bare bottom questions

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 09:22 AM

Yesterday I removed my sand bed from my tank. What a pain but it was worth it. I like the bare bottom look and my original rock work lay out created a large dead area in back. I am hoping that my rearangment will optimize the flow in my tank and help reduce my little cyano problem. I couldn't resist trying a little clean up last night as well. What a sinch, I blow all the crud over to a corner and siphon it out. Vamoos, no more left over food in the substrate to pollute my pretty clean water. But now that I don't have sand to sift just what and how many tank cleaners do I need. I removed all of my Cerinth(I think that's spelled right) to my refugium. They just love to dig too much to leave them in a BB tank. So now all I have is 10 dwarf hermits and 10 margarita snails. I agressivly clean my tank. Daily I blow the rocks off with a baster and now that I can clean up the detritus I blow off I will siphon it out daily as well. So does my near neat freak maintanence of my tank mean I can slip a little on the 1-2 tank cleaners per gallon rule? Or should I stock up and a feww more critters and if so wich kind. I am fed up with the margarita snails falling of the rock than not being able to right themselves. How can an animal be so helpless so often, they should be extinct. I flip over at leat five a day.

Spanky · 08-08-2004, 09:32 AM

tab

I have about 2-300 astreas and maybe 5-600 ceriths in my tank (450). That's it for cleanup critters.

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 09:33 AM

oh I forgot to mention that my display is just a 29g

Spanky · 08-08-2004, 10:02 AM

I would use about 30 astreas and still use about a hundred ceriths.

Astreas are great at harvesting algae, which you will have until your rocks perk out. Ceriths are great at eating astrea poop and make it more available for the skimmer.

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 10:11 AM

100 Ceriths!!! Wow, that seem like a lot but I will take your word on it. I see that folks around here don't seem to be big fans of hermits. I am starting to not like them as much. All I ever see them feeding on is my coralline. I will swap my ceriths with my hermits today. Maybe the hermits will like the refugium better. The bare bottom makes it hard for them to get around. Now they just do laps around the silcone seems were they can get good traction.

Spanky · 08-08-2004, 11:10 AM

100 ceriths is less than a 1/4 cup.

motorslave · 08-08-2004, 12:58 PM

So Spanky would be about 200 for a 55 bare bottom? Tabwyo, how big is your fuge and can you post a pic of the newly bare 29? Keep us posted on the progress as I will be right behind you as I will be putting water in my 55 BB soon.

Robert

motorslave · 08-08-2004, 01:01 PM

Sorry didnt mean to hijack your thread.

Robert

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 01:08 PM

My fuge is ten gallons. With a turn over of about 60 gph. I can try to post a pic but it will fuzzy. My digicam sucks big time but I will give it a shot. I will be plumbing in a 10 gallon sump soon to my total system volume will be roughly 47-48 gallon. I want to move all my HOB equipment down to the sump to get it out of the display.

motorslave · 08-08-2004, 01:20 PM

Sounds pretty cool. Would like to see how it all turns out as I now have 29 thta was a sump but will now be turned into a tank for the bedroom. Ill be looking for updates!!

Robert

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 01:38 PM

here are some fuzzy pictures the real yellow full tank pic is the fuge.

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 01:40 PM

sorry but I can't get it to upload my refugium photos

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 01:51 PM

By the way. I have noticed a pink mass on a piece of LR. It's about the size of a dime and seems to be a colony of animals. Looking at it profile you cans see what looks to be many little spikes. They sway slightly in strong current but it is hard to tell. They do not retract when sprayed with the baster or even when touched. It's too small to get a picture of. It didn't pop up until a removed some rubble from my display and put it in the fuge. The lighting in the fuge is more intense for right now (PC) and has a temp of 6500k. It showed up fast and has doubled in size in less than a week. I place it back into the display on the very top of the rock work as to get the most light a possible. I have had this rock for about 3 months and never noticed anything like this. Can coral stay dormant for that long? I hope it gets big enought to get a good clear picture of so you guys can see it. It looks kinda like an anem but it has no mouth and isn't round.

rayjay · 08-08-2004, 07:55 PM

FWIW, I have about 850g plus sumps, made of of tank sizes from 20g to 90g, most of which are bare bottom (only 2 exceptions) and I use no snails or hermits in any of them. When I first used them about 10 yrs ago, they were always dying on me so I stopped getting them. I don't notice any difference without them now.

tabwyo · 08-08-2004, 08:45 PM

I am considering running my fuge lights on 24/7 to ramp up nutrient exporty via marcro growth. If I do that will that lessen my need for little cleaner critters. I have been having a run of bad luck with hermits and margarita snails. My cerith snails are all still alive and kickin butt. But the hermits kill the margarita snail to steal their shell then for god knows what reason I have lost about one hermit a week for a month and a half. I think I may starving them but I can't see how. I feed twice a day. Is twice a day to much. I have a percu clown a blue reef devil a yellow tail damsel and a green chromis. I feed light but there is always food left over. I feed forumal one and crushed freeze dried krill.