a couple of questions....

[dascab]

Hello~
I'm pretty new to the reef-keeping hobby in practice, although it has been a research obsession of mine for the last couple of years. I had bought and set up an 12 gallon NanoCube (deluxe) a year and a half ago, but wound up taking everything apart and giving it away when I moved out of the country. I just bought another 12g NanoCube from someone else (who was moving out of the state ) that has been up and running for about 2 years. When I got the tank home I changed the light (the previous owner had 10000K daylight, I replaced it with 50/50...since it's the older model nano, that's only 24W), added a some more sand, and moved things around a bit (to make some new hiding places for the maroon clown that came with it and to increase water flow). Sofar everything has been fine in terms of levels and pH. The inhabitants include: 3 blue-leg hermits, 1 red-leg hermit, 5 astrea snails, 1 bumblebee snail, lots of tube-worms (both small and large), a few small bristle worms, 2 red anemones (and a few of their offspring), a large colony of zooanthids, miscelaneous sponges and a large maroon clownfish.
Anyhow, I just have a couple of questions that hopefully you(all) can help me with!:

i. When I first got the zoos, they were pretty much just brown. Since then they have looked more golden (with pinkish edges), but now they look green~ish in the morning and grey~ish by the afternoon. I'm just wondering if they're okay or if I should be worried about them. They're in an area with good flow (there's an extra Rio 600 pump in the tank), and I have been feeding them. The original owner said they were green at one time and I am just wondering if the grey look is just the transition back to green or if there might be something else wrong with them. Thoughts?

ii. JBJ has a 'surface skimmer' attachment that you can buy for the NanoCubes, is it worth getting one?

iii. Is there any livestock I should be getting rid of? I have a lot of the little anemones that I'm thinking of removing, but I'm kinda attached to the larger ones. They're red~ish and have long tentacles. The larger ones are not anywhere near anything they can sting but I'm not sure if they are the nuissance type and/or if they will get any bigger. I'm sure that they just came with the rock and were not purchased seperately. What is the best way to take them out? Kalk? Joe's Juice? Also, should I take out the bumblebee snail? Sofar he hasn't killed anything that I know of...

iv. The tank still has the 'bioballs' in the back. For my previous tank I was told to take them out and replace then with chunks of liverock. Is this a good idea?

I know, I know, it's a lot of information to request, but I could really use some advice. I would appreciate any input you can give!
Cheers,
Cat.

 

[mr_X]

you should take pics of the tank and inhabitants. it will be easier for the species pros to give you advice on them.

if you have live rock you don't need the bio balls and most likely they will work against you. you could replace them with rubble, but make sure they don't get covered with ditritous(spelling), so blast them off with powerhead or so occasionally, or possibly stir them up somehow.

i would probably remove the bio balls and load that area up with macros- maybe put a small flourescent bulb over it- if it's the type of all-in-one nano that i am thinking about, it should work.

and lastly, you should put this thread in "nanos". those people live for these little things :wink:

 

[dascab]

Thanks for your advice! I'll take most of the bioballs out tomorrow. I don't know how well making the back part into a refugium will work for the tank but I'll repost the question in the right forum. I figured I would post my initial questions here 'cause I'm a n00b~
I will try to post some pics of the zoos and the tank. I must apologize in advance for the bad photo quality as I still don't have the knack for taking decent pictures through glass *hehehehe* At the very least, it should give you an idea of the colour change that I am seeing~
Thanks again!

 

[mr_X]

those zoos don't look bad. put the 10k bulb back in for a little bit and see what happens- i would get a brand new bulb though.

from what i can tell, those anemone's are aptasia anemone. they are pests, and will eventually cause you grief. i got rid of mine by squirting them with some vinegar through a syringe. some say joes juice is best though. i don't know how anything will fare in such a small system. again, ask the nano folks.
i would take ALL of the bio balls out. try to remove any possible nitrate issues, before they become an issue as well. good luck!

 

[shavo]

i think those thigs will eat mysis give them a good feeding

shavo out

 

[dascab]

Thanks for your help!
I have taken all the bioballs out this morning.
As for feeding the zoos, I have been target feeding them using Kent Marine micro-vert every 3 days or so. I will add some mysis if you think it will improve their look~

 

[reefman5511]

To get rid of the aptasia anemone, get a peppermint shrimp. I had them in my tank, kept hitting them with Joe's Juice, kept coming back. Enter 1 peppermint shrimp - haven't seen one since.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I dont that most zoas "eat". I've never fed mine directly.

B

 

[SnowManSnow]

I dont think that most zoas "eat". I've never fed mine directly.

B

 

[shavo]

Mine defenitly eat mysis. they close up on them and go into a ball then open up with the middle slit a little opened and no more mysis. I feed them almost everyday. but i just started this I had them for almost a year with no feedings. X did it and they looked like they were taking steriods and now mine are looking that way also.

 

[dascab]

I will try some remedies for removing the aptasia before I consider getting a peppermint shrimp.
Oh, and it looks like the zoos eat. Their mouths are usually open in the morning. I will buy them some shrimp and see how it goes~
Thanks again!

 

[shavo]

did they eat??? just curious it looks like they have mouths