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3K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Reefmann 
#1 ·
I have a 90/g reef that I am cycling right now I have a 4 year old thriving 30/g reef that I am moving to this tank I have heard allot about IPSF but I am not sure what to get in this deal.
6 Baby Bristle Worms
WonderMud
N-Reducer (what is this????)
6 Baby Trocus Grazers
6 Nerite Grazers
6 Adult Strombus Grazers
6 MicroHermits
Reef Amphipods
Live Sand Activator
6 Baby Hawaiian Turbo Grazers
What do people think about this? Am I getting some thing I don't need and forgetting some thing I do need?
I have allot of live rock and allot of live sand from my 30/g but I am looking for good diversity.
What about these Mama mia worms 19.95 (GOOD OR BAD)

Thanks for the help

[ 05-13-2001: Message edited by: Silver ]
 
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#2 ·
Hi Silver,
here's what I think of your list:

6 Baby Bristle Worms - Can't have enough of these scavenging polychaetes, though you likely already have some of them 'em reproducing right now in your LR and old sand.

WonderMud - this seems to be sediment that ought to be rich in across-the-board sandbed microfauna, from bacteria on up to very small worms, molluscs, echinoderms and crustaceans. I'd highly recommend it.

N-Reducer (what is this????) - Bacterial cultures of the widely cited Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria that supposely handle the bulk of nitrogenous waste processing. You should keep in mind though that recent work points to Nitrosococcus and Nitrospira-like bacteria as the true workhorses (Hovanec, 1998). In any case your LR probably has all of 'em on board. I imagine the cultures are intended to kickstart a new tank (helping the initial cycle along).

6 Baby Trocus Grazers - These herbivorous gastropods of Genus Trochus are fantastic all-around lawnmowers. The dowside is the surprising size some of them can eventually attain --make sure your rockwork and corals are stable then. They prefer hard surfaces to crawl on, and likely will avoid fine sand.

6 Nerite Grazers - While I'm offhand not too fond of Nerita spp. gastropods because too many of them are littorally (and therefore literally) prone to climbing out of the tank, the good Dr. Heslinga obviously would've thought of that:
The fact that the snails seek above-water roosts daily means they are likely to travel and graze the aquarium glass regularly to reach the waterline. Indeed, they target the algal films associated with tank glass, complementing the heavy-duty Trochus grazers which may stick to just the rockwork.

6 Adult Strombus Grazers - These tiny conchs (Strombus maculatus), like the Nerita sp. grazer earlier mentioned, chow on algal-films including diatoms, but address a more varied set of substrate conditions (sand, etc.). They can move funny too, so there's entertainment value as well


6 MicroHermits - Dunno about these Calcinus sp. crabs. While many in the Genus are described as 'herbivores', I've always resented that ALL crabs are omnivorous, and these 'microhermits' may potentially exert some pressure on the smallish Strombus conchs as well as other smallish inverts (worms, sponges, anemones both good and bad, etc..) in the rocks

Reef Amphipods - 'Pods have been discussed thoroughly on the net already. They're to be sought/encouraged, as they provide quite a bit of food for fishes and inverts, while serving as a vital cog in the breaking-down/processing of tank waste.

Live Sand Activator - Apparently this already includes the aforementioned "N-reducer", hermits, amphipods, plus so-called "WonderMud". (Hehe, am I the only one grinning at all these pedestrian labels Gerald picked for IPSF's merchandise? Sure makes 'em easier to remember though...)

What about these Mama mia worms 19.95 (GOOD OR BAD) -Terrebellid worms are simply the bomb! Talk about thorough scavenging for leftovers. The tentacles of these cryptic tube-worms can stretch surprising distances in search of morsels that might otherwise decompose. Their downside is how those very same tentacles can gross us out --though you can think of it positively, in terms of horror-flick entertainment value. (Mama Mia! The true horror is in having to think about Terrebellids the next time you dig into some Spaghetti marinara...)

On top of these products' individual merits, there is the fact that biodiversity is good for a reeftank. Few other factors will go as far towards moderating your reef tank's existence with respect to food generation, waste processing, and disease prevention.

hth,
horge

..sorry for the re-edits, but I hate typos


[ 05-14-2001: Message edited by: dark horge ]
 
#4 ·
When should I add this stuff to my tank I have most of my live sand in the tank on top of 6" of dry sand two dead shrimp in the tank for three days now and about 20lbs of live rock on top of 100lbs of base rock. I don't think that my tank has finished cycling yet.
Should I wait tell it is done to add this stuff.
 
#6 ·
Thanks people for all the input.
Just have one more question though what are Antelia Polyps?
I just checked my test readings and every thing was off the scale execpt the ammonia level. My Phosphates were very high too I but in a bag of Seachem PhosGuard is this normal for a cycle??? Does any body have any better ways to take care of this? Every thing else, I will let cycle and do water changes in a couple weeks.
Thanks again
 
#7 ·
Anthelia are polyps,actually octocorals related to xeniia.
The high phosphate could be coming from breakdown dying matter on your rock. Did you use RO/Di water to fill your tank originally?
If not check your water you use to make saltwater with, it may have a high PO4 level
This is not a good thing, phosphate inhibits calcification and feeds algae blooms. Kalkwasser tends to bind up PO4 making it unavailable to the plants
 
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