I am getting excited!!!

dwculp

dwculp

New member
I am getting excited, I will be ordering a 40 gallon package when payday swings around on the 20th of this month. I keep a FO tank in my classroom along with a 55 gallon freshwater tank and a 80 gallon river ecosystem. I think the kids (and me) are really going to enjoy having a reef tank and will come in handy when I teach about ecosystems! Heck, I am even looking forward to having bad hitchhikers!!!

Before I order I thought I would throw a couple of questions at you guys.

First, I have a 36 inch dual 96W PC light setup. Do you think this will be enough on the 40 gallon? I could, if need be place 2 more 96W PC lights on it.

I have a 29 gallon FO tank with no LR here in the room. The skimmer and lights from this tank will become the skimmer and lights for the 40 gallon reef tank. All I have in the 29 gallon is a coral banded shrimp, 1 Percula clown, 2 small domino damsels (who will return to the LFS) and a coral beauty angel. Here is my plan to switch:

1. A few days before arrival setup the 40 and fill with water. I had thought about using some of the water from the 29 but I am not sure.

2. On the day of arrival place the live sand and rock in the 40, remove the skimmer and lights from the 29 and attach them to the 40.

3. Do water changes a wait for the cycle to complete.

4. Get the second half and place into the tank.

5. Water changes until the cycle completes.

6. Once the cycle completes place my clown, coral beauty and coral banded shrimp in the tank.

7. Enjoy!!

Does that sound good?

I have been wondering what to do with the 29 and I have the following ideas:

1. Mantis tank as I anm sure I will get some as hitchhikers.
2. Octo tank, anyone ever get one as a hitchhiker?
3. Sump for the 40.

I cant wait, I feel like a kid at Christmas time!!
 
The Package is definitely an exciting time. I'm still working on cycling the first shipment so I can't answer your questions. But about your lights - you have enough for a 40g and I think the experts here could tell you if you have enough wattage for certain types of corels, etc.

Good luck finding answers! Someone will respond.
 
dwculp, sounds like you've thought this through fairly well. Your lights should be just fine for cycling purposes. Most of the corals on the package are non-photosynthetic or low demand ( I believe TBS harvests from about 40 feet down ). Later, If you start adding high light demand corals, you can adjust or add to your lighting. Yes, octopi do occasionally show up in the rock ( you can do a search on this forum and pull up some interesting threads). They are some what rare, though, from what I've seen. Mantis, on the other hand, appear to be a frequent "guest". I had four in my 50 package, three removed and traded with another reefer for some goodies. One left in because it was so cute (like a pit bull puppy I'm beginning to think ;) ). Good luck.
 
Well, I will be minus one Coral Beauty when the package arrives :(

I may put off getting the package until my Nov. 20th paycheck. A friend of mine just offered me his 80 gallon fish only tank for $450.00. Includes the tank, stand, filters, lights, power heads, 80 pounds of live sand, 60 pounds of live rock, a panther grouper, volitan lion, clarkii clown and an undulated trigger.


I will put that into my classroom as well. I cant afford the package and his tank at the exact same time. Decisions, decisions..........
 
I contacted TBS via email yesterday. I am going to call on Monday (provided I can get the time!) and order the package for Friday delivery. This Wednesday I am going to be doing some major tank moving in the classroom in preparation for the arrival and setting up the 40 gallon so it will be ready on Friday. I worked out a deal so I can get the 75 gallon FO AND setup the reef this month!

I am going to start a thread in the newbie section on Monday detailing my day by day experiences along with LOTS of pictures!!

I have seriously thought about starting an aquarium or fish keeping club at school as I will then have 5 tanks going. The kids would learn to care for and maintain the different tanks. The only problem is time, I run an after-school robotics club five days a week, I sponsor the chess club, I am a member of our Campus Improvement Council, I run an interactive fiction club and am involved in a number of other school activities and events........geez, I need to get a life!!

55 gallon fresh
40 gallon reef (in the very near future!)
29 gallon ????
75 gallon FO saltwater
80 gallon river ecosystem.

Anyways, I cant wait!!!
 
Wow - sounds like you're one busy person! And sounds like you should get a helper to perform the constant chemical tests on the water of all of those tanks. I just built two tanks for the first time and the water-testing alone is time-consuming, not to mention expensive (when first buying all of the kits.)

Good luck - looking forward to seeing how it goes.

By the way, I just cycled my first tank and called TBS today and ordered my second shipment of LR and critters and they said that they would call back when they can ship it.
 
I just got a phone message from Mary at TBS. The first portion on my package is coming in on Delta airlines at 2:30 today. I cant wait!
 
Nice! That means mine will come today, too! I've been waiting for shipment 2 for about two weeks now.

Send pics when the tank settles. And good luck with the hitchhikers - I was able to get one baby mantis out of the box before the rock went in yet I still have 4-5 of them to contend with... (I did catch two and put in the Mantis Hideaway tank, though.)
 
dwculp - Almost forgot - don't forget to smell each individual "thing" on each rock before putting them in the tank. I did not do this and had crazy Ammonia for awhile and a horrible water smell up close to the tank. After I scrapped (two clams and three sponges) the smell went away within a day or two and the Ammonia went down to 0 in 3-4 days!
 
Listen to Cincy.

Sniff, Sniff!!!!!!!!

Throw out anything that smells like "butt". Scrape it off with your fingers if you have to.

Rockker
 
I posted some pics in the thread I started here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=456077

I was wondring if anyone could tell me what I have. I have been observing very long stringy "tentacles" coming from one rock. They are long, stringy, translucent and I at first thought they were not alive. I thought it could have been snail eggs. However, as I watch them they move with a purpose and go in and out of the rock, sometimes stretching for a good 6-8 inches, and ocasionaly dragging some debris with them. Could it be some sort of anenome deep in the rock? Here is a pic:

45407tentacles1.jpg


Any ideas?


Here is a feather duster I found, luckily this guy is just a 1/2 inch from the glass and easy to get pictures of!

45407featherclosed.jpg


45407featheropen.jpg
 
Interesting feather duster. I hadn't seen any located in the sand. The long stringy things are spagetti worms.
 
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