Nickles
New member
So far I'm leaning towards a pair of clowns like you're planning and GF3 has. Trying to decide between the Ocellaris or true Percula. Research, research, research.
Chicago Biocube 14 Build
- Thread starter Nickles
- Start date
So far I'm leaning towards a pair of clowns like you're planning and GF3 has. Trying to decide between the Ocellaris or true Percula. Research, research, research.
Nickles
New member
Thanks for the offer, I'll definitely drop you a line if I think of anything. Right now I'm trying to decide whether or not to pick up live rock/sand locally or order it from Tampa Bay Saltwater. I really like the idea of getting all the goodies that come with the stuff form TBS, and getting the cycle completed in short order. Even with the shipping it would be tough to find a better deal locally.
Buying good liverock locally doesn't mean you won't be getting any pleasant surprises with your purchase. I got lots of good freebies on my rock locally. Also remember there is a big premium in the cost of shipping from TBS that you save locally and can spend on the exact things you want in your tank, rather than just getting what gets put in the bags when they pack it up. I'd save on the shipping, buy rock locally and try to get like 10 lbs of coarse substrate from another local member.
Nickles
New member
Update 5-7-2011
Update 5-7-2011
Well it's been about 6 weeks since my last update so I'll try and post a short summary of what's happened with the tank over the last month and a half.
After I got my equipment needed to get the cycle going I picked up some salt and RO/DI water to mix up my first batch of saltwater and get the salinity dialed in. Everything went smooth so a week later I bought about 18lbs of live rock and chaeto from a local guy and let everything sit for a week to see how the water parameters looked.
Here's a shot of the tank with the live rock and chaeto floating in a breeder until my media rack and fuge light arrived.
The life on the rock was amazing; lots of pods, feather dusters, bristle worms, brittle stars, and I've seen some stomatella roaming around when the lights go out that must have hitched a ride on the rock as well. After adding the rock I waited a while to see if there was any measurable ammonia from any die off during transportation. The ammonia and nitrite levels stayed at 0 so I added a few hermit crabs and astrea snails to have something to look at while I waited for the tank to be ready for it's future inhabitants. I even fed some Rod's food for the bristle worms and feather dusters to snag, while the hermits grabbed up any larger pieces. So far so good!
Update 5-7-2011
Well it's been about 6 weeks since my last update so I'll try and post a short summary of what's happened with the tank over the last month and a half.
After I got my equipment needed to get the cycle going I picked up some salt and RO/DI water to mix up my first batch of saltwater and get the salinity dialed in. Everything went smooth so a week later I bought about 18lbs of live rock and chaeto from a local guy and let everything sit for a week to see how the water parameters looked.
Here's a shot of the tank with the live rock and chaeto floating in a breeder until my media rack and fuge light arrived.
The life on the rock was amazing; lots of pods, feather dusters, bristle worms, brittle stars, and I've seen some stomatella roaming around when the lights go out that must have hitched a ride on the rock as well. After adding the rock I waited a while to see if there was any measurable ammonia from any die off during transportation. The ammonia and nitrite levels stayed at 0 so I added a few hermit crabs and astrea snails to have something to look at while I waited for the tank to be ready for it's future inhabitants. I even fed some Rod's food for the bristle worms and feather dusters to snag, while the hermits grabbed up any larger pieces. So far so good!
