http://reef.thatspoppycock.com A beginner's log of saltwater creature-keeping Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:03:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So far so good with the emerald crabs.  They haven't eaten any of my corals and have been nibbling on the nuisance algae in my tank.  The only downside that I've noticed is that they tend to hide a lot.  Other than that, these two little creatures are a great ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/07/09/emerald-crab-update/ We are pleased to announce that Reef-Tracker.com is officially open for business, and membership is available completely free of charge! When you sign-up, (which we hope you will!) we ask that you please remember that we are still testing a lot of features and the best features are still works-in-progress. To ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/07/06/reef-tracker-open-for-business-errr-testing/ Over the weekend, I purchased my first emerald crab.  In the same trip, I purchased two more cerith snails and one more nassarius snail, bringing the totals to five cerith and three nassarius snails.  Unfortunately, I found the emerald crab lifeless on the tank bottom yesterday, with a nassarius snail ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/07/06/emerald-crabs-added/ I finally bought into the whole Twitter phenomenon and created an account just moments ago.  My main motivation for this is the development of a new web-based reef/aquarium tracking utility.  I'm bringing my professional experience with web development and programming and personal experience with aquarium-keeping together in hopes to create ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/06/17/follow-tpc-reef-and-reef-trackercom-on-twitter/ Edit on 6/17/09:  After talking to a few respected members of ReefLounge.com, my mind has been put at ease (mostly).  I am told that this is most likely a macroalgae of some sort and should be harmless.  According to one member, my best bet would be finding a marine biologist ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/06/15/unidentified-green-plant-like-growth-on-rock-and-in-sand-bed/ Over the weekend, I put together my own hang-on-back siphon overflow.  I don't have the U-tube or prefilter sponge for it yet, but I will soon.  The total amount spent so far is $20.  When purchased premade, this type of overflow starts at around $100 and can cost a few hundred ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/06/01/diy-overflow-created-bought-green-star-polyps-frag/ Everything is going great with my 20 gallon long aquarium. My ammonia and nitrites didn't see any huge spikes and were only elevated for two days after switching. It made me nervous but I'm glad it didn't last long. Through the use of my refugium, one saltwater plant, denitrator filter media, and ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/05/24/update-on-the-20-gallon-long-project-and-livestock/ When I bought the ten gallon tank, I purposefully bought equipment that would work in a 20-30 gallon tank.  Last week, I bought a 20 gallon long tank and 20 lbs. of CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink to supplement the sand I already had which resulted in a 1 1/2 inch sand ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/05/11/upgrading-to-a-larger-tank/ [singlepic id=21 w=320 h=240 mode=web20 float=] http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/05/04/large-bristle-worm-found/ Using a DIY refugium tutorial I found, I crafted a homemade, hang-on refugium for my ten gallon nano reef tank using the AquaClear 70 power filter.  I decided to do this for two reasons: (1) to have refuge for copepods to breed with the final result being to feed a mandarin, and ... http://reef.thatspoppycock.com/2009/05/03/diy-refugium-crafted-from-aquaclear-70-power-filter/