New TBS Part 1

[GregK]

I picked up part 1 of my package order from TBS on Wednesday. I think Richard had to jump through some hoops and twist some arms to find an airline that would ship the stuff to Roanoke. But he did and the boxes arrived in perfect condition. No leaks at all. Great job Richard!

I've had the rock in the tank for several days now going through the cycle. After measuring everything today, my ammonia was at 1.0, nitrate and nitrite are zero. I did a water change of about 8 gallons to get the ammonia down (24 AP aquarium).

As for hitchhikers, I've so far spotted a cucumber (Donkey Dung I think) and a hermit crab. I also found a couple of small transparent shrimp, about half an inch long. I've also spotted what I think may be a small feather duster poking its feathers out of a hole in one of the rocks from time to time. I've also seen a couple of small corals opening up in the last day or so.

I would post some pictures, but the day after I got the package, my computer crapped out on me. Hopefully, I'll get it back up and running soon so I can get some pictures up here for you guys to see.

I can't say enough about the rock and all of the life on it. Everything I've read about Richard and the quality of his rock on this board is true, and I think this is going to be one of my best buying decisions in a long time. My wife and I love just sitting and watching everything going on in there.

As soon as the cycle finishes, I'll be contacting you Richard, and again thanks for everything!

 

[GregK]

pics

pics

Here's a couple of pictures of my new tank. I checked the ammonia again today, and it's still right at 1.0. I'm going to try another water change today and give the rocks a sniff test to see if anything is obviously dead.

Here's a closeup of one of the rocks. You can see the sea cucumber in the upper left corner of the shot, and the hermit crab near the center:

One question I have: If I do find something during the sniff test that needs to be scraped off, what's the best way to scrape it off? The sponges that I've got seem to be fairly thin and spread over the rock. Do I just use my fingernails to scrape off anything dead, or is there a better way?

 

[liverock]

Re: pics

Re: pics

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9785926#post9785926 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GregK
Here's a couple of pictures of my new tank. I checked the ammonia again today, and it's still right at 1.0. I'm going to try another water change today and give the rocks a sniff test to see if anything is obviously dead.

Here's a closeup of one of the rocks. You can see the sea cucumber in the upper left corner of the shot, and the hermit crab near the center:

One question I have: If I do find something during the sniff test that needs to be scraped off, what's the best way to scrape it off? The sponges that I've got seem to be fairly thin and spread over the rock. Do I just use my fingernails to scrape off anything dead, or is there a better way?

Good pics...I do not see any problems...but a steak knife is the best tool.....do not remove any sponges that do not smell bad, you will injure them then they WILL die.....is a common mistake.....use the nose test!

sea ya
Richard TBS

 

[GregK]

Thanks again, Richard. Will do.

 

[scowiii]

I just used a pair of tweezers.