# FFIIINNAAALLLLLLLYY



## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

well fellas i finally did it. i started off my nanocubedx. i got about about 7 pounds of fiji live rock and about 3 pounds of marshall island LR. and some sand.

the sand said it was bioactive and it already had the bacteria and stuff in it. and i used catalina Natural sea water. it is still cloudy. but i just set if up tonight. i did some tests and all of the parameters test out fine. i don't know if that is because all of the stuff i used was pre-cured. i am expecting some die-off and probably an ammonia spike or two. but ill keep testing and hopefully get some pics of my aquascaping maybe this weekend.

im not totally positive which kind of cleanup crew i should be getting but ill look around. 
i don't really know what type of fish im going to put in there either. 
any suggestions would be cool.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

sweet man. the number of us nano dx-ers on this site is rising. i am eager to see your aquascaping.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yeah i found a really tiny starfish in there but i couldn't find it this morning. im not sure what kind it is. ill try to find it and snap a pic of it when i get a hold of my girlfriends camera. but i have to work all freaking weak. so it will be a while.


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## Alexraptor (Jan 30, 2003)

i got a brittle star and a tiny batstar


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

congrats man
u could use some small hermit crabs and a couple of small shrimp
also dont forget to remove those bio-balls,that white macoroni thing and 2 of the 3 filter pads cause they are nitrate factories.
i filled my chambers with live rock (rubble) instead ( alot better)


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yeah i took all that crap out and i have chambers 1 and two with a little sand and some live rock. i need to go buy a couple more pounds of live rock to put more back there.


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## Leo10988 (Feb 8, 2005)

Pics?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

not sur ewhen i can get pics but i have a question. do you guys think a percula clown would host a condy?


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## Leo10988 (Feb 8, 2005)

I've heard that only Cinnamon & Tomatoes host with it only.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i got a little update. its been about a week since i added lr and ls. i am getting some coralline and some hair and diatom algae. i bought an astrea snail the other day and its doing fine. i don't think im quite ready for fish yet but i would expect about another week or week and a half.

parameters:
Salinity = 1.022
ph = 8.0 
Nitrate = 10ppm
Nitrite = .50ppm
ammonia = 0

would you guys recommend a water change yet or should i wait.

i figured what i am going to put in there as far as fish. for a month or two i am going to have one percula and after my tank gets good and established i am going to try my hand at a mandarin dragonet. 
i plan on buying copepods and the ones at my lfs eat frozen krill and brine shrimp. they are just so kickass!!


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## Leo10988 (Feb 8, 2005)

Yes, do a water change it will help alot.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

gets pics up you tease!


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i did a one gallon water change today and will chek the params tomorrow. i will probably add a couple more snails and a crap or two. what kind of snail or crab does good on diatom algae or the stuff on the sand bed?

sorry about the pics. i don't own a digital camera so i can't take pics right now. but soon...very soon.


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)




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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

still no pics. sorry i did a water change as i said above and i tested my water a day later and the nitrates are still in the same place.. so i seems i have missed all of the nitrates when i did that water change lol.

i bought a red scarlet hermit crab witch is doing an awsom job on my diatom algae. i am also worried about my ph. it is a 8.0.. is that ok? i know on the catalina nsw box it says the ph is set at 8.3 but when i test its only 8.0


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i have another update on my tank. its been about a week and i haven't added anything yet but i did find what looks like a cross between a serpent star and a brittle star as in it has the round base and think arms like a serpent star but the bristle looking hair things like a brittle star. not sure if its cool to keep in there.

i also found a huge bristle worm in there. how do you get rid of those?they are so gross looking.

one more thing i noticed is there are leaves growing on part of my LR so that is pretty cool i guess im not sure what kind of plant it is and i can't see any type of root just the leaves.

my girlfriend just got a pretty cool digi cam so i should be able to get some pics tomorrow hopefully. i love this tank its like a new surprise everyday.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

"...it's like a new suprise everyday."

I agree with that. I think that is why salt tanks are so fun to watch, everytime you look at your tank something is different. I very much look forward to seeing the pics of your tank.


