65g reef

[Melina]

I believe I just identified them.. they're tiger tail sea cucumbers...
Will they be OK without a substrate for a few days? There was a bit of die-off on my rocks and I wanted to syphon it out and let the rock cure completely before adding sand so I could syphon out any stuff that falls off the rock. I wasn't planning to put my sand bed in right away. Also I was not planning to make a deep sand bed, just 1-2 inches... will this be OK for the cucumbers, and will they survive the curing/cycling process? The rock was cured, but there was some die-off during shipping. Not much though.

Are these guys really toxic if they're stressed/dying, or are they safe to keep in a mixed reef? Do I have to worry about them poisoning my tank? I don't plan to have many fish, just a couple clowns at the most, if any. Will they kill my corals, if they die and release their toxins?

[Redrover]

First I would have painted the back of tank [ outside ]...in order to hide view of plumbing and wiring from light fixture...Second I would put sandbed in first [ 1/2 inch ]

Make sure rock on both sides and front are away from glass for glass cleaning
Make a few caves for fish to hide [ sleep ] they will all pick there spot.

[SuperFudge]

yes, you can plug the hole above the waterline if its quieter to do so.
The hole is there to let air purge out, sometimes its the exact opposite...if the hole isnt the air pushes down through the whole pipe.

I would lift up the out put lockline nozzle, from the pics it looks as if it might back siphon too much back to the sump when powers out.

Its ok if the overflow drains, but if you dont like it draining, glue it.
The reason for this is that if a small fish goes in there or theres a need to clean it, you can pull the standpipe out.

Yes, you can restrict the pump and it is necessary to do so on most systems.




Marc.

[Pan]

Tiger Tails
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...pcatid=712&N=0

Purple Stuff is Corraline Algae

[Melina]

Originally Posted by SuperFudge

yes, you can plug the hole above the waterline if its quieter to do so.
The hole is there to let air purge out, sometimes its the exact opposite...if the hole isnt the air pushes down through the whole pipe.

I would lift up the out put lockline nozzle, from the pics it looks as if it might back siphon too much back to the sump when powers out.

Its ok if the overflow drains, but if you dont like it draining, glue it.
The reason for this is that if a small fish goes in there or theres a need to clean it, you can pull the standpipe out.

Yes, you can restrict the pump and it is necessary to do so on most systems.




Marc.

We plugged that hole and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! It is SO much quieter now. With the flow from the pump restricted a bit, it's so quiet now!!!

Thanks for the tip about the lockline, will do that.

We'll leave the overflow as is, so it drains.

Now I have a question about my skimmer. How long till the collection cup starts filling with skimmate? I've had it on since last night and the fine white bubbles are still swirling around in the main body of the skimmer but nothing is coming up through the neck or into the collection cup. Am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? The water is murky.

[Melina]

I just finished aquascaping and I'm not going to touch another rock or I'll never be done!!! I made lots of caves & hiding spots and kept the rock away from the glass on the sides & front.

The water is extremely murky and my skimmer doesn't seem to be working?? I'm wondering should I do a water change. I cleaned the rocks as best I could but there's still some die-off, (even though the rock was cured, it was in transit to me, by bus, for almost 36 hours) which brings up another question... these cucumbers can't handle high nitrates so I'm thinking they're probably going to die with the curing/cycling process?

[0sprey]

I have no experience with cucumbers, but I can vouch for a long break in period for skimmers. It can take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks to start producing a decent load of skimmate.

[SuperFudge]

Melina,


Your ammonia/nitrites may not spike at all, depending on where the rock came from.
If it was already cured, likley you will avoid the cycle altogether.

The skimmer is different for everyone, ive seen them start skimming 10 minutes later, and ive seen them take a week to start.

Make sure the air intake for the skimmer is just about fully open, and the water level in the skimmer is adjusted to (usually) about the base of the cone.

Usually the skimmer is unstable in a new system as the water is pretty much sterile, so i wouldnt expect it to perform normally this soon.


Marc.

[Melina]

Originally Posted by SuperFudge

Melina,


Your ammonia/nitrites may not spike at all, depending on where the rock came from.
If it was already cured, likley you will avoid the cycle altogether.

The skimmer is different for everyone, ive seen them start skimming 10 minutes later, and ive seen them take a week to start.

Make sure the air intake for the skimmer is just about fully open, and the water level in the skimmer is adjusted to (usually) about the base of the cone.

Usually the skimmer is unstable in a new system as the water is pretty much sterile, so i wouldnt expect it to perform normally this soon.


Marc.

Hey Marc, the rock came from Hidden Reef but it came by bus and was in transit for almost 36 hours so when it got to me there was some die off on a couple of the rocks... I had to scrape some black stuff off and I know I didn't do as thorough a job as I should have done. (I asked for the rock to get here on Thursday because my husband was going to be home that day and I wanted him to watch the kids while I cleaned the rock. But instead of arriving in the morning like I had hoped, it only came in on the evening bus, 30 minutes before Patrick had to start his night shift. So, I was alone to clean the rock and take care of my two young kids, which was more than I could handle (my son is 5 months old)... so anyway, I swished the rock around in a bucket of saltwater and scraped off what I could with my fingers but I can see now that the rock is in the tank, there is still some stuff dying on the rock.. I was going to scrape it off with a new toothbrush and do a 20% waterchange... it's not a lot of die-off, just in the holes (pores) on a couple pieces of rock, there is still some greyish dying stuff. So I'm thinking I am going to have a cycle, maybe it just hasn't started yet? I'll check my ammonia/nitrites again today.

I see a thin brownish film forming in the neck of the skimmer now, I guess this coating is what's going to allow the skimmate to rise up through the tube... good sign.

[Melina]

couple pics.

Hey guys how do you know live rock is healthy? I look at mine and see no life in them (except for the cucumbers which are dead now)... I hear about people finding crabs, mantis shrimp, etc, all sort of critters in their rocks but I'm staring at mine and see no signs of life at all (not that I want a mantis shrimp, but you know, I just want to see something!)... the rock looks so barren & dead. Is this normal? How can you tell if live rock is "good" live rock, or if all the life in it is dead?