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  1. Courtneybst

    First Salt Water Tank - Any Tips and Mistakes for a beginner?

    I only have 2 years saltwater experience but I'll try and help where I can! You can do, just be careful near the substrate line! I used to use an old plastic card (like a bank card) and used a scraper manually without the magnet, for coralline algae. It's somewhat inevitable but cultured live...
  2. Courtneybst

    I said I wouldn't go back :)

    Nice to see another marine tank on the forum. The supply of macroalgae isn't as good as North America or Asia but there's a decent amount of species available to make a beautiful tank! I think you'll enjoy it. 😁
  3. Courtneybst

    Journal 300

    Could you elaborate on this Geoffrey? I'm aware of this to a tiny degree but not sure what the impacts are.
  4. Courtneybst

    Journal The Mermaid’s Rockpool Garden

    Sorry to hear about the losses! I don't know if it's because there's more focus on individual fish in saltwater but their deaths seem more...not significant but something adjacent to that. But it's good to show the balance of things and will positively inform your next movements.
  5. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you Darrel! Amazing! Join the crew, there's plenty of room aboard and we even have margaritas! I imagine if it was a long time ago there's no journal for it, but do you have pictures of that tank? When was this? Thanks Paulo! I think macroalgae tanks are fully compatible with my need...
  6. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thanks Wooki! I don't have a dog, but I do have some neighbours 😅 Haha I don't remove them, they're doing blue collar work!
  7. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Pretty, Pretty, Pretty... Good Thanks @hydrophyte for reminding me to update my journal. 3 months have gone by, undocumented! 😅 The macroalgae seems to be a rocking horse in terms of growth - when some are booming, others are busting! Right now the Caulerpa taxifolia is growing quite...
  8. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Oh wow, it hasn't been updated since January 😅 I've been meaning to but I'll post some updates tomorrow!
  9. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you!
  10. Courtneybst

    Journal The Mermaid’s Rockpool Garden

    Hi Jake! That's awesome, I'd love to help in any way. I won't hijack Rosie's journal but happy to chat in private message. 😀 Sourcing wise (although I haven't bought any for ages), is mainly eBay and Planted Reef. The situation is a bit dire at the moment so it seems the best bet is finding...
  11. Courtneybst

    Journal The Mermaid’s Rockpool Garden

    Good point! Especially as the community as a whole is still learning aspects of macroalgae growth and the conditions that favour them. Forums like UKAPS are the perfect place to discuss and hone each others knowledge. The demand is slowly creeping, and I try and do my bit to help increase...
  12. Courtneybst

    Journal The Mermaid’s Rockpool Garden

    It's looking great so far!
  13. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    On closer inspection it seems what I feared happened; some juvenile flatworms survived the treatment. Over the next week I'll siphon out any that I see every day and then may repeat the Flatworm Exit if necessary. It seems this is a war rather than a battle!
  14. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Wait, what? I just realised it's been over 3 months since i updated this journal! A decent amount has changed since then... and a lot of photos have been taken. 😅 This is the difference since the early trials of this tank up to now, a difference of 9 months. I remember looking at that first...
  15. Courtneybst

    Journal 300

    Everything's looking incredibly healthy! I see you also have a foxface 😍 they're one of my favourites. Unfortunately they don't come in nano sizes!
  16. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Flash! Aaaah I finally managed to pick up a frag of Yellow Fiji Leather! They canary of leather corals. I spotted it at Wildwoods when I visited with @shangman on Monday. Ironically, I had been talking to various people about trying to get one and just that morning I was taking trimmings of...
  17. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Ok so the guardian basically acts as a failsafe?
  18. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Rock steady It's hard to believe this tank is already 6 months old. I believe this is still considered 'young' in reef terms but the tank is rock steady. It's like having a medium-energy aquascape - the bliss of low energy with the intricacies and rewards of high energy. It just sits perfectly...
  19. Courtneybst

    Journal Shangman’s Crystal Ball

    Great that it's starting to turn a page! How did the super glue go for you? I have several aiptasia popping up and now I'm thinking I should have just dealt with the mother lol.
  20. Courtneybst

    Journal 300

    I bet they're having a whale of a time! #upgrade
  21. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Oh yeah totally! I started with a tiny clump on the right hand side between two rocks. ALL the other 'plumes' you can see are where it has drifted off and attached itself elsewhere! I also notice lots of tiny bits of it growing all over the rock lol. I quite like how it's established itself...
  22. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    More saltiness! Mwahahaha I could be wrong but I'm not sure that it is curtissae. The pictures of curtissae online look really ruffled but this is more of a flat dense bush. I always thought it looked more like Gracilaria mammillaris. Top photo is a picture of curtissae from Live Algae...
  23. Courtneybst