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

again, i refuse to read anything until i see some pics!


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

today i got my first sw fish. i got a tank bred true perc. its really cool. i drip acclimated it for about a half hour. and it seems to be doing fine. i also added three blue legged hermits . i hope to soon get some sort of coral. im not sure if im going to get an anemone or not. again i am sorry about the no pics. i have been busy with work and school and christmas shopping plus this coming week is finals week so i got to study. so hopefully i will have some pics up soon. if not by christmas i will take some on christmas when i get my digital camera.

also i noticed that i have about 5 small serpent stars in my tank. im not sure if i like that so is there any way to safely get rid of them or should i just try to pull them out?


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## DepH (Jan 11, 2005)

How much do you guys pay for a nanocube dx? And what's different with it from other saltwater tanks?
If I'm gonna buy a 40g complete saltwater on the webshop, it's gonna cost me around 1200$ and _then_ I would have to go buy corals, rocks + everything else. 
Is that more, or much more than you guys pay?


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

Damn DepH! I would probably just go with a nanocustoms 12dx nano with MH lighting. it comes with a chiller and all that good stuff so your tank won't heat up. and i think that is like $500. You could also get a 24g aquapod tank with MH lighting for like $600+ I think.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yeah the nanocubes are a lot cheaper but they aren't 40 gallons so you could have more freedom as far as what fish you wanted to put in there and stuff like that. but you would also have to spend more on stuff like live rock and live sand. and lighting. but i don't know what is so special about a tank that has no rock or corals. unless maybe it has uber lighting.


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## DepH (Jan 11, 2005)

Hmm, okay. But I havent seen these nanocubes here in Norway or in Scandinavia on the webshops, so I really don't know how to get it. I'll try to do some more research, see what I'll come up with


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

so today in my daily search for new crap i discovered some sort of snail. but the thing is the shell is way small. im not sure if its supposed to be like that or what but i kinda looks like a slug with a helmet. if anyone knows what this is tell me please. thank you. ps. my perc is doing great after three days.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

I am going to drive to indianapolis and take a freaking picture of your tank for you!!!!!


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yeah...about that....uuummmm i might get some pictures tommorrow since im off. but im not making any promises because i also have to watch the colts kick some ass and then get my womans christmas present and then get some snake food and possibly my first corals oooooohhh im excited. probably gonna get either some xenia or some zoos. something hardy to start out with.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

just a warning, my true perc that i had killed my xenia. my zoos however have always done great, and continue to.

so help me God, you will snap a photo or two tomorrow. no more excuses NO MORE!


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

lol im sorry but its very hard to take any kind of intimidating remark with that avatar lol. i got my zoos today and im getting some pics tonight whem my woman gets off work.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

Effin' A, CD.....Effin A!


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i got some pics last night and they will be up right after school today. but i have to say they are some of the shittiest pics ever. but they might be good enough i might take some better ones with a better camera if i have time. otherwise ill just post the shitty ones


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

some crappy pics of my tank. full tank, perc, and attempt at some zoos.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

OMG, PICS!!!!!!!

it looks good bro. cute little clownfish you have there. the sand is looking clean and your rock is beautiful.


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

i was think the same.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

something weird is happening in my tank. if you can see where i have my zoos in there in the middle. well everytime i go in there, the rock that they are on is on the sandbed. and i move it back up and then i come in there a couple hours later and its back on the sand. im not sure if its the crabs or something else cuz im pretty sure they can't move on their own. it shouldn't be the flow but i think i might just leave them down there.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

could even be the clown. i know some clowns that have moved around corals and stuff. probably the crabs trying to get behind it and bumping it off.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yeah i just moved it and it has stayed in the same spot.

hey i was wondering what would be another small fish for my tank. i was thinking something along the lines o maybe a yellow watchman goby or this other goby i saw at my lfs that is really awsome looking. it reminds me of a tiny lionfish goby, with its fins.

its a orange striped prawn goby.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

here is a couple more pics they are a bit better than the last ones. the last one is of my closed zoo's the pic of them open is just horrible.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

those are some sharp looking rocks you have there. the coraline on them is gorgeous! a couple of your zoos are open in that pic. i like the maroon/orange coloration on them. are you going to get your clown a mate ever?


