Etomp's 34 Red Sea Max

[jhale]

so how's the cycle going? did you get the starfish out, did the conch calm down :scratchch

 

[EmilyT]

ahhhh yes. cycle still not happening. starfish is MIA and the conch settled down in a hole on my lr. ive looked around and i havent seen one that looks like mine! ill post a pic. it has a beautiful cheetah like pattern on it.

 

[jhale]

I guess your not going to have a cycle till you add some livestock.
there was nothing on the rock to die off, so now you have happy bacteria living on the rock waiting for something to do. there will be a mini cycle once more stuff is living in the tank, but the bacteria will multiply to accommodate the new waste. just add things slowly.

 

[EmilyT]

okay heres some pics from the week:
nice little feather duster hanging out in the back of my tank

my conchy during its restless days

my mushroom(s) splitting. theyre totally disconnected now. the only time you can see the new one is at night when the parent shrinks up, so sorry for the pic

for a few seconds i had noooo idea what this was

stupid hermit crab
he likes playing tricks on me

 

[jhale]

i've never seen my conch anywhere but in the sand.
that's a strange pattern on that one, I'd look it up.

curved acrylic distorts things :shhh:

 

[EmilyT]

i just did tests today ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all undetectable. my ls is getting a rusty color so i think a cleaning crew is in order. maybe it will help get my mini cycle going. i really need to get a RO/DI unit soon. luckily i have a hood and things arent evaporation that quickly. i found that little booger starfish. as soon as i was about to catch him, he crawled into the lr. at least i know where hes hiding. i might be going down to greenwich tomorrow, do any stores down there sell ro/di systems or water (just temporarily im in dire need of fw right now)?
ugh i have to wait to get one before i do anything else

 

[EmilyT]

oh, also the guy i bought the tank from said to put in carbon after the tank cycles. should i put it in now?

 

[prattreef]

Sounds like you are not going to have a cycle, or have had a very mini one. I would do a small water change and then add carbon. Test one more time and if all looks good, I'd feel comfortable telling you to start stocking slowly.

Looking good,

Randy

PS I've seen conch's do that before if there isn't enough in the sandbed for them. RD

 

[EmilyT]

poor conch doesnt like my sandbed

 

[jhale]

you can use some poland spring distilled water for top off until you get an RO/DI. the best deals are on ebay. I recommend and actual container for the DI part, not the post filters they often include on the ebay models. the post filters slow the water production down, and do not last that long.




you want this for the DI,

it's a canister that can be refilled, it lasts a long time and allows the water to flow much faster.

if you go to greenwich, Jason or Rob can show you the parts you'll need. it's pretty simple to put together.

 

[EmilyT]

yeah i just realized G.A. is closed tomorrow. should i call and see if i can stop by?
im thinking of buying a cleanup crew down there tomorrow too. if i cant buy there ill just have to go down to house of fins again.
i really wish i could support GA more though.

 

[psuedo74]

ct

Good luck! We CT reefers are kinda limited to HOF and GA as far as LFS's but there is always the Net!

 

[EmilyT]

:bump: for an id on my conch :biggrin:

 

[EmilyT]

went down to lfs and got me 3 astrea snails and 1 peppermint shrimp. that will be it for a while. anybody know what my conch is or where to find out?

 

[EmilyT]

im thrilled with my peppermint shrimp. the first second after he came out of his 2 hour acclimation he went and ate my only aiptasia polyp!:biggrin:

 

[EmilyT]

anyone? anyone? does anybody know where to id my conch or who to ask?

 

[prattreef]

post a pic on Dr. Shimek's forum on MarineDepot.

 

[PalmTree]

Hey I can't believe I just found this thread now. Congrates to you!!!!

 

[LeslieS]

Emily,

Can you take a better picture of the shell? Most of the ID sights go by shell characteristics. Also, check out this site.

 

[EmilyT]

thanks everyone! i found out its a predatory snail that eats other snails. since i really dont want to kill the snails ive bonded with for 3 days now(lol), im going to sell it. im gonna give it a try at G.A. but i dont know if jason will accept it. if that doesnt work, ill put up a f/s thread, and if nobody wants it, its going to a guy who was interested in it on the site i got it ID'd

p.s. i caught that pesky starfish!