    Journal One Zero Three

    Let's goooo!
  24. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Seems difficult to source but if I can't get hold of it, I could wait until I go to the USA next month. I see Seachem Vitality is widely available but I presume it's an inferior product. This video though 😂 The octopus part was the best.
  25. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Ok thanks! I might look at getting some myself.
  26. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Oh God, now I'm worried what I might find! 🙃 Everything in the marine world seems so much more deadly haha. They are mesmerising fish. Seeing them online and in the shops they look cool but seeing them in this environment with no disturbance or predation lets them show their best sides. I could...
  27. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thanks, that's good to know. I'll inspect it once I muster up the courage to clean the pipes 😅
  28. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Do you mean the media or the equipment itself?
  29. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Yeah from I've read on other forums it seems very very rare to have one jump. But for now I'm just too traumatised from the last time so I'll probably keep it on until the trauma wears off lol. The tank does look much better without a lid but it also keeps the evaporation down meaning I have to...
  30. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you! 😭😭 Thank you Gill! Not at all. I think the Pipefish were £33 each. Definitely have a go if you're able to and your interest is peaked! I don't know if you've kept a marine tank before but it's very rewarding and the way I've set mine up, the experience is remarkably similar to...
  31. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Blatantly Complacency I had a slight mishap recently with the tank. The clown goby was just starting to eat (hallelujah) but I got too complacent with the fact that it liked to stay in one place on the substrate. I removed the lid, thinking I was safe. Low and behold, it jumped out and became...
  32. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Ok, you've peaked my interest! They are beautiful... I'm definitely intrigued to see if I could get a nice (not too large) one that would fit well in this scape. I haven't tried any dry foods, but I've tried frozen brine, live baby brine, live daphnia, live tubifex, live Grindal worms, frozen...
  33. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Ok yeah, the goby is pooing so it's definitely eating!
  34. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    It's honestly as low maintenance as a low energy tank. You'd like it! 😁
  35. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    There is indeed the Natural Seawater place @seedoubleyou mentioned which would be much less labour intensive. However, I'm still using RO for a few reason. Main reason being the cost. I was quoted £17.77 for 30L whereas it only costs me £4.30 to make 25L (including salt). Considering how...
  36. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Fanning the flames I feel like since I started my marine tank, the local fish shops have 'unlocked' entirely like a video game and now I can make use of the whole shop! Previously I would look at the freshwater section, maybe peer at the saltwater but not really take any of it in, because I knew...
  37. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thanks mate! Yeah it seems the the principals are the largely the same, and I think my brain almost wanted to go in thinking it was different, which is a mistake. Also apparently it's not a good idea to add macroalgae to immature systems. I think the topic has a lot of room for debate and...
  38. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    I guess they were right. I was told many times that nothing good in marine happens quickly, and it's true! I had a long, ugly battle with hair algae in this tank that I managed to resolve by lowering my lights from 100% (yes I know, I should know better 😅) to just 30%. I also started more...
  39. Courtneybst

    Journal One Zero Three

    The Gonioporas look great!
  40. Courtneybst

    Journal One Zero Three

    Holy cow, it's obviously bad but also amazing that you didn't lose more! I would be fuming 😅
  41. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    I love the drama of this story 😅 Do you culture your own copepods or buy them? Ideally I'd like to minimise my reliance on going to the shop as much as possible but also don't want a very labour intensive culture. That's why the only live food my fish get are Grindal worms, White worms and...
  42. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thanks! I'll have a watch. They seem like they'd be pushing it in terms of size (4-6"), considering this tank is only 60cm. But I like the Molly idea.
  43. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Interesting! So the Dragonets were easy to feed in your experience?
  44. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    They are! But they also devour desirable macroalgae. That's interesting! I did seed the tank a few times with the fridge ones and noticed the numbers fall off eventually. I only know 2 others with reef tanks in the UK (and one of them doesn't have any chaeto for sure) but maybe they can help me...
  45. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thanks Paulo, I have a Scarlet Reef Hermit in there at the moment which is very cute :) Shrimp wise I haven't ventured there yet because a lot of them are quite big! The small ones I get paranoid that they'll end up in the skimmer 😅 but I'm not opposed them. Maybe some sexy shrimp. When the...
  46. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you! I don't plan to inject CO2 and it's not a common practice in saltwater aquariums. However, there is someone on Reef2Reef doing exactly that! I haven't read through the whole journal yet but it's interesting to say the least. We wouldn't get anywhere unless people experimented and...
  47. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you Hufsa! There's something about the pastel colours that really appeal to me. -------------- Unfortunately this isn't a good update. I've copied this from Instagram because who really wants to write such a thing twice... In the last two weeks my Clownfish pair came down with...
  48. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    I have no idea! Would be cool if it was.
  49. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Do you mean the pointy things? 😅
  50. Courtneybst