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## Alexraptor (Jan 30, 2003)

plan on getting more corals? if you do id advise boosting Specific gravity to 1.023, some have 1.025 for ideal value for corals.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

im not sure if i will get another clown or not. i might get something else like a yellow watchman goby or something. i can't really think of anything that is really cool. i do plan on geting some GSP, more zoos, possibly a brain, and maybe some xenia, and maybe some mushrooms

and i think my specific gravity is already about that high. at least that is what my hydrometer says but i think its a peice of crap. i want a refractometer but im just too cheap.

i was thinking about getting one of those current usa protein skimmers that fit in the back of the 12g nanocube. but im not sure. i know i am getting something tomorrow cuz i got an lfs gift certicicate for christmas so ill let you know what i get and depending on if i can get a good pic of it ill put it on here. i know i am getting a couple snails because im getting some bad diatoms on my glass.


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## diamond4100 (Sep 26, 2005)

Save your money and get a pinpoint salinity tester they are great much better than a refractometer and way better than a hydrometer.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i have never heard of a pinpoint salinity tester. are they more expensive than a refractometer? is there a website you know of with them?

btw i didn't get anything today. the lfs was pretty much out of everything so im gonna wait until wednesday.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

so i got a yellow clown goby today. he is a cute little critter. pretty cheap too at 7 dollars

i think im gonna order a refractometer off of marinedepot.com its only like 45 bucks.


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## Guest (Dec 30, 2005)

= Your corraline.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yeah thanks i don't know why it grows so well in my tank i don't put anything extra in there. its starting to grow on the back walls and it looks pretty cool. its also starting to grow on the glass which is not too cool. and its harder to get off. but its perdy.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

if you are getting coraline that quick you must have some nice calcium levels. what do yours run at?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i don't know what my calcium levels or whatever is at. the test kit i bought only has ph, ammonia, nitrites , and nitrates. must be good though... the only water im using is catalina seawater.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

got me 2 polyps of some trumpet coral today. i noticed a small tear in it where i can see the skeletal structure so i hope it heals and is ok.

got me 2 polyps of some trumpet coral today. i noticed a small tear in it where i can see the skeletal structure so i hope it heals and is ok.

also i have a question about my clownfish. it never Ever stops swimming in the front of the tank. it wont go anywhere else. and it gets annoying when im trying to snap some pics and there is a perc in every pic. i tried to lure him back with some food witch he practically jumps out of the water when he sees it on my finger. but he wouldn't go get it when i put it farther back in the tank. does anyone know why this could be?

ps. my yellow clown fish is doin good he ate today for the first time.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

i noticed that my clowns stay right in the front to and i attribute this to them liking to be in the current. for some reason they don't like to be in areas of less current..... they are like nano salmon!


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## Guest (Jan 3, 2006)

Clowns are the same family as "Blue Damsels" and the like. All of these "Anemone Fish" will protect thier territory


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

ok i got a trumpet coral the other day and i was up until 4 in the moring last night trying to learn to take some pics. it didn't work out too well but this is what i got. the first is my new coral.
View attachment 89074


and then some others
View attachment 89078

^another attemp to photograph my yellow clown goby
View attachment 89075

^ macro attemp of zoos ( which are doing pretty well)
View attachment 89076

^ weird angle of my tank the algae cleaner deal is my clown goby's favorite perch...

View attachment 89079

^jerry seinfeld


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

so i have a problem. for the last two mornings when i wake up and the aquarium lights come on my clownfish looks like it is just dazed and its face is really light like almost white. it starts to float around and run into a lot of stuff. i did a water change yesterday and when i got home from school he was fine but then he did it again this morning and i came home from school and it is fine. anyone know whats up? tank params are fine.

also my clown goby's favorite perch is now my trumpet coral... which im not sure if the coral likes that or not. but i think not.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

bump for some advice?


