of the 6 Black bar chromis (actually damsels). One of them just hasn’t been accepted into the group and was relentlessly bullied, I thought this has stopped when I added corals to the tank as all fish seemed healthy.

My suspicions are that the elegance coral has had an expensive meal on me and taken the fish. It’s certainly large enough and strong enough to do so, especially if it’s caught a weakened fish.

IMG_6871.jpeg
 
That's a shame mate, very interesting how it happened, hope your on the mend after covid and all going well, you planning on letting diatoms run its course ?
 
Deano3 said:
That's a shame mate, very interesting how it happened, hope your on the mend after covid and all going well, you planning on letting diatoms run its course ?
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Cheers mate.

Yeah I think I may let them run their course with a little snail help.
If it doesn’t get any better then I may employ chemical intervention.
But will see how it goes.


With work and being ill my specific gravity has crept up to 1.029 so once I’ve brought that down I will then work on other parameters.
My Dkh, Po4 and No3 all look good at the minute.
 
seedoubleyou said:
With work and being ill my specific gravity has crept up to 1.029 so once I’ve brought that down I will then work on other parameters.
My Dkh, Po4 and No3 all look good at the minute.
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This is alien language to me :)

But keep up with the updates!! :) :)
 
Its good that you are not that far away in windsor. If the day I decide to try out salty will give you a shout.
Plus the years its gonna take me to get my act together you would have branched solely into salt tanks galore :D :D :D
 
seedoubleyou said:
Small update as I’ve been busy with work and had a tango with Covid for the second time.
Click to expand...

Hope you’re on the mend @seedoubleyou and back to tip top soon.

Brilliant write up on the tanks progress, enjoying following the journey mate.
 
Update:

The peaks and troughs of reefing.
I won’t make any excuses, the past two weeks I had gotten lazy with my tank and I’ve suffered as a result.
Phosphate and Nitrates have both risen considerably in this tank to a level that had become dangerous for coral health.
PO4 had risen to 0.21ppm and NO3 9.1

Ideally I’d like these parameters at 0.05 and 3-5 respectively.

Why did they creep up?
Take your pick as to why they crept up, new tank? Over feeding? Dead fish that I couldn’t find? Or perhaps all three.

Casualties.
As a result of my laziness in addressing rising nutrient levels and recent high temperatures, I’ve lost my Catalaphyllia.
These things can and do happen in reefing and it’s a reminder that you have to keep a finger on the pulse. Certainly during the early days of a reef aquarium.

It’s not all bad though.
The fish are fattening up and growing well.
Whilst some corals are still sulking, others are truly thriving. My fox coral has shown some incredible growth and is testament to my philosophy of keeping my hands out the tank and letting thing be.

What have I done regarding my tanks recent troubles?
I’ve removed the Biomaster pre filter, this has stopped the annoying air burps and allowed for greater flow. (I’ve purchased some 60ppi sponges that I intend to utilise on maintenance days only).

I’ve added around 1kg of carbon that I will run for several weeks to clear the water. This method I believe was introduced to nature aquariums by Amano. It certainly works as my water is gin clear.

I have added GFO to absorb both PO4 and silicates. (Working on a plan for NO3).

Below is my fox coral with its new head.
IMG_6882.jpeg
 
Small update.

There isn’t much to report, the tank is ticking along nicely.

Corals
I got rid of a few corals, the zoas I bought had aiptasia (a nuisance anemone that looks like almost like a spider) so rather than risk a spread by fighting it, I just got shot.
The zoas served a purpose initially as they came on small bits of live rock. (Packed with bacteria and micro fauna)
I also ditched the Xenia, I just couldn’t place it somewhere in the tank that I was happy with.
All remaining corals are happy and healthy.

Nuisance algae
The diatoms cleared up almost over night after adding a small clean up crew.

Filtration
The filter still continues to run as a media reactor, it’s packed with matrix, carbon, GFO and zeolites. I’m not utilising the pre filter as this only causes micro bubbles, giving the water a “fizzy” appearance.

What’s next?
I’m toying with the idea of adding a macro algae or two. This would hopefully keep nutrient levels in check and give me the chance to explore something I’ve not cared for before.
I plan to add more corals soon and eventually a colony of shrimp.
 
That is amazing. Thanks for showing that. So exciting to see updates like that.
How big is it? How much was it ? What does it feed on etc?
 
seedoubleyou said:
The Conch has to be amongst some of the craziest looking creatures you can keep in home aquaria.

www.dropbox.com

conch.mov

Shared with Dropbox
www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com
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Weird! I've seen big ones in the wild, but never got close enough to see that kind of detail, only a big claw dragging them along. Are those eyes of some sort on the stalks?
 
mlgt said:
That is amazing. Thanks for showing that. So exciting to see updates like that.
How big is it? How much was it ? What does it feed on etc?
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It’s roughly two inches and cost around £14 I think. It feeds on diatoms, left over fish food, biofilm etc…… no different to the snails we keep in freshwater systems really.
 
Brilliant. Looks so cool. I wonder if you had a large enough tank can keep a few of these conches :)
 
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