    Making marine water

    How exciting! Personally, I measure out how much water I need (using RO water) and then add 38g of my specific salt per litre and that usually gets 1.024-1.025 specific gravity. I now mix it by hand until it's all suspended and nicely mixed and then use an Anova immersion heater to finish it...
  51. Courtneybst

    The Nano Reef Cube - The Salty Side on a budget

    Nice write up! I'm intrigued to see how it develops. I'm very into tanks that don't impose too much on my time as well.
  52. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Current state of affairs! I'm completely in love.
  53. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    I was down by the coast recently in Pett Level right at low tide and took some photos. Everywhere you turned it looked like a unique mini landscape. It was great to see so much green in and around the rockpools and it's inspired me for the eventual rescape of my saltwater tank (not for now!)...
  54. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you! I'm also not really a fan of the stark blue lighting, I much prefer the natural tones. I'm glad rockpools already come to mind 😀 when I rescape this tank sometime in the future I plan to try and recreate a rockpool scenery I saw recently.
  55. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    At the moment the schedule isn't stable because it's been affected by deep cleans, introducing new fish etc. The aim is either 30% every 2 weeks or 15% once a week. I'll shoot for the 2 weeks first and see how it goes, it might react differently now there's fish and food in there. I haven't...
  56. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Yeah that's definitely more involved. If you get good quality salt you can make large batches and store them. I don't want to contaminate my jerry cans with salt as I use the RO water for other things too. So I mix RO with salt and let it sit overnight in a bucket with a powerhead running and...
  57. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Hey! Not a PITA at all, just different. 🙂 This tank is no more complicated than my freshwater high-energy, I'm just swapping out certain elements for others. I'm gonna go so far as saying I think this is harder than a low energy planted tank (most things are), but easier than a high energy.
  58. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thanks! I think the thing that helps is the naked clown has a simple, plain beauty. You could imagine that actually existing in the wild. Sort of reminds me of a Yellow Clown Goby but orange. Some of the designer clown patterns are beautiful but also look quite odd in my opinion.
  59. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    The last 2 weeks for this tank has been quite significant and I believe it's moving in the right direction! Get a bucket and a mop Once my isolation was over I was determined to get a hold on this tank and bring it back. I went nuclear and dosed some Ultralife Red Slime Remover for the...
  60. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you Xenith, that's good to know! Currently the light unit only has R/G/B channels and no white but it's red and blue on 100% and green on 60%. So you think I'm best keeping it as it is? The Caulerpa prolifera, Gracilaria mammillaris and the Red ogo (red ogo in particular) are definitely...
  61. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Ok so 2 weeks have past and some interesting things have happened. The diatoms went into overdrive and then have now died down. They're present on some of the surfaces but it's now predominantly cyanobacteria and a persistent green dust algae on the glass! I'm wondering if my lighting is too...
  62. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    It seems diatoms are wrecking me at moment. I'm not worried but man, it's next level. Some of it actually looks like cyanobacteria... Also turns out my tank is very much still cycling, although nearing the latter end. Ammonia is a hard 0, nitrite looks like 0.5 and nitrates are through the roof...
  63. Courtneybst

