First delivery!

[Origami2547]

Richard: Again, thank you for taking Sunday, the day after you returned from your vacation, to get the first half of "The Package" out to me. As I've said before, the rock you sent is beautiful. I've taken a few pictures of the setup 'cause I thought you'd be interested....

 

[wintercool97]

That rock in pic #2 is awsome!! Looking good

 

[voodude]

Agree .. how big was that puppy???

 

[Miggo]

'cause I thought you'd be interested....

We're all interested. Thanks for the pictures. I like how you made the cavelike area underneath the rock in the second picture. Looks good.

 

[tangafish]

wow you got you some good size rocks. got to agree with everyone else love that big rock in pic 2. looks like a little bit of a back breaker but no pain no gain right :lol: Can you imagine hauling all of that big rock up into the boat. richard must have a big S on his dive suit

just wait til you get part 2 richard will make it worth your wait. make sure you post us some pics after you get part 2.

I got the first part of my package in may and i just found a new critter today, a red mathrix crab..cute little bugger.

 

[scowiii]

Im still finding new stuff all the time. My Red tree sponge is dying though its slowly turning white and then shrinking in size. So should I just get it out now or leave it there?

 

[HowardW]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10798612#post10798612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scowiii
Im still finding new stuff all the time. My Red tree sponge is dying though its slowly turning white and then shrinking in size. So should I just get it out now or leave it there?

If it's breaking down and starting to decay then I would remove it.

 

[liverock]

Nose

Nose

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10799257#post10799257 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HowardW
If it's breaking down and starting to decay then I would remove it.

Use your nose...if it smells bad ditch it...otherwise it is ok for a while longer......they usually last about a year...
Richard TBS

 

[Origami2547]

Actually, a couple of those rocks were pretty darn big, each having their own box. If I had to guess (and it would be just a guess), they probably weighed a good 35 pounds or so.

Believe it or not, the second picture really doesn't do that rock justice. It's got both swim through tunnels and caves built into it. It really stands on its own merit in this case.

The rocks are large enough that I didn't want them covering too much sand. That large oval one seemed to be a natural table or ledge, so I propped it to both expose some sand and to make a cavern for some future livestock. That was my thinking anyway....

This stuff is really cool, though. These last couple of days, I find myself just staring at the tank. I can't tell you how long I've been watching the barnacles and other filter feeders sweeping the water. I guess you've all been through it, huh? Ammonia levels look good, so far. Slight peaking yesterday but seems to have slowed overnight. If that's still the case this evening, I'll probably start testing for nitrites in earnest. So far, so good.

 

[tangafish]

yeah i know what you mean about the barnacles, that is one of the coolest things about this rock, you can set there and watch them feed, it is almost like they are sticking there tongue out at ya..look forward to seeing what part 2 has in store for you but no rush. when you tank is ready you will be good to go.

 

[Origami2547]

Woohoo. I mentioned in another thread that this first shipment came with three mantis shrimp (smallish in size). I was wrong. There was a 4th. And a big one, too.

I kept hearing this click every once in a while. I wasn't sure what it was, but I had a suspicion. I thought I'd checked everything well and thought maybe, just maybe, it's the water lapping against the side of the tank. No, maybe it's a pump just making a noise. Well, to settle it, I shut down the skimmer and the pumps and waited.....

Click!

Uh huh. You know you really can't tell which direction the sound is coming from in the tank, but I had a feeling. It was coming from the big rock in the third picture. To find out, I drained about 10 gallons of tank water into a large rubbermaid tote and pulled the rock (I wanted to check how the sponges were doing anyway), submerging it in the tote. Then, I waited. A click in the tote sealed the deal. I'd found the rock.

Next question: Where in the rock?

Well, I got out my handy, dandy club soda and turkey baster, and went hunting. A little squirt here, a little squirt there. Nothing. A bigger squirt here, and there. Click! I peered into the dark hole. Nothing. Hmmmm. More club soda. Nothing.

After more than a little bit of this, I set the rock back in the tank with the side that I'd heard the clicking come from facing the front. Then, I turned out all of the lights in the room and over the tank. I waited for a couple of minutes and then shone a flashlight into the hole. Lo and behold, I thought I saw something. Something like little feathery wisps waving. So I stuck a little airline tubing into the hole and I could see it move. Found ya!

Out came the rock again. I could see he was big. Club soda wouldn't get this fella out, so I used a chopstick to drive him out. Eventually it worked.

This guy's gotta be 2 to 2-1/4 inches long. He was a bit sluggish coming out - after all, he'd been through a lot. Anyway, I set up my old 6 gallon Eclipse system for him to see if I can revive him. If so, I'll maybe see if some local aquarist or my LFS is interested in him. I'm not so sure that I am, though.

Really cool looking creature though. Let's hope he doesn't have friends or family that he's left behind in my tank!

Click!

 

[wintercool97]

Origami2547 how is your tank doing? Any idea when your getting part 2 yet?

 

[Origami2547]

It's doing great. Ammonia was down below 0.25 a week ago today. Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate was 0-0-0 by midweek. Richard sent up part 2 yesterday. Generous as he is, I had a lot of goodies that have really dressed the tank up. I'll post pictures on another thread here. Take a peek.