New Tank photos

[Joulko]

Hi,
Just a few photos of my new tank, about 2 months old.
Thanks to the 'new tank thread' from waterkeeper and so many other instructive threads. I'm hooked...
But beginning was hard - all those water changes, when ammonia and algue were laughing at my saw back !!!!!

(5 damsels, 3 rabbit fish, 1 clown+anemone, 1 volitans, about 20 shrimp, 20 crabs, all sorts of small crawlers, 4 small urchins, 2 starfish, 1 clam, 3 peaces of acropora, 6 frags of other coral, 4 LPS, and some soft coral)

The clown has been there for about 3 weeks now, and is half the lions size so he is safe, he is quite hardy, and is not intimidated by the lion at all, especially since I put in the anemone.

I probably will get rid of the lion soon, but I just had to see it in there !

There are lots of shrimps and critters everywhere, especially at night, the clam was in bad shape when i got it, but has recovered great.

As for corals, the pink(ish) acropora isnt doing to well, but all the others seem ok, although I know they need more light, and will add one 250w MH in a about 2 months.(have 2X175w MH + 2NO)
I dont really know the names of all the other corals, but they all require less light and seem to be ok
The anemone has been there about 2 weeks and is looking very well, it will grab anything the clown brings back to it ! It has moved to straight under one of the 175W MH after the 2 days.

Will take some better photos soon,

J_

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

nice, although for two month's thats really too fast to start stocking it, you had better pull that lion out or he will wreak havoc in your tank and gulp anything moving that can fit in his mouth, just my opinion here nonetheless, hope this helps.

 

[nazzy_19]

Very nice. I am not surprised to see your lionfish leaving your corals alone but your inverts, hmmm, surprise to see he leaves those alone. One suggestion: you may wanna put your plate coral on your sandbed. They need the soft surface to expand their tissue.

 

[santi]

very nice for a 2 months old tank, what kind of sand is in there?

 

[Andrew]

Looks good. You had one fast cycle there. Sweet lion also.

 

[Skepperz]

Great looking tank!

But I agree with ChAoTiCrEeFeR4U, it really is too fast to be stocking your tank that much. I think its good to find your biological boundries before stocking too much, but that is only my opinion.

None the less it looks very well presented.

 

[Joulko]

Thanks for the comments,
It is a bit fast, but the tank cycled very quickly, my live rock and live sand were fresh from the sea(so very little die off), so is my water.
Every week end I have been adding a little, and testing water every day; I couldnt believe the test results !!! so thats how it crowded up so fast.
But I'm still extremely carefull.

Ah the lion !!!!! He is so beautifull, I just cant get rid of him so soon !!! He just is so captivating !!!
I aranged the rocks so there are hiding places and caves everywhere, the fish just mock him !!! Although he ate about the 5 shrimps at night I suppose, the other small ones dont seem to interest him - I feed him every 2 days, but he will go eventually...


Cheers
J_

 

[asphaltpilot]

Very nice! It looks way older than two months. I hope you're keeping close tabs on the chemical levels.

 

[Skepperz]

Wow I just realized where you are from! Mauritius! id love to go there some day......

Straight from the sea, I wish I was in the right climate to do that. No more expense on salt bags!

You have it set, good luck with you tank!

 

[Drakeskakes]

Nice stuff =)

 

[Dubbin1]

Yup it looks good. I know lions are super cool but you really need to get it out of there before it wreaks havoc on everything.

 

[WaterKeeper]

:thumbsup:

Just padding my post count.

 

[ILikeFish]

Pom-Pom crabs are the bomb! When they come out that is

 

[fishaholic911]

The tank looks great! 2 months is not to soon I have set up 3 and stocked them all in that amount of time. If you use cured live rock I would not be afraid to start stocking in 3 day but not all at once 2-3 every few days. I just bought 140 lbs of live rock from the net 2 months ago cured it for 2 weeks added 40 lbs from lfs and started stocking I have about 25-30 corals in a 110. live rock that has been cured properly from the lfs should have very little to no cycle time as well as rock directly from the ocean. the only thing I worry about is hichickers.As for the lion fish feed him small amounts several times a day and he will be fine you are not the first to keep a lion fish in a reef. If you feed a man steak he will not search for hotdogs. If you add new fish do it at night or guide them to the bottom with a net do not just throw them in like they are food and make sure they are not small enough to fet in his mouth. Anyway you go boy tank looks nice and you keep the lion if it makes you happy that is what this hobby is about!!

 

[PatMayo]

Joulko,
I gotta come down on the hard side I'm afraid. I have to believe that you will be a ripe candidate for a tank crash.

120 gallon tank with no sump. What are you using to export the waste. That Lion fish will create a lot of waste. If you don't have an excellent means to keep the water very pristine you are sitting on a time bomb. (I know I have been there and done that.)

I agree with the others you need to get the lion out of there. By the way what do you feed the lion?

I would test all parameters daily. Alkalinity, Calcium, Nitrates and I would probably even throw in the ammonia test.

Be careful my friend I think you may have a tiger by the tail.

Regards,

Pat

 

[Joulko]

Skepperz,
Yep, no expenses on many things, I do realize my luck, but no petsmart, and no online ordering, (I'm not on the map !!), but ALL the equipment is the big mission, I have to order it overseas, wait ages, con someone to bring it back for me etc...But I have RC !!!!

fishaholic911,
Thks, That's what I've done, stocking a little every 4-5 days and testing non stop, glad u like the lion, I'm trying to find a small one though.

PatMayo,
Thanks for the words of caution. I'm exporting the waste by doing water changes, about 25% every weekend, And also have some macro algue at the back of the tank in a low movement area, Aslo have noticed coraline on the silicone from the 2nd week.
Salinity, Alkalinity, Calcium, Nitrates are all within the ranges I've been reading on RC. (The ammonia has been zero since the 2nd week, and nitrate remained constant shortly after at about 10ppm).
However the anemone has been fine since the day I put it in, if it starts to refuse food, or goes to hide, I will have some warning and do a massive water change and uncrowd the tank immediately. I think the water changes are saving me the most.

I feed the lion live fish a kind of small stupid sardine in the W/E
and throw pieces of fish next to a power head otherwise, it's enough to get him after the dead fish.

 

[Joulko]

Patmayo,
Forgot to mention I have a good skimmer of course and carbon every 2 weeks