    Journal One Zero Three

    Do they at least give you a discount? 😅 What's been the most interesting thing you've discovered since setting this scape up?
  64. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you mate! I have indeed given my hermit some extra real estate. Although I wish I had bought some darker shells as I think they contrast with the scarlet red really well. Might swap them out. I'll also be adding livestock slowly yeah. No fish until the system is a bit more stable. I've...
  65. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you mort! Thats awesome! It's probably one of my favourite ones so far for the colour and texture and contrasts really well with the Ulva. Although, the Ulva won't be looking so comparable for long I'm sure. 😅 Yes I've acquainted myself with the infamous Caulerpa. I think I actually had...
  66. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you! I know what you mean, the stark blue doesn't do it for me either.
  67. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    The tank is finally starting to look more alive with the addition of some macroalgae and inverts! 🌿🐌🦀 There's a weird stress with this setup (maybe because I'm new to it) surrounding the salinity and the nutrients and I feel like the tank is moments away from imploding at any time! I don't...
  68. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    It's been a LONG time since I've had to cycle an aquarium from scratch, but I think this means we're in business! (Top: Nitrates, Bottom: Ammonia). I think it's time to seek out some cleanup crew and dare I say it... macroalgae. 👁👄👁 When the tank requires dosing I'll be using Brightwells...
  69. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Small update; On Wednesday as well as filling up my tank, I also began cycling it with Fritz Zyme 9 since both my sand and rock are inert. You don't get all the little hitchhikers you get from live rock which is a shame but it also massively reduces the chance of pests. I added some of Dr Tim's...
  70. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Day 0 - Filling up!
  71. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thanks Mort, it's definitely not traditional in any sense of the word!
  72. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    The hardscape is in! I knew with this project I wanted to try and 'scape' the tank as opposed to just plopping rock in the middle and calling it a day and for this reason I also wanted to use something other than traditional marine rocks. I've seen several people have success with macroalgae...
  73. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Finally the finished stand! Now time to get scaping!
  74. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    After what felt like an age, the stand is very nearly complete. A friend of mine said it reminds him of Blastomussa, which I can definitely see! Long story: With the main frame painted, my next step was to paint the door and then varnish everything. The painting process was surprisingly very...
  75. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Awesome! Thanks so much. I quite like the idea of not having to faff around with batteries or charging things.
  76. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Looks cool! Is it powered by AC?
  77. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    70/80s Music Road Show 👀👀👀 I'm all ears! Thanks mate! I'll take a look at these.
  78. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    I've gotten some headway on painting the stand... The room I'm using to paint is incredibly tight but it's the only room with complete open space that doesn't have a carpet or is the kitchen lol. Our house isn't small but we've not got a lot of 'recreational' space. I put my headphones in, put...
  79. Courtneybst

    Journal One Zero Three

    Thanks @Geoffrey Rea ! I was just curious in relation to reefs how they're managed as opposed to macroalgae but thank you for the info! That's definitely very helpful and puts it into perspective by describing it as a big refugium. I'll be spending the next few weeks going ham on research. I...
  80. Courtneybst

    Journal One Zero Three

    Super interesting Geoffrey! Sorry if you've mentioned it already but what kind of fertiliser are you using for this setup?
  81. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Oh that's very reassuring to hear Mort, thank you for that! There aren't too many people to bounce off on this subject so I appreciate that. I tried to use as much as I had already with this build so I can put the money towards nice hardscape, macroalgae and fish. Thanks mate haha. I didn't...
  82. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    One of the final integral pieces to this project is now here; the stand! My very talented friend Ian kindly built this for me and allowed me to fully customise it to suit my needs. I can do DIY but I'm better at making things functional, and I don't have all the tools to do a more professional...
  83. Courtneybst

    ITC Reefculture - Reef Delete

    How did you get on with it? Any good?
  84. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Thank you Nick!
  85. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Oh wow, that's stunning! Can definitely see the similarities here. Maybe acrylic is actually sentient...😅
  86. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Yesterday, or the day before? I can't remember to be honest. All the days are still one at the moment. ANYWAY, yesterday I did a practice run on a mini canvas for my stand. I wanted to get a feel for the colour scheme and patterns before I commit to the big boy. Since it's going to be a...
  87. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Haha thanks Nick, I'm hoping to make it economical. Not on the cheap per se but not spending thousands 😅. I've seen how much even saltwater fish cost and it's eye opening for a freshwater guy!!
  88. Courtneybst

    Journal Salty Fingers

    Well, it was inevitable... The thing I wanted to do since I got into fishkeeping was have a saltwater tank. Despite taking 12 years, I'm glad it's happening now rather than back then. Since then I've gained a wealth of knowledge, appreciation for aesthetics and most importantly...more disposable...
  89. Courtneybst

    Journal Mangrovium

    Yeah I'm planning to use an Oase Biomaster.
  90. Courtneybst

    Journal Mangrovium

    Thanks Joel, that makes sense! From the info I've gathered from macroalgae keepers, some do 30% weekly, some 10% weekly, some 50% monthly! It seems to all depend on the amount of beneficial bacteria your setup can host. I'm planning to use an external filter as well as live rock so I think...
  91. Courtneybst

    Journal Mangrovium

    Hey Joel! Can I ask how you're able to do such small water changes? Sounds ideal to me, I'm just curious!
  92. Courtneybst

    New Marine Forum

    Very happy to see this!!!
  93. Courtneybst

    Journal Mangrovium

    Loving this journal! It's making me want to setup a macro algae tank even more, especially knowing that it's somewhat accessible in the UK! Beautiful work.
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