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Unread 01/14/2021, 07:25 PM   #151
ThePurple12
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I believe you on those strombus snails! You may be right about the fighting conchs, but they should at least take care of the diatoms and hair algae on the sand. I would love to add some grass shrimp, but I’m afraid the copperband butterfly and others will be a problem. Thoughts on this Michael/Dawn?


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Unread 01/14/2021, 07:48 PM   #152
Michael Hoaster
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The fighting conchs are great. They will definitely help out with algae in the lower few inches of your tank. I think they have a big impact. It sounds like you could use more snail diversity. There are several snails that reproduce in aquariums. Get more!

I've never kept a Copperband, so I don't know. It seems like they would rather eat nems and corals. Is their mouth even big enough?

However, in my experience with small shrimp like that, they have a better chance if they are added before the fish. Shrimp added afterwards are often considered food.


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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 01/15/2021, 07:05 AM   #153
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Yes, I need more snails! For some reason I just didn't add a clean up crew when I started the tank. The only thing stopping me right now is the dinos. I heard they take a toll on snails, which would make sense, as my 3 trochus snails have been sitting in the same spots without moving for days. Which means I should probably hold off on a fighting conch now that I think about it.

The copperband leaves the corals alone, I think sponges and bugs are more their natural diet. And Aiptasia, of course. I'm not worried that it'll eat the shrimp, just that it would attack them and force them into hiding or injure them. Same with the coral beauty angel.


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Unread 01/15/2021, 08:30 AM   #154
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I have never had a copperband butterfly either. Since my grass shrimp are in the refugium there are not any other fish there except the salt acclimated mollies and they don't harass the shrimp at all. I definitely could use more snails in the fuge too since all I have are nassarius.

I still have not been able to get strombus.


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Unread 01/15/2021, 08:51 AM   #155
Michael Hoaster
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There are dinos that are toxic, but not all are. The ones I had were not, and my snails and mollies ate them without harming them.


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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 01/15/2021, 09:46 AM   #156
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Right. I ordered a microscope to identify the dinos I have and whether or not they're toxic.


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Unread 01/25/2021, 01:19 PM   #157
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Not too much progress on the tank, but today I got some blue Hypnea from Ebay! It arrived late and isn’t looking good, but I’m guessing it’ll recover. I put it in the seahorse tank, and if it grows I’ll put some frags in the 125. I’ll upload some pics


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Unread 01/25/2021, 01:35 PM   #158
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here we go


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Unread 01/25/2021, 01:38 PM   #159
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Aaugh, the quality is so low! I'll get a FTS of the seahorse tank as well.


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Unread 01/25/2021, 02:05 PM   #160
Michael Hoaster
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I think it'll recover. I still have little frags pop up. Hard to kill apparently. I stuck a couple in my patch reef a few weeks ago and their growing, but not very colorful.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 01/28/2021, 05:01 PM   #161
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Completely forgot about that FTS. Here it is, with the 2 seahorses and a Klein's butterfly! You can see the new Hypnea in the bottom right.

It may be too early to say, but I think I beat dinos! Probably 2 days ago they didn't come back in the morning except on one of my gorgonians. I risked a 25% water change. People say water changes restore trace elements that the dinos use, and I've had dinos come back after water changes, so there might be some merit to that. Although, in the past whenever I've done water changes, I would suck out as much algae as possible, dino or GHA. This time I completely avoided removing any GHA, which competes with the dinos. That might be why dinos come back after water changes.

Anyway, so far so good. I'm on the day after the water change and there's not a single strand of dinoflagellates to be seen! My plan now is to play it safe. I'll let the hair algae be for a week or 2, then add more snails and do manual removal.

I think what really helped was raising nitrate and phosphate to encourage competitor growth. I should say I switched to trisodium phosphate and sodium nitrate, because I was worried about raising the potassium levels too high.


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Unread 01/28/2021, 06:18 PM   #162
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That is wonderful that the dinos might be gone. Keeping my fingers crossed.


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Unread 01/28/2021, 06:25 PM   #163
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Appreciate it!


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Unread 02/03/2021, 12:18 PM   #164
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I think it's safe to say the dinos are GONE...for now! I've done 2 25% water changes and they haven't come back. The corals are looking much better after the water changes. The grasses are still doing well, including the slow-growing turtle grass.

The blue Hypnea in the seahorse tank is becoming a little more purple I think, but not much improvement.