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

i have no clue about the clown to be honest. if it wasn't related to the lights then i would think it was shock of some sort.

don't worry about the clown goby's perch. the coral will get used to it and remain open eventually. my green clown goby would perch on anything possible and he never killed a coral.


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2006)

When the lights go off, your pH swings. Also, the lights are blinding for fish. Make sure your temperature doesnt go crazy at night either.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

UPDATE!

my tank is doing well. i have a bit of an algae problem but i am blaming that on only having one snail to eat it. but i am cutting light hours and doing more frequent water changes

i moved my rock around and plan to buy some more in the future for the back chambers and a little for the display. i also plan on buying a refractometer and some nassarious snails tomorrow from premiumaquatics.com

i got some pulsing xenia. at first i had it in a spot with a pretty high flow and it looked horrible so i moved it and its doing lovely. my hopes are since i am not getting an anemone maybe my clown will host the xenia.

all the corals are doing great, my zoos are multiplying and also the coral that i found in my tank that i kinda fragged grew another polyp.

ill try to get pics of the new setup maybe tomorrow


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

C.D.,
sounds like everything is going well in your tank. pulsing xenia is really cool looking and adds a lot of color to the tank. clowns will host in most anything if around it for long enough. i placed one of my zoo frags against the back of the tank hoping that it will eventually grow up the back and i will have the back of the tank covered in zoos. I have seen people do it with GSPs and I think zoos would be even more badass!


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

damn, how much did you get your seinfeld for? i hear they're rare!

awesome work on the nano.


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## Alexraptor (Jan 30, 2003)

just wondering, what kind of lighting do you have in there?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

the lighting is 2x24 watt / actinic (standard nanocube dx lighting)

here are some pics of the new rock setup and my xenia 
View attachment 90696


View attachment 90697

^ there is my trumpet coral and in the red circle is my mystery coral that cam on my live rock. sorry can't get a better pic of it.

View attachment 90698

^ as you can kind of see that yellow smudge is my ycg and he has claimed the xenia as well as the trumpet coral

im also hopin to get more live rock to fill in the side gap when i get the cash. (buying a new car this week so im broke)


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

cool rock work there CD. i like the blank spot with a couple of tonga branches, it's different. i had those red mystery things growing on the side of my tank for a while, next to the skimmer. it's not algae but i am not sure exactly what it is. i scraped it off when i changed my tank up and put in new sand so I don't have any close pics of it either.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i finally found out what that mystery coral in my tank is! i have always had a couple polypes but i never know what it was but now i do! CLOVE POLYPS!

View attachment 91148


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

small update

i got a small piece of gsp with some xenia right next to it. i have had the gsp for about a week and a half now and its doing great. i thought it was cool to have the two most aggressive growing corals on the same rock and i would have to say so far the gsp is taking over more the rock than the xenia. i got some more live rock and 3 nassarrious snails. i am also going to put the stock nc12dx pump in my tank for added flow in the back where i am sure there are some dead spots. but i just ran out of plugs....







no clown hosting in my xenia .....YET i bought some phytoplankton to feed my corals so i guess i will start that off and hope it does some good. i am also looking to soon build my own small protein skimmer for the back. and that is about it for now. here is a couple pics of my tank.
View attachment 91537

^ clown goby on his favorite post.

View attachment 91538

^ gsp/xenia rock when i first got it

View attachment 91539

gsp after about a week

View attachment 91540

^fts with new live rock on the right and my stock pump in the back left

oh and also if anyone could give me some tips on how to get rid of bristle worms that would be fantastic.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

love the little goby. from the detritus on the sand and rocks i think you do have some dead spots for sure. what pump do you have in the back chamber? your coraline on your rocks looks great btw. i have heard of people using bristle worm traps, but i am not sure how to make one. maybe do a search on bristle worm traps.


