Here’s the link to Tunze’s Interzoo 2010 Flyer, showing all the new goodies from Tunze. The best thing coming is the Silence clamp that should eliminate the annoying vibration noises from the Stream II pumps.
Also check out the master pump specs that rate the pump at 29,000 gph(designed for pools and public aquariums)!
Bryopsis (hair algae) is one of the toughest algae to battle in a reef tank. Once it’s established, nothing seems to eat a lot of it and it grows like crazy. I’ve been battling it for a few weeks and I think I’ve found the solution! My Sea hare seemed to eat it, but died before making much of a dent into it. My Hector’s goby eats it, but I’d need a hundred to even see results. Searching on the web, it appears that some people have had good results by elevating the magnesium levels to around 1600 ppm or more. Although I don’t test my magnesium levels, I’ve been dosing a good amount every night and manually removing the algae. So far it appears that the hair algae isn’t regrowing and the stuff that remains is weakened. Hopefully I can pull it all out and final beat this problem. BTW, Kent Marine Tech M is the magnesium of choice to elevate magnesium levels.
Note: It appears that elevating ph levels can also help killing Bryopsis. 8.5-8.6 is the magic number here.
Update: Almost all of my hair algae is gone. I believe it’s been a combination of manually pulling it out, using a sonic scrubber to rid the area of any roots and elevating the magnesium levels.
I’ve recently added a few fish into the fold. The first is a Hector’s goby(Amblygobius hectori)that grazes on algae all day long. It likes to hang out in the back of the tank, where there’s less flow and doesn’t get bothered by anyone. Another new addition to the tank is a 5yr old Clarkii clownfish, given to me by a local fish keeper that took down his tank. This fish is the size of my Hippo tang and has made a home for himself in my RBTAs. He’s alittle aggressive toward fish swimming near his home, but other than that, has been a model citizen. Also given to me was a blue chromis that’s also old, about the same size as the chromis I already have.
Total fish is the tank: 14(Sohal Tang, Hippo Tang, Borbonius Anthia, 2 Lyretail Anthias, 2 Percula Clowns, Clarkii Clown, 2 Chromis, Lawnmower Blenny, Striped Fang Blenny, and Hector’s Goby).
Recently, I purchased some mangroves from ebay(6 for $10 shipped). I decided that since I had some room in my overflow box, why not try growing some mangroves to help w/ nutrient export? The mangroves receive some light from my main tank lights, so no added lighting is required.
From what I’ve read, mangroves should be planted in some sort of substrate, mud being the best. Also they should not be fully submerged, only the roots actually need to be in the water. The mangroves I got already had some roots growing. Also the pods’ color showed where the pod were out of the water, so I used this as a guide to how high I should mount these. Since adding substrate into my overflow was not the best option, I used eggcrate to suspend and position the mangroves. Eat pod was inserted through the eggcrate and a clip(used on orchid plants) was placed to prevent them from slipping out. Hopefully this setup will allow a nice root growth without substrate.
Do I think these mangroves will have an affect on the health of my tank? Not really. I would guess that you’d need a refugium full of plants to actually see any results. Still, it’s a ‘green’ approach and it looks cool to me.
Note: Mangroves need a lot of magnesium so pay attention to this parameter if you decide to add a ton of them to your system.
Update: I’ve moved the mangroves into my frag tank, they get much better light there. Also, I’ve been cleaning the leaves every few days to remove salt off them.
Ever since seeing the ORA display at MACNA 2009, I’ve been looking to get a hold of an ORAQ Striped Fang Blenny (Meiacanthus grammistes). This past weekend, I picked one up for $15 at the annual ThatPetPlace sale in Lancaster, PA. This is an extremely cool fish. Besides the bright colors, it’s a very active swimmer that likes to hang out in the middle/upper portions of my tank. So far the fish has adapted well and everyone is getting along. Note: This fish is a jumper! While still in the bag for acclimation, it was trying to jump out. I’ve found it in my overflow once already. Picture below (very tough to take a picture of this fast swimmer!):