I'm really appreciating the power of the turbo snail. That overflow box was COVERED in thick GHA growth. In about a week, that single turbo snail has eaten about 1/3 of it. It's currently sitting at the top right corner of the box.
[IMG][/IMG]

As a celebration for beating dinos, I got 6 green chromis! These guys are really cool, and I might get more. They don't really school, but they add a lot of motion and color to the tank.

And here's what the algae looks like on the sandbed. I'm ordered 3 assorted conchs from Reefcleaners, hoping they'll clear it up. They'll be coming on Thursday probably. You can also see some coralline on the shoal grass blades.
[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]


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Unread 02/03/2021, 01:07 PM   #165
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Wow, ThePurple, looking great, especially your seagrass! You will love the color and the activity the chromis will bring to your tank. That is the same role that I have the yellow tail damsel's for.

I am thrilled for you that the dinos are gone! Definitely something to celebrate.


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Unread 02/03/2021, 01:20 PM   #166
Michael Hoaster
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Congrats on the dino freedom! I think your plan to add more snails to your crew will help immensely with what you have remaining. For filamentous algae like that, a Scopas Tang could be helpful - and nowhere near the price of Yellows.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 02/03/2021, 01:30 PM   #167
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You don't think a scopas would mow the grass? They're closely related to yellows, and my old yellow loved shoal grass.

I'll try a search in the plant forum to see if anyone's done it before.


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Unread 02/03/2021, 02:41 PM   #168
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It looks like it's hit or miss. Some people have had no problems with yellow tangs and others with shoal grass, and others including me have. Sounds like Ctenochaetus tangs are the safest bet.


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Unread 02/03/2021, 02:47 PM   #169
Michael Hoaster
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I can't ignore your previous experience with the grass-eating yellow, but I would think it would prefer to eat filamentous algae before resorting to the grass. I agree that Ctenochaetus tangs are the safest bet, but their mouths are designed for detritus and detritus-like algae. So it may help, but I don't know how much.

Maybe Dawn could weigh in with her Tomini Tang. What's your tang been eating, Dawn?


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 02/03/2021, 02:56 PM   #170
ThePurple12
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Oh yeah, a Ctenochaetus probably wouldn't eat hair algae. I've heard great things about conchs and hair algae, but we'll see what they can do. The last resort would be the dreaded manual removal.


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Unread 02/03/2021, 06:25 PM   #171
Michael Hoaster
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Yes, manual removal is pretty effective. As you know, I'm a big proponent of it. But it's also good to see someone find alternatives to it. It's nice to see different methods. It would be boring if we all did the same thing. I hope to learn from you and your style of doing things.


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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Unread 02/03/2021, 07:50 PM   #172
ThePurple12
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Thanks, but I can't say my style is anything special


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Unread 02/04/2021, 01:28 PM   #173
vlangel
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster View Post

Maybe Dawn could weigh in with her Tomini Tang. What's your tang been eating, Dawn?
ThePurple, I really like my tomini tang. He nibbled on caulerpa when I first got him but now he is mostly interested in filamentous algae on the rocks and sand. I do heavily feed food that is high in vegetables, spiralina frozen brine shrimp, formula 2, emerald entree plus green flake food every day.

I will say that the tomini bullied my orange spot blenny who had been the alpha fish until the tomini came. The blenny died and that may have been from stress from being constantly bullied.

Tommy is a gorgeous fish though and I thoroughly enjoy him.


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Unread 02/06/2021, 07:52 PM   #174
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I cashed some candy cane coral in to an LFS...4 mini colonies for $125. Not too shabby. Brought home a blue hippo tang (will it eat the seagrass?? we shall see), 3 additional Chromis, and 2 NPS finger gorgonians- a red one for the 125 and a yellow one for the 30! The tank is full of movement, but there's still plenty of room for more! I want enough fish to not have to dose n and p.

Pics tomorrow!


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Unread 02/06/2021, 10:36 PM   #175
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Nice indeed! The Blue Hippo is one of my favorite fish. It's mostly a planktivore, but does eat some algae. I'll be interested to see what he eats in your tank. I'm sure it's very lively with all the Chromis! Those Gorgonians are pretty, I bet. I've heard Reef Roids are a good food for them. Look forward to pics!


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As many naturalists and environmentalists have suggested, we should set aside our arrogance,
our desire to conquer and control everything, and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature. -Walter Adey

Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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