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

bristle worms, in general are not harmful, although some ( a small percentage of the various species may be)


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yeah then i won't worry about the bristleworms. i like this new pump thing. my gsp is loving the current action.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i have a question, how would i go about getting a little xenia colony off of a rock that has my gsp on it. the gsp is like taking over the rock and i want to get it off before it gets totally overrun.

tiny little update on my tank. my xenia is growing like wild and my gsp is doing wonderfully also. i bought some more snails to help with the algae problem but my hermit crabs killed 2 of them and got in their shells for about a half hour and then just abnadoned them for their old ones. so that pissed me off cuz that is like a waste of $5 also i have spotted an aptasai and was wondering what the best remedy everyone here has had success with to get rid of these bitches other than that my tank is great.


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## Guest (Jan 28, 2006)

What colour bristleworms?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

they are like a light brown.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

after trying and trying to get ri of my algae problem i went to the lfs and got three more astreas and i bought the only type of macroalgae they had. im not sure what its called but her eis a pic of what it somewhat looks like.
View attachment 92591


i put this in the middle chamber of my cube and i bought a light and scraped the black paint off of the back and tape aluminum foil over the bulb so the macroalgae could get some light. i will try to get pics of this tomorrow. i am hoping this will greatly reduce my algae problem.


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2006)

C.D. said:


> after trying and trying to get ri of my algae problem i went to the lfs and got three more astreas and i bought the only type of macroalgae they had. im not sure what its called but her eis a pic of what it somewhat looks like.
> View attachment 92591
> 
> 
> i put this in the middle chamber of my cube and i bought a light and scraped the black paint off of the back and tape aluminum foil over the bulb so the macroalgae could get some light. i will try to get pics of this tomorrow. i am hoping this will greatly reduce my algae problem.


Im pretty sure that those are really bad for a tank...they munch on corals I believe. I also think that Gobies, especially Mandarins eat them...

I could be completely wrong tho, we had a tank get those where I used to work and I didnt pay much attention to how they fixed it, I just knew it became a BIG problem.

Something definitely eats them tho, just not %100 on what.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

i hope this doesn't cause a problem i forgot to say that its green but it looks similar to that in its foliage type. here are some pics of the macro and the little crappy lighting mod.
View attachment 92624
View attachment 92625
View attachment 92626
View attachment 92627


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

little update

tank is doing fine even though im still getting a bit of algae. gonna try to find some sort of phosphate absorbing media. but here is some crazy sh*t. my yellown clown goby just up and dissapeared. i have searched everywhere i have even moved all of the rock around in my tank to look for it and behind the tank and all around it and its nowhere to be found this is crazy how does a 1.5 inch fish dissapear in a 12 gallon tank? my water params are fine so im pretty sure its not daed rotting there. i just don't know. it was a pretty kickass fish too. he has been MIA for about a week now. i keep hoping he will turn up.


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## Guest (Feb 7, 2006)

They always bury themselves







To catch them at the LFS, I had to stir up all the sand.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

i hope he is just in your sand bed somewhere. maybe check the back chambers.


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

well i stirred up the sandbed and nothing except the nassarious snails so im not thinking he is in the sandbed but its still a possibility. i took everything out of the back chambers and looked and he isn't in there either


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

a sad update.

my clownfish died. and i still can't find my yellow clown goby. im sure the goby is not in my tank but i can't find it. but im just gonna keep fish out of my tank until im done moddin the tank and i get rid of my algae problem. the reason my clown died was because he got caught in my surface skimmer. but im making my own protein skimmer so once that is done and it works. ( i built on last week and it didn't work. )


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

geeze man that sucks. sorry for your loss!


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2006)

C.D. said:


> a sad update.
> 
> my clownfish died. and i still can't find my yellow clown goby. im sure the goby is not in my tank but i can't find it. but im just gonna keep fish out of my tank until im done moddin the tank and i get rid of my algae problem. the reason my clown died was because he got caught in my surface skimmer. but im making my own protein skimmer so once that is done and it works. ( i built on last week and it didn't work. )


Did you check powerhead intakes?


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## C.D. (Jan 31, 2005)

yup


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