Who goes there? Friend or Foe?

Added some new inhabitants to the aquarium this week.

The Diamond Goby aka Sand Sifter. This guy is doing some major tank remodeling. He pick up the sand in his mouth and spits it out in a new location. This could be a problem as he is burying some things (coral included). I am hoping it settles in and gets happy with the way things are. You can see the Blenny in the background. He walks on the bottom and looks like something from the swamp.

I got crabs!

Check out the blue legged hermit crab.

Emerald Crab

Red Blenny

I don't know what it is! Look at the brown fuzzy ball to the left of the red coral. It is soft to the touch and has just shown upl I think it might be a sponge.

Mew soft coral. It will eventually be moved to up on the rock and glued in place. It first needs to acclimate to the light and get adjusted to the tank. Looks pretty good so far. Sponge Bob is trying to sneak into the picture.

In the Refugium!

Another large hermit crab. 3 were aded to help control the hair algae. I am noticing some red growth on the rock. I am not sure is it is coraline algae. If it is, it will encrust with calcium in a nice purple color.

The Ducan Coral is making a nice come back since I moved it to the refugium. I think the shrimp might have been picking at it. Notice to the right of the two heads, it looks like another head is forming. It must be happy. 

The Anemone is looking better since I moved it into the refugium. Another victim of Shrimp abuse.

Check out the red stuff on the rock. I don't know what it is.

More red stuff.

Emeral Crab.

Bali Green Slimer Coral. This is a small polyp stoney coral. It has a hard calcium frame and the polyps entend to filter particles (plankton and such) from the water.

An uninvited guest.

Check out the brownish small tenticle critter to the left of the tall green macro algae in the center of the picture. It will withdrawl into the rock when I probe at it. I guess I will have more research to figure if it will play nice or will meet an untimely death.

It is beginning to look like something. Maybe a reef aquarium?

Some new fish, a couple of corals, and an Anemone.

 These two are pretty cool looking. The one in the back is call a Gold Torch. The one in the front a Valida.

The clown fish likes this coral better than the Anemone. I was hoping the clowns would host the Anemone. It seems line the Anemone is having a harder time adjusting to the new enviroment.



The Anemone looks a little closed up. I don't think it has found a place it likes. I moves around a little every day.

The Macro algae in the Refugium is growing nicely. I placed several varieties hoping a few will take hold. It looks like I have at least three varieties doing well. You may also notice all the snails. They help keep the tank clean. I still have to do some cleaning, but not as much (I Think).

They're Here.

Finally I am getting some diversity to the tank.
Take a look.

Yes the fish look fuzzy. No they are not fuzzy. I have not figured out how to photograph in poor light with my basic camera. But you get the idea. I told the fish to hold still. They would not listen.

The coral is a little easier.

It stays put.

This type of coral is called a zoanthid. It seem to take a while to get acclimated.



Green star polyp



Not sure of the name yet.



It's a shrimp. There are two of them and like like to hide when the lights are on.  I caught this one when it was not looking. Ha!

 Hermit crabs and snails make up the cleanup crew. Their job is to clean, clean, and clean.

 GET TO WORK!

Alien Invasion?

Not really. Just a green fish.
A Green Chromis.
I am now accepting offers for naming rights. Name suggestions will be considered, but management retains all rights to names not accompanied with an offer. Suggested names are favored with references to his color. The following are some easy suggestion although a little obvious.

1. Greeny
2. Booger
3. Limey
4. Green Fish
5. Hulk
6. (your suggestion here)

 Added some new hardware this week too!
You can see the pump above. This is for water circulation inside the tank. There is another pump on the opposite side. The pumps are variable speed and synchronized to create a flow pattern in the tank that mimics a reef zone. You can see the tank side below.



 Below are the speed controllers for he tank pumps.



Sponge Bob is patiently waiting his turn.





Control Central.

This is the brains of the operation: An Apex aquarium controller, a power strip with 8 switchable outlets, a probe module to connect a temperature probe and a PH probe, a Wireless Variable speed module for pump control, a digital heater temperature control, and the display. This system will run all the pumps, heaters, lights, maintenance cycles, feeding cycles, and even email me it there is a problem. Currently I have it connected on the home network. I still have to figure out how to make it accessible from the Internet.

Next week -- maybe a new fish and the clean up crew (crabs, snails, and shrimp)

Lots to do yet.

Back to work.

Sand, salt, rock, and rubble

No Fish Yet.
Almost.

The heat controller on the front is temporary. I wanted to get the water up to temperature quickly so I added a third heater in the tank. The other two heaters are in the sump. Notice the place the rock and sand (Thank Beth). I think it is looking pretty awesome.

Two 100 watt heaters in the sump. I put extra rock in the center section for more biological filtration.

Don't worry about the messy wiring. It is still a work in progress.

Added a couple of the larger extra pieces of rock to the Refugium.

Maybe A fish tomorrow.

Blue Green Chromis

Getting Close

The WATER is in and circulating.

 No LEAKS.  Wahoo!

Added an Osmolator today. This is an automatic water pump that keeps the water level and helps maintain the salinity of the water. It has a optical low water sensor and a float switch as a safety high water switch.

You can see the water level sensors in the left chamber with the pump.
 

A 32 gallon fresh water storage tank was added. It has a float switch for the water filter so it will automatically fill and shut off the water. A 3/4" pipe is installed in the side so I can connect a transfer pump to pump water into the salt water storage tank. More about this in later posts.

Next step is adding the coral rock and the aquarium controller.