Kuekenthal’s Cleaner Shrimp

I bought this shrimp (Lysmata kuekenthali) at the LFS on Saturday and can find next to no information on them, aside from a nice post on a Norwegian forum and a site in German. I haven’t yet attempted to learn any of the languages spoken on the Scandinavian peninsula yet, and my German is limited, [...]

Deadliest Catch

Got suspicious this morning when I notice a rock had moved a couple inches from where I remembered placing it. When I looked closer, a small beam of sunlight cast perfectly over a tunnel in the live rock, I saw some red eyes staring back at me.

Into the Wild…

I let the new Solomon Island clowns out of the holding area just a few minutes ago, here’s a quick shot! I think they’re gorgeous, a very nice deeper orange**. Will get some better pics once they decide to venture out away from the glass… ** I emailed LiveAquaria.com last night and got a response this [...]

Is the sky blue?

What better way to blow some of my Christmas bonus than on more stuff for an aquarium?… Yeah, that’s what I thought too… Tank lights are off early tonight for… this: and these: And after those little guys get used to the tank, I’ll add this to the mix: The Vortech, yeah. I’m going to upgrade within a year [...]

DIY zeolite / UltraLith reactor

Here’s my 1st attempt. Still needs a little tweaking / drying, and I’m waiting for a new flow meter in the mail, but otherwise, it’s ready to roll when all the other parts dry. Since only 25 gallon, the chamber should hold enough stones. I’ve got enough acrylic to make 2 more, so if this [...]

Kicking off the New Year

New Year brings in revised dosing schedule, UltraLith reactor, and new Fauna Marin products to be used. I’ve cut back on the Prodibio, but will continue with it – one Biodigest on the 1st and 15th, and one Bioptim on the alternating weeks. Per an email conversation with Claude, I’ll also cut back my UltraBio [...]

Here’s to you…

Mesenterial filaments and aminos?

For the last 3 evenings after dosing the Ultra, I’ve noticed mesenterial filaments from my acro, something I’ve rarely witnessed before. From what I remember in coral biology classes, it can be a normal feeding reaction, or elsewhere in the spectrum, defensive. Given the circumstances and idea behind the products (i.e. feeding coral in low [...]

Corals Added To IUCN Red List…

ScienceDaily (Sep. 13, 2007) — For the first time in history, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species includes ocean corals in its annual report of wildlife going extinct. A comprehensive study of marine life sponsored by Conservation International (CI) and implemented jointly with the IUCN (World Conservation Union) used data from the Galapagos-based Charles Darwin [...]

Alkalinity Kits…

LaMotte – 116ppm = 2.32 meq/l = 6.5 dkH LaMotte – 112ppm = 2.24 meq/l = 6.2 dkH LaMotte – 116ppm = 2.32 meq/l = 6.5 dkH SeaChem Test 1 – 7 drops / 2 = meq/l = 3.5 meq/l = 9.8 dKH / 175ppm SeaChem Test 2 – 6 drops / 2 [...]

R.I.P.

2004 – 2007. This was my right hand man. I’ve had this shrimp as long as there’s been live rock in this tank. R.I.P., little buddy.

Prodibio props, Ultra dosing & Test Results 12/7/07

The last water test was November 1st, just over a month ago. During that time, I’ve re-aquscaped the tank, kicked up tons of crap, didn’t run a skimmer for over a week, and only did one water change. Regardless, my phosphates are down even more, my NO3 is now UNDETECTABLE (compared to 2ppm), and I’m [...]

Caution… flying particles…

Don’t mind the brown acro front and center. or the flying dust.. Under construction. Almost to the point, after a few weeks of re arranging, gluing, and contemplating, that I can sit back, relax, and let it all grow. A water change is in order this weekend, then I’ll devise my next course of action, which [...]