3g Micro Reef, Newbie...Pics

[wenwillwego]

So, right now my micro-reef is about 2mo old. It is an invert-only tank, filtration being live sand, rock, and a HOB Aqua20 with floss, charcoal and phosban, 75% water changes every week.
I am stocking it exclusively from the LFS's $5 frag tank, the one exception being the Sexy Shrip I just added on Saturday.
For lighting I am using the stock florescent T5 10k, 6 watt light and a 12" strip of blue LED's. I am also using the blue lights as moonlight, not sure if that is proper...

Any tips or advice will of course be appreciated. especially concerning the light. I am considering getting a white light version of the LED strip...
I have done quite a bit of reading here and on other forums; this so far seems to be the friendliest.
Most corals have been in the tank close to a month now.
The last picture is the only one I have a question about... I am pretty sure that is a spagetti worm? If I get no positive ID here I'll try in the ID thread.

Thanks for your time,
-Mary

 

[TX..r33f]

Looks like a great little set up. My 3G setup is comeing tue-wed ... I have a question, will I need to do more than 1g water change a week? I will have live sand/rock and I filter rated for the tank.

 

[goldenfiji]

Ususally, we don't do more than 10% water change monthly. Unless you feed it a lot.

 

[wenwillwego]

I feed the tank "coral frenzy" Once or twice a week, not much. I've been doing the big water changes because from what I've read a lot of the little tanks succumb to an algea bloom after a year or so. Any one wih 1st hand experience with that?
Tx-from what I understand you want to have a filter much larger than one "rated for the tank," what I've got on mine is for a 20g, and some people use even larger filters and mod them as a fuge.

 

[wenwillwego]

Just a FTS update. The only addition since the last pictures has been another pound of live rock. I realize as far as corals it looks bare, and it will for awhile. I enjoy it and plan mostly on just letting what I have grow in.

I can see that between this picture and the first one that the encrusting coral has lost quite a bit of color. Is that bleaching? Should I move it back down? Thanks for any advice.

 

[wenwillwego]

Tank updates-

Early Sept replaced AC20 with a modded AC50 fuge, running with cheato, floss, and biomax. Fuge is lit with a small LED clamp on from meijer with a reverse photo period from the main tank.

3wks ago upgraded the main tank's lights from the stock 6w florescent to Skkye Light 8w 14k LED with moonlights. It's super bright, I can barely get a picture that doesn't look all washed out! The corals are starting to have some really pretty green and pink highlights though.

Livestock changes-
The red/orange plate coral died. I realize now that it was my sub-par lighting :/. Luckily all I had in there otherwise were softies, so everyone else survived.

2nd small tunicate and super dirty yellow sponge from the LFS's live rock tank. They must think I'm quite the weirdo, I spend 45minutes staring at their rocks and then want them to be picking off random little hitchikers for me! They tolerate it though.

The sexy shrimp had a taste for some of the corals so was taken back to the store to trade for a feather duster and zebra hermit.

New corals include leather at the top left corner, hammer head in the middle and a single candy cane head in the bottom left corner.


Sorry about the washed-out pics, like I said with this new light I haven't figured out what adjustments I need to make with the camera yet.

You can see one of the openings of the dirty sponge in the bottom of this one.

Zaphod the Zebra Hermit!

"Sea Pork," the new tunicate. Shut up, he's cute!